Chapter 477: Eternity 38.

We’re going to find Aunt Lan. When we find her,

we’ll bring her somewhere she can rest."

Lili brightened a little. "Is Aunt Lan nice?"

"Your grandmother likes her very much," Yan said.

"That means she is nice."

Mother Yan laughed softly. "She can be very nice. She can also be

stubborn enough to make me want to throw my phone out of a window."

"Did you throw it?" Lili asked.

"Not yet."

Bai took a bite of food. "I recommend keeping it. Phones are difficult

to replace these days."

The conversation wandered toward ordinary things. Lili wanted to know if

Aunt Lan liked sweet buns. Mother Yan said she did, though she would

complain that they were too sweet before eating every last one. Yan

added that Aunt Lan used to bring snacks when she visited, and Lili

immediately decided that this was another reason to like her. Bai

listened while she ate, and although the conversation was simple, it

eased something in her. The family had left the apartment because a

person they cared about might be in danger. They had no clear idea what

waited in Shanghai, but they could at least keep Lili’s world familiar

enough that she did not have to carry all their worry.

After lunch, Bai made a slow inspection of the caravan’s exterior. She

checked the tires for cuts, looked beneath the frame for anything that

might have caught on the road, and examined the protective panels near

the front wheels. The vehicle was still in good shape. Its engine

sounded steady, and the fuel system showed no warning lights. She

tightened a loose panel near the rear axle, then stood back to check her

work.

Yan came out with a small bag of waste and found Bai crouched beside the

wheel. "You’re doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Looking for a problem that may not exist."

"Problems exist whether I look for them or not."

"Yes, but you can’t inspect the same wheel every ten minutes."

Bai touched the rim of the tire. "I can if I want to."

Yan folded her arms. "Would you like to tell me what you are actually

worried about?"

Bai looked up. The question had been asked lightly, but Yan’s expression

was open and attentive. She did not appear to be teasing now. Bai

considered giving her a simple answer, but she did not want to turn a

passing concern into something heavier than it needed to be.

"It’s a long trip," Bai said at last. "There are a lot of things that

can go wrong. A bad tire, a blocked road, a broken water line. If I can

catch one small problem before it becomes a big one, I’d rather do

that."

Yan crouched beside her. "That makes sense. But you don’t have to catch

every problem alone."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Bai met her eyes. Yan had not raised her voice, but the question felt

important. Bai had a habit of putting herself between danger and

everyone else. It was easy to call that practical because she could

survive things that would seriously hurt other people. It was harder to

admit that sometimes she acted as though her strength meant she did not

deserve to rest until every possible threat had been checked.

"I do," Bai said more quietly. "I’m working on it."

Yan’s expression softened. "Good. Then let me check the other side while

you finish here."

Bai moved aside without arguing. Yan inspected the opposite wheel, found

nothing serious, and returned to stand beside her. Bai wiped her hands

on a cloth, and Yan took it from her before she could drop it on the

ground. Their fingers brushed. Neither made a comment about it, but when

they climbed back into the vehicle, Yan sat a little closer than before.

The caravan moved on through a district of repair shops and small

offices. Twice they had to detour around vehicles that had crashed into

roadside barriers. Once they passed a bus shelter where a pile of bags

had been left neatly beside the bench. No people remained, and the bags

had been picked through, but someone had covered them with a torn

advertisement to keep off the rain. Bai did not stop to investigate. She

watched the shelter in the mirror until it was out of sight and felt the

familiar pressure of all the people whose lives had broken apart in the

last two weeks.

She could not help everyone. She knew that, even if she disliked the

truth of it. Every delay had a cost, and every rescue could lead to

another request for help. If she tried to save every person they

encountered, she might fail to reach Aunt Lan. But she could help the

people who crossed their path when doing so did not put the whole group

at unreasonable risk. That was the rule she had been trying to follow

since the apocalypse began, and she intended to keep following it on the

road to Shanghai.

Yan seemed to arrive at the same thought without being told. She had

been watching the roadside as well, and she eventually reached over to

tap the map near a narrow lane that branched off to the east. "There

should be a residential block somewhere beyond those shops. If we find

someone who needs help, we can at least check whether there’s a safe

place nearby before deciding what to do."

Bai glanced at the mark. "You’re planning rescue stops now?"

"I’m planning options. You can complain about them later."

"I never complain."

Yan stared at her.

Bai held the look for three seconds before she laughed. "All right. I

complain a little."

"A little?"

"I am a very reasonable person."

"You argued with a door hinge this morning."

"It started the argument."

Yan laughed, and Bai found herself smiling at the sound. The road beyond

the windshield was still broken and unpredictable. They had no guarantee

that the next town would be better than the last,

TO BE CONTINUED.