Chapter 310: Bring The Plan Here

Shichen carried the last bundle of bedding out of the container and found Zeyu crouched in front of Zhiyi, watching her move her toes inside a pair of gray shoes.

The first boxes were stacked beside his knee, their lids balanced on top, and he looked more pleased with the pair on her feet than he had with the generator.

"Walk as far as Qinghe before you decide," Zeyu told her, finishing the second bow. "If they rub, we’ll try something else. There’s no reason to take the first pair that stays on."

Zhiyi stood with a hand on his shoulder, then crossed the passage slowly. Shichen moved the bedding out of her way and watched her turn beside Qinghe.

She was still favoring the scraped heel a little, but she no longer had to curl her toes to keep a slipper from falling off.

"These will do," Zhiyi said, looking down as she came back. "I’d forgotten how much I disliked watching my feet every time I walked."

Shichen set the bundle beside the towels and went to see what Jingwei had found. Hanchuan stood inside the doorway, examining a smaller carton wedged behind the sheets.

A loose packing list had been taped to its side, listing clothes by size rather than giving them a single description.

"There are several more behind this one," Jingwei explained, directing the light toward the lower row. "We’ll have to take some bedding out to reach them, but it looks as though we can stop borrowing the crew’s things."

Hanchuan glanced toward the growing pile outside before passing the list to Shichen.

"Take enough for a few changes each," Hanchuan said. "We’ll leave the rest packed until we have somewhere dry to put it. I don’t want boxes blocking the corridor tonight."

It took longer to choose clothes for six people than it had to open the container.

Zeyu insisted everyone find their own sizes after Zhiyi’s shoes, while Qinghe checked that they weren’t taking six shirts and forgetting underwear.

Shichen found trousers with an adjustable waist and held a pair against himself before adding them to his bundle.

He was searching for a second pair when Zhiyi came beside him with a dark blue shirt folded over her arm.

"I think this one would fit you," Zhiyi said, holding it against his chest. "You keep catching that cuff on things."

Shichen looked down at the crew shirt he had borrowed. There was already a loose thread where he had snagged it beneath the workbench, and he had rolled the sleeves often enough that neither stayed where he put it.

"I was hoping you hadn’t noticed," Shichen replied, smiling as he accepted her choice. "I’ll change when we get upstairs. You can tell me whether it looks better when I’m actually wearing it."

She stayed to help him find another, comparing the labels before putting the two together.

Shichen watched her smooth the blue fabric with her palm and resisted the temptation to choose every shirt she touched. They had enough to carry without him getting foolish over clothes.

By the time they closed the container, the wind had begun drying the exposed deck. Hanchuan checked the doors with Jingwei while Shichen secured their bundles for the walk back.

Zhiyi tried to add a package of sheets to the clothes she already held, but Shichen took it before she could lose the smaller things tucked beneath her arm.

"You can help me put them on the beds," Shichen said, settling the sheets on top of his load. "I’m going to want clean hands before I touch them again."

She looked at the marks his fingers had left on the outer wrapping, then shifted close enough to pull his sleeve away from the bundle.

"I’ll open the doors too," Zhiyi offered, looking up at the stack. "You won’t be able to see the handles."

They made two trips, keeping together each time.

On the second, Shichen’s shoulders ached before they reached the stairs, and he had to stop on the landing to adjust his grip.

He could hear Zeyu above him complaining that whoever designed the accommodation should have put every useful room on the same floor.

Inside, the corridor soon smelled of new fabric and the soap Qinghe had found in the linen cupboard.

They left the unopened packages in an empty cabin while Hanchuan decided which rooms they would use.

Shichen had expected him to keep the larger room at the end for himself and Zhiyi.

Instead, Hanchuan examined the cabins nearest the stairs and chose the one they had slept in the night before.

"We’ll stay along this side for now," Hanchuan said, indicating the neighboring doors. "There’s room for everyone, and we won’t have to cross half the ship to find each other."

Shichen understood before Hanchuan glanced at Zhiyi.

There had been times at Xiling when she went looking for someone and forgot why she had left the room by the time she reached them. Here, every corridor still looked much like the last.

Zhiyi stood beside Hanchuan, holding a pillow against her chest.

"Can we leave the doors open during the day?" Zhiyi asked, looking toward the rooms. "It’s easier if I can see who’s inside."

Hanchuan took the pillow so he could draw her close and kiss her forehead.

"We can do that, sweetheart," Hanchuan replied. "And we’ll put something on the doors so you don’t have to keep checking the numbers."

Shichen looked toward the notebook tucked under his bundle. He could manage something better than their names written on scraps, though he would need more than the short pencil he had been using downstairs.

He started with the beds.

Zhiyi helped him unfold the sheets while Qinghe sorted towels, and soon the borrowed blankets were stacked outside the cabins, ready to be washed.

When Shichen finally pulled on the blue shirt, she looked up from fitting a pillow into its case.

"That’s much better," Zhiyi said, smiling as he held his arms out for her inspection. "You won’t have to keep pushing your sleeves up."

Shichen caught her hand when she reached to straighten the shoulder seam.

"I like it," Shichen told her, letting his fingers rest around hers. "You can choose the next one too, if you want."

Her cheeks warmed a little, and she looked down at the seam before smoothing it once more. He let her hand go when Hanchuan called from the corridor, but she stayed beside him as they went to see what he needed.

Jingwei stood near the stairs with the cargo plan unfolded against the wall. He had marked a route through a section they hadn’t yet searched.

"The plan shows another way into the forward hold," Jingwei said, moving his finger along it. "We can check the passage before dinner. If it’s open, we won’t need to move the containers above it."

Shichen reached for the flashlight, still enjoying the clean shirt against his skin. Hanchuan waited until everyone was ready before leading them downstairs.

At the next landing, Jingwei opened the door and held it while Shichen directed the beam inside.

The passage ended at a grated platform overlooking a cavernous space. He stepped forward carefully, bringing the light down toward the floor below.

The first thing it caught was a windshield. Beyond it stood another vehicle, then several more, their pale roofs disappearing into the dark.

Shichen moved the beam across the nearest row while Zeyu came to stand beside him. There were vans, small trucks, and farther back, something with a lifting arm folded over its cab.

"Bring the plan here," Zeyu said, reaching for the paper without taking his eyes off the vehicles. "I want to see how we get down there."