Chapter 6 Happiness Comes from Comparison

Gao Yuan lived in a stone house that had just two rooms; the outer room was used for miscellaneous tasks, while the inner room had a kang, which was the bedroom.

There were dry straws spread on the kang in the inner room, and on top of the dry straws lay a rolled-up sleeping bag and a backpack.

Gao Yuan opened the backpack and pulled out a small plastic packet.

"This is for you."

Luo Xingyu took the plastic packet and then exclaimed with surprise, "A toothbrush, where did you get this!"

"Silly question, of course, it's part of my stored supplies. Go brush your teeth, but use the toothpaste sparingly, okay? This tube of toothpaste has to last for at least five days."

Clutching the toothbrush packet like a priceless treasure, Luo Xingyu was almost about to jump for joy when Gao Yuan produced a small bar of soap and placed it in her hands as well.

"It's all yours."

Both the toothbrush and the soap were disposable hygiene products from a hotel, but at this moment, they definitely counted as treasures.

Luo Xingyu was so delighted she almost started bouncing, but then she suddenly realized something and loudly asked, "Do you have shampoo? You must have some, right?"

There was shampoo, of course, but he couldn't give it to her.

Gao Yuan said with a stern face, "I know girls like to be clean, but right now the temperature is at most one or two degrees, and we can't afford to boil a lot of water for you to wash your hair, so do you want to freeze to death?"

With a pleading look, Luo Xingyu begged, "Please, I'm not afraid of the cold."

"Hm?"

Gao Yuan just hummed, and Luo Xingyu immediately didn't dare to say more, but after a while, she asked again with a pleading look, "Really, is it impossible?"

"Nope! Let's go, start by brushing your teeth and washing your face. You're stinking to high heaven."

Luo Xingyu really did stink.

No matter what, being able to brush her teeth was already a blissful thing, and so Luo Xingyu happily followed Gao Yuan to the stream that flowed through the village.

If it were summer or autumn, the stream would have a lot of water, but now there was only a small trickle, so little that if you scooped the water with your hands, the gravel could scratch you.

But Gao Yuan had built a small pool, and there was plenty of water in that pool. Moreover, there was a step just below it, so there was no need to squat down to wash your face; you could do it standing directly underneath the pool.

Seeing the place set up for washing up, Luo Xingyu couldn't help but sigh, "You've really done a great job fixing this place up."

Gao Yuan filled a rice container with water, threw a handful of sand into it, then handed it to Luo Xingyu, saying, "First, clean this rice container, then use it to brush your teeth. After you've brushed your teeth, fill both the water bottle and the rice container with water, and when you've boiled it, you can drink."

"My rice container?"

Gao Yuan glanced at Luo Xingyu and said, "I'm giving it to you. From now on, this pot and kettle set is yours. Take good care of it—if you dent or break it, you'll have nothing to use."

How precious could a cooking utensil and kettle set be? Just think about why nomadic tribes in ancient times treasured iron pots to understand.

Luo Xingyu's eyes were full of grateful little stars as she loudly said, "Brother, thank you, you really are a good person."

"Calling me names, huh? Do you have to rush to give me a 'good guy' card like that? Or do you want to borrow the mirror again?"

Luo Xingyu suddenly looked somewhat irritated. She gave Gao Yuan a glare, cleaned the rice container, and then started vigorously washing her face.

She kept washing and washing. While washing her face, she thoroughly cleaned her neck, and when she washed her hands, she went up to the elbows. She used half of the small bar of soap, to Gao Yuan's dismay, before finally raising her head again.

With confidence, Luo Xingyu said, "Lend me the mirror."

Gao Yuan was actually stunned.

It had to be admitted that camouflage or protective coloring was useful. Luo Xingyu, who was previously covered in soot with a snotty nose, had turned quite beautiful after washing up.

Beautiful wasn't enough to describe Luo Xingyu; it should be said that she was very beautiful, extremely beautiful.

Seeing Gao Yuan somewhat dazed, Luo Xingyu finally smiled triumphantly and said, "Give me the mirror."

"Uh, oh, the mirror, here, uh, it's yours."

"It's mine?"

"Yep, it's of no use to me as an SOS signal anyway; you might as well use it as a regular mirror. I mean as just a plain mirror."

Luo Xingyu took the small mirror, examined herself from all angles, then threw Gao Yuan a triumphant look, saying, "Hmph, now you see how beautiful I am. Even without makeup, I'm still a rare beauty!"

"It's just that you're so skinny... like a beanpole with no bust..."

Luo Xingyu had already let down her guard around Gao Yuan. After all, although they had only met less than half a day ago, the apocalyptic setting was enough for her to develop a basic trust in Gao Yuan. But some things still shouldn't be said.

And Gao Yuan had just said something he shouldn't have. He immediately regretted it after saying it.

"Is that something a brother should say?"

Luo Xingyu looked somewhat annoyed, but she had high emotional intelligence. A simple sentence still managed to ease the current awkwardness slightly.

When it's just a man and a woman alone together, especially when it is uncertain how long they will have to live together in the future, some things should be avoided, and some words should not be said.

Gao Yuan turned his head away and said, "Quickly brush your teeth and then let's go. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Luo Xingyu brushed her teeth three times, using half of the small tube of toothpaste.

Then, Luo Xingyu once again turned a pitiful gaze toward Gao Yuan.

"Brother, please, just let me wash my hair with some shampoo, I'm not afraid of the cold water, I'm really uncomfortable right now, please brother."

For some reason, after Luo Xingyu cleaned her face, her whining became more effective.

"No, it's too cold."

"Brother, please, just let me wash it, brother."

"Call me Brother Yuan!"

"Brother Yuan, please, okay?"

Finally, Gao Yuan sighed and said grumpily, "Alright, grab the lunchbox and the kettle, boil all the water, and use hot water for washing. You're really helpless!"

What followed was boiling two kettlefuls of water using the lunchbox, filling them into the kettle, and then refilling the lunchbox with water to boil before taking it to the water pit.

Luo Xingyu squatted underneath the pit, while Gao Yuan was in charge of pouring the hot water from the kettle into the lunchbox, which, after being mixed with the cold water, was poured over Luo Xingyu's head.

In her life, Luo Xingyu had never washed her hair under such crude conditions, but to be able to wash it despite the circumstances made her feel incredibly fortunate.

Like that, Luo Xingyu washed her hair for the first time in three months, using up a small bottle of shampoo.

Definitely not going to wash her hair undressed, so Luo Xingyu's clothes inevitably got wet around the neckline. Seeing her with damp hair, wearing thin clothes that were wet on one side, shivering in the cold wind, Gao Yuan couldn't help saying, "I should have never agreed to let you wash your hair; now even my spare clothes won't be spared. Come on, take these clothes."

The clothes were all outdoor gear: a black softshell jacket, a pair of softshell pants, and a fleece jacket.

After taking his clothes out from his bag and placing them into Luo Xingyu's hands, Gao Yuan thought for a moment and pulled out a pair of brand-new socks too.

"These clothes are brand new, I've never worn them, and the socks are merino wool, what's your shoe size?"

"37."

"Mine are size 43. They'll definitely be large on you but make do with them. Right, you change your clothes here, swap out everything you're wearing, I'll wait for you outside after you take them out to wash."

When Gao Yuan stepped outside, he closed the door made of twigs and placed a bar next to it, but Luo Xingyu did not secure the door, which quite pleased Gao Yuan.

Still, out of prudence, Gao Yuan went a decent distance away.

After about fifteen minutes, Luo Xingyu came out.

With Gao Yuan standing 1.82 meters tall, and Luo Xingyu at under 1.7 meters, it was evident that his clothes would be too big for her.

Luo Xingyu rolled up the cuffs and trouser legs, yet the clothes hung loosely on her frame. However, they were not only much warmer, but also looked far better than the dirty uniform she had been wearing before.

"Thank you, brother."

"Go wash your old clothes, and when they're dry, wear them inside; I have soap."

These words were dazzling.

Luo Xingyu's eyes sparkled anew.

"Okay, God."

"Hmm?"

"I now believe you can conjure up anything, you seem so magical and grand to me."

"Then you're Nobita, who can do nothing."

Finally, having someone to talk to, they were both very happy.

They chatted and laughed on their way to the creek, where at the same water pit, Gao Yuan frowned after watching Luo Xingyu wash her clothes with just a few strokes. "You don't know how to wash clothes?"

The well-cleaned face of Luo Xingyu turned red, not from the cold.

Gao Yuan sighed and said, "I guess that's right, you never needed to wash your own clothes. Forget it, I'll teach you."

Luo Xingyu was not dim-witted; she just hadn't washed clothes by herself before. After seeing Gao Yuan demonstrate how to wash them once, she understood.

In fact, Gao Yuan didn't mind helping Luo Xingyu wash clothes, but it was inappropriate for him to handle a girl's intimate garments, so Luo Xingyu had to do it herself.

Leaving Luo Xingyu to wash her clothes on her own, Gao Yuan went back to take care of various chores. He moved the dissected pork outside of where they lived, found a place to bury the disposed of boar entrails, and by the time he had dealt with all this, Luo Xingyu had returned with her damp clothes.

While hanging the clothes on a wooden pole, Luo Xingyu murmured, "Brother, Brother Yuan."

"Bathing is out of the question, don't mention it."

Luo Xingyu was stunned, "How did you know what I was about to say?"

Gao Yuan turned his head away and said, "Without much intelligence, I also know what it means to be greedy for more. If it were summer, of course, I wouldn't stop you. But the issue now is that it's winter. On the warmest days, it's just two or three degrees, and at night it can drop to minus seven or eight degrees. Without a large pot to heat water, how do you plan to bathe?"

"You see, I don't guard against you anymore, even a bit less hot water would be okay..."

Gao Yuan exhaled and said, "Your body is too weak. If you were stronger, I'd have no objections to you taking a bath, but in your current state, I can assure you that you would get a cold after the bath. And if you're not foolish, you should know that getting sick now means there are no doctors around!"

Gao Yuan very much understood a girl's desire to look beautiful and be clean, but if it meant risking her life for cleanliness, he would be very angry. As a survivalist, he felt that this was not worth it.

Luo Xingyu, clever and obedient as she was, regretfully said, "Alright, I won't bathe."

"Good girl, then you have something nice coming your way, follow me."

Gao Yuan was satisfied since Luo Xingyu was a smart and obedient child, some things were worth giving to her.