Embarrassing

After dinner, Chen Xu did the dishes, found Luo Xiyun roaming around the base camp, and said, "Let's talk."

"Sure." Luo Xiyun nodded and followed him back to his usual place.

After sitting down, Chen Xu asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

Confusion flashed through Luo Xiyun's eyes. With a rather low-pitched voice, she said, "I don't know…"

If all humans across the globe had vanished, going anywhere wouldn't make a big difference.

"Since that's the case, I suggest you settle down here for the time being," said Chen Xu.

Luo Yiyun lifted her head and looked at him.

He continued, "Firstly, with both of us together, we can take care of each other if either one of us is sick. Secondly, in the past month, I have worked on a lot of preparations. The living conditions here will certainly be better than that of other places. So, what do you think?"

"Let me consider it." Luo Xiyun didn't agree on the spot, "I'll give you an answer at night."

"Fine."

Chen Xu certainly wished for her to stay so that the following months would be much easier for him.

However, even if she was unwilling to stay, it wouldn't be very difficult to deal with that answer.

This was, after all, only a dream world. In five months, he'd be able to return to reality. It wasn't like he couldn't live without her. To lower himself and beg her to stay was impossible for him.

......

In the afternoon, Chen Xu made a room in a nearby store ready for Luo Xiyun to live in.

The room had been empty for a month and had accumulated a lot of dust. It took him quite some time to clean it.

Luo Xiyun helped him as well.

After cleaning, he moved another bed in, some tables, chairs, and so on.

Unknowingly, an entire afternoon went by.

For dinner, Chen Xu made two steaks. With no vegetables to match, he got a little bit of leftover green bean sprouts and placed them at the side of the plate. He had grown the bean sprouts himself using green beans, which he regarded and ate as vegetables.

After Luo Xiyun sat down, Chen Xu took out a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet and said, "Supposedly, this is the legendary 1982 Lafite. I took it from a rather classy western restaurant. I wonder if it is the real thing."

As he spoke, he opened the red wine and poured it in two goblets.

"Is this from Cloud Restaurant on the top floor of the XX Edifice?" Luo Xiyun asked, looking at the wine bottle.

Chen Xu was surprised, "How did you know that?"

"I used to go there a lot." Luo Xiyun set the bottle down and said, "There's the logo of the restaurant on it."

After working together the whole afternoon, the sense of awkwardness between them had lessened, and they now had more things to talk about.

Chen Xu raised his glass and said, "I heard that this kind of red wine needs to be aerated with a specific decanter for it to have a better texture, but I don't have the right kind here. Let's make do with what we have."

"That'll do just fine." Luo Xiyun raised her glass to clink his and took a sip.

After putting down the glass, she said, "I've decided to stay. But there are some things that I think would be better off for me to clarify in advance."

Hearing that she was willing to stay, Chen Xu felt quite happy. There was still another five months until the end of the dream. Having a companion would still be better than being alone.

Not to mention that she was a great belle. Being able to delight in her beauty every day would be a benefit already. He said, "Whatever it is."

"I'll be straight with you then."

Luo Xiyun crossed both of her index fingers and looked at him, "You're not my type, so I hope that we could keep a little distance between each other in the future…"

The smile on Chen Xu's face stiffened. He couldn't control the expression on his face as it hardened.

He never expected that this was what she would say.

He knew that he was not handsome, not tall, and not from a rich family. Ever since he was younger, he hadn't been that popular among girls either. However, he never thought that he was that undesirable.

Now, within this dream world, there was only him and Luo Xiyun. Under these circumstances, it seemed natural for the two to make a pair. Any man who was placed in such a scenario would've thought this way.

If it were another woman, she'd probably think the same as well.

However, Luo Xiyun told him right off the bat that she wasn't interested and wanted him to give up.

Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to look down on me?

Chen Xu's face was burning. His self-esteem was badly hurt.

After Luo Xiyun finished speaking, she did not say anymore.

An inexplicable silence.

There was only the faint noise of the diesel generator coming from outside the door.

Chen Xu swirled the red wine glass in his right hand and stared at the slightly charred steak on the table. After quite a while, he said slowly, "That'll be fine."

His voice was a little raspy.

However, after speaking out, his heart calmed gradually.

This wasn't the first time that he had been rejected by a woman. Moreover, this was only a dream world. The woman before his eyes wasn't even real, only a simulation.

He cleared his throat and continued, "Making some things clear in advance will be better for everyone. Regarding your request, I feel that it's reasonable and entirely acceptable."

Luo Xiyun's strained expression immediately relaxed.

Chen Xu loosened his hand which had been clenching his glass. He took the napkin next to him and wiped off the sweat on his palm. "I also have some things to discuss with you."

Luo Xiyun leaned back slightly and asked with her brows furrowed, "What is it?"

"Since you are willing to stay, we'll be living together in the future. I would like to talk about job distribution."

Without looking at her, Chen Xu continued, "Now, there's probably only the two of us left in this city. There's no electricity, no tap water, no delivery services, and so on. We will have to do everything with our own hands."

"Previously, I did everything by myself. Since you are here now, I think it is reasonable for you to share some of the load."

Luo Xiyun nodded and said, "It is certainly reasonable."

"If we are going to make things fair, we should take turns in doing everything. Like, today I'll get water while you do the cooking, and vice versa the next day with me doing the cooking while you get water. However… Considering the difference in gender, I think we should opt for another way of distributing jobs. I'll do things like pumping water, restocking diesel oil, and other heavy physical labors, while you, on the other hand, do things like cooking, doing the dishes, and laundry work. Do you think this allocation is reasonable?"

Luo Xiyun nodded again, "Quite."

"As for the specifics, we'll talk about those tomorrow." Upon finishing, Chen Xu picked up a knife and fork and sliced his steak that had been cold for some time now.

Luo Xiyun said nothing and silently picked up her fork.