7: Chapter 7 Sleeping in the same bed with my sisters

Time passed in agonizing torment.

The next evening, at 6:00 PM.

Lin Yuan glanced at his phone.

Outdoor temperature: minus 30 degrees.

He sucked in a cold breath.

Last night it was minus 20 degrees.

Today it had dropped another 10 degrees.

What was even more terrifying was that it was starting to freeze indoors as well.

Lin Yuan looked toward the wall.

A thin layer of frost was beginning to appear on the surface of the wall.

The window glass was covered in frost patterns.

The floor had become slick and wet, feeling bone-chillingly cold to step on.

The entire room seemed to have turned into an ice cellar.

Lin Yuan exhaled, and a distinct white mist could be seen.

It was too cold.

Even he, someone who hadn't been afflicted by snow poison, was starting to feel the chill.

As for those two sisters...

Lin Yuan looked toward the corner of the room.

Then, his heart sank.

Ye Qingyue's condition had reached its limit.

Her whole body was curled into a ball; her lips were turning purple and black, and her face was as deathly pale as a corpse.

Her breathing was extremely faint, almost inaudible.

Her body twitched incessantly, looking as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

Ye Qingxue held her younger sister, tears flowing non-stop.

"Qingyue... Qingyue... don't sleep... don't sleep..."

She desperately shook her sister.

But Ye Qingyue no longer responded.

Her consciousness was blurred, and her eyes were half-open, half-closed.

"Sis... I... I'm so cold..."

Ye Qingyue's voice was so weak it was nearly impossible to hear.

"Am... am I... going to die..."

"No! No!"

Ye Qingxue held her sister tight, her voice trembling.

"Dad will be here soon, he's coming soon..."

But she didn't even believe those words herself.

From morning until now, she had made over a dozen calls home.

Some wouldn't go through.

Some connected, but only to her father's exhausted voice: "Wait a little longer, just wait a little longer..."

No one came.

There was no rescue.

They were trapped in this small 25-square-meter studio.

Waiting for death.

Ye Qingxue looked at the sister in her arms, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

Growing up, she had always been the smartest and calmest one in the family.

No matter what predicament she encountered, she could always find a solution.

But now...

She really had no way out.

The supplies were gone.

The rescue hadn't come.

Her sister was about to die.

And she herself was about to reach her breaking point.

Ye Qingxue could feel her own body temperature continuing to drop.

Her hands and feet were completely numb, her body as stiff as a piece of wood.

If this continued, she would die too.

She looked at Lin Yuan on the bed.

Lin Yuan was covered by a quilt, leaning against the headboard and playing on his phone.

The electric blanket was on, and he looked quite comfortable.

Meanwhile, they were freezing to death in the corner.

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth.

She knew this man had been waiting.

Waiting for them to fall into complete despair.

Waiting for them to have no choice but to beg him.

But now, she had no choice.

Her sister was truly going to die.

She had to swallow her pride.

"Lin Yuan."

Ye Qingxue spoke, her voice raspy.

Lin Yuan looked up: "Hmm?"

"I beg you..."

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face.

"I beg you... let my sister on the bed... she's about to die..."

This was the first time she had ever bowed her head to someone.

The first time she had set aside all her pride.

Lin Yuan looked at her and didn't answer immediately.

He put down his phone, walked to the corner, and crouched down.

He looked at Ye Qingyue.

She really was fading fast.

Blackened lips, faint breathing, extremely low body temperature.

If this continued, she would be dead in an hour at most.

"Fine."

Lin Yuan nodded.

Ye Qingxue's eyes lit up.

But in the next second.

"But you have to come up too."

Lin Yuan said calmly.

"What?" Ye Qingxue was stunned.

"If your sister is on the bed alone, she won't be able to get warm."

Lin Yuan pointed at the single bed.

"Look, it's only this big; it's a tight squeeze even for one person. If she's up there without body heat to share, she'll still freeze to death."

"So, you have to come up too."

"The three of us huddling together to share warmth is the only way she might survive."

Ye Qingxue's expression changed.

She instantly understood Lin Yuan's meaning.

Three people squeezed onto one single bed?

Wouldn't that mean she and her sister would be pressed right up against this man?

"No!"

Ye Qingxue refused immediately.

"Then don't come up."

Lin Yuan shrugged and turned back to the bed.

"Anyway, like I said, it's useless if she goes up alone."

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth, her vision blurred by tears.

"I... I can give you money... lots of money..."

"At a time like this, what use is money?"

Lin Yuan said calmly.

"Come up or don't, it's up to you. Regardless, I'm tired and going to sleep."

After saying that, he lay down and closed his eyes.

But his hand remained under the pillow, gripping that fruit knife.

Ye Qingxue looked at him, then at her dying sister in her arms.

"Qingyue... Qingyue... wake up..."

Ye Qingyue's eyes had already closed.

Her breathing was getting weaker and weaker.

"No... please no..."

Ye Qingxue broke down.

She held her sister, crying heart-wrenchingly.

"Qingyue... don't die... don't die..."

But her sister didn't react.

Her body temperature was still dropping.

Life was slipping away, bit by bit.

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth and made a decision.

"Fine... I promise you..."

Her voice was trembling.

"Qingyue and I will come up... but you... you aren't allowed to touch us..."

Lin Yuan opened his eyes: "Fine."

"I promise, just sleeping, nothing else."

Ye Qingxue took a deep breath, picked up her sister, and stood up with great difficulty.

Her limbs were numb and her body was stiff; every step felt like dragging a thousand-pound weight.

But she gritted her teeth and persisted, walking to the bedside step by step.

Lin Yuan moved further inward.

"Sister sleeps on the innermost side, you sleep in the middle, I sleep on the outside."

He directed them.

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth and placed her sister on the innermost side of the bed.

Then she lay down in the middle herself.

With her back to Lin Yuan.

Her body was tense, as rigid as a wooden board.

Three people squeezed onto this single bed.

The space was extremely cramped.

Lin Yuan could feel Ye Qingxue's back pressed against his chest.

He could smell the faint fragrance from her hair.

He could feel her body temperature, which was much lower than a normal person's.

She was as cold as a block of ice.

Ye Qingxue pulled her sister into her arms, holding her tightly.

The quilt covered the three of them.

The warmth from the electric blanket slowly transferred over.

Ye Qingyue's breathing seemed to stabilize slightly.

But Ye Qingxue kept her eyes open the entire night.

She could feel the breath of the man behind her.

She could feel his body heat.

Every breath puffed against the back of her neck.

It made her whole body tighten.

She didn't dare relax.

She didn't dare sleep.

She was afraid of what this man might do to her.

Even though Lin Yuan said he wouldn't, she didn't believe him.

She knew men all too well.

At school, the eyes of the men who pursued her were filled with desire.

Now she and her sister were lying on this strange man's bed.

How could he possibly not be tempted?

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth, remaining vigilant all night.

If Lin Yuan made any suspicious move, she would resist immediately.

And Lin Yuan didn't fall asleep either.

He likewise remained vigilant.

His hand was always under the pillow, gripping that knife.

Even though Ye Qingxue was now weak to the extreme.

Lin Yuan didn't dare be careless.

In desperate situations, people often burst forth with extraordinary strength.

In case she suddenly attacked...

Lin Yuan wouldn't gamble with his own life.

He could feel Ye Qingxue's rigid body.

He could feel her forcing herself to stay awake.

Lin Yuan was very clear in his heart.

Now was not yet the time.

Although she had agreed to get on the bed, her mental defenses were still there.

If he made a move now, she would definitely resist.

When that time came, it would be a fight to the death.

Lin Yuan didn't want to take that risk.

Wait a bit longer.

Wait another day or two.

Wait until they were in total despair.

Wait until they realized that only he could save them.

Only then would it be time to pull in the net.

The night grew deeper.

The room was silent.

There was only the sound of three people breathing.

Outside the window, the snow was still falling.

The temperature was still dropping.

The roars of Mutated Wild Dog could be heard from time to time.

The second night of the Apocalypse.

It was even longer than the first.

Ye Qingxue held her sister, sleepless all night.

Tears flowed silently.

She had never been this desperate before.

She had never been this powerless before.

She didn't know what tomorrow would bring.

She didn't know if they could still survive.

And behind her, Lin Yuan was also awake the whole night.

His hand gripped the hilt of the knife.

Waiting for the right moment.

This was the Apocalypse.

No mercy.

No warmth.

Only cold calculation.

And the desire for survival.

The sky slowly began to brighten.