21: Chapter 21 Taking a bath in front of everyone?

Xia Jin and Qi Yun were on their way back, and the torrential rain showed no signs of stopping.

The rain pelted their faces, stinging painfully.

"What miserable weather," Qi Yun muttered to himself, wiping the water from his face.

"If only we could get lucky on the way back and stumble upon one or two of those boxes the rabbit mentioned."

"At least we'd be bringing something back, so this trip wouldn't be a total waste."

Tonight, he still had to conduct that experiment with Bai Yu.

Bai Yu's delicate, always expressionless face surfaced in his mind's eye.

"When that girl does experiments, she won't still have that icy, indifferent look on her face, will she?"

Thinking of this, Qi Yun's ears grew a little hot.

"Qi Yun."

Xia Jin's voice suddenly rang out, pulling Qi Yun back from his messy train of thought.

"Huh?"

Qi Yun snapped back to reality and, upon turning his head, was met with Xia Jin's inquisitive gaze.

Xia Jin narrowed her eyes slightly: "What were you thinking about just now?"

I can't exactly tell her I was wondering if I'd see a different expression on Bai Yu's face during the experiment, can I?!

Qi Yun's brain raced, but his face instantly switched to a serious, solemn expression.

"After tomorrow, the zombies will fully awaken, and the crisis will officially begin."

"I was thinking about how to set up our defensive lines, how to distribute manpower, and how to minimize casualties for our Tribe."

Qi Yun spoke with extreme seriousness, even punctuating his words with a sigh.

Xia Jin watched him quietly.

Rainwater flowed down her soaked black hair, sliding over her fair cheeks and neck.

She didn't speak, but a more complex emotion surfaced in her red eyes.

He was actually thinking about the safety of the entire Tribe at a time like this, on the way back?

An indescribable sense of being moved, mixed with the appreciation and trust she already felt, rose in her heart.

Xia Jin looked away, gazing at the blurred curtain of rain ahead, her voice a shade softer than before.

"Let's get back safely first. We can discuss the defensive lines together as a group."

"Yeah." Qi Yun nodded, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

He'd managed to bluff his way through.

Just as they rounded a hillside that had been washed away by floodwaters and were not far from the wooden house.

"Qi Yun, look over there."

Xia Jin suddenly stopped and lowered her voice.

Qi Yun followed her gaze and saw a gray-blue metal box half-buried in the mud next to a slightly raised pile of rocks to their front left.

The box wasn't large, but the latch was intact, and that damned rabbit logo on it was faintly visible through the rain.

"There really is a box?"

Qi Yun's eyes lit up, and his fatigue instantly dissipated for the most part.

"Let's go take a look, but be careful."

Xia Jin gripped her knife and kept watch of their surroundings, while Qi Yun carefully approached.

He tugged the box out with force and pried the latch open with his short blade.

With a soft "click," the lid popped open.

There was no golden glow, no dazzling light effects.

Inside the box, two items were neatly stacked, both wrapped tightly in waterproof tarpaulin.

Qi Yun opened the first large package first. As he unfolded the tarpaulin,

"This is... a transparent bed curtain?"

Qi Yun picked up a piece and held it up to the light; the fabric had a translucent texture.

You could see the general outlines of things from the inside, but the details were blurred, ensuring privacy without completely blocking out light or vision.

Xia Jin also leaned in to take a look, her eyebrows slightly arched.

"In a place like this, they give us a bed curtain?"

"Let's check the other one first." Qi Yun unwrapped the second package.

This package was lighter. After the layers of tarpaulin were opened, it wasn't a physical object that was revealed, but a blueprint.

【Automatic Thermostatic Heating Bathtub Assembly Blueprint】

【Requires Stone x10, Wood x10】

【Features a connected sprinkler, a hidden spatial water storage tank (capacity 200L), button-controlled heating and temperature adjustment, and a drain connected to a micro-spatial rift, where wastewater will be broken down into basic particles.】

【Note: You should still take good baths even when surviving.】

Qi Yun and Xia Jin exchanged a glance, both of their faces showing a trace of astonishment.

A transparent bed curtain? A blueprint for an automatic heating bathtub?

"The rabbit really stuffed a bunch of random junk into this box."

Qi Yun took a deep breath, not knowing what to say.

Xia Jin didn't speak, just reached out to touch the roll of transparent bed curtain.

"The items themselves are at least useful, and the bed curtain can provide some privacy."

She paused.

Qi Yun shook his head with a bitter smile and put both items back into the storage grid in his panel.

"Let's take them back for now; it's better than nothing."

Qi Yun said.

Xia Jin nodded, and the two continued on their way, heading toward the dim, warm light on the cliff.

"Qi Bao! Sister Xia Jin! You're finally back!"

The moment the two stepped through the doorway.

The girls inside the room heard the noise and rushed to the door, their faces filled with worry and lingering fear.

"You scared us to death! The rain is so heavy!"

"Did you run into any danger?"

"Qi Yun, your injury just healed, how could you take such a risk!"

The cacophony of concern surrounded them.

Ke Yun squeezed to the front, looked them over carefully, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming there were no new wounds.

The stove fire inside was burning brightly.

A dry, warm air rushed toward them, feeling like a different world compared to the bone-chilling storm outside.

"How did it go?" Shu Qianxue asked impatiently, her eyes bright.

"Did you find the box?"

This question caused all the girls to quiet down.

Their gazes focused uniformly on Qi Yun, full of anticipation.

Qi Yun and Xia Jin exchanged a glance. Xia Jin raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, her look clearly saying: You explain it yourself.

Qi Yun cleared his throat, and amidst the expectant gazes, he summoned the system panel with his mind and opened the storage space.

A large pile of translucent white fabric suddenly appeared in his hands.

"This is a bed curtain? And it's transparent."

Ke Yun was the first to react; she stepped forward, took the fabric, and unfolded it to take a look.

The room instantly went quiet.

The girls looked at the pile of fabric, thinking of that warm, large bed, and the experiment Qi Yun and Bai Yu were going to conduct.

Their expressions began to become colorful; some blushed, while others wore mischievous grins.

Qi Yun felt his scalp tingle under the sudden silence and the various "I see," "I understand" looks.

"And this."

He quickly pulled the second item out of the storage space: 【Automatic Thermostatic Heating Bathtub · Assembly Blueprint】.

"What's this?"

After the girls took the blueprint and realized it was a bathtub that could heat up, they were instantly overjoyed.

"A bathtub?!"

"A bathtub that can heat its own water?!"

"Ten minutes? That fast?!"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, a huge wave of joy erupted, instantly drowning out the bit of subtle awkwardness from just before!

"Wow! We can take hot baths! We can really take hot baths!"

Shu Qianxue jumped up in excitement.

"Oh my god! Am I dreaming? Hot water! It's hot water!"

"We never have to shiver in the cold wind by the sea or wipe ourselves down with freezing seawater ever again!"

After days of running around, fear, sweat, and grime, being able to take a proper, satisfying hot bath—

—was simply a heavenly luxury they wouldn't have dared to dream of!

After the excitement, Ye Xi suddenly raised a question, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"If we bathe in the room, Qi Bao will be able to see."

Hearing this, some of the girls fell into deep thought.

"I've already been seen anyway, I don't care!"

Chen Xiaolin, with her straightforward personality, said it dismissively.

Some of the girls agreed with this; they had already been seen, so it didn't matter.

"Me too," Shu Qianxue chimed in.

Everyone looked gigglingly at Shu Qianxue, who was chiming in from the side, and Shu Qianxue blushed.

"If you mind, you can just bathe when Qi Bao isn't around, that's no problem."

Teacher Ke suggested.

"Right, right, right, Teacher Ke makes sense!"

The blush on Ye Xi's face faded a little.

The other girls who had been a bit shy also voiced their agreement.

"So Qi Bao, when do you plan to use the bathtub?"

"You definitely have to bathe too, right? You're covered in mud."

Lin Le blinked her big eyes and suddenly asked.

This question made the atmosphere subtle for a moment. Oh right, the Tribe leader needs to bathe too.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaolin's eyes lit up.

"Gulp."

It was the sound of someone swallowing.

Everyone, including Qi Yun, turned their heads sharply, their gazes pinning themselves collectively on the source of the sound: Chen Xiaolin.

This fit, straightforward former high-jumper was currently standing there with her mouth slightly open, staring straight at Qi Yun.

"Uh."

Chen Xiaolin's face turned red in a "whoosh," but it wasn't the red of shyness; it was more the awkwardness of being caught red-handed.

"That was just a reflex! It's Qi Bao bathing, after all."

Chen Xiaolin defended herself.

Girls' desires are actually no less than boys', the only difference is that they are usually wrapped more tightly by social conditioning and a shell of reserve, not easily revealed.

Otherwise, who do the high-priced male models in high-end clubs exist for?

Qi Yun was top-tier in terms of both looks and physique.

"Ahem, I don't think this is a problem."

"Those who don't want to watch—I mean, those who mind—just don't have to look."

"I don't have a problem with it."

The girls had varied expressions as they voiced their opinions, and not a single one objected.

Qi Yun felt like a lamb being eyed by a pack of wolves.

"Right, Qi Bao, you just came back from the rain, you should take a bath first."

Chen Xiaolin said, looking straight at Qi Yun with a tone of "I'm completely looking out for you."

But all Qi Yun saw in those eyes was desire.

"Yeah, yeah, Xiao Lin makes sense."

"Tribe leader, I also think you should bathe."

"Qi Bao, feel free to bathe, the sisters won't mind."

The cacophony of thoughtful suggestions completely drowned Qi Yun out.

He wanted to cast a look of help toward Ke Yun, but Ke Yun deliberately pretended not to see it.

Was he really going to have to bathe?