I can upgrade the shelter
Chapter 119 - 117 Black Snow (3/10)

Chapter 119: Chapter 117 Black Snow (3/10)

"Ah Xin, are you going to have to come out and clear the snow every day from now on? If the snow gets so heavy one day that it directly buries your door, wouldn’t you be stuck down there and unable to get out?" Qin Lan joked with Chen Xin while shoveling snow.

Though it was just a joke, her concern was not unfounded. A snowstorm had already left the snow on the ground waist-deep, and with the temperatures continuing to drop, it wasn’t going to melt. A few more snowfalls like this, and the door to Chen Xin’s house would likely be completely buried under the snow.

But for Chen Xin, especially the unusually dejected Chen Xin today, this wasn’t something worth worrying about.

"If it gets buried, so be it. I have food and drink in my shelter, so it doesn’t make much difference whether I go out or not." Although Chen Xin continued to shovel snow, his attitude was one of indifference.

Hearing Chen Xin’s response, Qin Lan couldn’t help frowning. As his ex-girlfriend, she noticed that something wasn’t quite right with him.

But just as she was about to say something to Chen Xin, a young special police officer, who was helping shovel snow alongside them, suddenly asked, "Sister Lan, Brother Chen, why is this snow all black? At first, I thought it was just dirty on the surface, but how come the snow underneath is also so dirty?"

Confused, the young officer looked at the snow they had dug up and asked Qin Lan and Chen Xin.

"Look up at the sky," Chen Xin, too lazy to explain, simply pointed upwards.

The young officer looked up, only to see nothing but darkness.

Seeing the officer’s puzzled look, Qin Lan couldn’t bear it and explained to him, "What Ah Xin means is that the dust in the sky is so thick that it blocks out even the sunlight, so when it snows, it’s carrying a lot of dust with it, making the snow naturally dirtier."

"I see! Thank you, Sister Lan, I understand now." The young officer thanked her and continued shoveling snow with effort.

After not much longer, Chen Xin stopped: "That’s enough, we’ve shoveled enough to open the door now."

Hearing Chen Xin, the other two stopped their work and looked at the doorway, where they had only cleared about a meter of snow. Qin Lan asked worryingly, "Is this really enough? Won’t your car get stuck, Ah Xin?"

"We’re not going anywhere today, just need to open the door." Chen Xin shook his head unconcernedly and turned to open the shelter door: "Bring the stuff in."

Watching Chen Xin, Qin Lan felt increasingly that there was something wrong with his state of mind today.

Still, she gestured to the young officer to help her move the six air-conditioning outdoor units they had brought to the car.

The three of them carried these eight air-conditioning outdoor units into Chen Xin’s shelter. Qin Lan looked at the heap of units and asked Chen Xin, "Do you want these taken down?"

Qin Lan had been to Chen Xin’s place quite often, so she knew that the space in his shelter wasn’t very large, and eight outdoor units would take up quite a bit of room if moved downstairs.

However, Chen Xin shook his head: "Take them down, I’ll still have to carry them down when I need them if they’re left up here."

"Alright, it’s no bother with the trolley." Qin Lan nodded slightly and said nothing more, then she and the young officer placed the units on the trolley and followed Chen Xin down into the shelter.

As they passed through the passage and entered the shelter, Qin Lan noticeably felt a change.

"Ah Xin, what..." Qin Lan took off her protective mask and gloves, reached out to feel the temperature inside, and looked at him in surprise: "Did you turn on a heater?"

"No, I just finished installing the ground-source heat pump for myself." Chen Xin pointed to the heat pump he had installed.

Surprised, Qin Lan followed his gesture to look at the ground-source heat pump, and she couldn’t help but ask with interest, "Can I have a look?"

"Feel free, just don’t touch it." Chen Xin shrugged, then directed the young officer to help him move the eight units into the storage room.

Qin Lan walked over to the heat pump, watching the unit in operation and listening to the hum of the compressor, then reached out to touch the pipes above.

"Ah!" Qin Lan quickly withdrew her fingers, surprised as she looked at the reddened skin: "Is it really that hot?"

"You touched the cooling pipe, which conducts heat to the adjacent greenhouse, so it’s hot." Chen Xin said from behind her. He walked over and took her hand to look: "It’s okay, not serious, probably doesn’t need burn ointment."

Hearing that, Qin Lan quickly pulled her hand back: "I’m not that delicate, it’s not like it was boiling water."

Seeing her reaction, Chen Xin raised his eyebrows helplessly.

This was, in fact, part of why they broke up in the first place. Chen Xin always treated Qin Lan like a fragile woman, worrying about her constantly; but Qin Lan felt she wasn’t weak at all, and that it was Chen Xin who lacked physical exercise and needed protection.

These differing perceptions led to conflicts in their daily lives and caused numerous arguments between them.

Chen Xin thought Qin Lan was too strong-willed, while Qin Lan considered Chen Xin overly macho.

Though they loved each other, they couldn’t accept each other’s contrasting perceptions.

"Take a seat before you leave, would you like a Coke?" Chen Xin asked Qin Lan, perhaps feeling lonely after being without company for too long.

Qin Lan glanced at the young officer, seeing no objection, the two of them followed Chen Xin to his living area.

"Ah Xin, is that..." Qin Lan saw the Coke placed on the coffee table in front of the sofa and paused video game footage, then her expression softened into concern as she looked at him: "Feeling down lately?"

"Not really, maybe I just need some sugar." Chen Xin denied, picking up the unfinished can of Coke on the coffee table, took a sip, and said: "I found it in an abandoned shop, there’s not much, just enough for you two to share a can, get a cup and pour it."

Upon hearing this, the young officer quickly shook his head: "I’ll pass, Sister Lan can have it, I’m not a fan of Coke!"

Seeing the officer’s sensible response, Chen Xin said nothing more, just nodded and tossed an unopened can of Coke to Qin Lan.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om