Chapter 443: He Brought a Boat
The map stayed in my lap while I looked from the farmhouse to the small lake drawn beyond the trees.
Chenghai’s finger rested on the narrow road connecting them.
"You planned another part?"
He nodded.
I looked down at myself. I was still wearing his shirt, my legs were sore, and breakfast had been four pieces of toast eaten in bed while a plant tried to steal them.
The lake could wait.
Chenghai seemed to understand that without me saying it. He took the map, folded it again, and left it on the nightstand before pulling me back against his chest.
"We’ll go after lunch."
That was much better.
Lingyun leaned around Yuche to look at him. "There’s a lake?"
Yuche placed a hand against Lingyun’s ribs before he could sit up any farther.
Chenghai didn’t answer.
Lingyun turned to me instead. "Are you going swimming?"
"I don’t know."
"Do you own a bathing suit?"
"I own several."
"Have you ever worn one?"
I looked at him.
Yuche pressed Lingyun back into the pillows.
The conversation ended there.
By the time we left the bedroom, I had showered again, eaten actual food, and found a bathing suit I had bought before the apocalypse because it looked good online. I had never taken it near water.
It was black, covered everything that needed covering, and looked considerably less practical once I remembered there might still be fish in the lake.
I wore shorts and a loose tank top over it.
Chenghai waited downstairs with another bag.
The man had become dangerously attached to bags.
This one held towels, water, sunscreen, food, and enough extra clothing to survive several poor decisions. He checked the strap once before holding out his hand.
Zhenlan sat on the sectional with his book open. His eyes moved over my clothes before he looked toward Chenghai.
"Bring her back before midnight."
I stared at him. "You aren’t my father."
"No."
"Then why are you giving him a hard time?"
"Because you’ve slept twice in three days."
That was annoyingly close to the truth.
Chenghai took my hand and led me toward the garage before I could defend my sleep schedule.
The same SUV waited inside, although someone had washed most of the mud from the windows. The sides still looked terrible.
I climbed into the passenger seat without help this time.
Chenghai stood beside the open door for a second, probably deciding whether to lift me anyway. Then he leaned in, kissed me, and fastened my seat belt.
He had adjusted.
A little.
The drive back toward the field felt shorter now that I knew where we were going. The city disappeared behind us, the broken service road returned, and Chenghai drove through the mud without trying to cover my window this time.
The farmhouse came into view beyond the trees.
The track was still destroyed.
I looked at it with pride.
Chenghai drove past the field instead of turning toward the porch. A narrow path continued behind the farmhouse, almost hidden beneath tall grass. Branches dragged across the SUV while the road dipped between the trees.
The lake appeared several minutes later.
It was larger than it looked on the map. Dark water stretched between thick lines of forest, with no buildings, roads, or broken city walls visible beyond it. Lily pads covered part of the shore, and insects moved across the surface where sunlight reached through the trees.
A small wooden dock stuck out over the water.
An aluminium boat was tied beside it.
I looked at Chenghai.
He turned off the engine.
"You brought a boat."
"It was already here."
"That thing looks older than the apocalypse."
"It floats."
"That isn’t the same as being safe."
Chenghai got out and opened my door.
I looked at the boat again. The paint had peeled away from most of the sides, one of the benches had been replaced with a thick board, and the little motor on the back looked like it had been repaired with several pieces that belonged to something else.
Chenghai lifted me down from the SUV.
"I tested it yesterday," he said.
"You came here too?"
"Yes."
"When did you sleep?"
His arms stayed around my waist after my feet touched the ground. "Enough."
That was a lie, but I had no interest in sending us home because of it.
Chenghai carried the bag toward the dock. I followed carefully, watching the old boards beneath my sandals. They held, although one near the end bent enough that I stepped over it.
The boat shifted when Chenghai climbed inside.
He placed the bag beneath the middle bench, checked the fuel tank, then held both hands out toward me.
I stayed on the dock.
"What happens if it sinks?"
"I swim."
"What happens to me?"
"I carry you."
"What happens to the food?"
Chenghai looked down at the bag.
That was apparently the first question that concerned him.
"We’ll keep it dry."
Good enough.
I took his hands and stepped into the boat.
It rocked hard enough that I grabbed his shoulders, but Chenghai barely moved. He lowered me onto the middle bench, placed a life jacket beside me, then untied us from the dock.
I looked at the life jacket.
Then I looked at him.
"You aren’t wearing one."
"I don’t need it."
"You’re basically impossible to kill. That feels like cheating."
Chenghai started the motor.
It coughed, shook the entire boat, and finally settled into a loud rumble. He guided us away from the dock while I put on the life jacket without being asked.
The shore moved slowly behind us.
Once we passed the lily pads, the water became smooth and dark. The boat left a narrow wake through it, rocking gently each time Chenghai turned.
I expected him to drive fast.
He didn’t.
He kept the motor low and took us toward the centre of the lake, where the trees became a green wall around the water. Birds flew above us, and something small jumped near the boat before disappearing again.
No zombies stood along the shore.
No abandoned buildings ruined the view.
There wasn’t even a road close enough for someone stupid to wander out and ask for help.
Chenghai stopped the motor.
The sudden quiet spread across the lake.
The boat drifted beneath the sun while he moved from the back bench to the one beside me. His weight made the boat tip slightly, but his arm came around my waist before I could grab anything.
I looked over the side. "How deep is it?"
"Deep."
"That wasn’t useful."
"You won’t fall."
He pulled me against him until my shoulder rested on his chest.
The boat continued drifting.
Chenghai opened the bag and took out a bottle of sunscreen. Before I could reach for it, he poured some into his hand and started rubbing it over my shoulders.
I sat still while his palms moved along my arms, neck, and upper back. His hands were warm, and the slow pressure made it difficult to remember that sunscreen normally took less than a minute.
"You missed my face."
Chenghai turned me toward him.
He spread a small amount across my cheeks, forehead, and nose with his fingertips. His thumb moved over my bottom lip even though there was no sunscreen there.
Then he kissed me.
It was a short kiss. Warm, lazy, and completely different from the porch.
When he pulled back, he handed me a bottle of iced tea and took out a container of sliced fruit.
I looked around the empty lake.
"So what are we doing?"
Chenghai leaned against the side of the boat and stretched his legs beneath the bench.
"Nothing."
That might have been the best plan he had made yet.
I tucked my feet onto the bench, rested against his side, and ate peaches while the boat drifted wherever the water wanted to take us.
For once, Chenghai didn’t drive anything.