133: Chapter 133 Flirting and teasing me comes with consequences.

Qin Lin sat in the driver's seat, watching her receding figure with a slight smirk playing on his lips.

This Li Ying.

She was interesting.

After dinner, Qin Lin returned to the Drivers Cabin.

He felt that this was his primary domain as the driver.

Just then, the door opened again.

It was Li Ying once more, carrying a glass of hot milk in her hand.

"For you."

She placed the glass by his hand.

"Wanwan asked me to bring it over."

Qin Lin glanced at the milk and then looked at her.

Li Ying had changed her clothes.

She wore a black, slim-fit dress with a subtly low neckline and a hemline that stopped just above her knees.

Her hair was let down, and the Red Tassel Earrings at her ears swayed gently.

"What, you don't recognize me after just a few hours?"

She sat down in the passenger seat.

"I recognize you; I just think you look especially beautiful today."

Li Ying arched an eyebrow. "Brother Qin Lin, your tongue is quite sweet today, isn't it?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

Qin Lin picked up the milk and took a sip.

"Thanks for the milk."

"I didn't send it; Wanwan did."

"But you brought it," Qin Lin said, looking at her.

"So thanking you is the same."

Li Ying smiled.

She leaned back against the seat, watching the night scenery flash past the window, and suddenly asked,

"Qin Lin, when do you think this apocalypse will ever end?"

Qin Lin was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to ask that.

"I don't know. It might never end."

"So we're just going to keep driving this RV and keep going like this?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't it tiring?"

"It's not like you're the one driving, so why would it be tiring?"

Li Ying fell silent for a moment.

"I never imagined I'd be living this kind of life."

"Before the apocalypse, I had my own studio and a steady client base. Life was pretty good."

She paused and then chuckled. "Thinking back now, those good days feel like they happened in a past life."

Qin Lin listened without interrupting.

"Do you know why I never got married?" Li Ying suddenly asked.

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't find the right person."

She turned her head to look at him.

"I might look like an open-minded person, but I'm actually very picky. There were plenty of people chasing me, but I didn't like a single one of them."

She gave a small, self-deprecating smile.

"They were either after my Face, after my body, or they thought having a beautiful woman by their side gave them Face."

"Not a single one of them truly wanted to get to know me as a person."

Qin Lin was silent for a few seconds.

"Then what do you think I'm after?"

Li Ying looked at him and thought about it seriously.

"You? You're after completing your tasks."

Qin Lin was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"You're certainly direct."

"Truth be told, Yuran already told me everything."

Li Ying shrugged. "The System has tasks you need to complete, and I need to survive. We each get what we need; it's very fair."

"And what if I said it's not just about the tasks?"

Li Ying raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Qin Lin looked at her with a very serious expression.

"Li Ying, you're beautiful—that's a fact. But what made me take notice of you wasn't just your Face."

"Then what was it?"

"It was your perceptiveness."

"You understood the rules of this RV on your first day, adapted to life here by the second, and started helping everyone out by the third."

"You know what you want, you know how to get it, and more importantly, you know when to advance and when to retreat."

He paused. "That kind of insight is much rarer than a pretty Face."

Li Ying listened, saying nothing.

But the look in her eyes changed slightly.

"Furthermore."

"When you were saying those things just now, I saw another side of you. Not just the capable Li Ying, but also a... somewhat lonely Li Ying."

Li Ying's gaze flickered.

"Brother Qin Lin."

She spoke, her voice a bit softer than usual.

"Are you flirting with me, or are you dissecting me?"

"Both."

"Flirting with you is instinct; dissecting you is... curiosity."

"Curious about what?"

"Curious why such a perceptive woman is still alone even now."

Li Ying was silent for a few seconds.

Then she smiled.

This smile was different from the ones before.

It was less calculated and more genuine.

"Because I haven't met the right person. It's as simple as that."

"And have you met him now?"

Li Ying looked at him and didn't answer.

Instead, she reached out and gently took his hand.

Qin Lin looked down at her hand.

Her fingers were fair and slender, her nails painted a vibrant red.

Then he looked up into her eyes.

Those eyes were devoid of their usual playfulness and teasing, replaced by a serious, searching look.

"Qin Lin, do you know that you're the kind of person who makes it very easy for someone to fall for you?"

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

She paused. "That's why I didn't quite dare to get close to you."

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid of falling for you."

"Afraid that after falling for you, I'd find out you were only doing it for a task; afraid that after falling for you, I'd find out that in your heart, I'm no different from anyone else."

Qin Lin looked at her.

He understood; every woman seemed to feel this way.

This woman who appeared so capable and composed was actually afraid of getting hurt.

She used teasing and flirting as her weapons, and composure and calm as her armor.

She packaged herself as a woman who could "play along with anything."

All just to protect the self that truly wanted to be treated with sincerity.

"Li Ying."

"Hmm?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Go ahead."

"To me, everyone is different."

"Yuran is Yuran, Wanwan is Wanwan, Aunt Qing is Aunt Qing, and you are you."

"Each of you has your own place in my heart."

"No one is more important than another, and no one is a substitute for someone else."

He tightened his grip on her hand.

"So, you don't need to be afraid of falling in. Because in the place you're falling into, there's already a spot reserved for you."

Li Ying looked at him.

For a long time.

Then she gave a soft laugh.

"Brother Qin Lin, you know, when you're like this, you're really hard to refuse."

"Then don't refuse."

Li Ying didn't answer.

She simply leaned in and pressed a light kiss onto his cheek.

Then she pulled back, looking at him with a smile.

"This is a thank-you gift for saying all that."

"Even though you're mostly doing it for the task, it doesn't matter anymore."

"You're wrong; I'm mostly doing it for survival."

Li Ying was startled, then laughed.

"Right, for survival."

Qin Lin touched the spot where she had kissed him and smiled.

"That's it?"

"What, you think it's too little?" Li Ying arched an eyebrow.

"Should Big Sister add another one for you?"

As she spoke, she leaned in again.

But this time, Qin Lin didn't wait for her.

He reached out, hooked his arm around her waist, and pulled her into his embrace.

Li Ying was stunned, and before she could react, he had already lifted her up.

"You!"

"Flirting with me and teasing me..."

Qin Lin stood up, holding her.

"...comes with a punishment."

Li Ying instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, her heart skipping a beat.

But a second later, she composed herself.

She was Li Ying.

The thirty-year-old Li Ying.

The Li Ying who had seen countless men.

How could she let herself be handled so easily by a twenty-year-old little brother?