Chapter 92 - 91: Clearing the Snow

Jiang Si braced herself and ate. Shen Baoying kept putting food into Qin Shen’s bowl, smiling as if he were her biological son.

"You’re too thin. Eat up."

Jiang Si recalled the scene from that morning. Qin Shen was the type who looked lean in his clothes but was all muscle underneath.

She subconsciously glanced at Qin Shen, only to meet his gaze.

As if her thoughts had been exposed, Jiang Si couldn’t help but blush, no matter how thick-skinned she was. She buried her head in her bowl and forced herself to eat as if nothing had happened.

After the meal, Jiang Si shot up as if she were sitting on pins and needles. While helping with the dishes, she pulled Shen Baoying aside and whispered, "I told you, it’s a misunderstanding. My old problem just acted up last night, and I went to find Qin Shen because I didn’t want to worry you guys."

Shen Baoying was instantly alarmed. "Are you okay?"

Jiang Si shook her head. "I’m fine now. There’s nothing going on between me and Qin Shen. Please stop acting like this. You’re making him feel awkward."

Shen Baoying froze for a moment, then quickly retorted, "I don’t think Xiao Shen feels awkward at all. You two are a good match in age and temperament, and he can take care of you. He hasn’t explicitly said he doesn’t like you, which means he must be interested!"

Jiang Si’s expression faltered. She took a deep breath. "Just stop meddling. Let’s let things happen naturally. He hasn’t said he likes me, either, so let’s not get carried away."

Shen Baoying glanced in Qin Shen’s direction and said anxiously, "Should I go ask him? Xiao Shen is reserved. His childhood experiences might have soured him on the idea of marriage and love, so he doesn’t dare to make the first move. You have to be understanding."

In Shen Baoying’s eyes, there was no one more suitable for Jiang Si than Qin Shen.

Qin Shen’s hearing was a thousand times better than theirs. Jiang Si clapped a hand over Shen Baoying’s mouth, her face burning. "Don’t say another word! Quick, let’s finish up so we can go shovel the snow outside."

Shen Baoying gave her a helpless look, wondering why her usually bold daughter was so timid when it came to romance.

She could clearly see that sparks were flying between the two of them.

’If neither of them makes a move, what if they miss their chance?’

’The apocalypse is already so dangerous. Who knows if love will arrive before tomorrow does?’

But Jiang Si didn’t want to talk about it, so Shen Baoying naturally respected her decision.

By the time the dishes were clean, Jiang Linhai and Qin Shen had already cleared the snow blocking the cabin door.

The two of them were chatting happily, though Jiang Si had no idea what about.

Jiang Linhai’s face was crinkled with laughter.

Jiang Si shot a sideways glance at Qin Shen before quickly looking away, out toward the sea.

The surface of the sea, which had been covered in floating chunks of ice just yesterday, had now frozen into a solid, thick sheet.

Jiang Si stood on the deck and carefully peered down. The ice was at least a meter thick, and the temperature was negative fifty degrees Celsius.

The snowfall had lightened, but the accumulated snow on the deck was already two to three meters deep.

The yacht had visibly sunk, its hull now frozen fast to the ice sheet.

The snow on the yacht had to be cleared. If the vessel became completely encased, the generator would fail in the sustained low temperatures, even if they didn’t run the main engines.

There were snow blowers on the yacht. Qin Shen pried open the frozen-shut storeroom, but the machines were covered in frost. Jiang Si climbed onto one to try and start it, but there was no response.

The batteries in all the snow blowers were dead.

If they wanted to clear the snow, they would have to do it by hand.

Jiang Linhai had never seen so much snow before. He asked her, "Can’t we just spread some de-icer on it?"

Jiang Si shook her head. "If we just spread de-icer, the melted snow will just pool and refreeze. It won’t get rid of much. Usually, you have to shovel first to clear a basic path before using de-icer. But with this much snow, it makes little difference. We still have to shovel."

Jiang Linhai glanced at the snowdrifts, which were deeper than he was tall, and his head began to ache. This was going to take forever.

But to give the yacht even a sliver of a chance of starting, they had to tackle the job, no matter how difficult. They had to act before the snow piled up even higher.

With no snow blowers, they found a few wheelbarrows and shovels.

Niu Niu and Jiang Chengwu were being looked after by Zhang Qingfang, and Lu Zhifeng came out to help as well.

The snow was incredibly deep. After just half an hour, Jiang Si was already exhausted.

It was mainly because she was wearing so many layers. But if she got too hot and took something off, she could easily get sick.

Jiang Si had a loader in her dimensional space, but the temperature was so low that if the engine wasn’t kept running continuously, it would break down immediately.

While shoveling, Qin Shen was also pouring antifreeze into the yacht’s fuel tank. If they could just wait until the temperature rose slightly at noon, they might be able to start the yacht, open the scuppers on the hull, and let the snow slide off.

That was a much better plan than just toiling away like this.

Jiang Linhai, panting with exhaustion, said to Jiang Si, "Go take a break for a bit."

Jiang Si shook her head. "My stamina is terrible. That’s all the more reason to train harder."

’Compared to the body she had after surviving ten years of the apocalypse in her past life, this one was just too weak.’

Jiang Linhai turned to Qin Shen, who was working diligently despite being lightly dressed, and advised him like a concerned father, "Don’t be careless, young man. Put on more clothes. It’s negative forty or fifty degrees out here."

Jiang Linhai’s friendly tone made Jiang Si flustered. Qin Shen, however, took it in stride and nodded, glancing at her. The corners of his deep-set eyes seemed to lift in a smile.

Jiang Si lowered her gaze, wondering if she should listen to Shen Baoying after all, or if it would be better to just clear the air.

When the sun came out, the temperature rose significantly.

Suddenly, the yacht’s engine started. Everyone was thrilled and they quickly worked the controls to dump the snow from the deck onto the sea ice.

Although much of the snow on the yacht was gone, the snow that had been pushed off now formed a small mountain around the vessel.

Jiang Si sighed. "If only this yacht were an Icebreaker."

"Icebreakers have powerful engines that don’t freeze easily, and they can travel across the ice unimpeded. Unlike us. If we wanted to leave now, our only option would be a helicopter."

But they couldn’t be sure if other areas were also caught in this extreme cold, and she feared they might fly into a blizzard if they took a helicopter. The yacht had plenty of supplies and offered a habitable environment. Jiang Si felt it was best to stay put for as long as they could.

’After all, in an apocalyptic world, nowhere was truly safe.’

’She had learned that lesson well in her past life.’

Jiang Linhai asked, "How do Icebreakers work? Can’t we modify our boat?"

Jiang Si smiled and shook her head. "Icebreakers are built completely differently from regular ships. They’re mainly used for military rescue and expeditions in Antarctica. It’s not something we can just modify." Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "But even Icebreakers get frozen in sometimes. When that happens, the crew gets off the ship and uses machinery to break the ice, then the hull rams its way through the cracks."

"We don’t have that kind of machinery, but we could use explosives to blast it open!"

Jiang Si had a stash in her dimensional space, but not much was left. Maybe she could search the cruise ship for any ice-breaking or drilling tools.

Jiang Linhai immediately said, "That’s a great idea! If we can blast it open, should we stay clear of the cruise ship?"

’After all, it has so many supplies on it.’

’If they suddenly needed something else, they could still go aboard and search.’