Shen Mo rubbed his nose, feeling he’d been too gentle.

…Next time he could try being a bit fiercer.

He left the wheelchair at the stall entrance and turned to leave.

While waiting for her outside the women’s restroom, he heard occasional thumps and bangs from inside—the crutch hitting something, or perhaps she’d bumped into something?

What ordinary people could easily accomplish in daily life was like a battle for her.

The bit of irritation in his heart gradually dissipated.

What was there to argue with her about? She was just a child who’d been in poor health since young, lacking security. Previously living in luxury didn’t matter, but now having to survive in these circumstances, throwing some tantrums was normal. After all, only her mouth was formidable.

Shen Mo stood at the entrance, carefully listening to the sounds inside.

Bang-bang knocking sounds, whoosh-whoosh flushing sounds, rustling as she adjusted her dress, the crutch scraping across the floor, the stall door banging open—

Bai Youwei emerged propped on her crutch, her small palm-sized face tightly scrunched. “Quickly take me to wash my hands! This place reeks!”

Shen Mo smiled, walked over to help her into the wheelchair, then pushed her to the sink.

The automatic faucet didn’t work well. Bai Youwei tried several times with no water, nearly cursing aloud, then the faucet coughed out a few spurts of water like an eighty-year-old woman struggling to breathe.

She washed her hands twice with extreme distaste before the gloom on her face eased somewhat.

“The service area has limited facilities. Bear with it—things will be better once we reach Yangzhou,” Shen Mo said.

Bai Youwei pursed her lips without responding, thinking: Even in Yangzhou, things might not be better.

Shen Mo moved behind the wheelchair to push her.

At that moment, she reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothing.

Her hands were freshly washed but not yet dried, her fair skin covered with a sheen of moisture, soft and delicate, fingertips tinged with cherry pink.

Shen Mo glanced at his own hands gripping the wheelchair handles—distinct knuckles, deep textures, every curved line revealing a masculine sense of strength.

Both were hands, yet so different. The difference between genders manifested in every subtle detail.

Bai Youwei furrowed her brow and said, “Are we still going to the supermarket? This service area has no signal, all the food and water has been cleared out. It doesn’t feel right. We should leave instead, or it’ll be dark soon.”

It was already dusk, and she didn’t want to travel at night.

Shen Mo considered, then nodded. “Then we won’t go to the supermarket. If we leave now, we should reach Yangzhou before dark.”

Once in Yangzhou with network signal and a place to stay, everything would be easier to arrange.

The two returned to the parking area.

Somewhat surprisingly, they saw a man and woman from afar guarding by the SUV, waving at them.

Drawing closer, they found the couple to be around forty, looking like honest, dependable types.

“Are you heading to Yangzhou?” the woman kindly reminded them. “We’re also going to Yangzhou, but there’s a section of road ahead that’s completely blocked, so everyone’s staying here. It’s not safe for you to leave now.”

“Is it badly blocked?” Shen Mo asked.

The man chimed in: “Blocked for at least over a hundred meters, the cars are full of dolls. Nobody dares go through.”

“If cars can’t get through, what about going around on foot?” Bai Youwei spoke up. “Has anyone tried walking to Yangzhou?”

The man and woman exchanged glances, both looking somewhat bewildered, clearly not having considered this.

“But there’s so much stuff in the car…” the woman said hesitantly. “Food, supplies, changes of clothes… all in the car.”

The man also said, “What if something’s happened in Yangzhou too? Without a car, we can’t escape.”

Sometimes cars were not just transportation but served as safe havens. Unless facing a major crisis, most people wouldn’t easily abandon their vehicles.

However, in Bai Youwei’s view, spending over ten hours walking to Yangzhou was better than being trapped to death at the service area.

Besides, the car would have to be abandoned sooner or later.

Because if the world continued in chaos, gasoline would soon become a scarce commodity.