My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 98 Power Outage and Sharing a Bed for Warmth
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.

Looking at the plate of glistening, fragrant braised salted fish with green peppers in front of him, Lu Yuan had absolutely no appetite.

Outside the window, thousands of lights twinkle in the night sky, and occasionally fireworks burst open, dazzling and spectacular.

Inside, the steam from the food rose warmly, creating a cozy atmosphere.

But Lu Yuan felt utterly dejected.

You're telling me about this fish... how did it become one?
Even though it was cloudy and snowing for those few days, he was secretly happy for a long time.

Who would have thought that from the first day of the Lunar New Year until now, the weather has been sunny and clear every day, with just the right amount of wind.

Chen Xiaomiao managed to handle a large bluefish weighing twenty or thirty pounds.

Why aren't you eating?

Chen Xiaomiao deliberately picked up the largest piece and put it into Lu Yuan's bowl, her tone full of undisguised boasting: "Try it, I guarantee you'll want more!"

Lu Yuan picked up a small piece of fish and slowly put it into his mouth.

I must say, the taste is absolutely amazing.

The fish meat fibers become extremely chewy after being air-dried, and the salty and savory flavor permeates every fiber, making it a top-notch accompaniment to rice.

"How's it going?"

Chen Xiaomiao tilted her head, like a child waiting for praise.

"good."

Lu Yuan spoke casually, but his chopsticks betrayed him, picking up another large piece and shoveling two mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.

Seeing his insincere expression and the way his lips were turned up in a big smile, Chen Xiaomiao didn't expose him, but just kept adding food to his bowl.

"Eat up, there will be more glutinous rice balls later. They're black sesame filled, I made them myself."

Outside the window, a huge firework burst into the sky with a "bang," exploding into countless dazzling streams of light, briefly casting the shadows of the two people on the wall.

pat-

Without warning, the entire room was plunged into darkness.

The lights overhead, the TV screen, the indicator lights on the kitchen range hood... all the light sources went out at the same time.

In an instant, the fireworks in the night sky became the only source of light.

"Wha...what's going on?"

The sudden darkness made Chen Xiaomiao tense up instantly. Since arriving in this era, everything has been brightly lit, and this was the first time she had ever experienced groping in the dark.

"It must be a power outage."

Lu Yuan took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, and Chen Xiaomiao immediately followed suit.

The two small beams of light slightly calmed Chen Xiaomiao's panic. She asked in bewilderment, "Why did the power suddenly go out? Did the government run out of money to buy oil?"

"Power generation doesn't require oil... it can use water, coal, wind, or even sunlight. There must be a problem with the power lines."

Lu Yuan unlocked his phone and opened the community's residents' group chat.

Sure enough, the group chat exploded.

[In the Prime of Life]: What's going on? A power outage during a holiday?
[Zhang Ge from Building A]: Could you please tell me when the call will be restored?

[Sports enthusiast Sister Li]: My child hasn't finished their winter break homework yet!
The residents started flooding the comments section, and the property manager didn't respond for more than ten minutes until he issued a notice.

[Property Management Center - Xiao Wang]: Good evening, residents. We just received a notification from the power company that someone accidentally crashed a drone into a high-voltage line, causing a short circuit in the area.

The power company is already carrying out emergency repairs. Please remain calm and pay attention to electrical safety.

Lu Yuan handed his phone to Chen Xiaomiao: "Look, someone was playing with that flying metal thing and broke the power cord."

Chen Xiaomiao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

For her, "drone" and "high-voltage line" were words that were difficult to understand.

But one thing is clear: it's not that the government is short of money, it's that someone has caused trouble!
Without electricity, the central air conditioning in the living room also stopped working completely.

In the early spring night, the chill seeped in quietly through the cracks in the doors and windows, and the indoor temperature was gradually dropping.

"Lu Yuan, it's a bit cold."

Chen Xiaomiao hugged her arms and couldn't help but shiver.

"It will be a bit cold without electricity."

Lu Yuan picked up his coat from the sofa and tossed it to him: "Put your coat on, don't get cold."

In the darkness, the two stared at each other, unsure of what to do.

"How about... I get my fortune told?" Chen Xiaomiao suggested after hesitating for a while.

"What kind of?"

"Let's figure out when the call will come back!"

After saying that, Chen Xiaomiao immediately started counting on her fingers.

"How did the calculation go?"

"I couldn't figure it out..."

Time passed by, the sounds of fireworks outside the window gradually faded, the complaints in the owners' group urging the property management to stop gradually subsided, and the chill inside the house grew stronger.

"I can't take it anymore, it's too cold. Let's go to sleep." Lu Yuan stood up and stretched. "I'll be warmer under the covers."

"middle."

Chen Xiaomiao got up and slowly moved back to her room.

Back in his room, Lu Yuan took a quick cold shower, dried himself off, and crawled into bed.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door.

Beneath, bee, bee.

The voice was soft, tinged with hesitation.

"Come in."

“Lu Yuan…”

The door was pushed open, and outside stood Chen Xiaomiao, dressed in a fluffy coral fleece pajama, clutching a pillow tightly in her arms.

She found the direction of Lu Yuan's bed in the darkness and whispered, "Are you cold?"

Lu Yuan blinked: "Afraid I'll be cold?"

Chen Xiaomiao mustered her courage, grabbed her pillow, moved to the edge of the bed, and explained her reasoning more thoroughly: "I thought that since you're used to having the air conditioning on, it must be like sleeping in an icebox for you to sleep alone when it's cold and there's no electricity."

"I...I'm warm inside, and I'm used to it. I came over to help you warm up the bed; it'll be warmer if the two of us squeeze together."

Lu Yuan felt both warm and amused as he listened to her rambling explanation.

He didn't say anything, but simply moved further into the bed, making room for Chen Xiaomiao.

With tacit permission, Chen Xiaomiao immediately and nimbly climbed onto the bed, lifted a corner of the quilt, and slipped inside like lightning.

A cool breeze carrying the delicate fragrance of a young girl instantly filled the bed.

"Hiss... Ugh..."

Upon receiving the warm blankets from Lu Yuangang, Chen Xiaomiao instinctively let out a soft moan of comfort.

Lu Yuan lay back down on his side, about to say something.

pat!

Light filled the room again.

Chen Xiaomiao looked at the bright light above her head, then at Lu Yuan who was standing right next to her, and her expression became awkward.

"Um... the power's back on." She stammered, her eyes darting around. "Now... now you're not cold anymore, I... I'll head back now!"

Before she could sit up, her wrist was grabbed by a warm, large hand.

With a little effort, Lu Yuan pulled her back into the bed and into his arms.

"Why are you running?"

Lu Yuan wrapped his arm around her slender waist and gently rested his chin on the top of her head: "Since you're already here..."

"The power's back on, you can turn on the air conditioner and you won't be cold anymore..."

Chen Xiaomiao protested softly in his arms, but her body was too weak to exert any strength.

"fine."

Lu Yuan hugged her tightly and said seriously, "I can also turn off the air conditioner. It saves electricity if the two of us squeeze in together."

Chen Xiaomiao buried her face in his chest and asked in a muffled voice, "Saving electricity?"

"Yes, it saves electricity."

Lu Yuan spoke with righteous indignation.

Seeing that she had an excuse, the girl stopped struggling and found a comfortable position in Lu Yuan's arms, like a docile kitten.

After a long while, Chen Xiaomiao muttered something in a muffled voice.

“Okay, we can sleep together to save electricity… but I’ll have to move back when it gets warmer.”

"what ever."

"I'll use the money I save on electricity to buy you some spare ribs for an extra meal."

"it is good."

Silence fell in the room once again.

"Are you asleep?"

"almost."

"Oh."

Chen Xiaomiao closed her eyes in a daze.

The New Year is finally over.

I hope the warm spring will come a little later.

Slow down a little...

(End of this chapter)