RIACMET chapter 102

 

“Jian Cheng! If your eyes work so well, why don’t you lend them to someone who needs them?”

Cheng Jing honestly wanted to stab his own teammate at that moment.

“Brother, my bad.”

Jian Cheng knew he was in trouble for blurting things out, so he made a zipping motion over his mouth.

After thinking it over for a moment, Jiang Nian understood what was going on. He pressed a hand to his forehead and turned to continue tidying the shelves.

Zhao Lei was worried the captain would electrocute someone and disrupt their work, so he raised a hand and patted Jian Cheng on the shoulder.

“Brother Cheng wanted to slice him into pieces with his gaze. What exactly did you see that looked like flirting? I swear you must’ve forged your academic records when you applied to the company. I bet your language score wasn’t even two digits.”

Luckily, Brother Nian wasn’t petty, and he trusted their eldest brother completely. Otherwise, Jian Cheng would have had to take responsibility for causing a rift between the couple.

“Hahaha…”

The others couldn’t help but burst out laughing and tease,

“Brother Zhao is right—Jian Cheng, your degree must be fake!”

“The PE teacher probably taught you better than this.”

“Acheng, do you always think people are winking at you whenever they look in your direction?”

“… ”

Cheng Jing rubbed his eyebrows. He couldn’t be bothered to argue about such nonsense, so he waved a hand.

“All right, get to work.”

There was training in the afternoon, and Cheng Jing was going to make Jian Cheng pay for this.

As if he had sensed it coming, Jian Cheng said, “Brother Cheng, I’d like to—”

Before he could finish saying “leave,” Cheng Jing interrupted.

“Go flirt with someone? Sure! If you don’t show up to training on time today, you can make it up to me at our next dinner.”

This brat—was there no way to stop his endless babbling?

“…”

After Cheng Jing finished speaking, Jian Cheng quickly left the shop and turned around to wave to the others.

“It’s time to work! What are you all standing around for?”

He was going to be stuck training alone while the others ate together. What was the difference between this punishment and being cast out of the group?

It was just training. He’d treat it like a lesson from his older brother. No big deal.

“Pfft…”

Jiang Nian couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“…”

The teammates shook their heads and followed one by one out the door.

Time was about up anyway. Li Shuhui caught up to the team and hitched a ride back to headquarters.

Liao Yu carried a bucket from the kitchen, used his superpower to fill it with ice cubes, and set it in front of the small fan on the counter to blow cool air.

“It’s to keep my godfather comfortable.”

The higher your superpower level, the better you can control energy and the slower the ice melts. This bucket of ice would last Jiang Nian until he got off work.

“Thanks.”

Even though this “good kid” sometimes liked to trash talk people, he was extremely reliable when it came to serious matters.

Everyone piled onto the bus. Cheng Jing stayed behind until the end, staring sullenly at Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian had no idea what had upset him, but there was nothing he could do except coax his boyfriend. Since he couldn’t kiss him here, he handed him a handful of mixed-flavor fruit candies instead.

“Eat them quietly, and don’t share with the others.”

Even though the rest of the team carried their own supplies, he knew Brother Jing loved this kind of “favoritism.”

“Yeah.”

Cheng Jing nodded, pinched the candies in his fingers, slipped them into his pocket, and turned to go.

He took two steps, then turned back.

“Remember to tell me how you know those two when I get home tonight.”

He still held a grudge against the mercenaries. They must have fought outside the base.

So that’s what it was about. Jiang Nian nodded and smiled lightly.

“Of course, Brother Jing. Go ahead and work. I’ll tell you when you get back tonight. I suspect they have something to do with Xia Weiwei.”

Cheng Jing’s face lit up when he heard Xia Weiwei’s name.

“Okay.”

Since they were acquainted at that level, there would be no problem getting rid of that person if the time came.

Jiang Nian leaned on the counter with his chin propped in one hand, watching Cheng Jing leave for work. He unwrapped a strawberry candy, popped it in his mouth, and smacked his lips a couple of times.

Why did he feel like his boyfriend was becoming harder and harder to satisfy lately?

“…”

Meanwhile, Da Jun, who’d been stared down by Cheng Jing, was still stewing in frustration in the jeep speeding out of the base.

Liang Xiaoyan had just glanced over at him and now teased,

“What, Brother Dajun? You interested in that pretty boy too?”

“Hmph. I’m afraid I’d kill him.”

Da Jun tossed a betel nut into his mouth, chewed it, and looked at the woman in the backseat through the rearview mirror. His eyes were filled with blatant viciousness.

Liang Xiaoyan rolled her eyes and sneered.

“Ha! With your arrogance, I wouldn’t be surprised!”

Sure enough, this beast, who never showed any mercy when hunting prey, could be stirred up just by seeing someone like Jiang Nian—ugh!

Da Jun grinned indifferently.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t like what you saw.”

Liang Xiaoyan curled her lips and didn’t answer.

Fearing the two of them would get carried away teasing each other, Xiaoliu, the driver, changed the topic with a laugh.

“Maybe that handsome boy is just as skilled as Brother Haojun. He seems to be living a pretty cushy life.”

Liang Xiaoyan lowered her head, bit her nail, and blew on it.

“Of course he’s living comfortably. His boyfriend has a lot of power.”

If she could find a superpowered boyfriend like that, she’d be living the good life, too.

“Yan’er, do you really believe Cheng Jing is his only boyfriend? Don’t make me laugh.”

Xiaoliu snorted and pulled a face as if he’d just heard the best joke. His expression was sly on his dark, thin, sunken face.

The mercenary agreed.

“Why else would a team that strong let Cheng Jing call all the shots?” He even lets a pretty boy run the store. Most people can’t even afford the fuel to drive that Land Rover. If you told me that nobody was getting any ‘benefits’ from Jiang Nian, nobody would believe you.”

Looking at Jiang Nian as a whole — his mental state, physical condition, and clothes — he didn’t fit in with the team or the environment. It was obvious he’d never suffered during the apocalypse.

Liang Xiaoyan shrugged.

“Who knows? I didn’t see it with my own eyes. I only believe what people tell me.”

Honestly, she thought the same. Her teammates had fought tooth and nail to earn points and supplies, so there was no way they would willingly hand them over to Cheng Jing just to pamper her boyfriend.

Who would be happy to see their hard-won spoils turned into someone else’s comfortable life?

It didn’t make sense at all.

But Jiang Nian wasn’t a stunning beauty. How had he made everyone willing to go along with this?

“Who doesn’t put on an act when they’re out in public? Show your real face already, hehe…”

Xiaoliu laughed again with a lewd grin, then turned slightly to glance back at Liang Xiaoyan.

“Same as you, right? We’re your teammates during the day and your husbands at night, aren’t we? I bet Jiang Nian and Huang Qian have the same arrangement. Although Huang Qian—damn, she’s something else.”

“Get lost! If you’ve got the guts, go try her. See if she lets you crawl into her bed!”

Liang Xiaoyan kicked the back of the driver’s seat twice, thoroughly annoyed.

Seriously, these men had some advantages, yet they still acted like strays in heat! If you were eating from your own bowl but still staring at someone else’s, you were pathetic!

Did they have any idea what they looked like? If she hadn’t awakened a superpower, not even a dog would have looked at them.

Look at the kind of people Jiang Nian had to serve, and then look at her. The difference was like heaven and earth!