RIACMET chapter 62

 

The two of them enjoyed dinner very much. At the same time, Jiang Nian mentioned that he was planning to open a small shop.

Jiang Wenwen immediately exchanged phone numbers with him to facilitate future collaboration.

Jiang Nian didn’t refuse. In fact, he’d wanted to bring it up earlier that afternoon, but he was worried that she would overthink it. Now that she had taken the initiative, he simply went along with it.

After entering the base, restrictions on satellite phones had loosened considerably, and they could call anyone.

After eating their fill, only one chicken leg, one chicken wing, and half a portion of braised pork remained. Jiang Nian asked the waiter to pack it up so Jiang Wenwen could take it home.

Jiang Wenwen was delighted. When they stepped out, she burped and said in a coarse tone,

“You pack up leftovers after stuffing yourself? You spent hundreds of points on a single meal. I don’t know why, but I feel like I should scold Cheng Jing.”

“…”

Jiang Nian looked at her with a dark expression.

“That’s just an illusion. You just ate too much.”

He’d make sure Brother Jing knew he was serious about this.

As night fell, the lights inside the base dimmed. Since not many shops on Commercial Street stayed open late, the two of them stopped wandering.

Jiang Nian checked the time. It was almost eight, so he suggested driving Jiang Wenwen back to the dorms.

He had to be home before nine; otherwise, who knew what shameless things that scheming man might do?

Jiang Wenwen understood his dilemma and readily agreed to go back early.

The dorm area was neat and densely packed, with only walkways left in each lane so people could come and go—trucks couldn’t fit.

Jiang Wenwen’s dorm was near the center of Lane 11, at 1120.

Jiang Nian parked at the entrance of the lane and walked her to the door.

Solar-powered lamps had been installed here and there, but since the lanes were so far apart, people still needed their own light sources to walk around at night.

Jiang Nian was prepared with a super-bright flashlight. The product he’d bought online, endorsed by an influencer, really was worth the money.

Once he turned it on, the entire lane lit up, and a few strangers behind them quietly turned off their flashlights.

When they reached the dorm entrance, Jiang Wenwen thanked Jiang Nian and said,

“You don’t have to go out to the planning field yourself these next few days. I’ll get some more for you, and you can get ready for other things. Be sure to let me know when the grocery store opens. Also, go back and tell Cheng Jing that I’m sincerely interested in working with her team.”

Jiang Nian pointed the flashlight down at the ground, then nodded without any unnecessary pleasantries.

“All right. Sorry to trouble you.”

They were both sensible people. Since they had already expressed their intention to cooperate, neither side felt the need to put on airs.

Squeak—

Just as Jiang Nian turned to leave, the door to apartment 1121, right beside 1120, opened.

A woman with messy hair wearing pajamas carried a bag of trash out and tossed it into the temporary bin by the door.

Perhaps because the light was so bright, she looked up instinctively and spotted Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Nian.

A flicker of surprise crossed her tired-looking face, but it quickly turned sullen again. She stared at Jiang Nian with thinly veiled resentment.

Jiang Nian met that nasty look with an icy gaze. So this was the woman who had tried to emotionally blackmail him during the earthquake.

Seriously, the odds of running into “acquaintances” today were way too high!

Jiang Wenwen, who had been standing nearby, immediately sensed that something was off. She looked puzzled, her inner gossip demon already imagining a dozen bloody melodramas.

The woman glanced back and forth between Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Nian. She let out a scornful snort, turned around, and slammed the door shut.

“…”

Jiang Nian frowned and silently ground his molars, resisting the urge to kick the door down. Some people are just plain rotten!

“Ahem…”

Jiang Wenwen cleared her throat and cautiously asked,

“You two know each other?”

“Not really.”

Jiang Nian shook his head and told her about the earthquake rescue operation he’d participated in on the way to the base. In the end, he added,

“I tried to help her out of goodwill, and she repaid me with malice.”

“Well, there are plenty of people in this world who are worse than dogs.”

Jiang Wenwen shrugged with a sigh, then asked again.

“So how exactly did she repay your kindness with evil?”

Jiang Nian answered honestly.

“She wanted to be my girlfriend.”

Jiang Wenwen: “… ”

Why did she suddenly feel like there was a hidden meaning in that? Still, she said,

“She…uh, seems to have a boyfriend. Sometimes they’re so loud at night.”

The thin wooden walls had almost no soundproofing. Even with noise-canceling earplugs, she couldn’t block them out. That was why she was working so hard to earn points, so that she could eventually rent a place farther inside the base.

“…”

Jiang Nian was speechless. She already had a boyfriend, yet she still held a grudge against him. Maybe the earthquake had rattled her brain loose.

Tired of the nonsense, Jiang Nian reminded Jiang Wenwen to be careful around the woman next door. Then, he turned and walked out of Lane 11.

He felt a little down when he got back in the car. He hadn’t saved that many people during the end times, and every time he did, he regretted it afterward. It was so damn irritating!

…

When he returned to the dorm, it was 8:50. Cheng Jing wasn’t back yet, and for some reason, Jiang Nian felt relieved.

Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, he felt a bit guilty knowing his boyfriend was in a sour mood.

He couldn’t quite explain why he felt guilty.

He sniffed himself and could only smell sweat. After hesitating, he decided to shower first. That way, when Brother Jing came home, he could pretend he had been there for a while.

It was a good plan, but just as he found his pajamas, Cheng Jing opened the door. He glanced at Jiang Nian and pressed his lips together.

“You’re home pretty late.”

He said it as a simple statement. Based on his understanding of Brother Jing, Jiang Nian knew there was no point in pretending he’d been back for a while.

So he could only admit honestly,

“Yeah, we got carried away talking about farmland and it got late.”

Who would understand? At his age, he still had a 9 p.m. curfew!

“…”

Cheng Jing gave a silent nod, his expression unreadable. He set his things by the door, changed into slippers, and went straight to the bathroom.

Jiang Nian stood there, clutching his pajamas and wondering if Cheng Jing was angry.

A moment later, the man came back out, half-naked and still damp from the shower.

“Why aren’t you in there yet? Waiting for me to carry you?”

He didn’t see himself as the petty type who’d sulk like a young wife over something trivial.

However, when he thought about his boyfriend coming home right after dinner with a potential love rival, he couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Even if Jiang Nian and Jiang Wenwen had only been discussing business and planning future collaborations, it was enough to sour him.

“Oh, Brother Jing!”

Jiang Nian’s eyes lit up as soon as he received the invitation.

“I’m coming right now!”

He tossed his pajamas onto the sofa and ran over.

After all, if you were showering together, there was no need to bother with clean clothes.

Cheng Jing stood under the showerhead with his head tilted back. When he heard the door close, he turned and pulled Jiang Nian closer. He reached out to unbutton Jiang Nian’s shirt.

“Don’t move. Let me.”

“…”

Jiang Nian froze for only a second before obediently letting him do it.