Itās rare that we donāt eat from cans today, but instead cook a meal. Although most of the ingredients are still from cans, frying them in a pan gives them a different taste, at least it feels like having a proper meal.
Gu Han Yan also brought out a bottle of wine.
"Wow, Sister Gu, you only brought this good stuff out now!"
"I was just afraid you drunkards might cause trouble if you drink too much. But since itās so peaceful today, a little drink wonāt hurt."
Jiang Chao didnāt say much either. Seeing this, everyone just opened the bottle of liquor, passing it around for each person to take a swig. Yang Jun is a heavy drinker, and when it got to him, he took several gulps in a row, reluctantly passing the bottle on only after being urged by the others below.
The bonfire was lit, and perhaps because of the wine, the atmosphere tonight was unprecedentedly good. A pair of new additions to the group, a young man and woman, had already taken a liking to each other and gone to rest. Jiang Lai watched them and chuckled secretly, getting caught by Jiang Chao.
"What are you looking at?"
"Bro, what did those two go off to do?"
"Theyāre sleepy so they went to sleep. You as a kid, donāt ask too much, just eat and then sleep. Iāll keep watch tonight."
Seeing that the bottle was about to reach Jiang Chao, Jiang Lai intercepted it halfway.
"My brother doesnāt drink. None of you should give him any!"
"Youāre not his wife, why are you so strict? Even our Sister Gu didnāt say anything!"
An uproarious teasing arose, and both the involved parties remained silent, especially Jiang Chao, who, being caught swallowing nervously, showed his guilt. Jiang Lai couldnāt help but sigh.
Such a disappointment.
Even like this, those two could still take a liking to each other.
Thankfully, the original characterās temperament was well-established, so whatever Jiang Lai did was taken as a given by everyone. Thus, her sulking and throwing a tantrum was anticipated by Jiang Chao, who quickly shook his head and passed on the drink.
"I canāt drink; you guys go ahead, have more."
At this point, Yang Jun, who always liked to stir things up, suddenly asked.
"If you find yourself a wife in the future, who will you listen to, your wife or your sister?"
Thatās when Jiang Chao realized he was sandwiched between two women, and Gu Han Yan raised her eyes to look at him.
"I was just about to ask that myself, everyone wants to know."
Jiang Chao swallowed again, subconsciously moving closer to Jiang Lai.
"Iāll listen to whoever makes sense, plus, Iām a man; canāt I make them both listen to me?"
Yang Jun continued to add fuel to the fire.
"Why donāt you first cheer up your sister before she gets upset and leaves?"
Jiang Chao turned his head, just to see Jiang Lai suddenly get up and leave. From her back, he could see her resentment and dissatisfaction, making his head ache.
Gu Han Yan asked him.
"Not going to see?"
"Itās fine; sheāll be okay tomorrow."
"Listen to whoever makes sense... Do your words not make you feel guilty?"
Jiang Chao coughed.
The relationship between him and Gu Han Yan was very subtle. Though they were teammates and companions, there was an inexplicable bond between them. However, if there was anything more, neither of them had ever made it clear.
It was like they were silently competing, each waiting for the other to speak first.
As this ambiguous tension was heating up, on the other side, Jiang Lai was busy in the room, leaning down to tap and knock around, carefully listening to each sound.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for something."
Jiang Lai was so engrossed in her search that when a voice sounded in her ear, she thought it was Little Buding speaking and didnāt realize it was someone else.
When she looked up again, she saw a pair of long, straight legs in front of her and, moving further up, Lin Yanās face with a smile that didnāt reach his eyes. The look in his eyes beneath the glasses was so unfathomable it was impossible to read what emotions lay inside.
"This is my room."
"Iām hungry."
"Didnāt you just have freshly cooked rice?"
After ransacking the entire village, Jiang Lai finally found a small bowl of rice. Once cooked, it all went straight into his stomach, and it wasnāt long before he was in front of her again complaining of hunger.
"Come with me."
"Canāt you see Iām busy?"
"Come with me, and Iāll help you search later."
Jiang Lai stood up, looking at him suspiciously.
"Do you know what Iām looking for?"
The man nodded, then turned and walked out, giving off an attitude of ābelieve it or not,ā and Jiang Lai hurriedly followed to keep up, sidling up to ask.
"Doctor Bai, can you give me some more painkillers in exchange for finding you food?"
Jiang Lai extended her hand.
Though her regenerative ability was strong, pain was still pain.
Lin Yan glanced at her.
"Help me get the job done; Iāll reward you a bit."
As they walked, Jiang Lai was instructed to take the lead and blaze the trail. The weeds growing wildly often tore at their clothing, but with Jiang Lai leading, Lin Yan was able to stroll leisurely as if on a walk through his own backyard.
After passing through a thicket, Jiang Lai finally understood what they were here for.
Amidst the grassy field in front of them were a few watermelons growing sporadically. Due to the locationās remoteness, they hadnāt been discovered until now.
"How did you discover this place?"
"Saw it on the way, save the chatter."
Grumbling, Jiang Lai walked in to pick the melons for him. The grass was so thick it was like wading through water, completely covering her calves.
One wasnāt enough, Lin Yan wanted two. When Jiang Lai couldnāt hold them, he simply pulled a medical waste bag from his pocket and threw it to her.
Smart guy, came prepared all along.
He didnāt bother to come over himself for fear of dirt, instead calling in Jiang Lai, the sucker, to help get the job done.
Handing over the watermelon to him.
"Here."
Lin Yan stood motionless, not even stretching out his hand.
In the end, Jiang Lai washed the watermelon, cut it, and arranged it neatly in front of Lin Yan.
The man frowned at the watermelon seeds.
"Iāve never eaten such troublesome things before."
"Then donāt eat."
"I donāt eat seeds."
"You can just spit them out."
Lin Yan looked at Jiang Lai intently, then unhurriedly pulled a box of medicine from his shirt pocket and placed it gently in front of her, soon followed by pulling something resembling a laser pointer from another pocket, placing it in front of Jiang Lai as well.
"This is medicine, the reward for picking the watermelons."
Jiang Lai took the medicine, about to leave, when suddenly a slow sentence came from behind.
"This is an ability detector, capable of precisely detecting activity points within a hundred meters underground. Iām waiting for someone with fate to present it to."
Jiang Lai slammed on the brakes, smoothly turned around, and with a smile spreading across her face, stood obediently by his side.
"Arenāt I the fated person youāre looking for?"
"Remove the watermelon seeds with this."
Lin Yan took a pair of silver tweezers from his personal cutlery box and handed it to Jiang Lai.
Jiang Lai took a deep breath.
She didnāt really need to endure this nonsense punishment, but she didnāt want to benefit Gu Han Yan. For the sake of the detector, she resigned herself to using the tweezers to patiently remove each watermelon seed for him.
Lin Yan had quite the appetite, eating five pieces in a row.
In the end, Jiang Laiās spoils as the lackey were a box of painkillers, an ability detector, half of an uneaten watermelon, and a pair of silver tweezers that Lin Yan refused to take back after sheād used them.