Chapter 59
Jiang Qingyu and the others stayed at the inn for another two days before setting off.
People in the inn gradually left for the shelter one after another, while some with enough savings stayed behind at the inn for the sake of peace and quiet.
When Rena learned they were leaving, she tried to make them stay again and again. After all, the low temperature was still ongoing. From time to time, wind would blow and snow grains would fall, the sky remained gloomy, and the road conditions ahead were not good either. Rather than leaving, it would be better to stay at the inn, where there was food and drink. Even nesting there for a month or two would not be a problem.
Jiang Qingyu thanked Rena and her family once again for their kindness. In truth, he was nesting inside the RV all the same. The wind would not hit his head, and the rain would not hit his face. It was no different from staying in the inn.
Seeing that she could not make him stay, and that Jiang Qingyu refused to accept any baked buns or naan, Rena remembered that he usually liked drinking pomegranate juice and eating yogurt with jam when he came over, so she searched through the family’s stock and stuffed all of it into his hands.
Jiang Qingyu did indeed like them, so he did not refuse again. He accepted the gesture of kindness, then turned around and, while they were not paying attention, slipped a stack of money onto the counter.
The RV set out once more.
Unlike when they had arrived, when they had first reached this place, they had hardly seen any zombies. Aside from the outrageously low temperature, everything could be considered peaceful.
But this time, when they chose a small road that was not particularly easy to travel on, they actually saw zombies outside.
There were three or four scattered about. None of them moved slowly, probably because the road had been cleared before and it had not snowed these past few days, making it even more convenient for them to chase people and vehicles.
As soon as the RV drove over, they seemed to sense something. They threw their legs forward and started running after the vehicle, constantly making “ho ho” sounds from their mouths. Although the features on their faces had not been gnawed away or peeled off, their whole faces were ashen gray, their pupils a murky blue, making them look extremely horrifying.
When the zombies first started chasing them, Jiang Qingyu was startled. Seeing how fiercely they ran, he thought that if they kept running for a while, they would catch up and cling tightly to the vehicle, pressing against the windows every day while drooling at them.
Fortunately, fantasies were only fantasies. After driving for a few minutes, the RV easily shook them off.
The problems of heating and food could still be solved for the time being, but there was no sign of the zombies being cleared out. On the contrary, their numbers were growing.
At this time, the sky was still somewhat bright. The road conditions were not very good, and there were often potholes and uneven patches. Thanks to the RV’s excellent shock absorption, they did not get jolted inside, and the drive was very smooth.
Jiang Qingyu stepped off the scale and happily reported his “progress” during this period to Fu Jingqiu. “I gained a few pounds!”
Fu Jingqiu said, “We’re together every day, so it’s not very obvious.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “It’s fine. The scale won’t lie. When the entertainment section refreshes one day, you can go to the gym, and I can work out too.”
Fu Jingqiu’s brow lifted slightly, and he sounded a little surprised. “You’d go to the gym?”
“…” Jiang Qingyu said, “You speak very unpleasantly.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “Sorry.”
Standing on the sofa bed, Jiang Qingyu crossed his arms with great momentum and said to Fu Jingqiu, “When I don’t want to exercise, I really am lazy, but when I do want to train, I’m still very hardworking!”
Fu Jingqiu: “…” Complete nonsense.
The moment Jiang Qingyu saw his expression, he knew Fu Jingqiu had not understood what he meant at all. He was just about to say something else. “I…”
Fu Jingqiu patiently waited for a moment, only to see Jiang Qingyu, who had just been standing there proudly like a little tiger, suddenly lower the hands he had placed on his waist in confusion. His lips parted slightly, and after a long while, he uttered one syllable. “Huh?”
Fu Jingqiu asked in puzzlement, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Qingyu said in confusion, “The system just gave me a sum of points.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I don’t know.” Jiang Qingyu repeated to Fu Jingqiu, word for word, the conversation he had with the system that day, then said, “Although I already know now that I can earn points through other methods, we didn’t do anything today.”
Fu Jingqiu had not dabbled much in games and did not understand things like points or judgment criteria. Hearing him say this, he naturally had doubts too. “Or you could ask the system?”
Jiang Qingyu did not have much confidence. “Will it tell me? Its mouth is so tight…” Even so, he humbly asked “Lord System” for guidance.
The system’s answer was very simple. “I told you last time. An individual’s power is indeed limited, but that does not mean it is completely useless.”
Jiang Qingyu thought hard and could only think of the stack of money he had left for Rena today. “Could it be because of that?”
The system said, “This allocation of points was judged based on the consequences driven by your actions. The settlement was only completed just now. Because of your intervention, you successfully persuaded those bullies to leave and prevented a tragedy at the inn. Furthermore, after you left, Rena and her family discovered the money you left behind and have already decided to appropriately help some people in more difficult situations from now on.”
Jiang Qingyu’s eyes widened slightly.
Tragedy? Did it mean what he thought it meant?
Would it really have been that serious?
Jiang Qingyu said, “You mean those people would have done something to Rena and the others? Taken the inn for themselves?”
The system said, “Yes. And not only them. The other guests at the inn would also have been implicated.”
Jiang Qingyu was speechless. “I originally thought their goal was just to stay at the inn and freeload food and drinks.”
The system said, “Perhaps that was the case at first. Later, not necessarily.”
Once they discovered that they would not be punished no matter what they did, they would only escalate their behavior, testing the other party’s bottom line step by step until they committed irreversible evil.
Jiang Qingyu scratched his head. “But most of these things were done by Fu Jingqiu. The reward can actually be counted under me?”
The system said, “You also played a role in it. Besides, Fu Jingqiu is family, so naturally, he counts as yours.”
Jiang Qingyu: “…”
You’re quite good at shipping people.
The system said that it had its own calculation system. Through the direction of events and future developments, it would determine the role Jiang Qingyu played in the middle and issue rewards accordingly.
His role could be large or small, important or dispensable, but as long as it was determined that he had played a part, no matter how many points were given, points would be credited to his account.
Naturally, this did not mean that all his good deeds would be rewarded. The final right of interpretation still belonged to the system. If he wanted to exploit bugs and farm points, that would also depend on whether the system approved it.
Still, he had helped others and gained a sum of points. Calculated this way, it was even more than what he had gained from converting six figures’ worth of supplies. It could be considered an unexpected joy.
Jiang Qingyu happily rolled around on the bed and decided that tonight, they would eat something good.
These past few days, they had mostly eaten at the inn’s restaurant. It had been a long time since he had eaten stir-fried dishes. In the end, his stomach was not one that could eat naan and beef every day. Delicious was delicious, but after not eating home-style dishes for so long, he still missed them very much.
After deciding what to eat tonight, Jiang Qingyu took all the ingredients out of his space and washed and prepared them together with Fu Jingqiu.
For a few moments, he even had a hallucination of the scenes from when he was little and picked vegetables with his grandparents. People did not necessarily have to talk, but the atmosphere was very warm.
The weather was not good, but for the time being, there was no wind. By now, Jiang Qingyu was almost used to this dim filter. Even the desert beside the road had turned hazy gray. Only a few scattered poplars and winterfat shrubs poked out of the snow. Occasionally, he could also see red willows, and the moment Jiang Qingyu saw them, his thoughts wandered to red willow grilled lamb.
What a pity. He could not eat most lamb. The gamey smell was too strong.
The ingredient preparation soon ended, and the inside of the RV became lively. Jiang Qingyu turned on the TV in the living area to play a show, while the kitchen became bustling and hot. The whole room was filled with the aroma of food.
Jiang Qingyu joked with Fu Jingqiu, “If there were a child playing games beside us right now while waiting for dinner, it would really feel a little like New Year.”
Fu Jingqiu was helping him at the side. While washing plates, he said, “But the two of us can’t have one.”
The sound of water was noisy, and Jiang Qingyu was still holding the spatula. Standing in front of the stove, he did not immediately react to what Fu Jingqiu had said. After freezing for more than ten seconds, he finally looked at him with an indescribable expression. “Brother, you…”
What are you saying!!
He had never thought about that kind of thing, okay!
And Fu Jingqiu’s tone was clearly quite serious, so why did it sound a little indecent once it entered his ears!!
Fu Jingqiu was currently not on the same wavelength as him. Seeing Jiang Qingyu’s reaction, he paused, then asked, “Do you like children very much?”
“…” Jiang Qingyu said gloomily, “No.”
Was that the point!
Fu Jingqiu said, “Mm. Other people’s children are fine, but I don’t want to have children of my own.”
The topic became a little more normal.
Jiang Qingyu raised an eyebrow. “Did you only decide that recently?”
“No.” Fu Jingqiu drained the washed baby napa cabbage and handed it to him. “I decided a long time ago.”
It was winter, so one had to eat something hot that could warm the body. One of the dishes on Jiang Qingyu’s menu tonight was baby napa cabbage with vermicelli in superior broth.
Heat oil and stir-fry scallions and ginger, then cut salted duck egg and century egg into small pieces and pour them into the pot to stir-fry. Once they turned sandy, the broth would become especially savory. There was not much technique to it. Once the pot boiled, add baby napa cabbage, vermicelli, and luncheon meat. It could also be considered a quick dish.
Jiang Qingyu was a little surprised. “A long time ago? I thought someone like you… Sorry, a bit of a stereotype, but you feel like the type who dreams of having a wife, kids, and a warm home.”
White mist rose with the hot steam, gradually drifting upward and covering half of Fu Jingqiu’s face, making it blurry as though veiled. He seemed to smile. “You’re right. There are indeed many examples like that around me.”
He could be considered the exception among them.
When it came to a future family, Fu Jingqiu had no longing or ideas at all. He even felt it did not matter whether he had one or not.
Jiang Qingyu was truly curious. “Why?”
If Fu Jingqiu had always been straight, would he have ended up DINK in the future?
Fu Jingqiu took the air fryer out from the lower cabinet. While laying down paper, he said, “I don’t know how to educate children, nor do I know what a normal family atmosphere is supposed to be like. Under those circumstances, forming a family would be irresponsible.”
Jiang Qingyu understood.
It was like the theory that if you could not even take care of yourself, how could you take care of a child? It was about the same as what he thought.
He also could not get along with those children from his relatives’ families. They always wanted to rummage through Jiang Qingyu’s personal belongings. It was very annoying.
The air fryer was used to make potato chicken cakes. Speaking of potatoes, when Jiang Qingyu had been stockpiling, he had spent quite a bit of effort getting them. Because they were delicious and filling, they were simply the universal pairing. It felt like no matter what you made, they were fragrant and flavorful. They were not expensive and had a high yield, so in the early days, he had gone through wholesale markets in various places.
The chicken breast had been marinated in advance. Then the potato pieces were boiled in water for about two minutes, mixed evenly with the chicken breast, starch, and seasonings, kneaded tightly into the shape of patties or bread, brushed with a layer of oil, and placed in the air fryer to bake. They were so delicious that one would hiss from the heat while still being unable to resist quickly taking another bite.
Amid this tempting aroma, Jiang Qingyu joked with Fu Jingqiu, “Looking at it this way, the two of us really are a good match. Neither of us has that need.”
Aside from that, there was also a butter king oyster mushroom dish and baked eggs with minced meat and cheese. For two people, it was just right.
They sat down at the dining table. The food on the table was steaming hot, complete in color, aroma, and taste. Jiang Qingyu lifted the vehicle curtain and saw night hanging low outside, the desolate scenery on both sides constantly retreating. The curtain separated that cold loneliness from them. When he turned back, Meimei was already sitting beside him eating her cat meal, and Fu Jingqiu sat across from him, serving soup for him.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jiang Qingyu smiled brightly and accepted the bowl of soup. “I was just thinking, if I hadn’t met you, what would I be doing right now?”
Fu Jingqiu said, “It’s mealtime now, so of course you’d be eating.”
Jiang Qingyu complained, “You’re talking about the literal meaning. We’re not on the same wavelength.”
Fu Jingqiu thought for a moment. “No matter what, you wouldn’t be living too badly. You’d probably eat properly and take good care of yourself and Meimei.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “But living like this alone would be too boring.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “There’s still internet now. You could go online and chat or video call with friends. They probably can only stay at home too, so they should have plenty of time.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “That’s true, but for three meals a day, sunrise and sunset, the things you see right in that moment, you always want to immediately share them with someone. Across a screen, it feels like there’s a time difference.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “Three meals a day?”
When had this lazy fish ever gotten up to eat breakfast?
Jiang Qingyu silently rolled his eyes, then wrapped a potato chicken piece in rice and stuffed a huge bite into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he chewed, paired with those two little eye rolls, looking rather comical.
Fu Jingqiu laughed first. “But if it were me, without you, I would probably be living very miserably now.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “Mm… not necessarily. That place wasn’t absolutely deserted. If some pickup truck or off-road vehicle happened to pass by, and you told them your identity, bringing you along would be easy.”
When the time came, he could go to the police station for help, get his documents reissued, and transfer his assets. As a soldier with merit and military rank, he probably would not be doing too badly now. It was even possible he would enlist again.
Fu Jingqiu should be the type of person very suited to collective living.
He told Fu Jingqiu his thoughts. The other man did not refute him, but he did not agree either. He only lowered his head and smiled slightly, continuing to pick up food for Jiang Qingyu.
Seeing him smile in such a baffling way, Jiang Qingyu asked in return, “Am I wrong?”
“Perhaps,” Fu Jingqiu said. “But I’ve lived that kind of life for more than twenty years. One gets tired of it eventually.”
Jiang Qingyu chuckled. “So you still think being with me now is better, right?” Truly a silent flirt.
Fu Jingqiu corrected him. “It has meaning.”
This man was quite brave at expressing himself now. Jiang Qingyu still remembered that when he had just “picked him up,” the words Fu Jingqiu said most often were either thank you or still thank you. Otherwise, he was simply silent, dazed, working, without even a hint of human warmth.
Now it was better. When Fu Jingqiu roasted him, it came smoothly. From time to time, he would drag Jiang Qingyu over and smack his butt, and at night in bed, he would even…
Forget it. No need to mention it.
Being eaten by Jiang Qingyu was still better than being eaten by those family members of his.
Congratulations to Fu Jingqiu for finally escaping his original family at the “advanced age” of twenty-eight.
Thinking of this, Jiang Qingyu did not bother rummaging through the fridge. He directly took two cans of fruit wine out of his space. The alcohol content was not high, and it was cantaloupe flavored. It did not taste much like alcohol. Back in university, his roommate had bought some to share in the dorm, and another “alcohol demon” had evaluated it as sweet water.
But Jiang Qingyu liked it very much. When stockpiling, he had added it to the list, thinking he might have the chance to drink a little by himself. Unexpectedly, now he had someone to clink glasses with.
Jiang Qingyu cleared his throat and said in a pretentious manner, “Well then, let me propose one. No matter what, we’re both quite satisfied with our current life, and that’s worth celebrating.”
Fu Jingqiu raised his glass with him, his eyes full of sincerity. “Thank you.”
The glasses clinked with a crisp sound. Jiang Qingyu stared at him. “You’re welcome.”
To this day, I do not regret stopping the vehicle and waiting for you that day.
The road to Kashgar was not easy to travel. They passed through Yarkant, and since this stop had not been in the plan, they simply did not stop. Midway, they rested for one night near a checkpoint. When they set off again the next day, the weather was unexpectedly quite good.
Jiang Qingyu turned on the speakers and played music, hoping that the sun would show itself again, even if only for an hour or so. That day, he had dozed for a while on the rocking chair outside the inn, and to his surprise, he had fallen in love with that feeling. He wanted to experience it again.
Besides, until now, the RV had not yet opened up the retractable second floor. He also wanted to go upstairs, bask in the sun, drink tea, and admire the nonexistent scenery along the way.
Although the sun he had been thinking about did not appear, the sky was very bright. After eating, Jiang Qingyu stretched inside the vehicle, while Fu Jingqiu corrected his movements in a strict and proper manner.
At times like this, Fu Jingqiu transformed into a stern instructor. His touches and adjustments carried not a trace of intimacy, and the atmosphere could not be called ambiguous either. It always felt like Jiang Qingyu had hired a posture teacher, the kind with extremely expensive class fees.
After about ten minutes, Jiang Qingyu was already finding it hard to hold on.
After twenty minutes, he very much wanted to quit and walk away.
After half an hour, Jiang Qingyu seriously discussed with Fu Jingqiu that whether it was exercise or anything else, everything had to be done step by step.
Fu Jingqiu saw through him but did not expose him. Very accommodatingly, he announced that today’s daily “exercise” was over, releasing this fish to turn and rush toward the sea, throwing himself onto the sofa bed to play games on his phone.
Recently, Jiang Qingyu had become a little addicted. Perhaps it was truly because there was nothing to do. The game companies seemed to have smelled business opportunities. In this kind of weather, it was inconvenient to go out, and among the ways to pass time, gaming would certainly be one of them. Even if employees had to work from home, they were gathering teams in full swing and making them work overtime like crazy.
Overtime meant money, and money meant buying supplies. That logic could not be clearer.
Now, if one wanted to buy more supplies on the official market, one had to fight for them. Private prices were also rising. There was really no other way.
Probably, rich people did not have this problem. They were simply bored, and game companies were earning their money.
Recently, new events and new skins had been coming one after another, as if the companies were afraid that leeks would never grow from the field again. The speed at which they grabbed money was astonishing.
Jiang Qingyu had not really spent much money in games. He simply liked playing. Even without teammates, he could play with great enjoyment—of course, the pain of playing solo was soon ended by those university roommates of his.
With no need to attend school or go to work, and seemingly no serious business to handle, Fu Jingqiu did not interfere with his hobbies. As long as he paid attention to his screen time and gaming posture, it was fine.
Today, it was unclear whether Jiang Qingyu was in bad form or what, but he seemed to have lost several games in a row. His face was filled with unhappiness, and he sulked at himself.
Fu Jingqiu found it funny, but very wisely chose not to disturb him at a time like this. He would probably only be unhappy for a short while and be fine later.
When they passed near a village, the road conditions became even worse. It was no exaggeration to describe them as full of potholes. Fu Jingqiu stood by the window and looked out for a while. The terrain here was slightly higher, and he could faintly see the self-built houses in the village. Many homes had built chimneys, slowly and unhurriedly puffing smoke into the sky. The accumulated snow inside the village had also been cleared very cleanly.
After zombies appeared, villages like this were actually relatively safe places. After all, there were limited residents, and the houses each family built were carefully made. In this region, winter temperatures of dozens of degrees below zero were common. The houses had insulation, and heating was also equipped.
Even if a household turned into zombies, others could close their doors and stay inside. The supplies stored for winter would be enough to eat, and vegetables were planted in small warm sheds in the yards. They could be completely self-sufficient.
Fu Jingqiu was focused on observing when the vehicle suddenly lurched forward. It had actually braked to a stop.
Ever since Jiang Qingyu had told him about the automatic driving system, Fu Jingqiu only occasionally went over to “supervise.” The rest of the time, he was very reassured. The RV must have encountered something unusual; otherwise, it would not behave like this.
Jiang Qingyu was also affected by the sudden stop, but he was not unhappy because of it. He followed Fu Jingqiu toward the front of the vehicle. “What’s going on? Is there some kitten or puppy in front?”
In such cold weather, cats and dogs should have all gone to find places sheltered from the wind and warm enough to stay. What would they be doing in the middle of the road?
When they reached the front of the RV and looked, they discovered that a pickup truck had rushed out from the side at the intersection, just happening to stop sideways in the middle of the road and block their path.
Because the road was not wide, the RV could not go around it, so it had no choice but to brake urgently.
Jiang Qingyu’s face darkened. “Do they not even look at traffic lights?”
Fu Jingqiu, however, felt that the other party was not simply running a red light. The pickup truck had rushed out and stopped sideways here. Seeing that they had stopped, it showed no intention of driving away. It was obvious that it had deliberately rushed out to intercept them.
Sure enough, half a minute later, three or four men around thirty years old got out of the pickup truck. Wrapped in mink coats and holding sticks, chainsaws, machetes, and the like, they walked toward them aggressively.
What? Robbery in broad daylight?
Jiang Qingyu subconsciously looked around for surveillance cameras. There was indeed a camera mounted on a pole somewhere by the roadside, but it looked very old. He did not know whether it still worked.
Fu Jingqiu frowned. “We can just reverse and leave. They won’t be able to catch up.”
“Wait.” Jiang Qingyu pressed down on Fu Jingqiu’s hand as he was about to operate the RV. His face still looked very ugly. “This group was clearly waiting here for us on purpose.”
Although this road was a little broken, it was the necessary route to their next destination. If they did not take it, they would have to spend more than ten hours taking a detour.
No one would go farther and abandon the nearer route. These people knew that, which was why they deliberately blocked the road here.
He had just lost seven or eight games in a row and was full of pent-up anger. This group had run straight into the line of fire. He also did not know whether anyone before them had been robbed like this when passing through here.
The man in the black mink shouted roughly, “We don’t want your lives. Leave your stuff behind—food, drink, supplies—and then pump out half the fuel in your vehicle for us. Then you can leave!”
So they really were robbers.
The electronic door between the driver’s seat and the living area had already closed when they came over to check the situation. The soundproofing was turned up to the maximum, so even if Tangyuan barked inside, it would not matter.
Fu Jingqiu said, “There’s no need to clash with them head-on.”
It was merely the principle of the happier side backing down. In any case, they were inside the RV right now. If the vehicle reversed and drove away, they could easily shake them off.
But Jiang Qingyu was currently in a bad mood, so how could he let it go so easily? He immediately draped on a coat, opened the window by the driver’s seat, stuck half his head out, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Leave what? All of you, get lost!”
Fu Jingqiu: “…”
The other party had thought they were about to compromise and was feeling smug. When they saw Jiang Qingyu come out with a delicate, handsome face and throw harsh words at them, they froze for a few seconds.
After reacting, the black-mink man spat to the side, cursed under his breath, and walked toward the RV with the machete over his shoulder. As he walked, he said, “Refusing a toast only to drink a penalty, huh? You just wait, I…”
Before he could finish speaking, the rest of his words were forcibly stuck in his throat.
Because he saw the delicate and pretty young man gripping the vehicle handle expressionlessly pull a gun out from inside the RV, the dark muzzle pointing straight at him.
