Chapter 65
No matter what, the old man was safe and sound. That could be considered a fortunate thing.
The people here liked celebrating. Whether it was weddings, festivals, or big and small happy events, all of them were worth celebrating.
Jiang Qingyu had originally been worried that they would keep asking how he had cured the old man, but clearly, as the person involved, the old man had an even stronger desire to perform. They had only been inside for a short while, and Jiang Qingyu had already heard several versions of the story.
His old companions all gathered around him, asking him to explain in detail. Probably because everyone was already familiar with one another, or because the old man naturally had a comedic quality, no matter how exaggerated he became, his audience friends were extremely supportive, laughing nonstop beside him.
Jiang Qingyu and Fu Jingqiu were instead left off to the side. Standing on the outer edge of the crowd, they looked a little unable to blend in.
Xiao Li brought them salty milk tea, his face full of smiles. “Sorry about that. They’re just like this. Once they get excited chatting, they get carried away. You two helped out, and the old man is grateful in his heart.”
Jiang Qingyu accepted the milk tea and thanked him, joking, “Of course. Just now, he even praised me as a hero emerging from youth.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “But this incident still needs to be treated seriously. We won’t stay here for long. If something like this happens again next time, and the vehicle is frozen and can’t start, you can’t exactly rely on painkillers to treat it. Does your community have a medical room?”
Xiao Li said, “We do, but usually it only treats headaches and colds, or gives anti-inflammatory IVs and things like that.” He said embarrassedly, “Today was our oversight. We also saw that the old man’s body was still strong, so we didn’t watch him too closely.”
Fu Jingqiu said seriously, “You have to watch him. The situation outside is special now. Sending him to the hospital also comes with risks. Personal safety is important too.”
Xiao Li nodded repeatedly. “Okay, okay. We’ll pay attention from now on. Thank you, Brother Fu.”
Jiang Qingyu raised his brows subtly. Brother Fu? That form of address was quite fresh. He had not heard anyone call him that before.
Fu Jingqiu nodded to the other party and said nothing more.
This was really… even after retiring, the authority carved into his bones had not faded in the slightest. From the scattered things he had said, Jiang Qingyu had only learned that Fu Jingqiu seemed to have once been a team leader in some kind of combat unit. So even when he was giving instructions about small, trivial matters, it made people unable to feel unconvinced or think of resisting. Never mind Xiao Li, even Jiang Qingyu himself wanted to obediently do as he said.
After Jiang Qingyu drank a cup of salty milk tea, not only did it fail to suppress his hunger, it made him even hungrier. He really could not wait until they returned to the RV to cook, so he simply went to the community cafeteria for a meal.
After learning of their “glorious deed,” the cafeteria served Fu Jingqiu a plate of beef pilaf with a solid layer of beef spread over it. Jiang Qingyu was shocked when he saw it and very unceremoniously picked several chopsticks’ worth from Fu Jingqiu’s bowl into his own.
Jiang Qingyu ate a bowl of oil-sautéed meat noodles. They were fragrant with oil, and the noodles were chewy. He received the same treatment as Fu Jingqiu; several layers of meat had been stacked inside. The meat had been marinated before being fried, making it especially flavorful. Hidden underneath were also several fried eggs with golden edges.
Returning the favor, Jiang Qingyu shared two with Fu Jingqiu.
The cafeteria even cut up a watermelon for them. It was so fresh. When it had just been served, Jiang Qingyu inexplicably thought of a funny description online: if fruit had been stored for too long, then it had been dead for a very long time.
What they were eating now was freshly killed. It was very sweet and full of juice.
This meal was very comfortable. Whether it was Jiang Qingyu or Fu Jingqiu, both of them were extremely familiar with cafeteria environments. It even made them feel a kind of security, as if they had returned to peaceful times. There was no apocalypse and no zombies. They had met by chance and had the opportunity to sit together and eat.
Jiang Qingyu slowly gnawed on watermelon. “Actually, when I think about what happened today, something still feels off. Anyway, the snow outside has stopped, and the road has been cleared. We can leave this afternoon.”
Fu Jingqiu nodded and agreed. “Let’s say goodbye and leave after eating. His condition back then really didn’t look like an ordinary dislocation. Once they react, they’ll definitely ask.”
Jiang Qingyu’s ability to fool people was only so-so, and Fu Jingqiu might not even be capable of lying. In any case, they had already done a good deed. In this kind of weather, the RV’s use was not affected, and it could still continue driving on the road.
They did not go and say goodbye to the uncles and aunties in any particularly noticeable way. Instead, they went to greet Xiao Li and the other staff members who had helped shovel the snow.
Although the other party repeatedly urged them to stay, they still thanked them for their kindness and drove off.
At this point, maintaining the appearance of a small RV was no longer very suitable. There was more or less accumulated snow on the road, and an ordinary RV would not be able to travel at all. If people at checkpoints or elsewhere saw it, they would become suspicious.
During the first upgrade, not only had the interior space, appearance, and performance all been greatly improved, Jiang Qingyu now restored it to its original form—an armored RV.
Mm, actually, he still shrank its size a little, so it would not draw too much attention.
The tires alone were almost as tall as a person. The entrance door was electric, and one had to climb several steps to get in. The outer shell was resistant to cuts, chopping, and stabbing, and like the glass, it was bulletproof. Even if accumulated snow blocked the way, it could easily crush through it.
Jiang Qingyu set the skin to look like a small armored RV. It was somewhat like the vehicles often seen in foreign snowy camping videos, with strong power and a large fuel tank. It could be called an extremely excellent RV configuration for the apocalypse.
Even if someone saw it, they would only say, “Awesome,” instead of: how on earth did this broken vehicle get on the road?
Now was not the time to stay low-key. Even if someone wanted to do something bad, they would first have to wade through snow that nearly reached their knees to get in front of them, and then talk to Fu Jingqiu’s fists and the compound bow Jiang Qingyu was still learning to use.
Jiang Qingyu stood in the driver’s cabin and looked out for a while. As expected, the outside was a vast white expanse, with no vehicles or people in sight. Houses were almost buried, and even footprints could not be seen. The world was quiet. Only their RV continued firmly forward.
Jiang Qingyu had calculated the time and planned not to deliberately stop at certain places later. If convenient, it would be best to keep traveling. Some places could be skipped.
After all, the temperature was truly too low. There probably would not be conditions for continued business or anything else. Turning in that direction would not only be troublesome, but might also create extra complications.
It would be better to drive directly to Aksu, then go to Sayram Lake, take a small detour around Kanas, and head straight to Altay.
After the extreme cold disaster passed and the ice and snow melted, they could travel to other places and adjust the itinerary.
Jiang Qingyu admired the view for a while, not daring to stare too long, then returned to the living area and said, “It really feels like we’re the only two people left in the whole world.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “That doesn’t sound bad either.”
After all, he had no social needs.
Jiang Qingyu said, “When I used to work part-time outside, time felt so slow. Now that I finally have a chance to enjoy life, time feels like it passes so quickly instead.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “That’s because by the time you wake up every day, it’s already almost noon.”
Jiang Qingyu: “…”
Fu Jingqiu said, “If you secretly stay up late behind my back, you can even sleep until afternoon.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “Oi! What do you mean, secretly staying up late behind your back!”
Fu Jingqiu said calmly, “You haven’t?”
“….” He had.
Jiang Qingyu coughed tactically. “Sometimes I just really can’t sleep!”
Fu Jingqiu said, “If you can’t sleep, you can do something else with me.”
Don’t hint so clearly. Brother.
They had only just helped each other last night, plus rubbed together a little. Their progress could still be considered normal.
How could they do that every day!
Jiang Qingyu’s eyes drifted, and he pretended to observe the ceiling. “Ah, this chandelier…”
The moment Fu Jingqiu saw him like this, he knew Jiang Qingyu must have thought of something indecent. He explained, “I meant we can watch a movie, you can teach me how to play games, or we can simply chat.”
Life was pieced together from countless fragments of time spent together. Although they were stuck together every day, Fu Jingqiu still deliberately wanted to do some things “together” with Jiang Qingyu.
That feeling was different.
It made him feel that the other person had participated in his life, that all his memories had been marked by the other person’s presence.
When he did that thing again, his mind would automatically help him revisit those memories.
It was an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
Fu Jingqiu might not have expressed it very accurately, but Jiang Qingyu still understood. He had never thought in this direction before. The kind of daily life many people found dull and boring could actually be something so worth remembering and commemorating.
How should he put it? It was even a little romantic.
Fu Jingqiu really was… someone who knew how to date.
Wait. Weren’t they talking about him staying up late? How had the topic shifted here? The atmosphere had also started turning ambiguous. The air was practically stretching into threads. It felt like Fu Jingqiu was about to hug him any second now.
He was way too good at expressing his needs!
Even so, when Fu Jingqiu really came closer, Jiang Qingyu did not dodge. Instead, he obediently raised his chin slightly and let the other man hold him, lowering his head to bury his face in Jiang Qingyu’s shoulder.
Jiang Qingyu patted his back. “All right. Next time I stay up late, I’ll definitely call you.”
Thinking about it that way, staying up late to play on his phone while leaving Fu Jingqiu to sleep alone did seem a little too much.
After saying this, Jiang Qingyu said worriedly, “But your schedule has always been very stable. I don’t really want to lead you astray.”
Fu Jingqiu straightened up and ended the hug, looking directly into his eyes. “Are you planning to stay up late every day?”
Jiang Qingyu: “…” Guilty.
He laughed dryly. “That kind of thing… you can’t say for sure. Sometimes, when I get too into playing…”
Under Fu Jingqiu’s gaze, his voice grew weaker and weaker until it disappeared.
Fu Jingqiu stared at him for a while, but unexpectedly, he was the first to concede. He seemed to sigh. “Forget it.”
His earlobe was pinched, the touch of Fu Jingqiu’s fingertips still lingering on that small piece of soft flesh. Jiang Qingyu stared at him and saw Fu Jingqiu say helplessly, “As long as you don’t go too far, it’s allowed.”
Facing Jiang Qingyu, he truly retreated again and again.
There was no helping it. Jiang Qingyu’s previous schedule had been like this. Sometimes, after coming back from a late-night part-time shift, even if he did nothing else, by the time he showered, tidied up a little, and lay down in bed, it was almost one in the morning. The next day, he still had an 8 a.m. class.
Later, when he had accompanied his grandparents in the hospital, there had been almost no chance to sleep properly. The inpatient department was also very “lively” at night.
Even now, he was still used to sleeping late and waking late, thinking that as long as he slept enough hours, staying up late should not matter much.
But Fu Jingqiu’s principles were still very strong. Sleep early and wake early, take a nap at noon if needed, and exercise every day.
During this time that they had slept together, he had controlled Jiang Qingyu quite a bit. But where there were policies, there were countermeasures. Wasn’t that how Jiang Qingyu ended up secretly staying up late behind his back to play on his phone?
Rather than secretly playing under the blanket and hurting his eyes, he might as well stay up openly.
Having received Fu Jingqiu’s approval, Jiang Qingyu cheered and, sure enough, pounced over to act spoiled.
Steady and secure, he was caught by Fu Jingqiu, who supported his butt and held him in his arms.
