Chapter 241: My room is leaking, so I have no choice but to come sleep next to you

Bai City was also bright with sunshine.

"Ah, without my younger brother and Qingqing, I'm going to die!" Chen Banxia sprawled out on the chair in the living room, looking up at the ceiling and kicking her legs continuously. "These two people didn't even call their dear older sister and younger sister when they went traveling. Ah ah ah, my thoughts are not flowing smoothly..."

"Go die further away. It's the New Year, can't you say something pleasant?" Wei Lvshi frowned.

"I'm miserable..."

"What are you miserable about? People went traveling, why should they call you? What can you do? You only know how to cause trouble."

"I could be their wallet."

"Are they short of that bit of your money?"

"I... I can't be bothered to talk to you."

Chen Banxia continued to look up at the ceiling, dazed.

At the very edge of the sofa sat a little girl quietly, holding a skewer of Whirlwind Potato Tower, tilting her head to bite into it, and secretly observing everyone in the room.

Chen Banxia quickly turned her head and asked, "Since Chen Shu isn't home, who is going to make the New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow?"

Chen Jiaoshou dared not make a sound.

The little girl continued to gnaw on the Whirlwind Potato Tower.

Wei Lvshi said coldly, "If you don't want to eat the food I make, I don't want to make it either. Let's just order a table outside... Call Xiaoxiao's parents too, otherwise, it'll be quite cold and lonely with just us few."

"Okay!"

"Okay my foot!"

"I... I can't be bothered to talk to you!" Chen Banxia took out her Mobile Phone. "I'll ask Chen Shu how they're having fun!"

"Are you so idle you have nothing to do? Why disturb them?"

"Can't I care about my younger brother?"

"Don't disturb them."

"Can this be called disturbing? Foreign countries are so dangerous, there's news of war every day, you don't even know how to care about your son!" Chen Banxia confronted Wei Lvshi with a serious expression, as if in court. "A few days ago, I even scrolled past news about Lanya setting up a spiritual poison laboratory in Duqin, and it almost went wrong. I heard that if something really happened at this laboratory, or if the spiritual poison leaked, not a single one of the three million people in the entire city would survive. Fortunately, it was discovered in time by people from our country. Your son followed those historians to Duqin for over a month last semester; look, he brushed shoulders with death, didn't he?"

"What do you mean brushed shoulders with what? It's the New Year, can you say something pleasant? That's Duqin, it's not like the whole world is that dangerous."

"I told you to read books, but you wanted to go feed pigs. Didn't you see the news saying that Lanya established this laboratory in Duqin twenty years ago? When did Duqin start to become chaotic? Last year or the year before? Can you guarantee that the place Chen Shu and the others went to is definitely safe?"

"When are you going back to Yujing?"

"You..."

Chen Banxia put down her Mobile Phone indignantly.

The little girl continued to gnaw on the potato tower, observing in secret, her heart completely unruffled.

Suddenly someone called her:

"Xiaoxiao."

"?"

The little girl looked at Chen Banxia with a straight little face.

Chen Banxia's toes curled inside her slippers: "They both went out to play without taking you, are you angry?"

"Angry to death!"

"It's too outrageous!"

"It's too outrageous!"

"Did they tell you when they would be back?"

"No."

"Even you don't know?"

"They'll come back when they've had enough fun."

"Then when is 'enough fun'?"

"When they come back."

"..."

Chen Banxia fell silent.

It was the first time she felt that a New Year without her younger brother was so miserable; looking around the whole house, she couldn't even find a single person to talk to.

The only benefit was that the balcony of her bedroom was finally not hung full of Sausage and Cured Meat. With her brother away, Wei Lvshi was too lazy to make them, only buying some Sausage and Cured Meat from outside to freeze in the refrigerator, but this also meant she wouldn't get to eat the delicious Wax Ribs, soy-sauce beef, and air-dried chicken this year.

"Sigh..."

Chen Banxia glanced at Wei Lvshi beside her, turned her chair to the other side, faced away from them, and still took out her Mobile Phone.

Chen Banxia: Ah, when are you coming back? Without you guys, the New Year is so boring.

Chen Shu: We'll come back when we've had enough fun.

Chen Banxia: When will you have had enough fun?

Chen Shu: When we come back.

Chen Banxia:...

Behind her, Xiaoxiao bit the stick of the potato tower, held it in her mouth, gripped her Mobile Phone, and secretly observed her back.

So much fun.

The setting sun over the vast desert was like blood, with sand dunes layer upon layer.

One side of the sand dune under the sunset was illuminated golden-red, while the other side was shrouded in shadow; the boundary between sunlight and shadow was distinct.

Zhang Suannai sat on the ridge of a sand dune, wearing shorts, with a bandage wrapped around her left thigh, showing faint traces of congealed blood. Yet, she sat there unconcerned, gnawing on a smoked lamb leg. A Long Sword was placed to the side, her two long legs bathed in the sunset, while her shadow was cast onto the opposite sand dune. This scene, which originally had only monotonous colors and lines, gained vitality because of her sitting there.

This lamb leg was too, too, too tough.

Her cheeks ached from chewing, and her temples bulged high.

"Sigh..."

Zhang Suannai sighed, set down the lamb leg for a moment, and fished out her Mobile Phone.

Here, one can only use Satellite Internet.

Satellite Internet is very expensive, but today it is necessary.

She had just had a long satellite call with her master, confirmed she would return before her master's three-hundredth birthday next month, and then logged into her master's Feixin to swindle over a hundred thousand in red envelope money from her senior brothers and sisters; by comparison, the cost of Satellite Internet suddenly became insignificant.

Zhang Suannai switched back to her own Feixin and, looking at the message she had sent to Qingqing a week ago, could not help but frown.

Qingqing had not responded to her for two months; according to Xiaoxiao, she had gone on a solo trip with that silly Qingcai.

"Sigh..."

Zhang Suannai sighed again.

The class group, however, was quite lively.

Zhang Suannai took a photo of the current scene, told everyone she was training and adventuring in Duqin to show off, and then closed Feixin.

Satellite communication is too expensive; for them, it is not worth it.

Then she opened the Ancient Cultivation Group.

Qingcai Keke and the Nameless Person had not popped up in the group for a long time, and Zhang Suannai tagged them, but no one replied. She did not know what was up with the Nameless Person, but that silly Qingcai was definitely focused entirely on his goddess roommate; he had probably taken who knows how much advantage of her.

Zhong Miao Zhimen was still in Duqin and would occasionally pop up; they would exchange information in the group.

Unfortunately, the signal in Duqin was too poor, and now in wartime, the signal had become even worse; the two of them usually went online intermittently and talked with time gaps, so one exchange sometimes took half a month to complete.

The rest of the people in the group were basically mutes; except for "Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs" who occasionally asked some questions, basically no one spoke.

It was almost the New Year, yet it was so desolate.

It was really boring.

Zhang Suannai could not help but think of last year.

At this time last year, the group was still very lively, and she was still locked in a battle of wits with that silly Qingcai; of course, it ended with both sides evenly matched. As witty and clever as she was, she had not managed to get the better of that silly Qingcai, and that silly Qingcai had not suffered a loss under her either—let's call it a draw. It did, however, give those eating melon seeds a wonderful display of intellectual maneuvering.

Why was it so desolate this year?

Zhang Suannai had a complex expression, but she had no time to think more, because dust was swirling in the distance, and a logistics convoy was driving over.

This was a logistics convoy of the Lanya Regular Army.

The Lanya Regular Army was much more disciplined than the Mercenary, and news of them burning, killing, looting, or insulting women was rarely heard, but the Watcher armed forces they supported acted recklessly in their own motherland; many things could not pass censorship when reported back home, and this debt had to be partially attributed to the Lanya people as well.

Of course, the situation had changed now.

Lanya directly sent troops to invade Duqin, and the Watcher, who were originally Lanya's lackeys, directly defected and fought against Lanya together with the Government Army to protect their home and country, but it was of little use; now only Tasha and its surrounding areas had not fallen into Lanya's hands.

Over 80% of all of Duqin had fallen.

Zhang Suannai's way of training was different from Zhong Miao Zhimen's; Zhong Miao Zhimen were here to observe the various states of the human world, while she was here to fight. Since she was here to fight, she naturally would not be picky; if there was a fight, she would fight, and any grudges would be counted on the Sword Sect.

Yiguo people fighting Lanya—it was their duty.

The Watcher? Fight them too, fight them too.

"Ah..."

Zhang Suannai loosened her muscles and bones, and before the logistics convoy discovered her, she concealed her Spirit Power, carried her Long Sword, flipped her body downward, and descended the sand mountain.

A sandstorm rose again in the desert.

Wind and rain suddenly rose on the sea.

In the darkness, the sea surged in layers, the sound of waves crashing loudly, and the wind blowing through the dense forest and earthen houses sounded like sobbing, or perhaps wailing. From time to time, one could hear the snapping sound of trees being destroyed in the forest behind the mountain, but these few small houses at the junction of the beach and the dense forest were exceptionally quiet. Even though the wind and rain were heavy, the light on the walls and bamboo poles did not dim, and the two figures in the kitchen showed no signs of panic; the wind and rain had not disturbed them.

The Conch Lamp Chen Shu had made himself hung overhead, casting the shadows of the two onto the wall.

The Conch Lamp looked exactly like the incandescent bulbs from the early years of his past life, hanging from the ceiling by a piece of rattan, casting down an orange-yellow light. It was neither bright nor dim, illuminating the worn marks on the iron pot and porcelain bowl from long use, circle by circle. From time to time, it was blown by the wind that snuck in, causing the shadows on the wall to sway.

The two were preparing tomorrow's meal.

Tomorrow was New Year's Eve.

Since there were only two of them and Qingqing did not like eating meat much, Chen Shu only braised a piece of pig head meat and half a pig's trotter, then boiled and sliced the Sausage and Cured Meat so that tomorrow they could use all their time and energy to make hot dishes.

Qingqing was responsible for the Cutting Technique.

Voices of conversation rang out in the kitchen, but it was almost entirely Chen Shu speaking; most of the time she just listened quietly, earnestly slicing the meat.

She sliced the Sausage diagonally, cutting it very, very thin. When she reached the end of the Sausage and a piece remained, she stopped her knife, learned from how Chen Shu used to feed them, pinched this small piece of Sausage tail, turned around, and delivered it into Chen Shu's mouth.

The wind and rain outside grew heavier.

The Rune light on top of the bamboo poles illuminated countless raindrops. The sea level had not risen much, but the incoming waves repeatedly pressed close to the small house.

The light from the kitchen shone through the bamboo-woven doors and windows, drawing crisscrossing lines on the soaked beach.

The two were almost finished with their tasks and went to wash up and return to their rooms.

Chen Shu took out his Mobile Phone, looked at the zero-bar signal, and since he neither wanted to read nor listen to music or play games, he simply sat by the window and listened to the sound of the rain outside.

Qingqing leaned against the bed, took out a book recommended by the old gentleman, "Universe Hypothesis: Great Universe, Beehive Universe, Great Plane and Small Plane, etc.", and began to read it earnestly by the light of another brighter Conch Lamp.

Not long after, a figure appeared outside the window.

Ning Qing looked up indifferently.

Chen Shu walked to the door holding a pillow. The door he had designed had an ingenious feature: it had no lock, so he pushed the door open and walked in.

"My side is leaking rain."

"?"

"It's really leaking rain, I didn't do it on purpose." Chen Shu's expression was somewhat pained, and there were a few drops of water on his face.

"Repair it."

"It's raining, I don't want to repair it."

"So?"

"I'll make do at your place for the night. I promise that as soon as I lie on the bed, I'll use a Hypnosis Spell to put myself to sleep and stay asleep until tomorrow morning."

"..."

Ning Qing looked at him calmly.

Chen Shu scratched his head: "If that won't work, I'll move the mattress over and make a floor bed."

Ning Qing pursed her lips, withdrew her gaze, and only whispered: "The bed is too narrow to fit two pillows; put your pillow away."

"Alright."

Half a minute later.

Chen Shu climbed onto Qingqing's bed. The bed was truly narrow and small; he and Qingqing were pressed tightly together, and he could see the contents of the book just by turning his head.

"What are you reading? It looks very profound."

"Is this what you meant by using a Hypnosis Spell to put yourself to sleep as soon as you get into bed?"

"Let me take a look with you."

"..."

Ning Qing couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him; she pinched the corner of the page with her fingertips and turned it.

Chen Shu was wearing a yellowed undershirt that said "Advanced Production Worker," and he wore shorts below; coincidentally, she was also wearing shorts. Under the blanket, their legs were almost pressed together, as were their arms on their upper bodies. Their body temperatures warmed each other, and both could feel the touch of the other's skin, yet Ning Qing did not panic; she knew this person always had a sense of propriety.

Chen Shu was leaning almost against her shoulder, allowing her to feel his breathing, and he quickly said:

"It's time to turn the page."

"No."

"I've already finished reading it."

"I haven't yet."

"You read so slowly."

"..."

"I'm not reading anymore, I'm going to sleep."

She saw this person shrink downward, reach out to wrap his arms around her thighs, and tuck his head under the pillow, his face almost pressed against her waist.

"Qingqing smells so good."

"?"

Ning Qing frowned slightly. Just as she grabbed his arm, wanting to pull his hand away, she heard his steady breathing. Her movements froze for a few seconds, but in the end, she chose to pull her hand back—anyway, he wouldn't know if she pulled his hand away right now, and it would be the same to pull it away when he was asleep, right?

Ning Qing lowered her head and continued reading intently.

The waves and the wind and rain outside became the perfect background music.