Chapter 87: Snacks and Gossip

The group finished their dinner while engaging in lively conversation. Bi Qiao’an insisted on handling the dishes herself, refusing Shen Yanming’s offer to help.

Shen Yanming ushered the three men into the living room, turned on the TV, and selected a movie for them to watch.

“Hey Old Shen, got any more snacks? Hook your buddies up,” Li Zhaozhao pleaded.

“You’ve eaten so much already. Aren’t you stuffed?”

“Come on, you know my appetite hasn’t changed, even though I’ve lost weight. Be a pal and get some more snacks for us,” Li Zhaozhao insisted.

Shen Yanming clenched his jaw, trying to ignore Li Zhaozhao’s incessant pestering. Finally, he threw his hands up in exasperation and headed to the storage room. He emerged with a watermelon and a bag of dried strawberries.

“Here, snack on these dried strawberries for now. We’ll have the watermelon later.”

“Wow, this is amazing! Watermelons are so rare this year. Where did you get it?”

“I have a partner in Nan City whose orchards had a decent harvest. These melons were grown indoors in limited quantities and weren’t sold to the public.” Having said this, Shen Yanming took the watermelon to the kitchen to cut it into pieces.

In reality, the watermelon came from his space, but he had to provide a plausible explanation for its origin. Of course, Shen Yanming frequently contacted Zeng Yiming and was well-informed about the situation in Nan City.

By the time the movie ended, they had polished off all the dried strawberries. The watermelon, being more filling, was only half-consumed.

Bi Qiao’an didn’t discard the watermelon rinds. Instead, she brought them to the kitchen, scraped off the remaining fruit and outer skin, washed them clean, cut them into strips, and arranged them on a plate to be sun-dried the following day.

As they watched Bi Qiao’an handle the melon rinds, Zhang Heping, Ji Kangyong, and Li Zhaozhao suddenly grasped why Shen Yanming’s life was so comfortable.

Shen Yanming’s good life resulted from accumulating little by little over time. He didn’t grow complacent just because he had made preparations.

They needed to reflect on their own habits. From now on, they should disregard their stockpiles, consider themselves ordinary people, make the most thorough preparations, and live their lives steadily.

If Shen Yanming knew their thoughts, he would undoubtedly laugh at their naivety. After all, would someone with a space ever worry about not having enough to eat?

The reason for doing this was simply to have visible supplies.

Moreover, unbeknownst to them, while Bi Qiao’an was handling the melon rinds, her phone was recording a video. This was a habit she had maintained since her days of foraging for food, hoping to influence others through her actions.

Bi Qiao’an was simply following her heart, never imagining that her videos would play a pivotal role in escaping Qiu Man’s surveillance.

Late at night, the three men were still reluctant to leave. Shen Yanming’s face darkened as he wanted to send them away.

Nowadays, unlike before, most people were night owls. The majority would be asleep by eleven or twelve o’clock.

These shameless guys, didn’t they realize that time was precious? Tsk, they were deliberately trying to annoy him!

“Aren’t you going home? It’s late,” Shen Yanming finally couldn’t help but speak up at half past eleven.

“Hahaha, I knew he couldn’t stand it. Look at his dark face. He definitely wanted to throw us out long ago,” Li Zhaozhao pointed at Shen Yanming, laughing uncontrollably.

Shen Yanming promptly threw the cushion beside him at Li Zhaozhao’s face.

Ji Kangyong turned his face to the side, laughed for a while, and then said, “Heping agreed earlier that we would all stay at his place tonight.”

Shen Yanming raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you willing to contribute your bedding this time?”

Zhang Heping snorted, “How can being willing and being forced be the same? How can strangers and close buddies be compared?”

Upon hearing this, Li Zhaozhao sensed there was a story. “Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

“Get out of here. Let’s go, go, go home and sleep,” Zhang Heping blushed when Shen Yanming mentioned the Song family and escaped to his home.

Seeing this, Ji Kangyong and Li Zhaozhao also got up and followed Zhang Heping next door.

“The annoying people are finally gone,” Shen Yanming hugged Bi Qiao’an and said with a smile.

“It’s just occasionally for a day. Look at your dark face,” Bi Qiao’an poked Shen Yanming’s cheek with her finger, laughing as she tried to break free. “Hurry up and let me go. I’m exhausted after a busy day. I need to wash up and go to bed.”

However, Shen Yanming refused to release her. He hugged Bi Qiao’an and walked towards the bathroom. “I’ll join you.”

The next day, Shen Yanming and Bi Qiao’an slept in, not rising until nearly noon.

While brushing her teeth, Bi Qiao’an mumbled to the man beside her, “I wonder if they’ve left yet. Should we prepare lunch for them?”

Shen Yanming put down the towel and embraced Bi Qiao’an from behind. “Let’s make something simple for lunch. They’re not working today, so they probably haven’t gotten up yet.”

Just like that, Shen Yanming waited for Bi Qiao’an to finish washing up. Looking at the mirror, he saw the two of them intimately leaning together and sighed lightly, “What enviable good fortune, to be able to marry Ms. Bi Qiao’an.”

Bi Qiao’an leaned back against Shen Yanming’s chest, her hands resting on his, and said with a sweet smile, “Yes, Ms. Bi used all her luck in life to marry Mr. Shen Yanming.”

Shen Yanming and Bi Qiao’an lingered in the bathroom, exchanging tender kisses and gentle caresses. They reluctantly parted, knowing they couldn’t stay there forever.

She touched her swollen lips and got up to prepare lunch in the kitchen.

Last night’s dinner was sumptuous. For today’s lunch, Bi Qiao’an decided to make something simple. After some thought, she settled on seafood noodles. The taste was good, and if they were entertaining guests, they should like it.

Bi Qiao’an opened the refrigerator, took out shrimp, clams, eggs, then went to the vegetable garden to pick a tomato, a few sprigs of cilantro, a few green leafy vegetables, and a few mushrooms. She followed the recipe and got to work.

These ingredients were all accounted for in the house, so taking them out wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Bi Qiao’an had made seafood noodles before and was quite adept at the process.

Shen Yanming watched Bi Qiao’an’s busy figure, touched the corner of his mouth, and smiled with satisfaction. Such a life was truly blissful!

Then, he got up and went to the storage room to prepare gifts for the three men.

Each person would receive a bottle of Geller Manor red wine, a bag of dried strawberries, a bag of dried blueberries, a bag of candy, and a jar of rose sauce. Shen Yanming packed them in paper bags and set them aside.

He also took out three plastic bags, each containing a watermelon, two melons, and five peaches. This was a treat for the three of them.

Once he had prepared everything, Shen Yanming carried the gifts to the living room. He then called Zhang Heping, inviting the trio to join them for a meal.

The phone call jolted Zhang Heping awake. He glanced at the clock and groaned, realizing they had overslept. “Guys, wake up,” he called out to Ji Kangyong and Li Zhaozhao. “Shen Yanming invited us for lunch.” 

Despite the rude awakening, the three friends grinned at each other, appreciating the simple joys life still offered.

They hurriedly washed up and rushed over.

As they approached Shen Yanming’s house, the tantalizing aroma of Bi Qiao’an’s cooking greeted them. 

Though the lunch spread was simpler than the previous night’s feast, the seafood noodles she prepared were generously laden with succulent morsels of shrimp, clams, and vegetables.

As they savored the first mouthfuls of the seafood noodles, the three friends exchanged looks of pure bliss. 

“How does she do it?” Zhang Heping wondered aloud, slurping up another delectable bite. 

“I’ve never tasted anything like this before!” Li Zhaozhao declared, his eyes wide with appreciation.

Zhang Heping leaned back in his chair, a contented smile playing on his lips as he savored the last spoonful of the flavorful soup. “This life is truly blissful. I wonder how long it can last.”  His smile faded slightly as a pensive look crossed his face. 

“Why don’t we go on a trip while everything is normal?” 

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