Ch96 Meng Ci, What Are You Looking At?
"I told you to grab it! I told you to grab it!"
"This firewood was clearly mine to haul back. You still dare to snatch it?"
"It's mine now."
Meng Ci stood on the balcony, watching the people below brawling fiercely over a bundle of firewood. He sighed deeply.
"I knew life wouldn't be peaceful once these people returned."
Shen Que was reattaching the loose wooden splint to Bai Lang's paw when he heard this and offered reassurance.
"It's fine. The government will handle this."
Shen Que had been reborn, so Meng Ci naturally trusted his words.
Sure enough, within a couple of days, a pickup truck equipped with a loudspeaker began patrolling back and forth below.
"Attention all residents, attention all residents."
"The government has decided to form a security team from among the residents."
"Your daily duties will involve patrolling the area. Any incidents of trouble or provocation should be reported directly to the relevant leaders."
"All members of the security team will receive two meals a day, plus an extra half-pound of rice."
Curled up in bed, Meng Ci heard this announcement and felt immense admiration for Shen Que!
He really was someone who had been reborn-how could he have guessed so accurately?
Rolling over, Meng Ci resumed reading the novel on her phone, though the more she read, the redder her cheeks grew.
This particular novel was an adult-themed story Meng Ci had stumbled upon by accident on her phone.
As he read, he mentally criticized the content.
Yet despite his internal complaints, Meng Ci found himself increasingly engrossed.
He even began anticipating the scenes where multiple characters interacted later on.
Like a kitten, he was utterly captivated by the story's plot twists, feeling a tingling excitement he couldn't resist.
"Meng Ci!"
"Mm!"
Hearing Shen Que's voice, Meng Ci quickly stuffed his phone under the covers.
He knew his face must be burning bright red right now.
Shen Que knew something was off the moment he saw him.
Meng Ci quickly ducked under the covers, responding casually.
It was already noon. According to his usual routine, he should have been up long ago.
Shen Que had finished cooking breakfast and waited another half hour. Seeing that he still hadn't risen, he worried something might have happened and opened the door to call him.
Seeing Meng Ci suddenly retreat under the covers, Shen Que wondered if something had happened and walked toward the bed.
Hearing the sound, Meng Ci quickly spoke up to stop him.
"Go out first. I'll be out in a minute."
Shen Que halted his steps and nodded obediently.
"Alright, I'll go serve the food then."
"Mm-hmm." Meng Ci quickly agreed.
Thud.
After hearing the door close, Meng Ci waited a full minute before peeking out from under the covers. Only after confirming Shen Que had left did he take a deep breath.
That was too close for comfort. He'd almost been caught.
If Shen Que found out he watched this kind of thing, his cool, aloof image would be ruined.
Meng Ci stowed the phone in his spatial pocket and retrieved another device.
Fortunately, when he'd bought these phones, he'd purchased multiple units of the same model -none of them had cases, so Shen Que wouldn't suspect anything unusual.
Only then did Meng Ci enter his spatial pocket, swiftly changing his clothes before emerging.
The stove held a spread: spicy soup, layered pancakes, a plate of pickled mustard greens, and another of boneless chicken feet.
Meng Ci took a bite of pancake and nodded. "Not bad, not bad."
Under Meng Ci's personal guidance, Shen Que's cooking skills had reached near-perfect mastery, almost matching his own.
The only drawback was his limited variety of dishes.
Of course, Meng Ci didn't solely assign cooking duties to Shen Que.
Mornings were typically chilly, so Shen Que prepared simple breakfasts, while Meng Ci handled most of the afternoon meals.
Though Shen Que's face remained calm and composed when praised by Meng Ci, the slight lift of his lips betrayed his good mood.
After the meal, Shen Que returned to his room, saying he needed to wash clothes and would take Meng Ci's changed garments back with him.
Shen Que's room housed a semi-automatic washing machine that connected to the generator when needed.
The water for washing came from melted snow collected from the rooftop.
After waiting five minutes to ensure Shen Que wouldn't suddenly appear, Meng Ci's curiosity was piqued by descriptions from novels.
Stealing glances toward the door, Meng Ci still pulled the phone from his spatial storage.
Just ten minutes. Just ten minutes.
But once he started, Meng Ci couldn't stop. Ten minutes turned into another ten.
And the expression on his face grew increasingly incredulous.
His mind raced with disbelief as he scrolled: How could this be possible? Would it even work anymore?
"What are you looking at with such a disgusted look?"
Shen Que's voice suddenly echoed from behind the sofa.
Meng Ci hastily pressed the phone's power button, then shook his head vigorously at Shen Que.
"Nothing, nothing at all!" His mind was in turmoil.
Why was Shen Que so silent when he walked? How much had this guy actually seen?
He... he didn't think I was a pervert, did he?
Seeing Shen Que's expressionless face, Meng Ci swallowed hard.
"Um... Shen Que, when did you get here?"
"Why didn't you say hello first?" he asked.
The moment the words left his mouth, Meng Ci wanted to slap himself. Wait, didn't that question just make him look guilty? Didn't it prove he had something to hide?
But then Meng Ci reminded himself he was an adult. Reading this stuff wasn't a big deal.
If Shen Que started despising him because of this, or showed any negative reaction... he'd immediately pull out the grenade from his spatial pocket and make Shen Que pay for his peeping.
Shen Que stared at Meng Ci with eyes that could have bitten him twice, just like when he first encountered the white wolf.
"Two minutes," Shen Que said.
Meng Ci relaxed. Thank goodness. Thank goodness. The two-minute scene was relatively tame, and it was one-on-one.
"Got it!"
Meng Ci wanted to brush this off, so he shifted the topic.
"Shen Que, the government's recruiting security team members. Are you planning to
join?" Meng Ci asked.
"No." Shen Que replied without hesitation. Delivering the letter to the government after his rebirth was the best thing he could do.
As for rejoining the security team? Shen Que had no interest whatsoever.
"What about you?" Shen Que asked Meng Ci.
Meng Ci shook his head. "No."
Meng Ci turned his head, one hand behind his back, and shoved his phone forcefully into a crack in the sofa.
Shen Que sat down on the sofa then, casually picking up a cushion and placing it on his lap.
Meng Ci was puzzled. Didn't Shen Que usually dislike doing that?
"So, could you tell me what you
were reading earlier?" Shen Que's expression was serious, as if he wouldn't relent until he got an answer.
Meng Ci felt tense. "Nothing much, just a regular novel."
After saying that, Meng Ci wanted to slap himself.
Why add the word "regular"? It only made it seem like he was trying to cover something up.