Chapter 143: Shen Que, Do You Have Any Shame Left?
Ignoring the eggplant's wails from behind, Meng Ci continued driving forward. After about twenty minutes, they finally reached their destination, parking the car steadily downstairs.
The two men and the dog got out of the car and walked together to the seventeenth floor.
By now, it was already past six o'clock, and it had grown dark outside. Meng Ci took a flashlight from his pocket, illuminating the path ahead as he slowly climbed the stairs.
Upon arriving home, Meng Ci and Shen Que divided the tasks. Shen Que was responsible for stoking the fire to raise the indoor temperature, while Meng Ci selected some vegetables and meat from the storage space to prepare a sumptuous dinner.
As for the eggplant, Meng Ci filled a large bowl with white rice, poured some broth over it, mixed it well, and then fed it to the eggplant.
The eggplant sniffed at the food, displaying a look of disdain.
"Ow!"
"Ow!"
"What is this? There's not even a hint of meat! I want meat!"
"I won't eat this; it's too tasteless!"
Seeing the eggplant's pitiful expression, Meng Ci couldn't help but laugh, but he ignored its protests and turned back to the kitchen to continue his work.
However, he did feel sorry for the eggplant. So, Meng Ci took a piece of beef from the fridge, cut it into small pieces, cooked it in a pot, and then let it cool down.
"Alright, eggplant, come and try the beef I cooked for you!"
Meng Ci brought the beef to the living room, placed it on the ground, and gestured for the eggplant to come and taste it.
Smelling the familiar aroma of meat, the eggplant immediately ran over excitedly and began eating greedily.
In this post-apocalyptic world, food is scarce.
With the land buried under heavy snow, farming is impossible.
Wheat and rice, if not already depleted, might be running out.
That's why the instant noodles provided by the government were mixed with buckwheat and soy flour.
Li Wencan had given the eggplant a white flour pancake, and since it wasn't mealtime, it might have been something he saved up, treating it like a treasure before giving it to the eggplant.
But this creature, instead of refusing it outright, actually tried to spit it out after taking it. How could Meng Ci tolerate that?
"If you don't eat it, you'll go hungry."
Meng Ci didn't want to see the annoying eggplant anymore, so after finishing his meal, he pulled Shen Que into his room.
"Ow, ow!"
Meat, Master, put some meat.
The eggplant wagged its tail, standing at the entrance, staring blankly at Meng Ci, still unsure what had happened.
The eggplant started scratching at the door, and when that didn't work, it stood up and pressed down on the handle with all its might, but to no avail.
In Shen Que's bedroom, Meng Ci was shivering from the cold.
"Do you want to go into the space first and wait until the room warms up?" Shen Que asked.
Since they discovered that the coal in the stove burned sufficiently without leaving carbon monoxide in the room, Meng Ci and Shen Que hadn't been staying here at night, opting to squeeze onto the sofa instead.
Fortunately, it was extremely cold, so the two of them huddled together and didn't feel hot.
The room, unused for several days, felt even colder.
Seeing the fire burning, Meng Ci shook his head, "No."
"You're almost done with the fire, right?"
Seeing Meng Ci's determination, Shen Que added more cardboard to the stove to help the fire grow.
Soon, the fire roared, and the room's temperature improved, but Meng Ci still felt cold.
Shen Que stood up, noticing Meng Ci blowing warm air into his hands, his eyes darkening slightly.
"Xiao Ci, I have a way to help you warm up faster."
Meng Ci looked up, puzzled, at Shen Que.
Besides the fire in the stove, what other method could there be?
Shen Que took Meng Ci's hand, lifted his own shirt, and slipped Meng Ci's hand inside.
"Warm enough?" Shen Que asked, lowering his gaze.
Meng Ci's fingers curled slightly, finding it quite pleasant.
"Is it warm enough?" Shen Que persisted.
Meng Ci cleared his throat, "It's warm."
Just as Meng Ci was about to pull his hand away, Shen Que held it firmly.
"What's wrong?" Meng Ci asked, confused.
Shen Que said, "I've warmed it up for you. Shouldn't I get some interest in return?"
Seeing the lingering gaze in Shen Que's eyes, Meng Ci knew exactly what kind of interest he was talking about.
As Shen Que lunged forward, Meng Ci bared his teeth and kicked him, then entered the space alone.
While filling the bathtub with hot water, Meng Ci paused.
Then he left the space, bringing Shen Que in as well.
Shen Que, now only wearing a pair of pajama pants, placed his hands on his waist upon entering the space.
"Want to take a bath together?" Shen Que raised an eyebrow, already starting to take off his pants.
Meng Ci, holding his waist, kicked Shen Que again at the sight of his shameless behavior.
Shen Que didn't dodge.
"What? Think I didn't serve you well enough just now?"
Meng Ci was furious.
This guy usually had a cold face and rarely spoke, but why did he become so smooth-talking and increasingly vulgar when it came to this?
"Get lost!"
"I let you in here to get me something to eat," Meng Ci quickly said, seeing Shen Que about to continue taking off his pants.
If this guy really took off his pants, his waist would be in trouble.
Shen Que thought seriously for a moment. Indeed, Meng Ci had expended a lot of energy earlier.
"Alright."
"What do you want to eat?"
Shen Que pulled up his pants and asked.
Meng Ci told Shen Que to grab a few things, but most importantly, to bring the full cup of passion fruit tea.
Shen Que went out to find the items.
He usually didn't like drinking milk tea, so he didn't know what a full cup of passion fruit tea was.
Fortunately, each cup was labeled, and Shen Que found them one by one.
Some cups had droplets of water on the sides, feeling cold to the touch, so he knew they couldn't be given to Meng Ci.
After a few more steps, he found the same drink, confirmed the label was correct, picked it up, and also gathered some other snacks to bring to Meng Ci.
Meng Ci looked over the items, dissatisfied that there were no spicy sticks, and ordered Shen Que to go get them.
Shen Que outright refused: "Your body isn't suitable for spicy food right now."
Meng Ci was unhappy, especially when he saw Shen Que about to take a bath, and kicked him out of the space.
Shen Que, finding himself back in the room, was taken aback.
Then he smiled lightly and continued adding wood to the stove to keep it warm for when Meng Ci came out.
In the space, Meng Ci patted his hands in satisfaction.
Not letting him have spicy sticks and still wanting to take a bath with him—what a daydream.
Thinking about it, Meng Ci decided never to let Shen Que into the space again. He wanted to enjoy his alone time properly.
So, he hummed a little tune and started savoring the various snacks.
The only regret was not having any spicy sticks, but considering his current condition, he realized it wasn't suitable to eat them. He decided to forgive Shen Que this time.