Jiang Tan felt gloomy in her heart, but she didn’t show it; she even felt a tiny bit of vanity deep down.
After all, everyone could see how good Jiang Yue was. Now that they all believed she had found such an excellent girlfriend, they naturally wouldn’t think about introducing anyone else to her anymore.
In that sense, Jiang Yue was a very good choice for a shield.
After finishing work in the afternoon, Jiang Yue was already waiting outside. Jiang Tan trotted over and sat directly on the back seat of the scooter. “Let’s not cook at home today; let’s go out to eat.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yue asked: “?”
Had she only lived a few days of slightly comfortable life before starting to get carried away?
“Isn’t today already the 24th? I feel like I need to eat something a bit better,” Jiang Tan muttered in a low voice.
According to normal calculations, her rut would begin tomorrow. She felt that her mood wasn’t very beautiful and needed some delicious food to soothe her heart, which was about to suffer tomorrow.
Moreover, in the state she’d be in during her rut, she wouldn’t be able to cook for herself. All she could eat then would be some nutritional supplements or instant biscuits—the thought of it was quite miserable.
Jiang Yue: “…”
She felt somewhat helpless, yet also found it a bit funny. “Then what do you want to eat tonight?”
“Hmm…” Jiang Tan pondered. Although she said she wanted to reward and soothe herself, their financial situation certainly couldn’t support a big feast. So she said, “How about we go eat Pig Tripe Chicken? We can check the group-buy info later; it shouldn’t be very expensive.”
“Alright,” Jiang Yue responded. Jiang Tan was so busy and tired every day; if her desire to eat something during this period couldn’t be satisfied, it would feel a bit pitiful.
Especially since, if she didn’t exist, Jiang Tan would have just gone to eat whenever she wanted without needing to ask for anyone’s opinion.
Jiang Tan took the phone and searched for the group-buy package for that Pig Tripe Chicken shop. Seeing that a set for two was only 89 yuan, Jiang Tan hurriedly placed the order. “It’s only 89 for two people to eat—that’s very affordable!”
In this city, it was indeed very affordable. It might be because this shop was an old establishment that had been open for many years, unlike the newer shops opened later where a meal for two would easily start at 120 or 130 yuan.
“Mhm, then we’ll go there. Where is the location?” Jiang Yue asked, since she was currently the one driving.
“It’s right at the South Gate entrance of Yanjiang Plaza. Do you know it?”
“Yes, I know the general location; I’ve picked up deliveries there before.” Jiang Yue’s memory was quite good after all. In just a few days, she remembered the locations of the places she had run to quite clearly.
Seeing her say this, Jiang Tan didn’t choose to switch and drive herself. She sat on the back seat behind Jiang Yue. Jiang Yue actually drove more steadily than she did; her speed was more consistent, unlike herself, who would speed up wildly when there were few cars or people and then decelerate abruptly when entering heavy traffic. The riding experience probably wasn’t very good.
Sniffing the faint, cold scent of epiphyllum drifting from Jiang Yue, Jiang Tan’s gaze unconsciously drifted toward Jiang Yue’s neck.
She had clearly bought a suppressor patch and applied it to Jiang Yue, so why could she still smell it?
Why was her “dog nose” so sensitive?
Thinking about how the temporary mark on Jiang Yue had not yet dissipated, she figured it was still a problem with that mark. Thinking that this mark would take at least a month or so to disappear, Jiang Tan didn’t feel very good.
Didn’t that mean she would be able to smell Jiang Yue’s pheromones all the time during this period?
Actually, Jiang Tan felt that being able to smell the other person’s pheromones wasn’t a good thing. After all, she would be affected by it too…
It might… be because of the mark. In the past, Jiang Tan’s “dog nose” wouldn’t necessarily react to other Omegas’ pheromones; sometimes she would even find them too fragrant or too sweet. But Jiang Yue’s pheromones specifically tended to make her glands stir restlessly.
Jiang Tan subconsciously touched the gland on the back of her neck, thinking it must be craving Jiang Yue’s pheromones—what a rotten thing it was.
Anyway, it was definitely the gland that was rotten, not her.
Arriving at Yanjiang Plaza, Jiang Tan gave Jiang Yue directions. After parking the scooter, she led her up to the second floor. After letting the waiter scan the code, Jiang Tan whispered, “The rice at this shop is unlimited; if you want to eat, you can just go and serve yourself.”
One had to admit that these old shops were quite economical. In other shops, a bowl of rice would cost two or three yuan. Jiang Tan herself usually ate at least two bowls, and Jiang Yue ate a bit more; eating at other shops would significantly increase the cost just for the rice.
Jiang Yue nodded. “I saw.”
She had just happened to see a customer serving rice in front of an electric rice cooker.
“Then I’ll go prepare the dipping sauce first.” Jiang Tan stood up. This was the only decent meal she would have for the next few days, and she cherished it.
Jiang Yue watched Jiang Tan’s back, then turned her head to look at the scene below through the glass window. It was currently the off-work rush hour, and there were many more cars on the road. Looking at the delivery riders weaving through the traffic, she couldn’t help but lose herself in thought.
Was this what I looked like to others when I was making deliveries?
Jiang Yue sighed softly and looked back at the dinner plate in front of her, feeling a bit lost.
Her perception of her future path remained unclear.
“Go ahead and prepare yours; there are sauce bowls in the disinfection cabinet.” Jiang Tan’s voice upon her return interrupted her thoughts.
Jiang Yue snapped back to reality and saw Jiang Tan holding a portion of sauce and a small dish of appetizers. She nodded and stood up to walk toward the sauce station as well.
Jiang Tan sat down, looking at Jiang Yue’s back and furrowing her brows slightly. Everything had been fine just a moment ago, and Jiang Tan didn’t know why Jiang Yue’s mood seemed to have dropped so much in such a short time.
Did something happen?
Jiang Tan was confused; she had only been gone for the time it took to mix some sauce.
Jiang Yue returned, also bringing two pieces of watermelon and a few cherry tomatoes.
“Does the owner actually make money?” Jiang Yue asked, somewhat puzzled.
An 89-yuan meal for two actually included a self-service fruit station and the like. Looking at what was laid out on the buffet table, it was filled to the brim and wasn’t stingy at all.
“I don’t know,” Jiang Tan said quietly. “Later, when you eat the chicken, you’ll also find that it’s definitely not a commercial feed-lot chicken from the market.”
Based on the texture, the rearing time was definitely not short.
Jiang Yue blinked slightly. “The boss isn’t out here doing charity; they’re probably still making a profit.”
Jiang Tan agreed; there was no reason to work yourself to death without earning a single cent.
After the pot was served, the two of them chatted about the arrangements for the following days while they ate.
“So, starting tonight, should I go stay at Grandma Wang’s place for a few days?”
“Yes, it’s best that way. After we go back, I’ll take you over there.” Jiang Tan felt that having Jiang Yue go over there would still be a bit awkward for her, but if she stayed in a hotel…
Jiang Tan’s face turned a bit bitter. A decent hotel would cost around two hundred a night. She didn’t feel comfortable letting Jiang Yue stay in a cheap little guesthouse, so this was the only way it could be arranged.
However, she couldn’t trouble Grandma Wang’s family every time. The main thing was to save more money so that, at the very least, Jiang Yue could stay in a hotel directly whenever this situation happened in the future.
Jiang Yue nodded slightly, took a bite of chicken, and her eyes widened slightly. “It really isn’t a feed-lot chicken.”
Jiang Yue had eaten the chicken Jiang Tan bought from the wet market before; the texture was extremely soft and it had a bit of a fishy smell. Jiang Yue didn’t like it much, and neither did Jiang Tan, so they hadn’t bought it since.
“If you like it, we can come back every now and then.” Jiang Tan sighed in relief seeing that she liked the taste. At first, she had been a bit afraid that Jiang Yue wouldn’t like Pig Tripe Chicken.
Hearing this, Jiang Yue looked at her silently, feeling a bit like laughing.
Jiang Tan really seemed to be the type who started to get carried away as soon as she had a little extra money in her hand. Had she already forgotten the predicament of not having a single cent in her pocket before?
Jiang Tan touched her face in confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
She just stared at her and smiled without saying anything, which made her feel a bit uneasy while eating.
Mainly, when Jiang Yue looked at someone like that, it was hard for one’s heart not to go thump-thump.
The smile on Jiang Yue’s face deepened. “I think I might have figured out why you couldn’t save any money before.”
Even though Jiang Tan didn’t earn a small amount, after deducting the big expense of suppressants, she should have been able to save something regardless—yet she hadn’t.
“?”
“Why?”
Jiang Tan was quite curious.
Jiang Yue chuckled.
“Your Engel coefficient is very high.”