Jiang Tan shook her head to indicate nothing was wrong. She simply thought to herself after finishing the typing: she and Jiang Yue should be considered friends.
Though the nature of this “friendship” was a bit complicated.
Jiang Tan felt conflicted for a moment but didn’t think more of it. She picked up her bowl and took the lead in grabbing a chopstick-full of the stir-fried green beans with preserved meat. Her eyes lit up after taking a bite.
“Jiang Yue, it’s so delicious!” Jiang Tan couldn’t help but say. It was practically better than what she made herself!
“Xiuya-jie taught me well,” Jiang Yue said with a smile. Although she said that, it wasn’t hard to see that she was also very satisfied with her own learning ability.
“But you also learned well!” Most of the dishes Jiang Tan knew now were learned from bloggers online, and she didn’t necessarily do them all that well.
“Eat more.” Jiang Yue pushed the steamed egg with shrimp toward Jiang Tan, signaling her to try it.
Jiang Tan immediately scooped a spoonful into her bowl and nodded repeatedly after tasting it. “So good! The egg is silky and the shrimp are bouncy!”
And Jiang Yue had a very good handle on the salt—it was neither too salty nor too bland; it was just right.
Was this person really cooking for the first time? Otherwise, was there really such a thing as being exceptionally gifted?
Hearing Jiang Tan’s unreserved praise, the curve of Jiang Yue’s lips never dropped. This way, she wouldn’t always have to rely on Jiang Tan to cook for her in the future; she could also cook for Jiang Tan.
Though they could still smell a bit of Jiang Tan’s not-yet-fully-stabilized pheromones while eating, having gone through the past few days, Jiang Yue felt that, as long as Jiang Tan wasn’t intentionally alluring her, she was within her threshold of endurance.
After finishing the meal, Jiang Tan took the initiative to wash the dishes. When she came out, she saw Jiang Yue taking the washed sheets and quilt covers out of the washing machine, preparing to hang them up to dry.
At the sight, Jiang Tan’s face immediately turned red. She hurried forward, trying to take the job from her, and mumbled, “I’ll do it.”
Even though she was now fully conscious, she still couldn’t face the situation well—let alone let Jiang Yue hang these things.
She felt a sense of absurdity—as if she had done something bad, but the victim was the one having to clean up after her.
Jiang Yue looked at her and didn’t refuse. She let go and allowed her to take the items, saying softly, “There’s no need to be embarrassed. These things were yours to begin with.”
Jiang Yue keenly sensed Jiang Tan’s embarrassment, but in her view, she had only “occupied” Jiang Tan’s things for a bit. The items essentially still belonged to Jiang Tan, but now Jiang Tan acted as if these things were her own private property.
“It’s still a bit different,” Jiang Tan whispered. She intentionally didn’t look at Jiang Yue as she hung the things up with a stiff face.
Although the items were hers in essence, from the moment she chose to let Jiang Yue use them, they were no longer things she could use casually.
Unless Jiang Yue explicitly said she wasn’t using them anymore.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Yue shook her head and said no more, turning to get ready for a bath.
After Jiang Yue left, Jiang Tan’s tense body slowly relaxed. She reached out to pat the hanging sheets, her heart fluttering.
In this kind of situation, being treated so well by Jiang Yue actually made Jiang Tan feel uneasy.
Jiang Tan almost suspected she had some kind of masochistic tendency.
Once the rut was over, the two resumed their normal lives. As usual, Jiang Tan went to the construction site and Jiang Yue delivered takeout. However, Jiang Tan also told Jiang Yue to keep an eye out during this time for any other jobs that might suit her. After all, she couldn’t keep delivering takeout forever.
Jiang Tan always felt that Jiang Yue delivering takeout was a bit of a mismatch. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any good resources she could introduce to her.
Jiang Tan felt that Jiang Yue was currently like someone who had met a “native family” that could offer her no help—carrying a sense of being a tragic “poor little thing.”
She felt a bit more relieved upon learning that Jiang Yue was indeed looking for other opportunities herself. She hadn’t been without the thought of asking Sister Zhou to see if she could help find a job as a clerk in the construction site office for Jiang Yue. However, she later changed her mind, thinking that the construction site was always noisy and dusty, so she finally decided against it.
Having taken several days off in a row, everyone could guess the reason. However, every time she returned and others teased her about whether she’d had any romantic encounters during her rut, they would see Jiang Tan’s face full of heartache over the cost of the suppressants. Those who hadn’t differentiated into AOs couldn’t help but feel lucky that they didn’t have to spend such an amount.
Life passed in a way that was flat yet a bit tiring until late July. Jiang Tan finished paying off her online loans. Fortunately, because Jiang Yue had been taking turns running orders this month, their income had increased quite a bit, so they wouldn’t be in a tight spot for the time being.
The only problem was that their industry was somewhat dependent on the weather.
Once again, because the rain had stopped work at the construction site, Jiang Tan told Jiang Yue to rest at home while she went out in her raincoat to run orders.
When it rained, people were presumably unwilling to go out, so the volume of takeout orders was even higher than usual. As Jiang Tan ran her orders, looking at this city shrouded in rain, she felt in a daze that this gray city would soon turn moldy.
Even though there were orders to run and money to be made, Jiang Tan’s mood wasn’t exactly bright in such weather.
However, soon after picking up a meal from a shop, Jiang Tan received a message from a customer, and her mood quickly brightened a bit.
Customer: Could you please help me buy a box of Omega suppressants at a pharmacy on your way? There will be a delivery fee.
Seeing this message, Jiang Tan’s eyes were fixed on the “delivery fee.” She wouldn’t turn her nose up at ten or eight yuan, nor would she mind three or five. Anyway, she knew there was a pharmacy on the way, so she wouldn’t refuse such a convenient task and replied with an OK hand emoji.
She braved the not-so-light rain and drove all the way toward the destination. Halfway there, she stopped at a pharmacy, went in, and bought the suppressants specified by the customer before rushing to the customer’s address.
Going up to the fifteenth floor, the door opened as soon as she knocked. At the same time, a strong, sweet scent of matcha cake drifted out.
Jiang Tan: “…”
Looking at the Omega before her, whose face appeared quite normal, Jiang Tan suspected it might just be her own “dog nose” being too sensitive. After all, the woman had an inhibitor patch on her nape; others might not necessarily find it very strong.
The woman was clearly stunned for a second upon seeing Jiang Tan’s face. However, noticing Jiang Tan’s nose wrinkling slightly, she quickly came back to her senses and stepped back. “Sorry, please give me the items.”
Jiang Tan held her breath. Although she supposed she liked sweets, this scent—perhaps because it was too dense—felt a bit overly sweet. She hurried to hand the takeout and suppressants to the woman and showed her the payment record for the suppressants she’d bought, then brought up her own QR code for receiving payment.
“You can just scan here.”
The woman scanned Jiang Tan’s code. “Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”
“It’s fine, just on the— wait, you gave me way too much, didn’t you?” Jiang Tan had intended to say it was no trouble, but she was stunned when she saw the amount the woman had transferred to her. The suppressants were sixteen hundred yuan, yet the person before her had transferred three thousand directly.
A fourteen hundred yuan delivery fee?
“It’s not too much. You delivered it very promptly, and I’m willing to pay for your speed.” The woman gave a light smile. “But you should still be careful about safety in the rain. I’m going in now.”
The woman gave Jiang Tan one last look after finishing her sentence and swept her eyes over her before giving a slight nod as a way of saying goodbye.
Jiang Tan, looking at the closed door before her: “…”
Her heart felt a bit uneasy about taking such a large delivery fee, but her footsteps as she left were very fast—so buoyant she almost felt like she was flying.
Her mood was now completely beautiful!
Coming out of the building entrance and looking at the misty, rainy world, Jiang Tan felt it had even become quite aesthetic.
Forthwith, after finishing the orders she had on hand, Jiang Tan went straight to a mobile phone store, picked out a phone for Jiang Yue, and used her own ID to get her a SIM card. Seeing that it was almost dinner time, she headed back joyfully.
So this was how it felt to meet a “wealthy lady”! Jiang Tan felt it would be great if there were more such wealthy ladies in the future.
At dinner time, there were basically no elderly people downstairs, so Jiang Tan didn’t get pulled into any conversations. Taking two steps at a time, she climbed up to the seventh floor in one breath. Actually, she could smell the fragrance of food from various households all along the way, but only when she reached her own floor did the scent of food feel particularly fragrant.
Jiang Tan opened the door and went in. The fragrance of food inside was even richer, and the sounds coming from the kitchen made her heart skip with joy. Arriving at the kitchen door and seeing Jiang Yue’s quiet, domestic appearance while wearing an apron, Jiang Tan curled her lips slightly and said intentionally, “I’m back!”
Jiang Yue turned her head to look at her. She had known it was Jiang Tan back as soon as she heard the door. However, the way this person had watched her for a moment and then said such words—she clearly had something up her sleeve.
“So, is something the matter?” Jiang Yue looked at her hands hidden behind her back. “What are you hiding?”
Jiang Tan: “…”
Reacting so fast—is there no sense of surprise at all?
Jiang Tan gave a light hmph, but soon her eyebrows danced with joy. “Ta-da~!”
“Look what this is!”
Jiang Yue’s eyes fell on the item in her hand—a white box with a logo printed on it…
Jiang Yue reacted quickly. “Why did you buy this? Do you still have enough money?”
“Of course I do! I bought this with the delivery fee someone gave me for running an errand today.” Jiang Tan’s eyes crinkled with a very happy smile. She felt that such “windfall” money was better spent quickly; if she kept it, it might just be spent on something unnecessary.
Though she’d had to add several hundred more to buy this phone.
“What kind of delivery fee can buy a phone?” Jiang Yue clearly didn’t believe her. She even turned off the stove, obviously intending for Jiang Tan to explain things properly.
Seeing her serious look, Jiang Tan quickly told her the whole story about helping with the errand. Finally, she concluded, “Anyway, I’ve already spent the money on the phone; it’s impossible to return it.”
Besides, the person had clearly told her the extra was for the delivery fee when they transferred it. And it would be a bit too strange to go back and try to return it later, wouldn’t it?
Jiang Yue: “…”
Had she said she wanted Jiang Tan to return it? And going back later to return it—wouldn’t that look a bit like having ill intentions and trying to get the person’s attention?
Especially since the other person was an Omega and Jiang Tan was an Alpha.
“Let me see.” Jiang Yue reached out to take the phone box.
“Let’s look at it in the living room,” Jiang Tan hurried to say.
Jiang Yue nodded and went into the living room with her before starting to peel off the plastic film on the phone box.
Phones mostly looked much the same, but the model Jiang Tan had picked out seemed to please Jiang Yue. It was a simple white, flat-screen phone. She turned it on and poked around a bit; the functions were mostly standard. Having a phone of her own from now on would indeed be much more convenient.
“And this.” Jiang Tan took out the SIM card she’d gotten for her. “I’ve already saved my number in it. You should save yours later too. It’ll be easier to stay in touch.”
Every time they were apart, they were basically in a state of being unable to contact each other—as if they had returned to an era without mobile phones.
Jiang Yue followed Jiang Tan’s instructions to install the card and took the lead in making a call to Jiang Tan.
Seeing the incoming call from “Jiang Yue” flash on her screen, Jiang Tan motioned to Jiang Yue. “It went through.”
Jiang Yue hung up and saved Jiang Tan’s number. Looking at the one and only number in her contacts, she couldn’t help but space out a bit.
In her life, Jiang Tan had already permeated every aspect.
“You should set up a WeChat account in a bit; it’ll be easier for us to message each other later.” Jiang Tan said. Making calls and sending texts cost money too!
Jiang Yue nodded. “Thank you, Jiang Tan.”
“There’s no need to thank me for this; the money you earned yourself was enough to buy one too.” Jiang Tan stood up. “You keep playing with it; I’m going to the kitchen.”
Jiang Yue put the phone down. “Let me do it.”
Jiang Tan had been busy outside all day in this rainy weather; how could she let her be the one working now?
“Oh, no need! You just keep tinkering; get yourself familiar with the phone.” Jiang Tan pushed her back down. Buying a phone for her was a surprise! How could she not let her enjoy it a bit more?
Jiang Yue: “…”
She sat there, a bit helpless as she watched Jiang Tan walk into the kitchen and start where she had left off.
Looking down at the phone in her hand, a corner of Jiang Yue’s heart softened. She realized that even when Jiang Tan was out, she was always thinking of her. For example, upon receiving such a large delivery fee, her first thought wasn’t to get something for herself, but to spend it all on a phone for her.
“Hopefully it won’t rain tomorrow,” Jiang Tan couldn’t help but say while they were eating. It was hard to work when it rained.
“But when I went down to buy groceries today, the elderly people downstairs reminded me that a typhoon is coming in a few days and told me to buy more things to stock up…” Jiang Yue said quietly.
“Huh?”
Jiang Tan quickly put down her chopsticks to check the information. Indeed, it said there would be a typhoon. Although it wasn’t directly hitting Nancheng, because of the proximity, it would still have an effect here.
Looking at Jiang Tan’s silent expression, it was clear that what the old folks said was true. Jiang Yue also couldn’t help but sigh softly.
They could still go out and run orders in this kind of weather, but if it were a typhoon, it was definitely best not to go out if they could help it.
Jiang Tan put her phone down, her brow furrowed tightly.
She was truly getting tired of this life of “eating according to the sky.”