Upstairs, Qian Chuanchuan pulled the curtains shut and snuggled back into bed to continue watching her drama.
If she said the shop would open tomorrow, it would open tomorrow!
Did he think a simple smile would make her let him in?
Hah! Naive!
However, the man outside clearly had no intention of giving up. A few seconds later, his voice pierced through the glass, tinged with playfulness and sheer persistence, sounding exceptionally clear in the night air.
“Boss?! Pretty Boss!”
“Just let me in! Isn’t this a breakfast shop? Even if it’s nighttime, there’s no logic in turning a customer away at the door!”
Qian Chuanchuan rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Sansan, your glass is no good. It’s not soundproof!”
System Sansan: […]
Qian Chuanchuan turned up the volume on her device, trying to drown him out.
But the man seemed determined to harass her.
“What do you use for trade in this breakfast shop? Tell me—maybe I have what you need!”
“Boss! Open the door and let me in! As long as you let me in, you can set any condition you want!”
Qian Chuanchuan’s brow twitched. She gripped her blanket tight, suppressing the urge to hit someone.
The next second, the man’s voice became even more punchable, carrying an ambiguous smile as he intentionally dragged out his words.
“I wouldn’t even mind offering myself in marriage! We can negotiate anything!!”
“…”
Qian Chuanchuan’s face went dark.
Was this guy out of his mind?
Standing at the shop entrance in the middle of the night shouting like a lunatic—wasn’t he afraid of attracting zombies?
And “offering himself”? He certainly had a vivid imagination!
Even if she were interested, she wouldn’t pick him!
Although he was indeed good-looking, with features so exquisite they were almost otherworldly, he was completely not her type.
The type she liked was someone like Ling Zhanlou.
Usually cold and distant, with eyes as sharp as a blade, yet when he occasionally smiled, there was a hidden allure in his gaze—wild and captivating, enough to make one’s heart skip a beat. That lethal contrast between a cold exterior and a seductive undertone was the real deal.
As for the guy outside?
He clearly wasn’t it!
Qian Chuanchuan shook her head, then suddenly froze—
Wait, why did she suddenly think of the God of Wealth??
What she expected even less was for Ling Zhanlou’s voice to ring out coldly from outside at that exact moment.
“Who are you?”
The voice was more piercing than winter frost, a stark contrast to the low, deep tone he usually used when speaking to her. Although the God of Wealth was always somewhat stiff with her, there was at least some warmth in his voice. Right now, every word sounded like it had been dipped in ice.
Qian Chuanchuan’s fingers paused. She stopped the video, climbed out of bed again, and paced to the window. Using her index finger to hook back a corner of the curtain, she peeked through the gap.
Sure enough, she saw Ling Zhanlou standing below, facing off against the long-haired man.
Why was Ling Zhanlou here?
Didn’t she tell him the shop wouldn’t be open today?
Below, Ji Yan narrowed his fox-like eyes as he sized up the man who had suddenly appeared.
He reached a conclusion quickly: This man was dangerous.
And since he was currently injured, he might not be a match for him.
“And who are you?” Ji Yan suddenly grinned. “What? Are you and the owner… very close?” He emphasized the last words with an ambiguous lilt, casting a suggestive glance toward the second floor.
The man opposite him didn’t change his expression; not even his eyelashes flickered. But in that instant, Ji Yan felt as if an ice pick had suddenly been driven into his skull. A sharp pain shot from his temple straight to the back of his head, and fine beads of cold sweat immediately rolled down his face.
He staggered back half a step, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
A Mental-type ability!
And its level was definitely not lower than his own!
Any thought of trying to talk his way out of this shattered instantly. Ji Yan had no doubt—if this man truly wanted to kill him, his brains would be leaking out of his nose right now.
“My… my apologies.” His Adam’s apple bobbed, the playfulness in his voice vanishing completely. His right hand unconsciously pressed against the bleeding bandage at his waist, dark red blood immediately staining his fingers. “I was out of line… but I truly mean no harm.”
Discretion being the better part of valor, Ji Yan decided to tell the truth.
“I was being chased by a speed-type mutant zombie and got injured. Because the scent of blood was too strong, it attracted a pack of zombies… I just managed to lose them and was looking for a place to hide for a bit.” He looked at the abnormally new breakfast shop. “I felt this place was the safest.”
When he had been chased past here earlier, he had sensed something strange. This building was too new! It looked like it had just been built, bearing none of the scars of three years of apocalyptic ruin.
Moreover, he felt like someone on the second floor was watching him. A house like this, with someone living inside, functioning as a breakfast shop, and not a single zombie in sight… it was bizarre.
In its bizarreness, he also felt it was the safest place, so after temporarily shaking off the zombies, he had circled back.
Then he saw the light on the second floor.
He had tried to climb up to check, but before he could even touch the wall, he was bounced back by an invisible force.
Thinking it was a fluke, he tried again, only to be bounced back a second time.
So, he decided to use his ability. As a Wind-type user, he flicked a wind blade toward the window.
To his horror, the wind blade did a sharp U-turn in mid-air and came back at him even faster! If his reflexes hadn’t been quick enough, he would have been sliced in half by his own attack.
In that moment, survival instinct made him arch his back to dodge, which not only reopened his wound but also threw his back out.
And that wasn’t all—a second later, an invisible force struck him again, sending him flying backward to land hard on his buttocks. That was the scene Qian Chuanchuan had witnessed.
The night wind carried the distant roars of zombies. Ji Yan subconsciously tensed his body. He looked up at the window on the second floor, where a sliver of light peeked through, his voice turning uncharacteristically sincere.
“Consider it helping a fellow human in the apocalypse? I promise I’ll leave at dawn.”
Upstairs, the eavesdropping Qian Chuanchuan: “…”
Was she discovered?
She looked toward Ling Zhanlou and realized he seemed to be looking at her too.
It appeared she had indeed been spotted.
“Tsk.” She stopped hiding, pulled the curtains wide, and opened the window. She poked her head out. “Ling Zhanlou! Why are you here?”
Seeing the small head peeking out with hair ruffled by the night wind, the cold, hard silhouette of the man below softened visibly. His thin lips uttered two words: “Passing by.”
Qian Chuanchuan understood. He must have been passing by, heard the long-haired guy shouting, and came to investigate.
However, seeing her shop change so drastically, why didn’t he have any reaction?
Shouldn’t he be stunned, or at least experiencing a “pupil earthquake” of shock?
What she didn’t know was that Ling Zhanlou had already “passed by” once this morning.
And at that time, he had performed a textbook example of a pupil earthquake.
For the first time in his life, he had actually doubted his sense of direction, thinking he had gone to the wrong place.
In the end, it was only the four large characters on the plaque—”Satisfy You”—that forced him to believe this was indeed that tiny little bun shop from before.