Plunder-Chapter 72 - Startling Bad News

Chapter 72: Chapter 72 Startling Bad News

Chapter 72 -72 Startling Bad News

When they returned to the small courtyard, Cheng Lu had already left.

The yard was tidied up and well lit.

Zhou Jin’an led Qiao En by the hand into the courtyard, and he turned on all the lights in the room.

“Let’s stay here for the night, Cheng Lu will come to pick us up tomorrow.”

This place was far from Rong City, free from the hustle and bustle of traffic, and the strife of scheming.

Qiao En had not relaxed like this in a long time.

She nodded, “Okay.”

At this moment, time seemed to return to the past.

Zhou Jin’an took her to the kitchen, where Cheng Lu had left some groceries when she left.

He opened the bag, which contained noodles and vegetables.

“Can you cook?”

Zhou Jin’an asked.

Qiao En heard his stomach play the tune of emptiness.

They hadn’t had dinner after the bumpy ride from Rong City, and indeed, Qiao En was famished.

“I can.”

Qiao En was quick and skillful. She took out two tomatoes from the bag, washed and chopped them, and then whisked the eggs in a bowl.

With everything ready, she realized there was no firewood in the house.

“Go outside and find some dry firewood,”

Qiao En instructed.

“Okay.”

Zhou Jin’an responded, and his tall figure left the house.

Under the night sky, he bent down to search for dry branches outside the yard.

Qiao En, worried, hurriedly followed him out.

He was crouching and looking intently. There was no shortage of firewood in the mountains, and it could be seen everywhere along the roadside. But where there was firewood, there were often thorny underbrushes.

Zhou Jin’an focused on gathering firewood, completely oblivious to the entangling thorns. As he reached out to pull the wood, the thorns dug deep into his hand.

“Hiss~”

He let out a cry, quickly dropping the firewood in his hand.

Qiao En rushed over and grabbed his hand to look, finding his palm was full of blood.

“Let me.”

She picked up a thick branch and struck the thorny area hard, then while pushing the brambles aside, gathered the wood with her hands.

She collected the firewood in the front while Zhou Jin’an picked it up behind her, the two of them working in a well-coordinated manner.

Soon, they had gathered a small pile of firewood.

“Is this enough?”

Qiao En turned around to look, “Not enough, we still need to have breakfast tomorrow, gather some more.”

She managed the situation thoroughly, with Zhou Jin’an cooperating well.

With two small piles of firewood behind her, Qiao En finally stopped.

“Let’s go back and cook.”

She picked up one stack, but Zhou Jin’an stopped her, “Let me.”

He insisted, so she went ahead into the kitchen.

Lighting the fire, boiling the noodles.

After ten minutes, each of them held a large bowl, wolfing down the plain noodles.

Zhou Jin’an had a good appetite and quickly finished a big bowl of noodles, even drinking another bowl of broth.

After eating the noodles, Zhou Jin’an conscientiously washed the dishes.

Qiao En leaned on the lounge chair in the courtyard, counting the stars.

The breeze was light, carried a hint of coolness, caressing the heart like a feather, softly and gently.

Zhou Jin’an brought a chair over and sat down next to Qiao En.

The scent of male hormones mixed with a hint of sweat spread in the air.

Suddenly remembering something, Qiao En asked, “Do you have a sewing needle here?”

The courtyard maintained the simplicity of how Rong’s mother used to keep it.

“I’ll go look for it.”

Soon, Zhou Jin’an found the sewing basket.

“What do you need this for?”

He handed her the basket, and she took it, finding a sewing needle, then asked Zhou Jin’an for a lighter.

The flame leapt from the lighter, quickly lapping at the tip of the needle.

Zhou Jin’an looked at her curiously, not understanding.

Qiao En lifted her head, “Hand it over.”

She grabbed Zhou Jin’an’s hand and spread it open, with the flashlight on her phone providing ample light, several brown thorns were embedded in his fleshly palm.

Qiao En bent down seriously and used the needle to tease out the thorns from his flesh.

Having done this, she moistened her fingertip with saliva and spread it across the palm of his hand.

“Don’t touch water, be careful of infection,” she warned.

Familiar words rang in his ears.

Memories surged in Zhou Jin’an’s mind- when he lived here with Rong Ma, medical conditions were poor, and every time he scraped his knee, Rong Ma would apply saliva to the wound.

Zhou Jin’an didn’t know if saliva truly had antiseptic properties.

But this small gesture had warmed his heart time and time again.

Suddenly, the flashlight from the phone dimmed, and the light before Qiao En’s eyes faded as well.

Zhou Jin’an bent down and kissed her lips.

Their lips clung to each other, their teeth brushing against one another, as he greedily and yet restrainedly teased her suppressed desires.

Qiao En wanted to push him away, but she had no strength left in her body.

The wind that night was exceptionally gentle, irresistibly pulling her into its tender embrace.

Once up, once down; once together, once apart.

Sparks from the primal collision of life burst forth on this star-filled night.

He held her hand firmly, wrapped his arms around his own waist, and took her on a swim in that mysterious ocean.

With the breeze and the bright moon, it was only right not to waste such a beautiful night.

After a long while, the storm calmed.

Qiao En lay on Zhou Jin’an’s chest with her long hair messily spread out, her eyes a blur and her cheeks rosy like peach blossoms.

“Mr. Zhou, aren’t we being too selfish?” she murmured.

Zhou Jin’an wrapped an arm around her shoulder, the other hand tightly grasping her delicate one.

“Just cherish this moment,” he said.

At that moment, she longed to cling to him tightly.

Drowsiness overcame her, and Qiao En soon fell asleep.

Zhou Jin’an carried her back to the room. The bed was rudimentary and narrow, and they lay down snuggled together like two spoons nestled side by side.

That night, they both slept deeply.

When they woke up, a violent storm was raging outside, with flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.

Qiao En was terrified and kept shrinking into Zhou Jin’an’s embrace.

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“Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” he reassured her, gently patting her back until she calmed down.

“Has Assistant Cheng not arrived yet?” she asked, pulling away from Zhou Jin’an’s embrace.

The old house was in disrepair, leaking rainwater inside, splattering and forming little mud puddles with each drop.

Her phone was out of battery, and so was Zhou Jin’an’s.

“With the heavy rain, the roads in the village are impassable. Cheng Lu won’t come today,” he explained.

Zhou Jin’an found a basin and bucket in the kitchen to catch the leaks.

Drip-drop, drip-drop, the sound was clear and crisp.

He leaned back against the head of the bed, embracing Qiao En, and just listened to the raindrops falling into the basin.

The world seemed to quiet down, leaving only the crisp sound of raindrops.

The rain was capricious, pouring down for four straight days.

By the third day, the food left by Cheng Lu had run out.

“You stay home, I’ll find something to eat,” Zhou Jin’an said, heading out with his head bare.

The small village was sparsely populated, with no stores nearby. He crossed several hills, but couldn’t find anything to buy.

Later, he came across an old man from whom he managed to get an aged pumpkin.

Zhou Jin’an, who had tasted delicacies of all kinds, held that old pumpkin with exceptional satisfaction.

He made his way back through the muddy courtyard, where Qiao En had been anxiously waiting at the door.

“We’ve got pumpkin to eat!” Zhou Jin’an exclaimed proudly as he handed the pumpkin over to Qiao En.

“That’s great!” Qiao En also revealed a radiant smile.

That pumpkin became the most unforgettable delicacy in Qiao En’s memory.

But that very night, Zhou Jin’an fell ill, coming down with a high fever.

Even so ill, he still held Qiao En’s hand tightly.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t leave you,” he reassured.

Only after Qiao En’s gentle coaxing did he relax and let go.

There was no medicine for the fever in the small courtyard, nor was there a clinic in the village, but fortunately, Cheng Lu had bought some ginger. Qiao En brewed ginger juice for Zhou Jin’an, and after sweating under the blankets, his fever subsided somewhat.

The next evening, the rain finally stopped.

Two more days passed, and the roads in the village were clear again.

Qiao En, who had been longing for her return, finally saw Cheng Lu arrive.

However, Qiao En never expected that he would not only arrive but also bring with him shocking bad news.