Chapter 143 Tonight is Punishment Time

"Does that mean we'll have Rice freedom from now on?!"

Wang Mengmeng became completely excited!

Lu Xiaoyu's face instantly flushed red: "Sister Mengmeng, wait a moment..."

"Uh, wait for what?"

Wang Mengmeng was stunned.

Lu Xiaoyu lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "Actually... actually, I can't summon a lot of Rice..."

"If you can't summon a lot, then how much can you summon?"

"Three liang..."

Lu Xiaoyu nodded: "It's just a small bowl. Once cooked, it's not much."

She paused, her voice growing even softer: "I'm sorry..."

Wang Mengmeng opened her mouth: "So... so we don't have Rice freedom?"

Lu Xiaoyu didn't dare look at her, only nodding gently.

Wang Mengmeng looked at her best friend: "Mengyao, you're good at math. How much cooked Rice is three liang of raw Rice?"

Li Mengyao's lip twitched: "What does this have to do with math? This is common sense. One liang of Rice cooks into about half a small bowl, so three liang is about one and a half, or maybe two bowls of Rice..."

After hearing this, Wang Mengmeng let out a long sigh: "In other words, I only get one bite?"

Chen Yu waved his hand: "Wang Mengmeng, don't worry. I can eat two bowls of Rice by myself."

Wang Mengmeng: "..."

Wang Mengmeng looked at Chen Yu aggrievedly, but Chen Yu had already gone back to eating.

Once the dining table became lively again.

Shen Qingci suddenly asked: "Hey, Xiaoyu, I'm curious. What exactly happened on the day you awakened? Why was it specifically Rice?"

In Shen Qingci's understanding, many people awakened food ingredients while they were eating.

But Rice was the rarest. So far, she had only seen Lu Xiaoyu with this Talent.

Lu Xiaoyu remained silent for several seconds.

"I... I was working part-time in the School Cafeteria..."

"That night, I had just carried out the freshly steamed Rice..."

"And then I awakened Rice..."

Wang Mengmeng blinked: "You worked part-time in the cafeteria?"

Lu Xiaoyu nodded.

Wang Mengmeng became interested: "Then why didn't you go to a milk tea shop? Or a hot pot restaurant? Isn't working part-time in those places easier? You could even get free food and drinks!"

Lu Xiaoyu buried her head even lower: "They all rejected me..."

Deng Yuxin was stunned: "Why?"

Lu Xiaoyu pursed her lips: "I don't know..."

Her voice became softer and softer.

Yang Kexin whispered from the side: "Then how much could you earn in a month working at the cafeteria?"

Lu Xiaoyu looked up and whispered: "Fifteen yuan an hour."

The dining room went silent for a second.

Fifteen yuan.

An hour.

Before the apocalypse, what was that enough for?

The girls from the Acting Department sitting here had never worried about money.

Hearing about Lu Xiaoyu's situation now, they felt somewhat emotional.

"The cafeteria is tiring and dirty, and they pay so little. Even if milk tea shops or hot pot restaurants didn't want you, a convenience store would work, right?"

Wang Mengmeng asked again.

Lu Xiaoyu shook her head: "I asked everywhere... convenience stores also want people who look sharp... but I'm slow at calculating, and I'm always afraid of making mistakes..."

Li Mengyao asked softly from the side: "Then what about your family? They didn't help you?"

Lu Xiaoyu kept her head down.

She was silent for several seconds.

Then she spoke softly.

"I... I don't have any family..."

"?"

"I'm an orphan. I grew up in an Orphanage and was later taken in by my aunt. My aunt was very good to me, but she has two children of her own. Supporting me through university was already very difficult for her..."

The dining room fell completely silent.

Li Mengyao's eyes reddened as she whispered: "I miss my mom too..."

Wang Mengmeng also suddenly felt a sharp sting in her nose.

She threw her arms around Lu Xiaoyu again.

"Xiaoyu!"

Lu Xiaoyu was startled by her.

Wang Mengmeng sniffled and said with a smile: "From now on, we are your family."

Lu Xiaoyu was stunned.

She looked up at Wang Mengmeng.

Those large, round eyes were filled with confusion.

"Fa... family?"

"Yes!"

Wang Mengmeng patted her chest. "Think about it. We'll be living and eating together from now on, sharing joys and sorrows. If that's not family, what is?"

Lu Xiaoyu opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But nothing came out.

She just looked at Wang Mengmeng and the others around her.

Everyone was smiling and nodding.

"This will be your home from now on."

"Everyone is counting on you to produce Rice."

"That's right, everyone needs you~"

Lu Xiaoyu's eyes slowly reddened, and tears welled up.

"Tha... thank you..."

"Thank you, everyone..."

Lu Xiaoyu raised her hand to wipe away a tear and smiled: "I will definitely try... not to be a burden to everyone..."

"Alright."

Chen Yu stood up at the right moment and raised a glass of water: "A toast to our new member. I hope everyone can stay united. At least in the future I can see, everyone is still alive."

...

...

Night.

The Living Area had shed the day's heat. A sea breeze blew in from afar, carrying a salty, damp coolness.

Inside Villa Number One, it was extremely quiet.

The bedroom doors upstairs were all closed, with faint light peeking out from under the cracks.

Occasionally, there was the sound of someone turning over, a soft cough, or someone mumbling something indistinctly in their sleep.

Then, it returned to silence.

Chen Yu came out of the bathroom.

He had changed into clean clothes—a black short-sleeved shirt and loose shorts—and his hair was still wet.

He walked toward the second floor while drying his hair.

He turned left.

Wang Mengmeng's room was at the end of the hallway.

He walked there, stopped, raised his hand, and knocked on the door.

"Creak—"

It wasn't the door in front of him that opened.

A soft sound came from behind him.

Chen Yu turned around.

Zhang Wanyue walked out of her room.

She was wearing a light gray camisole nightgown with thin straps resting on her collarbones. The dress wasn't long, reaching only the middle of her thighs and revealing a pair of long, straight legs.

Her hair was loose, much more relaxed than during the day, with a few strands falling over her chest.

She was holding an empty glass, clearly preparing to go downstairs for water.

Their eyes met in the dimly lit hallway.

The air went still for a second.

Zhang Wanyue lowered her eyes and coughed softly: "Ahem..."

She raised her hand, tucked the strand of hair by her face behind her ear, and asked softly, "Not asleep yet?"

Chen Yu gave an "mm": "A bit tired. I'm going to have Wang Mengmeng give me a massage tonight so I'll feel better tomorrow."

Zhang Wanyue was taken aback.

Then she nodded: "Then... get some rest early."

"Mm."

"Creak—"

Wang Mengmeng poked half her head out, her eyes still blurry with sleepiness.

But as soon as she saw it was Chen Yu, her whole person immediately regained her spirit.

She took a step back and pulled the door wide open, wearing that trademark fake smile of hers.

"Brother Chen Yu? Come in, come in quickly~~~"

Chen Yu stepped inside.

"Tonight is punishment time."