Chapter 14 You think I'm dirty?

Zhou Yan indeed had urgent matters, but they weren't of a carnal nature.

He needed a large amount of production resources right now.

As long as someone came to borrow food, Zhou Yan had to try to PUA them into working for him!

You might not be able to handle merfolk, but you can surely handle fish, right?

If someone can't even catch a fish, what's the point of Zhou Yan raising them?

Besides, catching a few fish shouldn't be hard, right?

Zhang Yajing was practically dragged by Zhou Yan into the home of the Su sisters.

The living room was in complete disarray, all looted by those few men.

Scattered on the floor were a few items of clothing that had been touched by others and discarded by Su Yanyue with a look of disgust.

Looking at the sunny and handsome young man in front of her, Zhang Yajing's cheeks suddenly began to burn.

Zhou Yan pretended to reach into his pocket, but actually pulled protein bars from the system.

Treating them like a treasure, she took the protein bars, tore open the packaging, and stuffed them into her mouth.

Seeing that she was truly starving, Zhou Yan took out a few more protein bars and handed them over.

"Eat slowly, there's no water... don't choke!"

As her shriveled stomach filled with food, her body's hunger was temporarily satisfied, but a deeper sense of self-loathing followed.

She had finally taken this step after all.

Standing before Zhou Yan, she took a deep breath, as if gathering courage for her next move.

Turning her head away, not daring to look at Zhou Yan, her trembling fingers slowly reached toward her lower abdomen, grabbed the tie of her purple pajamas, and gently pulled them open to the sides...

Zhou Yan was sitting on the sofa in Su Yanqiu's home, head down, taking stock of how much food remained in the system. He needed to calculate the daily needs for his "family of three" in advance; the rest could be used to hire the residents of this building to work for him.

Suddenly, why did Zhou Yan feel as if the room had brightened up all at once?

He looked up, and—good heavens!

"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, calm down! I have something to tell you!"

Zhang Yajing's movements froze instantly! The color drained from her pretty face in a flash!

She looked at Zhou Yan at a loss, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

"Why? Is my body not good enough?"

Zhou Yan didn't pretend to be a hypocrite; he simply admired the scenery before him with a calm expression.

Not good enough? That would be a joke!

But as Zhou Yan watched, he felt something wasn't quite right; his predatory instincts didn't seem to be kicking in!

Zhou Yan said nothing, merely shaking his head in silence.

Zhang Yajing bit her lip, and the tears in her eyes finally broke their dam.

"Then you think I'm dirty..."

Zhou Yan nodded with a sincere expression.

Zhang Yajing's body went limp, and she collapsed to the floor.

"I'm not dirty! I haven't traded with anyone else! I only looked for you! I can only accept trading with you!"

"That's not what I meant..."

Zhou Yan waved his hands repeatedly, though in truth, that was exactly what he meant...

Zhang Yajing's hands trembled as she shed the last of her restraints.

Without any coyness, she openly displayed her body...

"Do you know why I've been married to Li Dalong for so many years, yet we have no children?" She whispered, her face flushed with red.

"Uh... Brother Long is impotent?" Zhou Yan asked tentatively.

Once, while walking the dog, Zhou Yan and Yan Yue had gossiped about this, and at the time, they both agreed that Li Dalong was impotent.

Zhang Yajing shook her head.

"We... are in a marriage of convenience; he is gay..."

At that moment, Zhou Yan's brain connected directly to the center of the universe, and his processing power was pushed to the absolute limit!

Scenes of meeting Li Dalong in the elevator flashed through his mind instantly.

His unusually enthusiastic attitude toward him, the smiling face when they chatted excitedly and put arms around each other's shoulders, those overly intimate physical contacts...

Those invitations he had rejected...

Zhou Yan felt his scalp tingle...

"We've been married for over four years and have lived in separate rooms for over four years. Since the marriage, he has never touched me once. We had originally agreed to do IVF, but he refused no matter what, saying his boyfriend wouldn't be happy..."

"..." Zhou Yan.

After listening, Zhou Yan was a bit bewildered.

"From what you're saying, you knew he was... that?"

"Of course I knew! I came here for a marriage of convenience, too; I just wanted a child! But we still don't have one..."

"Clap! Clap! Clap!" Zhou Yan couldn't help but applaud.

Brilliant! Truly brilliant!

Zhou Yan reached out and helped the woman in front of him up.

He picked up the purple pajamas that had fallen to the floor and gently draped them over her shoulders...

Covering that blindingly white, proud figure, he reluctantly averted his gaze...

Zhang Yajing watched Zhou Yan's every move with a flushed face. She didn't dare move or hide, curiously examining the man before her. His reaction was very obvious; he looked quite normal...

While "thoughtfully" helping her tie the belt, Zhou Yan spoke:

"I need people to help me with tasks. In exchange, I will provide you with food! When necessary, I will also provide shelter..."

Zhang Yajing stared blankly at the man in front of her.

The action of him tying the belt for her was simple, but this simple gesture seemed to bestow upon her a new sense of dignity.

Zhou Yan walked to the window and pointed at the somewhat murky water surface below the building: "I need living organisms. Any living creature can be exchanged for food here! This includes fish, birds... If you can catch mutated merfolk, I'll give you triple the food!"

Zhang Yajing opened her eyes wide in disbelief: "Really?!"

"Really!" Zhou Yan nodded seriously.

"But... fish can't be eaten! They're highly toxic!" Zhang Yajing looked at the murky water below in confusion.

"That's none of your concern; I'm not using them for food... just get the work done!"

Zhou Yan would have to go fishing sooner or later; he wanted to transform this doomsday survival game into a "Fishing Battle Royale"!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yajing was very excited. Using labor to obtain supplies instead of her body made her feel as if she had seen a glimmer of hope in the darkness of despair!

This was a way for her to live on with dignity!

Although it was dangerous—after all, for things like merfolk, ordinary people had no way to deal with them other than running and hiding...

"Don't worry about the merfolk..."

Seeing her hesitation, Zhou Yan pointed at the water and spoke slowly: "Once you start fishing, I will be there with a gun to protect you!"

Looking at the sincere-looking Zhou Yan before her, Zhang Yajing's feelings toward him suddenly became very complicated. He was truly different from the others!

Not only did he refuse to take advantage of her, but he actually provided her with a way to survive!

"Okay!" Zhang Yajing nodded gently. Her voice was soft, but exceptionally firm.

"Before the headcount is met, I will provide you with one portion of food every day. Once the headcount is met, you will have to pay it back with fish!" Zhou Yan glanced sideways at the gun in his hand, the threatening implication self-evident.

Zhang Yajing stood up, silently tidied up her exposed pajamas, covered the skin she had intentionally bared, and bowed to Zhou Yan.

Her footsteps stopped at the doorway of Su Yanqiu's home. Holding the door frame, she turned her head slightly and asked: "Then... in what way did the two Su sisters stay by your side?"