72: Chapter 72 A Chance Encounter with the Trash Can

Last night, he had a brawl with Zhang Tao, and after putting in all his effort, he finally won.

Zhang Tao, having been soundly defeated, was still asleep.

However, Zhao Jian woke up just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

He got dressed, opened the door quietly, and went downstairs.

Once the sound of the door closing reached her ears, Zhang Tao's closed eyes snapped open.

She stared at the door, lost in thought, her gaze tender and watery.

Zhao Jian, who had gone downstairs, did not leave.

He bought milk, tea eggs, and a few donkey meat flatbreads.

They were all things he loved to eat.

According to the logic of "do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you," he certainly couldn't feed Zhang Tao things he didn't like.

The logic was flawless.

However, when he pushed the door open, he saw Good Older Sister putting on her long johns.

He was stunned for a moment.

He hadn't seen those last night!

Could it be that she was feeling weak?

"What's the matter, haven't you seen enough?" Zhang Tao deliberately rolled up the hem of her clothes just a little.

Zhao Jian was so startled that he quickly turned his head away.

One must not look at what is improper!

He would wait until he had recovered for a few days before coming back to dampen this woman's spirit!

"You should eat while it's hot. If you feel tired later, just take a day off. I'm leaving now!"

Without waiting for Good Older Sister to react, Zhao Jian placed the breakfast he had bought on the dining table and then hurried away.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, they would end up fighting again.

His body was drained now; he couldn't afford to start a war easily.

Watching Zhao Jian flee in a panic, Zhang Tao couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Hilarious; she wasn't tired at all.

When he went downstairs, a screen of light suddenly appeared before Zhao Jian's eyes.

【Today's Intelligence (White): In the trash can at the Xixi Chengyuan East Gate bus stop, there is an unopened fruit phone, discarded by a heartbroken teenager after a failed confession. Value: 9,000 yuan.】

A fruit phone? It's so cheap, so it must not be the latest model.

To throw away a gift just because of a failed confession—it seems he's a teenager who isn't short on money.

Zhao Jian didn't know where Xixi Chengyuan was, so he walked out of the residential complex gate and hailed a taxi:

"Driver, go to the East Gate of Xixi Chengyuan."

"Get out!"

"Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"Get out!"

The driver sounded extremely impatient, as if he had a grudge against Zhao Jian.

Once Zhao Jian closed the car door for him, he sped off in a flash.

He hailed another one shortly after, and this time, it was a chubby female driver.

She looked easygoing, and her voice was very gentle:

"Where to, handsome?"

"The East Gate of Xixi Chengyuan."

"Get lost!"

???

Are they sick?

Did all the taxi drivers eat gunpowder today? Or has Xixi Chengyuan been collectively blacklisted by them?

Zhao Jian got out of the car. Unable to swallow his anger, he decided to book a ride-hailing service.

The map showed that the destination was 0.1 kilometers away.

He looked up and glanced around, confused.

Then, on the other side of the road, he saw four large characters: Xixi Chengyuan!

Oh no, he came here every day, but his attention was always on Good Older Sister.

He hadn't noticed the nearby residential complexes at all.

It was right across the street.

The distance between the two residential complexes was less than one hundred meters.

No wonder the drivers were so angry, as if they had been toyed with.

But he really hadn't intended to toy with anyone.

He found the crosswalk and crossed over. Based on the orientation, this was the East Gate.

The bus stop sign was very conspicuous, with over a dozen people gathered there waiting for the bus.

Zhao Jian walked over, pretending to wait for the bus.

According to his observation, the phone should be in the recyclable trash bin.

Because it was stuffed full of a bouquet of roses.

There were many people there at the moment, and logically, well-dressed people wouldn't go rummaging through trash cans.

But Zhao Jian didn't follow common logic.

He walked straight to the trash bin and pulled out the bouquet of roses.

Amidst the strange looks from the crowd, he continued to reach in and grope around.

"Why is someone so young doing this?"

"What won't people do these days? Aren't there Young Girls on the internet who wait for the Vegetable Market to close just to pick up vegetable leaves to eat?"

"Sigh, it's not easy for young people; making money is hard."

"Indeed, if they had enough money, who would want to rummage through a trash can?"

"Maybe he threw something in and then regretted it?"

"I didn't see him throw anything."

The gossip reached Zhao Jian's ears.

He pretended not to hear it.

The trash bin wasn't large, and there wasn't much trash inside.

He soon felt a box.

He took it out.

It was indeed an unopened fruit phone!

At this moment, those who had been quietly watching him also discovered his find.

"Holy crap, a phone!"

"No wonder he came straight to the trash bin; it turns out there was a phone inside!"

"It looks like an iPhone too, that's not cheap!"

"If I had known, I would have rummaged through it too."

"I told you he was looking for something!"

"You guessed right."

Zhao Jian stuffed the roses back in, then left with the phone.

Just after he had walked away, the people waiting for the bus couldn't resist rummaging through the trash can.

They focused their inspection on that bouquet of roses.

But they found nothing.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jian had nothing to do and was preparing to open the phone box to see if the phone inside was really as smooth as people on the internet said.

Before he could even start, his phone rang.

It was Su Wanyin.

At this time, she should be on her way to work, so why would she call?

After answering, Zhao Jian didn't speak first.

"Can you come and keep me company for a while?" Su Wanyin's tone was pitiful.

It carried a hint of coquettishness within its fragility.

Zhao Jian wanted to refuse.

He was still in the recovery period after exhausting his stamina and didn't have the energy to accompany this woman.

But before he could refuse.

He heard Su Wanyin explain:

"Just chat with me for a while, I've been suspended."

Suspended?

Zhao Jian knew that Su Wanyin still owed debts and that her mother's hospitalization also required money.

If it were a good thing like paid suspension, she definitely wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

"Alright, send me the address."

Following the address, he found the apartment Su Wanyin rented.

It wasn't bad, an 80-plus square meter furnished apartment.

It was just a bit high up.

When he walked into her home, there were other people there.

He had met her before; it was her Best friend, Zhou Yun.

Originally, Zhao Jian thought the Best friend had come to comfort Su Wanyin.

He thought to himself: Since there's already a psychological counselor, why did she call him over?

But upon closer inspection, Zhou Yun was crying even more miserably than Su Wanyin.

Had they gotten together?

Otherwise, Zhao Jian couldn't understand it; even with empathy, she wouldn't be crying like a tear-stained mess.

"Yunyun also lost her job; her boss cheated her, and all her investment money went down the drain."

Su Wanyin explained in a low voice.

"And what about you? How did you lose your job?"

"My dad went to my workplace and caused a scene, saying I'm unfilial, that I won't give him money for his retirement, and that I won't give money for my mom's medical treatment. The impact was too great, so my boss told me to take some time off and come back after it's resolved. Damn it!"

Su Wanyin slammed her fist hard into her other palm.

It was loud, showing she had plenty of strength.

Zhao Jian nodded to show he had heard, but didn't speak.

He should have said some words of comfort and encouragement.

But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he kept wanting to laugh.

This pair of Best friends could be considered classic unlucky souls; they could even pair up in unemployment.

"If you want to laugh, just laugh; don't hold it in until you burst." Just as Zhao Jian was brewing up feelings of empathetic sadness and trying to suppress his schadenfreude, Su Wanyin said softly.

"How could I? You are both in such a miserable state, how could I still laugh? I'm not that kind of person!"

"Oh." It was obvious Su Wanyin didn't believe him.

After a moment, Zhao Jian finally squeezed out a bit of sorrow.

He asked:

"What are your plans for what comes next?"