23: Chapter 23 The Safest Bedmate in the Apocalypse, The Pattern of Soaring Prices

Evening. Rose Garden Apartments, Unit 1201.

Clatter, clatter.

Qin Yumo was wearing a black tight-fitting tank top and cargo pants. She carried an enormous camouflage tactical bag in one hand and pulled a suitcase with the other, striding into the entryway.

Her striking red hair was tied up casually.

Her muscles, having just undergone high-intensity training, were still slightly engorged, exuding a strong sense of oppression.

Su Xiaonuan, who was checking the supply inventory in the living room, immediately put down the tablet in her hand.

Wang Ya, who had opened the door, also stopped moving, her eyes looking a bit uneasy.

In this spacious flat, the three women created a silent collision of territory.

Su Xiaonuan keenly sensed a crisis.

This woman's chest was only slightly less endowed than Wang Ya's, but she possessed a wildness that neither of them had.

It posed a serious threat to her position as the "Head Housekeeper."

Su Xiaonuan straightened her back, put on the air of the housekeeper that Lin Yuan had bestowed upon her, and walked up to greet her.

"Ms. Qin, right? Mr. Lin has already given instructions."

Her tone was polite but carried a hint of professional detachment. "The apartment has limited rooms. To make living arrangements easier, you can squeeze into a room with me."

Qin Yumo swept a glance at Su Xiaonuan and tossed the tactical bag directly onto the entryway floor.

"My girlfriend will be angry."

She paused, her gaze falling on Su Xiaonuan's chest. "Not to mention that she's a washboard."

The living room went quiet.

Wang Ya's eyes widened.

Having been neighbors for so long, she hadn't known that Qin Yumo was a lesbian.

Although she often saw her coming and going with a young girl who dressed strangely, she had never thought about it in that way.

Su Xiaonuan was also stunned.

Girlfriend?

Washboard?

She immediately reacted and shouted: "Who are you calling a washboard! You matchstick head!"

"What's the use of having big breasts? In this house, I'm the one who washes Mr. Lin's underwear, and I'm the one who manages the money."

"You're just a newcomer, a bodyguard. What you eat for breakfast tomorrow depends on my mood."

Qin Yumo's eyes were playful, her voice low and raspy. "Washing underwear? Do you want to wash mine too?"

"Sleep with me? Don't cry out for Lin Yuan to save you at night."

"What's all this noise?"

The master bedroom door was pushed open.

Lin Yuan walked out wearing a black bathrobe, wiping his wet hair. He cast a cold gaze across the room.

"Qin Yumo, you will stay in the guest bedroom alone." Lin Yuan made the final decision.

Su Xiaonuan's heart sank. If the guest bedroom was given to Qin Yumo, where would she stay? Should she go and squeeze into that small secondary bedroom with Wang Ya and her daughter?

A flash of grievance crossed her eyes, but the subservience in her bones made her prepare to bow her head and accept her fate.

"Xiaonuan."

Lin Yuan turned his head and looked at his little secretary, who was like a frightened quail. "Move your things into the master bedroom."

The whole room went silent.

Qin Yumo couldn't be bothered with them; she picked up her tactical bag and headed toward the guest bedroom.

Wang Ya lowered her head and continued wiping the table, though her fingers tightened around the rag.

As for Su Xiaonuan, millions of brilliant fireworks exploded in her mind!

The master bedroom!

The logic in Lin Yuan's eyes was simple. He needed an absolutely safe sleeping environment. Su Xiaonuan currently had the highest favorability. Keeping her by his side was far safer than anyone else.

Su Xiaonuan couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth from curling up wildly, and she replied respectfully.

Since it was only a temporary base, there wasn't much stuff. She quickly packed her suitcase and pushed it toward the master bedroom.

As she passed Wang Ya, she lifted her chin slightly, a flash of pride in her eyes declaring her sovereignty.

Deep in the night. Inside the master bedroom. Only a dim wall lamp was on.

Su Xiaonuan had finished showering and changed into an extremely conservative cotton nightgown. Her body exuded the scent of jasmine-scented body wash.

Although she was wrapped up tightly, this pure, alluring vibe from just having bathed was even more lethal than intentional exposure.

She sat on the edge of the bed with her legs together.

Lin Yuan leaned against the headboard, holding a tablet, looking at the list of supplies arriving tomorrow.

Su Xiaonuan crawled to the foot of the bed on her own initiative to massage Lin Yuan's feet.

"Mr. Lin..." Su Xiaonuan's voice trembled, breaking the silence.

Lin Yuan did not look up: "Speak."

"I used to think that the best ending for my life would be to find an ordinary person to marry and be smoothed out by life."

"It was you who picked me up."

"That day at the mall, when you swiped that black card, what I was thinking about wasn't the money..."

She grabbed Lin Yuan's leg and pressed it against her burning face, her eyes filled with madness: "I was thinking that as long as you nod, I could even tear my soul apart and give it to you."

Lin Yuan looked at her. In the last life, Su Xiaonuan had done exactly that. She slashed her wrists and used her blood to lure the zombie horde away. Then she died in an alleyway where he couldn't see her.

"Actually... I have liked you for a long time." Su Xiaonuan sniffled.

"The year I started, I messed up the meeting minutes, and General Manager Shen scolded me in front of the whole company. I hid in the pantry and cried, feeling like the sky had collapsed."

"It was you who walked in and handed me a cup of warm water. You told me, 'Mistakes are meant to be corrected; tears have no value.'"

Su Xiaonuan's voice was choked with sobs. "On countless nights of overtime, only you would pass by my workstation and casually help me turn the air conditioning up by two degrees."

"I knew you had a wife at the time, so I buried these feelings deep inside."

"But now..."

She suddenly raised her head. "Even if tomorrow is the end of the world, I will follow you!"

Lin Yuan's finger paused on the tablet. He scrutinized the girl before him, her eyes red and her body trembling.

In this world on the verge of collapse, he didn't need love, but he thoroughly enjoyed this absolute submission.

Lin Yuan put down the tablet, leaned forward, and pinched Su Xiaonuan's chin, forcing her to look up.

"Then prove it to me."

Su Xiaonuan closed her eyes. She leaned forward and clumsily kissed Lin Yuan's lips.

She had suppressed it for too long. From the secret crush when she first started, to the princess carry after the car crashed through the door, to the joy when buying clothes. At the moment she secretly bought the condoms, she had actually been ready for a long time.

"Mr. Lin... please don't find me inexperienced..."

The night was gentle. The wall lamp cast their shadows onto the wall.

At the moment the peak of dizziness and emptiness arrived, Su Xiaonuan cried out, clutching Lin Yuan's neck tightly, whispering uncontrollably in his ear over and over again: "Mr. Lin... I am yours... I am all yours..."

[Ding! Target Su Xiaonuan (Charm 87), emotional fluctuation has reached its maximum!]

[Favorability critical hit +16%!]

[Current favorability: 70%!]

...

Lin Yuan leaned against the headboard and lit a cigarette. He looked at the stark, bright red stain on the sheets, then at Su Xiaonuan, who had fallen asleep in his arms, exhausted, with tear tracks still hanging at the corners of her eyes.

He exhaled a ring of smoke. The first intimate contact would trigger a critical hit in favorability. After all, yesterday's second contact with Wang Ya did not have this kind of exponential growth. This piece of intelligence was extremely important.

Lin Yuan looked at Su Xiaonuan, his fingertips paused for a second, and in the end, he stubbed out the cigarette.

...

When Su Xiaonuan opened her eyes, her first reaction wasn't to laze in bed, but to subconsciously reach for the phone on the nightstand.

There was still a warehouse inventory to do today. There was also a supply arrival list to check. And Wang Ya's incoming stock quantities needed to be re-verified.

She just propped herself up on her arms to sit up, but her body went limp, and she almost fell back down.

Lin Yuan was sitting by the bed, already dressed. He glanced at her.

"Lie down."

Su Xiaonuan froze.

"Mr. Lin, I'm fine."

She bit her lip and forced herself to try to get out of bed. "The warehouse inventory is very important today. I can finish checking the spreadsheets first, then go and verify the physical goods with Sister Ya."

Lin Yuan's voice was cold and hard.

"I said, lie down."

Su Xiaonuan immediately stopped moving. She hugged the quilt, like a little animal that had done something wrong, and whispered: "Yes, Mr. Lin."

Lin Yuan picked up the water glass from the nightstand and handed it to her.

"Rest for the day."

Su Xiaonuan was stunned.

"But..."

"No buts."

Lin Yuan looked at her. "You already proved your value last night. Forcing yourself to work today and making mistakes would be truly stupid."

Su Xiaonuan's ears turned beet red instantly. But her heart felt as if it had been gently nudged by something.

Lin Yuan wasn't coaxing her. He was simply issuing a rest order in the coldest, hardest way possible. But for Su Xiaonuan, this was more effective than any sweet words.

Lin Yuan casually picked up her phone; the screen was still on the WeChat interface. The message Zhao Ya sent last night was still there. [Xiaonuan, you must come to the class reunion tonight.]

Su Xiaonuan reported everything to Lin Yuan, so Lin Yuan had known about this for a long time.

He handed the phone back.

"Go to the class reunion tonight."

Su Xiaonuan was stunned.

"Mr. Lin, I..."

She did want to go and see. Would that person who was once high and mighty, who could decide to humiliate her with a casual word, now bow down in public?

Su Xiaonuan lowered her head, her voice very soft.

"I understand, Mr. Lin."

She picked up the phone and dialed Zhao Ya. The call was answered almost instantly.

"Hello? Xiaonuan!"

Before Su Xiaonuan could answer, Lin Yuan had already reached out and taken the phone. "This is Lin Yuan."

The voice on the other end cut off abruptly, and it was three seconds before it spoke again.

"Mr... Mr. Lin..." Zhao Ya's voice was trembling.

Lin Yuan leaned against the headboard, one hand playing with Su Xiaonuan's hair, his tone icy.

"Xiaonuan is unwell today. Rose Garden, Building 3, Unit 1201. Come over and wait on her."

Beep—Lin Yuan hung up the phone directly and tossed it back onto the nightstand.

Su Xiaonuan stared blankly at Lin Yuan. Let that once high and mighty, arrogant green tea campus belle come over to be a maid who helps her get out of bed?!

[Ding! Target Su Xiaonuan, favorability +3%, current favorability: 73%!]

Less than twenty minutes later. There was a rapid knocking at the apartment door. Wang Ya had just placed breakfast on the table and walked over to open it.

Outside the door, Zhao Ya wasn't even wearing makeup, her hair was messy, and she was carrying bird's nest porridge packed from a dim sum shop. She had clearly rushed over all the way.

Seeing Wang Ya open the door, Zhao Ya immediately lowered her head. "Excuse me... is this Mr. Lin's house?"

Wang Ya looked at this woman, startled. Who... is this woman? Mr. Lin shouldn't be interested in this kind of trash...

Qin Yumo, who was eating breakfast, immediately straightened up. Duty called.

The master bedroom door opened. Su Xiaonuan walked out in her pajamas, her legs still feeling weak.

Zhao Ya rushed over like a lapdog, barefoot, not even wearing slippers. Her knee bumped against the edge of the entryway shoe rack. She didn't even dare to cry out in pain.

She skillfully opened the packaging of the bird's nest. "Xiaonuan... no, Ms. Su, I didn't know if you liked it sweet or light, so I bought both..."

Su Xiaonuan didn't take it; she turned to look at Lin Yuan, who was putting on his coat.

"Send me the address for the party tonight. I'll come pick you up when it's over."

Su Xiaonuan nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Mr. Lin."

Lin Yuan pushed the door open and left. Tonight, he still had to keep his appointment with Su Muxue.

[The other party's uncle is the District Mayor of H District in the South City. Father told me I must give him face.]

[If it's not convenient for you to come, I'll handle it myself.]