Chapter 135: Keeping Secrets
Huai Yu had learned a bellyful of skewed love advice from Zhou Qian, Shen Xing, and Uncle Zaozi, but at this moment, the most important thing wasn’t about romance—it was about:
The custody of Keta Rō.
This was a complicated matter. Strictly speaking, Keta Rō was only temporarily entrusted to her care for a week. Now that she wanted to keep him, she had to ask Boss Tang first.
If possible, she really wanted to meet Gao Ming in person.
But the holiday wasn’t over yet, and even if she wanted to, she couldn’t find him. She gathered up the three empty bamboo tubes that Zhou Qian had polished off, and then, like a thief, locked the door from the inside.
Next, she pulled out two bright red peaches wrapped in plastic bags from her pocket.
These peaches looked incredibly fresh! The skin was still fuzzy, and as soon as she took them out of the bag, a faint peach fragrance filled the air. For a moment, Zhou Qian felt his mouth water uncontrollably.
How could anyone not crave it?
Even a Golden Immortal wouldn’t be able to resist this temptation!
The catastrophe had been going on for six years—who had eaten a decent peach in all that time?
To pick peaches of this quality, you’d probably have to fight fiercely with some mutated plants.
But he didn’t say much, just asked, “What’s the mutation value?”
Huai Yu held up her fingers to indicate something.
“Ok?” Zhou Qian asked, then laughed. “Of course, I know it’s ok. The jujubes you gave me before had a surprisingly low mutation value, and now you’ve got peaches? What’s not ok?”
“Ah!” Huai Yu felt like they had zero mutual understanding.
She sighed and wiggled her fingers again, “I mean, the mutation value is around 3.”
She hadn’t dared to test it, so she wasn’t completely sure.
But because these peaches looked too good and the mutation leaned toward “tastes bad,” she had put in extra effort when purifying them.
Before she realized it, she had already tasted one herself.
She said the mutation value was 3, but honestly, from her own taste test, it was close to normal.
Zhou Qian instantly sat up on the bed, “Mutation value 3…”
He stretched out his hand. “Let me try.”
“Wait a second, let me wash it again.” Huai Yu was particular when she had the means, but Zhou Qian was about to lose his mind—
“Don’t fuss with it, just let me have a bite already.”
Huai Yu had washed the peaches before she left, but now the skin had dried a bit and was fuzzy again.
The hospital’s water also had a high mutation value, so she didn’t use it. Instead, she pulled out her own water bottle to rinse the peach quickly and then handed it over to Zhou Qian.
He grabbed it eagerly and took a huge bite of the reddest tip.
As he chewed, his face went completely blank—
His chewing slowed down more and more, and for a long time, he just held it in his mouth without moving.
Just as Huai Yu was about to ask, Zhou Qian finally murmured, “So this is what a peach tastes like…”
He glanced at Huai Yu again.
She seemed to have grown a bit during this time, with a little more flesh on her face, looking a bit healthier.
But…
Zhou Qian gave a bitter smile. With Huai Yu’s personality—once she considered someone a friend, she’d spill her guts and tell everything—if the peach’s origin could be revealed, she definitely wouldn’t hesitate.
He took another bite of the peach, then sighed—
This silly girl, so insistent on feeding him every day, trying to nurse him back to health. Who knew where she got this amazing peach from this time? She probably spent everything she had.
But he couldn’t deny it: he loved the peach.
He bit into it again, completely overwhelmed by the freshness and joy of eating it. But on his face, he only smiled helplessly and opened the drawer—
“Do you have enough points left? I got a big bonus this time; let me give you some pocket money.”
“Huh?” Huai Yu looked puzzled, then proudly shook her wrist. “I sold some stuff recently, and I have tons of points now!”
An entire basket of Kelang balls, around 400 pieces in total—her contribution points had shot past 5,000 in an instant. She hadn’t been this flush in ages!
Little did she know, Zhou Qian felt even more worried hearing this.
Who in their right mind with no real abilities dared to live in the Rose Corridor? And who could casually bring out a peach with a mutation value of 3, plus have a steady stream of high-quality goods to sell?
Even he felt exhausted now. “Little Yu, I’m not planning to ask about your secrets, but you could at least pretend to keep a low profile.”
“Most people keep secrets in their hearts. You practically have a person standing on top of yours!”
“If this keeps up, I won’t be able to protect you.”
“Huh?” Huai Yu looked confused. “I locked the door, though. What else should I do to keep it secret?”
Zhou Qian: …
Forget it. He said nothing more.
He chomped down the rest of his peach and finally understood what it meant to be at a loss for words.
After a moment’s thought, he gloomily grabbed the other peach and shoved it into his mouth.
And then he couldn’t help reflecting, “Looks like I really let my guard down. You have so many secrets, but I got fooled by your appearance at first.”
Not only fooled—but completely misled.
The warning signs had been there since the Rose Corridor alarm went off, but back then, when he saw Huai Yu’s pitiful little face, he’d thought she was weak and helpless.
Looking back now, honestly…
Zhou Qian chomped down on the peach, feeling seriously frustrated.
Huai Yu thought for a moment before she realized what he meant. She sat down at the bedside and smiled seriously at him, “I know I have to keep secrets. What I’ve shown so far are just things that people would eventually find out anyway.”
“But, Brother Zhou Qian, you’re not just anyone.”
“When the time is right in the future, I’ll tell you other secrets too.”
Zhou Qian didn’t feel touched; instead, he silently made a decision and gave another warning, “Never blindly trust someone who’s done you a huge favor.”
“A big favor can turn into a big grudge. Most of the time, human nature doesn’t stand up to tests.”
But Huai Yu wasn’t fazed at all. “It’s okay, Brother Zhou Qian. Someone taught me that lesson a long time ago.”
“But I think you’re someone I can trust.”
When Labor Day ended, the Hongsheng trading market reopened. Everyone had been cooped up for a week without shopping, and now the whole street was packed wall to wall with people, with lively bargaining going on everywhere.
Huai Yu squeezed her way through with an empty basket on her back. She wanted to greet her four familiar acquaintances at the inspection station, but when she saw the long line, she quietly slipped in through the no-inspection lane instead.
She wasn’t planning to sell anything today, so there was no need to go through the machines again.
She’d meant to go straight to Boss Tang, but halfway there, she couldn’t help glancing at Uncle Zaozi’s shop—
He still had a bruised and battered face; it was hard to tell if he had new injuries. But the shop was bustling again. Huai Yu stood there watching silently for a while, then mumbled to herself in confusion, “They said everyone in the trading market had to do volunteer work. How come Uncle Zaozi didn’t have to go?”
