Chapter 289: Tao, Tao, Tao on His Mind
The store manager, who had already finished work, was called back by a phone call.
After understanding the situation, he was furious.
His own employee, just for commission, had sold a cat of unknown origin. Knowing full well that it had a bad temperament, they still tricked the customer into purchasing it at a high price.
And now the customer, scratched up badly, had come back to cause trouble!
The woman was fierce, cursing the manager until he was utterly humiliated.
The manager knew that this woman’s husband held a significant position in Xindu and could not be easily offended. So, he had no choice but to apologize profusely and offer compensation—agreeing to give her a well-tempered and good-looking cat for free.
But the woman, having learned her lesson the hard way, refused to keep another cat. She pointed at the employee and said:
“I don’t want your lousy cats. Refund my money and fire her. Otherwise, I won’t take the money back, and I’ll make sure people come and ruin your business. You won’t be able to keep your shop open in Xindu!”
The manager was getting a major headache.
The employee panicked instantly. “Manager…”
“You don’t need to come in tomorrow.”
Back at their apartment, Su Tao and the others had no idea about the drama at the pet shop. They just complained about it for a while on the way back and then forgot about it.
Su Tao went to bed early after washing up.
Tomorrow morning, she had to arrange for someone to repair her RV in the parking lot. Once fixed, she could store it in Fang Zhi’s space.
Then, she had to meet up with Lei Xing.
Before sleeping, she checked the tracker on Black Sesame. It wasn’t too far from the apartment and didn’t seem to be in danger, so she turned off the lights and fell asleep.
The night was intoxicating—and so was the mood for the cat.
For Black bean, this was a particularly special night, so much so that the next morning, he completely forgot about going home.
Su Tao, too, got caught up with the RV repairs and forgot about him. When she got a call from the mechanic, she asked Shi Zijin to drive her to the parking lot.
Large RVs weren’t allowed to drive or park in Xindu’s central roads, so the mechanic had to come with his team and tools to the parking lot for the repairs.
When they pulled off the protective cover, revealing the full extent of the damage, the mechanic let out a whistle.
“Wow, that’s a big one. Where’d you get this thing?”
“A friend gave it to me. Can you fix the front end?”
The mechanic examined it closely and winced. “I can fix it, sure, but I don’t have the original parts. The headlights, even if I repair them, won’t look as good as before. And the paint job… well, things aren’t like they were before the apocalypse. I can’t make it completely seamless. Just be prepared for that.”
Su Tao winced, clutching her chest.
The mechanic nagged her, “This is a top-notch vehicle. Be more careful when driving it. Any damage could be impossible to restore…”
Su Tao nodded furiously.
Shi Zijin, watching this, felt a pang of jealousy toward a certain Mr. Gu. What a gift—a whole RV straight to her heart.
The mechanic got his apprentices to assist him, then waved at Su Tao and Shi Zijin.
“You young folks go do whatever you need to. This’ll take a whole day to fix. Come back after dark to check it. Don’t worry—if you’re not satisfied, I won’t charge you.”
Su Tao had no choice but to leave for now.
Shi Zijin saw this as a rare chance to spend time alone with her and suggested they explore Xindu, do some shopping, and look around.
But Su Tao refused. If they went shopping, he’d definitely be the one paying. And when it came to paying, she knew she couldn’t win against the physically strong Major Shi.
Besides, she had already noticed that Xindu’s cost of living was ridiculously high—especially for dining and entertainment.
Even in the apocalypse, the rich and powerful still found ways to spend money on leisure.
Xindu had mastered this market, making high-end restaurants and shopping malls absurdly expensive, completely out of reach for the average person.
Technically, both Su Tao and Shi Zijin could afford to eat at a fancy restaurant or buy a few expensive outfits.
But Su Tao was too frugal.
Thinking about how much money she still needed to build and develop her territory, she just couldn’t bring herself to spend on luxury.
Compared to Xindu, Dongyang was much more practical. The old commander was upright and honest, and most of the funds went toward education and healthcare. They never really invested in fancy malls or high-end restaurants.
People in Dongyang still mainly shopped at second-hand markets or trading zones—which were basically just street stalls, apart from the weapons trade.
At that moment, Jiang Jinwei had just arrived in Xindu and was heading to the apartment she had rented long-term in Zhuo Ercheng.
As she looked up, she spotted Su Tao in the distance, chatting and laughing with a man.
The man had his back to her, so Jiang Jinwei couldn’t see his face.
But just from his tall and lean figure, she could tell he had an extraordinary presence.
Why was Su Tao in Xindu?
Who was the man next to her?
Su Zhenglan, who had come to Xindu for “broader horizons” thanks to Jiang Jinwei’s connections, also spotted Su Tao. His eyes widened.
“How did she get here?”
This wasn’t the pre-apocalypse world anymore. Travel wasn’t convenient, and long-distance trips were expensive.
How did Su Tao make it to Xindu?
Did that man bring her here?
Su Zhenglan had been feeling proud of himself for coming to Xindu, thinking he was moving up in the world. But seeing Su Tao here, his excitement instantly faded.
Jiang Jinwei sneered. “So what if she’s here? She’s just following a man around. What kind of ‘broader horizons’ can she gain from that?”
She wasn’t happy either. Coming to Xindu meant she had leveled up from the Su family—she was now among the elite.
Why should Su Tao get to be here too?
Her man could bring her to Xindu? Well, her man could bring her to important business conferences!
Thinking this way, Jiang Jinwei felt a bit better. She turned around and left, planning to unpack and then go shopping for new clothes and a fancy meal.
Back in Dongyang, living with the old couple and that useless little girl, she never got to eat anything good.
Besides, Dongyang was so underdeveloped—there wasn’t even a proper fancy restaurant. She swore she would never go back to that dusty, outdated place.
Now, it was Su Zhenglan’s turn to feel annoyed.
If following a man made someone unworthy, then what about him? Wasn’t he just following Jiang Jinwei around?
Was she implying he wouldn’t gain any real experience either?
Su Zhenglan, deep down, believed that both Jiang Jinwei and Su Tao were just relying on men. There was nothing for her to be smug about.
Elsewhere, Chu Yue stood triumphantly in front of Lei Xing, blocking his way.
“So, surprised to see me?” she asked loudly.
The moment she entered Xindu, she had used her family’s connections to track down Lei Xing’s whereabouts.
No matter how skilled he was, he was still within the palm of the Chu family’s hand.
Did he really think he could escape her?
No way.
Lei Xing had just woken up, his messy blond hair sticking out in all directions. His clothes were loosely draped over his muscular frame, exposing his toned skin.
To Chu Yue, he looked irresistibly manly.
But Lei Xing, upon seeing her, expressionlessly shut the door in her face and flopped back onto his bed, ignoring her furious knocking.
He hadn’t slept all night.
At first, he was excited. Then, he got anxious. Then, nervous.
He had written down what he wanted to say, gone over it countless times, and replayed scenarios in his head—
And then he just couldn’t sleep at all.
His mind was filled with nothing but Tao, Tao, Tao.
