Chapter 116: Fragrant Even Without Washing

Jiang Qin couldn’t find the answer to whether best friends could really last a lifetime.

But if the little rich girl asked Jiang Qin “Will you always be good to me, Feng Nanshu?” he felt there was no question. He was definitely capable of doing it.

Kidding. This was his little rich girl who stole from her dad to spend on him and stuck to him every day. Not to mention being beautiful, she was also unbelievably well-behaved.

No one could resist, not even Xuanzang.

But thinking of this, Jiang Qin couldn’t help but wonder – would Feng Nanshu always stick to him like now?

He didn’t know.

Old Fang from the marketing department said before that he met his wife in college when she was a cute junior. She especially loved the smell of smoke on Old Fang, saying it was particularly manly.

But after getting married, the phrase he heard most often was: “Get lost. Go smoke on the balcony. Don’t you know I hate the smell of smoke the most?”

Damn, who could he reason with.

Later, Old Fang directly took the ashtray to the balcony. His dog ate from a bowl on the balcony while he smoked using the ashtray there.

So, he didn’t know.

People change. At least that’s how it was in Jiang Qin’s world view.

Jiang Qin gently rubbed and kneaded, over and over, having long forgotten where the wound was. But his expression remained gentleman-like, “Feng Nanshu, will you have a change of heart?”

Hearing this, Feng Nanshu seemed a bit lost.

“You don’t even know if you’ll have a change of heart, what right do you have to ruin my state of mind every day?”

“…”

“Boss, boss lady, time to eat!” Dong Wenhao’s voice came from outside.

“Got it!”

Jiang Qin came back to his senses. He stuck a bandaid on Feng Nanshu’s ankle then took the chance to hold her pretty, soft little foot, putting on her socks and shoes for her.

“I didn’t wash,” Feng Nanshu’s eyes held some resentment.

“No worries, it’s fragrant.”

Under the night sky, stars filled the heavens.

The rural leisure courtyard turned on the lights. An orange glow instantly spread across the yard.

At this time, Lu Feiyu and Yang Shuai carried out a long table from inside, setting it up in the yard. They placed all the dishes Dong Wenhao made on it, then brought out two cases of beer, opened them and put them on the table.

Jiang Qin sat down first. His gaze swept across the tabletop and he couldn’t help but gasp.

Fried assorted vegetables, spicy chicken, mung bean noodles with century eggs, steamed perch, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, river shrimp fried with eggs… If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he really couldn’t imagine Dong Wenhao having such culinary skills.

Indeed, a chef who doesn’t want to be a literary giant isn’t a good supervisor.

Jiang Qin casually crushed a peanut and popped it in his mouth. Feng Nanshu sitting behind him had a shocked expression, her feet subconsciously withdrawing a bit.

Soon after, the others also took their seats around the table and started eating while chatting.

What is team cohesion?

Simply put, cohesion is actually a sense of belonging.

Among all the employees of 208, only Lu Feiyu was a true local. The others had all come to Linchuan for college from various places across the country. In this unfamiliar city, they inherently lacked a sense of belonging. An overnight team building activity like this could easily make everyone stick together.

Especially since the meal was cooked by everyone together, the feeling of home instantly welled up.

Old Dong’s cooking skills were pretty good. The dishes were flavorful and tasty.

Someone like him who could both write and cook could be considered an all-rounder, able to hold his own in the hall and the kitchen. He’d probably be the type to still have to cook after getting home from work once married.

“In my freshman year, other than going out with my roommates, I never participated in group activities like this. In sophomore year, I went straight to being a dorm hermit and rarely even went out.”

“Me too. Although I was often called to celebrate birthdays with classmates, I would just eat without talking.”

“I’m very grateful to the boss and feel lucky to join the 208 group. I’m so happy to get to know everyone.”

“I also want to thank the boss. My literary dream… almost died.”

“Actually, this is the life I want. Having goals, motivation, and being together with everyone. These are the happiest days.”

“I want to thank the boss lady. The boss lady was the first person to buy me fruit in college.”

“I hope 208 can exist forever and that everyone can make a lot of money.”

“My college life seems to have only truly come alive from the moment I joined 208.”

Jiang Qin sat on the side holding his wine glass, listening with narrowed eyes to everyone’s sighs in front of him without speaking.

The atmosphere is something that doesn’t need guidance. Drinking some wine, eating some dishes, having someone start it off, it basically flows naturally. And this kind of spontaneous outpouring is more sincere and touching to those around than deliberately guided.

Of course, Jiang Qin himself also felt some emotion.

He wasn’t just changing his own life, but also imperceptibly influencing the lives of others.

You can’t determine if this influence will be good or bad for them later on, but for now, this influence is definitely pretty good.

This was his ragtag team.

Feng Nanshu sat beside Jiang Qin, listening to everyone’s feelings. Her clear eyes looked towards Jiang Qin, also seeming to want to go with the flow and express something. But before she could speak, she was fed a slice of lotus root.

She chewed a couple times, watching Jiang Qin turn back around, raise his glass to toast the others, her heart content and at ease.

After dinner, the group relocated to the guest rooms. Some played cards, some chatted.

Jiang Qin didn’t participate in activities like playing cards. Instead, he stood in the hallway, eavesdropping on Wei Lanlan’s phone call with Boss Gao of the milk tea shop.

Boss Gao still wouldn’t budge on the price no matter what, very easily taking the conversation to a dead end.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject and immediately started complaining about all the ways his ex-wife had abused him.

Wei Lanlan originally wanted to hang up but was stopped by Jiang Qin who had her put it on speaker. Like this, the two of them listened to him ramble on for ages until their heads started buzzing.

“Boss, this guy talks too much nonsense. I don’t think he has any intention of selling at all, just wants to find someone to chat with.”

“The fact that you can realize this shows growth.” Jiang Qin expressed his affirmation to her.

“Huh?” Wei Lanlan was a bit confused.

Jiang Qin leaned against the wall, “Why do you think he wants to chat?”

“Isn’t it because he just got divorced and has a bellyful of bitterness with no outlet? Grabbing hold of someone, he just wants to say how miserable he is.”

“That’s the breakthrough point. Let’s just keep listening for now.”

At 11 pm, those playing cards got tired, those chatting started slurring their words. Everyone sat on the rug in the guest room and began watching TV.

The best part of group activities is not having to fear boredom. Even shopping advertisements could be watched with gusto. “Don’t want 998, don’t want 598, now if you call you only need 98!” Everyone watched with relish, thinking the host was even better at deceiving people than the boss afterwards.

After the ad ended, the actual show started, and the switch between the two was very quick and abrupt.

Jiang Qin had been on the phone with Wei Lanlan outside just now and had no idea what was playing on TV. It was only at this second that he finally saw.

A man wearing a suit knelt down on one knee, holding a bouquet of bright roses in his hands.

Based on the background, it seemed to be a company lobby or hotel foyer.

A girl in professional attire carrying a briefcase was so moved she was on the verge of tears, her hands covering her mouth, unable to stop the tears from spilling out.

“I don’t want to just be friends with you anymore. Let’s get married.”

Jiang Qin picked up the remote and changed the channel without any change in expression, instantly met with an assault from Shi Miaomiao, Su Nai and a few other girls, “Boss, what are you doing? It was just getting good!”

“Don’t watch it. It ends very tragically. The two get divorced, the bride price isn’t returned, the house is awarded to the woman. The woman takes the kid and marries someone else. The man has to pay 1500 a month in alimony. The woman’s new husband eats and lives off him, even the mattress they sleep on is his.”

“Nonsense. This is a newly aired drama. Where did you see that?”

“All the love in the world ends the same way. Watch less of that. Let’s watch Water Margin instead, it’s sweeter than that.”

Jiang Qin changed the channel. It was currently playing “Stealing the Birthday List”.

Girls don’t like watching Water Margin, so they gave up on the TV and started chattering about all sorts of topics.

After some chatter, Su Nai suddenly remembered something, “Hey, do you guys know there’s a relationship tree in town?”

“I saw it too. Apparently it’s very effective. Couples can pray for everlasting love, singles can pray to leave the single life soon. You can all go try it.”

Feng Nanshu: “?”

Jiang Qin coughed and raised the TV volume again without any change in expression, “Quick look, Yang Zhi discovered Chao Gai’s group. Wow, who is this actor? His pecs are so big!”

The girls’ gazes instantly turned strange, “Boss, why do you like looking at men’s pecs?”

“Real men should look at this kind of thing, right Wenhao?”

“Huh? Right… maybe.” Dong Wenhao was a bit sleepy, his eyes very dazed.

Seeing this, Jiang Qin didn’t force everyone anymore. He reached out to turn off the TV, “It’s too late. Wenhao is already sleepy. Everyone go back to sleep.”

“It’s only this time, let’s chat a bit more!” Su Nai disagreed.

“We have to get up early tomorrow to hike the mountain and take the bus back to school. Resting early is the proper path. Right, apparently there’s an effective temple on the mountain. You all have to pray for me to get rich tomorrow. No secretly making other wishes.”

“…”

Jiang Qin shooed everyone away. He himself went out to the yard, gazing at the sky full of stars and moon, strolling for a long time, enjoying the fresh mountain air.

When Dong Wenhao got up to use the bathroom, it was already half an hour later. As soon as he went out the door, he saw the boss limping in, grumbling and cursing as if he had taken gunpowder.

“Boss, did you go steal chickens in the village? How did you get so banged up?”

“It’s nothing, I just accidentally took a tumble. Help me tell the owner I need to use his iodine.”