The Chef Rules the Last Days
Chapter 227 - 225: Departure

Chapter 227: Chapter 225: Departure

"Yes," Jian Qing sighed. "Your reputation is almost known throughout the Outer Ring, so they might as well seal everyone’s lips."

"Understood," Su Mo lowered her eyes in thought. This Ai Yang must have really started to despise her, taking his anger out on her stepfather. She’d have to think of a way to deal with it in the future.

With nothing fresh happening, Su Mo stood up, leaving behind a few packs of instant noodles.

"Benefactor, no need for payment. We had already agreed to help you, and it’s not even a big deal. We can’t accept this," Jian Chunhua quickly picked up the instant noodles and handed them back.

Jian Qing added, "I’m working now, and we have enough points to survive."

Su Mo pushed them back. "If you don’t want it, you can give it to someone else. I don’t lack these things."

Jian Chunhua choked up, exchanged a glance with Jian Qing, and then took the items back, feeling moved. "Thank you!"

Su Mo waved her hand and walked out.

Once she had left, mother and son eyed the instant noodles and gulped. Jian Qing’s stomach growled audibly. "Mom, how long have we been surviving on steamed buns and watery porridge?"

"I... I can’t even recall."

"Hide them well. We’ve eaten already today; let’s cook a pack tomorrow night!"

"Hmm."

After leaving through the curtain, Su Mo headed straight back to her apartment.

She had a mission tomorrow, so she went to knock on Zhao Changsheng’s door.

"Momo!" As soon as Zhao Changsheng opened the door, she gave her a warm hug.

"Alright, alright, I have something to ask you," Su Mo wriggled free from her hug and was pulled into the room.

As soon as Su Mo entered, she immediately noticed Xiaoqiao’s red eyes. The latter glanced at her and then retreated to her room, a stark contrast to her previous enthusiastic reaction. Perplexed, Su Mo turned to Zhao Changsheng suspiciously. "What did you say to that girl?"

Zhao Changsheng glanced around the room and quickly ushered her into the hallway, her eyes flickering with irritation. "It’s nothing really."

Su Mo sternly said, "You’re sending flowers and inviting her to stay over. If you like her, you can’t let her down."

Seeing the expression on Su Mo’s face, Zhao Changsheng knew she had misunderstood and pulled her towards the elevator, "Let’s go to Li Qian’s place and talk."

Su Mo: "...?"

Once they reached Li Qian’s room, Zhao Changsheng finally came clean about everything.

"She was in a daze those two days," Li Qian sipped his tea.

Holding her own cup of tea, Su Mo asked curiously, "So?"

"One time during a mission, we just happened to come across Xiaoqiao who had just arrived at the base in the Outer Ring, and she persuaded her to go back with her," Li Qian gave Zhao Changsheng a sidelong glance.

"No wonder I said the girl hesitates and becomes embarrassed whenever your relationship is mentioned," Su Mo likewise glanced disapprovingly at Zhao Changsheng, seeing it as forcing a decent woman.

Zhao Changsheng grimaced, her head almost shaking like waves, "No, at that time I asked her to come with me just because she resembles you. I had no ulterior motives, and her parents agreed too. Who knew she’d keep wanting to bring her parents over, so I’ve been sending flowers and pillows, hoping to distract her."

Su Mo was speechless, "Her parents are in the Outer Ring?"

"Yeah," Zhao Changsheng’s beautiful face was tinged with bitterness. "The apartment is so small, just two rooms; it’s not really convenient to move them in."

This time, Su Mo nodded in understanding; it was excusable to think about it this way, but such an approach was inevitably bound to be misunderstood by the girl. She tugged at Zhao Changsheng’s sleeve and said, "No matter what, since you brought her here, you should handle it properly."

"Understood," Zhao Changsheng nodded, acknowledging she indeed had a share of the responsibility.

"Tell me about tomorrow’s mission," Su Mo requested, since she had reported it in Lu Chen’s name but didn’t actually know what the mission was yet.

Speaking of the mission, Zhao Changsheng became serious, "Jin Han reported it. We will temporarily join their group tomorrow; it’s a collaborative mission to gather resources in Sheng City, but the specific details won’t be released until tomorrow."

"Gathering resources so secretly?" Su Mo frowned.

Li Qian spoke softly, "It’s probably a large granary; they fear that revealing it would lead others to get there first. There are always a few unclean hands among the superpower users."

"That makes sense," Su Mo nodded, then added, "Alright, I’m going back now; it’s late, you guys should rest early too."

After bidding goodbye to everyone, Su Mo returned to her room and quickly washed up before lying back down on her bed.

Deep into the night, her exceptional hearing and sense of smell awakened her from a sound sleep.

She kept her eyes closed and didn’t move; the person’s voice was so faint she could barely hear it, but the strong scent of smoke mixed with a familiar odor stirred her heart.

How much had he smoked?

The bed sank on one side; Su Mo knew he was watching her.

Lu Chen’s fingertips stopped just inches from touching her face; ever since he knew of this woman’s existence, the uncontrollable longing inside him raged like a demon. He knew this was his woman, a feeling engraved in his soul, and he felt it very clearly.

For the entire night, Su Mo maintained the same position without moving.

She didn’t know when she fell asleep later, but when she woke up at dawn, the side of the bed was clean and tidy. She sat up, spaced out for a while, then suddenly laughed aloud.

After tidying up a bit, Su Mo put on a light outfit and a coat, then cooked a pot of meat porridge. She delivered some to them and finished the rest herself.

Zhao Changsheng had left enough resources for Xiaoqiao; before leaving, she reminded, "If you’re bored, you can stay with Su Niang and the others."

Xiaoqiao obediently nodded, "I know."

When Su Mo called for them, Zhao Changsheng happily followed her, and Xiaoqiao, having sent the two of them off, her expression then turned somber. She had never seen Zhao Changsheng so happy about a mission; the resources on the kitchen counter made her somewhat sad, unsure how her parents were doing.

The group hurried to the Outer Ring assembly point; Jin Han had already been waiting in his car, a privilege of owning several vehicles in his Mercenary Group. Upon seeing them, he got out to greet them, "Yo, you’re here!"

Zhao Changsheng looked around, puzzled, "Such a grand setup, there are people from three groups, right?"

"The main ones aren’t even here yet," Jin Han hinted, glancing at a small platform that was set up indicating the main person had not yet arrived.

"Su Mo?!" It was a voice filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Turning towards the voice, Su Mo thought, as usual, such coincidences always happened; whenever she went on a mission, she would bump into Mo Yan’s team.

Jin Han glanced at the team, then scoffed, "You know them? A newly promoted Mercenary Group, their leader is a Level 3 fire element, right?"

Mo Yan had noticed her as well, but the memory of the past incident of the tooth extraction threat kept him from approaching Su Mo immediately; she was pleased to keep her distance, "Not really familiar."

Jin Han nodded, neither confirming nor denying, but the leader’s gaze didn’t seem like they were just casually familiar.

Li Qian cleverly changed the topic: "Who’s leading the team?"