Chapter 8: Midnight Shopping Spree
1291 Words
"You said this was the apartment your parents bought for you as a wedding gift?"
Ai Bing stepped inside, frowning as she took in the nearly empty space. Even though she only considered Zhou Lin as one of her backup options, his financial situation was decent. To her, this fully paid-for apartment already felt like it belonged to her.
If Zhou Lin planned to sell it, then the money from the sale…
"Five million?"
Hearing the price, Ai Bing's face darkened.
How could it be only five million? D*mn this backup, has he been hiding money from me?
"Where's the money?" she asked, barely containing her anger.
"The money? Of course, it's in my bank account." Zhou Lin chuckled. "Why? You want to help me manage it?"
"Hmm…" Ai Bing’s mind raced, and soon she had a plan.
She walked up to Zhou Lin, gently wrapping her arms around his, subtly pressing her not-so-impressive curves against him. She figured that such close contact would be enough to make him flustered and lose his ability to think straight.
"Since you’ve already sold it, that’s actually a good thing. I happen to know a new residential development opening up. Why don’t we check it out tomorrow? With five million, we can get a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment over a hundred square meters."
"Five million? That wouldn’t be enough," Zhou Lin said, already seeing through her act but playing along.
"It’s enough for the down payment. After we get married, we can pay off the rest together, right?"
As she spoke, she leaned in closer, rubbing against him more aggressively. The movement was so exaggerated that Zhou Lin was almost impressed. At her age, she’s already this loose? How many times has she been massaged? How did I not notice this in my past life?
She made it sound nice, but Zhou Lin knew exactly what she was plotting. If they went to buy an apartment, she would definitely insist on putting her name on the deed. He’d be covering the down payment, and he’d end up paying most of the mortgage as well. But with her name on the property, even if they never got married, she could still walk away with a hefty sum.
She really was an expert at getting something for nothing.
Zhou Lin smirked coldly. "Have you eaten? If not, we can eat together."
"I’ve already eaten," Ai Bing replied. She rarely ate dinner to maintain her figure—after all, her body was her biggest asset, especially since her facial features weren’t particularly outstanding.
"Oh, then why not stay over tonight?" Zhou Lin said casually as he ate.
Ai Bing was caught off guard. "Babe, I told you, my upbringing doesn’t allow me to do anything before marriage… Besides, we’re not even officially together yet."
"I see…" Zhou Lin kept his head down and continued eating. "Then let’s forget about looking at apartments tomorrow."
"You…"
Ai Bing was stunned. This felt like a completely different Zhou Lin. He had never spoken to her like this before. Thinking back to his recent behavior, a sense of unease crept in. Has this lapdog found another woman? No way! I can’t let someone else take him away.
If necessary, she would stay the night. Five million wasn’t a small sum—if she had to give him a little sweetness to keep him hooked, so be it.
"Fine, I’ll stay and keep you company. But don’t get any ideas, okay? I’m just here to accompany you, nothing more."
Zhou Lin chuckled to himself. You’ve been used by who knows how many men, and you’re still pretending? Do you really think I’m interested?
"I’m planning to visit my hometown tomorrow," Zhou Lin said suddenly.
"Hometown? You mean Bashu? I thought we were going apartment hunting," Ai Bing asked.
"My mom said that if I bring my girlfriend home to meet the family, she’ll cover the cost of the wedding house—paid in full."
"Whoa… is that so?"
Ai Bing’s eyes lit up, though she tried to hide her excitement behind a veneer of reserved consideration. Zhou Lin could already tell she was hooked, but to make sure, he pretended to be nervous.
"I just… I was wondering if you’d be willing to come with me. Of course, no pressure—if you’re busy, I understand."
Seeing his anxious look, Ai Bing pouted and playfully sighed. "Well, since you’re asking so sincerely…"
"I’ll check with my company to see if I can take some time off. But just so we’re clear, I’m only helping you out this once. Whether we have a future together depends on how well you treat me."
"Alright, go ahead and request leave. I’ll book the tickets."
Watching Ai Bing’s classic "hard to get" act, Zhou Lin could barely hold back his laughter.
The future?
I swear on my brothers’ names, your future is going to be… quite special.
I wouldn’t let you off easy—not without making you experience the highs and lows of life, the agony of despair.
If I just let you die quickly, how could I ever repay my brothers for all those years?
But all of this would have to wait until Ai Bing set foot in Bashu.
Revenge takes time. A quick death would be too merciful.
Besides, after the apocalypse, most modern entertainment would become obsolete. Keeping Ai Bing around to deal with later would bring some much-needed amusement.
More importantly, his old enemies—Tang Yili, Cao Bowen, Zhang Keqin, and the rest of the gang—were still scattered out there. If Ai Bing was still alive, there was a chance she would run into them again…
Revenge should be thorough. Leaving even one of them alive would be a regret Zhou Lin couldn’t afford.
He glanced at Ai Bing and shook his head slightly. You better survive. Don't die too soon—otherwise, I'll lose a lot of fun.
"You seem reluctant to see me leave," Ai Bing teased. "But I need to go pack. See you tomorrow."
Zhou Lin didn’t stop her. Instead, he lay down on his bed and connected his consciousness to the Lai Fu.
As the largest carrier, the Lai Fu still had plenty of unused space. The living quarters alone, designed for over five thousand crew members, added up to more than 100,000 cubic meters—equivalent to a thousand shipping containers.
Then there were the storage rooms, garages, and hangars, all with ample capacity.
Since he probably wouldn’t return to this city, Zhou Lin decided to do something big before leaving. He set his sights on the nearby auto mall.
It wasn't that the Lai Fu didn’t have vehicles, but driving around in a foreign military APC wasn’t exactly low-key.
At 3:00 AM, his alarm rang.
After washing up, Zhou Lin shut off the utilities in his apartment and left.
At 3:30 AM, even this metropolis was in deep slumber. Zhou Lin carefully avoided security cameras and scaled the back wall of the auto mall.
Rows of showrooms, some brightly lit, others shrouded in darkness. A few security guards patrolled the area, but for a mall this large, they were nothing to worry about.
If he was going to steal, he might as well go big.
He ignored ordinary cars, only selecting vehicles suited for a post-apocalyptic world.
Two Pinnacle 4G63s—taken.
Luxury SUVs? Not interested.
Three Land Beasts—good enough, collected.
Four custom armored trucks—perfect.
Two Ummonics—couldn’t pass them up.
Then he spotted a row of high-end RVs.
"Jackpot."
By sunrise, the heist should have made headlines… but it didn’t.
Because something even bigger had happened—the supervolcano across the ocean had erupted.
- Writer
