Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Page 3 Unlocked, Rare?

9:00 PM.

At the entrance to Brocade District.

"See you tomorrow, Jiang Liu."

"Bye."

"See you tomorrow, Teacher Qingmeng~"

Tongtong waved enthusiastically.

The evening breeze stirred Jun Qingmeng’s skirt.

The wind outlined her graceful and captivating figure.

Jun Qingmeng said a reluctant farewell.

She had a lot of fun today.

The thought of being with Jiang Liu again tomorrow made her heart leap with joy.

On the way back,

Jiang Liu filled up Xue Guang’s car with gas and also bought a carton of the Peony brand cigarettes he liked to smoke.

One had to keep up with social courtesies.

At the storefront.

"You kid, you’re being too polite with me."

Xue Guang happily took what Jiang Liu had brought and opened it for a look.

The crispy fish was still warm.

"Grilled fish?"

"Yeah, I just caught a fish over ten pounds and grilled it. I saved this part especially for you."

When Xue Guang heard it was saved especially for him, his smile widened.

Every time he helped Jiang Liu, he always received even more in return.

’Xiao Jiang is such a thoughtful young man!’

"Great, great, great. I happen to love fish."

Jiang Liu waved. "I’m heading back to sleep. You should get some rest too, Uncle Xue."

"Goodbye, Uncle Xue."

Xue Guang watched Jiang Liu’s departing figure, rubbed his bald head, and suddenly sighed.

He opened the car door and found the gas tank was full, and in the storage compartment, there was a carton of his favorite Peony cigarettes...

「Meanwhile.」

"I’m not here~ Lost~ Longing is my only luggage~"

Jun Qingmeng hummed "You Never Left" as she opened her apartment door.

The moment she pushed the door open,

Guo Jia rushed out of the bedroom, her eyes bloodshot.

"You’re finally back, my little highness! Have you even looked at the time?!"

"You didn’t even answer your phone! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

"Did you bring back the buns? I’m starving to death!"

She hadn’t dared to eat anything since lunch, saving room in her stomach to eat more buns and drink more juice. Who would have thought she’d have to wait and wait, all the way past nine o’clock.

Jun Qingmeng tossed the now-cold buns onto the table and said angrily, "I see how it is. You weren’t worried about me, you were worried about your buns, weren’t you?"

"All you can see are buns!"

"If that’s what you want to think, there’s nothing I can do."

Guo Jia said this as she eagerly tore open the paper bag that had been stapled shut.

She grabbed a shrimp bun, stuffed it into her mouth, and took a big gulp of watermelon juice.

"Ah, that’s the stuff! So good!"

"Mengmeng, did you confess to Jiang Liu yet? It’s been days. How come I don’t see any movement in your belly yet? Hurry up and marry Jiang Liu so he can cook for us, you hear?"

"Why are you talking nonsense again!"

Jun Qingmeng chided, though she wasn’t truly angry.

She actually loved it when her best friend talked about Jiang Liu with her.

She didn’t even mind if the jokes were a little dirty. It didn’t bother her, because it was about Jiang Liu.

"Well, the two of us went fishing today, and we grilled the fish together."

"Basically, I like him even more than I did yesterday."

As Jun Qingmeng spoke, she smiled gently, the corners of her lovely mouth turning up slightly.

Guo Jia picked at her feet, took a sip of juice, and said disdainfully, "Look at that blissful little expression on your face. You’re completely love-struck!"

"Not like me. My heart’s locked in concrete. A little vibrator solves everything."

Jun Qingmeng was speechless.

Guo Jia wolfed down all ten buns and lay on the sofa, groaning.

After a moment, she asked, "Hey, love-struck, any idea what your ’big baby’ thinks of you right now?"

Jun Qingmeng shook her head. "I’m not sure. At least he doesn’t hate me, I think."

"’Doesn’t hate you’? It’s been days and that’s all you’ve figured out? That he ’doesn’t hate you’?"

"Aren’t you being a little too dense?"

Guo Jia was stunned.

"What else could it be? Oh, it’s just... um, it’s hard to explain. I guess we’re friends right now. Jiang Liu hasn’t shown any clear intentions toward me."

Jun Qingmeng stomped her foot, embarrassed.

Guo Jia mused, "Do you think it’s possible... that Jiang Liu wants to get back together with his ex-wife?"

"I don’t think so," Jun Qingmeng immediately denied, shaking her head.

"Why?"

"I think his ex-wife invited him to go shopping with her today, but Jiang Liu refused."

Jun Qingmeng felt very happy saying this.

"I don’t get it. I don’t get it at all," Guo Jia said, scratching her messy hair.

"Why don’t you just make a move and steamroll him? Men are just waiting to be conquered!"

"Huh??" Jun Qingmeng froze for a second. When she realized what Guo Jia meant, she glanced down at her own chest and blushed. "Let’s just take it slow. I prefer things to be a bit more romantic."

The truth was, she was terrified of confessing.

’What if he rejects me?’

The more you care, the more you fear losing it.

"Tch." Guo Jia pouted contemptuously. "You foolish, love-struck girl!"

’The Little Princess of a publicly traded company,’

’and now she’s being all timid and hesitant about confessing.’

’If all those rich young masters who chased you relentlessly with bouquets of flowers found out, wouldn’t they do more than just cry themselves unconscious in a bathroom stall?’

"Hmph, I’m not love-struck! This is romantic philosophy. Anyway, I’m going to take a shower. You entertain yourself."

"Love-struck and in denial." Guo Jia pursed her lips, took a sip of the sweet juice, closed her eyes, and went back to playing dead on the sofa.

A lovely, cheerful voice drifted from the bathroom,

"I’m not lost, longing is my only luggage, among the endless stars, there is one..."

Jun Qingmeng sang as she blissfully enjoyed her hot shower.

In the mirror, streams of water glided down her slender form.

’Those water droplets must have saved the world in their past lives.’

Her skin was fair and clear.

Even other women would be captivated by the sight.

"Mm, just perfect. I wonder if Jiang Liu will like it."

Jun Qingmeng admired herself for a moment while drying her body in front of the mirror.

After her shower, she lay down on her soft, fragrant bed.

Jun Qingmeng couldn’t resist sending Jiang Liu another message: "I’m home safe. I just took a shower, it was so nice. Getting ready for bed. You?"

Having finished preparing the fillings, Jiang Liu was lying on the sofa watching "Boonie Bears."

He casually replied, "I’m going to bed soon."

He had just plugged his phone in to charge. It had died unexpectedly while he was live streaming during the fishing trip, and he hadn’t even noticed.

Because of that, a bunch of customers were flaming him in the comments of his first video.

Jun Qingmeng: "Good night!"

"Good night, Tongtong."

Jiang Liu: "Good night."

He put down his phone.

Jiang Liu gave Tongtong a bath.

Then he threw their dirty clothes into the washing machine to be washed and dried.

The father and daughter lay on the bed in matching pajamas, enjoying the air conditioning.

Tongtong’s pajamas were a white nightgown covered in black moons.

Jiang Liu’s were a set of black shorts and a loose short-sleeved shirt covered in white moons.

"Daddy, do you love me?"

Tongtong poked Jiang Liu’s butt.

"I love you, of course."

"But Daddy, your butt is squishing my little foot, and you didn’t even notice. Doesn’t it break your heart?"

"Oh."

Jiang Liu shifted his butt and went back to looking at cars on an app on his phone.

Tongtong gritted her teeth in frustration.

’Stupid Daddy!’

’Can’t you see your little cutie needs to be coaxed to sleep?’

"Quick, kiss my foot and apologize to it," Tongtong said, pointing to her foot with a serious expression.

Jiang Liu turned his head and glanced at the little drama queen:

"There goes your ice cream allowance for this month."

"Daddy, I was wrong! Please, I’m begging you, don’t take away my ice cream!"

A few minutes later, Tongtong was fast asleep in Jiang Liu’s arms, drooling as usual.

Jiang Liu habitually checked the Gourmet Album in his mind.

The next moment,

He sat up in surprise.

The third page was actually reacting!

What surprised Jiang Liu most was that, unlike the first two pages, this one had a purple border. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

It was like the color-coding used in video games to distinguish between common and rare items.

On the page was a fish leaping high out of the water.

It had a stout, rounded body, a narrow head and tail, a forked tail fin, and small, bluish finlets behind its dorsal and anal fins.

"Is this a bluefin tuna??"

Jiang Liu studied the image in his mind doubtfully.

It was blurry, so he couldn’t be sure.

But if it was a bluefin tuna, he was about to strike it rich!

As far as he knew, this fish was basically the Hermès of the fish world.

The most expensive belly meat could sell for over two thousand yuan per half-kilogram!

There were also ordinary tunas, like farmed yellowfin, which typically cost a few hundred yuan per half-kilogram.

’Excuse me, what kind of fish is this, and how many praise points does it take to unlock?’

Jiang Liu asked tentatively in his mind.

The Gourmet Album seemed to hear his thoughts.

The book closed, and words appeared on its yellow leather cover.

[Wild Bluefin Tuna as an ingredient: Requires 100,000 praise points to unlock]

[Current Praise Points: 25,480]

’It really is bluefin, and wild-caught, too... One hundred thousand points. That doesn’t seem like too much. A day or two of hard work should be enough.’

Jiang Liu silently suppressed his excitement.

Once he unlocked the tuna, his income would absolutely skyrocket.

’Some kind of ’care package’? No, no, no. Totally unnecessary.’

Before he knew it,

Jiang Liu drifted off to sleep, lost in a beautiful dream.