Ever since learning Xu An’s name, Zhi Zhi had called her that. She had originally wanted to stop her, but couldn’t think of what else Zhi Zhi should call her for a while, so she could only compromise.
“I’m not ignoring you.” Xu An said dryly.
Sensing Xu An’s awkwardness, Laoshu smiled and said, “Zhi Zhi, come quickly, your sister Xu An brought you some buns.”
“Ah! Really!” Zhi Zhi blinked her eyes, her face full of hope, and asked, “Sister, can I bring one back for Mom? She hasn’t eaten buns for a long time.”
Xu An nodded. Since she had brought them, they were for them to eat. As for who got them, Xu An didn't care.
She had originally thought that Laoshu had finished them all, but unexpectedly, Laoshu smiled and handed the lunchbox to Zhi Zhi.
Xu An glanced over and saw that there were still five buns left inside.
She remembered that her mother had only packed six for her when she left. Seeing Laoshu wolfing them down just now, she had thought Laoshu had eaten them all.
Zhi Zhi held the lunchbox, looking at the soft, large buns inside. She sniffed deeply, the aroma directly hitting her head. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Xu An and Laoshu. After receiving their nod, she flicked her ponytail and skipped away.
“Then I’m leaving.”
“Bye-bye~”
After Xu An finished speaking, she turned and walked out of the alley. She was now a regular here. As for the scar-faced man with a fierce look, Xu An hadn’t seen him much.
Taking the elevator back to the first floor, as soon as she reached the garden fountain, she saw a commotion around her.
Xu An’s curiosity wasn’t very strong. Just as she was about to turn away, she heard someone calling her name from afar.
“Xu An… Xu An…”
Xu An followed the sound and saw that the person calling her was actually He Ci.
He Ci pushed through the crowd and came to Xu An’s side. “Xu An, you’re back!”
Xu An had heard from her mother that He Ci had helped her out before, so she felt awkward giving him a cold shoulder.
“Is something wrong?”
“No… no, I just saw you and wanted to say hello.”
Xu An looked at the noisy crowd around He Ci and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Ah… our research institute has recently developed new seeds and is now recruiting a group of people to plant them in the experimental fields first,” He Ci replied excitedly. Then he asked, “Would you like to try? It’s not very tiring, and the income is quite considerable. You just need to follow our procedures to plant them.”
Xu An was about to refuse, but unsure of her mother’s thoughts, she hesitated and said, “I’ll go ask my mom. I probably won’t go.”
“Okay, okay. Can we exchange contact information?” He Ci pursed his lips and asked shyly, “Don’t overthink it, it’s just for easier communication.”
Xu An knew that He Ci had her mother’s contact information, but she didn’t expose him. “Sorry, it’s not convenient.”
He Ci also stood awkwardly, scratching his head. However, he quickly recovered his composure. “It’s okay, we’ll contact you later then.”
“Oh, right, thank you for helping my mom out.”
Putting one thing aside, Xu An was still very grateful to He Ci for helping her mother.
Watching Xu An’s retreating back, He Ci was slightly disappointed. A colleague walked up to him and patted his shoulder.
“What are you doing! It’s getting busy over there.”
“Oh, okay!” He Ci responded and walked towards the registration desk. “How many people have signed up already?” He Ci asked someone else.
“A lot, almost five thousand. Are we still recruiting?”
He Ci’s gaze suddenly changed. The innocence and shyness in his eyes disappeared completely, replaced by a deep and sinister look. “Keep recruiting. The target given by the superiors is twenty thousand!”
The colleague was a little displeased and muttered, “Recruiting so many people, we’ll have to waste more food.”
The people recruited in this batch were promised food and drink by the Lighthouse, which was why so many people had signed up.
But most of them were from the lower levels.
Not only that, but the Lighthouse also promised to pay the participants a significant reward once the experimental fields were successful.
This policy had also attracted many people from the first level.
“It’s not coming out of your pocket, so why are you in a hurry!”
Hearing He Ci’s reprimand, the man lowered his head unwillingly, not daring to refute him further.
Back in the apartment, as soon as Xu An opened the door, Gou Dan rushed towards her. Xu An dodged to the side.
Gou Dan was getting bigger and bigger. If it really pounced on her like that, she felt like her waist would break.
Xu An looked around the room and realized her mother wasn’t home. She thought Xu Yan had probably gone out to cook for someone again.
So she went into the bathroom to take a shower. After showering, she remembered that Gou Dan hadn’t taken a bath in a long time.
So she brought Gou Dan into the bathroom. With Gou Dan’s stubborn look of dying rather than yielding, she forced its head down and washed it clean.
“Awoo~”
Gou Dan’s whimpers kept echoing in Xu An’s ears, but Xu An remained unmoved.
“If you don’t bathe, you’re not allowed on my bed anymore!” Xu An threatened.
Only then did Gou Dan quiet down.
Gou Dan finished its bath aggrievedly. It wanted to shake its head, but seeing Xu An’s “no” expression, it had to endure.
Only when Xu An nodded did it let go and frantically shake off the water from its fur.
As a result, it still splashed Xu An all over. She helplessly wiped the bathing supplies off Gou Dan with a towel, then put them back into her spatial storage.
Most of Gou Dan’s supplies were from before the apocalypse.
Although the Lighthouse also had dog washing supplies, that uniform packaging was immediately recognizable.
To avoid drawing attention, Xu An had bought a set to keep at home as a cover, but the items on the Lighthouse were very expensive, so she could only afford one set to put on a show.
In reality, she was still using the supplies she had stockpiled for Gou Dan.
Looking at the clean Gou Dan, Xu An’s “dog-hugging addiction” acted up again.
She buried her entire head in Gou Dan’s soft belly and took a deep breath.
“Hoo~”
Seeing its mother’s pathetic state, Gou Dan disdainfully patted its mother’s head with its paw, but Xu An stopped it. “A dog that doesn’t let its mommy hug it won’t get any dried meat!”
Gou Dan: “.......Although I’m not human, you’re truly a dog~~~”
She had always not known how to interact with children. Her stiff body was hugged by the little girl, and her soft little face rubbed against Xu An’s arm. It felt completely different from when Gou Dan rubbed against her!
It didn’t have furry fur, but it was warm and heartwarming.
“Sister An An, why aren’t you paying attention to me?” Zhi Zhi blinked her eyes and looked at Xu An with a wronged expression.
After petting the dog, she remembered the holographic equipment. Thinking about it, she took it out of her spatial storage and put it on again.
As soon as she logged into the interface, she saw a red, bolded notification.
【Notice: The expeditionary force is now recruiting auxiliary mercenary teams!!!】