My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 44

For a Level 5 ability user like Mu Ning, moving a round table was no challenge at all. In fact, she found the two injured girls, one with a wounded shoulder and the other with a mangled arm, trying to help a bit bothersome. It wasn’t just that they were in the way; she was mostly afraid they would accidentally strain themselves and cause their wounds to burst open again.

After stopping their counterproductive “help,” Mu Ning effortlessly carried the round table straight out the door, leaving Ren Chenxi and Sun Jia looking on in confusion.

“Boss, where are we eating?”

“We’re going to the new building. It’ll serve as a housewarming meal.”

“…” Moving such a short distance requires a housewarming party? Ren Chenxi thought. Oh well, technically, they were moving from an old building to a new one.

As Mu Ning carried the table out, Chen Gu happened to emerge from the kitchen. He froze for a second at the sight of his boss moving furniture, then shouted, “Boss! If you take the table, where are we supposed to eat?”

“You guys do what you usually do—take your food to the third floor,” Mu Ning replied over her shoulder.

Wu Tong came out just in time to hear this and beamed. “Great! I didn’t want to eat with you smelly men anyway!”

“Hey! What gives?” Chen Gu complained. They had been disparaged by the girls all day. Aside from the hygiene issue, Chen Gu couldn’t figure out how they had offended them. Besides, the boys had helped cook lunch today!

“Your table manners are terrible! Smacking your lips is one thing, but you don’t know how to share during hotpot. You just grab the best bits and ignore the girls!”

“…Sister, it’s the apocalypse! Do you have any idea how precious food is? Besides, we don’t grab that much! You girls are clearly the more aggressive ones!”

“Which is why eating separately is better. You boys take yours to the third floor, and us girls will go to the new building… Oh, wait, since we’ve all moved out, you guys can just eat on the first floor now~”

Hearing Wu Tong put it that way, Chen Gu realized she had a point. When they ate with the girls, the boys never complained about the girls’ massive appetites or fierce competition for food, yet the girls were the ones acting picky. Indeed separate was better. And without the Boss watching them, they could eat with much more freedom.

“Fine, fine, we’ll do as the Boss says! Separate it is. But with the table gone, are we supposed to sit on the stairs with our bowls? Forget it, we’ll go to the third floor; at least there’s a big coffee table. Once you girls are fully moved out, this whole building belongs to us men!” At the thought of escaping the girls’ constant nagging about cleaning and hygiene, Chen Gu felt a sudden sense of liberation.

“Hmph!” Seeing Chen Gu’s eager expression, Wu Tong’s disdain deepened. “Just wait. In a few days, the old building will be as filthy as a tin shack!”

“Alright, alright, what are you two gossiping about out there? The food is almost ready, come in and help!” The kitchen door swung open again, releasing an intoxicating aroma as Zhang Tongqi poked her head out to summon them.

“Coming!”

Though they called it a “feast,” it was really just a collection of home-cooked dishes that the young men and women were good at making. However, even “ordinary” home cooking was extraordinary in a villa district full of ability users.

The staple was a large bowl of egg fried rice. The eggs were usually bought to feed Tantan. Some people in the base raised mutated chickens; their eggs were larger and edible, but a single egg cost four Level 1 crystal nuclei. Only because the Boss was grandly treating them did everyone get to share the eggs that usually belonged solely to Tantan.

As for the main courses, there was a plate of vibrant stir-fried greens, a dish of mushrooms sautéed with meat chunks, steamed pork ribs with potatoes, and a large pot of fragrant braised meats. For soup, there was a massive pot of radish, corn, and beef stew.

Every dish was split—half for the girls and half for the boys. When Jian Dan’s trio finished their bath and saw the spread on the large round table, their eyes widened, and they nearly started drooling.

Before the apocalypse, a wealthy young lady or gentleman might have complained that such a meal was too simple or too oily. But this was the apocalypse! Vegetables were just as precious as meat. In the base, their market values were essentially equal. This spread was an ultra-luxurious feast! If traded for crystal nuclei, it would be worth quite a lot.

Ah! A treat from a Level 5 powerhouse is truly extravagant!

The aroma in the hall not only made Tang Ying and the others in the bathroom scrub faster, but it also drew the attention of neighbors in the villa district, who “coincidentally” walked by the door several times to peek in.

“Xiao Wu, did you guys have a big haul? It’s not a holiday, yet you’re eating so lavishly?” An ordinary-looking middle-aged woman stopped Wu Tong, who was helping carry dishes. Don’t be fooled by her plain appearance; she was a Level 2 “Lion’s Roar” ability user. Essentially, her power was similar to Jian Dan’s, using sound to attack, but while Jian Dan needed an instrument, this lady just needed to scream.

“Oh? It’s a housewarming party, plus we’re welcoming new companions, so we made it a bit special~” Wu Tong felt a headache coming on. Once these aunties started prying, they never stopped.

Sure enough…

“Oh? New companions? Who’s so impressive that they earn such a welcome? They…”

Before she could finish, Mu Ning, who was carrying several chairs, interrupted coldly. “Wu Tong, why are you standing around? It’s almost past lunchtime, stop being so slow!”

“Right, right! Sorry Boss, I’ll go help right away!” With that, Wu Tong quickly ditched the woman and ran toward the new building.

The woman watched her run off, then looked at Mu Ning. Catching Mu Ning’s icy stare, she swallowed hard, forced a smile, said a quick hello, and hurried away. In this villa district, the only person who truly intimidated her was this cold young woman. It wasn’t just because she was a Level 5 user; more importantly, her family’s vital drinking water was purchased from her. While there were other water-users in the base, Mu Ning gave her a neighbor’s discount. If she angered her and the water supply stopped or the discount vanished, it would be a huge loss.

The round table Mu Ning moved was large, but seating ten girls was still a bit tight. Consequently, Ren Chenxi was squeezed right next to Mu Ning. Jian Dan knew the two didn’t get along and had intended to sit next to Mu Ning to act as a buffer, but as she approached, the cold aura radiating from Mu Ning made her instinctively move one seat further away.

When Ren Chenxi emerged after showing Tantan his new litter box area, she saw only one empty seat left—the one next to Mu Ning. The food was served, everyone was seated, and they were all waiting for her. Ren Chenxi couldn’t very well act childish and say, “Oh, I don’t want to sit with Mu Ning.” She wasn’t a kid; there was no need to do something embarrassing and annoying just out of spite.

Ren Chenxi sat down beside Mu Ning, which inexplicably brightened Mu Ning’s mood. She picked up her chopsticks and gestured to the spread. “Which dishes do you like? Don’t be shy, eat whatever you want.”

Ignoring everyone else just to talk to your boyfriend’s sister? Boss, this isn’t right!

Zhang Tongqi’s smile stiffened for a second before she hurriedly greeted everyone. “From now on, we’re neighbors in the same building. Everyone, please dig in, don’t hold back~”

“Thank you, thank you~”

“Thanks, Senior Mu~”

At first, everyone was a bit reserved, focusing on the white rice in their bowls. But after Ren Chenxi unceremoniously reached into the pot of braised meat and snagged a large chicken leg, the others followed suit, grabbing the dishes they had been eyeing.

It was the apocalypse, and they had been gnawing on dry rations all the way here. No matter how polite the girls wanted to be, they couldn’t maintain it in the face of such a feast. Their mouths and stomachs wouldn’t allow it.

Ren Chenxi didn’t share their internal struggle. She was annoyed with Mu Ning, and since Mu Ning was sitting right there, she wanted to eat as much of this precious meal as possible right in front of her. Besides, she had been eating naan with plain water for a week; even a simple plate of stir-fried greens was an immense temptation. Seeing Ren Chenxi eating happily, Mu Ning’s own appetite improved, and she unconsciously went for a second bowl of rice.

With Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning leading the way, and Zhang Tongqi, Wu Tong, and Sun Jia lightening the mood, the once-stiff girls finally relaxed. They began to eat with gusto, chatting naturally as they did.

As the conversation flowed, Chang Ling suddenly remarked, “That’s strange. I thought in a coastal city like H City, the most common food in the base would be seafood.”

Hearing this, Ren Chenxi realized she was right. H City was coastal; according to the map, Zuo’ning Town was a seaside town. Even the name of the base, “Nanhai Base,” was taken from the South Sea bordering the town.

So… where was the seafood? Shrimp, crabs, scallops, squid… why wasn’t there a single one?

Ren Chenxi turned to Mu Ning with a puzzled look, waiting for an explanation.

Meeting Ren Chenxi’s curious gaze, Mu Ning set down her chopsticks and replied calmly, “Because we don’t go to the shore. Hardly anyone in the base goes to the beach these days.”

Leaving an ocean full of delicious seafood alone? People in the base would rather gnaw on dry bread and wild herbs? Why wouldn’t they go to the beach? Was it because they lacked boats? But you don’t need a boat to catch seafood, do you? Crabs and shells should be all over the beach when the tide goes out, right? You should be able to just pick them up. Why would they need boats?

For a moment, everyone stopped their chopsticks mid-air, looking at Mu Ning with collective curiosity. They shouldn’t be distracted in the face of a feast, but… the thing distracting them was the prospect of another kind of delicious food! It was only natural for them to wonder why they couldn’t eat fresh, tasty seafood.

Support