Chapter 228: "Grandma Jing Faints" (For Mirror Heart's No. 1 Fan, White Moon)

At eleven o'clock, Jing Shu was ready to head home from work. However, Wang Danai insisted on dragging her to lunch, making Jing Shu feel a bit awkward. After all, Wang Danai had been running around all morning, while Jing Shu had just taken a casual walk.

"I brought my lunch, so I'll skip eating with you," Jing Shu said, trying to politely decline.

"Come on, just bring it and eat at the cafeteria. Today's meal is mushroom and garlic sprout soup with a sprinkle of green onions on top," Wang Danai said, clearly excited about the simple meal.

Jing Shu cringed internally at the thought of the watery soup.

"I'll tell you a secret about our president if you come," Wang Danai teased.

"Alright, fine," Jing Shu agreed. Gossip was a universal weakness, after all. She was curious.

Since she'd said she brought her lunch, Jing Shu had no choice but to go back to her shark submarine and pull out her meal from her storage space. She realized she couldn’t skimp on her own meal, but at the same time, she couldn’t bring out anything too fancy either. After all, this was just a casual lunch.

She brought a four-tier lunchbox and joined Wang Danai. When Wang saw the size of the lunchbox, her eyes widened. "It’s just lunch. Why such a big lunchbox?"

The lunchbox looked more like a suitcase.

"I'll share my lunch with you. I can't eat that much on my own," Jing Shu replied, making Wang Danai practically jump with joy. She thought she’d scored a free meal.

Wang Danai assumed Jing Shu’s lunch would be simple, just like the food in the cafeteria, and that it wouldn’t be too different from what she was used to. That was, until Jing Shu began unpacking dish after dish, filling the four-person table with food.

“You eat all of this by yourself?” Wang Danai asked, stunned.

Jing Shu nodded, “Yes, I have a big appetite.”

Wang Danai was speechless. Hadn’t she said earlier that she didn’t eat much? No, clearly Jing Shu had just been avoiding the cafeteria food.

Jing Shu's lunch consisted of a simple coconut sticky rice, a box of braised pork, crispy salt-and-pepper mushrooms, fried fish and chicken, and a bowl of white soup with scallions, which smelled like fish soup. Each box was filled to the brim, and everything looked and smelled delicious.

The enticing aroma attracted the attention of people around them, who stopped to stare longingly at the feast.

Wang Danai gulped, suddenly finding her favorite mushroom and garlic sprout soup tasteless. Her soup couldn’t compare to the rich, fragrant fish soup sitting in front of Jing Shu.

Jing Shu sighed. This was the simplest food she could bring from her storage, yet it still caused a stir. “I knew I shouldn’t have eaten here,” she thought to herself.

“You’re the one, aren’t you? The one they say is Wucheng’s... representative?” A young girl approached, hands on her hips, ready to confront Jing Shu. However, the moment she saw the spread of food on the table, she inhaled sharply.

“Yes, that’s her,” Jiao jiao said proudly, though she too was momentarily stunned by the food, her mouth beginning to water.

Jing Shu, chewing on a piece of fried chicken, replied casually, “That’s what President Tie said, not me.”

The young girl swallowed hard, her eyes glued to the coconut sticky rice Jing Shu was eating. She could almost taste the sweet, fragrant flavor in her mind.

“What was I going to ask?!” The girl’s anger quickly melted into a craving for food. Although she wasn’t lacking rice at home and had occasional meat, she had never experienced such mouth-watering fish soup or crispy fried chicken.

Her stomach grumbled audibly, and Jing Shu glanced at her. “Do you want some?”

The girl’s face turned red with embarrassment, and she burst into tears before running off, crying as she went.

Jing Shu blinked, confused. “What just happened?”

Jiao jiao gulped, saying, “You’re in trouble now. You’ve made the young lady cry.” Then she too ran off.

Wang Danai swallowed as well. “Ignore them. Let me tell you the secret about our president.” She figured a distraction was necessary before she too succumbed to her cravings.

Jing Shu had known that food had a strong allure, but she hadn’t expected it to disarm even an angry opponent. Was this the infamous ‘starving the enemy’ strategy?

Oh well. Jing Shu nodded, thinking that this secret better be worth the trouble. She quickly polished off two dishes, leaving Wang Danai both impressed and slightly terrified by how fast she ate.

“Our president is a Taoist priest. They say he’s highly enlightened and spends most of his time in seclusion. I’ve been here for years, and I’ve never seen him. But one day—”

“Ring, ring, ring~”

Jing Shu’s phone rang, interrupting Wang Danai. Jing Shu frowned; it was Wu Youai calling. What could she need at this time?

“Hello? What’s up?”

Wu Youai’s anxious voice came through. “Jing Shu, hurry back! Your grandma fainted!”

Jing Shu’s mind exploded with panic. This was the second year of the apocalypse, and she had done everything to protect her family. Nothing like this had ever happened before—aside from the time Wu Youai had been kidnapped.

“Hold on! I’ll be there soon. Don’t panic. What’s Grandma’s condition? Is her face pale or purple? Do you know what caused it? Was it something external?”

Jing Shu’s grandmother had high blood pressure and heart issues, but she had been on medication for the last two years, and she drank spiritual spring water daily. It couldn’t be one of her usual illnesses.

“Her face is a bit pale, and her breathing is rapid. She seems to be lacking oxygen. She was chatting with someone when she suddenly fainted. I didn’t let that person leave.”

“Got it. Call a doctor in the meantime.”

“But... the person says he’s a doctor.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Jing Shu hung up, not caring about anything else, and immediately rushed back home. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what could have caused her grandmother to collapse. She could only place her hopes in the healing powers of the spiritual spring water, praying that it would be enough to save her grandmother.

Wang Danai called after her, “Jing Shu, your food! Your food!”

“You eat it. Just clean up the lunchbox when you’re done,” Jing Shu replied, waving as she hurried off.

Jing Shu floored the accelerator, making the normally hour-long drive back home in just ten minutes. She even refueled her shark submarine along the way, nearly crashing into a building in her haste.

Luckily, she made it back to the villa just in time.

All the while, her mind was a jumble of thoughts. Why had her grandmother suddenly fainted? Could it be some unknown illness? Jing Shu had kept her family healthy for so long by giving them the spiritual spring water. They hadn’t gotten sick even when others around them had.

Jing Shu trusted the power of the spiritual spring water. Her grandparents might not be young anymore, but they had become visibly healthier. Her grandfather’s teeth had even regrown, indicating the spring’s regenerative properties.

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*Side note: This chapter is dedicated to Mirror Heart’s No. 1 fan, White Moon.*