Chapter 64: Reunion

Long Cong’an picked up his son. “Let me see—what brave little man is crying here?”

The little boy immediately tried to hold back his tears. “Xiaobao’s not crying!”

But before long, his eyes were brimming with tears again. “Daddy, please don’t go anywhere dangerous anymore.”

“Good boy! Daddy just needs to go out one more time tomorrow. After that, I’ll stay home with you every day, okay?”

Li Shihan, who was packing things up, heard this and immediately walked over.

“You’re going out again tomorrow?” She looked disapproving. “It’s too dangerous out there! We have enough supplies. You should stay home and recover.”

Long Cong’an replied, “I can’t do that. I already promised my benefactor—I can’t go back on my word!”

He then explained everything that had happened today in detail to his wife.

After listening, Li Shihan thought for a moment. “Fine, then I’ll go with you tomorrow. I don’t feel comfortable letting you go alone.”

Long Cong’an hugged her. “Don’t worry, honey. President Gu is coming with me tomorrow. You don’t need to go. You and Xiaobao just stay home and wait for me to come back.”

“President Gu?” Li Shihan was a bit surprised. “Why is he going with you?”

“He’s just worried about me!”

Li Shihan: …

Do you think I believe that?

“Oh, come on, honey. Anyway, there’s nothing to worry about. There definitely won’t be any more danger tomorrow.”

Long Cong’an was an orphan, and now that he finally had a family of his own—a gentle, lovely wife and a sensible, well-behaved child—he cherished them deeply.

There was no way he’d let them take even the slightest risk with him.

Seeing that his wife still wanted to say something, Long Cong’an leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Don’t forget, President Gu’s packing heat.”

As he spoke, he made a gun gesture with his hand.

Only then did Li Shihan nod. “Then you two be careful. Xiaobao and I will wait for you at home.”

“Mm!”

The next day, at Maple Woods Scenic Residence.

An Nan got up early as usual, finished her Baduanjin exercises, ate breakfast, and then changed her clothes to head out.

Fugui, seeing her change, immediately sprang up from its bed.

“Woof woof woof!”

“Woof woof woof woof!”

What’s going on, poop-shoveler?

You go out to play every day now and don’t take me with you??

It stretched its neck and howled in protest, pawing at An Nan’s leg and refusing to let her leave.

An Nan tried to soothe it. “Be good and wait at home. I’ll be back soon.”

But this time, no matter what she said, Fugui refused to stay home.

“Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!”

Its chubby little face scrunched up, and it howled as if it had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

An Nan was helpless. “It’s dangerous outside. Wait at home, and I’ll bring you something tasty when I get back.”

But Fugui stood guard at the door, chest out and head held high, refusing to budge.

While guarding the door, it whimpered pitifully.

It looked pretty miserable.

An Nan thought for a moment and decided to take it along after all.

It really hadn’t had any fresh air in a long time—no wonder it was going stir-crazy.

But Fugui had gotten so fat that it wouldn’t fit in her backpack anymore.

So An Nan had to put a leash on it and carefully instructed, “Stick close to me when we’re outside. Don’t wander off, okay?”

Fugui blinked its big eyes at her and obediently let her put on the leash.

When Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei saw the dog coming along today, they couldn’t resist giving its head a good rub.

Especially Chu Peipei, who was over the moon and showered Fugui’s big round face with kisses.

Fugui held its head high, turning away in disdain.

We’re both girls—please show some respect!

Chu Peipei said, “An Nan, your dog seems to dislike me?”

An Nan laughed. “That’s normal. She’s got a bad temper. She was just scolding me at home.”

They say dogs take after their owners, but An Nan thought Fugui’s temper was even worse than hers.

If anything didn’t go her way, she’d start barking up a storm.

And not just barking—her voice was loud as a foghorn.

She was a real street shrew in dog form!

...

The three of them and the dog boarded the inflatable boat, towing over 100 jin of crocodile meat behind them in a kayak.

The boat sped along, a cool breeze brushing their faces.

The dog hadn’t been out in ages. Now, with the wind in her fur, she breathed in the fresh air with relish.

Even though the air was tinged with the stench of the water, she didn’t mind at all, sniffing eagerly with her little nose.

An Nan held the leash in one hand, making sure the dog didn’t get too excited and fall in, while steering the boat toward Jiangbei District with the other.

Today’s main goal was to trade for fertilizer.

So, when she parted ways with Long Cong’an yesterday, they didn’t arrange to meet at the crowded Zhongguan market, but instead picked the relatively quiet Jiangbei District.

Jiangbei was where An Nan had previously cleared out an entire mall and office building.

Now, the mall was so flooded that only the top floor remained above water. The windows had already been smashed by people searching for supplies.

But they definitely hadn’t found anything.

After all, all the good stuff from that floor was safely stored in An Nan’s space.

She passed by with a calm expression, as if she’d never been there before.

Soon, the three arrived at the agreed meeting spot.

They cut the engine, and the water grew still and quiet. There wasn’t another boat in sight.

Most boats these days were gathered at the floating market in Zhongguan, and any robbers were concentrated there too.

So, even though they were towing a lot of crocodile meat, they didn’t run into any trouble.

They waited quietly.

Before long, another engine sounded. The three and the dog immediately looked over, alert.

Another inflatable boat approached, also towing a kayak.

There were only two people on board, but they were too far away to make out their faces.

Soon, though, a familiar voice called out, “Benefactor! I’m here!”

The man waved excitedly with one hand while steering the boat with the other.

It was Long Cong’an.

He quickly brought the boat over.

An Nan thought to herself, Looks like he really listened this time—he didn’t come alone, he even brought a companion.

“You’re looking good! Doesn’t your wound hurt anymore?”

She greeted him while instinctively glancing at his companion.

At a glance, she was taken aback.

The man was lounging lazily on the boat, his features striking and sharply defined, with a high nose and long, narrow phoenix eyes peeking out from under tousled bangs.

His whole presence was magnetic, almost dangerously attractive.

He was… really good-looking.

An Nan had seen her share of handsome men—Zhao Ping’an, for instance, was quite good-looking.

Even Bai Wenbin, who was always hanging around her, was at least an eight or nine out of ten in terms of looks.

But this was the first time she’d ever found herself so captivated by a man’s appearance.

He was just that striking.

At that moment, as if sensing her gaze, the man looked up slightly.

His long, narrow phoenix eyes met An Nan’s."