Chapter 127: Shen Que, I'm from a Book
"Shen Que, could you help me deliver these to the teachers?"
After returning home, Meng Ci scooped two bowls of rice into a plastic bag.
He also filled half a plastic bag with eggplants and greens he had picked earlier, handing them to Shen Que to deliver to Duan Yan and the others.
Shen Que had no objections and left with the items.
Meng Ci quickly took some ready-made dishes out of his spatial pocket.
Boiled meat slices, sweet and sour pork ribs, crispy green peppers, dry-fried potato slices, Mapo tofu, a bowl of tomato bean skin soup, and four servings of rice.
The reason Meng Ci asked Shen Que to deliver the items to Duan Yan and the others was not only because he feared that if he delivered them himself, they might refuse, causing unnecessary trouble.
It was also because Meng Ci felt exhausted after fighting the tiger all day and didn't want to cook.
Moreover, now that he was with Shen Que, it wouldn't be right for him to hide in the spatial pocket alone when the temperature dropped to minus seventy degrees, leaving Shen Que to freeze outside.
Therefore, Meng Ci planned to gradually take out some things to prepare Shen Que.
Or find an opportunity to confess directly.
Seeing that Shen Que hadn't returned, Meng Ci took out three boxes of rice, two fish, and a serving of beef and potato stew, poured them into the food bowl for Eggplant, mixed them up, and let Eggplant eat first.
Soon, Shen Que came back through the door, still holding a plastic bag in his hand.
"What's this?" Meng Ci asked.
Shen Que handed the plastic bag to Meng Ci and explained, "These are dumplings made by Teacher Duan and the others. They said it's wild boar and greens filling."
Originally, Shen Que intended to leave after delivering the items, but Yun Jingcen was too enthusiastic and directly stuffed the items into his arms.
Shen Que had no choice but to take them.
At the trading points, some people were already selling wild boar meat, but it cost two pounds of grain to exchange for one pound of pork.
Moreover, the pork was solid, so the amount exchanged would only be a small piece, which many people found unprofitable.
Most ordinary people struggled just to have enough to eat, let alone think about eating meat.
Hearing that it was wild boar filling, Meng Ci's eyes lit up.
"I've never eaten wild boar before; I wonder how it tastes."
If Meng Ci had known Yun Jingcen and the others would give him dumplings, he wouldn't have taken out the rice.
However, since the food was already out, Meng Ci didn't intend to put it back and placed the dumplings on the balcony.
"Shen Que, come and eat." Meng Ci moved a chair and invited Shen Que.
"Okay." Seeing the food on the table, Shen Que didn't ask any questions and started eating with his chopsticks.
Noticing that Shen Que wasn't curious about how the food suddenly appeared, Meng Ci, with a mouthful of chopsticks, asked directly.
"Shen Que, aren't you curious why I can make five dishes and a soup so quickly?"
Shen Que's hand didn't stop as he picked up more food, looking steadily at Meng Ci and answering seriously, "What's there to be curious about?"
"In this post-apocalyptic world, having something to eat is already good enough."
This was indeed Shen Que's truest thought. Moreover, Meng Ci posed no threat to him, so why bother being curious?
Seeing that Shen Que's eyes held no greed or other dangerous intentions, Meng Ci felt relieved.
Then, feeling quite pleased, he thought to himself that he really had a good eye for men.
After the meal, Meng Ci slumped on the sofa, stuffing grapes into his mouth.
When Shen Que finished washing the dishes and sat down beside him,
Meng Ci didn't give him a chance to speak, straightened up, and then, holding Shen Que's hand, looked at him earnestly.
"Shen Que, I need to tell you something."
"Actually, I am not this world's Meng Ci, or rather, my soul does not belong to this world."
Upon hearing this, Shen Que's face was full of confusion.
Once such a topic was broached, continuing the conversation became much easier.
So, Meng Ci sat cross-legged on the sofa, placed the bowl of grapes on his lap, popped a grape into his mouth, and continued.
Shen Que brought over an empty plate to catch the grape seeds for Meng Ci.
"I actually came from a book."
"Before I came here, I worked at a small company."
At this point, Meng Ci's eyes suddenly brightened.
"And I had already turned twenty-four, speaking of which," Meng Ci looked at Shen Que excitedly.
"Shen Que, you should call me brother."
Shen Que, who was about to feed Meng Ci a grape, instead fed it to himself.
"Nice try, you never called me brother before."
"Besides, with your small frame, can you really bear the title of my older brother?"
"Hmph." Meng Ci grunted in dissatisfaction, inwardly complaining that Shen Que was indeed young and immature.
As an older brother, Meng Ci felt he could forgive him.
Then, Meng Ci continued to recount how he had been transported into this novel after making a few sarcastic remarks about the plot.
"Do you want to go back?" Shen Que suddenly asked.
The right hand resting on the sofa clenched involuntarily, his voice tinged with tension as he inquired.
What would he do if Meng Ci suddenly returned?
Meng Ci leaned back on the sofa, falling into a state of confusion.
At first, when he arrived here, Meng Ci's mind was solely focused on surviving in the apocalypse.
During the day, he was preoccupied with various matters, leaving no time to think about returning.
But at night, lying in the soft bed, Meng Ci felt waves of loneliness and fear.
Although before being transported into the book, Meng Ci was an orphan, he had managed to make a few close friends over the years of studying and working.
However, in this world, Meng Ci's memories were limited to the miserable scenes from the book and the faces of a few important people.
Li Shanyang, Zhang Lu, Li Xiaoya, and Liu Jie, because they had bullied the Meng Ci in the book, he wanted to take revenge on them.
Liang Xiu, because he had always helped him.
As for the faces of others, Meng Ci couldn't remember them.
Like Zhao Jingyu, whom he had encountered before.
Both the Meng family and the Zhao family were the richest families in M City, and the two families often interacted at various social gatherings.
When Meng Ci saw Zhao Jingyu's name, only a few scenes of attending banquets flashed through his mind, but he still couldn't recall Zhao Jingyu's face clearly.
During their last meeting, Meng Ci was heavily wrapped up, so Zhao Jingyu didn't recognize him.
What if Zhao Jingyu recognized him next time and he didn't react, causing suspicion?
Therefore, since arriving here, Meng Ci felt very insecure.
Moreover, this world was plagued by natural disasters and zombie sieges, and Meng Ci naturally didn't want to stay here.
Thus, Meng Ci nodded honestly, "Of course I want to go back."
Upon hearing this, Shen Que was stunned, feeling his mind go blank.
If Meng Ci went back, what would he do without him?
"But," Meng Ci changed the subject, looking at Shen Que.
"After meeting you, I haven't thought about it anymore."
Shen Que was shocked by Meng Ci's words and sat up straight.
"You, you mean you don't plan to go back?" Shen Que stammered.
Meng Ci nodded, "Yeah."
"Since we're together, I certainly won't abandon you."
Meng Ci was still eating grapes when Shen Que suddenly pounced and hugged him.
The bowl on his lap tipped over, and the grapes rolled around.
Eggplant, seeing the food, trotted over eagerly and gobbled up several grapes.
The plump fruit was juicy and sweet, and Eggplant couldn't get enough.