Chapter 5: Tomato Fried Eggs
Translator: xujin Editor: xujin-editor
The reason why he chose to cook this dish was because of his limited cooking ability. Hence, this was the only dish he was good at, since he cooked the same thing every day.
[Once I have money, maybe I should hire a maid? ] Jiang Chen thought, before he got rid of the idea immediately. His secret would cause too much hysteria. Therefore, a maid would be inconvenient in hiding the truth.
A girlfriend would be his priority.
He thought about the gold bars in the living room, as a mischievous and happy smile appeared on his face.
Sun Jiao’s mind was full of questions she wanted to ask. But instead, she stared at the steaming tomatoes and sniffed the delicious fragrance- she couldn’t remember how many times she had done so already.
Jiang Chen already said that her questions would be answered at the dinner table. She was in no rush to know now. She cut the tomatoes silently, but uncontrollably glanced at Jiang Chen who was mixing the egg. His faint but happy smile made her heart beat a
little faster.
“Lightly… It looks like you are going to chop through the cutting board as well…”
“Ah, oh.” Jiang Chen’s voice made Sun Jiao instantly look back at the chopping board. When she realized her irregular action, she felt a mixture of rage and embarrassment. But behind those emotions, a little bit of happiness was there as well.
[Happiness? What a distant word.]
She almost had to trace back to her time in the survival base.
Sun Jiao faintly remembered when she was young, the survival base’s door was still locked and it was almost like heaven in there.
No crimes, no class structure, and a society governed by Artificial Intelligence. Everyone equally shared the work and resources, and there was no conflict of interest. Everyone was kind and happy. Although people occasionally longed for the blue sky, nobody questioned their happiness. Compared to the wasteland, survival base 071 was heaven.
At the time, both of her parents were still alive. She had an adorable sister that was only one year younger. After the end of the lockdown period at the survival base, they both witnessed the first
first ray of the sunshine that shone through the cold steel door.
Then they lost each other.
She later learned that a lot of bandits picked poorly defended and newly opened survival bases as raid targets. They used the remaining conscience of those people and looted their survival supplies and population. It was at the raid, that she lost her family.
After that incident, she destroyed any remaining conscience she had, and became a qualified “wasteland survivor”.
But for some strange reason, her frozen emotions melted a little now.
[Family?]
Sun Jiao had an illusion that she was home. She soon realized what she was thinking and her face turned red.
These past two days were the most emotional she had been in the last few years. With a bitter smile on her face, she shook her head. She then placed the sliced tomatoes into a bowl.
To suppress her emotions, she only had to take a deep breath. However, the feeling that touched the softest part of her heart could no longer be hidden.
Even Sun Jiao, herself, didn’t realize that the man standing beside her became a bit more important
more important in her heart.
As he watched Sun Jiao devour the dish, Jiao Chen laughed at the thought. This was the first time he saw someone eat this dish with that amount of excitement.
“I know you have a lot of questions. For example, why do I have so much food.” Jiang Chen put down his bowl and looked at Sun Jiao quietly.
“I can’t explain how I feel.” Sun Jiao also stopped eating as she gazed into Jiang Chen’s eyes. With a puzzled voice, she replied, “you gave me a feeling that … it’s almost like you are from a fairytale.”
“Psh, a fairytale?” Jiang Chen was astonished.
“It’s from the books published before the war. In the survival base, we called them fairytales.” Sun Jiao sighed as she continued to mock herself, “everyone lived in harmony, with families, friends, and even lovers. Regardless of what you think, it must be a fairytale. Like the first time sunlight shone on me, when I was seven years old.”
Jiang Chen was silent. He walked to the fridge and grabbed a few cans of beer. He turned around and gave around and gave her an assuring smile. “Where I am from, when people feel tired and lost, they have a drink.”
Sun Jiao chugged the beer as her throat let out a satisfied noise.
“Grrr. This does not taste as good as Coke.”
“Nevertheless, it is a good way to let out your emotions. Which is a good thing at the end of the day.” Jiang Chen also took a long sip of his beer. How many times did he drink alone? It wasn’t until after graduation did Jiang Chen start to enjoy the feeling of tipsiness. He ventured into an unknown city, worked at an unknown company, and was burdened with the stress of work and life after he was fired.
The cruel reality shattered the porcelain tower in his dream.
When he received his notice of termination, he felt the world collapse around him.
At least here, there was someone that drink with him. This apocalyptic world is not as bad as he imagined.
They chatted as if they have been best friends for years. With hands crossed, their distance got closer, and so did their heart.