"I'll go hide in the closet for a bit."
"The closet is completely full. You probably can't get in."
Qin Youyou looked at Lin Jiang pleadingly.
"My bathroom has a bathtub with a curtain. I'm sorry, but you'll have to hide in there for a while. I'll try to get my mom to leave as soon as possible."
"Alright."
Lin Jiang turned and went into the bathroom. It was a little messy, but not too bad.
He climbed into the bathtub and pulled the curtain shut.
Lin Jiang sighed at the twists and turns of fate. He never thought a scene like this would one day happen to him.
Meanwhile, Qin Youyou opened the door.
A middle-aged woman stood outside, wearing an off-white dress. Despite her age, she looked remarkably young.
Only the faint wrinkles gathered at the corners of her eyes added a trace of the years.
The woman's name was Jiang Rongmin, Qin Youyou's mother.
"What took you so long to open the door? Were you up to something sneaky?"
"My foot is like this, what could I possibly be doing?" Qin Youyou said, feigning calmness.
"It's a miracle I could even walk to the door."
Jiang Rongmin put down her bag, crouched down to look at Qin Youyou's foot, and saw that it was already swollen.
"Your foot is this swollen. Come home with me."
"Mom, how can you not be concerned about me at all? You could at least ask if it hurts or if I need to go to the hospital or something."
"It's just a sprain. What's the big deal? Don't be so delicate."
A sprained ankle really wasn't a big deal. Jiang Rongmin wasn't a melodramatic person, and since this was her own daughter, she certainly wouldn't say anything overly sentimental.
In the eyes of a parent, as long as it wasn't a broken arm or leg, a little scrape or a sprain was nothing.
Only those simps would make a huge fuss when a girl gets even the slightest injury.
"I'm not being delicate. See? I'm fine now. Just don't make me go back," Qin Youyou said.
"What's this? Did you find a man to take care of you, so now you don't want to come home?"
"I'm still single, okay? Where would I find a man?" Qin Youyou said with a straight face.
"If you're eager for a grandchild, go bug my sister. Don't pick on me, the easy target."
"Just keep talking back to me." Jiang Rongmin helped Qin Youyou to the sofa.
"You're in this state, and you're sure you don't want to come back with me? Even eating must be a problem, right?"
"Of course not. I can just order delivery," Qin Youyou said.
"Besides, it's much better now. Don't worry about me. You should go back soon."
"I just got here and you're already trying to kick me out? Am I that unwelcome?"
"Mooommm~"
Looping her arm through Jiang Rongmin's, Qin Youyou said in a sweet, coaxing voice,
"It's not that you're unwelcome, I'm just afraid of holding up your work."
"I'm free this afternoon. Your sister is coming to see you in a bit, and then we're going shopping."
"Uh... so you're going to be staying here a while longer?"
"Is that a problem?"
Qin Youyou forced a smile. "No, no, of course not! How could it be a problem? You can stay as long as you want."
"Alright, eat your noodles."
Jiang Rongmin stood up, gathered Qin Youyou's scattered clothes, and walked toward the bathroom.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"I'm tidying up your clothes. Can't you learn from your sister? Look at this mess," Jiang Rongmin said.
"And your bathtub, you probably just use it to store dirty clothes."
"No, I cleaned it yesterday! Don't go in there."
Agitated, Qin Youyou tried to stand up too quickly. A sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she nearly fell to the floor.
"What are you so jumpy about?"
"My... my washing machine is broken, so just leave it."
"Broken?"
Jiang Rongmin sized up her daughter, then glanced at the bathroom. "What is it? Is your bathroom off-limits or something?"
"You can go in, you can go in! You just can't do laundry."
Qin Youyou's gaze darted around, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.
"Spit it out. Are you hiding someone in the bathroom? If you are, have them come out."
"How could that be? I'm the only one home."
"Those shoes by the door are clearly a man's. And you're still telling me you're the only one here?"
"Uh... you saw them?"
"I saw them the moment I walked in. I was just being polite by not calling you out, but you still wouldn't admit it."
"It's not what you think. I sprained my ankle, and Brother Jiang came to bring me food. It's that simple."
"Whatever the situation is, he has to come out and let me have a look."
She glanced awkwardly toward the bathroom. "Brother Jiang..."
RUSTLE RUSTLE...
Lin Jiang quietly pulled back the shower curtain and said with a friendly smile,
"Hello, ma'am. If I say I'm her friend, would you believe me...?"
Jiang Rongmin's gaze was sharp as she looked Lin Jiang up and down.
'His face looks honest enough. His looks and height are quite good, and he seems like a decent match for her daughter. As for everything else, that will require further observation.'
"How long have you two known each other?"
"We just met. I sprained my ankle and couldn't go downstairs, so he brought me some noodles. And then, what a coincidence, you showed up."
"So that's why you kept trying to get me to leave."
"Well, there was a reason for it."
"Um..."
Lin Jiang gave an awkward smile. "Ma'am, I'll let you two talk. I have to go."
Jiang Rongmin nodded. After all, it was their first meeting, and it wasn't exactly a formal introduction, so there wasn't much she could say.
After leaving, Lin Jiang let out a heavy sigh of relief.
That was so fucking intense.
...
「That afternoon」
Lin Jiang spent most of his time walking. He rested when he got tired and continued once he recovered. He could already feel his legs getting noticeably stiff.
But the feeling of working up a sweat was truly satisfying.
'I need to get another bottle of Xu Lin's medicinal oil. But it would definitely be inappropriate to ask her for more.'
He placed an order on Meituan for a runner to buy a bottle of medicinal oil, planning to use it when he got home.
After that, he got a new phone card, registered for a new Douyin account, and started editing his video.
Because he was a little rusty, it took him over two hours to finish everything.
Post the video!
Buy a local Dou+ promotion!
Start with 5,000 yuan to test the waters, then gradually add more!
If the results weren't good, tomorrow he would print out some photos and hire some elderly folks to hand them out at the mall entrance. The effect would surely be explosive.
As for now...
Let the bullets fly for a while...
...
「Around 6:00 PM」
Lin Jiang checked his video's view count. It was already approaching 500,000.
It had 40,000 likes and over 3,000 comments.
'Having money is great.'
A brand-new account with jack shit going for it could be pushed this far just by spending money. It was pretty impressive.
He found a place to eat and rested for about an hour before starting to walk again.
Although he really wanted to run a bit more, he truly didn't have the energy.
He kept this up until 10:00 PM. By then, Lin Jiang felt a deep exhaustion and didn't want to push himself any further.
After getting home, he first took a shower, then sprawled out on the sofa.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
A knock came from the door.
'Who could it be this late?'
He muttered to himself and looked through the peephole. The person outside was Xu Lin.
A female neighbor knocking on the door at this hour... it was easy to let one's imagination run wild.