Age of Legends

Chapter 357 Marriage is forbidden!

"I bought tofu, Wagyu beef, Cantonese-style sweet sausage, crab sticks, shiitake mushrooms, and lotus root. What else would you like to eat?"

In the Ito Yokado supermarket in the city center, Jiang Rong was pushing a shopping cart filled with pre-packaged hot pot ingredients. This was the preferred high-end supermarket for white-collar workers in Fuzhou during this period, a place to showcase their taste. At the same time, she was talking to Zhang Chen on the phone with her new Nokia phone tucked to her ear.

Her hair flowed smoothly down her back and shoulders. She wore a thin white sweater dress with a fitted cut that accentuated her slender waist. Black tights paired with ankle boots made her legs appear even straighter and longer.

There was no shortage of elegantly dressed white-collar women in the supermarket, but Jiang Rong's outfit and face made her stand out from the crowd, attracting many people to secretly look at her.

Most of the attention came not from men, but from women, who found her and her clothes pleasing to the eye.

In fact, if it weren't for her youthful appearance or the fact that they didn't know her, most women would probably immediately go up to her and ask where she bought her clothes, her pants, and what kind of boots they were.
This is something that women, to varying degrees, admire. For example, some clothing brands only choose to advertise with beautiful women, not just to please men. The real purchasing power comes from women who can imagine "themselves" in the models.

Jiang Rong is like a walking clothes hanger. Her features are well-proportioned and beautiful, and her 1.7-meter height gives her an excellent figure. In addition, she has shed the naivety of her early internship when she was about to graduate from university. Through her experience as a working professional and the successful launch of the program "Seven Days' Promise", Jiang Rong has now earned the reputation of "beautiful supervisor" and "beautiful producer" in the industry. Her every move exudes a sense of competence and a perfectly appropriate and free-spirited aura.

This is also why some elite women who liked her didn't approach her to chat. This transformation made her, even when she was in a crowd, naturally categorize her as "not an ordinary person." She wasn't very approachable and even seemed somewhat distant.

Amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd, the girl in the wool skirt and stockings, who looked like a celebrity and was talking on the phone with someone, suddenly strode over to the frozen food and vegetable sections. She quickly grabbed some frozen octopus, potatoes, and other vegetables that the boy on the phone wanted and put them in her shopping cart before hurriedly pushing the cart to the checkout.

……

When Jiang Rong returned to her rented room, it was already completely dark.

After entering, she took off her leather boots, put on comfortable and simple slippers, and placed a pair of men's slippers on the floor. She then picked up a pile of hot pot ingredients she had bought from the supermarket from the shoe cabinet and closed the door behind her with her toes. The small one-bedroom apartment was kept clean and tidy. Several program budget sheets were scattered on the desk, and a few green plants were placed on the windowsill. Outside the window, the cyberpunk-style night lights of the commercial district were visible.

She glanced at the time, then hurried to the kitchen. Just as she finished washing the pot, the doorbell rang.

Zhang Chen came in, carrying a bag of drinks and beer, and looked inside: "Huh, are you alone? Where are Yang Xiaole and Chen Xingrui? I thought they were coming."

"Wear these." Jiang Rong pointed to the slippers by the door and said, "They were supposed to come, but something came up and they're not coming today. You understand."

"Are they still inseparable?" Zhang Chen nodded. Yang Xiaole and Chen Xingrui really started dating after the show, and they became a couple offline. Moreover, they are both quite famous and have become local celebrities in Rongcheng, recognized wherever they go.

"We've had our share of arguments," Jiang Rong said.

Zhang Chen thought that it would be difficult for the two of them to monetize their influence in this era. If they were to wait a few years, during the early stages of the influencer economy, they could probably become a generation of influencers.

But who can say for sure, since both of them are people close to him.

"You sit down first, I'll go wash the vegetables." With that, Jiang Rong went to the kitchen to start working.

"Hey, I told you you were a little late when you went grocery shopping. Now you're here and there's nothing to eat! You have to cook for yourself." Zhang Chen muttered, expertly spreading out a folded plastic tablecloth he'd taken from the bookshelf and plugging in the induction cooker.

When Jiang Rong brought out the washed vegetables from the kitchen and set the table with him, she glanced at Zhang Chen as she wiped her hands—he seemed to be the host of the place.

Jiang Rong was slightly stunned, because Zhang Chen was not idle either. He immediately started to cook the broth, set out the bowls, chopsticks and plates, and removed the old parts of the pea sprouts. He also scolded Jiang Rong a few times: "The pea sprouts you bought are so old. It's obvious that you don't cook often. A street vendor would laugh to death if he met a customer like you."

He was even more skilled and efficient than Jiang Rong. Of course, Zhang Chen had decades of experience supporting himself. A single man with no ambitions would be too miserable if he couldn't even eat properly.

In comparison, even though Zhang Chen seemed to have just graduated from high school, Jiang Rong was much more naive in this regard. Jiang Rong blushed slightly. Just then, her phone beeped with a text message. She picked it up and glanced at it. It was from Yang Xiaole: "When can we come to your house for hot pot again? Chen Xingrui and I are so bored. Didn't you say you were going to throw a celebration party for Zhang Chen? That guy is really something, he's been living like a madman since the college entrance exam, not contacting us at all! I was hoping to praise him!"

Jiang Rong typed rapidly: "Busy, there will be plenty of time, another day."

She put away her phone and looked up at Zhang Chen, saying, "Who are you texting? Aren't you coming to help?"

Jiang Rong's brow twitched, and she subconsciously said, "Scammer."

"You still reply to scam text messages?" Zhang Chen asked, puzzled.

I replied, "No such person found."

"I think you're acting pretty strange too," Zhang Chen said, somewhat speechless.

The hot pot quickly started boiling, with bubbles rising from the red oil, and the aroma gradually filled the entire room.

Jiang Rong was wearing her figure-hugging white wool dress, but because of the cramped space in the rented room, she struggled internally for a while, debating whether to wear it or not. In the end, she rushed to the closet, grabbed a shirt, and wore it over it, feeling more comfortable in front of Zhang Chen.

At this moment, she rolled up her sleeves to her elbows, flipped the pot and added vegetables, her wrists slender and her movements nimble.

At that moment, through the smoke, he and Zhang Chen made eye contact.

Both of them seemed a little dazed.

It's just like a more stable life in the future that only exists in our imagination.

Seeing Zhang Chen's relaxed eyebrows and handsome face through the mist, Jiang Rong's heart suddenly raced. She quickly turned to the side, rummaged through her pockets, and grabbed a can of beer, placing it in front of him. "Have a drink, have a drink." Then, she pulled the tab with one hand and popped it open.

Zhang Chen looked at the bubbles rising from the jar in front of him and said, "This is wine."

"Oh, you can't drink it?"

Jiang Rong was flustered for a moment, then tried to retrieve it, saying, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

As a result, he grabbed nothing.

Zhang Chen had already picked up the beer can she had opened herself, taken a sip from the can opening, and frowned with some disdain as he said, "Hey, I'm an adult now, don't treat me like a child."

Jiang Rong stared at his lips, which were covered in foam and fuzz, and only heard Zhang Chen utter the word "adult." Staring at Zhang Chen, she didn't know what possessed her, but instinctively blurted out a sentence that made her want to shut up: "No...we can't get married!"

Zhang Chen tilted his head: "???"

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The bonus chapter is here!

　Thank you to Tianya Zhiying, Baishouqijia dehengh, Shuyou160427183554826, Jingxinmeng Piaokuang, Dihuo, Shuyou20230218183004029, and Yuyuyuyu for their generous donations.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)