Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

They said they were going to leave, but they didn't actually leave.

Kan Jian had just reached the door when he was bumped into by an elderly woman from next door who was walking her dog. A young and strong man was a rare sight in the village, and the woman's eyes lit up. She quickly grabbed Kan Jian and started checking his household registration.

After chatting for a while, the true intentions were revealed, and the question was asked if Kan Jian had a boyfriend.

When Kan Jian said no, the aunt became even more enthusiastic, as if she had seen a hot commodity. She kept inviting Kan Jian to her house for dinner, and even though Kan Jian declined in various ways, the aunt just took it as Kan Jian being polite.

The commotion from here carried into the house.

Wu Xie was reading in his study when he heard the noise and became puzzled. He went out of his study to see what was going on. As soon as he stepped out the door, he saw Shen Mingchao sitting on a small stool in the yard, holding a bag of melon seeds and cracking them with relish. A cat was squatting at his feet.

Without a word, he moved a stool over, took the sunflower seeds Shen Mingchao silently handed him, and asked, "What happened outside?"

"The older woman has taken a liking to the man in the vest."

"what?"

That sounds a bit strange.

Shen Mingchao then finished his sentence: "It's because the auntie has taken a liking to the man in the vest for her niece. She said he's in a good physique and looks very energetic. She asked if she could help introduce him to someone. They're currently planning to invite him to her house for dinner."

"Hmm, that's a very familiar line. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before." Shen Mingchao pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and clapped his hands. "Oh right, a few days ago she was trying to set up her tabby cat with San San and wanted to take me out to dinner."

At this point, Shen Mingchao shook his head and sighed, "This auntie really has a special fondness for being a matchmaker."

Wu Xie chewed on sunflower seeds, increasingly uneasy as he listened. "Wait a minute, when I rented the apartment with that old lady, why wasn't she this enthusiastic towards me?"

This is a good question.

Shen Mingchao paused in his act of cracking sunflower seeds, and turned to look at Wu Xie at the same time as San San. He didn't say anything, but glanced up and down with his eyes before silently turning his head back.

The silence speaks.

Wu Xie: "....."

Damn it, he didn't ask any more questions!

When Kanjian finally managed to break free from the old woman's grasp and returned to the courtyard, he noticed the two people staring at him and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Boss... isn't Xilaimian short-staffed right now? I can work for free."

Wu Xie finally realized that this kid never intended to leave! His nonchalant departure just now was all an act!

Wu Xie remained silent, but Shen Mingchao broke the silence first, shaking the bag in her hand and asking, "Brother Kan Jian, want some sunflower seeds?"

Kan Jian was surprised that Shen Mingchao would speak up to help him out of the predicament. He kept his head down and didn't dare to look Shen Mingchao in the eye. It wasn't until someone handed him the bag of sunflower seeds that he reached out and took it, and then he thanked him in a low voice.

That night, the vest remained.

Not only that, when the group went on their routine mountain patrol the next day, Kan Jian shamelessly followed along.

Zhang Qilan didn't react much; he was naturally indifferent. Wu Xie, on the other hand, rubbed his cheeks but ultimately said nothing. There wasn't even a hint of anything, and his guarding against everything would make him seem petty. Besides, he didn't believe Kan Jian had the ability to steal someone else's partner.

On the mountain path, Zhang Qilin and San San took the lead. It was always like this; the difference in physical strength among the group would gradually widen the gap.

When they first started patrolling the mountain, the order was basically Zhang Qilin, San San, Wu Xie, and Shen Mingchao.

About half a month later, Shen Mingchao made rapid progress and even showed signs of surpassing Wu Xie.

Shen Mingchao: There's something I'm not sure if I should say, because I'm afraid that if I progress too quickly, I'll expose my weaknesses. I'm still trying to control my score.

There was an extra person on patrol today, and Shen Mingchao felt something was off the whole way.

She would inadvertently turn her head and make eye contact with someone, who would then hurriedly look away, scratching their head or touching their face.

People tend to be very busy when they feel awkward.

Perhaps what happened yesterday morning really embarrassed Kan Jian, so he kept his distance from them... or rather, from her, all the way, yet couldn't help but steal glances at her.

But Shen Mingchao really disliked this awkward way of getting along, where misunderstandings were never resolved.

She turned around and walked down the mountain, standing in front of Kan Jian, where she poured out her true thoughts.

"Brother Vest, I want to say that it was just an accident, and I didn't take it to heart, so I hope you won't mind either."

That situation is indeed awkward, but you can't avoid interacting with someone just because it's awkward.

It's a real shame when people who could have been friends become strangers because of a misunderstanding.

Kan Jian was surprised that Shen Mingchao would take the initiative to talk to him.

He stood there dumbfounded, so nervous that he couldn't even utter a single word. All the witty banter he used to employ with his boss and the others seemed to have jammed in his throat, completely useless.

He thought that if he didn't have any ulterior motives, he could be a cheerful older brother, swallowing his pride to tell girls a bunch of lame jokes to make them laugh.

But now, his eyes darted around, and he seemed hesitant to speak.

The atmosphere remained tense. Before things completely escalated, he inadvertently caught sight of something prickly on the treetop and, on a sudden impulse, asked, seemingly out of the blue, "Do you like chestnuts?"

"Huh?" Shen Mingchao looked puzzled, wondering how the topic had veered off here. However, she still nodded, "I like it, why?"

nice! You love it.

The topic was successfully diverted, and Kan Jian breathed a sigh of relief. He bent down and picked up a few pebbles, then took out his livelihood tool from his pocket, ready to show off his skills.

Rather than flowery words, he prefers to let his actions speak for themselves.

"Watch closely!"

After he finished speaking, he pulled back the slingshot, squinted his eyes, aimed the pebble at the chestnut on the tree, and released it without any hesitation once he had fully charged it.

The pebbles shot into the treetops with a speed invisible to the naked eye.

Then a wild chestnut landed with a loud thud!

Next, Shen Mingchao watched in astonishment as a "chestnut rain" fell to the ground with a pattering sound.

Watching Kan Jian's unerring aim and perfect accuracy, Shen Mingchao thought to himself, "This guy is definitely a pro at PUBG. It's a pity it's 15 and PUBG hasn't been released yet."

While Kanjian was shooting chestnuts, Shen Mingchao was not idle either. She used the coat that Kanjian had given her to pick up chestnuts all over the ground.

She got tired of picking chestnuts along the way, and took a moment to glance at the man in the vest who was still shooting chestnuts. He had even moved to a different tree and was so excited that he didn't even catch his breath.

When the man raised his arm, the muscles in his upper arm bulged slightly, every inch exuding a firm and powerful texture.

At that moment, Shen Mingchao had only one thought in his mind.

The old lady's eye is truly sharp! This man is really fit and strong!