After Gene finished speaking, the atmosphere suddenly beca awkward.
Fortunately, it seed that Gene had just asked casually.
Then, he turned back to teaching his friends how to get thirty lives in the ga.
anwhile, Wang Jian and Lily awkwardly exchanged glances.
Though they had been intimate twice,
Boyfriend and girlfriend?
Neither of them had thought about that.
To move past this bizarre topic, Wang Jian decided to say sothing.
At the sa ti, Lily also spoke up.
"I'm going to the supermarket outside to buy so snacks for Gene."
"I'm going to check if the cake is ready in the kitchen."
Then, a 17-year-old Asian teenager and a glamorous woman under 30 each left the living room corner, pretending to be calm.
But their almost colliding and their faltering steps
showed that inside, they were not as calm as they appeared to be.
Stepping outside the apartnt, Wang Jian took a deep breath.
Although Lily was quite attractive,
Ignoring the age difference and her status as a check-in officer, the progression of their relationship was bizarre enough.
He looked at the room card in his hand and shook his head.
It seed he had to find a way to end this relationship.
Thinking this, Wang Jian headed towards the corner supermarket.
When he got to the corner, he realized the supermarket had already closed.
Wang Jian was taken aback, then ca to his senses.
This wasn't China nor was it Manhattan.
This was Brooklyn, where daylight brought decent security but night welcod chaos.
At night, uninsured supermarkets closed early as a routine practice.
With this...
Returning empty-handed would clearly show he had made up an excuse to leave.
Would that make it even more awkward when facing Lily?
Wang Jian scratched his head, mildly distressed.
Suddenly, he noticed a shop next to the supermarket.
When Wang Jian walked in, he saw it was a dry goods shop.
Indeed, its na was "Dry Goods Shop".
It was obviously run by Chinese, even having a Chinese sign.
Wang Jian felt a familiar warmth, like encountering a fellow countryman abroad.
He quickened his step and entered the shop.
He saw a middle-aged Chinese couple watching TV while arranging their shelves.
"Excuse , is there a supermarket or convenience store nearby?"
Wang Jian asked in standard Mandarin.
The couple was startled and then looked delighted.
"Are you also from China?"
Wang Jian hesitated for a mont, but decided to stick with this body's identity.
"No, I'm Chinese," he replied.
The middle-aged man said, "It doesn't matter, as long as you're Chinese and can speak Chinese, you're one of us."
The middle-aged woman then asked, "Are you looking for a supermarket?"
Wang Jian nodded.
"You'll have to go beyond this neighborhood. It's not safe over there," she continued, "If it's not necessary, it's better not to go."
"But aren't you still open?" asked Wang Jian.
Although Chinese are hardworking, they also prioritize safety.
Since they dared to have their shop open, it ant it wasn't too dangerous here.
"Heh heh, we have insurance," the middle-aged man said, "My son is an insurance seller."
"If soone cos to rob us, we never resist. We just give them what they want. It's almost like we've sold our goods," the woman replied with a laugh.
Okay...
Wang Jian was montarily speechless.
What about the snacks?
Suddenly, his eyes caught the dried bean curd sticks and chili powder on the shelf, and an idea struck him.
"Then, could I have two kilograms of dried bean curd, one kilogram of chili powder, and one packet of cumin powder?" asked Wang Jian.
"Sure thing," the middle-aged man cheerfully replied, "You know, because of things like truffles, Aricans are quite accepting of dried mushrooms and wood ears. But these dried bean curd sticks, they just don't sell."
"Why don't you sell them in Chinatown?" Wang Jian wondered, "Isn't it better than here?"
"Ah, don't get started," the woman said with a pained expression, "My son married a black woman, so dark that you can only see her teeth at night."
"The young couple insisted on living here, so we old folks had to follow," she sighed.
"If it weren't for my son, who would want to co to this godforsaken place? Supporting him through college and further studies abroad, hoping he'd make sothing of himself, but he ended up not returning," the man sighed.
Silently, Wang Jian took the tofu skin and paid.
He actually wanted to tell the elderly couple that in a few years, things would be much better in China than abroad.
But realizing he couldn't go back either, he could only sigh silently.
That's how Wang Jian, feeling sowhat down, walked back to Lily's apartnt.
anwhile, the kids were still playing gas.
The Red-haired woman and Lily, holding glasses of red wine, stood in the living room talking about sothing.
When Gene saw Wang Jian returning, he imdiately put down his ga controller and ran over.
"Snacks, snacks! We've run out of chips."
Wang Jian raised the tofu skin in his hand and smiled at Gene, "Watch brother show you a trick."
Then, looking at Lily, he asked, "May I use the kitchen?"
Lily, curious, looked over and asked, "What are you going to make?"
Wang Jian smiled, "Spicy strips."
Lily and the Red-haired woman exchanged puzzled glances, then, curious, ca over to watch.
Wang Jian went into the kitchen and soaked the tofu skin in warm water.
Then, he mixed the coarse and fine chili powders, adding salt and cumin powder.
He also chopped up rosemary and onions he found in the fridge.
Next, he poured oil into a frying pan and added the onions and rosemary.
Watching Wang Jian's skilled movents, the Red-haired woman whispered to Lily, "This guy is really sothing. If you don't want him, I'll take my chance."
Lily gave her a look, "Look at your age."
Saying this, her cheeks flushed.
By then, Wang Jian had already deep-fried the tofu skin and taken it out of the pan.
The aroma of the fried tofu skin wafted into the living room, attracting Gene and the other kids.
Wang Jian smilingly said, "Just one last step."
He then turned up the heat.
Allowing the chili oil to boil thoroughly, he lifted the pan and drizzled the hot oil over the tofu skin.
Finally, he drained the oil from the tofu skin and placed it in the fridge to cool.
Lily, puzzled, asked, "You can cook?"
Wang Jian laughed, "It's not a al, just a snack."
After a while.
When Wang Jian served the tofu skin, the little boys grabbed so and started eating.
Gene, while eating, said, "I wouldn't mind if you were my mom's boyfriend."
Er...
Wang Jian was speechless.
Lily glared at Gene.
The Red-haired woman looked at Lily and Wang Jian and laughed.
To lighten the mood, Wang Jian changed the subject, "Let's go back to the living room and get ready to eat."
"Okay, okay," the kids said, sticking out their tongues and munching on the spicy strips as they moved toward the living room.
Lily, also curious, picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth.
Then, her eyes widened.
She looked quite adorable.
Wang Jian placed the spicy strips on the table, while Lily turned off the ga console and switched back to the TV program.
The children neatly gathered around the dining table, waiting for the al.
It was good that Lily's place was big enough; otherwise, it wouldn't have fit so many kids.
Wang Jian felt sowhat awkward.
Should he sit with Lily and the Red-haired woman?
Or with the bunch of kids?
After hesitating for a mont, he decided to sit on the couch.
Not bunching up with them.
At that mont, a middle-aged bald man was being interviewed on TV.
"The future will definitely be dominated by the internet, including shopping. That's why I resigned from the financial sector."
"We have already reached an agreent with HarperCollins Publishers to sell their books in digital form on our forthcoming website."
"We hope literature enthusiasts will pay attention to us and our soon-to-be-launched website, Cadabra."
"We will change the world!"
Wang Jian curled his lip, what kind of website was that? He hadn't heard of it in two lifetis.
That man was really bluffing.
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