Too Lazy to Explain

Jiang Chuan walked out of the office expressionlessly.

Although he did not know what had happened, Su Yao's attitude was already clear: the newly arrived Fang Lin would completely take over his work.

In the courtyard, Lin Xiaowan had already put away her bow and was pulling the arrows out of the target one by one.

When she saw Jiang Chuan come out,

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated. In the end, she walked over and lowered her voice. "Sister Su Yao received a communication this afternoon. It seemed to be from Uncle Su. Her mood has been bad ever since."

"What does that have to do with me?" Jiang Chuan said.

Before Lin Xiaowan could respond,

A tall figure emerged from the doorway. It was the young man in light armor from earlier, along with the newly arrived Intermediate Disassembly specialist, Fang Lin.

As he passed Jiang Chuan, the young man, Zhao Han, said coldly, "A toad lusting after swan meat. You really don't know your own place!"

"Wait!"

Jiang Chuan frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Han stopped and looked at him with a sneer. "Who are you trying to fool? Don't you know exactly what I mean? Don't think that just because Captain Su values loyalty, and your father once saved his life, you can use that to blackmail him!"

"Sister Su Yao is a heaven-blessed genius with B-rank talent. Do you really think an F-rank trash disassembler like you is worthy of her?"

"What?"

Jiang Chuan found it utterly baffling.

But after giving it some thought, he immediately understood what was going on.

Because of his father's life-saving favor, Captain Su Lie actually wanted to set him up with Su Yao!

That communication Su Yao had received in the afternoon was probably about this matter. Otherwise, her attitude would not have changed so drastically!

What kind of nonsense was this...

Jiang Chuan felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.

He only wanted to quietly make money.

To keep his head down and steadily grow stronger.

He had no interest whatsoever in romance between men and women—though he might consider someone like Ling Aoshuang, with her long legs, fair skin, and perky figure. But Su Yao was nowhere close.

It was not just that Su Yao looked down on him. He looked down on Su Yao too!

Forget it.

There was no way to explain something like this.

Su Yao's actions were not necessarily a bad thing for him.

Fang Lin taking over his team duties also meant that he would have more free time.

He had already earned enough starting capital. Buying high-level equipment to dismantle at Artisan Pavilion would be far more efficient for his growth than tagging along with the team to dismantle basic gear.

Fang Lin was still standing nearby with a hypocritical smile. "Classmate Jiang, don't worry. If you work as my assistant from now on, I'll definitely make sure you learn something useful!"

Jiang Chuan gave him a calm glance, did not reply, and turned to leave.

"Pah!"

Zhao Han spat on the ground with disdain. "A connected nobody who got in through the back door. What are you acting so arrogant for? Dazi, I'm telling you, don't be so polite to him from now on! Make him do all the dirty, exhausting work you can. If anything happens, it's on me!"

Tianyuan City imposed a curfew after nine o'clock. Professionals below Tier Three were not allowed to remain in the city.

The shops in the city had already closed early.

Jiang Chuan also logged out of the Source Realm.

The sound of a spatula striking a wok came from the living room. His mother, Wang Xiulan, was cooking, and the aroma drifted in through the crack in the door.

Jiang Chuan rolled over and sat up, then pushed open his bedroom door.

"Mom, I'll help you!"

"No, no. Rest."

Without turning around, Wang Xiulan stirred the food in the wok. "Were you tired today? How was the battle group you joined? Captain Su is a good person, right?"

"Pretty good."

Leaning against the kitchen doorframe, Jiang Chuan smiled. "The battle group is large, and everyone is quite nice."

"That's good, that's good."

Wang Xiulan turned to look at him, her eyes filled with indescribable relief and heartache. "Your dad will be back soon. He said he'd get off work early today. It's your first day in the battle group, so we have to celebrate."

As soon as she finished speaking, the lock clicked. Jiang Mingyuan pushed open the door, the exhaustion still lingering on his face.

"Well, son? The people in the Blazing Fire Battle Group didn't give you a hard time, did they?"

"They were all pretty good."

Jiang Chuan repeated himself.

Jiang Mingyuan changed his shoes, washed up, then walked into the kitchen and inspected the dishes in the wok. He nodded in satisfaction. "Pork stew with vermicelli. Good food. I'm in a good mood today, so we should have a couple of drinks."

"All you ever think about is drinking."

Wang Xiulan rolled her eyes at him, but still took a bottle of Red Star Baijiu out of the cabinet.

There were three dishes and a soup on the dining table. Jiang Chuan stood and filled his father's cup with baijiu, then poured himself half a small cup as well.

Overjoyed, Jiang Mingyuan raised his glass. "Come on, son. Let's celebrate you officially joining the Blazing Fire Battle Group. Now you'll have a promising future, and your dad can finally rest easy!"

Jiang Chuan raised his cup and took a sip. It burned so badly that he grimaced.

"Drink slowly, drink slowly."

Wang Xiulan placed a piece of egg in his bowl. "Eat more food first to line your stomach."

After taking a few bites, Jiang Chuan put down his chopsticks. After choosing his words carefully, he said, "By the way, Dad, Mom, Captain Su advanced me my first month's salary today. He gave me twenty thousand upfront."

He took a stack of red banknotes from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward his parents.

Wang Xiulan froze as she stared at the money.

Jiang Mingyuan was also somewhat stunned, his chopsticks hanging in midair.

"Twenty thousand?"

Wang Xiulan's voice rose sharply. "You only went there on your first day, and they already advanced you twenty thousand yuan?"

"The benefits at an A-rank battle group are good!"

Jiang Chuan said without changing expression, "Dad, Mom, take this twenty thousand and pay off some of the family's debts. I'll have a twenty-thousand-yuan salary every month from now on, and the battle group even subsidizes the equipment I use for practice. I won't need to spend much money at all!"

"That won't do!"

Wang Xiulan hurriedly pushed the money back. "Now that you have money, you should first buy equipment for practice. A disassembler needs to spend money in the early stages. If you can't raise your level, how will you establish yourself in the battle group later?"

Jiang Mingyuan also put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "Son, your mother is right. Since Old Su is giving you such good treatment, you need to spend the money properly! In the future, you must repay the battle group. A person has to know gratitude!"

"But I..."

"Listen to your father."

Jiang Mingyuan's voice was not loud, but it was resolute. "Your mother and I are going to live like this for the rest of our lives. You're still young, and you have a future ahead of you. This money needs to be spent where it matters most!"

Wang Xiulan took an old cloth bundle from beside her and unfolded it layer by layer. Inside was a neat stack of banknotes.

"This fifty thousand is the savings your father and I have accumulated over many years."

Wang Xiulan pushed the money toward Jiang Chuan. "It was originally meant for your future marriage, but now that you've joined a battle group, you need money. Take it and use it first. You can talk about earning money later!"

Ah.

Jiang Chuan sighed inwardly.

He had been afraid that the old couple would react this way, which was why he had not dared to bring out too much money.

In truth, he had earned nearly a hundred thousand in a single day, but he could not tell them the truth. Otherwise, his parents would only worry even more.

Jiang Chuan silently put the money away.

He suddenly understood.

If he directly gave money to his parents, no matter how much it was, they would not bear to spend it on themselves. That was the common habit of the older generation, who had learned to scrimp and save.

If he wanted to support them, he could only turn the money into goods that could not be returned.

Thinking this,

Jiang Chuan did not continue dwelling on the matter.