CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 076 THIS BACK LOOKS FAMILIAR

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Xie Jingchen managed to coax the old master into his nap and, after an in-depth discussion with his security personnel about the old master’s health, he felt relieved enough to leave the nursing home with Zhang Shanni.

Obviously, this was Zhang Shanni’s first visit to the county town, which was similarly the original Zhang Shanni’s first time stepping into the county town.

Faced with a map in her memory that was completely unfamiliar, Zhang Shanni was quite curious; however, the reality was that time was no longer on their side. The two of them simply didn’t have time to wander around the county town, not even enough time to visit Xie Lao Wu’s school.

Zhang Shanni was able to prioritize urgencies and knew that they needed to return to the town’s supply and marketing cooperative to buy gifts, so she certainly didn’t dare to make an unreasonable request for Xie Jingchen to take her for a stroll.

But as for the route to the county town, she had already marked it in her mind, so coming here again in the future wouldn’t be too difficult.

Zhang Shanni seemed curiously looking around, but in reality, she was recording the map coordinates. Feeling that someone had been staring at her, she followed the gaze and discovered, at the corner of the bus station, the hurried figure of an adult man leaving—

Zhang Shanni frowned, as the figure felt somewhat familiar... Who could it be?

"What’s wrong?" Xie Jingchen seemed to notice his little wife’s brief sluggishness. Following her gaze, he looked in the same direction but didn’t see anything amiss.

The crowd was hustling and bustling, and he noticed no familiar faces or anyone staring at them.

"Nothing... I must have seen wrong. Let’s go," Zhang Shanni shook her head.

"Okay."

Xie Jingchen, with restrained vigilance in his tiger eyes, gave another glance at the crowd around that corner, finding no clues. His large hand naturally protected his little wife’s shoulder as they boarded the bus.

They had come by tractor with the villagers, but since the villagers were on official business, it was impossible to wait for just the two of them. Therefore, they had to take the public bus back.

Although Qingyun Town was a bit remote, there was still a public bus running from the county town to Qingyun Town.

The bus started on schedule, and as it was about to turn the corner, Xie Jingchen finally saw the person hiding in that corner. His eyebrows slightly furrowed as he saw his little wife not looking in that direction, just curiously observing the bus’s facade; he concealed the emotions in his eyes.

"Beep beep~~" The bus drove on, honking wildly, as people on the road hurriedly dodged at the sound of the horn.

Tsk tsk, so this was what the traffic environment was like at that time...

Zhang Shanni watched with delight but internally critiqued.

She realized that the type of bus they were on would already be an antique in a museum in her era. Seeing it for the first time and about to personally experience it, Zhang Shanni was very excited. However, three minutes into the driver’s ride, the excitement she felt when she boarded the bus was abruptly replaced by an unbearably bumpy experience!

When Zhang Shanni and her husband got on the bus, it was already more than half full, with only two seats available in the second to last row. Wooden slats separated the seats of the bus, and as the vehicle moved on, a strong smell of diesel fuel wafted over them.

The chair was made of wood, and with each jolt, her slender frame felt like it was thrown around for sport. If Xie Jingchen hadn’t immediately sensed it and held her in a semi-embrace, her butt would have been bounced into two halves - heck! [Ranran: Yikes, how odd this sentence sounds... butts are supposed to be in two halves, aren’t they?]

"Umm~~" Once again, a sharp turn combined with the braking momentum led to Zhang Shanni’s buttocks hurting from the jostling, and her stomach even started to feel sour!

Spiritually, Zhang Shanni didn’t care about the bumps at all, but her physical body, the original owner, couldn’t handle it! Tossed and jolted, her stomach simply couldn’t take it anymore and what’s worse, the diesel smell got heavier the longer the vehicle ran!

"Just hang in there, it will be over soon." At this moment, Xie Jingchen couldn’t care less about the stares of others, his long arm wrapped around his little wife’s shoulders, pulling her into his chest, while his other hand gently rubbed her back.

It was the first time Zhang Shanni experienced motion sickness. No wonder the body reacted so strongly, the original owner had never ridden a bus before, let alone smelled diesel. This body had no immunity, and most of the roads were still dirt tracks - uneven and bumpy... Feeling nauseous and the urge to vomit was a natural reaction.

A journey that was only thirty minutes long shook her to death. As soon as she got off the vehicle, Zhang Shanni ran to the side of the road and started retching, wasting all the good food she had eaten today.

She should be grateful that she didn’t indulge in a solitary feast this morning, or she’d be giving herself away now, dammit!

"Wife, how are you?" Xie Jingchen had no water in his hand, and there was no convenience store selling water at the bus stop, so he could only support his little wife and help soothe her back, unable to really help.

"Umm~~ I feel much better after throwing up!" Zhang Shanni covered her uncomfortable stomach and replied weakly.

There was probably no other rebirth girl as miserable as her. Clearly, she had plenty of supplies in her Space; be it candy, preserved plums, or chewing gum, she had them all, yet she dared not take any out... not even the most basic bottled water!

She really wanted to rinse her mouth now!

"Yeah, stay put here, don’t move, I’ll go buy you some candy." Xie Jingchen moved Zhang Shanni away from the vomit, steadied her against a big tree, and after leaving her with these instructions, he ran off.

That was Brother Rong Wei for you in these better times! Watching her husband run off, Zhang Shanni promptly squatted down leaning on the tree, and taking advantage of her position to shield herself from the view of others, she quickly gulped down two mouthfuls of water.

She didn’t even dare to rinse her mouth and spit it out; instead, she wrapped it in spiritual power and transferred it directly into the trash bin in her Space. After swallowing half a cup of water vigorously, she wiped her mouth dry and feigned weakness, leaning against the tree trunk.

Feeling her mouth clean, Zhang Shanni felt much more at ease. She couldn’t help it; she was a bit of a clean freak. In the apocalypse, it was impossible to be too particular, and she forcefully suppressed her obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Now in a much safer era, given the choice, her OCD only got worse. Even in the apocalypse, she was quite fussy, or else she wouldn’t have been able to stay ’homebound’.

After all, an overly clean woman would attract the attention of the strong outside. It was only safe and unbothered as a homebody in her own house; hence, even in the apocalypse, she was still a ’homebody’.

Xie Jingchen didn’t go far, just to the far end of the bus station where there were two small kiosks. One sold staple food, like meat buns and steamed buns; the other sold snacks, including candies and rice cakes.

At that time, there was no concept of selling bottled water, and even if there were, Xie Jingchen would be afraid of its cleanliness. So, he just got his wife some candy worth fifty cents, about a dozen or so.

It was clear, the portion size of one piece there was heavier than three pieces in the future. Zhang Shanni, who attached her spiritual power to her husband, observed secretly and muttered to herself.

Once he had made the purchase, Xie Jingchen hurried back, seeing his pitiful little wife guarding under the tree, looking forward to his return. His heart softened seeing her complexion had improved, and her lips were no longer pale. Without her having to lift a finger, he unwrapped the candy and popped a small piece into her delicate lips.

The two had been married for three days and had spent nearly a week together. Xie Jingchen had observed that his little wife was demure, liked to eat small bites at a time, and, if the situation allowed, enjoyed savoring her food slowly.