After dispelling Mu Nan's thoughts about staying in City B, Qin Huai placed orders for the several packages they had chosen in the group chat. Now they just had to wait for the volunteers to deliver them. With the community shopping sorted, Qin Huai began video conferencing. He needed to offload a small company he had co-founded. Besides his shares, he also had several ongoing projects. As a software developer and project founder, while the company profits were a small portion of his earnings, he wanted to sell off the projects and shares, and there were plenty of buyers interested.
Qin Huai didn't hide this process from Mu Nan. When Mu Nan learned that Qin Huai was bundling everything to sell to his partner, he was a bit surprised: "When things get chaotic later, these assets won't be worth much. Won't he resent you?"
Qin Huai looked at him and understood his concern. He smiled and said, "Do you think we're friends?"
Mu Nan was even more puzzled: "Not friends? How did you start a company together then?"
Qin Huai explained, "He's a wealthy second-generation Chinese. He has money, I have skills. We only have the cooperation that each needs. We are friends when there's profit, but when interests clash, we can become enemies at any time."
Mu Nan, not naive, understood this immediately. Seeing Qin Huai haggling without hesitation, he asked, "Do you have any good friends over there?"
Qin Huai paused briefly in his typing, then patted Mu Nan's head: "I wish I could stretch a minute into ten, but I don't have time to make friends. Besides, having you is enough."
Mu Nan felt a mix of happiness and sadness. He was happy that Qin Huai's world still belonged to him and wasn't occupied by others, but sad that Qin Huai had been alone all these years, which made him feel a bit heartbroken.
Before Mu Nan could say anything more, Qin Huai pushed him toward the bathroom: "It's getting late. Go take a shower."
Mu Nan responded with an "Oh" and took his clothes into the bathroom, while Qin Huai's smiling expression gradually turned serious.
Abroad, Qin Huai had few friends. When he could still be considered a wealthy second-generation, he had friends. But when he was nothing, he naturally had nothing around him. Moreover, prejudice due to skin color was inevitable abroad, and discrimination from fellow countrymen could sometimes be even more direct.
But when it came to friends, he once thought he had them. During the difficult times, the only solace he had was the news about Mu Nan relayed through Jiang Xuan. In their exchanges, he inevitably shared some of his own circumstances. The frequent contact and their camaraderie from school made him value Jiang Xuan as a friend.
Unfortunately, the friendship he believed in was just a guise for ulterior motives.
Jiang Xuan, who now worked at Qin Huai's company, was aware of Qin Huai's decision to sell off his projects and shares. Upon learning that Qin Huai had returned home, Jiang Xuan was unsettled. He even regretted his naive and foolish behavior from his youth. Back then, he only wanted Qin Huai to stay away from Mu Nan. Looking back now, his immature handling of the situation seemed laughable. He should have helped Mu Nan become friends with Qin Huai, but he was too young then, too unable to conceal his malice toward Mu Nan.
With a glimmer of hope, Jiang Xuan pretended that nothing had happened and contacted Qin Huai, especially since he learned that Qin Huai was planning to sell his shares. He was eager to probe for more information, but unfortunately, his messages and calls went unanswered.
After dialing the familiar number once more, Jiang Xuan was surprised when the call was actually answered. His heart skipped a beat, but he quickly forced himself to remain calm and said, "Qin Huai? Where are you right now? I've been sending messages and calling without any response. Now you're selling your shares—what's going on? If there's something wrong..."
Qin Huai's cold voice came through the phone: "Jiang Xuan."
Jiang Xuan's heart tightened, and he could even feel his voice trembling: "Uh? I'm here."
Qin Huai said, "Mu Nan said he has contacted you."
Jiang Xuan had already prepared himself for the worst and had repeatedly imagined how he would respond to Qin Huai's questioning. When he heard this, he immediately acted surprised: "Contacted me? That's impossible! If he had contacted me, I would have told you!"
Qin Huai's voice on the other end of the line was laced with a hint of amusement: "Do you think I would believe you or Mu Nan?"
Jiang Xuan's face turned pale: "Qin Huai, what exactly happened? Are you at home? Wait for me to come back, and we can discuss this face-to-face. There must be some misunderstanding!"
Qin Huai replied, "No need. And Jiang Xuan, did I say Mu Nan contacted you because he was looking for me?"
Jiang Xuan, far away in City B, listened to the click of the call ending, his face drained of color.
After ending the call, Qin Huai stood by the window for a while. When Mu Nan came out of the bathroom, Qin Huai put away his phone and approached him with a smile: "Dry your hair with the hairdryer before coming out. It's still damp; be careful not to catch a cold."
Mu Nan, not concerned, was drying his hair with a towel: "With such short hair, a few swipes will do. You hurry and take your shower while the water's still warm."
Qin Huai didn't move. Instead, he took the towel from Mu Nan and gently dried his short hair: "Even with short hair, you can't be so careless. The situation is special now, and we can't afford to get sick. Come here, I'll dry it for you."
Mu Nan was pulled toward the bathroom and couldn't help but laugh. He felt that Qin Huai was still the same Qin Huai, still the one who cared about every detail, like whether he wore socks in the morning.
To address the issue of people's basic needs, the community delivery was quite fast this time. However, with the speed, the quality of some items might not be easily guaranteed. The items received at Mu Nan's home were acceptable—some vegetables were slightly damaged but not too badly, and after cleaning, most were still good. However, in the community group chat, some households received less satisfactory items, with some vegetables even being crushed. While this was an unavoidable problem, people were still unhappy to spend so much money and receive subpar goods.
Some people understood, given the overall environment, and were grateful for the food they could receive without leaving their homes. However, others were relentless about the issue with the vegetables, even causing a stir in the group. One household that received poor-quality greens complained about the community, using harsh language without much communication. They sent multiple angry voice messages in the group, their frustration seemingly spilling over from the stress of the pandemic and daily life.
The volunteers felt wronged. They were already taking risks and working voluntarily. Despite their exhaustion, they were not to blame for the poor quality of the vegetables. With the worsening situation outside, they were stretched thin, with some even worrying about their families. Eventually, their frustration led some to quit.
When one person quit, a few others followed, leaving the community with fewer volunteers and increasing the workload for the remaining ones. The community struggled to cope.
The family causing the commotion was soon attacked by the group. Initially, the family fought back with insults, but they were outnumbered. Many demanded that the group administrators remove the family from the group, deciding not to assist them in the future. In the end, whether out of fear of being abandoned or from the harsh criticism, the family fell silent.
Mu Nan watched the chaos in the group quietly. Although many people seemed to harshly criticize the family complaining about the vegetables, as if they were supporting the volunteers, many of them had been quick to side with the dissenting family when the complaints first arose. It was clear that they were trying to gain some advantage through others' grievances. The strong reaction now was likely due to fear that if the situation deteriorated further, they would be left without services.
However, the volunteers who left did not return, and the community could not find replacements. They asked in the group if anyone was willing to volunteer, but the response was minimal. Going out was dangerous, the weather was uncomfortable, and the protective gear was non-breathable without any compensation. Only those with genuine goodwill to help would take on such thankless tasks.
Qin Huai hesitated. When he hesitated, Mu Nan noticed. Despite their long separation, their childhood understanding remained strong, so Mu Nan immediately intervened: "You can't go. I won't agree to it."
Qin Huai understood Mu Nan's concerns. He didn't want to risk going outside either. Even with protective gear, there was no guarantee of avoiding infection from the spores in the smog. However, he had his own considerations: staying indoors was safe, but it also meant limited information. What could be learned online was only a part of the whole picture.
Qin Huai said, "The building is safe. I'm not leaving the building. Right now, the volunteers are only staying inside the building, delivering supplies up and down, so it's not that dangerous."
Mu Nan shook his head, "Do you know that this disease is incurable?"
Qin Huai frowned, "Incurable? Are there no problems for those who have recovered?" Although the disease had a high mortality rate, it wasn't absolute. There was at least a 50% recovery rate. The deaths were mainly among the elderly with pre-existing health issues, while younger people were recovering relatively quickly. The number of daily recoveries was rising, and if it weren't for this, people wouldn't be able to stay at home and follow the government's guidelines.
Mu Nan nodded, "Yes, those who have recovered are only temporarily suppressed by some medication and are actually still latent. As the virus becomes stronger within the body, it can re-emerge. The infection rate of this disease is not high. Initially, because the smog wasn't severe, people got infected without any protection. Later, as the smog worsened and more people started wearing masks, the infection rate dropped sharply. But once infected, it's often fatal!"
Mu Nan knew that if one wore protective gear and avoided excessive exposure to outside air, the risk of infection was low. In the previous life, during this period, he had only a few masks and had even gone downstairs to collect things, but nothing serious happened. However, there is always a risk. In the previous life, Qin Huai never returned, which was the risk Mu Nan was not willing to take. He admired those who stepped up to serve the people in such times, but he couldn't gamble with the safety of those he cared about most. He would rather be a coward afraid of dying than risk the safety of Qin Huai. In this life, he just wanted to be well with Qin Huai and avoid any disasters.
Seeing Mu Nan's face turn pale with worry, Qin Huai quickly said, "Alright, I won't go. I'll stay at home and won't go anywhere."
He wanted to be a volunteer not out of a desire to help others, but to prepare for the future. Since the government's power was always present, any future chaotic times would certainly require reliance on it. Both he and Mu Nan lacked family backgrounds, so they had to rely on their own efforts. But this was on the condition that it did not affect their own safety.
With this thought resolved, neither of them mentioned it again. Meanwhile, a few people in the group volunteered to help. The residents of the building, after the previous incident, no longer had strong complaints about the quality of the deliveries. If the vegetables received were particularly bad and inedible, they would try to negotiate for a replacement in a more polite manner.
Aside from the persistent smog outside, the situation in their neighborhood was somewhat harmonious for a while. Unfortunately, this period of calm did not last long, as Mu Nan had previously predicted: the epidemic had a second outbreak.