Chapter 372: Chapter 372: So Exasperated by Her, He Laughed

Sang Yue indeed saw right through Shen Lu, immediately detecting the insincerity in her tone.

"Boss Shen, you’ve missed out on a perfect investment opportunity." Sang Yue’s expression grew cool. "If you’re not willing, I won’t force you. Let’s leave it at that."

Having been found out, Shen Lu didn’t panic. She just smiled at Sang Yue, got up, and left.

’It’s fine. Rejecting Sang Yue won’t kill me. It’s not a matter of life and death. What’s so wrong with not wanting to partner with her in business?’

When she got to the second floor and pushed open the door, Shen Lu found Fu Cheng radiating an aura of melancholy.

"Waiting for me?"

"Yes."

Shen Lu sighed and closed the door. "Alright, what is it?"

’One after another... why does everyone have something they need to see me about?’

Fu Cheng misunderstood her sigh, thinking she didn’t want to listen. His heart instantly shattered into a million pieces.

"If you don’t want to hear it, then never mind."

"Huh? That’s not it." Shen Lu said innocently, dragging her exhausted body over to the sofa and collapsing onto it. "I’m just a little tired."

Fu Cheng fell silent and came over to massage her arms.

After a moment, he finally spoke slowly. "Major Ge contacted me today. He asked if I was willing to return to the military."

"And then?"

"He said they could perform the surgery and fit me with the best bionic limbs and an artificial eyeball. It’s made of special military-grade materials that you can’t buy on the open market."

"They’re offering such good terms?"

Shen Lu was a little surprised. The last time Major Ge visited, the other two people with him didn’t seem too happy with Fu Cheng. Why were they suddenly willing to offer such generous terms?

"They want me to go hunt a mutant beast named Tong after the spring."

After finishing her left arm, Fu Cheng moved to her right. "Tong is a Level 8 mutant beast. Its physical body is extremely fragile, but its spiritual power is immense. My Sub-system superpower is Spiritual, so I can play a crucial role."

"Wait a minute, this sounds like they’re setting you up." Shen Lu’s eyes widened. "A Level 8 mutant beast! That’s a lesser boss-level creature. Forget about your current state—even at your peak, you wouldn’t have been a match for it, right?"

"I won’t be going alone. There will be a squad of a hundred, all Level 6 or higher Superpower Users."

"That doesn’t make it okay! It’s too dangerous!" Shen Lu was like a mother hen protecting her chick. "Once you leave the survival base, the outside is fraught with danger. Who can guarantee you won’t be attacked by a mutant beast even more powerful than Tong?"

Fu Cheng suddenly chuckled. "Anytime you leave the city for a mission, no one can guarantee absolute safety."

"Exactly, you know it’s true, don’t you? So don’t go. We’re not going." Shen Lu’s cheeks puffed out. "It’s just bionic limbs. Fu Cheng, trust me, I can get you something even better than what the military has."

’Looks like I really have to enter this Kitchen King competition after all. And not just enter—I have to find a way to make it to the very end and earn the most reputation value.’

’I need to redeem those limbs as soon as possible. Oh, and the eyeball too.’

Shen Lu checked the price for the eyeball and immediately felt faint.

The arm and leg together cost 25 reputation value, but a single eyeball was a staggering 300,000 reputation value!

’Good heavens, that price is way too high!’

Fu Cheng poked her cheek. "Alright, I’ll think it over."

Shen Lu suddenly grabbed his finger. "Don’t try to brush me off. I just used that exact same line on Sang Yue."

Fu Cheng knew. He had despicably eavesdropped, not just on Shen Lu’s conversation with Sang Yue, but also on her talk with Xue Can.

"Little Deer, I can’t rely on you for everything." Fu Cheng had already been leaning toward accepting the offer; he was just reluctant to leave Shen Lu.

Besides, once he set off to hunt Tong, his fate would be uncertain.

Shen Lu had saved his life, and sometimes, Fu Cheng felt that she valued it even more than he did himself.

"Why can’t you? I want you to rely on me, to depend on me!" Shen Lu’s words tumbled out in a rush. "I was the one who pieced you back together. I won’t let you throw your life away like this!"

"I’m not throwing it away. I cherish this second life you’ve given me," Fu Cheng said, his voice low and his gaze deep. "But I can’t spend the rest of my life hiding behind you, being a useless parasite who just eats and waits to die."

Shen Lu understood.

She just couldn’t accept it.

Since coming to this Otherworld, Fu Cheng was the first person she had formed a true bond with.

She had grown accustomed to seeing him every day. The thought of not seeing him for a long time was deeply unsettling to her.

Seeing her on the verge of tears, Fu Cheng’s heart ached. Forgetting everything else, he pulled her into his arms.

"It’s not like I’m leaving right away. It’s still several months until spring. Besides, we’ll have to see how the bionic limbs and artificial eyeball perform after the surgery. If they don’t work well, I might not go. Hunting Tong is a dangerous business, after all. Taking along a liability with impaired mobility would only increase the difficulty of the capture."

Fu Cheng was wrapped in the familiar scent of a shower gel—the one she had bought for him.

The scent of the shower gel soothed her urge to cry. She rubbed her head against his chest a couple of times and grumbled, "You can say all that, but you’ve already decided to go, haven’t you?"

A jolt went through Fu Cheng’s heart. "Then maybe... I won’t go?"

Shen Lu looked up, her gaze full of reproach. "You already promised them before you even told me, didn’t you?"

Fu Cheng froze. "How did you know?"

Shen Lu huffed. "I just knew!"

The man suddenly smiled. For a fleeting moment, he desperately wanted to kiss the woman in his arms.

She understood him even better than he had imagined.

’They barely spoke on a daily basis, so how did she see right through him?’

Shen Lu took a deep breath, pulled away from Fu Cheng’s embrace, and sighed wistfully. "Now I finally understand how mothers feel."

’Even if I don’t like it, I have to respect his decision. Everyone has their own path to walk.’

’Even a mother can’t completely control her child’s life, and it’s not like she and Fu Cheng are mother and son.’

The tender feelings swelling in Fu Cheng’s chest instantly died. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he fought the urge to facepalm.

He desperately wanted to cup her face and kiss her hard.

He wanted to make it perfectly clear that while he wanted to be her family, he didn’t mean it in the way she thought. He meant it as a husband who would share her bed.

But Fu Cheng restrained himself.

’His girl was still completely clueless when it came to romance.’

"Little Deer, I’m your fiancé."

He couldn’t kiss her, but he could at least say it.

"You’re actually taking that seriously?" Shen Lu tilted her head. "I only said that to make things more convenient."

"Then who do you want as your fiancé?"

"Do I really have to get married? It’s not like I’ll die if I don’t. Anyway..." Shen Lu paused. "You don’t need to worry about it. When you find someone you like, I’ll clear things up myself. I won’t stand in the way of your happiness."

See how thoughtful and considerate she was.

Fu Cheng was so exasperated he actually laughed.

"Little Deer, your talent for driving me crazy gets more impressive by the day."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.