Chapter 39 Are You Jealous?

Zhang Mian seems to be a very outgoing person, and his baby face makes him very approachable. When he smiles, two dimples appear at the corners of his mouth, making him look particularly cute.

Everyone in the room was very friendly to him, except Cheng Qianli.

"I don't like him at all." The day after Zhang Mian arrived, Cheng Qianli found Lin Qiushi and muttered, muttering his dissatisfaction over and over again.

"Why don't you like it?" Lin Qiushi also had a good impression of Zhang Mian.

"Didn't you notice that Brother Ruan took him with him after he came?" Cheng Qianli said, "He didn't even take us with him..."

Lin Qiushi was silent for a moment.

Cheng Qianli looked at Lin Qiushi eagerly, craving his approval: "Do you think so too?"

"No," Lin Qiushi answered frankly. "Isn't it a good thing that you don't take us with you? Do you still want to come in so often?"

Cheng Qianli: "..." It seems... there is some truth to it.

However, Ruan Nanzhu treated Zhang Mian very specially. He took him in at least three or four times in a week. Zhang Mian also adapted well and quickly got used to the switch between inside and outside the door.

As for Lin Qiushi, Ruan Nanzhu simply told him to get some rest.

From an outsider's perspective, Ruan Nanzhu must have wanted to train Zhang Mian, which was why he took him on such a risk. However, Lin Qiushi always felt that something was wrong, and for a moment he couldn't find the point of inconsistency.

One morning, Zhang Mian suddenly greeted Lin Qiushi and asked him politely if there were any other people in the organization.

Lin Qiushi was eating breakfast at the time and was baffled when he heard this: "Someone else? What do you mean?"

Zhang Mian: "It's the other team members." He smiled, revealing two sweet dimples, looking particularly adorable. "Haven't you seen them?"

Lin Qiushi shook his head.

"Oh, Brother Ruan took me to meet the other team members yesterday," Zhang Mian said, "so I'm a little curious about how many people are on our team."

This question was rather sensitive. Even if Lin Qiushi knew, he couldn't tell him. Besides, he knew nothing yet. So he shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

Zhang Mian said "oh" but didn't ask any further questions.

Meanwhile, others arrived at the table one after another, and all exchanged a few words with Zhang Mian. Lin Qiushi soon noticed something strange: except for a few special people, everyone in the room was smiling at Zhang Mian as they spoke.

Chen Fei was smiling, Yi Manman was smiling, and Lu Yanxue was also smiling, and they were all extremely bright smiles, which made Lin Qiushi really confused.

Not to mention Cheng Qianli, the only person in the room who didn't smile when he saw Zhang Mian was Cheng Yixie, who had no expression to begin with.

Lin Qiushi was a little confused and for a moment couldn't understand what was going on with the people in the room.

For the next period of time, Ruan Nanzhu continued to work with Zhang Mian, and both of them disappeared.

Cheng Qianli privately asked Lin Qiushi if he was jealous. Lin Qiushi was browsing a forum at the time, and his first reaction was, "Jealous? Jealous of what? Are you guys making dumplings?"

Cheng Qianli: "..." Lin Qiushi, are you okay?

Seeing that Lin Qiushi still didn't understand, Cheng Qianli had no choice but to make it clear. He said, "Brother Ruan is now focusing all his attention on the newcomer. Don't you feel unwilling? Whether it's entering the door or getting to know Brother Ruan, it was clearly you who came first..."

Lin Qiushi was shocked: "We're not in a relationship, why do we have to follow a first-come, first-served basis?"

Cheng Qianli: "...Are you really not jealous?"

Lin Qiushi looked at Cheng Qianli suspiciously and said, "Do you want me to call your brother to clear the water out of your head?"

Cheng Qianli: "No, no." Hearing his brother's name, Cheng Qianli immediately became timid and turned around and ran away.

However, it was not known whether Cheng Qianli had said something to Ruan Nanzhu, but after dinner that night, Ruan Nanzhu suddenly called Lin Qiushi to the corridor.

He lit a cigarette and asked Lin Qiushi if he wanted one.

Lin Qiushi politely declined: "I have liver cancer..." Although he had almost forgotten about the liver cancer.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Oh, sorry." He put out his cigarette. "Just bear with it for a moment."

Lin Qiushi: "Ah?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "A week at most."

Lin Qiushi said: "..." He still didn't understand.

Ruan Nanzhu stopped talking. He turned his head with a cold expression and glanced at Zhang Mian who was smiling and chatting with everyone in the room. He raised his hand and gently pressed Lin Qiushi on the head, then turned and left.

Lin Qiushi was confused the whole time; he still didn't understand what Ruan Nanzhu meant.

But because of frequent entry, Zhang Mian's body seemed to be unable to support it. The worst thing was that he was even injured during the most recent entry and was sent to the hospital as soon as he came out.

Everyone in the villa went to visit him and expressed their admiration for him.

Chen Fei went to the hospital with Lin Qiushi. He bought a bag of fruit at the hospital entrance. Lin Qiushi also wanted to buy one, but was stopped by Chen Fei.

"Don't buy it." Chen Fei said, "Your role positioning is different?"

Lin Qiushi: "??? Role positioning?"

Seeing Lin Qiushi's bewildered expression, Chen Fei was stunned for a moment: "Brother Ruan didn't tell you?"

Lin Qiushi: “…What?” He now felt that everyone in this room was weird.

"Forget it, it's nothing." Chen Fei seemed to understand something from the confusion on Lin Qiushi's face. He sighed and said, "Just hold on for another week, and it will be enough."

Lin Qiushi: "..." What on earth are you talking about? He really didn't understand now.

Zhang Mian's injuries were not too serious. When Lin Qiushi went to see him, Ruan Nanzhu was sitting beside the bed and watching over him.

When Zhang Mian saw Chen Fei and the others, he forced a smile.

Chen Fei asked Zhang Mian about his well-being and said that if he couldn't do it, he must tell Brother Ruan. Although this was a necessary stage for newcomers, they could also find a back door.

Zhang Mian said that he could keep up with Ruan Nanzhu's pace and hoped to become a member of the team as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fei showed a look of relief and said, "We haven't seen a newcomer with such high quality as you for a long time. You will definitely be the backbone of our team in the future."

Lin Qiushi listened in silence. Compared to Zhang Mian's speed in and out, he was practically just killing monsters in the Novice Village...

After visiting Zhang Mian, Lin Qiushi originally thought that such days would continue for a long time. After all, Zhang Mian was the one that Ruan Nanzhu liked. However, he did not expect that Zhang Mian would suddenly disappear on the sixth day after he returned to the villa after recovering.

It was a morning when Lin Qiushi went downstairs for breakfast as usual, but he didn't see Zhang Mian. He waited for a while, but everyone looked as if nothing had happened. "Where's Zhang Mian? Why can't I see him?"

"He ran away last night." Chen Fei said casually while chewing on the pancake made by Cheng Yixie.

"ran away?" Lin Qiushi was shocked. "What do you mean by ran away?" This is not a pyramid scheme organization, so how can they run away?

Chen Fei said, "It literally means that he couldn't stand Brother Ruan's oppression and ran away."

Lin Qiushi: "..." He always felt that he had missed some important plot.

Ruan Nanzhu happened to come down as well. He sat down next to Lin Qiushi naturally, picked up a muffin and began to eat it slowly.

Facing Lin Qiushi's constant bewilderment, Ruan Nanzhu finished his pancake, wiped his hands, and then slowly began to explain, "I came here to work for us."

“…Working?” Lin Qiushi was shocked.

"Someone from Bailu," Ruan Nanzhu said, "Our acquaintance, Li Dongyuan."

He always spoke so concisely, yet every word was crucial. Lin Qiushi instantly understood what was going on. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Li Dongyuan? That man is Li Dongyuan?!"

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

Lin Qiushi: “…”

Ruan Nanzhu said, "This isn't over yet, don't reveal the truth."

Everyone at the table nodded happily. As for why they were so happy, why they wanted to smile at the sight of Zhang Mian, Lin Qiushi quickly discovered the reason—Ruan Nanzhu pulled a handful of small slips from his pocket. Those slips, whose appearance was unforgettable to anyone who had seen them, held the clue to the door. These clues were now put together, casually grasped in Ruan Nanzhu's hand as if they were free.

Lin Qiushi was speechless looking at the pile of small notes. The phrase "working" was really very appropriate.

"So what exactly is he here for?" Lin Qiushi couldn't understand Li Dongyuan's train of thought.

"Looking for someone." Chen Fei glanced at Ruan Nanzhu with a smile, "Looking for Zhu Meng..."

Lin Qiushi: "Cough cough cough cough!!" He almost choked to death on his saliva.

"Later, I found I couldn't find it, and Brother Ruan was madly exploiting my labor... Seeing that the situation was not good, I stole the box from Brother Ruan's room and ran away." Chen Fei said, "I hope he doesn't think the box contains real clues."

Ruan Nanzhu smiled indifferently.

Lin Qiushi looked at his smile and suddenly remembered the expression on Ruan Nanzhu's face when he found out that Li Dongyuan had used a fake key to deceive them... It was so similar to the expression at this moment.

"That's actually the case, why didn't you tell me?" Cheng Qianli was furious after hearing this. "You all seemed so happy acting, why don't I have a role?"

Cheng Yixie answered Cheng Qianli's question expressionlessly. He said, "Because your IQ is not enough to support this."

Cheng Qianli: "..."

Cheng Yixie: "Any comments?"

Cheng Qianli shook his head aggrievedly and continued to eat the muffin with tears in his eyes.

It seemed that the only two people in this room who hadn't been told the truth were Cheng Qianli and Lin Qiushi. Cheng Qianli's IQ was low, so was his own intelligence also being questioned? Lin Qiushi was thinking this when Ruan Nanzhu seemed to know what he was thinking and said, "It wasn't too late."

Lin Qiushi: “…” It would be strange if he believed it. There’s no way it would be too late.

Although Zhang Mian left, the script was not over yet, because they had to show to the outside world that they were extremely angry because Zhang Mian escaped with the note. Obsidian began to investigate Zhang Mian's whereabouts - I forgot to mention that the nickname of their organization was Obsidian.

Of course, this drama didn't last long, as Li Dongyuan soon discovered that the note he'd taken was a fake. He also realized that his identity had been exposed and he'd been used as free labor for a long time. Not only did he fail to find Zhu Meng, but he was also being played like a monkey. Li Dongyuan was so angry that he called Ruan Nanzhu. Just as he was about to confront the 18th Company, Ruan Nanzhu said indifferently that Zhu Meng was there too.

So the 18th Company of Quality instantly turned into a gentle greeting. Li Dongyuan said, "Meng, how old are you? Are you married? Let's meet. I like people like you."

Lin Qiushi was also present at the time, and he got goose bumps all over his body when he heard Li Dongyuan's soft dripping sound.

Ruan Nanzhu immediately set the phone to silent mode. He didn't know how long Li Dongyuan had been talking to himself before he realized what was happening.

"He actually fell in love with Zhu Meng." Lin Qiushi looked at the cold Ruan Nanzhu in front of him and felt sad and sympathetic about Li Dongyuan's future love life.

"Is Zhu Meng not okay?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

"Okay." Lin Qiushi said, "Who wouldn't like Zhu Meng?" After all, the person is right in front of you, you can't say bad things about him in front of him.

"Who is better, Zhu Meng or me?" Ruan Nanzhu's way of thinking seemed a little strange.

Lin Qiushi had only seen people competing with others, but had never seen anyone fighting against him. Facing Ruan Nanzhu's serious expression, he could only euphemistically say that the two of them had their own characteristics, and there was no need to compare who was better. Besides, no matter how good they were, they were still the same.

Ruan Nanzhu nodded with satisfaction and left.

Lin Qiushi looked at his back and deeply suspected that this man was a little schizophrenic.

Li Dongyuan seemed to have been badly cheated by Ruan Nanzhu. He took the note seriously and took a job. The most pitiful thing was that the content on the note was actually related to the world he entered. He almost failed by mistake.

So during that period, Li Dongyuan called Ruan Nanzhu every day and tried to attack him personally. Ruan Nanzhu threatened that if he called again, he would ask Zhu Meng to block him, so Li Dongyuan gave up.

But from this it seems that Li Dongyuan is indeed deeply in love with the cute girl he has never met.

Lin Qiushi felt pity and wondered what his expression would be when he knew Zhu Meng was the man in front of him.

Thanks to Li Dongyuan, they collected a lot of clues about the door. Lin Qiushi never knew how to use these clues until Chen Fei explained them to him.

Generally speaking, people with clues would be separated into different worlds. In other words, in principle, there would only be one person with a clue in each world. However, there were exceptions. Chen Fei didn't elaborate on these exceptions, but he thought they were probably special circumstances that rarely occurred.

Those with clues will enter the door corresponding to the clue, making the note a very important item. However, clues also have different levels of difficulty. For example, some time ago, Ruan Nanzhu and Li Dongyuan were frantically taking on jobs, and they mostly entered relatively easy doors, so the doors corresponding to the clues were also not difficult. For example, if Lin Qiushi wanted to enter his sixth door, he would have to use the clue for the fifth door that Ruan Nanzhu had obtained last time. If he had taken the clue for another second door, there was a possibility that the clue would not correspond to the world.

Because of this, if Ruan Nanzhu wants to take a job, he has to keep going in and out of the door to obtain clues to ensure the safety of the service recipients.

This is a relatively dangerous job, but it seems that Ruan Nanzhu is already very skilled at it.

Li Dongyuan was severely tricked. Logically, Bai Lu and Obsidian should have had a grudge against each other, but Zhu Meng was there as a lubricant, so Li Dongyuan did not completely break up with Ruan Nanzhu, and even tactfully indicated that they could cooperate - if Zhu Meng was there.

"Sure," Ruan Nanzhu agreed nonchalantly. Li Dongyuan had also passed the Eighth Gate, so his strength was certainly not weak. Having someone like him as a guarantee was naturally a good thing. As for Zhu Meng... well, it would depend on his mood.

Lin Qiushi rested for three months and his body had basically recovered.

He had lost his job and was worried about his source of income. He was planning to find some odd jobs, but Ruan Nanzhu asked him for his card and transferred 500,000 yuan into it.

Lin Qiushi stared at the numbers in the text message in a daze and said, "Nanzhu, what do you mean?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "Living expenses."

Lin Qiushi: "...are they also responsible for distributing living expenses here?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "Of course it's not for free." He said, "My client's next door is almost open, and I'm going to take her in with me. You can come with me."

Lin Qiushi: "Can I come along?" He was a little embarrassed. "I'm afraid I'll be a drag."

"You always have to gain experience before fighting a boss," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Things like doors, you get used to them after going in a few times."

Lin Qiushi: “…” He glanced at Cheng Qianli, whose face was distorted as he read a horror novel next to him.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Don't use Cheng Qianli as an example."

Cheng Qianli heard Ruan Nanzhu say his name and turned his head in confusion: "Brother Ruan, you called me?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "Yeah, I'm praising you."

Cheng Qianli: "Oh, hehehehe."

Lin Qiushi felt that Cheng Qianli was really unbearable to watch. How could he be so stupid?

Although he felt a little uneasy and hesitant, Ruan Nanzhu's calm attitude calmed Lin Qiushi down.

The next afternoon after talking to Lin Qiushi about this, Ruan Nanzhu took him to meet the client.

Lin Qiushi originally thought that this customer was an ordinary person, but he didn't expect it to be Xu Xiaocheng, whom he had met in the second door, a very popular female star in the real world, whose real name is Tan Zaozao.

Unlike the shy Xu Xiaocheng inside the door, Tan Zaozao in the real world has a mature and sexy style. She has big wavy hair, wears a red long skirt, and has a curvy figure, which is very eye-catching.

She was so imposing that others found it difficult to control her, but Ruan Nanzhu was no less impressive than her. The two of them sat face to face, looking very pleasing to the eye.

"You have such good conditions, are you really not considering entering the entertainment industry?" This was the first sentence Tan Zaozao said.

"Even if you're in the entertainment industry, you have to come find me," Ruan Nanzhu replied casually, "You know this person, Yu Linlin."

Tan Zaozao didn't even look at Lin Qiushi at first, but when she heard Yu Linlin's name, she turned her gaze to Lin Qiushi. Perhaps remembering her experiences inside the sect, Tan Zaozao's eyes softened. "You're even cuter than inside the sect."

Lin Qiushi: “…Thank you.” As a grown man, he wasn’t too happy to be called cute by a girl.

"He's going in with us," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Is that okay?"

"You have no problem, and so do I," Tan Zaozao said. "It's a pleasure working with you."

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

The two chatted about some details, such as the price and who brought the clue note. After the discussion, Tan Zaozao treated them to a meal.

During the meal, Tan Zaozao was quite interested in Lin Qiushi, and the topic all revolved around Lin Qiushi.

Later, Ruan Nanzhu seemed a little unhappy. He interrupted Tan Zaozao and said bluntly: "If you have any questions, you can ask me. We are just partners. There is no need to know so much details."

Tan Zaozao smiled faintly: "But I just want to understand Linlin."

Ruan Nanzhu put down his knife and fork: "I'm full."

Lin Qiushi: “…” You’ve only taken a bite of the steak in front of you.

Tan Zaozao: “…” Ruan Nanzhu, you are too stingy.

Anyway, Ruan Nanzhu said he was full, and the others couldn't do anything about it. As a result, as soon as they came out of the steak restaurant, Ruan Nanzhu dragged Lin Qiushi to the restaurant next door and ordered another table of food.

Lin Qiushi: "...Aren't you full?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "I'm hungry again."

Lin Qiushi: “…” Why can you say that so calmly?

Lin Qiushi sighed helplessly, feeling that Ruan Nanzhu had to be pampered like a child, but he did not delve into it. Ruan Nanzhu said that Tan Zaozao was a rather special client. Normally, they would not meet with the clients when they took on a job, but Tan Zaozao was introduced by an acquaintance of his, and because of her special identity, he would meet her in real life.

"But if I'm not meeting with the clients, how can I enter through the same door with them?" This was what Lin Qiushi couldn't figure out.

Ruan Nanzhu took out a few silver bracelets from his pocket and said, "This."

The silver bracelet was very ordinary, but it was engraved with some complicated words. Lin Qiushi could not understand any of these words. He reached out and pinched a bracelet. He felt a coolness as soon as he touched the bracelet, as if it had been chilled.

"This bracelet..." Lin Qiushi said, "Is it something from inside the door?"

Ruan Nanzhu nodded: "From one of the worlds."

Lin Qiushi said "oh" and put the bracelet back.

"The work is usually done on special forums, and a huge security deposit is required," said Ruan Nanzhu. "In addition to the security deposit, there is also a labor fee. The security deposit will be returned to the customer after the bracelet is returned."

Lin Qiushi: "...You still have an industrial chain?"

Ruan Nanzhu spread his hands and said, "Of course, we have to make a living too. We can't just starve to death."

Indeed, Lin Qiushi nodded: "But half a million is too much, I..."

He was about to say that he didn't need that much money when Ruan Nanzhu interrupted him: "That's the money to buy your life. Do you think your life is not worth half a million?"

Lin Qiushi was speechless.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "Every time you enter, there's a huge risk. You might not be able to get out. If you're gone, you have to leave something for the people outside."

That made sense. Although Lin Qiushi had no worries, he understood what Ruan Nanzhu said. A dying person always worries about those around them: their sons, wives, parents. If someone is gone, they should always leave behind some kind of security for them.

After figuring this out, Lin Qiushi accepted Ruan Nanzhu's kindness.

"This is Tan Zaozao's third door. The specific time of entry should be a week from now." Ruan Nanzhu said, "I'll tell you the clue tomorrow morning."

Lin Qiushi nodded.

"It's a pleasure working with you." Ruan Nanzhu extended his hand towards Lin Qiushi.

"It's a pleasure working with you." Lin Qiushi smiled.

Ruan Nanzhu had almost always taken Lin Qiushi with him on the previous occasions. This was their first official collaboration, and although Lin Qiushi felt nervous, he also felt a faint excitement.

Although the world inside the door is terrifying, the people around him no longer fear him. Whether it is ghosts and gods, or death, it seems that there is no hopeless situation in the world, and there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

The author has something to say: I generally don’t write about plots involving third parties, so don’t worry.