When Shen Yanming returned, Bi Qiaoan was almost asleep. After briefly explaining what had happened that evening, the two drifted off to sleep.

Li Sikai, who was lying in bed contemplating the future, was startled awake by a scream.

"Li Sikai, I'm going to find Qin Yuncheng!" Yuan Ruoxi stormed into the tent and shouted.

Li Sikai was startled and glanced at the woman who looked fierce but was actually weak. He had no intention of getting entangled with her and called Sun Sainan to take her away.

Yuan Ruoxi had prepared a lot of words but had no chance to use them. Feeling stuck and unable to finish her sentence, she glared at the group and stormed off.

An hour later, Sun Sainan returned. Before anyone could ask, he said, "Captain Qin compromised and agreed to let Tong Xianbao and Lu Nanfang stay by her side, but they won't have official positions, and their benefits will be tied to their daily workload. If they don't work, they won't get any food."

Li Sikai scoffed, "It seems Yuan Ruoxi is determined to support two freeloaders."

“Exactly, I don’t know how she got her brain working, she’s just not like normal people. Even Tao Jianian is a bit better than Tong Xianbao, at least he didn’t make her help support his wife.” Geng Zhixing chimed in.

"Stop praising that male god Tao. He's actually in cahoots with Tong Xianbao. They're both lured by profit and have decadent private lives," Ying Yineng said.

“Yes, she doesn’t even look at the many reliable and capable single young men in our guard team. She only chooses ugly married men. She’s blind, blind beyond belief.” Li Linsheng laughed as he spoke.

"Alright, everyone, get some rest. From now on, just make sure things look good on the surface." Li Sikai sighed, "I can't control her anymore, I'm not going to interfere."

The next morning, before dawn, Shen Yanming woke Bi Qiaoan up.

There was no other way; they had a lot of luggage and were staying in their own tent, so every item needed to be packed and organized. They had to get up early to get ready. Otherwise, it would be bad if they weren't prepared when everyone else was about to leave.

The temporary restaurant needs to prepare breakfast, so Zuo Xiangqun and his colleagues have to start work before dawn.

Shen Yanming helped Bi Qiaoan to sit down in the temporary restaurant, instructed Comrade Xiao Zuo to look after her for a while, and then went back to fold blankets, send luggage, and dismantle tents.

Looking at Zuo Xiangqun's somewhat red and swollen eyes, Bi Qiaoan asked with concern, "Little Zuo, what happened to your eyes? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Zuo Xiangqun raised his arm as if to cover up his embarrassment and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, saying in a muffled voice, "It's nothing, it's probably just a mosquito bite that made it swollen."

Then, as if afraid the other person wouldn't believe her, she added, "That explains why it was so itchy!"

Bi Qiaoan really wanted to say that these were obviously swollen eyes from crying, without even a mosquito bite, but considering the other person's pride, she could only nod, "Yes, it's getting hot, and mosquitoes are rampant and can spread germs, so you have to be careful not to get bitten in the future."

Zuo Xiang quickly added in the group chat, "Oh, I know, last year's HZ virus was transmitted through mosquitoes. Once things return to normal in Suzhou, I'll go buy some mosquito repellent."

"When Yanming comes back in a bit, have him get some from the car for you. We prepared a lot for Suzhou, and we still have quite a bit left. You can take it and use it first."

Zuo Xiangqun was surprised to receive another gift just for mentioning it casually. Feeling embarrassed, he quickly declined, saying, "No need, no need. I can buy it online once things are back to normal here in Suzhou."

“When will that be? Maybe even summer will be over.” Bi Qiaoan waved her hand. “Alright, don’t refuse. It’s fate that we met here. Who knows if there will be a next time in our lives?”

Zuo Xiangqun felt his eyes fill with tears again. He lowered his head, not daring to meet Bi Qiaoan's gaze. "Um, thank you!"

Bi Qiaoan smiled, said nothing more, and then waited quietly for Shen Yanming to return.

Half an hour later, Shen Yanming finally sat down next to Bi Qiaoan with a relaxed expression. After listening to her talk about the mosquito repellent fragrance, he rushed to the parking lot and, under the cover of the luggage, took out several boxes of mosquito repellent fragrance from his spatial storage.

Yes, these were all produced and sold by the alliance last year. He didn't dare to show the ones he made himself.

Comrade Xiao Zuo accepted the box with utmost care, put it in his pocket, and then silently served the two of them rice as a final farewell.

Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan noticed that today's breakfast seemed a bit more substantial than usual, with not only the rice porridge being slightly thicker, but also pickled radish strips and stir-fried potato shreds.

The two didn't stand on ceremony and started eating. Before they had even finished, the rest of the teammates, led by Li Gangtie, came to the makeshift restaurant with their luggage for their last meal.

Not seeing Li Sikai and the others, Shen Yanming asked Captain Li in a low voice, "Are Tong Xianbao and Lu Nanfang definitely staying in Suzhou?"

Li Gangtie chuckled sheepishly, "That guy is probably after the space ability user. He definitely won't want to go back until he gets some tangible benefits. But that's fine too. I've left the trouble to Mayor Su, and I'm feeling much more relaxed."

Hearing Li Gangtie say this, Shen Yanming knew there was more to the story than he knew, and couldn't help but feel sorry for Li Sikai.

Seeing Shen Yanming remain silent, Li Gangtie patted him on the shoulder, "Alright, your friend isn't a simple person either, he can handle this little trouble."

Shen Yanming nodded and said no more.

After the group finished their meal and thanked the staff of the makeshift restaurant, they began their return journey. This time, the convoy was about half the size of the one that had arrived.

Some of them were so frightened when they first arrived that they went straight home, while Tong and Lu stayed in Suzhou on their own initiative.

After Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan got into the car, they glanced at each other and then looked away.

The goose nestled at Bi Qiaoan's feet was clearly excited, quacking loudly to express its good mood.

There was no other way; the goose was either squatting outside or huddled inside the tent all day, rarely even going to the makeshift restaurant. It had significantly reduced its presence, to the point that sometimes the couple would even forget about it.

Only when the goose was hungry and went back to beg for food would Bi Qiaoan take out some corn kernels from her space to feed it.

For the goose, accustomed to eating all kinds of fruits and cooked food, this past month had been a nightmare. But it knew the situation was special and couldn't disturb its owner's rest just because it wasn't used to it, otherwise its owner would kill it.

Now I can finally go back. Those carefree, decadent days are coming back. What a blessing!

Bi Qiaoan found the goose at her feet noisy and kept flapping its wings, the feathers stinging her calves. So she bent down, reached out, and put the goose into her space, letting it run wild with its friends.

Well, the moment the goose left, I finally got some peace and quiet.