Chapter 13: Chapter 7: Desert
Sean didn’t know if he liked outdoor activities or not.
He’d never tried.
But running into his neighbor, Konina, here was certainly a "coincidence."
The woman had even arrived before him.
He was already suspicious of Konina, yet here she was, appearing so blatantly before him. It was practically written on her face: ’I’m here to watch you.’ So much so that Sean was starting to think she wasn’t from Florist Hospital or the police department after all.
’So weird.’
A brawny white man got out of the driver’s seat. Seeing Konina greet Sean, he couldn’t help but ask, "You two know each other?"
"Of course. We’re very close friends. When he helped me fix my pipes before, he even complimented me on how clean they were." Konina flashed a seductive smile and winked at Sean. "Isn’t that right, my next-door neighbor, Mr. Sean?"
Sean: "..."
A few years ago, when he had just moved in, he had indeed gone to Konina’s place to help fix her plumbing. His first impression of her was that of a beautiful and enthusiastic neighbor. Being new to the area and wanting to maintain a good, friendly relationship with his neighbors, he hadn’t refused. It was only after he got inside that he discovered the pipes weren’t broken at all. Konina was just trying to pull a fast one on him.
That’s why Sean had said her pipes were very clean.
It was also the only time Sean ever went to her place. From then on, no matter what excuse Konina used to invite him over—even if she told him her cat could do a three-and-a-half-rotation spin—he resisted his curiosity and stayed away.
Hearing Konina’s words and sizing Sean up, the white man’s gaze immediately grew warier. Still, out of politeness, he extended a hand and gave a simple self-introduction.
"Hello, I’m Wilson, a friend of Konina’s."
Sean extended his hand as well, smiling. "Hello. Sean. Konina says I’m her friend."
Wilson: "..."
For some reason, even though they were both supposedly Konina’s friends, he felt like he had already lost.
Nearby, a young couple exchanged a look and broke into mischievous smiles.
Whenever the club organized an outdoor group trip, they would create a small group chat for pre-trip communication.
There was also a larger group chat filled with the club’s veteran members. They didn’t necessarily go out often, but they were always blowing up the chat.
Even though some of them had never met offline, they were all very familiar with each other online. Take Wilson and Konina, for example. Everyone knew the fitness coach was interested in her. Every time Konina popped up in the group chat, Wilson would tag her in a reply within three seconds.
He’d asked Konina out many times, but she always turned him down, claiming she was too busy. This time, he finally had a chance to go out with her, and she had even been the one to ask him. Wilson was ecstatic, vowing to guarantee her safety and give her the perfect adventure experience.
But who knew Konina’s handsome neighbor would be here too? And judging by her attitude, she was clearly more interested in Sean.
"Since you all know each other, you three can take one car," the muscular Genduo said with a laugh.
Putting aside his personal hobbies, his appearance was very manly.
The back seat of the car Genduo was driving was occupied by the young couple. The boy’s name was Johnson, and the girl’s was Jenny.
They were both college students.
The other vehicle was used mainly for storing gear. It was crammed with tents, sleeping bags, ropes, as well as items like shotguns and military knives, not to mention the gasoline for the road. It looked incredibly dangerous; the slightest bump could spell disaster.
So, riding in Wilson’s car was the best option. You wouldn’t have to listen to the young couple being all lovey-dovey, and it was relatively safer.
Wilson was not happy about this, but he couldn’t very well say anything, or he’d look petty. He opened the back door of the car and grunted, neither lightly nor heavily, "Get in."
"I didn’t expect you to be here, but since you’re a friend of Ms. Konina’s, I’ll treat you as a friend too. After all, Ms. Konina invited me, so everything revolves around her."
’The implication was clear: I was invited by Konina, whereas you’re just a chance encounter. It’s obvious who’s more important in her heart.’
He was trying to score a point back.
Sean found that this guy was actually quite skilled with his words. While implying his own importance, he also created a reason to defer to Konina, making himself look like a perfect gentleman. Konina, on the other hand...
Sean gave her a strange look. "You invited him?"
’She wants to invite me for a glass of milk, but she’s also inviting Wilson out? What is this woman trying to do?’
Konina didn’t deny it, nodding. "I did indeed invite him."
A smug look crossed Wilson’s face. "Did you hear that?"
But before he could use this opportunity to get closer to Konina, she turned to Sean and said, "Didn’t we talk about this when we were chatting before? You can’t drive, I can’t drive, and Johnson and Jenny don’t have their licenses either. I had no choice but to find someone to help us out."
Sean: "..."
Wilson: "?"
’You invited me here to be the chauffeur??’
Wilson’s face instantly turned the color of a ripe plum.
The young couple nearby couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Wilson shot them a glare.
However, an even bigger blow was yet to come.
Sean rejected Konina, just as Konina had rejected him before.
’Sean had never, from the very beginning, let go of his suspicions about his beautiful neighbor. Even though her family had been living in Biggs Apartments before he moved in, who knew if Quill had arranged it in advance to lower his guard? Or if Konina had been bought off by the enemy?’
’He didn’t trust anyone right now.’
Of the three SUVs, Sean chose the one with the shotguns, military knives, and gasoline.
He pulled open the back door and squeezed himself inside.
Outside, Jim was slightly taken aback. ’This guy really got into my car?’
’He’d pass up a sexy beauty to go hang out with cold, hard weapons? Isn’t that uncomfortable?’
Sean rolled down the window. "If there’s nothing else, shall we get going?"
To be honest, being surrounded by a pile of tent frames and weapons made for a terrible riding experience. There was barely any room for his feet, and no position was comfortable. But discomfort was one thing; Sean felt a great sense of security because the car was packed with firepower.
Seeing him get into the "gear car," Konina wanted to follow. The weapons were cold, but her heart was warm; it was the perfect chance to experience the mingling of ice and fire. But Sean rejected her again, claiming there was no room, and refused to open the door for her.
Konina gave Sean a mournful look.
’This man is a tough nut to crack. He won’t give me any face at all.’
But it didn’t matter.
She could still take the front passenger seat.
Konina tossed everything from the passenger seat into the back of Wilson’s car and slid in with ease.
And just like that, the specially invited driver was left all alone.
Wilson: "???"
’Can I cuss them out?’
’Damn it, these two are fucking outrageous.’
"Alright, everyone get in your cars," Genduo said, trying to smooth things over. "A thousand kilometers is a long drive. Let’s hurry up and try to reach the Black Fruit Rainforest before tomorrow night."
Wilson was incredibly reluctant.
But what could he do? Was he going to go and snatch the driver’s seat from Jim, too?
That would be too humiliating.
He gritted his teeth. ’Fine, I’ll put up with it for now.’
’Anyway, with Konina in the front and Sean in the back, they can’t do much. Once we get to the Black Fruit Rainforest, I’ll show Konina who the truly reliable man is!’
Inside the SUV.
Konina turned her head to strike up a conversation with Sean.
"Aren’t you curious why I’m a member of this wilderness survival club?"
"Because of Chris," Sean answered nonchalantly.
Before Chris went missing, he used to visit Sean often, and through him, he got to know Konina. Outdoor exploration was Chris’s favorite thing, so it was bound to come up in conversation. It was even possible Konina had joined the club on Chris’s recommendation.
His answer completely derailed what Konina was about to say. She complained, "It’s no good when a man is too smart."
Sean didn’t reply. He looked into Konina’s eyes and asked abruptly, "Are you here to watch me?"
Konina: "?"
The extreme jump in topic left her momentarily speechless.
"Watch me?"
Konina was both amused and exasperated. "You don’t think I’ve been bought off by the police, do you? Didn’t you say you haven’t done anything wrong?"
"Don’t worry, even if you had, I wouldn’t do that. If they took you away, who would I flirt with?"
"Besides, I’m not a secret agent. Watching someone as hard to get close to as you would be too difficult for me."
"I’ll just have to settle for ogling you."
As she spoke, she completely ignored Jim, who was opening his door and getting into the driver’s seat, and just gazed affectionately at Sean.
Sean: "..."
He couldn’t be bothered with this woman.
’It doesn’t matter for now whether she is or not.’ While talking to Konina, he had been secretly gripping two guns.
’A shotgun and a handgun. If Konina so much as tried to lay a hand on him, Sean could blow both of her heads off.’
"BEEP BEEP."
Genduo honked the horn.
"Buckle up, we’re off," Jim reminded them.
The engines started, and the three SUVs left the garage one after another, heading for the mountain highway that led to the Black Fruit Rainforest.
Once they were out of the city, Konina settled down. After all, she couldn’t spend the whole trip with her neck twisted to look at Sean; it was tiring, her muscles would get stiff, and it wouldn’t feel nice to the touch. So after watching him for a while, she turned her head back and began admiring the profile of his face in the rearview mirror as he gazed out the window, the corners of her eyes curving up unconsciously.
She really liked this young man. Even when she drifted off to sleep, a blushing smile lingered on her face. The mountain road wasn’t smooth, and with every jolt of the car, she would let out a soft "Mmmph," making Sean’s head ache. God knows what she was dreaming about.
Jim, however, didn’t hear a thing. He had intentionally left the space to Sean and Konina, and was wearing headphones, blasting country folk music at high volume. Gripping the steering wheel, he swayed his hips immersively, and Sean could feel his joy from the back seat.
He swayed like that for over an hour.
Perhaps it was contagious from Konina, but the more Sean watched Jim’s bobbing head, the more it looked like a swinging bell, making him sleepy. After a moment’s thought, he kicked the back of the seat right behind Konina’s butt.
"THUMP."
Konina: "Ooh~"
Jim, who had just taken off his headphones to take a break: "?"
"What are you doing?"
"Seeing if she was really asleep," Sean replied, his face expressionless.
Jim: "..."
He instinctively glanced at Konina. Not only was the woman asleep, she was sleeping soundly. He just couldn’t figure out why her face was a little red.
"I’m going to get some sleep too." Seeing that Konina showed no signs of waking, Sean finally lowered his guard a little, closed his eyes, and rested, cradling the shotgun.
This action made Jim wonder. He still couldn’t figure it out. Sean could have been cuddling a sexy woman, but he chose not to, opting to hold a gun instead. Was he, Jim, too worldly, or was Sean just completely clueless about romance?
In fact, Sean was quite good at dealing with women.
He didn’t just understand romance; he was also very good at unbuttoning clothes.
Sometimes he even wondered why he was so skilled. Maybe he was born with it? Even the proud Saintess in his dreams was coaxed into being docile and obedient.
It was just a pity that this particular plotline had no follow-up for now. Sean hadn’t dreamed in the past few days, which was something he couldn’t control. The timeline in his dreams was completely random, and Sean often had to deduce the order of events himself. He had no idea when he would dream of Olivia again.
Sean recalled the young woman’s veiled face in his mind, and listening to the sound of the car speeding along, he gradually drifted off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a barren desert.
Yellow sand stretched as far as the eye could see. The sun beat down mercilessly from overhead, and the air was filled with dryness and scorching heat.
Konina was gone.
Jim was gone.
The car was gone too.
He was left standing alone on a sand dune, like a lost lamb.
Sean: "?"
’Wait, didn’t I just take a nap?’
’Where the hell did they bring me?’
...
