I Have a Post Apocalyptic Online Friend C4.1

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Chapter 4. part 1

The familiar one-story house from her memories was gone, replaced by a three-story building.

When did Eldest Uncle build this new house? she wondered, completely unaware of the change.

Eldest Uncle was out playing cards in the village, leaving only her aunt at home with her three grandsons. Recognizing Zhou An’an, her aunt immediately called Eldest Uncle back.

The moment he entered, he greeted her warmly, pulling out a chair for her and pouring her tea. His excessive hospitality made Zhou An’an feel awkward about bringing up the matter of the compensation money.

Lu Yuan’s voice urged through her earpiece, “Don’t forget the real reason you’re here.”

Forcing herself to speak, she said, “Eldest Uncle, I’m doing well. I came back to ask for the remaining compensation money from my parents.”

Eldest Uncle froze, his smile slowly fading.

“How much are you asking for?”

“All of it.”

“You’ve graduated now and can earn your own money. What do you need this money for? Are you like those young people in the news, spending recklessly and racking up online debt?”

Zhou An’an quickly replied, “No, I have other plans for it.”

“An’an,” Eldest Uncle said, settling across from her, his words measured and deliberate, as if carefully weighing each syllable. “Remember, the decision for me to manage this money wasn’t mine alone. We discussed it with you first, right?”

“……Yes,” Zhou An’an replied, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart.

“To be honest, your Eldest Uncle doesn’t need this money,” he said slowly. “My three sons each give me 100,000 yuan, totaling 300,000. Why would I need your little bit?”

He continued, “We agreed years ago that this money would be your dowry, so the groom’s family wouldn’t look down on you for bringing nothing but yourself. Why are you changing your mind now? Don’t you trust your Eldest Uncle?”

“No, no,” Zhou An’an quickly protested. “I just really need it urgently.”

“What urgent need?”

“Uh…”

Zhou An’an fell silent.

She couldn’t possibly tell him it was for preparing for Doomsday. He’d think she’d gone mad.

“Put it on speakerphone. I’ll talk to him,” Lu Yuan suddenly said.

“Huh?”

Eldest Uncle frowned. “Are you on another call?”

Zhou An’an couldn’t nod or shake her head. Resigned, she put the phone on speaker and handed it over.

“I’m An’an’s boyfriend,” Lu Yuan’s voice boomed through the speaker.

The moment those words rang out, Zhou An’an wanted to die.

Boyfriend?!

Eldest Uncle stared at the phone, then at her. “Is that true?”

The die was cast; there was no turning back.

Zhou An’an took a deep breath and said, “Yes.”

“When did you start dating? What’s his name? Where’s he from? What does his family do?”

Lu Yuan took over the conversation. “My name is Lu Yuan. I’m from B City. My parents run a business, and I studied mechanical engineering. I’m currently working as an engineer.”

“A business, huh? That’s not very stable,” Uncle remarked. “How much do you make in a year?”

“It’s a small appliance business, about a million yuan annually.”

Eldest Uncle’s tone shifted slightly. “Hmm, that’s not much. Since your family runs a business, you must understand proper etiquette, right? Even though An’an doesn’t have a father, I’ve always treated her like my own daughter. If you two are dating, why haven’t you come to meet me?”

“I was planning to come back with An’an this time, but she’s a bit shy and insisted we wait until after we get our marriage certificate to arrange a proper introduction.”

“You’re getting married?”

“Yes, the wedding banquet is scheduled for October. We could have done it this month, but An’an insisted on saving up a 500,000 yuan dowry first, saying it would give her the confidence to marry.”

Zhou An’an stood beside him, stunned.

The young man was spouting nonsense without even a stutter.

Even if he wasn’t a con artist, he certainly had the potential to become one.

Eldest Uncle glanced at her and asked, “She’s bringing a dowry of 500,000. What about your family?”

“My parents will cover the house and car. I’ll use my savings from after graduation as the betrothal gift, which should be around 800,000. We’ll keep a million for ourselves and use the rest to buy you a car, as a way to repay you for raising An’an all these years.”

“Aiya, we’re family! No need for such formalities,” Eldest Uncle said, his smile as radiant as a sunflower.

“It’s only right. I need to get back to work now. We’ll discuss a date with An’an and visit you again soon.”

Eldest Uncle bid him a warm farewell. After hanging up, he turned to Zhou An’an and said, “Who knew you, the quiet one, could land such a catch?”

Zhou An’an lowered her head, flustered. “No, no…”

Eldest Uncle took her modesty at face value. “I’ve asked the oldest to deposit the money for you. He’ll give it to you when he gets back. Stay here for a couple of days.”

Zhou An’an had no choice but to spend the night in the small house.

The next day, her Eldest Uncle and second cousin went to retrieve the money. Upon their return, they cursed, “That damn brat! He took your money to gamble! Only 200,000 yuan left out of 400,000! I forced the eldest to give me 100,000, so we managed to scrape together 300,000. Take this for now. I’ll even carry cement buckets at the construction site if I have to, but I’ll get the remaining 100,000 yuan before the wedding.”

Three hundred thousand yuan was better than nothing.

Zhou An’an accepted the money pouch, bid them farewell, and went to the town bank to deposit the funds. She then boarded a bus back to the city.

During the journey, she chatted with Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan: Your Eldest Uncle is a real piece of work. Swallowing 100,000 yuan and still claiming to treat you like his own daughter.

Zhou An’an: Maybe my oldest cousin really did gamble behind his back.

Lu Yuan: I called you naive, and you haven’t disappointed me. Is he your only family?

Zhou An’an: Yes.

Lu Yuan: Then you’ve had it pretty rough.

Zhou An’an: What about your parents?

Lu Yuan: They’re gone too. They went on a mission for the Base when I was a child and never returned.

Zhou An’an: Then you’ve had it rough too.

Lu Yuan: In the Doomsday era, having living parents is the exception, not the rule.

Zhou An’an couldn’t resist asking a question that had been nagging at her: How long have you been in the Doomsday era? How old are you this year?

Lu Yuan: It’s been 153 years since Doomsday. I was born 128 years ago.

That means he’s only twenty-five, not much older than me.

Zhou An’an: So you’ve never lived in a normal world? But you seem to know a lot about it.

Lu Yuan: Children in the Base don’t have childhoods. From the age of ten, our days were spent learning survival skills. Our only entertainment was watching pre-Doomsday films. I learned everything from those movies.

Zhou An’an: What kind of movies did you watch? Have you seen ‘Sadako’?

Lu Yuan: Child’s play. For my eleventh birthday, I got *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre*.

No wonder he’s a bit psychologically unhealthy.

Zhou An’an: Can you use smartphones in the Base?

Lu Yuan: We use communicators. They can run basic apps and store personal identity information and resource quotas.

Zhou An’an: What’s a resource quota?

Lu Yuan: We don’t use currency. Based on your job and contributions, the Base allocates resource quotas, which you use to claim supplies.

Zhou An’an: It’s just like a game!

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