Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 69 Anli's Self-Inflicted Humiliation

The luncheon began quickly amidst cheerful music.

The tables in the yacht cabin were filled with various prepared foods and drinks. The tuna Zhou Xin had caught had its belly meat cut off and made into sashimi.

These young men and women swayed and twisted their bodies to the music, all incredibly excited.

Edward quickly became one of them, frolicking and playing with them, drinking and having fun.

Zhou Xin disliked this overly noisy atmosphere, and he knew that many people here didn't really like him because of Sullivan.

So he took some food on a plate and went to a quiet spot on the deck to enjoy the sea breeze.

Zhang Jianing naturally followed him, and the two leaned against the railing, looking at the azure sea, finally feeling a little relaxed.

"I'm sorry, Zhou Xin, I really didn't expect An Li's friend to be Sullivan, she..."

"Don't think like that. Look, we had a lot of fun today, and it didn't cost any money, isn't that great!" Zhou Xin interrupted her.

"But I must make it clear to you that I have absolutely no relationship with Sullivan. He pursued me before, but I have rejected him many times, yet he never gave up."

Zhang Jianing's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Zhou Xin smiled and said, "You can't stop people from liking you. Blame it on your good looks."

Zhang Jianing blushed at his praise and said coquettishly, "How did you become so glib-tongued like Edward?"

Zhou Xin shrugged: "There's nothing I can do. I've been spending every day with him lately, so it's hard not to be affected."

Just as the two were enjoying this rare moment of leisure, Anli came over again.

"Hathaway, why aren't you partying with them? Why are you hiding here?" she said with a forced smile.

"It's too noisy inside, you know that. I prefer quiet."

An Li looked at her with a smile, then glanced at Zhou Xin, and said with a forced smile:

"Your friend is quite interesting. Could you tell me what he does for a living?"

Zhang Jianing frowned, pondering how to answer him, when Zhou Xin spoke up on his own.

"I work with soil."

He wasn't lying about working with the soil when he said gold panning.

Upon hearing this, Anli's face immediately revealed undisguised contempt.

"So you're a farmer. How much money do you make from your farm in a year?"

Zhou Xin ignored the materialistic woman and simply smiled, "Not much, not much, just enough to get by."

Anli sneered, "Hathaway is so outstanding, her boyfriend must be an exceptional person too. Do you think you're good enough for her?"

Zhang Jianing's pretty face turned fierce, and she was about to stop her when Zhou Xin calmly asked, "Are there any standards involved?"

Anli wore a smug look on her face and said, "My ex-boyfriend drives a Ferrari. Hathaway is no worse than me. You can judge for yourself!"

Zhou Xin raised an eyebrow and said, "Since your Ferrari-driving boyfriend is so outstanding, why did he become your ex-boyfriend?"

An Li's face darkened: "What do you mean by that?"

She was dumped by her ex-boyfriend, who met a girl who was prettier than her and broke up with her soon after.

Zhou Xin hit a nerve, making her furious.

But Zhou Xin was determined to teach this annoying woman a lesson this time, and he said jokingly:

"Was it because the Ferrari only had two seats, and you were squeezed out?"

Anli immediately reacted as if she'd been stepped on, shrieking, "What did you say?"

Zhou Xin snorted again and said, "Don't use other people's achievements to elevate your own worth; that's pathetic."

"you……!"

Anli turned pale with anger, but she didn't know how to respond to Zhou Xin's words.

Zhou Xin's words, though devoid of any personal attacks, struck at her heart every time, leaving her speechless.

"Let's go somewhere else."

Zhou Xin ignored An Li and walked with Zhang Jianing to the other end of the deck.

"Won't my rudeness cause you trouble at work in the future?"

Zhou Xin was indeed annoyed just now, so he gave An Li a good scolding. Now that he has calmed down, he is a little worried that it will affect Zhang Jianing's relationship with her colleagues.

Zhang Jianing smiled and shook her head: "I think she should thank you. What you said at the end was so true."

Hopefully, she can grasp the meaning behind it and become more down-to-earth.

Zhou Xin sighed: "This country has always touted freedom and equality, but in some ways it's similar to China, still dividing people into different classes."

"Don't listen to her nonsense. You are better than anyone here," Zhang Jianing said urgently.

She hesitated for a moment, as if making up her mind, before continuing, "In my heart, you are the best."

Zhou Xin's heart stirred. He stared intently into her eyes for a while before saying, "However, she does make sense in some ways. I'd rather take it as encouragement, which will motivate me to work even harder."

……

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the yacht returned to the port.

Sullivan organized a party for the people on the ship that night, but Zhou Xin and his two companions naturally had no interest in it.

Sullivan had initially tried to invite Zhang Jianing, but was unsurprisingly politely declined.

Zhou Xin and Edward took away several fish they had caught that morning, and also cut some meat suitable for cooking from the tuna.

He had promised to cook a whole fish feast for the two of them that evening, which was clearly much more appealing to them than Sullivan's party.

Since the hotel didn't have a place to cook, Zhang Jianing suggested that she could cook at her apartment.

After picking up Logan from the hotel, they went to Zhang Jianing's apartment.

Her apartment, located in Little Haiti, Miami, is a two-bedroom unit with a monthly rent of $2800.

"Fortunately, after I came back from Australia last time, I started learning to cook myself, otherwise I'm afraid this kitchen would be unusable."

Before learning cooking from Zhou Xin, she had never lifted a finger in the kitchen, so the kitchen was practically just for show.

Zhou Xin looked at the contents of her refrigerator and the available seasonings, and then made a list based on the ingredients needed for cooking that evening.

The task of purchasing the items naturally fell to Edward.

Zhou Xin began to prepare, while Zhang Jianing assisted him from the side.

The two chatted and laughed as they worked in the kitchen.

Suddenly, at a certain moment, Zhang Jianing seemed to think of something, and her face flushed red, and a happy smile appeared on her lips.

"What are you thinking about, making you so happy?"

Zhang Jianing's cheeks flushed even redder, as if she had been caught doing something, and she hurriedly said, "No...nothing."

Zhou Xin laughed and continued working.