After Jiang Yuan finished showering, Yi Nanye, who was sitting on the sofa, immediately turned to look at him, wanting to see what expression he was wearing now. After all, he’d seemed pretty much ready to give up on life earlier.

But Jiang Yuan looked utterly calm now, as if nothing had happened.

They stared at each other for a while without saying a word. Jiang Yuan went to the window and looked toward the setting sun in the distance. The city skyline spread out before him, and he had to admit the view was really quite nice.

But when he looked down at the ground, he couldn’t help frowning.

The streets below were packed with people. Many of them held banners covered in vicious, vile insults.

What the hell had he ever done to them?

The public hadn’t suffered a single loss yet. And even if Jiang Yuan really was Codename Jiang, he hadn’t caused any destruction. Looking at the situation now, Jiang Yuan couldn’t help thinking that rewinding time really was an inhumane thing to do.

“Thinking of jumping? The window’s open. Want to leave a last will?”

The moment Yi Nanye saw Jiang Yuan frown, she immediately followed up with another verbal jab. She’d keep chipping away at his confidence, tearing down everything about him, until he was dead and buried.

“Looks like we won’t be able to go out for dinner.”

Jiang Yuan ignored Yi Nanye’s nonsense. The food he’d eaten over the past three days had tasted terrible—mostly military rations. He’d been hoping to get something good to eat once he got back, but the crowd had completely sealed off the building’s entrance. There was probably no way he’d be getting out.

And besides…

He’d underestimated how much attention the public was paying to him. They’d even found out where he’d been assigned to stay.

“You want to go out to eat? You totally can!”

“I’m worried someone’ll poison my food.”

“You can order delivery.”

“They could poison that, too.”

The situation was crystal clear now. The whole thing was almost laughable: when the people talked about humanity, the government didn’t; when the government talked about humanity, the people didn’t. Even with the government on Jiang Yuan’s side now, the public had already fallen into a kind of frenzy.

They thought they were agents of justice. They were probably all thinking about how to get around the stubborn government and put Jiang Yuan on trial themselves.

Jiang Yuan went into the kitchen. The fridge was stocked with all kinds of ingredients—vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and milk. It seemed the government had thought about how difficult things would be for him. With society rejecting him outright, even buying a bottle of water outside might mean someone had tampered with it.

So from now on, Jiang Yuan’s food would have to be specially supplied.

Jiang Yuan checked the other kitchen cupboards. They had frozen food, heat-and-eat meals, and everything else he needed for day-to-day meals.

“There’s a decent variety. Not bad.”

Jiang Yuan actually smiled—a rare sight. Just looking at all that food piled up gave him a sense of security and warmth. He could stay here and refuse to speak to anyone outside. That way, he wouldn’t have to face all that pure malice.

But sooner or later, he’d have to face it. He couldn’t just hide here and wait for the truth to come out. After all, Jiang Yuan had already considered the possibility that he really was Codename Jiang. He had to show that he was a man of strong principles and political awareness.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then Jiang Yuan went to the fridge, took out some ingredients, and started making dinner.

About an hour later…

Jiang Yuan carried a simple meal of two dishes and a soup into the living room. The rice was ready, too—two bowls of it, in fact.

“Dinner!”

Jiang Yuan called out to Yi Nanye, who was sitting on the sofa playing on her phone. At that, she looked at him in disbelief.

“You made a portion for me, too?”

She was completely baffled. She knew exactly how she’d been treating Jiang Yuan. Even if he’d grabbed a kitchen knife and chased her around with it, that would’ve been within her expectations. But seeing him put on an apron and make her a meal? That was something she never would’ve imagined.

“If you don’t want it, there’s instant noodles and ready-made boxed food in the kitchen. Heat those up yourself. You can dump the rice in the rice cooker and make a fresh batch, too.”

Jiang Yuan set down the bowls and chopsticks and decided he was done dealing with Yi Nanye. Eat it or don’t!

What surprised Jiang Yuan, though, was that Yi Nanye didn’t make a fuss about the meal. She came right over, sat down in front of him, picked up her chopsticks, and helped herself to the food and rice without hesitation.

“It’s pretty good. Better than I expected.”

“Good.”

They ate dinner in silence. Neither of them had anything to say, and though the atmosphere wasn’t exactly awkward, an indescribable chill still spread between them.

Actually, Jiang Yuan wasn’t the first to get fed up with the atmosphere. It was Yi Nanye.

She rarely got to eat a hot meal straight from the stove. That was why she hadn’t made a fuss and had simply sat down to eat. For a fleeting moment, she even felt like apologizing to Jiang Yuan.

But she quickly pushed that thought aside.

She wasn’t naturally cruel. So if she wanted to keep unleashing her malice on Jiang Yuan without holding back, she couldn’t let herself grow closer to him.

Yes, she admitted it: she understood Jiang Yuan, and she even pitied what he was going through. But sympathy would only make her slowly take his side, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Her side was the safety of the world—the “greater good” that people everywhere cared about.

After dinner…

Jiang Yuan took the bowls and plates to the kitchen to wash them. Yi Nanye followed right behind him.

“You know… you should understand that even if you’re nice to me, I’m still not going to treat you any better.”

Yi Nanye spoke as if she were trying to justify something to herself. The words came out almost against her will. Clearly, Jiang Yuan making her dinner had improved her opinion of him quite a bit.

“Are you trying to convince yourself?”

At that, Jiang Yuan paused his dishwashing and looked back at Yi Nanye with a baffled expression. He was starting to see that, deep down, Yi Nanye was a kind person with compassion. It was just her position that forced her to do cruel things.

Compared to those people who had no compassion at all, Yi Nanye might even count as kind.

“Maybe that’s part of it. I can’t believe I let one meal buy me off. Guess my resolve isn’t strong enough. But my goal hasn’t changed. No matter how nice you are to me, I still won’t let you go!”

Yi Nanye emphasized her goal, in a way warning Jiang Yuan not to waste his effort.

“But you’ll probably pay your respects after I’m dead, and feel sorry for me. I’ve stopped expecting anyone to understand me, whether I’m alive or dead. Maybe you’ll still offer a few incense sticks for me one day. If the others don’t come kick dirt onto my grave, I’ll count that as kindness.”