Chapter 39

Just like Yu Xiaoli said, let's not talk about anything else, sit down and eat, fill your stomach first.

From noon to afternoon, the food was still steaming hot: a steamed sea bass, a portion of braised pork with knot-tied bean curd sheets, stir-fried edamame with loofah, fish-flavored eggplant, and a large bowl of chive and egg soup.

It's just that the sea bass had a long cut from the top of its head to its tail, don't know why.

Lu Wei sat at the table uneasily, and Yu Xiaoli put a large piece of braised pork into her bowl.

"Xiao Lu, try it, usually only Xiao Da eats the food I cook, he praises everything, help me criticize it a couple of times."

Lu Wei nodded hurriedly: "Delicious, delicious, Teacher Yu's cooking is really delicious."

Zhai Da coughed dryly: "Why don't you pick up your chopsticks first?"

I gave you the script, why can't you act it out?

Lu Wei's head was almost buried in the bowl: "Ao... li... gei..."

Fortunately, Yu Xiaoli's enthusiasm could melt all awkwardness; she never let the conversation fall to the ground at the dining table, and never let Lu Wei's mouth be idle, piling things into her bowl one by one.

Zhai Da was much more normal, eating his meal on his own.

Lu Wei ate the home-cooked food she hadn't tasted for a long time, her cheeks sour, reaching her eye sockets; fortunately, her eye sockets had always been red, so it wasn't that conspicuous.

After eating more than half, Yu Xiaoli said: "Xiao Lu, I've roughly heard about your situation from Xiao Da. I just asked people in the factory, there are no empty spots in the dormitory there."

Lu Wei lifted her head, put her chopsticks back by the bowl, and placed her hands on her knees.

"You know that students are sent here for internships a few months before graduating from technical school, the first batch is coming next week, and two conference rooms have been cleared to lay floor mats."

Lu Wei said hurriedly: "Teacher Yu, I can also lay a floor mat, I have very few things."

Yu Xiaoli glared at her reproachfully: "The ones laying floor mats are all male students, how can you lay a floor mat?"

"Then... I can make do in the workshop for a while..."

Zhai Da didn't help with a single word, continuing to clean up the sea bass in the plate.

You have to say, after being cut, it was even more flavorful.

Yu Xiaoli revealed her true colors: "Listen to me, on the way back, I cleaned up the storage room next to Xiao Da's, you just stay at my house, it's not too late to move out when you've thought it through and recovered."

Zhai Da realized what was happening, sat up straight, looked left and right, and didn't see any sundries.

"Where did you put the things in the storage room?"

"Put them in your room."

Zhai Da widened his eyes, how did you fit so many things?

He immediately got up to go look, but was pulled back by Yu Xiaoli: "Don't go, it's annoying to look at."

Zhai Da: ?

He had anticipated that Ms. Yu would open her mouth to let Lu Wei stay at home, but didn't expect she had already started cleaning the room.

Just in the time it took to come back, she even had time to cook a meal...

Sure enough, middle-aged women are numerical monsters...

Lu Wei hung her head, her voice soft and glutinous: "Teacher Yu... really no need..."

Even though Zhai Da had given her a heads-up, even though Yu Xiaoli was enthusiastic and warm, making such a decision was still not easy.

Accepting help from others is harder than gritting your teeth and holding on.

Sometimes, refusing kindness is just a conditioned reflex of a drowning person.

Lu Wei looked at Zhai Da, trying to get some help, or hear Zhai Da persuade her to agree, or even persuade her not to stay.

But Zhai Da had no reaction, supporting his head with one hand, concentrating on cleaning up the leftovers.

Some things, Lu Wei had to decide for herself.

The short silence was drawn out, and finally, Lu Wei gathered her courage and said: "Then... thank you Teacher Yu, then I'll disturb you for a few days, I can pay rent and food expenses..."

Yu Xiaoli's expectant expression brightened in a second: "It's all a small matter, what money or not money. That Sister Ma from our factory, she used to quarrel with her husband every day when she was young, and she also came to sleep at my place every three days, didn't see her give money. This room isn't factory equipment, will living with one more person cause wear and tear?"

Zhai Da nodded; he had an impression of Aunt Ma Cuilian. She was in elementary school at the time, and the other party often checked in with a bag, crying to Yu Xiaoli all night, the longest time staying for a week.

To be honest, it was a bit unkind to ask Ms. Yu about these things.

Later she didn't come anymore.

The person's partner passed away from a stroke, from then on she gifted flowers to herself, riding a horse toward freedom, and no one cared if she danced square dance until two in the morning.

Since the result had been discussed, Yu Xiaoli began to arrange things in a whirlwind.

Zhai Da ultimately washed the dishes; Lu Wei wanted to do it for him, but was pulled away by Yu Xiaoli, the two of them going to clean up that storage room again, there were many chores to wipe and wash.

And the things in the storage room ultimately weren't piled in Zhai Da's room, but placed on the balcony, which could originally be walked around, but now it was completely blocked.

After finishing, it was past ten o'clock, and Yu Xiaoli took care of the guest, letting Lu Wei shower first.

Lu Wei, in a dazed state, was pushed into the strange bathroom, carrying her toiletries.

Started staring blankly at the mirror.

What to do next... take off clothes?

Two toothbrush cups were placed on the sink, one green and one pink, which should be Zhai Da's and Teacher Yu's.

Very easy to identify, but not because of the color, but because the toothbrush in the green one was exploded like weeds.

Lu Wei took out her... orange plastic cup from the plastic bag, smaller and simpler.

Like the cheap beer cup in a cheap restaurant, maybe it was originally.

Finally, she carefully placed it side by side with the other two.

But soon, Lu Wei withdrew her toothbrush cup like an electric shock, as if she had done something terrible.

Secretly decided that from now on, her things would be kept in the storage room, even if packed in a plastic bag, never to be put out.

She didn't want to disturb other people's lives... although she had already disturbed them, but the less, the better.

Lu Wei was at a loss, but worried about occupying the bathroom for too long, so she forced herself to overcome the strange sense of unfamiliarity and took off her clothes first.

Just as she took off her top, the bathroom door was knocked, and Lu Wei was so scared she hurriedly put it back on: "I'll be out soon."

Outside the door, Yu Xiaoli said gently: "Not rushing you, I found a bath towel for you, also the hairdryer is in the drawer under the sink, just telling you."

After showering anxiously, Lu Wei didn't even dare to blow her hair completely dry before rushing out; Yu Xiaoli seemed to be patting her face in her own room, and Zhai Da's door was tightly closed.

Lu Wei, with half-wet hair, returned to her room like a thief.

This room wasn't specifically designed as a storage room. Zhai Da's house was 60-something square meters without common areas, not much worse than an 80-square-meter commercial house, and it could be considered a second bedroom, after all, there was a window.

It was just that for more than a decade, there were only mother and son, and this small room gradually became a place to pile sundries.

A rectangular space, with a spring folding bed, taking up nearly half the position. Yu Xiaoli said she would ask around to see whose family had a single bed they didn't want; Lu Wei naturally opposed, but the opposition was invalid.

On the side was a row of combination cabinets, half of which were cleared for Lu Wei to put things, and her suitcase was spread out in the corner.

Bedding had already been laid on the spring bed, all from Zhai Da's house, and there was even a pillow towel embroidered with a retro mandarin duck pattern.

Lu Wei stared blankly for a while, had nothing to do, so she chose to lie down quietly, not adding trouble to others.

She just lay on the creaking folding bed, flat and spread out.

Moonlight shone through the narrow window onto Lu Wei's slender, pale legs; even if it was just ordinary trousers, under the contrast of her legs, they were a bit empty, like two big trumpets.

Occasionally, footsteps came from outside the door, it seemed Yu Xiaoli and Zhai Da showered one after another, and every time someone passed by, she became extra stiff.

Her mind repeatedly recalled whether she had left anything in the bathroom, whether she had dirtied anywhere.

She lay like this for two hours, and didn't fall asleep until one in the morning.

Until a voice clearly sounded.

"Can't sleep?"

Lu Wei woke up in a second, looking at the wall beside her in shock.

"Zhai... Zhai Da?"