Chapter 178: Qingqing and the Potato

The sound of the television echoed in the living room.

Chen Shu then took out his Mobile Phone again...

Qingcai Keke: 【Image】

Sharing the photo just taken to the group.

Nameless Person: Looks good!

Qingcai Keke: Senior Brother Nameless, you haven't been very active lately.

Nameless Person: Sorry! I've been too busy!

Nameless Person: /folded hands/folded hands/folded hands

Seeing these three emojis, Chen Shu revealed a smile; it instantly had that vibe.

He then switched to Qingqing's Mobile Phone.

Zhaoyeqing: That large wall of flowers looks good.

Zhaoyeqing: What is it called?

Qingcai Keke: Which patch?

Zhaoyeqing: The one by the window.

Qingcai Keke: Rouge Buckle.

Qingcai Keke: It grows super fast and blooms super much, thousands or ten thousands of flowers at once.

Zhaoyeqing: Did you plant them all?

Qingcai Keke: Yes.

Zhaoyeqing: They bloomed quite well.

Qingcai Keke: Impressive, right?

Zhaoyeqing: It's okay.

Chen Shu couldn't help but glance at the young girl; fortunately, she was focused on watching the television and was completely unconcerned about him repeatedly switching between two Mobile Phones.

Grandma Always Says: Give me a break.

Grandma Always Says: He wouldn't know how to plant a single thing.

Grandma Always Says: They were all planted by my roommate.

Haoran Zhengqi: /eating melon seeds

Qingcai Keke: /giggle

Zhaoyeqing: /confused

Grandma Always Says: Why doesn't Qingqing reply to me when I send her Feixin messages?

Qingcai Keke: As if she would pay attention to you even if you were talking to her face-to-face.

Grandma Always Says: /furious

Qingcai Keke: I'll go give her a subtle reminder.

Grandma Always Says: Don't you dare remind her!!!

Grandma Always Says: When Qingqing wants to reply to me, she will reply on her own!!!

Qingcai Keke: /pout

Chen Shu then switched to Qingqing's Mobile Phone and opened Feixin.

Sure enough, there was a pile of messages from Zhang Suannai.

Qingqing had turned on a mode called "Do Not Disturb" on Feixin; with this mode on, there would normally be no notifications when receiving messages. However, for Chen Shu and Xiaoxiao, Qingqing had set special alerts, so their messages would still trigger notifications.

Zhang Suannai: Ah, I'm so bored.

Zhang Suannai: Where did you go?

Zhang Suannai: When are you coming back?

Zhang Suannai: I won the championship, hahaha.

Zhang Suannai: Easy peasy.

Zhang Suannai: Morning! Get up and take a leak!

Zhang Suannai: /happily spinning around

Zhang Suannai: What's up? No signal in Yuanzhou?

Zhang Suannai: /scratching head

Zhang Suannai: You haven't actually been locked up by Chen Shu, have you?

Zhang Suannai: /lost in thought

Zhang Suannai: Ah, I'm bored to death.

This was the last one.

After Chen Shu finished reading, he began to type.

Ning Qing: I've been a bit busy these past few days.

Zhang Suannai replied almost instantly.

Zhang Suannai: Busy with what?

Zhang Suannai: What did you go back for?

Ning Qing: Matters concerning my parents.

Zhang Suannai: /Fear and Surprise

Zhang Suannai: Matters concerning your parents?

Ning Qing:?

Zhang Suannai: Are you sure?

Ning Qing:...

Zhang Suannai: Aren't your parents dead?

Ning Qing: Your parents are the ones who are dead.

Zhang Suannai: /Fear and Surprise

Zhang Suannai: You haven't actually been kidnapped, have you?

Ning Qing:...

Zhang Suannai sent a video call invitation.

Chen Shu tapped decline.

Ning Qing: Boring.

Zhang Suannai:???

Zhang Suannai: What did I tell you to call me the first time we met?

Chen Shu scratched his head.

He really didn't know this?

Grandma?

Forget it, no need to gamble.

Chen Shu simply stopped replying to her and checked his watch.

Three minutes later—

Zhang Suannai: /Complex expression

Zhang Suannai: If it weren't for the fact that you still have this familiar tone, I would have thought you were really locked up.

Ning Qing:?

Zhang Suannai: Didn't Xiaoxiao say your parents died?

Ning Qing:?

Zhang Suannai: She told me that!

Ning Qing: Go ask her again.

Zhang Suannai: Okay.

Chen Shu counted silently for a few more seconds.

He saw Xiaoxiao nearby take out her Mobile Phone, look down at it, frown, and then start typing.

Along the way, she even glanced at her brother-in-law beside her.

Two minutes later—

Zhang Suannai: I really thought your parents were dead, it's all my fault for overthinking like an idiot.

Zhang Suannai: Though my parents probably really are dead.

Zhang Suannai: It was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.

Zhang Suannai: /Sitting obediently

Ning Qing: Going to get busy.

Ning Qing: Don't keep sending me messages.

Ning Qing: No time.

Zhang Suannai: /Mm-hmm

The matter was resolved.

Zhang Suannai should not be suspicious anymore.

Chen Shu put down his Mobile Phone and said to Xiaoxiao beside him, "I bought some potatoes, how do you want to eat them?"

The little girl instantly perked up, pressed the pause button, and turned her head to stare at her brother-in-law:

"Cheese Mashed Potatoes!"

"There is no cheese."

"Flavorful roasted potatoes!"

"You certainly remember every name."

"Is that okay?"

"It is."

"!"

The little girl withdrew her gaze and continued watching TV.

Chen Shu then went to the kitchen.

Fortunately, the potatoes he bought were all small, the size of eggs, which was quite suitable.

Wash the potatoes clean, boil them in water after adding salt, mix a sauce focusing on cumin and garlic, spread it evenly over the boiled and softened potatoes, brush the baking tray with oil, place the potatoes on it, then find any bowl, use the bottom of the bowl to press them flat, brush another layer of sauce, and put them in the oven.

This was the little girl's dinner.

Very simple, time-saving, and cost-effective.

Chen Shu sighed and continued to work.

Today I bought some more razor clams.

I should make a sweet and spicy version for Qingqing. Last time she ate more than half a plate by herself, and even said it wasn't enough after she finished. Just today while browsing the supermarket, I saw the quality of the razor clams in the seafood section was quite good, and Chen Shu remembered.

I'll also stir-fry a rice-killer dish: minced meat with three types of peppers.

Chen Shu likes to use small green and red pointed peppers along with pickled peppers to make it a bit spicier, chopping them into fine bits and stir-frying them with the minced meat; it's sour, spicy, and goes perfectly with rice.

It was about six o'clock in the evening.

Chen Shu took a small bowl and filled it with half a bowl of white rice. On top of the rice, he spread two-thirds of the sweet and spicy razor clam meat, with the shells removed, leaving only the clean meat. He added one-third of the minced meat with three peppers, which looked quite nice.

It was a pity Qingqing couldn't see it.

"Xiaoxiao."

"Hmm?"

"Take this to your sister."

"Oh."

The little girl took the bowl and chopsticks, grabbed a bottle of water, and ran outside.

By the time she returned, the flavored roasted potatoes she was going to eat were already set on the table, and she could already smell the fragrance.

Chen Shu said to her again: "I left half a plate of minced meat with three peppers in the fridge. Tomorrow morning, heat it up, cook some rice yourself, and make a rice bowl to take to your sister. I have to go back to the Dormitory tonight; I have class tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

The little girl nodded, honest and well-behaved.

Remembered—

Tomorrow morning, make a minced meat with three peppers over mashed potatoes to take to sister.

It must be delicious.

The little girl thought so as she picked up a piece of roasted potato.

As soon as the chopsticks clamped onto it, she felt the hard texture of the outer shell. When she bit down, it was indeed crispy, even making a crunching sound. The inside was soft, and the flavor was mainly composed of cumin and the garlic aroma released by high heat. It was such a pity that sister couldn't eat such delicious food.

……

Darkness.

Silence.

Extreme darkness.

Extreme silence.

The Formation Ning Qing had set up was even more complex than Chen Shu had imagined; it was not only soundproof to the outside but also to the inside. Not only did it have an isolation barrier to absorb sound waves, but the Spirit Power of the Formation would also permeate the entire room, wrapping everything inside to prevent any tiny vibrations.

Even if a cup fell to the floor, it would not make a sound.

The only thing that could make a sound was Ning Qing herself.

But even the sounds she made herself were different from when she was in the outside world—sound waves hitting any object would be absorbed and not reflected back. Except for that sound which seemed to be in a void, she could not receive any subsequent feedback.

Being here was like being in a dead, silent deep space that was empty and devoid of even stars; there was no sound, no light, only the self.

Ning Qing could clearly hear her own heartbeat, breathing, the sound of bones rubbing together when moving, the sounds of her internal organs, and even the sound of blood flowing. These were sounds rarely heard in ordinary life, but here they became the norm, followed by a feeling of being swallowed by boundless loneliness.

Even the passage of time could not be perceived.

She did not know how long she had spent.

She did not know how long she had slept.

The only basis for distinguishing time was the number of times Xiaoxiao delivered food, and she could only know how many days had passed and whether it was day or night through that.

At the same time, Ning Qing had set up two small doors at the food delivery window, both of which had sound-insulation mechanisms. Xiaoxiao, who could only open the outer small door, could not let sound or light pass through, and she forced herself to open the inner small door only twice a day, relying entirely on her own estimation for when to open it. Except for the first day when her estimated time was about right, there was a discrepancy every time after that, and the gap seemed to be increasing.

If she opened the door too early and the food hadn't arrived yet, she would wait until the next meal.

If the time was late, the food would have already gone cold.

Such an environment was harder to endure than imagined.

The first day was the hardest to endure.

If it were an ordinary person, they might have already started to feel suffocated, experienced a racing heartbeat, had hallucinations, or other symptoms of maladjustment; in severe cases, they would suffer a mental breakdown.

Fortunately, she was not an ordinary person.

Ning Qing was adapting rapidly.

Adapting to such an empty environment, adapting to the control of time without light, the sun, or specific time references.

No sound.

No pain.

No suffering.

Feel the loneliness, feel other things.

Feel the darkness, feel the rules.

Feel the self, feel the world.

If it was too lonely, think about other things.

Think about the roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, shredded potatoes, potato slices, potato strips... that Xiaoxiao had brought her over the past few days. Even last night, this girl brought her a whole boiled potato, accompanied by a packet of chili powder.

She must think this is delicious, right?

This morning was different.

This morning it was mashed potatoes, shaped like a chicken leg and placed on a plate.

It must have been her brother-in-law who instructed her yesterday, right?

Thinking of Chen Shu, Ning Qing revealed a smile.

It was about time...

Ning Qing stood up.

Although there was not a single bit of visible light in the room, she seemed incredibly familiar with the environment, walking precisely to the wall, crouching down to open the bolt, and pulling open a small door only twenty centimeters square; inside was a small space about as deep as the width of the wall, containing a bowl of rice and a bottle of water.

The rice was just about to go completely cold.

Ning Qing smelled the fragrance.

It was not potatoes anymore.

Ning Qing then knew that Chen Shu had come.

And so she revealed a trace of a smile again.

A faint one.

Then she thought—

Perhaps at this moment, he is singing outside, right?