Chapter 8
Qin Huai came back, and naturally all the tasks of planting vegetables, watering them, and cleaning up the chicken poop fell on his shoulders. Mu Nan became psychologically dependent on him. Although the situation outside was getting worse and worse, he was still much happier than when he had been staying at home alone for some time.
Although the gap between the two of them had not completely disappeared, Qin Huai could clearly feel that Nan Nan was actively moving closer to him, but this closeness was a plan for the future. Seeing the things Nan Nan bought and the plans she made, Qin Huai knew that he was present in every one of Nan Nan's plans, but other than that, Nan Nan never mentioned a word about her life alone over the years.
Thinking of Nan Nan when he was little, she would share everything with him, and if she was wronged outside, she would complain to him, and he had to coax her for a long time before she would be happy again. But now, he said nothing about the hardships he had experienced over the years. Qin Huai knew that it would take time to completely break the ice, and although he was a little anxious, he also knew that it could not be rushed.
Qin Huai has been back for almost two days, and the epidemic outside has also reached its peak. Every day, Mu Nan is a little scared when he sees all kinds of news online: "Fortunately, you came back early and are in good health, otherwise you would be stuck on the road and have no one to turn to for help."
Qin Huai was able to rush back thanks to his perseverance. Although he exercised every day, this exercise was just for physical fitness. If it weren't for his perseverance, he wouldn't have the physical strength to ride a bicycle for several days. So after returning home and resting for a night, his hands and feet were so sore for the next two days that he even had to hold on to the wall when going to the bathroom.
Fortunately, Mu Nan prepared a lot of things, including a lot of soothing plasters, which she applied to Qin Huai's arms and legs every day, and massaged him with a massager. Looking at Qin Huai, who was covered with plasters, Mu Nan sighed, "It seems that I need to work on my physical fitness, otherwise I won't be able to run if something happens later."
Qin Huai also felt that he couldn't relax in terms of physical fitness. Seeing the future scenes that Mu Nan dreamed of, even if he didn't have to worry too much about food in the space, poor physical fitness would also be a hindrance. So he said, "I will teach you Sanda from tomorrow. When you were a kid, you gave up after just two days of learning. Life will be difficult in the future, so it won't hurt to learn some kung fu."
Qin Huai had practiced it when he was young. Mu Nan wanted to learn it because Qin Huai was learning it, but unfortunately he didn't have the perseverance and gave up before he even finished learning the basic skills. He turned to a painting interest class. Qin Huai studied for a long time, and even when he went abroad, he would occasionally practice it. He never lost some of his skills.
Qin Huai didn't want to teach him at first, because Mu Nan had no perseverance and couldn't endure hardship. But now that he saw that he insisted on running for an hour every day, he finally had the idea. Especially if the situation became more and more chaotic in the future, he couldn't guarantee his safety by relying on space alone. He should teach Mu Nan some life-saving methods so that he would feel more at ease if something unexpected happened in the future.
The two of them lived a life that gradually became regular, running in the morning and learning Sanda in the evening. Qin Huai cooked at noon, and Mu Nan prepared food according to some tutorials on the Internet in the afternoon, making raw ingredients into finished products and piling them up in the space. Spending every day like this, the two of them slowly regained some of the feeling of their childhood. Although Mu Nan seldom mentioned his own life, Qin Huai would take the initiative to tell him about his life abroad over the years.
The reason his father insisted on taking him away was because he was diagnosed with asthenospermia. Although asthenospermia is not like necrospermia, which means there is no hope of fertility, the possibility of fertility is very low. So since there is a son as old as him, the man would naturally say anything to take him away. The difference is only between being taken away by force and being taken away voluntarily. What Qin Huai did not tell Mu Nan was that the biggest reason he was willing to go with the man was that the man threatened him with Mu Nan. The adult world is so dirty that people will do anything to achieve their goals.
In the first few years, he lived a decent life. He was the only child of the man, so he naturally devoted all his efforts to nurturing him. Since he had been separated from Mu Nan, there was no point in resisting stubbornly. It was better to work hard to make himself stronger, so that no one could control his life in the future.
But she didn't expect that the man would have another child later. Although it was a test-tube baby, it was still successful. It was obvious which one he would choose: a son who was brought back halfway and still had hatred for him, and a child who was a blank slate and could be shaped as he wanted. So Qin Huai, who had not even finished college, was given up.
Mu Nan didn't expect Qin Huai to live such a life outside. She was angry and distressed and asked, "Then what? Why didn't you come back if he didn't want you anymore?"
Qin Huai looked at him and smiled, because he had no money to come back at that time, and the ticket back home was 20,000, and Nan Nan had just been admitted to university, and it was an art department, which was very expensive. He couldn't give Nan Nan much, so since he couldn't accompany her, he would try his best to provide her with food and clothing. However, Qin Huai would naturally not say this, but just said: "If I came back at that time, wouldn't it be very embarrassing? You cried and shouted that you wanted to break up with me, and said that the man was not a good thing, and said that you shouldn't regret it if I left."
Mu Nan glared at him: "You know that's not what I meant! I..."
Qin Huai hugged him and rubbed his head: "I know, it's just that I haven't finished my studies yet, and I just started a studio with a friend, and I also want to make some achievements. Why should I go with him if he wants to take me away? If he doesn't want me anymore, I can only come back."
Mu Nan kept silent. He was thinking, fortunately he didn't tell Qin Huai about his rebirth. If Qin Huai knew that he didn't come back to find him in his previous life until he died, he would feel so guilty and sad. Although Mu Nan still had doubts in his heart, since Qin Huai had been back for half a year, why didn't he come to find him in his previous life? The end of the world didn't come suddenly, and the communication and transportation were not suddenly cut off. There was obviously a period of order before the chaos. Unfortunately, this doubt could not be solved in this life.
As the two were talking, Qin Huai heard wailing sounds coming from downstairs, so he stood on the balcony with a telescope and looked down. The thick fog in the city had begun to dissipate. Even though they were on the 17th floor, they could still see some outlines with the help of the street lights downstairs. This was the seventh funeral home car in half a month since he came back.
After a period of medical observation, it was found that the disease is not highly contagious, and the little infectious activity is basically lost after death. Therefore, there is no need for special medical staff to protect and transport people who died of the disease, so a normal funeral car will do. However, after the dead are dragged away, the remaining people have to mourn their deceased relatives and worry about whether they themselves are infected. This kind of wailing in despair happens almost every day.
Over the past half month, Qin Huai felt lucky more than once. He was lucky that his high school class monitor contacted him and told him that Nan Nan was looking for him. He was also lucky that he saw that the account where he sent money to Mu Nan was empty and he was too worried, so he came back to check. Otherwise, if Mu Nan was left alone in this situation and had no way to contact him, he didn't know how scared he would be.
A big incident happened in the community where Mu Nan lived. There was a sick man who had been running around for several days but couldn't even get into the hospital. He became desperate and ran out of the house without caring about anything. Then he took a pile of stones and smashed the windows of more than a dozen low-floor houses, two of which had newborn babies in them.
Later, the man was hit by a flowerpot thrown by the anxious residents upstairs, which stopped the other party's crazy behavior.
The community was in chaos when the incident happened. Although the community staff had protective clothing, the other party was like crazy. They did not dare to go out even in protective clothing, for fear that the other party would tear their clothes and expose them to the smog.
Mu Nan was making steamed buns at home at the time, and he was startled when there was a sudden commotion downstairs. The whole community had been very quiet since every household stayed at home, and the sudden riot caused a commotion in the entire community.
Mu Nan was holding a telescope and could just see the man smashing the windows in the building opposite him. This was an old community, and many people were still living here the same way they had been when they moved in. Some of the doors and windows had never been replaced. The houses were built decades ago, and the original windows were single-layered, which were easily broken with a single hit. Many people whose windows were broken were so anxious that they wanted to jump out and chop them with knives, but they had no protection at all, not even masks, and could only be hurriedly pulled into other closed rooms by their families.
In the end, the man was hit by the flowerpot and fell to the ground. After making sure that the other party was motionless and not aggressive, the community staff came out and dragged the man away.
Mu Nan only remembered this incident after it happened. In his previous life, he also stayed at home. Although the outside world became very scary, with death and infectious diseases everywhere, the government was still maintaining and dispatching the situation, and he had a full space of food, so he didn't need to go out at all, so he didn't feel a deep sense of crisis. He still remembered that this crazy man should have died in the end, but a family with a very young child inhaled some outside air because the window was broken.
Maybe because the child was too young and had little immunity, he had a high fever that night and died. The child’s father later took a knife and slashed into the neighborhood committee because everyone in the community was afraid of death and hid in their houses. They were wearing protective clothing but did not dare to come out to stop the crazy man. If they had come out to stop him, his child might not have died. So the man was so angry that he took out his anger on the neighborhood committee staff.
Thinking of the past life, Mu Nan couldn't help but say, "Fortunately, we live on a high floor."
Qin Huai glanced at the window that Mu Nan had replaced in advance: "Even if it's not high, you can't break this window with a stone. Even if it breaks, we can still live on the other side."
It gradually quieted down outside, but the group was in an uproar. Mu Nan didn't check the group, and even if he did, it would be useless. The smashed window could not be restored, and the child who might have been infected could not be saved.
He continued to make steamed buns with his head down. When he was doing things, he would not have random thoughts. At first, the steamed buns he made were either not kneaded and became lumps, or they were not round enough and looked ugly. Now he was slowly gaining experience. After steaming the round steamed buns, he would put them directly into the space. When he wanted to eat them, he could take them out at any time and they would still look like they were just out of the pot.
Qin Huai said from the side: "We have been making steamed buns for a few days. Let's make dumplings tomorrow." Even if we need to flee in the future, it is always better to eat something oily.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Make the buns into the shape of steamed buns."
Mu Nan looked up at Qin Huai and said, "When food is scarce and we have to eat tree bark and grass, your steamed buns or dumplings will be very eye-catching." Although he said so, Mu Nan still listened to Qin Huai and changed the appearance of the dumplings: "It's just right to take out an extra rib. You can make sweet and sour ribs tomorrow."
Qin Huai smiled and said ok.
In the middle of the night, a miserable cry suddenly resounded throughout the entire community. Even Mu Nan, who lived on the 17th floor and had replaced the thickened double-layer soundproof glass, could not block the sound, which scared him directly while he was already asleep.
Mu Nan subconsciously reached for his phone, but was held down by Qin Huai, who had also woken up. He covered his ear with one hand and said, "Go to sleep, don't look at it."
Mu Nan didn't struggle. He knew in his heart what the crying was about. Everything was the same as in the previous life. The child was still gone.
The next day, Mu Nan woke up and opened his eyes to see Qin Huai sitting next to him, leaning against the bed and looking at his phone. Qin Huai rubbed his messy hair, put down his phone and said, "What do you want for breakfast? Toast or egg noodles?"
Mu Nan said, "Toast, there's still some bacon left from yesterday."
Qin Huai said yes, and got up to make breakfast. Seeing Mu Nan open his phone and click on the WeChat group, he said, "Last night, a window was smashed in the house. There was a newborn baby in the house, and the child died last night."
Mu Nan paused for a moment while scrolling through his phone, glanced at Qin Huai, and said "oh". Qin Huai sighed silently, turned around and went into the kitchen. They needed to adapt to this kind of life filled with death every day as soon as possible.
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