Chapter 19 Desert Gas Station - 6 The gas station is very...
The gas station was filthy, with weeds and sand covering the ground, making it almost impossible to see any concrete. In the corner, there was a hand-cranked water pump, where Lu Yi was pumping water.
Kai drove the RV to the water pump and stopped. Tang Bufan got out of the car happily and limped quickly to Lu Yi's side.
"There really is water!" Tang Bufan bent down and reached out to catch the water. He cupped his hands and examined it closely, finding it to be very clear. He then lowered his head to smell it.
"Don't drink it!" Lu Yi immediately reached out and grabbed him, her tone somewhat reproachful: "Teacher, do you really think the poisoning isn't severe enough? This water looks clear, but it definitely contains toxins."
During the great war between humanity, various nuclear wastewaters had already polluted the entire Earth through atmospheric and groundwater circulation, and toxins accumulated in the bodies of organisms, which is how Tang Bufan was poisoned.
"I won't drink it, I'll just smell it." Tang Bufan splashed the cool water in his hand onto the ground, a smile on his face: "This water doesn't smell bad, you can take a shower directly with it, otherwise you'd have to filter it with the water purifier in the car."
"Let's do a thorough cleaning first." Lu had wanted to wash his filthy bedding for a while.
It's not even noon yet, and the sun is blazing. They'll wash their clothes and bedding and let them air out in the sun all afternoon, so they can bring the RV back in for use tonight.
Tang Bufan agreed with him, so he turned around and went back to the RV. Lu Yi followed behind him and, seeing him limping, asked with concern, "Does your foot still hurt?"
"Much better. Now it just hurts a little when I walk." Tang Bufan stepped into the RV. "I guess I won't need to wear bandages for another day or two."
"Don't do anything risky next time."
"Understood, little Lu Yi."
When Lu heard him call her that, she guessed he was complaining about her dislike of him kissing her forehead, and she couldn't help but smile helplessly.
The two got into the RV. Lu Yi took the lead in pulling his bedding and pillows out from under the iron bunk bed. Tang Bufan was also rolling up his own bedding, and Lu Yi gestured for him to hand it over.
“Your leg is injured, let me carry it.” Lu Yi said, “Teacher, you just need to get the things that need washing out.”
“Okay.” Tang Bufan then folded the bedding in his hand onto Lu Yi’s bedding and walked towards the two rows of shelves closest to the driver’s cab.
The two worked together, one carrying and the other organizing, to move the things out of the RV. Tang Bufan pulled out a large box of old clothes from under the bed, then called Lu Yi over and picked out a piece of clothing to hold up to him.
The clothes were a long-sleeved thin shirt, the size of an orc. Tang Bufan looked at the sleeve that was only a short length of Lu Yi's arm and frowned, saying, "It's a little small for you."
Summer is almost over. Although orcs are resistant to cold and heat, Lu Yi can't keep wearing a vest forever.
"Is this Wolf Uncle's clothes?" Lu Yi asked, standing obediently in front of Tang Bufan.
"Yes." Tang Bufan changed into another loose V-neck sweater and compared it to Lu Yi. This one finally had long enough sleeves, so he put it aside.
Lu Yi looked down at the thin man who barely reached his chest. Tang Bufan was carefully picking out clothes for him, and his pale face was still quite gentle.
Lu Yi felt that the two of them had become quite familiar with each other after spending the past two weeks together, so he tentatively asked, "Can you tell me about Uncle Wolf and his partner?"
He was very curious as to why Tang Bufan killed the couple, since he was clearly not the kind of evil person who would steal money and kill people.
Tang Bufan looked up at him, not angry, but also not answering.
"If we're going to exchange information, tell me about your mother too?" Tang Bufan was also very curious about Lu Yi's family. Lu Yi had said that his only memento of that family was his mother's tombstone, but judging from his inferiority complex about his beast-like appearance, his mother hadn't treated him well.
Lu Yi fell silent, and Tang Bufan changed into another old coat and held it up to him.
Lu Yi ultimately did not choose to exchange information. He took the stack of clothes that Tang Bufan had picked out and got off the RV. Tang Bufan continued to sort the clothes while watching Lu Yi's silent back. He sighed silently and decided to tell him about Uncle Wolf and Eberron at a later time.
It took the two of them an hour to empty the RV. Lu got out of the car to do laundry, while Tang Bufan took a broom and rag and cleaned carefully.
After wiping the interior of the RV twice, the afternoon was almost over. Tang Bufan got out of the vehicle with a sore back and a rag. Lu Yi was sitting on a small stool washing clothes. A thick rope was tied to two pillars at the gas station, with the two people's bedding and clothes hanging on it, swaying gently in the hot desert wind.
The sandy ground, covered with withered grass, was scattered with miscellaneous items and boxes that they had brought out.
"I'm not going to finish today." Tang Bufan walked to an old canvas box, carefully took out a bar of soap wrapped in oilcloth, and handed it to Lu Yi: "Take this and take a good bath."
Lu Yi looked at the bar of soap; it was already quite small, so he told Tang Bufan to wash first.
"I'll wash it after I finish grilling the meat," Lu Yi said, continuing to carefully rub the clothes in his hands. Although he was only washing them with clean water, he was still able to wash out the dirty water.
"It's a waste to use soap on my body." Tang Bufan planned to rub his body with a coarse cloth, but there was only a little soap left, so he had to give it to Lu Yi.
Lu Yi looked down at Tang Bufan's slender feet and said seriously, "Teacher has such good skin, why waste it?"
Tang Bufan's skin was bluish-white due to poisoning, but it was very delicate, like cool jade.
"I told you to use it, so you can use it." Tang Bufan simply put the soap on the folding table next to him, then picked up a basin of water from the ground and poured it over Lu's head.
Lu Yi was caught off guard by the splash. He sat on a small stool, soaked to the bone, not knowing whether to be angry or amused.
"Come on, you've had a long afternoon, let me wash your hair." Tang Bufan stood behind the tall orc boy, picked up the soap from the folding table, and rubbed it on Lu Yi's wet head.
Lu Yi put down the clothes in his hand and could only sit there helplessly, obediently letting Tang Bufan mess with his head.
After getting to know each other better, Lu Yi discovered that Tang Bufan was actually quite domineering.
"I'll give you a nice massage." Tang Bufan's trembling hands reached into Lu Yi's golden hair, pressing and rubbing with skillful force, quickly covering the orc boy's head in foam.
Lu Yi squinted comfortably, feeling the soft, yielding pressure from Tang Bufan's fingertips.
Tang Bufan had calluses on his hands, but his skin was thin and the calluses were relatively soft, much softer than the thick, large hands of the orcs.
"Feels good, right?" Tang Bufan smiled as he stood behind Lu Yi, pulling his head close to his chest and making him tilt his head back slightly so that the water wouldn't get into his eyes.
"Mmm." Lu Yi couldn't help but close her eyes, feeling Tang Bufan's soft hands while smelling his delicate fragrance.
Ever since Tang Bufan changed into a light T-shirt and shorts, without the smelly black cloth covering him, his original body odor became more noticeable.
It's very light and refreshing, like the scent of flowers.
“Teacher, your scent smells a bit like the incense that burns in my mother’s room,” Lu Yi suddenly whispered.
Tang Bufan paused slightly as he massaged the boy, then looked down at the boy in his arms.
Lu Yi, with her eyes closed, leaned against Tang Bufan's thin chest and slowly continued, "She was originally a pharmacist in the West District Underground City. She felt that humans were slaves kept underground by orcs. She protested the peace treaty and secretly joined the resistance organization. She secretly developed a virus that was only effective against orcs. As a result, the organization was discovered. In order to cover her companions' surrender, she brought the unfinished virus reagent to the surface and ambushed my father."
Tang Bufan listened attentively, gently rubbing Lu Yi's head with his fingers.
"She splashed the virus reagent on my father, but he only fell seriously ill and did not die. After he recovered, he forced himself on her, marked her, and turned her into the orc she hated."
Lu Yi slowly opened his eyes. He leaned against Tang Bufan, looked up and met his gaze, his eyes slightly red: "So my brother and I are children she hated, not children she gave birth to willingly."
Tang Bufan felt a deep sense of unease as he listened, while the orc boy raised his finger and pointed to his emerald green right eye.
"That's the color of her eyes."
The unstable genetic makeup of orcs resulted in Lu Yi having a golden eye in his left eye and a green eye in his right eye, but he really liked his right eye.
"Very beautiful." Tang Bufan looked at his emerald green right eye and sincerely praised, "Your mother must have been a very beautiful person."
“Yes.” Lu Yi smiled. “She is like a princess in a fairy tale, with long golden curly hair and emerald eyes. She doesn’t like to sleep in the same room as my father, so she has her own room in the tower, where all kinds of pleasant incense are burned… To keep her entertained, my father allowed her to make her own incense.”
"So our Lu Yi is the little prince." Tang Bufan coaxed him, his hand gently stroking his head. "I was wondering how there could be such a handsome person. It turns out the little prince left home and came to my place."
Lu Yi was amused by him, but her eyes were still slightly red: "Teacher, please don't laugh at me."
What prince would be hated by his mother?
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm serious," Tang Bufan said softly. "Look how wonderful you are, so powerful and beautiful."
He paused for a moment after speaking, then asked hesitantly, "So how...did your mother die?"
Lu Yi's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and pain welled up in his golden-green beastly eyes. He opened his lips, and after a long while, he choked out:
"Suicide by jumping off a building."
Tang Bufan's expression changed, his eyes trembled, he hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently hugged the person in front of him, not caring that he was soaking wet.
"It's alright, it's all over now." Tang Bufan held Lu Yi's head, trying his best to comfort him: "You're already a strong young man."
Feeling his cold and thin body, Lu Yi suddenly felt like crying, but after being held by Tang Bufan for a while with her throat choked up, she couldn't help but complain:
"Teacher, I said I'm 17 years old, not 7."
"..." Tang Bufan released him speechlessly and gently patted his head.
"You're being picky when you're trying to comfort me, what a problem." Tang Bufan continued washing Lu Yi's hair, this time using more force with his fingers: "Anyway, all I know how to do is comfort kids, so if you don't like it, just bear with it."
Lu Yi dared not disobey, and sat on the small stool while Tang Bufan rubbed his head until it shook.
"Teacher, you're going to pull my hair out!"
Tang Bufan poured a basin of water on his head: "The massage service is over. Now I am the evil shampoo wizard."
Lu Yi couldn't help but chuckle softly.
After washing Lu Yi's hair, there was still a little soap left. Tang Bufan broke it in half and gave Lu Yi the larger piece, while he took the smaller one and went back to the RV. The two of them took showers separately, one in the RV and the other at the gas station.
The RV's bathroom was very cramped for an orc, but it was spacious enough for Tang Bufan, a human. He sat on the toilet for a full hour, washing his bluish skin until it turned completely red.
When he came out, it was already dark. Lu Yi was grilling meat, and the red flames illuminated the desolate gas station, filling the air with the aroma of meat.
Tang Bufan walked towards him while drying his hair, then sat down on a camping chair and comfortably enjoyed the summer evening breeze.
There was an oil tanker and a rusty bus not far away. Tang Bufan asked Lu Yi while drying his hair, "Is the oil in the oil field?"
"There are more than a dozen barrels of oil in the room," Lu Yi said, pointing to the row of houses behind the gas station as he grilled the meat.
This gas station may be small, but it does have a service area. The windows of several rooms are dark, and there's a small supermarket on the far side.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com