Chapter 10
Xiaoming checked the surveillance footage on her phone and found that the person knocking on the door was Jiang Lan. He was wearing a food delivery rider uniform and carrying a bag, standing at the door. She couldn't help but rub her forehead, get up, and go to open the door.
How did you know I lived here?
“I have received your food delivery orders and delivered food to your door before.”
Xiao Ming thought for a moment and said, "Oh, oh, oh." Jiang Lan was the handsome guy she thought would be a waste not to go to the club.
"But I didn't order takeout today."
“I’m not delivering food today, I just wore a delivery uniform so it would be easier to come in. I sent you a goodnight message, but you didn’t reply. I called you and found out you were sick. I was worried something might happen to you, so I came to check on you.”
Pointing inside, he said, "Let me in?"
Xiao Ming shook his head. "You know what I mean."
Jiang Lan smiled and said, "Look at my face, and then look at the face of my bank cards." As she spoke, she opened the balances of various bank apps in front of Xiao Ming to show her.
“There are surveillance cameras and registration records when I enter the community, so my life is still pretty good and I won’t do anything stupid.”
Xiao Ming blinked, sighed, and let the person in.
Jiang Lan looked around the cozy and tidy little home, then looked at Xiao Ming, who was standing in the middle of the living room in her pajamas, and asked her, "Your face looks a little red. Do you have a fever? Have you taken any medicine?"
"I ate it, and it was over 38 degrees Celsius." Xiaoming paused and then said...
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm really fine. I'll be better after a good night's sleep tomorrow morning. You've seen it all, so you can go back now."
“I’m worried about you going back while you’re sick. I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight and be ready to answer your calls anytime. You can ask me for water, medicine, or to use the restroom.”
He then lay down on the sofa.
This sofa is just a two-seater; there's no way such a tall man could sleep on it.
Xiao Ming sighed, feeling very unwell, and didn't want to argue with him. He spread out the yoga mat next to the sofa, then took out bedding and pillows from the cabinet and laid them on the mat. "You can sleep on the floor tonight, I'm going to sleep."
He then went into the bedroom and locked the door.
Lying in bed, Xiaoming glanced at the time; it was just past midnight. He quickly closed his eyes and went to sleep.
It's possible that the sleep-inducing component of the medication took effect, as Xiaoming quickly fell asleep.
Xiaoming floated and spun continuously in a kaleidoscope-like spiral staircase. The oppressive colors of the walls would sometimes cave in, pressing down on her and making it hard for her to breathe.
Dark shadows would occasionally dart past her, while others would be absorbed by the cylinder wall and become a splash of color on it.
Jiang Lan watched the floating boys and girls inside the Dream Cube, each one being absorbed and melted by the distorted, colorful walls, either willingly or unwillingly, turning into colorful flowers that adhered to the walls.
They ignored his commands and advice, and kept dodging his attempts to grab their hands.
Unable to contain his anger, he roared at them, "Don't go near the walls! Don't go near the colors! You'll die! Do you hear me? You'll die! Get inside the light circle! Get inside the light circle now!"
Fortunately, the boy next to him stayed obediently in the circle of light, as he seemed to have a strong will to survive, so he didn't have to spend too much effort on him.
Suddenly, a torrent of water, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, rushed towards us, filling everything in sight in an instant. Everyone was like insects in a container, submerged in the water.
Xiao Ming felt like he hadn't breathed for a long time and felt a bit suffocated. It took him a while to realize that he was in the water.
"I can breathe through my mouth like a fish," Xiao Ming thought, and then opened his mouth to breathe.
Just when Jiang Lan thought that everyone else would drown, he experienced the survival state of a fish for the first time in his life. He could stay in the water for a long time without relying on oxygen supply equipment, just by opening his mouth.
Looking through the water, the walls had lost their color and turned a hazy gray. Seeing everyone floating in the water, bobbing with the waves, no longer being absorbed into the walls, Jiang Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
A violent cough woke Xiaoming up. He cleared his throat and realized he had been woken up by choking on his own saliva.
My throat hurts so much, swallowing saliva feels like swallowing grit, both nostrils are completely blocked, I don't know how long I slept with my mouth open, my mouth is dry and bitter.
It's past 7 o'clock, and I really can't go to work today. Xiaoming sent a message to her boss asking for leave. Her boss told her to rest well, and then she sent the leave request to Sister Ying.
She got up and opened the door, seeing that Jiang Lan was still asleep. She tiptoed to the bathroom to use the toilet, and after washing up, she saw that Jiang Lan was already up in the living room, making the bed.
He took the bedding and put it back in the closet, then wrote a few words on a piece of paper and showed them to Jiang Lan: "There's a new set of toiletries on the washstand. Use that if you want to wash up."
Jiang Lan frowned: "Your voice is hoarse? Let me see the medicine you took."
Xiao Ming pointed to the table, and Jiang Lan went over to look at the medicine. She then took the thermometer gun and walked over to Xiao Ming, saying, "Let me take your temperature."
"Low-grade fever, headache, body aches?"
Xiao Ming nodded.
"It's probably a viral cold; your medicine isn't quite right. I'll go out and buy breakfast later, and then I'll get you some more medicine." She then wrote down the names of several breakfast items on a piece of paper and handed it to Xiaoming: "Is there anything you like?"
Xiao Ming shook his head, took the paper and pen and wrote: "You've looked after me all night, go back now, I can do it myself."
Jiang Lan glanced at it, ignored it, turned around and went into the bathroom to wash up, changed her clothes, came out, took the car keys and access card from the shoe cabinet by the door, and went out.
Xiao Ming stretched out Er Kang's hand and watched him decisively grab his things, close the door, and leave, speechless for a moment.
She opened the window to ventilate the room, then sat on the sofa, poured herself a glass of hot water, and slowly sipped it. She had a headache, and her muscles and joints ached.
After finishing her water, Jiang Lan threw her dirty clothes into the washing machine. A little while later, there was a knock at the door. The door had a combination lock, so Jiang Lan couldn't get in: "Xiao Ming, open the door."
Xiao Ming opened the door, and Jiang Lan came in carrying bags of various sizes. She put the things on the table, then turned around to wash her hands. She took out bowls and chopsticks, laid out the breakfast on the table, and asked Xiao Ming, "Which one would you like to eat?"
Xiao Ming had the illusion that he was a guest, and sat somewhat awkwardly in the dining chair, pointing to the white porridge.
Jiang Lan scooped a bowl of porridge to about eight-tenths full and placed it in front of Xiao Ming, then handed her the spoon: "Finish it."
Xiao Ming nodded, watching as he unpacked the medicine and put it in a disposable paper cup: "I asked the doctor at the clinic, and these are the medications the doctor prescribed based on your symptoms. You should take the medicine after you finish your porridge. Did you ask for leave?"
Xiao Ming nodded, typed on his phone and showed it to him. Jiang Lan glanced at it and replied, "I've also taken leave. Get well soon, and I'll go back as soon as you're done."
Xiao Ming typed again: "Brother, this is my house, I should be in charge, right? Why don't you go back first? It would be troublesome if you caught it from me."
Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow at her: "Don't you know it's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away? We've been in the same room for so long, we've already caught everything that could be infected. Besides, I won't feel at ease if I go back. Anyway, I'll leave once you're better."
After the two finished breakfast, Jiang Lan watched her take her medicine and urged her to go into the bedroom: "Go lie down on the bed and sleep when you're sleepy."
After watching Xiaoming enter the bedroom and close the door, Jiang Lan went into the bathroom to call Li Zhiqiang and described her dream from last night: "Last night's dream was bizarre and fantastical, and I don't know what it means."
My client is a high school student with depression. His mother has been having recurring dreams about him committing suicide, and she found me through a referral. I've been working on this project for almost two months now, but I haven't been able to enter the corresponding dream. This is the first time I've waited this long since I started taking on projects; I initially thought it was a false prophetic dream.
I was taking care of a patient last night and didn't have the necessary conditions to enter the dream world. Perhaps it's the powerful rules of the Rubik's Cube that allowed me to complete the entire dream.
"If the sudden accident corresponds to teenagers with mental and psychological problems, then where would such a gathering of teenagers occur? Moreover, many of them are voluntarily committing suicide in their dreams."
After listening to Jiang Lan's guess, Li Zhiqiang pondered for a moment and said, "There are now very secretive suicide pact groups, and many of the participants are teenagers. I suspect it's a similar group suicide incident. Okay, leave the rest to me."
After saying that, he teased Jiang Lan, "Taking care of a patient? The patient is a girl, right? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Jiang Lan coughed twice: "I guess so. Captain Li, I probably won't be taking any more jobs for a while. If my life becomes stable, it's not impossible for me to leave the mercenary group."
Although Li Zhiqiang felt it was a pity, the organization had not been unaware of this situation. After all, most young people would leave such a risky industry for the sake of their families after starting a career, and they respected the choices of these young people.
"Compared to others, you have a high memory for your dreams and a high level of personal safety. We have received a lot of information and help from you, for which we are sincerely grateful. Now that you have found your life partner, I wish you all the best on behalf of the organization. If you encounter any problems in your life in the future, please feel free to contact me. I will never delay in solving them if I can."
Jiang Lan said with some emotion, "Thank you for your understanding and support, Captain Li!"
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Lan came out to clear the table, washed the dishes, and when she heard the washing machine finish its cycle, she started hanging the clothes to dry.
Xiao Ming was lying in bed resting with his eyes closed when he suddenly remembered that he hadn't hung up his clothes yet. He got up, opened the door, and before he even reached the balcony, he saw Jiang Lan holding a hanger with her underwear on it and hanging it on the clothes rack. There were also some underwear in the basket that hadn't been hung up yet.
Xiao Ming stopped, closed his eyes tightly, gripped the ground with his toes, clenched his fists, took two deep breaths, and quietly retreated back to the bedroom.
Lying on the bed, I chuckled coldly. Ha, men! Give them a crack, and they'll pry open an East African canyon for you. They'll even dare to touch your underwear.
You wait and see how I clash with your magic in the future!
Jiang Lan opened the refrigerator, checked the contents, took out the ingredients for lunch, and placed them in the sink. She set an alarm, spread out a small blanket on the sofa, covered herself, and fell asleep on the sofa shortly after.
She was half asleep when she heard someone calling her from the doorway: "Xiaoming, wake up, come out for dinner."
Xiao Ming rubbed his eyes and sat up, touching his forehead; his fever still hadn't subsided.
As she opened the door and went outside, Jiang Lan greeted her, helped her to sit on the sofa, and then touched her forehead, frowning as she said, "Why are you still so hot? Did you sweat while you were sleeping?"
Xiao Ming shook her head. Jiang Lan saw that she looked listless. Her face was still red from the fever last night, but now it was pale from the fever. Her usually light pink lips were also pale. Jiang Lan felt a little sorry for her and anxious.
"Eat first, then I'll take you to the hospital. If you keep going like this, you'll get a high fever."
Xiaoming thought for a moment and nodded. She couldn't be away from her post for too long either. Everyone in the company needed someone; no one could be left behind.
Sitting down at the dining table, Jiang Lan asked her, "Eat rice or have porridge? I've heated up the leftover porridge from this morning."
Xiaoming pointed to the porridge, and Jiang Lan pushed it in front of her. "Stir-fried broccoli with pork and tomato and egg drop soup. That's all for lunch. Tell me if there's anything you want to eat, and I'll cook it for you tonight."
Xiao Ming said in a hoarse voice, "My mouth tastes bitter. I'll just buy a bowl of sweet porridge on the way back from the hospital. Don't bother cooking anything for me."
After dinner, while Xiaoming was changing clothes, Jiang Lan went to the kitchen to gather some ingredients for making sweet porridge. She washed them, put them in the rice cooker, and pressed the porridge button. When she came back, it would be ready to drink.
"You might need an IV drip. Take out your kettle and fill it with hot water."
Xiao Ming saw him carrying his water bottle and coat in his satchel, and then taking out a mask and tissues from the shoe cabinet to put them in. He asked him, "You've lived here for a year, not just a day, right? You can find all your things no matter where you put them?"
Jiang Lan glanced at her, then looked down and continued tidying up her things, saying, "If your throat is sore, don't talk. Your room isn't that big, so it's easy to see where everything is."
"Come on, let's go out. You shouldn't ride your bike out in the wind right now. Wait for me at the entrance of the complex, and I'll go to the parking lot outside to get my car and pick you up."
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