Chapter 17 Running-in
[Run-in: The process of mutual adaptation and adjustment in interpersonal relationships.] 】
At seven o'clock in the morning, Meng Chu walked out of the room yawning, feeling more drowsy than most mornings.
Last night he took a shower first, then sat on the bed, waiting for Fu Guanshan to walk into the bathroom.
He must clean the bathroom after the other person takes a shower. Otherwise, the toothpaste foam will turn into white solid by tomorrow morning.
Meng Chu shuddered when he thought of such marks on the mirror.
As a result, because he was embarrassed to urge the other party to take a shower and because of his terrible cleaning habits, he went to bed an hour later.
Today, we must humbly ask Fu Guanshan to wash first, and then the problem will be solved.
Although judging from the signs revealed yesterday, their cohabitation life still has a long way to go.
Meng Chu ruffled his hair into a different kind of mess, walked into the living room, and was stunned.
Fu Guanshan sat at the table with several plates in front of him, on which various pastries were skillfully assembled, and steam was rising.
"I bought it from the first breakfast shop on the list," Fu Guanshan stretched out his hand and drew two circles on the plate, as if he had conjured it up with magic, "but I think it doesn't look good in a takeaway box. It lacks a sense of ceremony."
Meng Chu's mind went blank, and he pulled the chair away out of inertia: "Did you buy it? When?"
Fu Guanshan glanced at the sports bracelet: "Ten minutes ago. I guess you're about to get up."
Meng Chu looked at him in surprise: "How did you know?"
"You asked me that yesterday, which means you have a fixed bedtime and wake-up time, and you seem to be a person with a very regular life," Fu Guanshan shrugged. "The last time I lived here, you got up at seven o'clock. I guess it's the same today."
So... he went to buy it early in the morning so that he could have a hot breakfast when he got up?
"You..." Meng Chu was a little out of breath, "Why didn't you ask me to join you?"
"I want you to sleep a little longer," Fu Guanshan said, "so you can go to school at about the same time."
Meng Chu looked at the plate. He had never considered the possibility that the other party would bring breakfast, and even if he really appeared in front of him, it would seem vague and unreal.
"I recommend the one stuffed with green pepper and eggplant," Fu Guanshan pointed at one of the buns. "Four of the five people in front of me bought this, so I ordered two more," he said with a smug look on his face. "It's more likely to be delicious."
As a result of what he has seen and heard, his scientific achievements have made great progress recently.
Meng Chu didn't move for a long time. Fu Guanshan stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him: "How about I break off a piece for you to try? If it doesn't taste good, give it to me."
Meng Chu shook his head: "No, no." He sat down and picked up the noodles recommended by his roommate today: "Didn't you go to bed at two o'clock yesterday?"
"Yes," Fu Guanshan said, "but I don't sleep well."
You want to become an immortal! "Tomorrow..." Meng Chu said, "I'll go buy breakfast tomorrow, you don't have to get up so early..."
Fu Guanshan looked at him for a while, put down his chopsticks and sighed.
"Don't be so polite, you're making me sound like someone who moved China," Fu Guanshan said. "I do morning exercises every day. When I go out for a run, I pass by that store and buy breakfast. It's just a matter of convenience."
Meng Chu took a bite of the bun. Freshly baked ones are really delicious. He looked down at the table, not sure whether this was the truth or just an attempt to lighten his psychological burden.
Fu Guanshan looked at his expression and shook his head. This person can't stand the fact that others show a little concern for him, and he eats buns like he is eating a weight.
They are afraid of the slightest kindness, and then eager to get something in return, at a 2,000% daily interest rate. Just like last time, he told two lies at a family gathering and this guy ended up having a around-the-world wedding.
It seems that what others give us is not a gift, but pressure.
Seeing him like this, the person who gave him the gift couldn't be happy either.
Obviously, just be happy and enjoy yourself.
Thinking of this, Fu Guanshan felt it necessary to confirm another thing: "I want to hire a housekeeper, do you mind?"
Meng Chu swallowed the bun: "Housekeeping?"
"I have bad hygiene habits, but I'm too lazy to clean," Fu Guanshan said confidently, "I'll ask professionals to do it, they'll make money, and I'll save trouble."
Meng Chu was thinking while sipping soy milk.
He doesn't have the habit of hiring a housekeeper, not because he can't afford it, but because he doesn't have the awareness to do so.
Even if the salary is enough to spend, the impulse to save money when I was a child is still ingrained in my bones. Living conditions have changed, but consumption concepts have not kept pace.
But...after Fu Guanshan appeared, the demand for cleaning was obviously higher than before, and he didn't want to spend more energy on housework.
"Okay," Meng Chu said, "we'll split the housekeeping money in half."
"Why? I asked for it, so of course I'll pay for it."
"You're cleaning my house," Meng Chu said, "you can't just take out your garbage and not mine."
Fu Guanshan put his hand on his forehead. Obviously, this is another protracted debate. "You go to school first," he said, "we'll talk about the money issue later." He rolled his eyes and asked eagerly, "Will you come back early to accompany me today?"
Meng Chu felt his face getting hot for some unknown reason. He neither agreed nor refused. He made a vague sound, closed the door and ran away.
In fact, if he was really free, he would have planned to come back earlier. It was not polite to let the guests wait at home. Unfortunately, things are unpredictable. As soon as the project was completed, miscellaneous tasks came towards him like a horn.
The school stipulates that those with associate senior professional titles must supervise at least four students on their graduation projects every year. He gave the topic and came up with the ideas, but the result was still unsatisfactory.
He looked at the first draft of his student's graduation project, sighed, and began the painful review process.
By the time he finished reading the two articles and communicating with the students about their revision suggestions, it was already evening.
He stretched and was about to read some science fiction to relax when he saw a new email pop up in his mailbox.
He clicked it and his eyes widened.
JSSC invited him to review the paper?
He went through so much trouble to publish an article in JSSC, and the editor actually thought highly of him and invited him to review the paper?
Then he has to take it seriously.
By the time he finished writing his review, it was already past eight in the evening.
He rubbed the back of his head, feeling that he had consumed too much text today and his brain was a little slow.
The house he bought is three kilometers away from the school. There is a bus at the entrance of the community, which arrives in two stops. He checked the bus schedule and found that he would miss the next one and would have to wait for the next one, so he planned to sit in the office for a while.
He turned on his phone and started replying to unread messages. One of them was from Fu Guanshan, asking him when he would be back.
He said he would be back in two minutes.
Then he went to send the presentation PPT to the Talent Office. At the moment when the file was uploaded, the bell suddenly rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and answered the phone with some confusion: "Hello?"
"I'm downstairs," Fu Guanshan said, "Are you done packing?"
Meng Chu was stunned for a moment, then swept the desk clean, bypassed the elevator, and went down the stairs directly.
When he arrived at the gate, a car beside the green belt honked its horn, turned on its lights, and Fu Guanshan waved at him from the driver's seat. Meng Chu took a glance and saw that it was a different model from last time. Fu Guanshan is often away from home. Every time he goes to Lincheng, he rents a car from his agent. Each car is more stylish and cool than the last, and just like the owners, it makes people dizzy at a glance.
Meng Chu quickly ran to the car, opened the door and sat down.
"Why are you here?" He was breathing a little unevenly.
"I'm here to pick you up."
Meng Chu looked like he was about to ask "why?", and Fu Guanshan said, "Desensitization training."
Meng Chu turned his head and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Yes, that's the expression. Every time I do something good, you're like a frightened rabbit," Fu Guanshan said, "So, from now on, I'll give you all kinds of surprises every day. Isn't it said that you can develop a habit in more than 20 days? When these weeks are over, you'll be able to accept it with peace of mind."
Meng Chu remained in a daze and did not speak.
"What's wrong?" Fu Guanshan asked, "Didn't you understand what I meant?"
"No..." Meng Chu said, "You actually know the term 'desensitization training'..."
“…I’ve played a psychologist, okay?”
Meng Chu lowered his head, buried the lower half of his face in the shadows, and remained silent for a long time. Fu Guanshan didn't know whether he was moved or severely frightened.
Finally, after waiting for a red light for 90 seconds, Meng Chu asked, "Is that a crystal in your hand?"
He secretly prayed that it was not the case, and then Fu Guanshan spoke and shattered his fantasy.
"Oh, yes," Fu Guanshan raised his wrist proudly and took out a small box from his pocket, "I bought one for you too, it's a pair."
Meng Chu opened it and saw that it was a simple necklace. The red rope braided chain is simple, and the blue crystal pendant below is also simple. He trembled and wanted to ask how much it was, but felt it was too late.
"Let me tell you, this is amazing. It can reduce pigmentation, improve wrinkles, and increase skin elasticity," Fu Guanshan touched his face. "She said that I have been suffering from qi deficiency and a dull complexion recently, so this is perfect for me."
That's because you stayed up late! Also, a fortune teller said something about Chinese medicine diagnosis!
"By the way, it can also protect against radiation! I think you really need it."
Does this guy think he works in a uranium mine!
Fu Guanshan said solemnly, "I need it too. The fortune teller showed me the news. There will be sunspots and solar flares in the second half of the year. The particle flow will rush through the human body and it will be very harmful."
Wow, now even superstition has to be combined with current events and cite scientific theories? Even a liar loves learning more than this guy.
"If you are talking about electromagnetic radiation and high-energy particle flow, as long as you are not in the International Space Station, it will not have much impact on your body," Meng Chu said, "but it may damage satellite sensors and interfere with communications and electricity..."
"Oh! Yes!" Fu Guanshan said excitedly, "I have a movie about this. Because of the particle flow, the communication system is disrupted. The protagonist receives a message from the future and begins a great love story."
Meng Chu hesitated for a moment and said, "The high-energy particles released by solar flares are mainly protons. The physical effect is to collide with atmospheric molecules or satellite electronic equipment, causing ionization, interference with electromagnetic waves, or hardware damage. There is no way to carry information."
This setting is just as nonsense as saying that time will go backwards if you exceed the speed of light.
Fu Guanshan gave him a resentful look, and the ambient lights in the car dimmed as well, like a child whose fantasy of Santa Claus had just been shattered.
Meng Chu's heart trembled, and he quickly picked up the crystal necklace and put it around his neck.
Fu Guanshan's pace on the accelerator became lighter again.
Meng Chu touched his nose and decided to change the subject with a small talk: "How was your day?"
Fu Guanshan continued, "In the afternoon, I went to Yong'an Street - oh, that's where I lived when I was a child. I had a meal with two classmates, and then I had a video call with my mother. It was very fulfilling."
"Is Auntie okay?"
"Except that she didn't eat any of the nutritional supplements I bought for her and the jewelry I bought for her was left in a drawer gathering dust, everything was fine."
"She treasures it too much, so she won't be willing to use it."
"She said sea cucumbers were ugly and unpalatable, and that century-old tangerine peels were like tree bark," Fu Guanshan sighed. "Last month, I suddenly wanted to learn to play the Hulusi, so I signed up for a class at the Senior Citizens' University. I played 'Auld Lang Syne,' but none of the notes were in tune, so I stopped learning."
It seems that intonation and giving up halfway are also hereditary.
During the conversation, Meng Chu kept his head up and looked at him slightly sideways, with a hint of melancholy in his smile.
Fu Guanshan was silent for a while, and finally spoke. "I haven't met your mother... or your adoptive mother," he said. "Do you get along so badly?"
Meng Chu was stunned.
He pointed to his eyes: "It's hard not to understand."
Meng Chu lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "Not really, she was just being polite. I often thought that maybe after a few more years, if we were together for a few more years, she would like me a little more, but she passed away very early."
"Feel sorry."
"It's okay," Meng Chu said, "Not every child in the world has a mother. I don't think about it now."
Of course, this is a lie.
He had been thinking about it, and at one point he thought he had a chance to make it happen.
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