if 1
Lina had barely arrived home when it started raining. Standing on a chair, she looked out the window. It seemed she was in luck.
No, she's always been very lucky.
Lina hummed a song in a good mood as she took off the curtains and put on her newly bought green ones, which looked vibrant and lively.
It was almost time for him to get off work. Lina ran to the door, opened it, and peeked inside. Although she had eaten a good meal outside today and wasn't hungry, she couldn't wait to share their new curtains with Daryl.
She was still wondering if she should change the furniture; would a natural wood style be better? She wanted to give her home a more natural feel.
While waiting, Lina looked back at her new curtains and couldn't resist running over to adjust them, wanting to make them look even better.
Almost every door in the apartment creaked loudly, so Lina quickly turned to look at the doorway.
Daryl is back.
“Look, don’t my new curtains look better? What do you think about us changing the furniture to a natural wood style…” Lina stopped talking. She thought Daryl had just gotten wet in the rain, but she soon noticed his disheveled face.
"What's going on?" Lina didn't care about the curtains and furniture anymore. She rushed over, grabbed Daryl's arm, and leaned in to look at his face.
"..." Daryl turned his head away in annoyance, but Lina held on to him tightly, frowning as she scanned his entire face inch by inch.
"Sit down," Lina said, pulling Daryl to sit on the sofa without further ado.
He had a lot to say, none of it nice. But looking at Lina's serious expression, the words caught in his throat, rising and falling with his anger. It was as if he had already realized that this was just a game for the rich, but he still couldn't help it, couldn't help it, that tiny bit of expectation.
Foolish expectations.
Lina went inside and brought out the first-aid kit. The person sitting on the sofa looked dejected, like a big cat that had lost a fight.
Lena suppressed her barely suppressed smirk, sat on the sofa, forcefully turned Daryl's head, and slowly applied the medicine.
"What happened? Do you want to tell me?" Lina asked 'casually', dipping a cotton ball in iodine.
"..."
"It couldn't be that he got into a fight with his colleagues, could it?" Lina joked.
Daryl's lips twitched, whether from the irritation of the iodine or because Lina had guessed correctly, it was hard to tell.
Lina pursed her lips. "It seems like I've never asked you before, what do you do for a living?"
"..."
"Are you just going to say nothing like this?" Lina asked helplessly, wondering what had happened that had suddenly brought the atmosphere between them back to how it was when they first met, or even worse.
At least back then he was still easily teased and would lash out with some annoying and offensive remarks.
“…These past few days, you haven’t seemed to ask my name once.” Lina fiddled with the medicine in her hand. “Is it because you still think of me the same way, right? Just a game, an insignificant passerby?”
"You asked me if I treat other people like this?" Lina looked at Daryl. "I should be asking you, do you treat other people like this?"
It looks like a hedgehog, but it always makes people take advantage of it. It raises its quills, but it is afraid of hurting others.
Well, not entirely. At least he'll prick you first.
“What’s it to you?” Daryl suddenly looked up at her. “I don’t care when your game ends. I’m bored too, and nobody will refuse entertainment that’s offered to them.”
Lina pursed her lips, suppressing her anger. "Anything else?"
"..." Daryl didn't speak. He just looked at Lina. "If I were you, I would get up and go back to my precious home instead of causing trouble and upsetting others here. If you're using me as a bargaining chip, I advise you to give up now."
"Anything else?" Lina asked, staring at him.
Daryl was getting impatient. "If you have to hear the harshest words to realize that the person in front of you has had enough of you, then..."
Lena forcefully cupped his face and kissed his lips. Daryl kept his mouth tightly shut, and Lena didn't force him. She just wanted him to shut up and stop saying those unpleasant things. Lena stared at Daryl and said, "Now, ask me my name."
Daryl stared at her, speechless, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. "You..."
Whenever he was about to say something Lina didn't want to hear, Lina would silence him with a kiss, as if he were only allowed to say one thing: ask her name.
After repeating this several times, Daryl finally lost his temper and shoved Lena away. "Idiot." He turned away angrily, refusing to look at Lena again, until he returned to the bedroom. "Take your blind eyes and broken brain to the hospital for a checkup. You think you've escaped the ivory tower? You can't survive a day without it, you moron. I don't care what kind of ghost complex you have, I'm not playing along. Do you think I'm some kind of idiot you can just wave at and run into?"
Lena glared angrily at the bedroom door. "Daryl Dixon, you hopeless idiot!"
“How strange, how dare a fool who only thinks about men say such a thing,” Daryl shouted from inside the house.
"Even if you kneel down and beg me to tell you my name next time, I won't listen!" Lina's voice was trembling with tears. She wasn't stupid; he implied from his words that he thought she was a promiscuous woman.
She has been mentally unstable before, especially now; her mind is at its most unstable right now.
“Are you dreaming? You think everyone is like you? With only those stupid things on their head? You’re no different from anyone else to me,” Daryl pushed open the door, changed his clothes, and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Lina asked, standing up.
"Drinking? Finding women? What, do you want to go see them? I don't mind," Daryl said, his eyes downcast.
"You bastard!" Lina grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it at him.
“Otherwise?” Daryl sneered. “You don’t think…” He raised his head mockingly, glanced quickly at Lina, then turned away and said in a harsh tone, “You’re utterly boring and utterly uninteresting.”
"What's worse is that maybe in ten or twenty years you won't have any womanly charm, how pathetic,"
"The only good thing is that I've had enough fun anyway."
The door slammed shut, and Lina sat silently on the sofa.
Anyway, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Wasn't she mentally prepared? Just like Daryl said, she was foolishly blinded by greed.
Even though it all came suddenly and strangely, he still said it.
Her pride wouldn't allow her to be so shameless anymore. She had already tried, but perhaps that's how feelings are—they should remain in their most ambiguous stage, rather than asking for more, which often leads to disappointment, because no matter what, the result is always the same.
Lina looked out the window; the rain was pouring down harder. She should despise herself for being so humiliated and still thinking that he hadn't brought an umbrella.
*
"Wow—it's only been a short time, how come you look like this?" Daryl had just come downstairs when he heard the roar of a motorcycle at the door. He had a bad feeling, and sure enough, Moore arrived on his beat-up motorcycle.
"What's wrong?" Daryl frowned.
“I have a job for you, you need to keep watch for me,” Moore stopped the car, looked at Daryl, and suddenly laughed. “I’ve heard that my little brother has hooked up with a rich woman, is it that woman?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Daryl frowned. “I’m not doing it. You can leave.”
“I didn’t come here to discuss this with you,” Moore said, walking over with a displeased expression and grabbing Daryl by the collar. “You know you shouldn’t disobey my brother, right?”
"What? Are you planning to beat me into submission too?" Daryl looked at Moore indifferently. "Whatever."
"..." Moore looked at him speechlessly. "Ugh, you should look at yourself now. You're so stupid. You'll only hold me back." Moore released Daryl with disgust. "I don't have many women. When I get back, don't tell me you're really going to be some kind of womanizer. If you dare to hang out with a yellow-skinned monkey, I'll skin you alive first."
“What’s it to you?” Daryl shoved Moore away in frustration. “You’re so sure you can get back on your own, I’m just hoping I don’t get another call to pick you up at the police station, or better yet, I can finally get rid of this once and for all, and you can finally earn yourself a long-term meal ticket.”
“Watch your attitude, little brother,” Moore shoved Daryl twice, glancing at his watch. If it weren’t for this crucial job, he would have given him a good beating. “You’d better know the right way to do it. That woman has a lot of money. Who would turn down money? Just play around. You should be able to handle that stupid guy. Or should I get Tang? He knows best…”
Daryl punched him. "Mind your own business and don't touch her. If you dare let your disgusting bug touch her, Moore, I will never forgive you."
Moore was stunned, seemingly not expecting his brother, who always obeyed him, to dare to lay a hand on him. He glared angrily at Daryl, "God, you're incredibly stupid. But I'll forgive you this time," Moore sneered. "I can hardly wait to come back and see you in your dejected state. Then you'll know what you should do and what you shouldn't think."
"Do you think you can leave this quagmire? My dear brother, we were born here, and we are destined to rot here."
Moore shook off Daryl and got on his motorcycle. "You'd better find out about her family and squeeze some money out of her while you're at it. Be careful, those rich guys are the most cunning, but Asians are easier to extort," Moore ignored Daryl, because he knew that even if he said that, Daryl wouldn't listen. Ever since Daryl found out what his new job was, he hadn't been very willing to listen to him, not to mention that he was now genuinely interested in that yellow-skinned monkey.
His brother was naively funny; what could be a faster way to make money than this?
Moore left without looking back. Although he hadn't achieved his goal and was even filled with resentment, he had to leave. His big shipment was waiting for him. If he made this deal, he could live a carefree life for several months or even half a year. As for Daryl? He could just wait and see what happened; it was bound to be a spectacular tragedy.
Oh!
Moore left without looking back.
Daryl kicked a puddle in frustration, sat down on the steps, and stared blankly.
The cold rain at least helped clear his head.
He no longer needed to emphasize the game to himself. Looking at his reflection in the water and thinking about Moore who had just left, he had nothing to look forward to.
The rain above his head didn't fall for a long time; only the dull thud of raindrops hitting the umbrella surface could be heard. The reflection on the water was no longer just him.
"Looks like some people have some disagreements, huh?" Lina joked.
Daryl pursed her lips, feeling somewhat embarrassed, embarrassed that she had probably seen everything that had just happened.
“Daryl Dixon, I’m hungry. I want pasta and mushroom soup for dinner.”
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