3
It's the weekend, the sky is clear with light white clouds, and the sun is shining brightly. On a day like this, I really want to go out for a walk, have some delicious drinks, and shop for a few fashionable clothes. But when I check my pockets, I only have a dozen or so yuan—not enough to buy anything. People on the street look happy and content. I sigh, my eyebrows drooping, "Oh, how did I end up like this?"
I lost my job, my wife ran away, and I had nothing left, but I still picked up a big bundle on the roadside.
Looking at the sesame seed cake and fried dough stick in my hand, I realized that just this breakfast has cost me another 8.8 yuan.
My head's a little dizzy. I went to see Xia Yu late last night and she gave me a real dressing down. I've had enough bad luck already, why can't she, a woman, be a little more understanding? She made me lose sleep all night, and I have dark circles under my eyes like a panda. And that red-haired guy, with his long leg draped over my stomach, gave me nightmares all night.
I was woken up at 6:30, and before I could even put my clothes on, Xia Yu, with her stern face, was yelling at me to go buy breakfast. Ugh, ugh, ugh, is she my real sister or my stepmother? I have absolutely no idea where the pancake shop on this street is.
After searching for ages, I finally managed to buy the food I needed in an alley. I felt a chill run down my spine; I figured she'd scold me again when I got home.
I swayed and swayed until I reached the place where I had stayed last night. I pressed my ear against the door, and it was quiet inside.
I opened the door, peeked inside, and was startled!
"What are you doing?" I was quite surprised to see Xia Yu wearing an apron and standing in front of the gas stove tasting something. Wasn't she a self-proclaimed modern woman who hadn't cooked in a century?
"Of course, it's for making soup. I haven't made this in a long time, I don't know if I'll use enough salt."
I walked over and peeked into the pot of "soup"—it was clearly just a pot of water!
"There's nothing in there." I was puzzled. How could this stuff be called soup?
"I know, just watch!" Xia Yu grabbed a handful of something and threw it into the pot, and a patch of green scallion shreds immediately spread across the clear water.
"Where did this come from?" I don't remember her having this.
“I stole it. Old Mrs. Zhang next door hasn’t gotten up yet, so I pulled two from her pot,” Xia Yu said calmly, as if “stealing” was no different from “taking.” She craned her neck to look into the small room. “I think the handsome guy you picked up last night is almost asleep. Go wake him up for some soup.”
"Soup?" Seriously? I've calculated how much time has passed since I brought Red Hair back; he's only slept for five hours. Besides, drunk people are prone to hangovers, and waking him up so early in the morning would be cruel.
"Let him sleep a little longer. If we wake him up now, he'll definitely lose his bearings."
Xia Yu immediately glared at me, raised an eyebrow and said, "Hey, you surnamed Xia, are you planning to let all my hard work this morning go to waste?"
I quickly waved my hand and said, "No, no, let him sleep a little longer. It's not too late for him to drink it after he wakes up."
Xia Yu thought for a moment, glanced at me, and walked past me. I followed her into the small room, which Xia Yu had originally rented to her graduate school classmate. Later, because the girl kept bringing different men home, Xia Yu finally couldn't stand it anymore and kicked her out. When I brought Hongmao here yesterday, Xia Yu had already cleared away a lot of clutter from the room. It took her ages to clean it before it was barely habitable.
Xia Yu walked to the mattress where Hong Mao was lying, bent down to look at him carefully, and stroked her chin as she said to me, "This kid is really good-looking. His nose is his most handsome feature, and hmm, his lips look quite soft too. How come I never have the luck to pick up a handsome guy on the street? Hey, Xia Xiang, you're not doing your old tricks again, are you? You tricked him into coming here to do 'that'?"
"Nonsense! Why would I go through all that trouble to drag a grown man back just to do *that*? Even if I did have that thought, I wouldn't need to get him drunk! What kind of garbage is this girl with? I really doubt how someone like you managed to get a PhD."
Xia Yu chuckled and glanced at me sideways, saying, "Who told you to have a criminal record? I only think this way because of you."
I spat and leaned against the door.
Women, damn it, the things they shouldn't remember, the clearer they remember them. Getting someone drunk and doing *that* kind of thing happened back in my student days. Back then I was timid; if I liked someone, I was afraid of getting beaten up if I didn't get them drunk. But even with my crush drunk, I only kissed and touched her; I didn't have the guts to do anything really outrageous. Glancing at Xia Yu, who was watching the red-haired guy with great interest, I thought, "How does she still remember something from so many years ago?"
Xia Yu knelt on the mattress as she watched. I saw her reach out and touch the red-haired man's face, so I quickly went over and grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" Xia Yu shook off my hand, her voice even louder than mine.
Xia Yu shook her hand and touched the red-haired man's face. I gasped, "You...you're taking advantage of him!"
"Yeah, so what? Hey, this kid's skin's pretty smooth, want to touch it too?"
Watching Xia Yu's hand stroking the red-haired man's face, I blushed involuntarily. This guy really is ruthless; he doesn't even spare a drunkard who's fast asleep.
"Stop touching him, let him sleep peacefully."
“No, you won’t be able to touch him once he wakes up. Hey, what are you standing there for? Aren’t you going to touch him? Hehe, he’s so funny. His face looks cool, but his skin is so soft. It feels amazing.” After saying that, Xia Yu focused on touching him again, from the red hair’s eyebrows all the way down to his neck.
I admit I'm a man with poor self-control; when faced with beautiful women, my heart races.
As I walked over, my fingers touched Red Hair's high, straight nose. I stared at him blankly, feeling my heart beat faster.
With a "smack," Xia Yu forcefully slapped my hand away. Before I could even ask her why she hit me, she started yelling at me, "Hey, you really are a pervert! Look at your lewd face! I just let you touch me, why did you get all worked up?"
Upon hearing this, I quickly looked down.
How embarrassing!! The tent is actually up and running!
"Didn't your Zhang Peng satisfy you? Judging from your appearance, you probably haven't had marital relations in a long time, right?"
Xia Yu's casual remark struck a nerve. Recalling yesterday's events, my once straight back immediately bent, and the tent vanished in the blink of an eye.
I sat down listlessly on the mat, touched Red Hair's bright red short hair, and sighed, "Yeah, your brother hasn't had any marital relations in a long time."
"...You had a fight with him? That's not the reason you came to my place in the middle of the night, is it?"
"We didn't argue... no."
"What happened?"
"I fired the old bald guy in the editorial department, and he's been recuperating at home for two months now."
"Ah! You didn't even tell me about something this big?" Xia Yu pinched me. "If Mom and Dad found out, they would definitely scold you."
"It's okay, they're in Canada, they don't have the ability to see what's going on here. Hey, don't gossip about it to them. I think I'll find a new job in a couple of days."
Xia Yu nodded, moved the red-haired boy a little further inside, and sat down next to me.
"Brother, Zhang Peng... he doesn't think you're unemployed, does he?"
"Who knows. I ran into Shi Ji in Xidan a few days ago. He said he saw Zhang Peng with a man who drives a Mercedes-Benz. I saw that man when I went home yesterday. He has a fairly decent face..." I licked my lips, not knowing how to continue.
"Huh? Zhang Peng brought a man home! That's really disrespectful to you! Didn't you two fight?" Xia Yu looked at me in surprise, sizing me up.
"No, I ran away without even going inside."
Xia Yu was silent for a moment, then said, "What do you plan to do?"
“I plan to stay here with you for a few days and then go out to find a place to live. You know that after I got together with him, I rented out my old place, and the lease still has more than half a year left.”
Xia Yu nodded and asked, "Do you have any money on you?"
"Yes, but not many, eleven yuan and twenty cents."
"Damn, you call that being rich? There are more beggars than you. Bro, you're really living a pathetic life." Xia Yu said, stood up, patted his butt, and walked out.
I gave a wry smile, looked at the suspended ceiling, and sighed, "Well, even I think it looks terrible, but what can I do?"
My hand, which was stroking the red-haired man's hair, was suddenly grabbed. I was startled and looked down to see the red-haired man staring straight up at me with wide eyes.
I was startled, wondering when he woke up. Had he heard my conversation with Xia Yu?
Outside, Xia Yu, wearing slippers, walked towards them with a clattering sound, and Hong Mao quickly closed his eyes again.
Ha, this kid doesn't want Xia Yu to know he's awake?
Xia Yu walked into the room, clutching a handful of money.
"What's wrong? You look strange. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
"You're the one who wants to sleep with me? My guts are perfectly clean."
"Tch! Disgusting guy." Xia Yu rolled her eyes at me and shoved the money into my hand. "Here, use this money first."
I took the money and said, "I'll pay you back once I find a job."
I had barely finished speaking when Xia Yu smacked me hard on the forehead. "Seriously? You want to talk to me about paying back the money? Damn! That's so hurtful! Once you're rich, you won't be afraid I won't come after you!"
"Hehe, you're right. I'll buy you a big house then. Oh, and you'll need a car too!"
Xia Yu laughed heartily, "Let's talk about it after you get the lottery ticket. Hurry up and wake Hongmao up for breakfast."
“Okay.” I nudged Red Hair, but he remained lying there motionless.
Damn it, don't play dumb with me. When Xia Yu wakes you up, she won't be so gentle.
I saw Xia Yu turn around and go out to clear the table. She leaned close to Hong Mao's ear and said, "Hurry up and get up. When she comes to call you, you'll know what a bombardment is."
Red Hair's right ear, which had three holes punched in it, twitched, and his eyes immediately opened.
“My sister is going to her advisor’s house on Sunday. We’ll have a proper chat after she leaves.”
Red Hair nodded and stood up.
Xia Yu peeked out and saw him, then smiled politely at Hong Mao, "Get up, wash up and come have breakfast."
Red Hair scratched his head, looking a bit lost, and stared at me blankly before saying, "I remember, your name is Onion."
"Hahahaha..." I couldn't take it anymore and collapsed onto the bed, clutching my stomach. This guy is so funny; he made me laugh until my stomach hurt as soon as he got up.
"What's going on inside? Brother, what are you laughing at?" Xia Yu asked from outside.
"It's alright, it's alright, we'll be right out."
I asked Red Hair, "Do you know your own name?"
"Nonsense, of course I know. My name is Hua Hong, nickname Chili." Red Hair took off his t-shirt and said, revealing his bare chest.
"Hahahahaha..." I burst into laughter again, tears streaming down my face.
This guy's name is Hua Hong, why not Hong Hua? Hahaha, this is hilarious, hilarious! I'm laughing so hard I could roll around on the mattress.
"What's so funny? Isn't my name good? It's the 'Hua' from Mulan and the 'Hong' from 'magnificent,' it sounds quite impressive." Hua Hong glanced at me and stepped out of the room.
"Hey, are you just going to walk out like that?" I jumped out of bed and reached out to stop him.
"yes."
"My sister is a woman! Aren't you embarrassed to be shirtless?"
"I don't like the smell of alcohol on my clothes, it's awful. Besides, what's the big deal about a man going shirtless? Magazines, swimming pools, TV commercials, porn, men are all naked, so what's the big deal about me going shirtless?" Red Hair said, and swaggered out. I followed behind him, looking at his broad shoulders, narrow waist, well-shaped buttocks under his jeans, and those long, slender legs, and gave him a 90 out of 100.
After washing up, Hongmao looked much more energetic. Without waiting for me and Xia Yu to greet him, he sat down at the dining table in a very generous manner.
"Good morning! Did you sleep well last night?" Xia Yu asked with a smile.
The red-haired old man nodded like a father, picked up the chopsticks on the table, and twirled them on his thumb.
Look at him, acting like he's at home.
After playing for a while, Red Hair stopped, pointed to the seat next to me, and said, "Come sit down, what are you standing there for?"
I walked over, and Xia Yu gave me a strange smile, as if to say, "Liar, I would never believe that you picked this guy up. There must be some other inside story."
I smiled helplessly, thinking to myself, with Red Hair's character, even I can't believe I picked him up from the roadside.
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