Is This Watermelon Ripe?

When Qin Tiantian woke up, she saw a familiar-looking ceiling.

She found herself covered with a thin blanket, sleeping on a slightly firm bed.

Still half asleep, Qin Tiantian quickly saw that the bright sunlight was shining in through the window, and Lu Ban was sitting in front of the computer, intently watching a horror movie where only one dog died from beginning to end. He would pause and rewind from time to time, and draw and take notes on the tablet with a pen.

"Is this my house or your house?"

Qin Tiantian blurted it out.

She was even somewhat slow to realize that her first reaction wasn't to check if she was dressed properly.

Of course, they were dressed very neatly.

"Of course it's my house. You were so scared last night that you fainted. I didn't know where you lived, and it wasn't convenient for me to go back and disturb the police officers on their case, so I had no choice but to bring you back."

Lu Ban paused the movie, the screen freezing on the scene of the main couple looking suspicious in the living room, which was somewhat eerie.

"Did I do anything strange last night?"

Qin Tiantian immediately sat up straight, her two slender, fair legs immediately tucked into the blanket, with only her rounded toes peeking out from the edge of the blanket.

"What counts as strange?"

Lu Ban frowned.

"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry about it!"

As Qin Tiantian spoke, he was about to climb out of bed, looking rather disheveled, like a playboy who had just finished sleeping with a virtuous woman and was now packing his clothes to run away.

"Let's have breakfast before we leave, we've already bought it."

Lu Ban pointed to the living room, where steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk were placed on the table.

"May I use your bathroom?"

Qin Tiantian slipped into Lu Ban's bathroom as if fleeing. To her surprise, the bathroom was very clean, without any limescale, and even the toilet looked brand new.

"Did he clean it specially?"

Qin Tiantian turned on the tap, wanting to wash her face and clear her head.

Last night's experience was truly frightening, and Qin Tiantian decided to ask Lu Ban about it properly later.

She wasn't wearing makeup, so she didn't need makeup remover. She just rubbed her face with warm water, then Qin Tiantian cupped a handful of water, moistened her cheeks, and looked up, wanting to dry her wet face.

At this moment, Qin Tiantian saw herself in the mirror. Her face was gloomy and dark, and her eyes were bloodshot, making her look extremely ferocious.

"!"

Slightly startled, Qin Tiantian paused for a moment.

At that moment, she saw herself in the mirror smiling at her.

"."

Qin Tiantian rubbed her eyes, and her reflection in the mirror rubbed her eyes too.

Is it just my imagination?

She tried to deceive herself, and smiled at herself in the mirror again.

Qin Tiantian smiled in the mirror.

However, the smile on her face appeared half a second later in the mirror than in reality.

"!!!"

Qin Tiantian hurriedly took two steps back.

She then noticed that the drain in the sink appeared to be clogged with black hair.

This is clearly not my own hair; it's longer.

Something's not right.

Qin Tiantian wanted to leave the bathroom immediately, but when she put her hand on the doorknob and prepared to push the door open, she felt as if someone was standing at the door.

The person's shadow, cast by the light from the balcony, fell on the door, blurry and indistinct.

"Lu Ban?"

Qin Tiantian tentatively called out.

She felt the shadow growing denser, as if it might burst through the door at any moment.

"Don't scare me, Lu Ban, I'm telling you something."

By the end, Qin Tiantian's voice was trembling slightly.

At that moment, she felt the doorknob tremble slightly.

Then, not by Qin Tiantian's will, the doorknob slowly turned in the direction of unlocking.

"No. No, no, no!"

Qin Tiantian tried to stop the doorknob, but due to the design, she could only watch helplessly as the doorknob turned and the bathroom door slowly opened.

Lu Ban stood outside the door.

"What you do?"

He asked a question.

There's something wrong with your house!

Qin Tiantian was on the verge of tears, clutching Lu Ban's clothes.

You mean this?

Hearing Lu Ban's words, Qin Tiantian looked up and saw that Lu Ban's face had turned ashen, and several cuts on his neck were slowly opening, like shocking wounds.

"You you you you."

Qin Tiantian was incoherent and almost fainted again.

However, Lu Ban's neck wound healed quickly, and he returned to his original appearance.

"Didn't I tell you that there are many people in my family?"

He chuckled.

Qin Tiantian was still in shock and stared at Lu Ban hesitantly for a while.

"Don't scare me! If you scare me to death, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

She struck a really fierce pose.

"Go eat breakfast quickly."

Lu Ban made way for the exit of the restroom.

When Qin Tiantian returned to the living room, he looked around the bathroom. Lu Ban in the mirror seemed a little scared, and the hair under the drain was pulled back in.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Tiantian, still shaken, didn't linger and went straight home.

Lu Ban escorted her home and, at Qin Tiantian's instruction, memorized her house number.

Instead of rushing back, Lu Ban decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.

After all, the emergence of a serial killer is something that ordinary citizens like Lu Ban are very worried about.

What if one night when I go downstairs to throw out the trash it turns into wet waste?

Therefore, Lu Ban wanted to contribute to the safety of the community.

As he walked down the street, Lu Ban carefully observed the people around him and noticed that several of them were acting suspiciously.

Some of them look like a couple walking together, but in reality, they are looking around and not intimate at all.

Some of them looked like fruit vendors, but they didn't actually call out to anyone; they just sat there observing pedestrians.

Some appear to be waiting for someone, but in reality, they are not waiting at all; they are simply keeping a close watch on the surroundings.

That's very suspicious.

Lu Ban thought for a moment and decided to test the other party.

He arrived at the fruit stall and saw a lot of watermelons, which was unusual.

"Dude, how much is this melon per pound?"

Lu Ban asked a question.

"Two yuan per pound."

The stall owner seemed a little taken aback, then turned his gaze away from the others and sat up straight.

"Is the rind of this melon made of gold, or are the melon seeds made of gold?"

Lu Ban tried to provoke the other party.

"Look at all these melons now, they're all grown in greenhouses. You think they're too expensive, and I think they're too expensive too."

The stall owner frowned slightly.

"Pick one for me."

Lu Ban looked around and was certain that the stall owner was not the real deal, because the market price for watermelons in Jiangcheng was three or four yuan per kilogram, and two yuan per kilogram was already considered very cheap.

How about this one?

The stall owner casually patted one of the watermelons.

Is this melon guaranteed to be ripe?

Lu Ban leaned closer and tapped the watermelon, making a crisp sound.

"I run a fruit stand, would I sell you raw melons?"

The boss expressed his disdain.

"I'm asking you, is this melon guaranteed to be ripe?"

Lu Ban persisted, making the boss's expression even more serious.

"Are you deliberately picking a fight? Do you want to or not?"

"If this melon is ripe, I'll definitely want it."

Lu Ban walked around and came to the boss's side, casually picking a chair to sit down.

"What if it's not familiar with it?"

"If it's not cooked, I'll eat it myself. Are you satisfied now?"

The shop owner's voice became somewhat irritable. Two passersby came up behind him. The shop owner put the melon on the scale and glanced at it.

"Fifteen catties, thirty yuan."

Just as Lu Ban was about to continue speaking, he saw two passersby suddenly approach and grab his wrists and shoulders.

At the same time, the melon vendor also took out a pistol and identification from his pocket.

"Don't move, police!"

"?"

A question mark appeared above Lu Ban's head.

Thank you to "salty to the bone marrow fish" for the 1600 coin reward, and thank you to "book friend 20170826085802239" and "Meng Chu" for the 100 coin rewards!