Dogs and Elephants
Liu Chang'an and An Nuan parted ways outside the Juyuan area. They bought a bottle of orange juice at a convenience store and drank it. It was ice-cold and slightly sour.
Compared to a two-yuan glass bottle, a ten-yuan bottle of orange juice seemed a bit extravagant, so Liu Chang'an slowly drank it through the straw. An Nuan's biggest annoyance was seeing Liu Chang'an drink the orange juice too slowly; she always tried to steal his drink.
Liu Chang'an saw Han Zhizhi buying women's daily necessities at the convenience store. Han Zhizhi was a little embarrassed, but she didn't try to hide it. Instead, she pointed to the family planning products when the cashier wasn't looking.
I didn't buy anything and walked out of the convenience store.
"I'm not interested," Liu Chang'an said regretfully, declining Han Zhizhi.
"Pah, no wonder Nuannuan said you're always flirting with girls!" Han Zhizhi scolded playfully. "As a boy, you should cherish Nuannuan."
Liu Chang'an smiled. Of course, he knew what Han Zhizhi meant at first, but he felt that even if Han Zhizhi and An Nuan had a good relationship, it was still inappropriate for her to tell him such things...
Perhaps my thinking is still a bit too serious? Actually, in the daily conversations of teenagers these days, these things are no longer taboo or embarrassing topics.
"Okay," Liu Chang'an replied perfunctorily, glancing up at the GG sign for infertility not far away.
"I'm leaving now, bye-bye." Han Zhizhi waved, looking very carefree and lively.
Birds of a feather flock together. Liu Chang'an thought Han Zhizhi must be a good girl, because An Nuan was one.
But why do I feel like there's pressure around me, or like I'm being told I should take things further with An Nuan?
These things and related behaviors should be left to their own devices, Liu Chang'an thought, and suddenly felt a little ashamed. He quickened his pace home, and before the market closed, he bought two young hens. When he got home, he stuffed them into the car and presented them to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager has food; what will I eat for dinner?
Liu Chang'an felt that what to eat must be the question he thought about most in his long life. However, this question was also quite creative, and it could make people rack their brains to come up with countless answers.
According to Liu Chang'an's experience, people who think about "what to eat" every day have better problem-solving skills and stronger decision-making abilities.
I glanced at the refrigerator; there was leftover rice in the crisper drawer. I decided to have fried rice.
Fried rice should ideally be made with leftover rice, broken into individual grains. A raw egg is added to the uncooked rice and mixed well. Then, it's stir-fried in lard rendered from ginger and garlic, along with chopped vegetables from the refrigerator. Finally, a poached egg is added. A properly made fried rice should have each grain golden and fragrant, rolling around in your mouth without being sticky.
After finishing his fried rice, Liu Chang'an received a message from Zhou Shuling asking if he was back yet, as she needed his help with something.
Liu Chang'an went upstairs. It turned out that the kindergarten had assigned homework, Zhou Shuling didn't know how to do. As a recent high school graduate, Liu Chang'an was naturally a symbol of erudition and talent.
"Kindergartens these days are really messed up. Part of the reason parents send their children to kindergarten is that they don't have time to take care of them, or they are too busy with work... And kindergartens give out so many weird assignments. Isn't this just making things difficult for parents?" Zhou Shuling said, frustrated.
Zhou Dongdong nodded vigorously. Although she didn't fully understand, she felt that her mother was criticizing the kindergarten, which made Zhou Dongdong, who was often criticized at kindergarten, very agree.
"What's the homework today?" Liu Chang'an asked.
"Can you make a vegetable and fruit makeover?" Zhou Shuling looked at Liu Chang'an expectantly. Zhou Shuling knew that Zhou Dongdong was not a particularly smart child, but children also have self-esteem. If the homework she showed at school was too bad, she would lose face. In fact, these assignments were basically given to the parents. Therefore, Zhou Shuling had to take on the responsibility of protecting Zhou Dongdong's self-esteem.
"So you're making small animals or other things out of vegetables and fruits?" Liu Chang'an analyzed.
"Why is the homework so difficult?" Zhou Dongdong said angrily, knowing that none of the students in the class could do it.
Zhou Dongdong's anger and opinions were ignored, of course. Liu Chang'an went to her refrigerator and found two apples and a few small carrots about the size of a finger, which Zhou Shuling sometimes ate for breakfast.
"Let's be little dogs," Liu Chang'an said after thinking for a moment.
"Okay, dogs are the cutest! I love dogs the most!" Zhou Dongdong happily ran into the room and took out a puppy plush toy, but it was missing an ear.
Seeing Liu Chang'an busy at work, Zhou Shuling smiled slightly, "Then I'll make you some midnight snacks."
In the minds of more traditional and normal people, it is customary to return a favor when asking for help. Liu Chang'an nodded and accepted the gift without hesitation.
Liu Chang'an dug four holes in an apple, and Zhou Dongdong stuffed all the apple flesh he dug out into his mouth. Then, under Liu Chang'an's direction, he stuffed a carrot into the holes, thus participating in the activity.
Next, Liu Chang'an peeled the remaining apple into the shape of a dog's head. While Liu Chang'an was peeling, Zhou Dongdong picked up the pieces of apple that were peeled off the table and ate them, not wasting a single bit.
"Okay, the apple will oxidize tomorrow, but it's okay." Liu Chang'an fixed the dog's head to the apple with a toothpick.
"Wow, so cute!" Zhou Shuling came out and took a look.
"This is the cutest dog in the world!" Zhou Dongdong announced loudly.
Liu Chang'an watched cartoons with Zhou Dongdong in the living room for a while, then went home after having a late-night snack.
He went to the coffin cult as usual, and it seemed that after he discovered it last time, the people who were monitoring him had not appeared in the neighborhood again.
Liu Chang'an wasn't sure if the words he wrote on the telephone pole had any effect, but if anyone didn't care, he would make an example of them. If he gave himself a prestigious nickname and nobody cared, wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
The next morning, when Liu Chang'an got up to buy chicken, Zhou Dongdong was also up. You see, he had been getting up earlier than usual these past few days, since people who run breakfast businesses don't sleep in.
Zhou Dongdong was holding a long carrot, with two black beans embedded in the thicker part of the carrot.
"What is this?" Liu Chang'an asked.
"Elephant."
"Is this an elephant?" Liu Chang'an looked at the carrot from left to right.
"That's an elephant's trunk, and those are its eyes." Zhou Dongdong thought it was obvious. "Silly Chang'an, you don't even recognize an elephant?"
Liu Chang'an nodded. So this was an elephant that Zhou Dongdong had caught, so it was normal that its body, limbs, and ears had been eaten.
"What about the dog?" Liu Chang'an remembered that this was probably also some kind of vegetable and fruit makeover last night, which Zhou Shuling had probably made for Zhou Dongdong.
"The dog is gone," Zhou Dongdong said sadly. "I put the dog in the refrigerator, but I don't know why it disappeared. My mom said I ate it."
"If you didn't eat it, did it run away on its own?"
"Oh yeah, the dog ran away."
"It's gone inside your belly, hasn't it?"
How should I know!
Liu Chang'an stared at Zhou Dongdong, wondering what she was so self-righteous about.
Sorry, I was supposed to finish writing at 3 AM last night, but I was just too tired. Even coffee couldn't keep me going, so I got up in the middle of the night to start writing. Please vote for me with a monthly pass; I haven't had one Zhou Dongdong a long time.