Squeak

That afternoon, the two of them stayed in the hotel room instead of going out. They sat together in front of the TV and watched an anime: Doraemon.

Erii watched with great interest, completely absorbed. From the moment the anime started, she never looked away.

Only when Lu Mingfei asked her something would Erii quickly scribble a reply in her diary and show it to him.

"Besides anime, do you watch anything else on TV at home?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"No. I only watch anime at home. I'm not allowed to watch TV, so I watch DVDs instead." Erii held up her diary.

"Why DVDs?" Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled.

"Because TVs might transmit some kind of signal. I heard the doctors talking about it when I was being treated, but I'm not really sure." After answering, she fixed her eyes on the TV again.

She wasn't allowed to use anything that received signals. What kind of environment did she live in? Lu Mingfei couldn't make sense of it.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Someone knocked on the door.

The two of them looked toward it in confusion.

"Mingfei, open the door!" his uncle called from outside.

"Damn, why is Uncle here?" Lu Mingfei jolted to his feet.

Erii stared at him, bewildered. She got up too and hurried past him, apparently intending to open the door!

Lu Mingfei rushed over in alarm and grabbed her.

He whispered, "Don't open it. Go hide in the bathroom for a bit."

"Why shouldn't I open the door? It sounds like someone Sakura knows." Erii raised her diary in confusion.

"Ah, well... no, just go hide in there for now. I'll explain why later. This is an emergency—hurry!"

Lu Mingfei didn't know how to explain it just then, so he could only have Erii hide first.

He quickly moved the clothes, boxes, and cushions into the bathroom, then tucked the figurines under the blanket. Erii obediently went into the bathroom too.

"Those clothes and cushions are counting on you to protect them. Remember, don't make a sound. If you do, something terrible will happen." Lu Mingfei gave Erii a stern warning.

She nodded repeatedly and clenched her fist to reassure Sakura that she'd protect their things.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The knocking started again.

"Mingfei, why haven't you opened the door yet? Jiajia just told me you were back. If you don't open up, I'll use the key!"

His uncle sounded more anxious now. He was worried that something had happened to Lu Mingfei.

Maybe he'd slipped in the bathroom, hit his head, and passed out. Maybe there was a gas leak and Lu Mingfei had been poisoned.

The hotel in Japan probably didn't even use gas, but you had to be careful when you were away from home and make sure you stayed safe.

If Lu Mingfei had known how vivid his uncle's imagination was, he would have told him, You've got quite a lively mind, Uncle. You're every bit as imaginative as a young person!

"Coming, coming!" Lu Mingfei called out in a just-woken-up voice.

Then he opened the door and saw his uncle and aunt outside.

"What's going on?" Lu Mingfei asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Did you just wake up, Mingfei?" his aunt asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I took a nap after lunch. I just heard you knocking." Lu Mingfei explained.

"Oh, good. Your uncle was worried something had happened to you."

"I'm not a kid anymore. What could happen to me?" Lu Mingfei said with a smile, waving his hand. "By the way, Uncle, did you need something?"

"Section Chief Chen's family and we thought the young people could go out together this afternoon, have some fun, and get to know each other better. Mingze and Jiajia already agreed, so we came to see what you thought." His uncle explained why they'd come.

"Oh, I see." Lu Mingfei scratched his head, wondering how he should answer.

"By the way, how's your room? Did you sleep comfortably?" his uncle asked with concern.

"We can go in and see for ourselves." His aunt turned to his uncle, then asked, "Mingfei, can we come in?"

"Of course. Come on in." Lu Mingfei welcomed them with a smile.

But no one else could understand the turmoil in Lu Mingfei's heart.

Once inside, his aunt looked around the room and commented, "Not bad. That prize voucher from your workplace came in handy."

"Of course!" His uncle looked pleased with himself.

Behind them, Lu Mingfei clutched his head. Please leave, Uncle, Aunt. If you stay any longer, I'm done for!

"Hey, Mingfei, are you watching Doraemon? Weren't you asleep just now?" his uncle suddenly asked.

"Oh, I watched it over lunch. I was so tired this afternoon that I forgot to turn it off before I went to sleep." Lu Mingfei hurriedly explained.

"Ah, I see." His uncle understood.

Then he and his aunt plopped down on the only large bed in the room.

"Gulp." Lu Mingfei sucked in a sharp breath.

Please don't touch anything else. If they find my Asahina Mikuru figurine, I'm finished!

"The bed's pretty soft, too," his uncle remarked.

"By the way, what do you think about the young people going out to have fun and get to know each other better, like I mentioned earlier?" Lu Gucheng suddenly asked.

"Well, Uncle, I've been out and about all day yesterday and this morning. I'm aching all over and don't want to go out again. Otherwise, I'd definitely go with them!" Lu Mingfei said, looking regretful.

Seeing his nephew like that, Lu Gucheng didn't press the matter. His aunt was a little displeased, but she knew Lu Mingfei had been tired lately, so she didn't say anything either.

"All right. If that's how it is, there's nothing we can do. I'll let your Uncle Chen know. I guess Mingze and Jiajia will have to go shopping together." His uncle sounded disappointed.

"Mingze and Jiajia?" His aunt seemed to have spotted the silver lining, and immediately brightened. "That's right. Mingfei's been so tired lately, so let him get some proper rest. Mingze and Jiajia can go out again tomorrow and spend some more time together."

"Exactly. I'll definitely need to rest tomorrow too. Man, I'm so sore!" Lu Mingfei said, twisting his waist.

"Squeak!"

A sound like a rubber duck being squeezed came from the bathroom.

Since Sakura had told her not to make a sound, Erii had crouched on the floor to play with her toy.

She hadn't been paying attention, and her Little Yellow Duck had fallen off her head. Erii hurried to catch it. She managed to grab it, but squeezed too hard, making it squeak.

"What was that sound?" His uncle and aunt both reacted at once.