Squelch

The two of them didn't go out again that afternoon, choosing instead to stay in the hotel room and watch anime together—specifically, Doraemon.

Erii watched with great interest, her focus so intense that she didn't shift her gaze elsewhere once the show began.

Only when Lu Mingfei asked her something would Erii quickly scribble in her notebook and hold it up for him to see.

"Erii, do you watch anything other than anime at home?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"No, I only watch anime at home. I can't even watch regular TV; I only watch discs," Erii held up her notebook.

"Why only discs?" Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled.

"Because the television might transmit some kind of signal. That's what the doctors said during my treatment. I don't really know the details," Erii replied, before immediately fixing her eyes back on the screen.

She couldn't use anything that emitted a signal—what kind of environment was she living in? Lu Mingfei couldn't quite wrap his head around it.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A knock sounded at the door.

Both of them looked toward the entrance, confused.

"Mingfei, open the door!" Uncle's voice rang out from the hallway.

"Holy crap, why is Uncle here?" Lu Mingfei jolted, standing up instantly.

Erii looked at Lu Mingfei, bewildered. She stood up too and trotted right past him—she was actually going to open the door!

A shocked Lu Mingfei lunged forward and grabbed Erii.

"Don't open the door," Lu Mingfei whispered to her. "Go hide in the bathroom first."

"Why not open it? It sounds like someone Sakura knows," Erii held up her notebook, confused.

"Ah, this—no, just go hide inside for a moment. I'll explain why later. It's an emergency, hurry!"

Lu Mingfei didn't have time to explain, so he just had to get Erii out of sight.

He quickly shoved the clothing boxes and pillows into the bathroom and hid the figurines under the quilt, and Erii obediently slipped into the bathroom.

"I'm counting on you to guard these clothes and pillows. Remember, don't make a sound. If you do, something terrible will happen," Lu Mingfei warned her.

She nodded repeatedly, clenching her fist to show Sakura he could rest easy; she would protect their things well.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The knocking started again.

"Mingfei, why aren't you opening the door? Jiajia said you were back. If you don't open it, I'm going to use the key!"

Uncle's voice sounded a bit more urgent; he was worried something might have happened to Lu Mingfei.

Perhaps he'd slipped in the bathroom, hit his head, and passed out, or maybe there was a gas leak and he'd been overcome by fumes.

Even though it seemed like this Japanese hotel didn't have gas, one had to be careful; after all, when you're away from home, you have to look after yourself.

If Lu Mingfei knew his uncle had such a vivid imagination, he would have told him that his train of thought was truly active—it didn't lose out to any young person's.

"Coming, coming!" Lu Mingfei called out, using a voice that sounded like he'd just woken up.

He opened the door to find both Uncle and Aunt standing outside.

"What's going on?" Lu Mingfei rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Did you just wake up, Mingfei?" Aunt asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I took a nap this afternoon and just heard you knocking," Lu Mingfei explained.

"Oh, that's fine then. Your uncle was worried something might have happened to you."

"I'm not a kid anymore, how could something happen?" Lu Mingfei waved his hand with a smile. "By the way, Uncle, did you need something?"

"We, along with Section Chief Chen's family, wanted you young people to go out and explore this afternoon to get to know each other better. Mingze and Jiajia have already agreed, so we came to check on you," Uncle said, explaining the reason for their visit.

"Oh, I see." Lu Mingfei scratched his head, thinking about how to respond.

"By the way, how is the room? Is it comfortable?" Uncle asked with concern.

"Let's go in and see for ourselves," Aunt said directly to Uncle. "Mingfei, can we come in?"

"Of course, please come in," Lu Mingfei welcomed them with a smile.

The turmoil in Lu Mingfei's heart, however, was something no one else could fathom.

Once inside, Aunt looked around the room, commenting as she inspected it: "Not bad at all. That prize voucher from your workplace really came in handy."

"That's right!" Uncle wore a smug expression.

Lu Mingfei clutched his head behind their backs. Please, Uncle, Aunt, hurry up and leave! If you stay any longer, I'm done for!

"Hey! Mingfei, do you still watch Doraemon? Didn't you say you were sleeping?" Uncle asked suddenly.

"Oh, I was watching it while I ate lunch. I was too tired in the afternoon, so I forgot to turn it off and just fell asleep," Lu Mingfei quickly stepped forward to explain.

"I see," Uncle said, suddenly enlightened.

Then, he and Aunt plopped down onto the only large bed in the room.

"Hiss—" Lu Mingfei gasped.

Don't move around anymore; if my Asahina Mikuru figure gets discovered, I'm finished!

"The bed is quite soft, too." This was Uncle's assessment.

"Right, about what I mentioned earlier regarding you young people going out to have fun and build your relationship, what do you say, Lu Mingfei?" Lu Gucheng suddenly asked.

"Well, Uncle, I've been out wandering around all day yesterday and this morning. I feel sore all over now and don't want to go out again. If I weren't so achy, I would definitely go out and play with them!" Lu Mingfei put on a look of regret.

Seeing his nephew like this, Lu Gucheng couldn't say anything more. Although Aunt was slightly dissatisfied, considering how tired Lu Mingfei had been these past few days, she didn't say anything either.

"Alright, if that's the case, then it can't be helped. I'll go tell Uncle Chen in a moment; we'll just have to let Mingze and Jiajia go out shopping by themselves." Uncle said with a look of regret on his face.

"Mingze and Jiajia?" Aunt seemed to have spotted a blind spot and immediately became happy. "That's true, Mingfei has been so tired these past two days, so let him get some good rest. Tomorrow, we can still let Mingze and Jiajia go out to continue building their relationship."

"Yes, yes, I'll definitely still need to rest tomorrow. Oh my, my body is so sore!" As he said this, Lu Mingfei even twisted his waist.

"Squeak!"

The sound of a rubber duck being squeezed rang out in the bathroom.

Sakura wouldn't let her make a sound, so Erii could only squat on the floor and play with her toy.

Not paying attention for a second, her Little Yellow Duck fell from her head. Erii scrambled to grab it, and although she caught it, she squeezed too hard, causing the Little Yellow Duck to let out a squeak.

"What was that sound!" Uncle and Aunt were both instantly on alert.

Brothers, I was suddenly called out by friends for drinks. Only one chapter update today, don't wait for more later.

I hope everyone will flip to the last page; updates will return to two chapters tomorrow.