After hearing that, Nanming said nothing more and simply nodded.
"Okay, captain. We'll go get ready now. Come on, Brother Nan!" With that, Si Xiaobei grabbed Nanming by the wrist and headed for the door.
"Brother Xiaogang, Brother Feng Xuan, hurry up."
"All right, don't rush." Feng Xuan hoisted the still-dazed Liu Xiaogang onto his shoulder and followed Si Xiaobei.
Just after stepping through the door, Si Xiaobei seemed to remember something. He turned back and smiled politely at Hela.
"Miss Hela, see you next time!"
After waving, the group left.
"What a troublesome bunch. They came over for a visit without even bringing a gift," Sun Hai grumbled, then went back to drinking his coffee.
Then he looked at Hela and seemed to think of something. He patted the empty spot beside him and said, "Come, sit down."
Hela: ⚆_⚆?
"..."
Seeing that Hela made no move, Sun Hai sighed as if resigning himself to his fate. Then he got up, went into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator.
Finding it completely empty, he decided to go out and buy some things.
At the door, he glanced back at Hela, who had already sat down on the sofa by herself, and said to her,
"I'm going to buy some groceries. I'll be back in a bit. I'll turn on the TV for you, so don't go running off." With that, he picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
After doing all that, he opened the door and left.
Hela watched him leave, then turned her gaze to the TV.
This wasn't Hela's first time watching TV, so she didn't find it all that novel. This TV was just a little bigger.
"Welcome, everyone, to today's history program!
I'm your host, Luo Mou.
Today, we'll be talking about the birth of the other species and their history.
Thirty years ago, in 1999, many strange creatures appeared around the world for no known reason. Some were harmless to humans and animals, while others possessed terrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth.
We call these creatures 'other species'!
There are many different theories about where the other species came from, but none has provided a definite answer.
Not long after the other species appeared, some humans also gained special powers akin to superpowers. We collectively call them 'ability users.'"
Noon.
Carrying bags big and small, Sun Hai was walking down the hallway toward his apartment.
"Ah~! Is that Xiaohai?" Just then, an old woman came over. Leaning on her cane, she greeted Sun Hai warmly.
"Hello, Granny Li. Long time no see."
Sun Hai turned around to greet the old woman as well, though his expression was still like a block of ice.
"Oh, you're finally back. Ever since you moved here, I've hardly seen you come home.
Sometimes, work is important, of course, but you should come home and have a good rest now and then.
After all, home is a safe harbor for the soul~
And Xiaohai, don't go around with that stern face all day. You're such a handsome young man, but you always look as if someone owes you money.
You won't find a girlfriend like that.
If you don't mind, how about I introduce you to a few girls? You should start looking for a girlfriend early #%*$@￥..."
Listening to Granny Li's machine-gun barrage of words, Sun Hai wanted nothing more than to leave quickly and go home for some peace and quiet.
"I know, Granny Li. I'll find myself a girlfriend. You should hurry home and get some rest too." With that, Sun Hai prepared to leave.
"Hey, wait!" But Granny Ali suddenly reached out and grabbed Sun Hai as he was about to leave.
"Wait here a moment. I made some dumplings at home, but I made too many for an old woman like me to finish. I'll get you some."
Before Sun Hai could say anything, Granny Li hurried back to her apartment. A little while later, she came jogging back with a bag of dumplings.
"I'll put these with your things. Xiaohai~ Granny knows you're a cold-natured child, but you should know there's still love in this world~" With that, she handed Sun Hai a big bag of dumplings.
Sun Hai took the dumplings and looked at Granny Li's kindly face. He couldn't help feeling warm inside.
"Thank you, Granny." Sun Hai managed to squeeze out a smile at Granny Li.
"There, that's right. You look better when you smile more. All right, go on and get back to what you were doing."
Then Sun Hai went home.
As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw that Hela was still sitting obediently on the sofa, watching TV. She was even in the same spot and position as when he had left.
She was pretty well-behaved.
Sun Hai remarked to himself, then put down the food.
He glanced at the program Hela was watching.
"Spring has arrived~ All things are coming back to life~
It's a season for mating~"
Seeing the familiar program and what it was showing, Sun Hai's eye twitched.
He immediately changed the channel for Hela.
Then Sun Hai put all the ingredients he had just bought into the refrigerator and took out the bag of dumplings, intending to make do with them for a meal.
"I'm making you dumplings today. Don't grab them with your hands again."
With that, Sun Hai prepared to go into the kitchen to cook the dumplings. But at that very moment, Hela actually nodded after hearing what he said.
Sun Hai nodded too, then opened the kitchen door and went inside.
"Huh?!"
But as soon as he went in, he seemed to realize something was wrong.
He immediately opened the door and came back out.
"Did you just nod at me?! Did you understand what I said?!" Sun Hai looked a little nervous, afraid that what he had just seen was an illusion.
Hela: ⚆_⚆ (nods)
At that moment, Sun Hai froze.
What was going on? Had watching TV for a little while made her able to understand human speech?
Had she happened to see an educational program for young children while he was out?
Then she was learning way too fast!
Come to think of it, could someone with mental problems really learn at all?
The string of questions made Sun Hai's head buzz, but ultimately, he was happy.
After all, not being able to understand each other was truly frustrating. Sun Hai didn't want to spend another day looking after her like a nanny, as he had yesterday.
A rare smile appeared on Sun Hai's face. Finally, he shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
He turned around and went back to cooking the dumplings.
Hela continued sitting on the sofa.
*It's been two days. Human language really is hard to learn.
Even with the brain structure of someone who had learned this language, it took me this long, and I had to listen to them say so much, before I could barely understand it.
But speaking it is still too hard right now.
It shouldn't take much longer, though.
During my time in the ant colony, I hardly ever made an effort to learn, yet I picked up the ants' way of communicating.
Sooner or later, I'll master human language too.*
Hela thought to herself, feeling pleased.
At that moment, she still didn't know just how heaven-defying it was that she had learned to understand Chinese in only two days!