After dinner, Liu Nanfeng sat on the sofa watching television.
"Su Jinxiu," who had washed the dishes, walked over and skillfully snuggled into his arms.
Liu Nanfeng stroked her hair and asked, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
"You look unhappy."
"Su Jinxiu" looked up at his words, giving Liu Nanfeng a somewhat surprised glance.
"Is it about the child? If you don't want one, we won't have one."
Liu Nanfeng also realized that since he had blocked the text above her head, he had unconsciously begun to treat her as the real Su Jinxiu. After all, she looked so much like her now that he even suspected that Su Huamei had been with him all along.
But if it wasn't, it wasn't. That's why she seemed unhappy when he mentioned having a child. Of course, this was all Liu Nanfeng's speculation.
"Don't you like children?"
"Of course I do, but I like you more. So I respect your wishes. If you don't want one, we won't have one," Liu Nanfeng said, stroking her hair.
"I'm not unhappy. Actually, I want a child too, but having a child is a very dangerous thing."
"Su Jinxiu" buried her head in Liu Nanfeng's chest.
Liu Nanfeng's heart stirred, and he pressed, "Dangerous? What kind of danger?"
"Like excessive bleeding, too much strain on the heart and lungs, body shape changes, and so on."
"Su Jinxiu" explained.
But Liu Nanfeng didn't believe this explanation.
What she said was possible, but not guaranteed. If these dangers were inevitable, not many people would have children.
"Alright, let's not talk about this for now. Huamei called me today and said she's busy this week and can't come for now."
"Is that so? Is the lawyer's job that busy?" Liu Nanfeng asked, looking down at "Su Jinxiu" in his arms.
"Of course. People are more legally aware now. There are many cases every day, many trivial matters..."
"Su Jinxiu" spoke at length.
"You know so much, how do you know all this?" Liu Nanfeng said meaningfully.
Hearing this, "Su Jinxiu" immediately became alert and said, "Huamei told me everything."
"Is that so? Which law firm does Huamei work for? I've never heard her mention it," Liu Nanfeng asked casually.
Upon hearing this, "Su Jinxiu" immediately sat up straight and stared at Liu Nanfeng, asking, "Why are you asking this?"
Seeing "Su Jinxiu" act jealous, Liu Nanfeng felt like laughing.
There was clearly something wrong here. "Su Jinxiu" didn't want to talk about it, so she put on a jealous act.
He shrugged and said, "I was just asking casually. Why are you so nervous?"
"Who's nervous?"
"Su Jinxiu" looked slightly uncomfortable.
Then she immediately retorted, "I just feel like you've been paying a lot of attention to Huamei lately."
Her ability to shift blame was masterful. She even convinced herself, and immediately looked at Liu Nanfeng suspiciously.
"That's not true, don't overthink it," Liu Nanfeng said with a smile, pulling her into his arms.
To avoid arousing "Su Jinxiu's" suspicion, Liu Nanfeng didn't press further.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, as usual, Liu Nanfeng had breakfast at home and then went out.
In fact, the peak delivery period had already passed, and everyone had begun their formal work for the day, so there were fewer orders.
Normal delivery drivers had already completed dozens of orders. Liu Nanfeng rode his electric bike leisurely. No wonder Wu Shilong said he was here to experience life.
"Xiao Liu, nothing to do today? Here to experience life?" everyone teased when they saw Liu Nanfeng.
"Yes, bosses. Please take care of me and don't snatch the good orders," Liu Nanfeng replied with a smile.
"Alright, when you make it big, don't forget us."
"What do you mean 'make it big'? He's already made it big, otherwise, why would he be experiencing life?"
"Right, right, Xiao Liu, I've always been curious, what did you do before? Why did you start delivering food?"
There was nothing to hide at this point. Liu Nanfeng was about to speak when everyone's phones rang, including Liu Nanfeng's. An order had come in, and everyone instinctively looked at their phones.
"Huh, it's an order for Building 16, Unit 904 at Huayue Mansion?" someone exclaimed.
"What's wrong with this order? If you guys don't take it, I will!" Liu Nanfeng said, directly accepting the order.
"Xiao Liu, may you be blessed."
Seeing that Liu Nanfeng had snatched the order, everyone looked at him with schadenfreude.
"What's going on? Is there something wrong with this order?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise.
"The order itself is fine, but the people living there are problematic."
"What kind of problem? Do they like to complain?" Liu Nanfeng frowned.
Some eccentric customers were like this.
To gain small advantages, they would intentionally complain, asking the platform for refunds or compensation, and the delivery drivers would suffer as a consequence.
If it was a normal complaint, it would be understandable. For example, the food was too spicy, the portion was small, it wasn't fresh, or the driver didn't help with throwing out the trash. All of these were attributed to the delivery driver.
"It's not about complaints. It's that the male owner is eccentric. He interrogates you endlessly, wishing he could find out your entire ancestry."
"The most bizarre thing is, the last time I delivered to them, I said a couple of words to his wife, and later I found out he had followed me and asked me what my relationship was with his wife."
"Don't be fooled by his refined appearance; he abuses his wife. Last time I delivered food, I saw his wife with bruises and swollen eyes. How could he lay a hand on such a beautiful wife? Really, it's..."
Everyone chattered away. During deliveries, one would always encounter strange people or families.
The saying "the forest is vast, and there are all sorts of birds" was truly accurate.
"No wonder you all didn't take it earlier. You were waiting for me to jump into the trap?"
"Hehe, not stupid, you figured it out?"
Everyone showed happy smiles.
"Let's go, I don't believe it, can they eat me?"
Liu Nanfeng ignored them and turned his handlebars, speeding off.
This order was not for food, but for medicine. Liu Nanfeng checked and saw it included anti-inflammatory drugs, alcohol swabs, bandages, and iodine.
Thinking about what they had said earlier about the male owner being abusive, he wondered if he had injured someone again.
However, even so, he couldn't help much, at most he could call the police.
He went to the pharmacy, picked up the prepared medicine, turned on his navigation, and headed straight for Huayue Mansion.
The name "Mansion" represented quality and luxury, a high-end residential area.
Huayue Mansion was no exception; the families living there were considered well-off in Jiangcheng.
The community's public facilities, landscaping, sanitation, security, and roads were all very well-maintained.
When Liu Nanfeng entered, the security guard responsibly made him register.
Huayue Mansion had a total of 30 buildings, making it a relatively large development.
It was currently working hours, so there were very few people in the entire complex, making it quiet.
Fortunately, Liu Nanfeng rode his electric bike in, otherwise, walking would have taken a very long time.
There was an access gate outside. Liu Nanfeng pressed #904 for a long time and called out several times before the door was opened.
"Delivery."
Arriving at the door of unit 904, Liu Nanfeng knocked.
There was no response from inside. Liu Nanfeng knocked twice again.
"Is anyone home?"
"Coming," a faint voice said at that moment.
It was fortunate that Liu Nanfeng had good hearing; otherwise, he might not have heard it.
The door was then opened a crack. As Liu Nanfeng was about to hand over the medicine bag, he looked up and was startled, retreating several steps.
This was because a giant eye was staring at him through the crack in the door.
The eye was enormous and ferocious, filled with cunning and desire, and anyone who saw it felt a surge of blood.
"What's wrong?"
A woman asked Liu Nanfeng through the crack in the door.
"N-nothing..." Liu Nanfeng quickly handed over the medicine bag.
Liu Nanfeng noticed a huge claw resting on the woman's head, its eye fixed on Liu Nanfeng, as if warning that this woman was its property. It was quite terrifying.
But seeing the woman's face full of injuries, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you want me to call the police for you?"
Before the woman could speak, the eye seemed to become furious. A giant claw extended from the crack in the door and lunged at Liu Nanfeng.
...
His consciousness plummeted from a great height once more.
However, this time, what greeted him was a gray sky.
The sky was overcast and gloomy, making it difficult to breathe.
He then found himself falling into a rural courtyard.
Looking around, he saw that the courtyard was piled high with杂物 and looked somewhat messy. In the corner were a few pots of flowers, but most of them had withered, leaving only a single rosebush forlornly standing.
This rosebush had only one bloom, its petals fiery red, like a burning flame.
The gloomy sky and oppressive air created a suffocating feeling. The entire world lacked color, except for that one rosebush, which was exceptionally dazzling and eye-catching.
Just then, a figure ran past Liu Nanfeng, startling him.
Following the direction, he saw a boy of seven or eight years old. He was standing on his tiptoes, leaning against the edge of the bed, peering inside.
"Little friend..."
Liu Nanfeng hurried forward, wanting to ask where this place was.
But at that moment, he suddenly heard the woman's hurried breaths and the pattering sound of rain on banana leaves from inside.
As someone who had been through it, Liu Nanfeng knew all too well what that meant.
The couple inside were clearly engaged in an activity.
It was obvious that the activity inside was not suitable for children, nor was it suitable for children to watch.
So Liu Nanfeng stepped forward, intending to pull him away.
But as his hand touched the boy's shoulder, it passed right through, unable to make contact.
Only then did he realize that he was merely a consciousness at the moment.
Just then, the boy suddenly turned his head, and Liu Nanfeng, startled, stumbled back several steps.
This was because the child had three pairs of eyes on his face, and the eyeballs within them looked in all directions, sending chills down one's spine and a sense of dread from the bottom of one's heart.
But at that moment, all the eyeballs suddenly turned towards Liu Nanfeng and looked at him.
Liu Nanfeng was startled, and then he realized that the other party couldn't see him; they were likely looking at something behind him.
Liu Nanfeng turned around and saw that an imposing monster had appeared behind him at some point. It was bare-chested and covered in bumps, with a vertical eye on its face, a cavernous mouth, and a pair of fangs, looking ferocious.
But Liu Nanfeng sensed a hint of gentleness in its eyes.
"Dad."
At that moment, he heard the little boy call out.
"Are they inside?" the monster asked, stroking the little boy's head with its large palm.
The little boy nodded silently.
"Wait for me here," the monster said.
Then, it smashed through the wall and rushed into the house.
With a deafening roar, the sky and earth seemed to split apart, and the ground itself trembled.
"Roar..."
Suddenly, a piercing scream, like that of a pig being slaughtered, echoed from inside the house.
Soon, a pig-headed monster was thrown into the courtyard.
It was naked from the waist up, with a dangling appendage below its waist, like a giant python, looking fierce.
Although the pig-headed monster had a fierce appearance and lecherous eyes, it was clearly no match for the monster inside.
The monster rushed out of the house, kicked the pig-headed monster to the ground, and then pinned it down and began to beat it relentlessly.
The pig-headed monster curled up, letting out a shrill cry of agony.
Liu Nanfeng looked at the little boy beside him. The boy was clenching his fists, his face filled with excitement and fervor.
Just then, a woman in red stumbled out of the house.
Liu Nanfeng was somewhat surprised because, apart from a more seductive and alluring appearance, this woman was a normal human.
The woman rushed forward and grabbed the monster's arm, trying to pull it off the pig-headed monster.
The monster backhanded her with a slap, sending her flying and crashing into the corner, shattering the flowerpot.
The fiery red rose was crushed to pieces.
But the woman, disregarding her injuries, climbed up again. She couldn't pull the monster away, so she shielded the pig-headed monster beneath her.
However, the monster did not stop. It continued to swing its fists, cursing with the most vicious language.
At this moment, a thunderclap suddenly broke through the gloomy sky, and a torrential rain poured down.
Liu Nanfeng looked back at the little boy. The boy, who had three pairs of eyes, now had all his facial features disappear, replaced by pairs of eyes.
All the eyeballs were focused on the woman in red, who was shielding the pig-headed monster.
Whether it was rain or tears, they streamed down from her eyelids.
"Mom?"
The boy let out a low, beastly roar...
At that moment, the surrounding scenery receded like a tide.
Then he found himself standing in the same spot, the door of unit 904 had been closed, and the monster had vanished without a trace.
Liu Nanfeng showed a look of regret. He had finally encountered a creature that could "seal" the beings in the painting, or perhaps demonic beings, only for it to be interrupted halfway. It was truly frustrating.
After thinking about it, he was unwilling to give up like this. As he reached out to knock on the door, he heard a voice from the side.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Liu Nanfeng looked up and saw a surveillance camera on the door. The voice came from the camera.
"Deliveryman," Liu Nanfeng quickly explained.
"Haven't you already delivered? Why are you still standing here? I warn you, leave quickly, or I'll call the police."
Liu Nanfeng didn't want to cause any more trouble. He cursed his bad luck inwardly and could only turn to leave.