The place that Liu Qing rented was what was known as a farmer's house. There was no elevator in the house.
Manager Zhou and Xiao Wen helped Liu Qing up the stairs to the fourth floor and arrived at Liu Qing's rented house.
On the way up the stairs, Liu Qing understood the importance of having someone around to take care of him.
If he was on his own, even without considering anything else, just going up and down the stairs would probably kill him.
After helping Liu Qing into his room, Manager Zhou left. Then Xiao Wen walked to the fridge in the living room and opened it. She took out a can of cola and drank it quickly.
Liu Qing felt his heart ache. That was my joy!
He had a begrudging look on his face as he said to Xiao Wen, "Thank you for your help. Take care when you leave. I won't see you out."
Wen spluttered a mouthful of cola and stared at him with her eyes widened.
"If I understand you correctly, you're kicking me out?"
Liu Qing nodded. "You understood correctly."
Xiao Wen finished the cola and then extended her hand at Liu Qing. "Then give me your access pass and house key."
Liu Qing immediately became on guard. "What do you intend to do?"
He kept feeling that this woman had designs on him. If he gave her the access pass and house key, would that not make it cohabitation?
Xiao Wen said helplessly, "Brother, the company arranged for me to take care of you. If you don't even give me the access pass and house key,do you intend to go downstairs and open the door for me whenever I come by?"
Liu Qing acknowledged what she said and had no choice but to take out his access card and house key.
It was the set that used to belong to Huo Zhenzhen.
He asked her, "Why did the company get you to come over and take care of me?"
"The team leader asked everyone who was on duty. The rest felt that it was too tiring to both work at night and take care of someone during the day. No one was willing to do it, so I signed up," Xiao Wen said. "Anyway, I can get a subsidy of 50 dollars a day. Why not make the money?"
It was indeed tiring to have to work 12 hours at night and then to take care of the daily meals of someone in the daytime.
Liu Qing was curious. "Don't you find it tiring?"
Xiao Wen smiled and said, "I complained to Manager Zhou that it's too tiring and that I might nod off at night. Manager Zhou assured me that even if he sees me nodding off during his spot checks, he won't deduct my points."
"You're too shrewd!" Liu Qing could not help but say.
Xiao Wen said smugly, "Isn't it?"
After taking the house key and the access pass, she walked to the main door and turned back to ask Liu Qing, "I'm going to the canteen to get food. Do you want me to bring a share back for you or do you want me to buy food from outside?"
Liu Qing asked, "Is it your treat if I choose food from outside?"
"Be a human!" Xiao Wen spat out her reply. "I'm here to take care of you, and yet you want me to treat you? Why are you so stingy?"
She left in a huff.
Liu Qing walked to the bedroom using his crutches. He closed the door, turned on the air conditioner and lay on the bed.
The area of his one-bedroom house was about 20 square meters. The air conditioner he bought was a 1P unit of low power and could only be used in the bedroom.
The electricity charges at this farmer's house were too high. He would not be able to afford the electricity bill if he installed a high-powered air conditioner, so he could only use this low-powered one.
The bedroom was only about 10 square meters anyway, so 1P was good enough.
After closing the door and windows, it was quite cooling to stay in this small space.
He turned on the small fan before the room cooled down.
A few minutes after the room temperature lowered, he heard the sound of the main door being opened. He did not need to look to know that Xiao Wen had come back from getting food.
Liu Qing shouted from the bedroom, "There are many valuable things in my house. Don't be dishonest."
Xiao Wen said disdainfully, "Oh please. Even if I sell all the things in your house to a junk shop, they'll only be worth less than 200 dollars. No one would want them."
She pushed open the bedroom door with two lunch boxes in her hands. As soon as she entered, she was pleasantly surprised. "Wow, it's so nice and cool! Liu Qing, you really know how to enjoy life!"
She did not eat in the canteen and had brought her lunch over as well.
It was very sunny outdoors and she was perspiring from the walk. It was indeed comfortable to enter the air-conditioned room and she felt very happy.
There was a small dining table in the living room. She moved it into the bedroom and both of them had lunch inside.
The bedroom was quite small. After putting in a double bed, there was only a passageway left.
They set down the small dining table in the small passageway and the two of them each sat at one end.
It was not exactly the most dignified living environment, and even felt a little awkward.
However, it was enough to make Xiao Wen envious. "The air conditioner is on and you're living alone in a house. Liu Qing, you really do know how to enjoy life."
Liu Qing looked disdainful. "What kind of rubbish enjoyment is this? To really enjoy life, you have to live in a big villa, have a luxurious yacht and party on the high seas with a bunch of young models."
"In your dreams," Xiao Wen said. "That's not the kind of life security guards like us can expect to have unless someone living in a big mansion is hiring security guards."
Liu Qing sneered and thought to himself, "In another month or so, I'll be living that kind of life."
After they ate, Xiao Wen threw the two lunch boxes into the trash can and moved the small dining table back to the living room before returning to the bedroom.
Liu Qing sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her as he said very sincerely, "Thank you for bringing me food. I won't send you off due to the condition of my leg."
"You don't have to send me off," Xiao Wen said, also sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'll sleep here this afternoon."
Then she asked Liu Qing, "Do you sleep on the inside or outside?"
Liu Qing was dumbfounded. "No way? We're not close enough to sleep on the same bed, right?"
Xiao Wen said unhappily, "I don't want to sleep in the same bed as you as well, but there's no room for a second bed in your room. Do you want me to sleep on the floor?"
Liu Qing asked, "Can't you go back to the dormitory to sleep?"
Xiao Wen said, "The hell I will go back to the dormitory and sleep! The weather is so hot, I want to stay in an air-conditioned room."
Liu Qing shook his head. "That's not appropriate!"
Xiao Wen said, "The hell it's not! You're a cripple now and you can't do anything, so what's inappropriate about that? As a woman, I don't even mind. Why do you mind?"
Liu Qing was speechless. He did not expect the post-00s generation to be so terrifyingly open-minded.
Xiao Wen ignored him. She kicked off her shoes and flopped onto the bed, satisfactorily declaring that it was very comfortable. Then, she spoke to Liu Qing who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"You can entertain yourself if you don't want to sleep. I've got to work tonight and I'm leaving you to it. Call me if you need anything."
She had been working the night shift the night before and was already tired by this time. With the room nice and cool with the air conditioner on, it was the most comfortable she had felt since the beginning of summer.
Within minutes of lying in bed, she was fast asleep.
There was nothing Liu Qing could do about such a girl.
About throwing her out, not only did he not have the strength to do it in his current handicapped condition, but even if he did, he would not be able to do it to her.
She was here to take care of him. For the sake of that good intention, he could not go too far.
He could only tell himself, "She's quite right. I'm a wounded man now and I can't do anything even if I want to."
He dared not sleep next to Xiao Wen, so he sat on the edge of the bed and played with his phone all afternoon.
It was hot outside and much cooler in the air-conditioned room, so he did not want to stay in the living room either.
It was after 5:00 p.m. when Xiao Wen woke up.
She had set the alarm for after 5:00 p.m., because that was near the meal time.
Opening her eyes, she saw Liu Qing sitting on the edge of the bed, playing with his phone. She was shocked. "You sat here all afternoon?"
Liu Qing nodded.
Xiao Wen was silent for a moment. Then she climbed out of bed and patted his shoulder. "Brother, you're such a gentleman."
Liu Qing said proudly, "Of course."
"But in my opinion, a gentleman like you is worse than a beast."
After saying this, Xiao Wen smiled at Liu Qing before walking out of the bedroom. Before she closed the bedroom door, she said, "I'll go get food."
Liu Qing put down his phone and let out a huge breath. He thought to himself, "She's seducing me! This young girl is definitely seducing me! I have to remain steadfast!"