The Rice Pot Next Door

Untitled Part 6

So Qiao Feng does know about her "crazy neighbor" remark before inviting Lan Shan to share his dinner. As Inno says, it is really nice of him and in today's chapter, we get to see yet another nice/useful side of him. Although Lan Shan is very thick-skin to butt her way into people's home for meals, I think I may also do the same if I am a household kultz while my neighbor is such a handy-manny.

We also get to meet a new character – Song Zi Cheng – today and I will write more about him in my next post. He has actually made 2 small appearances before this but I find his appearances a bit distracting at this stage so I'll tell you more about him in one go next time.

Chapter 10: Making Amends (...continue)

"I know everything that you have entered or typed online."

Lan Shan now believes Xiao You Cai that this guy is a maverick. On one hand, she is honored to finally meet a hacker – a mysterious breed of her fellow human beings that she has only heard about, but never seen one so far. On another hand, he probably knows a lot about her and the knowledge makes her uneasy.

Her handphone vibrates and she excuses herself to check her messages. When she opens her Weibo, she finds this response to her remark that her neighbor is crazy. "Your neighbor is not crazy. He is a certified genius whose IQ cannot be accurately measured based on available methodologies."

The tweet is from "Sect Leader Qiao" (乔帮主 – the famous leader of Beggar Sect from the book "Demi Gods and Semi Devils.") but Lan Shan can guess immediately who he is.

Looking at the wierdo before her, she sighs inwardly. He looks so serious chewing his food. And way he looks at the cucumber in this bowl, it is as if it is his ... girlfriend? Sigh. She deletes the message and checks out Sect Leader Qiao on Weibo. There is not much information on him but she can see that he has tons of followers.

By the time she is done checking her phone, he is also done eating. She offers to do the dishes since he did the cooking, but turns out he has a dishwasher so she takes her leave after helping him cart the dishes to the sink.

Besides, she keeps getting the feeling that Schrödinger is glaring at her.

The moment she left, Qiao Feng takes out some fishy snacks to comfort Schrödinger over his miserly dinner. His hand phone beeps and he sees a new message:

Carina: Hi.

Qiao Feng: Hi.

Carina: I'm back in China.

Qiao Feng: Congrats.

Carina: That is how little you care for me. If I never say, you never know.

Qiao Feng really did not know that she has returned nor has he heard about it from mutual friends. Still he is not the type to argue.

Qiao Feng: Sorry.

Carina: You are forgiven.

After a while ....

Carina: How are you?

Qiao Feng: Good.

Carina: I'm not good.

Qiao Feng does not know what to answer. Besides, even if she is not well, it is not his place to comfort her.

Carina: You have nothing to say to me?

Qiao Feng is an apparent believer that 'honestly is the best policy'. Yes.

No more reply from the other side.

Putting down his phone, Qiao Feng adds 2 more fish snack into Schrödinger's bowl. As he loads the dishwasher, he looks at Lan Shan's very empty plate and shakes his head. "She is such a rice pot."