One step at a time [Story on Halt]

Chapter III

This time, a peek at Xiao Zhan's studio apartment. 

Skip to 7:16 to see the built tour.

Credit for the original creation goes to MrDesims

Time skips to the weekend

I spent the entire morning outside, grocery shopping and buying gifts for my mother and my twin. It will be my first visit to them in so many years. I've been delaying each time and I feel guilty because I ignored my mom after returning home. First, I had to take care of a lot of things like settling into my new apartment, opening a new bank account, getting a transport card, registering a local phone number, and so on before I was able to visit my family.

When I reached home, I threw my groceries on the kitchen table and changed into a more comfortable outfit. In order to soothe my mother's temper, I needed some sweet bribes. Thus, I made a few French pastries that I had seen on the internet recently.

In the evening, I settled on the couch to watch TV after cleaning up the mess I had created in the kitchen. Unfortunately, Netflix was no longer available. I ended up watching the news because I couldn't find anything to watch on the local channels. After watching TV for far too long, I just left it running when someone suddenly caught my attention. It was a man in his thirties promoting one of the numerous brands out there. I don't know which one it was, I wasn't paying attention. He looked strangely like the guy I last saw at the coffee shop as I tried to remember him. I could be mistaken, but it could be just a look-alike. A phone call from my mother dragged me back from wonderland where I had been doing an imaginary comparison of both men.

"Usually, you don't call this late. Everything all right?" I gently enquired.

"Do I have to have a reason to call my son in the evening?" she asked.

"Oh, shoot!! I'm doomed". The thought crossed my mind. Having my mom at it again immediately made me forget my early sleep. She could nag me for hours about everything and anything. Moreover, I knew she still ruminates on the fact that I haven't visited her and my twin since I returned to Beijing. My ears were throbbing from all the lashes.