Chapter 28: Moving House
The next morning, gentle sunlight slipped through the window and shone on Li Nuo's sleeping face.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked outside.
"Today is actually a rare sunny day. Nice."
However, he had no intention of getting up. He simply turned over and continued sleeping. Less than a minute later, he suddenly sat up like a startled bird.
"Oh no! I forgot I have something important to do today."
Because of what had happened the night before, he had agreed to An Ran'er's request to move in with her. That meant he could not sleep in today.
After quickly washing up, he began preparing for the move.
Calling it a move was actually a bit of an exaggeration. He did not have many things to bring.
Other than a few sets of everyday clothes from his wardrobe, the only things worth taking were an old laptop and an increasingly fat, troublesome cat.
Thinking about it, he wondered whether cats were allowed in An Ran'er's apartment. Still, she probably did not dislike cats. After all, her older sister owned a pet hospital.
But it was still early, so there was no need to rush. He decided to go downstairs for breakfast first and think about what to bring afterward.
As he passed the landlord's room on the first floor, he felt he should say goodbye. After all, he had lived here for half a year.
Besides, the elderly landlady had always treated him well. When he first moved in, she had waived the security deposit because he looked so young. She had also taken good care of him during his stay.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, a kind voice called out from behind him.
"It's Xiao Li. You're up early for a weekend."
Li Nuo turned around and saw an elderly woman holding a broom and dustpan, smiling warmly at him.
She was the landlady.
She liked to wake up at dawn every day to clean the apartment hallways. She was clearly a hardworking person who liked cleanliness.
It looked like she had just finished cleaning.
"Good morning, Grandma," Li Nuo said with a smile.
"I saw you standing outside my room just now. Did you need something?" she asked after putting away her broom and dustpan.
"I came to say goodbye."
"Huh? You're leaving?"
The old woman looked surprised. After thinking for a moment, she added,
"Did something happen? If the rent feels too expensive, you can tell me. It's okay."
Realizing she thought he could no longer afford the rent, Li Nuo quickly waved his hands.
"No, Grandma. It's not that."
Then he honestly explained,
"I have a friend who lives in the city. She wants me to share an apartment with her, so..."
"I see."
The old woman nodded and did not try to stop him.
"That's good too. You won't have to travel so far to school anymore."
After chatting with her for a little while longer, Li Nuo left to get breakfast.
His breakfast was the same as always, two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk.
Cheap, filling, and practical.
Still, he felt that the meat buns sold near the apartment were not as tasty as the ones from the street vendor near the bus stop.
The vendor's buns had thin wrappers and lots of filling. The breakfast shop's buns had thick wrappers and much less filling.
Not only that, they cost fifty cents more.
The difference was obvious.
Of course, the shop had to pay rent every month, while the street vendor could sell anywhere with a small cart. The only thing the vendor needed to worry about was city inspectors.
As a customer, after comparing the two, he naturally preferred the better and cheaper option.
The only reason he bought breakfast nearby today was because he was too lazy to walk more than ten minutes just for two buns.
After finishing breakfast, he returned to his room and started packing. Nearly two hours later, he finally finished.
Everything he wanted to take was packed into a suitcase and a backpack.
Things he did not need were placed into plastic bags so he could throw them away later.
At first, he thought he did not own much.
In the end, he still managed to fill an entire suitcase and a large bag.
Since his landlady loved cleanliness, he also carefully cleaned the room before leaving.
At the very least, he wanted it to look the same as when he first moved in.
Because he had quite a lot of luggage, he eventually gave up on taking the bus and called a taxi instead.
When he was almost there, he sent An Ran'er a message asking her to come downstairs and help him.
Inside Apartment, An Ran'er was lying on the sofa, looking at Li Nuo's message.
At that moment, she felt a little regretful.
She regretted making such an impulsive decision the previous night, letting Li Nuo move in.
Regret was one thing, but An Ran'er never took back any decision she had made.
Since the words had already been spoken, she could only follow through with them.
Besides, the apartment had two bedrooms. It was not like they would be sleeping in the same bed.
After giving herself countless reasons why this arrangement was acceptable, she finally changed her clothes and went downstairs to meet him.
The moment she stepped out of the apartment building, she saw Li Nuo standing across the street.
He was pulling a suitcase, carrying a large backpack, holding a bucket in one hand, and had a black-and-white cat lying on his shoulder.
When he saw An Ran'er, he immediately put down his suitcase and waved enthusiastically.
After checking both sides of the road, he dragged his luggage across while jogging over.
Looking at the panting Li Nuo and all the bags he was carrying, black lines seemed to appear on An Ran'er's forehead.
"Why did you bring so much stuff?"
"Huh? Is it a lot?"
Li Nuo turned around and looked at his luggage. In his opinion, he had already packed very lightly.
Other than clothes and his laptop, he had only brought some daily necessities.
"You... why did you bring a bucket?"
An Ran'er noticed the bucket was filled with things like clothes hangers and soap. She was completely speechless. Even her beautiful face twitched slightly.
"Huh? Of course it's for taking showers."
"And the soap?"
"It's for showering."
"..."
An Ran'er stood frozen in place, staring blankly at him. Li Nuo waved a hand in front of her face.
"An Ran'er, can we go upstairs first? These things are really heavy."
Only then did she recover from her shock.
"Ah? Oh... right."
As she led Li Nuo back to the apartment, she experienced something for the first time.
For the first time, she regretted one of her own decisions.
At that moment, she was one hundred percent certain of one thing.
This guy was a complete idiot.