Chapter 169 Antique Water Heater
I turned around and glanced at the sofa, and said, "Don't worry, I can sleep on the sofa. It won't be long anyway, and it will be over in a few days."
Xu Shu also looked at the sofa, his expression thoughtful. This sofa is neither long nor short, but for me, who is 1.78 meters tall, it is impossible to stretch my legs when I lie down. Sleeping on it with my legs curled up in such an uncomfortable way for one or two nights is acceptable. But sleeping on it for two weeks is unbearable.
Xu Shu frowned slightly, and after thinking for a while, she opened her mouth and wanted to say something to me. But when her eyes fell on my face, she immediately stopped talking. But her little face turned red for some reason. In order to hide this, Xu Shu turned around and said, "I'll go into your room to take a look. Don't let me see that it's a doghouse!"
I suddenly thought of something and said hurriedly, "Hey! Wait a minute!"
But it was too late, Xu Shu had already pushed the door open and walked in. I had no choice but to rush into the room before she noticed, pulled the quilt over me, and said awkwardly, "Well... I'd better change the quilt for you."
Xu Shu glanced at the quilt in my hand in confusion and asked curiously, "Why?"
My face flushed, and I couldn't answer her, so I hurriedly took off the quilt cover. Xu Shu had no idea that a single man's bed would always have some male traces. Coincidentally, I happened to overflow once in the early morning this morning, staining a large area of the quilt. And now that I live alone, I am much lazier, and I didn't change it at all, letting it dry naturally. Of course, after it dried, the trace was very obvious.
Xu Shu is not a man, so she didn't quite understand at first. But seeing me sweating and changing the quilt in a rage, she seemed to have guessed something. I stole a glance at her, and she shyly turned her face away, trying hard to hold back her smile, looking both amused and embarrassed.
I wiped the sweat off my head, took off the quilt cover, took out a clean three-piece bedding set from the closet, and simply changed all the sheets, quilt covers, and pillowcases. Now all the embarrassing male traces were eliminated, and it looked much fresher.
After finishing, I picked up the changed quilt cover and sheets and said to Xu Shu, "Xu Shu, it's better now. It's not a doghouse anymore." Xu Shu snorted softly, sat down on the bed, stretched out one hand to stroke the sheets, and his pair of eyes as bright as stars began to look around my bedroom from left to right.
I quickly took the changed items to the bathroom and threw them all into the washing machine.
As soon as I walked back to the living room, I saw Xu Shu leaning against the bedroom door with a half-smile on his face. He said to me, "Your room can barely be called a doghouse, but there are still many places that are extremely dirty. Tang Qian, when my things arrive later, I will clean it up for you. Of course, this is your home, so you have to do all the heavy work!"
I nodded helplessly and said, "Just do it. As long as we can stay away from the SARS virus, it's worth it no matter how hard it is!" While I was speaking, I was thinking, "This is my home, but this job is not for me, right? I cleaned the room, but I still have to sleep on the sofa?"
An hour later, Sister Shi arrived at the community, and two staff members from the epidemic prevention station delivered two large suitcases to my house. When I took the suitcases, I was shocked by their size. They said they were bringing some toiletries and daily necessities, but I didn't expect that she was almost moving.
Of course, I didn't want to know what was in the suitcase , considering it was a private matter for women. Xu Shu asked me to put the suitcase in the bedroom, then drove me out and closed the door. A few minutes later, Xu Shu, wearing sportswear and with her long hair tied up with a rubber band, came out of the room, rolled up her sleeves and said to me, "Tang Qian! Shall we start cleaning?"
So Xu Shu and I spent the whole afternoon cleaning the bedroom and living room inside and out. Xu Shu was as happy as a little bird while working. She seemed to be as excited as cleaning her new home, and she hummed cheerful songs from time to time, completely free of the depression she felt when she was trapped in my house at the beginning. Under her leadership and command, I was really exhausted in the afternoon. Xu Shu wiped all the furnishings in my house with a rag, making them bright and clean without a speck of dust. I did all the other chores. I swept and mopped the floor, washed the rag, climbed up to clean the walls, moved the furniture, carried buckets, changed the water...
Finally, the whole house seemed to have changed into a new world, upgraded from a doghouse to a nest. I collapsed on the sofa, too tired to move. Xu Shu also sat beside me happily, looking at the bright, clean and tidy house happily, and smiled with satisfaction: "Well, this is a little bit of home. But... forget it, Tang Qian! Look, isn't it very different now?"
I didn't know what she meant by "never mind" and "never mind". I was so exhausted that I didn't want to think about it. When she asked me, I just made a little sound through my nose to show that I heard her.
Although Xu Shu didn't do heavy work, I bet she had never done such tiring physical work in her life. Although there was sweat on her forehead and her breath was no longer calm, she was very excited and didn't show any signs of fatigue at all.
I was very surprised. I could see that Xu Shu had really accepted the fact that she would live in my house for two weeks. She was no longer unwilling and depressed at the beginning. But suddenly she was so enthusiastic about the renovation of my old house. With her status as a pampered celebrity, she didn't mind the dirt or tiredness. She cleaned my house like a housewife cleaning her own home. Was it just because she loved cleanliness and didn't want to get SARS?
After nearly a year, I don't know what Xu Shu is thinking now. After all, I haven't contacted her since that time. She and I are alone in a house. What is she thinking? Is she happy? Or unhappy? Is she as happy as I am? Maybe she will feel embarrassed and conflicted?
Most importantly, her psychology...and me?
I was lying on the sofa, thinking about random things . Xu Shu stood up and said to me, "Is there hot water at home? I've been sweating, and I want to take a bath."
I sat up on the sofa and said, "Hot water? Yes, there is, but it's an old-fashioned gas water heater, and it often goes out immediately. I don't dare to use it alone now, because once the fire goes out, the gas will leak out, which is very dangerous."
Xu Shu wiped the sweat off his face and frowned, saying, "What should I do? I'll be sad if I don't take a shower."
I said, "I'll watch the water heater for you, but if the hot water suddenly turns cold halfway through your shower, don't yell, I'll light it again right away."
"Okay!" Xu Shu ran into the bedroom and took out some clothes from the suitcase. I went to the kitchen to get the gas tank and prepare to light the fire for her to boil water.
This water heater is really old. I remember that my family bought this gas water heater when I was in high school. It has been around for at least ten years! Logically, this old-fashioned thing should have been eliminated long ago, but the quality of this water heater is still good. It has not had any major problems over the years except that it occasionally shuts down. Secondly, my family has always used it very carefully and maintained it well. In addition, my parents are always frugal and reluctant to give it up, so this antique water heater is still in our home.
But since my parents moved away, I have never used it again because I am worried about gas leaks. I think this water heater should still be usable, right?
I connected the pipes, set the water heater index, turned on the gas, and then went to the bathroom to turn on the shower faucet. As soon as the water came out, the water heater automatically ignited with a "boom" and started to boil water.
I adjusted the water temperature and said to Xu Shu who was standing at the bathroom door: "Okay, come in and take a shower. Remember not to turn on the faucet. The amount of water flowing out may affect the water temperature, and it may even stall. But I'll be watching in the kitchen, and I'll see if the faucet is turned off. When the time comes, turn off both faucets, and I'll reset them and then turn them on again, and you can continue to use them."
Xu Shu came in with an "oh" and put his clothes aside. Then he came over and pushed me, saying, "Okay, okay, I got it. You can go out first."
I saw that she couldn't wait to wash, so I hurried out of the bathroom. Xu Shu made a face at me and immediately closed and locked the door. I walked back to the kitchen and saw that the water heater was working properly, so I started to prepare dinner with peace of mind.
The sound of water splashing in the bathroom next door reached my ears clearly. While I was washing rice, I suddenly had a strange thought: What should Xu Shu look like in the bath? That... should be the most beautiful and most touching scene in the world, right? I really want to... take a look!
I immediately became distracted and began to fantasize that washing the rice three times was enough, but I ended up washing it seven times...
I don't know how long it took, but a hissing sound from the water heater woke me up, and I looked back and saw that it was indeed off. I immediately closed the gas valve and cut off the gas leak.
I heard Xu Shu yelling from the bathroom: "Ouch ! Tang Qian! The water has turned cold."
I also shouted: "The water heater is off, please turn off both the hot and cold faucets first!"
"Oh! I already turned it off."
I walked to the water heater, adjusted the gas output slightly, and then turned on the gas valve, and shouted again: "Okay, now turn on the hot water faucet."
"Which one is the hot water tap?"
"The one on the left!"
"Okay, open it!"
I looked at the water heater and saw no reaction. So I asked, "Are you sure you turned it on?"
"Yes! Listen to the sound of water!"
"The one on the left?"
“That’s right!”
I became confused and hurriedly turned off the gas and asked Xu Shu to turn off the water faucet. Then I fiddled with the water heater settings. After a while, I turned on the gas again and asked Xu Shu to turn on the hot water faucet to try again.
The water heater still wouldn't ignite! I thought to myself: It can't be such a coincidence that this water heater has died today? That would be a big joke!
I tried twice more, but the water heater still didn't respond. Xu Shu called from inside: "Is Tang Qian okay? I'm almost freezing to death!"
I walked to the bathroom door helplessly and sighed, "I have some bad news for you. My water heater is completely broken. I don't think you can take a bath. You'd better dry yourself and come out!"
"Then... how can I do that? I've got shower gel all over my body, how can I get out without water to rinse it off?"
