Chapter 2: Running Errands is Hard 2
Qian Mengmeng held her phone and waited anxiously for an entire afternoon, but Pei Haochuan did not give her any instructions. It was as if the transaction was a daydream. Pei Haochuan was so quiet that he seemed to be non-existent, except for sending her the house address and mobile phone number. However, at one o'clock in the morning, the phone on the bedside table suddenly vibrated and turned in circles on the table.
Qian Mengmeng, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened by the voice. She yawned sleepily, stretched her hand back, picked up the phone and answered the call: "Hello? Who is it? In the middle of the night..."
"Pei Haochuan."
His voice was like a bucket of cold water poured over Qian Mengmeng's head, sobering her up immediately. Qian Mengmeng moved the phone away from her ear to confirm the number, then asked carefully, "It's so late, what's the matter?"
"Buy a hundred pairs of disposable gloves and send them to my house immediately." Pei Haochuan said concisely, "I want to eat crayfish." After that, he didn't care about Qian Mengmeng's reaction and hung up the phone, leaving only a busy tone.
Qian Mengmeng stared at the phone in astonishment. It took her a while to react and she repeated in disbelief, "Xiao Long Xia? In the middle of the night, he asked me to find a hundred pairs of disposable gloves for him? Why didn't he let me rob a bank?"
Although she knew that being Pei Haochuan's personal errand boy would not be easy, she did not expect that he would give her such a big problem at the beginning. Because she often worked part-time, she had basically walked through all the places in City A, so she knew that the only convenience stores that were open late at night were those in the city center. But it would take at least two hours to get from her home to the city center, and then from the city center to Pei Haochuan's home. Qian Mengmeng recalled Pei Haochuan's agreement that "the things needed must be delivered within half an hour", and felt that this matter was a bit difficult to handle.
However, no matter how difficult it is, she has to find a way, because she signed the contract.
Qian Mengmeng jumped up from the bed and ran to the kitchen. She turned on the flashlight and looked for any remaining plastic gloves. She was searching through the boxes and cabinets when suddenly her eyes flashed and the room suddenly lit up. Qian's father's puzzled voice came from not far away: "Mengmeng? What are you doing?"
Without even looking up, she turned off the flashlight and continued searching. "I'm looking to see if there are any disposable gloves left at home."
"Disposable gloves?" Father Qian scratched his head, took out a pair of pink plastic gloves from a small compartment in the closet, and asked, "Can I use these? I think I've run out of disposable gloves at home."
Qian Mengmeng paused, turned her head and stared at the pair of plastic gloves used for washing dishes in the kitchen.
They are all gloves. There is only one word difference between rubber gloves and plastic gloves...it should be okay, right?
Qian Mengmeng walked to a small villa in the night, looked at the address recorded on her phone, and then looked up to confirm the house number hanging in front of the security door, revealing an indescribable expression. This small villa is a famous wealthy area in City A. Although Qian Mengmeng passed by it when she was working, she felt that she had nothing to do with the rich, so she often glanced at this villa and hurried past it, never thinking that Pei Haochuan actually lived here.
But since he can pay her an annual fee of 50,000 yuan to find someone to run errands for him, his family background must not be too bad.
Qian Mengmeng looked up at the cloudy sky. The air was much more humid than before, and it seemed that it was about to rain. She remembered that her late mother was also a rich lady, and she had lived a wealthy life before she was five years old, but the memory was too vague, and she couldn't even sigh about the past.
She shrugged and stopped thinking about it, raised her hand and pressed the doorbell. The doorbell rang briskly, and after a while, footsteps gradually came through the door. Pei Haochuan, who was wearing a white coat, opened the door. Seeing that it was Qian Mengmeng, he raised his hand to confirm the time on his watch, nodded and said, "You are fast."
Qian Mengmeng looked at him in amazement at the white coat that could only be seen in hospitals, and couldn't help asking, "Why do you wear this at home?"
"Doing an experiment." Pei Haochuan covered his mouth and coughed twice, then answered briefly. He didn't want to talk more. He leaned against the door frame and stretched out his hand, "Where are the gloves I want?"
" Oh, here it is." Qian Mengmeng handed him the unopened kitchen gloves in her arms and glanced at him nervously.
Pei Haochuan frowned, picked up the kitchen gloves with disdain, looked at them for a long time, and said unhappily: "What did you get me?"
Qian Mengmeng shrank back when she heard Pei Haochuan's cold voice, and replied guiltily, "It's... gloves."
"Gloves?" Pei Haochuan raised his eyebrows, suppressed his anger, put the unopened plastic gloves aside, and asked calmly, "What did I ask you to take? What did you take? You want me to eat crayfish with this?"
"Plastic gloves... are good." Qian Mengmeng smelled the smell of crayfish coming from the door, swallowed her saliva, and explained with a stiff face, "Plastic gloves are thick. Wearing them to peel crayfish will not prick your hands, will not leak oil, and will not need to be changed frequently..."
"Then should I thank you for thinking of me?"
"If you understand..." Qian Mengmeng thought that her explanation had moved him. She looked up suddenly and saw that he still had a cold face. It was obvious that he was speaking sarcastically. She quickly turned her eyes away, pursed her lips, and admitted with a bit of grievance, "I didn't find it."
Pei Haochuan looked as if he had expected Qian Mengmeng to be unreliable. He looked at her quietly, then sighed, threw the gloves back to her, said "Go back", and slammed the door in front of her.
Qian Mengmeng held the gloves and stared at the closed door for a moment. It took her a long time to react. She angrily threw the gloves to the ground, picked them up distressedly, dusted them off, sat on the steps, and muttered aggrievedly, "Do you look down on kitchen gloves? Kitchen gloves have many uses... There are not many stores open in the middle of the night, and you asked me to deliver them immediately. I'm lucky I can find kitchen gloves."
And what does the last look mean? Is he disappointed in her?
Qian Mengmeng held the kitchen gloves that were despised by others, was silent for a while, stood up and patted the dust off her clothes, and said indignantly: "Aren't they just plastic gloves? I can go to the city center to buy them for you."
The cool night wind blew by, making her shiver. Pulling her clothes tightly, she walked from the villa complex to the tree-lined road, and suddenly heard a rustling sound in the grass. She paused and looked over in confusion, but could not make out anything, only a dark patch.
Although she wanted to classify this situation as an "illusion caused by the wind", many scenes from horror movies popped up in her mind at inappropriate times, and even the slightest movement made her nervous. She froze in place, pursed her lips, and was just thinking about whether she should be brave enough to explore it, when a loud "wow" sound cut through the darkness and pierced her eardrums, instantly making her back break out in a cold sweat.
No way, no way, no way...it couldn't be a dog, that was the animal she feared the most.
Qian Mengmeng wanted to cry but had no tears. She swallowed her saliva in panic, and turned her head little by little as if the scene in a movie was frozen. She saw a half-human-tall dog crouching down ten steps away from her, staring at her with a fierce look, and her throat kept making terrifying growls. Even the nails of its outstretched claws were shining coldly under the silver moon.
She didn't know why, but she had never been close to animals since she was a child, especially dogs. When she was young, she went to play with her relatives in the countryside. If her father hadn't been there, she would have been chased by a dog and almost lost her life. Since then, she would almost avoid dogs when she saw them. She didn't expect to encounter one in such a wide view and in a place where there was no escape.
"Why are there stray dogs in this wealthy area?"
Qian Mengmeng was so scared that her legs went weak. She looked around subconsciously, but found that the road was quiet and there was no one around. Only Pei Haochuan's small villa not far away was still emitting a little light. She had just been driven out by Pei Haochuan, and she was very angry. Of course, she didn't want to run to him for help. But what should she do now?
She clenched the kitchen gloves in her hands, intending to use courtesy before force, and said slowly and carefully: "Well, don't chase me or follow me, okay? Let's live in peace, and I'll buy you a sausage next time you come, okay?"
The wild dog stared at her without wavering, and it was obvious that he had no intention of accepting her bribe.
That's the only way left...
Qian Mengmeng gritted her teeth, looked at the thing in her hand with heartache, bent down slightly, and gently waved it in front of the wild dog, then put all her strength into her arm and threw it out. The pink glove drew a beautiful parabola, made a "pop" sound, and fell into the grass, meeting its fate.
The wild dog's attention was really drawn to the kitchen glove, and it ran to the bushes, shouting "Ah Woo Ah Woo". Before Qian Mengmeng could breathe a sigh of relief, she saw it jump out of the bushes with the kitchen glove in its mouth, biting the glove fiercely and violently, biting it into pieces in no time, not even giving her a moment to breathe.
The chance of running to the main road to seek help from others was too slim. Qian Mengmeng was afraid that she would also become its victim, so she didn't care what had happened before and ran non-stop towards Pei Haochuan's villa. Urged by the low roar of "Ah Ah", she looked at the villa not far away, and for the first time she felt that it was not only money that could bring people a sense of security.
Seeing that the wild dog was about to catch up, she fell on the steps in a panic. Without having time to feel the pain, she stood up hastily, leaned against the door, and knocked on the door anxiously: "Pei Haochuan! I, I have something important! Open the door!"
The security door made a dull "dong dong" sound, but it was not as loud as the wild dog's roar. Qian Mengmeng's back was pressed tightly against the door panel, wishing she could embed herself into the door. Her eyes were panicked and vigilant as she looked at the wild dog that was only ten steps away from her and was slowly approaching. Her mind was blank, and her tone was filled with tears. She said without any deterrence: "I, I tell you, the family behind me is very powerful! If I get hurt in front of his house, he will definitely not let you go! While, while there is still a chance, you should leave quickly..."
Before she finished her words, she suddenly felt a relaxation behind her, and a light slowly spread out from behind, illuminating the road ahead.
Huh? What happened?
Qian Mengmeng's brain hadn't reacted yet, but she felt a touch of warmth on her eyes. Someone gently grabbed her wrist and pulled it inward . She heard a crisp "click" and slowly opened her sore eyes to look over. The uneasy night was surging, and the world changed in the blink of an eye.
She moved her frozen eyes, looked at Pei Haochuan who brought her in, and called his name with sobs: "Pei Haochuan..."
A loud "boom" sound came from the sky, a white lightning flashed across the night, and heavy rain poured down without warning.
Pei Haochuan coughed twice and shook his wet hands. Seeing Qian Mengmeng sitting on the ground because of An Xin, he wanted to mock her but couldn't say it. He wiped his hands with a tissue and asked her casually, "You troublemaker, the wild dogs were scared away by lightning. There is no danger now, why are you still crying?"
Qian Mengmeng hugged her knees and sat on the milky white carpet, saying aggrievedly: "I knocked for so long, I thought you were still angry and refused to open the door for me."
Pei Haochuan glanced at the crayfish that he hadn't been able to eat. After seeing her crying, his previous anger disappeared without a trace. He touched his nose, as if he was not used to explaining to others, and said stiffly: "I was doing an experiment, I didn't hear you. Don't cry."
Qian Mengmeng buried her head in her arms. After a long while, she asked sullenly, "I won't cry. Can I ask you for a favor?"
Pei Haochuan looked at the pouring rain outside the window, then turned to look at her and said calmly, "Except for taking you in for the night, everything else is fine."
She just wanted to stay the night...
