Monster - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Playing House

"This is delicious." Lou sat cross-legged on a high-backed chair at the dining table. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and a few strands stuck to her neck from the "housework" Lin Sandie had just dragged her into doing. She was currently relishing a piece of sweet and spicy fried chicken, enjoying the fruits of her labor.

Lin Sandie held a piece too, but her mind wasn't on the food. Instead, she watched Miu the crow swallow its chicken. Limited by its form, the bird's beak splattered sauce all over the table, a horrifying sight for her.

"Lin Sandie, what flavor are you having?" Seeing that Lin Sandie's chicken was different from hers, Lou leaned over to ask.

She was eating the sweet and spicy kind. Since it was a popular flavor, Lin Sandie hadn't asked Lou what she wanted when ordering and had just made the decision herself.

"Spicy." Lin Sandie looked at the few strands of hair stuck to Lou's neck and found them incredibly irritating, especially since that face was her own.

"Let me try yours, then." Lou stuffed the chicken in her hand into her mouth and reached for the spicy-powder-dusted chicken on Lin Sandie's side. But with her poor manners, she actually rummaged through the pieces for a moment, picking out the largest drumstick.

That in itself wouldn't have been a problem, but her sweet-and-spicy-sauce-covered glove got sauce all over Lin Sandie's portion as well.

Lin Sandie, a sufferer of obsessive-compulsive disorder, squeezed her eyes shut in agony and turned her face away. The fried chicken in her hand no longer seemed appetizing at all.

"This is delicious too~" Lou commented, attacking the drumstick in her hand from all sides.

Lin Sandie ate in silence. She glanced over and saw Lou reaching for the soda. On some strange impulse, Lin Sandie called out, "Don't..."

"What?" Lou asked, her gloved hand already grabbing the soda bottle. She tilted her head back and guzzled it down.

Watching the sweet and spicy sauce and spicy powder stick to the surface of the bottle, Lin Sandie felt a sharp pain throb in her brain.

"I'm done eating." Lin Sandie finished the chicken in her hand and took off her gloves in a huff. "Finish up and get out of here."

"Why are you angry again?" Lou put the soda down, completely unable to figure out why Lin Sandie was upset. Although she knew the other woman was angry again, she didn't pay it much mind and continued to devour the fried chicken.

"You'd better not talk to me." Lin Sandie stood up, not forgetting to reach out and brush away the annoying strands of hair from Lou's neck before walking over to the sofa and turning on the TV.

"Then I'll eat it all, okay?" Lou was very active and had a large appetite, so even with a lot of Lin Sandie's portion left, she and Miu could easily finish it.

"Whatever you want." Lin Sandie's brows were knitted together. She was angry at Lou, but even more so at herself. She had been through too much today and really needed to calm down and think things through. But with Lou around, she couldn't calm down no matter what. Lou was like a brutish invader who had stormed into her private world, disrupting all its rules and order, and she was powerless to rebuild them.

Lin Sandie felt she was too incompetent, too agitated, too passive. And even if Lou had a terrible personality, she had indeed saved her. Why couldn't she be a little more tolerant?

"Little Crow, want to go outside, find some pebbles, and drop them in this glass of beer? The little crow is looking for water~"

"Caw!"

"Alright, alright, I'll pour you some beer and find you a straw. Drinking beer with a straw, how sissy is that. You sissy crow..."

"She's my savior, she's my savior, she's my savior..." The sounds from the dining area reached her ears as Lin Sandie continued to chant silently in her mind. But after the whole day's ordeal, she was at the end of her rope. She let out a small yawn and dozed off on the sofa.

"Lin Sandie~" After an unknown amount of time, a soft, gentle voice called out by her ear, and Lin Sandie suddenly woke with a start.

"...You're finished?" Lin Sandie saw Lou kneeling beside her, her face very close, leaving her momentarily disoriented.

"I've finished eating, cleaned the table, and brushed my teeth!" Lou was as well-behaved as a six-year-old girl.

"Then hurry back... uh, which toothbrush did you use?"

"The white one. The electric one."

"That's my toothbrush!" The savior buff was once again on the verge of expiring.

"Oh, is that so? I'll use the red one next time, then. You can just change the brush head." Lou placed her hands on the sofa on either side of Lin Sandie's waist, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at her. It was only after her OCD flared up that Lin Sandie realized their current position was a bit ambiguous.

Lin Sandie's mind uncontrollably flashed back to the scene from the afternoon, when Lou had invited her while standing in the orange glow of the setting sun.

"Well, if you're done eating, you should go home. I'm fine now..." Lin Sandie shifted back, her expression blank.

"Want me to help you with your medicine?" Lou glanced down, indicating it was time to treat the wound on Lin Sandie's abdomen. Since she got injured from time to time, she was no stranger to such things.

"No need." Lin Sandie caught the scent of bubble bath on Lou, mixed with her own sweet fragrance. She raised a hand to Lou's shoulder and pushed her away. "Officer Xing brought a doctor over this afternoon. They already treated it."

"That Little Police Flower is quite thoughtful." Lou pouted. "But Yan Ting's people might still come looking for trouble. I should stay here for the time being. How about it?"

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Lin Sandie didn't know what to say. She felt that she was more likely to be driven to death by Lou's antics before anyone else could kill her.

The scent of Lou lingering around her nose was unsettling for Lin Sandie. She got up, preparing to go to the bathroom to wash up and go to sleep. She was utterly exhausted and wanted to get to bed as soon as possible.

"Just think of me as your personal bodyguard. I run a detective agency in the Black Goat Walled City, and I take bodyguard jobs too." Lou looked eager, following Lin Sandie like a puppy as she watched her change the head on her electric toothbrush, squeeze out some toothpaste, and start brushing.

"Do you charge?" Lin Sandie asked.

"Of course. I'll charge you 3,000 a day. As for saving your life today, if you feel bad about it, you can pay me a little something for that." So far, Lou had only received one commission, from Xu Siqian. She felt this was an excellent opportunity to market herself. At this point, she didn't forget to add, "I hope you can cover room and board."

"..." Lin Sandie stood dumbfounded, toothbrush in her mouth. She had only asked casually, with a hint of teasing, but Lou's unconventional way of thinking saw nothing wrong with it and quoted her a price on the spot.

"How about it?" Lou felt her price was quite reasonable. She was a senior Sentinel, after all. Others might not be able to hire her for that price.

"...I can't afford you. Even if I didn't eat or drink, my salary would only cover you for three days." Lin Sandie no longer knew if their conversation was a comedy routine or a serious negotiation. Lou had an aura that seemed to drain her intelligence; whenever she was near, Lin Sandie's IQ would plummet. It would probably take some time before she could get used to thinking calmly in Lou's presence.

"I can lend you the money," Lou said, leaning against the bathroom doorframe.

"Are you serious?"

"Serious. Given your attitude towards me, we'll calculate it nine-out-thirteen-in. (Note 1)"

"..." Lin Sandie really wanted to shove the toothbrush in her hand into Lou's head to see what was inside. She had no idea where Lou learned all this nonsense.

"No, go away!" Lin Sandie rinsed her toothbrush and started washing her face.

"I was kidding. Did I get you?" Lou laughed, her sharp canine teeth, slightly narrowed eyes, and brilliant smile making her look like an innocent fool.

"Childish."

Lin Sandie dried her face and prepared to go to her room to sleep. A glance at the time showed it was already past 10 PM.

"Lin Sandie, what about the thing you promised me?" Lou followed behind Lin Sandie, about to enter the room as well.

"What thing? You promised to answer my questions about Legislators," Lin Sandie retorted, pushing Lou back out. "I need to change. You can come in later."

"I can help you change."

"I don't need your help."

"If I had helped you get dressed this afternoon, the Little Police Flower would have suspected we were working together because you were too neat." Lou used her foot to block Lin Sandie's bedroom door, her eyes exceptionally sincere.

"That's not why." Lin Sandie's secret thoughts had been exposed, and her face grew warm again.

"I want to see Mom's photo soon!" Lou knew when to quit while she was ahead and didn't continue the topic that was making Lin Sandie uncomfortable, though she still squeezed her way in.

Walking straight to the wardrobe, Lou intended to get Lin Sandie's pajamas.

"I'll get them myself." Lin Sandie quickly grabbed the back of Lou's collar, stopping her from getting near her neatly organized wardrobe.

After finally helping the obsessive-compulsive and petty Lin Sandie change her clothes, Lou at last got a photograph from her. She lay on her stomach on the bed, carefully studying the old photo in her hands.

It showed a young woman with short hair, wearing a white dress and a pair of light blue sandals. Her features were much softer than Lou's or Lin Sandie's. In the photo, she was holding a chubby child and standing by a shimmering lake. The child in her arms was pouting, as if wronged, but the woman was smiling happily, two faint dimples appearing on her cheeks.

"Is this you?" Lou pointed to the child in the photo and asked Lin Sandie, who was lying beside her.

"When I was two." As soon as she lay down, drowsiness washed over her. Lin Sandie answered in a low voice.

"What's Mom's name?"

"Zhao Zhi."

"I once took the surname Zhao for a mission in another Tower World. By the way, what did Mom do?"

"She was a teacher at the village kindergarten. But when I was sorting through her things later, I found that she probably studied law before."

"Then why was she in a small mountain village?"

"I don't know why she married my father. I've never met anyone from my mother's side of the family. Maybe she ran away from home." Lin Sandie was now just answering Lou's questions subconsciously, her voice growing quieter and quieter.

"Are there any more photos? Can I have one?" Lou turned on her side, moving closer to Lin Sandie and asking in a whisper.

Lin Sandie didn't answer.

"Lin Sandie, do you know you were really, really close to dying today?" Lou poked Lin Sandie's cheek. The latter's eyes were closed, her beautiful face etched with fatigue. "You should cherish your life more."

"How do you know I don't cherish my life?" Lin Sandie responded, her voice already hazy with sleep.

"Because I can feel it. You're not afraid," Lou stopped gazing at Lin Sandie and lay flat on her back, her fingers interlaced over her stomach. "Fear is a gift from the heavens. It allows us to escape many dangers. If you lose your fear, even if I saved you today, you might die again very soon. Someone once told me that it's very difficult to save a dead person. I think you should be more fearful, more afraid."

"Do you feel fear too?" Lin Sandie suddenly turned her head to look at Lou.

"Of course. I get scared very easily." Lou turned her head as well, smiling at Lin Sandie.

"I see... In any case, thank you for saving me." Lin Sandie looked away. "I'll think carefully about the path I need to take from now on."

"Then..."

"It's ten-thirty. Time for bed. We can talk tomorrow." Lin Sandie rolled over, her back to Lou.

Seeing the tips of Lin Sandie's ears, visible beneath her hair, turn a little red, the corners of Lou's mouth curled up in a mischievous smile.

"Okay, Papa~" Lou leaned in close to Lin Sandie's ear and called out softly.

Lin Sandie's face flushed red again. She never should have agreed to play that stupid game of house with Lou.

"Don't call me Papa." Lin Sandie pulled the blanket up higher, covering her ears.

"Okay~ Lin Sandie~"

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