The unattainable beauty was driven to depravity and madness by a wicked seed.

"...That's because he couldn't hold it in." After Shen Qinghuai finished speaking, he saw Lu Sui smiling in the rearview mirror, his eye bags were very noticeable.

"There's a child being beaten up ahead, why?"

"I don't know, should we go ask them?"

Lu Sui shook his head, "No."

He was quiet for five minutes, then said, "I don't want any more snacks."

"?"

"An old man was urinating just now, and he didn't wash his hands before he started cutting tofu."

Shen Qinghuai nearly crashed into the car in front of him. "Really?"

"Um."

"I'm not eating either."

"Have you eaten it?"

"……right."

"How tragic."

Shen Qinghuai couldn't help but laugh and asked Lu Sui if he wanted to comfort him. Lu Sui said no, then said no again, and finally said he didn't want to at all.

I'm going to cry.

"Don't cry, or I'll hit you."

"This is outside, in broad daylight! How dare Xiao Bao hit me?"

"Haven't I hit you enough already?"

"Quite a few times. I enjoy being hit by the baby, but this needs to be done in secret. How about we discuss it in bed tonight?"

"..."

When they arrived at the appliance store, Shen Qinghuai took Lu Sui's wrist and led them inside. The store was crowded, with most people buying air conditioners. This summer was too hot, and the elderly people who had been frugal and used fans all their lives spent a fortune on air conditioners. Although the government provided subsidies, they were still very expensive. The money was spent before the corn in the fields had even been sold.

The shopkeeper asked Shen Qinghuai what he wanted to buy, and he said a water heater.

The shopkeeper laughed and said there was no need to buy now. It's hot now; just fill a clean bucket with water, put it in the sun, cover it with a plastic bag, and it'll still be hot to wash in the evening. Shen Qinghuai said he'd have to fill it sooner or later, and the shopkeeper nodded, "That's true. What price range are you looking for?"

Shen Qinghuai chose a suitable one, paid the money, and left his address and phone number. He left Liu Qiushui's number, which he had already told her.

"I'll arrange for someone to come and install it for you later. This is a business card. If there's any problem with the water heater, just give him a call. We'll clean it for you for free around this time next year."

After they went out, Shen Qinghuai took Lu Sui to the supermarket and bought some fish, shrimp, chicken legs and ribs, as well as some vegetables and snacks. He said he would make fried mushrooms for Lu Sui and also picked out some mangosteens and plums.

Seeing Lu Sui looking at durians, Shen Qinghuai searched for tutorials on how to choose them on his phone. Someone nearby opened them on the spot, and if you weren't familiar with them, you didn't have to pay. The durian shells were also packed for Shen Qinghuai to take home and stew with chicken, saying they were highly nutritious.

Shen Qinghuai put the things under the seat, and hung the rest in front of him. He asked Lu Sui if he wanted to eat durian now. Lu Sui said it smelled bad. Shen Qinghuai said, "It should taste good."

"You've never tried it before?"

"without."

"I've never eaten it either."

"Then we'll try them all when we get home."

Thinking about how hot it was, Shen Qinghuai went to the wholesale ice cream place. Most of them were 50 or 70 cents, while chocolate ones were 1.2 yuan, and some were 2 yuan. He picked out a box and ended up spending 21 yuan.

Shen Qinghuai wanted to buy something else, but he couldn't fit it all in, so he had to go back first.

They had just arrived home when the people who were supposed to install the water heater arrived. They were talking to Liu Qiushui in the storage room when Old Wang, carrying his tool bag, and his wife, carrying a bundle of wires, also came over. Shen Qinghuai greeted them and told Lu Sui to greet them the same way he greeted them.

Old Wang's wife asked, "Is this your friend? She's so beautiful!"

Lu Sui was still wearing a hat and mask, and it was unclear how she could tell that she was pretty. Before Shen Qinghuai could speak, she said, "Hmm."

He admitted that he was Shen Qinghuai's friend.

After they went inside, he explained to Shen Qinghuai, "It's better to avoid trouble."

Seeing that no one was around, Shen Qinghuai tapped his forehead and said, "I'm sorry you had to go through this."

"I'm not wronged."

In the kitchen, in front of the refrigerator, Shen Qinghuai put vegetables on the top shelf, while Lu Sui put ice cream on the bottom shelf. He picked out one he wanted, opened it, took a bite, and said it was too cold. Shen Qinghuai told him to eat slowly and took the snack back to his room.

"Xiao Bao, there are some wicked, gossipy old women outside. After I go out, lock the door."

"Where to?"

"They're all installing water heaters. I'll go over and keep an eye on things, help out. It seems we're out of bottled water; we'll have to go buy another case," Shen Qinghuai said, locking the window from the inside and drawing the curtains. "The computer's on the table; you can also use your phone, but it might be a bit noisy."

"It's okay."

"Okay, shall I head out then?"

Lu Sui, with chocolate smeared on her lips, kissed Shen Qinghuai, "Yaoyao."

Shen Qinghuai wiped it clean for him without any disgust.

The storage room was tidied up before 10 o'clock. Shen Qinghuai was cleaning up the trash in the living room when the door opened and an old woman came in, her small eyes squinting as she looked him over. "Qiu Shui, I'm not trying to be mean, but you have to support your son and your old mother. It's not even warm yet, and you've already turned on two air conditioners? That's expensive! I overheard them outside saying you installed another water heater? Did you strike it rich?"

Shen Qinghuai frowned, and Liu Qiushui said, "Installing a water heater is making a fortune? Auntie, how can your vision still be so narrow? A basin of water outside could scald a pig to death, and you still say it's not hot... Oh right, old people are all thick-skinned."

The old woman was so angry that she stood at the door cursing.

Lu Sui put on his shoes and was about to come out and yell at her, but as soon as he opened the door, she was gone.

Seeing that Lu Sui was about to chase after them, Liu Qiushui and Shen Qinghuai stopped him, "Little Lu, it's okay, go back to your room and play, I'll make you something delicious later."

"I'm going to kill her—"

Liu Qiushui interrupted Lu Sui, "Shh, don't let anyone else hear this. Auntie knows you mean well, but she's old and will die soon. Let's not hold it against her."

"Why not make an example of her? This is definitely not the first time she's done this; she must bully you all the time."

Liu Qiushui's eyes welled up with tears. "Sigh, I don't let her bully me every time. Your Aunt Xu will help me. Besides, she has three sons, one of whom works at the police station. We can't afford to offend her."

Lu Sui said, "I can afford to offend them."

Shen Qinghuai pulled Lu Sui into his arms, carefully avoiding touching his shoulder with his dirty hands. "Mom, you have two sons now. You can afford to offend them. We won't take this lying down."

Under Shen Qinghuai's questioning, it was learned that the old woman and several others had buried purses in the corner of the wall. Liu Qiushui only found out about this when she discovered that the soil in the corner of the wall had been turned over while cleaning and checked the surveillance footage.

Shen Qinghuai's eyes were cold. He retrieved the surveillance footage and planned to go to the police station, but protecting someone was definitely not something that could be done by one person alone.

Before she could figure out what to do, the next day when Liu Qiushui opened the door, six burly men were standing there, startling her so much that she took several steps back. "Who...who are you looking for?"

"Is Young Master Lu awake?"

Liu Qiushui wanted to ask who Young Master Lu was, but then suddenly realized that the only person with the surname Lu was Lu Sui. She swallowed back her saliva and glanced at the surveillance camera warily. "Do you need him for something?"