At dusk, there was a sunset and evening glow.
The small skylight had turned red.
The view from the window changes with the time of day, like a transforming painting, very beautiful, always showing different scenery.
Xiao Qi stared blankly at the window, calculating that she could now earn 18,000 yuan per day - with 30,000 steps per day and 0.6 yuan per step.
Compared to 15,000 yuan per day previously, she strangely did not feel there was much of a change.
In fact, there was an increase of 3,000 yuan per day.
Perhaps because this money did not come from hard work, but too easily, she felt a bit numb about it.
This money was still not enough to buy a house, she could only keep looking.
After tidying up the house, Xiao Qi started cooking dinner. After the meal she still needed to study and go for a run.
While cooking, she was also reviewing Japanese. She was more tired than usual this afternoon, so she hugged the book Elder Zhou had given her to read.
It was a copy of "One Day in the Life of an Edo Resident", surprisingly with simple manga-style drawings, the cover looked very interesting.
The author was Sugiura Hiromiko, a manga artist, writer, and researcher of Edo period culture and customs.
Xiao Qi really admired people who could draw. She felt that verbal expression could not compare with visuals in intuitiveness and interest. If she could draw, many writings would be more interesting.
But her drawing skill capped out at coloring inside triangles on the floor.
She had not received focused training in art since she was little. Art class was a period she could use to do other things.
Reading this manga while cooking was truly interesting. The opening was about Japan's public bath culture.
The manga depicted Japanese men with their hair in neat round buns, different from cute girl buns; the front had a U-shaped bald patch above the forehead, if they applied to be programmers they would all qualify as senior developers.
It then introduced the clothes and styles of Edo fashionistas, also in manga, annotated explanations were like casual scribbles, crooked and skewed. That half bald bun even had a name, called "Hontamo sideburns", which was basically half bald, not sure if it was to get ahead of future baldness by already shaving part of the head bald.
It was easy to get absorbed in manga, oblivious to people walking by.
Lin Min came back, wanted to greet her, saw her standing there seriously hugging a book reading, and didn't greet her, just went straight in.
He came back to get a change of clothes. His clothes were in a box under the bed.
There were not many pieces.
After taking the clothes, he would leave. He hated this dark place, where his unpresentable past laid.
But now, he laid on his own bed, blanket neatly folded, hard wooden bed, yet his body and mind more relaxed than ever.
He could even casually pick his nose.
This was his home.
No floor-to-ceiling windows, not even a window, yet it made him utterly relaxed.
His nest.
His tall frame now curled up on the bed like a baby, he was a bit tired.
At some point, the door opened.
Lin Qingqing came in, seeing her brother inside, shouted loudly not caring if her brother was there .
"Brother, you're back! Sister Xiao Qi helped me decorate the room, doesn't it look good? Do you like it?"
Lin Min sat up casually as if the fragile baby-like person just now wasn't him.
He said coldly: "Not bad, who let you mess with my stuff."
"I didn't, your things were all put back intact, I even added a rug and small table for you, humph, I spent a lot of money on this, used up all my pocket money, brother can you give me some money?" Lin Qingqing's last sentence was fawning.
Looking at the rug and table, Lin Min took out his phone from his pocket and transferred 500 yuan to his sister.
Seeing the WeChat transfer, Lin Qingqing was overjoyed. Decorating the room, she had gotten money from her mom, and now money from her brother too, she even earned money from this.
Her brother had been earning good money recently it seemed, to be so generous.
Lin Qingqing still acted spoiled. After pulling the curtain back to her room, she started changing clothes.
Lin Min sat on his bed, listening to the rustling sounds from behind the curtain, feeling a bit helpless and also intimate, after all he took a set of clean clothes and some books and left.
His sister had grown up too, he was 18 years old, sharing a room with his sister was indeed inconvenient.
But he really liked how the room was now, truly.
Seeing the flowers and leaves pattern on the opposite curtain while fierce beasts on his own side, although one room, separated by the curtain, it was like two independent rooms already.
"I'm going." He called out.
Lin Qingqing had changed into comfortable clothes and lied in bed while turning on music, unwilling to get up, only responded lightly.
"Oh."
Looking at her money, she excitedly thought about what she could buy.
Lin Min didn't get a response from his sister. He went out, also didn't run into his parents, only saw Xiao Qi still standing there facing the wok reading her book, now she finally raised her head.
Saw him.
"Hello Lin Min."
Lin Min nodded, saw her reading manga, and asked: "You started learning Japanese? How's it going?"
"Just started, taught by a teacher from the Culture Palace. Feels pretty good, mornings on Monday Wednesday and Friday. "
Lin Min wanted to ask how expensive were the fees, if she had enough money, but couldn't open his mouth. He could give his sister money, seemed not right to give Xiao Qi money, but seeing her standing there reading while facing the wok, really wanted to ask.
"That's good. And thanks for helping decorate my sister's room, I've been quite busy lately, it was supposed to be my job." Although Lin Min felt his sister had many flaws like loving to eat and play while being lazy, she was still his one and only sister, he actually doted on her a lot.
Hesitated for a moment, asked: "Is learning Japanese expensive?"
"Not expensive, only 100 yuan per class. I should be thanking you, the tutoring student you brought me to interview last time, she also introduced me to quite a few students. This Japanese teacher was also someone she helped recommend. I can earn enough to cover most of the fees." Xiao Qi said sincerely.
"Don't need to thank me, you earned it yourself." After speaking, Lin Min felt he didn't know what else to say. Wanted to offer money but couldn't say it. Seeing people coming and going, soon would probably be rush hour after work. He picked up his stuff, and left first.
Xiao Qi also felt Lin Min was a bit odd, just couldn't say where exactly.
She put away her book, about to go wash vegetables. At this time the mechanical voice sounded by her ear again: "Host is happy to help, giving the moderately darkening teenager a clean and beautiful bedroom, easing the pace of his darkening, rewarding host with skin one shade fairer."
Su Xiaoshi: ......
Suddenly thought after starting university she wouldn't get to see the NPC Lin Min who specially delivered gifts anymore......felt a bit sad for some reason, she watched Lin Min leave longingly.
And halfway leaving, Lin Min suddenly turned back, and saw that girl, hugging a book, gazing at him seriously, had she been watching him the whole time?
