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Chapter 18 Moving
Chen Rang eventually gave up on the game.
It wasn't because DouDou, along with the big blue cat and the Munchkin cat, made him impatient.
It was because the Switch had limited battery power and there was no compatible charger at home. In addition, the controller also had some problems. After several low battery warnings popped up from the game screen, Chen Rang had no choice but to put it aside for the time being.
then……
He walked over with a stern face and gave the three cats a dressing down.
"What's all the noise about! Do you want a beating?"
"Waaah~"
DouDou, who was just moments ago incredibly arrogant, quickly backed down.
It wasn't ashamed at all; after all, cats don't care about appearances. It simply tilted its head up at Chen Rang in a flattering manner, then gave him a pitiful smile.
Perhaps being arrogant or obedient isn't the point, nor is being noisy or quiet. As long as you can lure the poop-scooper to your side to serve you, those are just means to stop at any time.
DouDou lay on its back on the blanket in the cat house, its belly exposed and its four legs curled up, just to entice Chen Rang to pet it. Even though Chen Rang only pointed and gestured through the glass door and didn't intend to serve it, it only purred twice in dissatisfaction and didn't continue to make a fuss.
It seems that as long as Chen Rang hasn't forgotten about it and is willing to come and visit it occasionally, it is already very happy.
"You bastard!"
Chen Rang felt both emotional and heartbroken for Dou Dou.
When you hate it, you wish you could throw it away. When you like it, you find everything it does adorable.
So he stopped lecturing, played with DouDou through the glass for a while, then went to teach the big blue cat and the Munchkin cat a lesson by tapping them on the head, and that was the end of it.
The two cats, bewildered and aggrieved at being beaten for no apparent reason, couldn't understand why Chen Rang was treating them differently. The white cat was the one that meowed the loudest and caused the most trouble, so why were they the ones getting beaten in the end?
This is not fair at all!
The two cats barked at Chen Rang, but all they saw was his back as he turned and went to the next room.
The two cats suddenly became somewhat depressed.
But the next second, when they saw Chen Rang come over with a bag of cat food and add some to their bowls, the two cats started meowing happily again.
"Hey! What brings you to call me? Are you off work?"
After feeding the cat, Chen Rang looked at the sky outside.
"No, it's just routine overtime, and I won't be able to get away for several more hours. But I've already told my boss I'll have tomorrow off. So, could you come over tomorrow morning and help me move? Any objections?"
Li Shiwei's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"How could I refuse? It's not easy for you to get a break, and if you miss this opportunity, who knows when you'll get another chance. Don't worry, I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning." Chen Rang chuckled; he never joked when it came to serious matters.
"Alright, I'll treat you to breakfast tomorrow morning!"
Li Shiwei hung up the phone in a good mood.
The meeting place she and Chen Rang arranged was inside the Yueyahu Police Station compound, located one block away from the Chaiwan Farmers Market. This was where Li Shiwei worked, and the things she needed to move were all in the old dormitory building behind the police station.
This old building, also from the 1980s, is characterized by having rows of single rooms on each floor, much like a student dormitory.
What Li Shiwei complained about most was that there was no private bathroom in the room. If she wanted to use the toilet or do laundry, she had to go to the public handwashing station at the end of the hallway. Not only was it inconvenient to go back and forth, but showering was also inconvenient.
"It's said that the police station is planning to demolish all the buildings and rebuild several new ones! The police station will have to work in temporary offices next door, and it's unknown how many years it will take for the buildings to be completed."
After breakfast, Li Shiwei explained her reasons for renting a room while leading Chen Rang into the backyard of the police station and then up to the third floor of the dormitory building.
The first and second floors are single dormitories for male police officers, while the third floor is used by female police officers, and the two do not interfere with each other.
The fourth floor was used as a warehouse or similar place, and there was even an iron gate blocking the stairwell.
When Chen Rang got to the third floor, he saw a row of nearly ten rooms, but most likely only two or three people lived there, including Li Shiwei.
It is obvious that in a place like a police station, there is a typical imbalance of male and female populations.
Looking around the corridor, the paint on the walls is severely faded, and some of the exterior paint has even bubbled and cracked. Old buildings are constructed of brick rather than cement, so water seepage is inevitable over time.
Upon entering Li Shiwei's room, the small wooden window made the room very dark, and the various things inside were also in a mess.
To Chen Rang's even greater surprise, several plastic dumbbells were carelessly scattered on the floor beside the bed. Each dumbbell was larger than Chen Rang's fist, making their presence in such a place truly unbelievable.
At the foot of the bed, Chen Rang saw two more spring arm exercisers.
He turned to look at Li Shiwei.
"You're still working out in your room?"
"Yeah! I'm a field police officer, of course I need to train. If I were sitting in an office, I might not need these things. But maybe not, after all, I've gotten used to it over the years."
Li Shiwei smiled somewhat embarrassedly, glanced at Chen Rang's expression, and cautiously asked, "Isn't it strange?"
"No, it's fine!"
Chen Rang shook his head vaguely.
He was just glad that Li Shiwei wasn't his girlfriend; otherwise, the thought of this girl's slender figure concealing a tyrannical strength would make him break out in a cold sweat.
But what if I feel like I have a lot of personality?
He was lost in thought.
With a quick glance, Chen Rang suddenly saw a familiar piece of clothing next to the pillow on the opposite side of the bed.
Isn't this the pink pajamas Li Shiwei wore when we video chatted last night? How could she just casually leave it right under my nose? Doesn't she think she's a real man?
He glanced back at Li Shiwei.
"What the hell are you looking at!"
Li Shiwei glared back without hesitation, and her words were equally blunt.
She was aware of the pajamas' existence, of course. But they weren't underwear, so what was there to be ashamed of? Besides, she'd only worn them overnight but could still wash them; she couldn't just hide them with the other clothes, could she?
Li Shiwei looked around and sighed in disdain.
Another thing she was unhappy about about the dormitory was that it was too small, making it inconvenient even to hang clothes.
Although she's a police officer and wears her uniform most of the time, so she doesn't need many everyday clothes, she's still a girl, and she can't resist buying a few pretty clothes, shoes, cute hats, and accessories, right?
In addition, we also need space to put the gym equipment, and the dorm room is hardly enough space.
As for going home...
Other police officers can live at home, but her family situation is different; there are two police officers, one old and one young!
The old man works in criminal investigation at the city police station, often working all night with his days and nights completely reversed. As a new police officer, she's frequently assigned to night shifts. Just when she's finally fallen asleep, the old man comes home and starts making a ruckus; or the old man finally gets a good night's sleep, but she has to eat and do laundry, all that commotion. Plus, her mother is already suffering enough from the old man's irregular schedule; if her daughter continues to cause trouble…
So after thinking it over, I decided to move out and live alone, so that my parents could have an easier time.
"What a filial daughter!"
Chen Rang joked as he helped move a large cardboard box.
He didn't know what was inside; it was extremely heavy and its center of gravity was off to the right, making it unstable. Even though it had been taped shut, he was still worried about leaking, so he could only support the bottom with both hands.
In this situation, you can't see the stairs when going downstairs, making it very difficult to walk.
Fortunately, the dormitory was small, and Li Shiwei didn't have much to move; plus, she only needed to unload it and put it in the trunk of her car, so it wasn't too difficult.
Li Shiwei carried all the clothes and personal belongings herself. Chen Rang only needed to lift a few cardboard boxes and help Li Shiwei move a large plastic box downstairs. They finished the task in a few trips and it didn't take too long.
After clearing out the room, the two of them did a quick cleaning together before heading downstairs to leave.
The car was borrowed from a colleague by Li Shiwei; it was a pretty nice Volkswagen. Seeing the glass-framed photo on the dashboard, showing a man and a woman intimately embracing, Chen Rang inexplicably felt a sense of relief.
Honestly, he didn't even know what he was thinking.
But how should I put it? Even if you don't intend to take your relationship with a beautiful woman further, most people wouldn't want to see her being embraced by another man, right?
Besides, who can guarantee there won't be a chance, right?
Chen Rang felt that he was quite hypocritical.