53: save5 The Little Grass in the Shadows
"..."
Liu Lili quickly calculated the workload and the time required, arriving at a conclusion that filled her with despair.
That was, she definitely wouldn't be able to get back before midnight.
Although her aunt had had episodes before, they had never wasted this much time; half an hour to an hour of rambling was usually the limit.
"Work hard! Clean up my room first, then the other rooms."
Liu Lili's aunt seemed to be in a good mood now. After leaving these words, she opened her phone and started playing, no longer looking at Liu Lili, not caring that Liu Lili was already mentally exhausted.
As if the torment of those hours for Liu Lili had never existed.
After dumping her emotional garbage, she just started entertaining herself on her own?
Liu Lili couldn't help but feel a bit wronged, but she didn't show it.
After all, endurance was a skill Liu Lili had long since learned.
It was also a skill she had to learn.
So Liu Lili began to work.
Time passed slowly, and Liu Lili gradually felt fatigue.
Her aunt's routine was regular, though. At a quarter past ten sharp, she went to bed, saying to Liu Lili.
"I'm going to sleep, Lili. Move quietly, don't wake me. Just leave by yourself when you're done. Oh, right, the thermos is in the kitchen cabinet. If you're thirsty, go get water there."
"... Okay, Auntie. Sleep well."
In the end, the only favor her aunt granted to Liu Lili, who came to work at her house, was a thermos of hot water.
But Liu Lili was indeed thirsty. After helping her aunt close the door, turn off the light, and leave the room, she hurried to the kitchen without stopping, gulping down two or three glasses of water before stopping.
She really wanted to go home and rest right now.
But if she didn't do a good job, she wouldn't get her aunt's hardship fee.
In fact, her aunt's standards for cleanliness were very strict. If Liu Lili didn't do it seriously, nine times out of ten her aunt would be dissatisfied and call Liu Lili's mother the next day.
That would not only get her scolded, but everything she was doing now would lose its meaning...
Liu Lili sighed, washed the cup and put it back, then continued her work.
Moving quietly undoubtedly slowed Liu Lili's efficiency again.
But Liu Lili could only do this.
She didn't know how much time passed.
Liu Lili finally finished all the work. Dragging her exhausted body, she quietly left her aunt's house.
Although staying overnight at her aunt's house would be the best choice for her right now, Liu Lili didn't dare do so without permission. She also didn't dare wake her aunt to ask if she could stay.
Moreover, her aunt's words, [Just leave by yourself when you're done], had already subtly indicated her attitude.
That's right. From beginning to end, Liu Lili was just cheap labor hired with money. Not only cheap but obedient, and there was no need to care about Liu Lili's feelings. As labor, leaving after finishing the work was the reasonable thing.
It was already two thirty in the morning. The moonlight was as tranquil as water, spilling onto the empty streets.
Naturally, there were no buses this late. Liu Lili clearly remembered the last bus was at twelve. Taking a taxi in the middle of the night would cost a lot of money. Liu Lili had no other choice; she had to walk home.
Her aunt's house wasn't particularly far from Liu Lili's home, but it was still about three kilometers.
Liu Lili calculated roughly. Walking one kilometer took about ten minutes, so three kilometers would be half an hour. She definitely wouldn't get home until after three.
Liu Lili silently took steps toward home.
By now, the joy and excitement from Lu Lele's confession during dinner at the Western restaurant in the afternoon had long since vanished from her heart, leaving only exhaustion and drowsiness.
And also, hunger.
Even though Liu Lili's dinner was a high-calorie burger and fries combo, so much time had passed that the food in her stomach had long been completely digested. The pangs of hunger clung to her like maggots in the bone.
But Liu Lili had no other choice. She could only walk forward step by step, heading toward home.
Half an hour later.
At three ten in the morning, Liu Lili finally arrived at her doorstep—that kind of low-rise apartment building, somewhat similar to those built in the eighties and nineties in the Celestial Empire of Blue Star.
Liu Lili tried to push the door.
Then found it was locked.
Her family had not left the door open for her.
So Liu Lili began searching her schoolbag for the key.
A dozen seconds later, Liu Lili's eyes widened in shock, her face ashen.
She discovered, with despair, that she had left her key in the school dormitory, forgotten to bring it back.
This meant she couldn't get in.
Thump, thump, thump.
Liu Lili knocked hard on the door, trying to wake the people inside.
But there was no response.
Liu Lili pressed her ear against the iron door, listening carefully.
Then she heard very clear snoring.
Liu Lili's father snored at night, and the sound was like thunder, basically enough to cover up the noise of Liu Lili knocking.
The small apartment where Liu Lili's family lived was only a little over fifty square meters, yet it had to squeeze in four people.
Due to limited rooms, Liu Lili had always slept on the sofa in the living room, while her parents and younger brother slept in the only bedroom.
Moreover, the door of that only bedroom had pretty good soundproofing. This was something Liu Lili had requested back when she found the nights noisy, asking her father to add a soundproofing panel. Now it seemed she had completely shot herself in the foot.
Liu Lili knocked a few more times with all her strength. Still no response.
And this was already the last of Liu Lili's strength, after working all night and walking three or four kilometers.
She really had no strength left to knock on that door that might never open.
Liu Lili was utterly despairing.
Helplessly, she sat down leaning against the door, curled up, hugging her schoolbag to her chest like a blanket, then closed her eyes.
Wronged, sad, and heartbroken feelings filled Liu Lili's heart. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but because she was too exhausted, Liu Lili cried herself to sleep.
In her dream, she dreamed of Lu Lele, holding her favorite burger, fries, and fried chicken, smiling as she handed these delicious things to her, her voice gentle as water.
[I know Lili must be very hungry right now~ This is the gift I prepared for Lili~ Eat up~]
The sleeping Liu Lili finally showed a faint smile, even though the tears at the corner of her eyes hadn't dried.
The next day.
Liu Lili, who had slept outside the door for four hours, was finally discovered by her early-rising family, then woken up and brought inside.
Naturally, Liu Lili was asked about the reason for sleeping outside.
"Why were you sleeping outside? Why didn't you come in to sleep?"
Liu Lili, her head aching from insufficient sleep, seemed listless. Facing her family's questions, she answered weakly.
Starting from meeting her aunt last night, until returning home.
As she spoke, Liu Lili felt more and more wronged, and tears began to fall, plip-plop.
As a result, Liu Lili's mother seemed very dismissive.
"Ah, what's there to feel wronged about? The hardships we endured when we were young were much worse than this. This is nothing. You'll be fine after waking up from a sleep."
"And, leaving your key at school is your own problem. Don't be so sensitive, Lili."
No comfort, no concern.
On the contrary, only the mockery of [This kind of thing is nothing].
Liu Lili finally couldn't take it anymore. She lowered her head, clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, on the verge of exploding.
Only Liu Lili's father seemed to notice something was wrong with Liu Lili's mood and spoke up.
"Daughter, go rest on the sofa. I'll get you something to eat. After eating, you can go inside and sleep for a while."
After hearing this, Liu Lili was silent for a moment, then nodded.
The tightly clenched fists loosened. Her expression was no longer gloomy.
Just this one simple, ordinary, normal sentence made Liu Lili, who was on the verge of exploding, calm down again.