In the mobile phone store, instead of the girl with shoulder-length hair, there was a bald man with a protruding belly wearing a vest. When he saw Ye Shuang and the others coming in, he immediately stood up warmly.
"What would you like to buy?"
"I want to buy a smartphone," Ye Shuang said. "Something affordable will do."
Looking at the enthusiastic expression of the middle-aged man, Ye Shuang thought to himself that this was what a mobile phone store owner should be like. If it was like the service attitude of the girl in the morning, this store would surely go out of business sooner or later.
"Yes, take a look at these iPhones. They are sturdy and durable, have a good signal, and charge quickly," the boss said with a smile. "And these are all phones that girls have used for less than a month. The prices are reasonable."
"This iPhone only costs 5,999 yuan."
Upon hearing this, Ye Shuang remembered what the girl said in the morning about "all kinds of problems, just pick one that can be used." Suddenly, he fell silent.
"Give me an Android phone," Ye Shuang said.
"Sure, wait a moment." The boss rummaged around and took out a phone that was exactly the same as the one the girl sold to Ye Shuang in the morning.
"This is a new model recently. Many people buy it. It's brand new and only costs 1,800 yuan."
Ye Shuang was taken aback. "Is it so expensive?"
"Come on, it's not expensive at all. This has been the price for these years." When the boss saw that Ye Shuang couldn't even take out 1,000 yuan, his attitude immediately became much worse.
"It's hard to find such an affordable phone. We're going for the strategy of small profits but large sales volume. Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand."
Ye Shuang: "..."
He suddenly thought that the girl in the morning wasn't so bad. Although she had a sharp tongue, she was actually an honest boss.
The boss in front of him was smiling, and although his service attitude was warm, he seemed to want to rip Ye Shuang off.
"Well, we'll go and take a look elsewhere," Ye Shuang said as he pulled Bai Yuyou beside him and quickly left the mobile phone store.
It's better to buy online. With the speed of the logistics here, it should arrive the next day.
"Damn, you're wasting my time," the boss spat after seeing Ye Shuang and the others turn around and leave without hesitation. Then he put the phone back.
A few seconds later, he suddenly looked through the inventory in confusion. "Strange... why do I feel like one phone is missing?"
"Forget it. I guess my wife sold it."
...
After leaving the store, Ye Shuang turned to look at the girl beside him. "Remember, when you buy something, you need to figure out if they're trying to rip you off, especially for things without a clearly marked price."
Bai Yuyou seemed to half understand and suddenly asked, "Is being a kept woman a form of buying?"
"Uh... sort of similar?" Asked like this, Ye Shuang suddenly didn't know how to answer.
"How much would it cost to buy you?" Bai Yuyou asked curiously.
Ye Shuang felt a bit helpless. Why did this girl always want to possess him?
Forget it. She's young and doesn't know any better.
"People can't be traded," Ye Shuang said. Then he led Bai Yuyou and was about to go back.
"But... my mother once said she wanted to sell me..." A calm sentence from Bai Yuyou made Ye Shuang stop in his tracks.
Ye Shuang stared blankly at Bai Yuyou for a while. Then he forced a smile and said, "Your mother was just joking to scare you."
"Is that so?" Bai Yuyou seemed to be recalling something, and her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
"Alright. What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Instant noodles..." she answered subconsciously.
"No way."
"Why not?"
"There's no why. Remember what I said." Ye Shuang said. After all, instant noodles are okay to eat occasionally, but if you eat them all the time, you won't get enough nutrients.
Although Bai Yuyou didn't quite understand, thinking of the delicious food Ye Shuang made, she nodded obediently.
Suddenly, her gaze was inadvertently attracted by a mother and daughter passing by. The young mother was holding her daughter's little hand and strolling on the street, and both of them were smiling happily.
This kind of affection would never lose to time. But at this moment, it felt extremely unfamiliar to Bai Yuyou.
The girl stood there staring, as if she was outside the hustle and bustle of the crowd, cold and detached, as if the sunlight shining on her had turned into moonlight.
Not until they walked away did Bai Yuyou slowly look at Ye Shuang and suddenly ask in a low voice, "Can I hold your hand?"
Ye Shuang naturally noticed this scene. He retracted his gaze, didn't say much, and just took Bai Yuyou's slightly cold and pale little hand. He passed on a bit of the warmth from his palm and asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Instant noodles."
"I already said no."
"Oh..."
There were a lot of people around. The two of them walked closely together, without too many complicated emotions, just warming each other in the not-cold afternoon.
...
On the way back, they bought some groceries and arrived in front of the house. Ye Shuang took out the key and tried to open the door. The lock cylinder made a clicking sound, and it was still very difficult to open. Moreover, after pulling out the key, Ye Shuang found that it was wet, as if it had been stained with some strange liquid.
Ye Shuang frowned slightly. He first looked around and then let Bai Yuyou enter the house.
Before cooking, Ye Shuang used his phone to call a locksmith. In less than half an hour, a middle-aged man arrived.
"Your lock is already open," the locksmith said as he put his toolbox on the ground.
"Master, please take this lock apart. I want to replace it," Ye Shuang said and handed the man a cigarette.
After the master took the cigarette, he put it on the back of his ear clip and smiled, "Change the lock, right? You wait ha, I go to the car to get a lock."
After a while, the locksmith came back.
He was very skillful. In no time, he pried the whole lock open and took it apart.
"Your lock is rusty," the locksmith said. "And it feels wet too."
Ye Shuang lit a cigarette for himself. He first told Bai Yuyou, who had poked her head out, to go back inside. Then he continued to talk to the locksmith.
"Master, do you think someone deliberately made this lock rust?"
"The lock cylinder looks quite new, but the lock is rusty," the locksmith showed Ye Shuang. The lock cylinder was made of copper, so it was okay, but the lower part of the whole lock was completely rusted, and it was very serious.
He lowered his voice.
"Little brother, did you offend any of your neighbors? They might have done this to you."
"I don't think so," Ye Shuang thought of Bai Yuyou's appearance and then asked calmly, "So you're saying it's likely to be man-made?"
The locksmith wasn't very certain either. He just said, "Most likely. Otherwise, this kind of lock wouldn't be rusted so badly. Someone should have poured something into it."
"Even in those decades-old neighborhoods, the locks wouldn't be rusted this severely."
"Alright, master. Please help me replace the lock first."
"The lock costs 150 yuan, and the labor fee is 50 yuan."
"Okay."
While the locksmith was installing the lock, Ye Shuang picked up the rusty lock on the ground.
[Item: Rusty door lock
It seems to have been corroded by chemicals, but it's still barely usable]
Sure enough.
Ye Shuang took a puff of the cigarette in his mouth. In the swirling smoke, he squinted his eyes slightly.