When Chiaya entered Tulin Auntie's house, she found her smiling and watching Karan with a cup of coffee in her hand. Since Tulin Auntie was short and would have difficulty hanging the washed curtains, she didn't want to stop Karan from finishing the job.
"Oh, Chichi, welcome! Come, come, sit down. I'll bring you a cup of coffee."
Chiaya sat down with Tulin Auntie and started watching Karan.
Tulin Auntie whispered, "He has such a good physique."
Chiaya replied in the same low voice, "I know, right?"
When they got home, Chiaya asked with a laugh, "How did you end up as Tulin Auntie's hostage?"
"I wanted to get something to eat before you got back from work, but I was caught before I could even walk away."
"Were you home all day?" Chiaya asked.
"I went out once. I went into a shop that sells books and asked for something suitable for learning to read and write, and I bought a few things. I think the seller thought I was someone trying to teach a small child to read. Then, on the way back, a kind woman stopped me and offered to buy me a drink. When I told her I had money, she gave me this card instead, and I didn't understand what was written on it."
Chiaya took the card Karan handed her. It was the woman's business card, and she had written her personal phone number on it along with a little heart.
So this was what it meant to be that handsome. It was honestly adorable that Karan thought the woman had only stopped to feed him, simply out of kindness.
"I have news for you too. Lots of it," Chiaya said. "Buse called today and told me she found a way for us to reach people who do deep web searches. Also, the owner of TSMS Gold Buyers called. The auction will be held in two days."
"How will we reach those people? And how will I get to the auction's location?" Karan asked.
"We have to go to a website and leave a comment saying 'Life is so hard,' and then wait for them to contact us," Chiaya said. "As for the auction, it's in a city a few hours' drive from here. I'll take you there myself."
"Don't you have to work?" Karan asked.
"That's the third piece of news. I've taken a few days off. I wasn't planning to, but how many chances in my life will I get to attend an underground auction!"
Chiaya was overly excited. Her face was glowing with joy again, her big eyes wide open, and he was struggling not to laugh. What could have gotten Chiaya this excited? It was just a sale, after all.
"Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat, and then we can start researching," she said.
"I actually wanted to try cooking," Karan said, "but I couldn't find anywhere in your kitchen to light a fire."
"What! Karan, thank God you didn't try. What were you going to do—throw a few pieces of wood into the sink and set them on fire?"
Chiaya thought it might be a good idea to teach Karan how to cook without burning the house down.
When they went to grab a shopping cart, Karan saw a woman put her child inside one. Then he picked Chiaya up and tried to put her in their cart. Chiaya screamed with laughter.
"What are you doing, Karan? Put me down!"
"I thought this was how it worked," he said.
Chiaya laughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes.
"Your onions come in different colors," Karan said. "We only have the yellow ones in Narval."
"I think they all taste the same," Chiaya replied with a smile.
She felt the same way while they shopped—like they really looked like a couple from the outside.
She didn't know the advantages of being a couple, but one thing was certain—carrying the bags was much better with someone else.
Chiaya gave Karan a brief explanation of how the kitchen appliances and stove worked. Karan was genuinely amazed by the solutions humans had invented.
In Narval, if you wanted to start a fire, all you needed was a bit of soul power to create it.
Chiaya watched Karan closely. He chopped the vegetables like a chef. When Chiaya peeled a vegetable, half of it usually ended up in the trash.
I should practice more too, she thought as she watched him.The food turned out to be more delicious than they had expected. While they were eating, Chiaya asked, "Can I see the things you bought from the bookstore?"
When Karan brought out the reading cards, Chiaya first laughed. But then, thinking it over, she realized the cards could actually be useful. Plus, the illustrations on them were very cute!
"I've practiced a little," Karan said.
"Oh really, pupil? Show me what you've learned."
Karan had bought a notebook and a pen as well. The person who sold them must have thought they were gifts for a child.
The notebook with teddy bears and the pen decorated with dinosaurs looked very funny in the hands of a big man like Karan.
Karan had already figured out the letters in the pictures he recognized. He solved the rest by using what he knew.
For example, he understood that the card with a picture of a train represented the "t" sound because another card showed the letter "n" with a picture of "night," and the word "night" ends with the "t" sound.
Still, there were gaps that needed to be filled.
After finishing their meal and washing the dishes, the moment they had both been eagerly waiting for had finally arrived.
They were going to visit that ridiculous website and write that ridiculous comment. The website was a simple chat site with a basic design. According to Buse, they found clients through it.
Chiaya entered the forum where people talked about family matters and clicked the comment section.
"Will you do the honors?" she asked.
Karan sat down at the laptop.
He typed, "lyf is very hard" He was typing carefully and slowly, like a grandmother new to technology.
"Life," Chiaya said with a smile. "Let me spell it out for you: L-I-F-E."