"Blackbeard's home!" said Malcolm, wearing his fake pirate beard. He was about to raise his tinfoil knife to make the next pose, only to realize that the person opening the door for him was a stranger.
Zhou Yu looked at him silently, sizing up his overly gorgeous three-cornered hat and fake beard that covered half of his face.
"Oh, hello," Malcolm said, putting down the fake knife and taking a step back, "Another new neighbor, who just moved here in the past two years? I think I probably went to the wrong door, or maybe I remembered it wrongly. House number..."
He looked at the harrier-shaped door number with great suspicion, and then turned to look at the water pipe in the yard holding the monster, as if he was wondering how there could be a neighbor who was so similar to him in aesthetics and creativity.
"If you don't mind," he asked cautiously in English, "could you please tell me if there is a family named Yu nearby..."
"Yes." Luo Binhan stood behind Zhou Yu and said, "It's right here."
Malcolm put his head over Zhou Yu's shoulder, trying hard to see Luo Binhan's face in the dark. He suddenly let out a shout of surprise, threw away the fake knife and rushed in. Zhou Yu was so frightened by him that he stepped aside, but Luo Binhan still stood still. His experience had taught him how artists would greet acquaintances, and he received a warm bear hug. Malcolm also said a long string of English words in his ear, presumably all greetings, but Luo Binhan couldn't understand a few words at all - Malcolm would always put on a strong Scottish accent when he was excited. If he If he doesn't speak slowly, even Yu Xiaorong may not be able to understand what he means. But Luo Binhan couldn't complain about this. His accent must be quite uncomfortable for locals.
"I just came here last Saturday." He said after Malcolm let go of his arm, "I didn't expect you to be on vacation too."
"How about Africa?" Malcolm asked jokingly. Luo Binhan was prepared to be vague, and then asked: "How is Spain?"
Malcolm was about to speak immediately. The look on his face suggested that he could talk for three days and three nights on this topic, about the old villages and castles and churches, about the spooky legends that cling to spiritual beliefs and bleak wilderness, maybe even spreading olive oil. Delicious Spanish food and shocking gangster stories. With his artist's heart that loves life and sees all things in his mind, and his vivid eloquence, he will soon make people forget about Africa and focus on the Mediterranean.
Unfortunately, Yu Qingshu came out of the study at this time. Because the junior was present, she acted reserved when she saw Malcolm, but the latter never understood this. Malcolm immediately put Spain aside and embraced and kissed her passionately.
"Where did this beauty come from?" he said lovingly, "My little rabbit..."
Before he could continue to say something that might shock Zhou Yu, Luo Binhan coughed lightly and pretended that there were flies flying on the ceiling. Yu Qingshu pushed Malcolm away, blushing but still majestically asking Malcolm to move the luggage into the bedroom first. When she went in to help clean up, she closed the door. Luo Binhan downstairs sat back on the sofa with relief and turned the volume of the TV to the maximum.
"It will take a while for them to come down." He greeted Zhou Yu and told him not to stand at the door. Zhou Yu glanced upstairs, walked back to the guest room silently, and continued to work on the laptop that Luo Binhan couldn't understand. In order to give him a quiet space, Luo Binhan had no choice but to sit on the sofa in the living room and play with his mobile phone. He sent another message to Momolo, but received no reply, so he imagined that the latter was staying somewhere beyond the reach of the network signal, such as in the middle of an empty desert or on the top of a mountain shrouded in mist. Then he thought of other, less romantic possibilities, such as thieves who preyed on people in busy stations, or leather bag companies that claimed to help find jobs.
But there is no need to worry about this, he quickly reminded himself that these fears and worries are all aimed at the internal members of this society. For Momolo, this solo trip is like walking in a mosquito-infested wilderness. Although it may not be very pleasant, there is no real danger.
He opened the work-related contact group out of boredom and saw a long list of unread message reminders that was almost endless. Most of the messages here may be meaningless greetings and blessings, or there may be certain procedures that require his participation, but he doesn't want to read them now. It doesn't matter if you don't look. If the matter was really important, Nan Mingguang would have found him long ago.
A German science fiction drama was playing on the TV, and Luo Binhan could only half-guess while watching it, half understanding. It seems to be telling a story about three brothers and sisters each trying to survive in the doomsday. The story must have a more complicated background setting, because although most of the characters are dressed like tribal savages, they are fighting with rifles and armored vehicles. He became distracted while watching. He thought for a while that the elder sister of the three siblings looked a lot like Yu Xiaorong from certain angles (if Yu Xiaorong was his sister, she might point a rifle at him like this), and for a while he thought about Momolo. Have you ever seen a similar show - primitive people trapped in the wilderness operate wishing machines to fight each other? But what to do? He had seen a genuine wishing machine (or rather a wishing machine), but he could not run to the battlefield with Monday in hand.
Maybe it wasn't like shooting each other with rifles. He grabbed a pillow and imagined that he was holding Zhou Ba's collar, ordering her to destroy all enemies that stood in his way. But he didn't really think that Zhou Ba could do such a thing. She would probably only wave her hands and say hug to him. She would neither understand what an "obstruction" was, nor would she distinguish what an "enemy" was. Therefore, if he really wants to use Zhou Ba as a weapon to conquer the world, the first priority is to teach her how to speak and obey. He wants to pour nine-year compulsory education and everything that this society considers common sense into her head, so that she will not regard a cleaner who accidentally tripped him as his enemy. But in that case, maybe Zhou Ba will realize that his request is undoubtedly against the law, and they are completely a pair of outlaws, so he has to make Zhou Ba absolutely loyal to him (not her class teacher). That was really difficult. He knew very well that in elementary school, he was more afraid of his parents or his head teacher.
The modern primitives on TV started a fierce gun battle, but Luo Binhan was completely immersed in the imagination of how to command Zhou Ba to conquer the world. This is obviously a necessary sacrifice. He couldn't let Zhou Ba be taught by someone he couldn't control. In fact, it was best not to let any outsiders teach her. It was best for her to only understand what he said, not others. He had to put her in a place isolated from outsiders, and even had to create a language, a language that only he and Zhou Ba understood, so that no one else could ask Zhou Ba to do things.
But these two things are actually contradictory - he can't cut off Zhou Ba's contact with the outside world, and at the same time rely on an invented language to make her understand everything about the outside world. He had to try his best to pour so many terms and definitions into her head, but even he himself couldn't really understand some of them. It is impossible for him to do this with his own mouth and a pile of textbooks, so he needs some kind of efficient learning machine, not only to learn where to click on Monday, but to learn the entire concept The system has been transferred into her head. That would inevitably involve data interfaces - which seemed to mean that not only would he have to restrict Zhou Zhi's freedom, but he would also have to at least punch a hole in her head.
With his eyes closed, he imagined what he would have to do on his way to conquer the world - mostly child abuse. He also knew that these measures were not his own, but came from Yaleriga's warning. She told him this to make him understand the risks involved in spreading the truth about the origins of August, even though, as it turned out, it was no longer a useful wishing machine. The Skyhorned One's wish seemed to cut off the connection between the data input module and the task fulfillment module, allowing her to only occasionally and uncontrollably display some magical abilities. This is a blessing from a pure race—but is it really a blessing? he asked himself immediately. Without the participation of the Skyhorns, what would appear to the world would not be a living thing, but an exquisite machine that could do anything. Because the Skyhorned Ones gave the machine life (or at least the appearance of life), she would henceforth be able to be tortured, harmed, and even killed. Did she become like this of her own free will? Naturally this question is meaningless, just as no one can agree or disagree with his own birth. And since birth or not does not depend on self-awareness, how can we say that people are born free? He gradually began to be unable to distinguish the difference between Zhouba and ordinary life, because anyway, they were all born due to the wishes of others. What's the difference between Saturday and the Astrocorner's Daughter?
After what seemed like a century, the door upstairs finally opened. Malcolm walked out with a smile on his face, but Yu Qingshu did not follow him. He walked down the stairs quickly and opened his arms towards Luo Binhan, who was sitting numbly on the sofa. Luo Binhan looked at him absentmindedly, sizing up the second man his mother loved in her life. Malcolm was undoubtedly handsome and charming when he was young, but he was only two years younger than Yu Qingshu, and his wandering lifestyle in his early years made it difficult to hide the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the slightly protruding belly. Long before Luo Binhan left here, he often touched the thinning top of his head and joked that he was going to buy the most eye-catching wig.
Nowadays, Malcolm can only be described as "handsome for his age", but he still has a very unique innocent and romantic look on his face, which makes people feel happy when they see him. Luo Binhan guessed that this was what attracted Yu Qingshu to him. It's really hard to get angry at such an optimistic and enthusiastic person, even though he gets into trouble from time to time.
Malcolm does sincerely care about everyone around him. For example, at this moment, he put down his arms and asked Luo Binhan in confusion: "Why are you holding a pillow like this?"
Luo Binhan lowered his head and saw that he had held the sofa pillow in his arms like a baby. Fortunately, the person opposite him was Malcolm, a man in his fifties who could waltz with a giant teddy bear in his arms, so he was not embarrassed and calmly placed the pillow back on his lap.
"I'm thinking of a great plan." Luo Binhan said seriously, "Conquer the world."
Malcolm took a sharp breath: "You mean, start with this pillow?"
"Of course!" Luo Binhan said with enthusiasm, "First this pillow, then compulsory education in primary school, and finally the whole world!"
"All over the world!" Malcolm shouted enthusiastically, completely unaware of the situation.
Yu Qingshu poked his head out of the bedroom and hissed at them impatiently: "Don't make any noise, Leo will be annoying when he screams later."
She spoke too late. Leo, who was taking a nap in the backyard garden, had already rushed indoors and barked at them heartily. Luo Binhan rushed over and tried to pinch its mouth, and it jumped and escaped under the table. By the time Luo Binhan drove it to the front yard fiercely, Zhou Yu had already walked out of the guest room, standing by the wall and looking at Malcolm quietly.
"Hello, brother." Malcolm said as he slumped on the sofa, "Are you from Africa too? Then you're really good at wearing sunscreen!"
Luo Binhan heard this sentence when he entered the door. He also saw the thinking on Zhou Yu's face, probably considering how he should call someone who called him "brother" and was also his aunt's spouse. Luo Binhan had also thought about this issue before, but now he no longer thinks about it. He directly pushed Zhou Yu to the sofa and sat down. He first explained Zhou Yu's origin to Malcolm, and then told Zhou Yu why Malcolm suddenly appeared.
"This is Mal," he reminded. "Malcolm, I told you. We all call him 'Mal.'"
Zhou Yu still nodded unaccustomedly and almost received a bear hug from Malcolm. This time it was Yu Qingshu who came downstairs and saved him again.
"Don't be so shameless." She slapped Malcolm's thick and scarred arm away, "Go wash your face first, make it dirty."
Malcolm gave her a loving look, then turned around and walked away. Yu Qingshu greeted Zhou Yu pretending not to care and asked him what he wanted to drink.
"Coffee." Luo Binhan answered for him, "He was scared to death by Mal, Mom. Give him some coffee to calm down his shock."
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Didn't you see the look on his face when he opened the door and saw Mal, Ma? Mal was pretending to be a Spanish pirate."
Yu Qingshu glared at him: "You just sit back and let the guests answer the door?"
Luo Binhan was a little puzzled when he remembered that he was indeed sitting in the living room when the doorbell rang, while Zhou Yu seemed to be still in the guest room. But somehow, Zhou Yu reached the entrance before him and helped Malcolm open the door.
"I probably didn't hear it," he said with a shrug.
Zhou Yu also raised his head and said, "I'm just at the door."
The topic passed as irrelevant. Yu Qingshu got up and went to the kitchen to prepare coffee and seaweed tea, and soon came back to listen to Malcolm talk about his trip to Spain.
"It's amazing," Malcolm said cheerfully. "Our project was running into trouble. There was a lack of budget, and there were people who came in to steal things. One time we were sleeping in the village, and suddenly gunfire rang out outside. , and someone was breaking down the door. We had to escape through the window...Of course, little rabbit, there is no real danger. It's just a small conflict between their locals, and we will be careful not to get involved."
Yu Qingshu raised his eyebrows behind the rising wet mist of tea. Malcolm began to smile lovingly at her again.
"Felicino felt that we had to give up halfway." He continued, "He found a lot of talents to raise enough funds, but this was a completely thankless job. Most of them were people who were no one in the village. The chapel is very old, but there is nothing valuable, and tourists are not very interested. We originally thought that with these funds and manpower, we could barely finish the work...but it seems that we are not very good at settling accounts."
He made a face: "But a local cultural relics protection foundation found us. They said they were interested in funding our project, but the condition was that they first let their own team do an assessment and set some restoration standards. "We had nothing to do during this period, so Felicino decided to give us a long vacation to rest."
Yu Qingshu asked alertly: "Do you know about that foundation?"
"Felicino said they mainly work for a few local wealthy people, managing charity projects and so on. The person who came to talk to us is also a lawyer, little rabbit. His tone of voice sometimes sounds like you. "
"They were very generous? But they didn't put any conditions?"
"They're getting ready to come up with restoration standards, honey."
"But that won't do them any good." Yu Qingshu said doubtfully, "The small churches you want to build won't make money for them. So why should they support you?"
"Maybe they are making double preparations." Malcolm speculated optimistically. "If there is a soul trial, their angel lawyer will have defense materials to use."
"No way." Yu Qingshu said coldly, "People in our profession usually don't go to that place."
Malcolm laughed, stretched out his arms to hug Yu Qingshu who was trying to dodge, and kissed her gently on the cheek. Luo Binhan turned to see if Zhou Yu would be stunned, but this time Zhou Yu didn't look embarrassed at all, he just smiled calmly. That smile didn't seem to be a sign of intimacy between the couple.
"Why are you laughing?" Luo Binhan asked quietly.
Zhou Yu shook his head, stood up and walked to the guest room. Malcolm turned around and asked, "Why is he gone?"
"Don't ask." Luo Binhan said, "He is jealous of your long vacation."
(End of chapter)
