The programmer and his woman

Listening to the unbearable words of the couple next door, Xiaoxia frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable, and turned to me and suggested:

"Wang Dong, listen to this noise, it's so noisy. Why don't we go out for a walk and get some fresh air?"

I raised my head, looked at Xiaoxia, and nodded: "Yes, these noises are indeed a bit embarrassing. Let's go out for a walk and relax."

The two of us walked out of the house together and walked on the streets of City A. Night had already fallen, but the streets were brightly lit, and people were coming and going, making it very lively.

After walking for a while, Xiaoxia seemed to remember something and suddenly asked, "Wang Dong, did you have enough tonight?"

I touched my stomach: "I am still a little hungry."

Xiaoxia's eyes lit up and she said, "There's a pancake seller in front. Let's buy a set of pancakes. I haven't had them in a long time."

I nodded and said, "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'm kind of craving pancakes too."

We walked hand in hand to the pancake stand and saw the boss busy making pancakes. I asked, "Boss, how much are these pancakes?"

The boss replied: "Six yuan a set, one egg and one fruit comb."

When I heard the price, I thought it was reasonable. After all, in a city like City A, prices are generally high. So I said, "Okay, boss, I'll give you one."

The boss said "OK" and started making pancakes. I watched him scoop a spoonful of batter, but it looked very different from the yellow mixed flour I remembered. It looked more like a paste made of white flour. I was a little confused, but I didn't say much.

Then, the boss cracked an egg into the batter, but the egg looked about the size of a ping-pong ball, which was obviously much smaller than a normal egg. I was even more confused, but I continued to watch.

The next step was to put the fruit comb in. I noticed that the fruit comb the boss brought out was also very different from what I remembered. It should have been a big, thick, dark yellow fruit comb, but it turned out to be a pale, small, thin, shrunken version. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but I thought that since it was here, I might as well make the best of it and see how the final product turned out.

The boss continued to fold the pancakes in a proper manner. I watched his skillful technique, but I felt that the taste of this pancake might be very different from what I remembered. After a while, the boss put the folded pancakes in a bag and handed it to me.

Let’s put aside the question of whether this thing tastes good or not. At this moment, I was actually amused by the sight of this pancake.

We decided to split the pancake in half and share it with each of us. After splitting it, I found that the fruit grate that the boss had put in it was missing. I asked Xiaoxia in confusion: "Does your half have the fruit grate?"

Xiaoxia looked at her half of the pancake carefully and said, "Yes, but it's very thin."

"Where is it? Why didn't I see this half?" I asked puzzledly.

"Look carefully, it has become very thin." Xiaoxia explained to me, pointing at the middle layer of her half of the pancake.

I took her half of the pancake and looked at it. It was indeed the case. The fruit grate had been pressed so hard that it was almost invisible. It was like rice paper, soft and sandwiched in the pancake.

I took a bite of the pancake and found that the bean flavor and crunch I remembered were completely absent. Instead, it tasted soft and floury, with a hint of noodle sauce and chopped green onions.

I frowned and said, "Hey, Xiaoxia, have you eaten this pancake? Why is it so sticky? It sticks to my teeth and my mouth, and it's so sticky that I can't get it off even with my tongue."

Xiaoxia also took a bite of her pancake, then said with a smile: "Hahahaha, I got stuck too. What the hell is this thing? It's really interesting."

"Xiao Xia, you can still laugh!" At this moment, I looked at the pancake in my hand and somehow, I laughed as happily as Xiao Xia.

Although this pancake is not as good as the original one, it is still edible. We both ate the pancake happily and continued walking forward.

As night fell and the lights came on, it was already late. "Let's go home and rest early!" I suggested.

When we just walked to the door and were about to take out the key to open it, we saw the beautiful girl from next door on the left walking out gracefully.

"Oh, you're back!" the beauty said in a sweet voice, and took a few steps towards us, "Handsome boy, I just happened to want to ask you something."

I looked at her puzzledly, waiting for what was to come.

The beautiful woman continued, "I heard that the family next door got an Internet connection from your house. Can you help me get an Internet cable as well?"

Hearing this, I hesitated a little, but looking at the expectant eyes of the beauty in front of me, I was embarrassed to refuse directly, so I nodded and said, "Sure, beautiful lady."

"Thank you so much, handsome!" The beautiful woman thanked him with a smile and turned to leave.

At this time, Xiaoxia pulled me into the house and said to me in a low voice: "We can't connect other people to the Internet anymore. If that family finds out, they might cut off our Internet as well, and then we won't be able to use it ourselves."

I asked in surprise, "Ah? Didn't we already take over one? What's the difference?"

Xiao Xia frowned and explained, "It's different. He lives next door to us, so it's not a big problem to connect an Ethernet cable. But the other family lives far away, and it's easy for other people to see the Ethernet cable. Once discovered, it will definitely cause trouble."

I thought about it and felt that what she said made sense, so I agreed: "Yes, that's true... But if we run along the corner, this distance shouldn't be so easy to be noticed, right?"

However, Xiaoxia shook her head firmly, expressing her opposition: "It's just not possible. The risk is too great. Go and talk to her and turn this thing down."

My face turned ugly, and I said with some hesitation and entanglement: "But... I have just promised someone. If I regret it now, wouldn't it be untrustworthy and go back on my word? This is really embarrassing... Besides, if we connect another line to her, we can also share some of the Internet fees."

"There's no need for that at all. With so many families sharing the cost, the internet fee is already pitifully low. Wang Dong, you're so willing to help her get connected, could it be that you have feelings for her?" Xiao Xia suddenly opened her eyes wide, staring at me closely, with obvious suspicion on her face.

"Xiao Xia, you are simply being unreasonable! You are the one who acts so warm-hearted and offers to help, but I think you have fallen in love with the guy next door!" I was not to be outdone and immediately retorted.

"Wang Dong you..." Xiao Xia hadn't finished her words yet, her nose twitched suddenly, and then a burst of "woooo woooo" crying sound came out.

"Xiao Xia, don't cry. Oh, I'm sorry. It's my fault for saying something wrong just now that made you sad." Seeing Xiao Xia crying, I suddenly felt flustered and began to apologize to her in a hurry.

"Do you know how long I talked to her before she agreed?" Xiao Xia raised her tear-stained cheeks and choked up. Her originally bright eyes were now red from tears, like two ripe cherries, which made people feel pity.

"Oh, yes, yes, I know, I know." Looking at Xiaoxia who was so sad in front of me, I was anxious but didn't know how to comfort her. I could only quickly agree with her, hoping that this would alleviate some of her inner pain.

"What? You don't know at all! We have connected to so many companies. If someone finds out, how should I explain it to them? I told them at the time that we only have one computer at home and we just use it to check information." Xiaoxia felt more and more aggrieved as she spoke.

"Yes, yes, I didn't consider this matter from your perspective just now. I'm really sorry." I realized that my attitude just now was a bit excessive and sincerely apologized to Xiaoxia.

Xiao Xia continued with a tearful voice, "The big brother next to you, he helped you move the bed for half a day that day! And our two families are so close, we should just help each other and connect him. But you actually want to connect that family too. If other families come to you for help when they don't have internet in the future, will you connect them too?"

Hearing this, I quickly admitted my mistake and said, "Oh, Xiaoxia, I know I was wrong. I will push this matter away now. Please stop crying." After saying that, I turned around and left, walking towards my neighbor's house.

"Knock, knock, knock..." I knocked on the neighbor's door. After the man opened the door with a creak, I saw a middle-aged man who looked about 50 years old. He looked me up and down, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes, and asked doubtfully, "Excuse me, who are you?"

I walked up and said politely, "Oh, hello, I'm here to see that lady." Hearing this, the middle-aged man stepped aside and greeted his wife in the room.

At this time, a gentle female voice came from the house: "Honey, this is our neighbor next door. Handsome boy, are you here to help me install the internet? Thank you so much!" As the woman spoke, she quickly walked to the door.

I was embarrassed and explained, "I'm so sorry, beautiful lady. The thing is, the Internet I use at home is transferred from the neighboring family. But now they are not willing to allow new users to access the Internet. So, I came here this time to tell you that I'm very sorry, I can't help you connect to the Internet."

After hearing my explanation, the beautiful lady was obviously displeased. She frowned and asked with a little annoyance: "What's the matter? You can connect the Internet to the family next door, but you can't connect it to my house? What's the logic?" Her tone clearly revealed her dissatisfaction and doubt about this differential treatment.

At this time, the middle-aged man came over, and he obviously understood our conversation. He gently patted his wife's shoulder and said, "Hey Ruirui, don't argue with them. They have made it clear. It's not that they don't want to install it for you. They just hired someone else. It's that the other family doesn't want to add new people." Then he turned to me and said, "Okay, young man, I understand. I'll persuade her. You can go back."

The middle-aged man slowly turned around, with a doting smile on his face, and said softly: "Okay, my dear baby, it's boring to surf the Internet all day! Wait a minute, husband, I will take you out for a stroll, and we will have some fun together."

At this point, the middle-aged man closed the door of his house. It seemed that there was no problem, but I couldn't help but wonder in my heart: "How could her husband be so much older than her?" After a sigh, I thought to myself: "This side is taken care of, but I'm still angry over there, I need to persuade her when I go back."

"Is everything done?" Xiaoxia turned around and looked at me with a slightly puzzled look when she heard the door close. I nodded, walked carefully to her side and sat down, and replied softly: "Yes, everything is done. Are you still angry with me now?"

Seeing my sincere look, Xiaoxia's expression eased a little, but she still pouted a little dissatisfied and said, "Don't be angry! Speaking of our neighbors, they are really annoying. They insisted that we helped them connect the network cable!" As she spoke, she shook her head helplessly.

When we were talking about the neighbor's house, they just came back. I thought I had to talk to him about this: "Hey, man..." I lowered my voice and said to him, "How come you just told others about me helping you pull the network cable?"

He scratched his head and looked at me with difficulty, as if he wanted to explain something but didn't know how to start. After a long while, he finally explained to me stutteringly: "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just surfing the Internet at home, and she suddenly came over and saw me, and then asked me how to connect to the Internet at home. I didn't think much about it at the time and just told her the truth."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but sigh, muttering to myself: This guy is too honest! But now that things have come to this, there is no point in saying more, so it is more important to remind him first.

So I went on to warn him, "If anyone asks you about Internet access in the future, remember not to tell them that the Internet cable came from my room."

After hearing this, he suddenly understood and nodded quickly, indicating that he understood the interests involved.

After telling my neighbor about this, I came back, turned off the lights and was about to go to bed when I heard the couple across the street arguing. I wondered why the woman cursed every day and was beaten by the man. How could she live like this? Why didn't they just break up and get married? I really couldn't understand it.

Xiaoxia started having nightmares again tonight, and she was still shouting "No, no". I really don't know how many terrible things she has been through. I found that she would have nightmares once she lacks a sense of security. She is such a poor girl. I really regret having an argument with her today.