Fox in the Penalty Area

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, Hu Lai turned on the light switch in the room, and the chandelier on the ceiling lit up, spreading orange-yellow light evenly in the room.

"This room is usually vacant. Only Morikawa's agent stayed there for a while. However, all the sheets and quilt covers on the bed have been changed, and they are all clean. It fully meets the standard for luggage check-in..."

Hu Lai took Li Qingqing into the room and introduced her.

Li Qingqing laughed behind him.

"No, what's so funny about this?" Hu Lai felt helpless, and felt that Li Qingqing laughed a lot today.

"If you change into a suit again, you will be like a real estate agency." Li Qingqing smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Hu Lai gave Li Qingqing a white look, and continued to introduce. "This house is also a suite, with a bathroom. You can wash up in the house without going to the public health outside. As for the toiletries...you brought them yourself, right?"

Li Qingqing nodded: "Yes, I brought them all."

"Then go to bed early, and if you have anything to do, just call me."

After Hu Lai finished speaking, he was about to leave.

But Li Qingqing stopped him: "Hey Hu Lai."

He stood at the door and looked back: "Huh?"

"thank you."

Hu Lai frowned: "Why do you say thank you?"

"Thank you for taking me in, otherwise I would just be living on the streets."

"What are you talking about? If I knew the hotel was so hip, why bother to make a trip. You should have stayed here right from the start. Fortunately, I didn't leave at that time, otherwise it depends on what you will do..."

Li Qingqing asked: "Then why didn't you leave?"

"I just wanted to wait, in case you forgot to take something..." Hu Lai made an excuse casually. "You see, I really waited for it."

Li Qingqing smiled lightly and said, "Good night, Hu Lai."

"OK, good night."

Hu Lai walked out of the room backwards,

Close the door to Li Qingqing.

Then he turned to the right and entered his room—the vacant guest room next door to his.

So in fact, there is only a wall between the two.

He stood at the door and waited for a while, seeing that there was no shout from Li Qingqing, he went to the bathroom to wash up.

After Hu Lai closed the door, Li Qingqing still maintained the posture of looking at the door just now. After a while, she opened the suitcase, took her toiletry bag and pajamas, and prepared to take a shower.

※※※

Li Qingqing, who was in pajamas, brushed away her freshly dried hair, and then walked towards the window.

It was almost late at night, and it was pitch black outside.

There are only a few lights in the distance, which should be the windows of the villa in the distance.

This is a villa area, and the houses are far apart. Looking from the window, the sporadic lights scattered in the darkness are like stars in the night sky falling on the earth.

As for the cars passing by on the road, their flickering headlights are like shooting stars across the sky.

The night here is not peaceful, except for the occasional roar of passing cars, the whistle of the wind blowing through the tree branches, and the faint gurgling sound of a small stream in the distance.

But after passing through the closed windows, the volume is much lowered and becomes less annoying.

On this night, it is a serenade that makes people feel at ease.

※※※

Hu Lai came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of underwear, and then listened carefully at the door for a while, but he did not hear Li Qingqing's voice. Then he turned and walked to the bed.

He threw off the slippers and threw himself on the bed.

But as soon as he turned over, he sat up suddenly and listened again.

Nothing happened.

It seemed that Li Qingqing hadn't encountered any problems that he couldn't solve.

He lay down again.

There was a rustling sound as the body rubbed against the sheets and cups, which made him mistakenly thought it was Li Qingqing's cry just now...

He laughed at himself—why is he still a little nervous?

He reached out and turned off the light, and the room was plunged into darkness.

※※※

Li Qingqing stretched, closed the curtains, turned and walked to the bed.

Lifting the quilt and getting in, wrapping herself tightly, feeling the warmth in the quilt, she stretched out her hand to turn off the light.

After the initial darkness, her eyes gradually adjusted to the environment in the room, and she could clearly see the ceiling and the furnishings in the room.

Accompanied by a low-frequency noise of rubber tires running over the asphalt road, lights are reflected on the curtains, and they flash away.

It's like the camera flashes in an old-fashioned movie.

Lying on this soft but unfamiliar bed, Li Qingqing did not feel sleepy at all.

She opened her eyes wide and looked at the ceiling.

My heart beats a little faster.

※※※

Hu Lai turned over again on the bed, making rustling noises again.

So he kept his body still again, and let the ears regain their silence.

He only completed this turn after making sure that there was nothing going on across the wall.

He closed his eyes, and opened them again after a while.

A car drove by on the road outside the house, yellow lights flickered on his window, then streaked across to the next room.

For some reason, when he thought of Li Qingqing sleeping in a room separated from him by a wall, he felt a little...tossing and turning.

Although I have known Li Qingqing for many years, it is still a new experience today.

His brain was running at high speed, very active.

※※※

Hu Lai didn't know when he finally fell asleep, but from the time he saw when he opened his eyes, he could tell that he fell asleep yesterday... No, it must have been very late this morning.

Because he actually fell asleep.

I didn't wake up until almost half past nine.

"Fuck!" He jumped up from the bed, put on his clothes, finished washing, and opened the bedroom door.

Before going downstairs, I heard a sound from downstairs, which was the movement of metal knife and fork colliding with ceramic dinner plate.

He was in a daze—didn't Morikawa go to an away game? Why are you back again?

But he soon came back to his senses.

Ah, it's not Morikawa, it's Li Qingqing, because Li Qingqing spent the night here yesterday.

Sure enough, when he stood on the stairs on the second floor and looked down, he saw that beautiful figure.

Li Qingqing was arranging the dishes on the dining table.

"When did you get up?" he asked.

Li Qingqing looked up and saw Hu Lai standing upstairs, and laughed: "About eight o'clock?"

"are not you sleepy?"

"Not sleepy." Li Qingqing shook her head, her ponytail twitching behind her head. "Did you wash up? I wanted to call you after I was done."

Hu Lai came downstairs: "Washed up."

Then, looking at the sumptuous breakfast on the table, I resisted the urge to take out my phone to take pictures and post in the group: "Are you cooking by yourself in Paris?"

"Yes, what else?" Li Qingqing asked back.

"If I'm alone, I only have breakfast at home, and lunch and dinner are all settled in the club restaurant."

"Do you want me to teach you two tricks?"

Hu Lai glanced at Li Qingqing who was wearing an apron, with one hand on his hips and a spatula in the other: "No, I will do it."

"You? The 'real technology' kind?"

"That was an accident!"

"Hehe. Then why are you still rubbing against the restaurant?"

"Because I'm lazy."

"..." Li Qingqing choked on Hu Lai's reason. "You are quite straightforward!"

Hu Lai sat down at the dining table: "How did you sleep last night?"

"It's okay, I was a little bit reluctant at the beginning. But it will be fine later."

"Where do you want to go during the day?" Hu Lai asked again.

"Didn't you say there's nothing interesting in Leeds?"

"What if you have somewhere you want to go?"

"I didn't." The ponytail flicked up again.

"Hmm..." Hu Lai said after thinking, "Or just watch the game at home! Our game against Warship Harbor is in the afternoon, and there is still time to go to the airport after watching."

"Okay." Li Qingqing didn't object.

Hu Lai asked, "Do you feel a little bored? How about going shopping?"

"If you don't go shopping, just watch the football." Li Qingqing was firm, and then said: "I defrosted the top of the steak when I was making breakfast, and I must let you taste my steak at noon!"

"But I want to eat Chinese food..."

"Chinese food?"

"That's right. For example, roast beef with potatoes and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. We have everything in the team restaurant, but these dishes are not available."

Li Qingqing thought about it, and there were indeed potatoes, tomatoes and eggs in the refrigerator.

So she agreed: "Okay, then eat beef with potatoes and scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

※※※

After breakfast, the two cleared the dining table together and started preparing lunch directly.

Refreeze the steak, then find beef from the freezer that is more suitable for a stew and rethaw it.

In the middle, because Li Qingqing found that the seasoning was wrong, Hu Lai was asked to drive out alone to the Asian supermarket to buy the seasoning he needed.

When Hu Lai came home, he found that Li Qingqing had already peeled the potatoes.

Holding the bag, he was a little dazed when he saw Li Qingqing busy in the kitchen wearing an apron.

Almost thought he was really back home, not in a rented villa.

"Hey, why didn't you come in when you came back, why are you standing at the door in a daze?" Li Qingqing asked curiously when she saw Hu Lai standing in a daze at the door.

That smell is more obvious...

Hu Lai quickly shook his head to get that thought out of his mind, and walked over to take out the seasoning from the bag: "Everything you want is here."

Li Qingqing picked them up and looked at them one by one, then nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad!"

※※※

When the aroma filled the room, Hu Lai couldn't help but look forward to the long-lost...Chinese food.

Not the red pepper kind, but more homely Chinese food.

The appearance may not be that good, but the taste will make him more familiar.

After all, when the smell wafted out of the pot, he instantly thought he had returned to Dongchuan.

Even if he is a professional player, he still has a Chinese stomach that cannot be changed...

※※※

The beef is stewed, the tomato and eggs are served on the table, and the rice is out of the pot.

Hu Lai and Li Qingqing sat facing each other at the dining table again, enjoying this rare "home-cooked meal".

"You eat first!" Chef Li Qingqing made a gesture of invitation, and after Hu Lai took a bite, he leaned forward on the table, looked at him expectantly and asked, "How does it taste? "

Hu Lai frowned and didn't answer him.

"What's wrong?" Li Qingqing asked with wide eyes in confusion.

She saw Hu Lai stretched out her chopsticks and stuffed a piece of beef into her mouth, chewing carefully, her brows were still furrowed, and she murmured, "Strange..."

"What's strange?"

"It's strange... Maybe it's been a long time since I've eaten goulash. I feel like I have to eat a few more pieces to know how it tastes." Hu Lai said, taking another piece of beef.

Li Qingqing suddenly realized: "Save some for me!"

"There are so many potatoes, I didn't stop you!"

"Who said potatoes!"

Li Qingqing was not polite to Hu Lai, and picked up a piece of beef. But she didn't put it directly in her mouth, but put it in a bowl.

The beef soup flowed out and seeped into the rice below, and she used chopsticks to pry it in from below, picking up the crystal clear rice and beef and putting it into her mouth.

Then he closed his eyes and let out an intoxicated moan: "Great! I made goulash so delicious!"

"Wang Po sells melons..."

"Hu Lai, what are you talking about?"

"I said it's really delicious!" Hu Lai said as he picked up another piece of beef for himself.

"Don't just eat beef, scrambled eggs with tomatoes are also delicious!"

The two buried their heads in cooking, and when they raised their heads again, Li Qingqing looked at Hu Lai and smiled again.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Hu Mazi." Li Qingqing pointed to his face.

It was only then that Hu Lai realized that there were a few grains of rice sticking to his mouth.

So he also pointed to Li Qingqing's face and said, "You have it too."

"Where?" Li Qingqing began to feel for his face.

But after touching it for a while, I still found nothing.

And Hu Lai has already taken the opportunity to attack the little beef left in the bowl. As for the rice on his face...how did the Beatles sing a song? Let it be, let it go.

"Cunning! Damn it!" Li Qingqing said anxiously, but she had no choice but to watch - she couldn't possibly use chopsticks to "fencing" Hu Lai, could she?

But Hu Lai didn't take back the chopsticks holding the beef. Instead, he stepped over and put the beef into Li Qingqing's bowl.

She stared wide-eyed for a moment.

Hu Lai said: "The chef has worked hard."

Li Qingqing picked up the beef individually, put it in his mouth, closed his eyes and savored it carefully.

The corners of the mouth are getting higher and higher.

"Wow are you smiling so happily?"

"Because it's really delicious!"