48 Hours a Day

Zhang Heng opened his eyes and realized that Baby Croc was sitting on his chest, staring straight at him.

Rays of sunlight broke through the gaps of the curtains and fell on his face.

Zhang Heng glanced at his watch. The time now was 07:29. He picked up the British Shorthair and placed it on the coffee table beside him. After that, he got up and sat on the sofa.

Simultaneously, the bedroom door was opened, and Little Boy, still in pajamas, stumbled sleepily out of the bedroom. She squinted. “Up so early?” she asked.

“You said there are lots of things to do today.”

“We’ve got lots of things to do, but you’ll have to wait work ends,” Little Boy said, “If you can brew the coffee and toast the bread before I finish cleaning up myself, I won’t ask you to pay for this breakfast.”

“Fair enough.”

Zhang Heng walked into the kitchen and waited for Little Boy to come out of the bathroom. There was a pot of coffee, four slices of bread, bacon, and fried eggs being served on the table.

“You sure work fast,” Little Boy said.

“It’s a surprise, you’re not asking me to pay for breakfast. Hence, I made sure I went the extra mile.”

Little Boy gobbled up the omelet and bread at a speed that was incompatible to her body shape. She also drank the entire cup of coffee in one breath.

“I’m going to work; you stay at home. Try not to make a mess. I’ll be home at about four in the afternoon, and then we will go shopping for your daily necessities.”

“So, you hired me just to make breakfast for you?”

“Of course not, your work can’t start until the evening. Oh, and don’t make dinner. I will come home with pizza.”

“So while waiting, I’ll just sit here and stare at Baby Croc?”

Little Boy paused, “You can watch TV or read something. I have a book in my bedroom… If you want to learn my communication skills, start with the most basic theory. Okay, I can’t keep going on, or I will be late.”

“Have a great day. I’ll watch over Baby Croc.”

After breakfast, Little Boy flew downstairs and ran to the subway station a mile away from where she lived. After the transit, she had to take two different buses to get to the pizzeria she worked at. Despite the energy-consuming rish, she managed to get there only a minute before she was considered late. Wasting no time, she shuffled over to the employee’s changing room and got into her uniform.

She took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked to the ordering counter.

Today was not much different from the past. However, the staff who worked with Little Boy could not help but notice how she wasn’t paying attention to her work today. She had keyed in the wrong order several times. And it seemed as if she had this frustration that she had nowhere to vent.

Little Boy realized she might have made a grave mistake. She should have never left the guy calling himself ‘Lu Yan’ at home. The two had known each other for less than a day. She didn’t even know if it was his real name, let alone his background, or why he he had approached her.

As the day progressed, thoughts of what Zhang Heng might be doing in her house couldn’t help but cross her mind. She was a little too careless this time. She should have at least brought Baby Croc along, but pets weren’t allowed in the pizzeria. Also, if she did bring her cat with her, she would not know where to place it.

Little Boy impatiently counted down for someone to take over her shift. She looked extremely serious as she had her lunch, and even employees who were close to her didn’t dare approach the grim-looking girl.

After what seemed like forever, it was finally time to get off work. This time, Little Boy did not take the bus or subway. Instead, she hailed a taxi and headed straight home. Once she arrived at her apartment, she quickly ran upstairs, took out the key as fast as possible, and opened the door.

A soccer match was on the TV, and a copy of “RRU Design Principles” was placed upside down on the coffee table. The living room was empty. Even Baby Croc, usually basking on the couch at this time, was gone. Little Boy’s heart sank at the scene.

At the same time, she heard a suspicious rustling in the bathroom. She hastily looked around, quickly finding a baseball bat in front of the TV and took it with her. With bated breath, She gingerly approached the bathroom.

Just as the bathroom door came into sight, it suddenly opened sightly, and Baby Croc squeezed out from the crack. Zhang Heng’s voice could be heard from inside the bathroom, “Ah, you’re back… earlier than expected.”

“What are you doing in there?” Little Boy anxiously asked with a frown.

“Changing the light bulb… the light bulb in your bathroom is not working. Didn’t you know? Aren’t you afraid of bumping into something at night?”

When she heard that, Little Boy breathed a sigh of relief and put the baseball bat away. “Nosy!” she sneered.

“What do you mean by nosy? I’ll be living here too, from now on.” When the bulb had been replaced, Zhang Heng turned on the faucet and washed his hands.

Then, another thought crossed Little Boy’s mind. “There are no spare bulbs at home. Where did you find one?” she asked curiously.

“I removed the bulb from your bedside lamp.”

“You have two lamps in your bedroom. It won’t matter if one gets removed. Oh, and you better change your table lamp’s bulb… just buy a new one and replace it.”

“Well, a second piece of advice-don’t mess with the things in my house when I’m away,” Little Boy said in a stern tone. “If you insist…”

Zhang Heng wiped his hands clean and walked out of the bathroom, “Where is my pizza?”

“…I forgot… I was in a hurry. While I was working, I kept thinking about what sort of damage you would cause. Tomorrow, I will bring you the best pizza in the shop.” “So… you work in a pizza restaurant now?”

“Yes.”

“With your skill set, no communication company will reject your application…”

“I am also on Black Nest’s wanted list. If I work for those big companies, I will have to use my mobile phone and computer. Black Nest will monitor my every move then. This is why I’ve been working petty and insignificant jobs these few years.” “It hasn’t been easy, huh…”

“Ugh! Enough with that nonsense. I did promise you to buy your daily necessities today. And I have to buy you another set of working clothes as well…”

“Can I buy four sets of Lego bricks?”

“What?” Little Boy thought there was something wrong with her ears.

“You can deduct the cost of the Lego bricks from my salary. How shall I put it? It is quite important to me…”

Little Boy looked at Zhang Heng again, and when she saw that he was not joking, she agreed. “Okay, you need to list everything down, and we’ll buy them all together later,” she replied.

“If I can vote for the best employer of the year, I will vote for you.”

“Let’s get it straight. I am not your employer. I happen to know where you can work, that’s all.”

Little Boy shook her head as she sighed, “Let’s go, we need to finish with the purchase before sunset. Then you can start working.”

“Can I ask in advance about the nature of my job?”

“I don’t know. You have to meet the middleman to know what jobs he offers. Don’t worry. You won’t be allowed to do anything dangerous… it’s not like you can do them anyway.”