13 Mingke Street

Under the dim yellow streetlight, Jeff flicked his cigarette butt, which was almost burned to the filter, onto the ground.Immediately,He quickly looked around on both sides, habitually stepping on the cigarette butt with the sole of his shoe and rubbing it back and forth."Hiss...damn it..."Jeff forcefully kicked his foot, forgetting that the sole of his shoe was already worn thin and almost breathable, and now it was burned on the sole of his foot.The evening breeze carried a chill as it blew back and forth on the street. There were few pedestrians on the road, and the few that were there were all bundled up in hats and scarves, hurrying along with their heads down.Jeff flipped up the collar of his coat, the oily stains on both sides of the collar were visible, but at this moment, it gave him a sense of security, as if he was being hidden and protected.Ahead was 128 Mingke Street, from number 50 to 200, all row houses. Whether buying or renting here, people were probably not millionaires, but at least they were middle class. The house in front of me is where a family of three lives. The husband is a doctor and the wife is a teacher. They also have a seven-year-old son.During the day, a maid comes to clean and tidy up the house, but she does not stay overnight and will go home after preparing dinner.In addition, this family has a habit of going to the theater together every Saturday night to watch performances.The door opens and the husband, dressed in a black suit, walks out first and starts the car parked in front of the door.Then, the wife, wearing a red dress, walks out with their child. After closing the door, they get into the husband's car, chatting and laughing with their child.Soon, the car drives away.Jeff licks his lips and quickly jumps over the low wooden fence that even a small dog cannot stop, landing in the flower bed. He then quickly climbs the steps and takes out a key from his pocket, inserting it into the lock."Click..."A crisp sound indicates a successful opening of the door. Three months ago, when Jeff was still a mover for this company, the homeowner trusted him and gave him the key to their new home. Jeff took this opportunity to secretly make a copy of the key. However, at the time he was still hesitating whether to steal or not, as he had already lost everything. Now, he no longer hesitates because he not only has nothing, but also owes a lot of debt.After opening the door, Jeff quickly entered and closed the door behind him. "After tonight, you should understand the importance of changing the locks after moving," he thought.The first floor was an open kitchen and dining room, with a maid's room in the northwest corner. Jeff went straight to the second floor, not turning on the lights but using the flashlight he brought with him. The light from the flashlight was unstable."Damn it..." Jeff cursed silently. He knew it was because the battery was low, but that was because he had used the money he had originally planned to buy batteries to buy a pack of "Morf" cigarettes for 5 dollars.He hit the flashlight with his elbow a few times, and the light became slightly brighter. The second floor is the master bedroom for the couple, with a small study and a bathroom attached. As for the third floor, it is only used as a children's bedroom due to being an attic.Jeff pushed open the door to the master bedroom and saw a large bed and various antique cabinets. He knew that the valuable items in this house were most likely kept here. Of course, before leaving, he would take a look in the small study."Hiss...hiss..."The sound of electricity and the crackling of snowflakes could be heard."Welcome to the "Luo Jia Story Program", I am your old friend...Alfred. The moon tonight is so beautiful, under such a beautiful moon, no matter what you do, it seems to be accompanied by a taste of happiness..."Jeff was startled by the sudden voice and looked down to see an old-fashioned radio."Damn it, everyone has left the house, don't they know how to save electricity?"Jeff reached out and turned off the radio.Then, he began to search through the dressing table and cabinets in the room. Generally, the hostess likes to keep some frequently worn jewelry and household expenses here. Of course, it would be even better if he could find a jewelry box. "Click..."The sound of the door opening came from the first floor at this moment.Jeff was so scared that he almost jumped up.Soon after, the sound of high heels climbing the stairs could be heard, with a clear target towards the bedroom.Jeff immediately pushed the drawer back and turned off the flashlight.He was just a thief, not a robber. Stealing and robbing were two completely different concepts, even in court.Most importantly, he didn't have the courage to be a robber!The sound of high heels came quickly, with a hint of urgency.Jeff didn't have time to think about anything else, he could only lie down, turn to the side, and roll under the bed."Creak..." Almost at the same time, the bedroom door was pushed open."Snap!"The light was turned on.Jeff, who was doing a "fake plank" under the bed, saw a pair of red high heels walking to the dressing table. After a messy search, it seemed that the small medicine bottle was found. With a crisp sound of pouring out the medicine, followed by the sound of swallowing.Immediately after,There was a series of relieved gasps.Jeff saw the woman's high heels pause in front of the dressing table for a long time, and then the woman stood up and the high heels began to move."Ding Ling Ling... Ding Ling Ling..."The phone rang.The high heels left the bed and walked towards the coffee table under the window, where the phone was placed. The woman answered the phone:"Yes, yes.""Mhmm, mhmm.""I was planning to go with them, but I suddenly got sick and had to come back to take medicine. Let them go tonight, I'll rest at home.""It's okay, don't worry. Thank you for your concern, I'm fine."The woman hung up the phone, turned around, and walked towards the bed."Clunk."She kicked off her shoes, and her high heels almost fell in front of Jeff. The distance was so close that Jeff could even smell the scent coming from the shoes.Then, the bed shook a little,The woman must have just laid down on the bed. She let out a comfortable long sigh,Obviously,After finishing work during the day, she was finally able to get a moment of leisure, even if it was due to her physical condition, it was still very pleasant to think about.Under the bed, Jeff began to think about what he should do.He now regrets a bit, he should have disguised himself earlier, if he had known it was just a woman coming home alone, he could have easily scared her with a disguise and told her not to move, then he could have left.He believed that the woman, being alone, would not dare to move recklessly, and since he hadn't had a chance to steal anything yet, the other party... might just let it go and not even call the police!But, it was just wishful thinking.Even if he was sure there was only one woman lying in bed now, Jeff didn't have the courage to crawl out from under the bed and threaten her.Jeff opened his mouth as wide as possible, trying to breathe silently to ease his tense emotions.Wait until the woman falls asleep, wait until the woman falls asleep. After she fell asleep, while her husband and children were still not back, she could quietly crawl out from under the bed and safely leave without disturbing anyone.The woman lying on the bed was humming a song, and the sound of flipping pages could be heard from her hand.Damn, why aren't you asleep yet?Jeff didn't know how long the woman above had been reading, because at this moment, under the bed, he had lost his sense of time passing.Finally,"Snap."Jeff heard the sound of the book being closed.The woman got off the bed,Barefoot.She began to walk towards the bedroom door, yawning as she walked. "Is it time to take a bath?Jeff's heart leaped with joy.While she was taking a bath, he could make his escape!However,to Jeff's disappointment, he only heard a "click" and the woman came back, followed by the sound of static from the radio."Squeak..."The woman lay back on the bed and picked up a book.Soft music started playing from the radio and the woman hummed along.Damn, does she have to wait for her husband and child to come back before going to sleep?As one song ended," The radio broadcasted a man's voice:"After a short break, welcome back to the Luo Jia Story Club. We will continue the story we were telling earlier. Our protagonist, Catherine, is lying in bed, holding a book and listening to music. She is enjoying this brief moment of leisure in the night.In fact, she has always envied other full-time housewives because for a woman, it is too tiring to work outside and take care of the household and children at the same time.""Sigh..."Jeff heard a woman on the bed let out a sigh, she seemed to have a similar experience.However,Just at this moment,The words on the radioMade Jeff's hair stand on end!"But what Catherine doesn't know is that while she is lying in bed enjoying this rare leisure, there is actually someone lying under her bed right now..." "......" Jeff."......" woman.The sighs and flipping of pages on the bed suddenly stopped.Also pausing was the sound from the radio, perhaps due to poor signal or some issue with the old radio, static filled the air again.Jeff's heart was now almost in his throat, feeling that the overly quiet atmosphere made it difficult for him to even breathe."Hehe...haha..."From the bed,came the woman's laughter, as if trying to ease her own embarrassment, but mainly to relieve the oppressive feeling of "scaring herself".If the situation allowed, Jeff really wanted to join in and laugh together:Look, my lady, don't listen to that i***t on the radio, how could there be someone under your bed! However,Just at this moment,Jeff saw a foot slowly reaching down.The woman moved her body towards the edge of the bed.Jeff looked at the foot and slowly clenched his fists.He saw that the woman's toes were also tightly curled.The woman seemed to want to get off the bed and look under the bed, and Jeff knew clearly what she would see once she looked down...But,As soon as the woman's foot touched the floor, she slowly pulled it back.Phew... Jeff let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.Unconsciously, he was already covered in cold sweat.But while he was catching his breath, he had to deliberately control himself. He hated this scene, hated this situation, and even hated himself for planning to become a thief.Probably,Five minutes passed?Jeff didn't know if it had been five minutes, he didn't have a watch, and it was impossible to count the time under the bed.Suddenly,Jeff saw a strand of hair falling from the bed.Jeff under the bed could almost imagine the scene, the woman on the bed was about to slowly peek under the bed.Hair, "Growing longer and more numerous,The front strands of hair almost touching the floor.Jeff just stared dumbfounded at this scene, unsure of how to face it.Should he kneel and beg the woman to spare him and let him leave?Or should he use a more aggressive tone and threaten her to be quiet and leave?It seems...the first option is more suitable for him.The hair, already touching the floor;Then, the woman's forehead slowly appeared in Jeff's field of vision.A little further down, just a little more,Just a little bit," Jeff could see the woman's eyes now,But this also meant that the woman could see him under the bed.Jeff held his breath, his anxious and nervous emotions had made him forget to breathe, he just stared at the woman's forehead as it moved down.Then,The woman stopped moving.It seemed that she was also afraid, afraid of what would happen if she really saw someone under the bed.Although she knew that taking a look was the best way to dispel doubts and fears, she just couldn't bring herself to do it...The woman's hair that had fallen on the floor began to rise,Her forehead disappeared from Jeff's sight,The woman lay back on the bed again, The woman began to gasp heavily,Jeff finally realized that he seemed to have been holding his breath for a long time, opened his mouth, and started to silently take in large breaths of air.His head was a little dizzy, tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes, he wanted to cry, he wanted to go back to the street right now, even if he had to face the cold wind, but he could sit by the flower bed and smoke and spit freely, and even spit loudly and exaggeratedly without any sense of decency!He didn't know how much time had passed,There was no movement on the bed,She,She must have fallen asleep, right?Jeff estimated the time, when the woman's husband and child came back, he probably wouldn't be able to escape.He was already so afraid of one woman, when the man came back, he would probably lose all his courage.She fell asleep, That...Me,Shall we go?Jeff began to slightly shift his position, he was originally lying diagonally at the bottom of the bed, but now he carefully turned over to lie on his back and slowly wriggled his body, slowly revealing his upper body from under the bed;This wriggling sensation made Jeff feel like a huge...maggot.His left hand pressed against the floor, his right hand resting on the edge of the bed, and many parts of his body began to exert slight force, pulling himself out from under the bed little by little.The first thing to come out was Jeff's head.The reason why he turned over to face up first was to ensure that his line of sight could always capture any movements on the bed.And if he came out first while lying down and the woman on the bed suddenly let out a scream, Oh my god,Jeff would be scared to death if he heard that!Slowly moving away,He saw the bed,He saw the woman's hand hanging by the bed,Gently moving away,He saw the woman's hair,She must be asleep, she must be sleeping soundly, for sure.It's just that her sleeping position is a bit off, her husband is not home now, she should be sleeping in the middle of the bed!Continue to move away carefully, Jeff's figure suddenly stopped;Because he saw that the woman's hair had a gap, which meant that she was not lying down... but was lying on the edge of the bed, and she was lifting her head.Who would lift their head... while sleeping?So, she should be awake now, looking at the floor diagonally in front of her.And if he continued to move out, it was very likely that their eyes would meet!For a moment, Jeff felt his scalp tingle, and he really wanted to just go all out and pull himself completely out from under the bed, but... he didn't have the courage.In the end,He could only, extremely disappointed, slowly move himself back under the bed.When his head was once again covered by the bed board, His heart, which had been hanging, finally fell down.This bed gave him an incomparable sense of security, as if he had returned home.Just at this moment,The sound of a car engine came from outside, followed by the sound of the engine turning off.Immediately after, there was the sound of the front door opening on the first floor, followed by the sound of a boy's laughter.The man and the child had returned.But Jeff didn't feel like he was done... He even felt... relieved.He even hoped to be discovered and then rush out;Or, be stopped by the man and beaten up; or, be caught by the police who would come later.But no matter what, even if he ended up in a detention cell in the police station, it would be much better than now. A series of footsteps began to climb the stairs,The bedroom door was pushed open.Jeff's face was facing the direction of the bedroom door.He first saw a pair of boy's sneakers, which he also wanted when he was about five or six years old. They were expensive, but wearing them made him feel more confident.Next,He saw a pair of men's leather shoes, very delicate, not just polished, but new."The performance today was really good.""But, I'm feeling a little sleepy, Dad.""Haha, when you grow up a little more, you'll understand. How about this, next week Mom and Dad will take you to the zoo, okay?""Really!" "Of course.""Mom, did you hear that? Dad said he will take us to the zoo next week.""I heard, I heard. Alright, George, go wash up. It's time for you to go to bed. Honey, you should take your son to wash up together. I'll go help George make his bed."A pair of red high heels walked in from outside.Jeff felt that the atmosphere of this family was really warm. If he had a warm family like this before, it would have been great."Alright, alright, wash up. I'll adjust the radio. It's time for the stock news now."The man seemed to fiddle with the antenna of the radio. The snowflakes that had long merged with the night suddenly became louder and then disappeared:"...This is a beautiful bedtime story, isn't it? Everyone, no matter where they are, has their own companion and will not be alone.Alright, thank you for listening to tonight's Luo Jia Story Club. Up next, our station will bring you the stock news. I believe you will make a fortune again..."In the radio, Start playing light music as a transition between the two programs.Making money... haha, making money.Jeff couldn't help but find it ridiculous. If he hadn't listened to his friend and sold the house his father left him to buy a stock that was sure to skyrocket, how could he have ended up in this situation?At this moment,The family of three who were originally standing at the door, the father took his son to the bathroom, while the woman went to the third floor to make a bed for her son.This was his chance. If he left the bed, rushed down the stairs, opened the door, and ran out, he would be safe and free!Jeff made up his mind,With his hands supporting the floor, he was about to exert force,Suddenly,His figure, Suddenly froze.An image suddenly appeared in his mind,That was earlier, the woman came in from outside, following her husband and child back, the woman who had been lying on the bed,Who is she?Wasn't she lying on the bed,Then how come the family of three who came back earlier didn't see her?"Hush."A faint whisper came from the back of his head, with a slight chill, gently stroking the back of his head.Jeff was somewhat stunned and slowly turned his head. Under the bed,Close to his own back,He first saw a pair of legs, then down, saw a face;No,He only saw a pair of legs, and the face between the legs.