13 Mink Street

Chapter 2, under the bed（2）

Damn it, she's not going to wait for her husband and child to come back before going to sleep, is she?

As the song ended, a man's voice came through the radio:

"After a brief break, welcome back to Luo Jia Storytime. We continue with our story. Our heroine, Catherine, is lying in bed, a book in her hand, listening to music, enjoying the brief respite of the evening.

Actually, she has always envied other full-time housewives, because, for a woman, it's indeed too tiring to work outside and take care of the household and children at the same time."

"Ah..."

Jeff heard a sigh from the woman in bed, as if she had a similar experiences.

However, just then, the words from the radio sent a chill down Jeff's spine!

"But Catherine doesn't know that, while she's enjoying this rare moment of leisure in bed, under her bed, there's actually someone..."

"..." Jeff.

"..." The woman.

The original sighs and page-turning sounds from the bed suddenly stopped. Along with the radio's voice, which seemed to have a poor signal or the old radio was malfunctioning, static noises filled the air again.

Jeff's heart was nearly at his throat. He felt like the oppressive silence made it difficult to breathe.

"Hehehe... Haha..."

Laughter came from the bed, as if the woman was trying to ease the awkwardness and mainly to dispel the tension of "scaring herself."

If the situation allowed, Jeff would have laughed had been alone:

Look, ma'am, don't listen to that i***t on the radio. How could there be anyone under your bed!

However, just then, Jeff saw a foot slowly protruding from the bed.

The woman was moving closer to the edge of the bed. Jeff watched that foot, and his fists tightened gradually. He noticed that the woman's toes were also tense.

The woman seemed to want to get off the bed and look under it, and Jeff knew exactly what she would see if she did...

But,

The woman's foot, after just touching the floor, slowly withdrew back.

Jeff let out a silent sigh of relief. Unconsciously, he was already sweating profusely.

But as he panted, he had to control himself deliberately. He hated this scenario, this situation, and even himself for planning to be a thief.

After what seemed like five minutes? Jeff didn't know if it was really five minutes. He didn't have a watch and couldn't count the time while hiding under the bed.

Suddenly, Jeff saw a strand of hair falling from the bed.

From his hiding spot, Jeff could almost imagine the scene: the woman on the bed was gradually leaning forward to look under the bed.

The hair grew longer and longer, more and more strands falling, the tips of the strands almost touching the floor.

Jeff stared dumbly at the scene, unsure of how to face this situation.

Should he kneel down and beg, asking the woman to let him go?

Or should he use the most aggressive and threatening tone, making the woman stay quiet while he leaves?

It seemed... the first option suited him better.

The hair had already touched the floor; then, the woman's forehead gradually appeared in Jeff's sight.

Just a little bit lower, just a little bit more, and Jeff would be able to see the woman's eyes. But that also meant that the woman could see him under the bed.

Jeff held his breath, the extreme anxiety and tension making him forget to breathe, just staring intently at the woman's forehead moving lower and lower.

Then, the woman stopped moving.

It seemed that the woman was also scared, afraid of what she might find under the bed if she really looked.

Although she knew that taking a look was the best way to dispel her doubts and fears, she just couldn't bring herself to do it...

The woman's hair that had fallen on the floor started to rise again, her forehead disappeared from Jeff's view, and she lay back on the bed.

The woman began to breathe heavily, and Jeff finally realized that he had been holding his breath for a long time. He opened his mouth and started to breathe in the air silently.

His head felt dizzy, tears started to well up in his eyes. He wanted to cry, he wanted to go back to the street right now, even if it meant facing the cold wind, but he could sit on the flowerbed smoking and spitting loudly, without any sense of public morality!

After an unknown period of time,

The bed was still,

She,

Must have fallen asleep, right?

Jeff guessed the time, waiting for the woman's husband and child to return. Once they did, he would have no chance of escaping.

Already scared by a woman, he would lose all courage when the man came back.

She's asleep,

So...

Should I...

Leave?

Jeff began to gently shift his position. He was originally leaning diagonally under the bed. Now, he carefully flipped over to lie on his back and slowly began to wriggle his body, gradually pulling his upper body out from under the bed.

The sensation of wriggling made Jeff feel like a giant... maggot.

His left hand pressed against the floor, his right hand rested on the edge of the bed. Many parts of his body began to exert slight force, allowing him to gradually emerge from under the bed.

The first thing to emerge was Jeff's head.

Earlier, the reason for flipping over to face up was to ensure that his line of sight could always capture any movement on the bed.

And if he emerged first while lying on his stomach, and the woman on the bed suddenly let out a scream,

Oh God,

Jeff felt that he would be scared out of his wits!

Slowly moving out,

He saw the edge of the bed,

He saw the woman's hand dangling over the side of the bed,

Moving out carefully,

He saw the woman's hair.

She should be asleep, she should be sleeping soundly, definitely.

Just her sleeping position was a bit awkward. Her husband wasn't home now, so she had to sleep in the middle of the bed!

Continuing to carefully move out,

Jeff's figure suddenly stopped.

Because he saw that the woman's hair had a gradient, and this gradient meant that the woman wasn't lying down... Instead, she was crouched at the edge of the bed, and she was looking up.

Who would sleep with their head raised?

So, she must be awake now, looking... looking at the floor diagonally in front of her.

And if he continued to move out,

He might make eye contact with her gaze!

At that moment, Jeff felt his scalp tingling. He wanted to simply pull his body out completely from under the bed, but... but he didn't have the courage.

Finally,

He could only slump back under the bed slowly, feeling extremely disheartened.

When his head was once again obscured by the bed frame,

His suspended heart finally settled down.

This bed gave him an incredible sense of security, like being back home again.

Just then,

The sound of a car engine came from outside, followed by the sound of the engine being turned off.

Then, there was the sound of the front door opening downstairs, accompanied by the laughter of a boy.

The man and child had returned.

But Jeff didn't feel like he was done... he even felt like he was... relieved.

He even looked forward to being discovered and then rushing out;

Or, being stopped and beaten up by the man; or perhaps, being caught by the police who arrive later.

But no matter what, even going to a detention cell in the police station would be infinitely better than the current situation.

A series of footsteps began to ascend the stairs,

The bedroom door was pushed open.

Jeff's face was facing the direction of the bedroom door.

He first saw a boy's sneakers. He had also wanted to get this pair of sneakers when he was younger, about five or six years ago. They were expensive and would make him feel confident when he wore them.

Then,

He saw a pair of men's leather shoes, very elegant. Not the elegance of polished shoes, but of new shoes.

"Today's performance was perfect."

"But, I felt a bit sleepy, Dad."

"Haha, you'll understand it better when you grow up a bit more. Let's go to the zoo next week, okay?"

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Mom, did you hear? Dad said we're going to the zoo next week."

"Yes, yes, I heard. Come on, George, go wash up. It's time for bed. Honey, you should take your son to wash up. I'll help George make his bed."