The Sickly Omega Is No Longer Pretending to Be Good/Obedient - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Lucid Dream

“Is this person crazy?”

In Suozhou during the late spring, a hazy mist covered the sky, making even the exhaled air seem heavy and viscous.

In the cramped rental room, Shen Qiudu stood by the sink, mechanically and expertly scrubbing bowls and chopsticks while wearing a cheap, plain apron. The dampness made his thin cotton-linen long sleeves cling to his skin, leaving him feeling sticky all over.

The makeshift electric fan overhead groaned. The cracked signal of the old TV broadcast the sound of a woman crying. His mother sat on the sofa with a hunched back, mending torn clothes for the neighbors.

On the cheap clock scavenged from a street stall, the hour hand trembled, pointing precisely to one o’clock, sounding a soft “ding.”

Shen Qiudu efficiently took off his apron, grabbed his toolkit and old-style mobile phone, and walked out of the kitchen. “Mom, I’m off to work. I’ll be back a little later tonight.”

“Okay, Qiudu, be careful.”

Today was Saturday afternoon, a time for leisure and relaxation for others, but for Shen Qiudu, it was the best day to earn money quickly.

From 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, Shen Qiudu would carry his toolkit and circle the slums, fixing electrical appliances, light bulbs, pipes, faucets, and other items.

The furniture in the slums was inherently cheap and prone to breaking every few days. People generally chose to hire someone to fix things on the weekends for convenience, and Shen Qiudu seized this opportunity.

When he was at home, that man rarely returned. His mother only did delicate needlework, and as her health was already poor, Shen Qiudu was unwilling for her to do any heavy labor. Thus, his already thin frame silently shouldered the burden of the entire household.

But the path to earning money was difficult, especially in the severely impoverished slums. Many fellow workers would wait by the roadside without even eating lunch, just to secure a job ahead of others.

Coupled with Shen Qiudu’s Omega identity and delicate appearance, he wasn’t particularly favored here, as people felt he wasn’t as capable as the rougher men.

Therefore, in that hour, Shen Qiudu could only manage to secure five or six jobs at most, but it was enough.

However, today felt a little different.

“Hey! Young man, you’re quite handy. Come over to my place later. My faucet is leaking for some reason.”

This was the third time.

Shen Qiudu switched on the light for the current household. Seeing the repaired bulb glow, he turned around and slightly frowned at the uncle who had suddenly appeared behind him, beckoning.

The first time, as soon as he stepped onto the street, someone standing by the roadside called out, saying the water pipe at home was broken and asking if he could fix it, looking very anxious.

However, at that time, there were three of his competitors waiting by the roadside for work. Usually, in such situations, Shen Qiudu was the one who was passed over, but today, it was as if they were waiting for him.

Shen Qiudu didn’t dwell on it too much, assuming he was just lucky. Besides, not doing a job when money was involved would be foolish.

Right after he finished, another woman stopped Shen Qiudu, her expression a bit unnatural, saying her child had been mischievous and broken the water pipe, asking Shen Qiudu to quickly help fix it.

But when Shen Qiudu examined the pipe, he realized that a child’s strength was absolutely insufficient to break such a thick pipe. Furthermore, it was buried in the far corner of a cupboard. How mischievous was this child? And it was a little girl—it seemed completely impossible.

It looked especially like someone had deliberately broken it.

But Shen Qiudu didn’t think too much about it. He knew better than anyone that the woman’s husband was an alcoholic and abusive, and such men were capable of all sorts of shocking and disgusting stupidity.

So, he didn’t give it any further thought.

It wasn’t until now that he completely realized something was off. He felt as if these people had been arranged beforehand, just waiting for him to appear. Then, regardless of how well he performed, they would frantically shove money at him. Some even said they tipped him because he worked patiently and quickly.

The tip was more than the payment for the work—wasn’t this crazy?

Shen Qiudu pursed his lips. Harboring doubts, he followed the man back to his house and began to examine the faucet that the man claimed was “accidentally” broken.

Shen Qiudu fiddled with the faucet, then looked up at the visibly uneasy man. “Did you drink? Or gamble?”

“Huh?” The man looked confused, then quickly shook his head. “Neither.”

“Then do you have violent tendencies?”

“N-no… no way. I don’t even dare to step on a cockroach.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiudu didn’t even open his toolkit. He straightened up and calmly met his gaze. “Then tell me, was it a cockroach that forcibly twisted off the faucet connection?”

“And this area.” Shen Qiudu casually pointed to a dent on the surface. “These non-natural scratches and impact dents on the surface—is this also an accident?”

The man completely shut up, standing awkwardly in the corner with his head down, remaining silent.

“I hate being played with.” Shen Qiudu suppressed his internal annoyance, but still opened his toolkit and helped the man fix the faucet.

After all, one must have professional integrity, even if he was just a bottom-tier laborer.

“Next time, don’t call me for things that were intentionally damaged.”

However, before Shen Qiudu left, the man forcefully stopped him and shoved change into his pocket, nervously saying, “You… you should still take it.”

After speaking, the man fled in a panic as if he had seen a demon, leaving Shen Qiudu looking down at the large roll of loose change in his palm, lost in thought.

For some reason, he instinctively lowered his head and sniffed it. The roll of change looked as if it had been prepared in advance; the surface was flat without any wrinkles, and it lacked the inherent musty and sweaty smell of the slums.

Instead, it had a faint wheat-like scent, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t exactly wheat.

But Shen Qiudu was too lazy to think about it. He desperately needed money now, and since someone wanted to give him money, he would accept it. After all, it was compensation for his labor—no loss.

As for what the person behind this was trying to do, as long as it didn’t put Shen Qiudu and his mother in danger, he didn’t have the energy to worry about it or play along.

As soon as Shen Qiudu left the house, he was stopped by another man who rushed over. But before the man could speak, Shen Qiudu put away his toolkit right in front of him and interrupted him: “I’m done for the day. I’m not doing any more work. Go find them.”

He casually pointed to the few competitors by the roadside who were worried that day about not finding any work, then turned and walked away without looking back.

As he walked past those men, several jealous and vulgar gazes intentionally or unintentionally fell upon Shen Qiudu.

“This is the guy who’s been stealing our business? I wonder how he’s making his money…”

“He can do better than us with that small frame? I’m speechless. If I see him again, I’ll definitely make him regret it!”

The men spat on the ground as if venting their anger. They didn’t know Shen Qiudu and had no dealings with him, yet they could shamelessly spread malicious rumors.

Shen Qiudu was close enough to hear them, but he didn’t care anymore.

For so many years, these words had even come from his own father’s mouth. He had been devastated, helpless, and hopeless, but those emotions changed nothing. Thus, Shen Qiudu had become numb and indifferent.

From 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM was the time Shen Qiudu worked as a cashier at the corner convenience store.

In fact, the convenience store didn’t really need extra help. It was just that the store owner, a kind sister, couldn’t bear to see Shen Qiudu working hard labor at the construction site, so she soft-heartedly let him work for her on Saturdays.

The reason the convenience store sister was so supportive of Shen Qiudu was that her good friend was the daughter of the gambling addict who had lost his father’s money. Just last month, the man had tried to sell his friend to settle his debt.

Therefore, the convenience store sister had more sympathy for people like Shen Qiudu. She wanted to help him.

When Shen Qiudu entered the convenience store with his toolkit, the sister hadn’t left yet. Seeing Shen Qiudu, she quickly waved him over.

“Qiudu, why are you so early today? I usually tell you to rest a bit more and come after two.”

“Something happened today, so I stopped working. But it’s nothing serious, so I thought I’d come early to help.”

“Alright, then I’ll be going. Call me if anything happens, okay?”

The convenience store sister’s gaze subtly flickered to a strange man sitting at the table in the far corner. She looked at Shen Qiudu, who was diligently trying to find work for himself, sighed helplessly, and left.

After the door closed, Shen Qiudu finished the tasks at hand. When he looked up, he realized there was a man sitting at the table in the corner of the store.

He was wearing a black baseball cap, tall, and his back was to Shen Qiudu, facing the glass window. Through the glass, Shen Qiudu could even see his own reflection.

But people like this were common in convenience stores, sitting in the corner without speaking, sometimes buying a drink, sometimes a cup of instant noodles. So Shen Qiudu didn’t pay much attention and continued with his work.

However, just like his earlier work, the foot traffic at the convenience store suddenly increased today. People came in batches, almost every five minutes, buying large quantities. Looking at their clothes, they didn’t seem like people who would spend money carelessly, yet they mostly bought snacks, cigarettes, and alcohol, and even urged him to calculate the bill. They didn’t seem to be joking.

The convenience store sister had also said that Shen Qiudu would get a corresponding commission on all the money collected during his shift. So, Shen Qiudu was quite happy for the increased number of customers, as it meant the convenience store sister could also earn more money.

Moreover, Mother’s Day was approaching. Maybe he could save enough money to buy his mother a gift.

With this thought, Shen Qiudu’s mood improved, and he worked more efficiently. Time passed quickly, and soon it was dinner time.

Shen Qiudu usually quickly settled his meal with a loaf of bread or a small, cheap cup of instant noodles. This time was no exception.

He had just opened a loaf of bread when the man in the corner suddenly moved.

He took several rice balls, instant noodles, and a bottle of a drink from the shelf, cradled them in his arms, and placed them in front of Shen Qiudu.

“Check out.”

The man’s voice was low, as if deliberately suppressed. He kept his head down the entire time, avoiding eye contact with Shen Qiudu, and his broad shoulders seemed to encompass Shen Qiudu’s body.

Although his clothes looked dirty on the surface, Shen Qiudu was a hundred percent certain, based on his clothes, demeanor, and overall aura, that he was not a resident of the slums.

But Shen Qiudu didn’t have a habit of prying into other people’s privacy. He quickly put down the bread he had taken a bite of and hurried to check out the man’s purchases.

“That’s fifty-three in total. How would you like to pay?”

“WeChat.”

After paying, Shen Qiudu was about to bag the items for the man when the man raised his hand to stop him.

The man raised a bony finger and pointed to the bread Shen Qiudu had set aside, suddenly asking, “Is your bread delicious?”

Shen Qiudu was stunned. “It’s… it’s not bad.”

“Then I’ll take it. One for one trade.”

Before Shen Qiudu could react, the man immediately picked up the half-eaten bread and rushed off, leaving Shen Qiudu staring blankly at the bag of food in the convenience store.

So, the “one for one trade” he spoke of was exchanging his entire bag of food for a loaf of bread that Shen Qiudu had already taken a bite out of?

Is this person crazy?