madnovel Chapter 18 Things Tape Can't Stick
Chapter 18 Things Tape Can't Stick
Su Yu pushed open the door and saw that the linoleum flooring had been wrapped with gray tape. Several layers were applied in a crisscross pattern, with an extra strip pressed over the edges. Next to it lay a pair of black plush slippers, the Batman logo askew on the surface—cheap knock-offs. He glanced at them, didn't wear them, and stepped barefoot across them.
There was a tapping sound upstairs, intermittent. He went upstairs and found Cai Xiubin sitting in a secondhand chair, an old laptop in front of him, the screen lit up, the document blank, the cursor blinking.
"Where did this computer come from?"
"Borrowed." She didn't look up.
"Whose?"
"You don't know him." She glanced up at him, then looked down at the keyboard, tapping away with her two index fingers.
Su Yu leaned against the doorframe. "An Gaoen is a hacker, not a typist."
"Hackers have to type too." She paused, turned to look at him, and said, "Su Yu, what kind of expression do you think An Gaoen has when he types?"
"have no idea."
"You wrote it without knowing it?"
"I know what I wrote. But you asked about expressions, and you have to act them out yourself." He walked over and brushed a stray hair from her forehead. She didn't flinch, but the tips of her ears turned red.
"Su Yu".
"Um."
Are you really buying a keyboard next week?
"purchase."
"Silent red switches?"
"Um."
"Would you like RGB lighting?" She turned her head, her eyes lighting up.
"Hackers don't want lights. Too much light will give away their location."
She glared at him, then turned back to look at the screen. A gust of wind blew in, and her hair became disheveled again, but she ignored it. She tapped the screen a few more times with her finger.
"understood."
She paused for a moment after saying that, then laughed. "I'm just used to saying it."
Su Yu didn't reply. She smiled and turned back, her fingers moving rhythmically, tap-tap-tap. He walked over and stood behind her, looking down at the screen. A line of text read: "Ango'en's keyboard has silent red switches, but it can't have backlighting. Because she's a hacker, not a game streamer."
Why write this?
"Practice typing. Just a reminder."
She deleted that line. The cursor returned to the beginning, blinking. They were close, and the scent of her shampoo wafted over. He took a half step back and leaned against the windowsill.
"Su Yu".
"Um."
"Was that scene by the Han River intentional?"
"What play?"
"That scene in the car. Doing absolutely nothing, just sitting there."
Su Yu didn't speak. She turned to look at him, and he didn't look away. The window was open, the wind was blowing in, and the fluorescent light bulbs were buzzing.
What were you thinking when you wrote it?
"I imagined a scene."
"What scene?"
"The car was parked by the Han River, and it was getting dark. The passenger's hair was blown around by the wind, but he didn't care."
She moved her finger slightly, touching the space bar, and the cursor jumped one space.
"Is that person Angoun?" she asked.
"Whoever you think it is, is whoever it is."
She didn't reply, turning back to look at the screen. She tapped it a few more times, then got up and went downstairs. Barefoot, she trudged down the stairs, making soft, thumping sounds.
"Su Yu".
"Um."
"The tape on the floor isn't holding together properly, so don't step on that spot tomorrow."
"understood."
She didn't speak. Su Yu stood at the second-floor window, hearing the sound of her putting on her shoes, opening the door, and closing it. The iron gate creaked open, and then silence fell.
He glanced at the laptop. The screen was still lit, and a new line had appeared in the document—"Su Yu is a big liar, Angolen keyboards must have RGB lighting." It was followed by an eye-rolling emoji. Su Yu looked at it for two seconds, neither deleting nor closing it. He went downstairs, walked to the linoleum floor covered with tape, and stepped on it. The tape didn't come off.
He pushed open the door, locked it, and left. The black rubber band in his pocket rubbed against his inner thigh; he didn't know when it had slipped in. He didn't take it out; it just stayed there.
As I reached the street corner, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Cai Xiubin: "If your keyboard doesn't have RGB lighting, I'll use your computer to code until you break down."
Su Yu glanced at it and typed: "Okay. But you have to learn the login password before you can use my computer."
"What's the password?"
"Angoo's Keyboard".
A moment later, the phone vibrated again: "Su Yu, are you crazy?"
Su Yu didn't reply. He put his phone in his pocket and continued walking. The wind blew past his ear, and he remembered how she had smiled and said, "I'm used to it." His lips twitched—not a smile, just a slight upturn. He couldn't be bothered to care.