Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: Just as Loneliness Arrives

  "We're not playing anymore! You can't play anymore!"

  Mrs. Huo slapped her palm on the keyboard, stopping Tong Mai from continuing to "liaise" with Xiao A...

  Tong Mai, who was originally typing seriously, was really frightened by her, "You scared me to death." She patted her chest, seemingly still in shock.

  "I said I'm done playing, shut down the computer immediately, did you hear me?" Old Lady Huo's voice suddenly became sharp beyond compare.

  "It hasn't even started yet, how can you give up already? Alright, I won't chat anymore. Let me teach you instead." Tong Mai stood up, planning to yield his seat to Old Lady Huo.

  Although she didn't want to leave like this, what could she do? She was now at the mercy of others, expecting a salary...

  "I said I'm done playing, you don't understand what I'm saying, huh?" With a fiery temper, he pounced on Tong Mai without mercy.

  Xia A: Hearing you say that, I'm very happy today. You said you're busy... have you found a job? (Actually, at this moment, Li Xian Ning still doesn't hope she finds a job in her heart. He just wants to be able to meet her on QQ every day, even if he can't see her face, but as long as he knows she's by the computer, it feels like he can sense a feeling of security.)

  Tong Mai could feel that Old Lady Huo was really angry now, a stubborn old lady who usually said what she meant and wouldn't listen to others' advice.

  Forget it, I'm not playing anymore.

  "Got it, got it." Her response highlighted her annoyance. However, Old Lady Ho still hadn't removed her hand and was firmly covering the keyboard. "Ma'am, can you please remove your hand? I need to shut down the computer!"

  Upon hearing this, Old Lady Huo paused for a moment before still somewhat angrily withdrawing her palm.

  It's better to be quiet: Little A, I'm busy now. Let's chat again another day. (Taking advantage of the spare time, I quickly typed a few words. It's not possible to suddenly disappear for a few seconds and make Little A feel inexplicably confused.)

  Turn off the computer...

  Tong Mai's mood was slightly depressed, as if he had a little energy.

  Xiao A: Mai, you're going offline so quickly. (He hadn't even started saying what he wanted to say, and she was already gone... Lei Xian Ning's heart suddenly felt empty...)

  Xia A's follower 1: No way, Xia A just went offline as soon as I logged on. That's not very considerate of her.

  Xia A's followers 2: Now Xia A is no longer an unemployed youth, but a motivated young person. Please give her more support and encouragement for her work.

  Xia A's follower 1: No matter how busy you are, you won't be too busy to go online at the usual time, what's going on?

  Xiao A's follower 2: You don't know, how would I know.

  ……

  Their series of conversations made Li Xianning even more uneasy and annoyed.

  Originally felt great when Tong Mai came online, but after the initial excitement came great sadness...

  "Tong Xiaomai... wait for me... let's play chess, let's play chess, did you hear? Old Lady Huo kept circling around Tong Mai while now Tong Mai was being very arrogant and ignoring her, trimming the flowers by herself."

  Old Lady Huo's face turned red with anger, she rushed to her front, grabbed the big scissors in her hand, "Tong Xiaomai, are you deaf? I want to play chess, play chess." Being thoroughly ignored like this, Old Lady Huo was almost driven mad, and she loudly shouted at Tong Miao.

  However, Tong Mai was calm and glanced at her coldly, "You go play chess, no one is stopping you, I have things to do, if I don't do these things, who will do them for me, can I not do them?"

  "You little scamp, you're going to talk back to me again, are you?" The tone was sharp and the anger was palpable.

  "How dare I? I don't dare!"

  "You... you... dead girl, come with me. I said I want to play chess, we'll deal with things later." Chess needs to be played, and things need to be done too.

  Tong Mai listened and became even more unwilling. Stubbornly, he snatched the large scissors from Old Lady Huo's hands and continued working...

  If every old lady were as demanding and annoying as she is, this world would be a world for the elderly, and young people would only have the fate of being oppressed.

  "Old lady, it seems like you're playing chess with me... isn't that beyond my job scope?" She absolutely has the right to refuse.

  "Who said it wasn't, did you say so? This is my home, I'm the one who makes the rules. You're working for us, do what I tell you to do, where did you get all this nonsense?" The old lady started poking her cane in anger and the next second, she began swinging it at Tong Mai's calf... Of course, this time was much lighter than when they first met, purely just a show to scare her.

  "Oh dear, what are you doing, old lady? You're forcing me and it's no use. I'm determined not to play chess... I've made up my mind never to play chess with you again!"

  The petty old lady was asked to go online and chat for a few sentences, but she was shouting loudly beside her, feeling extremely unbalanced in her heart.

  "You dare not try... I'll beat you to death, you stinky little girl..."

  ……

  In the end, Tong Mai was tied up and had no choice but to be forced into a deadly game of Chinese checkers with her.

  Those two, grandfather and grandson, are so overbearing and tyrannical, bullying her like that. Be careful or they'll suffer the consequences in the future...

  "Tong Xiaomai, hurry up, speed." The person crowned "Turtle" by Tongmiao was actually starting to urge Tongmiao on, from which it can be seen that this dead girl Tongmiao was using what kind of torturous speed to torment Old Lady Huo.

  "No energy, no strength, no interest..."

  She muttered weakly in her mouth, pinching the jumpers in her hand and moving slowly.

  "Why don't you sing a song for me to hear, it'll lift our spirits, hmm... just sing that one you sang the other day." Old Lady Hu furrowed her brow, not knowing what the name of the song was.

  "Which one? I sing many songs every day." Got impatient and intentionally made things difficult.

  Is she allowed to make things difficult for herself but not allowed to fight back?

  Now Mrs. Huo seemed to know that Tong Mai was unwilling in her heart, so she was also tirelessly explaining with a very good attitude, "It's that one...". Then Mrs. Huo hummed the tune of "Lonely Lonely Is Good", and for a moment forgot how to sing it.

  "What's with your humming? I don't know." Tong Mai said in a bad tone.

  Old Lady Hu knew she was angry, biting her lip and scolding herself for being a rascal.

  "Oh... I remember now." Suddenly, Old Lady Huo's face lit up with a radiant smile, clearly delighted. "I'm so happy to recall this song..." With a hint of self-satisfaction, Old Lady Huo couldn't help but smile at her own good memory.

  This smile made Tong Mai feel a little absent-minded, and of course, there was also a faint sense of guilt rising in his chest.

  How could she, also a maid of the Huo family, be treated like this by her? She was even paid to come here. It's really not right for her to have such an attitude towards her. Moreover, she is an elderly person after all, and shouldn't be scolded unless absolutely necessary.

  "Oh, so that's it. I don't feel like singing at all now, and if I do, I'll just feel even more lonely." Tong Mai's voice was much softer than his previous shouting.

  "You little scamp, I'm an old woman and I don't feel lonely, what makes you so young and yet so lonely?" However, it seemed that Old Lady Huo had caught a glimpse of a hint of desolation and isolation in Tong Mai's eyes.

  This girl, when she calms down, seems to be wrapped in a thick sorrow, her inner heart is not as cheerful as the surface, and she's actually quite sensitive...

  "You don't understand, it's precisely when you're young that loneliness strikes!"

  The words of Tong Mai hide a sense of injury, a sigh that seems to trigger enough pain...

  Old Lady Huo stopped and cast a pair of slightly sharp eyes on Tong Mai's face, "Mai Yaotou, do you have something on your mind?"

  She must have worries, but she hides them well and doesn't want to tell others about her inner thoughts.

  She still remembers that Tong Mai once said, when she was reading books, she went to work part-time... This sentence, although Old Lady Huo didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now thinking back, this girl must have suffered a lot.

  If she were a delicate girl, a young lady worth thousands of gold, when doing these household chores, she would not be so familiar and flawless. Before that, she was just picking on Tong Mai, but in fact, she did the work with style and precision.

  A person's eyes are the most revealing of their inner loneliness and sorrow, Old Lady Huo gazed carefully at her pair of eyes that shone like bright pearls in a dark night, the more she looked, the more she felt that this girl must be suffering deeply inside...

  "Joking, what worries would I have? I'm busy working non-stop here every day, when do I have time to think about other things?" Although it's a bit of an excuse, it can't be denied that the exhausting labor here has indeed driven away many grievances from her mind, allowing her to temporarily put them aside and take a break...

  "Let's play chess, don't ask me any more questions, and don't call me those disgusting names like 'McMuffin' or 'Tong Xiaomai', just call me Tong Mai." This was the name her mother had given her, which she loved dearly.

  "Tong Xiaomai, don't pretend in front of me. I know you're not happy. Alright... I'll let you go online for half an hour!"

  Mrs. Huo felt like she had affected her mood, so now everyone is being extremely nice to her.

  What's most important is that with this dead girl by her side, she truly feels less lonely and desolate. Accompanying her to play chess, occasionally teasing her with a girl's temper, yet always bringing her a certain kind of fresh stimulation, filling the empty and desolate heart of Old Lady Huo in an unprecedented way...

  Let's just say it's a matter of courtesy. The joy she showed earlier when using the computer, and her current despair, are simply worlds apart.

  Tong Mai glanced at her, no way, so kind-hearted, Old Lady Huo was too good to her, she really wasn't used to it. Actually, it wasn't because of not going online either, for some unknown reason, her mood suddenly hit rock bottom...

  "It doesn't matter, I'm just browsing the internet and there's nothing much going on, it's all just nonsense!"

  "Oh, really......" Old Lady Huo thought for a moment, furrowed her brow, "Mai Yaotou, come on, I'll take you to a place, it's definitely a great place!"