Chapter 11: Boiling Water
“No, I must do something, otherwise after Su Qinghan gets tired of playing, she will very likely dislike me for consuming food and then kill me; after all, it’s the apocalypse now, food is above the lives of others.”
Thinking, Xiao Mumu sucked the last drop of milk from the carton into her mouth, smacking her lips a little, as if reminiscing about the mellow fragrance of milk, intoxicating.
“The first thing to do is to undo this iron chain, and then find an opportunity to sneak away.” She tugged at the cold, hard iron chain, her palm tightening slightly.
Although there might be no food outside, and she couldn’t leave the building on her own, it was still better than being insulted by Su Qinghan every day; she was a person with dignity.
She hadn’t thought about what to do after escaping, or whether she would be found, after all, she had to escape first before considering anything else.
So Xiao Mumu hadn’t planned any specific actions after escaping, only considering the first step—undoing the restraints.
She looked at Su Qinghan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed wiping a small knife, her mouth moved, she thought for a long time, and finally mustered the courage to say to her.
“Um... Master, could you please take off this collar?” As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to have lost all her strength, lowering her head, not daring to look at her.
Su Qinghan, who was wiping the knife, heard Xiao Mumu’s words and looked at her with great interest, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
Just like discovering a fun toy.
“Oh? Why?” she asked.
Xiao Mumu answered without thinking: “Because the collar is too tight on my neck, it’s uncomfortable......”
Su Qinghan’s eyes shifted, and she immediately replied softly: “No can do! This is the mark of being a pet.”
The light in Xiao Mumu’s eyes dimmed, her nose twitched with a sour feeling, and just as she was about to cry, Su Qinghan added.
“The collar, no, but this iron chain can be undone; it’s not good to keep you locked up here all the time, after all, pets also need their free time.”
She smiled like a black rose, making Xiao Mumu feel a little terrified.
Xiao Mumu’s lips curved up slightly; all those emotions just now were feigned.
This was like buying something on a certain fish platform, thinking it was too expensive, so you quote a lower price, and then the seller reduces it a lot from the original price, making you think you got a bargain, but actually, the seller has made a killing.
Su Qinghan let out a soft, cold laugh from an angle where Xiao Mumu couldn’t see her; with a casual thought, she knew the little kitten’s petty schemes.
She slowly squatted down beside Xiao Mumu, took out a key, and undid the iron chain on the collar—it was unknown if it was intentional.
When Su Qinghan was undoing the collar, her cold, slender fingers touched Xiao Mumu’s cheek, making her cheeks flush a little.
The iron chain fell to the floor with a crisp sound; Xiao Mumu tried hard to suppress the excitement in her heart, raised her head, and looked at Su Qinghan with a hint of timidity in her eyes.
“Th... Thank you, Master,” she said in a low voice, her voice tinged with just the right amount of humility.
Su Qinghan stood up, patted her head with her hand; a seemingly intimate gesture, yet it made Xiao Mumu shiver involuntarily.
“Since I’ve given you free time, you should cherish it well, don’t go running around everywhere!” Su Qinghan’s tone always carried a hint of playfulness and a hint of threat.
“By the way, I have something to do now, don’t come to the storage room to disturb me; I’ve left food for you on the living room table.”
Xiao Mumu nodded obediently; the latter didn’t say much more, turned and walked out of the bedroom, entering the storage room.
She watched Su Qinghan leave, and only after a while did she cautiously walk out of the bedroom, stand in the living room and survey it for a moment; looking to her left, she could see the main door at the entrance hall.
As long as she opened the main door, she could escape this place.
Xiao Mumu tiptoed towards the main door, glanced back towards the storage room, her mind constantly debating whether to run away or not.
“I can leave here just by gently turning the doorknob, but... even if I run out, I can’t leave this building. Should I run away or not......”
Finally, after much deliberation, just as she stretched out her hand and placed it on the doorknob, she heard Su Qinghan’s commanding voice coming from the storage room.
“Xiao Mumu, go to the kitchen and boil some hot water with the gas stove, I’ll need it later. Also, this main door of mine has been specially replaced; it needs a key to be locked from the inside, so just turning the handle is useless for you.”
Hearing this, Xiao Mumu felt as if there were spikes on her back, the hairs all over her body stood on end, her heartbeat quickened considerably, and her whole being felt unwell.
“How does she know I’m here at the main door? I clearly didn’t make any sound.”
Seeing Xiao Mumu hadn’t answered for a long time, Su Qinghan spoke again: “What? Didn’t you hear what I said clearly?”
“Go... Got it.”
Only then did she react, quickly saying it, thinking to herself that she was definitely done for, she had actually been discovered.
Xiao Mumu, her heart like dead ashes, walked towards the kitchen; she just looked as if her whole person had no soul, walking unsteadily, and almost stumbled.
“I’ll definitely be beaten then, right? Or maybe humiliated, then tied up with an iron chain, never to be undone, completely becoming a pet that has lost its freedom, gu~”
As she thought, Xiao Mumu’s face was already covered in tears; she was truly scared, regretting why she had engaged in such foolish B behavior.
It was probably because the physical pain and mental torment had gone on for too long, or perhaps influenced by “Xiao Mumu,” her intelligence was slowly declining.
She sighed; what was to come would come eventually.
It was better to do the present task well, then she might suffer a little less.
Xiao Mumu glanced at the kitchen layout; compared to her own home, it could be called luxurious: refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, oven... many things she had never seen before, although they couldn’t be used now.
It was just that this gas stove didn’t quite match the kitchen; it would be much better if it were replaced with an induction cooker.
It was also fortunate that it was a gas stove, otherwise there would be no hot water available.
She then looked towards the corner of the kitchen, where many large, blue, transparent water cooler jugs were stacked.
“Those should be the rainwater Su Qinghan stored, right?”
Xiao Mumu picked up the iron kettle placed on the gas stove and walked towards the water jugs.
So now the question arose: Xiao Mumu was all by herself, how could she lift a full water jug to pour water?
She frowned deeply, pondering this problem; soon, her not-so-bright little head came up with a solution.
Xiao Mumu ran back to the room, picked up the milk carton she had drunk from out of the trash can, pulled out the inserted straw, and returned to the kitchen clutching it in her hand.
She opened the lid of the kettle, placed it next to the water jug, then unscrewed the cap on top of the water jug, blocked the shorter end of the straw with her thumb, and put the longer end into the water.
Finally, she slowly moved her thumb away, and relatively clear rainwater flowed slowly through the straw into the kettle; Xiao Mumu watched the gradually rising water level and couldn’t help but praise herself inwardly.
This was just the simple principle of a siphon, but Xiao Mumu was very proud.
After siphoning for a while, looking at the water level in the jug that she could no longer reach, and then looking at the kettle that was only one-third full, she moved towards the adjacent water jug.
“Next is to boil the water......”