The most beautiful space

6. Addiction?! (Minor revision)

After the family finished eating, Su Tong washed the dishes, snatched the remote control from her mother, and the whole family watched a rather cheerful entertainment program together. It was almost 10 o'clock when Su Tong went up to her room on the fourth floor.

The fourth floor has only three connected rooms, which have been Su Tong's private space since the house was built. The largest room is the bedroom, and the smallest room is a bathroom with a large bathtub that Su Tong's father specially built for her. When Su Tong was in junior high school, she was so excited about this that she would put her bedding in the bathtub to sleep at night. However, Su's mother said that taking a bath like that would waste too much water, so Su Tong only used it occasionally and mostly took a shower. The other room is Su Tong's study, playroom, rest room, and private guest room, in short, it has many functions.

The rest of the area is the rooftop. On the left is a place to dry clothes, and on the right, most of the area is planted with various things. There are more than a dozen pots of colorful flowers and plants belonging to Su's father, chives, garlic, scallions, and a pepper tree belonging to Su's mother, as well as a patch of strawberries planted by Su Tong. It's quite lively.

Su Tong left Kongkong in her space after leaving the house in Shanghai, and it had been more than half a day. Although there was enough space for Kongkong to run around, and Su Tong had also prepared a food bowl for him so he wouldn't go hungry, he had no playmates in the space. Kongkong was still a puppy, and Su Tong was afraid that he would get bored. If she let him out, she was afraid that her parents would hear him barking. The first thing Su Tong did when she got to the room was to check on him in the space.

Su Tong could only leave it in her space or lock it at home alone when she was at work, afraid that it would be too bored. On the night she met Li Tian, ​​she bought it a few dog toys. When she entered the space, the empty white body with gray spots was lying by the pond, its two front paws holding the ball used to practice biting strength, barking and biting hard from time to time.

Kongkong's ears twitched, and upon hearing Su Tong's footsteps, it immediately dropped the ball, wagged its tail, and ran happily towards Su Tong, affectionately rubbing its head against Su Tong's leg.

"You must be bored being alone for so long," Su Tong squatted down and gently stroked Kong Kong's soft fur. Regardless of whether Kong Kong understood or not, she explained, "You'll have to stay here tonight, but I'll let you out tomorrow."

Kongkong rubbed against Su Tong, making soft, endearing "ooh ooh ooh" sounds.

Su Tong fed Kongkong some dog food that it had barely touched, and asked疑惑地问道, "Kongkong, do you not like this flavor?" But Kongkong ate with relish while Su Tong fed it, too busy eating to answer its owner's question. After feeding, Su Tong took Kongkong to play on the low hills to the right of the spatial pool, and also to inspect her spatial realm.

During this time, Su Tong had gained a certain understanding of her own space. The flow of time within the space was the same as outside. To take something out of the space, she didn't need to enter it; she only needed to think about the item, and it would appear outside. To move an external object into the space, Su Tong simply touched the object and then mentally decided where to place it within the space.

However, there are limits to how much you can put things in. For example, when Su Tong was putting all the things she had packed in her Shanghai apartment into the space, she felt extremely tired after putting in more than half of them. She took a nap and put the rest into the space in the morning.

If Su Tong wanted, she could keep an eye on the outside world from inside the space, and vice versa. Sigh, Su Tong couldn't help but lament how perfect this space would be if it didn't have that damned side effect.

Although there are no man-made roads on the low hill, the slope is gentle and easy to climb. The hill is covered with various fruit trees, some with lush flowers and leaves and others with abundant fruit. These fruit trees, which are unique to different tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, grow strangely and without any obvious pattern in this magical space. Although it was not the first time Su Tong had seen it, he still couldn't help but marvel.

Looking at those fresh and tempting fruits, Su Tong was still very tempted, but thinking about how difficult it was to carry a bag of things today, she immediately gave up that little bit of craving.

There were only a few low hills in a row. Kongkong jumped and played happily on the hills, sometimes returning to Su Tong's side to act coquettishly. Many peach, pear, and cherry trees were in full bloom, their pink and white blossoms creating a beautiful sight. Su Tong didn't feel bored looking at the scenery. They slowly crossed several hills, feeling quite tired but not to the point where they had to stop and rest. In front of them was an invisible barrier shrouded in mist. Su Tong thought for a moment, then reached out and touched it. It felt like she had put her hand into some kind of very viscous liquid, making it difficult to move.

More than an hour had passed, and Su Tong wasn't in a hurry to explore the space. After spending a little more time with Kong Kong, she left the space.

When Su Tong first obtained the space, she soaked in the spring water for a week. After noticing something unusual, she started showering as usual. However, she missed the feeling of taking a bath, so she decided to waste some water. She took out a set of pajamas from the closet to prepare for a bath, when she heard a knock on the door accompanied by her mother's voice: "Tongtong."

Su Tong immediately put down her pajamas. "Wait a minute, Mom, I'll open the door for you."

"No, no need!" Su's mother looked at the light on in her daughter's bedroom and said, "I'm going to sleep soon, so I won't come in. I'll talk to you outside."

Su Tong had already reached the door, so she obediently didn't open it. The mother and daughter, one outside the door and one inside, talked quietly in the quiet night of the small city.

Su's mother has a fiery temper, and her voice is rarely so gentle. She said, "Li Tian just called me and said you resigned. Tongtong, your friend is a nice person."

Su Tong nodded, "Yes, I just resigned yesterday."

"It's good that you quit. It's too tiring for a girl to be out there all year round. Besides, your parents aren't old yet. You've been quite frugal these past few years. I've been saving all the money you send us every month. Now that you've quit, don't rush to look for another job. Take a break for a while, okay?" Su's mother's voice was tinged with amusement. "I have to say, you've only been working for a few years and you've already left your parents so much money. I've never heard of my daughter being so filial."

Su Tong felt a pang of sadness at her mother's words. "Mom, what are you saying? I'm all grown up now. The money I give you is for your use. Why would I need you to save it for me? I have my own savings."

Su's mother quickly said, "No, please. Don't deprive yourself of food and clothing when you're out there. What's the point of saving so much money? We're practically half-buried in the ground. Do you expect us to save money for us to take to our graves? I carried my daughter for ten months and raised her from a tiny baby to adulthood. We can't let her suffer outside. As long as you're doing well, your parents will be happy. Don't think of yourself as someone who's just sitting around doing nothing at home. We're your parents, and we won't complain about you no matter what."

Su Tong is 26 years old and has experienced quite a bit in life. Her mother's simple words almost moved her to tears, saying:

"What do you mean by 'half of my body is buried in the ground'? My parents aren't even 50 yet; they're still in their prime."

“What’s so great about being strong? Your dad will be retiring in a few years.” After a pause, Su’s mother continued, “Tongtong.”

“Okay,” Su Tong replied, “Mom, you go ahead and say it, I’m listening.”

Then Su's mother said, "Tongtong, you've gotten so much fairer since you came back. Your skin is so smooth. Did you use some new skincare products?"

When Su Tong heard her mother ask about this, she breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "No, I washed it with a kind of spring water. I'll tell you in detail another day."

"That's fine then," Su's mother added with concern, "Our Tongtong is already pretty enough, so she's not allowed to get any of those laser skin rejuvenation or minimally invasive cosmetic procedures."

Su Tong thought to herself, "Photorejuvenation can't possibly be this effective. Even the space spring water that works has terrible side effects!" However, Su Tong was still pleased with her mother's concern and obediently agreed, "Okay, don't worry, Mom, I won't."

"That's good. I'm going to sleep now. You should go to sleep early too."

"Okay, I'll take a shower and go to sleep. Goodnight, Mom."

The sound of slippers pattering down the stairs rang out, and Su's mother went down to her bedroom on the second floor to sleep. Su Tong lost her appetite for a bath, took a shower, and went to bed.

In the middle of the night, half asleep, Su Tong felt an itch all over her body, which gradually became unbearable. She had been bitten by mosquitoes, stung by insects, and had allergic reactions before, all of which were very itchy, but she had never experienced this kind of itch that went straight from her bones to her flesh. Su Tong painfully scratched and scratched, and her delicate skin, which had been modified by the space, quickly showed blood marks, but it was no use at all. The itch was so unbearable that it felt like countless insects were stinging her marrow.

Or is Su Tong just an ordinary girl, neither Huang Jiguang who could block machine gun fire with his body, nor Qiu Shaoyun who could remain unmoved even when engulfed in flames? How could she possibly resist such an itch?

Unable to bear the itch any longer, Su Tong quickly scratched many parts of her body until the skin broke, but even that didn't relieve the itch at all. While painfully rubbing and scratching on the bed, Su Tong suddenly saw a flash of white light and found herself in a spatial dimension, lying by a pool of water wearing a short-sleeved pajama.

Su Tong suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Hehe, so that's how it is. Damn, this kind of magical object is indeed not something that mortals like us can control. Maybe this spring water has some magical components that make her feel so uncomfortable after only a few days without soaking in it.

The itching all over her body was so intense that Su Tong gave a wry smile. Without even taking off her pajamas, she collapsed onto the first step of the pool to soak in the water.

The last thought in my mind was—damn, he's addicted to space!