4: Chapter 4: Before the Wedding Xiao Aixi, After the Wedding Olori 4: Chapter 4: Before the Wedding Xiao Aixi, After the Wedding Olori “All other clothes are gone, only this hoodie and shoes are left.”
Rena said with a hint of regret.
“It’s okay, as long as they’re clothes.”
Allen Zhang took the black hoodie and size 43 sneakers, putting them on and stomping his feet to finally feel a bit of warmth.
“Thank you, Rena.” Dominic gratefully hugged her.
Rena took the opportunity to extend an invitation, “Dominic, would you like to stay here tonight?”
“Oh, although I’d really like to.
But I have to take care of my friend Allen, he’s just arrived and has nowhere to stay, doesn’t know the street rules, and could easily get himself into trouble.”
Dominic tactfully declined.
“Well, your friend indeed needs help.” Rena replied understandingly.
Then she suddenly said, “I just remembered something I forgot to give your friend.
Can you help me find it inside?
It’s a red plastic teacup.”
“Of course.” Dominic entered the shelter without hesitation, moving about as if he knew the place well.
Only Rena and Allen Zhang were left in the alley.
Rena glanced at him a few times, then smiled slightly at Allen Zhang: “Hi, Allen, I’m Rena, Dominic must have already introduced me to you.”
She was dressed in a cool sleeveless tank top, denim shorts, and flip-flops.
Blond-haired and blue-eyed, with delicate features, over thirty, and having gone through a failed marriage, she exuded a mature and intellectual aura of a grown woman, along with a faint weariness of life.
Leaning against the door with her arms crossed, her full bust was prominent.
“Hello, Rena, nice to meet you.”
Allen Zhang was somewhat reserved, “Are you Russian?”
“Yeah, I am indeed Russian.
Dominic mentioned you’re from Japan, right?” Rena maintained the most basic politeness with a smile.
When the hell did I say I was from Japan…
Oh, I said it when I was getting relief food.
Dominic, you little bastard!!
You don’t listen to the good parts, only the bad, huh?
It’s well known that old Russians don’t like Japanese, always scheming on how to trick the Japanese into going to Siberia to plant potatoes, and if you meet Japanese POWs on the battlefield, you’d perform a castration without anesthesia!
With a bucket in the left hand and a knife in the right, you go up and directly cut and bleed them, just like castrating livestock.
Russians are just too rough.
Allen Zhang felt that even the pig castrations in his village weren’t as crude and brutal.
And all one could say was that it was nicely done.
Allen Zhang immediately answered, “I come from China.”
“Oh, Khitan!” Rena nodded, perking up instantly.
She had learned from surfing the internet that calling a Chinese person Japanese is considered discrimination.
But both countries’ people traveling abroad often claimed to be from the other nation, inflicting mutual offline hurt on each other.
“I really enjoy watching your Seoul’s Jewel in the Palace and Empresses in the Palace, and also the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
“Allen Zhang started to reply subconsciously, but before finishing, he felt that something was a bit off.
Seeing Rena’s face brimming with joy, much like a failing student dozing off during a modern history class, he also didn’t really want to dampen her enthusiasm.
Allen could only continue bravely, “You’re right, when Liu Bei made his three visits to the thatched cottage to invite Zhuge Liang, it’s Han City he went to!
Han City has always been an inseparable part of the Khitan.
I also really like the boy band EXO, especially a member named Li Xianghe, who is super slick at sniping in Banana Avenue.”
Rena seemed to be clueless in this area, hitting upon her blind spot in knowledge.
She asked, “Allen, you just arrived here today, do you have any plans for afterward?”
“I’m homeless without legal status, so it’s likely going to be hard to find a job.
I can only take things one step at a time for now,” Allen Zhang admitted frankly.
Rena nodded her head; she didn’t look down on him for it, as people in California in his situation were hardly rare.
She was already accustomed to it.
She could only wish him, “Then I wish you good luck.
Hopefully, this Angel City can bring about a different change for you!”
“Thanks for your blessings, Rena, I hope so too,” Allen Zhang expressed his gratitude for her wishes.
The two of them fell silent afterward.
“Allen, how long have you known Dominic?” Rena brought up the topic again.
“Although we get along extremely well, I have to say, we’ve only just met today, and it hasn’t been more than three hours.
It all started over a 5-cent jar.”
Allen laughed, “He’s a good friend, likes to help others.
Running into him on the streets of Los Angeles has been quite lucky for me.”
“Yeah, Dominic is quite famous on the nearby streets; a lot of people know him, and he has helped many, but among them are many bad boys.”
“Promise me you won’t interact too much with those people and don’t drag Dominic into doing bad things, okay?” Rena eyed Allen Zhang as though she were the head of the family.
“I’ve been taught since I was little to be an upright and kind person.
Due to historical reasons, I think I won’t actively seek out those people and those bad things,” Allen replied without a second thought.
“That’s great, Allen, if you ever need anything in the future, feel free to come to me.
At least it’s convenient to take showers here, no need to compete with the homeless for buses and public bathrooms.
It’s easy to catch AIDS and infectious diseases outside.
If you want to get involved with some girls, remember to take safety precautions.”
“If you run into any trouble, bring Dominic and stay with me for the night.”
Rena was satisfied with his answer; at least this Chinese boy was not like the others who liked to cause trouble, creating endless problems for Dominic and herself.
“There will be a chance, Rena.
Thank you for being so generous, your spirit is so pure and beautiful,” Allen Zhang said smiling.
Just the spirit is beautiful?
So my looks aren’t beautiful?” Rena also laughed at his words.
Allen was at a loss for words.
Before marriage it’s Allen, after it’s Olori; those who understand, understand.
Even so, those words couldn’t be said in her presence, so without thinking, Allen Zhang said, “Of course, you are also very beautiful.
Miss Eastwood does meet the aesthetic preferences of males in our country.”
Rena could not stop smiling, having heard what she wanted to hear.
Their relationship gradually became closer, and she learned more about him from asking questions, further confirming that he was genuinely a Chinese person.
Dominic came out of the house with a matcha green plastic cup and a pair of jeans.
He glanced at the two happily chatting, saying, “Rena, I’ve searched many times and couldn’t find the red cup you mentioned, so I brought the green one.
And, weren’t there clothes?
You probably didn’t look carefully before, did you?”
“Oh, I must have remembered wrong then,” Rena said nonchalantly.
“It’s getting late, we need to go back now, goodbye Rena.”
Dominic and Allen Zhang waved goodbye to her.
“See you another day, handsome boys,” Rena waved back happily.