red moscow

Chapter 2688

When Sokov returned home in the evening, he was about to go into the kitchen to cook, but Anna stopped him: "Misha, go to the study and read a book. I'll take care of dinner tonight. I'll call you when it's ready." After that, she took the initiative to go into the kitchen.

Since Anna was willing to take the initiative to cook, Sokov was just what he wanted. He turned around and went into the study, sat at the table, turned on the computer, and began to browse information.

As soon as I logged into the chat app, Lao Hu from China sent me a message: "Xiao Lin, I heard that what happened that day caused you trouble. Are you okay?"

Sokov knew that Lao Hu was talking about not sending Cai to the airport that day, and Lao Tan came to ask for an explanation. So he told Lao Hu roughly what happened later. Of course, considering that Lao Hu was a bit of a big mouth and couldn't keep secrets, he didn't tell him that he had sent Wang Juntao and others to the cell through his connections, so as to prevent him from telling people about it and causing unnecessary trouble for himself.

After listening to this, Lao Hu was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Xiao Lin, I'm so sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"This matter has passed, there is no need to mention it again." Sokov said lightly: "Old Hu, when you deal with people in the future, you should be more careful, so that others will not take advantage of your face to do favors."

"Yeah, I remember."

Sokov knew that it was difficult to change a person's nature. Even though Lao Hu had agreed now, maybe in a few days, the scar would heal and he would forget the pain. As long as others said a few nice words to him, he would rush to help. In the end, he would waste his time and favors, but all the benefits would go to others.

But as a friend, I have said everything I can say. What Lao Hu does in the future is his business, so I don't need to worry too much.

After finishing his chat with Lao Hu, Sokov continued to browse the information, looking for something useful to him, so that it would be useful even if he went back to the past.

Just when I was watching intently, I suddenly heard Anna calling me, "Misha, dinner is ready."

Coming to the kitchen, Sokov saw two plates on the dining table, both of which were filled with pancakes. He asked Anna in surprise, "Is this the dinner you made?"

"Yes, I make Ukrainian potato pancakes and Ukrainian meat pancakes." Anna nodded and said, "Potato pancakes are made by peeling potatoes, grinding them into a paste, and then frying them into pancakes. Meat pancakes are made of minced beef or pork. I also add onions, mushrooms, carrots and other vegetables to them and bake them in the oven. You can try my cooking skills."

Sokov had gone to the suburbs today and had no time to eat lunch. He was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back. Seeing that Anna had made dinner for him personally, he sat down and started eating without any hesitation.

Anna sat next to him, resting her cheeks on her hands, looking at Sokov with a smile.

After seeing the other party eat a piece of potato pie and a piece of meat pie, he asked, "Misha, how does it taste?"

Sokov looked at Anna sideways and said, "Same as you."

"Same as me?" Anna looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Sokov put down his knife and fork, tapped Anna's nose, and smiled: "Of course it tastes as good as you."

Anna was stunned at first, then her face turned red, and she said shyly, "You are so annoying. You can't even eat properly."

"Hey, I'm telling the truth." Sokov laughed dryly and said, "How about we go to the bedroom and try it first, then come back for dinner?"

Anna snorted coldly and slapped Sokov on the forehead with her hand: "Eat your meal first. We can talk about some things after dark."

As the two of them were eating dinner, Anna suddenly asked, "By the way, I went to see you at noon today, and Lena said you went out with a girl. Who was that girl, and where did you go?"

Sokov shuddered. He knew very well that if he didn't explain this clearly, Anna would probably turn against him. He hurriedly explained, "Oh, that's Officer Victoria, the one who came to my store to investigate the arson case last time. She asked me to accompany her to the country villa to get some things for her great-grandmother."

"Why did she ask you to go with her?"

"Because her family lives downstairs from mine." Sokov pointed downstairs and continued, "She has a 99-year-old great-grandmother who I get along very well with. If she wants to get her things back from the countryside, she will definitely think of me."

"We went to the country house to get something." Anna looked at Sokov and asked with a half-smile, "Didn't you do anything else?"

"No, absolutely not." Sokov replied righteously: "If you don't believe it, you can pay the public grain first and then come back to eat."

"Alright, stop joking and focus on eating. If you don't eat now, the pancakes will get cold."

After dinner, while washing the dishes, Anna asked curiously, "Misha, you said Victoria's great-grandmother is 99 years old. How can she have anything in common with a young man in his twenties like you? Why did she even ask you to go to the countryside to help her get something important?"

Hearing Anna's question, Sokov hesitated for a moment, thinking in his mind, how should he answer her?

After thinking about it, he decided to reply Anna with the same words he told Victoria, lest she become good friends with Victoria one day in the future and find out that he was lying when they compare their stories. Then she would have to rack her brains to explain for a long time: "A few days ago, when I was helping Officer Victoria move things home, her great-grandmother saw me and insisted that I was her former superior. Victoria told me that her great-grandmother had Alzheimer's disease and was unconscious most of the time, so she asked me to follow her wishes and admit that I was her former superior."

"Is that really the case?" Anna asked doubtfully.

"of course."

"I think your explanation is too far-fetched. Are you lying to me?"

Sokov said calmly, "Anna, if you don't believe me, I can take you to Victoria's house and let you ask her in person."

Anna thought about it, then shook her head and said, "Forget it, I won't go. I don't know her." She wiped her hands with a towel and then grabbed Sokov's arm. "I believe you won't lie to me about this."

Seeing that he had finally gotten away with it, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go back to his study to continue reading the materials when he heard Anna continue to ask, "Misha, when are we going to Sochi?"

Sokov thought for a moment and said, "Wait about ten more days." "Ah, do we have to wait that long?" Anna pouted and said, "My boss said that he will close the store for a while starting next week and will reopen it at the end of July."

"I also want to go to Sochi right away, but I still have a lot of things to do." Sokov said to Anna: "First, my friends and I have an appointment to have a party at a villa in the suburbs in a few days. You know this."

"Yeah, I know. What else?"

"Also, we have to pay the booth fee for the next month starting on the 26th of each month." Sokov continued, "If we leave after the party, we will have to pay the shop rent in two days. I can't rush back just after arriving in Sochi, right? So I think it's better to wait until the rent is paid before going to Sochi. In this way, we can choose how long to stay in Sochi according to the specific situation."

Anna thought what Sokov said made sense, so she nodded in agreement: "Okay, then it won't be too late to go to Sochi after we pay the rent for the store."

As the two were talking, Sokov's cell phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Victoria calling.

Sokov answered the phone, because in front of Anna, he asked in a businesslike tone: "Officer Victoria, what's the matter?"

"Misha, my great-grandmother is not feeling well tonight. After seeing her medals and certificate, she has been sitting there mumbling to herself," Victoria said hurriedly on the phone, "Can you come down and chat with her?"

Perhaps worried that Sokov would refuse, she added, "The bureau just called me and said there's an emergency case that I need to go back to handle. My great-grandmother is in this state, and I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone at home. Can you come and keep her company?"

If Sokov was alone at home, he would have agreed without hesitation, but at the moment Anna was staring at him eagerly, so before answering the question, he deliberately looked at Anna. Anna saw Sokov's eyes on her, snorted heavily, and then turned her head to the side.

Seeing Anna like this, Sokov, who knew her well, immediately realized that she had no objection to him going to Victoria's house, and quickly replied, "I'll be there right away."

After hanging up the phone, Sokov decided to take the initiative and asked before Anna could finish speaking: "Anna, will you come with me?"

"I want to watch TV at home." If Sokov hadn't asked this question, Anna might have wanted to go over and take a look, but when she heard Sokov's question, she immediately shook her head and said, "You can go alone."

Since Anna had no objection, Sokov quickly left the house and went to Victoria's house downstairs.

"Misha, you're here!" Victoria saw Sokov appear at the door, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to the bedroom, saying, "It has been several hours since I came home, but my great-grandmother has been sitting on the recliner, holding her medal, muttering to herself. It's really scary."

Sokov walked into the bedroom and saw Lida sitting on a recliner in front of the window, holding the box she brought back today, and muttering to herself. She looked a little scary. Fortunately, it was not until around 11 o'clock in this season that it would get completely dark. Otherwise, someone like Lida would definitely scare others.

Sokov came to Lida and squatted down, holding her wrinkled hand, and asked with concern: "Lida, what are you mumbling about?"

Lida heard someone talking to her, turned her head and looked at Sokov, a smile appeared on her face: "Misha, you are here!"

"Well, here I come!"

"When I held the medal, many of my former comrades appeared in front of me." Lida turned her gaze to the window again and said excitedly, "They have been chatting with me just now, telling me what happened back then."

Sokov shuddered when he heard what Lida said. He had heard from others that when a person is about to die, his dead relatives and friends will appear before his eyes. Lida said that she saw her former comrades-in-arms. Could it be that her life has come to an end?

Thinking of this, he stood up, came to Victoria, and whispered: "Vika, are you going to the police station now?"

"I'm not going." Victoria shook her head and explained, "When I called you, I heard a woman talking next to you. I was worried that if I asked you to come over to accompany my great-grandmother, she would not agree, so I had to pretend that there was something going on in the bureau and asked you to come over to help take care of my great-grandmother, so that she would not object to you coming over."

Sokov gave Victoria a thumbs up and said, "Vika, your trick is really effective. If I hadn't said that, maybe my friend would have really come with me."

"Misha, what's wrong with my great-grandmother?" Victoria looked at Lida and asked with a sad face, "Why does she keep talking about it?"

Sokov organized the words in his mind, and then slowly said: "Vika, you may need to be mentally prepared. Lida's situation is very similar to terminal lucidity. Even though she is fine at the moment, she may be dead the next moment. You think she is just asleep, but in fact she has passed away."

Hearing Sokov's words, Victoria exclaimed in surprise: "No way, Misha, you said my great-grandmother has reached the end of her life?"

"That's about it." Sokov was not a doctor after all, so he had no idea of ​​Lida's current condition. He could only say in an uncertain tone, "After all, she is almost a hundred years old now, and not many people can live to her age."

Victoria took Sokov's arm and said in a panic, "Misha, can you stay with me? I'm worried that something might happen to my great-grandmother, and I won't be able to handle it alone."

Seeing the decisive female police officer, who seemed at a loss because of his great-grandmother's poor condition, Sokov felt sympathy for her. He nodded and said, "Don't worry, Vika, I will stay here for a while to see what happens to Lida next."

Victoria brought two chairs in from outside, and sat side by side with Sokov behind Lida, listening quietly to her constant chanting. Lida's voice was sometimes loud, sometimes soft; sometimes clear, sometimes vague.

Victoria couldn't help but ask Sokov a few questions about what she could hear clearly, and Sokov would search the memories deep in his mind and give a reasonable explanation to the other party.

In this way, time passed unknowingly and it was twelve o'clock, and Lida, who had been muttering non-stop, finally calmed down.

  Looking at her head resting motionless on the back of the chair, Sokov's heart couldn't help but skip a beat, thinking to himself, could it be that Lida had left like this?

He quickly stood up and walked over, put his finger under Lida's nose, and found that she was still breathing steadily. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Victoria behind him and said, "Vika, she's asleep."

Victoria quickly got up and made the bed, and said to Sokov, "Misha, please help me carry her to the bed."

Sokov put the skinny Lida on the bed and gently covered her with a blanket. Then he said to Victoria, "Vika, it's getting late. I'm going back first. If you have anything, remember to call me."

(End of this chapter)