CH 15

President Lu brought a new face to visit the factory, but it did not attract special attention since it was common for some customers to occasionally visit.

However, this guest was extraordinarily handsome this time. Although he was young, he was well dressed and looked dignified. Lu Yong also had an unprecedented posture as if he was facing an enemy. He led the way and gave a serious introduction that made the others want to speculate whether the person he brought in was a huge investor or civil servant of the relevant authorities.

Shen Wenqiu hadn’t stepped into such a serious work environment for a long time and felt out of place as if his body was the only thing there. The machine roared and the air was filled with a metallic smell. On the car dismantling line, mechanical devices easily dismantled and dismembered the steel monster. The outside yard was full of vehicles to be dismantled like a mine that needed to be excavated.

Lu Yong said, “There are also two sub-factories in other cities. They mainly recycle used batteries, undergo harmless treatment of the scrapped circuit boards, and recycle and reuse scrapped cars.”

The factory area was too big, and it took quite a long time to walk with his legs alone. Shen Wenqiu walked intermittently, and he realised that his body unconsciously had been in a very poor condition. He just walked a little more than a few steps before he began panting, and began to feel pain in his foot.

Lu Yong stopped and waited for him from time to time. He asked, “Am I walking too fast?”

Shen Wenqiu took a breath and said, “It’s okay.”

They went to the deepest part of the site.

As they turned the corner, the view suddenly opened up——

A grey-blue building with a sci-fi style stood in front of him, with a square blue-black sign on the roof: Hefeng Group Electronic Waste Recycling Engineering Technology Research Centre.

This building was the brain and heart of the group.

The unreal figure of the small broken house built on the wasteland with bricks, steel plates, and collected glass gradually transformed into reality like a mirage until it turned into this majestic structure.

Shen Wenqiu raised his head and looked at the building without blinking for a long time. The hot sunlight pierced his eyes and made his eyes itchy. He wanted to cry, “It’s great.”

Lu Yong stood beside him, looked up at the building, and said, “This is the new building that was just completed the year before.”

Shen Wenqiu’s originally empty eyes had a dim light in them, and he said softly with a bit of remembrance, “At that time, you said you would build the most professional scientific research room. It’s great.”

The summer sun was so hot that he couldn’t stand on the cement road for more than a few minutes.

Especially for a person like Shen Wenqiu who lacked exercise and was physically weak and sick. He really felt that the sun was burning him. Then he saw Lu Yong looking at him as soon as he turned his head. At a loss, Lu Yong said,, “…What are you laughing at? Is there anything on my face?”

Lu Yong shook his head: “No.”

He said, “Xiao Baa, you’re finally talking to me properly.”

Shen Wenqiu pretended not to hear and said, “When did I not talk properly?”

The direct sunlight dissipated the gloom in him, and Shen Wenqiu smiled, “Tell me about your baby.”

The two of them bickered as they entered the building.

The cool air-conditioned wind blew in, dissipating the summer heat that wrapped around their bodies.

Lu Yong’s eyes lit up again when he talked about the R&D studio, and he talked endlessly. Shen Wenqiu actually didn’t understand the various professional terms he was talking about. He just felt like he had gone back to the past in a daze. Standing beside him was the fifteen-year-old boy who had never changed.

Lu Yong breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Shen Wenqiu had been comforted quietly, put away his thorns, and looked at him quietly. He listened to his words intently as he did in the past, becoming much softer. Just like one little wild dog that was about to be tamed, he thought he might be able to pet him.

……

The second semester of the first year of high school.

After a summer vacation of spending time with each other closely, the friendship between Shen Wenqiu and Lu Yong grew by leaps and bounds.

Lu Yong himself felt secretly flattered.

Shen Wenqiu was well-known and had many friends, and he was always surrounded by a large group of people. Although he was also a good friend of Lu Yong’s, they were not particularly close. Now Shen Wenqiu would be by his side whenever he was free, and he would still drag him to gossip together.  

Their friendship was also exclusive.

The boys who had played a lot with Shen Wenqiu before were of course not happy. They felt that their good friend had been snatched away by a bumpkin who appeared in the middle of nowhere and felt upset.

When Lu Yong was caught in a small group centred on Shen Wenqiu, they pricked him with words from time to time.

Once, after PE class, a boy suddenly handed a hundred yuan bill to Lu Yong as a matter of course and said to Lu Yong, “It’s almost time for class, and it’s too late to go to the canteen. Help us run errands to buy drinks. The change will be your errand fee.”

That was not an inquiry, it was an order, and it was entirely in the tone of instructing a pageboy.

Lu Yong didn’t react for a while, and heard them again saying:

“What do you want to drink? It’s on me.”

“Coke!” “Sprite!” “Orange juice! Thank you Young Master Luo.”

The group of people joked and laughed.

If he refused, it would look like he didn’t fit in and did not know how to behave. He had great strength and ran fast… Carrying a bag of drinks was not a problem.

Lu Yong glanced at Shen Wenqiu, and he was about to get up to agree. Shen Wenqiu jerked up first, “Wow! You should’ve told me earlier that there’s money to run for errands! Are you not letting me earn? I’d like to be the first one to do it!”

Some guy asked, “What are you doing? You don’t lack money, so why do you want it?”

Shen Wenqiu humphed and said, “What do you mean by this money? Money is money. No amount of money is enough.”

Shen Wenqiu went to the snack store with him. They walked a little further, before Shen Wenqiu snapped, “Aren’t you stupid? Don’t you know how to refuse if you don’t want to do it?”

Lu Yong mumbled, “They are your friends.”

Lu Yong felt a bit inferior in front of Shen Wenqiu’s old friends. He felt that if he were ranked according to the degree of friendship, he would definitely be last. He hadn’t hung out with Shen Wenqiu for a long time, and he couldn’t keep up with the same hobbies for video games, novels, and comics. He was not funny, nor was he even good at conversing. He was a boring friend.

Shen Wenqiu didn’t say anything. As if he was thinking about something, he walked a few steps slowly, and then said abruptly and unclearly, “You…you are different from them.”

Lu Yong felt his ears burning from this sentence, and they suddenly became red. What does that mean? He didn’t dare to think about it too much.

“Ring——!!!” The deafening class bell rang abruptly.

“This is bad!” Shen Wenqiu said, running quickly, “Hurry up!”

Lu Yong took a step slower to follow. From behind, he saw Shen Wenqiu’s soft black hair flying up in the summer breeze. The blue and white school uniform was not zipped, and the uniform flew up like it was the tail of a bird’s wings, light and ready to fly at any time.

But they were still late that day. It happened to be the homeroom teacher’s class. Lao Ban1 was very angry — he punished them as an example for others, confiscated their drinks, and punished them by making them stand beside the podium. Lu Yong felt Shen Wenqiu was getting implicated by him.

As soon as the homeroom teacher turned around to write on the blackboard, the boys in the class made faces at Shen Wenqiu. Of course, Shen Wenqiu also winked at them and made a particularly ugly face, deliberately trying to make his friends laugh so as to drag them down. In the end, they held their laughter back. It was Lu Yong’s first time seeing it, and he couldn’t hold back.

Because he laughed out loud, he was caught by the teacher again. Not only was he punished, but he also had to write a review.

After school on Saturday.

Lu Yong heard someone ask Shen Wenqiu, “Want to go to the skating rink tomorrow?”

Shen Wenqiu refused without hesitation, “No, I want to go for make-up classes.”

A guy said, “Your grades are so good. What lessons do you need to make up?”

Shen Wenqiu lied as if it were true, “I haven’t placed first yet, and I can still improve. Why wouldn’t I go to make-up class?”

The other party had to give in, “Why do you have to make up so many lessons? Counting tonight, how many times have you stood me up?”

Shen Wenqiu sighed helplessly and waved his hand, “Okay, okay.”

While Lu Yong thought about it, Shen Wenqiu turned to him, blinked quickly, and cast a sly smile in his eyes, as if saying: Remember our secret agreement?

Lu Yong felt as if the tip of his heart had been electrocuted, it tingled and his head became dizzy again. Feeling overwhelmed, he lowered his head and quickly stuffed his things into his school bag.

The sense of superiority swelled wildly in the chest as if it wasn’t going to fill up and yet still felt overwhelming. 

Lu Yong was afraid that he couldn’t control himself and would reveal himself if he stayed any longer.

He quickly put on his school bag and left.

Shen Wenqiu chased him from behind and held him, “Why are you walking so fast? I have something to tell you.”

Someone called Shen Wenqiu. They stood still and looked back together. Lu Yong said, “They are calling you.”

Shen Wenqiu pulled his sleeves, lowered his voice, and said in a soft voice, “The homeroom teacher said he will change seats next week. Do you want to be my seatmate? I will secretly go and talk to the teacher.”

Lu Yong felt that he was unworthy, but before answering, Shen Wenqiu said goodbye to him and was called away by other friends who were urging him on.

Lu Yong looked at his figure and thought that when he was younger, he lost his mother, and also lost one of his hands, making his life inconvenient. If he was not careful, he would always become dirty. The students were unwilling to sit with him. The students randomly arranged by the teacher were crying and had to change their desks. They disliked him for being dirty and smelly.

…

Lu Yong accompanied Shen Wenqiu to walk around the company. Female employees paid more attention to Shen Wenqiu when they passed by. One after another, Lu Yong felt that something was wrong. He wondered if they were sharing news in the group and came here to see the handsome guy.

Shen Wenqiu seemed to be much more energetic mostly because he was on a formal occasion. He didn’t slouch or put his head down. He just showed his face, held his head up, and puffed his chest up, just like how he used to be.

Yes.

Shen Wenqiu just fell into the mud. Once he wiped himself clean, people could see how good he was.

They had a meal together in the company cafeteria at noon.

Shen Wenqiu ordered a large plate of food, Lu Yong glanced around and said, “You’re eating so much today?”

Shen Wenqiu said, “After walking so much, I’m almost starving to death.”

They were surrounded by employees who had come to eat.

Coincidentally, Lu Yong looked up and saw Teacher Ding also coming to eat. He suddenly became uncomfortable, afraid that his secret would be discovered. Ding Nian glanced at him inadvertently. Lu Yong immediately took a step to the side as if he wanted to cover up something, subconsciously blocking Shen Wenqiu.

Shen Wenqiu was holding a dinner plate full of food which he almost knocked off, and he said angrily, “Why are you squeezing in? You almost pushed me over.”

Lu Yong quickly stepped aside, “I’m sorry.”

When Teacher Ding passed by and glanced at him with a smile, Lu Yong’s face flushed.

Shen Wenqiu didn’t notice it because his back was turned to Lu Yong, and he went to find an empty place. As he walked, he said, “Your company’s food is very good. It looks so delicious. They are all my favourite dishes.”

Lu Yong said, “You don’t have any dishes you don’t like. You are not a picky eater.”

Shen Wenqiu smiled and replied, “Yes, my dad said the same thing. When I was in kindergarten, the teacher praised me for not picking my food and asked the other children to learn from me. So now I can only enjoy the pleasure of the desire for good food.”

Halfway through the meal, Shen Wenqiu restlessly fiddled with the food with a spoon and suddenly asked, “Is there a camera? You might have one here, right?”

Lu Yong asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Wenqiu said, “I want to take a photo. Can you take a photo with me in front of the research building?”

Of course, it was fine.

Lu Yong found a digital camera and asked the staff to help them take pictures.

The background was the lobby front desk of the Science and Technology Building. Shen Wenqiu took a single photo and a group photo of the two.

Shen Wenqiu took a deep breath and smiled brightly at the camera in a false and pretentious manner.

There was a printer in the office, and the photos were washed out on the spot. Shen Wenqiu’s heart was filled with joy that he hadn’t felt for a long time. He really liked them, “The photos are really good and the lighting is good too. I don’t look so ugly anymore.”

“You are not ugly,” Lu Yong stated.

Lu Yong saw Shen Wenqiu holding a photo in his hand. Shen Wenqiu looked at it and couldn’t let it go as he was holding a baby.

Lu Yong walked over and frowned when he saw Shen Wenqiu in the photo… He didn’t know if he was overthinking it, but he always felt that although the Shen Wenqiu in the photo was smiling, the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes.

Shen Wenqiu said, “Thank you for joining me. Can you give me another plastic bag? I want to store the photo nicely.”

Shen Wenqiu was very satisfied.

He thought this photo was very suitable to be used as the picture on his tombstone.

a way to call the teacher, especially when you’re very close to them