Chapter 28 Part 1

Lu Yan hung up the phone. Xiao Heng was leaning against the door, watching him.

“Have a seat first.”

After speaking, Lu Yan opened the fridge and took out some dumplings.

After taking them out, he even deliberately pushed the remaining dumplings into the middle to fill the gap, his method practiced.

Xiao Heng walked up behind him and leaned down. From his angle, he could see all of Lu Yan's little movements clearly: “...”

Lu Yan was still squatting on the ground, trying hard to push them around.

A hand reached out from behind him.

Xiao Heng bent over and stood behind him, his hand reaching over Lu Yan's head to push the dumplings on the upper shelf of the fridge.

The two of them, each handling a shelf, soon restored the scene to how it looked before the crime.

Lu Yan mused, “It doesn’t look too different from before, right?”

Xiao Heng got impatient with the pushing. “Who cares that much.”

Lu Yan pushed the shelf back in.

Xiao Heng was also about to pull his hand back.

However, Lu Yan suddenly stood up. Xiao Heng didn't have time to react, and one of his hands braced against the fridge door, trapping the person in the middle.

Lu Yan: “...”

Xiao Heng: “...”

Behind Lu Yan was the cool air wafting out of the fridge. The chill slowly drifted out, hitting his ankles and calves, just like the cold and seemingly nonchalant face of the young master in front of him.

The two were very close.

So close they could see their own reflections in each other's pupils.

The CD player on the side had been on the whole time, its volume turned down very low. The slightest noise would drown out whatever it was singing.

But it was so quiet right now.

Lu Yan found that he still couldn't clearly hear what part the CD player was on, but the sound of Xiao Heng's barely audible breathing as he looked down at him was infinitely amplified in his ears.

It wasn't until his ankles were getting unbearably cold that Lu Yan snapped back to his senses.

“Can you... move?”

After Lu Yan spoke, Xiao Heng's fingers, which were braced on the fridge door, twitched, and he let go.

It was only two or three steps from the fridge to the kitchen, but Lu Yan couldn't figure out why he was running. It was like fleeing in disarray. He dashed over, picked up the pot, and started filling it with water.

Even after filling the pot, he kept his back to Xiao Heng, staring at the induction cooker.

Xiao Heng closed the fridge door and leaned his back against it. He vaguely felt the urge to smoke, but after fumbling in his pockets for a while and finding neither cigarettes nor a lighter, he had to give up.

He came up empty-handed. In the end, his palm slowly clenched as he said, “This induction cooker of yours, does it need you to watch the heat too?”

Without turning his head, Lu Yan said, “You got a problem with it?”

Xiao Heng: “No.”

Lu Yan: “If you're not eating, then get lost!”

Xiao Heng: “...”

Only after shouting did Lu Yan feel the atmosphere return to normal.

The dumplings cooked quickly; you just had to toss them in once the water boiled. Although Brother Wei's cooking skills were poor, his dumpling-making technique was superb. He had no idea how the meat filling was seasoned; according to Brother Wei himself, it was his family's secret recipe.

“How is it?” Lu Yan got a bowl and sat down opposite Xiao Heng.

The dumplings were indeed good. Even a young master who had grown up eating exotic delicacies gave them a considerably high rating.

“Not bad.”

Xiao Heng added, “No wonder you’d steal them even if it meant getting beaten up.”

Lu Yan corrected him, “What do you mean, steal? Isn't it natural for good brothers to help each other out and contribute selflessly?” After speaking, Lu Yan opened a part-time job website and refreshed the listings. If he didn't hurry up and pick one, the next day's jobs would probably all be taken.

He flipped through two pages, then remembered that an unemployed bum who'd been laid off with him was sitting across from him. This guy was in a worse state than him; after buying that pile of pots, pans, and a phone, he probably didn't have much money left.

“How much do you have on you?” Thinking of this, Lu Yan asked.

“Over a thousand,” Xiao Heng said.

“...” Lu Yan was shocked by this balance, which had one more digit than he’d imagined. “Damn, where’d you get so much?”

No matter how you looked at it, the salary of an internet cafe manager couldn't be considered high.

Lu Yan asked again, “Your salary?”

Xiao Heng answered, “Three thousand.”

Lu Yan did some mental math and came to a conclusion: “You don’t eat?”

Xiao Heng: “Am I an immortal?”

Xiao Heng added, “The internet cafe sells instant noodles.”

“You don’t have to be so miserable.” An heir to a rich family reduced to being an internet cafe manager was one thing, but surviving on instant noodles every day... Lu Yan couldn't understand it. “What are you saving this thousand-plus for?”

Lu Yan had also lived through days of saving money by eating instant noodles.

But he usually did it for a new guitar, effects pedals, and various accessories. He subconsciously asked, “To buy a computer?”

What was he saving for.

Xiao Heng couldn't quite say it himself.

He recalled the week after his university application had been changed.

The teacher who often guided him in the computer lab had sought him out, saying, “I know your family situation is special. It’s okay. As long as you still want to learn, just email me if there's anything you don't understand.”

Back then, he had stood at the door of the computer lab and cut the teacher off before he could finish. “No need.”

The teacher was stunned.

He said again, “I’m done with it.”

“Xiao Heng, you're very talented. Look at the code you wrote last time, even I didn't think of that. You...”

He repeated, “Teacher, I’m done with it.”

At that time, he felt like nothing mattered; everything was pointless.

Money. Alcohol. Luxury cars.

And unrestrained, unsupervised time.

He had thrown himself indulgently into Zhai Zhuangzhi's world of 'don't care about anything, as long as you're happy,' drifting further and further away from the person he once was.

After leaving that home and moving into this building, something had quietly started to change. It was as if a once-dormant voice in the depths of his heart had reawakened, clamoring to break out.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to deny Lu Yan's guess, 'to buy a computer.'

Seeing him remain silent, Lu Yan put down his chopsticks and patted his shoulder. “You go wash the dishes.”

Lu Yan added, “I’m looking for part-time jobs. I’ll see if there’s anything for you too.”

Lu Yan's luck was pretty good.

Before Xiao Heng had even finished washing the dishes, he found a job that was close to home and easy.

Leaning against the sink, Lu Yan held his phone up in front of Xiao Heng and said, “Look at this, not bad. It’s no more than three stops by bus. Temporary work, no ID needed.”

Xiao Heng's hands were covered in dish soap foam.

He turned on the tap, then looked over.

On the phone screen was a line of text: Urgently hiring two shopping mall floor scrubber drivers. Must be able to operate a floor scrubber with dexterity. Wages calculated by the hour.

“...”

“What’s a floor scrubber?”

The part-time jobs Lu Yan had done covered almost every industry, but he truly had no experience driving a floor scrubber through a shopping mall. Lu Yan explained, “It’s that kind of cleaning vehicle in the mall...” This job was simply beyond Xiao Heng's comprehension.

Lu Yan couldn't explain it clearly, so he just went online to find a picture for him. “This kind.”

The picture showed a dark blue floor scrubber.

This floor scrubber possessed a unibody frame, a cool yet steady design, a quiet and comfortable seat, and even a cool little yellow light mounted on a pole at the back.