Chapter 44#
When Yan Heqing arrived home, it was already midnight.
The temperature dropped at midnight, and the room temperature followed suit, becoming terribly cold. Yan Heqing was frozen stiff all over.
He looked at the radiator against the wall, took off his hat and mask, took off his coat and hung it behind the door, changed his shoes, and went over to turn on the radiator.
Hot air blew out from the vent. Yan Heqing squatted and blew for a while, his limbs gradually warming up. In this short time, he planned his itinerary for tomorrow.
On the day before New Year’s Eve, he wanted to go to the welfare home again to bring some New Year gifts to those children.
After the New Year and school started, he wouldn’t have much time to go to the welfare home.
When his hands fully regained feeling, Yan Heqing took a set of clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
While showering, he rubbed the soaked new clothes a few times, wrung them very dry, and hung them on the shower curtain rod.
Changing into clean loungewear, Yan Heqing came out of the bathroom drying his wet hair.
The narrow space had been warmed up by the radiator, and it wasn’t cold even barefoot. Yan Heqing was a bit hungry, so he went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of dumplings. He only cooked a few and finished them in the kitchen. While washing the bowl, he noticed that although he hadn’t been back for a few days, the few pots of succulents on the windowsill were still blooming well, especially a pot of Haworthia cooperi, like a real lotus flower, with plump and translucent flesh petals.
Yan Heqing watered them, dried his hands, and left the kitchen.
His hair was half dry, and he had just eaten. Yan Heqing read a book for a while before turning off the radiator and going to bed.
The next day, Yan Heqing slept for an extra half hour and got up at 6:30.
He didn’t cook breakfast at home. After washing up, he changed his clothes and went out.
He bought an egg pancake and a cup of soy milk from a mobile stall at the entrance of the community. Walking to the subway entrance, he just finished eating. He wrapped the trash well and threw it into the trash can, then entered the subway.
His destination was a bookstore.
Arriving just as the bookstore opened, Yan Heqing was the first customer. He carefully selected many books suitable for children, including fairy tales, fables, history, idiom stories…
He had loved reading since he was a child. With no money to buy books, he would squat at the recycling station, where he could find many second-hand books. The prices weren’t expensive, and sometimes when the recycling station owner had good business, he would generously let him find books in the waste himself without charging money.
The bill was over a thousand. Seeing him tall and thin, the owner asked enthusiastically, “Shall I help you carry them to the car?”
Yan Heqing smiled politely, “I can carry them, thank you.”
He left carrying several large bags of books. They were indeed a bit heavy, and taking the subway wasn’t convenient. This time, Yan Heqing walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi to the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Home.
Yan Heqing was almost at the welfare home, and Lu Muchi’s car also stopped downstairs at his place.
After getting out of the car, Lu Muchi was just about to leave when he retreated to the rearview mirror, adjusted his collar, and then carried the 100,000 yuan into the unit building.
Knocking on the door for a long time with no response, Lu Muchi raised his left hand to check his watch.
It was 9:30, still sleeping?
He patiently dialed Yan Heqing’s phone.
The phone rang for a long time before being picked up.
Before Yan Heqing could speak, Lu Muchi asked first, “You’re not at home?” There was no movement in the house.
Yan Heqing’s tone was very faint, “No.”
Lu Muchi’s face changed slightly, but he still didn’t lose his temper. “Didn’t you see the text message I sent last night?”
“I saw it.”
“…” Lu Muchi’s good mood instantly plummeted to rock bottom. “Are you still angry?”
Yan Heqing was noncommittal, only saying calmly, “I have things to do.”
He hung up the phone.
Setting it to silent, Yan Heqing put the phone in his pocket and carried the books into the classroom.
Now the children were playing in the dormitory or on the playground, and there was no one in the classroom. Against the back wall, there was a simple bookshelf with some books on it, but the variety was small.
Yan Heqing took out the books and arranged them neatly by category.
Aunt Zhang passed by and glimpsed someone in the classroom. She took another look and found it was Yan Heqing. She changed direction and came in with a smile on her face. “Little Yan, you’re here! I thought you wouldn’t come until after the New Year.”
She walked closer and saw a large stack of books. She looked at Yan Heqing and couldn’t help sighing, “You bought more. Can you still get by?”
Yan Heqing replied politely, “If I couldn’t get by, I wouldn’t buy them.”
Affection appeared in Aunt Zhang’s eyes. She wiped her hands on her apron and squatted down to help. While organizing, she said, “By the way, after the New Year, a large amusement park invited the children from our welfare home to play for free.” Aunt Zhang was all smiles. “The children are all overjoyed. They’ve never been to an amusement park.”
Yan Heqing organized the books and responded to show he was listening. Aunt Zhang added, “I asked about the time; it’s on Saturday. You should go too. We need several people to lead the teams, and the children all said they wanted to be on your team first thing. Besides, that’s an employee benefit, and you’re one of us now. It’s a waste not to go. It’s said to be the largest amusement park in the country, very interesting.”
Some books were wrapped in plastic. Yan Heqing carefully tore it off before putting them on the shelf. “We’ll see then.”
Aunt Zhang suddenly turned her head. “Have you been in touch with Teacher Xu these days? She hasn’t come for several days. She called a few days ago to ask for leave, saying she wasn’t feeling well and would come after the New Year. In all these years, this is the first time.”
Yan Heqing’s movement paused, only briefly, then continued organizing the books.
Busy at the welfare home until the afternoon, finishing the last day before the New Year, Yan Heqing got off work and went home.
At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, small snowflakes inexplicably began to float down again. Fortunately, it was dry snow, so there was no need for an umbrella.
Yan Heqing didn’t bring an umbrella today.
He remembered there was a flower shop not far from the subway station. He quickened his pace, afraid the flower shop would close.
It was almost New Year, and everyone was always busy going home for the New Year.
From a distance, he saw the lit flower shop. Even so, Yan Heqing started running, halving the time to get to the flower shop. It was a very large flower shop with a complete variety. The incandescent lights were bright, illuminating the shop as if spring had come and a hundred flowers were blooming.
The flower shop owner was taking inventory; tomorrow, New Year’s Eve, would be particularly busy. She was originally going to close the shop today, but thinking it was cold and late, and there were no customers anyway, she let the staff leave work first. She didn’t close the door. Unexpectedly, after calculating the accounts for a while, she looked up and saw a boy so beautiful he looked like a mannequin standing in front of the gladioli.
There were several colors of gladioli. Yan Heqing scanned them one by one: red, blue, purple, yellow, white, pale pink.
He didn’t remember his mother’s preference. He turned back and smiled at the owner: “Hello, I’d like a bouquet of gladioli, all colors.”
The owner originally wanted to say the shop was closed and to come back tomorrow, but Yan Heqing was so good-looking that she put down her pen, walked out of the cashier counter, and confirmed again, “Wrap all colors? It might not look good mixed like that.”
The corners of Yan Heqing’s lips raised slightly. “It doesn’t matter.”
The owner picked out a few of each and was about to tear off some beautiful wrapping paper when Yan Heqing stopped her. “Just wrap them simply. I also want a bouquet of chrysanthemums, white and yellow.”
The owner was a bit puzzled. It was rare to display chrysanthemums at home during the Spring Festival, but the shop had stock, so she nodded, simply wrapped the gladioli in newspaper, and then went to wrap a bouquet of chrysanthemums.
Flower prices rose during the Spring Festival. Flowers that usually cost tens of yuan a bouquet cost over a hundred today. Yan Heqing paid the bill and left holding two bouquets of flowers.
The subway was already empty. For a long stretch, the usually crowded carriage had only Yan Heqing. Everyone had gone home for the New Year. Passing through the city center section, some people got on.
Familiar platform. Not far from the exit were the Lu Corporation headquarters and the coffee shop.
Yan Heqing freed a hand, took out his phone, and logged into WeChat.
His chat bar with Lu Lin still remained at the last time.
Clicking on Moments, Lu Lin didn’t post on Moments. It was flooded by sep12.
Suddenly, Yan Heqing’s eyes flickered slightly, stopping at Lin Fengzhi’s latest Moment from half an hour ago.
The picture was an exquisite gift box.
Caption—Arrived downstairs at his place!
Yan Heqing had seen the gift box; it contained the tie Lin Fengzhi bought for Lu Lin.
——
In the lobby on the first floor of Lu Corporation, the receptionist who was about to get off work smiled politely again. “Sorry, our President Lu doesn’t know this Mr. Lin.”
Lin Fengzhi pushed up the brim of his hat, his tone urgent. “No, I know… Mr. Lin really knows President Lu. Can you call again to confirm? This is a New Year gift from Mr. Lin to President Lu!”
During festivals, countless people sent gifts to their President Lu. The receptionist understood very well. She showed an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry. I’ve confirmed with the secretariat, and they indeed don’t know this Mr. Lin. Please return it to the sender.”
Lin Fengzhi found a courier uniform and pretended to be a courier.
“Pretty sister, please be kind and help me out. This is my last order today.” Lin Fengzhi used his charm, raising his hand to promise. “I promise to come down immediately after delivering it!”
The receptionist shook her head with a smile. “It’s really not possible. Please go back.”
The receptionist was impervious. Lin Fengzhi bit his lower lip and suddenly buried his head and ran inside.
He jumped over the card reader. It was already off-duty time, and the security guards were changing shifts. The receptionist didn’t expect him to barge in. Lin Fengzhi had a clear goal. He rushed quickly to Lu Lin’s private elevator hall, hurriedly pressing the elevator button. Before the receptionist could catch up, the elevator door opened. He rushed in, pressed the top floor, and forcefully poked the close button.
He had found out clearly before coming that Lu Lin’s private elevator was on the left and didn’t require a card swipe.
The receptionist chased over, but the elevator was already going up. She was about to cry. Lu Lin hadn’t got off work yet. If someone barged in, her job might very well be gone. She ran back to the lobby, anxiously shouting for security.
The elevator speed was super fast, and it reached the top floor very quickly.
Lin Fengzhi held the gift box, his heartbeat louder than the sound of the elevator opening. Before even seeing Lu Lin, he started to get nervous.
Walking out of the elevator, the clean and bright corridor was extremely quiet. The secretariat had got off work, and only the president’s office at the end was still lit. With every step closer, Lin Fengzhi’s heartbeat became clearer.
Don’t be nervous.
Lin Fengzhi adjusted his breathing, the tips of his ears quietly turning completely red.
At the office door, Lin Fengzhi nervously adjusted his collar. Even though he was pretending to be a courier now, he wanted to appear beautifully in front of Uncle Lu.
Knock knock.
He held his breath and knocked on the door.
The next instant, he heard the voice that made his heart palpitate.
“Come in.”
Lin Fengzhi’s breathing instantly stagnated. His fingers trembled as he pushed open the heavy door.
The field of vision expanded bit by bit, and the figure not far away gradually became clear.
Behind the desk, Lu Lin was processing documents. He lowered his head slightly, looking intently at the documents. The cold incandescent light fell on his sharp and distinct jawline, like a cold scalpel.
Lin Fengzhi froze at the door like this, his chest beating as if it were about to burst. His heart was restless, clamoring to jump out of his body.
Uncle Lu working seriously was just too handsome!
On the last day before the New Year, Lu Lin confirmed the report one last time. There was no movement from the visitor for a long while. He raised his eyes to look at the door, then asked in a deep voice, “What is it?”
Lin Fengzhi immediately came back to his senses. His face was so red it was about to explode. His lips trembled, and he stammered, “There… there is a New Year gift from a Mr. Lin for you…”
Lu Lin withdrew his gaze and looked at the report again. “Put it on the table and leave.”
“Oh.” Lin Fengzhi’s mind went blank. He stared unblinkingly at Lu Lin, inching towards the coffee table like a crab.
“Here!” Just then, the receptionist and several security guards arrived. Finding that Lin Fengzhi had entered Lu Lin’s office, the security guards displayed unprecedented running ability, rushing in within seconds to grab Lin Fengzhi and quickly dragging him out of the office.
While Lin Fengzhi struggled, the gift box fell to the ground. The receptionist ran forward with a pale face to pick it up.
The receptionist was sweating cold sweat, bowing and apologizing incessantly. “I’m sorry, President Lu. Rest assured, there will absolutely be no next time! We’ll take him away immediately.”
Outside, Lin Fengzhi was still struggling with a red face. “Let go of me! Why are you grabbing me! Uncle Lu…”
The voice became smaller and smaller.
The silence was broken. Lu Lin frowned and closed the document. “What’s the situation?”
The receptionist cursed Lin Fengzhi to death in her heart. If he caused her to lose her job, she would tear him apart! The receptionist quickly and simply recounted what happened.
After listening, Lu Lin didn’t scold the receptionist, only saying in a deep voice, “Pay attention next time.”
The receptionist nodded repeatedly. Turning to leave, she saw the gift box in her hand. The lid was open, and it seemed to be a tie. She looked back again. “President Lu, this gift…”
Lu Lin looked at his watch. It was past 7 o’clock. He put down the document. “Return it.”
The receptionist nodded and left, closing the door silently.
Lu Lin pulled out his chair and stood up, took his overcoat, and then left as well.
Letting the driver get off work, he drove himself, leaving the parking lot and going to the supermarket first.
Tomorrow was New Year’s Day. At noon, he would eat with the Lu family at a hotel, and in the evening, he would go to the mid-level villa to spend New Year’s Eve with Lu Ruchan.
The supermarket Lu Lin went to was membership-only. An apple sold for tens of yuan. Despite the New Year, the supermarket wasn’t lively, with only sparse customer flow.
There wasn’t much to buy either; Lu Ruchan couldn’t eat most things.
Lu Lin chose some fruits with high water content and low sugar, as well as a few boxes of king blueberries.
Then he went to the non-staple food section and bought some candies and nuts that might not be eaten but were on the New Year list.
Carrying several large bags, Lu Lin returned to his residence in the city center after a few days.
The elevator door opened, and the lights in the whole house instantly turned on.
It was just unusually quiet.
Lu Lin scanned the floor mat. The boy’s sneakers were gone. The beige slippers were placed side by side, neatly arranged.
Yan Heqing had left.
His black eyes were deep, surging with inexplicable emotions. Lu Lin changed his shoes and went to the refrigerator to put things away first.
Opening the refrigerator, the fruits and vegetables inside were cleared out, and the blueberries were gone too. Only the mineral water was still there.
Lu Lin loosened his tie and put the newly bought blueberries in.
Coming out of the kitchen, Lu Lin was about to leave carrying the things he bought for Lu Ruchan. Passing the dining room, Lu Lin turned back and walked towards the dining table.
Putting down the things, he moved the napkin box aside and picked up the conspicuous red envelope.
On the red envelope, a pale pink sticky note was attached.
On the paper were two lines of regular script, neat and upright like printed text. Just like the boy’s aura, even his handwriting revealed a coldness that kept people a thousand miles away.
The content, however, was unexpectedly warm—
Mr. Lu, I ate everything in the refrigerator. It was very delicious, thank you. The red envelope is not to pay back your medical expenses; I will count that into next month’s installment.
This is happy money to wish you a Happy New Year. Happy New Year.
The signature was a simple stick figure smiley face.
His thumb rubbed over the smiley face.
Yan Heqing’s drawing skills were not bad either.