Su Yuqing watched from the side, dumbfounded. But soon, her confusion turned to surprise, and then her surprise to delight.
"Wait, Li He, there are words. There really are words under the rust!"
Where Li He had wiped, beneath the thick layer of rust, a line of deeply carved letters emerged from underneath the covering.
The discovery greatly lifted both their spirits.
"Just as I thought, there's something here!" A sharp glint flashed through Li He's eyes as he carefully scraped along the faint traces of the letters.
Soon, several letters became clearly visible. "b-I-i-v-i-o-n?" Su Yuqing sounded them out quickly, her brow tightly furrowed. "What does that mean? It doesn't look like a complete word—"
"There's more in front!" Li He focused on the area before the first letter, where the rust was especially hard and thick. He drew a deep breath, unconsciously putting more force into his fingertips as he tried to scrape away the stubborn shell of rust completely.
"There's more in front."
There was another letter at the very beginning.
But the rust there was exceptionally thick, and Li He involuntarily put more force into his fingertips.
Creak—
A brittle crack that boded ill.
Li He froze instantly.
Su Yuqing held her breath as well.
At the spot Li He had just scrubbed with force, the first letter had actually been rubbed flat along with the rust.
Its original curve had become an indentation, making it look like the letter U.
—Li He silently looked at his handiwork, his expression complicated.
—Su Yuqing looked at the sign that might have been repaired incorrectly and did not know what expression to make.
"Ahem." Li He coughed twice, then cleaned away the surrounding rust to make the letters clearer. Pointing at the smudged beginning, he said, "So what