Yan Heqing's long eyelashes drooped, and there was a faint glimmer in his eyes.
He instantly grasped the key information.
Lu Muchi did not remember Lin Fengzhi's handwriting.
In the internet age, people mainly communicate by typing.
In a flash, Yan Heqing came up with an excellent solution, which even indirectly helped his subsequent plans.
Yan Heqing turned around, bent down, picked up the notebook, and clutched it tightly in his hand without changing his expression. Then he turned back, calmly meeting Lu Muchi's angry face, and said, "Yes."
Lu Muchi had no doubt that Yan Heqing was Lin Fengzhi's older brother, and that the two had been in contact privately. It was perfectly normal for Yan Heqing to have obtained Lin Fengzhi's diary.
Lu Muchi's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared intently at Yan Heqing. "Why did you do this?"
Yan Heqing knew perfectly well that he liked Lin Fengzhi, yet he let him see Lin Fengzhi's diary, deliberately luring him to catch them in the act. Could it be...?
The answer seemed imminent, and Lu Muchi's heart inexplicably began to beat faster.
Yan Heqing did not answer directly. His eyes were clear and calm, like two springs, as he met Lu Muchi's scrutiny. "Yes, why?"
The motion-sensor lights on the first floor turned on, casting a pale orange glow on Yan Heqing's face.
On his right cheek, very close to the corner of his eye, there was No. 1 Primary School cut from the notebook, with faint traces of blood, like a light red eyeliner drawn on his lower eyelid. His light brown, slightly sandy-gold fox-like eyes possessed a captivating, natural charm in the dim light.
Lu Muchi's throat tightened suddenly; he hadn't felt this way even when he saw Lin Fengzhi naked earlier.
His tone softened unconsciously. "I'm asking you, not the other way around."
Yan Heqing's expression was calm. "The answer is something you have to find yourself, not something someone else tells you." He lifted his foot, and Lu Muchi blocked the stairwell. He brushed past Lu Muchi's arm. "Thank you for the cat food. They ate it very happily."
Yan Heqing went upstairs, her footsteps unhurried. It wasn't until the door closed that Lu Muchi snapped back to reality. He looked up at the dark stairwell, and the answer gradually took shape in his mind: Yan Heqing didn't want to be Lin Fengzhi's substitute, yet she deliberately let him discover that Lin Fengzhi liked his uncle—could it be because—
Is Yan Heqing jealous?
He... likes him?
My heart pounded, catching me completely off guard.
After closing the door, Yan Heqing changed his shoes and went to the kitchen first. Without turning on the light, he opened his notebook, tore out the page from the diary, took out a spare match, struck one, and lit the small orange-red flame. Yan Heqing held the corner of the page to the sink.
He stared silently at the burning paper, the firelight reflected in his pupils like two flames burning intensely in his eyes.
Soon, small black fragments began to fall, one by one.
After burning it clean, Yan Heqing turned on the tap and thoroughly flushed the pile of ashes down the drain.
Back in his room, the scratch was still throbbing, so he put a band-aid on it.
*
The next day, Yan Heqing got up on time as usual, memorized vocabulary, ate breakfast, and then went to work.
Business was slow on Sunday, Yan Heqing leisurely finished his last day at the coffee shop.
Zhang Qing learned from the store manager that Yan Heqing wouldn't be coming anymore. Although she knew this day would come, for the first time, Zhang Qing felt that it would be nice if time could slow down.
She ran to the kitchen, filled a large bag with pet cream, composed herself, and came out with a bright smile to hand it to Yan Heqing, "Come back anytime you have time, or if you want to give the little ones an extra treat!"
Yan Heqing accepted it, smiled, and thanked her, "Thank you."
When it came time to settle the wages, the store manager gave Yan Heqing an extra 3,000 yuan bonus and reminded him several times, "You're always welcome to work summer or winter breaks here!"
Yan Heqing agreed.
Carrying the pet-shaped cream and the last cream cubes she bought at the employee discount, Yan Heqing left the coffee shop.
Passing by the Lu Group headquarters, he glanced up; the top floor was still hidden at the very top, completely out of sight. Lu Lin probably didn't see him last night, right?
Turning her gaze away, she realized it was deep winter, and the wind stung her face. Yan Heqing pulled her scarf up to cover the lower half of her face, and walked towards the subway station under the dim streetlights.
It was almost eight o'clock when Yan Heqing got home. He didn't cook. He poured himself a glass of hot water, opened a small cream puff, and quietly ate his dinner.
The first cake I remember eating was a small cream square, with No. 1 Primary School candied cherry on top of simple cream. Actually, the candied cherry tasted really strange, but I always seemed to enjoy it because my mom bought it for me.
After finishing the cream squares, Yan Heqing opened the drawer of the coffee table, where the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Home's work ID was quietly lying inside.
A blue lanyard, and a laminated card that reads "Rainbow Bridge Welfare Home".
Yan Heqing took out his work ID, then picked up his backpack and opened the hidden compartment.
When he took his ID photo, he also asked for a set of passport photos as a backup. He took out the passport photos, which totaled eight, four in each of two rows.
Yan Heqing took the scissors, carefully cut out a passport photo, then pulled out his work ID from the plastic wrapping. He pasted the passport photo onto the photo area and, in the name section, unscrewed the pen cap and neatly wrote three characters in regular script, just like printed characters: Yan Heqing.
After filling out the work permit, Yan Heqing put it back in the plastic seal, then placed it on the table and took a picture of it with his phone.
[My new job tomorrow.]
Along with the picture and text, she posted a message on her WeChat Moments that was only visible to Lu Lin.
Now he has Lin Fengzhi in his contacts.
Lin Fengzhi posts a picture on his WeChat Moments every day, either a landscape photo or a still image.
gourmet food
I didn't post yesterday, probably because I suffered a significant shock.
Yan Heqing wasn't sure if Lu Lin had gone to room 2120 last night. He posted this on his WeChat Moments to test Lu Lin's attitude towards him.
If Lu Lin became curious about him, he wouldn't remain unresponsive.
The last time he visited the welfare home, the staff member who greeted him received a phone call when he was leaving, saying that a company was sponsoring the welfare home. Later, he recalled that the company must have been the Lu Group.