Chapter 171 This is what you'll be like when you grow up: "Besides you, nobody else will call me..."

Now it's not student days anymore. Even though their relationship has reconciled, Li Leshan still has to go to work. He wanted to be with Jiang Yueming all the time, but he had to go to work no matter what.

Jiang Yueming had nothing to do. It wasn't that he was lazy or anything. He had taken a long leave to go back to Shengping. Perhaps because he hadn't had a break at all in the past two years and had almost perfect attendance including overtime, his boss readily agreed.

So he went back to his old ways, and those who know him well will know what kind of business he was in.

Back in his student days, he would wait for Li Leshan to come out of the school gate, sometimes squatting, sometimes standing, holding a hot pie in the winter and a drink in the summer, watching the crowds of students pour out of the school building, recognizing each one until he saw that quiet figure in a blue school uniform walking towards him. Now, he continues to stand downstairs at the company building waiting for Li Leshan to get off work.

He was a beautiful sight just standing there. Jiang Yueming felt uneasy from the constant stares and was just thinking of going outside to wait when a young woman from the front desk came over excitedly.

"Hello, are you a model hired by our company?"

"Huh?" Jiang Yueming realized what was happening and laughed. "Ah, no, I'm waiting for someone."

The girl's eyes lit up instantly when she heard "waiting for someone," and Jiang Yueming felt a strange sense of unease as he watched her excitement.

"Waiting for someone?" The little girl's eyes brightened even more. Her gaze swept over his face before quickly shifting away, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Waiting for...waiting for whom?"

"Oh my god, who am I waiting for?" the girl thought, her heart brimming with excitement at the prospect of getting her hands on some juicy gossip. This handsome guy had been standing downstairs for about twenty minutes; she'd never seen him before and he was a complete stranger. Standing there, anyone who didn't know better would think he was a model hired at a high price for a promotional video.

Normally, Jiang Yueming would probably make a few jokes, but given his current status, he's practically "taken," so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to flirt with other girls. Besides, his two years in the south have worn down his enthusiasm, and he doesn't interact with many people, which makes him a little embarrassed.

Speaking of changes, Jiang Yueming has indeed changed a lot. Sometimes he thinks of himself at sixteen or seventeen—that boy who ran rampant in Shengping Alley and could chat with anyone. But those youthful spirits of his have long since been swept away by the torrent of time.

Just as he hesitated, he suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder. Jiang Yueming turned around and froze on the spot. Having grown accustomed to seeing Li Leshan in his everyday clothes and school uniform, this was the first time he'd seen him in formal attire, a suit and tie—it was simply…

Jiang Yueming's gaze involuntarily drifted from Li Leshan's face to his shoulders, then to his waist, and finally to his long, slender legs. The suit fit him perfectly, outlining clean, sharp lines. He was a completely different person from the slender young man he remembered.

Jiang Yueming abruptly looked away; staring for too long would make people think she was crazy.

"Mr. Li, you're off work?" Upon seeing this, the girl quickly bowed to Li Leshan.

Li Leshan nodded to her, then put his arm around Jiang Yueming's shoulder. With Jiang Yueming hurriedly saying, "Sorry, the person I'm waiting for has arrived," Li Leshan led her outside.

The receptionist stared blankly at the two figures as they walked away, completely astonished. She immediately asked in her group chat with her girlfriends, "Did you all see that? Who's that handsome guy? I've never seen Engineer Li walk by with anyone before!"

For some reason, Jiang Yueming felt inexplicably guilty, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. He glanced at Li Leshan and weakly explained, "I... I didn't flirt with any of the girls in your company..."

Let alone now, when has he ever flirted with anyone? Never. If Jiang Yueming really thinks that way, she's been terribly wronged. From childhood to adulthood, she's always been a model citizen, an incredibly devoted and upright young man.

“I didn’t think that way either.” Li Leshan glanced at him and asked, “Why did you come? How long have you been waiting? Why didn’t you text me…”

"Stop... Lele." For the first time, Jiang Yueming felt that this title was a bit inappropriate for Li Leshan, who was in his twenties. She had called him Lele when he was a teenager, but was it still appropriate to call him that now? "I just arrived a little while ago, right around the time you get off work. I didn't have anything else to do..."

Actually, I just really wanted to see you. Jiang Yueming thought to himself. He couldn't sit still any longer, paced around the house a few times, and finally changed his clothes and went out. Halfway there, he realized he didn't even know exactly what time Li Leshan got off work; he could only estimate based on the time Li Leshan had mentioned in his memory.

As for sending messages, there's quite a story behind it. As we all know, Jiang Yueming later changed his contact information. Whether it was to escape or to avoid facing the situation, he changed his contact information, which can be seen as him cutting off his hopes.

He changed his contact information, making it difficult for Li Leshan to find him. All the messages he sent went unanswered. When he finally got a reply, it was probably because the person was annoyed by him or couldn't stand it anymore. The reply was, "Honey, the person you're looking for may have changed their number."

Maybe.

What a delicate word. So delicate that it seems one could erase all traces of a person with just that one word. From that moment on, Li Leshan never sent another message to that number.

When Jiang Yueming re-added the contact information, she felt like she had mistaken him for someone else, and she wished she could admit to all the mistakes she had made in her past life. She kept saying that she had made a mistake here and there, and in short, "I was really wrong."

However, these two perfectly exemplified the concept of mutual respect. One would say, "I was wrong, I hurt you," while the other would say, "You weren't wrong, you had your reasons back then." Neither of them would point out the other's faults, insisting that it was their own.

Returning to the present, Jiang Yueming glanced at Li Leshan again and chuckled, "So this is what you're like now that you've grown up."

Li Leshan smiled at him and asked in sign language, "What will I be like when I grow up?"

Jiang Yueming laughed twice. "Anyway, it's a little different from what I expected."

What's different? He couldn't say.

He's probably more upright now. His shoulders are broader, his back is very straight, and he exudes a composed aura. But when he smiles, the curve of his eyes is exactly the same as when he was a teenager.

In truth, he could never have imagined Li Leshan like this. As he kept thinking about it, the boy in the blue school uniform appeared in his memory again.

"You're even more handsome now," Jiang Yueming said truthfully, her heart still pounding, and her face probably even turned red without her realizing it. "Although you've been handsome since you were little."

"So, is it better for me to grow up or grow up?"

Jiang Yueming never expected Li Leshan to ask such a question; he thought only he would be so naive as to ask one. How was he supposed to answer? Wouldn't it all just be Li Leshan talking about it over and over again?

Before Jiang Yueming could reply, Li Leshan answered first, "Isn't it better to wait until we're older?"

Li Leshan always felt that it was better to grow up because he could take on more responsibilities, face more challenges, earn more money, and become stronger. Compared to his fragile and incompetent self, this was clearly not a difficult answer.

“I used to be terrible.” Li Leshan was silent for a while, then smiled, a bitter smile. “Only you said I was good in every way.”

Jiang Yueming was taken aback. He grabbed Li Leshan's hand, somewhat anxiously, "Who said that..."

He looked at Li Leshan, his throat tightening, "Lele, you're good in every way, you always were, and you still are, exceptionally good. You were so young back then, yet you shouldered so much, I really don't know how to put it, you were already incredibly amazing..."

He was clumsy with words and couldn't say anything nice. But he knew how Li Leshan had gotten to where he was, and he hadn't forgotten. So he had the right to comment on Li Leshan's past, and there was nothing wrong with Li Leshan.

Li Leshan didn't say anything. He gently stroked Jiang Yueming's wrist, then looked up at her. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes seemed to say everything.

"Fortunately," Jiang Yueming suddenly said, her voice a little hoarse, "fortunately..."

He choked up, and it took him a while to continue, "Otherwise, I don't even dare to think how much I would regret it if I didn't see what you would look like when you grew up."

He had kept these words in his heart for many years. He was afraid of missing out, afraid of missing Li Leshan's growth, afraid of missing important moments in his life, afraid that when he finally mustered the courage to turn around, he would find that the person standing there was a complete stranger, someone he no longer recognized.

He looked closely at Li Leshan, at his appearance after shedding his youthful naiveté, at his features that were the same as before, and some words stuck in his throat, unsure how to say them.

So this is what you've become. I'm so glad I didn't miss your growth.

He wanted to etch Li Leshan's image firmly into his heart, so that he could remember what Li Leshan would look like when he grew up. He knew what he would look like when he grew up, and he had seen his most beautiful self; that was enough.

"Can I still call you Lele from now on?" Jiang Yueming joked, teasingly adding, "I'll call you 'Engineer Li' like they do."

Li Leshan paused for a moment, then pursed his lips. "You can call me whatever you want."

"Besides you, no one else calls me 'Lele' anymore."

Jiang Yueming's eyes instantly reddened.

He blinked hard, grinned, and said in a relaxed tone, "Okay, I'll still call you that from now on. Because 'Engineer Li' is what other people call me, and 'Lele' is for me."

As the sun sets, golden sunlight filters through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, casting dappled shadows on them. In the distance, the sounds of rush hour traffic drift by, while nearby, cicadas chirp incessantly, one after another.

Jiang Yueming suddenly remembered a summer many years ago, when he rode his bicycle with Li Leshan on the back, weaving through the streets and alleys of Shengping. The wind was hot, and his heart was full, so full it was about to overflow.

They walked home side by side, their shadows stretching long behind them, gradually merging together and becoming indistinguishable from one another.