Chapter 11. Return to Tianjin

On the day of returning to Tianjin, Lu Qiaoyuan insisted on sending Ke Fan to the high-speed rail station.

Ke Fan picked her and Ji Hang upstairs at the wind farm, holding a pile of documents he had sorted out.

He put their luggage neatly into the trunk and helped Ke Fan open the passenger door.

Ji Hang swiftly opened the back door and got in. He was unusually well behaved and acted like a quiet light bulb.

Ke Fan was helpless. He fastened his seat belt and said apologetically, "Actually, there's no need to bother you so much..."

Lu Qiaoyuan was adjusting the rearview mirror. When he heard this, he paused slightly, then coughed lightly, calmly interrupting her overly obvious politeness.

He glanced sideways at Ji Hang in the back seat, and signaled with his eyes - there was a third person present now.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled up with his usual gentle smile: "Isn't this what a boyfriend should do?"

His eyebrows and eyes were beautifully shaped, like the first snow on a distant mountain, clear and not cold. The corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and when he looked at me, he was like a spring breeze blowing across the lake, neither hurried nor slow. Speaking so softly at this moment, no one could say no.

Ke Fan was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head, pursed his lips and smiled, without saying anything else.

The car slowly pulled out of the parking space and drove along the highway towards the high-speed rail station. The car fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional beeping of the navigation system and the muffled sound of the wheels rolling over the road.

Lu Qiaoyuan's peripheral vision fell on Ke Fan.

This is the eighth year they have known each other.

The first time she knew his name was at the freshman party in the college. She was the newly elected league secretary of her class, and the event was organized beautifully.

He was pulled over to play guitar to save the situation, and someone led him to see her.

We passed through the colorful balloons and the crowd around us was noisy and bustling.

Suddenly, a tall and slender figure came into his sight.

The girl's black hair hung down behind her head. She turned around and looked when she heard the sound.

Her eyebrows are like distant mountains, her eyes are like autumn water, and she is wearing a simple and elegant white dress, as fresh as the first bunch of lilies blooming in the garden.

In an instant, the surrounding sounds faded away like the tide.

Ke Fan extended his hand to him with a smile: "Hello, Brother Qiao Yuan."

He could clearly hear the sound of his heart beating incoherently.

In just a few seconds, the sense of touch of the five senses seemed to be infinitely magnified.

The moment our hands touched, I could feel her soft touch and my palms were slightly sweaty.

Also, there is her beautiful scent that is lingering.

This breath was now filling the small enclosed space in his car.

At this moment, he just hoped that the journey could be slower and slower.

In fact, there are very few such moments.

Although they maintained a "boyfriend-girlfriend" relationship for nearly three years, Ke Fan never crossed that line at any time.

If he hadn't insisted on seeing her off today, perhaps they wouldn't even have had such a short time together.

So even if he knew that Ji Hang was there - Lu Qiaoyuan looked at the boy's eyebrows and eyes calmly in the rearview mirror, and there was a familiarity that made him feel heavy in his heart.

With him present, they could say nothing to each other.

Despite this, he still came, even if it was just for a moment of companionship.

He should be satisfied, but the silence in the car made him feel a little unwilling.

"How long will it take this time?" he asked.

"It's estimated to be the end of June." Ji Hang was already sleeping soundly in the back seat. Ke Fan lowered his voice and replied, "By the way, Senior Brother, I may need your help."

*

Ever since Ke Fan returned to Jinshi, Old Xie seemed to have found his backbone again.

She is well aware of this week's preliminary survey and preparation, next week's grouting plan determination, and the mobilization of equipment and personnel.

We even arranged a remote meeting with Hai City's geological experts before leaving get off work on Friday to specifically sort out the precautions and difficulties in subsequent operations.

With her around, everything is so well organized.

Old Xie couldn't help but recall that when he learned that the institute was going to send a young girl, he was worried.

At first, when the first wind turbine broke down, no one took it too seriously. Offshore wind turbines inherently wear out more than onshore ones and require more frequent maintenance.

It was not until similar abnormal data appeared one after another and colleagues in Jinshi and other branches tried to repair it several times but had no idea how to do it that they realized the seriousness of the situation.

What's more, it is approaching June and the peak of summer electricity consumption is approaching. Once the power supply is insufficient, it will have an impact on all industries in Jinshi.

As the person in charge, Lao Xie requested expert support from the headquarters.

When the headquarters decided to send Ke Fan, there were many questioning voices within Oasis, including himself.

Wind power can almost be said to be a male-dominated industry. Over the years, he has worked with very few women, let alone female experts.

I've also heard some rumors from engineers.

“Is headquarters not taking this issue seriously?”

"We should send a more experienced male expert."

At that time, he was really worried about whether this young Dr. Ke could solve the disease.

However, this worry was largely alleviated during the early online communication with Ke Fan. Her solid professional background and meticulous analytical ability were impressive.

Now that the artificial grouting plan is progressing steadily, he increasingly laments his own narrow-mindedness, arbitrarily defining others based on age and gender.

Old Xie looked at Ke Fan who was sitting across from the desk.

She was writing down the key points from the meeting in her notebook.

Her brows were lowered, like a white lotus with its petals folded, quiet and focused.

Old Xie looked at her and inexplicably felt that she was very similar to the geology expert who had just patiently explained things to them in the video.

"My name is Lu Qiaoyuan, you can just call me Xiao Lu."

The young and handsome man introduced himself gently, and his humble and polite demeanor was exactly the same as Ke Fan.

Oh no, not just the experts.

"By the way, Old Xie, Qiao Yuan is actually my boyfriend. Don't be afraid to bother him if you have any questions later, just ask."

Excellent people really gather together!

After Ke Fan finished writing the last stroke, he checked again to see if there was anything missing.

After closing the information and looking up, I met Lao Xie's interested gaze.

"I haven't heard you mention it before, Xiao Ke. How long have you known your partner?"

"We've known each other for a long time, almost... eight years?" Ke Fan paused, as if calculating in his mind, "He was my senior in undergraduate studies."

"Isn't that also Mr. Yi's senior?" Old Xie was a little surprised.

Ke Fan seemed to have just remembered this person and replied slowly: "Yes, they should have seen him too."

She didn't delve into the topic of "partners" anymore and instead asked, "By the way, what time are we going to meet with...Mr. Yi tomorrow?"

Old Xie flipped through the chat history on his phone, not noticing the pause in her voice. "It's six o'clock in the evening. Do you want me to pick you up at the hotel?"

Ke Fan shook his head: "No, I'll take Ji Hang for a walk around the city during the day and meet up with you guys in the evening."