Chapter 27
The bell rang at nine o'clock, signaling the end of evening self-study, and the ninth graders came out one after another.
Yu Xin spotted her mother and brother under the streetlights at a glance.
She paused, then ran excitedly to the two of them: "Mom, brother."
However, when she saw the man behind the two of them, Yu Xin's smile froze for a moment.
Yu Li observed her reaction and knew that she had guessed correctly.
He glanced at the man discreetly, then left with his mother and sister.
Back home, Yu Xin went to her room to do her homework, feeling dejected.
Yu Li poured herself a glass of water and asked casually, "Mom, has that uncle been accompanying you to pick up Xin Xin lately?"
Lin Jiarong's gaze darted away, and he shook his head, saying, "No, he said he was just passing by while buying late-night snacks and wanted to wait with me for a bit."
Yu Li responded with an "Oh".
It seems that uncle is really pursuing Mom.
Does Mom know?
Yu Li looked at Lin Jiarong, but still didn't ask the question, and went back to her room.
He relayed his mother's words to Yan Shiting, and shortly after, he received a message from the other party:
Where does your mother work?
Yu Li: [Wenhua Garment Factory.]
【good. 】
After that, Yan Shiting stopped sending messages.
The next morning, after her mother and sister went out, Yan Shiting picked up Yu Li and took her to the hotel.
He took out his tablet and showed Yu Li a news report.
That was a local media report from a year ago, which stated that a fire broke out in the workshop of Wenhua Garment Factory at night. Fortunately, packaging worker Wang Jianfeng discovered it in time, evacuated the employees, and salvaged the goods, thus preventing the garment factory from suffering major losses.
Yu Li scrolled down to the bottom and found a photo; the person in the photo, Wang Jianfeng, was the uncle she had met the night before.
"After that, the workshop manager promoted him to be the packaging team leader."
Yu Li murmured, "Fire..."
His mother, Lin Jiarong, had been working at Wenhua Garment Factory for three years. She must have been a witness to the fire a year ago.
But his mother never told him or his sister.
"I'll have someone inquire and make contact again. In a couple of days, we should be able to determine whether this person is good or bad."
Yu Li put down the tablet. "Are you really sure?"
Yan Shiting said, "Hmm."
After receiving his affirmative reply, Yu Li's heart gradually calmed down.
If he's sure the man is alright, then he should go and talk to that uncle.
...
Two days later, Yan Shiting gave Yu Li a definite answer.
Wang Jianfeng had a marriage more than ten years ago, but his wife died in an accident, and he has not remarried since.
He originally had a daughter, but she was diagnosed with leukemia when she was five or six years old. He sold his house and car, but he still couldn't save her life.
According to neighbors and colleagues, Wang Jianfeng may look fierce on the surface, but he is actually a pretty good person.
He was strong and muscular. If any thugs or petty criminals came along, they would be intimidated just by him standing there.
This also unexpectedly prevented several incidents of school bullying.
If anything breaks in the homes of the people living nearby, they always ask him to come and fix it, and he never charges them.
In addition, Wang Jianfeng taught himself electrical engineering knowledge and helped elderly people living alone in the neighborhood check for electrical leaks in their homes for free. He also regularly replaced their old power strips that had been used for a long time and posed safety hazards.
Sometimes, if the neighborhood office issues any notices, Wang Jianfeng is the one who goes door-to-door to help remind residents.
Therefore, on the street where Wang Jianfeng lived, the elderly people who stayed behind trusted him the most, besides their own children.
Yu Li was stunned for a moment after hearing this.
He knew that to know whether a person was good or bad, one could get a glimpse of their attitude towards vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled.
Even if Wang Jianfeng wanted to pretend to be a good person, he couldn't keep doing it in front of the elderly people left behind in the village for years.
To put it bluntly, what's he trying to achieve by putting on a show for the elderly left behind in rural areas?
However, a person who is too perfect doesn't sound very real.
Yu Li snapped out of her reverie and asked, "Didn't you find out if he has any quirks or flaws?"
Yan Shiting nodded and said, "Yes, this person is a bit stubborn and straightforward, and doesn't know how to say polite things."
In other words, their emotional intelligence is a bit low.
This is mainly the evaluation of Wang Jianfeng by his colleagues.
The garment factory opened a back door, and some people would sneak back to their dormitories through it to slack off.
When Wang Jianfeng found out, he would go to the dormitory to bring the people back, and then seal up the back door, so that those employees would no longer have the opportunity to sneak back to the dormitory to slack off.
In addition, Wang Jianfeng would sometimes ask employees to correct minor mistakes they made at work, even if those minor mistakes had little impact on the product.
A boss might appreciate such a person, but a colleague wouldn't be so pleasant.
Yu Li pondered for a moment.
Yan Shiting looked at him and asked, "Do you want to meet him in person?"
Yu Li thought for a long time before finally nodding.
-
After returning home from the hotel, Yu Li first took Yu Xin's bicycle out to find someone to repair it.
In this way, Yu Xin could ride her bicycle back home after evening self-study. Yu Li then advised Lin Jiarong to rest at home, and then went out alone to wait near the school.
Yan Shiting's car was parked a few meters away on the side of the road. He sat in the back seat, observing the situation on Yu Li's side.
A short while later, Yu Li saw Wang Jianfeng walking over.
Seeing that he was the only one there, Wang Jianfeng was a little surprised: "It's you. Didn't your mother come today?"
Yu Li nodded: "My sister's bicycle is fixed, so Mom doesn't need to come pick her up."
Wang Jianfeng scratched his head and said, "I see."
Yu Li looked at him, slowly approached, and said bluntly, "Uncle, I know you're pursuing my mother."
Wang Jianfeng's eyes widened, and his body trembled.
While Wang Jianfeng was still in shock, Yu Li continued, "Can I talk to you?"
After a long while, Wang Jianfeng opened his mouth, but was so surprised that he couldn't make a sound.
He could only nod and follow Yu Li to a nearby convenience store.
Yu Li felt a bit nauseous after having a greasy dinner.
He took a glass of plum juice and was about to pay when Wang Jianfeng strode forward and said, "Let me pay."
He quickly scanned the code, catching Yu Li somewhat off guard.
When she realized what was happening, Yu Li said, "Uncle, what would you like to drink? Let me treat you."
Wang Jianfeng waved his hand, took out a bottle of mineral water, and said, "Uncle can do it himself, you don't need to invite him."
He quickly paid and followed Yu Li to the long table next to the convenience store.
There weren't many people around at this hour; there were only two people at the table.
Yu Li held the plum juice with mixed feelings, pursed her lips, and thought about her opening remarks.
Before he could even think it through, Wang Jianfeng asked, "How did you know I wanted to pursue your mother?"
He speaks very directly.
Yu Li composed herself and said, "I've seen you every time I come to pick up Xin Xin these past few days, so I guessed it."
After he finished explaining, he asked, "When did you come with my mother to pick up my sister?"
Wang Jianfeng took an uneasy sip of water. He was quite nervous talking about this with a younger person, especially since the other party was the son of the woman he loved.
His tanned face flushed red as he pointed to several barbecue restaurants not far away and said, "In those barbecue restaurants, people often cause trouble after drinking a little alcohol. Last year, a male teacher was walking by late after get off work when a drunkard hit him on the head for no reason."
"So after school started, I would just drop by to take a look. Later, when I saw your mother coming to pick up your sister, I would go up and say a few words to her."
He said he was just dropping by to take a look, but in reality, he came every night to silently protect Yu Xin's safety.
Yu Xin didn't know him and had never noticed.
Later, Lin Jiarong went to pick her up. It was only because Wang Jianfeng had become close to her mother that Yu Xin noticed him.
Upon hearing this, Yu Li remained silent for a long while.
Unexpectedly, Wang Jianfeng did all this behind the scenes.
His lips trembled for a long while before he finally said, "Thank you."
Wang Jianfeng blushed even more: "It's alright."
Yu Li lowered her eyes, opened the lid of the plum juice, and inserted a straw.
He took a sip of the sweet and sour plum juice, straightened his expression, and said, "Uncle, Xin Xin and I both support Mom starting a new life."
"But Xin Xin is going through puberty and is confused about the future. I hope that if you want to pursue my mother and my mother agrees, you can work together to properly handle how Xin Xin should accept this."
Wang Jianfeng listened blankly.
As soon as Yu Li finished speaking, he wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants and said, "I know. I will wait until Xin Xin graduates from university, gets a job, and even gets married before I express my feelings to your mother."
Wang Jianfeng's considerations were quite comprehensive.
Yu Li breathed a long sigh of relief. He looked at Wang Jianfeng and said, "But Xin Xin is already starting to have doubts."
He recounted how Yu Xin had rushed to him during the National Day holiday in a panic.
What do you plan to do now?
Wang Jianfeng fell into deep thought, squeezing the mineral water bottle in his large hands.
Yu Li stood up without waiting for his reply, holding the plum juice.
As Yan Shiting said, this problem should be handled by Wang Jianfeng.
He doesn't need to worry anymore.
After leaving the convenience store, Yu Li finished her plum juice.
He threw the cup into the trash can and hesitated for a moment under the streetlight.
Autumn is rainy in southern provinces, and now it's starting to drizzle again.
The bell rang to signal the end of evening self-study. Yu Li walked to Yan Shiting's car, opened the door, and got in.
After the door closed, Yu Li finally breathed a sigh of relief as she sat in the same space as Yan Shiting.
Yan Shiting's deep voice rang out: "Do you have an answer?"
Yu Li nodded. "Mm."
He thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow is the weekend, let's go out and have some fun."
"Since we're already here, let's go see what that popular tourist attraction is like."
The car was dark, but Yan Shiting still kept his eyes on Yu Li.
He said softly, "Okay."
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