Chen Yanxiu wiped the knife without any pause, as if he was unaware of the incident that had just happened.
Only the gaze behind the lenses briefly glanced at the tip of his brother's shoe when Shen Yanbai used his toes to lean against the wheel of the wheelchair, and then fell back on the cold and shining blade in his hand.
The young man finished his noodles and drank up all the soup.
He put down the bowl, his face regaining some color from the food, and reached for the canvas backpack on the corner of the table again, ready to take out the money.
At this moment, Chen Yanbai, who had been curled up in the rattan chair, suddenly spoke again. His voice was not loud and a little nonchalant, his eyes still looking at the ceiling:
"Hey, wheelchair boy."
This name is really not polite.
The young man paused while taking out the money and looked at Chen Yanbai in surprise.
Chen Yanbai finally shifted his gaze from the ceiling and lazily turned to the young man, his beautiful peach blossom eyes staring at him without any emotion.
"That broken wheelchair of yours, not only is the brake spring almost worn out, but the bearing on the left front wheel is also about to fail. It makes such a noise that it seems to be falling apart. The tread on the drive wheel is almost worn out. Are you going to push it for skating on a rainy day?"
The young man's face turned red and white, and he tightened his grip on the wallet.
Of course he knew that his wheelchair was in poor condition, but being pointed out so bluntly and even a little insultingly still made him feel embarrassed and a little angry.
"I know it's old," the young man took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, "but it's still usable. I'll find a way."
There was stubbornness in his voice.
"Think of a way?" Chen Yanbai sneered, stood up from the rattan chair, and slowly walked to the wheelchair. This time he squatted down, completely disregarding his image, and the ends of his silver hair almost fell to the ground.
He stretched out two fingers and casually flicked the hub of the left front wheel, and the metal made a dull sound.
"By the time you're 'figuring out' this thing might have already left you stranded. The bearing balls might break or get stuck, or the brakes might completely fail and send you careening downhill... Tsk."
He shook his head, his tone detached, almost grimly predictive.
The young man's face turned even paler and his lips tightened as he was told the scene.
Chen Yanbai stood up and clapped his hands, as if he was stained with something dirty.
He looked at Chen Yanxiu and said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if they were discussing what to eat for dinner: "Brother, I remember there were a few old bearings removed from the pile of junk in the corner of the warehouse. The model should be similar."
"And there's that new brake cable I had left over from repairing Old Wang's tricycle last time. It should be the right thickness. Oh, and by the way, the two rear tires from Old Wang's broken tricycle have really deep treads. They'll just rust if they're just left there. We might as well recycle them."
Chen Yanxiu stopped wiping the knife.
He looked at Chen Yanbai, his eyes behind the lenses calm and without any questions or surprise, as if his brother's suggestion was a perfectly normal one.
His gaze fell on the worn wheelchair again and lingered for a few seconds, as if he was quickly assessing the feasibility and required parts of what Shen Yanbai had mentioned.
"Yeah." Chen Yanxiu replied calmly. He put down the rag and knife, turned and walked towards the back door of the noodle shop - which led to a small courtyard and a warehouse where miscellaneous items were stored.
He pushed open the back door, and the sunlight and the fragrance of locust flowers rushed in.
Instead of going in immediately, he turned around to look at the young man who was still frozen at the table and said simply, "Wait."
The young man was completely confused.
He looked at Chen Yanbai who was giving orders as if it was a matter of course, and then looked at Chen Yanxiu's back as he went to search the warehouse without saying a word. His brain was confused for a moment.
What were these two people trying to say? They wanted to help him fix his wheelchair? Just because of Chen Yanbai's harsh comments?
“I…I…” The young man wanted to say “Don’t bother” or “I don’t have money to pay for the repairs.”
But looking at Chen Yanbai's eyes, which showed no emotion but seemed to be able to see through all his embarrassment, the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say anything.
Chen Yanbai ignored him and walked to the door of the store. He turned the small wooden sign that said "Open Now" over and changed it to "Temporarily Closed".
Then he walked back and squatted beside the wheelchair. This time he no longer used his fingers to play the guitar, but used his hands directly. His movements were a little rough but extremely efficient. He removed the drive wheels of the wheelchair.
The metal parts made a light "click" sound in his hands, and his movements were so skillful that it didn't seem like it was his first time handling this kind of structure.
"Don't sit there like an idiot," Chen Yanbai said in a stern tone without even looking up, "Hold on to it, don't let it fall and hit me."
He was referring to the frame of the wheelchair.
The young man woke up as if from a dream and quickly reached out to steady the main body of the wheelchair.
He looked at Chen Yanbai's bony and extremely flexible hands as he quickly removed the old bearings from the wheel. His movements were precise and had a strange, violent beauty that formed a huge contrast with his delicate appearance.
The silver-haired young man stared intently at the parts in his hands, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes sharp, as if he was performing a delicate operation, completely devoid of the lazy and indifferent look he had just had.
At this time, Chen Yanxiu came back from the warehouse.
In his hands were a few bearings wrapped in oil paper, a piece of brand new brake cable, and two old tires that looked still strong and had deep treads.
He walked straight to the wheelchair, put down his things, said nothing, and directly took over the driving wheel parts that Chen Yanbai had removed.
The two brothers worked together extremely well, as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
Chen Yanxiu is responsible for disassembling and installing bearings, core components that require precise force.
When he used the tool to knock out the rusted old bearing, his movements were steady and powerful, and each strike was just right so as not to damage the wheel hub.
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