Chapter 47 Huaihua Machinery Factory 5
The only answer Xingjian received was the biting cold of the cold storage room. In the darkness, Xingjian fumbled to pick up the box that he had already placed at the door and walked out.
Just as Xingjian left the basement, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly opened behind him, staring at his departing back.
Ma Xiangqian looked at Xingjian's returning figure with a frown on his face. This kid had only been here for a month and his true colors were revealed and he started to slack off. He walked towards Xingjian angrily, but when he saw the other's face which was a little too pale, he couldn't help but be stunned.
"Brother Ma, the light in the basement is broken. It took me a while to find it." Xing Jian put down the box on his back, his hands still shaking uncontrollably. Something was wrong in this basement, very wrong.
Even though he had walked out of the basement, the biting cold seemed to have not yet dissipated from Xingjian's body.
After listening to Xingjian's explanation, Ma Xiangqian, who was originally full of anger, vented his anger and raised his hand to urge Xingjian to go to the side.
But Xing Jian didn't leave. He leaned close to Ma Xiangqian's ear and whispered, "Is there a ghost in Ma's basement? I saw incense ash and yellow paper."
"What nonsense!" Ma Xiangqian's face suddenly changed and he shouted, pushing the Star Sword aside.
Ma Xiangqian slammed his calloused hands against the door frame, shaking off the plaster on the wall. "If you keep talking nonsense, go back to your shabby village."
"But, Brother Ma, I..." Before Xing Jian could finish his words, Ma Xiangqian, his expression slightly relaxed, interrupted, "It's just the kids playing around in the basement. I think you were just scared. Okay, you don't have to come this afternoon. I'll tell the secretary that this afternoon is your day off. Go away."
Looking at the horse chasing him forward, Xingjian opened his mouth but said nothing, and walked out of the warehouse with a lonely figure.
The others in the warehouse also noticed something was amiss. Seeing Xing Jian leave in disgrace, Feng Dajun, who had always been good friends with Xing Jian, came over and said, "Brother Ma, what happened to Xiao Xing? Did he make you angry? Let me apologize on his behalf. This kid from the countryside doesn't know anything."
As he spoke, he winked at Xingjian, but shuddered when he met the boy's empty eyes - there seemed to be a pool of stagnant water in his dark pupils.
Hearing Feng Dajun's words, Ma Xiangqian was filled with anger. He rolled his eyes at Feng Dajun and said, "I am that kind of person. The light in the basement broke just now, so I asked Xiaoxing to move some things. The child was a little scared, so I asked him to go back and rest this afternoon."
Feng Dajun said "oh" and went to work with the others without thinking much. If one person was missing and they didn't work hard, they might have to work overtime today.
The midday sun was so scorching that it could melt the asphalt road.
Xingjian left the warehouse and wandered around the sidewalk. He walked under the scorching sun to bask in the sun. His blue work clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck tightly to his back. He rubbed his arms, and the coldness in his veins was being evaporated inch by inch by the sunlight.
Something was wrong with Ma Xiangqian. He was just asking. Normally, someone with a good temper would never lose his temper like he did just now. As Xing Jian walked towards the dormitory, he was thinking about Ma Xiangqian's reaction and the incense ash in the basement.
He still remembered the scene he saw when the light bulb was still there. It was a warehouse covered with cobwebs, which was obviously a place few people would go to. What was that strange incense ash?
Xingjian had a hint of inspiration in his mind, but his eyes darkened because 004 was not by his side, and he had no way to verify his slightly ridiculous inspiration.
On the way back to the dormitory, Xing Jian didn't run into anyone else. When he opened the door, he saw only the clothes he had washed yesterday, fluttering in the wind behind the curtains.
Xingjian felt as if there was a ball of wool tangled in his head, and he didn't know where to start to straighten it out.
It had only been a month since he came to the machinery factory, and there were still a few days before salary payment. Xing Jian looked at the curled copy of "Principles of Mechanics" left by Cheng Yan on the table. The cartoon man outlined in pen on the cover was grinning, and the traces of pencil corrections made the smile into a strange arc.
"Squeak~" The dormitory door was suddenly pushed open. The person who opened the door obviously didn't expect that Xingjian was also in the dormitory at this time.
"Why didn't you go to work? Were you fired?" Cheng Yan blurted out as he looked at Xing Jian who was sitting at the table bored.
Looking back at Cheng Yan, Xing Jian seemed a little unhappy, and said in a muffled voice: "I was moving things in the basement, and when it suddenly got dark, I got startled."
Hearing Xingjian mention the basement, Cheng Yan frowned, walked closer to Xingjian, raised his hand and touched the man's forehead, then withdrew his hand after feeling the cold touch.
"Sometimes you get a fever because you're scared. If you feel unwell these days, tell Lin Zhenguo in the next dormitory and ask him to take you to the clinic." Cheng Yan walked to the bed and was packing something.
Go to the dormitory next door? Xing Jian was a little confused: "Brother Cheng, have you not been here these days?"
"Well, something happened at home." Cheng Yan said and continued to pack. He quickly packed a small bag and put it on his back, then turned around and looked at Xing Jian who was still sitting on the small stool.
The dazed child was wearing the blue work clothes issued by the factory, which didn't fit him well. Xing Jian, who already looked small, looked more like a child who had stolen adult clothes.
Looking at the furry little head, Cheng Yan suddenly felt the urge to rub it. Fortunately, his reason was faster than his actions and controlled Cheng Yan's hands. He just looked at Xingjian again and again, then turned and left.
When Cheng Yan was not in the dormitory, Xing Jian lived his life as usual. Perhaps it was because Cheng Yan had instructed Lin Zhenguo from the next dormitory before leaving. After Cheng Yan left, their neighbor came to the dormitory several times and brought Xing Jian a lot of delicious food.
The only thing that bothered Xing Jian was that the money Cheng Yan left on the table was not enough. Night had already fallen. Xing Jian looked at the empty money jar and thought of the big bathtub in the bathhouse where they took a bath together. His thoughts were instantly put to rest.
However, Xingjian lowered his head and smelled the sweat on his body. The warehouse in summer was as hot as a steamer. Even though the fan above his head was turning non-stop, it only brought warm and gusty wind.
Xing Jian's eyes fell on the washbasin that Cheng Yan left under the bed, and he immediately had an idea.
He rushed downstairs carrying Cheng Yan's wash basin and filled it with tap water. After being exposed to the sun all day, the water from the tap was still slightly warm even after dark.
Xingjian locked the dormitory door quietly. He looked out the window and closed it for safety, and drew the curtains tightly. Then he began to take off his clothes one by one.
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