Chapter 12: The stray kitten in the library of the working class...
Bai Ying suddenly became very busy. Her part-time job and mid-term papers in various subjects collided with each other, and she was spinning like a top. She found that she hadn't gone out to play for a long time.
Every day is a standard commute from school to residence, racing against time to get back and forth between the two points.
The tenement building she rented was built in the 1970s. Recently, the Hong Kong Housing Department required that all buildings over 40 years old in the city must undergo quality inspection and repair, so scaffolding was erected on the outside of the building. During the day, the entire building was like a construction site and was very busy.
Not only was there the sound of ping-pong outside, but the inside of the house was also as noisy as a busy market.
For quiet, Bai Ying had chosen a room at the end of the corridor. The subdivided flat she rented was a standard three-bedroom, one-living room apartment, but the landlord had divided it into three smaller rooms with their own bathrooms.
As soon as the door opens, there is a narrow corridor. From the outside to the inside, the people living there are the pool lifeguard, Bai Ying, and the doctor.
Bai Ying's single room is right between the two.
The doctor's family next door has been in Hong Kong for a visit ever since his wife brought their child. The child is at an age of hyperactivity and starts babbling from the moment he wakes up every day. The walls are so thin that Bo Ying always feels like the child is crying right next to his ear.
The lifeguard next door, who works at the club's pool, is quiet during the day. I heard he's a local named A Luo, and he doesn't get off work until after 3 a.m. every night. He often wakes Bai Ying when he pushes and pulls the iron gate home in the middle of the night.
So from morning to night, if Bai Ying is at home, she has almost no quiet time of her own.
She was so busy with her work that she had no time to look for a new place to live.
The doctor and she were both in PolyU and had met each other several times.
The two happened to go out together in the morning. The young doctor was very self-conscious and embarrassed to apologize to her. He said that he would send his wife and children back to the mainland in two days.
Bai Ying smiled and expressed her understanding when someone offered to apologize. She didn't really have any complaints. She was just a child at home, chattering non-stop around her grandparents, perhaps even more boisterous than the baby at the doctor's house.
The lively and bustling atmosphere of the neighbors only made her miss home more.
It’s really not easy to be a mature and independent adult!
Bai Ying grew up under the careful protection of her grandparents. During her rebellious teenage years, she always imagined herself as a chivalrous woman traveling the world with a sword, and her birthday wish was to become independent as soon as possible.
When she really moved out to live on her own to go to college, she missed the warmth of home all the time.
In the adult world, this sweet contradiction is everywhere.
*** ***
The college library was as quiet and peaceful as ever.
Bai Ying held her chin with one hand and looked silently at Qin Yonglian who was sitting next to her.
If there is one new change recently, it is that she seems to have gained a new friend.
Bai Ying has had a cheerful personality since childhood, and because of her family's career, she has met many friends of different ages.
Only Qin Yonglian made her feel vague for the first time: he was like a friend, but not like a friend.
Noticing the gazes around him, Qin Yonglian looked up at Bai Ying.
In order to protect his eyesight while reading, the man wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses to block blue light.
The last time she saw him wearing glasses for the first time while eating tofu pudding, she thought that Qin Yonglian's gentle temperament was very suitable for glasses, hiding the deep pool of his mind behind the lenses, making him look exceptionally calm and peaceful.
Bai Ying suddenly thought of the little wild cat she hadn't seen for a long time.
Qin Yonglian tapped the table lightly with his finger, indicating that she should concentrate on writing her paper.
After two days of observation, he found that Bai Ying was the type of student who had wild imaginations and could not concentrate for a long time.
Thinking of this, Qin Yonglian's smile deepened unconsciously. He was not a teacher, so why did he always unconsciously come to the library with her to stay up all night?
With his supervision and reminder, Bai Ying can concentrate on her studies and go home two hours earlier than usual, so at least she doesn't have to stay up until four in the morning.
Bai Ying discovered that Qin Yonglian had the potential to be a top student. She thought she had a mysterious physique, and that everyone around her was a top student, except herself.
Mysterious physique, mysterious man.
The girl tried hard to suppress the curve of her lips. Su Jiahao was actually right. Qin Yonglian sometimes gave people a mysterious feeling that was hard to see through.
If she was not a staunch materialist, she would even think that the stray kitten in the library was Qin Yonglian in disguise.
Qin Yonglian raised his hand and waved it in front of Bai Ying.
Eh??? Bai Ying came back from her momentary trance.
The man made the number seven with his fingers and mouthed the question: "Is it done?"
Bai Ying glanced at the computer and nodded.
Qin Yonglian stood up with a smile, and Bai Ying followed him out.
The two of them developed a habit in the library these days, which was to go to the 711 convenience store to eat some curry fish balls during their breaks.
*** ***
The two stood by the convenience store window, each holding a bowl of steaming fish balls.
"I've moved to a villa mid-levels. I've been busy with company matters lately and can't catch the ferry back and forth."
"Well, I lived with my aunt for a while. The environment there is very good and not noisy."
"I have to leave early for a short errand."
Staring into Bai Ying's eyes, Qin Yonglian unconsciously reported his schedule, "The company has a training in Shenzhen, and I will be back next Tuesday."
After he finished speaking, even he felt a little confused. His thoughts made him want to explain it to her more clearly, the clearer and more detailed the better.
If Bai Ying has any further questions about this, he would be happy to answer them.
"Then I can stay for several days and eat boat porridge and skewers." Bai Ying's eyes lit up. "I want to go to the food street in Xiangmi Lake in Futian District or Baden Street in Luohu District."
Qin Yonglian: “…”
What had he just imagined? What was he looking forward to?
The girl was still concentrating on making fish balls: "If you find any delicious food this time, take a picture and tell me."
Qin Yonglian paused, his mood becoming subtle. He looked out the window, his gaze slightly fixed, as if thinking about something.
The sun still lingered in the evening sky, refusing to go down. The sunset glow and sunlight were like colorful oil paints, smudged onto the man's superior profile.
Bai Ying thought that since returning from South Cowes Island, she had never seen Qin Yonglian smile particularly brightly. Every time, his lips were slightly curled and he smiled gently, like ripples on the lake blown by a gentle breeze.
Qin Yonglian turned his head and looked at her quietly, his eyes showing some tenderness.
"Ah!" The girl suddenly realized that he was still using a 2G phone that couldn't install apps, and she hesitantly changed her tone and said, "You can tell me when you come back."
"Well, try not to stay up all night and be careful." The man spoke slowly, and every word he said was very serious.
"I understand." Bai Ying responded obediently. She seemed to hear a hint of unprecedented intimacy in these words, which made her unconsciously turn into a kitten whose fur was being stroked.
*** ***
At the gate of PolyU, a black Mercedes-Benz sedan was waiting quietly on the roadside.
"I just saw you at the entrance of Qizi." Qin Yonglian opened the car door. "You left so quickly. I wanted to treat you to fish balls."
Qin Yuanwei remained calm and said, "I'm sorry to bother you."
"I was just discussing homework with my classmates."
Qin Yuan stole a glance at the rearview mirror. The boss said it so easily that he almost believed it.
Did discussing homework require that kind of smiling look? Qin Yuan felt that he was a brother, a subordinate, and a human monitor, which was very stressful and tiring. He wished he could just choose one role.
"As you can see, I have moved away. Apart from the apartment on the island, I don't want to live in any other house of the Qin family, regardless of whether my name is on the property certificate. I can live well on my own." Qin Yonglian said.
Qin Yuan choked. He knew that Qin Yonglian was gifted and talented, and he could survive well without relying on the Qin family.
"You decide whether to report to them that I live halfway up the mountain." Qin Yonglian said this and closed his eyes to rest.
Qin Yuan couldn't figure out his attitude. He always felt that he was in a good mood. He also knew that his surveillance identity had never been a secret, but it was intriguing that he said it so clearly.
At this time, he especially wanted to choose to be the older brother so that he could teach this kid a lesson.
*** ***
Qin Yonglian did not stay in the library, so Bai Ying calmed down and carefully finished writing the few articles she owed for her previous column.
Before leaving, the man repeatedly told her to finish work early. Seeing that it was getting late, Bai Ying packed her schoolbag and walked home.
After crossing the long pedestrian bridge, the traffic on the road had already stopped.
The gibbous moon in the night sky gradually waxed and would be full in two days. Bai Ying looked up at the sky, which seemed to have lost its brilliance because something was missing.
The renovation project of residential buildings across the city will not be completed until the end of next month. Bai Ying’s rental contract will expire in three months, and she plans to go and look at a new residence in the near future.
The lobby was as quiet as a library late at night. She walked quickly to the elevator and found a short, dark-skinned middle-aged man standing inside.
Bai Ying saw that the elevator had already pressed the 7th floor. She met the man's gaze and nodded politely.
The middle-aged man's gaze lingered on the girl's slender white neck, and he looked away in the blink of an eye.
The elevator made a soft 'ding' sound at this moment, and the elevator door slowly closed.
After getting out of the elevator, the voice-controlled lights in the corridor immediately lit up, and the two walked silently in the same direction.
Bai Ying deliberately slowed down her pace and walked behind the man. The man also walked to the end of the corridor, took out the key to open the door, quietly closed the door and went into the house.
Ever since she discovered that he was her neighbor on the same floor, and looking at the man's appearance, Bai Ying had a guess in her mind that this man was indeed A Luo, the tenant of the small studio apartment next to her.
Only a swimming pool lifeguard would have such strong muscles and skin color.
Hong Kong has a subtropical climate, with hot summers and cool winters. Outdoor swimming pools will not close until at least November.
When Bai Ying entered the door, she was still thinking that it was not easy for workers in society, as they had to finish work late at night.
Qin Yonglian should have arrived in Shenzhen by now, right?
The girl stared at the screen, her eyes seeming to poke through the phone.
What did she realize belatedly? She only had Tan Yonglian's email address. Even in this age of 5G technology, she and Tan Yonglian were still using the most primitive means of communication.
I heard from her father Bai Feixiong that they have been researching aerospace physics and satellite communications knowledge, which will bring about disruptive changes to existing communication technology.
Countries are engaged in fierce competition for future communications that integrate space and the ground, especially the scramble for orbital and spectrum resources below 1,000 kilometers from the earth. This is a new round of international technological competition.
Bai Ying couldn't help but think that by then, people would be able to break free from geographical barriers and communicate more freely. For example, just by raising your hand, you could knock on Qin Yonglian's head.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but send a message to Bai Feixiong: [I wish Dad good luck with his research! ]
The author has something to say:
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Qin Yonglian: The fer-washer only wants to use technological advancement to knock me over the head... (⊙_⊙)...
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