"Who are you looking for?"
The gatekeeper was an old man in his fifties, who was watching him warily.
"I'm looking for Deputy Section Chief Su Mingde."
Su Mingqiang straightened his chest.
“I’m his older brother.”
The gatekeeper looked at his tattered clothes and dirty face with suspicion.
"Section Chief Su's older brother? He doesn't look like him."
Su Mingqiang immediately became anxious.
"I really am his brother! If you don't believe me, go ask him!"
The gatekeeper shook his head.
"Section Chief Su didn't come to work today, but his fiancée, Miss Liu, just went out. Why don't you wait for her to come back?"
Su Mingqiang's eyes lit up.
"Liu Meijuan? When is she coming back?"
"That's hard to say."
The gatekeeper waved his hand.
"Go wait outside, don't get in the way."
Unwilling to give up, Su Mingqiang retreated to the other side of the road and squatted under a tree to wait.
Time passed by, and his stomach growled with hunger.
Around noon, he saw a black Volga sedan drive into the residential area, and he could vaguely see the profile of a young woman through the car window.
"Liu Meijuan!"
Su Mingqiang suddenly stood up and decided to follow the car.
The car stopped in front of Building No. 3 in the residential area, and a stylish young woman got out and went inside.
Su Mingqiang hid behind a tree and memorized the location.
He waited a few minutes and, after confirming that Liu Meijuan had not come out, mustered his courage and walked toward the building.
The hallway was quiet as Su Mingqiang tiptoed up to the second floor.
The door to the east-facing room was ajar, and the sound of a television could be heard coming from inside.
He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The scene before him struck Su Mingqiang like a thunderbolt.
In the spacious and bright living room, Su Mingde was comfortably lying on the leather sofa, legs crossed, eating a banana and watching TV.
On the coffee table sits a steaming cup of malted milk powder, next to a plate of delicate pastries.
Su Mingde turned around when he heard the noise, and the leisurely expression on his face instantly froze.
He squinted and stared at the ragged man at the door for several seconds before asking uncertainly.
"Big brother? What brings you here?"
Su Mingqiang stood at the door, trembling all over.
The younger brother's life was completely different from what he had imagined.
Shiny leather shoes, a crisp shirt, slicked-back hair, and this luxuriously decorated apartment.
He himself was wearing tattered work clothes, his hair was greasy and tangled, and his face was covered in dust from the construction site.
"I heard you got promoted to deputy section chief, so I...I came to see you."
Su Mingqiang's voice carried a hint of caution.
Su Mingde's gaze swept over his older brother from head to toe.
From his disheveled hair to his filthy work clothes.
Su Mingde's lips twitched involuntarily, and he suddenly burst out laughing.
"You came to visit me, but didn't even bring any fruit?"
Su Mingqiang immediately felt very embarrassed.
"I...I lost my job, and I'm a little short..."
"Brother, that's not right of you. If you're short on money, you should go find a job!"
Su Mingde interrupted him, lazily lying back on the leather sofa, deliberately raising his injured leg high.
"I have plenty of good food and drink; you don't need to worry about me, brother."
"Mingde, who is that?"
Liu Meijuan's voice came from the inner room.
Then she came out carrying a fruit platter.
Liu Meijuan wore a light pink polyester dress, her hair was styled in fashionable big waves, and her lips were painted bright red.
Upon seeing Su Mingqiang at the door, she abruptly took a half-step back, her eyes filled with disgust.
"Where did this beggar come from? They dare to come begging in the officers' family quarters!"
She screamed.
Su Mingqiang's face turned bright red.
"Meijuan, it's me, Brother Mingde..."
Liu Meijuan squinted and looked at it carefully for a long time before speaking.
"Oh, it really is Big Brother."
She exaggeratedly drew out her tone.
"What happened? How did she end up like this? Wasn't Li Jinhua quite capable?"
Su Mingqiang was speechless.
His gaze was fixed on the fruit plate.
The apples were a bright red, with water droplets still clinging to their skins.
He had no idea how long it had been since he had eaten fruit.
"Don't just stand there."
Liu Meijuan suddenly turned around and walked towards the kitchen.
"I'll get you a stool."
When she came back, she was carrying a small wooden stool, which looked like it was for a child.
"Please sit down."
She placed the stool in the corner furthest from the sofa.
Su Mingqiang slowly sat down, his knees almost touching his chin.
From this angle, he can clearly see everything on the coffee table.
The steaming cup of malted milk powder, the cream biscuits on the plate, and the fruit plate that Liu Meijuan had just put down.
"The doctor said De needs nutritional supplements."
Liu Meijuan sat down next to Su Mingde and leaned affectionately on his shoulder.
"These are imported apples, only three yuan a pound."
Su Mingde coughed twice in agreement and leaned weakly against the back of the sofa.
"If you don't take good care of your leg injury, it will cause long-term problems."
Su Mingqiang stared at the glass of malted milk powder.
A thin film formed on the surface of the milky white liquid, and a sweet aroma wafted into his nose.
He recalled that when he was sick as a child, his mother would make him malted milk powder, and his younger brother would always watch longingly from the side.
"Is it good?"
He asked, almost as if possessed.
Su Mingde glanced at him, then suddenly picked up his cup and drank it all in one gulp.
A milky white liquid dripped down the corner of his mouth, and he deliberately licked it with his tongue.
"Of course it's delicious! Meijuan bought it especially for me."
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