Chapter 23 Lowest Point
The high-speed rail carriage was very quiet in the early morning, with only a few passengers, all catching up on sleep.
Lu Qiaoyuan had been resting with his eyes closed, but suddenly he opened them again and stared at the still dark sky outside the window and the countless tree shadows that flashed by.
He took out his cell phone and opened the recent chat history with Ke Fan.
After sending the message yesterday, they talked on the phone for a few minutes, and he said to Ke Fan:
"The article that the Institute of Geology and Tianjin University collaborated on was accepted by N journal. I just happened to go back and visit Professor Li."
"Wow, congratulations, senior! This is your second article published in a top journal, right?" Ke Fan was very happy for him.
"The first article is all thanks to you. By the way, Xiaofan, if I go back to Jin City... can I come visit you? I can also help you bring the recent samples of the Oasis Project back to Hai City."
On the phone, Ke Fan paused noticeably, his fingers unconsciously clenching the phone.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you, senior brother." She finally agreed with a trailing tone.
He felt relieved, and the curve of a smile reached his lips.
"I'll treat you to a meal when you get to Jin City. Thank you, Brother, for helping me test the mid-term samples so promptly last time."
The courtesy in the next sentence was like a cold rain hitting my face, and in an instant my whole body was cold, and even the curve of my lips froze.
How many times have we been disappointed the next second when we thought there was a glimmer of hope?
You should get used to it.
From the day he decided to hide his feelings from her, he should have seen what would happen eight years later.
But while sitting on the high-speed train on the way to see her, he couldn't help but count the chat boxes and compare: in recent months, the two of them chatted less and less.
Lu Qiaoyuan recalled the day when he sent her back to Jinshi. Ji Hang was sleeping in the back seat, leaning back and forth. She lowered her voice and moved closer to him, her warm breath almost spraying against his ear.
"By the way, Senior Brother, I might need a favor from you. Please help the Oasis team sort out the precautions for subsequent operations from a geological perspective."
"Okay, that's definitely no problem."
She moved a little closer, and his heartbeat continued to accelerate until he sent her to the high-speed rail station, almost thinking it was just an ordinary farewell.
But when he saw her off at the high-speed rail station and watched her figure slowly disappear on the platform, with some lightness and impatience, he suddenly had a premonition that he was about to lose something important.
The frequency of their chats became less and less, and his premonition became stronger and stronger.
There must be something in Jinshi that he doesn't know.
He had to go and see.
The shadows of the trees outside the high-speed train window became gradually clearer as the sun rose. The train was passing through uninhabited wilderness, and the summer greenery almost drowned him through the window.
The vivid green reflected in his eyes did not cause any ripples.
*
"Hello, Xiao Lu! I've heard a lot about you, and I'm glad to finally meet you in person!"
"Thanks to you for explaining the key points of grouting to us, it was a great help to our practical operation!"
When Lu Qiaoyuan was brought to the Oasis office by Ke Fan, he was immediately recognized by Lao Xie, who held his hands for a long time and refused to let go.
Ke Fan exchanged a look with him, and both of them pursed their lips and smiled helplessly: The people of Jinshi are indeed very enthusiastic.
When Old Xie finished his long speech, Ke Fan smiled and said to him:
"See, Senior Brother, I was right, wasn't it all thanks to you? Before you return to Hai City, I must treat you to a meal."
Lu Qiaoyuan was about to answer when she suddenly looked up and saw a familiar figure walking towards them.
When the man saw him, his eyes lit up and he quickened his pace: "School Prince Senior Brother!"
"Nie...Fei? Why is he here?" He asked Ke Fan in surprise.
"By the way, Senior Brother, you might not know this yet. Nie Fei is Oasis's partner in the offshore wind power + ocean ranch project I mentioned to you."
Lu Qiaoyuan's heart sank.
The bad premonition in my heart seemed to have finally been confirmed.
When he saw Nie Fei, he unconsciously thought of another person.
When they first met, Nie Fei hugged him and the young man and cheered: "Thank you, squad leader and senior brother, for saving my life~~".
That sunny boy has a deep dimple on the right side of his cheek, and it seems that all the good things are in him.
He always calls his friends and makes a three-pointer handsomely on the court. He is the one with the brightest smile in the group.
He accompanied Ke Fan to read in the library, sitting there all day, but burying his face in the books to catch up on sleep.
It was so easy to remember his name.
Yi Lingjia.
Over the years, besides him, this is the only boyfriend Ke Fan has ever acknowledged.
The surprise in his calm black eyes slowly faded away, and he hid his complex emotions in his eyes, revealing his usual gentle smile:
"Hello, Nie Fei."
*
Ke Fan has seen Nie Fei frequently recently, but Yi Lingjia rarely shows up.
During the last conversation in his office, he seemed to have accepted the cooperation between the two parties with great reluctance.
"Win-win? Not impossible, but I'll let Nie Fei handle this project. I guess Dr. Ke doesn't need an unimportant old classmate like me, right?"
After that day, Nie Fei learned about their conversation and analyzed:
"Does Lingjia's agreement to cooperate mean that his frozen emotional shell has broken a little? But he's still avoiding contact with you... How can we advance the treatment to the second stage? How can we stimulate his emotions even more?"
Ke Fan was unable to come up with the next plan for a while.
During the project promotion phase, they met frequently, but Yi Lingjia was the only one who did not show up.
As time passed, Nie Fei became increasingly anxious.
Today he originally wanted to find Ke Fan to discuss countermeasures, but he saw an unexpected person.
The school idol who once saved the day during the group activities.
Nie Fei was completely focused on Yi Lingjia's treatment plan. He only greeted him with some surprise. After a few pleasantries, he hurriedly pulled Ke Fan aside:
"League Secretary, it's been almost another month, and there's been no progress on our major project! Can you give me clear instructions on when to proceed?"
Ke Fan looked at Lu Qiaoyuan's tall and straight back not far away and said softly:
“Almost.”
Nie Fei was a little unsure and asked with some doubt:
"Really? But you've been holding me down for the past month, preventing me from doing anything. I've been wanting to ask, why don't we continue to create some chance encounters and increase our daily contact? This would also be a form of gradual stimulation, right?"
Ke Fan raised his eyes, and his beautiful eyes stared at him.
She said, "Have you ever seen a spring?"
"Every time you squeeze the spring a little, it doesn't really change much; it just bounces a little bit higher."
"But if you keep pressing, and keep pressing...press it to the lowest point and then suddenly release it, it will suddenly bounce very high, even breaking through its own limit."
Nie Fei's heart was slightly shocked, and then he heard her continue to speak calmly:
“And now, it’s the lowest point.”
Her gaze returned to Lu Qiaoyuan's back:
"Nie Fei, tell him that my boyfriend is in Jinshi. We are all old classmates, let's have dinner together."
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