Chapter 31 They belong to the same...
The money was stolen.
Li Sheng had just received his salary that morning and locked it in his locker. When he went to answer the phone to check on his locker, he discovered that the lock had been pried open.
After hanging up the phone, Li Sheng told the manager what happened. The manager was very indifferent and pointed to the sign on the counter: "Valuable items, please keep them safe. We are not responsible for any loss."
The manager shrugged and said, "Didn't I tell you to be careful?"
The manager also told him that there were no security cameras in the hotel, so the police wouldn't be able to find him. He was told not to let it affect the hotel's business. The manager only mentioned it during a meeting, warning everyone to be careful and hinting that the person who took the money would eventually be caught and face consequences. It was meant to be a deterrent, but if someone dared to steal money, those words had no effect.
Sitting down, Liu Quan nudged Li Sheng and said, "Could it be Wang Dapeng?"
Li Sheng shook his head: "I don't know."
Liu Quan: "I think so. You should check him out. He's in the back kitchen, closest to the storage room. It's probably him."
Li Sheng remained silent, calculated the money he had on hand, and figured he could make it until the next paycheck. He then considered opening a bank account to deposit his salary there.
After listening to the meeting, Huang Yin ran over to him and asked, "Do you still have money this month?"
Li Sheng replied with a "Okay," and when he turned to look at Huang Yin, he was slightly surprised. He almost didn't recognize her—Huang Yin was wearing heavy makeup similar to Lü Xiaoshan's, with thick eyeliner on her eyelids, glitter and sparkle sprayed all over her face, and her hair was a bit frizzy, as if she were a completely different person.
In just a few days, Huang Yin was like a completely different person.
Li Sheng bluntly stated, "You looked better before."
Huang Yin smiled and said, "I quite like it. Everyone draws like this. Lü Xiaoshan taught me how to draw it. She said it's fashionable. It's much better than my old country girl look. This makes me look like a city person."
Li Sheng glanced at Cao Teng at the door, who was joking with another waitress in a lewd manner. He said indifferently, "It's not worth it for you to do this for him."
Even with mature makeup, Huang Yin's expression remained youthful, revealing an awkwardness that seemed out of place for her. After a moment of silence, Huang Yin said, "It wasn't because of him that I broke up with him."
“Never mind me,” she blinked her bright eyes and asked in a low voice, “Actually, a lot of people keep their wages in a cabinet. This has never happened before. That person only stole from you. Did you offend someone? Cao Teng doesn’t have the guts. Think about the people around you. Be careful.”
After Huang Yin left, Li Sheng returned to his locker, lost in thought. Although he was a loner, he wasn't annoying enough to be bothersome. The person who stole his money was most likely acting on Feng Hui's orders; he was going to get back at him, and this was just the beginning.
Just then, Wang Dapeng passed by, glanced at him with an amused expression, and went into the kitchen.
Li Sheng felt a jolt in his pocket as he received a text message. It was probably from Li Jiazong, who had managed to borrow someone else's phone. The message listed the place and time for their meeting at the end of the month. As he read the message, a smile involuntarily crept onto his face—he had a chance to hear Li Jiazong play the flute.
Qian He was walking home from school when he saw Li Jiacong's mother by the roadside. He had seen her a few times before, so he greeted her, "Auntie! Jiacong is behind me!"
Chen Wen walked over: "I know. Why didn't you go to Li Sheng's birthday party last time?"
Qian He: "Huh? You didn't call me."
Chen Wen tricked him into revealing that Qian He knew Li Sheng. Chen Wen smiled and said, "Jia Cong, Li Sheng doesn't have many friends here. I told Jia Cong to invite all of Li Sheng's classmates when he goes out with him, so it's lively and fun. Why doesn't he invite you?"
Qian He: "Haha, I'm not familiar with Li Sheng, I've only met him a few times. Jia Cong is probably afraid of feeling awkward."
Chen Wen: "Really?"
Qian He sensed that Jia Cong's mother was testing him step by step, and her words sounded strange. Qian He took a step back, hurriedly said goodbye, and immediately ran away.
Wearing a trench coat, Chen Wen crossed her arms at night and scanned the area around the school: arcades, internet cafes, restaurants, hotels—
Li Jiacong returned home and took out a flute from his flute case. It was rose gold and extremely exquisite. He joined the two ends together, but instead of putting it to his lips, he simply pressed the keys. He only used this flute for performances and competitions; he was reluctant to play it during regular practice.
The program arranged an ensemble performance with piano, guitar, and flute. Each person would also have a solo piece. The school preferred something more refined, so Li Jiacong chose "Bressanone," a piece he had played for Li Sheng before. The piece's imagery was so beautiful; the flute's clear and deep tone evoked a desolate loneliness that was simply breathtaking. A live performance would be even better and would appeal to a wider audience.
Knowing that Li Sheng was in the audience, Li Sheng took the matter to heart. In the quiet of the night, he took out his flute and practiced the simple piece over and over again.
He behaved well during this period, but Li Mingda showed no intention of returning the phone, probably intending to keep it until the end of the college entrance examination.
The event was on a Friday at the end of the month, at the science museum across from the school. His performance was relatively early, the third one. After the rehearsal on Wednesday, Li Jiacong had some free time, borrowed an IC card, and called Li Sheng.
They hadn't seen each other for almost two weeks since their last birthday. Li Jiacong asked, "How have you been lately?"
Li Sheng's voice remained calm and steady: "It's alright."
Li Jiacong said, "At one o'clock in the afternoon, come in through the main gate. Be bold! You must act like you are a student of our school!"
Li Sheng chuckled: "Aren't you wearing a school uniform?"
Li Jiacong: "Don't wear it. Just come in and stand on either side. There are plenty of people around, so no one will pay attention to you. If you run into a school teacher who questions you, just say you're a staff member of the science museum."
"Okay." Li Sheng suddenly looked forward to it: "I'll go a little earlier."
The sound of playful fighting came from the washroom, where Lü Xiaoshan and Liu Quan were splashing each other with water. When they saw Li Sheng arrive, they stopped laughing. Liu Quan lowered his head and walked out first, while Lü Xiaoshan came closer, pinching a gold pendant necklace around her neck: "Isn't it pretty? If you don't like me, there are plenty of other people who will."
A gold necklace—this one wasn't cheap. Li Sheng glanced at Liu Quan, who was walking away: "He gave it to me?"
"Yeah, Liu Quan is way more honest than Cao Teng," Lü Xiaoshan said with a grin. "Look at Liu Quan, he's so quiet and generous. Your Huang Yin, on the other hand, is such a fool. The other day I asked her if she got anything from Cao Teng, and it turns out she sometimes even paid for the room! Hahaha! In the end, she got nothing, just got played for free. Now that they're broken up, you'd better hurry up and pursue her! Otherwise, someone else will snatch her up. I heard that all the guys in the food service department are interested in Huang Yin, and they're all eager to try!"
Li Sheng said, "Okay."
Lü Xiaoshan asked in surprise, "What did you say?"
Li Sheng seemed to have grasped a bit of the survival rule here: friendliness would lead to humiliation, while being two-faced would get you far, make you happy, and assimilate everyone around you. Li Sheng deliberately said, "I said okay, I'll listen to you, I'll pursue her."
Lu Xiaoshan cursed, "Didn't you say you didn't like her? She's someone else's leftovers, and you're treating her like a treasure!"
Li Sheng ignored her and turned to leave. He knocked on Huang Yin's dormitory door and said "Come in." Li Sheng pushed the door open and saw Huang Yin imitating smoking. When she saw him, she choked on her cigarette.
Li Sheng led Huang Yin into the stairwell, gently took the cigarette from her hand, and handed her a tissue. Huang Yin knew the tissue was for her to wipe off her exaggerated and ridiculous makeup. She looked at the tall Li Sheng in the darkness, her eyes clear, and heard him softly say, "Don't become like them, okay?"
He simply didn't want to see Huang Yin continue down this path.
Li Sheng didn't take a forceful stance; he merely inquired cautiously. Huang Yin was stunned. She hadn't expected Li Sheng to still care about her, and a sense of remorse welled up within her. She was different from them, and Li Sheng was different from them too. From beginning to end, in this building, it was always the two of them who were excluded; they were the only ones who belonged to the same realm—quiet, peaceful, and pure.
It was as if Li Sheng was trying to hold her back, to save her. The unchanging gentleness emanating from Li Sheng felt familiar and endearing to Huang Yin. She took the tissue, wiped away her cheap red lipstick, and removed the large earrings from her ears. She pointed to her eyelids: "These need to be washed off; they can't be wiped off."
Li Sheng ruffled her hair: "Your hair looks like corn silk."
Huang Yin laughed, her face pure and innocent: "It's disposable, it'll straighten after a wash."
They sat down on the stairs and started talking.
Li Sheng asked her, "Have you ever grown corn?"
Huang Yin seemed to recall something as she said, "I have planted them. I remember when I was very young, my grandma would take me to the field. The corn stalks after the sickle had been harvested were very sharp. My grandma told me not to step on them, or they would not look good when they grew up."
Li Sheng: "I was afraid of falling and hurting my face."
Huang Yin: "Yes! But I really believe in it. I thought there was something special about corn, and I was afraid it wouldn't look good when it grew up. So I not only didn't step on it, but I didn't even eat it."
Li Sheng laughed. When it was his turn, he shared with others for the first time the story of his brother, Li Jiacong, being poisoned by pesticide, and how he vomited on Li Jiacong while riding his bicycle.
After hearing this, Huang Yin couldn't stop laughing and said, "I really envy you guys. What's your brother doing?"
"study."
Huang Yin was surprised: "Is he my own brother?"
Li Sheng: "No, it is..." His distant kinship with Li Jiazong was almost negligible, which could be used to cover up in front of outsiders, but this time he wanted to tell Huang Yin the truth.
"He is actually me..."
"Thump—" The broken door to the stairwell was kicked open, and Lü Xiaoshan stood outside, her face dark: "What are you doing! Li Sheng, stop dating and go back to your dorm! Don't fucking sleep here tonight. I don't think you'll last long here!"
A note from the author:
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