The dormitory is not far from the construction site. The head office also arranged a room for He Xian here. It was his first time to stay overnight here.
He was very drunk, and Lin Sitao took the key to open the door, but it took several attempts before he finally opened it. He Xian sat down at the entrance and changed his shoes.
Lin Sitao stood outside the door, leaned forward and put the key on the shoe cabinet.
He Xian called him: "Come in and have a glass of water."
Lin Sitao hesitated for a moment and went in. He imitated He Xian, took off his shoes and put on slippers. Then he stood in the living room. He Xian turned on all the lights and the air conditioner, walked around, first looked at the bathroom, then the room.
The place is not big, but it is clean and tidy, with complete facilities including washing machines and kitchenware.
He Xian finished the tour and saw Lin Sitao still standing in the living room.
"Please sit down." He opened the refrigerator and took out a large bottle of juice drink. The packaging was all in English.
Lin Sitao did not sit on the sofa, but walked to the chair beside the dining table and sat down.
Just then He Xian poured him a glass of juice and placed it on the dining table.
"They are so thoughtful. They have everything," He Xian looked through the refrigerator again, "Are you hungry? There are bread, cake, ham, eggs, hot sauce, ketchup..."
He moved all the things out at once, cut a lot of ham, put it on bread slices without cutting the edges, and made a large plate of extremely ugly sandwiches to entertain the children in front of him.
"I just drank a lot of alcohol and now I'm starving." He grabbed a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Take whatever you like..." He pushed the boxes of ice cream and cake in front of Lin Sitao.
Lin Sitao also took a piece of bread and ham and took a small bite.
He Xian looked at him and sighed: "No matter how you look at it, you are always very small!"
"Yeah," Lin Sitao said in a voice that sounded like he was afraid of disturbing others, "I'm often told that I have a baby face and look younger."
He didn't know what to say next.
Besides, he didn’t know how the topic turned to him when there was clearly a more terrifying thing happening right in front of him—he had just stopped Director He from committing suicide!
But Director He didn't say thank you (not that he expected the director to thank him), and went home as if nothing had happened, talking and eating like a normal person. It was as if the scene on the bridge was all his illusion or misunderstanding.
Lin Sitao really began to be confused. Maybe Director He was just drunk.
"Are you from J City? Where in J City are you from?" He Xian took out another can of beer and drank it mixed with the juice.
"Fangjiang District." Lin Sitao replied.
He Xian was stunned: "That's the urban area."
Few children from urban areas go out to work, and most of them work on construction sites.
Moreover, Fangjiang District is not far from his grandfather's old house.
"Fangjiang No. 7 Middle School... do you know?" he asked Lin Sitao.
Lin Sitao finally laughed, and he was very cute when he laughed.
"I'm in No. 7 Middle School. Director He, are you familiar with J City?"
He Xian nodded: "No. 7 Middle School is my mother's alma mater."
Lin Sitao said: "No. 7 Middle School used to be a girls' school, and it produced many famous alumni. After it became a coeducational school, it was no longer so popular. Now it is just an ordinary school. But the scenery around the school is not bad. Key high schools don't have the beautiful old buildings like our school."
After he finished speaking, he felt a little embarrassed - with Director He's knowledge, there was probably no need for him to introduce these things.
But He Xian seemed to be listening very seriously and attentively.
After Lin Sitao finished speaking, his eyes were still fixed on Lin Sitao's forehead.
Just staring straight ahead.
After a few seconds, Lin Sitao finally realized that He Xian was just distracted.
"Director He?" he called softly.
He Xian finally came back to his senses: "Ah! Did I fall asleep? I seemed to have dozed off just now."
Lin Sitao finally became convinced that he was quite drunk.
He felt embarrassed to continue sitting there, so he stood up and left.
He Xian said, "It's too late today, you stay." He looked into Lin Sitao's eyes and emphasized. His hair was a little messy, not as neatly combed as in the morning, and now he looked like a college student.
—The only college student Lin Sitao knows is the son of his landlord. He hangs out in Internet cafes playing games during holidays. The landlord says he only goes home to eat, sleep and ask for money.
Lin Sitao thought that if he went to college one day, he would never become that kind of college student.
He Xian was the college student he imagined. He must have graduated from a prestigious university like Oxford or Cambridge at a young age, so he could command the scene with confidence and achieve the position of director.
He Xian stared at him: "I still have something to ask you, you will sleep here today." He said very firmly.
Just as Lin Sitao was hesitating, a white light flashed outside the window and a thunderclap sounded - the thunderstorm finally came in the middle of the night.
Lin Sitao suddenly felt dizzy. The rain was pouring down outside the window, and the sound of the rain was like a waterfall. It was as if someone had already made a decision for him.
He was very nervous.
But He Xian relaxed. His whole body relaxed, and he finally showed an expression that was almost a smile. "It's very dangerous outside in this weather. You should rest here first."
He Xian went to the room and found some bathrobes. He threw one to Lin Sitao.
He asked Lin Sitao to take a shower first.
Lin Sitao was very obedient. He had always been very obedient, and his grandmother had always said that he was like a dog.
But this was the first time he obeyed a stranger like this. Lin Sitao was confused. He had never met someone like He Xian, and he had never suddenly barged into someone else's room like this.
When he took off his clothes and stood under the shower, Lin Sitao was like a patient about to have a high fever, shaking all over. But he was not afraid. After all, he was still a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, and most of the time, he was blindly optimistic.
He turned the knob of the shower, but the water just wouldn't come out. He tried several times, but couldn't turn it on. Thirty seconds, a minute suddenly seemed very long, and Lin Sitao was afraid that He Xian would impatiently push open the bathroom door and ask him if he didn't know how to use the shower.
Fortunately, it was quiet outside the door.
He kept trying different directions, and at the last desperate second, water gushed out of the shower. Lin Sitao had never been so grateful that he didn't give up - he avoided the embarrassment of having to call He Xian in to help him.
After a quick shower, Lin Sitao put on his pajamas. The pajamas were loose and designed for He Xian's body. They were too big for him. He wiped the moisture off the mirror and took a look at it with a guilty conscience. He only saw a short shadow.
He first arranged his pajamas, tucking his shirt into his pajamas, then thought he should take it out. Then he pushed his thick hair back as much as possible to expose his entire forehead. Without the hair covering it, the slicked-back hairstyle would make his face look less childish - but he didn't understand the meaning of these actions.
He finally walked out of the bathroom calmly. But He Xian had already fallen asleep on the sofa, snoring softly. He was sleeping soundly. Even when drunk, he still looked incredibly elegant and handsome. Lin Sitao stood three steps away from him, staring at him for a few seconds before calling him softly, "Director He."
He Xian didn't wake up, he just hummed vaguely. The TV was on, showing a lively talent show, some people were crying and some were laughing. Lin Sitao's voice became softer: "Director He."
At this moment, Lin Sitao seemed to be the host. He finally mustered up the courage, walked to He Xian, and gently pressed his shoulder: "Director He, it's time to take a shower. After taking a shower, go to bed."
He Xian then slowly opened his eyes, his eyes were red, and he stared at Lin Sitao blankly, as if he didn't recognize who he was for a moment.
“Okay…” He Xian said in a hoarse voice after two or three seconds.
After taking a shower, He Xian brought a blanket to Lin Sitao. The sofa in the room could be folded down to form a sofa bed. Lin Sitao spread out the blanket and prepared to sleep. But He Xian also covered himself with a blanket and sat on another sofa, staring at him in a thoughtful manner.
Lin Sitao asked him: "Aren't you going to sleep?"
He Xian did not answer, but asked him: "You haven't graduated from high school yet?"
Lin Sitao hummed.
If you just want to earn some pocket money for fun during the summer vacation, there are more places to choose from. There are many odd jobs in the commercial area that can be done for a few hours, which is much easier. A 17 or 18-year-old student usually comes to work on a construction site for only one reason - family background.
“Even though No. 7 Middle School is not a key high school now, there should still be many students who take the college entrance examination every year, right?” He Xian said as if chatting.
Lin Sitao defended his alma mater: "Five students were admitted to the first-tier universities this year."
He Xian said gently: "What are you going to do after the summer vacation?"
Lin Sitao blinked and said, "I want to work faster. I should start working earlier. They say that as long as you work hard on the construction site, you can earn a lot."
"Who said that?"
"Master Chen, and my landlord."
He Xian said: "You should study."
The boy stopped talking. He Xian felt a little regretful for a moment. He didn't know this man, and didn't know what he had been through. There are too many unfortunate families in the world, and many children have to think about their livelihood too early. It has become a luxury for them to finish high school.
He Xian turned off the bright ceiling light, leaving only a small dim table lamp. It was in perfect harmony with the subtle music from the TV, forming a warm protective shield that isolated them from the storm outside the window, like a safe island.
"Go to sleep," he said.