Jian sat under a huge banyan tree close to the gate. From there, he was able to overlook everything that's going on at the ground level. A few machines were hauling mixed cement, and a few of the men were moving bricks onto what looked like a crane. He watched his grandpa hobble close to the bricks and stack them overhead.
He shot up. "He's carrying bricks! At this age!"
He quickly threw his book off his lap and ran to him. "Grandpa, I'll carry it!"
He tried to take it, but his grandpa had already stacked the brick over his head skillfully. It weighed a bit, and he was scared that if he picked one of the bricks, the whole structure above his head would collapse.
"What are you doing here, kid? Go do your homework." The old man shooed him away.
Frowning, Jian watched him. The workers were all wearing yellow safety helmets and carrying the bricks onto the wooden attachment of the crane. It was most likely going to be lifted off to the higher floors.
"This is too physically straining. I can't watch this."
He quickly found a yellow safety helmet and wore it. Silently, he went to the man who was helping everyone stack their bricks. "Sir, can I ask you a favor."
"Shush, just get in line and take your bricks, ah, you're wasting my time." The middle-aged man looked up, and for a second, he looked taken aback. "Have I seen you somewhere? Wait, you look like a kid?"
Jian bit his lips. "I just came with my grandpa. I…"
"Ah, I know. You work in that restaurant, right? I see you washing the dishes. What are you doing here, kid?"
"Can you reduce the load on my grandpa? I'll carry a bit more for him." He whispered to him in secret.
The middle-aged man looked ahead at his grandfather and then at him. "Oh, you're Lin's grandson, ah. Don't worry; we won't give him a heavy load. You can rest assured we won't overwork him too," the man said with a bright smile. "But make sure to ask your boss to give me some extra servings," he winked.
Jian smiled and nodded. "Thank you." He still stood in line.
"What are you still doing here? Go enjoy your youth."
"Actually, I wanted to carry bricks too. I don't want it to be unfair. Since my grandpa is carrying less, I will carry the rest for him," he whispered and took the bricks to stack over his head.
"Whoa, fine kid. Sit down." The man made him squat down. "What year are you?"
"I'm in tenth grade."
"Oh, a fifteen-year-old child. What a good boy you are," the man smiled as he stacked it all up. Smiling, Jian stood up carefully.
"Make sure to walk slowly. Guys, watch out for the kid," he said to the men who stood in line behind him.
Jian silently walked over to the wooden platform and removed the stack of bricks. Unknown to his grandpa, he started to take on his workload. Smirking, Jian happily hopped back to the line and took another stack of bricks. 'It's not that hard as I imagined...'
The bricks were quite heavy, but he was able to handle the weight. The only thing that was annoying was the sun. The sun was shining right over their heads, making it unbearably hot.
Suddenly, a cool shadow fell on him.
Jian let out a sigh. Slowly, that shadow moved closer to him. Startled, he gazed to the side to see a tall man standing close to him. He was wearing a simple white shirt and black slacks.
The man was quite tall, and when he stood close, he was able to shield him from the sun completely.
Jian had a heavy weight over his head, so he was not able to raise his head to take a look at his face. Only the man's chin was seen in his vision.
"What is a kid doing here?" the man said in a whisper.
Jian raised a brow. "I'm not a kid."
"You are." Suddenly, the weight above his head disappeared.
Shocked, Jian gazed up at the man who lifted the stack of bricks with just one hand. He was about six foot ten or so tall with pale white hair that came down to his chest. His pure green eyes peered down at him closely.
"Children are not allowed to work here,"
Jian froze. 'How is he able to lift that weight with just a hand…'
"Please leave the premises." Jian blinked up at him.
"I actually came here with my grandpa. He is working too hard, and I just want to..."
The man silently pointed to the tree where he had left his school bag and his books wide open. "You have only one responsibility."
Sighing, Jian walked back to the tree. 'Who is that man? He looks like a foreigner, but his accent is perfect.'
Frowning, he peered at the tall white-haired man. His eyes slowly roamed down his body. Even through his clothes, he could see some muscles stretching through. Pouting, Jian touched his flat tummy. 'I need to start my taekwondo classes soon!'