He Tiantian was eating rice, seemingly lost in thought,
suddenly she blurted out, "Mom, let uncle be your boyfriend! He's so strong, he can definitely protect you!"
He Yan and Long Fei had just taken a bite of food and almost sprayed it out awkwardly.
He Yan scolded her, "He Tiantian, how old is your uncle, and how old is Mom? Don't say such things in the future!"
He Tiantian stuck out her tongue and mischievously smiled at Long Fei, then bowed her head and obediently started eating her rice again.
Long Fei and He Yan exchanged awkward glances, silently eating and drinking, unconsciously finishing off a whole bottle of erguotou.
Long Fei had drunk most of the bottle, and He Yan had also had quite a bit.
She picked up her daughter, who was already asleep, and took her back to the bedroom.
After coming out, Long Fei stood up and said embarrassedly, "Should I clean up the bowls and chopsticks for you?"
"It's okay, I can clean up. You should go back to sleep, you still have to go to work tomorrow!"
He Yan waved her hand, swaying as she saw him out the door.
She hadn't taken two steps when she suddenly staggered forward.
Long Fei reacted quickly, wrapping his arm around her waist. Due to the momentum, she fell forward, pressing her body against the wall.
Both of them gasped at the same time, looking into each other's eyes with their chests heaving.
He Yan's body was soft, and her waist was a little plump; it felt smooth and very comfortable to hold.
A woman's fragrance wafted to him, making Long Fei's breathing become somewhat rapid.
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.
They both got startled, and He Yan pushed Long Fei away sharply, smoothing her hair as she said repeatedly, "It's getting late, you should go upstairs now!"
"Then I'm leaving!"
Long Fei put on his shoes, grabbed his own clothes, and hurriedly slipped out of the house.
Once outside, the cool breeze helped calm the stirred feelings inside him.
That moment just now, he almost made a mistake.
He Yan closed the door and watched from the window as Long Fei went upstairs, then leaned against the wall and banged her head against it a few times before she finally went to clean up the bowls and chopsticks.
After returning to his own room, Long Fei got into bed.
He picked up his phone and saw that the WeChat request he had made just today had been accepted.
When buying the phone, He Yan helped him set up WeChat, and he added only He Yan.
Long Fei added Su Yiyi when he was getting his hair cut.
He had no friends in this city, and it was not easy to get to know someone on the bus, let alone obtain her WeChat contact.
He tried to send a request, and surprisingly, Su Yiyi actually accepted it.
"Are you the big brother who helped me?"
Su Yiyi asked him.
Long Fei sent a naive smiling emoji and replied, "Yes, I just bought a phone today, so I added you a bit late!"
Su Yiyi sent a sly smiling emoji and replied, "I don't believe you, take a selfie and show me!"
Long Fei smiled, opened the phone's front camera, found a well-lit spot, and pressed the button.
He sent the photo and said, "Just got a haircut, it's a bit plain, don't make fun of me!"
Su Yiyi sent back a laughing emoji and after confirming it was him, they started chatting back and forth.
She was a junior high student from the Eighth Middle School with middle school exams next year, so she only had a few days of summer vacation.
Long Fei honestly told her about his situation.
She didn't look down on Long Fei but encouraged him to do well and strive to become a security team leader, get a raise and promotion, and marry a rich and beautiful girl.
Long Fei was amused by her and they chatted until midnight.
After she sent a goodnight emoji, Long Fei finally put down his phone.
When he was collecting garbage, no one talked to him.
Now that he had a phone, added Sister Yan, and added Su Yiyi, his life felt enriched.
The next day, the alarm rang.
Long Fei got up early and went out to the corridor and fetched a basin of cold water, then washed up shirtless.
Last night, he had experienced another nightmare.
Out of the blue, I dreamed of my body covered with blue scales, like some freakish snake. The mere thought gives me goosebumps.
I put on my clothes and sat on the bed, lighting up a cigarette.
The seven-yuan-a-pack Hongtashan, harsh and invigorating.
Downstairs, a door sounded.
Sister Yan was ready to take Tiantian to school.
Long Fei stood by the window, stealthily peeking outside at her.
She was in a black miniskirt, her thighs sheathed in stockings, her hair coiled up in a large bun, still dressed as seductively as ever.
Long Fei spied on her, and as if she sensed it, she turned around and glanced towards his room.
He hastily dodged backwards and clumsily stepped on a basin behind him.
The stainless-steel basin got flattened under his foot.
He picked it up and looked at it with dismay, thinking how it wasn't sturdy at all, despite costing him thirty yuan.
After He Yan left, Long Fei sneaked out the door like a thief.
He locked the door, hopped on his bicycle, and had breakfast at the steamed bun shop in the alley.
It was past eight in the morning, and he guessed the interviewer would be at work by now.
He took out his phone and dialed the number the interviewer had given him the day before.
The phone connected and a voice greeted him. Courteously, it said, "Hello, who is this?"
Long Fei quickly responded, "Hello, it's Long Fei, the guy who applied for a security job yesterday at Binhai University's gate. I was wondering when I could start work?"
The person on the other end laughed warmly, "Oh, it's you. I had our HR department enter your information yesterday. You can come over now, I'll send the address to this number!"
"Great, thank you so much, uncle!"
Long Fei felt so moved he could cry; this was his first job, and he felt deeply grateful to the interviewer.
The person on the line caught the tremor in his voice and encouraged him, "Young man, hang in there! I'm also from the countryside and I know it's not easy for kids from there. I work in HR. If you encounter any problems at the company, you can come to me!"
"Thank you, uncle!"
Long Fei sincerely thanked him, and after hanging up the phone, he was so excited he felt like hugging somebody.
A notification chimed; the interviewer had sent the address.
Long Fei opened it and saw: city center, Glory Building office block, Tower A.
Upon entering, he asked the receptionist for directions.
Usually for a company, there would be a specific floor and suite number.
But Lin's Group had rented an entire building.
Long Fei had specifically looked it up the day before; the group was involved in property, finance, cosmetics, clothing, international trade, among multiple other industries.
No wonder such a rich and powerful company could attract so many university students for a security guard position.
Long Fei finished his breakfast, rode his bike back home, and took a bus there.
The place he lived was some distance from the city center.
It being his first day, he didn't know where to park his bike, so he decided to wait until he got to know the area better.
Binhai City is the capital of East China Province, ranked among the top nationwide economically.
In the city, skyscrapers rose in succession, the scene very bustling.
The closer to the city center, the more pronounced it was.
Sitting on the bus, Long Fei stared at the towering buildings outside and resolved in his heart to work hard, buy an apartment here, marry that woman who slept with him, and bring his grandfather from the village to enjoy the good life.
The bus rumbled through the city for more than an hour before reaching its destination.
Compared to the subway, it certainly was slower, but the advantage was there were no transfers needed, making for an effortless ride.
As Long Fei got off the bus, Glory Building's office block was right in front of him.
The surrounding area of the building was a bustling commercial district, with a small square in the front where a fountain was currently in use.
The view was unobstructed and the environment was supreme.
In front, there was a dedicated area for employees to park their bicycles and electric bikes.
Next to it lay an underground garage, likely for parking cars.
Long Fei familiarized himself with the surroundings and pushed through the revolving door to enter.