Reborn in the 80s: Divorced and Spoiled by the Military Man - Chapter 144

Chapter 144: People Really Shouldn’t Read Too Much Into Things

The new canteen was already half built. Around a dozen staff members had been transferred over from Pengcheng, and since it was a young team, they needed constant time to adjust and work together. Shen Subai had been extremely busy lately. Besides coordinating with government departments, he also had to smooth things over with the Police Station to make sure public security was covered.

A large Construction Site brought not only development, but also a flood of outsiders. And in a sense, all those outsiders needing food, clothing, housing, and transport could also create public security issues.

Xie Yunshu had not seen Captain Shen for several days. She was busy reading and studying, and did not take it to heart. The two of them had never been on the same path to begin with; not having contact was the normal state of things.

Around noon, when the busy rush was nearly over, Li Shengli finally walked in with a few of his brothers, all looking dispirited.

Seeing that he looked unhappy, Xie Yunshu asked, “Brother Li, what happened?”

“The job’s almost done. The new Construction Site has its own team, so we’re probably going to have to go back home,” one of the older men behind him cut in, his expression not looking too good either. “If it had been two days earlier, we might have managed something, but now that every Construction Site has started work, where are we supposed to find jobs?”

Li Shengli sighed. Today, he did not even order a meat dish, only a serving of vegetables and some steamed buns. “If you don’t have an education, you suffer for it. If there’s really no other way, I’ll follow Old Qian and haul cement. I can’t let my wife and kids go hungry back home.”

After the group went to sit down, Qiangzi hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Yunshu, you know people in the Project Department. Could you help us find someone who can read blueprints? We won’t ask anyone to help for free. We’ll pay!”

Something stirred in Xie Yunshu’s heart. “Is it still the blueprint from last time?”

Qiangzi nodded. “It doesn’t have to be too complicated. As long as they can figure out the directions and the pipe fitting dimensions, that’s enough. None of us spent many years in school, so we don’t dare take this job casually.”

But Xie Yunshu was just someone selling meals in a canteen. In the entire Project Department, the only people she could speak to were Tian Hao and Shen Subai. And she knew everyone in the Project Department had been busy lately-especially Shen Subai, who had not come for lunch for several days.

In truth, Xie Yunshu could understand that blueprint too, but without a professional’s confirmation, she did not have enough confidence.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “Brother Li, can I take the blueprint and make a copy? If you’re not in a rush, I’ll ask my night school teacher to take a look.”

Tomorrow night, she would officially report to night school and start classes. She could organize the data from the blueprint in advance, then ask the teacher to help check whether it was correct…

Li Shengli immediately perked up. “That would definitely work! Yunshu Little Sister, if you can help me with this, once I take the job, I’ll pay you a technical fee!”

Hiring a technician would cost several hundred yuan, and the problem was that they had no channels to find that kind of person. The people in the Project Department would not give laborers like them the time of day, which was why Qiangzi had thought of asking Xie Yunshu for help.

Xie Yunshu actually felt unsure herself. “Brother Li, I’ll just give it a try. You should still look for other people too.”

She had not even gone to the school yet, and had no idea what kind of person the teacher there was. But since that person was friends with Captain Shen, their character should be fine, right?

That day, after returning from the market with groceries, Xie Yunshu took out the blueprint and began studying it so intently she forgot to eat or sleep. Afraid she might make a mistake, she first used a ruler to copy it out, then wrote down every piece of data she could identify according to the markings on the blueprint.

It was not until after eleven at night that Xie Mingcheng set down the book in his hands and looked over.

Under the not particularly bright desk lamp, his sister sat quietly with her head lowered. Although it was already late at night, there was not the slightest trace of fatigue on her face. In her hands, which could not be called delicate, she held a fountain pen, constantly writing and sketching, wholly absorbed in her own world.

Xie Mingcheng pressed his lips together slightly. Every time he felt irritated by difficulties in his studies, he would always think: if the person sitting in the classroom today were his sister, what would she be like? In fact, before he turned twelve, he had not been good at studying. He had even been so playful that he was unwilling to do his homework.

Back then, he had once said in a childish fit of anger, “In the future, it’ll be enough for our family to have one college student-my sister. I can go haul bricks and earn money!”

At twelve years old, Xie Mingcheng never could have imagined his words would become a prophecy. The only difference was that the roles between the siblings had been reversed. It was also from that moment on that he understood: aside from studying with everything he had, he had no other path to choose.

What had been missed could never be made up for. Xie Mingcheng did not urge his sister to go to bed early. When he closed his eyes, he thought that this Captain Shen seemed passable enough. At the very least, he was not as stupid and selfish as Lu Zhixing.

The only downside was that Captain Shen was a little too tall. Judging by eye, Xie Mingcheng probably could not beat him yet. Once the college entrance exams were over, he would have to train properly…

He turned over and was already asleep. Beneath the flickering light, only Xie Yunshu was still looking over the drawings. The room was utterly quiet.

Who knew how many streets away, inside the Haicheng government Compound, Shen Subai finished a set of military boxing and returned to his bedroom. He took off his shirt, revealing strong, powerful arms. An old scar stretched across his entire back, left behind during a mission the year before last.

It was also because of that serious injury that Su Qinglian had half-forced him to transfer from the army to Haicheng. She had also demanded that he settle his personal affairs before he turned twenty-eight.

At present, it seemed this was a mission he could accept gladly, though the level of difficulty remained unknown.

It was Xie Yunshu’s first day reporting to night school.

Because she had enrolled later than the others, she could only sit in the corner of the last row. Her deskmate was a male student. When Xie Yunshu sat down, he was sprawled over the desk asleep, and all she could see was the messy back of his head. Even after she took her seat, he did not move at all. He was sleeping quite soundly.

Classes ran from seven to eight-thirty, the length of two periods, with only a twenty-minute break in between. From beginning to end, this deskmate of hers never opened his eyes. He slept the whole time.

Xie Yunshu did not like meddling in other people’s business, but she still grumbled inwardly that anyone who came to night school just to sleep must have a huge pit in his brain. If he did not want to study, why insist on coming? Wasn’t that just a pure waste of time and life?

It was only after class ended that her deskmate finally turned his head, bleary-eyed. He had a young, handsome face. When he saw Xie Yunshu, he paused, then smiled. “New classmate?”

Xie Yunshu packed up her things, still thinking about the drawings. She planned to work late tonight and organize them, then go see her teacher tomorrow for sure.

Hearing the voice beside her, she gave him a polite smile, picked up her books, and left.

“Comrade, what’s your name?” Unexpectedly, this boy was quite familiar for a stranger. With both hands in his pockets, he followed behind her and said lazily, “I’m Ji Siyuan. I only enrolled not long ago too.”

Ji Siyuan. The name sounded a little familiar, and his face looked a little familiar too.

Xie Yunshu had no good impression of people who only knew how to sleep in class, but out of courtesy, she still paused and turned back to smile at him. “Xie Yunshu. Goodbye.”

Ji Siyuan’s eyes lit up. Only now did he realize his new deskmate was this pretty, and he instantly stopped feeling sleepy. “We’re going the same way. Want to walk together?”

He knew where she lived? Wasn’t he obviously a lecher?

Xie Yunshu refused cleanly and decisively. “We’re not going the same way. Goodbye.”

They had not exchanged more than a few sentences, yet every time she opened her mouth, it was goodbye. Ji Siyuan clicked his tongue and walked beside her at an unhurried pace. All the way to the school gate, neither of them spoke again.

At the entrance stood a man in a black down jacket, a gray scarf around his neck. His cold, hard features seemed to merge with the night.

Xie Yunshu stopped in surprise. “Captain Shen, why are you here?”

He couldn’t have come specifically to wait for her after class, could he?! This situation really made it too easy for people to think too much. Xie Yunshu felt like her heartbeat had even sped up a little…

Shen Subai’s gaze swept over Ji Siyuan beside her before he spoke. “How was studying?”

Xie Yunshu pressed her lips together and had not yet answered when Ji Siyuan, standing beside her, groaned first. “Captain Shen, can you put in a word with my brother for me? I’d rather go move bricks at the Construction Site. Studying is really not for me!”

Xie Yunshu’s heart calmed down. Sure enough, people really should not flatter themselves…