Even before the start of July, the weather was already sweltering hot. As soon as it went past 9 o’clock, the temperature soared to 30 degrees Celsius.
Lin Sitao only wore a safety helmet and a work uniform – with no undershirt to be seen – sweating all over because of the heat. He had been working on the construction site for over 10 days and had already become accustomed to the rhythm here.
He was focused on the concrete and didn’t notice that two Cherokees had parked by the construction site, and over a dozen people were getting out of the cars one after another.
“Hey! People are coming from above!” Lao Chen shouted. He was an experienced worker on the construction site, and Lin Sitao had come to work here following him.
“Master,” Lin Sitao called him, “should we add water now?”
Lao Chen grunted and kept staring at the approaching crowd. Suddenly, he pushed Lin Sitao and said, “It seems like they’re calling for you! Hurry over!”
Lin Sitao raised his head in confusion and saw their foreman, Wu Jianghai, waving desperately at him not far away. Amid the roar of machinery, he could vaguely hear Wu Jianghai shouting at the top of his lungs, “Lin! Tao! Lin Sitao! Come over here!”
He hesitated for a moment, then jogged over to the group of people.
This group of people all wore high-quality shirts and expensive watches. They probably hadn’t been sweating much as they had just gotten off the cars.
However, the one who stood out the most in this group was the person in the center. Lin Sitao couldn’t really pinpoint what made him stand out; he just glanced at him and quickly looked away. The man was more than 10 centimeters taller than Lin Sitao and looked like an actor who specializes in playing roles such as Emperors and Generals in TV dramas.
“Lin Sitao, lift your head up and tell me, how old are you this year?” the person questioned.
Lin Sitao hadn’t snapped out of his daze and had already followed the instructions. He lifted his head, looked into the person’s eyes, and murmured, “I’m 17 years old.”
With a skeptical gaze, He Xian examined the child in front of him.
He was really just a kid!
Before he got off the car, he noticed the small, skinny figure. The person was less than 1.7 meters tall, wearing a loose work uniform that hung empty on his body. He was sweating profusely as he mixed concrete; the back of his clothes was already drenched. When the car turned around, he was surprised when he saw the person’s face – it was a child who looked no more than 14 years old. He had an innocent face on him, and his skin was tanned dark red.
As soon as he got off the car, he called out to Ding Shengguang.
“How dare you use a child laborer on the construction site?”
Ding Shengguang asked Wu Jianghai directly, “Why do we have a child laborer on the construction site?”
Wu Jianghai was taken aback and swore to the sky, “Mr. Ding, you know me well. I always follow the rules. We are most cautious when it comes to safety issues at the construction site. I would be risking my life if I used a child laborer.”
“What is that then?” He Xian pointed out.
Wu Jianghai followed the direction he was pointing at and came to a realization, saying, “That guy! He may have a small, child-like face, but he’s no child laborer!”
He Xian didn’t believe him. He had seen many men and could distinguish between a baby face and a real child.
At this moment, Lin Sitao stood in front of He Xian and answered, “I’m 17 years old.”
His voice was very soft and light, with a slightly hoarse tone.
His hair seemed like it hadn’t been cut for a while, sticking out from under his helmet and resting on his forehead, dampened by sweat. This made his face appear only the size of a palm. His eyes were not puny, but appeared reddened due to lack of sleep. His nose was small and pointed like that of a little girl, and even the movement of his nostrils seemed cautious. His thin lips were pursed into a straight line.
The impression he gave could be derived into one word: Dainty.
He was young, pitifully young, probably in his first or second year of junior high school. Children his age should be playing and having fun during summer vacation.
He Xian looked at his hands again. His nails were round and his fingers were slender, with no thickened joints. It was obvious that he had not yet undergone long-term hard labor that would cause his hands to deform.
“You don’t have to be afraid. You didn’t do anything wrong, and this won’t affect you personally. Please tell me the truth, are you 16 years old or older?”
He Xian spoke in a clear and gentle tone.
“Director He…” Wu Haiyang interjected, but Ding Shengguang stopped him, saying, “Don’t speak.”
Lin Sitao stared at these adults and realized the situation. When he first started working with Lao Chen, he was made fun of for his petite size, “Won’t you be mistaken for a child laborer with your small size?”
He then became anxious, his voice growing louder: “I am already in high school and will be 18 years old in the fall! I have my ID card!”
He Xian nodded. “Okay. You will now follow Supervisor Ding to the office and have your ID verify your age.”
Ding Shengguang waved his hand to Lin Sitao with a smile, “Come on, kid, let’s go take a break.”
Lin Sitao had never received such attention before and just nodded stiffly in response.
Half an hour later, Ding Shengguang returned to He Xian’s side, looking relaxed. “We checked it with the system. It turns out that the kid is already 17 years old. Mr. He has a good eye. He really looks young,” he said with a smile.
Wu Jianghai breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really afraid that Lin Sitao had used a fake ID. But now, his heart had finally settled. If Lao Chen had really brought in a minor to the workforce, he would bring him down with him. Nevertheless, he didn’t forget to flatter He Xian.
“Director He is doing this for our own good; he is so meticulous and conscientious that ordinary people can’t match!”
Hearing such praises had become commonplace for He Xian. He had been receiving countless compliments since he was young and was now numb to them. Besides, he wasn’t in the mood to listen to them now. He changed the subject and continued to discuss business matters with the laboratory’s staff.
By lunchtime, the joke had spread throughout the company. Everyone started calling Lin Sitao: “child laborer,” making jokes at his expense.
“I heard he’s from J city.” Ding Shengguang suddenly mentioned as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Director’s office, watching the workers as they went for lunch in groups of three or five.
“Who?” asked He Xian, as he ate his lunch while flipping through the lab’s data report.
“Child laborer.”
He Xian corrected him: “It should be ‘not a child laborer’.”
“I remember our aunt’s family from the maternal side being from J City?” said Ding Shengguang. He and He Xian were distant relatives through their extended family and could be considered second or distant cousins.
Indeed, He Xian’s maternal grandfather’s side was from J City.
J City was only a little over a hundred kilometers away from Shanghai. And in recent years, it has become a bustling small city due to Shanghai’s influence.
Back when he was a primary student – during winter and summer vacations – he would often stay with his mother, Zhou Qin, in J City. Although his grandfather’s old house was not as prosperous as their own home near Shanghai, there was an artificial lake right outside the courtyard. It was said that people drowned in the lake every year. Hence, Zhou Qin always kept a close eye on him and wouldn’t allow him to go into the lake.
He also recalled that during his afternoon nap he would often drowsily hear his mother, grandmother, and aunt whispering and laughing. They knew everything about which son of which family got into trouble, which family’s greedy descendants fought over their inheritance, which family sent someone abroad, which family had good luck and was going to Beijing, etc.
Of course, they mostly talked about the He family.
“Business trips, inspections, and visits to the He Family’s Patriarch, so on and so forth.” Amidst the soft hum of the electric fan, Zhou Qin’s elegant and confident voice could be heard as she said, “Immigrating is not a bad idea. But after going through all the storms and waves, it is still more promising to stay in the country…”
However, during his fourth-grade summer vacation, Zhou Qin fell ill as soon as she brought him back to J City.
Although it was said that she was sick, she didn’t go to the hospital. She just lay in her own bedroom every day. Her eyes were swollen, and her voice was hoarse and broken. The living room of the Zhou family suddenly became deserted.
One night, He Xian was awakened by a commotion.
He had never heard Zhou Qin cry so hysterically before.
“Let me die! Let me die! He’s not a human being… How did our family treat him in the past… and this is how he treats me! Let me die!” she cried out.
He ran down from his room and saw Zhou Qin lying on the sofa, completely soaked. She was barefoot, with her long hair scattered around her. She looked like she had been pulled out of the water.
Grandmother wrapped Zhou Qin in a blanket and held her, crying incessantly. Grandfather was sitting on the side, covering his face and also crying.
No one had expected He Xian to appear. Zhou Qin’s crying suddenly stopped when she locked eyes with He Xian for a few seconds. Suddenly, she jumped up and stumbled over to him, embracing him like a water ghost revived from the bottom of the lake.
“Tiantian! Tiantian!” she cried out his nickname, her voice raspy.
That was the end of his summer vacation. After he entered fifth grade, Zhou Qin and his father, He Dong, got divorced. He Dong went to Beijing while Zhou Qin was still working in Shanghai. She firmly refused to have He Xian live with her and insisted that He Dong take him to Beijing.
A few years later, his grandpa and grandma passed away, one after the other. And both times they went back to J City, the funerals were held in a hurry. Gradually, his memories of J City became hazy. When Ding Shengguang suddenly mentioned it, he felt nothing for a moment.
“Oh,” he said matter-of-factly, “there should be quite a few people from J City who come here to work.”
Ding Shengguang gave him a glance and said, “We’ve booked a hotel for tonight’s reception. You must come.”
He Xian has never been keen on socializing; he would rather be alone and lazily eat fast food than go out with a bunch of people to drink and sing.
“You can just go,” he casually brushed off Ding Shengguang.
Ding Shengguang laughed, “Comrade Xiao He, do you really think I’m the one they want to invite? I’m just here to accompany the crown prince to enjoy. If you don’t come, what’s the point of us all flattering each other?”
“It’s good to maintain a certain level of mystery, but rejecting people outright is not right…” He was very diligent and earnestly tried to persuade He Xian.
He Xian stared at him, and Ding Shengguang stopped abruptly.
But surprisingly, He Xian said, “I’ll go.”
When they arrived at the hotel, Ding Shengguang was initially happy. He Xian drank generously and didn’t disrespect anyone. He smiled throughout the whole event and seemed to be in a good mood. He was also so handsome that even the servers bringing out the dishes couldn’t help but take a few more glances. Everyone felt honored to have him there.
Towards the end, Ding Shengguang gradually felt something was off – He Xian was completely indiscriminate in his drinking, accepting and drinking every single toast. As they progressed, he even started chugging half a catty of baijiu in one go.
No matter how good his alcohol tolerance was, this was not a proper way of drinking. Ding Shengguang tried to shield him from some of the more rowdy guests. By the end of the night, the table was in complete disarray from all the drinking.
Ding Shengguang got him a room and carried him over to rest.
“Were you drinking just to drown your sorrows? I know you’re not happy, but you don’t have to do this, right? What if something happens to you? Your mom will kill me, won’t she? I can’t afford to offend both Lao Zhou and Lao He. Spare me, will you?” Ding Shengguang grumbled to He Xian; he also drank quite a bit.
Although He Xian was also drunk, he wasn’t like Ding Shengguang; he didn’t become talkative when drunk. His alcohol tolerance was good. Even if he overconsumed alcohol, he wouldn’t cry, make a scene, or blabber. He just became depressed and listless.
Ding Shengguang settled He Xian down and then went out to make a phone call. He called his number one local girlfriend and asked her to come and take him to spend the night.
Meanwhile, He Xian lay in bed for half an hour before abruptly getting up and rushing into the bathroom, vomiting hard for quite some time.
Once done, He Xian felt much soberer and directly left the hotel.
He hailed a taxi and wandered around the city for a while before heading toward the construction site.
The construction site was still active at night. He just stood quietly on the bridge, letting him see the blaring lights on the site. At this time of night, everything was quiet except for the lights and the sounds of work, as if the entire universe had shrunk down to just this one stage.
Staring at the dark and quiet river below the bridge, He Xian was mesmerized. He leaned over the railing, watching for what seemed like an eternity. He lifted his leg and, unexpectedly, effortlessly swung it over the railing to straddle it.
As soon as he tried to swing his other leg over the railing, someone grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Director He!” The voice was husky and panicking. With his arm captured, He Xian was pulled back from the railing. The sudden force caused both of them to tumble to the ground.
The person knelt beside him. Still trembling with fear, they stuttered, “Director He, are you okay?”
He Xian lay on the ground and burst out laughing. He finally realized that he had drunk too much.
“It’s alright…I’m drunk…”
It had been a long time since he had laughed until tears streamed down his face. He slowly sat up and only then did he see the person who had pulled him down.
The person wasn’t wearing a safety helmet this time. With tears on their youthful face, it was unclear if it was because they were frightened.
“It’s you, the child laborer…” He Xian couldn’t remember his name for a moment.
Lin Sitao didn’t correct him. Instead, he whispered, “Let me take you back, Director He.”
