CEFYMA: Chapter 96

The seasons in Huajiang City changed quickly. The golden leaves were still falling the day before, but after a night of heavy snow, the streets were filled with bare dead trees and a cold wind blew in people’s faces.

The glass walls of the JL Building towering in the city center reflected a straight blue and white skyline in the distance. Winter fog shrouded the whole city, and the crisp morning wind was biting. You Mian still came early as before.

The warehouse door closed tightly with the sound of the remote control. At the same time, the cold air outside the warehouse was completely blocked.

The young man took off his gloves and heavy cotton gloves before walking to the seven meter cross iron frame that had been initially constructed. He skillfully and neatly opened the cloth of tools and immediately devoted himself to his daily sculpture work.

You Mian had never been a person who worked behind closed doors. On the day he confirmed that he had entered the finals of the Star Cup, he thoroughly read the information of the other two contestants who would compete with him for the gold medal.

Lai Zhikuan from the costume design group and Fang Xuenan from the oil painting group… they were both strong opponents with outstanding abilities.

You Mian never stood still in a complacent manner. He kept moving forward.

He never felt that the probability of winning was always 100%. Confidence was a good thing, but complacency was digging his own grave.

You Mian stayed up late last night and looked at all the previous works of Lai Zhikuan and Fang Xuenan.

After getting to know the creative styles of the two finalists, You Mian started to guess how they would interpret the theme of ‘rebirth.’

The advantage of the sculpture group lay in its unparalleled three-dimensional viewing ability.

This was a competitive advantage that the oil painting group and costume design group couldn’t compete with him in silhouette and shape.

What You Mian needed to do was exaggerate these advantages in the confrontational competition until it was magnified to the extreme.

The giant steel bar standing in front of him was covered with clay.

You Mian climbed onto the elevated structure, rolled up his sleeves, took the plastic bucket, and started to shape it.

Not long ago, he received more detailed competition rules from the organizers of the Star Cup.

The sculpture group’s extensive preparation work was different from the other two groups, so he could shape the work to two-thirds completion before the official competition. Then everyone had to complete the final product within the two and a half time limit on competition day.

You Mian stared intently at the plastic table in front of him, devoting himself wholeheartedly to his creation.

He only came to his senses when he was woken up by the alarm clock placed on the table.

You Mian turned sideways, looked down at the source of the sound, and hissed in annoyance. There was still a bit left unfinished…

The alarm clock specially bought by Pei Huaiji and placed in the sculpture room would ring at noon and 5 p.m. every day.

You Mian didn’t know where Pei Huaiji bought this strangely constructed alarm clock. In any case, he couldn’t find the button to change the alarm time.

It didn’t work even when he took it apart.

You Mian stood on the elevated platform, the alarm clock still ringing in his ears.

He turned his head to look at the sculpture and then the jingling alarm clock. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally slowly walked down the elevated platform. He took off his disposable gloves that were stained with clay and threw them into the trash can.

Countless friend requests lit up the screen of his phone in the backpack. If You Mian hadn’t turned his phone onto silent mode then he would’ve probably been annoyed all morning.

You Mian frowned and glanced at the notifications, only to find that they were all from Huo Yanzhi and Yan Tingxuan.

These two people seemed to be in an annoying competition. They started sending friend requests one after another since around 9 o’clock in the morning. The names of two different applicants alternated one by one, causing You Mian to click his tongue in annoyance.

You Mian didn’t know what Huo Yanzhi and Yan Tingxuan were doing, but he knew that his phone wouldn’t even be able to turn on the message notification sound if the two of them continued to ‘compete’ like this.

So after hesitating for a few seconds, You Mian approved the two people’s friend requests. Then he quickly added the two people to the blacklist without the other party even noticing.

You Mian finally relaxed his brow when seeing that the chat list had become clear again.

Just as You Mian finished his series of actions, someone rang the bell outside the warehouse door. It was exactly three times like a reminder.

You Mian walked out of the sculpture room wrapped in a scarf and woolen hat. The cold air made him shiver instantly.

It had been more than a week since he came to this warehouse sculpture room. The chairman of JL, who usually had a lot of things to do, came to him every day like an alarm clock to ask him to go to eat for more than a week.

You Mian shrugged helplessly. The edge of his white woolen hat fell lightly over his eyebrows, making the young man’s amber eyes a bit rounder. His usually cold white skin looked a bit warm and cute in winter.

You Mian said calmly, “I’m almost finished with the morning’s work.”

The young man’s voice wasn’t loud. He seemed to be complaining in a low voice about this type of ‘care’ that made him eat when the time came.

Pei Huaiji was wearing a high-end suit, a long gray-brown velvet jacket, and a gray scarf of the same color hanging around his neck. There was only one word to describe this look: expensive.

Pei Huaiji raised an eyebrow and said with strong evidence, “Scientific research shows that lunch must be eaten on time.”

You Mian pursed his lips and didn’t refute it.

“In addition, what if I said that I brought you some news you want to know?” Pei Huaiji asked.

You Mian, who was following behind Pei Huaiji, was stunned when he heard the words. Then he realized that the direction Pei Huaiji was leading him in wasn’t the usual JL cafeteria.

“Where are we going?” You Mian asked after getting into the back seat of the car.

Pei Huaiji raised an eyebrow casually. “Yupin Building.”

You Mian remembered something when he heard these words.

He had checked the Anxin Welfare Home mentioned in the novel before. It seemed that there was such a hotel near the city where the welfare home was located.

Pei Huaiji saw You Mian’s thoughtful eyes and took the initiative to explain, “It is the one you want.”

You Mian blinked, and his hands on his knees couldn’t help clenching. “Did Chairman Pei find something else?”

A few weeks had passed since the two of them talked about You Mian’s biological parents. You Mian was mentally prepared, but he hadn’t expected to see the results so soon.

Before You Mian could become nervous, Pei Huaiji said in a deep voice, “I just found something different from what we thought was the truth.”

Pei Huaiji was tactfully reminding You Mian not to have too much hope for the time being.

If it was any other matter, Pei Huaiji would definitely tell You Mian after finding out the specific name. However, this matter was different from anything else.

Pei Huaiji felt that You Mian needed to know immediately. Even if the information didn’t touch upon the truth, he felt that he should tell You Mian.

You Mian’s eyes curved as he smiled. “I know.”

The scenery along the way gradually changed from a bustling city to a remote suburb.

Even though the name ‘Yupin Building’ was very grand, it wasn’t until they stopped at the door of the hotel that they realized the restaurant with such a name was actually a small, home-style restaurant.

The driver, Xiao Li, held the steering wheel and scratched his head. “Chairman Pei, do you need to find another place?”

Pei Huaiji glanced sideways at You Mian. He saw the young man looking at the surroundings curiously and calmly replied, “No need to change. Just stay here.”

Pei Huaiji and You Mian got out of the car one after another. You Mian stood next to the sewer manhole cover. There were many people commuting to and getting off work on bicycles. The narrow streets were full of people and looked lively.

There was steam coming from the windows of the Yupin Building. You Mian could hear the proprietress’ shouts coming from inside.

“Table 2! Stir-fried tripe!”

Pei Huaiji made a gesture to Xiao Li and the driver immediately drove away first.

You Mian raised his head and smiled at Pei Huaiji. “Is Chairman Pei used to eating in such places?”

Pei Huaiji raised his eyes and stepped on the dusty dirt street with his expensive high-end leather shoes.

Pei Huaiji’s indifferent expression reminded You Mian of the first time the other person went to his classroom.

At that time, under the moonlight, Pei Huaiji stepped into the sculpture classroom covered with clay and plaster without any scruples.

Pei Huaiji lowered his eyes, stared directly at You Mian, and smiled. It was as if he was trying to comfort the other person’s overly nervous mood.

Pei Huaiji said, “It sounds like there are a lot of choices on the menu. Maybe when you were very young, younger than four or five years old, someone carried you here.”

You Mian narrowed his eyes helplessly. “It was more than ten years ago. It isn’t necessarily the case.”

The moment You Mian finished speaking, the proprietress of the Yupin Building shouted while holding the dishes, “Why is it impossible? This store might be small but it has been open for more than 20 years!”

In the midst of the noise of the crowd, the voice of the proprietress was very piercing.

The honest, middle-aged woman in a pink apron stuck her head out the window, smiled extremely kindly, and asked, “Are the two of you coming here to eat?”

You Mian glanced sideways at Pei Huaiji, as if to confirm if the other person really wanted to eat here.

Seeing Pei Huaiji nod, You Mian turned his head, smiled at the proprietress, and replied, “Yes, we are coming to eat.”

The proprietress’ eyes fell on You Mian for a few seconds. She frowned and hissed several times. “This little brother…”

Just as You Mian’s heart rose to his throat, he heard the other person laugh and say, “Your eyes look like a mixed-race child.”

You Mian followed Pei Huaiji into the restaurant while silently thinking that this might be the case.

The small store that sounded bustling from the outside only had four tables filled. It seemed that it was just the proprietress who kept the atmosphere lively.

You Mian and Pei Huaiji chose a seat near the air conditioner and sat down. The proprietress handed over the menu at the right time. “What do you want to eat?”

No matter whether it was Pei Huaiji or You Mian, they both looked rich and noble. This made the proprietress very confused. How could such people come here to eat? It was really strange.

Before she could continue thinking, Pei Huaiji’s next question made her even more curious.

“Does the boss know if there is a welfare home called Anxin around here?”

There weren’t many people in the store. A few people were sitting and eating while looking up at the TV hanging next to the door. They didn’t pay attention to the situation on Pei Huaiji and You Mian’s side.

The proprietress wasn’t sure what the two of them wanted, so she didn’t answer immediately.

Seeing this, You Mian lowered his eyes and glanced at the menu. He tapped his finger and said, “I’ll order fried rice with duck intestines.”

You Mian smiled after ordering. the way his eyebrows arched instantly dissipated a lot of the hesitation that the proprietress had just felt.

Pei Huaiji said calmly, “I’ll have the wontons.”

After the man finished speaking, he handed the menu back to the proprietress and said casually, “This place has changed so much.”

You Mian immediately understood and cooperated with Pei Huaiji. He raised his head to look at the proprietress and said with a casual smile, “I’m just asking casually. I lived here for a while many years ago. Now that I have come back, I have found that many places have been rebuilt and I don’t know them.”

The moment You Mian said this, the proprietress immediately smiled in surprise. “Really?”

“Has it reached the point where you don’t even recognize it?”

The proprietress put away her wariness and thought about it. “The Anxin Welfare Home you mentioned is still there, and there are still a lot of children.”

You Mian asked, “Is there no one to adopt so many children?”

The proprietress snorted. “If there is no illness or disaster these days, who would throw away their children? Every one of them has something wrong with them.”

“Besides, our place is remote. The name Anxin Welfare Home sounds nice but it is actually an orphanage.”

Welfare homes and orphanages weren’t only different in terms of whether they sounded nice or not. More importantly, they belonged to different families. One belonged to the state, and the other belonged to private individuals.

You Mian and Pei Huaiji looked at each other.

Pei Huaiji frowned and asked, “Since it is an orphanage, these children can’t even get their household registration, right?”

The staff in the kitchen shouted to serve the food. The proprietress hurriedly said, “With government subsidies these years, the children’s household registrations could be registered at the police station. However, the earlier batch couldn’t be registered at all!”

The proprietress turned around and walked to the back kitchen to get busy.

You Mian frowned. After a few seconds, she raised her head and said to Pei Huaiji, “It is impossible not to have a household registration. In that case, children who haven’t been adopted wouldn’t even be able to go to kindergarten.’

Pei Huaiji tapped his fingers on the table. He thought for a while before saying, “This type of orphanage institution that has no way of getting a household registration will use the method of registering the name of a caring sponsor when it was chaotic a long time ago.”

“Caring sponsor?” You Mian asked.

Pei Huaiji nodded solemnly. “Most of them are acquaintances with the director of the orphanage. As long as you know that the Anxin Welfare Home previously had no registration qualifications, it will be easy to check.”

The two of them finished a simple meal and just walked out of the Yupin Building when they heard a burst of small screams coming from behind them.

You Mian was wearing a white plush hat. He turned around and saw a few high school girls carrying school bags in the corner. They became even more excited when they saw You Mian turning around.

“You Mian! It is really You Mian!”

“So handsome and so tall.”

The high school students were frank and cute. They stared at Pei Huaiji, who was standing next to You Mian, and immediately shouted excitedly at the top of their voices. “Ahhh, Chairman Pei!”

“Are the two of you holding hands? Are you together? Are you dating?”

“We promise not to tell anyone!”

You Mian raised his hand at a loss and tugged on his woolen hat. He silently thought to himself, ‘Director Hong, this is none of my business.’