Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 154: Discovery

________________________

Even thoughLu Qiao admired Tai Fei, he was also a little afraid of him. He was the onlyperson Lu Qiao knows that would dare argue and slam the door in front of hisboss! After the incident at work, Lu Qiao labeled Tao Fei as a troublemaker andas a result, he maintained a respectable attitude and distance towards him.

The daywhen everyone paired up and Tao Fei picked him was shocking to Lu Qiao. Eventhough it was just a game and nothing was meant by it, everyone knew Tao Fei wasvery popular among the female staff at the company, so why didn't he pick one ofthem? And besides, he and Tao Fei weren't on good terms like Gu Yu was withZhang Siyi. What reason did he have to pick himself? Does that mean Tao Fei isgay?

In order toconfirm his suspicion, for two days, Lu Qiao observed Tao Fei closely andcarefully. On one hand, Lu Qiao was relieved to find no special treatment from TaoFei and in fact, like the air you cannot see, he treated Lu Qiao as though hewasn't present. On the other hand, he also felt lost and depressed at being sodisregarded.

He hatedpeople who thought they were above him. It wasn't until this moment when TaoFei asked him to help with his suitcase that he called out his name.

Althoughthere was no expression on his face, Lu Qiao extended a helping hand withoutcomplaint. He didn't understand why, as if he had the honor of helping a greatbeauty, he felt the excitement in his heart. Anyway, at least Tao Fei isn'tignoring him now.

During theprocess of boarding and taking a seat on the airplane, Lu Qiao looked allaround him in a very animated fashion. When Tao Fei saw him exploring everypossible nook and cranny like a child, he couldn't help but ask: "Do you wantto sit at the window seat?"

Lu Qiaohappily replied: “Yes, can we switch?”

Tao Feitook the initiative to stand up and change seats with him. Lu Qiao looked atTao Fei with adoration and sighed in his heart. The beauty is a good person.

After theplane took off, Lu Qiao continued to marvel at his surroundings. He frequentlytook out his phone to take pictures.

Tao Feilaughed: "What are you? A country-bumpkin on his first plane ride?"

Lu Qiao:“……”

As someonethat is from the country side, Lu Qiao's self-esteem was very strong. Eventhough Tao Fei wasn't wrong, he still felt angry at his remark. He felt like TaoFei was looking down on him.

Seeing thechange in Lu Qiao face, Tao Fei opened his eyes in surprise: "Really? This is thefirst time on an airplane?”

Irritated, LuQiao snapped: “Yes! I'm a redneck that hasn't ever been on a plane before!"

Tao Fei didn'tthink it was possible: "How long have you worked in the company? Haven't youever been on a business trip?"

Since hewas never involved with the main feature of a project that he was assigned towork on, Lu Qiao didn't know if his luck was poor, or he simply didn't have theability to work on high-profile plans. Since Lu Qiao wasn't very good atcommunicating his thoughts clearly and since he didn't like to travel, he hadindicated thus to Gu Yu. As a result, Gu Yu rarely gave him the opportunity togo on business trips.

Lu Qiaofrowned. “One and a half years.”

Tao Feiasked again: “Where is your hometown?”

Losingpatience, Lu Qiao frowned deeper and replied: "Mianyang, Sichuan.”

Tao Fei:“Mianyang isn't such a small town that you can call yourself a redneck.Don't be stupid."

Fuck! A fewminutes ago, Lu Qiao thought Tai Fei was a good person, but now, he wanted tokick him!

He took adeep breath and explained: “My hometown is not in the city, but in Pingwu county.In 2008 there was an earthquake in Sichuan and our hometown collapsed. Some ofmy family died in the quake and the remaining members moved into the city."

Tao Fei wassilent for a moment: “Oh…”

Although LuQiao thought the more common reply was 'sorry,' he thought his explanation wasenough to end their conversation. Unexpectedly, Tao Fei continued bombardinghim with questions: “Haicheng is far from Mianyang. Why don't you fly homeduring the holidays?"

Lu Qiao:“……” -Why didn't he know beforehand that Tao Fei can be so annoying!?Can he change partners!?

Watching LuQiao with his head slightly skewed, Tao Fei blinked with his beautiful long eyelashesas if to urge Lu Qiao to answer his questions.

Withoutenthusiasm, Lu Qiao said: “I take the train!"

Tao Fei:“How long does it take to go by train?”

Lu Qiaosnarled: “Thirty hours!”

Feelingperplexed, Tao Fei continued to drill him: "That's too long! Why not take aplane?"

Lu Qiao wasabout to explode: “Because the train ticket is cheap!!! “

Having asked enough, Tao Fei nodded and said: "Oh."He took out his blindfold and put it on: I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when weget there."

Lu Qiao:“%¥#……” Ah, fuck!

After that,Lu Qiao looked out of the window at the clear expanse of blue sky and fluffyclouds below feeling depressed. His soaring mood and excitement for being on aplane for the first time was completely ruined.

Whilerecalling his two decades of life experiences, Lu Qiao tapped the windowfeeling his self-esteem evaporate. From his youthful days living in thecountryside, to family disaster and then moving to a city, and then moving toan even bigger city for a job, he felt like his life was full of suffering.

It wasn'tuntil now that he could sit down with his colleagues for a cup of coffeefeeling like his life was much better than it had been in the past. However,with Tao Fei's few careless remarks, Lu Qiao felt like all of his blood, sweatand tears amounted to nothing. He was only a country-bumpkin. Why was the worldso unfair?

Some peoplewere born rich, like Zhang Siyi. With excellent resources and environment, theyexperienced a lifetime of success and ease. In contrast, others were born withnothing but shackles to weigh them down on a road of hardships for a lifetime.

was heenvious? Yes, he was! Not only is he envious, but he is also very jealous! Eventhough these thoughts pervade his heart and mind, he wasn't a wicked person toact on them.

Taking adeep breath to steady himself, Lu Qiao buried his self-pity and withdrew hisnegative thoughts.

Even thougheveryone was talking quietly, with almost thirty people from the same company,the volume in the cabin was a louder. Even so, Tao Fei fell asleep and Lu Qiaofelt left-out.

Sittingbehind Lu Qiao, Gu Yu and Zhang Siyi were also talking quietly. Sometimes, boutsof laughter issued forth. Lu Qiao felt strange at hearing Gu Yu's laughter forthe first time; so gentle and sweet.

Quietly, LuQiao peeked through the gap between the seat and the wall of the plane. He saw GuYu and Zhang Siyi very close together looking through a travel magazine. Gu Yu heldthe book while Zhang Siyi leaned over, practically onto Gu Yu's shoulder.

Not hearingwhat was said, he only witnessed Gu Yu turn to look at Zhang Siyi with an indescribabletenderness written all over his facial features while Zhang Siyi grinned foolishly.

His heartjerked and goose bumps rose. Lu Qiao quickly withdrew his site and sat back inhis seat. He had always thought there was something a little strange betweenthem, but he couldn’t say what it was exactly. Maybe, the Boss's attitudetowards Zhang Siyi was more special?

Yes. At least, Gu Yu would never have smiled at him like that. It was too nauseating. When Lu Qiao calmed down, he started feeling as though he had taken the wrong medicine. His thoughts jumped to the wrong conclusion because of his previous feelings of anger. Clearly, they didn't do anything wrong, so why did their expressions make such a huge impact on Lu Qiao?

______________________________