Assistant Architect

Chapter 154: Discovery

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

The day when everyone paired up and Tao Fei picked him was shocking to Lu Qiao. Even though it was just a game and nothing was meant by it, everyone knew Tao Fei was very popular among the female staff at the company, so why didn’t he pick one of them? And besides, he and Tao Fei weren’t on good terms like Gu Yu was with Zhang Siyi. What reason did he have to pick himself? Does that mean Tao Fei is gay?

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

He hated people who thought they were above him. It wasn’t until this moment when Tao Fei asked him to help with his suitcase that he called out his name.

Although there was no expression on his face, Lu Qiao extended a helping hand without complaint. He didn’t understand why, as if he had the honor of helping a great beauty, he felt the excitement in his heart. Anyway, at least Tao Fei isn’t ignoring him now.

During the process of boarding and taking a seat on the airplane, Lu Qiao looked all around him in a very animated fashion. When Tao Fei saw him exploring every possible nook and cranny like a child, he couldn’t help but ask: “Do you want to sit at the window seat?”

Lu Qiao happily replied: “Yes, can we switch?”

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

After the plane took off, Lu Qiao continued to marvel at his surroundings. He frequently took out his phone to take pictures.

Tao Fei laughed: “What are you? A country-bumpkin on his first plane ride?”

Lu Qiao: “......”

As someone that is from the country side, Lu Qiao’s self-esteem was very strong. Even though Tao Fei wasn’t wrong, he still felt angry at his remark. He felt like Tao Fei was looking down on him.

Seeing the change in Lu Qiao face, Tao Fei opened his eyes in surprise: “Really? This is the first time on an airplane?”

Irritated, Lu Qiao snapped: “Yes! I’m a redneck that hasn’t ever been on a plane before!”

Tao Fei didn’t think it was possible: “How long have you worked in the company? Haven’t you ever been on a business trip?”

Since he was never involved with the main feature of a project that he was assigned to work on, Lu Qiao didn’t know if his luck was poor, or he simply didn’t have the ability to work on high-profile plans. Since Lu Qiao wasn’t very good at communicating his thoughts clearly and since he didn’t like to travel, he had indicated thus to Gu Yu. As a result, Gu Yu rarely gave him the opportunity to go on business trips.

Lu Qiao frowned. “One and a half years.”

Tao Fei asked again: “Where is your hometown?”

Losing patience, 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 few minutes ago, Lu Qiao thought Tai Fei was a good person, but now, he wanted to kick him!

He took a deep 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 of my family died in the quake and the remaining members moved into the city.”

Tao Fei was silent for a moment: “Oh...”

Although Lu Qiao thought the more common reply was ‘sorry,’ he thought his explanation was enough to end their conversation. Unexpectedly, Tao Fei continued bombarding him with questions: “Haicheng is far from Mianyang. Why don’t you fly home during the holidays?”

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

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

Without enthusiasm, Lu Qiao said: “I take the train!”

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

Lu Qiao snarled: “Thirty hours!”

Feeling perplexed, Tao Fei continued to drill him: “That’s too long! Why not take a plane?”

Lu Qiao was about 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 we get there.”

Lu Qiao: “%¥#......” Ah, fuck!

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

While recalling his two decades of life experiences, Lu Qiao tapped the window feeling his self-esteem evaporate. From his youthful days living in the countryside, to family disaster and then moving to a city, and then moving to an even bigger city for a job, he felt like his life was full of suffering.

It wasn’t until now that he could sit down with his colleagues for a cup of coffee feeling 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, sweat and tears amounted to nothing. He was only a country-bumpkin. Why was the world so unfair?

Some people were born rich, like Zhang Siyi. With excellent resources and environment, they experienced a lifetime of success and ease. In contrast, others were born with nothing but shackles to weigh them down on a road of hardships for a lifetime.

was he envious? Yes, he was! Not only is he envious, but he is also very jealous! Even though these thoughts pervade his heart and mind, he wasn’t a wicked person to act on them.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Lu Qiao buried his self-pity and withdrew his negative thoughts.

Even though everyone 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 Qiao felt left-out.

Sitting behind Lu Qiao, Gu Yu and Zhang Siyi were also talking quietly. Sometimes, bouts of laughter issued forth. Lu Qiao felt strange at hearing Gu Yu’s laughter for the first time; so gentle and sweet.

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

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

His heart jerked and goose bumps rose. Lu Qiao quickly withdrew his site and sat back in his seat. He had always thought there was something a little strange between them, but he couldn’t say what it was exactly. Maybe, the Boss’s attitude towards 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?