Chapter 12: 12

On this day, Su Qiong pushed a small cart at a construction site. He carried some vegetables on his way home, face covered in dirt.

(T/N: 灰头土脸 can also mean dejected or depressed, but I think it’s literal in this case)

Although the work was difficult, he earned enough money for a few days’ worth of food, and he could pay his late utility bills after another two days of work. 

Su Qiong thought about this as he washed vegetables by the sink, beaming with joy. 

It’s too bad he couldn’t work longer. The Poor God had been at the construction site for a while, and the project might end up unfinished. 

(T/N: as noted by the previous translator, this could mean God of Poverty, but I’m sticking with Poor God)

Inside the sink, there was a newly-purchased washbasin. Once the water from washing the vegetables filled up, he poured it into a larger basin in the bathroom for use flushing the toilet and mopping the floor. 

After doing this twice, the vegetables were all washed. 

Su Qiong made stir-fried cabbage and served it on a small plate, balancing some steamed buns along its edge, then sat on the bed with the “plate” in hand to eat. 

After eating for a while, the pitiful little Su Qiong thought of last night’s roast duck. 

So fragrant… Su Qiong recalled, licking his lips. He pulled out a tattered, ragged book from beneath his pillow. 

“666 Home-Cooking Recipes Using Pork, Beef, and Mutton”

Su Qiong opened the book and placed it on his knee, leafing through it. He stared at the large servings of meat on each page, eating his stir-fried cabbage and swallowing a dry steamed bun. 

At this point, someone knocked on the door. 

Su Qiong set his half-eaten food and book down on the bed and walked to the door: “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Lin Fu said, coughing lightly. 

Su Qiong opened the door, gazing at him in confusion, as if he was asking “why are you here again?”

Lin Fu held up two bags, revealing a gentle smile: “I’m here to bring you something.”

“Oh…please, come in,” Su Qiong moved aside to let in Lin Fu. 

Lin Fu came into the room, placing the bags on the stool missing a leg with the utmost care. Then, he took out a white, rectangular box from one of the bags, opening it and giving it to Su Qiong. 

Inside was a silvery-white iPhone. 

Su Qiong’s eyes widened and he gasped in surprise: “Aiya…”

Lin Fu calmly explained: “You don’t have a phone, so it was inconvenient to stay in touch.”

Su Qiong looked at the phone in distress, lowered his head to fiddle with his slender fingers: “But…this phone costs thousands. Something this expensive, I’m afraid I’ll break it.”

“Impossible, it was just purchased today.” Lin Fu took the phone out of the box, turned it on, entered his own phone number, and passed it to Su Qiong. “There’s a sim card inside, so you can start using it now.”

Su Qiong was still hesitating: “But…”

Lin Fu wrinkled his brow, feigning offense: “If you don’t use it, I’ll be unhappy.”

“Don’t be unhappy, I’ll give it a try.” Su Qiong clutched the phone very carefully, the look in his eyes both anxious and joyful. 

Lin Fu’s phone rang, and he answered the call from Su Qiong’s new phone: “Hello?”

Su Qiong simultaneously heard Lin Fu’s composed voice from the phone’s speaker and from in front of him, hesitated a bit, and answered choppily: “Hello…?”

It was like he had never made a phone call in his entire life. 

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“See, everything is fine,” Lin Fu said, the corners of his mouth raised in a confident smile. 

 Just as these words left his mouth, the phone in Su Qiong’s hand suddenly went blank. 

Lin Fu’s confident smile froze: “…”

“Ah!” Su Qiong tapped all over the phone nervously and said with the faintest glimmer of hope: “What happened? Is it out of battery?”

Lin Fu looked pained: “…it was fully charged.”

The phone gave a few more death throws, flickering a few times, before going completely black. 

Lin Fu plucked the phone out of Su Qiong’s hand and tried to turn it on, but there wasn’t any response. 

“Sorry…” Su Qiong hung his head listlessly as if he had committed a wrong, “I broke something again.”

Even if Lin Fu wasn’t convinced before, there was no way to avoid believing in Su Qiong’s abysmal luck now. 

“I’m not blaming you,” Lin Fu tossed the broken phone back into its box, let out a heavy, worried breath, pondered for a moment, then asked: “Valuable things break at a touch. Then, what about something inexpensive?”

Su Qiong shook his head: “Inexpensive things don’t tend to break. But, to me, all phones are very expensive.”

“I have an idea.” Lin Fu’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly picked up and shook another bag of take-out, and said with incomparable ease: “We’ll talk again tomorrow. First, eat with me.”

“Actually, I was eating…” Su Qiong gestured to the stir-fried cabbage, half-eaten steamed bun, and cookbook on his bed.

Lin Fu glanced in the direction of the bed and instantly understood. 

“Why did you make a special trip to come eat with me?” Su Qiong asked timidly. 

Lin Fu didn’t answer, and he instead turned around and took a few deep breaths without facing Su Qiong. 

Su Qiong lightly touched his back: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lin Fu turned back around calmly. 

“Your eyes are a little red,” Su Qiong said anxiously. 

“I’m hungry,” Lin Fu said concisely. 

Su Qiong: “…”

Lin Fu carried the bag of take-out and strode to the front of Su Qiong’s bed. He took the savory-smelling food out of the bag, placed a layer of napkins over the bed, and said in a low voice: “So, you won’t eat with me?”

“Ah, okay,” Su Qiong responded in a daze.

“Eat,” Lin Fu placed several chopsticks’ worth of meat on Su Qiong’s plate.

Su Qiong happily started eating, smiling as he ate. If he’d had a tail right now, it would’ve been wagging nonstop. 

Lin Fu wordlessly and unceasingly piled more and more meat onto Su Qiong’s dinner plate. 

Tomorrow, no matter what, I must get him a table, Lin Fu thought bitterly.

__________________

The author has something to say:

It hurts my heart to write this…_(:з」∠)_

Lin Fu won’t be poor, no worries~~

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