The Heart of a Smith

On the day Li Sui was discharged from the hospital, he didn't see Lu Shang. Uncle Yuan told him that Boss Lu was not in good health and he was resting in a nursing home.

Li Sui didn't know exactly how bad this "not so good" was, he just thought it might be a cold or a fever, so when he arrived at the nursing home and saw Lu Shang coming out in a wheelchair, he still couldn't help it. Hiding the surprise on his face.

"Boss Lu." He lowered his head and called out.

Lu Shang didn't say much, and glanced at him: "Don't hunch your back."

Li Sui immediately stood up straight, placing his hands neatly by his side.

This child is only thin, not short in stature. He is in the transitional period between a teenager and an adult, and he can vaguely see the shoulder shape of a mature man. Before, Lu Shang was curled up in a small ball as if he were a child, but now he is standing upright. Looking at it, it seems to be a bit taller than him.

Lu Shang looked away, handed him a document on his lap, and said, "Ask me if you don't understand."

When the two of them were talking, Uncle Yuan had already gone out, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Lu Shang leaned on the back of the chair, with his head half propped up, staring at the distant lake water in a trance. He was usually serious and didn't even move much. He sat down like an old oil painting at dusk.Everything around seemed to be infected by him, even the birds outside the house stopped singing, and the room was so quiet for a moment that only the sound of flipping through papers could be heard.

Li Sui struggled through the pages, picked up a pen and signed his new name on the last page.

Lu Shang turned his head: "Understand everything?"

Li Sui shook his head: "I don't understand most of them."

Lu Shang thought this kid was really interesting, and asked, "Then what are you signing for?"

Li Sui raised his head, his eyes were clear, he didn't say anything, but Lu Shang understood what he meant from his eyes.

"You are not a product I bought. From here, you have the right to refuse," Lu Shang said calmly, "I don't like to force people to do anything. Everything I give you has a purpose, because of this purpose, You will pay a huge price in the future, before that, I will try my best to compensate you, but I hope you will be willing at that time."

It was the first time for Li Sui to hear such a long sentence from Lu Shang, and he couldn't understand for a while, so he lowered his head to look at the document in his hand, and the full text of Party A and Party B made him almost dizzy again.

Lu Shang knew that he might have made a mistake. He has been in business for many years, and he is used to following the rules for everything, oral contracts, paper contracts, signatures and seals, notarization at the notary office... But for such a child, his set of rules obviously does not apply of.

"Leave it for now." Lu Shang took back the contract, looked at his signature twice, and said, "That's a good word, who taught you?"

"Copied from the ID card."

Lu Shang thought for a while and said, "I will teach you how to read first."

Lunch was eaten by the lake, with freshly caught river prawns and snakeheads, and Li Sui and Lu Shang sat face to face, feeling somewhat restrained.

Lu Shang's ten fingers are very long, his nails are neatly trimmed, he has no tattoos, and he doesn't wear any jewelry. When he stretches out his hands to pick up vegetables, he will slightly reveal a section of his wrist with slightly protruding wrist bones. His movements are casual and elegant.

Li Sui didn't dare to look up, so he could only stare at Lu Shang's hand that stretched out from time to time, and he didn't notice that his bowl was piled up into a hill.

"Not to your liking?" Lu Shang saw that he didn't move his chopsticks much.

Li Sui shook his head.

"There's no need to be so restrained." Lu Shang looked up at him.In just half a month, Li Sui finally recovered a bit compared to the last time I saw him, but he was still thin, and his collarbone could be seen clearly through his collar. Ordinary high school students.

"Do Li Yan and the others often enjoy beating people in bars?" Lu Shang changed the subject.

Li Sui didn't speak, but the silence said everything.

"Li Yan's character has always been despicable, so don't be polite to him next time you see him," Lu Shang said.

Li Sui looked up, doubts in his eyes.

"Let's eat," Lu Shang didn't explain much, got up and left the table, "Come with me to a reception tonight, you prepare."

Uncle Yuan came over after a while, and Li Sui asked him, "Boss Lu's leg...is it alright?"

"There is nothing wrong with his legs, the problem is the lack of blood supply."

"I saw him come out in a wheelchair, I thought..."

Uncle Yuan explained: "He doesn't use a wheelchair very often, it's because he's seriously ill. He's not in good health and can't stand for a long time. You are by his side, help him more."

Li Sui nodded seriously.

In the evening, Li Sui changed his shoes and stared blankly in front of the mirror for a long time.The person in the mirror was wearing a decent dress, brand new shoes, and neatly combed hair... It was the first time he looked at himself so seriously, and he felt strange for a while.

Uncle Yuan knocked on the door, he came back to his senses, folded the changed clothes neatly and put them in the closet, when he lifted his foot downstairs, he felt a dull pain in his ankle.

The leg injury not long ago has not healed, and he has been walking in and out for a day during the day. At this moment, the weight of his whole body is on his feet, which still makes him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Why are you in a daze?" Lu Shang was waiting for him in the car.

It was raining slightly, Li Sui endured the pain, took a step, and opened the passenger's door with a normal expression.

"Sit in the back." Lu Shang said.

Li Sui obediently took the seat next to him. There is little rain in winter and there is always a metallic smell.As the car started to move forward, Lu Shang handed him a tissue.

"You follow me later, you don't need to say anything, if someone comes to strike up a conversation with you, don't bother."

Li Sui let out an "um", and after Lu Shang finished explaining this sentence, he closed his eyes and stopped talking.

The car was passing a weather tower, and the winding neon lights were unpredictable in the rain, like a mysterious poisonous snake, overlooking the land alone. After living for several years, this city is still strange to him.

After getting out of the car, Li Sui lowered his head and followed behind Lu Shang. With scrutinizing or curious eyes, he passed through the crowded lobby and walked into a small hall with more ornate decoration.

A dance party was being held here, before it was time, the crowd gathered together in twos and threes to chat and laugh, as soon as Li Sui stepped into the gate, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"What a beautiful boy," a young girl in a red dress surrounded him first, and handed Lu Shang a glass of red wine, "Long time no see, Lu Shang."

Not many people called Lu Shang directly by name, Li Sui couldn't help but glanced at this woman, unexpectedly bumped into her sight, and immediately turned his head in embarrassment.

Lu Shang took the wine glass and raised it symbolically: "Xinyou, long time no see, I haven't thanked you for what happened last time."

"Who said that, I received a gift from you." Meng Xinyou smiled and stretched out her wrist and shook it. The exquisite bracelet was shining, and her eyes moved to Li Sui, "This is..."

"Well," Lu Shang took the conversation, glanced at the other people in the hall, and raised his glass, "Thank you for taking care of me from now on."

Meng Xinyou was stunned for a while, and many people in the hall stood up and raised their glasses to give way.

"Are you serious?" She lowered her voice.

Li Sui was very sensitive to sight, although he hid behind Lu Shang and didn't look up, he knew that the woman's focus had never left him.

Lu Shang's expression was relaxed, and he answered irrelevant questions: "He is very good."

These words really made people think, Meng Xinyou's face was flushed, and in the gap of daze, two more people came in at the door, exaggerated jokes erupted around, many people whistled, and a wave of discussion quickly set off in the hall.

"The eldest son of the Li family still likes to be high-profile."

"Is the beauty next to him the most popular hostess in Apple TV?"

"..."

Li Sui heard a familiar voice in the crowd, and reflexively turned his back, his ankle, which was already aching, seemed to have stepped into a pile of charcoal fire, it was hot.

Fortunately, Lu Shang didn't intend to continue greeting Meng Xinyou, so he found a relatively quiet place in the corner and sat down.

I don't know if it's because of nervousness or what, but Li Sui's forehead was beaded with fine beads of sweat, and he moved to the front of the sofa, hesitating, when Lu Shang waved to him.

"come over."

As soon as he sat down, Lu Shang stretched out his hand, grabbed his ankle, and kneaded it gently.A man with small eyes sat across from him, staring at the two of them jokingly.

Li Sui half leaned on the sofa, blushing, half from pain, the other half from shame.

"Boss Lu." Li Sui stopped him.

Lu Shang turned his head. In the dim light, his eyes were deep and far away. His eyes looked a little blue, like a mixed race. The next second, the colored light faded away, and the blue shadow disappeared and returned to black again. He was wrong. .

"how?"

Li Sui came back to his senses and forgot what to say for a while.

"Boss Lu... oh, Xiao Li is here too, sorry, didn't you bother the two of you?" It was Li Yan who deliberately chased after him, followed by a hot girl in sexy clothes.

Li Sui's back straightened all of a sudden, this change did not escape Lu Shang's eyes.

"How is it? Boss Lu didn't treat you badly, did he?" Li Yan said condescendingly.

Li Sui lowered his head, firmly remembering Lu Shang's command of "don't pay attention to anyone" before, and Li Yan was naturally included in this "who" silently by him.

"Thank you, as you can see." Lu Shang calmly patted Li Sui's stiff shoulder.

"Clean up, he is really a beautiful boy, Boss Lu has a discerning eye, it seems that I'm reckless." Li Yan smiled and sat down opposite.What he said was quite true, even with a hint of sourness, but this was exactly what Li Sui was afraid of. At this moment, he suddenly became afraid. In case Li Yan repented and asked Lu Shang to send him back, Will the Chamber of Commerce agree?

"Li Sui, toast you Brother Yan." Lu Shang said suddenly.

Li Sui was stunned, and clenched his hands into fists.

"New name?" Li Yan looked at him with a half-smile, which seemed to be contemptuous or a warning.

The wine glass was handed to him, Li Sui took it, and then he heard Lu Shang post it, and said into his ear, "Thank you Brother Yan for your generosity."

He suddenly realized that Lu Shang was helping him out, so he quickly took a deep breath, and imitated, "Thank you Brother Yan for your generosity." Then, before Li Yan could react, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This eviction order... really didn't save anyone face at all, Li Yan smiled awkwardly, stretched out his hand and made a "you cow" gesture, hugged the hot girl next to him and went to the dance floor.

With his body relaxed, Li Sui gradually tasted the taste. What Lu Shang gave him just now was a glass of grape juice.

"Are you afraid of him?"

Li Sui lowered his head in a daze, controlled the trembling between his legs, knowing that Lu Shang was dissatisfied with his performance: "I...I will try my best to overcome it."

Dare to admit being afraid is already a big improvement, in fact, it is very normal, Li Yan is like an animal trainer to him, the reason why the little lion is afraid like a conditioned reflex is nothing more than the training of an animal trainer when he was young. Too many whips can't break through his own psychological shackles, but it's not that he doesn't have the ability to resist the animal trainer.

The two of them sat for a while, and when the dance floor became lively, Lu Shang took Li Sui and swaggered out from the front door.Everyone here knew that he didn't like excitement, so the master didn't hold back too much, and sent two doormen to hold umbrellas for him.

It was already dark, and the light rain outside gradually turned into heavy rain. Uncle Yuan waited outside the door, and when he saw him coming out, he immediately surrounded him: "Shall we go to Secretary Xu's house now?"

Lu Shang opened the door and got into the car, and said softly, "Go home."

Uncle Yuan wanted to say something, but he took a look at Li Sui and swallowed it back.

Li Sui's face was a little pale. Although his endurance was higher than others since he was a child, the limit of his body's endurance was beyond his control. His injured foot began to swell, and it was crowded in the shoes.In the car, he was embarrassed to take off his shoes, so he had to endure it, watching the street scene and counting the seconds along the way, never letting go of his clenched hand.

The Lu family is a small three-storey detached house. Uncle Yuan doesn't live here, and the cook and housekeeper only come here when needed. Most of the time, there is only Lu Shang here.Adding Li Sui, there are now two.

"Ice compress, will you?" Lu Shang took out an ice pack from the refrigerator, wrapped it in a towel and handed it to him.

Li Sui took it obediently, and sat quietly on the sofa to compress his ankle.

"There are painkillers in the drawer. If you can't help it, take it yourself. Don't overdo it." Seeing that he could take care of himself, Lu Shang turned his head and sat down on the dining table in the living room, opened his laptop and started working.

It's not that the Lu family doesn't have a study room, but Lu Shang has always been reluctant to use it. There is a square table in the living room, next to the window, where the sun can be exposed to the sun when the weather is good. He likes to read those boring documents there, as if the words can also have life like.

It's a pity that it's night now, except for a little green light on the lawn, I can't even see a ghost.

He worked so hard and tirelessly that by the time he came to his senses, it was past dinner time.Li Sui still maintained the posture just now, his eyes were empty, and the ice pack in his hand had completely melted into water.

"Are you hungry?" Lu Shang turned off the computer.

Li Sui shook his head, but his stomach grumbled inappropriately.

The mouth was wrong, Lu Shang sighed softly in his heart, called the kitchen to bring two bowls of noodles, pushed them all in front of him, and poured himself a glass of warm rice wine: "If you can't finish eating, put it away, someone will come to collect it. "

"Boss Lu, won't you eat it?" Li Sui's gaze was immediately attracted by the two yellow poached eggs on his face. He is at a growing age, so he naturally eats more. He was used to eating when he was hungry before. It's nothing, during this period of time in the hospital, three meals a day are not regular, which has cultivated his appetite.

Lu Shang shook his head and pinched the center of his eyebrows: "Does your foot still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Lu Shang looked at his "hungry" eating appearance, and knew that he probably couldn't believe the sentence "it doesn't hurt anymore". A tissue: "In the future, you don't have to be so restrained here. If you are hungry, you can tell the kitchen. If you feel unwell, you can go to Dr. Liang. If you need something, you can tell Uncle Yuan. There is only one thing you need to pay attention to—"

Li Sui raised his head from the noodle bowl.

"Stay out of my sight."

From Li Sui's contact, most of the time, Lu Shang gave him the feeling of indifference, as if he was not interested in anything, and didn't care about anything. Feel the tough side.

Li Sui knew that this was Lu Shang's bottom line, a bottom line that could not be touched no matter what.

Probably because the noodle soup was too hot, he sweated a little on his forehead for no reason, and sat upright and said, "I know Boss Lu."

"Eat quickly." Lu Shang wiped the corners of his lips for him, got up and left the seat, and threw a heavy thunder, "Sleep in my room at night."

Li Sui was chopping noodles, when he heard this, he lowered his head and choked.

Lu Shang frowned slightly, as if remembering something, a faint smile appeared on his face: "Do you know what nurturing means?"

Li Sui's complexion changed. He used to see those little stars and tender models who were taken care of in bars before. There were many around Li Yan. No matter how stupid he was, he had stayed in that environment for a long time, and he only knew that What does this relationship mean.

"Just know it." After finishing speaking, Lu Shang calmly went upstairs.

Only Li Sui was left sitting alone in the living room. He carefully recalled Lu Shang's words and deeds during the day, and then gradually came to his senses.

Li Sui didn't know, in the eyes of outsiders, what a person who grew up in a bandit's den looks like, most likely he is humble or lowly, and he definitely won't have a good impression.With Lu Shang's temperament, he shouldn't look down on him like this, but he will never have any thoughts about him.After calming down and thinking about it, in his few words, it seems that there are indeed more teasing tone.

The bedroom door was not closed. When he walked in, Lu Shang was standing in front of the window and talking on the phone in English. He was wearing pajamas, and the thin material showed the outline of his lower back.Hearing the noise, he turned around and pointed to the bathroom, signaling Li Sui to take a shower.

The bathroom was very spacious, and there were folded bathrobes and bath towels by the sink. Li Sui had an injury on his body, so Li Sui didn't use the bathtub, only rinsed his mouth, and then flushed his body with the nozzle, deliberately avoiding the injured ankle.He took a shower very quickly, and when he came out, Lu Shang hadn't finished calling.

The bathrobe was made of unknown material, and it slipped so that his whole body was numb, as if he was not wearing it, and he felt an indescribable sense of shame as soon as he stepped out.

However, Lu Shang was still staring at him, and Li Sui was so embarrassed that he couldn't lift his head.After a while, the other end finally hung up the phone and reached out to him: "Bring me the medicine."

What medicine?Li Sui's mind froze, and he thought he couldn't. He raised his head to meet Shang Lu Shang's gaze, and realized that he had made a mistake.

"Which one?" Li Sui quickly followed his gaze and opened the drawer, only to find that there were more than a dozen kinds of bottles and jars inside.

Lu Shang sat down next to the bed: "Clopidogrel, aspirin."

Li Sui looked bewildered.

Thinking of these complicated drug names, Lu Shang probably didn't recognize them, and pointed out, "The second bottle in the first row and the one with the blue label."

Li Sui frantically turned the medicine bottle out, Lu Shang glanced at him, counted a few pills and swallowed them with cold water: "What were you thinking just now?"

"No...don't think of anything."

"Well," Lu Shang lifted the quilt, "Take off your clothes."

Li Sui: "..."

"Don't want to?"

Li Sui gave him a calm look, did not speak, hesitated for two seconds, and slowly took off the bathrobe.The light in the bedroom shone on this young body, making it look extraordinarily soft.Lu Shang told him to turn around, reached out and touched the overlapping scars on his back, his movements were very gentle: "How did you do it?"

These scars are old and new, some of which Li Sui can't even remember: "The cigarette butts were scalded by the foreman, the cuts were made by wine bottles, and the wrinkled ones were scalded by boiling water."

"Here..." Lu Shang's hand slid to his shoulder blade, where there was an ugly small round hole, "There is a scar."

If Li Sui turned around at this moment, he would see an expression on Lu Shang's face that he had never seen before.

Li Sui recalled it seriously: "I don't remember it when I was young."

Lu Shang lingered near the scar for a while, then patted him on the shoulder: "Well, go to sleep."

There was no ambiguity, not even embarrassment, the atmosphere was so calm that Li Sui couldn't help suspecting that something was wrong with his ears.He obediently retracted into the quilt, watched Lu Shang turn off the lights and lay down, put his arms around his shoulders, brought the belt around him, closed his eyes and just fell asleep like this, without any unnecessary movements.

Living in a complicated growth environment for a long time, Li Sui has developed a highly sensitive sense of danger since childhood.Lu Shang hides his emotions deeper than most people he has met. Although he can't guess what he is thinking in his heart, the message fed back from the depths of his subconscious body is that this man doesn't have that kind of thought for him at all. .Li Sui secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and moved under the quilt, trying to keep his head against the opponent's arm, but kept a considerable distance from his body, neither out of line nor too out of place.

The surroundings became quiet, and there was a very light rain sound outside the house, which was ethereal and unreal.When Li Sui grew up to such an age, it was the first time he slept with someone in the same bed, his whole body was filled with not knowing what to do, as if he couldn't even sleep anymore, fearing to wake up the people around him, he tried his best to resist turning over several times.There was a faint scent of shower gel on Lu Shang's body, which smelled very good, but Li Sui's brain was in a mess under this breath, and he lay down like a corpse until the middle of the night, and then gradually fell asleep.

A night without dreams.

The city's climate has nothing to do with the word pleasant. The cold and humid rainy days always last for a long time. When the rheumatism patients in the hospital are all lined up at the entrance of the hospital, the continuous cold rain has a restraining posture. It finally snowed that night.

Li Sui was confused for a moment when he woke up, and it took him a while to remember where he got up. There was no one in the room, and the pajamas that Lu Shang had changed were placed on the bedside.

With a "squeak" the door opened, Li Sui felt a little nervous slowly, but the person who came was not Lu Shang, but an elderly aunt.

"Are you awake?" She walked in with a smile on her face, opened the curtains, picked up the clothes on the bedside, "Breakfast is prepared downstairs, let's wash up and eat."

"Thank you." Li Sui remembered that this was the cook of the Lu family, and Lu Shang called her Sister Lu.This woman is very kind and always has a smile on her face. Li Sui has a good impression of her and couldn't help asking: "Where's Boss Lu?"

"He went to the company, why, are you going to find him?"

Li Sui was surprised: "Is it possible?"

"No." Sister Lu smiled.

Li Sui: "..."

"Just kidding." Sister Lu seemed to like this child quite a bit, "Boss Lu told you to heal your foot injury at home, and Dr. Liang will come over to give you acupuncture in the afternoon."

It wasn't until Li Sui went downstairs that he realized that what Lu Shang had explained was far more than what Sister Lu said, and he still had a whole morning of private lessons to attend.

Li Sui had never been to a real school, so he had no idea of ​​the teaching model of the domestic system. Fortunately, the teachers Lu Shang found were not rigid, and quickly adjusted to his situation.

He actually has a foundation, but there are some words that are not used frequently, and sometimes the sound and meaning cannot be connected. After the teacher reminded him, he immediately remembered it in a chain.

"You don't seem to be in contact with it for the first time, have you learned it before?" The private teacher's surname is Huang, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, with a serious face.

Li Sui thought for a while and replied, "When I'm not working, I occasionally learn something secretly."

Teacher Huang nodded thoughtfully.

Liang Zirui arrived at noon as scheduled, different from his high spirits in the past, today he looked very sluggish, he was yawning even after getting the needle.

"Dr. Liang didn't rest, okay?"

Liang Zirui nodded his head indignantly: "I'm different from your boss Lu. I'm a part-time worker. I stayed up all night last night writing the test application, and I didn't sleep. I was exhausted."

Li Sui always had a special envy for people with high education, and he expressed this envy in the simplest language, which made Liang Zirui laugh out loud.

As soon as the chatterbox started, Liang Zirui couldn't help teasing him, and told Li Sui some interesting stories about his time in America when he was studying, and laughed himself into a ball while talking.In contrast, Li Sui was much calmer, of course, the main reason was because he didn't understand at all, so he could only laugh along with confusion.

After a while, Liang Zirui started to pull out the needle, and couldn't help but take a second look.He had heard Uncle Yuan talk about Li Sui, who had been abused during the most important years of character development, yet he didn't have that kind of hooliganism in him, which is really rare.Although occasionally showing restraint, he is not twitchy, nor does he have anti-social personality tendencies, and he still has an inexplicable sense of calm, which is highly consistent with Lu Shang.

It is also a trick of fate, if he can be born in a complete family and cultivated well, he might become a great talent in the future.

"The congestion hasn't cleared up yet, don't run around for the next two days, apply hot compresses before going to bed, and contact me in time if you have any problems."

Li Sui nodded and gave him a grateful smile in return.

As the sky darkened, the fireplace burned more vigorously, and the whole house was warmed up.After Liang Zirui left, Li Sui read the textbook left by Teacher Huang over and over several times. Each wrote a long stack.Later, he fell asleep on the sofa, and he didn't even know when Lu Shang would come back.

Uncle Yuan wanted to come over and call him, but was stopped by Lu Shang, who came in behind him, and motioned him to go back first.

Li Sui's sleeping face can't be said to be very pretty, but it is very quiet, with his body curled up, his hands clasped in front of his chest, and half of his face buried in the sofa, in a guarded posture.Lu Shang sat down next to him and took out a textbook from his arms. It was full of words, vigorous and neat.Lu Shang saw his name in the handwriting, and his eyes fell on the young man beside him.

Li Sui's skin is very fair, different from the fairness maintained by adults, his complexion is closer to that of a baby, without any blemishes.It was strange to say that there were so many injuries on his body, but his face was not visible at all. I don't know if this face was so perfect that even the abuser couldn't bear it.

Li Sui woke up in a daze, his body froze, and he sat up slowly: "Boss Lu."

"Go to bed and sleep when you're sleepy."

Li Sui replied with a "huh", with a nasal tone in his voice: "I wanted to wait for you to come back."

Lu Shang paused, and asked softly, "Are you not used to being alone at home?"

Li Sui is used to being alone, and there is nothing he is not used to saying, but Lu Shang asked this because he cared about him, so he naturally wouldn't refute, so he said in a few words: "Does Boss Lu usually live like this at home? "

"Well," Lu Shang lowered his head, thought for a while and said, "I'll take you to the company to play tomorrow morning."