Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 19

Two Centimeters Away

Gu Jiahe originally planned to go on a week-long business trip to Lingang.

As the week was coming to an end, he was already preparing to pack up and return home, but early in the morning, he received a message from Wu Mou. It said that the business trip needed to be extended by three days, and he would have to provide training to the production department of the new factory next week.

Gu Jiahe was actually relieved. With three more days, at least he could have a room to himself. After all, wherever he went, he could work with just a laptop. Staying in a five-star hotel like this was more comfortable.

He even thought about clearing out Li Zhao’s bed and putting it together with his own.

That way, he could sleep alone on a super king-size bed measuring two meters and four centimeters.

However, before noon arrived, Gu Jiahe learned that the audit and lawyer’s visit had also been extended. The group had to stay in Lingang for a while longer.

His plan to have a room with a large bed all to himself was instantly dashed.

This hotel in Lingang was luxurious, but its location was at the junction of the city and the suburbs. There were few shopping malls nearby, and no large supermarkets, so life was a bit inconvenient.

Clearly, Gu Jiahe wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Just as he was thinking what to do, the audit team sent a message to the group asking if anyone wanted to go to a supermarket in the city area after they had some free time to buy some food and drinks.

Gu Jiahe thought about it and quickly replied in the group that he would go too.

Life had indeed been inconvenient these past few days. The items in the hotel were expensive, even a bottle of drinking water was five yuan more expensive than outside. Not to mention other daily necessities, he couldn’t even order slightly better takeout.

Li Zhao still hadn’t replied. It wasn’t until one of the audit colleagues mentioned him and asked if he was willing to drive and take people there.

Five minutes later, Li Zhao replied with an “okay”.

Gu Jiahe ended up riding in a female colleague’s car.

Lingang was a magical city. The industry here was extremely developed, but the lifestyle in some areas was extremely primitive.

There were many tricycles traveling on the wide roads, ignoring traffic lights. These tricycles were fast, and some were even powered by batteries, faster than cars at starting.

Their driving was erratic, almost colliding with pedestrians, which made their colleagues break out in a cold sweat.

Finally, they arrived at the city area, where pedestrians were noticeably more orderly.

They went to a large chain supermarket in the city area.

After getting out of the car, Gu Jiahe followed everyone into the supermarket and grabbed a shopping cart. Li Zhao walked at the back of the crowd.

Gu Jiahe walked through the rows of shelves, picking up some bread and fruit, and then added two packs of instant noodles. Sometimes he would come back too late from the new factory and couldn’t afford to eat at the hotel restaurant, so it was better to have something to eat.

Li Zhao walked with his hands in his pockets, neither pushing the cart nor picking up anything. Instead, he was constantly replying to messages on his phone.

Gu Jiahe turned a corner around a shelf and saw him, so he asked him casually, “Why aren’t you buying anything?”

Only then did Li Zhao look at him and replied, “There’s nothing I want to buy.”

Gu Jiahe nodded. Indeed, Li Zhao could buy anything he wanted at the hotel, he didn’t need to consider the price like himself.

Gu Jiahe wandered around for more than half an hour, picking up food and necessities, calculating the total price on his phone calculator as he went.

Finally, he got everything he needed for the next few days, feeling satisfied, he walked to the checkout counter, ready to wait for everyone to gather.

Li Zhao still had empty hands, standing in the empty space beside the checkout area, waiting for them.

After the group gathered, Li Zhao walked ahead.

At the checkout counter, Li Zhao had already walked past Gu Jiahe, ready to exit from the exit.

But his eyes swept over a small shelf beside the checkout counter, and he stopped in his tracks, standing still for a while.

Gu Jiahe followed his gaze, wanting to see what he was looking at.

On the small shelf by the checkout counter, there was a row of condoms that stood out.

Gu Jiahe’s pupils tightened instantly, and he instinctively took a step back, distancing himself from Li Zhao.

How could someone buy condoms in front of their colleagues?! Did they think they were on vacation?

He watched as Li Zhao reached out towards the shelf, not knowing why he felt nervous too.

However, the next moment, Li Zhao’s fingers stopped above the row of condoms and picked up a box of chewing gum instead.

With a snap, Li Zhao tossed the box of chewing gum into Gu Jiahe’s shopping cart.

“I’ll pay you back later.”

Gu Jiahe inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, almost forgetting to nod.

The two cars drove out of the supermarket, and the navigation reminded them that the original route they came on was a bit congested, so they switched to another route that was a bit longer.

This road passed through the city and the new area. After driving for twenty minutes, a huge purple glowing ring appeared ahead.

Gu Jiahe squinted his eyes, unable to see clearly.

He turned to ask the colleague driving, “What’s that ahead? It’s strangely bright.”

The colleague leaned over to take a look and smiled, “Oh, don’t you know? It’s the newly built Ferris wheel park in Lingang.”

As the car approached, Gu Jiahe finally realized that it was indeed a Ferris wheel. It was still operating at night, slowly rotating.

“It’s 160 yuan for one ticket. Do you want to go with everyone after work tomorrow?” The colleague was kind-hearted after all. After all, they had hardly any entertainment activities in Lingang since they arrived.

Gu Jiahe shook his head. Spending 160 yuan just to go around on this thing for a while, he couldn’t stay for more than five minutes. He might as well ride the sightseeing elevator in the hotel back and forth a few more times. The effect would probably be about the same.

He remembered that there used to be an amusement park in Pingcheng, but there were few facilities inside.

In the first year after he left Pingcheng, they also built a Ferris wheel inside. Calling it a Ferris wheel was a bit inappropriate; it was not very tall, far from being “tall”. Every time Gu Jiahe returned to Pingcheng, he would pass by that small Ferris wheel. But he had never been interested in taking a ride. For him, these seemingly romantic things did not exist as options in his life.

After returning to the hotel, everyone went back to their rooms.

Gu Jiahe carried his bag of stuff and placed it in the cabinet at the entrance of his room. He thought for a moment, took out Li Zhao’s box of chewing gum, and placed it next to his laptop.

He had been feeling a slight headache all day. He wasn’t sure if it was due to recent exhaustion from being busy or because of that unexpected phone call.

It was already late at night, and Li Zhao still hadn’t come into the room.

He took out the blister pack of pills again and placed it on the bedside table.

Gu Jiahe rubbed his temples and got up to go to the bathroom to freshen up.

When he came out of the shower, Li Zhao was already sitting on the edge of the bed. However, he wasn’t working; his gaze was fixed on the blister pack of pills.

There were no labels, no boxes, just a plain blister pack.

“What medicine are you taking?” Li Zhao asked casually, lifting his head to look at him.

Gu Jiahe hung the towel on the back of the chair and walked over to collect the pills. “Vitamins,” he replied, then crawled into bed without looking at Li Zhao anymore.

The next morning, Li Zhao hadn’t gotten up yet.

Gu Jiahe knew that Li Zhao wasn’t used to wearing pajamas to sleep. After he finished washing up and came out, he saw Li Zhao’s bare back outside the blanket.

The curtain wasn’t tightly closed, letting in a ray of sunlight that fell on Li Zhao’s back. His skin was smooth, and his muscles had a nice shape even in a relaxed state.

Gu Jiahe took a quick glance and forced himself to look away.

After finishing his own preparations, he headed straight to the new factory office without looking back.

He had become familiar with the route over the past few days and had also gotten to know the business department here. Most people praised him, and someone even prepared dampness-expelling herbal tea for him on his desk every day.

It made Gu Jiahe feel a little embarrassed.

Wu Mou would be returning to the northern city that night. The CFO invited everyone to have a meal together. Wu Mou casually invited Gu Jiahe too.

Gu Jiahe couldn’t refuse. Although he usually didn’t like attending such dinners with leaders and had managed to avoid them several times before.

When he arrived at the private room reserved by the CFO, he found Li Zhao was also there.

The CFO greeted everyone and took their seats. “I believe everyone has been working hard these past few days. Tomorrow, Manager Wu will be leaving, so let’s have a farewell dinner for him. Let’s continue to persevere for the remaining days. It’s been hot, and it hasn’t been easy for everyone.”

A few minutes later, the waiter brought in several bottles of foreign liquor.

The CFO was very enthusiastic, pouring drinks for everyone himself. Several female colleagues declined the offer.

When the waiter approached Li Zhao, he covered the glass in front of him with his palm. “Sorry, I won’t drink,” he said.

Wu Mou was a bit surprised and asked, “Lawyer Li, why aren’t you drinking? You don’t need to drive tonight. Your car is parked in the parking lot over here, and we’ll send you back.”

Li Zhao smiled and shook his head. “I’ve been feeling a bit sick lately. I took some cephalosporin. Sorry.”

Gu Jiahe suddenly looked up at him.

He never saw Li Zhao taking cephalosporin pills every day, nor did he seem sick. He always looked lively and energetic.

This excuse made it difficult for Wu Mou and the CFO to insist, so they let him have orange juice instead.

Wu Mou then turned his persuasion towards Gu Jiahe. Gu Jiahe also didn’t like drinking, so he followed Li Zhao’s example. “Manager Wu, I’m allergic to alcohol,” he said.

Wu Mou glanced at him. “You seem to have quite a few allergies. Last time it was seafood, and now it’s alcohol.”

Gu Jiahe chuckled and lowered his head. “Just some minor ailments, please forgive me, Manager.”

Finally, they managed to escape.

These long and boring dinners always made Gu Jiahe feel idle, so he sat in a corner and played single-player games on his phone.

Li Zhao, on the other hand, was very adaptable, chatting happily with everyone while holding a glass of orange juice. The atmosphere at the table remained lively, ranging from discussions about graduate life to observations after starting work.

Gu Jiahe glanced at him and thought to himself, is he just going to sit there with a deadpan expression in front of me?

After playing a dozen levels of his game with his head down, the group finally started to disperse.

Gu Jiahe stood up from his chair and suddenly remembered that he had left something in the factory area.

His original plan was to ride back with Wu Mou, but when he turned around, he saw that Wu Mou’s face was already red from drinking.

It was too late for him to bother the female colleague again at this hour. Just as he was thinking about it, Li Zhao spoke up from behind, “Manager Wu, let me drive you back.”

Wu Mou quickly called Gu Jiahe over. “Xiao Gu, come with us in the same car.”

Gu Jiahe breathed a sigh of relief. That’s good; this way, Li Zhao could conveniently drop him off at the factory area later.

Wu Mou confidently sat in the passenger seat, and Gu Jiahe could only sit in the back.

As soon as the car started, Wu Mou began to talk incessantly. He seemed a little drunk, and his tone unconsciously became a bit erratic.

“Xiao Gu, next month’s promotion. You must take it seriously,” Wu Mou turned to look at him, “Do you know how hard I’ve worked to secure that spot for you?”

Gu Jiahe nodded and flattered him a bit, but in his heart, he wondered how much effort it really took for him to get promoted when he had been a supervisor for several years already.

Wu Mou seemed unsatisfied and gestured with his hands, “If you get promoted to manager, then I have a chance to be promoted to director. Don’t miss out on such a great opportunity.”

Gu Jiahe smiled and lowered his head. In the end, it was still for his own benefit.

He wasn’t lacking in ambition, but according to the company’s regulations, promotion wouldn’t come with a salary increase or subordinate recruitment for him. It was just a futile effort to vie for a slightly higher title. It didn’t hold much significance for him.

Li Zhao sat in the driver’s seat, listening to the conversation between the two without saying a word.

In the dark night, the gray sedan shuttled on the road.

Five minutes later, the car stopped steadily at the entrance of the factory area. Gu Jiahe opened the car door, ready to get off. However, Wu Mou seemed to remember something and got off with him, swaying as he walked.

“Xiao Gu, wait for me. I think I left my wallet in the office area,” Wu Mou said.

Seeing this, Li Zhao parked the car and got out too, walking behind the two of them.

The office area was extremely quiet late at night. Gu Jiahe turned on the overhead light, found his belongings, and then assisted the tipsy Wu Mou out.

Li Zhao stood with his arms folded, leaning against the wall, waiting for them to come out.

The three of them walked along the dark path in the factory area. The summer night breeze rustled the waterproof cloth in front of the warehouse, making a rustling sound.

There were only a few dim lights on the road in the factory area, making it a bit eerie to walk around.

Li Zhao walked ahead with his head down, busy replying to work messages on his phone.

Suddenly, there was a sound of metal collision ahead, as if something was shaking.

Then Li Zhao felt a huge force pushing against his back.

Bang! Gu Jiahe suddenly let go of Wu Mou, took a step forward, and forcefully pushed Li Zhao forward from behind.

Li Zhao stumbled and almost lost his balance, barely managing to steady himself. Gu Jiahe, who hadn’t stopped behind him, rushed forward towards Li Zhao.

Bang! The two collided.

When Gu Jiahe looked up, the distance between them was less than two centimeters. Li Zhao’s lower lip almost touched his cheek.

In the dim light, Li Zhao could even see Gu Jiahe’s blinking eyelashes and smell the scent of the hotel’s lime shampoo.

However, the next moment, a black object suddenly fell from the sky behind them.

Bang! A loud noise of metal hitting the ground erupted. The object smashed onto the ground in the space between the three of them.

Even the drunken Wu Mou was startled awake. He approached and saw that it was actually a small metal box used for assembly.

“Oh my god! How could this fall down!” Wu Mou shouted in panic in the factory area, attracting the attention of the on-duty security guard.

Li Zhao and Gu Jiahe were still in the posture of being close together, their breathing somewhat irregular. Both of them were wearing short sleeves, and their skin touched each other’s, exchanging warmth in the summer night.

Three seconds later, Gu Jiahe sensed that something was wrong and forcefully pushed Li Zhao away.

Then he put on a serious expression and said to him, “Pay more attention to where you’re walking, okay?!”