Making a living in Dongguan, her fiery red lips offer me tenderness.

Chen Jingyi was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.

Ding Yang threw away the cigarette butt and continued working.

He got into the car, picked up two bags of cement, and walked into the alley.

Chen Jingyi went to the side and called Xiulian.

"Hey, Xiulian!"

"Jingyi, what's wrong?"

"Xiulian, Ding Yang is already carrying cement at my house."

"Oh, he still has a wound on his shoulder. Didn't I tell you to wait a couple of days?"

"Xiulian, do you want to come over here for a moment?"

"No, if I come, I'll give myself away, and he'll be embarrassed."

"Xiulian, he's so strong. He carried two bags at once. I saw him sweating profusely from exhaustion, and it made me feel a little sad."

"My best friend, you're not allowed to be so sympathetic."

"Oh, Xiulian, I just asked him, and he said he doesn't have a girlfriend. It seems your relationship hasn't reached that stage yet. He doesn't consider you his girlfriend?"

"It wasn't like that to begin with."

"Xiulian, how can I test her now? There's no way to test her like this!"

"He doesn't even acknowledge you as his girlfriend, so even if he's dating someone else, it has nothing to do with you. Unless you two have actually had sex, you can't accuse him of cheating even if he's with another woman."

"Jingyi, I understand."

"Xiulian, I think you should reconsider. Although he's handsome, he's still a laborer. The difference is a bit too big."

"Jingyi, I'm not talking anymore, I'm driving right now."

"OK!"

After hanging up the phone,

Chen Jingyi went to the food stall and bought a boxed meal and a bottle of mineral water.

Ding Yang had just finished carrying a load and came downstairs.

"Hey handsome, I bought you a boxed lunch. Eat it before you get back to work, it's already past 6 o'clock."

"Thank you so much, thank you so much."

Ding Yang took the boxed lunch and put it aside.

"I'll eat later!"

"Handsome, you can continue. I'm leaving now. I'm going back to eat. I'll come back later and pay the bill then."

"Okay, thank you!"

Ding Yang gritted his teeth and persevered, continuing to work. Fortunately, there were lights on upstairs in the building; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to work at night.

At this time, there were many people coming and going in the alley. Ding Yang carried two bags at a time, which attracted a lot of attention and even some small discussions.

After carrying the load back and forth several more times, I was indeed hungry.

I opened the lunchbox and found braised pork ribs and scrambled eggs with tomatoes—surprisingly, only two dishes.

Ding Yang wolfed down his boxed lunch; hard labor always makes him enjoy his food, and he then gulped down a few mouthfuls of water.

I light a cigarette, take a deep drag, and wish I could swallow it all into my lungs.

After resting for about ten minutes, I continued working.

Carrying two bags of cement, I shuffled up six flights of stairs, sweat pouring into my eyes. My legs felt like they were welded to lead, so heavy I could barely lift them. With each step, it felt like my bones were cracking.

Ding Yang almost forgot the time.

My phone rang around 8 o'clock; it was Jianguo calling.

"Hey, Jianguo!"

"Ding Yang! How have you been these past few days?"

"That's great, we've already opened for business today."

"Ding Yang, I've already finished get off work. Where are you? Let's grab a late-night snack together."

"Jianguo, I'm carrying cement right now, I'll have to wait a while."

"Where is it?"

"Oh, it's over here at Chenwu."

"Then I'll come find you right away!"

"Alright, come this way. There's a small six-wheeled vehicle at the alley entrance; I'm unloading it."

"knew!"

Ding Yang continued carrying cement, working at night when it was cooler.

About 10 minutes later, Jianguo arrived. He saw a car at the entrance of the alley, but no one was there.

A short while later, Ding Yang came out, soaked to the bone and covered in cement dust.

"Build a nation!"

"Ding Yang, are you really carrying cement here? This is fucking exhausting."

Ding Yang gave Jianguo a cigarette and lit one for himself.

"It's tiring, but I feel cheerful. Working in the factory always feels hopeless."

"Ding Yang, you should rest for a bit, I'll help you carry it."

"No need, don't get yourself dirty. You've never done this before, so please don't try it. But if you try it, you won't be able to sleep for the past two days, but I'm actually feeling much better."

"There are only 6 bags left. Wait for me a little longer, I'll finish them soon."

Ding Yang moved the two bags of cement to the door of the carriage, and then carried them across his shoulder.

"Ding Yang, are you carrying two bags at once?"

"It's alright, I have nothing else, but I still have some energy. You should rest for a bit, I'll be done soon."

Ding Yang carried the cement and continued walking into the alley.

At this moment, Chen Jingyi arrived and saw Jianguo wearing the uniform of Jinbao Electronics Factory, standing by the car waiting for Ding Yang.

"Are you Ding Yang's friend?"

"Yes, I am his classmate."

"oh!"

Jingyi asked, "Does Ding Yang have a girlfriend?"

Jianguo was stunned. Why would a woman ask this?

"Hey beautiful, who are you? Why are you asking that?"

Chen Jingyi was a little embarrassed.

"It's nothing, I hired him to do the work."

"oh!"

Just then, a middle-aged woman walked over.

"mom!"

The person who came was Chen Jingyi's mother.

"Jingyi, I heard you hired someone to deliver cement?"

"yes!"

"Your dad has already hired someone to bring the cement."

"Mom, this chef is the new one I hired; the old one left."

At this moment, Ding Yang came out. Although he was covered in dirt, it couldn't hide his handsome expression.

Especially his 1.8-meter-tall frame and upright posture.

"Xiao Yang!"

Ding Yang was too tired and just nodded.

"Jianguo, why don't you sit in the front of the car?"

"No need, I'll wait for you for a while."

Chen Jingyi's mother looked at Ding Yang, and the old woman was also a little stunned. Where did her daughter find such a laborer? It was unbelievable.

There were only 4 bags left. Ding Yang quickly picked up two bags and walked into the alley.

Chen Jingyi followed, and her mother followed as well.

When we got downstairs,

"Jingyi, who is this? Such a young man doing this kind of work?"

Chen Jingyi pulled her mother aside.

"Mom, this is one of Xiulian's tenants. He rented the place and opened a cement shop. Xiulian wants to pursue him, so she asked me to introduce him to business. That's why I brought him to our house."

Aunt Chen said, "Would the Li family even consider someone who does hard labor?"

"Mom, do you think this boy looks like an ordinary laborer?"

"It is a bit different; it has a good-looking appearance."

Ding Yang came down.

Chen Jingyi's mother took another closer look at Ding Yang.

Ding Yang was so exhausted that his legs were trembling. He didn't have time to think about anything else. He walked straight out to the side of the carriage, picked up the last two bags, and persevered with sheer willpower, like a walking corpse.

After unloading the last two bags onto the 5th floor, Ding Yang was almost completely exhausted.

I went up to the balcony on the 5th floor, turned on a simple tap, took off my clothes to wash myself, used the dirty clothes as a towel to wash my face, and wiped off the cement dust from my body.

I walked downstairs empty-handed, my legs trembling uncontrollably, as limp as two rotten noodles. Every step was excruciatingly painful. I felt as if all my strength had been drained away, and I was on the verge of collapse. I felt as if my internal organs were churning, and I was so tired that I even had thoughts of dying.