Chapter 57: Working Frantically

"Damn it!" Yuexi suddenly pushed Yue Chang away from Li Nianlong's arms in a huff. "Chang Chang, you're too cunning, stealing Big Brother's first kiss. That was supposed to be mine!"

Instead of getting angry, Yue Chang responded with a smug, soft smile, sticking out her tongue. "Sorry! I took Big Brother's first kiss."

"You... You... You're driving me mad!"

"..."

Li Nianlong found the situation both frustrating and amusing. "Stop fooling around. If we don't hurry through security, we'll miss the flight. Let's go!"

The sisters ceased their argument, their hearts heavy at the thought of parting ways with Li Nianlong.

Yuexi pursed her lips and suddenly threw herself at Li Nianlong, embracing him tightly.

Li Nianlong froze for a moment before smiling and gently holding her close, whispering, "It's alright. We'll see each other again during winter break. A few months will pass in no time."

"Okay."

"Why are you crying again? I'm going to start calling you Crybaby."

"I'm not a crybaby, it's just sand in my eye." Yuexi sniffled, rubbing her face against Li Nianlong's shirt, leaving a noticeable wet stain on the light-colored T-shirt.

"Hey, this shirt costs over a thousand!"

"Who cares." Yuexi broke into a smile through her tears, her cheeks flushed like a rain-soaked begonia.

Li Nianlong was momentarily stunned, then laughed. "You're much cuter when you're less wild."

"Who's wild?" Yuexi rolled her eyes and bumped her forehead against his chest. "I'm a graceful lady."

How thick-skinned must she be to say that?

"Alright!" He patted her slender waist. "My lady, it's time for you to go through security and board your flight... Hmm."

Her soft, warm lips brushed against his in a fleeting kiss. Blushing, Yuexi tugged her luggage into the security checkpoint.

Li Nianlong was stunned, as was Yue Chang.

On the other side of the security checkpoint, Yuexi turned and shouted, "Chang Chang, come for the security check, or we'll miss our connecting flight."

"Oh? Oh." Yue Chang snapped back to reality, pulling her suitcase along. She turned and waved at Li Nianlong. "Big Brother, goodbye."

Li Nianlong came to his senses and waved back. "Goodbye, safe travels."

Watching the Yue sisters pass through security and disappear at the end of the corridor, Li Nianlong touched his lips. The soft sensation lingered, and the sweet touch of the young girl was unforgettable. In that moment, his familial feelings towards Yuexi underwent a subtle shift.

On the other side, after passing security, the Yue sisters arrived at the boarding gate, finding it already open. The two sisters queued for their tickets and entered the boarding tunnel, eventually stepping into the first-class cabin.

Finding their seats, Yue Chang fastened her seatbelt and lay down, looking at Yuexi beside her. Softly, she said, "Xi Xi, you really do like Big Brother, but Big Brother already has Sister Ruyue."

"I know," Yuexi replied indifferently. "I just like Big Brother. Liking someone doesn't mean I have to marry him. Besides, it was just a kiss! Nowadays, many people don't care about their first night, let alone their first kiss!"

Yue Chang looked at her and smiled, narrowing her eyes. "You're not being honest again! I remember you once said your first kiss should be given to..."

"Enough already!" Yuexi irritably turned her face away. "I'm tired, I'm going to sleep!"

Yue Chang smiled gently at Yuexi and looked up at the ceiling of the plane. What should I do?

...

After seeing the Yue sisters off, Li Nianlong felt an emptiness in his heart. Without returning home, he headed straight to the construction site.

At the site, the workers had just finished lunch and were resting. Seeing Li Nianlong arrive, they greeted him. He nodded and picked up his tools, starting to work.

"It's not time yet, Xiao Liu!" one worker called out.

Li Nianlong didn't respond and kept working.

"This Xiao Liu," the foreman shook his head, watching him work alongside his fellow workers. Initially, they thought it was just a casual spectacle, but gradually their eyes widened in amazement.

Oh my goodness! Xiao Liu, Brother Liu, Grandpa Liu! You're not just skilled, you're transcending mortal limits! Please stop showing off!

On the construction site, Li Nianlong moved like a phantom, dashing around with a faint whooshing sound trailing his movements. His hands never stopped, frantically and recklessly tackling the heaviest tasks. The intensity of his labor would terrify even spirits and make immortals tremble. His coworkers could only think of kneeling in surrender.

"What has triggered Xiao Liu like this??" The supervisor, freshly fed and coming from the restroom, approached and saw the crazed Li Nianlong working on the site, his eyes widening.

"Did he get dumped?" a young worker chuckled. "Isn't that what TV says? When a man gets dumped, he either drinks himself silly or works like crazy to ease the pain. Looks to me like Brother Liu just went through a breakup."

"Cut the nonsense," the supervisor glared at him. "Xiao Liu is a handsome guy; it'd be a miracle if anyone dared to dump him. Only someone like you would get dumped so easily."

"What did I say wrong?" The worker touched his unappealing face and retreated awkwardly.

The supervisor adjusted his belt to hold his round belly, stroking his chin in thought. Has Xiao Liu really been dumped? It's been a while since Little Yue visited. Maybe he really did get dumped. Looks like there's a chance for the girls back home.

Li Nianlong paid no attention to others' thoughts. He just wanted to fill the void in his heart through relentless work, not wanting to stop for a moment. Once he stopped, that emptiness would gnaw at his heart, causing unbearable discomfort.

Thus, throughout that afternoon, everyone at the site witnessed a frenzied Li Nianlong, like a raging bull charging about without any sign of stopping.

Not until evening, when it was time to collect his wages, did Li Nianlong pause his work and head to the water tap to clean up.

When calculating the pay, the supervisor gave him three hundred more than yesterday... Despite Li Nianlong having delayed for nearly two hours in the morning, he had done the work of two additional people for the entire day. This showed how insane his afternoon had been. His coworkers looked at him as if he were a god—Divine One, accept this loser's kneel, I surrender.

After a day's work, the Master Architect proficiency increased by a solid 3%, leaving him just 22% short of reaching the Perfection level. If he continued at this pace, Li Nianlong could graduate honorably in seven days.

The substantial increase in his Architect proficiency greatly eased Li Nianlong's heartache. With money in hand, he returned to his car and realized his phone had been left on the seat.

Realizing his mistake, he hastily grabbed the phone and saw several missed calls and eight text messages.

All the missed calls were from Yuexi. The texts were from both Yuexi and Yue Chang, with one from Lan Ruyue.

Yue Chang's message read: Big Brother, we've arrived in Longcheng. Don't worry.

Lan Ruyue's message read: Brother, did you forget your phone? Xi Xi said she couldn't reach you.

Yuexi's messages were six in total:

1. Big Brother, we've arrived, why aren't you answering your phone?

2. Big Brother, why haven't you replied to my text?

3. Big Brother, did you lose your phone?

4. Damn thief, I order you to return Big Brother's phone immediately, or you're dead meat!

5. Don't think I'm joking. If you dare tell me your name, I'll show you what it means to burn in flames!

6. Big Brother, it's time for you to finish work. Why haven't you replied yet? Did you really lose your phone?

Reading these messages, Li Nianlong chuckled softly. Yuexi was still as amusing as ever.

Starting the car, he dialed Yuexi's number. The call was answered after just one ring, and Yuexi's anxious voice came through. "Big Brother, is that you?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Li Nianlong felt a surge of emotion. His throat was dry, but it felt particularly soothing. He smiled and said, "It's me. I accidentally left my phone in the car when I went to the site this noon. Sorry for worrying you."

"It's okay, it's okay. As long as Big Brother didn't lose his phone," Yuexi seemed to relax, her tone becoming more cheerful. "I couldn't get through when I called you this afternoon, and you didn't reply to my texts either. I was worried something happened! I even sent a text to Sister Ruyue, and she replied saying she couldn't reach you either. Luckily, you're fine; otherwise, I would really have booked a return ticket back to Tianfu to find you."