The Heart of a Smith

Chapter 3: Living Together

The day Li Sui got discharged, Lu Shang wasn’t there. Uncle Yuen told him Lu Shang wasn’t feeling well, so he was resting in a care center.

Li Sui couldn’t grasp how bad this “wasn’t well” was, so he just thought it was something like a fever. As such, when he arrived at the care center, he couldn’t suppress his shock seeing Lu Shang being pushed out in a wheelchair.

“Lu Lao Ban.” His head slumped as he greeted Lu Shang.

Lu Shang didn’t say much, he looked at Li Sui and said, “Don’t slouch.”

Li Sui immediately stood up straight with his hands placed on his sides, standing up as formally as possible.

This kid was thin, but he wasn’t short, he was at the transition period between a teenager to an adult. Lu Shang could vaguely identify that Li Sui had mature-looking shoulders. Lu Shang only saw him curling up into a tiny ball in the car, so he saw Li Sui as nothing more than a kid. Now that he was standing straight, Lu Shang had the feeling Li Sui might be even taller than him.

Lu Shang looked away from Li Sui and gave him the paperwork that was on his lap, “Ask me if there are things you don’t understand.”

While the two were talking, Uncle Yuen had already left the room, leaving only Lu Shang and Li Sui behind.

As Lu Shang rested his back on the wheelchair, he propped up his head with his hand, looking at the pond outside. He didn’t talk or laugh much, neither did he make a lot of movements. When he sat down, he looked like an old oil paint under the sun at dawn. As if everything around them was infected, even the birds had stopped chirping, only the sounds of flipping paper could be made out in the room.

Li Sui finally flipped through the documents and signed his new name on the last page.

Lu Shang turned his head to Li Sui, “You understood all of it?”

Li Sui shook his head, “I didn’t understand most of it.”

This kid peeked Lu Shang’s interest, “Then why did you sign it?”

Li Sui raised his head up from the document, his eyes clear and sharp, but he said nothing. Lu Shang caught what he was trying to say from his eyes.

“You aren’t a merchandise I bought. You have the right to refuse.” Lu Shang’s voice was calm, “I don’t like to force people. The things I give you, they are all for a reason, and for that reason, you will have to pay dearly in the future. But, before that, I will do my best to compensate you. I want you to be willing when that time comes.”

This was the first time Li Sui heard Lu Shang speak for so long. In that instant, he felt his head was overloading. Yet, when he turned back to the document, the whole page of boxes and circles made him dizzy.

Lu Shang knew he was approaching this wrong. Being in the business sector for so long, he was used to doing things by the books. Deals, paper contracts, signatures, and stamps… But in front of him was a child. It was obvious that none of those would work.

“Let it be for now.” Lu Shang took the contract back, his gaze fixed on Li Sui’s signature. He stared at it for a while and said, “Your handwriting is quite good, who taught you?”

“I just copied it from the identification card.”

Lu Shang thought for a while and said, “Let’s start by teaching you how to read.”

They had lunch at the pondside, eating freshly caught shrimp and fish. Li Sui was sitting face-to-face with Lu Shang, so naturally he felt a little tense.