Chapter 5

For all Li’s talk of “a simple meal,” it was indeed delightfully informal. They pulled a few folding tables together out in the open, got some duck necks and edamame from a nearby deli in the industrial park, and Li returned from the Shaxian shop across the street with several baskets of dumplings. Combined with the site’s boxed meals, that became their group dinner.

Though Li was the team leader, he didn’t micromanage these details—his students and colleagues were perfectly comfortable sorting things out: deciding on tables, borrowing plastic chairs from the workers, agreeing on which snacks to buy and how much. They’d chatter it out among themselves, then simply confirm with him at the end, to which he’d always reply, “Sounds good.”

As a guest, Yao Jiang wasn’t allowed to do any chores, so he watched these knowledgeable, capable folks bustle around. Some pushed tables together, others fetched chairs or tidied tools or carried food. Their rugged field boots kicked up faint dust. Li stood among them with easy confidence, so different from that steely, unwavering presence he showed Yao Jiang when battling over construction schedules. Here, he was genial—“Xing,” in every sense.

Even so, nobody bypassed him when it came to final decisions. Yao Jiang recognized the camaraderie: the team as a whole clearly respected their leader and worked in sync with him.

He glanced at the base of his thumb. Where once a thick callus had formed, his skin was now soft and pale—hands that looked pampered.

“Mr. Yao!” Li called him to the table once everything was ready.

Yao Jiang curled his fingers and stepped forward.

He’d already guessed, from the way they all deferred to Li, that he’d likely be turned down on the interview request. Sure enough, when Li brought up the topic over dinner—without stating his own position—the group immediately shot it down with good-natured remarks like, “No need to show off,” “Let’s not step into the limelight.”

Li gave them a puzzled look. “But don’t you all love those Bilibili videos by Director Hu? His science outreach is fun, right?”

“Professor, that guy’s in a whole different field. We can’t explain things as well as he does. Ours wouldn’t be half as interesting,” said one second-year graduate student.

“And also, it’s not very safe,” Li Ru added, echoing her mentor’s concerns.

“Plus, we’ve barely begun. We don’t even know what we’re dealing with—what’s there to say?” another older team member said.

United front, every one of them politely but firmly declined.

So Li turned to Yao Jiang and raised his cup in apology. “Mr. Yao, truly sorry.”

Yao Jiang had orange soda in his glass. “No worries. I respect the group’s wishes. And we have to work tomorrow, so no alcohol.”

He drained most of the soda in one swig. Li had a beer in hand. Looking somewhat abashed, he drank his down, too. He suspected Yao Jiang had done that on purpose.

About halfway through the meal, Fang from the construction crew came by, apparently hoping for a free bite. Li made space for him at his side and explained to Yao Jiang, “We also hire laborers for the dig. Mr. Qin came by last time and recommended Mr. Fang to help supervise, so he’s staying on here with part of his team.”

Fang, with his burly build and straightforward face, wiped his hand on his jeans before extending it to Yao Jiang. “Mr. Yao, hello—we’ve met before. Didn’t realize you’d be out here today.”

“I didn’t give advance notice. Just a personal visit,” Yao Jiang said.

“Oh, oh!” Fang answered earnestly, trying to keep the conversation going but failing to find a topic. After a moment eyeing Yao Jiang, he gave up and turned his attention back to the others, chatting away.

Nobody drank heavily, but with so many people, Li still lost track of exactly how many sips he took. By the end, his cheeks were faintly flushed. Fang, meanwhile, had gotten outright tipsy, raising his voice indiscriminately until a senior crew member walked him to his bunk.

It was getting late, and Yao Jiang excused himself.

Li glanced at his watch, rubbed his shoulder, and said he’d walk him out.

That prompted Yao Jiang to recall something. He asked Li to wait, then headed toward the empty patch of ground where his car was parked. Li, guessing it must have to do with the item from Guo Jinni, followed him out past the site’s security gate. Sure enough, Yao Jiang returned holding a small box.

“Wasn’t sure if your shoulder was fully healed,” he said, handing Li a container of scar cream. “Saw Miss Guo pick up some skincare items for Li Ru, and it reminded me of this. It works pretty well.”

Li took it, murmuring his thanks. A snippet of Guo Jinni’s voice message flashed through his mind—“He’s so thorough and thoughtful…”

Yao Jiang added, “No need to walk me out. Take it easy,” then climbed into his car and drove off.