Chapter 360

Calculating it this way, it seems there is a very high probability that the number of workdays for a single-day-off corporate slave is actually lower than that of a double-day-off corporate slave, and it's lower by a dozen or even decades of years.

Ceng Ziang was having a hard time holding it together.

Damn.

Lin Li's angle of thinking seemed too bizarre, yet also a bit too incisive.

"Lin Li, who taught you to think about problems from this angle?" Ceng Ziang commented after a moment of silence, unable to help himself: "This is too hellish."

Lin Li: "Hawking."

Ceng Ziang: "?"

Your mother.

Even more hellish.

No wonder Hawking was so smart; it seems it had something to do with his "never running away from or kicking aside a difficult problem as if it didn't exist, but rather finding a solution by looking at it from a different angle."

No, wait, what was he thinking in his own head!

Shaking off all the bizarre thoughts in his mind, Ceng Ziang looked fearful and hurriedly returned to the content humans should be discussing:

"Hawking or whatever isn't important; anyway, I'm particularly satisfied with this job. It's just that the salary during the internship period is a bit low, and it won't be that high after becoming a full-time employee, but what more could I ask for? You can't have your cake and eat it too."

Fish is what I desire, and bear's paw is also what I desire; wanting both is what they call 'want-want syndrome.'

"Then congratulations, brother." Lin Li responded with a smile.

Originally, Lin Li had started the conversation just to avoid awkwardness between them. Now that the conversation had reached a stage of completion and the goal had been achieved, both of them began to focus on their work.

"Lin Li." He heard a new voice calling his name again.

He was truly popular this morning.

But this time, he could tell who it was without looking up; Lin Li was extremely familiar with Old Zhou's voice.

"Grandpa Zhou, what's the matter?" Therefore, Lin Li spoke while looking up.

Zhou Youwei was sitting on a bench, his posture resembling the "Shinji chair sit," though his upper body was still relatively upright. His green clothes were quite conspicuous, and his hands were clasped together as he looked at Lin Li with a very complex gaze.

Zhou Youwei's inner thoughts at this moment were as complex as his gaze.

——When he saw the message Zhang Fang sent in the group chat, he, who had been idling at home watering flowers and tending to grass, immediately went downstairs.

Although Zhou Youwei's impression of Lin Li had improved when Lin Li agreed to teach him the "Eight-Section Body Tempering Exercise" earlier.

But seeing in the message that Lin Li was actually selflessly dedicating himself to the community, he still subconsciously felt there was a trick involved.

If he didn't come to see for himself, he really wouldn't be at ease.

But after going downstairs and spying on Lin Li for a long time, Zhou Youwei discovered that Lin Li was sincerely serving the community.

He did it very seriously throughout, focused to a degree that Zhou Youwei felt even he himself in his youth would have had to admit inferiority.

Adding to this his experience with Lin Li teaching him the "Eight-Section Body Tempering Exercise" during this time: although the process was scattered, his teaching attitude was meticulous, and he answered questions in a very detailed and serious manner.

Although he still couldn't practice to Lin Li's level and couldn't learn his charm, Zhou Youwei felt that was normal; after all, he was old, and it wasn't Lin Li's problem.

With both combined, Zhou Youwei had now confirmed one thing—he had a huge misunderstanding about Lin Li; Lin Li was definitely a good creature.

But precisely because of this, the various malicious and distrustful actions he had taken toward Lin Li previously turned into the guilt and self-reproach that were making him scratch his head at this moment.

If you do something wrong, you should apologize.

In fact, it is very difficult for elders to lower their faces to apologize to juniors. How many parents, after arguing with their children, end up showing weakness with nothing more than a "come over and eat"?

But Zhou Youwei felt that this was wrong; he couldn't be that kind of elder.

Therefore, when he heard Lin Li's "Grandpa Zhou, what's the matter?", Zhou Youwei took a deep breath, immediately looked at Lin Li, and said solemnly: "Lin Li, I'm sorry!"

Zhou Youwei stared into Lin Li's eyes.

The next moment, he felt even more guilty.

Because, on Lin Li's mumbling yet silent face, Zhou Youwei saw a complex emotional entity combining sadness, relief, hesitation, a smile, and forbearance.

And Zhou Youwei understood, he understood everything. How could he not understand from this expression—

Lin Li had probably been waiting for this apology from him for a long time!

So he knew everything, but he never argued, only hoping to prove with practical actions that he was not the evil alien invasive species he thought he was!

How could he not feel guilty?

"Child, say whatever you want to say; Grandpa accepts everything," therefore, Zhou Youwei closed his eyes, sincere and slightly dejected: "I have... prepared myself to stand at attention and take a beating."

Lin Li: "Grandpa, the paint on the chair was brushed on by Brother Ziang; you don't need to apologize to me."

Zhou Youwei opened his eyes.

"(; o_o)?"

Lin Li blinked.

When he heard Zhou Youwei apologize, he understood.

Obviously, when Old Zhou called his name, he had already realized he was sitting on a chair with wet paint.

And the reason Old Zhou apologized to him was because he thought the paint on the chair was brushed on by him, and by sitting like that, he had ruined his hard work, which was why he felt apologetic toward him.

But this was brushed on by Ceng Ziang, so he apologized to the wrong person.

However, Lin Li actually didn't understand, and was a bit worried—Zhou Youwei said he "prepared himself to stand at attention and take a beating."

Standing at attention is definitely necessary; with his butt like that, how can he not stand at attention? If he doesn't stand at attention, his crotch and the chair will be glued together in a moment.

But a beating?

Huh? This... is it really necessary?

Because he had treated Old Zhou's side-stitch many times, Lin Li also knew Old Zhou's children, but he felt that every one of them was quite respectful and filial to this father of theirs.

Old Zhou is at least a grandfather with gray hair, not a child. If he had to be beaten because he dirtied a pair of pants, then he would really have to let "1818 Golden Eye" or "Old Niangjiu" handle this family relationship that goes against human ethics.

The mediation ability of those two programs is still quite powerful, although Lin Li called the program team last time to ask if they could mediate the Moth-Witch War, and was scolded by the operator.

The joys and sorrows of people are not connected; the two had different thoughts.

Lin Li's mind was wandering, while in Zhou Youwei's brain, the few words Lin Li just said were circling and echoing, but he always felt he didn't understand.

Did he hear wrong?

"Lin Li, what... did you say?" Zhou Youwei swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked.

"Huh?"

This reaction is a bit strange.

Lin Li raised an eyebrow; could it be that his reading comprehension just now was wrong?

After thinking about it, Lin Li repeated: "Grandpa, the paint on this chair was just brushed on; it hasn't dried yet."

Zhou Youwei: "..."

Your mother, he didn't hear wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Youwei stood up silently, then looked back.

Haha, he knew it, Lin Li was lying!

This is not a chair with newly brushed paint at all; there is an entire area of one butt and two thighs that has absolutely no paint on it. Who brushes a chair like this?

Ha ha!

Lin Li is really a little rascal, ras-rascal tat...

Scanning his butt with his peripheral vision, okay, now he couldn't deceive himself anymore.

The corners of Zhou Youwei's mouth and eyes twitched simultaneously, his brain recalling the trace of a smile in Lin Li's complex expression just now.

Damn!! This guy Lin Li is a naturally evil alien invasive species! No washing that away!

"Lin Li, Grandpa has something to do, Grandpa is leaving first." Zhou Youwei must really have something to do at home; he left very hurriedly.

"Grandpa, walk slowly." Lin Li nodded slowly, saying goodbye deeply.

Lin Li felt that he didn't really understand what a back full of stories was like, but now he understood completely.

Old Zhou's back looked full of stories at a glance.

Life is like a bus; when some people leave, others will arrive.

"Damn it! My chair! Who sat on it?!"

Ceng Ziang, who was holding a sign he had just written saying "Wet Paint, Do Not Sit," saw that his hard work had been destroyed in an instant, widened his eyes, and roared while holding his head.

Then Ceng Ziang immediately looked at Lin Li, and Lin Li also looked at Ceng Ziang.

Seeing the "do you know who did this" meaning on Ceng Ziang's face, Lin Li shook his head and sighed:

"Brother Ziang, you came at a bad time."

"I didn't come late on purpose; I just went to the bathroom,"

Ceng Ziang looked down at the sign in his hand, thinking Lin Li meant "it was because you came late that this accident happened," but felt the problem wasn't with him, so he retorted:

"Didn't the community group say the tables and chairs were also going to be renovated? And this chair looks so shiny after the paint is applied, and there's a smell, right? Can't a normal person see something is wrong at a glance?

Even if you take a step back, if you're blind and your nose is blocked, and you didn't see the abnormality of the chair, you could at least see everyone around still busy filling ground, weeding, and painting, right?

If you can still sit down like that, unless you're deaf, mute, or a little brat who can't take care of yourself, otherwise I can only say one word—you deserve it!"

Ceng Ziang felt he was very logical, and he really didn't think he had done anything wrong, so he spoke with great confidence.

Then, on Lin Li's mumbling yet silent face, he saw a complex emotional entity combining sadness, relief, hesitation, a smile, and forbearance.

"Lin Li, what does this expression of yours mean?" Ceng Ziang swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling a bit uneasy.

Lin Li: "Brother, what I meant by 'you came at a bad time' is that the victim hasn't left yet; you can speak a little quieter."

Ceng Ziang: "(; o_o)?"

After speaking, Lin Li turned his head and looked to one side.

Ceng Ziang's body stiffened, then he turned around slowly and also looked in the direction Lin Li was currently looking.

Thus, Ceng Ziang saw a person, or rather, gradually no longer a person, but... a hawthorn tree.

That person's lower body, like the trunk of a hawthorn tree, was brown. That person's upper body, like the leaves of a hawthorn tree, was green (the color that came with the top, straight from the original image).

That person was now looking back at Ceng Ziang's face, like the fruit of a hawthorn tree, which was red (the color that came with the face, straight from the original image).

Is there anything more awkward and desperate than this moment?

There is.

Because Lin Li started singing softly: "Oh~ my hawthorn tree love~ only with you will it be pure~ can discard my bottom line~ locked with you is my line of sight~"

Ceng Ziang: "..."

Ceng Ziang was indeed locked in a line of sight with Zhou Youwei now.

And what Zhou Youwei was going to lose in a moment wasn't just his bottom line, but also his bottom underwear.

Ceng Ziang gradually made a Fire Punch face.

Your mother's.

Lin Li.

Who the hell let you mess with the BGM...

Revealing a smile uglier than crying, facing the red-faced Zhou Youwei, Ceng Ziang's voice was sheepish: "Grandpa, I, I, I didn't mean you, it's, it's human nature, haha, I actually understand very well..."

Zhou Youwei: "... tat."

Zhou Youwei had bitterness he couldn't speak of.

How should he put it? After he went downstairs, his attention was all on Lin Li. After spying for a long time and getting a bit tired, he sat down when he saw the chair. He indeed hadn't considered what Ceng Ziang just said at all.

Therefore he... really deserved it.

The redness on his face now was also out of shame and embarrassment, not anger after being scolded.

"It's, it's okay," therefore, Zhou Youwei waved his hand, his tone completely dejected: "It really was Grandpa's own problem; I can't blame anyone..."

After leaving these words, Zhou Youwei walked away quickly, eagerly wanting to escape the scene.

His figure became increasingly hunched; Zhou Youwei seemed to have aged in an instant.

And Ceng Ziang also grew up in this instant.

He was no longer the reckless person who spoke without thinking in the past.

He was now the reckless person who spoke without thinking.

Ceng Ziang sighed, turned his head, and saw Lin Li.

Although Lin Li retracted his smile very quickly, looked at himself with sorrowful eyes, and then nodded.

But damn it, I already saw it, hey!

The corners of Ceng Ziang's mouth and eyes twitched simultaneously, his brain recalling the trace of a smile in Lin Li's complex expression just now.

Damn!! This guy clearly had plenty of time to stop me just now, right?

Just a few words would have been enough to make me shut up! How does it feel like he was being careless on purpose!

Ceng Ziang had a feeling at this moment: this guy Lin Li is like a naturally evil alien invasive species, very dangerous.

But after thinking about it, Ceng Ziang shook his head regretfully.

Lin Li's reputation in the community was still quite good.

Anyway, the elders he knew all liked Lin Li quite a bit. Ceng Ziang felt that if he said this thought out loud, absolutely no one would agree with him; he couldn't find anyone of the same mind.

Then forget it, forget it, I can't beat him.

Time approached noon; the autumn sun hung lazily in the sky, leaking mottled halos through the gaps in the leaves.

The newly painted chair surface faded from its pungent smell; in the distance, the buzzing of a lawnmower startled two or three sparrows, the sound of flapping wings mixed with the intermittent low chirping of autumn insects.

Ceng Ziang sat under the shade of a tree, acting as a sun-avoidance object.

"Lin Li, you still have so much energy; aren't you tired at all?" After playing with his phone for a while, he looked up at Lin Li, who was still squatting on the ground repairing the road surface, and clicked his tongue.

From morning until now, it had been several hours; Lin Li hadn't rested at all, had been repairing seriously, at most going to get a hat and spraying some sunscreen halfway through because the sun was getting stronger.

The reason given was that he was afraid of getting tanned and then having the neighboring community come to ask how much Lin Li was selling for.

He even asked Ceng Ziang if he knew what the tanned him and a bicycle had in common—the answer is that both need a chain to be driven.

However, deducting merit didn't matter to Ceng Ziang; what merit does a college student have?

"Not tired at all, I don't feel anything," Lin Li shrugged, "Actually, I can do this all day."

Unlike "fire" and "gold," this time it really wasn't just being stubborn.

After all, except for using a bit of strength at the beginning, the rest was just squatting on the ground smearing mortar.

But fortunately, the progress of the task had obvious feedback under his unremitting efforts; by now, two-thirds had been completed.

Both "water" and "earth" were flourishing; Lin Li estimated that this task could be completed by next week at the latest.

"So amazing; high school student physique is really good, but you aren't really going to do this for the whole day, right? If so, brother is going to slip home first." Ceng Ziang praised first after hearing this, then said.

A whole morning, the novelty had long passed.

"Brother, if you want to go back, go back; I don't need company," Lin Li answered, then continued, "But I'm not doing this for the whole day either; I'm going swimming in the afternoon."

Weeding and painting aren't requirements for "earth," and the cement mixed in the morning was almost used up. There was no point in staying in the community in the afternoon; he could just start the second round of the remaining task progress tomorrow or at night.

"Swimming?" Ceng Ziang's eyes lit up after hearing this, "Where are you going, Nansang Swimming Pool?"

"Yes." Lin Li nodded.

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah," Lin Li nodded again, noticing the other's expression, and looked at Ceng Ziang: "Brother, you want to go too?"

"A little." Ceng Ziang nodded without hiding it:

"I didn't have this idea originally, but after hearing you mention it, plus after sweating, I kind of want to go into the water and play. I quite like swimming, and I don't have any plans for the afternoon either.

How about this, Lin Li, if you're alone and it's convenient, let's go together. I haven't been to Nansang Swimming Pool yet, and you can show me around.

If it's not convenient, just say so, and forget it."

The repairs in the community would likely continue in the afternoon, so this would also be a way to avoid it, which is why Ceng Ziang looked at Lin Li with anticipation.

"That's not inconvenient at all." Lin Li didn't care.

"Then let's go together? Call me when you're leaving? I'll go upstairs now to rummage for my swimming trunks and goggles; I haven't swum in a long time, I guess they're at the bottom of the box."

"Okay."

The last bit of mortar was smoothed out by the shovel, and the filling of the entire main road was successfully completed.

【Understand the mysteries of the Five Elements, seek to temper yourself with the power of the Five Elements (4/5)】

What surprised Lin Li a bit was that the system actually popped up a message directly.

——The last section that was originally missing was filled the moment Lin Li stood up.

It should be the extra progress after the trial was complete—before, when eating the super spicy squid, whether he insisted on finishing it or not, the difference in progress was obvious.

Lin Li raised an eyebrow; it wasn't worth getting excited about—after all, it was a task that could have been completed tomorrow anyway, but being able to save some effort was definitely good, and he was still happy.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I'll be..."

After chatting with the neighbors from the neighborhood committee for a while, Lin Li went upstairs to take a simple shower and changed into a set of clothes—the swimming pool had shower stalls, but that didn't mean they could accept a little mud man.

Then he went downstairs, met up with Ceng Ziang, and found a place to eat lunch.

"Brother, you suddenly changed to eating out at noon; won't there be too much rice cooked at home?" After finding a restaurant and ordering, Lin Li asked while waiting for the food.

If Wu Min was cooking at home and Lin Li went out temporarily, the staple food for the next day's lunch would likely be egg fried rice—fried leftover rice.

"No, my dad eats my extra portion at night, and then he just cooks a separate portion for my mom at night," Ceng Ziang looked at Lin Li with some surprise, "Cook a whole day's rice at once? That's a bit too much, right? I feel like cooking like that doesn't taste good either."

Lin Li raised an eyebrow.

He almost projected himself onto others, thinking that others didn't have a dad either.

Damn, it turns out you all have dads.

"My bad, my bad," Lin Li answered with a smile, "My family cooks for a whole day at once."

"Oh, oh, then your rice cooker must be quite big, or your dad's appetite shouldn't be big. My dad is a manual laborer and can eat a lot."

Ceng Ziang didn't know Lin Li's family situation, so he didn't think much of it, just shook his head, then sighed with a smile:

"Eating at home every day gets tiring, and my family is very resistant to ordering takeout. Clearly, a lot of takeout is more nutritious and hygienic than cooking at home, but it's still shot down by my mom."

"Can't order takeout. Lin Li, do you know what my mom said when I told her 'Mom, why don't we eat out today' last time?"

"Refused?" Lin Li raised an eyebrow.

"Agreed," Ceng Ziang said with a fake smile, "My mom said 'Okay'."

"Then she scooped me a bowl of rice and told me to go outside the door and squat at the entrance to eat."

"After that, I never brought it up again, so, how could I miss the chance to have a legitimate reason to eat out?"

There was a faint sadness in Ceng Ziang's eyes.

(End of chapter)