Song Kening knocked on the door of Room 302.
The door opened from inside, revealing a young man in his early twenties.
He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, with black-framed glasses.
Seeing them, he warmly greeted them.
“Come in and take a look. Feel free to look around.”
The room wasn’t very big, only about twenty square meters, with a layout similar to the one they had just rented.
Against the wall was a wooden bunk bed that looked about 70–80% new.
Several cardboard boxes were piled on the top bunk, while the bottom bunk had a bamboo mat and a thin, slightly messy blanket.
By the window was a computer desk with a monitor and keyboard on it, along with an office chair.
A small white refrigerator stood in the corner, with a set of keys hanging from its handle.
In the kitchen, an induction cooker, rice cooker, and electric kettle were scattered messily across the counter.
A simple storage rack hung on the wall, holding cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings.
The bathroom door was open, revealing a brand-new water heater. Its white casing still had the label attached.
A simple freestanding clothes rack stood beside the balcony, with several pieces of clothing hanging from it.
In the middle of the room was a folding table, currently folded up against the wall, with several plastic stools stacked beside it.
Song Kening’s eyes lit up as she looked around.
These were exactly the things she needed!
They had a bed, a table, cooking equipment, a water heater, and even a refrigerator.
She turned to the young man.
“You’re selling all of these?”
The young man nodded.
“Yes, everything. I’m going back to my hometown the day after tomorrow, and I can’t take these things with me. If I can sell them, great. Otherwise, I’ll just have to throw them away.”
Song Kening asked again,
“How much?”
The young man scratched his head awkwardly.
“I don’t really know the going price. How about you make me an offer?”
Song Kening quickly calculated in her head.
A bunk bed like this would cost at least 500 yuan new.
The computer desk and chair would be over 100 yuan.
Even a second-hand refrigerator would cost two or three hundred.
A new water heater would cost even more.
Then there was the induction cooker, rice cooker, electric kettle, clothes rack, folding table…
If they bought everything new, it would easily cost more than 1,500 yuan.
She was just about to speak when a deep voice suddenly came from beside her.
“How can you use things that someone else has used?”
Song Kening turned around.
Lu Zhiyu was standing at the doorway, looking at the bunk bed with his brows slightly furrowed.
Song Kening blinked and looked at him incredulously.
“What’s wrong with that? So many people buy second-hand things. As long as they work, that’s enough. New ones are so expensive.”
Lu Zhiyu said nothing more, but his expression clearly showed that he didn’t agree.
Song Kening couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and turned back to negotiate with the young man.
“How much were you planning to sell all of this for?”
“I haven’t really thought about it… Why don’t you make an offer?”
Song Kening thought for a moment.
“Five hundred.”
The young man froze.
“Five hundred?”
Lu Zhiyu also froze.
Five hundred?
All of these things for 500 yuan?
Song Kening nodded.
“Your bunk bed, refrigerator, and water heater are second-hand too, right? And since they’re second-hand on top of being second-hand, they can’t be worth much anymore.”
“Besides, those people who collect old appliances might only give you 50 yuan for them.”
“Five hundred is perfect. You save yourself the trouble, and I save myself the trouble. What do you think?”
The young man remembered that his landlord had required him to clear out all the furniture and appliances before leaving. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get his deposit back.
Some tenants didn’t like using things left behind by previous tenants and preferred everything new.
“Fine. Five hundred it is. I can’t take them with me anyway.”
He paused before adding,
“But you’ll have to dismantle everything and move it yourselves.”
Song Kening immediately agreed.
“No problem!”
After all, wasn’t Lu Zhiyu there?
He could make computer chips. Surely he could dismantle a water heater.
The young man rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a screwdriver and a bag of tools.
“I’m giving you the tools too.”
Song Kening took them and thanked him before turning to Lu Zhiyu.
“Perfect. It’s the building right next to ours, so it’s very close. You handle dismantling and moving everything. I’ll take care of the smaller things.”
Lu Zhiyu stared at the screwdriver she handed him.
After a moment of silence, he reached out and took it.
Then he began dismantling the furniture.
The desk was assembled with screws.
He unscrewed them, separated the tabletop from the legs, then removed the keyboard tray and drawers.
His movements were quick and efficient.
Clearly, he wasn’t unfamiliar with this kind of thing.
Song Kening watched in amazement.
“You can do this too?”
Without looking up, Lu Zhiyu answered,
“I’ve assembled things before.”
Song Kening thought about it.
That made sense.
He had been tinkering with chargers since middle school and later worked on computer chips. His hands-on skills were probably excellent.
He crouched on the floor and dismantled everything piece by piece.
Gradually, sweat appeared on his forehead.
The back of his white shirt became soaked, clinging to his body and faintly revealing the outline of his muscles.
Song Kening wasn’t idle either.
She packed the smaller items—the induction cooker, rice cooker, electric kettle, and so on—into bags one by one.
She folded the clothes rack, collapsed the folding table, and stacked the plastic stools together.
The young man packed his own luggage nearby.
From time to time, he looked up at them.
Suddenly, he asked,
“You two just arrived in Yangcheng, right?”
Song Kening nodded.
The young man smiled.
“I could tell. I was the same when I first came here. I had to buy everything second-hand. Whenever you can save a little, you save a little.”
Lu Zhiyu ignored their small talk and continued dismantling things.
The water heater was more troublesome than the furniture because it involved water pipes and electrical wiring.
Lu Zhiyu studied it for a while, found the connections, unscrewed the water pipes, and disconnected the wires.
His movements were steady.
His fingers were long and slender, his knuckles clearly defined as he worked the screws with an effortless calm.
Song Kening watched him and suddenly found it a little funny.
The dignified billionaire CEO who used to dismantle computer chips was now dismantling a second-hand water heater.
By the time everything was taken apart, it was almost five in the afternoon.
Song Kening took a deep breath.
“Let’s move.”
One trip.
Two trips.
Three trips.
The two buildings were more than a hundred meters apart, and there was no elevator—only stairs.
Lu Zhiyu carried the heaviest things: the bed boards, bed frame, refrigerator, and other bulky items, going up and down the stairs again and again.
His white shirt had long been soaked through.
Sweat dripped down his face, and his hair was damp and messily stuck to his forehead.
Song Kening carried the bags of smaller items and followed him back and forth.
The back of her floral dress was soaked as well.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing heavily, but her eyes still sparkled.
Four trips.
Five trips.
Six trips.
Finally, after the last trip, Song Kening stood in the middle of the room and looked at the furniture and appliances filling the place.
She let out a long breath.
“Finally! We’re done!”
She turned around.
Lu Zhiyu was sprawled on the floor.
At six-foot-two, his tall body now had absolutely no dignity whatsoever.
His arms and legs were spread out, his chest rising and falling violently as he gasped for breath.
His white shirt was wrinkled and covered in dust.
His hair was completely soaked and stuck messily to his forehead.
His eyes were closed, his chest heaving up and down like a fish stranded on shore.
Song Kening froze for a moment before bursting out laughing.
She rummaged through a plastic bag and pulled out the 2-liter bottle of ice-cold mineral water she had bought from the convenience store downstairs.
She walked over, crouched beside him, and held it out.
“Thanks for your hard work! Have some water. It’s ice-cold!”
Lu Zhiyu opened his eyes and looked at the bottle she was offering.
He reached out, took it, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down a large mouthful.
Song Kening crouched beside him, smiling brightly.
“Your stamina isn’t bad. Six trips!”
Lu Zhiyu turned his head toward her, his expression complicated.
This woman had just run up and down six times with him.
Now she was crouching beside him, her eyes sparkling and a smile on her face, without a single complaint.
He remembered what she had said:
“I’ll save money and support you.”
For just 500 yuan, she had really managed to set up their entire home.
He lay on the floor and looked at her.
“You…”
Song Kening blinked.
“Hmm?”
Lu Zhiyu paused.
He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he only shook his head and took another drink of water.
Song Kening didn’t press him.
She stood up and looked around the room, beginning to plan where everything should go.
“The bed goes here, against the wall. The computer desk goes by the window where there’s better light. The refrigerator goes in that corner by the door. The clothes rack goes behind the bed…”
Lu Zhiyu remained lying on the floor, watching her busy herself around the room.
The coldness of the water bottle in his hand slowly seeped into his palm.
For some reason, he suddenly felt that…
Maybe this wasn’t so unbearable after all.