Assistant Architect

Chapter 158: Heart Lock

At the moment of being released, Zhang Siyi felt the loss. As much as he wanted to remain in Gu Yu arms, he knew they couldn’t show such intimate embraces in public.

Zhang Siyi believed that Gu Yu also felt the same loss as he did. Emblazoned on their hearts, the feelings transmitted between them for five sweet seconds were precious.

As they moved around the observation desk, they came upon a stall that was selling heart padlocks! If requested, the salesperson could engrave both names on it so they could hang it together a kilometer above ground in the sky. Even though it was just a gimmick to make more money, how could a couple pass up the opportunity to express their love for one another?

Gu Yu asked Zhang Siyi: “Should we buy one?”

Zhang Siyi: “......” Really? Gu Yu still believed in this kind of thing?

Even though Zhang Siyi wanted to buy one, he didn’t have the courage to speak up. Also, if his colleagues found out....

It’s a shame. Zhang Siyi casually found an excuse: “A thousand Yen is too expensive. Forget it.”

Suddenly, Zhang Siyi was being pushed from behind towards the direction of the stall. Certainly, for Gu Yu if ‘expensive’ was the only reason, it was no reason at all.

“Hey...” Zhang Siyi blushed and looked around alarmed. Quickly, he walked up to the stall and bought a lock with Gu Yu by his side.

A very gentle women was selling locks at the stall. Watching them smiling brightly, she spoke while handing them a lock. Unfortunately, neither of them could understand Japanese so they didn’t know what she said. Perhaps, it was a blessing....? She gestured to a book where it was obvious the people buying the lock wrote their names. Gu Yu wrote down an acronym: GX.ZSY-6.20.2015

Afterwards, the two walked to the side of the guardrail and snapped the lock together onto the chain links. At the moment they heard the locking mechanism ‘click’ into place, not only did they physically lock the padlock, but their hearts were locked together forever as well.

When they turned around, Gu Yu and Zhang Siyi froze. Not far away, Tao Fei and Lu Qiao were standing staring intently in their direction.

It took only a moment hesitation until Gu Yu walked up and greeted them calmly. Zhang Siyi wasn’t a very good actor. He started to sweat and panic. It doesn’t matter if Tao Fei watched, but what about Lu Qiao? What would he think?

Tao Fei smirked and said jokingly: “Oh, you two are being so romantic. You bought a lock?”

Until he heard Tao Fei, Lu Qiao was wondering what the heck were those locks for. He felt very strange...... For the first time, he began to wonder if Gu Yu and Zhang Siyi were real lovers. If they weren’t, was it necessary to buy a love lock as part of the game?

However, Gu Yu’s performance was so smooth. He calmly and indifferently asked: “Would you like to buy one too?”

Tao Fei laughed: “With me? Get in line!”

If Lu Qiao was asked, he would say ‘fuck off’. Isn’t that the normal response? But Tao Fei also joked, leaving Lu Qiao feeling confused. Is he the only one that thought it was strange for Gu Yu and Zhang Siyi to buy a love lock?

Truthfully, it wasn’t just him. When Zhang Siyi and Lu Qiao went to the bathroom, Tao Fei yelled at Gu Yu: “You are being too obvious!”

Gu Yu looked away. He also felt perhaps it was too much, but he couldn’t help it. His actions were completely dominated by his emotions. “I know, I’ll pay more attention.” Even saying thus, he wasn’t at all expressing concern and instead, he had a dazed look and broad smile on his face. Not for a moment did he regret buying the lock with Zhang Siyi.

Tao Fei glared at him: “Get it together! The stench of love is too strong!”

Gu Yu: “......”

After spending an hour and a half visiting the Umeda Sky building, they were feeling a little reluctant to descend to the ground. The end of the day’s trip was spent eating ramen at a restaurant that Gu Yu took them too.

Combined with the need to wake up early in the morning to get to the airport and walking around touring in the afternoon, they were completely exhausted upon returning to the hotel. In particular, Lu Qiao was both physically exhausted and mentally exhausted.

At home in Haicheng, Lu Qiao thought his lifestyle was very stable. He was satisfied with his home and had enough pocket money to enjoy a few things he wanted. Now that he was with his colleagues, reality hit him in the face at full force. Any excitement he felt in the beginning of the trip vanished and what remained was confusion and sorrow.

When Zhang Siyi returned from his shower, he saw Lu Qiao awake on the bed unmoving. He asked: “Aren’t you going to take a shower?”

Lu Qiao looked at his phone and lazily said: “In a little bit.”

While drying off his hair, Zhang Siyi took out his sketch book from his bag to sum up the day’s events. After a few weeks, he developed the habit of writing and sketching every day. Now, if he does not write a few thoughts down, he felt like his day wasn’t complete.

Compared to when he first started, his sketching ability has greatly improved. Even Gu Yu praised him a few days ago for drawing more professionally. As a result, Zhang Siyi gained a sense of accomplishment that gave him the confidence he needed to persist in his task and take notes in his sketchbook every day.

Lost in thought, Zhang Siyi was diligently writing his notes that included the details of the airport in Kanai, the size of the seats in the Japanese subway as well as the main design points and features of the Umeda Sky Building.

Lu Qiao felt bored and checked the WeChat group that Zhang Siyi had set up for the office staff long ago. He suddenly spoke up and asked: “Four, why don’t you chat in the group anymore?”

“Ah?” Zhang Siyi closed the notebook and turned around to face him.

Lu Qiao: “In the WeChat group that you created..... Everyone is chatting in it.”

Zhang Siyi smiled and said: “I forgot about it. I’ve been too busy recently.”

In truth, it’s not so much that he is busy, but having Gu Yu by his side has subtly influenced his habits. At what point did he start thinking that chatting in WeChat was a waste of his time?

Now, Zhang Siyi felt that it was better to use his time more productively such as reading or writing in his sketchbook. He felt like his life was becoming more enriched as compared to his state of being before meeting Gu Yu and as a result, he didn’t feel the need to look at his social media pages all the time anymore.

Ironically, Zhang Siyi mobile phone sounded. There was a text message from Gu Yu: “Come over.”

Zhang Siyi: “What are you doing? Its half passed eleven and you haven’t slept yet?

Gu Yu: “Just come.”

Speechless, Zhang Siyi put the sketchbook under his pillow then informed Lu Qiao: “Boss requested me. I’m going to his room for few minutes. Then I’ll come back.”

Lu Qiao: “Oh.”

Watching Zhang Siyi leave the room, Lu Qiao withdrew his eyesight. He meant to returned his attention to his phone but instead, he noticed the sketchbook under Zhang Siyi’s pillow.

..... Why was it hidden? Isn’t it just a sketchbook? Is there something to be ashamed of?

Throughout the day Lu Qiao’s noticed a variety peculiar actions between Zhang Siyi and Gu Yu like the same fragrance on their cloths, the closeness they displayed on the airplane, and the incident with the lock. All of these occurrences left questions in Lu Qiao mind which served to increase his desire to find answers. With his curiosity piqued, he climbed out of his bed and peeked at Zhang Siyi sketchbook.

Opening the book, he glanced at few pages from the beginning of the book and saw a few sketches of various dimensions and didn’t think too much of it. Clearly, these are drawings from an architect. Since his drawings weren’t very good, perhaps Zhang Siyi was embarrassed about them and felt like he had to hide his sketchbook?

Looking at the poor quality of the drawings, Lu Qiao felt better. He was about to close the book and put it back when he saw a different style of drawing on the follow page. It was a very professional drawing of a log cabin in perspective with extensive notes beside it. He recognized the handwriting right away. It was his Boss’s. Strange, why did Gu Yu draw in Zhang Siyi’s sketch book?

As Lu Qiao continued to turn the pages, his expression grew darker and darker. The rate at which Zhang Siyi drawing improved was too fast. The drawings at the beginning were like a child’s, but further along in the book, they were quickly getting better and better. In addition to the sketch, Zhang Siyi wrote many notes about the architectural details related to the image.

Looking through the book, Lu Qiao witnessed the growth of a person first hand. If at the start, he felt a little disdain for Zhang Siyi, now he broke out in a cold sweat.

Although they are colleagues, they are also competitors. Knowing how quickly Zhang Siyi caught up to him, Lu Qiao felt an enormous pressure. With a heavy heart, Lu Qiao turned to the last page; a sketch of a lock leaped into view. A beautiful line of English text wrapped around the edge: “Lock our love forever.”

As if he was caught at discovering a terrible secret, he frantically closed the book and put it back under Zhang Siyi’s pillow and quickly went back to his own bed to lie down.

.........

Zhang Siyi knocked on the door of Gu Yu and Tao Fei’s room: “What is it?”

Tao Fei was lying in bed with his full attention to his iPad. Hearing the burst of music, Zhang Siyi knew he was playing a game and stated: “Playing the Era of Music, huh?”

Just as Tao Fei finished the round, he regretfully called: “Damn it! I missed five!”

Noticing Zhang Siyi’s presence he smiled: “Brother said you are very good at this game.”

As if he presented his own trophy, Gu Yu eagerly pushed Zhang Siyi forward: “Quick, play a game and let him see your score.”

Zhang Siyi: “......” Dang! Gu Yu called him over in the middle of the night for this?

Zhang Siyi reached out to take the iPad from Tao Fei and realized Tao Fei had been playing the game on Gu Yu’s iPad. –Gu Yu installed the game on his own iPad??

Not really understanding what was expected, he glanced over at Gu Yu questioningly. Zhang Siyi saw Gu Yu looking at him intently with all seriousness. Zhang Siyi sat down then took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Ho-ho-ho..... he couldn’t embarrass himself in front of Gu Yu!

He flexed his fingers then selected a song he hadn’t played before.......