NFBE Chapter 548 Meeting an Old Friend on the Field
Chapter 548 Meeting an Old Friend on the Field
As soon as the morning light in Qinglongpo dispelled the shadows in the kiln, Pei Luonan took a thermometer and crawled into the kiln.
He crouched down at the bottom of the kiln, which was covered with pine needle ash, and placed the probe against the inside of the kiln wall. The room temperature reading on the screen remained stable at 25°C. This was the optimal temperature for "kiln maintenance" as described by Craftsman Chen, which kept the kiln wall stable and prevented cracking due to temperature differences during trial firing.
Gu Fanxing stood at the kiln entrance, recording data in her notebook, occasionally peeking inside.
"Is the temperature okay? Professor Wang said the expert team will arrive first thing tomorrow morning, so we need to make sure the equipment debugging goes smoothly."
"Don't worry, the kiln wall temperature is uniform. I also bagged and labeled the debris that I cleaned yesterday, and we're waiting for the experts to come and do a composition comparison."
Pei Luonan came out of the kiln and casually brushed the kiln dust off Gu Fanxing's hair.
"Kong Haoyu just messaged me saying he's arrived in Munich and went to watch Xiao Fangfei's motorcycle race today. He even took some photos of the race. Do you want to see them?"
Gu Fanxing took the phone. The screen showed a racetrack outside Munich, with a red track winding through the grass, and many people already seated in the stands in the distance.
"Fangfei doesn't seem nervous at all. She told me in a video call last time that she has participated in many international competitions and is long past the age of being anxious."
She traced the racetrack in the photo with her fingertips. "Have Kong Haoyu help keep an eye on things more. Fangfei is sometimes too strong-willed; she won't say anything even when she encounters problems."
Pei Luonan smiled and nodded, then sent a message to Kong Haoyu.
"Take good care of Fangfei, and let me know if anything happens."
Just as the message was sent out, Ling Jiu'er ran over carrying a stack of moisture-proof mats: "President Pei, Xingxing, Master Chen said that moisture-proof mats should be laid around the kiln chamber to prevent ground moisture from seeping into the kiln. These were just brought from the village chief's house and have been freshly dried."
The village chief then came over, carrying a bundle of hemp rope. He added with a smile, "My wife was worried that the moisture-proof mat wouldn't be laid securely, so she specially asked me to bring this rope. We'll fix the corners in a bit, so it won't shift even if it rains."
Ling Jiu'er squatted down and touched the moisture-proof mat, adding.
"These are the old mats we used last year when drying corn. They are breathable and thick. Last time, they were laid on the side of the kiln and didn't get damp for half a month. Using them to protect the kiln is definitely the right thing to do."
While the three were busy laying out moisture-proof mats and securing the corners, far away at the Munich racetrack, Xiao Fangfei was squatting next to her silver motorcycle, beaming with joy.
Holding a wrench, she repeatedly checked the brake cable, but the brake feedback still felt off—during the warm-up, the brake travel was half a centimeter longer than usual. Although it didn't affect normal driving, she strived for perfection and didn't want to leave any hidden dangers.
"What's wrong, Xiao? Do you need help?" Hans, the German driver next to him, came over and asked in broken Chinese.
Xiao Fangfei shook her head and continued adjusting: "It's okay, there's a small problem with the brakes, let me take another look."
The preliminary rounds were starting in half an hour. Among the spare parts she brought, there were no suitable brake cables. The pit stop at the racecourse only had general parts, which might not be compatible with her custom motorcycle.
Just as she was at a loss, a familiar voice came from behind her: "The brake cable connector is loose. Try this spare connector."
Xiao Fangfei turned around abruptly and saw Kong Haoyu dressed in black casual clothes, holding a silver metal connector in his hand, standing in the sunlight, with a black tool bag on his back.
Before Xiao Fangfei could ask any more questions, he took out a pair of her usual non-slip gloves from his bag: "I know your hands tend to sweat during competitions, so I brought you new ones. The old pair was quite worn out."
The moment the tool bag zipper was unzipped, Xiao Fangfei glimpsed a small wrench inside—with a tiny "Fei" engraved on the handle. It was the one she had accidentally lost last year, which she had searched for for a long time without success. She never expected that Kong Haoyu would find it and keep it with him ever since.
"What brings you here? Did Pei Luonan let you slack off?"
Xiao Fangfei stood up in surprise, almost dropping the wrench in her hand.
"Isn't Pei Luonan's work still unfinished? Didn't you say you were going to stay in Paris for a week?"
Kong Haoyu walked to the motorcycle, squatted down, took the wrench from her hand, and skillfully disconnected the brake cable connector.
"After finishing the overseas project assigned by President Pei yesterday, I booked the earliest flight here. You mentioned to me last time that the brake joints on your motorcycle are custom-made and prone to loosening, so I specially took two from the spare parts in your workshop, thinking they might come in handy."
As he spoke, his fingertips deftly attached the new connector, then gently tightened it with a wrench. His movements were crisp and efficient, clearly demonstrating his familiarity with the locomotive's structure.
Looking at his focused profile, Xiao Fangfei suddenly felt a warmth in her heart.
She recalled how Kong Haoyu used to help her with miscellaneous tasks during competitions—for example, when she went to Italy for a competition last time and forgot to bring the competition route map, Kong Haoyu scanned it overnight and sent it to her.
Last time, when her motorcycle engine parts were accidentally damaged and she couldn't find a suitable replacement, Kong Haoyu contacted parts suppliers in three cities overnight, drove to a warehouse in the suburbs in the early morning to pick up the parts, and then promptly helped her install and adjust the parts so that she wouldn't miss her training the next day.
She could sense that Kong Haoyu treated her differently, but she always felt that she wasn't interested in marriage and didn't want to hold Kong Haoyu back, so she kept rejecting him.
However, Kong Haoyu only wanted to stay by her side quietly, not wanting to force her or put any pressure on her, and he didn't do anything to make her uncomfortable. So she thought Kong Haoyu was just helping out as a friend, but little did she know that he remembered everything about her, even the little problems with her motorcycle, the wear and tear on her gloves, and the lost wrench.
"Okay, try it."
Kong Haoyu stood up and made way for him.
Xiao Fangfei got into the car, squeezed the brakes, and the brake feedback instantly returned to normal. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Kong Haoyu: "Thank you. I really owe you a lot this time. Otherwise, I might have had to give up the preliminary round."
"Don't say that. You've prepared for so long, you can't let a small mishap ruin it."
Kong Haoyu took a bottle of water out of his toolbox and handed it to her.
"I just asked the staff, and the preliminary round track has three sharp turns. Be careful to control your speed when you go around the turns. I'll be cheering you on from the stands."
Xiao Fangfei took the water, and her fingertips touched his hand; it was a little hot.
As she watched Kong Haoyu turn and walk towards the audience, she suddenly realized that this man who always helped her silently seemed different from the others she knew who only knew how to use sweet words.
As the whistle blew for the preliminary round, she took a deep breath, rode her motorcycle onto the track, but her mind kept replaying the image of Kong Haoyu squatting on the ground to fix her brakes—a sense of security she had never felt before.
Meanwhile, on Qinglongpo, Gu Fanxing received a message from Kong Haoyu: "Fangfei has successfully advanced to the next round. The brake problem has been resolved. Don't worry."
She smiled and handed the phone to Pei Luonan.
"Kong Haoyu is really reliable. He even remembered Fangfei's gloves and the lost wrench. No wonder Fangfei was so at ease during this competition."
Pei Luonan took the phone and nodded, saying, "We can all see Kong Haoyu's feelings for Fangfei. It's just a matter of when Fangfei will come to her senses."
At that moment, craftsman Chen came over carrying a bundle of pine branches, his face full of smiles.
"Luonan, Fanxing, look at these pine branches I've selected. They're all three-year-old pine branches, with plenty of oil. They burn at a stable temperature. Once the expert team arrives, we'll be able to start the fire."
Looking at the pine needles on the pine branches, Gu Fanxing thought of Xiao Fangfei's competition abroad. Suddenly, she felt that whether it was the kiln fire in Qinglongpo or the motorcycles on the foreign racetrack, they all contained a warm feeling that made people look forward to it—just like Kong Haoyu's feelings for Xiao Fangfei. Although he didn't say it out loud, it was already reflected in every detail.