As dawn broke, Liu Ruòruò rode his electric scooter out the door.
The scooter was the one that had been damaged yesterday; the display was still black, but he tried a few times and it could barely move. He didn't get it repaired, nor did he report the damage. He directly picked up a new task from the station. A water delivery order, two barrels, to be delivered to three residential complexes in the west of the city. It wasn't heavy work, but it required three trips.
He wore a long-sleeved uniform, the sleeves pulled down tight, his right hand tucked inside, motionless.
By the time he reached the station, it was already bright daylight. A few workers were smoking by the entrance. When they saw him get off his scooter, someone muttered something in a low voice, but no one responded. The air felt tense.
Li Jídù stood at the warehouse entrance, holding the registration book, and grinned, "Yo, you can still come to work?"
Liu Ruòruò didn't look at him and walked straight inside.
"Weren't you incapacitated yesterday?" Li Jídù raised his voice. "Heard you took a bad fall, couldn't even hold an insulated delivery box?"
Several people nearby chuckled.
Liu Ruòruò paused, placed his left hand on his right wrist, and gave it a gentle squeeze. His palm felt a little warm, but nothing more. He continued to walk forward, towards the water barrels waiting for delivery. The plastic barrels were full, twenty kilograms each, stacked in the middle of the aisle, as if placed there specifically to block the way.
Li Jídù followed him, standing beside him. "This job today, a newcomer can't do it. Your right hand isn't working, and maybe your left hand isn't either? How about I call someone for you?"
Liu Ruòruò turned his head to look at him.
Li Jídù was a head taller than him, with broad shoulders and muscles honed from years of carrying water, straining his uniform. He liked to stand close in these situations, to intimidate.
Liu Ruòruò didn't back down.
He bent over, grabbed the bottom of the topmost water barrel with his left hand, fingers gripping tightly.
"You really want to carry it?" Li Jídù's smile widened. "Don't fall again later, spill the water everywhere, and still have others clean it up for you."
No one spoke.
Liu Ruòruò put force into his arm, and the barrel lifted off the ground.
He stood up straight, slowly raising the water barrel overhead with his left hand, his movement steady, as if lifting an empty basket. Sunlight shone on the barrel, the water sloshing, but his arm was as steady as an iron pillar.
The smiles on the faces of the onlookers slowly faded.
Li Jídù's mouth was still open, but he didn't say anything more.
Liu Ruòruò stood still, holding the barrel, for three seconds.
Then he took a step forward, swung his arm, and the water barrel flew out, tracing an arc, landing in a storage locker five meters away. With a dull thud, the metal door frame vibrated violently, and a screw from the corner of the cabinet popped off, bouncing a few times on the ground.
The entire place fell silent.
Someone swallowed.
Li Jídù took half a step back, his expression changed. He stared at Liu Ruòruò and blurted out, "Are you cheating?"
Liu Ruòruò lowered his hand, and the sleeve slid down a bit, revealing a corner of his hand. Dark red patterns stuck to his skin, deep in color, with clear edges. He glanced at it, not hiding it.
"Delivery complete," he said, then turned and walked towards the registration desk.
He signed, wrote the time, and wrote clearly, stroke by stroke.
Li Jídù stood where he was, his fists clenched white. He wanted to yell, his throat moved, then he swallowed. An old worker next to him pulled him aside. "Don't say anything, that move just now... that's not something a human can lift."
"His right hand wasn't even used!" Li Jídù growled. "His left hand! Single-handed! Twenty kilograms! Who would believe it?"
"Believe it or not, you try it yourself," the other man sneered. "If you can lift it, I'll eat this registration book on the spot."
Murmurs arose.
Some people looked at Liu Ruòruò's retreating back, their eyes changed. Some took out their phones, tapped a few times, and sent messages to someone.
After signing, Liu Ruòruò picked up the empty box and walked towards his electric scooter.
As he passed Li Jídù, the latter glared at him with a stiff neck, his eyes red.
Liu Ruòruò didn't stop.
He reached his scooter, put the box down, and straddled the seat.
The engine started, and the wheels rolled over the concrete, kicking up a little dust.
Just as the scooter was about to leave, he glanced at Li Jídù out of the corner of his eye, his voice not loud: "Next time, bring something heavier."
The scooter sped away, leaving a trail of exhaust.
Li Jídù stood there, his lips trembling.
He suddenly turned and kicked a metal rack nearby. With a clang, the rack tilted, and several barrels of water rolled down, smashing onto the ground.
"He's crazy!" he yelled at the empty air. "This guy is fucking crazy!"
No one responded.
In the distance, the electric scooter rounded a corner and headed towards the first residential complex.
Liu Ruòruò held the handlebars, his left hand steady, his right hand hidden in his sleeve, quiet.
He didn't look back.
Wind blew past his ears, carrying the coolness of the morning.
He arrived at the first customer's building, parked his scooter, and carried the water barrels upstairs. The sixth floor, no elevator, narrow stairs, moldy walls. He went up in one breath and knocked on the door.
An old woman opened the door. She paused when she took the water barrels. "Young man, you're quite strong, coming up alone?"
"Mm."
" haven't seen you before, are you new?"
"First day today."
"Alright, as long as you're strong. They change people here often. Some complain of back injuries after carrying two barrels, you're in good shape."
Liu Ruòruò nodded, signed, and turned to go downstairs.
The second barrel was delivered to another complex, this time an office building. The young woman at the front desk glanced at the order and looked him up and down. "Are you the one who lifted the barrel single-handedly?"
Liu Ruòruò froze.
"It's all over the group chat," she chuckled. "They said some delivery guy threw a whole barrel of water into a cabinet with his left hand, and even bent the door. That was you, right?"
Liu Ruòruò neither confirmed nor denied, put down the water, signed, and left.
The third stop was a high-end apartment complex, remote and with a bad road. It was already noon when he arrived.
Just as he was about to go upstairs, a black sedan suddenly drove up from behind and stopped in front of his scooter.
The car window rolled down, and the driver leaned out. "Are you Liu Ruòruò?"
Liu Ruòruò stopped.
"Someone sent me to find you," the driver said, handing him a business card. "The boss wants to see you."
Liu Ruòruò didn't take it.
He looked at the card, his fingers moving inside his sleeve.
The driver waited a few seconds, frowning. "Don't you want to know who's looking for you?"
Liu Ruòruò looked up, his gaze straight. "Right now, I'm working."