"Alright, wait for me. Eleanor, don't come in. It's dirty and unsafe here."
He sounded a bit unsteady, probably too excited.
Fifteen minutes later, Josh was out of breath as he stood in front of me.
He was wearing a yellow safety helmet and a dirty, ill-fitting work uniform.
I touched his exposed wrist, feeling heartbroken. "Your boss is too inconsiderate! Why are the uniforms so poorly made?"
Josh's face turned red, and he stammered, "Well, the boss is really busy. Maybe he didn't notice the details."
Seeing his shy expression, I knew he must have felt embarrassed to ask his boss for a new uniform.
I crossed my arms, exasperated, "Details matter! It's winter, you're working on the top floor with your wrists and ankles exposed. What are you going to do when you get arthritis when you're older? No way, I'm going to talk to your boss about this!"
Darling, if no one else cares about me, you will!
With that, I grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.
Reluctantly, Josh borrowed a red safety helmet from a passing coworker for me to wear.
"Eleanor, now that Brother Wang from the logistics department isn't here, even if you go in, you won't see him. Don't worry, I'll definitely bring this up with him when he comes back," Josh hurriedly explained. "By the way, weren't you here to bring me lunch? I'm actually hungry too."
Hearing that the boss wasn't around, I had no choice but to give in.
"Josh... I mean, Mr. Hamilton, there's a seat here!"
Not far away, a coworker in a white helmet waved at him enthusiastically.
Josh took my hand and walked over. Once inside, I noticed the room had the warmth of a heater.
The small metal room was clean and tidy.
"Hey? Why isn't your coworker coming in to eat?" I asked curiously.
Josh glanced outside and said, "They've already eaten."
"Well, forget what I just said. Your boss is really great to have set up a heated eating space for you."
Josh looked at the thermos in my hands with an embarrassed expression.
He must have been starving after moving bricks all morning.
Thinking of this, my heart tightened:
"I made sushi for you, try it, see if it's good!"
Josh took a piece and immediately praised it, "This is delicious, really delicious! It's even better than what I've had at the shop!"
"You've been to a sushi restaurant?"
Josh hurriedly shook his head, "No, no, I've never been. My friend just gave me some when it was his birthday."
I affectionately patted his head and couldn't help but say, "I'll take you abroad one day to eat authentic food."
Josh suddenly looked up, "Hmm?"
"Not like that! I mean, when we have enough money, we'll travel abroad together, okay?"
Josh nodded after hearing this.
I almost wanted to bite my own tongue off. I almost gave it away.
I curiously looked out the window where a group of workers in different colored helmets were gathered.
"What are they doing?"
Josh didn't even look up, "They're having a meeting."
"Why didn't they invite you to the meeting?"
Josh paused and then replied, "I'm not high enough rank."
I gasped, then understood.
Of course, Josh graduated from a vocational school, and coming from a poor family, finding a job in the big city with a salary of 1,000 USD a month was already quite impressive.
"Josh, do the different colored helmets mean different ranks?"
