Shen Mingjin wouldn’t delve into why someone would have a tattered plastic bag in their pocket, just as he didn’t know where Xu Duwan’s inexplicable dependence on him came from.
In the end, Shen Mingjin could only reluctantly conclude that he might resemble someone Xu Duwan knew, or someone he had secretly loved for a long time.
In his mind, he never imagined that he, who was now so poor that he could only work at a food stall, would have any connection with the eldest son of the Xu family.
Ultimately, it may be related to the people Xu Duwan had met before.
Shen Mingjin washed Xu Duwan’s clothes and hung them on the clothes rack. After hesitating for a moment, he folded the plastic bag and placed it on the table. Then he tiptoed out and closed the door.
Shen Mingjin didn’t notice that after he left, the plastic bag that Xu Duwan had carefully hidden for a long time was blown to the ground by the wind that slipped in from the window, spun around, made a slight rustling sound, and then quietly hid under the bed.
By the time Shen Mingjin walked out, the food stall was almost closed, and even Yu Qingbie had started packing up.
Shen Mingjin rolled up his sleeves, carried the chairs and table into the inner room, stacked them neatly, and then went back to wash the dishes.
His hands were beautiful, slender and fair, like tender green bamboo shoots. These hands, which should have been playing the piano, were now clumsily picking up bowls one by one and carefully wiping them with a sponge and foam.
After soaking for a long time, the skin on your fingers wrinkles slightly and looks a bit unsightly.
Shen Mingjin glanced at it casually, enduring the soreness and numbness in his arm, and slowly moved his wrist to relieve the discomfort in his body.
Even the strongest person will feel unwell after a long day.
“Mingjin, come here.”
After everyone had left, Yu’s father closed the door, called Shen Mingjin aside, carefully placed a neatly stacked bundle of wallets in his hand, and whispered:
“This is the customer’s money, please keep it safe.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingjin paused, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. He then lowered his head and politely accepted the money from Yu’s father.
“Thank you.”
After saying that, he seemed to suddenly remember that Xu Duwan had vomited on the ground earlier, and he wondered if the vomit had gotten on the money. He frowned slightly, grabbed a few tissues from the side, wrapped the money in them, and then looked up at Yu’s father and said:
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
“Hey, wait a minute…” Seeing Shen Mingjin’s seemingly cold gaze, Yu’s father awkwardly shifted his gaze to his beautiful, delicate wrist. After a moment, he suddenly leaned closer, his voice low, and said:
“Are you sure the bed in A-Qing’s room is made of fake Hainan rosewood?”
His face was a little pale when he said this, but he was clearly mentally prepared.
Shen Mingjin nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Yu’s father took a few steps back, leaned against the door, let out a long sigh, and after a long while, smiled bitterly:
“Okay, I understand. The day before yesterday, while you were out buying furniture, I had a few experts examine it. They looked at it for a long time and studied it for a long time before they said it was fake.”
“Although it looks very similar, a fake is a fake and can never become real.”
For some reason, Shen Mingjin’s body spoke these words before her mind could process them.
As soon as he finished speaking, his heart skipped a beat. A sharp, stabbing pain spread from his heart through his blood vessels to his brain. Fragments of memories, like swirling snowflakes, pieced together a picture of a boy holding an antique bracelet, looking at him with teary eyes, while he himself remained indifferent. After saying those words, he turned and left.
Shen Mingjin could no longer recall the face of that young boy, but he suddenly remembered the faint silver light reflected through the gaps in the shade of the trees when the sun fell on the boy’s collarbone.
I just don’t know if what’s on that collarbone is a tear or something else.
Shen Mingjin felt a headache coming on, pressed his palm to his forehead, and let out a soft click of his tongue. His face looked even worse. Yu’s father, having done something wrong, didn’t dare to provoke Shen Mingjin any further. He muttered something to himself and then slunk away a moment later.
Shen Mingjin stared at his back without saying a word. After the discomfort subsided, his pale face regained some color.
A moment later, he went into the kitchen, quickly cooked a few dishes and steamed some buns, and then went into his room.
Xu Duwan only drank a bowl of porridge and some wine that night. After vomiting and making a fuss, he would be full of energy and had already digested everything. If he didn’t eat something later, he would probably have a stomachache again in the middle of the night.
Even without counting the money, Shen Mingjin knew that Yu’s father had secretly kept some for himself. However, considering that he had to clean up the mess and do the housework that night, Shen Mingjin refrained from making a scene. Instead, he planned to use his own salary to make up for it for Xu Duwan. Afterward, he used the kitchen ingredients to cook two dishes for Xu Duwan.
However, when he opened the door, he was surprised to find that Xu Duwan was already awake without him having to call him. He had taken all the clothes out of his closet, thrown them on the bed, and then crawled in.
Shen Mingjin: “…….”
What is this, building a nest?
Shen Mingjin found it amusing, but after a while, he thought that Xu Duwan’s dependence on him might come from someone else, and for some reason, he felt a little melancholy.
He placed the food on the table, holding a steamed bun in his left hand, and pulled Xu Duwan out of bed. He was caught off guard by his swollen, red eyes, and paused for a moment before saying:
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Didn’t you say you weren’t leaving? You lied to me again?” Xu Duwan’s eyes were blurry from crying. After waking up, he searched for a long time and found that the plastic bag that Shen Mingjin had bought for him to carry steamed buns was missing. He was angry and aggrieved. Under the influence of alcohol, he actually bit Shen Mingjin’s neck hard, leaving a ring of teeth marks.
It’s like a kitten that’s extremely dependent on its owner discovering that its owner is petting another cat outside. It instinctively gets angry, to the point that it wants to leave its mark on its owner.
Shen Mingjin groaned in pain, the steamed bun in his hand fell to the ground, rolled around, and got covered in dust.
“Are you a dog?” Shen Mingjin nearly lunged at Xu Duwan in pain, grabbing his neck and pulling him away, but barely managed to restrain himself. He touched the flesh where the bite had drawn blood, thinking about how he had cared for this person all night and still gotten bitten. He laughed coldly, his anger turning into a mocking laugh:
“Go outside and let your madness run wild.”
After saying that, Shen Mingjin stood up, picked up the steamed bun from the ground, and muttered to himself:
“I steamed buns for you for nothing, and you don’t appreciate my kindness.”
After saying that, Shen Mingjin was about to throw the dirty steamed bun into the trash can when he saw Xu Duwan’s eyes widen. Then he shouted “No!” and pounced on him, snatching the dirty steamed bun away and stuffing it into his mouth in a hurry.
Shen Mingjin was stunned by Xu Duwan’s actions, while Xu Duwan choked and turned pale. Shen Mingjin was terrified at the sight, and with a grim face, he pulled the steamed bun out of Xu Duwan’s mouth, his expression even more somber than before.
“What are you doing? Isn’t it dirty?” Shen Mingjin scolded.
“But you steamed this for me…” Xu Duwan looked up, pouted aggrievedly, and touched Shen Mingjin’s furrowed brows with his fingertips, saying unhappily:
“Why did you ignore me just now? You were talking to other girls even though I had already finished eating.”
“What do you mean, ‘finished eating’?” Shen Mingjin asked, puzzled.
“Four steamed buns.” Xu Duwan counted on his fingers, squinted his eyes, and picked at his fingers with a hint of annoyance, whispering:
“Black sesame.”
He didn’t like black sesame seeds, but he ate them reluctantly because Shen Mingjin bought them.
Shen Mingjin stared in shock at Xu Duwan, who was completely oblivious.
He vaguely remembered that he had bought four steamed buns for Xu Duwan at the hospital, and they were filled with black sesame.
However, due to a previous misunderstanding, they all fell to the ground.
Did Xu Duwan eat those dirty buns?
The thought flashed through Shen Mingjin’s mind, feeling both incredulous and amused. Looking down at Xu Duwan, who was like a soft and harmless little animal, cautiously approaching him and trying to reach for the dirty steamed bun in his hand, he couldn’t help but slowly lower his eyes.
“You’re not allowed to eat anymore, no wonder your stomach hurts.”
Shen Mingjin raised his arm, looking down at Xu Duwan, who was shrouded in his shadow, and said succinctly.
Ignoring Xu Duwan’s quiet protests, he threw the dirty steamed bun into the trash can, and then used clean chopsticks to let Xu Duwan hold them.
“Eat this.”
Shen Mingjin placed the food in front of Xu Duwan and raised his chin.
Xu Duwan hesitated and glanced at Shen Mingjin, then furtively looked at the dirty steamed buns in the trash can, only to be glared back at fiercely by Shen Mingjin.
He immediately fell silent and quickly lowered his head to eat. Shen Mingjin watched Xu Duwan obediently puffing out his cheeks as he ate, and felt that the other person looked just like a little hamster.
“Oh, right, here’s your money.”
Shen Mingjin suddenly felt a bulge in his pocket, reached in, took out the money, placed it in front of Xu Duwan, and whispered:
“Don’t throw money around so carelessly next time.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Duwan buried his face in his rice bowl. After a long while, he thought for a moment, then pushed the money wrapped in a tissue in front of Shen Mingjin and whispered:
“It’s all yours.”
“Why are you giving it to me?” Shen Mingjin asked in surprise.
“Didn’t you love money the most?” Xu Duwan looked at Shen Mingjin, yet seemed not to be looking at him at all. His eyes were empty, yet held a stubbornness and repression that Shen Mingjin couldn’t understand.
“I’ll give you lots and lots of money. Now, I’m good enough for you.”
Xu Duwan lowered his head, taking a bite of rice as a cover-up, the chopsticks making a dull thud on the porcelain bowl.
“So, can you accept my confession from before?”