Xu Duwan seemed to speak without hesitation, his eyes fixed on Shen Mingjin’s face, unwilling to miss a single change in expression.
He expected Shen Mingjin’s face to show not only shock but also anger, but to his surprise, Shen Mingjin simply rolled over, pulled him into his arms as he was about to fall, and calmly replied:
“OK.”
“…………”
This time, it was Xu Duwan who was shocked.
As if he couldn’t believe his ears, his almond-shaped eyes slowly widened, like a kitten eager to try:
“You agree?”
“It’s just moving bricks at your place, what’s wrong with that?”
Shen Mingjin closed his eyes and said calmly:
“Moving bricks earns you much more than working at a food stall.”
“…” Xu Duwan was caught off guard by Shen Mingjin’s answer. The joy on his face hadn’t even faded before disappointment replaced it. After realizing what had happened, he quickly and hastily explained:
“No, what I mean is……”
“Alright, it’s too late. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.” Shen Mingjin turned his head, reached out and pulled Xu Duwan into his arms, patting him perfunctorily.
“I’m sleepy.”
Seeing Shen Mingjin’s pale face, Xu Duwan paused, knowing that the other was indeed not feeling well, so he silently swallowed back what he wanted to say and obediently shut his mouth.
As the breathing beside him gradually became even, Xu Duwan raised his head, glanced at Shen Mingjin cautiously, and then slowly, little by little, snuggled into his arms before peacefully closing his eyes.
After he closed his eyes, he didn’t notice that Shen Mingjin, who had just been asleep, was now slowly curving up a faint smile.
I slept without any dreams.
When Shen Mingjin woke up the next day, his fever had almost subsided. Xu Duwan discharged him from the hospital. In between, he received a message from Xu’s father inviting him home for dinner, but he declined.
“Why don’t you go back?”
Sitting in the car, Shen Mingjin heard Xu Duwan’s impatient reply to his father, tilted his head, and asked:
“Did you two have a fight?”
“No, I just don’t want to go back.”
Xu Duwan frowned, thinking of his troublesome younger brother and nominal mother, and didn’t want to talk to Shen Mingjin about his family’s problems, so he abruptly changed the subject:
“Are you returning it later?”
“Let’s go back.” Shen Mingjin thought for a moment: “This month’s wages haven’t been settled yet. I need to go and tell Yu Qingbie first, and then I’ll leave.”
“Are you really going to do bricklaying?” Xu Duwan was a little reluctant for Shen Mingjin to actually go do bricklaying, and subconsciously wanted to bring up the old topic again:
“Or you could just…”
“Where did you get this necklace from?”
Shen Mingjin interrupted Xu Duwan, leaned closer, and used his fingertips to gently remove the necklace hidden in Xu Duwan’s collar. His hot breath brushed against Xu Duwan’s sensitive skin, sending shivers down his spine. He seemed lost in thought.
“A Paraiba tourmaline, with a neon blue sheen, it looks to be around five carats. Where did you get it?”
“This is fake.” Xu Duwan’s attention was indeed drawn. He lowered his head, fiddled with the silver chain, glanced at Shen Mingjin, and said cryptically:
“That one is with my brother.”
“Fake?” Shen Mingjin was stunned for a moment, his gaze falling on the tourmaline again. After pondering for a long time, he could not agree with Xu Duwan’s statement.
He had pursued a second degree in jewelry appraisal at University A when he was in college. Although he can’t remember ever having studied there, the knowledge is firmly etched in his mind.
But he didn’t speak immediately, since he didn’t have any tools to do the identification. So, under Xu Duwan’s unpleasant gaze, he slowly shut his mouth.
Upon arriving at the food stall, after explaining the situation to Yu’s father, Shen Mingjin took his wages and left. Under Xu Duwan’s arrangement, he entered Yuanlong.
Because Shen Mingjin was outstanding in appearance and secretly received special care from Xu Duwan, many people on the construction site knew that Shen Mingjin had a close relationship with the leaders, so no one made things difficult for him.
Through his experiences over the past few days, Shen Mingjin had a vague idea that his previous identity was related to antique appraisal, but he wasn’t entirely sure. So he would go to museums and similar places whenever he had free time, trying to recall some of his past memories.
But for some reason, whenever he was about to recall what had happened before, his brain would start to ache, as if it were instinctively resisting him from figuring out his identity before he lost his memory. The pain became more and more intense each time. Over time, Shen Mingjin gave up on this line of work and started working honestly.
Although Shen Mingjin is very young, he is not aloof. On the contrary, he gets along well with some of the migrant workers on the construction site. They often get together for meals and drinks, and Shen Mingjin is quite comfortable with it.
One day, after taking a shower, he came out of the dormitory and saw his roommate, with whom he had a fairly good relationship, crying on the table. The phone next to him was still lit up, showing a picture of a girl.
The girl looked very young, almost childlike, and wearing a hospital gown, she flashed a peace sign at the camera. Seeing this, Shen Mingjin roughly understood what was going on. He silently hung up the towel, hesitated for a moment, and then softly reminded him:
“I’m done washing.”
His roommate’s sobbing stopped abruptly. After a long pause, he seemed to realize he wasn’t alone in the rented room. He hastily wiped his tears with his clothes and awkwardly turned his face away.
“knew.”
“……..”
Seeing that he seemed unwilling to say more, Shen Mingjin didn’t want to ask any further questions. He turned to go back to his room, but was suddenly called back:
“Brother Shen.”
In the cramped room, the roommate’s voice still trembled slightly, as if he were somewhat frightened, but for the sake of his loved ones, he could only muster his courage:
“Could you lend me some money?”
Shen Mingjin turned around and met his roommate’s gaze. He watched as the other person nervously fidgeted with their fingers. After a moment, he calmly asked, “How much do you want?”
The young man, barely in his early twenties, said in a hoarse voice, “Three hundred thousand.”
“No.”
Shen Mingjin quickly replied, “I can lend you 30,000.”
This is his salary for the past few months.
Shen Mingjin’s words were like a needle, instantly puncturing his roommate’s courage. His roommate lowered his eyes, like a deflated balloon, and collapsed onto the sofa, burying his face in his knees. He sniffed and fell silent again.
“Are you short of money?” Shen Mingjin dried his hair, sat down next to him, and asked knowingly.
“What is it used for?”
“My sister is sick and needs a lot of money.”
My roommate didn’t look very old. He had a wheat-colored complexion and a weathered, simple look on his face, like a child from a poor area. He was honest yet stubborn. The sight of this 1.8-meter-tall guy with pitiful tears in his eyes was somewhat comical.
“But my family comes from the countryside and we have nothing. We can’t raise enough money.”
“You have.”
Shen Mingjin had been listening quietly to his story, but suddenly spoke up.
His words were like sunlight suddenly breaking through the dark clouds, causing his roommate to widen his eyes in disbelief:
“I didn’t.”
“Do you see this bracelet?”
Shen Mingjin raised her fingertip and pointed to the bracelet on the girl’s right wrist in the photo:
“This is an agarwood bracelet. Although I don’t know where you got it from, there’s no denying that it’s very valuable.”
“?”
My roommate scratched his head, looking half-believing and half-doubting: “It’s said that this was sent back by someone when my great-great-great-grandfather went to war. We’ve never known what it is.”
“…You guys are really carefree.”
Shen Mingjin sighed: “Have your parents bring the bracelet over tomorrow. Just in case, I’ll take you to have it appraised by an expert, and then we’ll sell it at an auction house. That way, we’ll have money for your sister’s medical treatment.”
Upon hearing this, my roommate’s eyes lit up immediately, he stopped crying, and sat up from the sofa, wagging his tail with joy.
“Thank you, Brother Shen!”
“It’s okay, I’m going to rest now, goodnight.”
Shen Mingjin nodded, slowly dried his hair, nodded to him, and turned back to his room.
He sat on the bed for a while, then suddenly remembered that Xu Duwan had told him to call him every day. So, still wearing his wet slippers, he reached for his phone on the table and made a video call to Xu Duwan.
Normally, when Shen Mingjin called Xu Duwan, Xu Duwan would answer almost instantly. But today, for some reason, Shen Mingjin waited for more than forty seconds before Xu Duwan finally answered.
The camera panned twice, and a young man’s collarbone came into Shen Mingjin’s view. It was delicate and beautiful, and his fair neck disappeared into the collar of his clothes, seemingly glowing with a faint pink under the light.
Shen Mingjin was waiting for Xu Duwan to point the camera at him, but to his surprise, Xu Duwan seemed to have no intention of showing his face at all. Instead, he placed the camera on his neck, cleared his throat, and pretended nothing had happened.
“Why did you call me so late?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Shen Mingjin frowned. “Why aren’t you facing me?”
Xu Duwan remained silent for a moment, and after a long while, he mumbled:
“I stayed up late last night, and I have dark circles under my eyes. I look so ugly that I don’t want to show my face.”
Shen Mingjin mercilessly exposed his lies:
“We were chatting at 10:30 last night, and you fell asleep while we were talking. Is that what you call staying up late?”
Xu Duwan: “………”
“Raise the camera up so I can see you.”
Shen Mingjin shifted his posture, his tone carrying a domineering air he himself was unaware of, and said in a deep voice:
“I’ll count to three.”
“one two three……..”
As the last syllable fell, the young man in the video suddenly moved, a slender, pale fingertip probing into the lens. Then, the image on Shen Mingjin’s phone flickered, and Xu Duwan’s face appeared in front of Shen Mingjin.
He looked like he had just taken a shower; his hair was still wet, and water droplets trickled down his cheeks, making his features appear even cleaner, but—
Shen Mingjin noticed that Xu Duwan’s usually fair and beautiful right cheek suddenly had a touch of red.
It was an incredibly clear… handprint.