Although Shen Mingjin couldn’t recall what had happened between him and Xu Duwan before, it didn’t mean he could sit idly by and watch him get hurt.
Seeing the scar on Xu Duwan’s right cheek, Shen Mingjin’s face darkened. He instinctively leaned closer to the camera and whispered:
“What happened to your face?”
Xu Duwan looked at Shen Mingjin’s face, which suddenly loomed larger. Because they were so close, he could almost smell the faint, clean scent of shower gel on his body, just like always.
He paused, his face seeming to flush even more. He instinctively turned away to hide his disheveled state from Shen Mingjin, covering his face and whispering:
”Fine.”
”Who hit you?”
Shen Mingjin’s voice wasn’t loud, and his tone wasn’t particularly inflective, but there was something inexplicable about it that made people feel he was angry.
”Does it hurt?”
Speaking the gentlest words with the coldest expression.
Xu Duwan felt his face burning even more intensely. He even had the strange feeling that being beaten by that idiot imposter brother wasn’t such a bad deal after all. He shook his head to suppress the absurd thought and whispered:
”It’s okay, I can handle it myself.”
Seeing this, Shen Mingjin didn’t feel comfortable asking any more questions. After a moment of silence, he gave the instructions:
”Then try applying an ice pack to reduce the swelling.”
”good.”
Xu Duwan always listened to him and obediently agreed.
The two talked for a while longer, tacitly skipping over the previous topic, and chatted until late at night. It wasn’t until Xu Duwan looked a little sleepy that Shen Mingjin suggested ending the call.
Xu Duwan looked at the two big words “Call ended” on his phone, hugged the phone and smiled contentedly. Then, as if he had thought of something, he ran barefoot into the bathroom, looked at himself in the clean mirror for a long time, and then pinched his face hard. He opened his mouth and hissed softly in pain, but when he saw that the right half of his face was even redder, he let out a silly laugh.
Xu Duwan’s phone vibrated. He looked down and saw a message pop up in the message bar that he had pinned to the top of his phone.
Xu Duwan clicked on it and found that Shen Mingjin had sent a long message, almost several hundred words long, with densely packed instructions on how to properly apply ice. As he read it, the corners of Xu Duwan’s mouth curled up higher and higher.
He deliberately waited a while, until Shen Mingjin finished sending him a series of instructions and, seeing that he hadn’t replied, sent a message saying “Asleep?”, then quickly replied:
”Still not asleep.”
He typed and carefully considered his reply as he wrote:
“Thank you. How about I treat you to dinner tomorrow?”
Shen Mingjin: “?”
”You got beaten up and you’re still going to treat me to dinner?”
Shen Mingjin thought Xu Duwan was a bit silly:
”Forget it.”
Xu Duwan panicked immediately, wondering whether he should slap himself to make Shen Mingjin feel sorry for him, when he saw Shen Mingjin say:
”Let me treat you to dinner; I’m getting paid soon.”
He said, “Thank you for giving me this job.”
The next second, he sent a few seconds of voice message, his voice clear and cool with a faint magnetism, making Xu Duwan’s ears tingle:
”Good night.”
Xu Duwan felt his face burning again; he couldn’t tell if it was from pinching it or from the heat.
”Good night.”
The next day.
Shen Mingjin had just finished washing up and arrived at the construction site when he saw a familiar figure standing there. His demeanor was somewhere between a boy and a young man, youthful yet composed. His brand-new white shirt was tucked into his waist, so slender that it seemed one could easily encircle it with a hand. His beautiful shoulder blades were slightly outstretched, and above them were a long, fair neck and a porcelain-white profile, which seemed completely out of place in the dusty and sweaty atmosphere of the construction site.
Shen Mingjin paused, narrowed his eyes, and immediately realized who the person in front of him was.
Before he could voice his thoughts, the young man in front of him seemed to sense the movement behind him, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He immediately turned around, his gaze brightening when it fell on Shen Mingjin, and he strode towards him.
”Ming Jin!”
“Why are you here at this hour?”
As Shen Mingjin watched Xu Duwan approach, he subconsciously used his shadow to shield Xu Duwan from some of the sunlight.
”What time is it?”
”Didn’t you say you’d treat me to dinner?”
Xu Duwan put his hands behind his back, pursed his lips, and kicked a pebble at his feet:
”I came over as soon as I woke up.”
”…….”
Shen Mingjin was speechless: “At this hour? At this hour, I can only offer you breakfast.”
Xu Duwan hadn’t realized Shen Mingjin was teasing him, and said blankly:
“Is there anything wrong with that?”
”How did your family raise you? You seem a bit slow.”
Shen Mingjin reached out and flicked Xu Duwan’s brow:
”A dinner invitation is always for dinner, not breakfast.”
Xu Duwan hissed as he clutched his head. Although he didn’t feel much pain, he still lowered his head and, after a long while, mumbled:
”No one in my family takes care of me.”
That was true before, and that’s true now.
“……..” Shen Mingjin paused, looking at Xu Duwan’s round head, his heart softened suddenly, and his fingertips twitched almost imperceptibly. By the time he realized what was happening, he had already reached out and ruffled Xu Duwan’s hair haphazardly.
”Go to work first, and then I’ll take you out for lunch.”
”No, I’m not going to work today.”
Xu Duwan looked up, his eyes filled with Shen Mingjin’s image, and he frowned childishly:
”I don’t want to go.”
He had a big argument with Xu Gengshui over that fake brother, and now he doesn’t want to go to the company at all.
”Okay, then go to the office. Don’t wait for me here; it’s too sunny.”
Shen Mingjin knew that Xu Duwan’s identity was extraordinary, that he must be from some wealthy family, but he didn’t ask for details, only saying:
”Don’t stand here and watch.”
Xu Duwan nodded, but didn’t follow Shen Mingjin’s words in action. He just stood far away, watching Shen Mingjin work, and even felt sorry for him. Like a clingy little wife, he would occasionally hand Shen Mingjin drinks and water, making the colleagues next to him drool with envy.
”Brother Shen, who is this?”
Shen Mingjin’s roommate took the day off this morning to visit his sister. He grabbed the bracelet and rushed back to the construction site. But when he looked up, he was surprised to see a “little bee” surrounding Shen Mingjin, who was usually alone.
“You don’t know him.”
Shen Mingjin glanced at Xu Duwan, whose face was flushed from the sun, nudged him, and said succinctly:
”Go sit down.”
The icy water in Xu Duwan’s hands gradually warmed up in the sun. He clenched his fists and glanced at Shen Mingjin’s roommate. Although his face was expressionless, Shen Mingjin’s roommate felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet even in the middle of the day, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
”What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
”It’s nothing,” Xu Duwan said, then left without saying anything more.
”What?”
Shen Mingjin’s roommate, Lin Ciyang, stared at Xu Duwan’s retreating figure, scratching his head sheepishly.
”Hey, how come some people look so good even when they have a cold face?”
”Get to work.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingjin patted his head and put the helmet on his head. His tone was inscrutable as he said:
”Don’t you want to earn money for your sister’s medical treatment?”
”Oh, oh,” Lin Ciyang snapped out of his daze, struggling to tear his gaze away from Xu Duwan, and mysteriously pulled out a bracelet to show Shen Mingjin:
”Brother Shen, is this it?”
”Hmm.” Shen Mingjin took the bracelet, examined it carefully, and told him to put it away safely.
”Later I’ll take you for a walk on that antique street in the old town; there should be experts there who can give you their opinions.”
”Is noon okay?”
Lin Ciyang, worried about his younger sister, quickly replied:
”The hospital is pressing us hard; if we don’t pay soon, it might be…”
He murmured, his eyes dimmed, and he looked somewhat dejected.
It looked like a dog with its ears drooping, appearing quite pitiful.
“…………”
Seeing this, Shen Mingjin sighed and said, “Then let’s go together.”
”Huh?” Lin Ciyang was stunned.
What are we going to do together?
One hour later.
When Lin Ciyang was caught between Shen Mingjin and Xu Duwan, and got into a taxi under Xu Duwan’s murderous gaze, Lin Ciyang realized that Shen Mingjin wanted him to do something together.
Because he had promised Xu Duwan that he would treat him to a meal, but Shen Mingjin didn’t want to leave Lin Ciyang, who was very protective of his sister, he had no choice but to bring both of them along.
Xu Duwan ate the meal absentmindedly. When Shen Mingjin led him to the antique street, he was still somewhat listless, like a potted plant that had been exposed to the sun for too long, looking wilted and droopy.
”What’s wrong with you?”
Sensing that Xu Duwan seemed to be in a bad mood, Shen Mingjin deliberately slowed down a few steps, letting Lin Ciyang walk ahead and stand side by side with Xu Duwan.
”uncomfortable?”
”no.”
Xu Duwan couldn’t quite describe his feelings. He felt that Lin Ciyang shouldn’t be a third wheel on his imagined first date. He found him utterly annoying, but he couldn’t say it to Shen Mingjin, lest he seem petty. So he could only vaguely reply:
”It’s a bit hot.”
“I told you to stand in the shade before, but you wouldn’t.”
Shen Mingjin was afraid the sun would melt this delicate young master, so he took off his hat and covered Xu Duwan with it:
”It’ll be ready soon.”
”Um.”
Xu Duwan was still not in high spirits.
“……….”
Upon seeing this, Shen Mingjin sighed.
He leaned closer and gently tickled Xu Duwan’s palm with his fingertips, like a feather brushing against it, a light and ticklish sensation that made one’s heart flutter. His voice was deep and magnetic, sending a tingling, numbing feeling through him.
”I’ll take you out again tonight.”
”…”
Xu Duwan immediately raised his head, his delicate face instantly exposed to the sunlight. His eyes were clear and bright, filled with a hint of surprise, as if they had been drawn into a dazzling galaxy. He looked on expectantly:
“Alone?”
Shen Mingjin smiled and, the very next second Lin Ciyang was drawn to Xu Duwan’s face, he reached out his fingertips and pressed down on Xu Duwan’s hat, covering the upper half of his face.
From this angle, Xu Duwan could only see Shen Mingjin’s bobbing Adam’s apple and his gentle voice coming from above:
”Yes, alone.”