”Brother Shen, Brother Shen!”
Seeing Xu Duwan and Shen Mingjin leaning against each other, seemingly talking about something, Lin Ciyang quickly ran over, forcibly squeezing between them and breaking the ambiguous atmosphere in the air. He asked curiously:
“What are you talking about behind my back?”
Looking at Lin Ciyang’s innocent puppy eyes, Shen Mingjin suppressed the faint smile on his lips, coughed lightly with his fingertips pressed against his lips:
”nothing.”
Xu Duwan also turned his face away, trying to hide the hat that Shen Mingjin had put on him, covering half of his flushed face.
”Go ahead.”
”Hey, you guys are whispering to each other without telling me.”
Lin Ciyang looked left and right, but neither of them paid any attention to him. He looked at Shen Mingjin with some grievance.
Shen Mingjin ignored him.
Fortunately, Lin Ciyang was used to Shen Mingjin’s slightly aloof demeanor and didn’t take it to heart. Instead, he leaned over and touched Xu Duwan’s arm with his shoulder, winking at Xu Duwan and saying:
“What are you talking about?”
Xu Duwan glanced at him, and just as his shoulder was about to touch him, he turned and took a few steps back, subtly avoiding Lin Ciyang’s touch.
His expression was somewhat indifferent, though subtle and hard to detect, it was quite obvious that his current expression was completely different from when he looked at Shen Mingjin just now.
If one had to use Lin Ciyang’s limited vocabulary to describe it, it would be that Xu Duwan was like a freshly baked sugar cake in front of Shen Mingjin, sweet and sticky; but in front of him, he was like a stone, cold and hard.
Why is there such a big difference?
Lin Ciyang scratched his head in confusion.
”Alright, let’s move forward.”
Shen Mingjin switched places with Xu Duwan, separating Xu Duwan from Lin Ciyang, before speaking calmly:
”There are a few antique shops up ahead. Find someone to take a look at this agarwood bracelet for you.”
The antique trade is a very complex and dangerous business; most people wouldn’t dare to enter without an expert’s guidance.
Although Lin Ciyang was unaware of the rules, he dared not breathe loudly as he looked at the various antiques displayed on the street and the buyers selecting items with magnifying glasses. He walked cautiously, afraid of breaking something and losing everything.
Whether it was because he was nervous or because Shen Mingjin’s calm demeanor made Lin Ciyang feel inexplicably at ease, he leaned against Shen Mingjin as he walked, which caused Xu Duwan to glance at him from time to time. His gaze fell on Lin Ciyang’s fingertips that were clutching the hem of Shen Mingjin’s clothes, and his brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.
“Is this the place?”
As Lin Ciyang passed by an antique shop, he looked at the simple yet exquisitely carved gate and the neatly arranged antiques, and felt a strange sense of awe.
”This place looks very high-end.”
”Let’s go in and take a look.”
Shen Mingjin didn’t seem to care, and raised his chin slightly:
”Let’s go in and take a look first.”
With Shen Mingjin’s approval, Lin Ciyang felt relieved.
Before entering, he rubbed the mud off the soles of his feet at the entrance of the antique shop to clean them before carefully stepping inside.
Unlike the exterior, the aisles inside the antique shop are a bit cramped. The tables and walls on both sides are densely packed with antiques from different eras. Some are imitations, some are genuine treasures, some look exquisite and rich, and some are small and simple. To identify which items are good, it all depends on how discerning the buyer’s eye is.
Shen Mingjin raised his head, glanced around casually, and had a general idea of what was going on.
There was no one in the antique shop. Lin Ciyang called out for a long time in the small courtyard before a young man with a messy appearance, wearing a tattered old man’s shirt, a stubble beard, and flip-flops came out.
He seemed to have just woken up; his expression was impatient. He smoothed his slightly oily hair from front to back, tucked a cigarette behind his ear, and said gruffly:
”What’s up?”
Lin Ciyang was startled by the man’s appearance. It took him a while to remember his purpose. He quickly went up to him and explained his intentions.
”Agarwood bracelet?”
The man glanced at Lin Ciyang suspiciously, then lifted the curtain and went into the inner room. He then dragged out a wooden chair and sat down in the small courtyard.
”Come on, let me see.”
Lin Ciyang hesitated for a moment when he saw his carefree attitude, but in the end he obediently handed the agarwood bracelet to the young man.
The young man took the agarwood bracelet, glanced at it casually in the sun, and then tossed it to the flustered Lin Ciyang like trash. He yawned and said listlessly:
”This is fake.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ciyang’s eyes instantly reddened, his gaze widening in disbelief:
”How is that possible!”
”Why not?”
The young man glanced subtly at Lin Ciyang’s anxious eyes, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes:
”The aroma of the agarwood is not strong, and the color is not dark enough. It is obviously a fake.”
”How…how is this possible?”
”However, I’m a kind person. If you really need money urgently, why don’t you sell it to me for three thousand?” The young man in the old man’s shirt covered his chin with a palm leaf fan, revealing a pair of fox-like eyes, and said with a smile.
Lin Ciyang was shocked upon hearing this: “Wh-what?!”
Three thousand yuan?!
How can his sister’s illness be cured?!
Lin Ciyang was greatly shocked by what he heard. His lips twitched slightly due to the ferocious expression on his face, and he leaned against the wall, looking utterly dejected.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he covered his forehead, looked around, and saw Shen Mingjin standing side by side with Xu Duwan in the shadows. His eyes lit up, and he rushed to Shen Mingjin like a whirlwind, pleading for help as if he had found a savior:
”Brother Shen, he… he said the agarwood bracelet is fake, what should we do?”
”It’s true.”
Shen Mingjin glanced at Lin Ciyang, and a second before Xu Duwan was about to explode, he pulled his hand out of Lin Ciyang’s palm, his tone very calm:
”The aroma of agarwood is not primarily strong, but rather naturally mellow; moreover, although the darker the color of agarwood is used as a criterion for judging its quality, many fake agarwood pieces are made to be very dark in color, so this cannot be used as the sole criterion for judging whether an agarwood bracelet is fake.”
As soon as Shen Mingjin finished speaking, the young man sitting on the small wooden chair slowly sat up straight, and his expression finally became serious.
As if he had finally noticed someone in the corner, he slowly walked up to Shen Mingjin, his expression gloomy. He looked Shen Mingjin up and down, his eyes as cold as ice.
Xu Duwan instantly went on alert, stepped forward, and stood in front of Shen Mingjin.
”Let’s go. It seems this antique shop isn’t what we’re looking for.”
Shen Mingjin glanced at the young man, pulled Xu Duwan, who was warily blocking his way, into his arms, patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, and then walked out the door without looking back.
But to his surprise, he hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he heard the young man behind him call out hesitantly, as if testing the waters:
”……..Shen Mingjin?”
Shen Mingjin subconsciously stopped in his tracks, paused, and then subconsciously turned around, somewhat puzzled:
”Do you know me?”
”…” Upon hearing the answer, the young man glanced at Shen Mingjin again as if to confirm, then slowly put down his palm-leaf fan. He didn’t reply, but after a moment, his wandering gaze fell on Shen Mingjin’s arm draped over Xu Duwan’s shoulder. Suddenly, he tilted his head, narrowed his eyes, and a thick sneer slowly appeared on his face. He casually said something completely unrelated to the current situation:
”Didn’t you say before that your relationship with Xu Duwan was a misunderstanding? What, have you taken it for real now?”