Feeling the person in his arms stiffen for a moment, Shen Mingjin frowned and searched his blank mind for fragments of memories about Xu Duwan, but the answer was nothing.
The moment he opened his eyes and learned his name, all his past memories seemed to have been forcibly erased by a giant hand. Shen Mingjin only knew that he was the adopted son that the fisherman had taken in, and he knew nothing else.
The fisherman came to Ningcheng because he has two children who need to go to university, and he simply can’t afford to support them anymore, so he decided to come to the city to work.
The time he spent by the sea was the most peaceful time he had ever experienced. He did try to regain his memories, but he only got headaches and nothing else, so he gave up.
Because he lacked a degree, he was prepared to face rejections everywhere, but Xu Duwan gave him this job.
Moreover… the necklace around Xu Duwan’s neck seemed to be closely related to his previous life, to the point that it often caused him to have strange dreams, and the events in those dreams felt very familiar to him.
Perhaps Xu Duwan is the key to regaining his memories.
Shen Mingjin thought.
Thinking of this, Shen Mingjin lowered his head and glanced at Xu Duwan, whose eyes were slightly droopy, limbs were stiff, and lips were trembling. He pondered, considering how to explain this matter:
”No………”
He wanted to say that he didn’t remember anything from the past, but as soon as he finished speaking, Xu Duwan clenched his fists tightly, his face instantly losing all color, and his expression was more unpleasant and embarrassed than ever before.
Shen Mingjin’s heart ached slightly, and he was unusually stunned for a moment because of it.
Seeing that neither of them immediately denied his words, the young man’s playful expression turned into a sneer, and the smile seemed to grow wider. The sarcasm in his tone towards Xu Duwan became increasingly obvious, as if peeling back the surface would reveal a dense array of poisonous thorns underneath.
”Xu Duwan, how shameless are you, huh?”
“You liked to follow Shen Mingjin around when you were in high school,” he said.
”You look better now, did you get plastic surgery specifically for Shen Mingjin?”
He was about to say something more when suddenly a piercing whistling sound came from his ear. His vision went black as a hard fist, its back to the sun, slammed heavily into his face. The young man felt a jolt in his nerves, followed by a burning sensation in his nose, and warm blood dripped onto his palm.
”Damn!”
The young man hadn’t expected that seven or eight years had passed, and Xu Duwan’s temper had become so volatile. He staggered a few steps before regaining his balance, tears welling up from the pain, mingling with nosebleeds. His facial expressions were a mixed bag, looking both pitiful and comical, as he roared:
”Are you fucking crazy?!”
”You’re the one who’s sick.” Xu Duwan’s right hand trembled with anger, and he couldn’t calm down for a long time before coldly saying:
“I’m following Shen Mingjin, not you. Who do you think you are, spouting nonsense in front of me?”
Xu Duwan disgustedly shook his blood-stained hand, feeling the old injuries in his lower back and knees begin to throb again, as if he had been beaten up once more. Under the dual stimulation of shame and pain, his expression gradually turned cold and fierce, like a cornered animal baring its fangs, uttering a harsh threat:
”If you want to die, keep talking. Let’s see if your mouth is tougher or my fist is tougher.”
The young man sneered and then turned his attention to Shen Mingjin, aiming to crush his spirit: “Looking like this, you still expect Mingjin to like you?”
Upon hearing this, Xu Duwan paused, his previously irritable expression gradually turning pale. His body stiffened with anger, and cold sweat covered his back.
After a long while, he lowered his head. From Shen Mingjin’s angle, he could not see the expression on his face, but he could see the tourmaline necklace on his neck reflecting the sunlight, making his profile look even more dim.
The air fell silent for a moment.
Lin Ciyang dared not breathe, while Shen Mingjin was simply because his head was starting to ache again.
”I’m going back now.”
Xu Duwan didn’t wait for Shen Mingjin to speak, then gave a self-deprecating laugh. He lowered his eyes, sniffed, slowly broke free from Shen Mingjin’s grasp, and left on his own.
“……….”
Shen Mingjin was still pondering the young man’s words, so he didn’t speak immediately. Only after Xu Duwan left did he slowly come back to his senses and turn his gaze to the young man.
Seeing that Shen Mingjin was looking at him and hadn’t left, the young man forced a smile and said:
”Mingjin, you’re finally back…”
”Bang!”
A fist harder than Xu Duwan’s landed on the young man, much more ruthless than Xu Duwan’s, the difference between a drizzle and a storm was like that. The young man immediately let out a pig-like scream, the commotion so loud that people outside the door came in to look.
”Don’t speak ill of Xu Duwan in front of me next time,”
After losing his memory, Shen Mingjin became unexpectedly straightforward in some ways. He thought for a moment, rubbed his wrist, and then said:
”Not from behind either.”
Before Lin Ciyang, who was completely dumbfounded, could react, he chased after Xu Duwan and walked out.
He had just stepped out the door when a furious roar, like a broken gong, came from behind him:
”Shen Mingjin, are you fucking insane?!”
Shen Mingjin ignored the young man’s words, and he didn’t care whether he knew the young man before or not, because subconsciously, he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about regaining his memories.
However, perhaps due to past experiences, his feelings for Xu Duwan are now very complicated. He cannot fully trust him, but he also does not want to see him sad.
He chased after him, but Xu Duwan was clearly hurt by the young man’s words and couldn’t be found anywhere. Shen Mingjin could only let Lin Ciyang go back first, and he called Xu Duwan.
Xu Duwan didn’t know if he wanted to be found. Anyway, by the time Shen Mingjin arrived after receiving Jiang Ruoling’s call, it was already evening. Xu Duwan had been drinking and was passed out in a booth at the bar, like a lump of mud. No matter how Jiang Ruoling called him, he wouldn’t wake up.
But when Jiang Ruoling tried to pull him away, Xu Duwan’s fingertips clung tightly to the sofa, refusing to let go.
Jiang Ruoling had no idea where Xu Duwan got his strength from. He couldn’t move him, and he was both angry and speechless. He was sweating profusely from the heat. When he saw Shen Mingjin arrive, he sat down on the sofa in a huff and started yelling:
”I don’t care anymore!”
He immediately began to complain:
”Can your problems not involve me?”
Seemingly sensing Jiang Ruoling’s dissatisfaction, Xu Duwan snorted and kicked Jiang Ruoling, almost knocking him off the booth.
Although Xu Duwan paid for all the drinks and snacks today, Jiang Ruoling had been drinking with Xu Duwan all night, and his stomach was already churning. He was even kicked by Xu Duwan, and although the force wasn’t great, the impact on Jiang Ruoling’s abdomen almost made him vomit.
He covered his mouth, gagged a few times, and finally couldn’t take it anymore, uttering a single sentence:
”Keep an eye on him.”
Jiang Ruoling then rushed into the restroom. Because he was in such a hurry, he almost bumped into a tall man in a white shirt. Fortunately, someone helped him up so he wouldn’t fall.
Seeing that Jiang Ruoling was being taken care of, Shen Mingjin turned his gaze away and went over to help Xu Duwan, who was lying on the sofa groaning due to being drunk, to sit up to prevent him from falling.
”Don’t lie here, I’ll take you home.”
”I’m not going back…”
Xu Duwan was surprisingly well-behaved in Shen Mingjin’s arms. If Jiang Ruoling were here, he would definitely be dumbfounded for a long time.
”I feel terrible………”
He murmured.
Hearing Xu Duwan groan softly, Shen Mingjin knew that the other person had drunk too much and had an upset stomach, but he still asked cooperatively, “Where does it hurt?”
”Waist… Knees…”
Xu Duwan opened his eyes, his beautiful but confused almond-shaped eyes reflecting a sliver of clarity from the colorful light, but this was quickly obscured by drowsiness again. He mumbled indistinctly:
”And belly…”
”You must have a stomachache from drinking alcohol.”
My[1]refers to Xu jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2407512_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2407512_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); stomach was already weak.
Shen Mingjin thought to himself:
”But why do your back and knees hurt? Did you fall?”
”That’s a stomachache.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Duwan frowned again and vaguely corrected himself.
”Where does it hurt?” Shen Mingjin was about to be driven crazy by this drunkard.
“Waist or stomach?”
”It all hurts…”
Xu Duwan lay on Shen Mingjin’s lap, and upon hearing this, buried his face in Shen Mingjin’s clothes, repeating:
”It all hurts…”
”Then get up and eat something, don’t just drink alcohol.”
Shen Mingjin glanced at the fruit plate in front of him and saw that nothing on it had been touched, knowing that Xu Duwan hadn’t eaten on time again.
“What would you like to eat?”
”Sesame buns…”
Upon hearing this, Xu Duwan turned around, lay back, looked at Shen Mingjin, and said softly:
“I want to eat it, the kind that Shen Lian didn’t put black ants in.”
References[+]