“Sir… sir, are you listening to me?”
The boy’s youthful face, spanning ten years of swift passage, gradually transformed into a more composed and elegant man’s face.
Perhaps everything has changed, but for Xu Duwan, what remains unchanged is his gaze upon Shen Mingjin.
From the past to the present, and from now to the future, Xu Duwan’s gaze will always fall on Shen Mingjin…
As if bewitched.
Shen Mingjin stretched out his hand and waved it curiously in front of Xu Duwan, who was in a daze:
“What are you thinking about?”
“……It’s nothing.” Xu Duwan’s soul returned to its place. After regaining his senses, he unconsciously lowered his trembling eyelashes. For some reason, he suddenly felt a little suffocated, but he didn’t understand where the suffocation came from. After a long while, he tried to make conversation:
“You should take your medicine.”
“Okay, okay.” Shen Mingjin nodded obediently. After losing his memory, he was like a completely different person, unusually well-behaved.
Moreover, he instinctively sensed that Xu Duwan would not harm him and was someone he could completely trust.
“Open your mouth,” Xu Duwan rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arm, took out the pills, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Shen Mingjin.
He intended for Shen Mingjin to take it, but Shen Mingjin mistakenly thought Xu Duwan wanted to feed him, and subconsciously opened his mouth, his movements subtly showing a hint of practice.
Xu Duwan was taken aback upon seeing this.
After a moment, as if unable to withstand Shen Mingjin’s innocent gaze, he shook his head, shook off those absurd thoughts, stepped forward, poured the medicine into Shen Mingjin’s mouth, and held the back of his head to feed him water.
Because Shen Mingjin had been lying down all night, he was also a little thirsty, so he drank the water a bit too quickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down like a cat licking water, as if afraid of not being able to drink it all.
Seeing this, Xu Duwan seemed to want to get back at Shen Mingjin, so he deliberately teased him by mischievously moving the water glass a little further away, which made Shen Mingjin stretch his neck to chase after it. He accidentally took a big gulp and choked on it.
“Cough cough cough…”
Shen Mingjin choked, and the glistening liquid trickled down his lips and onto Xu Duwan’s fingertips. The white fingertips were covered with transparent water droplets, which looked beautiful, like a cat’s toy, making Shen Mingjin look over involuntarily.
His body acted before his mind; without thinking, he leaned over and licked Xu Duwan’s fingertip.
A warm, wet tongue swept across my fingertips, sending a slight shiver through me; it was more like a light, fleeting kiss than a lick.
Xu Duwan felt the unexpected temperature, his back tightened, his whole body tensed, and he stood there in shock, looking at Shen Mingjin. He opened his mouth, but he was usually quick-witted and speechless.
“…….What’s wrong?” Shen Mingjin was completely unaware of how inappropriate his behavior was. After all, the rim of the cup was very close to Xu Duwan’s fingertips, and it was normal for it to touch them when feeding her water.
After he finished drinking the water, he straightened up like a good child and said earnestly:
“I’ve finished drinking.”
After saying that, he took the cup from Xu Duwan’s hand and placed it on the table.
“You…” Xu Duwan secretly hid the fingertips that Shen Mingjin had accidentally licked behind his back, slowly groping around. After a moment, his expression gradually softened.
He took Shen Mingjin’s behavior as a sign of goodwill, and stopped putting on a long face. After a moment, as if he was awkwardly trying to start a small talk between old classmates, he moved his lips, but then closed them again.
He wanted to ask how he had been all these years, and how he had ended up doing manual labor and working as a waitress in a bar. Xu Duwan wanted to ask all these questions, but he didn’t know whether he should ask them or not. If he did, would it be considered intruding on Shen Mingjin’s privacy? He was caught in a dilemma and stood there awkwardly for a long time without saying a word.
The atmosphere suddenly became somber.
Shen Mingjin used to be the one who was always fawned over in the crowd, and he never took the initiative to ease the atmosphere.
Seeing Xu Duwan remain silent, he didn’t speak either. But facing Xu Duwan’s gaze, which seemed to want to see through him, he felt unusually awkward. After a long while, he surprisingly spoke, trying to make conversation:
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, you…” Xu Duwan paused, concealing the sourness on the tip of his tongue: “You’re my classmate.”
Seeing Shen Mingjin thanking him again, looking like he wanted to distance himself from him, Xu Duwan silently suppressed his disappointment and didn’t mention the words “ex-boyfriend,” only managing to speak in this reluctant way.
“We’re classmates?” Shen Mingjin raised an eyebrow in confusion upon hearing this, but after thinking for a moment, his mind remained blank.
“I don’t remember you.”
His words were simply an explanation of his amnesia, but he didn’t expect that these words would cause Xu Duwan’s expression to change drastically.
Xu Duwan could barely maintain his composure. Staring at Shen Mingjin, his face turned pale and then red, his dark eyes filled with a frightening deathly aura. He retorted:
“You don’t remember me?”
“…” Under Xu Duwan’s terrifying gaze, Shen Mingjin thought about it seriously for a moment, and after confirming that he really didn’t know Xu Duwan, he honestly said:
“I really don’t remember.”
Shen Mingjin had no idea that he was currently dancing on Xu Duwan’s sore spots. Xu Duwan’s face turned ashen, his breathing became rapid and heaving, and finally, he let out a cold laugh:
“good.”
“From now on, let’s pretend we’ve never met.”
After saying that, it sounded like he was talking to himself, or perhaps he was just saying it to Shen Mingjin in anger.
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingjin was stunned for a moment and did not react.
Seeing that Shen Mingjin was still in a daze, Xu Duwan frowned, moved his cold and sharp eyes, then suddenly stood up, stared at Shen Mingjin’s blank face, his chest heaving for a moment, and turned to leave.
What else should he expect from Shen Mingjin?
But the next second, Xu Duwan’s hand was grabbed by Shen Mingjin.
Warm fingertips were forcibly inserted between Xu Duwan’s fingers, and the friction between their skin brought a slight burning sensation, almost scalding into Xu Duwan’s heart.
Shen Mingjin’s movements were small, but they forced Xu Duwan to stop in his tracks.
“What are you doing?!” Xu Duwan clicked his tongue, staring at Shen Mingjin with an ambiguous expression.
“My name is Shen Mingjin.”
A gentle male voice came from beside Xu Duwan’s ear, like a soft spring breeze, stirring his heart slightly:
“May I have your name?”
“I said, from now on, let’s pretend we never met.” Xu Duwan tried to shake off Shen Mingjin’s hand in frustration, but the other party held it even tighter. Seeing this, his face became even more unpleasant.
“I don’t want us to pretend we never met.”
Shen Mingjin’s thinking was simple: the other party had saved his life by sending him to the hospital in time, and in ancient times, he would have been obligated to repay that debt with his body.
Although he is a man and cannot offer himself in marriage, he can still become sworn brothers with the other party.
Shen Mingjin held Xu Duwan’s hand earnestly, his long, narrow eyes drooping obediently, and a small dimple appearing on one side when he smiled, making him look somewhat harmless. He asked again:
“May I have your name?”
“…….”
Although he knew that Shen Mingjin had always ignored him when he was in high school, and even though they had been together for a while, he hadn’t been able to warm his heart, Xu Mingjin still felt a little heartbroken to realize that he had been completely forgotten by his old classmate and ex-boyfriend.
The moment their eyes met, his hand was grasped by Shen Mingjin. The morning breeze outside the window blew the curtains, causing Shen Mingjin to sneeze. At the same time, it also lifted the messy strands of hair on Xu Duwan’s forehead, revealing his overly gloomy eyes.
It was like a dark, dry well that had been abandoned, but because Shen Mingjin was inside, it gradually began to show some signs of life.
Finally, Xu Duwan stared at Shen Mingjin, sneered, and after a moment silently pulled away from Shen Mingjin, freeing his hand from Shen Mingjin’s “claws,” and then left without any mercy.
Shen Mingjin looked at Xu Duwan’s back and lowered his head in disappointment. His soft hair hung down beside his ears, like a kitten abandoned by its owner.
“Swish—”
The curtains by the bed were drawn, blocking out the chilly morning breeze.
Shen Mingjin twitched his ears and looked up in confusion.
Xu Duwan did not leave.
He closed the window to prevent the wind from blowing on Shen Mingjin, who was still receiving an IV drip. He turned around, looked at Shen Mingjin, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, his tone flat:
“Xu Duwan”.
“What?” Shen Mingjin rubbed her itchy nose, dumbfounded.
“My name is Xu Duwan.”
“Is it the ‘du’ in ‘crossing over’ and the ‘wan’ in ‘night’?” Shen Mingjin asked without thinking.
“Um.”
“Okay.” Shen Mingjin smiled. He lowered his eyes, his fingertips carefully writing Xu Duwan’s name on his palm, his every move carrying a comical yet endearing stubbornness. After completely memorizing Xu Duwan’s name, he raised his head, smiled, the curve of his lips like a gentle breeze rippling across the water, light and subtle:
“I’ve got it.”
“…” Xu Duwan rubbed his stomach. He had been taking care of Shen Mingjin all night, only drinking alcohol and not eating anything. Hearing this, he glanced at him, and seeing that Shen Mingjin was alright, he turned around and wanted to leave.
He didn’t eat, and Shen Mingjin probably didn’t either.
He was somewhat thin, like a willow in spring, with a slender waist that seemed to be encircled by one hand. Yet his steps and movements were clean and swift. His profile, which he turned unintentionally, carried a hint of arrogance. In particular, his habitual raised eyebrows and cold smile revealed a sharp edge to him, as if he were covered in thorns, making people hesitant to get close to him.
When someone leaves voluntarily, you shouldn’t ask any more questions after saying goodbye.
But Shen Mingjin insisted on asking, and asked in a way that seemed utterly reckless, watching Xu Duwan’s retreating figure with worry:
“Where are you going? Going to drink with someone again?”
“…” Xu Duwan, who suffers from stomach problems and has been taking care of Shen Mingjin tirelessly, looked extremely pale. Upon hearing this, he turned around and asked in return:
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Shen Mingjin didn’t know why he asked this, so he honestly replied:
“I’m not very hungry.”
After saying that, he thought for a moment and then asked Xu Duwan:
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m not hungry either.”
Xu Duwan didn’t want to reveal that he had taken care of Shen Mingjin all night, feeling ashamed of himself. After a while, he said perfunctorily, “I’ve already eaten, so I’ll go buy you breakfast now.”
“You’re lying.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingjin glanced at the time on the wall, then stared at Xu Duwan’s finger. His tone was calm, yet filled with certainty:
“When you were feeding me water just now, I noticed a bloody mark on your wrist and an injury on your arm.”
Xu Duwan’s eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously lowered his arms, which had been rolled up.
Shen Mingjin looked at Xu Duwan’s suddenly changed expression, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:
“Did you just get into a fight with someone?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Duwan’s face drained of all color, turning as white as paper. He swayed precariously, only managing to steady himself by clinging to the wall. His brows furrowed tightly, and he remained silent, his lips pressed together.
“……..”
He did indeed fight with Gu Zhe just now for Shen Mingjin.
However, Xu Duwan also knew that Shen Mingjin hated people who fought and used force the most in his life.