Standing in front of Mu Yuman's door, Ji Mian knocked.
A woman's clear voice came from inside: "Wait a moment!"
Half a minute later, the door in front of Ji Mian opened.
"Yuman Jie."
"Ah, Ji Mian!" Mu Yuman smiled, stepping aside to welcome him into her home.
She was not surprised by Ji Mian's visit. After all, this was already the seventh time he had come over in March, and the month had barely passed its halfway point.
After entering, Ji Mian first helped to stoke the fire in the stove, replacing it with two new pieces of coal. Winter had only just passed, and the weather was still quite cold.
In this neighborhood, there was no heating supply, so those who could afford it had installed air conditioning. Families like Mu Yuman’s, who had money but still used old-fashioned stoves, were now quite rare.
The system had described Mu Yuman as a "healing female lead in a redemption novel."
At first, Ji Mian wasn’t very clear on what a redemption novel or a healing female lead was.
The system explained it this way: “About two years from now, Mu Yuman will find an injured wild male lead in a dark and cold alley and will take care of him meticulously for a month. Although the male lead appears to be a cold and aloof man, his true identity is actually the son of a wealthy family, the Xie family, with a dramatic backstory. He is hated by his illegitimate younger brother... In order to inherit all of the Xie family's wealth, the male lead's villainous brother designs a car accident intended to kill him.”
“Unfortunately, the male lead, blessed with a protagonist’s halo, survives the accident, thanks to Mu Yuman's rescue. During that month, the two develop feelings for each other, and after overcoming numerous hardships, they become a couple and achieve a happy ending.”
When Ji Mian first heard this, he was shocked for a long time. Having never watched a melodramatic TV series in his life, he could hardly believe that such bizarre coincidences and twists existed in the world. What followed was a faint melancholy from having been spoiled by the plot.
With the system providing him information, Ji Mian now knew even the exact balance in Mu Yuman's bank account, down to two decimal places.
Well... that was indeed a surprising figure. Mu Yuman was far wealthier than Ji Mian had imagined.
“You don’t need to help me. Just rest,” Mu Yuman said when she saw Ji Mian busying himself again.
“I’m not sitting down, Yuman Jie; I’m just... wandering around.”
Ji Mian touched his pocket, lowering his eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The system advised him that as a qualified yet unobtrusive romantic supporting character, he should learn to express his affection in the most mundane ways so as not to overshadow the male lead.
For instance, occasionally giving some cliché gifts. Flowers were undoubtedly among the most representative.
But Ji Mian had no money to buy flowers.
“Yuman Jie, this is for you,” Ji Mian said as he took out something from his jacket pocket.
It was a piece of wood carving that could barely be called a sculpture.
The wood carving was round and shapeless, making it hard to discern its exact form.
Mu Yuman was taken aback for a moment and took the wood carving from his hand, examining it carefully for a while.
Not long ago, she had asked her younger brother about Ji Mian's situation at the shop. Duan Zhuang had replied, "Pretty good," and then added, "He’s very good at carving potatoes."
At that time, Mu Yuman thought her brother was just joking.
She moved her lips, and after a while, she finally spoke.
“Is this, uh, a potato? It’s carved really well!”
Ji Mian was taken aback for a moment and slowly replied, “Um... that’s a rabbit.”
Mu Yuman: “…”
Tsk. Major blunder.
...
Five minutes later, Ji Mian walked out with a flushed face.
Just recalling how Mu Yuman happily accepted the oddly shaped wooden rabbit and solemnly placed it on the windowsill made him feel even more embarrassed.
Duan Zhuang’s wood carving shop was just nearby; as an older sister, how could she lack such things? Moreover, his skills were still...
But that was all he could give; he had nothing else.
Ji Mian could only carve more carefully, put in more effort, and extend the carving process, but it still proved futile. He seemed to lack talent for this kind of manual work.
After the seventy-ninth “potato” was completed, Ji Mian decided to give up on studying by himself.
He reverted to his previous skill as a pickpocket—stealing things.
He decided to learn from a master.
Duan Zhuang was at the shop today. After the New Year, the orders from the festive season and several others piled together. He had been working in the shop for almost half a month, rarely going out.
He held a carving knife in hand, sculpting curves on a twenty-centimeter tall wooden figure.
Ji Mian recalled this order. It was a custom ancient-style character statue ordered by a customer.
Duan Zhuang rarely made character statues, but his grasp of form was exceptionally accurate.
The girl warrior with a bamboo hat was taking shape; the light veil of the hat was gently lifted by the wind, giving it a dynamic feel.
Ji Mian silently passed by Duan Zhuang, then secretly glanced at him. Before long, he walked around the shop again, passing by Duan Zhuang to steal another look.
But peeking like this intermittently wouldn’t help him learn anything.
After hesitating for a moment, he pretended to fetch some tools, but instead stealthily stood behind Duan Zhuang to watch, deliberately keeping a distance of more than a meter.
A breeze blew in from the shop door, brushing past Duan Zhuang’s hair and jacket, gently caressing Ji Mian’s face. There was a faint scent of wood—coming from Duan Zhuang—that mingled with the aroma of early spring grass and spring soil, creating a peculiar and pleasant fragrance.
“Want to learn?”
Duan Zhuang, who seemed to have a third eye growing on the back of his head, suddenly spoke up, startling Ji Mian into shrugging his shoulders.
Coming back to his senses, he quickly nodded, then realized that Duan Zhuang wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing.
So he moved to Duan Zhuang’s side, squatted down next to him, his eyes bright.
“I want to learn, brother.”
“Oh.” Duan Zhuang glanced at him and smirked, “Then go ahead.”
“……”!
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