For some reason, starting from this day, Duan Zhuang surprisingly began to show his stingy kindness, occasionally taking time to teach Ji Mian.
He had always been unruly and followed his own way, so this change was nothing short of a miracle.
As days went by, the small decorations that Ji Mian sent to Mu Yuman began to visibly improve in quality.
Ji Mian had made progress, and it was significant.
A year ago, he was just a novice who could only carve wooden flowers, not even qualifying as an apprentice. Now, when Duan Zhuang threw him a piece of wood, Ji Mian could carve out the basic shape.
He could even create small, simple wood carvings, like carving a rabbit or a radish from the leftover scraps of wood from Duan Zhuang—just not long ago, he could only carve potatoes.
Even Duan Zhuang, sometimes seeing what Ji Mian had carved, would emit a vague “hm.” Ji Mian couldn’t decipher his brother’s meaning but took it as his older brother’s affirmation.
Until the summer solstice arrived, Ji Mian's frequent visits to Mu Yuman went unnoticed by Sun Qi and his crew of rough-hewn guys. However, the experienced older folks had keen eyes for the budding romances among these young people.
Since mid-December, those older brothers who once called Ji Mian “Lu Dan” began to look at him strangely, with a peculiar smirk.
At first, Ji Mian didn’t understand what was happening until one afternoon when he sat on his small stool, carving a piece of wood about the size of a fist. The wood had begun to take on the shape of a cat; he was meticulously refining the surface patterns to give it a fluffy fur texture.
He planned to finish it before sunset, so he could gift the adorable wooden cat to Mu Yuman.
He carved intently, finally wrapping up after two hours.
Ji Mian held the wood carving tightly in his hand and stepped out of the shop.
As soon as he exited the door, he paused.
Sun Qi was sitting in the cargo area of a tricycle used for deliveries, chatting with a few women nearby who were carrying shopping bags or pushing strollers.
As soon as they saw Ji Mian come out, they suddenly all looked at him and laughed, their smiles ambiguous.
Turning around, he was surprised to find Duan Zhuang there as well. He stood casually to the side, his profile facing Ji Mian.
Hearing the door open, Duan Zhuang turned his head to look over, a rare smile on his face. Under the orange-golden sunset, he seemed to radiate light.
This scene struck Ji Mian's eyes, leaving a lasting impression.
In the past, Duan Zhuang occasionally smiled at him, but that smile always faded quickly, like a bubble. Ji Mian often doubted whether Duan Zhuang’s smile was just an illusion he created.
But today was different; even when their eyes met, Duan Zhuang showed no intention of retracting the smile at the corners of his lips.
Ji Mian felt a bit dazed but still greeted everyone one by one.
The women smiled back, then began pushing and nudging each other, leaving quickly.
“Ji Mian, come here!” Sun Qi called out to him.
Ji Mian walked over.
“What’s up, Brother Sun Qi?”
“Hmm.” Sun Qi cleared his throat seriously. “What do you have in your hand?”
“Nothing… just carved a cat.”
“Let me see.”
Ji Mian hesitated, then opened his palm, presenting the cat to Sun Qi.
The cat was carved very finely; it was a round little kitten.
Its two paws were raised as if to catch something or perhaps bowing to someone.
Sun Qi squeezed the cat’s paws a couple of times, laughing, his disheveled blonde hair swaying—he had dyed it this year.
He cleared his throat again and asked, “What are you making this thing for?”
“To give it to someone?” he raised his eyebrows playfully, his expression overly animated.
“……” Ji Mian fell silent.
He hadn’t figured out how to respond when he saw Duan Zhuang stride over, taking the lively wooden cat from Sun Qi’s hands. After playing with it for a moment, he asked, “Who are you giving it to?”
Instead of asking whether it was a gift, he directly inquired who it was for.
In front of Sun Qi, Ji Mian could choose to remain silent. But now standing before him was Duan Zhuang, his older brother.
Ji Mian’s lips quivered slightly, “This is… for you.”
What else could he say? He certainly couldn’t tell Duan Zhuang, “This is for your sister.”
Although Ji Mian had never seen Duan Zhuang hit anyone, he still didn’t want to take that risk.
“Oh?” Duan Zhuang stared at him intently, raised his lips, and casually turned the overly cute cat around in his hands before unceremoniously stuffing it into his pocket.
In the end, he lazily said, “Thank you.”
He took it!?
Ji Mian was dumbfounded. He had thought Duan Zhuang wouldn’t be interested in such a simple wooden carving.
His gaze lingered on the outline of Duan Zhuang’s pocket, as if his own little kitten had really been taken away.
This wooden cat carving, though it looked simple, had taken him two weeks to complete.
Moreover, it was the piece he liked and was most satisfied with so far.
Ji Mian pressed his lips together, feeling reluctant.
“Pfft…”
A playful snicker came from above his head.
Ji Mian looked up and saw his older brother with a half-smile, his eyebrows raised slightly.
As he was puzzled by Duan Zhuang’s rare teasing expression—
“I heard,”
Duan Zhuang said in a teasing tone, “you want to be my-in-law?”
“Pfft! Hahaha!” Sun Qi finally burst into loud laughter, bending over with amusement.
Ji Mian froze for a moment. Once he figured it out, his face instantly flushed red.
What else could he not understand?
These two clearly knew the wooden carving was for Sister Yu Man, yet they deliberately teased him!
The flush from Ji Mian’s cheeks spread down to his neck and ears; he felt both embarrassed and angry.
He was genuinely annoyed and, after a long pause, managed to mutter, “I… dare not.”
Duan Zhuang continued to chuckle and asked, “Dare not or don’t want to?”
“……”
At this point, Sun Qi’s boisterous laughter finally came to a stop. He pointed to the right side of the road, in the direction where the women had just left, saying, “They mentioned that when they went to Sister Mu’s house, they saw two rows of wooden carvings on her windowsill and thought they were gifts from Brother Duan.”
“……”
“I told them, how could Brother Duan’s craftsmanship be that poor?”
“……”
Ji Mian’s face had turned as red as a ripe apple. He lowered his head, wanting to leave, but the collar of his shirt was hooked by a finger from Duan Zhuang.
Duan Zhuang pulled him back, and Ji Mian had no choice but to stand silently in place.
Duan Zhuang looked down at him, noticing Ji Mian’s skin was flawless, like a piece of soft tofu. “How old are you this year?”
Ji Mian didn’t answer about this year; instead, he stated about the next: “I’ll be eighteen next year.”
“That means you’re seventeen this year.” Duan Zhuang bluntly pointed out. “Do you know how old your Sister Mu is?”
“……I know.”
“I… may not be mature enough yet, but I genuinely like Sister Yu Man. When I turn eighteen, I will express my feelings to her.”
“Oh.” Duan Zhuang’s lips curled into a teasing smile. “Then you go ahead.”
“I won’t stop you.” He added.
Ji Mian picked up on his brother’s meaning: I won’t stop you; there’s no need for that.
“……”
This was blatant disdain.
“I’m serious.” Ji Mian furrowed his brow. “In a little while, I’ll be an adult. Once I’m an adult, I’ll confess my feelings.”
Sun Qi began laughing again, his laughter booming enough to shake the nearby buildings.
A faint smile lingered in Duan Zhuang’s eyes, mocking him for being overconfident and unaware of his limits.
Ji Mian: “……”!
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