Chapter 20: TMS
In September, Ji Mian completed his enrollment procedures and resumed his second year of high school at Huaiyang Middle School. Every weekend, Duan Zhuang would faithfully drive to the school gate to pick him up.
Ji Mian's former classmates had all embraced university life months ago, and there was no one here who recognized him, which actually relieved Ji Mian.
His personality was different from the original owner's, and if someone recognized him, it would be troublesome.
Ji Mian was already eighteen years old, while most of his classmates were only sixteen. He initially worried that he wouldn't have anything in common with the other students in his new class, but unexpectedly, as an older student, he became quite popular.
The main reasons were that he was good-looking, had a pleasant personality, and his grades were atrocious.
Yes, Ji Mian, with only a junior high school education, consistently ranked at the bottom of the class.
At the beginning of the school year, the subject teachers showed a lot of "care" for him, the student who had taken two years off, frequently calling his name to answer questions.
Every time Ji Mian stood up, he would stammer and struggle to respond, which resulted in him becoming a source of laughter among his classmates.
Thus, his position in the class gradually transformed into that of a comedic figure and mascot.
Two months after enrollment, the second-year students held their mid-term exams.
After completing the exams with a mix of guessing and confusion, he anxiously waited for two days for the results. On the weekend, Ji Mian was finally picked up, clutching a painful-looking report card filled with red marks.
He hid the report card in his bag, feeling embarrassed to show it to Duan Zhuang.
However, Ji Mian forgot that Duan Zhuang, as his "guardian," had already joined the parents' group for their class. Some parents in the group were skilled at undermining students, and a series of messages were flying in regarding this exam.
Messages like "Wang XXX made great progress in math this time, thanks to Teacher Li's diligent teaching [grin][rose][rose]" kept coming in.
Duan Zhuang was lying on a lounge chair, scrolling through his phone.
He was still sitting up straight, not lying down.
"Results are out?"
He beckoned to Ji Mian with a gesture, his expression deadpan, resembling a father who coldly asks his son for his report card after an exam.
At that moment, Ji Mian genuinely wanted to call Duan Zhuang "Dad," but when he raised his eyes to see his brother's youthful and handsome face, he silently swallowed that impulse.
He pressed his lips together and handed over the test paper and report card from his bag.
Sun Qi happened to be there as well, leaning over to see the excitement.
"Math: 32, Chinese: 51... Total ranking: 579." Duan Zhuang's eyes were downcast. "How many students are there in your grade?"
"…Five hundred eighty-five."
Sun Qi, squatting beside Duan Zhuang to look at the grades, let out a chuckle. "Doesn't that mean six people missed the exam?"
Ji Mian: "…"
Duan Zhuang pinched the test paper and report card, his eyelids drooping, wanting Ji Mian to just skip reading it.
With such poor grades, no amount of studying would help.
Back when he was still in school, he had never ranked lower than second in his class, and he genuinely couldn't understand how someone could end up like this.
If it weren't for Duan Jin Yan's sudden passing, Duan Zhuang would have smoothly entered the best high school in the province.
He could tell Ji Mian's foundation was terrifyingly poor. Two years might seem long or short, but without extraordinary perseverance and talent, he wouldn't be able to turn things around.
Perseverance, Duan Zhuang wasn't sure if Ji Mian had any.
But talent...
He glanced at the young man with red ears, bowing his head and waiting for a scolding, and thought of the hundreds of potatoes Ji Mian had carved, concluding that there was a 99% chance he had no talent for this.
He bit down on his cigarette, sighing internally.
Let's wait a little longer. It's only been two months of school; it's not appropriate to say this yet.
Ji Mian temporarily escaped a calamity.
Duan Zhuang's "let's wait" dragged on until two days before the New Year, when Ji Mian returned from vacation, bringing with him the report card for the entire first semester of his second year.
The scores on the report card were very clear: Math, 43... Overall ranking, 517.
There was progress, but unfortunately, it was of little use.
Duan Zhuang took a drag from his cigarette, and the orange smoke rings immediately rose higher.
As he exhaled the smoke, the words of discouragement were right on the tip of his tongue—
"Ji Mian?" Mu Yuman called from the front door as she was pasting spring festival couplets inside.
"Come help with the couplets!"
Ji Mian hesitated for two seconds between waiting for Duan Zhuang to speak and going outside to help, ultimately deciding to help with the couplets first.
—The New Year was approaching.
This information made Duan Zhuang silently close his mouth and push back the thought of making Ji Mian give up on studying once again.
It wasn't appropriate to say these things during the New Year.
He decided to wait until after the holiday.
So he waited, and waited for another six months.
He finally waited for Ji Mian's summer vacation.
On the day of the break, he returned in Sun Qi's car. Duan Zhuang had received several orders for wood carvings over the past few days and was quite busy. Coincidentally, Sun Qi had brought Xu Xiaoxiao along, so the work fell on Ji Mian.
As soon as he arrived, he heard the sound of wood being cut coming from inside the shop.
He hurriedly got off the car, threw his backpack on the lounge chair at the shop entrance, and entered.
"Brother, I’ll help!" Upon entering, he called out to the busy people inside.
Hearing the voice, Duan Zhuang casually picked up a tool, preparing to toss it to him.
But when he looked up, he saw Ji Mian wearing a clean white short-sleeve shirt and black shorts, the same outfit Duan Zhuang had casually bought for him last year.
Having spent the past year at school, Ji Mian's exposed skin appeared even whiter than before, as if any sawdust splashed on him would leave a mark.
Duan Zhuang glanced at him twice, then turned the tool he was holding and put it down.
"Almost done, there’s nothing you can help with."
Ji Mian looked at the materials on the workbench; they were clearly still in rough shape, so how could he not help?
Could it be some important order?
After a while, Xu Xiaoxiao and Sun Qi also came in.
Xu Xiaoxiao linked her arm with Sun Qi, wearing a silver ring on her right middle finger, curiously examining the shop's simple decor.
She didn't come often; unless it was a special occasion, she would only visit with Sun Qi now and then. Ji Mian had only seen her a few times, but he found her to be very kind.
Dust filled the room, and seeing a woman present, Duan Zhuang stopped his work.
He noticed the ring on Xu Xiaoxiao's hand, his gaze lingering for a moment before turning to Sun Qi.
"Ahem, let me introduce you. This is my fiancée," Sun Qi said.
This time, he brought someone over just to inform Duan Zhuang about his engagement.
Xu Xiaoxiao playfully kicked him, her cheeks turning red.
"Congratulations," Duan Zhuo said.
Xu Xiaoxiao happily accepted the blessing and asked, "Duan Ge, haven't you dated anyone yet?"
"I haven't considered it."
Xu Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Duan Ge, you're twenty-four now, right? You could actually think about it."
"Big brother is focused on self-cultivation. By the time Ji Mian gets married, he’ll probably still be single."
Suddenly being called out in this way and regarding such a topic between men and women, Ji Mian felt a bit at a loss and could only look at the other party involved in the conversation.
After briefly making eye contact with Duan Zhuang, the latter suddenly looked away.
Ji Mian had to think of something to say to avoid an awkward silence. As he turned his head, he noticed Xu Xiaoxiao staring at his legs without blinking.
“Xiaoxiao Jie?” Ji Mian called out, feeling a bit awkward under her intense gaze.
"Your legs look better than a girl's," Xu Xiaoxiao said, eyeing the long, straight, and pale legs under Ji Mian's pants, showing a look of envy. "Can you give me one?"
Ji Mian laughed and replied, "It's still different; I have muscles on my legs, which wouldn't look good on a girl."
Muscles? Duan Zhuang chuckled, lowering his gaze to assess Ji Mian's legs.
In fact, Ji Mian did have some muscle. There wasn't much, but there were subtle smooth lines above his calf's Achilles tendon, probably due to his daily jogging at school.
Compared to women, Ji Mian's muscle lines were quite visible, but when compared to men, such a bit of muscle was negligible.
"Go sit down; I'll come up once I'm done," Duan Zhuang said, handing the key to the second-floor room to Sun Qi, telling him to take his fiancée upstairs.
"Okay, you hurry up!" Sun Qi responded.
"You should go too," Duan Zhuang said to Ji Mian.
"Oh."
Ji Mian followed the two out. At the door, he spotted a backpack lying on a lounge chair and paused in his steps.
He wanted to show Duan Zhuang his report card.
This moment of hesitation caused him to fall behind the two. He decided not to go up and took the report card out of his backpack, holding it against his chest while waiting for them to come out.
After a while, he felt silly just standing there and decided to move his backpack aside, lying down on the chair.
The chair was long, and Ji Mian tried to fit his upper body in the shade under the eaves, but his legs were left exposed to the sunlight. He could withstand the heat better than most, so he didn't find the summer sun unbearable.
About ten minutes later, when Duan Zhuang came out of the shop, he saw Ji Mian's two pale legs lying on the chair.
Ji Mian, holding a thin report card in his arms, had his eyes closed, breathing steadily, and was already asleep.
The lounge chair belonged to Duan Zhuang and besides Ji Mian, no one else dared to touch it. Although Duan Zhuang seldom projected an untouchable aura, just one glance was enough for most people to think twice before messing with his belongings.
Only Sun Qi had tried to sit on it once, drenched in sweat, and was promptly kicked off by Duan Zhuang after which he never dared to touch that lounge chair again.
Duan Zhuang stood in place with one hand in his pocket, watching Ji Mian's sleeping face, and smirked, contemplating whether to snap his fingers in Ji Mian's ear or just scare him awake with a sound.
As he pondered, Ji Mian suddenly caught a whiff of the burning cigarette smoke and wrinkled his nose in his sleep, flipping over to face away from Duan Zhuang, clearly expressing his distaste.
"......"
Duan Zhuang's expression darkened.
The little brat could even irritate him while asleep.
Ji Mian shifted to lie on his side, bending his right leg to adjust his position.
The fabric of his shorts was light, and as he moved, the pant leg rode up quite a bit.
With the leg of his shorts climbing up, nearly the entire area below his thigh was exposed, half reflecting the sunlight and the other half hidden in shadow, stirring the imagination.
The bluish veins against his pale skin appeared delicate and exquisite like fine porcelain. Ji Mian had a fragile build; Duan Zhuang recalled having pinched Ji Mian's face, leaving two marks quite easily. If he pressed a little harder, he would probably leave faint red imprints.
Duan Zhuang's breath suddenly became somewhat uneven, but he forgot that he had a cigarette in his mouth, causing him to cough harshly, choking on the thick smoke.
Ji Mian, startled awake by the commotion, jerked up like a fish, seeing the coughing figure next to him and, still dazed, called out, "Brother?"
His voice was hoarse.
Duan Zhuang coughed even harder.
Ji Mian immediately set aside his own concerns and got up to help.
He forgot about the report card in his arms. The lightweight paper slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, landing right at Duan Zhuang's feet.
He had never seen Duan Zhuang so flustered before and, assuming he might be suffering from some sudden illness, he grew panicked. "Brother! Just spit out the smoke!"
Before Duan Zhuang could respond, Ji Mian reached out to throw the cigarette away, then grasped Duan Zhuang's wrist with one hand while the other anxiously patted his back.
He was half a head shorter than Duan Zhuang, and from a distance, it appeared as if Ji Mian was trying to hug him tightly.
For the first time, Ji Mian was so close to Duan Zhuang that their bodies almost touched.
Ji Mian patted his back for only a dozen times before being forcefully pushed away.
Duan Zhuang turned his back to him, using one hand against the wall to steady himself and coughed a few more times until he recovered.
"Brother? Are you okay?" Ji Mian asked cautiously.
"...... Yeah," Duan Zhuang replied, but he still didn't turn around to look at him.
Suddenly, Ji Mian saw a bright flash of flame at his feet and exclaimed, "Ah!"
Duan Zhuang turned back at the sound.
The unextinguished cigarette butt that Ji Mian had tossed aside earlier had coincidentally landed on the report card, and at that moment, the paper was burning fiercely.
All the parts with numbers on it were completely charred.
"This time I ranked 279th; I made a lot of progress," Ji Mian said, sounding a bit regretful.
After all the effort, he wanted to show it to Duan Zhuang.
Duan Zhuang had calmed down, and his tone seemed to return to its usual teasing. "In just half a semester, you climbed up over two hundred places?"
He clearly didn't believe it.
Ji Mian wasn't angry; he just felt a bit disheartened. "I knew it; without the paper, you definitely wouldn’t believe me, brother."
"I’ll definitely bring back the results of the mock exam next year," he said earnestly.
Duan Zhuang's mind, however, was still in disarray—his peripheral vision kept catching sight of those two legs.
After a moment, he simply replied with a nonchalant "Mm."
Since Ji Mian's report card was burned there was no longer a reason to persuade him to give up studying.
The words that Duan Zhuang had intended to say since last year ultimately remained unspoken.
Comments