Chapter 23: TMS
The first class in the afternoon was physics, currently Ji Mian's weakest subject.
He sat in the second-to-last row of the classroom, listening intently.
The male teacher at the podium, sporting a Mediterranean hairstyle, suddenly paused, glancing toward the back door of the classroom before continuing with his lecture.
During class, students were the best at observing their teachers’ subtle expressions. Seeing the physics teacher's demeanor, they all turned to look at the back door of the classroom.
However, Ji Mian remained unaffected, his pen still scratching busily on the test paper.
It wasn’t until someone poked him in the back that he heard a faint female voice say, “Ji Mian.”
Ji Mian turned around to look at the girl sitting behind him, who was poking him with her pen, confusion in his eyes.
The girl pointed toward the classroom door behind them.
Following her finger, he first noticed Lin Zhenghua standing at the door, nodding at him.
Behind Lin Zhenghua stood a tall figure, with deep black eyes staring straight at him.
Ji Mian's pupils constricted for a moment; after a few seconds, he stood up and walked out the back door with his head down.
“Teacher Lin.” He said as he closed the door behind him.
“Your brother is here to see you.” Lin Zhenghua patted Ji Mian’s shoulder, pushing him toward the man behind him.
Ji Mian didn’t dare look up; he hung his head and called out, “Brother.”
“Parents, I still have things to attend to. You can communicate with Ji Mian about anything.” Lin Zhenghua carefully observed the two of them.
Looking at Ji Mian and his “brother,” Lin Zhenghua couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
The atmosphere between the two was quite strange, almost resembling… the atmosphere when he and his wife were in a cold war.
Duan Zhuang nodded at Lin Zhenghua and thanked him.
Only then did Lin Zhenghua snap out of it, shaking his head as if that would help him dispel those strange thoughts.
Sigh, there’s been so much going on lately that even his mind was working abnormally.
After Lin Zhenghua left, Duan Zhuang turned back to Ji Mian.
He looked down at Ji Mian’s hairline and said, “Why didn’t you answer the phone?”
Phone? Ji Mian blinked.
Oh, it turns out his brother had called him later.
“I was in class, so I set it to silent. Sorry, brother, for making you worry.”
“……Look up.”
Ji Mian's fingers clenched tightly. He put his hands behind his back, stealthily poking the cold marble wall, and reluctantly looked up at Duan Zhuang.
As he glanced at Duan Zhuang, his gaze intentionally avoided meeting his eyes, and his eyes flickered.
It was clear he was sulking.
Duan Zhuang recalled the trembling voice he heard on the phone and thought something had happened to Ji Mian. He hurried over, only to find Ji Mian not even willing to look him in the eye.
He frowned, “What grievance did you suffer to think of calling me?”
As soon as these words were spoken, both felt a pang in their hearts.
They had once spoken on the phone no less than four times a week. It was unclear when Ji Mian stopped calling, and Duan Zhuang also stopped asking about him.
Even during this year’s Spring Festival, when Ji Mian returned home for the seven-day holiday, they had tacitly avoided each other. After the first day of the New Year, Duan Zhuang made an excuse to leave until the day Ji Mian was about to go back to school.
“…….” Ji Mian expressionlessly thought: The grievances came from you.
“Ji Mian.” Duan Zhuang's tone softened unusually, “……Speak.”
“It’s nothing, brother.” Ji Mian pressed his lips together and finally expressed the system’s suggestion, “I just want to take a two-month leave; I want to study more and improve my scores during this remaining time.”
Duan Zhuang was silent for a long while.
“Is that all?”
“Yeah.”
“Should I sign something?”
“Yeah, brother.”
“Then why were you stammering on the phone?”
Before he could finish, he caught sight of Ji Mian’s lowered head and eyelids, prompting Duan Zhuang to swallow his words. He secretly cursed, Damn kid, you’ve already gone through puberty, why are you still so hard to deal with?
He sighed softly and said, “You pack your things, I’ll go sign,” then turned and walked away.
“Brother.” Ji Mian suddenly called out to stop him.
“……”
“Do you… hate me?”
Duan Zhuang paused in his steps, and after several seconds, he turned back, his deep black pupils hiding an incomprehensible complexity.
“Who told you that?”
After a long silence, Ji Mian muttered, “I’m not stupid; I can feel it.”
Duan Zhuang lowered his eyes, seemingly a bit frustrated, but quickly raised the corners of his mouth to smile, “You’re not stupid?”
Ji Mian: “……”
Duan Zhuang stared at him for two seconds, then walked over and hugged Ji Mian tightly. It seemed like a hug devoid of any ambiguous meaning.
From an unseen angle, the tenderness in Duan Zhuang’s expression was something Ji Mian had never witnessed before.
Ji Mian caught the scent of laundry detergent on his clothes, along with a faint trace of tobacco.
He heard Duan Zhuang's deep voice, which felt like a whisper or perhaps a quiet musing to himself: “Who would hate you?”
Ji Mian's heart suddenly settled, his face buried in Duan Zhuang’s embrace.
The smell of smoke on Duan Zhuang felt stronger than before, yet for the first time, Ji Mian found it not as unpleasant.
Although he didn’t understand why Duan Zhuang had been cold lately, at this moment, he was certain that he was not hated.
“Don’t overthink it.” Duan Zhuang’s hand rubbed Ji Mian’s head a couple of times before letting him go.
Ji Mian remained silent.
Was he overthinking? Obviously not.
But he didn’t ask anything.
On this matter, they both chose to remain silent. Ji Mian didn’t pry, and Duan Zhuang didn’t elaborate.
Neither wanted to ruin this chance to reconcile.
“I’ll go sign. Wait here.”
Ji Mian slowly smiled.
“Okay, brother.”
—
After packing his books at school, on the way back, Ji Mian was unusually talkative.
He had so much he wanted to say after holding it in for half a year; finishing it all in less than twenty minutes during the car ride was quite a challenge.
Duan Zhuang quietly listened the entire way and didn’t show even a hint of impatience.
Just like before last summer.
“I haven’t worked with wood in a long time; the calluses on my hands have disappeared.” As the vehicle drove into the alley, Ji Mian spoke about his neglected “project,” spreading his hands a bit dejectedly.
He was worried that the skills he had worked so hard to develop would vanish unknowingly due to laziness and neglect.
Duan Zhuang parked the car and turned to look at Ji Mian's fingers.
“Let me see.”
Ji Mian, caught off guard, thrust his right hand into Duan Zhuang’s palm, feeling the other’s hand stiffen for a moment.
“Brother?” he spoke up, wondering if his fingers were too cold and had chilled Duan Zhuang.
“Yeah.” Duan Zhuang turned the cool, pale hand over, hesitating for a moment, then finally pinched Ji Mian's fingertip to check for calluses.
Ji Mian's hands were beautiful, with long fingers and distinct knuckles, yet not overly exaggerated. Such hands were perfect for holding a pen or playing the piano. Although his hands were of normal size, they felt small in Duan Zhuang's grasp.
“They’re gone.” Duan Zhuang said.
Even the fingertips of his thumbs and index fingers, which he used most frequently for wood carving, were delicate.
“I have to work on getting them back after my exams.”
Ji Mian’s tone was light, as if the estrangement they had experienced over the past half year had not affected their relationship at all.
In fact, the atmosphere in the car felt more harmonious than ever, carrying a subtle intimacy that crossed boundaries.
“……”
Duan Zhuang smiled silently, his lips curling up.
He still held Ji Mian’s hand, intentionally prolonging this brief closeness for a moment longer.
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