Chapter 26: TMS
For several days in a row, Ji Mian hadn’t spoken to Duan Zhuang.
Recently, the shop had cleared its orders, and there had been no business. Even when Ji Mian was in the woodcarving store, he couldn't see Duan Zhuang.
Sometimes, when he came downstairs and ran into Duan Zhuang coming out of a room, the latter would only nod at him before turning and walking down the stairs.
Since before the college entrance exams, until the three months after the admission letter was received, Ji Mian and Duan Zhuang had seen each other almost every day. Most of the time, Duan Zhuang came to see him. But now, all of a sudden, it had stopped.
This sudden break in routine made Ji Mian feel uncomfortable.
He felt as if he had returned to the final year of high school when his relationship with Duan Zhuang had inexplicably grown cold. He wasn’t sure if it was something he had done wrong or if his brother was just that strange.
The system seemed to have some guesses about why their relationship had become distant again, but it wouldn’t tell Ji Mian.
[Hmph, you’d better not know why. It’s for your own good.]
No matter how much Ji Mian pleaded, it refused to say another word.
Ji Mian had no choice but to give up trying to get information from the system.
He didn’t intend to sit back and let his relationship with Duan Zhuang return to the lukewarm state it had been at the start.
He was about to go to university, and once he left, it could be for as long as six months.
If they didn’t make up this time, they might grow even further apart.
Coming to the second floor, Ji Mian knocked on Duan Zhuang’s door.
After about half a minute, the door opened. Duan Zhuang, wearing a white tank top, saw Ji Mian standing at the door and was silent for a few seconds.
“Do you need something?”
There it was again.
Ji Mian pursed his lips, and suddenly, a wave of emotion hit him.
“I did, but not anymore,” he said coldly, then turned to leave.
This was the first time Duan Zhuang had heard Ji Mian speak to him in such a cold tone.
Suddenly, Duan Zhuang reached out and grabbed Ji Mian’s wrist, not letting him leave. He no longer had that arrogance of being able to neglect Ji Mian at will.
“…If you have something to say, come inside.”
With a slight tug, he pulled Ji Mian, who had turned his back to him, into the room.
The door closed with a “bang,” and the room fell silent, with only the sound of their uneven breathing.
Duan Zhuang’s hand was hot as he held Ji Mian’s, and the little flame of anger in Ji Mian’s heart was quickly extinguished, replaced by an inexplicable sense of nervousness.
After a while, Duan Zhuang was the first to break the silence.
“Didn’t you have something to say to me?”
“…”
“Ji Mian.”
“…I don’t want to argue with you before I leave.”
Duan Zhuang looked at him. “When did we argue?”
“Just now.”
“…”
“Brother.” Ji Mian lowered his head, his voice a little choked. “You’re the most important person to me. Could you… stop treating me like this?”
The air grew still, and an indescribable heaviness hung between them.
It felt as if Ji Mian had stuffed a ball of cotton into Duan Zhuang’s chest—soft, but it blocked his heart.
It was a desire he couldn’t express, more stubborn than any worry in the world, and no matter how luxurious the cigarettes, they couldn’t take it away in a cloud of smoke.
“Sorry,” Duan Zhuang said hoarsely, releasing Ji Mian’s wrist. “It won’t happen again.”
…
Ji Mian’s university started earlier than others.
In mid-August, he began packing for the move.
When Duan Zhuang walked in carrying a large bag of oranges, Ji Mian’s suitcase was open in the middle of the living room, but he was curled up on the sofa reading a newspaper.
After closing the door, Duan Zhuang tossed a few golden oranges into the half-empty suitcase before walking over to the sofa and pulling the newspaper from Ji Mian’s hands.
After flipping through it a couple of times, he casually asked, “Since when do you read newspapers?”
On the front page, a striking headline read: “The Second Son of XX Group Recently Disappeared…”
The main article expanded on the title, explaining that anyone with information should contact them and would be handsomely rewarded.
Duan Zhuang stared at the paper for a long time before blurting out, “Is this guy stupid?”
A man in his twenties, disappearing just like that?
Ji Mian thought to himself: That’s the male lead of this world and Duan Zhuang’s future brother-in-law.
And now he’s being called “stupid”?
Ji Mian had been in this world for four years, and Mu Yuman had finally crossed paths with the male lead, officially entering the storyline.
Soon, once the two of them fell in love, Ji Mian wouldn’t have to play the role of the devoted supporting character anymore.
[The male lead was framed and got into a car accident. He accidentally ended up here, and after being rescued by Mu Yuman, he barely survived. If nothing goes wrong, the male lead should be at Mu Yuman’s house right now.]
[Wow.] Ji Mian’s eyes lit up.
He wondered what kind of person would eventually win Yuman’s heart. Whoever it was, they would definitely be much better than him.
[Are you envious?]
[Not really.]
[You’re so young, and you’re already thinking about relationships?] the system righteously scolded, trying to instill in Ji Mian the virtues of singlehood.
[Aren’t you just a machine, system? How do you know about these things?]
[…Who told you I’m a machine?]
[!? Aren’t you?]
Ji Mian’s world crumbled.
[…No. Systems and taskers are similar in nature; both are souls chosen by the main god. Once they accumulate enough points, they can be reincarnated. But becoming a system involves less risk—just providing assistance—and so the rewards aren’t as high as for taskers.]
[So, you used to be human too?]
[Yeah. But that was a long time ago.] Being a system for so long, it had almost forgotten that it had once been human.
[We’ll talk about this later. If you keep chatting with me, Duan Zhuang will get suspicious.]
Ji Mian quickly returned his focus to reality. His brother was still staring at the newspaper, looking somewhat disdainful.
“I guess there must be a special reason for the disappearance,” Ji Mian mumbled, folding the newspaper and placing it on the coffee table.
“Whatever.” Duan Zhuang didn’t seem too interested.
It was then that Ji Mian noticed the transparent bag Duan Zhuang was carrying, filled with more than twenty large oranges.
“Why so many?”
“Some are for your sister Mu. I’ll drop them off later.”
“Oh.”
Ji Mian responded but suddenly froze.
Wait, if his brother went to Yuman’s house now, wouldn’t he discover the pitiful male lead?
His expression stiffened. His mind raced, thinking of ways to stop Duan Zhuang.
[Don’t worry. In the original storyline, the male lead stays at Mu Yuman’s house for a whole month. She’ll hide him well.]
Ji Mian sighed in relief.
He noticed that Duan Zhuang had been unusually quiet since earlier, so he turned his head in confusion.
Unexpectedly, he met Duan Zhuang’s probing gaze.
“What’s wrong, brother?”
Duan Zhuang smirked slightly. “I thought you’d follow me.”
“? Why?”
“Just from your expression, I thought you were planning to make a grand confession before you leave.”
“…Please don’t tease me. I promised you before, I won’t bother Sister Yuman until I finish my studies.”
“Mm. Make sure to pack early so you don’t forget anything,” Duan Zhuang reminded.
“I know, brother.”
After spending a few more minutes there, Duan Zhuang left some oranges on Ji Mian’s coffee table, then took the rest of the bag and headed out.
…
When Duan Zhuang knocked on Mu Yuman’s door, he immediately caught a whiff of something and frowned. “Smells like blood?”
Mu Yuman’s heart skipped a beat, and she glanced toward the wardrobe. “Does it? Maybe I forgot to put some pork in the fridge.”
Last night, she had found a man bleeding all over the place. He refused to let her call the police or take him to the hospital. If she hadn’t been a doctor herself, there would have been real trouble.
While dressing his wounds, he had ranted about someone trying to kill him, warning her not to call the police, or it would “alert the enemy.”
Mu Yuman seriously suspected she had picked up a lunatic.
She didn’t want to hide anything from Duan Zhuang, but she knew her brother’s temper.
If he found out there was a dangerous person in her house, he would definitely call the police.
Thinking this, she took the bag of oranges from Duan Zhuang’s hand. “Maybe it’s the pork I forgot to refrigerate.”
“Oh.” Although Duan Zhuang didn’t seem suspicious, he still felt something was off.
He wandered around the room, and his gaze suddenly froze when he spotted a window.
On the wide windowsill in front of the window, a row of wooden sculptures of various sizes was neatly arranged, packed closely together, nearly filling the entire windowsill.
"Ah, these were all sent by Ji Mian," Mu Yuman explained when she saw him looking. "They used to be in the bedroom, but the windowsill in the bedroom was too small to fit them all, so I moved them here a while ago."
"…"
Duan Zhuang stood still, staring at the row of wooden sculptures. This entire row was arranged by Mu Yuman in the order she received them from Ji Mian.
The sculptures on the far left were still round and chubby potatoes, indistinguishable in shape, while those further to the right became more intricate and detailed, gradually revealing clearer outlines, and the ones on the far right were nearly flawless.
This row of wooden sculptures seemed to witness the deep feelings and growth of a certain admirer over the past few years.
At this moment, displayed before his eyes, it brought an astonishing sense of emotion.
Duan Zhuang looked at them and thought of the little wooden cat he had put in the cabinet, just a broken cat that he had stubbornly begged for. To be precise, it should be called “stolen.”
In comparison to Mu Yuman’s, he suddenly felt a strong urge to throw that wooden cat away.
Seeing his brother standing there in a daze, Mu Yuman waved his hand in front of Duan Zhuang and asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“I’ll throw it away when I get back,” he said.
Mu Yuman: …?
Huh?
……
Duan Zhuang didn’t end up throwing the wooden cat away.
After returning home, he released the wooden carving from the cabinet and placed it on his desk. Originally, he planned to put it on the windowsill, but the large desk only had this lonely cat on it. This formed a stark contrast with the huge collection on Mu Yuman's windowsill.
No matter how he looked at it, it felt off, so he finally placed it in a prominent spot on his desk.
The cat sat obediently on his desk, its tiny front paws raised as if trying to catch the butterflies or flying insects in front of it.
Duan Zhuang stared at it for a while and poked its paw.
—
The night before Ji Mian’s departure, Duan Zhuang had trouble falling asleep.
He glanced at the clock; it was still not yet eleven.
After lying in bed with his eyes closed for a few minutes, he still felt wide awake.
He got up, sat on the edge of the bed, smoked a cigarette, changed his clothes, and went upstairs.
Two minutes later, Duan Zhuang stood at the door of the third floor, lightly knocking twice with his knuckles.
He knocked softly, not really expecting a response, since Ji Mian usually went to bed by this time.
But after waiting for a while, the door suddenly opened from the inside.
A furry little head poked out, looking quite alert. “Brother?”
“Not asleep yet?”
“Hmm, can’t seem to sleep.” Ji Mian said, opening the door wider to let Duan Zhuang in.
The living room was not air-conditioned and felt a bit hot. Ji Mian showed no reservations and directly led Duan Zhuang into the cooler bedroom.
After all, they were both men, and previously, when he was preparing for his college entrance exams, Duan Zhuang often stayed in Ji Mian's room. Ji Mian didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about it.
Ji Mian jumped onto the bed, lying flat in a very unrefined manner. After a while, feeling that Duan Zhuang was watching him, he propped himself up a bit to regain his composure.
He counted on his fingers and suddenly realized, “Brother, I’m twenty this year.”
“What, do you think there’s a generation gap between us now?”
Ji Mian smiled and defended himself, “No. It’s just that I see most of the students in our freshman group are eighteen. I’m two years older than them. By the time you were twenty, you had already moved out and bought a house. I still have four more years of school.”
The speaker was oblivious, but the listener fell into deep thought.
Duan Zhuang suddenly realized that Ji Mian was still just a student, and when he went to college, he would be with people of the same age, spending the next four years full of vitality.
He would soon discover that the outside world was completely different from this damp, narrow, and occasionally smelly neighborhood— the bustling, vibrant big city, countless quality men and women, and the allure of nightlife.
As for Duan Zhuang, from the age of ten, he had only belonged to this dilapidated old city, guarding this old building, stepping into decay alongside it and approaching death.
He had had opportunities to leave, yet on his twentieth birthday, he voluntarily walked into this prison filled with the smell of rotting wood, intending to spend the rest of his life there.
Duan Zhuang had never regretted his decision until now.
He was like a wooden carving nailed in a damp corner, neglected and dull. He had long since rotted through and through.
He didn’t regret it. But thinking of Ji Mian brought a sense of despair.
“The luggage is all packed, right?” Duan Zhuang asked, looking at the opened suitcase.
Compared to a few days ago, this suitcase was now full, and the few oranges Ji Mian hadn’t eaten were also packed inside.
“Yeah, I suddenly remembered there was something I hadn’t packed, so I opened it again.”
Duan Zhuang stood up beside the suitcase.
He came almost every day and had seen this suitcase countless times.
With one glance, Duan Zhuang noticed an extra item on the edge of the suitcase.
Stuffed beside the soft bedding was a “potato.” Made of wood.
Duan Zhuang smiled and said, “Are you planning to take this potato to the school cafeteria and pass it off as real?”
Ji Mian jumped up as if propelled, sitting up straight with pursed lips, looking at him with a serious expression. “Brother?”
“Why take this?” Duan Zhuang asked.
“Well, it’s nothing. It’s just because it’s my first piece…” Ji Mian’s voice grew smaller, feeling that he was too much of a novice in front of his big brother.
Was this potato even worthy of being called a “piece”?
“Anyway, it’s still very meaningful,” he said.
At least it was very important to him.
“Your first…”
Duan Zhuang repeated it softly and bent down to pick up the wooden potato.
“It's a gift for me.”
“Huh?”
“Not happy?”
“No, no! I’m happy.” It was just that he couldn’t understand why Duan Zhuang would want such an ugly wooden carving.
Ji Mian hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help but remind him, “Brother, you better not throw it away.”
Duan Zhuang slowly tucked the potato into his pocket. “I won’t throw it away. I’ll keep it for a lifetime.”
Ji Mian laughed a couple of times, realizing that his brother had started joking recently.
……
The day Ji Mian left for school happened to be a weekday. Mu Yuman went to the hospital to work, and Sun Qi was busy with his own things, so there was no need for them to come over.
So the only person sending him off was Duan Zhuang.
Ji Mian felt that this was just right. He had already said goodbye to Mu Yuman in advance, and he was very satisfied to have Duan Zhuang send him off.
The station was bustling with crowds, and many young students carrying suitcases were waiting for their trains inside. Their parents stood across an inspection gate, repeatedly giving them advice.
Ji Mian glanced inside, feeling reluctant to leave Duan Zhuang alone and entered.
Duan Zhuang helped him pull the suitcase, and he also saw this scene, remaining silent.
“Brother, there’s still some time. I don’t think we need to rush through the security check.”
Duan Zhuang let Ji Mian take the handle of the suitcase from him and walked further away from the atmosphere of parting in the waiting room.
Ji Mian leaned the suitcase against the wall, gently pressing his right leg against it for some sense of security.
Duan Zhuang stood facing him. Ji Mian lowered his head, staring at his brother's straight pant leg.
The station was filled with announcements about trains halting for ticket inspection, and the surrounding crowd bustled by, hurrying past them.
Since Ji Mian came into this world, from the day he gained consciousness, most of his time had been spent with Duan Zhuang by his side.
Today was the first time he was leaving home so far, so far away from his brother.
He blinked and suppressed the sudden panic that surged within him. By the age in this world, his body was already twenty, so feeling scared about leaving home for school was a bit embarrassing.
Duan Zhuang, who was being stared at by Ji Mian, moved. He reached out and stuffed a hard card into Ji Mian's hand. “Take this.”
It was a debit card.
As soon as Ji Mian’s fingers touched the hard object, he quickly hid both hands behind his back, retreating a step in caution and shaking his head. “No, we agreed earlier. I still have money, and the tuition will be deducted from the student loan.”
Duan Zhuang scoffed. “Who agreed with you?”
“I—”
Ji Mian was about to say something when Duan Zhuang pinched the collar of his shirt, forcing him to lean closer to him.
Immediately, a tingling sensation spread around Ji Mian's waist as the card was shoved into his pocket.
“Don’t shortchange yourself,” Duan Zhuang whispered in his ear. “I can’t bear it.”
His heart raced.
Ji Mian looked up and met Duan Zhuang's dark eyes, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.
Why was his brother looking at him like this?
Their distance shrank due to Duan Zhuang’s movement; he leaned down while Ji Mian tilted his head up, almost able to feel each other's warm breath.
It was Duan Zhuang who turned his face away first. “It’s almost time for the train, go.”
“Okay... okay.”
Ji Mian, through the fabric, touched the hard card in his pocket.
Anyway, it was given by Duan Zhuang, so he didn’t have to use it. He was twenty this year, capable of taking care of himself, and if he ran out of money, he would find a way to earn it.
When he graduated and was financially capable, he would pay it back.
That was what he thought in his heart, but Duan Zhuang’s earlier words inexplicably made Ji Mian’s ears heat up.
He lowered his head, about to leave, but felt hesitant to look into Duan Zhuang's eyes again.
What was he thinking? He shook his head.
Only ten minutes remained until the train departure; he might miss it.
“Brother, I’m leaving,” he said.
“Mm.”
Ji Mian dragged his suitcase toward the waiting area.
After walking about ten meters, his steps gradually came to a halt.
He let go of the suitcase, suddenly turned around, and ran back, diving into Duan Zhuang's arms and hugging him tightly.
“Brother.”
It was Ji Mian’s first time being so bold, his fingers gripping the fabric of Duan Zhuang's shirt tightly.
Duan Zhuang was embraced by him, and it took him a while to shift his gaze back to Ji Mian’s original position.
Ji Mian’s hair brushed against his chin and face.
After thinking for a moment, Duan Zhuang tilted his head and rested his cheek against Ji Mian’s soft hair, thinking: this might be the closest distance they would ever share in this lifetime.
Comments