Chapter 27: TMS
In early spring of the second semester of his sophomore year, Ji Mian was unable to attend Mu Yuman's birthday for the first time.
In their circle, Mu Yuman was a person more respected than sages and wise men; her birthday was a grand occasion, second only to the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the past two years, although Mu Yuman no longer wished to make a big deal of her birthday, she would still have a dinner with Duan Zhuang and a few others and cut a small cake.
Sun Qi still brought Xu Xiaoxiao with him, but their identities had changed significantly by this time.
Before the New Year this year, they had gotten married.
Ji Mian’s phone call came in after dinner.
“Happy birthday, Yuman Jie,” he said over the phone.
Mu Yuman accepted his blessing with a smile and asked about Ji Mian's recent situation. She put the phone on speaker, so everyone at the table could hear Ji Mian's voice. Sun Qi and Xu Xiaoxiao occasionally chimed in from the side, with Sun Qi’s loud voice echoing throughout.
Laughter filled the dining table, and the atmosphere was exceptionally warm and harmonious. Duan Zhuang, with his eyelids lowered, quietly listened to their conversation.
This made Sun Qi frequently glance over at him.
What’s wrong with the big brother? Usually, when chatting with Ji Mian on the phone, he isn’t this quiet. Why is he acting like a “lone wolf” who’s being excluded right now?
“Yuman Jie,” Ji Mian’s voice lowered slightly, “Is my brother nearby? Why can’t I hear him speaking?”
Only then did Mu Yuman turn her head to look at Duan Zhuang.
Duan Zhuang smiled slightly, and no one present knew the true meaning behind his smile.
He felt quite proud, and even in this situation, even with Mu Yuman present, the person Ji Mian was focused on was still him.
He was unaware of how childish it was to gain Ji Mian’s attention through silence. Fortunately, no one present would connect the phrase “seeking attention” with Duan Zhuang’s actions.
Duan Zhuang took the phone from Mu Yuman and did the first thing: turned off the speaker and then stood up, taking the phone with him as he left the dining table.
It was as if their conversation was some important secret.
Snatching the congratulator’s phone call during someone else's birthday felt a bit domineering.
“Big brother is really something. It’s fine if he’s all cozy with Ji Mian during their phone calls, but why is he acting so clingy now?” Sun Qi shook his head in disbelief.
Duan Zhuang stood by the living room window, tilting his head to say something to the person on the other end of the phone, his expression gentle.
Mu Yuman watched her younger brother, with his eyes downcast and a smile as he talked on the phone, and suddenly felt something was odd.
Duan Zhuang cared for her, and Mu Yuman considered their relationship to be quite good, but he had never shown such emotions in front of her.
A strange feeling that she couldn’t quite name surfaced in her heart. Mu Yuman furrowed her brows slightly but ultimately couldn’t find the source of this subtle sensation.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Duan Zhuang took a bag of kitchen waste downstairs.
As he stepped out of the door, he spotted a black Maybach outside, with a tall man standing in front of it.
In this impoverished neighborhood, this car could almost be considered a tourist attraction.
Duan Zhuang accidentally made eye contact with the man by the car’s front; from the furrowed brow of the other, he could tell that the man was facing some problem. However, he had never been particularly compassionate and didn’t feel like getting involved, so he turned to leave.
“Hello,” the man called out to him.
Duan Zhuang clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Do you know Dr. Mu?” The man’s eyes were probing, sizing Duan Zhuang up in the night.
Duan Zhuang was all too familiar with such scrutinizing gazes and immediately deduced: here comes another suitor for his sister.
Mu Yuman had never been short of admirers, but Duan Zhuang understood her nature; no matter how outstanding the man was, she had never given them a second glance.
Sometimes, when he encountered those who were overly persistent, he had stepped in to handle the situation.
“I don’t know her.”
“But I saw you coming out of Dr. Mu’s house,” the man pressed on.
“Oh, maybe you have poor eyesight.”
The man: …
His polite smile faded as he asked, “What is your relation to Dr. Mu?”
Originally, he thought this person might be a relative of Mu Yuman, but based on the stark contrast between this person’s personality and Mu Yuman’s, it was evident that he wasn’t...
Does this guy have a screw loose?
Duan Zhuang couldn’t be bothered to respond, striding directly to the trash can to throw in the kitchen waste he was holding.
“Hey, you—” the man chased after him.
Is this going to be endless…
Duan Zhuang turned his head, ready to retort with a “get lost” when Mu Yuman’s voice interrupted him just in time.
“Mr. Gu?”
The man’s footsteps halted instantly, and he slowly turned around to face Mu Yuman.
Duan Zhuang’s gaze shifted as well.
Mu Yuman approached, glanced at the tense atmosphere between the two, and introduced, “This is my younger brother, Duan Zhuang.”
Upon hearing this, the man’s previously cold demeanor transformed; he became much more polite and nodded at Duan Zhuang. “I apologize, I thought… I may have offended you just now.”
“This is Gu Ting, a former… patient of mine,” Mu Yuman continued, addressing Duan Zhuang.
Duan Zhuang casually nodded in response, maintaining an indifferent expression.
“Mr. Gu, what brings you here?”
Gu Ting paused before saying, “It’s an old injury; it occasionally flares up at night.”
Hah. Duan Zhuang sneered internally.
Instead of going to the hospital, he chose to come to a doctor’s home on the night of their birthday?
“I recall today is Dr. Mu’s birthday, so I took the liberty of dropping by.”
“No trouble at all.”
Gu Ting pursed his lips and suddenly asked, “So, does Dr. Mu have time tonight?”
Duan Zhuang, listening on the side, nearly burst out laughing. This was the first time in his life he had heard such a foolish pick-up line. Each of his sentences felt like an awkward right angle, painfully stiff.
“…” Mu Yuman coughed suddenly, and after a long pause, though she didn’t speak, she also didn’t say anything to refuse.
Duan Zhuang raised an eyebrow in surprise at Mu Yuman, instantly retracting some of his ridicule towards Gu Ting.
This guy has feelings, and it seems my sister isn’t entirely uninterested either.
He wasn’t oblivious to the atmosphere; he was only staying because he was worried that this Gu Ting would be like those other suitors and persistently pursue Mu Yuman.
But realizing that Mu Yuman’s attitude toward this man was different, he turned to her with understanding, raising his hand. “I’ll head upstairs.”
“Oh, okay.”
Once upstairs, he found Sun Qi and Xu Xiaoxiao still there. Sun Qi had driven over, so he wasn’t worried about returning too late.
The ceiling light in the living room was off, and the two were peering curiously out the window at the Maybach and the two people standing by it.
“Big brother,” Sun Qi turned to ask when Duan Zhuang entered, “Who’s that guy downstairs? Mu Jie went down as soon as she saw him.”
“A patient.”
“Oh, a patient? That seems a bit strange.” Sun Qi looked at the contrasting figures of black and white outside and added, “Strange… but kind of fitting.”
Just their backs were already quite a sight.
Since being with Xu Xiaoxiao, Sun Qi had completely let go of any feelings for Mu Yuman.
Or perhaps, his initial infatuation wasn’t as deep as he had imagined.
“Hey, Ji Mian went to school. I wonder if Mu Jie ends up with someone else, how would he handle it?”
Duan Zhuang fell silent suddenly.
After a while, he slowly spoke, “…Can he?”
“Probably not? Ji Mian seems so single-minded,” Sun Qi sighed regretfully.
Duan Zhuang curled the corners of his lips.
“…True.”
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