Chapter 29: TMS
Two months later, Ji Mian learned about Mu Yuman's relationship.
The process was surprisingly simple and straightforward: Mu Yuman made a video call to him one weekend.
While Ji Mian didn't do video calls with Duan Zhuang, Mu Yuman loved to face people directly, believing this method felt closer than a voice call.
Ji Mian actually shared this sentiment; he always felt warm when he saw Mu Yuman's smiling face on the screen. In fact, he only felt awkward when video calling with Duan Zhuang.
Mu Yuman waited almost a minute before the video connected.
In the screen, aside from herself, Ji Mian's delicate and handsome face appeared, with a grand red-brick building in the background featuring a large school emblem in the center.
Mu Yuman recognized the building as Ji Mian's university library.
She shyly asked, "Were you studying in the library just now?"
Ji Mian was slightly out of breath, clearly having run from the library to answer Mu Yuman's call.
"Yes, but it's almost meal time, so I was about to head out."
He immediately recognized the location Mu Yuman was at— a wooden carving shop he was very familiar with.
Seeing the familiar environment he hadn't visited in a while, Ji Mian instinctively searched for someone's figure, and sure enough, in the upper right corner of the screen, he spotted Duan Zhuang sitting behind the workbench, his head bowed and not looking at the camera.
Ji Mian wasn't used to looking at Duan Zhuang's face one-on-one, but seeing him from a distance on someone else's video didn’t feel uncomfortable.
"Brother!" he called out.
Duan Zhuang in the corner didn’t lift his head or respond but seemed to smile faintly.
Mu Yuman nodded in acknowledgment, and while Ji Mian couldn't see clearly through the phone, she clearly saw the smile forming at the corners of Duan Zhuang's lips. He looked happy but deliberately avoided looking at the camera.
Her eyelids twitched, and she felt her younger brother resembled the high school boys who would react when called by a beautiful girl they liked... it was quite amusing.
“…” She suddenly coughed twice, not expecting the term “amusing” to ever apply to Duan Zhuang.
The camera on the phone accidentally shook, capturing the silhouette of a stranger man beside them.
The man wore a long black trench coat, which emphasized his tall, slender figure, and his demeanor felt somewhat out of place in the small shop.
When Mu Yuman’s camera inadvertently included him, he was examining a small item Ji Mian had once carved, looking perplexed, probably wondering why this particular piece differed so much from the others.
Seeing another person besides Sun Qi and Duan Zhuang for the first time in Mu Yuman’s video surprised Ji Mian a bit.
“Yuman, is that… a customer?” He lowered his voice, worried about offending the stranger.
Most of the shop’s customers were from middle-class families, and the man’s aura did not seem like someone who would visit their kind of shop. It wasn’t that Duan Zhuang’s wood carvings were bad, but for top-tier wealthy individuals, their toys should at least be of a collectible level.
And regardless of Duan Zhuang's skills, the materials he used weren’t particularly rare woods. Such handmade wood carvings shouldn’t catch the eye of those affluent youths.
“Ah, I was just about to introduce you,” Mu Yuman looked at the man behind her, wanting to say something to Ji Mian but unsure how to start.
The man had heard their conversation and turned his head, a gentle smile playing at his lips.
He walked over to Mu Yuman and nodded toward Ji Mian on the video.
Duan Zhuang in the corner finally lifted his eyelids and glanced toward the two, his dark pupils reflecting a complex expression.
He wanted to look at Ji Mian on the screen, but his view was blocked by Gu Ting's tall figure.
“This is Gu Ting, my…” Mu Yuman intended to say "boyfriend," but thinking about Ji Mian made her hesitate to say it.
In her eyes, Ji Mian was always that innocent, pure boy, with those amber-colored light brown eyes seemingly untouched by the world's dust. Mentioning romantic matters to him made Mu Yuman feel somewhat embarrassed.
As for Ji Mian's confession a few years ago, it felt to Mu Yuman like a childish joke. Moreover, Ji Mian had never crossed the line with her afterward, so she naturally didn’t think about it further.
Sensing the awkwardness of being lovers, Gu Ting smiled calmly, tilted his head, and leaned his side profile against Mu Yuman's soft, fragrant hair, helping her out of the situation.
They didn't explicitly state it, but from such an intimate posture, it was clear to anyone that their relationship was more than just friends.
The video remained silent for a long time.
“Ji Mian?” Mu Yuman asked in confusion.
“...I, I'm here.” Ji Mian on the screen forced a smile, his gaze avoiding the camera and looking elsewhere.
This was a common trait of careful secret admirers; even when they felt they were at their lowest, they were afraid of inadvertently revealing their loneliness.
“Why aren’t you talking?”
“I…”
There was a loud clanging sound in the shop as Duan Zhuang stood up from behind the workbench, accidentally bumping his back against the sharp edge of the cashier desk, but he seemed oblivious to it.
He walked over and took the phone from Mu Yuman’s hand, shifting the camera away from the couple and saying, “Sister, I want to say a few words to Ji Mian.”
“Oh, oh.” Mu Yuman paused for a moment before her eyes curved with a smile.
“Why do you two talk on the phone every day and still run out of things to say? Ji Mian is usually busy with his studies; don’t always cling to him.”
Duan Zhuang only smiled and said, “I know,” before taking the phone and leaving the shop.
“Hey, why… did he run out again?” Mu Yuman shook her head helplessly. “Those two are always sneaking around, whispering things to each other.”
Gu Ting was also quite surprised by Duan Zhuang’s reaction.
It was the first time he had seen Duan Zhuang so proactive towards someone; his attitude was genuinely earnest.
To Gu Ting, this younger brother of his girlfriend seemed indifferent to everyone, but now, his demeanor around Ji Mian was like he had turned into a different person—quite the rarity.
He watched Duan Zhuang's departing figure thoughtfully, concluding, “Their relationship is really good.”
“Yeah.” Mu Yuman replied hesitantly, “Their relationship is indeed very good.”
—
Duan Zhuang headed straight upstairs.
When he pulled out his phone again, the screen was mostly dark, with only a small window showing the camera view from his side.
The image from Ji Mian’s end was gone, but the call hadn’t been disconnected. He turned the phone face down, unwilling to let Duan Zhuang see his face.
“Ji Mian?”
After a brief silence, a soft voice came from the black screen:
“Mm.”
Duan Zhuang fell silent for a few seconds before asking, “Are you crying?”
“...No, brother.”
Ji Mian’s voice was a bit hoarse, but it genuinely didn’t sound like he was crying.
The air grew quiet again, and Duan Zhuang listened to Ji Mian’s breathing through the microphone, both of them refraining from speaking further. He pressed the phone close to his ear, inching closer and closer, as if trying to draw warmth from Ji Mian’s breath.
They remained silent for a full two minutes, both unusually taciturn, each holding onto their complicated emotions.
Duan Zhuang sat down along the wall, also placing the phone face down on the ground, rendering the screen completely black.
His eyes felt slightly gritty, and his heart was being slowly tightened, but Duan Zhuang didn’t know whether to feel sad for Ji Mian or for himself.
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