Chapter 26

Chapter 26

For days on end, Ji Mian hadn’t spoken to Duan Zhuo.

The shop had just cleared its orders a couple of days ago, and there was no business recently. Even at the wood carving shop, Ji Mian couldn’t catch a glimpse of him.

Sometimes, coming downstairs, he’d bump into Duan Zhuo leaving his room. Duan Zhuo would just nod and head down the stairs.

From before the college entrance exams up until the admission notice arrived three months later, Ji Mian and Duan Zhuo had seen each other almost every day, mostly with Duan Zhuo coming up. But now it suddenly stopped.

The sudden change left Ji Mian feeling uneasy.

It felt like he was back in his senior year of high school, where his relationship with Duan Zhuo had inexplicably cooled. He wasn’t sure if he’d messed up or if his brother was just being his usual odd self.

The system seemed to have its theories about why they were drifting apart again, but it refused to tell Ji Mian.

"Hmph, it’s better you don’t know—it’s for your own good."

No matter how much Ji Mian begged, it stayed tight-lipped.

Ji Mian had to give up on getting any information from the system.

He wasn’t about to sit back and let things go back to how they were.

He was heading off to college soon, likely for half a year.

If they didn’t patch things up now, they might grow apart for good.

Ji Mian went up to the second floor and knocked on Duan Zhuo’s door.

Half a minute later, the door opened. Duan Zhuo, in a white tank top, saw Ji Mian and paused.

"What do you want?"

Here it goes again.

Ji Mian clenched his lips, emotions flaring.

"I did, but not now," he said coldly, then turned and left.

It was the first time Duan Zhuo had heard him sound so cold.

He grabbed Ji Mian’s wrist, stopping him from leaving. His usual indifference vanished.

"If you’ve got something to say, come in."

He tugged Ji Mian, who was turning away, into the room.

The door snapped shut, leaving the room quiet except for their uneven breaths.

Duan Zhuo’s warm grip extinguished Ji Mian’s anger, leaving him oddly nervous.

After a while, Duan Zhuo broke the silence first.

"You had something to say, didn’t you?"

"..."

"Ji Mian."

"...I don’t want to fight with you before I go."

Duan Zhuo looked at him, "When were we arguing?"

"We are now."

"..."

"Big bro." Ji Mian lowered his head, his voice slightly choked. "You mean the world to me, can you... not always treat me this way?"

The room went quiet, a heavy silence hanging between them.

Duan Zhuo felt like Ji Mian had stuffed cotton in his chest—soft, yet blocking his heart.

It was an unspoken longing, more stubborn than any sorrow in the world, and no fancy cigarette could smoke it away.

"I’m sorry." Duan Zhuo's voice was hoarse as he released Ji Mian's wrist.

"I won’t let it happen again."

...

Ji Mian’s school term began earlier than most universities.

By mid-August, he was already packing up.

When Duan Zhuo walked in, lugging a big bag of oranges, Ji Mian’s open suitcase was in the middle of the living room, while he himself was cozied up on the couch, holding a newspaper.

Duan Zhuo closed the door, threw a few oranges into the empty suitcase, and then approached the sofa, snatching the newspaper from Ji Mian.

After skimming it, he casually asked, "What’s with the newspaper?"

On the front page, a headline stood out: "XX Group’s Second Son Goes Missing..."

The article didn’t say much more than the headline, essentially hoping that anyone with clues would contact them promptly, with a generous reward.

Duan Zhuo stared at the paper, puzzled, before blurting out, "Is this guy for real?"

A guy in his twenties, and he just vanishes?

Ji Mian thought to himself: That’s the main guy and Duan Zhuo’s soon-to-be brother-in-law.

And he’s just been labeled as "for real"?

Ji Mian had been living in this world for four years, and finally, Mu Yuman and the male lead had crossed paths, officially entering the storyline.

Soon, once the two fell in love, he wouldn’t have to play the role of the devoted supporting male character anymore.

"The male lead was framed and got into a car accident. He stumbled here and was saved by Mu Yuman, narrowly escaping death. If nothing unexpected happens, the male lead should be lying in Mu Yuman’s house right now."

"Wow." Ji Mian's eyes sparkled.

He wondered what kind of guy Sis Yuman would fall for. It must be someone much better than him.

"Jealous?"

"Not really."

"You’re so young, and you’re already thinking about love?" The system sternly criticized, preaching the perfection of singlehood to Ji Mian.

"System, aren’t you just a machine? Didn’t realize you’d get this stuff."

"...Who said I’m a machine?"

"Wait, you’re not?"

Ji Mian’s world came crashing down.

"...No. The system is a lot like you Taskers—souls picked by the main god. Earn enough points, and you get a second shot at life. But being a system is lower risk—just support work—so the rewards aren’t as big as for Taskers."

"Wait, so you used to be human?"

"Yeah. But that was ages ago." After so long as a system, it had nearly forgotten it was ever human.

"We’ll circle back to this. If you keep zoning out talking to me, Duan Zhuo’s gonna notice."

Ji Mian snapped back to reality; his brother was still flipping through the newspaper, looking kinda unimpressed.

"Maybe there’s more to the disappearance," he said, brushing it off as he folded the paper and tossed it on the coffee table.

"Whatever," Duan Zhuo said, clearly not caring.

Ji Mian’s eyes landed on the clear bag in Duan Zhuo’s hand, packed with a good twenty big oranges.

"You got that many?"

"Some are for Sister Mu. I’ll drop them off later."

"Got it."

Ji Mian froze after answering.

Wait, if his brother heads to Sis Yuman’s place now, he’ll totally find the poor guy!

His face went stiff, and Ji Mian’s brain went into overdrive, scrambling to figure out how to stop Duan Zhuo.

"Relax, in the original story, the guy stayed at Mu Yuman’s for a full month. She’ll keep him under wraps."

Ji Mian let out a relieved breath.

He realized Duan Zhuo had been quiet for a while and turned to him, puzzled.

To his surprise, he locked eyes with Duan Zhuo, who was studying him.

"What’s going on, bro?"

Duan Zhuo smirked, "Thought you’d tag along."

"Why would I?"

"Just figured, with that look on your face, you were gearing up for some big goodbye speech."

"...Come on, don’t mess with me. I already told you I’d leave Sis Yuman alone till I finish school."

"Mm. Get your stuff together early, so you don’t leave anything behind," Duan Zhuo said.

After a few more minutes, Duan Zhuo placed some oranges on Ji Mian’s coffee table and left with the rest in the bag.

When Duan Zhuo knocked on Mu Yuman's door and stepped inside, he immediately caught a whiff of something unusual. He frowned, his nose twitching. "Do I smell blood?"

Mu Yuman’s heart raced, and she stole a quick glance at the wardrobe. "Is... is it?"

Last night, she’d found a bleeding man who refused to let her call the police or take him to the hospital. If she weren’t a doctor, it could’ve been a disaster.

As she bandaged him, he kept muttering about someone trying to kill him, begging her not to call the police, saying it would ‘tip them off.’

Mu Yuman was starting to think she’d picked up a madman.

She didn’t want to keep this from Duan Zhuo, but she knew her brother’s personality too well.

If he found out she had a dangerous person in her house, he would undoubtedly call the police.

With that in mind, she took the bag from Duan Zhuo and said, "Maybe I left some pork out of the fridge."

"Oh," Duan Zhuo replied, not entirely convinced but still sensing something was off.

He wandered around the house, and when he reached a window, his eyes locked on something.

On the wide windowsill in front of the window were neatly arranged wooden carvings of all sizes, so tightly packed that the windowsill was nearly overflowing.

"Oh, these are all from Ji Mian," Mu Yuman explained as she noticed him looking. "They used to be in the bedroom, but the windowsill there couldn’t fit them, so I moved them here a while ago."

"..."

Duan Zhuo froze, staring at the row of carvings. They were arranged in the order Ji Mian had given them to Mu Yuman.

The carvings on the left were still round and potato-like, with no clear form, but toward the right, they grew more refined and detailed, gradually taking on distinct outlines. The ones on the far right were almost flawless.

The carvings seemed to tell the story of an admirer’s devotion and growth over the years.

Displayed this way, they stirred a deep, awe-inspiring emotion.

As Duan Zhuo looked at them, he thought of the rough wooden cat he had tucked away in his cabinet—just one shabby cat, which he had practically begged for. To be precise, it should be called "snatched."

Compared to Mu Yuman's collection, he suddenly felt the urge to throw that wooden cat away.

Seeing her brother lost in thought, Mu Yuman waved her hand in front of his eyes and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'll throw it away when I get back," he said.

Mu Yuman: ...?

Huh?

...

In the end, Duan Zhuo didn't throw away the wooden cat.

After returning home, he took it out of the cabinet and placed it on his desk. He had originally intended to put it on the windowsill, but the vast surface held only that one lonely piece, a stark contrast to the grand display on Mu Yuman's windowsill.

The more he looked at it, the more it bothered him, so he finally placed it in a prominent spot on his desk.

The cat sat obediently on his desk, its two small front paws raised as if trying to catch a butterfly or a flying insect.

Duan Zhuo stared at it for a while, then poked its little paw.

*

The night before Ji Mian was set to leave, Duan Zhuo couldn’t sleep.

He checked the time; it wasn’t even eleven yet.

He lay in bed, eyes closed, for a few more minutes, but still, sleep eluded him.

He got up, sat on the edge of the bed, lit a cigarette, changed, and headed upstairs.

Two minutes later, Duan Zhuo was at the third-floor door, gently knocking twice with his knuckles.

He knocked lightly, not expecting an answer, as Ji Mian was usually asleep by this time.

But after a while, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

A tousled head peeked out, looking wide awake. “Hey, brother?”

“You’re still up?”

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep,” Ji Mian said, swinging the door open to let him in.

The living room was stuffy without the AC running. Ji Mian, without hesitation, led Duan Zhuo straight to the cooler bedroom.

After all, they were both guys, and back when Ji Mian was prepping for his college exams, Duan Zhuo had practically lived in his bedroom. Ji Mian didn’t see anything wrong with it.

Ji Mian flopped onto the bed, splayed out unceremoniously. After a moment, sensing Duan Zhuo’s gaze, he sat up a little to save face.

He counted on his fingers and blurted out, “Brother, I’m turning twenty this year.”

“What, you think there’s a generation gap between us?”

Ji Mian chuckled, “Nah. It’s just that most of the freshmen are eighteen, and I’m two years older. Like you, brother—you were already on your own and bought a house at twenty. I’ve still got four more years of school.”

Ji Mian meant nothing by it, but Duan Zhuo looked down, lost in thought.

It hit Duan Zhuo that Ji Mian was still just a student, heading off to university with his peers, where the next four years would be full of life.

He’d soon find out that the outside world was nothing like this damp, cramped, and sometimes stinky neighborhood. The big city was vibrant, teeming with life, filled with attractive people living it up.

And Duan Zhuo, since his teens, had been tied to this crumbling old neighborhood, watching over this aging building as it rotted away.

He’d had the chance to leave once, but at twenty, he’d chosen this cage reeking of decay, resigning himself to a life here.

Duan Zhuo had never second-guessed his choice, not even now.

He was like a forgotten wooden carving in a damp corner—dull, lifeless, and rotting from the inside out.

He didn’t regret it. But the thought of Ji Mian left him feeling a pang of despair.

“I thought the luggage was packed?” Duan Zhuo asked, eyeing the reopened suitcase.

Compared to a few days ago, the suitcase was now full, and the few oranges Ji Mian hadn’t eaten were also packed inside.

“Yeah, suddenly remembered something I hadn’t packed, so I opened it again.”

Duan Zhuo stood up and stood by the suitcase.

He basically came every day and saw this suitcase every day.

Duan Zhuo spotted something extra at the edge of the suitcase right away.

Tucked into the edge of the soft bedding was a "potato," carved from wood.

Duan Zhuo chuckled, "You planning to take this to the school cafeteria and pass it off as real?"

Ji Mian shot up, practically leaping to his feet, pursing his lips and giving him a serious look.

"Why bring this?" Duan Zhuo stopped joking and asked.

"It’s nothing, really. Just... it’s my first piece..." Ji Mian's voice trailed off, feeling like he was showing off in front of his big brother.

How could this potato even count as a "piece"?

"Still, it means something," he said.

At least, it mattered to him.

"First piece, huh..."

Duan Zhuo murmured the words again, then bent down and picked up the potato.

"It’s mine now."

"What?"

"You mind?"

"No, no! It’s fine." He just couldn’t figure out why Duan Zhuo would want such an ugly wooden thing.

Ji Mian hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist adding, "Bro, don’t toss it, okay?"

"Not a chance. I’m keeping it forever."

Ji Mian chuckled a few times, noticing his brother had started cracking jokes lately.

...

The day Ji Mian headed off to school fell on a weekday. Mu Yuman was working at the hospital, and Sun Qi was busy with his own affairs, so they didn’t need to come by.

So, Duan Zhuo was the only one left to see him off.

Ji Mian figured this was just right. He’d already said his goodbyes to Mu Yuman, and having Duan Zhuo see him off was plenty.

The station was packed, many young students with suitcases waiting inside, their parents on the other side of the security gate fussing over them.

Ji Mian peeked inside, hesitating to leave Duan Zhuo and head in.

Duan Zhuo was pulling his suitcase and also noticed the scene but remained silent.

"Brother, there's still some time. I think we're not in a hurry to go through security."

Duan Zhuo let Ji Mian take the suitcase from his hand and walked a bit further away from the departure hall filled with the atmosphere of farewell.

Ji Mian leaned the suitcase against the wall, gently pressing it with his right leg for a sense of security.

Duan Zhuo stood facing him, and Ji Mian lowered his head, staring at the straight line of Duan Zhuo's trousers.

The station continuously announced the end of ticket checks, and the crowd around them hurried past.

From the day Ji Mian came into this world and could remember, most of his time had been spent with Duan Zhuo by his side.

Today was the first time he’d been so far from home—so far from Duan Zhuo.

He blinked, trying to push down the panic that suddenly surged in his chest. By this world’s standards, he was already twenty years old. Feeling scared about leaving home for school would be way too embarrassing.

Duan Zhuo, who he’d been staring at, moved. He reached out and shoved a hard card into Ji Mian’s hand. “Take it.”

It was a savings card.

The moment Ji Mian’s fingers brushed the card, he yanked his hands behind his back. He took a step back, shaking his head. “No, we already agreed. I still have money on me, and the tuition will be deducted from the student loan.”

Duan Zhuo scoffed, “Who agreed with you?”

“I—”

Before Ji Mian could say anything, Duan Zhuo hooked a finger under his collar, pulling him closer.

Then, he felt a tickle at his waist as the card was shoved into his pocket.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Duan Zhuo murmured in his ear. “I can’t stand the thought.”

His heart skipped a beat.

Ji Mian looked up, meeting Duan Zhuo’s intense gaze, and suddenly felt nervous.

Why was his brother staring at him like that?

Duan Zhuo’s move brought them dangerously close. Duan Zhuo lowered his head, while Ji Mian tilted his up, close enough to feel each other’s breath.

Duan Zhuo was the first to look away. “It’s almost time. You should go.”

“Oh… oh.”

Ji Mian felt the card in his pocket through the fabric.

Anyway, he wasn’t going to use what Duan Zhuo gave him. He was twenty, perfectly capable, and he’d figure out how to make money if he needed to. Once he graduated and could support himself, he’d pay it all back.

That’s what he told himself, but Duan Zhuo’s words had left his ears burning for some reason.

He looked down, ready to leave, but he couldn’t bring himself to meet Duan Zhuo’s gaze again.

What was he even thinking? He shook his head.

The train was leaving in ten minutes, and he’d miss it if he didn’t hurry.

“I’m leaving, brother,” he said.

“Mm.”

Ji Mian dragged his suitcase toward the waiting room.

After walking a few meters, he came to a slow stop.

Ji Mian dropped the suitcase, spun around, and ran back, throwing himself into Duan Zhuo’s arms.

“Brother.”

It was the first time Ji Mian had been so bold, his fingers tightly clutching the fabric of Duan Zhuo’s back hem.

Duan Zhuo was hugged by him, and it took a while for his eyes to fall back into his arms from where Ji Mian originally was.

Ji Mian’s hair rubbed against his chin and face.

Duan Zhuo thought for a moment, tilted his head, and leaned his cheek against Ji Mian’s soft hair, thinking: This was probably as close as they’d ever get in this lifetime.