The hug was too strong and Sheng Min had the illusion that his bones were trembling because of his arms, but he soon found that it was not him, but Li Xuan's hand on his back that was shaking.
His breathing was more rapid than ever, and he seemed to be afraid of every beat. Sheng Min had to gently stroke his spine to soothe him, as if he was stroking the fur of a ferocious beast.
"Okay," he said, "there are kids watching in the back, don't set a bad example."
The naughty children were laughing and whispering, and even the games temporarily lost their appeal. They wanted to run closer to watch, but were too embarrassed to do so, so they pushed and shoved each other and played in a group in the distance.
"I was speeding and almost ran a red light." Li Xuan did not let go of his hand. He answered his initial question like a criminal confessing his crime to the judge, and then he pleaded, "I was afraid I was too late."
"Too late for what?"
Li Xuan didn't answer. His breath fell on the back of his neck, blowing through the fine hairs on his skin. He said something irrelevant: "I haven't been scared for a long time... Sheng Min, you must tell me if you have anything to say."
"You want to know everything. How can you be so arbitrary?" Sheng Min said in a low voice.
"You chose to be arbitrary."
“Yeah, I chose it.” Shengmin’s warm breath pressed against his ear, “So didn’t I ask you to come?”
"I should have come." Li Xuan answered simply.
Sheng Min smiled softly: "Don't be nervous. It's okay, really... At least it's not all bad. You don't have to worry about how to deal with a difficult mother-in-law and brother-in-law."
He made a joke that was neither too big nor too small, so Li Xuan didn't get it at first. After a moment, he stepped back a little and looked at Sheng Min in surprise: "What do you mean?"
"That's exactly what it means... Okay, let me go first." Sheng Min broke free from his arms. "The two kids behind us are laughing the whole time. It's embarrassing. Don't lead the kids astray."
Li Xuan frowned: "Sheng Min..."
"I'm hungry." Sheng Min interrupted him briefly and shook his arms, "Have you eaten?"
Li Xuan hesitated for a second.
"You said you wouldn't lie to me."
"No."
"Breakfast or lunch?..." Sheng Min looked at his expression and came to the conclusion, "Neither."
Li Xuan said helplessly: "Don't change the subject."
"Who is trying to change the subject now?" Sheng Min smiled, "Let's find a place to eat first."
There is a very small market at the east end of the town, with a few restaurants scattered around. It was getting late, and the moon quietly blew over the treetops. Most of the shops were closed, and only a kind-looking old lady was guarding a small noodle shop.
"Do you have anything to do tomorrow morning?" Sheng Min asked him after ordering the food and waiting for the kitchen to prepare it.
"It's nothing important, and I brought my computer with me, so it's the same wherever I am," said Li Xuan.
"Then let's go find a hotel in town. If there is one, don't go back to the city tonight." Sheng Min tilted her head to ask for his opinion, raised her hand and pointed at the rolling mountains behind her, "Accompany me to the mountains tomorrow."
"There are no hotels in town." Before Li Xuan could answer, the old man who was cooking noodles inside heard him, wiped his hands on his apron and came out, "Where do you two want to stay? If you don't want to stay at my house, it's on the second floor... It's clean. My grandson went to study in the city, and his room is empty... But the bed is a little small. The old man and I live downstairs, it's quiet."
After looking at each other, Sheng Min nodded: "Okay."
"Then..." the old man was a little shy, "Fifty?"
Sheng Min smiled and said, "Sure." Li Xuan next to him took out two bills and handed them over.
"A lot more."
"It's okay, take it." Sheng Min said, "You don't need to put cilantro in a bowl of noodles."
"Okay, I'll remember that. You guys go and rest first." The old man was happy and embarrassed to have made some money, and he only wished he could be more enthusiastic and considerate. "It will be ready in a while, I'll bring it up to you later... Go into the alley next to it, there's a ladder that will take you upstairs."
"I thought you were here these days." Walking out of the store, Li Xuan continued what he had just said.
"I just arrived when you called."
Sheng Min tugged at his sleeve, and the two of them turned to a nearby clothing store without a sign, and bought two sets of T-shirts and shorts that were barely tailored but felt soft to the touch, to use as pajamas.
"I was planning to go up the mountain today." Sheng Min said softly, "You said you would come, so I waited for you."
"What are you doing up the mountain?" Li Xuan took the bag handed over by the shop owner.
"I don't know." Sheng Min thought for a moment, "Nothing special... maybe find a tree."
There was a little confusion in his tone and expression, and a closer look revealed unspeakable uneasiness. Li Xuan's heart tightened and he stopped asking. He gently put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Okay, I'll accompany you."
Walking two steps into the alley, I saw the stairs. The railings were rusty and creaked when I stepped on them. Upstairs was a small one-bedroom apartment, simple but clean. An old-fashioned tungsten light bulb illuminated two bowls of steaming noodles on the table, with steam rising. It was a plain and homely scene.
Sheng Min said she was hungry, but actually her appetite was not very good. She ate half a bowl of noodles, picked out the vegetables in it and ate them, then put down her chopsticks.
"Shall I go downstairs and cook you a bowl of boiled vegetables?"
"I'm full." Sheng Min shook his head. "I haven't missed three meals... You have to finish your meal. It's not good to always skip a meal. You'll get stomach problems when you get old."
"Then will you take care of me?" Li Xuan joked.
"Take care of you?" Sheng Min frowned, "I'll send you to a nursing home."
"Then we have to live in one room too." Li Xuan followed his lead and then changed his words, "Forget it. I heard they abuse the elderly. It's better to leave me at your house."
Sheng Min pursed his lips and didn't answer. Li Xuan gently kicked his calf with the tip of his shoe: "What are you doing? Don't you want to abandon me?"
Sheng Min knew that he was teasing her on purpose, so she tapped his bowl with her chopsticks: "Eat first, I'll think about it."
Li Xuan then obediently ate up the whole bowl of noodles. He also took over the half bowl left by Sheng Min and ate it. After finishing, he drank a glass of water and said, "It's a bit salty."
"The old man has a heavy hand." Sheng Min poured him another half cup and asked casually, "Is this the cup you smashed?"
Li Xuan almost swallowed a mouthful of water. Sheng Min said slowly, "I see that you are eighty years old and your hair is all white. You can still be the king in a nursing home. If anyone dares to hit you, it's good enough that you don't hit them." He pulled Li Xuan's hand. The latter wanted to pull it back, but was glared at lightly: "Are you waiting for me to ask you?"
"A little bigger than this cup." Li Xuan said carefully.
"Who are you hitting?"
"Is that the image I have in your mind?" Li Xuan deliberately made the atmosphere light-hearted. "Why can't someone else hit me first?"
"Okay, if anyone hits my boyfriend, I'll help you fight back."
Li Xuan's Adam's apple moved: "You are not suitable for doing this kind of thing."
"Then tell me about it?"
Sheng Min's fingertips slid across the wound on his palm and she raised her eyes slightly. In such a dim light, his face was still strangely beautiful. Li Xuan hesitated for a moment, but finally succumbed to such a look: "You should know the person... Zhao Jizhe, remember? He's out of prison."
"It seems like it's time for him to be released from prison... Then what?" Sheng Min thought for a moment, "Did you plan to give him the Internet cafe in the university town? ... ... I had a few words with Zhu Zhou."
Li Xuan nodded: "Yes, but he doesn't want it."
"What does he want?"
Li Xuan paused: "... He wants to go to the company."
"So you guys had a fight?"
"almost."
"But you agreed in the end." Sheng Min glanced at him.
Li Xuan leaned forward and got closer to him: "Are you angry?"
Sheng Min pursed his lips: "I'm just angry at you for being a fool. You quarreled with others and got hurt... Is he hurt?"
"No."
"That's even more infuriating." Sheng Min said in a flat tone, looking down at the cut on his palm and the light scars on his fingers that had healed, "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt."
Sheng Min glared at him and pretended to press his wound. Li Xuan did not retract his hand and looked at him indulgently. Sheng Min did not press it in the end. He lowered his head and blew it gently. After a moment of silence, he asked him, "He must go to the company. Is it because of himself or because of you?"
This question is really interesting. Li Xuan thought for a while: "... We met in the orphanage. I left there a long time ago, but he didn't."
"Do you think it's your responsibility to help him leave?"
Li Xuan denied: "I have no responsibility towards Zhao Jizhe. I just want him to accept the fact that I will not go back... Of course, there are other ways to solve it, but I don't like this feeling..."
He couldn't find the right words for a moment.
"Being accused?" Sheng Min suddenly asked, and Li Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly.
Sheng Min reached out and touched his forehead: "I guessed."
"I guess so." Li Xuan curled his lips. "It's ridiculous, isn't it? There are so many people accusing me, and he is no different. Who does he think he is... But I just want to prove that I am right. If he thinks I owe him something, I will make him leave with a convinced conscience!"
His voice was not loud, but his tone was strong. After he finished speaking, he realized that he had lost his composure and looked at Sheng Min: "Do you also think that I am wrong?"
"Also? ... ... Is there a conflict in the company over this matter?"
Li Xuan pursed his lips: "I almost suspect that Qi Boyuan has called you."
Sheng Min poured him another glass of water, watched Li Xuan finish drinking it, and then said, "It's okay, if you want to do this, then do it. I don't care about anything else. But if you give yourself two more scars next time, I will be angry."
"What happens when you get angry?"
"Go hit him." Sheng Min answered calmly.
Li Xuan looked at him for a while, then put away the anger on his face and smiled. Sheng Min also smiled: "Please take the bowl away from the old man. I'm a little tired and want to sleep."
As he was about to stand up, Li Xuan held his hand again: "Did you forget something?"
"Um?"
"Don't play dumb, I've told you everything." He took Shengmin's hand to his lips and kissed it, "What happened these days?"
"You really won't take any loss at all."
"I am willing to suffer a loss here."
Sheng Min was silent for a long time, but Li Xuan looked at him patiently all the time, and finally spoke slowly: "It's nothing, just like what I told you this afternoon... Do you remember when we first met, you told me that you were an orphan? Now I am one too. In fact, I have always been... I was picked up by my father."
He had already vaguely guessed what was going on, but when he really heard Sheng Min say it, Li Xuan's hand suddenly tightened. Sheng Min felt a little pain from being held, but he just patted the back of Li Xuan's hand soothingly: "Be careful of your injury. I'm fine. Okay, I'll go take a shower. You take the bowl down for them."