Seeing Duan Yelin’s furious look, Xu Hang suddenly understood why Zhang Xiuming suddenly made such an intimate gesture at the door.
What a monster! It turns out he came prepared and has checked everything clearly.
Although he didn’t get any benefit from him, but Duan Yelin was really angry.
Xu Hang waved his hand dismissively and said, “What are you acting crazy for?” Then, he quickly walked into the inner hall to avoid being watched by others.
Duan Yelin followed him, pulled back the curtains, and dragged Xu Hang toward him: “I saw everything just now. Don’t tell me you two were holding hands and hugging each other the first time you met?”
“It’s fine if you’re blind, but can you be a little more clean with your mouth?” Xu Hang rolled his eyes at him.
Duan Yelin laughed in anger: “It’s my fault after all?” He put his arm around Xu Hang’s waist and pressed him against him: “Xu Shaotang, do you still know who you belong to? I allow you to be free, to act wild, and to show off, but that doesn’t mean I can let you flirt with others.”
Like a match thrown into a pile of firewood, it catches fire instantly, and then the fire grows bigger and bigger.
This is what Xu Hang hates most about Duan Yelin. This kind of domineering attitude that regards him as his property is sometimes too unreasonable.
Unfortunately, Xu Hang was the type of person who would simply “let you think whatever you want.” If you thought he was good, fine, but if you thought he wasn’t, he wouldn’t bother showing you otherwise.
So he grabbed Duan Yelin’s sleeve, raised his eyebrows, and said word by word, “I have never forgotten that I am a canary locked up by you. Are you satisfied?”
Duan Yelin’s anger was suddenly sparked by someone throwing a handful of dirt. Instead of putting the fire out, it smoldered inside him, leaving him feeling uncomfortable all over.
“You’re still using this to justify your actions…” Duan Yelin let go of his hand but stared at Xu Hang. “Even if I used the wrong method at the start, after four years, isn’t it clear who’s imprisoning whom?”
“Now it’s quite obvious that you’re coming to me to accuse me.”
“That’s because of you and Zhang Xiuming.”
“What? Are you scared?” Xu Hang said with a hint of mockery, “He has a noble status and is very good-looking, so you think I can be attracted to him?”
Duan Yelin wore an unhappy expression, the corners of his mouth tight. Xu Hang felt a surge of anger seeing his agreement. It would have been one thing if others had desires toward him, but it was truly repulsive that they mistakenly thought he was the kind of person who would flatter the powerful.
He simply made Duan Yelin feel even more uncomfortable and said, “That’s right. You guessed it right. I really think he is amazing.”
Duan Yelin was indeed stimulated: “Xu Shaotang, say it again!”
Xu Hang didn’t want to talk to this jealous man anymore, so he turned his back and said, “I don’t want to see you, get out.”
“You…”
“Get out!”
Duan Yelin looked at Xu Hang’s cold face and endured it again and again in his heart but finally left in anger.
As soon as he went out and walked to the car, he kicked the car door hard to vent his anger.
Qiao Song, who was in the car, trembled and sat in the driver’s seat for a long time without daring to move. He waited until Duan Yelin’s face looked a little better before he opened the door to let Duan Yelin in.
“Commander… Young Master Xu cannot be blamed for this…” He had seen what Zhang Xiuming had done just now as well, so he naturally knew where his anger came from.
“I know,” Duan Yelin rubbed his nose, “I’m angry because he doesn’t care about my feelings at all.”
Qiao Song started driving: “Young Master Xu just doesn’t like to explain.”
Duan Yelin smiled bitterly: “He refuses to say and explain anything. He still has this temper after all these years.”
“Since you like him, you can only tolerate his temper.”
Qiao Song turned the steering wheel. Whenever his Commander and Young Master Xu quarreled, Qiao Song would usually try to mediate. Today, he tried to change the subject. “By the way, Commander, there are many more men in black in Hezhou City recently.”
“Men in black?”
“Yes, they were even walking around the streets two days ago, dressed the same, and looked like they’d been trained before… look, they look just like the guy in front!”
Qiao Song suddenly pointed at a figure running past the car. Duan Yelin looked closely, and his eyes widened.
“A member of the Yan Gang? Why are they coming to Hezhou?”
“Yan Gang? That’s the gang of that Ghost Master?” Qiao Song clicked his tongue. “I have heard that Ghost Master’s hometown is in Hezhou. Could he be returning to his hometown to worship his ancestors? That would be considered a glorious return.”
Duan Yelin smiled and said, “It’s fine if he’s just worshipping the ancestors, but I’m just worried that they might cause trouble… Have people patrol the city more often around these areas to avoid any trouble!”
“I understand.”
Duan Yelin only thought that the people from the Yan Gang would cause trouble when they went back and forth in the city. He had no idea that their real purpose was to get Shen Jingmo who was in Jinyan Tang.
Later, Shen Jingmo went to Jici Courtyard again, accompanied by Chan Yi. This time everything went smoothly. The director agreed to let him stay as a teacher and play with the children.
The director was very kind-hearted. Seeing Shen Jingmo’s pitiful appearance, he said, “I can tell you’re not that young anymore, are you? You should be old enough to start a family and build a career. Ai, you just happen to have this issue. I also know some good girls, around their thirties, very nice people, but they are either deaf or mute. If you’re willing, I can find a matchmaker for you, someone to take care of you.”
Shen Jingmo felt a little embarrassed and kept declining.
He was already half dead and was being hunted. It would be bad if he implicated others. It was already good enough for him to live a simple life like this for the rest of his life.
The children in Jici Courtyard are very well-behaved, they don’t cry or make a fuss. Shen Jingmo plays the harmonica for them every afternoon.
He was playing “Farewell.” The sound of the harmonica was slightly off-pitch, carrying a whimpering tone. With each note, the final note seemed to carry a sigh.
The children have listened to it many times and can already sing along.
Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless. The evening wind blows the willows, the sound of the flute fades, and the setting sun is beyond the mountains. At the end of the sky, at the corner of the earth, half of my friends are gone. A pot of wine will bring me endless joy, and I won’t have any cold dreams tonight.
The children were singing in the yard, and outside the yard a man was leaning against the wall smoking and listening.
Xiao Yan turned his head and looked at Shen Jingmo, who was surrounded by children in the room. Suddenly, memories from many years ago flooded his mind. He hadn’t had much musical talent and couldn’t sing many songs, but he probably only knew this one—”Farewell”—which Shen Jingmo had taught him, playing it on the harmonica.
Probably all the students taught by Shen Jingmo can sing it.
Ten years ago, when he was twelve years old, he was still studying at Cunxi Academy. At that time, his parents were divorced and no one cared about him, so he fought every day.
Every teacher thought he was a nuisance and refused to take care of him. Some even felt happy when they saw him skipping classes.
Only Shen Jingmo would brave the midsummer sun and run to every corner of Hezhou City and finally find him in a restaurant warehouse where he was imprisoned for being falsely accused of stealing and say, “I found you, come back with me.”
He thought that no matter how kind Shen Jingmo was, he would only rescue him, pay compensation to the restaurant on his behalf and apologize, or even force him to admit something he had not done, and then go back and beat and scold him.
Because that’s what those teachers did before.
But this seemingly timid teacher held him in his arms and said to the burly cooks without flinching, “He is my student. If he says he didn’t steal, then he didn’t steal!”
Even though he could hear the man’s heartbeat quickening, almost as if it would leap out while being held in Shen Jingmo’s arms, he never loosened his grip for a moment.
Ten years have passed. He has grown up, and Shen Jingmo has also grown older.
