Ding Hanbai thought this was probably what they called karmic retribution.

He bent down to stare at those small characters. Putting the content aside, the characters were very well written, and after being written, they were also well carved. He ran a hand over it; the marks at the turns and corners were quite deep, the force had been considerable, and the carving was very vigorous.

Ding Hanbai had determined from yesterday's emotional conflict that Ji Shenyu had carved it, but what puzzled him was—Ji Shenyu could carve characters with such depth? With those ten fingers that didn't even have thin calluses, and that wrist that wobbled when he painted?

He mulled over this matter, so much so that he forgot to pursue the matter of being cursed at. He went to breakfast in good spirits and finally ran into Ji Shenyu. "Junior Brother." He split a twisted fried dough stick in two and handed one half to the other. "You like the Shoujin style?"

Ji Shenyu took it and said frankly, "I like it. It's elegant."

Ding Hanbai found this amusing. 'Even when cursing someone, he has to pick a good-looking style. He's quite particular, just my type.'

They finished eating and left early. The schoolbag was still hanging on the handlebar. He rang the bell and rode a few meters. Ding Hanbai could grab the weeping willow branches by the road just by raising his hand a little. He snapped one off with his nail and waved it back blindly. Ji Shenyu couldn't dodge it, and besides, the willow branch tickled where it brushed against him, so he grabbed the other end to prevent Ding Hanbai from causing trouble.

Ding Hanbai gripped the handlebar with his left hand, while his right hand pulled and tugged to no avail. He simply began inching forward along the willow branch, pinching it with his fingernails millimeter by millimeter, attacking inch by inch. He got closer and closer, and suddenly brushed against Ji Shenyu's fingertips.

In a swift motion, the back of Ding Hanbai's hand was slapped.

The willow branch fell, got caught in the bearings of the wheel, and was thoroughly ravaged. After landing on the ground, it was blown about by the wind, its fate unfortunate either way. Ding Hanbai's mischief had been pointless, and he felt a little awkward after it ended. He lowered his head, saw the characters on the crossbar, and deliberately sighed, "Such force. How much must you have hated me when you were carving it?"

Ji Shenyu said nothing. From the moment they left until now, he had silently memorized every street they passed, taking in all the conspicuous landmarks at the intersections. He had a pen in his pocket and would occasionally take it out to draw a line on his palm. By the time they reached the gate of No. 6 High School, he had pieced together a palm-sized map.

Ding Hanbai propped himself up with one leg, casually making a promise, "I get off work at six-thirty, I'll be here sharp at six-forty-five. You can do some homework in the classroom before coming out."

Unexpectedly, Ji Shenyu shouldered his schoolbag and said, "There's no need. I've already memorized the way."

Ding Hanbai seemed skeptical. "It's a long way. Are you sure you've memorized it?"

"Mhm," Ji Shenyu said with certainty. "I know you don't want to pick me up and drop me off. This is the last time. You won't have to be bothered anymore."

This was what he had been planning all morning: to memorize the route as quickly as possible so he wouldn't have to trouble the other person again. If Ding Hanbai hadn't forgotten last night, he could have memorized the way back then. But Ding Hanbai seemed not to have registered this. He gripped the handlebar and was silent for a moment, then turned and left without saying another word.

Ding Hanbai went to work. Whenever he saw someone in his way, he squeezed the bell, trying to get ahead of everyone. When he got to the Cultural Relics Bureau, the office was still empty. He sat alone at his desk, staring blankly at the faint green speck on his fingernail.

No longer having to pick up Ji Shenyu was undoubtedly a cause for celebration, but he was in a passive position, feeling as if he'd been abandoned. That wasn't quite right either. It was more like he'd been fired by Ji Shenyu.

Ji Shenyu had even carved "bastard asshole" on his bicycle. This too had become a messy, unsettled score.

It was the first time in Ding Hanbai's life that he had felt so wronged. It was incredible to think he'd had a crisis of conscience and felt guilty for half the night, so much so that he hadn't even bothered to admire that pile of damaged artifacts. "What a load of bullshit," he cursed under his breath, his voice not loud, sullenly unhappy.

Then his voice rose, stirring up a wave, "I'm done waiting on you! Let's see what you score on your final exams!"

In fact, besides Ding Hanbai, everyone else in the family was also waiting to see. Although he and his brothers had already decided on their main professions, none of them were bad at their studies. Only Jiang Ting'en was a bit worse because he was too playful.

Ji Shenyu didn't yet know that his academic performance was so eagerly anticipated. He just focused on his studies single-mindedly. Besides, he had no intention of making friends, and the atmosphere was tense with the final exams approaching, so he remained quiet all day without uttering a sound.

After school, the class monitor suddenly came over. "You can be on cleaning duty during the two exam days next week."

Ji Shenyu agreed. He might as well stay and help clean today too, to save himself from any rush later. He helped sweep the floor and wipe the tables. By the time he left, there weren't many people left in the school. Naturally, there was no sign of Ding Hanbai at the school gate. He didn't have to wait, and the other person didn't have to feel bothered.

Ji Shenyu walked back along the street, stopping at a bus stop to look up at the sign. A bus happened to be arriving, and he boarded it, silently repeating his destination. It was really quite far. The bus was nearly empty by the end of the line. He got off at "Chiwangfu Station" and still had to walk several hundred meters.

A clear breeze rustled the willows. Ji Shenyu jumped up, grabbed a branch, and snapped it off. He walked back, swinging the willow branch. It was the first time since leaving Yangzhou that he had felt so carefree. He walked on the left, then on the right, kicked a pebble, or hummed a little tune. No elders were watching, no ill-disposed senior brothers were there to laugh at him. He was exposed only to the living, breathing sunset in the sky.

"Master," Ji Shenyu muttered softly. "Old Ji, I suddenly can't remember what you look like."

He started to jog. "Just watch over Madam. You don't need to worry about me."

A dozen or so meters away, Ding Hanbai pushed his bicycle, walking slowly, watching as Ji Shenyu disappeared around the corner. On the pretext of having arrived early, he had left work a quarter of an hour early. By the time Ji Shenyu had dawdled his way out of school, he had already downed three bottles of soda at the corner store. He had pedaled furiously to follow the bus, only catching his breath when Ji Shenyu got off.

He was worried the Little Southern Barbarian would get lost, yet he was unwilling to show his face after being "fired." So he had to follow him silently the whole way. But Ji Shenyu's lively back was somewhat irritating. What was the meaning of this? Was he that delighted to be free of him?

Ding Hanbai had a long face when he got home. He didn't even eat dinner, instead spreading out that bag of fragments from the marine-salvaged artifact to study them. A notebook lay open beside him, and he filled three full pages with appraisal notes without even noticing the grime on his white shirt.

When Ji Shenyu entered the Small Courtyard, he was visibly taken aback. He knew Ding Hanbai wouldn't be guarding a pile of junk just to admire it. He couldn't help but walk a little closer to observe, and then couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, what are these?"

Ding Hanbai picked up a pottery shard, turning a deaf ear. His eyes saw only the artifacts that had drifted for a hundred years, not the living, breathing person before him.

Ji Shenyu asked uncertainly, "They look like marine-salvaged artifacts. Are they real or fake?"

At this, Ding Hanbai raised his gaze. "You know about artifacts?"

Ji Shenyu said, "I've read about them in a book." It was that book, 'Like Mountains, Like Seas'.

It would have been better not to mention it. Having failed to borrow the book, Ding Hanbai got annoyed at the mere mention of it. He gathered his things and went back to his study. Ji Shenyu hadn't had his fill of looking. He walked over to the study window and secretly tilted his head, his gaze also lingering on that pile of "junk."

'Ding Hanbai likes antiques and artifacts?' he thought. 'Right, a rich fop would love anything that wastes money.'

Then he thought, 'What is Ding Hanbai writing so furiously? Don't tell me he can actually make sense of it?'

Ji Shenyu's head was tilted, and his gaze couldn't help but shift—to Ding Hanbai's large, well-defined hands. That hand was powerful, holding the pen and moving it back and forth. It filled another page, the blue veins on the back of his hand standing out, so vivid, crisscrossing, exuding vitality.

Ding Hanbai had held his wrist and gripped his hand. He suddenly remembered these things.

The pen stopped moving. Ding Hanbai put it down and picked up a piece of a bowl's base, trying to remove the calcium deposits to see the mark, but he ended up dirtying his hand. Ji Shenyu watched the other man's brow furrow, then saw the bridge of his steep-as-a-cliff nose twitch. 'This face is not one to be provoked,' he thought. 'Even his handsomeness can't dilute his harshness.'

He watched quietly for a while. He didn't see much of the artifacts, but he did get a full inspection of Ding Hanbai's hands and face. Finally, he went back to his room to light a lamp and review his lessons.

The two of them were separated by a wall, each hunched over their desks. The lights in the Front Courtyard went out after ten. At eleven, the East Courtyard also went dark. Only their Small Courtyard remained lit. As soon as it struck midnight, the unrepaired antique Western clock in the machine room began to chime, a grating sound that quickly died away.

Ji Shenyu closed his book and took out a smooth piece of jade to draw on. He recited his lessons as he drew. When he was done reciting, he put it away, to be continued next time. When he went to take a shower, he saw the study light was still on. When he came out of the shower, the light was off, and Ding Hanbai was unexpectedly sitting on the veranda.

He went over and asked, "Senior Brother, what are you doing sitting here?"

Ding Hanbai yawned. "What else? Waiting to take a shower."

The other's shirt was covered in dirt and grime, and maybe even insect corpses. Ji Shenyu couldn't tell what sort of living filth was on that pile of artifacts, but it certainly wasn't clean. He took another step away and instructed, "Then don't put your clothes in the basket after you take them off."

Ding Hanbai heard the disdain in his voice. "I won't. I'll throw them on your bed later."

After a few lukewarm sentences, Ji Shenyu returned to his bedroom to sleep. He hadn't slept well since Ji Fangxu fell ill. No matter how tired he was, it always took him a long time to fall asleep. He lay flat for a long time without drifting into dreamland, his stomach growing empty first.

Ji Shenyu got up to eat a peach crisp, cupping one hand underneath to catch the crumbs, not wasting a single bit.

A figure approached from a distance, stopping outside the door. He raised a hand, pushed it open, and materialized from a shadow into a solid form. Ding Hanbai came in with a serious expression, not treating himself like an outsider at all. "I'm starving. Give me a piece."

He hadn't eaten dinner, and his stomach was growling. Without waiting for Ji Shenyu's approval, he picked one up. "Tastes awful." He took a bite and put it down. He could starve to death, but he wouldn't abuse his mouth and stomach. "It's gone stale. It's not crispy."

Ji Shenyu declared a bit anxiously, "Aunt gave these to me." That was why he was eating them sparingly; he couldn't waste even half a bite.

Ding Hanbai was baffled and misunderstood. "She gives you a box of peach crisps and you can't bear to eat them? Yangzhou has all sorts of pastries, doesn't it? Don't be so provincial." He remembered that the other was an illegitimate son, and also hated by Ji Fangxu's wife. "You probably haven't eaten anything good."

Hearing this, Ji Shenyu immediately asked, "Tonight, Madam bought braised chicken from Grand Prosperity House. Is that considered good?"

Ding Hanbai said, "It's a century-old brand that's constantly improving. Of course it's good."

Ji Shenyu wiped his hands. "I thought you'd eaten all sorts of fine things. Turns out it's just this level."

Two minutes later, the light in the Front Courtyard kitchen came on. Neither Ding Hanbai nor Ji Shenyu was willing to back down, still wanting to see who was better. Ji Shenyu didn't dare make a sound, afraid that arguing with Ding Hanbai would wake everyone up. He pushed Ding Hanbai aside, turned, and took the remaining half of the braised chicken from the refrigerator.

Ding Hanbai asked, "What are you doing?"

Ji Shenyu didn't answer. He emptied out a coarse linen bag of spices, then tore up the braised chicken and stuffed it inside, adding a section of scallion and a spoonful of Sichuan peppercorns. The bag was submerged in cold water. After the water boiled, he cooked a handful of thin noodles. When the noodles were done, he tossed in a vegetable heart.

A bowl of chicken noodle soup was ready. Ding Hanbai was lost in a daze amidst the steam. After one bite, his gaze softened completely. There was no oil or salt; all the flavor came from the braised chicken, along with the fragrance of scallions and the numbing tingle of peppercorns. He devoured it heartily, not because he was stingy with his praise, but because he simply didn't have time for it.

Ji Shenyu fished out the cloth bag. "The braised chicken was ready-made, so the flavor is a bit lacking, and the chicken isn't tender after being boiled for so long."

Ding Hanbai's hunger subsided. "Then throw it out."

Ji Shenyu threw the cloth bag into the trash can. Turning his head, he met Ding Hanbai's gaze and suddenly couldn't be bothered to compete anymore. "Senior Brother," he said, staring at the rim of the bowl, "I'm hungry too."

Ding Hanbai picked up that tender vegetable heart. "Open your mouth."

A warmth filled his mouth, and Ji Shenyu squinted his eyes in satisfaction. When he opened them again, Ding Hanbai had eaten everything, soup and noodles included. The night was now extremely late. A full stomach brought on waves of drowsiness. Ding Hanbai said, "You have to leave early to take the bus."

Ji Shenyu knew. Ding Hanbai added, "So can you get up in time?"

Ji Shenyu didn't know. Ding Hanbai said yet again, "I'll take you after all."