Part 2
“Don’t move, put it down quickly.” Lu Xunye anxiously picked the bracelet out of his hand and threw it back into the box like a hot potato.
The old man looked at Shen Yunqian and suddenly exclaimed in amazement, “This little friend has a full forehead and is surrounded by auspicious light.”
He took out a wooden plaque necklace inlaid with a piece of iron. “Here, this peace plaque will surely ensure the little friend’s safety and smoothness. Only 580. Take home health and joy.”
Lu Xunye: “…Didn’t you say not for sale?”
Serving different dishes to different guests, huh?
Besides, isn’t selling this block of wood with a layer of iron sheet for 580 a bit too much of a rip-off?!
Hearing his words, the old man nonchalantly said “Eh?”, explaining, “It is because this peace plaque is fated with this little friend.”
Before Lu Xunye could flare up, he added, “Although I cannot resolve the little friend’s calamity, however.”
As he spoke, the old man rummaged through the cloth bag on the ground and found a red string. “Marriage fate can still be deciphered a thing or two. Little friend has five lifetimes of unfinished love fate. This string can help the little friend resolve it.”
“This string is only 99. WeChat or Alipay?” The old man pointed cheerfully at the blue and green stickers on the table asking.
Lu Xunye didn’t notice Shen Yunqian’s small movements. He forced his eyes away from the red string with its rough ends and loose hemp. His mouth twitched uncontrollably. He grabbed Shen Yunqian and tried to leave. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
If he listened any longer, he was going to explode.
He quietly looked back to see the old man still smiling in his direction. Lu Xunye walked faster, as if possessed by an evil ghost.
He didn’t stop until he was tired of walking. Still shaken and panting, he saw Shen Yunqian clutching that peace plaque in his hand. He stammered, “You, you, you.”
Shen Yunqian: “I bought it.”
“Oh.” Lu Xunye responded with a bland expression, then immediately reacted. “Huh? You really bought it?!”
“En.”
The two stood at an intersection, flanked by towering residential buildings. The sounds of children carrying lanterns and playing with throw-snaps echoed in the alley. No one noticed the blue sign on the wall that read “Shengji Lane.”
Shen Yunqian handed the wooden plaque necklace to the person before him. “For you.”
Lu Xunye loosely held that hand, then slowly let go. The beautiful young man’s lips opened and closed.
“I give my good luck to you. Wishing you safety.”
Lu Xunye’s heart felt as if it had been struck by lightning. Electric currents rushed through his body, bringing a wave of numbness.
He stared blankly at the other person without blinking. Not until he heard the other person ask him to squat down a bit did he dizzyingly comply.
The man’s arms circled him. By the time he became conscious of it, a wooden plaque carved with runic patterns was already hanging on his chest.
Shen Yunqian imperceptibly placed something into the inner pocket of Lu Xunye’s open coat.
“Happy New Year, Lu Xunye.”
The warm breath sprayed against his ear.
Although it was such a significant sentence, it also seemed like a response to his casual remark at the cemetery. Yet, it landed solidly at the bottom of his heart, splashing up precipitous waves.
Lu Xunye’s eyes flickered slightly. As the other withdrew his hand and stepped back, Lu Xunye’s brain heated up. He reached out and grabbed the young man’s waist, imprisoning him in his embrace with one hand, as if the melancholy of many days had drifted far away.
He buried his head in the young man’s neck, his voice muffled. “Shen Yunqian… Happy New Year.”
Shen Yunqian’s hand paused in the air for a few seconds before shifting to the back of his head to rub his fine hair. “Don’t worry, you will be safe. I will protect you.”
Lu Xunye felt the thin body in his arms and didn’t refute it, giving a soft ‘en’. His other hand was in his pocket, clenching with restraint, his fingernails carving crescent-shaped marks into his palm.
Touching something cold, he pulled the object into his palm. Only after feeling it carefully did he realize it was that magnolia bracelet; he had been carrying it with him, intentionally or not.
Lu Xunye guessed it might be because this thing was too expensive.
He moved the hand on the youth’s waist upward, the back of his hand rubbing his sour nose. He took a step back and let go of the youth, holding the bracelet in his hand and bringing it out. “I’ll give you a New Year’s gift too.”
He reached out to take the other’s right hand, but the other person was a step ahead, hiding his hand behind his back and lifting his left hand instead.
Lu Xunye raised an eyebrow. Fine, fine. Wearing it on the right hand is indeed inconvenient for drawing.
He supported the other’s left hand, pulled up the sleeve to reveal the wrist, and measured the bracelet against it.
The moment he fastened the clasp, he saw the scratch on the pink diamond and remembered it was a flawed product, and a women’s style at that. There was even some symbol on the pendant chain.
Although there were only a few pink diamonds and the bracelet was mainly silver, looking completely inconspicuous at a glance—even the prominent magnolia pendant was silver—it had, after all, been worn by someone else.
He panicked and wanted to pull it away immediately, but Shen Yunqian held his hand down and locked the clasp.
“I like it very much.”
“Then I’ll buy you a better one in the future.” Feeling that wasn’t right, Lu Xunye hurriedly added, “I’ll make one for you with my own hands.”
That way… does it seem a bit more sincere?
Shen Yunqian fiddled with the magnolia with his thumb, looking up at him. “Okay.”
Seeing that he didn’t ask about the bracelet’s origin, Lu Xunye felt uneasy. After pondering for a moment, he decided to reveal everything himself.
“Old Man Lu made me go to an auction to bid for this and gave it to me. I don’t know why, but I have absolutely no relationship with the owner of the bracelet. I don’t even know her.”
Shen Yunqian nodded. “En.”
“Also.” Lu Xunye said indignantly, “That scammer just now talking about five lifetimes of love fate was all fake, just to sell us stuff. Don’t be silly and believe it. I don’t believe in any bullshit marriage fate.”
Perhaps because his attitude was too solemn, Shen Yunqian chuckled softly. “Are you explaining to me?”
Lu Xunye blushed, secretly wondering what kind of fit he was throwing. He didn’t know what was happening either; maybe he was afraid of damaging his own reputation?
He pushed away the person standing extremely close to him as a cover-up. Amidst Shen Yunqian’s confusion, he fled out of the intersection, leaving behind a sentence out of humiliation and anger.
“I— Don’t you seduce me!”
But just as he ran to the roadside, a dark shadow suddenly pounced and fell at his feet.
Lu Xunye was so scared his heart stopped. Closely following the black shadow, a middle-aged woman with raised eyebrows kicked the black shadow on the ground unceremoniously.
Lu Xunye heard a miserable wail. Only then did he see clearly that the person on the ground was a woman with unkempt hair covering her face.
At the same time, the middle-aged woman bent down and grabbed the woman on the ground by the hair, yanking her upper body up. Her foot remained on the woman’s tailbone, making Lu Xunye grimace just watching.
“I was wondering why that old immortal kept saying his business was losing money and taking cash from me. Turns out it was all being fed into the belly of you slutty fox.”
The woman pinned to the ground felt her scalp stinging, the corners of her eyes pulled upward.
Yet she could only claw weakly at the ground, gritting her teeth to retort, “You crazy hag, stop throwing dirty water on us! You slapped me for no reason and chased me all the way here. Careful or I’ll call the police!”
The middle-aged woman sneered, pulled out a stark white photo, and threw it on the ground, pressing the other person down harder to look at it. The other party remained stubborn, denying it to the death, claiming it was an AI face swap.
The middle-aged woman yanked her hair and smashed her head toward the photo of two naked bodies. “Me throwing dirty water? Do I need to strip you naked to see if you have a mole on your ass like the woman in the photo?”
Lu Xunye, whose path was blocked, moved his lips slightly. The middle-aged woman seemed to sense something and looked at him, cursing, “What are you looking at? None of you men are any good!”
Lu Xunye: “…”
Shen Yunqian walked over upon hearing the noise, saw the sign on the wall, and instantly understood.
Shengji Lane.
He glanced back. The residents and children had their curiosity piqued by the commotion and were gathering around. Even someone chopping meat in a kitchen upstairs pulled open the curtains and craned their head to look down.
Shen Yunqian grabbed Lu Xunye’s clothes and retreated behind the crowd.
Lu Xunye was astonished. “What are you doing?”
Shen Yunqian: “Watching the show.”
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