CTS 39

Yang Yue wasn’t so easy to fool. Just as she was about to press him further, a car horn honked outside.

“Oh, that’s my boyfriend picking me up. I’m off now. Bye-bye, boss.”

The moment her boyfriend arrived, Yang Yue waved goodbye, left the so-called old man Shen Mo behind, grabbed her purse, and dashed out the door.

Shen Mo watched her leave, then turned around and ordered takeout. His cooking skills weren’t bad, but now that he lived alone, he couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort. Takeout was just more convenient. The curry rice arrived quickly. After dinner, he took care of a few miscellaneous tasks. There was barely any business at this hour, so he locked up the shop and set up his easel to continue working on the unfinished painting.

He had already done most of it earlier in the park. At night, in the stillness, it was especially easy to focus. Before long, the colors were done. Shen Mo set down the brush, took a few steps back, and examined his work. He felt fairly satisfied with it.

Only the signature was missing.

He hesitated for a moment, picked up the brush again, switched it from his right hand to his left, then back to his right. His right hand still trembled slightly, but he forced it to steady. Stroke by stroke, he wrote two characters.

Shen Mo.

It looked a little different from how he used to sign his name, but the style was still unmistakably his.

Looking at those two characters, he couldn’t help but think of that day years ago, when he pushed open the door to the study in Jinxiu Villa and found the room filled with his paintings.

Some were school assignments. Some were portraits he had drawn for money. Some were nothing more than casual doodles. He couldn’t imagine how much effort it had taken to collect them all.

So that was the secret hidden inside Jinxiu Villa.

There were so many questions in Shen Mo’s heart, and only Ji Mingxuan could answer them. But he had no way to contact him overseas. His only option was to ask Lawyer Chen for help. The lawyer was quite willing and, after some effort, managed to get in touch with Ji Mingxuan.

But Ji Mingxuan refused to see him.

Shen Mo tried reaching out a few more times. Eventually, Ji Mingxuan replied through Lawyer Chen with just few words.

Do not ask.

Lawyer Chen politely explained, “Miss Ji’s health is not doing well.”

Shen Mo’s heart sank. He knew then that everything was over.

Whether it was his faded memories or Ji Mingxuan’s hidden feelings, there was no need to search for answers anymore. Between them, Ji An’an had always stood in the way. From now on, they would walk their own paths. There was no need to meet again.

He calmly thanked Lawyer Chen and moved out of Ji Mingxuan’s villa that very afternoon. Of all the things Ji Mingxuan had given him, the only one he kept was the small storefront on Yongning Road. He had opened an art studio there, picked up painting again, and the past few years had passed by quietly and steadily, as if Ji Mingxuan had never existed in his life.

Only sometimes did those memories resurface in dreams.

Shen Mo let out a faint, self-deprecating laugh. Seeing that it was already late at night, he figured it was time to head home and rest. He packed up a few things, and just as he was about to leave, his eyes happened to land on the calendar hanging on the wall. It was already late January. In a few days, it would be Lunar New Year. And after that came the start of spring.

Shen Mo stared at that date for a moment, then slowly looked away.

On the way home, he found his thoughts drifting. After taking a shower, he sat down at the computer and went online as usual. By the time he came to his senses, he had already booked a plane ticket.

A flight on February 4th to a small island overseas.

The next day, Shen Mo mentioned it to Yang Yue. She puffed up her cheeks again and said, “Going abroad again? Boss, you really know how to slack off. Every year you vanish around this time.”

Shen Mo could only reply, “I’ll let you take paid leave when I get back.”

That made Yang Yue a little happier. “So where are you going this time?”

“The usual place.”

“S Island again?” she blinked. “That’s a honeymoon destination. Couples go there in pairs. What’s a single guy like you doing there every year? Looking for a fling or trying to steal someone else’s date?”

Shen Mo answered uprightly, “No inspiration lately. I’m going to sketch.”

That shut her up for the moment. “When’s your flight?”

“February 4th.”

Yang Yue flipped through the calendar. “That’s the first day of spring.”

Then she let out a soft exclamation. “I just realized. Boss, you always leave right around the start of spring every year. Is there some special meaning behind it?”

She was starting to pick up on something. She turned her head and looked at Shen Mo.

His heart skipped a beat, but he still smiled. “Of course there is. Spring is the beginning of the year. Everything awakens, flowers bloom. It’s the perfect time to go out and explore.”

With it said that way, Yang Yue couldn’t press further. Shen Mo took the chance to send her off to make a cup of coffee.

Soon enough, she brought it over. Shen Mo hadn’t slept well the night before, and the aroma of the coffee made him feel drowsy again. It was almost noon. Sunlight stretched the shadow of the coffee cup long across the table. Shen Mo squinted slightly at the view outside the window, feeling like life couldn’t get more peaceful.

And yet, even in this peace, he always felt something was missing. No matter how calm or content he seemed, it never felt complete. Maybe, just like Yang Yue had said, there was a name that had taken root in his heart. Over the years, it had grown quietly, waiting for the perfect moment to rise up and suddenly overwhelm him.

This was how he missed someone.

Even when he tried to push it down with all his might, digging deep into himself as if to crush the feeling with his bare hands, his heart still bled. And he had no way to suppress it.