Chapter 29: Want More

Lying in bed, Shen Xici was still in a bit of a daze.

Was Sheng Shaoyan just… acting spoiled?

He hadn’t misunderstood, had he?

But connecting those two words with Sheng Shaoyan made him suspect he had gone dizzy from reading the script and was having an absurd hallucination.

Wrapping himself in the quilt, he turned on his side. Shen Xici looked at Sheng Shaoyan with a scrutinizing gaze. Could a brand-new brain prompt a person to have a sudden whim and do something a little different?

The bedroom light was already off, with only the reading lamp still on. Sheng Shaoyan was still leaning against the headboard in a half-lying position. He lowered his gaze and saw the confusion in Shen Xici’s eyes.

Although when he did things, he would first deduce his pre-amnesia self’s methods and attitude and then make slight changes. But because he had no real impression of how his past self specifically interacted with Shen Xici, he wasn’t sure if his actions would be too much of a contrast from before.

Intentionally or not, he interrupted Shen Xici’s train of thought. Sheng Shaoyan asked, “After we go back to Ningcheng, what kind of house do you want to live in?”

“The rent can’t be too expensive.” Shen Xici had the self-awareness of a poor man. This was the most important point. But thinking of his previous life, how his biological father, Xu Yuanjin, had driven his car and blocked him right downstairs from his rental apartment, he couldn’t help but want to have it both ways. “The security also has to be good. If the security is very good, I can accept the rent being a little more expensive.”

The security aspect was the same as Sheng Shaoyan’s own thoughts. He continued to ask, “What about the layout?”

Shen Xici’s face was pressed against the pillow. Although he didn’t know why Sheng Shaoyan suddenly asked this, he still cooperatively thought about what kind of house he wanted to rent after returning to Ningcheng. “The area doesn’t need to be too large, the renovation should be newer, not too old, and there shouldn’t be too much furniture. It would be best to have one bedroom and a study.”

Reading the script in the bedroom, it was sometimes hard to resist the temptation of the bed. It was better to separate the two areas for higher efficiency.

One bedroom.

Sheng Shaoyan noted this word.

Evidently, Shen Xici did indeed want to sleep in the same bed with him.

Sheng Shaoyan placed his phone on the bedside table, his gaze falling. He saw the person next to him wrapped tightly in the quilt, with only his head exposed. He inexplicably found this version of Shen Xici very cute. Reaching out his hand, Sheng Shaoyan’s large, dry palm patted Shen Xici’s hair. “Okay, I got it. You have to wake up early tomorrow. Go to sleep.”

The dim light of the reading lamp then went out.

Having suddenly received a surprise head-pat, Shen Xici’s eyes widened in the darkness. He couldn’t help but wonder in his heart, When Sheng Shaoyan went into the mountains yesterday, he really didn’t hit his head, right?

Why was he acting so strange?

---

At four in the morning, Shen Xici yawned as he placed the long bread with chicken, cucumber, and tomato, the perilla leaf rice cakes, and the jam toast he had bought yesterday on the table. He then made two cups of drip coffee to wake himself up.

Today was another day of filming a sunrise scene. Shen Xici had thought he could just take the crew’s bus to the set by himself, and Sheng Shaoyan could sleep in at home. Unexpectedly, Sheng Shaoyan insisted on going with him, so his proposal had to be abandoned.

The sound of the shower stopped. Not long after, the bathroom door opened from the inside. Shen Xici wasn’t fully awake yet, thinking about whether splashing some cold water on his face later would be useful.

When he stepped into the bathroom, something flashed in his peripheral vision. Shen Xici subconsciously focused his gaze—huh?

His sleepiness vanished in an instant.

Sheng Shaoyan was wearing a black shirt and black pants, but not a single button on the shirt was fastened. It was just casually and loosely draped over his body, offering no coverage.

The lines of his abs disappeared into the edge of his pants. Looking up, his chest muscles were half-hidden under the black shirt. As Sheng Shaoyan raised his arm to dry his hair, a spot of color on his chest would appear and disappear.

Under the bright light of the bathroom, the concentration of hormones and the visual impact of the beauty were more than ten times stronger than last night.

His half-dry hair was scattered above his brow bones, giving Sheng Shaoyan a somewhat casual and unrestrained look. He looked at Shen Xici for a few seconds, his voice slightly raised. “What are you standing there for? We’re going to be late.”

Shen Xici looked once, then looked again, thinking to himself, Appreciate it and cherish it. I won’t be able to see this in the future.

Moreover, compared to the plastic mannequins he had faced in his professional classes at school, Shen Xici made a bold assumption: if he had been memorizing muscle positions and names while facing a Sheng Shaoyan dressed like this, he didn’t know how cheerful he would have been!

Would he not be able to remember the knowledge points? How could that be possible!

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Shen Xici routinely checked the condition of his inner cheeks, tongue, and gums. He found that he might have accidentally bitten himself last night. there was a red, swollen sore on the inside of his cheek, showing signs of becoming a canker sore.

Walking into the living room, he saw Sheng Shaoyan looking at the blood test results he had casually placed on the table. Shen Xici pointed and said, “Didn’t I go to the emergency room to see Director Lu yesterday? I just got a blood test done on the way.”

“Did you print the test results yourself?”

“Yeah, don’t you have to wait a while to get the results? I was afraid you’d wait too long. After I could check it on the public account, I printed a copy.” Shen Xici explained again, “I have a habit of archiving these test results.”

Sheng Shaoyan didn’t offer any evaluation or opinion, just guessed that this level of anxiety about being sick might be related to the fact that his childhood middle ear infection was not treated in time, causing his right ear’s hearing to decrease whenever he had a fever. Because he was worried about getting sick, he went for a check-up every week and would get very nervous whenever he had a fever.

Seeing that the person opposite him didn’t press further, Shen Xici felt relieved. He glanced away and saw that by the water dispenser, Sheng Shaoyan was very naturally picking up his water cup and drinking from it.

That was his water cup!

Both of their water cups were the same model that Shen Xici had bought for twenty-five yuan at the small supermarket that sold light bulbs. There were no other models to choose from, but he had deliberately bought different colors, one white and one very light gray. But no matter how light it was, it was still gray!

Shen Xici wanted to say something but hesitated. He agonized over it until Sheng Shaoyan had finished drinking the entire cup of water, but still hadn’t reminded him that he had taken the wrong cup.

He probably got up too early and didn’t see clearly. It’s possible. He didn’t mind, but Sheng Shaoyan was a bit of a germaphobe. If he pointed it out, it would just make the other person feel awkward.

Next time, I must remember to put the cups far apart!

---

It was still that dilapidated motorcycle that looked like it was about to fall apart, and still that winding mountain road. Compared to the first time they went to the set, Sheng Shaoyan’s driving skills were much more adept than Shen Xici’s. They rushed to the set just after five o’t need to be woken up.

In the mountain forest, the large lights were hung high. A large swarm of light-attracted insects gathered, making one’s skin crawl instinctively. The smell of something burning came from a distance. Sheng Shaoyan stopped alertly and pulled Shen Xici behind him. “Something’s on fire.”

Shen Xici peeked out from behind him and pointed in a direction. “Over there. The fire must have been put out already. In the night scene that Teacher Wen and the others filmed all night, the village that the art department built was burned down. I heard that the city here supports the promotion of cultural industries and specially sent a fire brigade to stand by with water hoses to prevent a mountain fire.”

Today’s shoot was the last scene of the mute boy in the movie. Lao Ji had come specially to do his makeup, his eyes half-closed, full of resentment.

“I must have done all kinds of bad things in my past life to be working on a film set in this life. Last night, no, should I say the night before last? I haven’t closed my eyes for twenty-eight hours. This time, Director Wan is coming for my life, isn’t he?”

Shen Xici had only been on the crew for a month, but Lao Ji and the others had been working hard for several months. The closer they got to the end, the more exhausted they became. The bags under their eyes had dropped by two centimeters.

Shen Xici comforted him, “It’s almost over, it’s almost over. Once the crew wraps up, you can take a break.”

Lao Ji, with his stubble, patted his shoulder and placed high hopes on him. “Film well, try to get it done in one or two takes. Once your part is done, everyone can go back to sleep earlier!”

---

After Du Yu, played by Wen Yage, was captured by the old village chief, the pursuit team finally confirmed that the old village chief, and even the entire village, were actually accomplices of the criminal organization.

The entire village made money by guiding members of the criminal organization who crossed the national border through the mountains and helping them transfer hostages. If people like the pursuit team came to investigate, they would help cover it up. If they really couldn’t cover it up, they would act as guides and lead the people into the forest to be dealt with. For so many years, this had become almost the village’s biggest source of income.

Using all sorts of methods, the pursuit team successfully rescued Du Yu under the cover of night, set fire to this village that had hidden countless crimes, and ran out.

The young police officer, Xiao Lin, had injuries on his arms and legs, and blood had already seeped through the bandages. He looked around uneasily. “Chief, this forest is too dense. Without a guide, just with us, let alone finding the place where the criminal organization is hiding the hostages, it would be difficult to even get out, right?”

Several people had witnessed the unpredictability of this deep mountain forest. The team leader, Zhang Xun, spoke to stabilize their morale. “Rest where you are. We’ll move again when it’s light. Since we could get in, we can definitely get out.”

Xiao Lin responded loudly, “Yes!” and was about to look for a suitable place to set up camp when a clear sound of a leaf whistle suddenly rose, mixing with the mountain wind, as light and ethereal as the chirping of birds in the forest.

But all the members of the pursuit team quickly drew their guns and pointed them in the direction of the sound.

The sky had brightened a bit. Xiao Lin let out a cry of surprise—a few steps in front of him was a cliff!

Quickly taking several steps back, Xiao Lin’s hand holding the gun was not so steady. He said in a low voice, “That mute boy seems to have deliberately warned us. And didn’t Sister Du Yu say that when the old village chief told him to shoot an arrow, he didn’t do it…”

“Don’t forget, he’s also from that village.”

Xiao Lin silently shut his mouth.

It grew brighter and brighter, diluting the deep blue of the sky and mixing in the colors of flames. The mute boy, standing on a thick tree branch, his white homespun robe hanging down from the branch, swayed in the wind, just like when they first met.

Seemingly certain that they were not in danger, the mute boy paid them no more attention. Holding the green leaf in his mouth, he continued to carve something on the tree trunk. It was only then that they noticed he was holding a small dagger the size of a palm.

No one knew what pattern he was carving. They could only see his focused expression, so serious it was almost pious.

Before long, he stopped, hung the small dagger back on his waist, and with the leaf still between his lips, he began to play a mountain tune.

Xiao Lin lowered his voice. “I’ve heard this tune before! In the village, it’s sung to lull children to sleep. Didn’t you all hear it then? The lyrics seem to be—”

Du Yu, beside him, picked up, “The crescent moon hangs on the treetop, the dew on the leaves sways. The stars twinkle, the insects chirp, the stream gurgles, the fish jump. Mother’s baby is the most well-behaved. The wind rises, the clouds drift, the little birds chirp and fly back to their nests. Mother’s baby is going to sleep.”

“Yes, yes, that’s the one,” Xiao Lin was puzzled. “Why is he playing this tune? The sky is already bright, and there are no children here who need to be lulled to sleep.”

“But he has a mother. When he was young, his mother might have sung this tune many times to lull him to sleep.” Du Yu remembered the dried wildflowers in the mute boy’s courtyard, the portrait of his mother drawn in the mud with a dry branch, and the sentence with missing strokes, “I’m waiting, I miss them very much.”

She had a bad feeling.

The final note of the tune was scattered by the morning wind. The mute boy stood up straight on the thick branch of the ancient tree. A ray of sunlight leaked out from behind him. He made a sign language gesture to them—”Thank you.”

Du Yu had taught him this sign language on the road.

He then seriously gestured again—”I’m going to find my mother and sister.”

His eyes were soft and smiling.

Behind the ancient tree was a cliff. Du Yu suddenly realized something, ran forward a few steps, and shouted loudly at the mute boy standing on the tree, “Don’t!”

“Stop,” Director Wan stared at the monitor, rubbing his dry, red eyes. “That’s good. Let’s end it here. Wrap up!”

The set was quiet for a few seconds, then a burst of cheers erupted. But staying up all night was too exhausting, and the cheers were sparse.

The speed of getting off work was the fastest. By the time Shen Xici had removed his makeup and changed back into his own clothes, there were hardly any people left on the set.

Taking off the earring and putting it away, Shen Xici sat on the chair in the makeup room, lost in thought for some reason.

It wasn’t until he heard Sheng Shaoyan calling him.

“In a bad mood? You haven’t smiled since you finished filming.”

“Is that so?” Shen Xici unconsciously touched the crystal bracelet on his wrist.

After a moment of silence, his gaze landed on a point in the air. Shen Xici’s straight back slumped forward, his voice a little low and lost. “The mute boy was always waiting for them to come back, waiting for a long time. I made a flower wreath for each of them, but I didn’t have time to give it to them. But they died. I don’t even know what day they died, whether it was sunny or rainy, if it was cold, if it was painful…”

Someone lifted his chin, and a fingertip wiped the wet tears from his face. Only then did he realize he was crying.

But the tears seemed to have a will of their own, not belonging to him at all. Even when he raised his head, tilted his face up, they still streamed endlessly from the corners of his eyes, flowing into his hair by his ears, impossible to wipe away.

Shen Xici explained in vain, “I don’t want to cry…”

His voice was heavy with a nasal tone.

“I know,” Sheng Shaoyan’s voice was like a cello, low and gentle. “It’s okay to cry. I’ll block the view. No one else will see.”

This was a Shen Xici he had never seen before.

His eyes were as clean and beautiful as if they had been washed by rain, the corners of his eyes red and moist, and even the tip of his nose was red.

Fragile and pitiful.

Like a shattered glazed cup.

At this moment, his thoughts were far less gentle than his voice. A certain not-so-kind emotion in his heart was stimulated, aroused.

It made him unable to resist, as he pulled Shen Xici into his arms, his lips unintentionally brushing against that moist area, carefully tasting the flavor of his tears.

He was even like a thirsty person, wanting to taste a little more.