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Luo Mingjing took out his glasses case from a handmade leather bag and put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He glanced up at the main stage again.
He had mild myopia, and earlier, in his blurred vision, he had the strange illusion that Shi Min, the CEO of Dongshi Technology, was looking at him.
Once his vision cleared, there was no longer any eye contact. Luo Mingjing sat down, tied his hair back casually into a low ponytail, and rested his chin, zoning out.
As the morning comic convention was nearing its end, a tall girl who looked like a student rushed over, waving her hand in front of him: “How many books have you sold?”
Luo Mingjing snapped out of it and handed her a bottle of water: “Oh, you’re here… About eighty copies, I think.”
In reality, most of the buyers weren’t fans of the pairing he drew but came because of him.
Luo Mingjing lowered his eyes.
The girl said, “I want iced tea.”
“Sorry, flavored drinks are exclusive gifts from my fans. You can drink water; it’s what I brought myself.”
“...Why are you so stingy?!”
Luo Mingjing smiled helplessly and changed the subject: “No classes today?”
“No. Your booth seems pretty quiet…” This girl had twin braids, and with her high nose bridge and deep-set eyes, she bore some resemblance to Luo Mingjing. Her skin was naturally paler than most, giving the illusion of being mixed-race or from a minority group.
She wore colorful wooden bracelets on her arm and sat on two stacks of artbooks, saying, “Brother, I’m applying for a master’s degree in fashion design in Italy.”
Luo Mingjing’s gaze drifted away. After a moment, he softly replied, “Alright.”
The girl sighed dejectedly: “I haven’t submitted my application yet…”
“Why not? What’s the deadline?”
“It’s still early; there’s another six months.” The girl said, “…I haven’t figured out my portfolio. I think I don’t stand a chance.”
“No rush. Think carefully about your portfolio. You’re graduating soon too, right? When’s your thesis draft due?”
“...Yeah.” The girl’s eyes fell on the sketch Luo Mingjing had just doodled casually.
She raised her head, her eyes sparkling. After a brief pause, she picked up the paper, whistled twice, and joked, “Genius, give me this draft.”
“Figure it out yourself.” Luo Mingjing pulled the draft out, folded it neatly, and tucked it away. He pointed to the long line nearby, “Go scout the competition for me.”
The girl was surprised: “You never draw male-male pairings! Are you becoming a smut artist for money now?”
Luo Mingjing sighed: “Mutual learning.”
The girl extended her pale, slender hand: “Give me money, and a little extra for the effort.”
Luo Mingjing said: “Xu Qianqian, is our sibling bond really worth less than a bit of cash?”
Due to certain reasons, their families didn’t interact much, and they didn’t share the same surname, but they were indeed legitimate cousins.
“Sorry, it’s not.” Xu Qianqian said, “Pay me, and I’ll go. Otherwise, you queue yourself.”
“I earned thirteen thousand this month selling my art.” Luo Mingjing said, “Paid ten thousand in rent, no social security.”
Rolling her eyes, Xu Qianqian went off to queue.
Luo Mingjing chuckled and sent her a two-hundred-yuan red packet on his phone.
Xu Qianqian instantly claimed the red packet and replied: “That’s more like it.”
After exiting the chat, a bright yellow notification blinked on his screen. Luo Mingjing glanced at it and nearly jumped.
He forgot to turn off the livestream again! Fortunately, the camera had been facing a water bottle the whole time.
Entering the stream, the chat was flooded with comments.
“Fairy is going to draw male-male adult content!”
“Bad news, bad news! At the comic con, a poor miser is extorting his sister in a family tragedy!”
“Poor sister… stuck with an irresponsible brother.”
“The fairy’s sister: My brother is called Gollum.”
“Just when I thought the fairy made good money selling art, then found out he pays ten thousand in rent. Hilarious.”
“The fairy’s sister must be a top student, impressive, studying abroad…”
“Earlier comment: The fairy’s sister attends a top national art school, very talented.”
“Where’s the fairy?”
“He hasn’t mentioned his own school; probably just a slacker [wink].”
The chat was buzzing.
Luo Mingjing’s expression turned somber as he turned the camera around and said, “That’s all for today’s stream. I’m turning it off.”
The chat exploded: “Wait! He’s wearing glasses! The fairy’s true form has appeared!”
“Sly scholar! The sly scholar is back! My HP bar… ah!”
“No time to send messages, been screenshotting nonstop!!!”
“Unexpected! After staring at an empty screen all morning, suddenly seeing the fairy in glasses!! Explosion!”
Luo Mingjing waved goodbye and ended the stream.
Xu Qianqian bought two sets, kept one for herself, and gave him the other, asking: “When will your clothes come out of production? Are they going on sale?”
“Next week.” Luo Mingjing stood up and gestured for her to sit, “There are about ten artbooks left. If no one wants them by then, take them back to school and give them to your classmates. I’m heading back; I’m worried someone might come to the shop to buy art in the afternoon…”
“The story’s good, but without a hook, it won’t sell.” Xu Qianqian flipped through his Qin Ying artbook, “Your artwork is amazing! The anatomy and perspective are incredible…”
“Jealous?” Luo Mingjing smiled faintly, with a hint of pride, whispering, “After all…”
After all, he was once a top student admitted to a prestigious school with high scores in both academics and art.
Luo Mingjing’s smile faded as he hoarsely said, “I’m leaving.”
Without looking up, Xu Qianqian wiggled her fingers: “Mhm, I’ll visit you at the studio another day.”
In the exhibition hall’s reception room, Shi Min twisted open her fountain pen and signed the additional agreement.
Her dynamic signature, “Shi Min,” though occupying only a corner of the page, exuded confidence.
The other party praised: “Chairman Shi has great presence.”
Shi Min smiled: “Pleasure doing business.”
Seeing her rise, the partner asked: “Does Chairman Shi have plans for lunch? Why not join us for a meal?”
“Thank you, but I have plans.” Shi Min leisurely rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt, draping her black suit jacket over her arm, nodding with a light smile.
The partner asked: “Did Chairman Shi come alone? Peter, escort Chairman Shi out.”
“No need, I drove myself.” Shi Min politely thanked them, her smile faint, and walked out of the reception room.
After stepping out, she paused momentarily, turned toward Area C, and stood far away, scanning the area but failing to spot that streak of red.
Shi Min smiled faintly and left the venue, driving slowly away from the square.
Passing a bus stop, a flash of red caught her peripheral vision. Shi Min twitched involuntarily, breaking into a smile. She slammed on the brakes, swerved past surrounding vehicles, and stopped in front of that streak of red.
The sudden appearance of the Maserati left Luo Mingjing completely stunned.
The car window slowly lowered, and Shi Min leaned over, asking: “Where’s your bike?”
Luo Mingjing instinctively replied: “I don’t have one…”
“Your bicycle.”
“Oh… It should’ve been taken; I couldn’t find it.” Luo Mingjing smiled awkwardly. Shi Min’s eyes lit up.
She opened the car door: “Get in.”
Hearing those words, Luo Mingjing’s legs moved almost involuntarily, but he quickly came to his senses and hastily said: “No need… right?”
“I’ll give you a ride. Hurry, cars behind are waiting.”
She had parked illegally and needed to leave quickly.
Luo Mingjing got in and thanked her: “Sorry for the trouble.”
Shi Min didn’t speak. She slowly put on her sunglasses, a slight smile playing on her lips.
At a red light, she extended a hand: “Shi Min.”
Luo Mingjing froze for a moment, lightly touching the tips of her fingers: “Hello, Chairman Shi. I’m Luo Mingjing.”
Shi Min seemed to smile quickly: “Which three characters?”
“Ma Ge Luo, ‘High Hall Mirror Bemoans White Hair’ mirror.”
“Ming Jing.” Shi Min repeated absentmindedly.
Her voice was deeper than the average woman’s, and when she spoke softly, her breathy tone sent a shiver down Luo Mingjing’s spine. He murmured: “It’s an old-fashioned name, given by my grandfather.”
“Hmm, nice.” The light changed, and Shi Min asked, “Which way?”
“89 Chang’an Road.” Luo Mingjing said.
“Left turn, right turn?” Shi Min opened the mini-fridge and handed him a beer, “Sorry, just returned from abroad, not familiar with the roads.”
“Thanks… Go straight ahead, second intersection, turn left.”
Shi Min glanced at him, resting her head on her hand against the door, and asked: “Is your hair real?”
“Yes.” Luo Mingjing held the beer in his hand, too shy to open it.
“How long did it take to grow this long?”
“Two or three years…” Luo Mingjing said, “…I never got around to cutting it. Suddenly, it grew this long… Is it strange?”
Shi Min traced her lips with her thumb, squinting ahead with a smile: “No, it’s beautiful.”
“…Thank you.”
After a pause, Shi Min added: “You look good in glasses.”
The wide-framed gold-rimmed glasses gave him an unexpectedly gentle and scholarly air.
Luo Mingjing suddenly remembered he hadn’t taken off his glasses.
The atmosphere felt a bit strange, the car stuffy.
Seeming to sense something, Shi Min turned on the music—a blues harmonica instrumental, reminiscent of a midnight bar’s background tune.
Luo Mingjing said: “…You can stop at the next intersection.”
His studio was in a small alley. From the roadside, a small, paint-chipped wooden sign could be seen.
After dropping him off, he politely thanked her, but neither invited her in nor did she bring it up.
Watching him leave, Shi Min spoke to her assistant waiting on the Bluetooth earpiece: “Check the surveillance, find the bike.”
The young assistant asked: “Sis, was it at the Peace Road intersection or the People’s Road intersection this morning?”
“People’s Road.”
Young assistant: “…This morning, you didn’t know. Now you remember?”
Shi Min tapped the steering wheel to the rhythm of the blues: “Got a problem?”
At 10 p.m., Luo Mingjing blew away eraser crumbs from his drawing paper, moved the beer bottle that had been weighing down the draft, and finally finalized the design for the long coat.
His phone vibrated twice.
Taking off his glasses, Luo Mingjing picked up his phone and opened the new message.
A text from an unknown number:
—Go outside.
Luo Mingjing frowned.
Immediately, a second text arrived.
—At the entrance.
Luo Mingjing pulled aside the curtain covering the shop door. His nearly decade-old bicycle was quietly parked outside.
A third text arrived.
“Save me under your contacts: Shi Min.”
Luo Mingjing’s heart jolted at the mention of those two characters, “Shi Min.” They were imposing, fierce, and clawed their way into his heart.
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