My fingers hurt so much.

　　Shen Mo couldn’t stand the pain and was forced to wake up from his coma. He opened his eyes in panic and saw only the white color: white walls, white bed sheets, white gauze… He was dazed for a while before realizing that he was in the hospital. He recalled what happened before he fell into a coma and his body instinctively shrank into a ball.

　　He was kidnapped on his way home. The abandoned old warehouse was filled with a musty smell. The endless beatings and torture dragged out the time exceptionally long. Shen Mo’s head was pressed to the ground. Through the window covered with spider webs, he watched the sky gradually darken, and then a glimmer of light came out from the endless darkness.

　　Even when he was unconscious, he called Zhou Yang’s name over and over again.

　　But that person never came to rescue him.

　　”Zhou Yang…”

　　Shen Mo shivered in the quilt and screamed again unconsciously. His right hand was wrapped in thick gauze and he was almost unconscious from the pain. He remembered that when the man with the scar on his face stepped on his fingers one by one and broke them, he smiled and said that Zhou Yang would never show up.

　　He went abroad with his childhood sweetheart, so no matter how many times he called, no one answered.

　　The sound of fingers being stepped on and broken was still echoing in his ears. Shen Mo closed his eyes, and the sound turned into the sound of a door opening.

　　After the door of the ward was opened, a tall man walked in.

　　Shen Mo thought it was Zhou Yang, but when he looked up he saw a strange face. He felt empty inside, and he couldn’t tell what it felt like, but he suddenly felt no longer afraid.

　　What could be more horrible than what he had just been through?

　　The man was very young, with a pale and handsome face, and his eyes were as cold as a winter night. He looked at Shen Mo with a scrutinizing look and asked, “Are you awake?”

　　Shen Mo said nothing.

　　The man continued, “The doctor said you are out of danger now. Only the injury on your right hand is the most serious and may leave sequelae in the future.”

　　Shen Mo finally showed some reaction. His lips moved, but he was not concerned about his hand. Instead, he uttered two words: “Zhou Yang…”

　　The man’s eyes seemed to be even colder, “Zhou Yang is abroad, with my sister.”

　　He paused and said, “My sister is Ji Anan.”

　　Shen Mo immediately understood that it was Miss Ji, Zhou Yang’s childhood sweetheart. Then the man in front of him… was Miss Ji’s brother? He couldn’t help but look at that man.

　　The other party was also looking at him quietly.

　　”I forgot to introduce myself,” the man raised his hand to adjust his tie and said, “My last name is Ji, Ji Mingxuan.”

　　Shen Mo woke up from a dream.

　　The sun was about to set, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone warmly on his body. He had taken a nap on the rough ground in the park, and his hair and clothes were covered with roughness, which made him look quite funny. People passing by saw him and smiled kindly at him. Shen Mo didn’t mind, and smiled along, then stood up and picked up the drawing board that had been thrown on the ground.

　　He started to paint with his left hand again a few years ago, practicing little by little. Although he still couldn’t catch up with his previous level, he was satisfied. He originally came out to sketch today, but the sun was so bright that he couldn’t help but take a nap. He didn’t expect to dream about something that happened so long ago.

　　After Shen Mo packed up his painting tools, he put his backpack on his shoulder and walked out of the park quickly. He had a store on Yongning Road, which was transferred to his name when he broke up with Ji Mingxuan. He later simply renovated it and opened a small studio. The business was neither good nor bad, but he could barely make ends meet.

　　Because it was rush hour, there was some traffic jam on the road. When Shen Mo returned to the studio, it was already completely dark. He hired a young girl to help run the studio. When Yang Yue saw him coming back, she looked a little angry and said, “Boss, you went out to slack off again!”

　　Shen Mo was in a very good mood. While packing his things, he said, “Sorry, I’m back late. Did I bother you from dating your boyfriend? You can go home now.”

　　Yang Yue found this job right after graduating from university. After working for a few years, she became familiar with Shen Mo. She quickly put on some makeup and asked, “Boss, what are you having for dinner? Are you going to order takeout again?”

　　”yes.”

　　”Curry and rice again?”

　　Shen Mo answered “Yes” again and said, “I like curry.”

　　”No matter how much you like it, you can’t eat it every day.” Yang Yue put down the powder cake and said in a mature tone, “Boss, you are already 30 years old, it’s time to get a girlfriend.”

　　Shen Mo was stunned for a moment, then said, “I will only be 29 after the Chinese New Year.”

　　But for young and beautiful girls, what is the difference between twenty-nine and thirty?

　　”Twenty-nine is also an old man.” Yang Yue picked up the eyebrow pencil and lightly swept her eyebrows. “The older you are, the less popular you are in the marriage market.”

　　Shen Mo said: “I haven’t met the right one.”

　　”Would you like me to introduce someone to you? I have a college classmate…”

　　Shen Mo hurriedly said: “No, no.”

　　”I’ve been here for almost three years, and I’ve never seen you have a girlfriend.” Yang Yue suddenly leaned over and stared at Shen Mo and said, “Boss, are you in love with someone?”

　　She had just finished drawing her eyebrows, and her two curved eyebrows were as thick as ink.

　　Shen Mo was distracted for a moment and couldn’t answer for a while.

　　Yang Yue was the kind of girl who loved gossip. She immediately became interested and guessed, “Is it your first love? Or your secret crush? Or the goddess you’ve been pursuing for many years?”

　　Shen Mo’s heart beat faster when he thought of the dream he had not long ago, but he had learned to control his emotions and his face remained calm.

　　”No,” he repeated, as if he was afraid that Yang Yue wouldn’t believe him, or even more afraid that he himself wouldn’t believe him, “There is no such person.”

　　Yang Yue was not so easily fooled. Just as she was about to dig deeper, she heard a beep from outside the door.

　　”Hey, my guy is here to pick me up. I’m off work now. Bye, boss!”

　　As soon as her boyfriend arrived, Yang Yue immediately waved her hand, left the old man Shen Mo, picked up her handbag and rushed out.

　　Shen Mo watched her leave, then turned around and called for takeout. Actually, his cooking skills were not bad, but now he lived alone and was too lazy to spend time cooking, so it was more convenient to order takeout. The curry rice was delivered quickly. After Shen Mo had dinner, he dealt with some chores. There was basically no business at this time, so he closed the store and set up the easel to continue the unfinished painting.

　　He had already painted most of the painting in the park in the afternoon, and it was especially easy to concentrate in the quiet night, so it didn’t take long for him to finish the coloring. Shen Mo put down the brush, stepped back a few steps, and looked at it. He felt quite satisfied.

　　It just hasn’t been signed yet.

　　Shen Mo hesitated for a moment, then picked up the pen again, switching from his right hand to his left hand, and then back to his right hand. His right hand holding the pen was still trembling slightly, but he tried his best to control it and wrote the two words “Shen Mo” stroke by stroke. It was slightly different from his previous signature, but the style was consistent.

　　As he looked at these two words, he almost couldn’t help but think of that day a few years ago when he pushed open the door of the study in Jinxiu Villa and saw that the whole room was filled with his paintings.

　　Some were his school exercises, some were portraits he drew to make money, and some were even just doodles. He didn’t know how much effort it would take for one person to collect these paintings.

　　…So this is the secret of Jinxiu Villa.

　　Shen Mo had too many questions in his mind, and only Ji Mingxuan could answer them. He didn’t have Ji Mingxuan’s contact information abroad, so he could only ask Lawyer Chen for help. Lawyer Chen was very enthusiastic, and after some twists and turns, he finally contacted Ji Mingxuan.

　　But Ji Mingxuan didn’t want to see him.

　　Shen Mo contacted him several times before Ji Mingxuan replied with two words through Lawyer Chen: Don’t worry.

　　Lawyer Chen also tactfully said: “Ms. Ji’s health condition is not optimistic.”

　　Shen Mo’s heart sank, knowing that everything was over.

　　There was no need to pursue his vague memories or Ji Mingxuan’s secret love. There was always Ji An’an between him and Ji Mingxuan, and from now on, they were separated from each other and there was no need to see each other again.

　　He thanked Lawyer Chen calmly and moved out of Ji Mingxuan’s villa that afternoon. He only moved the store on Yongning Road out of the things Ji Mingxuan gave him. In the past few years, he opened a studio and learned to paint again. Time passed peacefully, as if he had never met Ji Mingxuan.

　　I only dream about past events occasionally.

　　Shen Mo laughed at himself. It was already late at night, so it was time to go home and rest. He packed his things roughly, and before leaving, he glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall. It was already late January, and in a few days it would be the Lunar New Year. After the New Year, it would be the Spring Festival.

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

　　He was a little absent-minded on the way home. After arriving home, he took a shower, turned on the computer and surfed the Internet as usual. When he came to his senses, he had already booked a plane ticket online.