Shen Mo was meticulous and hardworking, and he satisfied his boss on his first day of trial work. He did not go home at noon, but had a work lunch with his colleagues.

　　In the afternoon, he was standing in front of the shelf counting goods when he suddenly heard someone calling him: “Shen Mo!”

　　Those two words were called out quickly and urgently, as if they contained some indescribable emotion.

　　Shen Mo recognized the voice and turned around to see that it was indeed his Zhou Yang.

　　”Zhou Yang, why are you here?”

　　The man was not wearing a coat, his shirt sleeves were rolled up, and his tie was loosened, which was very different from his usual indifferent and calm appearance. He strode up to Shen Mo, without saying a word, he just stretched out his hand and pulled Shen Mo into his arms.

　　Shen Mo bumped his head against his chest and asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?”

　　The man tightened his hands and whispered his name: “Shen Mo?”

　　”Um.”

　　”Shen Mo…”

　　”Yes, it’s me.”

　　”Shen Mo.”

　　Shen Mo heard the beating heartbeat, but couldn’t tell whether it was his or his own.

　　The man closed his eyes, quickly controlled his emotions, slowly loosened his arms, looked down at Shen Mo’s face, and asked: “What are you doing here?”

　　”Work. I found a job as a tally clerk, and today is my first day of trial work.”

　　The man looked as if he was suppressing something, and said coldly, “You left without even leaving a note?”

　　Shen Mo exclaimed, “Ah!” and finally understood what had happened. “You thought I was gone?”

　　He asked cautiously, “You… have been looking for me?”

　　The man neither admitted nor denied it, but just said: “Your illness is not cured yet, so don’t run around anymore.”

　　Shen Mo noticed that his breathing was a little disordered and there was a little sweat on his forehead. He didn’t know how long he had been looking for this place. He hurriedly said hello and asked, “Aren’t you usually very busy? Why are you… today?”

　　The man glanced at his right hand and said, “I happened to be free. I went back home at noon.”

　　Shen Mo guessed that he was worried about himself.

　　It’s actually no big deal, he just can’t draw. Isn’t it good to work in a supermarket?

　　Shen Mo’s work was not finished yet, and the man did not force him to go back, so he just waited in the car outside. Sometimes when Shen Mo finished his work and looked back, he could always see the car parked opposite the supermarket.

　　He got off work at 3pm. When he left, his colleagues looked at him strangely. Many people had seen him hugging Zhou Yang. Shen Mo was a little upset and didn’t know if he could come to work tomorrow.

　　After returning home and having dinner, the man slept on the sofa as usual.

　　Shen Mo was busy all day and soon felt sleepy. But the man was still tossing and turning on the sofa. Finally, he simply rolled over and walked into the room step by step.

　　Shen Mo was drowsy and sleepy. He patted the empty space beside him and generously invited him to sleep with him.

　　The man just sat down beside the bed, stretched out his hand to Shen Mo’s temples, paused for a moment, and then gently stroked his hair. His voice was unusually low and hoarse in the night: “I have seen your paintings, they are really good.”

　　Shen Mo smiled and said, “Of course.”

　　The man said, “You should quit your job at the supermarket.”

　　Shen Mo was a little unhappy: “Why?”

　　The man groped for his right hand in the darkness, but only held a little bit of his fingertips and whispered, “Let’s heal the hand and continue painting.”

　　

　　The man kept his word and quickly contacted the best hospital and the best experts. Shen Mo quit his job at the supermarket and started going to the hospital frequently. The result of the expert consultation was that his hand needed another operation.

　　Shen Mo was not afraid of this. With the advancement of medicine today, there was nothing to worry about with this minor operation.

　　On the contrary, his Zhou Yang was more nervous than him.

　　Of course, he didn’t show it directly, and his face always had that cold expression. He just walked back and forth beside his bed a few times the night before the operation.

　　Shen Mo was dizzy from his shaking, and reached over to hold his hand, only to find that the muscles in his hand were extremely tense. He comforted Shen Mo, “Don’t be afraid.”

　　”I’m not afraid,” Shen Mo said with a smile, “It’s just a small operation. If it succeeds, it’s great. If it fails, it’s not a pity.”

　　The man squeezed Shen Mo’s hand, sat down beside him on the bed, looked at him and said, “Sometimes I really can’t understand you.”

　　”Um?”

　　”You have a soft temper and seems like anyone can bully you, but once you get stubborn, you are extremely stubborn.”

　　Shen Mo pretended to be angry: “Is this a compliment or criticism?”

　　The man smiled for once, then moved closer to Shen Mo and said, “Guess what.”

　　His voice was originally deep and pleasant, and it was so close that it seemed to have brushed past Shen Mo’s ears. Shen Mo felt itchy in his heart, and he only hated that he had to undergo surgery tomorrow, and he couldn’t do anything bad. Shen Mo had been holding the man’s hand, and noticed that his muscles were still a little stiff, so he said softly: “Don’t be too nervous, by this time tomorrow, the surgery will be over.”

　　”It’s okay. I just don’t like hospitals. My mother…”

　　”what?”

　　The man turned his eyes away and didn’t say anything else. He just said, “Let’s talk about this later. You should have a good rest today.”

　　”Um.”

　　Shen Mo felt relaxed and slept well that night.

　　The surgery the next day was very successful.

　　However, this was only the first step in the treatment. To facilitate the treatment, the man mentioned moving out of the rental house again. But Shen Mo was very persistent on this matter and refused to compromise, so the man stopped forcing him.

　　Shen Mo had to go to the hospital for rehabilitation every once in a while, and he had to take a lot of medicine every day, especially Chinese medicine, which tasted so strange that it was hard to swallow. If it weren’t for that person accompanying him, he really didn’t know if he could make it.

　　The weather is getting cooler, and the thin quilt on the sofa has been replaced with a thick quilt.

　　Shen Mo was afraid of cold, so his hands got cold easily in winter. The man knew this, and after dinner every day, he would take some medicinal wine to massage his hands. He would start from the fingertips, and massage one finger at a time. This was a very tedious task, and it often took a lot of time, but the man never got tired of it.

　　Shen Mo sometimes felt confused. Was Zhou Yang always like this?

　　The appearance is as cold and hard as iron and stone. Only when you really crack open the shell can you know how gentle the inside is.

　　But if he really wanted to recall Zhou Yang in the past, he couldn’t remember it. Forget it, Zhou Yang was by his side anyway, what else was there to think about?

　　Shen Mo secretly laughed at himself for being too suspicious. Seeing that the man was concentrating on pressing his fingers, he couldn’t help but shout, “Zhou Yang.”

　　The man didn’t respond.

　　He often does this, Shen Mo has long been accustomed to it, and then said: “Do you think my right hand can really be cured?”

　　”Of course,” the man said without even looking up, “as long as you persist, you will definitely be rewarded.”

　　Shen Mo smiled.

　　That person often says that he is stubborn, and in fact he is the same.

　　”Zhou Yang,” he looked down at the handsome face and called his name softly, “When my right hand is healed and I can start painting again, I will paint you first, okay?”

　　The man paused for a moment, then continued, pressing Shen Mo’s fingers one by one, then rubbing them in his palm.

　　Shen Mo felt his fingertips getting hot.

　　The man lowered his eyes and never looked up at Shen Mo. He just stared at his hand intently. After a while, he answered him: “…Okay.”

　　Shen Mo’s hands were warm and he felt a little sleepy, and soon he fell asleep on the sofa. He was not sleeping soundly, and was still somewhat conscious. He felt the man cover him with a quilt and then walked back and forth beside him twice.

　　This is how he behaves when he’s nervous.

　　Shen Mo was feeling strange when he felt that person leaning down, his breath getting closer and closer to him, and then, that person’s warm lips brushed past his temple.