“Jin-ge—”
A knock sounded outside the office. Young Master Luo came again.
Chu Jin’s brow furrowed imperceptibly as a wave of aversion washed over him once more.
For Chu Jin, this antipathy seemed rather irrational. In his “memories,” although Young Master Luo had always been at odds with him since childhood, they had coexisted harmoniously for a long time. Moreover, judging by Young Master Luo’s attitude towards him these past couple of days, they didn’t appear to be bitter enemies.
On the contrary, Young Master Luo was quite attentive, even considerate to a fault.
Chu Jin knew himself well enough to know he wouldn’t dislike someone without reason.
A sharp glint flashed in the man’s eyes, but when he looked up, his tone had returned to its usual indifference. “What is it?”
When the intruder pushed open the door, a smile still graced his face. The memory interference had clearly worked; lately, when Chu Jin saw him, though far from affectionate, it was a vast improvement from his previously unconcealed disgust.
The intruder believed that soon, Chu Jin would accept him.
The Luo family was hosting an event tonight, and as one of their partners, the Chu family naturally had to attend. The intruder had come to invite Chu Jin, but that wasn’t his only purpose.
As if by chance, the intruder’s gaze fixed on the photo frame beside Chu Jin’s desk.
“Jin-ge, this photo is so old. Let’s take a new one tonight.”
The moment Young Master Luo picked up the frame, Chu Jin’s displeasure peaked. He even wanted to throw the person before him out without a second thought. It took all of Chu Jin’s willpower to suppress the suddenly intensified feeling of revulsion.
Chu Jin took the frame from the intruder’s hands and placed it face down on the desk. “We’ll discuss it tonight.”
The event was in the evening. Chu Jin turned back to his seat, “I still have work to do.”
This was clearly a dismissal, but the intruder didn’t want to antagonize Chu Jin. After a few more words about the evening’s event, seeing Chu Jin’s clear lack of interest, he left.
Once the office was empty again, Chu Jin picked up the photo frame once more.
In the photo, Luo An stood beside him, his posture casual. They were extremely close, so close that if Luo An moved just a step closer, he could… hold Luo An’s hand.
Hold hands? This thought appeared abruptly, causing Chu Jin’s breath to hitch slightly.
His fingers habitually traced the edge of the frame, a motion he must have repeated countless times, forming muscle memory. Before his brain could process it, he was already expertly caressing the frame.
Only then did Chu Jin notice the slight wear on the frame’s edge.
Luo An, who had been on high alert since the intruder entered, finally relaxed a bit now that he had left, floating beside Chu Jin.
“What are you looking at?” Though he knew Chu Jin couldn’t hear him, Luo An still leaned in to ask.
“It’s just a photo, what’s so interesting about it?”
“Alright, alright, I won’t stand so close to you in the future. Is it necessary to hold a grudge until now?” Luo An still remembered the origin of this photo, and how Chu Jin had been so tense he was rigid when it was taken.
Luo An couldn’t understand Chu Jin’s intentions anymore. If one said this person hated him, yet he seemed to always remember him, even studying “soul summoning” day after day. If one said this person didn’t hate him, in the past, whenever Luo An got close, he would freeze up like a malfunctioning machine, as if he couldn’t bear to be within eight meters of him.
But since he couldn’t understand, Luo An decided not to dwell on it. He circled Chu Jin twice, counting on his fingers how many days he had left before completely disappearing.
While Luo An was lost in thought, Chu Jin’s hand, caressing the frame, paused slightly upon touching a metal disc less than five millimeters in radius. Chu Jin’s gaze swept the office, and as he stood, he accidentally knocked over some nearby documents. They scattered across the floor, conveniently blocking the nearby camera.
Chu Jin quietly locked the office door before returning to his desk.
The metal disc blended seamlessly with the frame’s decorative dots. If not for Chu Jin’s habitual caress, it would have been hard to discover that something might be hidden inside.
The disc wasn’t difficult to remove. Chu Jin’s usual pen had a suitable groove.
Soon, Chu Jin found what he was looking for.
It was a note folded three times. The handwriting was very familiar to Chu Jin; he was certain it was his own.
The note read: “Luo An is not the real Luo An.”
The writing was small, concisely recording everything that happened four years ago, and ending with a contact number, instructing him to call immediately upon seeing this note.
Chu Jin’s frown deepened. There was more writing on the back of the note. Chu Jin felt that information important enough for him to hide in such a secretive manner must be crucial.
Without further hesitation, Chu Jin turned the note over.
Unlike the meticulous writing on the front, this side had only two lines.
The first line read: “Don’t forget him.”
The second line read: “You love him.”
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