Ding Hanbai's kindness never lasted more than a night. The night before, he had thoughtfully wiped the other's face and brought him food, but the next morning, he woke up and came banging on the door with questions. It couldn't be helped; his curiosity had been piqued for days, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Ji Shenyu's sweet dreams were disturbed by the banging. He burrowed under his pillow, but then the bandit outside kicked the door open, rushed in, sat down on the edge of the bed with a thud, and pushed him through the blanket.

"Get up, now." Ding Hanbai's hands were large and his strength even greater. He pressed down on Ji Shenyu's lower back, and there was actually a creaking sound from his bones. "What have you been doing, cooped up in your room these past few days? If you don't come clean, you can forget about bathing this week."

Ji Shenyu covered his back with his hand and, upon hearing the word "bathe," immediately retorted, "Then I'll go to the Huaqingchi Bathhouse. I'll have a sauna."

He flipped over and sat up, his drowsiness gone, replaced by the clarity of a good night's sleep. Ding Hanbai was half an arm's length away. He leaned in, took a sniff, then frowned and glared. "You're starting to smell! It's sour. I'm gonna throw up!"

The man's tone and expression were so convincing, as if he would really vomit if he opened and closed his mouth again. Ji Shenyu's face instantly turned red, embarrassed and mortified. He clutched his clothes under the blanket, hesitating. "I haven't been sweating. I'll go take a bath right now."

Ding Hanbai performed a Sichuan Opera Face-Changing act, raising a hand to stop him. "I said you can't bathe. First, tell me what you've been sneakily doing these past few days."

The conversation had come full circle. Ji Shenyu couldn't tell if he really smelled or if Ding Hanbai was just tricking him. He bent down, slipped under the other's arm, and stood barefoot on the floor. "I can do whatever I want with my door closed. Master hasn't even said anything, so you have even less right to..."

Ding Hanbai flared up at that. "Don't you try to use Ding Yanshou to pressure me, it's useless! This is my courtyard. Whatever you do is under my supervision." He stood up, forcing the other to back away. "Playing mysterious, are we? Starting today, you're not allowed to eat in the Front Courtyard. Just shut the door and eat in this room!"

Ji Shenyu had a vague feeling that Ding Hanbai responded to softness, not force, but he wasn't the least bit afraid of him. In the heat of the argument, how could he soften up? He just stiffened his neck. "Fine, I won't go. Sitting next to you at meals ruins my appetite. I'll throw up too!"

Ding Hanbai slammed the door and left. The door was left ajar, swinging, and felt like it would fall off its hinges sooner or later. The wind blowing in snapped Ji Shenyu to his senses, and he realized how childish and ridiculous the two of them were. But the anger was already there. At least for this weekend, the other person wouldn't bother him again.

Not being bothered was good, too. It was peaceful.

Ji Shenyu tidied up his room by himself, even humming the Yangzhou Tunes that Ji Fangxu had loved to listen to when he was alive. After finishing, he took a bath and changed his clothes, leaving both himself and the room looking brand new. It had been humid the last two days, and the Celadon Vase needed to air-dry until Monday. He decided to take his summer homework and go mind the shop at the Jade Pavilion.

The son was hard to deal with, so he would go please the father instead.

By Monday, the sky had cleared, but Ding Hanbai's face had not. He tossed out a line about having a party in the evening and left for work.

Ji Shenyu unhurriedly picked out his clothes, putting on his most lavish-looking outfit. He put the Celadon Vase in his schoolbag and headed straight for the Daimao Antique Market. This was his second visit. He strolled around calmly a couple of times, bought a bottle of soda, found a brightly lit empty spot, and set up his stall.

Soon, a young man came over and asked, "What's the deal with this dirty vase?"

Ji Shenyu slurped his soda, rolling his eyes so dramatically he could have won a Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Award. "No deal. Don't block the light."

In this place, you couldn't always spot an expert, but a layman would definitely be exposed early on. He shooed away the onlookers, sat cross-legged on an old newspaper, and waited for a real buyer.

Before long, an old lady passed by. Her silver hair was neatly combed, complementing her pearl earrings. She stopped and said, "Oh, I'll have to put on my reading glasses to take a look at this."

People around cast glances their way. It turned out this old lady was a regular customer who liked to collect old jewelry. Ji Shenyu couldn't gauge her expertise, so he sized her up with wide eyes, deliberately putting on an air of arrogance.

The old lady asked, "Little treasure, aren't you going to introduce the item you're selling?"

Ji Shenyu said, "My family has lots of antiques. I just grabbed this one from a cabinet to sell for some pocket money."

The old lady had a kind face. "With so many antiques at home, and you dressed so nicely, you're still short on pocket money?"

"I bombed my final exams, so my dad cut off my allowance." Ji Shenyu's face fell. He tapped his soda bottle against the Celadon Vase. "Anyway, anyone who knows their stuff will know this is a good piece. I won't sell it cheap, or I'll get a beating if my dad finds out."

Just as he was speaking, another man approached, wearing glasses for nearsightedness and carrying a briefcase, looking very scholarly. He squatted down, held the vase by the neck to examine it, felt the pattern on the glazed surface, and picked at the dirt in the grooves. He asked, yet it wasn't quite a question, "This kind of grime doesn't accumulate from just sitting in a cabinet."

Ji Shenyu remained impassive. "My dad said the vase was like this when he bought it. It would be a fake if it didn't have the grime."

Some found this explanation novel. The man turned the vase over to examine it in detail. Ji Shenyu lowered his eyes, pretending to be unconcerned, but he was actually a little nervous. The pile of shards was all marine-salvaged artifacts, and the grime on the surface was genuine calcification. Therefore, there was no problem with the material of the porcelain vase; what was being tested was his craftsmanship.

"Are you going to buy it?" he asked. "If not, don't keep picking and pawing at it."

The man ignored him and admired it for a long time. "The pea-green glaze on the outer wall of your vase isn't uniform enough. It's a bit yellowish."

Once someone started nitpicking, it meant they wanted to haggle the price down. And wanting to haggle meant they wanted to buy. Ji Shenyu glanced at the yellowish spot. 'Of course it's yellow,' he thought. 'There were no suitable pea-green shards, so I had to use a close match.' He said, "If it wasn't yellow, you'd have to question its authenticity. It's yellow because it was submerged in the sea for too long."

The man was not surprised at all. He continued, addressing the onlookers, "That's right. This is a marine-salvaged vase, probably from the Qing Dynasty."

The old lady immediately asked, "Then how much is it?"

The man smiled. "Although it's completely preserved, the shape is ordinary and the surface is flawed. It can't be worth much."

Hearing this, Ji Shenyu also smiled. He just wanted to get some money to buy Ding Hanbai a gift. Time was tight, so he couldn't make anything too complicated. The man was right. "Are you buying?" He held up three fingers. "This much."

Thirty thousand. The man met his gaze and said, "Thirteen thousand."

Ji Shenyu turned his face to the side. "Put it back carefully when you're done looking. And don't block the light."

The man was taken aback by his attitude. The old lady, however, started to laugh. "This child is so aloof. He's not a businessman, he's just trying to get some pocket money."

The man repeated, "Really not selling for thirteen thousand? Someone else might not even offer ten."

Ji Shenyu waved his hand dismissively, his impatience written all over his face. The man got up and left, and the old lady and the onlookers also departed. His gaze followed the man, who was walking as if on a stroll, occasionally stopping, but never bending down again.

He understood. The lack of customers at his stall was only temporary.

At noon, the sun was at its most scorching. The air conditioning in the Cultural Relics Bureau office ran nonstop. The phone rang; the deputy director was calling for a document. Ding Hanbai went to the director's office to get it, delivered it, and then returned to his seat to enjoy the cool air.

After his sweat subsided, he asked, "Team Leader, did the director take the day off?"

Zhang Yin hadn't come to work. He had personally gone to the airport to pick up an expert. After getting the expert settled, he didn't return, legitimately playing truant. As for now, he was leisurely strolling through the Daimao Antique Market.

In this market, ninety-nine percent of the goods were fakes, but everyone hoped to find a hidden treasure. Zhang Yin strolled around and circled back, once again stopping in front of Ji Shenyu. Marine-salvaged artifacts... he had just brought a batch back from Fujian. The ones displayed in the Museum were all selected by him.

What did that mean? It meant he couldn't possibly be mistaken. He was very certain. The vase's foot ring, constricted neck, and lipped rim were all standard, exactly the same as others he had seen. Then there were the accretions; he was even more sure. He wouldn't forget that smell of the sea anytime soon.

Ji Shenyu was sucking on a popsicle, his head tilted up, not saying a word.

Generally speaking, it was easiest to haggle with poor people in urgent need of money. Ji Shenyu was the exact opposite. He wore fine clothes, had a durable Amber Pendant hanging from his schoolbag, drank soda and ate popsicles, and was playing the part of a prodigal son selling a stolen antique for pocket money. If the offer was too low, he couldn't even be bothered to respond.

"If you don't lower the price from thirty thousand, this thing will definitely be stuck with you," Zhang Yin finally said. "Think about it, am I right?"

Ji Shenyu said, "Then thirteen thousand it is." Seeing Zhang Yin's face light up with pleasant surprise, he added, "Big brother, I'm not an idiot. Don't get your hopes up."

The two began a tug-of-war. Each step back was a loss of eight or ten thousand yuan. Zhang Yin's offer of thirteen thousand was truly absurd, merely an attempt to fleece Ji Shenyu because of his youth. Ji Shenyu's price of thirty thousand was also an inflated asking price, leaving room for bargaining.

They argued nonstop, attracting other people's attention. Fearing someone else would swoop in and snatch his prize, Zhang Yin finally settled on twenty-three thousand. Ji Shenyu only wanted cash. He went with Zhang Yin to withdraw the money, backpack on. There was a bank right next to the antique market, as if to facilitate transactions for people.

The exchange in the bank was very safe. He gave the Celadon Vase to the other man, and Ji Shenyu left with his backpack. As he passed an alleyway, he heard a shout, and immediately a person shot out, shoving him half aside as they fled.

There was a small alley between the outer wall of the antique market and the bank. The stalls inside were full, so individual sellers set up in the alley. An old man holding an old bag had fallen at the base of the wall. His face was stained with blood, and he was curled up, crying and shouting in a hoarse voice.

A robbery in broad daylight! My life-saving money is gone!

The whole alley was in an uproar. Ji Shenyu stood at the entrance, tightened his grip on his backpack straps, and started running, chasing after the robber. The robber, flustered from being chased, didn't take the overpass as he should have, instead bolting straight for the intersection.

Ji Shenyu watched as two traffic policemen tripped the robber. The bundle rolled on the ground, and with a crisp crack, his heart broke too.

He retrieved the bundle, but the Sacrificial Blue Glaze Elephant-Ear Square Vase inside was already in pieces. He took it back and saw the old man sitting on the steps outside the bank. "Grandpa..." He went over, not knowing what to say. "The man fell."

The bundle was unwrapped. The old man shook his head at the shards, his face streaked with blood and tears. He clutched his stomach, twitching slightly. Ji Shenyu quickly supported him and asked, "Did he hurt you when he robbed you? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Just then, a person came out of the bank and walked straight up to them. "Where's the item?"

This was the person who had promised to buy it; the robbery had happened while he was withdrawing money. Ji Shenyu gestured with his chin toward the bundle, his heart aching along with it. Although he didn't have fiery, discerning eyes, he knew what flaws a forgery would have. That square vase had been completely flawless, worth at least seventy or eighty thousand.

The man got angry. "We agreed you'd wait while I got the money, how did it end up like this? You'll compensate me!"

The old man was weak. "I can't compensate you..."

"...Fuck your ancestors!" The man started cursing loudly. As a seasoned enthusiast, he only had eyes for the object. The duck that was already in his mouth had flown away, and he was so furious he was ready to disown his own family, acting completely unreasonably.

Ji Shenyu helped the old man wipe his bloody nose. He wasn't good at cursing and couldn't help but think of Ding Hanbai. After the man had cursed his fill and left, he helped the old man to the roadside to hail a taxi. Might as well be a good person to the end and make another trip to the hospital.

The check-up revealed something terrible. Besides the external injuries, the old man also had cancer.

Ji Shenyu now understood what "life-saving money" meant. He didn't hesitate when paying the hospitalization fee. Adding this and that, more than half of his twenty-three thousand was gone. He stayed by the hospital bed, wringing out a towel to wipe the old man's face. After wiping his face, he wiped his hands and discovered that the old man's right hand had six fingers.

"My surname is Liang, Liang Hecheng," the old man said. "I was born with six fingers. Didn't scare you, did I?"

Ji Shenyu shook his head. "Grandpa, how can I contact your family?"

The old man said, "I'm all alone in this world. You shouldn't have gotten involved with me."

Ji Shenyu was silent for a moment. He took out the remaining money, kept three hundred for himself, and stuffed the rest under the pillow. "Grandpa, I'll stay with you until evening. You keep the money to spend."

The old man shed turbid tears. "How can I take your money? I have to pay you back for the hospital fee too..."

"My Master said—" If he said that, he'd have to explain, so Ji Shenyu changed his tune. "My dad said, a thousand gold pieces scattered can be earned back, but if you can help and don't, you'll regret missing the chance."

The old man asked again, "You little doll, why are you carrying so much money with you?"

The man was already too pitiful. Ji Shenyu couldn't bear to deceive him, so he told him the whole story of how he made the Celadon Vase. In the blink of an eye, he had stayed with him until evening, and dusk had fallen outside.

He took his leave, catching a ride with his empty backpack. A movie played in his mind, frame by frame, scene by scene, and the final act was nothing but disappointment. He got off at Chiwangfu Station and ran into Ding Hanbai at the street corner. Ding Hanbai was returning from his party, tinged with the faint smell of alcohol.

Ji Shenyu finally saw a family member—well, not a family member, but at least a familiar face.

After working so hard for so many days, his fingertips still ached, and in the end, he was left with only three hundred yuan.

What was this called? It was called drawing water with a bamboo basket.

Ji Shenyu felt so wronged. "Senior Brother..."

Ding Hanbai was stunned. 'Weren't we in a cold war after our fight?' he wondered. 'I don't remember us making up. Am I drunk?' In his daze, Ji Shenyu had already come closer, head tilted up, looking at him eagerly, as if seeking his comfort.

His large hand cupped the back of the boy's head. This time, he knew to be gentle. He rubbed softly and asked slowly, "What's wrong?"

Ji Shenyu felt he had broken his promise and looked embarrassed. "I can't give you a gift anymore."

Ding Hanbai hadn't expected this reason. He said, leaving no room for negotiation, "That's not acceptable. You gave your word. Give it to me now. Whatever I ask for, you have to give."

Ji Shenyu panicked, waiting for the other to make things difficult for him.

But instead, Ding Hanbai gave his head another firm rub. "Forget it. Just give me a random smile."