Male hand modeling is already quite an established profession both domestically and internationally, but the requirements are rather high—not too many palm lines, no scars, and fair skin, among other things. Sister Li had seen many who barely qualified before, but someone with naturally excellent conditions like Li Jin Yu made her feel like she’d found a treasure. Without hesitation, she slapped the contract on the table for him to sign.
But Li Jin Yu was still hesitating, wrestling with his inner turmoil.
Sister Li made another grand gesture, wielding her pen decisively as she doubled the price. “The rate I’m offering you is what international supermodels get. Don’t believe me? Ask around in the industry. Last time there was a rather handsome young man, and I only gave him 500 yuan per day.”
His inner struggle surrendered. Li Jin Yu took the pen without hesitation and signed his name with a flourish.
Sister Li collected the contract with satisfaction. Recalling that Qiao Mai Mai had mentioned something when introducing Li Jin Yu to her, she casually asked while sealing the contract envelope, “Is this money enough to treat your grandmother’s illness?”
It was not enough, but at least it could cover the first round of chemotherapy. As for future expenses, he would have to figure that out later. In his current situation, he could only take things one step at a time.
“Not enough,” Li Jin Yu told her truthfully.
The small-town café wasn’t too crowded; in fact, it was quite empty.
Sister Li nodded as expected and spoke frankly without reservation: “Then you’ll need to find other solutions. This price is the highest payment I can offer you—any higher would be ridiculous. Usually, payments are settled monthly, but since you need it urgently, I can give you an advance payment first so your grandmother can get her first chemotherapy session. An elderly person’s illness shouldn’t be delayed.”
Sister Li was the town’s formidable single wealthy woman—divorced, passionate, with a preference for young men. She always pursued men with real determination. However, she preferred muscular macho types and wasn’t very interested in excessively handsome guys like Li Jin Yu, because if they stood together, her wealth would be too obvious. If she were to keep him as a lover, she was afraid Li Jin Yu might die in bed. Offering advance payment was her greatest act of compassion for a handsome man.
Before leaving, she gave him a bottle of hand masks: “Although your hands are in very good condition, you should also take care of them. Soak them in milk occasionally and apply plastic wrap.” Then, Sister Li’s gaze fell almost imperceptibly on his thin wrist. “I suggest you get a tattoo to cover that scar on your wrist. Otherwise, it’s troublesome to edit it out in post-production every time.”
Li Jin Yu thought about it seriously and replied, “Alright.”
Sister Li was twisting her waist preparing to leave when she suddenly remembered something. She turned back with a sensuous look and said to him, “If you don’t mind, I have a friend looking for underwear models. Sister can introduce you.”
“…Thank you.”
Li Jin Yu’s mouth twitched, and his inner turmoil resurfaced.
After Sister Li left, Li Jin Yu didn’t get up immediately. He sat on the sofa for a while before coming out to find them.
Ye Meng had been staring intently at his hands since he walked out, thinking his hands were suitable for modeling. She hadn’t noticed before that he had manga-like hands—long, fair, with distinct knuckles.
Li Jin Yu, probably feeling embarrassed or genuinely annoyed, coughed once and stuffed his hands into his pockets, not letting her see them. He asked irritably, “Why did you kidnap my grandmother?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Ye Meng explained calmly. “I ran into her at the entrance of my residential community. Just a coincidence.”
Li Jin Yu lowered his head to glance at the old lady in the wheelchair. The old lady kept winking at him meaningfully. He looked away with a helpless smile, realizing that the old woman had an ulterior motive—she wanted Ye Meng to be his girlfriend.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you back,” he said to Ye Meng.
“Huh?” Ye Meng was startled. “What about your grandmother…”
Li Jin Yu acted as if he couldn’t be bothered. His long legs walked around the old lady’s wheelchair, and he left without looking back, saying lazily, “She’s so capable, what would she need me for?”
This relationship between grandmother and grandson was truly a love-hate dynamic. Ye Meng didn’t know whether to go or stay. Seeing her standing there motionless, the old lady anxiously stamped her foot and urgently signaled to her, nearly sending her dentures flying: “Silly girl, hurry up and follow him!”
After the two had walked some distance, the old lady revealed her triumphant expression. The caregiver had observed everything and teased her while pushing the wheelchair back to the hospital: “Old madam wants to hold a great-grandson, doesn’t she?”
Dong Ju Hua sat in the wheelchair, shaking her head. She looked back with some concern, gazing affectionately at that tall but somewhat dejected figure, and said, “I just want to find someone to keep him company.” After confirming that Ye Meng had caught up with Li Jin Yu, she relaxed her gaze and sighed with a smile, “Otherwise, when I’m gone, he’ll be alone for his entire life.”
The caregiver looked surprised and smiled, “That won’t happen. With your grandson’s looks, there must be plenty of girls who like him.”
“You don’t understand.” Dong Ju Hua waved her hand dismissively.
The street lamps in the small town remained capricious, some lit and some not, casting a dim glow over the road. The path was quite lively, filled with townspeople heading to Lake Ning Sui for a stroll. This eye-catching pair stood out, particularly in the crowd, and even from a distance, Ye Meng could feel the impressed gazes of several schoolgirls and boys.
Students’ gazes are bold and intense, unlike mature adults who would conceal and avoid. So even though Ye Meng traced those burning gazes to their sources, they didn’t shy away but stared directly at the two of them, their eyes unable to hide their envy.
Ye Meng understood that kind of envy. When she was in school, she had also been particularly curious about the adult world, envying their rationality and nonchalance, as well as their ability to openly hold hands and kiss the people they liked.
Humans are contradictory creatures—in youth, they envy the rawness and openness of adulthood; in adulthood, they envy the innocence and ambiguity of youth.
“Where did you get your tattoo?” Li Jin Yu suddenly asked.
Ye Meng instantly pulled her thoughts away from those students, momentarily confused: “What tattoo?”
Li Jin Yu walked in front of her with his hands in his pockets. He turned around, walking backward while talking to her, and nodded toward her: “The one on your collarbone.”
Ye Meng instinctively covered her collarbone: “When did you see that?”
“Why are you covering it?” he snickered, casually saying with his hands still in his pockets: “I’ve already seen everything.”
“Seeing everything means you have to marry me,” Ye Meng seized the opportunity to say.
Li Jin Yu laughed, “Come on, how about I get a collarbone tattoo later to show you? Then we’ll be even.”
He was truly difficult to deceive. Ye Meng asked, “Where are you getting yours?”
He made a sound of agreement, stopped smiling, and extended his wrist while walking backward: “Sister Li said this scar is too noticeable.”
“Are you short on money again?” Hand modeling—she couldn’t believe he’d come up with that. She said resentfully, “Be careful not to get taken advantage of.”
“When am I not short on money?” He put his hand back in his pocket, turned around, and continued walking forward, smiling as he said, “If Sister Li were willing, I wouldn’t mind, but unfortunately, she’s not interested in me.”
Ye Meng looked at him coldly: “Oh, so Sister Li is acceptable, but I’m not, is that it?”
“Mm, anyone would do, except you.” Li Jin Yu said casually, as if teasing her, but not quite.
Ye Meng angrily led him to a tattoo artist she knew well. The tattoo shop had a narrow front, with a door shorter than Li Jin Yu’s height, though Ye Meng could easily walk through. She leaned against the doorway like a human trafficker and asked with a smile: “Would you take this little brother?”
The two women were acquainted, as the tattoo artist calmly scrutinized Li Jin Yu for a while, cracking sunflower seeds and clicking her tongue: “What wind blew you in here?”
Ye Meng entered the shop with familiarity, browsing around for a while before pointing her chin at Li Jin Yu standing in the doorway. “He wants a tattoo.”
The doorframe blocked Li Jin Yu’s face, revealing only his neck with a scar at his Adam’s apple. In the night, it looked like a forbidden yet sexy kiss mark. The tattoo artist nudged Ye Meng’s shoulder meaningfully and said, “Wow, a boyfriend? This one’s exciting.”
Ye Meng smiled without denying it and called Li Jin Yu in.