Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 7: Uneasiness
Owl, pronounced like “xiao”, only appears in the dictionary as one part of the term for “strigidae*”, a bird with a large head and a short, curved beak, encompassing many varieties, of which the owl is one.
*Clarity: The symbol engraved on their arm is owl [xiao] (鸮), which is pronounced like [xiao] (萧). It is part of the word strigidae [chi xiao] (鸱鸮), which is the family of birds owls belong to. However, owl [mao tou ying] (猫头鹰), which literally means “cat-headed hawk”, is more commonly and widely used.
After checking an online dictionary, the true nature of those few “hoots” at midnight surfaced.
It was the call of an owl, also the death knell signaling the start of the “Magical Moment”.
Dawn was approaching, and the sky to the east was turning pale, signifying life was returning to its normal track.
Sun Jiang was a driving instructor with students to teach today, so he was the first to leave. Kuang Jinxin was a senior majoring in tea science, currently interning at a tea house. According to him, the tea house owner was quite considerate, and taking another day off wouldn’t be a problem. However, they didn’t have much else to do but wait for the night, so after some persuasion from Wu Sheng and Xu Wang, Kuang Jinxin also went back to his internship.
After seeing them off, Xu Wang naturally turned his gaze to Wu Sheng, subtly indicating it was time for him to leave too. Deep down, he wished for more time with Wu Sheng, but rationally, he knew this interaction was pointless and harmful.
Wu Sheng caught the hint but didn’t act on it. Instead, he stood up as if eager to “deepen the reunion mood”. “Won’t you show me around?”
With no outsiders present, Xu Wang bluntly slapped the idea down. “It’s not a museum. What’s there to see?” Besides, with just a living room and a bedroom, the only place left to see was the bedroom, and any visit there without a “clear purpose” was dubious!
“Why such a big reaction? Unless…” Wu Sheng teased, his eyes drifting towards the bedroom. “Is there something in there you don’t want seen?”
Xu Wang was momentarily speechless, glaring at Wu Sheng before squeezing out, “How come you’re still so annoying after ten years?”
Wu Sheng glanced at him, the same old disdain. “Like you’ve made any progress.”
The two were like Mr. Wang meeting Mr. Yu1. The difference was only slight, yet each was well-versed in the other’s dark past. Thus, in their mutual mockery, neither could achieve an overwhelming victory. One wrong move may even lead to a situation where they inflict a thousand damages on the opponent but suffer eight hundred themselves2.
1Basically saying they are almost exactly the same with some minor differences. The name Wang (王) and Yu (玉) are almost the same characters, with the Yu having a minor difference.
2Line from Art of War by Sun Tzu describing a situation where there would be mutual losses that aren’t that different on either side, thus both sides would suffer losses.
Eventually, they both realized this and called a temporary truce.
However, as they caught up on recent times, Wu Sheng began to doubt Xu Wang’s career description. “Real estate consultant?”
Xu Wang defiantly retorted, “Is there a problem?”
Wu Sheng leaned back, crossing his legs and holding his cup with a genteel smile. “So, you sell houses.”
Xu Wang narrowed his eyes. “And what industry have you, the returnee entrepreneur, dabbled in?”
Wu Sheng took a sip of water. “Software development.”
Xu Wang nodded. “A code monkey*, then.”
*Coding peasant/farmer (码农) It’s a self-depreciating term for a programmer or software developer. In this context, he’s basically making a jab at Wu Sheng (instead of using a term like software engineer), responding to Wu Sheng’s comment, “Oh, so you just sell houses.”
Wu Sheng choked on his water as Xu Wang crossed his legs, his feet shaking gleefully.
Strangely, despite ten years apart, their banter felt like a return to high school days. Xu Wang thought maybe it was because they had missed all the awkward reintroduction phase in their rush of events and went straight into a chapter of “We’re still good old pals”.
As the day progressed, Xu Wang checked his phone and realized he needed to catch the subway or he’d be skipping work. He got up decisively, signaling Wu Sheng to leave. “Alright, go back to wherever you need to. I have to work.”
Wu Sheng looked at him incredulously, as if the concept of work was foreign. “Sun Jiang works because he has a family to feed; Kuang Jinxin because his internship is tied to his final evaluation. You neither have a family to support nor are you a student. With such a significant event happening, shouldn’t you sit down and plan instead of going to work?”
Xu Wang wanted to smack this guy with the sole of his shoe when he heard that tone of voice.
Upon hearing this kind of indifferent tone, Xu Wang felt like slapping someone with his shoe. “I might not have a family, but I can’t live off air. I might not die popping out of Owl, but if I don’t go to work today, someone really might.”
After taking a leave the previous day, another absence would likely mean losing his job.
“Forget it. I can’t argue with you rich folks,” Xu Wang dismissed, ending the conversation. If he continued the conversation, he felt like he would be just wallowing in self-pity.
Wu Sheng frowned, playing the innocent card. “How am I considered rich…”
Xu Wang rolled his eyes and went to change clothes, no longer interested in arguing. He had heard from a classmate who returned from the US that Wu Sheng was making waves in Silicon Valley, having earned his first pot of gold soon after college, seemingly on track to rival the likes of Zuckerberg.
The classmate might have exaggerated, but the envy was real, showing that they truly believed Wu Sheng was faring much better. This classmate, successful in their own right, already earned a significant salary before thirty.
As Xu Wang emerged from the bedroom in a business suit, he found Wu Sheng still lounging on the couch, not making any move to leave, legs crossed in the same angle. Xu Wang was exasperated. “What’s your plan, really? Squatting here all day?”
Wu Sheng, caught off-guard by Xu Wang’s fresh attire, stared for a moment with an indescribable glint in his eyes.
Uncomfortable under the gaze, Xu Wang shouted, “Hey—”
Wu Sheng finally snapped out of it, looking down to pick up his cup. “Ah, I told my partners I wouldn’t be going to the office today.”
Xu Wang’s initial confusion at him reaching for an empty cup turned to frustration at his words. “You mean you’re planning to stay here all day?!”
Wu Sheng looked up and drank for a long time, only to realize that the cup had long been empty. He then put it down naturally and slowly raised his head, his face already filled with righteous determination. “Your lives are important, so I must be the one to sacrifice. Someone has to think about how to deal with Owl.”
“You could think somewhere else.”
“I don’t have a place in Beijing.”
“Bullshit!”
“No, I don’t have any shit*.”
*Clarity: It’s a play on response to Xu Wang’s calling him out on his lie, and he’s responding with “I’m really not lying.” (humorously). This is not meant to be I don’t have shit (in the sense that you have nothing).
“…”
Throughout high school, Xu Wang’s success rate against Wu Sheng was a steady 50%. Now as an adult, after ten years of different experiences, Xu Wang sadly realized his winning rate seemed to have dropped.
“Don’t go through my stuff,” Xu Wang warned as if he were giving a death order. He stood at the door, directing a stern look at Wu Sheng. “If I find out you did…” He narrowed his eyes dangerously. “We’re done.”
Wu Sheng nodded with unprecedented sincerity and seriousness.
Very good. There are definitely secrets in the bedroom.
The security door clicked tightly shut.
Xu Wang sighed in frustration at his own lack of resolve and hung his head while waiting for the elevator.
Wu Sheng stroked his chin, eyeing the tightly sealed bedroom door, imagining countless unspeakable things inside.
A single door separated a world of thoughts.
As Xu Wang squeezed onto the subway, Wu Sheng, who had been hovering in front of the bedroom door for nearly half an hour, received a call from his partner. The program they had been developing had hit a technical snag that none of the engineers could solve, and it was up to him, as the CTO and co-owner, to step in.
Wu Sheng sighed into the phone. The joy he had just accumulated was disturbed. “Aren’t you a boss too? Couldn’t you handle such a minor issue?”
The voice on the other end had suddenly sharpened. “Minor issue? If I could have handled this ‘minor issue’, I wouldn’t have invested the same amount of money for only a three percent share, leaving you with seven.”
Wu Sheng was speechless. How does that old saying go? The greater the share, the greater the responsibility.
“Have Xiao Mu bring my laptop over. I’ll send you the address later.”
“Can’t you come back to the office? What’s so important that you can’t leave for a bit?”
“I don’t have the keys.”
“What?”
“No keys, so I can’t leave. If I leave, I won’t be able to get back in.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
After a long pause, Wu Sheng heard his partner ask, “You’re not doing something illegal, are you…?”
The laptop was quickly brought over, but the “minor issue” was proven to be not so minor after all. By the time everything was resolved, it was already 2 p.m. Wu Sheng sent the data back to the office, forgetting about the bedroom mystery as he glanced at the time and immediately dived back into the external network…
Xu Wang had been restless all day, worried about the secrets in his bedroom being discovered. He had kept reassuring himself that there was nothing to worry about; after all, they agreed he would end the friendship if Wu Sheng snooped around, so he wouldn’t dare.
Perhaps it was the excessive worrying that had led him to sleep deeply during his lunch break and even dream vaguely. In the dream, Wu Sheng had stood in the center of his bedroom, holding a box-like trophy, much like a Marvel villain holding the Tesseract.
Maybe it was a stroke of luck or simply hitting rock bottom and bouncing back, but a client that Xu Wang had been nurturing decided to come in for a signing that afternoon. Originally, it wasn’t Xu Wang who was supposed to receive the client today, but the client insisted on him, having appreciated his patient introduction of various floor plans and realistic outlook on future developments of the surrounding area, and ended up signing for the largest unit in the building.
If this set sold, the commission alone would be over twenty thousand, which would count towards the total performance. This was directly linked to the performance calculation for his year-end bonus.
Riding on the momentum of this deal, Xu Wang shrugged off his previous fatigue and worries and left work in high spirits. Even when squeezing into the subway, he was particularly spirited.
When he arrived at the door of his house, Xu Wang couldn’t explain his feelings. From taking out the keys to opening the door, he was extremely cautious, almost as if he were a thief entering someone else’s home.
As he opened the door and entered the entryway, it was quiet. If not for the neon lights outside the window casting a faint glow, he might not have noticed Wu Sheng asleep on the sofa.
The person was sitting on the sofa, head tilted, sleeping soundly. On the coffee table, there was a laptop that Xu Wang had never seen before, its screen flickering with a cool light. It was unclear whether Wu Sheng had just fallen asleep or the laptop itself had disabled sleep mode, so even without operation, the screen remained bright.
Tiptoeing to the sofa, Xu Wang leaned down slightly, seriously observing this person for the first time since they had reunited.
Eyes, nose, mouth—almost no change—still as appealing when smiling as before. The term “charming appearance” was a label Xu Wang had unilaterally assigned to Wu Sheng’s looks back in high school, even though the latter had never dated throughout those three years.
Breathing, as Xu Wang peeked, brushed against Wu Sheng’s eyelashes. Whether real or imagined, those lashes suddenly trembled. Feeling guilty, Xu Wang quickly straightened up and pretended to look elsewhere.
This pretense led his gaze to the laptop’s screen.
The screen was full of English text. Xu Wang chewed over it and finally grasped two frequently appearing words—Multiverse, Parallel universe.
Xu Wang recognized only one word, “universe”, so he took out his phone to look up online translations, finding the first word to be “multiverse” and the second term “parallel universes.”
Xu Wang had no research on these profound topics but having watched many sci-fi movies and connected them with his recent experiences, he roughly understood what Wu Sheng was researching.
He was seriously studying, not just talking about it.
When encountering a problem, he must confront it head-on; the word “avoid” was definitely not in Wu Sheng’s dictionary—that was his temperament ten years ago.
Quietly returning to the bedroom, the first thing Xu Wang did after closing the door wasn’t to turn on the light and change clothes, but to check a box hidden in the deepest corner of the wardrobe. Only after confirming that it hadn’t been moved, he patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
“What are you rummaging for?” A questioning voice came from the doorway, with a subtly rising tone.
Xu Wang’s scalp tingled, and he immediately slammed the wardrobe door shut, looking up to meet Wu Sheng’s probing gaze, trying to exude an aura of inviolability from head to toe. “I’m looking for clothes to change into. What’s it to you! Also, this is my home. Could you knock before entering!”
Wu Sheng crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame, leisurely watching him. “I did knock, but you might have been too sneakily engrossed to hear.”
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