Author: 反舌鸟 / Mockingbird
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 16
At the airport, Assistant Xiao Qi approached Yu Ruoyun to take his documents for check-in and to retrieve his boarding pass. While standing there waiting, Yu Ruoyun started to remember a few things.
For instance, when Xiao Qi first started working, Yu Ruoyun wasn’t quite used to it and often said he could handle things himself. But Xiao Qi would insist, saying she was being paid to do these tasks and that Yu Ruoyun shouldn’t decline her help.
“When I worked with Jiang Yu, there were even more things to do,” Xiao Qi said. “I’ve been well trained, so don’t hesitate to ask me for help.”
At the mention of Jiang Yu, Yu Ruoyun hadn’t even responded before Xiao Qi’s mood turned somber.
“The day before he left, he asked me to organize and send him the schedule for the upcoming month. I was supposed to give it to him that day, but I was having a breakup with my boyfriend and delayed it. He scolded me, saying, ‘Do you want to be an assistant all your life, running errands, or do you want to be abandoned by a man and cry at home? Block him and come back to work now.’ He always scolded me, but I thought he would always be my boss.”
“Did you and your boyfriend get back together?” Yu Ruoyun asked.
“We did,” Xiao Qi replied. “He promised never to fight with me again.”
It sounded like a happy ending. Yu Ruoyun said, “Don’t believe him. Blocking your boyfriend at every turn isn’t a good habit.”
It sounded like he was speaking from experience.
Later, Yu Ruoyun eventually got used to letting Xiao Qi handle some of the trivial matters because Jiang Yu had done the same. The difference was that Jiang Yu was much busier. For Jiang Yu, fame was a hard battle. At his busiest, he took on three films a year, working non-stop. If he had to manage his tickets, meals, and medication, it would have been exhausting.
“Teacher Yu,” Xiao Qi called. “It’s done. You can board now.”
In addition to the in-flight meals, the flight attendants offered a glass of white wine to the first-class passengers, saying they could refill it if needed. Yu Ruoyun rarely drank, but today he accepted. As the plane cruised through the clouds, his wine glass gradually emptied. Yu Ruoyun called a flight attendant to refill his glass.
As his nerves dulled and sleepiness washed over him, he realized he wouldn’t act drunk and disorderly like Jiang Yu. But maybe Jiang Yu had just pretended to be drunk, glaring with reddened, wet eyes, saying, “You’re annoying. Get away from me!” But if Yu Ruoyun stepped back, Jiang Yu would cling to him, biting his neck. The smell of alcohol and heat didn’t bother Yu Ruoyun. He would hold Jiang Yu in return.
Memories of Jiang Yu were like shattered glass that Yu Ruoyun had accidentally broken, and he didn’t know which parts he was picking up. Every time he picked up a piece, he would get cut, but he couldn’t stop.
Thus, Long Xingyu found a slightly drunk Yu Ruoyun when he returned, who went straight to the hotel to sleep upon arriving at the set.
“Let me carry the luggage.” Long Xingyu told Xiao Qi, taking the suitcase from her. “It’s heavy. Give me the room card, and I’ll help him upstairs.”
Xiao Qi stood there, holding onto one of Yu Ruoyun’s arms and refusing to move.
Long Xingyu had to stop. “What’s wrong?”
“Teacher Yu doesn’t like you,” Xiao Qi said.
She had only been back for a few days and already heard the rumors going around the set.
Long Xingyu sighed. The old Qi Yiren had never called him Teacher Jiang.
“I know. So relax. What am I going to do? Drag him upstairs, rape him first, then kill him, then I’ll stuff him into a black garbage bag and dispose of the body where no one will find it?” Long Xingyu said. “What are you afraid of? What can I possibly do to him?”
Xiao Qi thought about it and let go.
Long Xingyu snorted. “You look sleep-deprived and exhausted. I’m just trying to help you out.”
Yu Ruoyun wasn’t asleep. He was still conscious with his eyes open, but it looked sluggish. When the elevator doors closed, Yu Ruoyun said, “He threatened me like this too.”
Long Xingyu knew exactly who “he” referred to.
“He liked to talk tough,” Yu Ruoyun said. “But at most, he could only leave two types of marks: bite marks and scratches.”
The conversation took a lewd turn, but the content mocked Jiang Yu’s lack of prowess.
Long Xingyu felt displeased. “Stop talking.”
“I want to talk.” Yu Ruoyun became a bit obstinate.
“If you keep pushing Jiang Yu, I’ll strangle you,” Long Xingyu threatened the drunkard.
Yu Ruoyun laughed. “You’re nineteen this year, so if Jiang Yu had started dating in middle school and had a child, it would be possible.”
Long Xingyu nearly lost it. Why did Yu Ruoyun keep questioning Jiang Yu’s sexual orientation, even after his death, forcibly making him straight?
“Why else would you two be so alike?” Yu Ruoyun asked.
Long Xingyu refused to admit it. “How are we alike? I have a much better temper than he did.”
This was true. If Yu Ruoyun had asked before if he had a child with a woman, Long Xingyu might have really disposed of his body.
The elevator door opened. Long Xingyu dragged the suitcase and Yu Ruoyun, swiped the room card, and opened the door. He dumped Yu Ruoyun onto the bed and began to unbutton his shirt.
But Yu Ruoyun wouldn’t shut up. Maybe he really wanted Long Xingyu to strangle him. “But your bad temper makes you most like him.”
“Not bad tempered. He wasn’t bad-tempered at all,” Yu Ruoyun corrected himself. He yawned, seeming finally tired. “I should have told him earlier.”
Told him what? Long Xingyu didn’t know, because Yu Ruoyun had fallen asleep. When Long Xingyu wanted him to shut up, he wouldn’t. When Long Xingyu wanted him to talk, he stayed silent. The buttons on Yu Ruoyun’s shirt felt like red-hot stones, but Long Xingyu wouldn’t let go.
He had realized it but refused to believe it. To him, Jiang Yu was a career failure who never won awards, known for his temper, and had a strained relationship with his family. Jiang Yu had persistently pursued Yu Ruoyun for years. Of course, Yu Ruoyun would quickly forget him and start a new life with someone else.
So waking up as another person, Long Xingyu wanted to start over, to become Long Xingyu. He even thought, maybe when Yu Ruoyun remembered what Jiang Yu was like, he wouldn’t be so hung up because Jiang Yu wasn’t worth it.
Yu Ruoyun’s love was like the overly heavy Lifetime Achievement Award, suddenly dropping in front of him.
Was it because he was dead?
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