Author: 反舌鸟 / Mockingbird
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Editor: Eli
Chapter 44
Young people indeed had more stamina than those in middle age. The proof was that Jiang Yu was woken up by the ringing of a phone while Yu Ruoyun was still sleeping.
Who would be so unethical as to call in the middle of the night? Jiang Yu, with his eyes closed, reached out and hit the hang-up button. But not a minute later, the phone rang again.
Jiang Yu was about to go crazy. He answered the phone, “Who is it?”
“Yu Ruoyun, are you out of your mind?” an unfamiliar voice shouted angrily.
“Ahem,” Jiang Yu interrupted. “Uncle, he’s sleeping. Let me wake him.”
In the dark, Jiang Yu thought it was his own phone, which wasn’t entirely his fault. However, Yu Ruoyun’s father probably wouldn’t see it that way. “Who are you?” he asked.
Jiang Yu thought, ‘I already said he’s sleeping, so obviously, I’m the one sleeping with him.’ As he handed the phone to Yu Ruoyun, he managed to voice this sarcastic thought.
Yu Ruoyun, who had obviously heard this, gave Jiang Yu an amused look, took the phone from him, and walked out of the room while speaking. “It’s just that kid you met last time. What nonsense. I haven’t been soliciting prostitutes…”
Jiang Yu wanted to laugh, but something Yu Qiwen said made him stop.
Maybe he should go out and eavesdrop to find out what Yu Ruoyun had done, but Jiang Yu felt too tired to bother. Besides, there was no heating on the balcony, and it was freezing. He wasn’t about to step out there.
When Yu Ruoyun came back, he turned on the bedside lamp, casting light into the room, and Jiang Yu could see his silhouette clearly. Yu Ruoyun’s back looked much thinner, and his spine’s outline was prominent under his clothes.
Yu Ruoyun’s voice was low, but Yu Qiwen’s on the other end was clearly furious. Who knew what Yu Ruoyun had done to make him call and disturb their sleep at this hour? Jiang Yu shifted his position. The heater was too warm because Yu Ruoyun hadn’t come back inside yet.
“Hey,” Jiang Yu couldn’t help but shout in Yu Ruoyun’s direction. “Whatever it is, can’t it wait until daytime? Why stay out there freezing?”
Yu Ruoyun must have heard him. He paused and then came back in a moment later.
His hands were indeed cold. Jiang Yu held them, but they didn’t warm up much. Yu Ruoyun let Jiang Yu hold them and didn’t try to turn off the light and sleep.
“What are you thinking about?” Yu Ruoyun asked, then added, “What do you want to know?”
Jiang Yu hesitated for a while.
He finally spoke, “I was just thinking, if it’s something you want to do, there’s probably nothing I need to stop you from doing. Maybe except soliciting prostitutes.”
After saying this, he realized it wasn’t very funny. He continued, “But if it’s related to me, you can tell me.”
“Many things are related to you,” Yu Ruoyun replied.
Jiang Yu knew this, like the sudden investment from Xu Ye’s company and some of the resources that had come their way.
“She mentioned a few days ago,” Yu Ruoyun brought up, “why I send all those strange purchases to her address. I told her to give those awful snacks to employees she doesn’t like.”
“I think they taste terrible too,” Jiang Yu said. “It was torture filming that video.”
After a while of silence, Jiang Yu nearly forgot he was asking questions. He just stared at Yu Ruoyun’s face, almost bored enough to count his eyelashes, when he heard Yu Ruoyun speak again.
“I always dream about you. I mean, after you left. Sometimes it’s about our past, sometimes it’s new, but when I call you, you ignore me.”
“The last time, I dreamed you came to find me, saying you were leaving. After that, I stopped dreaming about you. I slowly realized you might really be dead. Then you suddenly came back. I should be relieved, but it feels like I’m not. You’re right. It’s like an adult riding a roller coaster—exciting, thrilling, but also fearing that the next moment you might fall off. It might just be a long dream.”
Yu Ruoyun’s tone was light, but Jiang Yu found it hard to listen lightly.
If this was a scar, there was a chance for it to heal, but continuing like this, it had become a mark that they both pretended not to see. To everyone outside their world, Jiang Yu had vanished.
Jiang Yu was alive; he knew that, and Yu Ruoyun knew that too. It had its value, but his physical body had vanished. There would be no new works signed “Jiang Yu”—no lead roles or supporting roles, no participation in any competition. He still had a long time ahead, and maybe he could win one, two, or even more Best Actor awards, but none would bear the name Jiang Yu. A new identity, a new life, performing on stage, filming light-hearted variety shows with teammates. He would be called another name for the rest of his life, except in front of Yu Ruoyun.
Alive, Jiang Yu understood the meaning of death.
“You can’t think like that,” Jiang Yu said, realizing how dry his throat was. “I died and got to live again, so you’ve gained. You should be singing songs of gratitude instead of asking for more. If you want my old body resurrected, go to a temple and pray. See if any gods will bother with you.”
“I don’t need gods, nor can I ask for more.” Despite experiencing such strange events, Yu Ruoyun remained a staunch atheist. “But someone has to pay for this. I have to do something because I didn’t do enough before.”
It wasn’t something Jiang Yu could simply dismiss. During their time together, they were often rushed, seeing little of each other. If Yu Ruoyun had been more attentive and asked more questions rather than assuming Jiang Yu was just throwing another tantrum, perhaps the outcome wouldn’t have changed, but at least Jiang Yu wouldn’t have been so miserable at the end.
Jiang Yu finally realized that since he asked Yu Ruoyun not to pursue the matter, Yu Ruoyun, the cunning person he was, had never agreed to it.
“What do you want to do?” Jiang Yu finally asked.
Yu Qiwen had asked the same question just a short while ago. He really didn’t understand what his son wanted to do.
“It’s hard to answer,” Yu Ruoyun said. “The key isn’t with me. Did you hear something?”
Yu Qiwen didn’t know much, only that “You’re making things difficult for intermediaries, asking me to persuade you. They say if you continue, you won’t be safe.”
He was worried something would happen to Yu Ruoyun, but Yu Ruoyun didn’t seem to care much.
“Unsafe? Then it’s unsafe.” Yu Ruoyun looked up at the night sky, seeing only a few stars twinkling. “What? Is it hard to kill me now?”
Yu Ruoyun’s attitude aggravated Yu Qiwen. “What nonsense are you talking about? Why are you acting crazy?”
“I just want to see.” Yu Ruoyun laughed lightly. “If a person can die inexplicably because of misunderstandings and subordinates acting on their own, and those with blood on their hands can settle things by dealing with a few underlings while asking for more means I’m being unreasonable. Then bring it on. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
They talked for a while longer, Yu Ruoyun speaking cryptically and asking Yu Qiwen not to worry too much. Yu Qiwen wanted to say more, but there was a noise on the other end, and Yu Ruoyun prepared to hang up. “I need to go back to sleep. Someone’s waiting for me.”
“Who is it?” Yu Qiwen couldn’t help but ask. Last time was too rushed. He forgot Yu Ruoyun’s new lover’s name.
“Long Xingyu,” Yu Ruoyun said. “He’s almost nineteen and preparing for the college entrance exam.”
Then, before hanging up, Yu Ruoyun got scolded once more for being shameless.
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