Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 32
After the twenty-ninth song [The Sound of Silence] ended, the grand theater once again fell into darkness. Across the wide circular stage, the fluorescent audience seats glowed like a river’s surface glistening under the moonlight at night, and the fans’ waving glow sticks resembled fireflies dancing by the riverbank.
“Thank you all very much for coming to my concert.” Camilla’s voice echoed from the stage. “Our time together is always short, and farewells are inevitable. Before we part, I want to sing one more song for you all.”
The melodious sound of an accordion drifted in from nowhere, like a light and nimble bird fluttering gracefully around the grand theater.
“This is a very old song, passed down from the ancient days of Earth. I dedicate this song to all of you here. No matter where you are in the future, my voice will always be with you.”
The accordion music abruptly ceased. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, then it slowly started flowing again. Dark blue lights lit up on the theater’s ceiling, and flakes of snow drifted down from the sky, tinted blue by the lights. The singer standing at the center of the stage, draped in silver brocade, shone brilliantly in the darkness, like a bright moon in the night sky.
“Moon river, wider than a mile.
I’m crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker.
Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way.
Two drifters, off to see the world.
There’s such a lot of world to see.
We’re after the same rainbow’s end.
Waitin’ ’round the bend.
My huckleberry friend.
Moon river and me.” [Note 3]
This was an a cappella song. There were no magnificent electronic accompaniments, no dazzling holographic effects—only starlike snowflakes and a silver-haired girl singing while strolling through the snow. Camilla sang the song twice, ending with a gentle hum of the melody. As she hummed, the lights gradually dimmed. First, the snowflakes stopped falling, then the blue light faded away, leaving only the silver light dancing on the singer. As the humming weakened, the silver light finally disappeared like melting snow.
There was complete silence in the darkness, lasting for several minutes. It wasn’t clear who started clapping first, but the audience, as if waking from a dream, realized that the enchanting performance had ended. Everyone joined in the applause, accompanied by cheers and whistles, and the theater’s ceiling lights came back on, revealing an empty circular stage. Camilla must have left during the brief darkness, leaving only a blue rose in the center of the stage and colorful memories in the minds of the audience.
The seats suspended in mid-air descended row by row in order, and all the doors of the theater opened, letting in a warm spring night breeze.
The staff began to guide the fans out of the theater in an orderly manner, although most people still sat in their seats, unable to extricate themselves from Camilla’s singing.
“It was truly wonderful,” Kepler said as he walked out of the theater hand in hand with Jolene. “Being able to hear the voice of the Galactic Diva with my own ears, I have no regrets in life.”
“Look at you.” Jolene covered her mouth and laughed. “You’re so old and still joining in the fun with young people. I had to spend a lot of money to get two tickets!”
“More than I did? I not only missed out on front row premium seats but also lost a ‘Bard’!” Kepler’s heart ached at the thought of the significant loss a few days ago.
“Alright, alright, it’s just a plane. You can always earn it back. I heard they’re going to launch a new model in a few years. They’ve even thought of a name, ‘Lucia of Lammermoor’…” Jolene suddenly stopped talking.
Seeing her stop, Kepler asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with Lucia?”
“Nothing.” Jolene shook her head. Just now in the crowd, she seemed to have seen a familiar figure flash by, but when she looked carefully, that person was gone. “Maybe I was mistaken.” She turned to the loan shark and smiled sweetly. “Let’s go.”
Joshua Planck piloted the Gondola back to the Lady of the Night from the Whirlpool Grand Theater, with Alois sitting beside him, sighing deeply as he held the album Camilla had given him.
“Haa, why does she have to be a man?” Alois felt deeply sad as he looked at the beautiful girl on the cover. He hugged the album to his chest, as if this could bring him closer to the diva.
Joshua didn’t respond, not bothering to correct the logical error in his words.
“But she’s right, whether she’s a man or a woman, I like her.” Alois stared at the sky, the image of the diva’s graceful figure still lingering in his eyes. “I liked her in the past, and I will in the future…”
Suddenly, a hand covered his eyes.
“Hey, stop it, Joshua,” Alois said.
“I really want to gouge your eyes out.” Joshua’s voice was so close to his ear, so low, that it could almost burst his eardrums, making Alois tremble all over.
“What for? To put them in your formalin cabinet at home?” Alois pulled away his hand and turned around. The assassin was staring at him with a subtle and complex expression.
“No.” Joshua said, “So your eyes would only see me.”
Alois was stunned. Was this a joke? It didn’t seem like it. Joshua liked to joke with him, usually to tease him. But this time, it wasn’t funny at all. He opened his mouth to ask if Joshua was feeling unwell, because the assassin had been sullen throughout the concert and had kissed him so many times (Alois was actually quite happy about that). Before he could speak, the assassin pressed a finger to his lips.
“Shh, don’t talk,” Joshua said, touching his lips. “Look at me.”
Alois felt very confused. He obediently stared back at Joshua, trying to find clues in the assassin’s expression as to why he was acting so strangely, but before he could draw any conclusions, Joshua shook his head dejectedly.
“Alois Lagrange, you’re really sly,” he said. “You say you like me, but your eyes are looking at someone else. When you look at me, your heart isn’t thinking about me.”
“I didn’t!” Alois retorted. “I definitely wasn’t thinking about Camilla just now!” As soon as he said it, he felt like he was being defensive, even though he really wasn’t thinking about Camilla just now.
“You know, your eyes look so adoring and passionate when you look at him. But when you look at me, it’s completely different.” Joshua’s voice sank. “Do you like him more than me?”
…Hey, wait. What does this mean? Is Joshua jealous? Alois blinked, suddenly feeling a surge of unnamable pleasure. Joshua is jealous, he thought. Does this mean he also has a little bit of… a little bit of affection for me?
“Why don’t you answer? Is this question hard?”
“No, no, Joshua, listen to me. It’s different.” Alois felt his cheeks start to heat up. “I’ve liked Camilla for many years, since before I met you.” He paused, observing Joshua’s reaction. The assassin’s face was expressionless, but a murderous aura could be sensed rising.
Alois smiled triumphantly. He wrapped his arm around Joshua’s shoulder and leaned closer. “But I love you.”
Close enough to feel each other’s breath, he was satisfied to see the murderous aura around Joshua dissipate immediately. “What about you, Joshua?”
The assassin’s eyes softened considerably. He awkwardly lowered his head, lifted Alois’s right hand, and pressed it to his own heart.
“Don’t look at Camilla anymore.” Joshua said, “I’ll be jealous. I…”
He cradled Alois’s head in his arms and kissed his wind-tousled black hair.
“…like you.”
The words drifted away with the wind, disappearing into the starry night sky.
But at least, Alois heard them loud and clear.
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[Note 3]: This section of lyrics is from the song [Moon River], lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
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