Chapter 156: You’re the White Moonlight in My Heart
Yan Yaoxuan saw Shen Jintai when he first came in. He was sitting in front of him, a row away. After the screening was over, he stood up and applauded with everyone else. He was so excited that his palms were red.
It was so fucking good! Shen Jintai’s face was too compelling on the big screen. Every subtle expression was extremely moving. He was truly a fan.
“Don’t your hands hurt?”
As the applause and drums were beating enthusiastically, the sentence suddenly floated over from next to him. Yan Yaoxuan turned his head and glanced at Shan Cheng, and found that among the group of crying audiences, only Shan Cheng looked dull and indifferent.
Is he serious?! How can he be like this for such a touching movie?!
This only motivated Yan Yaoxuan to clap more vigorously to make up for Shan Cheng’s share.
This was the first actor’s interview by the crew after the screening, so almost everyone attended, including screenwriter Song Chenchen. The host first introduced the director and screenwriter, then Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai bowed again under the applause, smiled, and said, “To be honest, when this film was first cut, Director Sun invited me to watch it. I refused. I wanted to sit with everyone and watch it be released together. At first, when Qingquan and I were sitting under the stage, my attention was on the reactions of the audience around me, but then I got hooked on the movie. When I was immersed in it, I suddenly heard Qingquan crying… Originally, I felt like I could hold it in, but hearing his cries, tears started rushing out.”
He smiled and looked at Bai Qingquan. Bai Qingquan blushed, smiled embarrassedly, took the microphone, and said, “This is the first time I have seen the film.”
His feelings were deeper and more complicated than Shen Jintai’s. The emotional outburst after the movie was over wasn’t only because he was moved by the movie itself, but because it made him reminisce about the time they spent filming it. He thought of the feelings he had invested in them while they were shooting and wasn’t able to get out of the act for a long time. This led to his low period, which resulted in his scandal.
After watching this movie, he knew that his acting career was promising again. He contributed his best performance since his debut with this movie. The big screen can’t deceive people. They could see all the passion and emotion that he had put in. For the first time, he experienced the charm of the big screen, and his heart was fully invigorated. He had never loved acting as much as in this moment.
After a short interview, everyone drove to the next city.
<When You’re Older> had officially entered their intensive publicity period.
During this period, Yan Qiuchi was busy with the affairs of the Yan group. He ate and lived in the office. Shen Jintai had asked for a few days off from the crew of <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night> so he could fly around the country to promote his movie.
The process was gradual, fermenting through word of mouth. To further promote the movie, the crew posted tidbits on the official blog. The tidbits were made with great care. At the beginning, it was completely cinematic, as if it were a trailer. Bai Qingquan suddenly rushed towards Shen Jintai and hugged him tightly. Then the staff entered the shot, and it was seen that it was a behind-the-scenes shot. In the tidbit, Bai Qingquan was hugging Shen Jintai tightly, in an emotional state, but not too intense, as he shed a few tears. Shen Jintai returned his embrace and patted him on the back, giving a faint, sad smile.
This tidbit was released to the circles, and it was hailed as the “last hug” by the Jingtai Meijing CP fans.
Shen Jintai now belonged to Yan Qiuchi, and in the future, Bai Qingquan would be with someone else as well, but at this moment, they only belonged to each other. This was Jintai Meijing’s last piece of sugar.
“I believe they really fell in love with each other when they were filming. Wuwuwu.”
“Zhou Jing and Li Xu, Luo Wensheng and Yu Nuo. Both the past and the present. Wuwuwu.”
Facts had proven that <When You’re Older> presale prediction was correct. On the first day, the box office closed at 50 million. It had made a strong breakthrough in the highly competitive time during Chinese New Year’s. The prediction for the total box office was raised to 1 billion.
“I, his mother, is crying with excitement!” The gold powders were celebrating Chinese New Year’s in advance.
“Everyone knows that actresses look at awards while actors look at the box office. My brother’s first movie was a hit, and there’s still his big blockbuster, <Pilot> hitting theaters later. The road to movies will definitely be smooth!”
“Yes, yes! I have been uneasy for the past two days, afraid that the reputation and the box office won’t be good. Now I can finally get a good night’s rest now that it can break 10*. This kind of achievement is unparalleled in my life!”
*Term for breaking 1 billion.
“Everyone keeps a low profile. Breaking 10 is just hope. It’s not too late to celebrate after breaking 10. I’m brother’s fan, but it may be too wishful thinking!”
“After filming <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>, I don’t know if my brother will consider making another TV series. I am a big fan of <The East Palace is Coming> and I still hope that my brother can make another long TV series when he has time.”
“Does the one upstairs have any ambition? If he can do movies, what kind of broken TV series will he make? Doesn’t he smell good on the big screen!”
“I also don’t think it makes much sense to make another TV drama. It is difficult to surpass The East Palace in terms of ratings and topicality. It’s better to make a good movie and be a box office superstar!”
“I think my brother’s acting skills are also very good. We can look forward to awards for <When You’re Older>, right?”
“Movie Emperor! Movie Emperor!”
“Hahahahahaha, everyone is so happy today!”
How could they not be happy? Shen Jintai was too hot after his comeback. This wasn’t just a matter of luck. He carried it and deserved it. Looking at reviews for <When You’re Older> almost all of them gave him high praises.
“Touhua does not only have a face for the big screen but the figure as well. His body is so amazing. It’s not too meaty or too thin. He’s tall and beautiful, heroic and charming, can pass as either a man or woman!”
“What kind of luck does Touhua have? After his comeback, he starred in a phenomenon-level hit TV series. The salted fish* turned over and became popular. Now he’s making a movie that’s looking to surpass 1 billion at the box office. This luck is too good!”
*(咸鱼) Buzzword for someone who’s lazy and has no ambition.
“You may have forgotten that Touhua’s emotional counterattack is better than his career. Prince Yan has already fallen under him! Touhua is a winner in life, and I’m really proud to be his fan.”
“It’s not just Touhua’s performance, but Bai Qingquan’s was also amazing. He has held on to this kind of twin performance and did not lose to Shen Jintai in several of their rival scenes.”
“Speaking of luck, he’s also lucky that this movie is considered a success and he’s able to turn over.”
Wei Ge felt that Bai Qingquan was completely worth his luck. Due to being caught too deep in the act when filming <When You’re Older>, Bai Qingquan wasn’t able to get out of his feelings from the play. Later, when the Yan Family experienced their accident, he came out to record a few shows to support Shen Jintai. The first few days were extremely rough.
The most impressive thing was that when he was recording on a variety show, the guests and host kept secretly poking at his alt account and sexual orientation. It was done so subtly that people couldn’t tell whether it was to add more heat or if they were just trying to be funny and joke around. Bai Qingquan was full of laughter and supported them during the entire show, but when he went to the toilet, he sat in a stall by himself and cried miserably.
This was always like him. Since his debut, he has been bullied, and so he would hide and cry to himself. When Wei Ge went to find him, Bai Qingquan slammed the door open and came out. His face was already calm, and his eyes were slightly moist and flushed, but he was ready to go on to record the show again, full of smiles and cheers.
Despite his sexual orientation and alt account being exposed, Bai Qingquan was even more unable to be himself. It wasn’t that he was afraid of revealing to the world his true self; after all, his alt account was already exposed, and he had nothing to hide; he just felt too ashamed. He used to be able to just be himself when he was in front of Wei Ge and the others, but now he had become more reclusive.
Perhaps he wasn’t pretending either, as these kinds of major blows can drastically change people’s hearts.
Wei Ge felt sorry for him and hoped that he could return to his usual self, at least in private, and become the unscrupulous Bai Qingquan that they all knew.
Shen Jintai also found that Bai Qingquan had become a lot calmer. He felt that he was now truly walking the fairy path that his image used to be. He was quiet and gentle, like the bright light of a white moonlight.
Ironically, the outside world no longer believed him, calling him “hypocritical”, especially since he had basically betrayed the moonlight powder.
For several days, they went on roadshows everywhere, to the point of exhaustion. On the way back to Nancheng by plane, Shen Jintai patted Bai Qingquan and said, “Let’s talk.”
Bai Qingquan said, “You still have the energy to chat.”
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “I think a lot of your fans have returned recently.”
Bai Qingquan smiled and didn’t speak. After a while, he said, “Actually, my feelings for them are very complicated now, and I am also very confused…” He sighed faintly and said, “Fans love us as they see us, but as stars, it is impossible for us to reveal our true nature. Distance can produce beauty. What they fall in love with is not the real us. Sometimes I think this love is really fleeting. Today, they love me as if I’m their favorite in the world. If I provoke them tomorrow, that can instantly turn into hate. This love and hate are so strong that it makes me feel very insecure. I think it would be better to live in peace than deal with this.”
Shen Jintai thought what he said made sense. However, if someone hated, there was also someone who loved. Even if a bunch of people hated you, as long as a few really loved you, you could make it through. He felt that Bai Qingquan needed someone to love him so that he could change back into the little cutie of the past.
“Has anyone chased you recently?” He asked Bai Qingquan.
Speaking of this, Bai Qingquan’s eyes finally lit up.
“Don’t mention it. Since I was exposed, I haven’t looked at any of my private messages on Weibo. Everything is out there on my posts, and some people have sent some nasty pictures.”
As Bai Qingquan finished speaking, he opened the photo album and showed him one of the screenshots. A man directly posted a photo of his penis with the text: [18″. Three times a night is not a problem!]
Shen Jintai whispered, “Isn’t this fucking sexual harassment?”
But these are not surprising because he had also received messages like this. Besides that, he even received many pictures of girls begging to date him despite the fact that he’s a well-known gay man.
“I have tens of thousands of private messages on Weibo now, and I have never read them.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t know that among those private messages, there was one that was more than 2,000 words long. It came from the buzz-cut senior who had once pursued him. After knowing that he also liked men, he sent this private message that was neither courting nor loving. After waiting for him for so many years, he also knew that they would no longer be a possibility.
Before planning to completely move on and start over, he sent this private message to Bai Qingquan, as if to signify an end. Bai Qingquan was now a bright moon in the sky that he could only raise his head to watch from a distance. Even so, he was satisfied with this.
The author has something to say:
This is really white moonlight in my heart.
The chapter that was originally overjoyed became so sad! Xiao Bai, fly bravely and his senior will always follow!
Kinky Thoughts:
COMMON BAI QINGQUAN’S WHITE MOONLIGHT. YOUR BAOBEI IS SUFFERING. Step your pussy up and comfort him!!!
On a different note, don’t send unsolicited dick pics. Save that for Grindr.
Both of them ignored him. Tang Jing said sarcastically, “Oh, so handsome, yet why still a single dog?”
He Yu said angrily, “How can you talk about me when you’re a single dog yourself?!”
“Excuse me, I’m not human*. I have no need to use a limited life for courtship like you, thanks!”
*Clarity: The reason why Xu Wan didn’t want to possess Tang Jing. What Tang Jing really is though won’t be revealed until much later.
He Yu pointed angrily at Dong Zhi. “Then he’s also a single dog too! Why don’t you say anything about him?!”
Dong Zhi shot him a look of innocence, indicating that he was tired.
Tang Jing said, “He is much more handsome than you, so I’ll introduce him to a girlfriend tomorrow. There are so many beautiful women in the East China Branch who would rush at this opportunity when they see him.”
“He won’t go to the East China Branch. Our General Administration Bureau has reserved a spot for him! I also want my uncle to accept him as an apprentice. He is a preparatory disciple of our Hezao Sect!”
Tang Jing sneered, “I have only heard of outer and inner disciples, and I have never heard of preparatory disciples. What’s so good about the Hezao Sect? It’s better to worship me as a teacher. I can teach him better than you!”
He looked at Dong Zhi and smiled sweetly. “How about it? Do you want to worship me as a teacher? As you saw just now, even the Hezao Sect has to rely on me to save the day!”
If He Yu hadn’t been lying on the ground, completely drained, he would have jumped to his feet by now. “Don’t!”
Under the gaze of the two of them, Dong Zhi felt immense pressure. “I have already promised He Yu…”
He Yu laughed but was choked by his cough.
“Cough, cough… let me just say that our Xiao Dong Zhi is not such a wishy-washy person!”
Dong Zhi knew that Tang Jing didn’t mean it when he said he’d accept him as a disciple and only said it due to his argument with He Yu. Taking advantage of the truce between the two, he hurriedly said, “Zhang Chong has fainted!”
Tang Jing walked over to check on him and said, in disgust, “He’s fine. Maybe a concussion. This Mount Longhu generation isn’t as good as the previous. Is this the kind of talent they have now? Don’t bother mentioning upper demons; he couldn’t even take on a Sneaky Yaksha!”
He Yu coughed. “He was kicked out of the mountain because he wasn’t proficient enough and had too high ambitions. I have met the leader of Mount Longhu. His name is Zhang Heng, and his patient is as good as mine.”
He took out a black porcelain vase from his body, opened the stopper, and sat up cross-legged while positioning both hands in preparation to chant a mantra.
“Cheng Hui, a disciple of Mount Hezao, return to his soul quickly!”
“Cheng Hui, a disciple of Mount Hezao, return to his soul quickly!”
When he chanted it for the fifth time, Dong Zhi saw a translucent figure floating over in a trance, and it quickly disappeared into the bottle. He Yu quickly took out a talisman, attached it to the bottle, and wrapped it up.
“I want to take Xiao Dong Zhi back to the school and then let master and the others return Cheng Hui’s soul.” He Yu said.
Tang Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “What about finishing up the work here?”
He Yu: “Ah, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest! Ah, I’m fainting!”
After speaking, he really closed his eyes and fell to the ground.
Tang Jing, Dong Zhi: …
Dong Zhi stepped forward to check. He raised his eyelids and shook him a couple times, then said to Tang Jing: “…It seems like he really fainted.”
The corner of Tang Jing’s mouth twitched, and he suddenly came over. He tore the hems of He Yu’s jacket open and pressed his hand on the torn holes.
Dong Zhi said in horror, “What are you doing?!”
Tang Jing messed with He Yu’s making him look like an exhibitionist that’s stripping off his clothes, then raised his phone high, leaned in, used his right hand to pinch his chin, raised his head forty-five degrees and made a pouty expression before taking a shot.
Dong Zhi: …You really are too much.
Tang Jing took several photos in a row before stopping contentedly. “Getting some proof, lest he say he doesn’t remember owing me a favor.”
Seeing Dong Zhi’s speechless face, he touched his head and said, “Don’t pick up bad habits from him. If the Hezao Sect refuses to accept you, you can come find me in Shanghai!”
Though Tang Jing said he was a man, from the way he dressed to his voice, one could not tell. Dong Zhi was embarrassed when his head was patted but was too shy to avoid it.
“Thank you, Tang Ge.”
He Yu rolled his eyes quietly while lying next to him.
How old is this ancient monster? Pretending to be warm and tender, barf!
Dong Zhi didn’t want to recall how they finally moved He Yu and Zhang Chong to the hospital. Because of all the commotion from the battle, they were discovered by security guards who almost called the police. Thankfully, Tang Jing used an illusion spell to confuse them, and the group was able to leave without any issues.
Though He Yu seems to have the strength to bicker with Tang Jing, in all seriousness, his injuries were much more severe than Zhang Chong’s, who was covered in blood. He had multiple visceral injuries and soft tissue contusions on his body that almost made the doctor transfer him to the intensive care unit.
Dong Zhi fared better. Besides the multiple abrasions, there were no other major problems.
The battle on top of Tianyun Building raised too much clamor. At the beginning, He Yu was able to isolate the noise due to an enchantment, but it later couldn’t hide the lightning and thunder and whirlpool in the sky that it was hard not to attract the attention of ordinary people. In addition, the roof of Tianyuan Building collapsed, and some floors and walls were damaged. Though it wasn’t substantial damage and could be attributed to a natural disaster, the activity was so great that within a few days, gossip was everywhere about how Tianyuan Building was haunted by demons and ghosts.
There was only Lin Jun left in the Guangzhou office, who proved to be quite useless. Tang Jing had to run around like a headless chicken, dealing with all types of affairs. Not only did he have to report to the boss, but he also had to communicate with his several departments to eliminate the adverse effects of their battle. He was so busy that he filed a solemn protest with the General Administration Bureau in anger, saying that if they didn’t send more people to the station in Guangzhou, he would resolutely not clean up any mess in the future.
Much later in time, when Dong Zhi had become an important member of the Special Administration Bureau and passed through Guangzhou on a business trip, he discovered that Tang Jing’s protest was not entirely ineffective. The office there had been upgraded to a branch under the jurisdiction of the East China Branch, and the personnel had also undergone earth-shattering changes.
These, though, are afterthoughts for a future time.
Ten days later, He Yu’s injuries were slightly better, so he took the Dong Zhi and Cheng Hui on a journey to Mount Hezao. Though his injuries were not fully healed, He Yu didn’t want to drag things out further since Chen Hui urgently needed to be reunited with his remnant soul. The longer it takes, the weaker the yang of the soul and the more unfavorable it will be for Cheng Hui.
When they arrived at the foot of Mount Hezao, He Yu’s phone rang. Dong Zhi caught from a glance that his originally careless posture had suddenly straightened unconsciously.
He Yu said, “The boss wants to make a video call with us? Wait!”
He quickly messed up his hair, unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt, and slapped himself a few times.
Dong Zhi: ???!!!
He Yu came over to pull on Dong Zhi’s clothes. Dong Zhi quickly stretched out his hand to block his attack.
“What are you doing?!”
He Yu said seriously, “Sell misery! If we don’t make ourselves look worse, how can we make the boss sympathize with us, so he’ll give us more bonuses!”
Dong Zhi looked incredulous and refused. “I don’t want to!”
He was eager to make a good impression on the other party, so he wouldn’t get stuck during the interview exam. How could he self-depreciate himself now!
He Yu aggrievedly said, “Why, don’t you love me anymore?”
Dong Zhi pushed him away with a cold face. “I have never loved you, thanks.”
He pressed the answer button on the video call smoothly. Long Shen’s frowning face appeared on the screen.
“Why did it take so long to pick it up?”
“I didn’t hear it just now!” He Yu changed his face in a flash, now all flattering and smiling. “If you need something, please tell me!”
Such a kiss ass*! Covering his face, Dong Zhi was too embarrassed that he couldn’t bear witness to this.
*Too dog-legged (好狗腿) Dog-legs is a metaphor for to flatter/flattery.
Long Shen: “Where are you now? Is it convenient for you to speak?”
He Yu: “It’s most convenient. I took Xiao Dong Zhi back to my school. We have just passed the Hezao barrier, but I haven’t reached the mountain gate yet. There are only insects around within a ten-mile radius.”
He also deliberately pointed the phone screen at the scenery behind him and scanned it around to show that he wasn’t lying.
Even if it wasn’t peak tourist season now, there would still be some tourists around Hezao Mountain. However, after they got off the bus at the foot of the mountain, He Yu, being familiar with the area, led Dong Zhi and Cheng Hui on an off-the-beaten path. After passing through a forest on the side of the road, the rugged path disappeared, replaced by a neatly paved granite road.
As they walked up, the towering mountain gate looked as if it was floating on a cloud. The mountains in the area were covered by clouds and it was misty and smokey. The scenery was completely different from the lively tourist spots that are crowded with people. Here, only the sounds of birds chirping, and insects buzzing could be heard; a perfect spot for cultivation.
“Is everything in Guangzhou taken care of?” Long Shen asked.
“Yes!” He Yu answered confidently, feeling no guilt as he shamelessly passed the buck to Tang Jing. “Boss, where are you now? Why does it look as if there’s sand behind you?”
Long Shen said succinctly, “The desert to the west of Inner Mongolia. If you are okay after, go back as soon as possible.”
He Yu: “What’s wrong?”
Long Shen: “The matter of the boundary marker has become clear.”
He Yu was surprised. “So fast? Is it really related to the bone dragon?”
Long Shen said, “It has nothing to do with the bone dragons, stone tablets, or demons. Didn’t Tang Jing tell you?”
He Yu said, “Tang Jing only said that Xu Wan is a demon, but he didn’t say much else.”
The matter is of great importance, so it was rare that Long Shen spoke so much. “This is the former site of Yanjun Division in Heishui Town during the Western Xia Dynasty. Chaosheng and I found some stone wall symbols similar to the talisman on the boundary marker, but they are slightly different and mixed with Western Xia texts. You need to go back and find an expert to decipher them. Chaosheng will send you the photos later. Show them to your elders.”
After he finished speaking, he turned the camera around. Dong Zhi leaned over to look and saw that at the end of the other screen was Long Shen in a cave.
On the stone wall behind him were dense engravings of symbols and text, most of which had been erased by the years. Some of the remaining symbols were indeed similar to the ones seen on the stone tablet they found on Changbai Mountain.
Long Shen’s voice came through. “Did you see it?”
He Yu hurriedly said, “Yes!”
Long Shen: “These symbols are too scattered, so Chaosheng can’t capture them all in one picture. I’ll pick some out and send them to you later.”
After he said that, he suddenly asked, “Is Dong Zhi there?”
Dong Zhi didn’t think Long Shen would mention him, so he was caught off-guard. He hurriedly said, “I’m here!”
Long Shen nodded to him, his cold expression softening slightly. “I heard from Tang Jing. You did well this time.”
Dong Zhi didn’t expect Tang Jing, who he had met only once, to put in a good word for you. He blushed and quickly replied, “Tang Ge is just flattering me. He did most of the work. I didn’t do much to help…”
Long Shen smiled slightly. It was only for a short moment, but it was captured by Dong Zhi. He suddenly realized that there are people in this world who can wipe away the dust from one’s heart with just a smile. The hardships he experienced and the anxiety and panic he felt when facing demons were all turned into shreds and were scattered away by the wind at this very moment.
He felt that his heart had been soothed and was rejuvenated. This is the pursuit of a top-tier dog.
“No, no! Tang Jing didn’t do all the work. Dong Zhi really helped a lot. Without him, we would probably be out of commission!”
He Yu didn’t know what humility meant since he was a child. He hurriedly pushed Dong Zhi away, beat a snake with the stick*, and put on his goofy smile. “Boss, that demon was really difficult to deal with. It almost wiped out our entire group had it not been for Dong Zhi’s great contribution. Let’s not talk about going through the back door, but shouldn’t we give out some bonuses or something? Look, look! This is the doctor’s diagnosis I brought!”
*(打蛇随棍上) Refers to seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it to strive for greater benefits.
Dong Zhi wanted to refuse, but suddenly saw He Yu reach into his Rilakkuma backpack and pull out medical and reimbursement forms. Seeing such a scene made the corner of Dong Zhi’s eye twitch. Being sharp-eyed, he saw that the forms not only included He Yu’s but also his and Zhang Chong’s, which were sandwiched in the middle, making the stack of forms look thicker.
Long Shen’s face had an expression that was saying: ‘Please start your performance.’
He Yu said, “Boss, the paw that was slapped by the bone dragon in Changbai Mountain is still hurting from time to time, yet I still ran all the way to Guangzhou to catch demons. You know, people often secretly say bad things about you, like how cold-hearted you are, but I try my best to clear up your image every time. Do you have the heart to hurt such a young and helpless person like me…”
Long Shen: “Are you finished?” The blue veins on his forehead twitched slightly, indicating that the deputy director was about to reach his limit of patience.
He Yu immediately used his hand to zip up his mouth. “Done!”
Long Shen: “Combined with your performance for these two occasions, your merits and demerits are equal. Your next month’s salary will be paid as usual, and this year’s annual leave will also be granted as usual.”
He Yu: “Thank you, boss! Boss, you are really the best person in the world. Ah no, the best in the…”
Long Shen disconnected.
He Yu was elated for a while, then suddenly felt something was wrong. “Why do I feel as if my left hand is out, and my right hand is in*? Isn’t the salary and vacation originally mine in the first place?”
*This is referring to left in right out (左进右出). In Taoist culture, the left is referred to as the clean hand, while the right is the filthy hand. This extends to wearing jewelry, where wearing things on your left brings fortune and on your right brings misfortune. || He Yu flipped the saying so that it means instead of left hand in, it’s right hand in, signifying that he basically encountered misfortune (he got duped by Long Shen).
Dong Zhi: …Congratulations, young man. You are not entirely stupid yet.
“Can you give me Boss Long’s phone number?”
He Yu said with surprise, “What do you want it for?”
Dong Zhi said, “The last time we strayed into the enchantment at Liuhua Bridge, didn’t Boss Long save us? I want to thank him personally and invite him to dinner or something, otherwise it’ll be too shameful…”
He Yu suddenly said, “I see! Could it be that you…” He showed a knowing expression as a grin appeared on his face.
Dong Zhi: …
“You want to take the opportunity to get closer so you can go through the backdoor when we recruit in the future, right?”
Hearing his words, Dong Zhi was taken back.
Seeing Dong Zhi look at him with such a face full of weakness, he couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m just teasing. I know you’re not that kind of person. Lighten up!”
He wrote down the number and gave it to Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi asked: “Don’t you need to seek permission from Boss Long first?”
“It’s fine. I’ll send a message to the boss.”
He took Dong Zhi’s phone and sent a friend’s request to Long Shen. The note attached was: [Boss Long, this is Li Han’er.]
Dong Zhi was baffled. “??? Who’s Li Han’er?!”
“The daughter of Li Rui, a consultant in our bureau. She’s very beautiful. Li Rui was born on Mount Longhu, so it’s rumored that Li Han’er also studied on Mount Longhu since she was a child. Now in the East China branch, she’s pursued by a bunch of mad bees and butterflies*, but she only has eyes for our boss.”
*Refers to a large group of admirers. Often use derogatorily.
Knowing the other party was a typical straight guy, the girl He Yu was describing was probably a white, rich, and beautiful* person.
*The term is [bai fumei] (白富美) Buzzword referring to a woman with fair complexion, strong economic strength, with a beautiful appearance and has a good figure and temperament.
“Then does Boss Long like her as well?”
He Yu shrugged. “I don’t know, so I’m trying to find out. If he’s willing to add her as a friend, doesn’t that mean that fate has already been written*? I made a bet with Kan Chaosheng and whoever loses will have to treat the other to dinner for a month.”
*Refers to Bazi without a stroke/Fate has not been written yet (八字还没一撇) Metaphor referring to things that are not clear yet. || In this context, He Yu is saying that fate has already been decided, meaning Long Shen and Li Han’er will get together, assuming that Long Shen adds her as a friend.
Black lines appeared on Dong Zhi as he silently thought, ‘You sure have a lot of courage to fool around with your immediate boss like this.’
After a while, the friend request was rejected. Reason for refusal: [He Yu’s annual leave is denied.]
Dong Zhi, He Yu: …
He Yu shouted crazily, “Impossible! He doesn’t have clairvoyance! How did he know it was me?!”
The corners of Dong Zhi’s mouth twitched. “Maybe it was Kan Chaosheng who sold you out.”
He Yu made a post at lightspeed in their internal social group chat that was a roaring expression of Ma Jingtao, then attached the text: [Kan Chaosheng!!!!!!!!!!]
The string of exclamation marks couldn’t reflect the amount of inner anger he had.
Kan Chaosheng quickly replied in the group: [?]
He Yu: [Private chat!]
Kan Chaosheng: [No way. If you dare say it, do it in front of everyone, or did you do something bad behind the boss’ back?]
He Yu: (indifferent face.jpg) [Oh, I won’t tell the boss about the bad things you did, like hiding in his office while he was away eating snacks.]
Kan Chaosheng: [Private chat!]
He Yu: [Hehe.]
In the next second, Kan Chaosheng sent He Yu a private chat with a red envelope. He Yu clicked on it and got 66 yuan. He reluctantly accepted it and asked in a private chat: [Did you tell the boss about the bet I made with you regarding Li Han’er?!]
Kan Chaosheng: […]
He Yu: [What does the ellipsis mean? Answer me quickly!]
Kan Chaosheng: [Last time when the boss passed by, he happened to see me texting you. I accidentally leaked it. You can’t blame me.]
He Yu: [I knew your mouth was bigger than a hippo!]
Just as He Yu gritted his teeth while bickering with Kan Chaosheng, Dong Zhi had sent out a friend request to Long Shen again. This time he wrote: [I’m sorry, Boss Long. This is Dong Zhi. What happened just now was a prank.]
After sending it, he began to wait anxiously for a reply. The fatigue he felt from climbing the mountain was completely transferred to his attention on his phone. Every so often, he would take out his phone and look at it.
He Yu was too busy arguing with Kan Chaosheng on WeChat that he didn’t pay any attention to Dong Zhi. After a while, with no reply from Long Shen, Dong Zhi started to let his imagination run wild.
The most normal situation should be that Long Shen was busy and had no time to look at his messages. It was also possible that he had already seen it and decided to ignore it while snorting inwardly thinking something like, ‘He Yu, you still want to cheat me?!’ or ‘This Dong Zhi is just an ordinary person, yet he dares want to get closer to…’ An image he conjured of Long Shen acting like a domineering president who was smiling at the phone as he said, “Little fairy, just because you want to be friends with this president…” He suddenly felt that the plot was heading in a bad direction.
No, no, Boss Long shouldn’t be like this! How terrible!
While lost in his thoughts, he looked down at his phone and saw a prompt on the screen.
[Long Shen has accepted your friend request.]
Dong Zhi: ?!
His heart was about to fly. He quickly clicked on it and confirmed that it was really the chat interface between friends.
What should my first message say? Hello is bland. Boss Long is so busy that he’ll probably won’t even reply. Should he just get straight to the point and say that he wanted to invite him out to dinner? No, no. That’s too straightforward, and what if he gets rejected?
Dong Zhi’s mood was like that of a fan who just finally added their male god’s WeChat but didn’t know how to start communicating with said male god. After much hesitation, he finally wrote: [Hello, Boss Long. Thank you very much for saving my life when I was in Yancheng. I wonder if I can invite you to dinner. It would be such an honor. (*^__^*)]
It should be fine to add an expression at the end, right?
Dong Zhi deleted some parts and reduced others, and finally sent the message out. After thinking about it, he added: [If you’re busy, no need to reply. I wish you good health and smooth work! O(∩_∩)O]
When he sent the second message out, he felt a bit of regret, thinking that Long Shen probably wouldn’t reply. Being able to be friends with his idol was already the highest pursuit any fan could hope for, so he really couldn’t expect more.
It seems that God had heard his tangled heart and was extremely impatient to grant him his wish. When he and He Yu arrived at their destination, Dong Zhi received a response.
[Ok]
It was a simple, single word, without punctuation, let alone any accompanying expression, but it was enough to make Dong Zhi fly from the bottom of the valley to the sky.
Oh my god, the male god replied to me!
He immediately replied: [Thank you, male God! I’ll treat you to dinner as soon as I return to Beijing!]
After sending it out, Dong Zhi realized that he originally wanted to type “Boss Long”, but his fingers were faster than his brain and instead he typed “male God”. He was instantly horrified.
Despite that, Long Shen no longer replied. He was most likely surveying stone monuments in the desert and was too busy with other important matters to care. It wasn’t easy to give him a response, so Dong Zhi put his phone away in content as he was filled with bliss.
After He Yu finished his argument with Kan Chaosheng, he turned his head and saw Dong Zhi walking briskly and in high spirits, so he said suspiciously, “Aren’t you tired?”
Dong Zhi turned his head and flashed him a wide grin. “When I think of working hard and striving to be your colleague, it fills my heart with motivation!”
He Yu: …
Kinky Thoughts:
I love the interaction between He Yu and Kan Chaosheng.
After knocking on the door for a while, just as his anxiety was intensifying, he suddenly heard a lot of movement coming from the other end of the door, then the iron gate slowly opened. An unkempt young man, who looked as if he hadn’t completely woken up yet and smelled like instant noodles, stuck his head out.
Was this the wrong place?
Dong Zhi felt suspicious. He said, “Hello, He Yu asked me to come. Do you know him?”
“What happened?” The young man blinked and said slowly, “Senior Brother He from the General Administration Bureau?”
“Yes, that’s him. A demon has appeared in Tianyuan Building and he asked me to come to report and for help!” Dong Zhi said anxiously.
The young man looked horrified. “Demon? Is it the one Lin Jun said before?”
Dong Zhi nodded and said, “Yes. I’m the only person on He Yu’s side right now. I’m afraid I can’t handle it alone. Come with me quickly!”
The other party became excited as he rubbed his hands together and said, “Great. It’s finally my turn to do a big job. Wait a bit. I’ll go and get a few things!”
He became full of energy, turned around and disappeared behind the door. Dong Zhi followed him in. The inside was lit up with incandescent lamps that made the area extremely bright, revealing a few tables in the middle as the rest of the room was a mess. It felt as if he was standing in the middle of a garbage dump and couldn’t bear to look at it.
The young man rummaged through the boxes as if he didn’t know what he was trying to find and introduced himself, “My name is Zhang Chong. I was born at the foot of Mount Longhu. What is Taoist brother’s name?”
“Dong Zhi, as in the solar term for the Winter Solstice!” Seeing him slowly acting, Dong Zhi became angry and rushed him. “Brother, hurry up. He Yu is still waiting, and that demon is very difficult to deal with!”
“What’s the rush? It’s not like the sky is falling!” Zhang Chong grumbled.
Dong Zhi suddenly remembered what He Yu requested and asked, “Do you have a magic weapon made with five-baht coins?”
Zhang Chong said strangely, “Five-baht? No, I have a brass sword, which was given to me by the elders of my school. Did you want to broaden your horizon?”
Seeing as how his expression was too serious, Zhang Chong replied seriously, “I really don’t. Lin Jun and I are the only two people in this place, and he doesn’t use swords.”
Dong Zhi: “Haven’t it been used before? He Yu specifically asked me for this magic weapon!”
Zhang Chong smiled and gave him a look that said, ‘You look smart, but why do you act like a fool’. “The magic weapon is carried on you. Who would leave something like that to others and wait for them to bring it? Senior Brother He has never been here before so how would he know that there’s a five-baht sword here?”
That’s right. He Yu was an expert, so it was impossible for him to say such a stupid thing. He had asked him to set out on this trip all the way out here, knowing that it would take him at least three hours…
Dong Zhi came to this realization, and his heart thumped.
He did it on purpose!
“He’s in danger! Hurry up and come with me!” Regardless of his reasons*, Dong Zhi stepped forward and dragged Zhang Chong and ran out.
*Regardless of the 3-7-21 (不管三七二十一) Idiom meaning, regardless of everything/regardless of the reason.
Zhang Chong was still dawdling. “Wait! There’s also a copper bell. I’ll take it too!”
“It’s too late!” Dong Zhi roared. “He lied to me about there being a magic weapon here. He knew that the demon would be extremely dangerous and deliberately misled me, so I wouldn’t get hurt! That monster killed many people, and Lao He was just recently injured again. He won’t last long!”
Zhang Chong was stunned and finally let himself be dragged out without resistance. The driver had been waiting impatiently for a long time. He wanted to leave, but he felt it would be a waste if he left with an empty car for the trip back, and he couldn’t bear to lose the cost, so he struggled inwardly. When he saw Dong Zhi coming back out, he instantly cheered up. He heard the words “Tianyuan Building” and immediately stepped on the gas, and the car sped off.
I hope I can make it in time!
Don Zhi was anxious as he secretly prayed.
It was past midnight when the two arrived at the Tianyuan Building. Eager to help He Yu, he took out a few hundred-yuan bills and stuffed them into the driver’s hand. Without waiting for the other to give change, he quickly rushed to the top floor with Zhang Chong.
Tianyun Building has more than 90 floors and was counted as one of the two tallest buildings in the region. There was no elevator to the rooftop, so the two could only go up to the 98th floor and then climb the stairs.
When they finally reached the door to the rooftop, Dong Zhi found that it can’t be open.
“There’s no lock, so why won’t it open?!”
“There should be a barrier set up. Look!” Zhang Chong said. He took out three sticks of incense from his backpack, lit them with a lighter, pinched them between his two fingers, and skillfully raised his hand to his forehead.
Dong Zhi looked at him nervously as his heart accelerated. He saw Zhang Chong close his eyes and spoke aloud. “Spirit of Sanqing*, the emperor of above, Mount Longhu disciple Zhang Chong invites the quartet…”
*Refers to Sanqing Hall where 3 solemn deities are enshrined. They are the highest gods of Taoism: Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tiazun, and Daode Tiazun.
Before he could finish his chant, a gust of wind blew by, and the burnt parts of the incense all fell off. The smoke and smell dissipated, leaving Zhang Chong dumbfounded.
Dong Zhi: …
“What now?!” Dong Zhi asked frantically.
“I’ll try again!” Zhang Chong nervously answered.
Dong Zhi finally knew why He Yu looked down on the people in the Guangzhou office. Although Zhang Chong came from a famous family, he was most likely thrown out by his teacher because of his poor academic skills.
“Your brass sword… Tear open the barrier…”
The voice faintly echoed as another dreary wind blew by.
“Who!” Zhang Chong drew his sword and held it close to his chest, looking around vigilantly.
“I am… Cheng Hui…” His voice was soft and intermittent. It didn’t sound like he was deliberately trying to scare them, but he was weak.
Zhang Chong was at a loss as he didn’t know who Cheng Hui was, but Dong Zhi, on the other hand, was overjoyed. “Is it really you, Cheng Hui? Did He Yu recused you? Is he on the rooftop now? We have to save him!”
Cheng Hui: “Open the door…sword…and talisman…”
Dong Zhi asked anxiously, “Is the sword Zhang Chong’s sword? What talisman?!”
Cheng Hui: “Sunlight ta…”
Zhang Chong slapped his forehead abruptly and yelled, “I see! Use the bagua gang method* to match the wind, but the sunlight talisman belongs to the Hezao sect. I don’t know it!”
*Bagua is known as the 8 trigrams. Taoist spell that’s require when fasting, drawing talismans, practicing methods, and channeling spirits. See lore for more details.
Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “I do! I’ll cooperate with you. What should I do?”
Still holding the sword closely to his chest, Zhang Chong said, “Look at me and match my movements. It’s best if we do it together since I’m afraid my magic technique may not be powerful enough!”
Dong Zhi was full of confusion, but at this point he bit the bullet and nodded. “Got it!”
Zhang Chong muttered words in his mouth, and when he uttered “edict”, the brass sword in his hand pointed to the door as Dong Zhi held the sunlight talisman he had prepared and matched the magic formula handprint according to what He Yu had taught before.
“The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!”
A flash of red light appeared on the sword before it flew out. Matching its movement, Dong Zhi also slammed the talisman on the door. With a bang, the door opened abruptly, and the wind swept in! The two of them subconsciously lowered their bodies and stuck to the wall tightly.
Light shined brightly on the rooftop, showing Xu Wan standing in the middle, like a highly anticipated centerpiece. He Yu was beaten severely as he fell to the ground in an embarrassing state.
“There are two more, but unfortunately you’re not what I want.” Xu Wan’s gaze turned to Dong Zhi and Zhang Chong as she said with a smile, then she turned her gaze back to He Yu.
“How wonderful.”
Listening to her gentle and soft tone, those who were ignorant would’ve thought she had some ambiguous intention with He Yu. Xu Wan was wearing a fiery red dress. Her waist-length hair danced wildly in the wind, and her movements were graceful. Except for her bloodshot eyes, she didn’t look like a demon who had killed countless.
“I fucking told you not to come and you still came!” He Yu panted and yelled at Dong Zhi. He was in a sorry state as his chest and arms were bleeding. He made a gesture with one hand behind his back.
Dong Zhi quietly held the talisman in his pocket.
Zhang Chong raised his sword and shouted, “Evil! I’ll capture you in this instance!” With that, he dashed towards her, but before he even touched the corner of Xu Wan’s clothes, the latter raised her hand and, with a wave, Zhang Chong’s entire body overturned and the brass sword in his hand fell to the ground.
Dong Zhi and He Yu: …
Zhang Chong, who prided himself, couldn’t believe that he was taken down by the enemy with a single move. He looked at his empty hands with a dull expression.
“Are all those old guys dead that they sent trash for me to deal with?!” Xu Wan snorted coldly, stretched out her five fingers, and the wind and mist all around her suddenly condensed in her palm. She instantly let go and it rushed towards Zhang Chong, who was still on the ground.
“Get out of the way!” He Yu yelled loudly.
Zhang Chong’s reaction was not slow, as he rolled to the side. In the next second, the violent wind carried the mist where he had initially fallen and left five deep marks on the cement floor, making it look as if it had been scratched by the claws of a beast.
Zhang Chong thought the demon was targeting him. He crawled towards the brass sword and picked it up. He started reciting the Five Thunder* Mantra, wanting to ask thunder from above to destroy this demon. Despite chanting for a long time, the color of the night sky did not change, and he didn’t know whether it was because he wasn’t proficient enough or if this evil was too powerful.
*(五雷轰) Idiom that describes how people will be punished by God in various forms after they have done bad things. In Taoism, it’s basically summoning the thunder/lightning of the heavens (keep this in mind for later).
He wanted to desperately prove that his school was wrong, and that he was indeed a man of great ambition and talent. When he was driven down the mountain, he vowed to make a career out of himself to impress the elders of the school. He was extremely dissatisfied with being placed in a casual position in Guangzhou, but the fact was that this position was extremely suitable for him. He was a disciple from a younger generation, from the same Taoist lineage, but was not comparable to even one of He Yu’s fingers.
Among all the people present, the only one who can contend with demons is He Yu, and said person was still injured. Xu Wan’s goal was always to stop He Yu from the very beginning.
Zhang Chong felt that his dignity had been insulted. He shouted loudly, used his hand to pinch a magic technique, and rushed towards Xu Wan, who was fighting He Yu. Suddenly, the sound of paper being torn was amplified, and the brass sword tore a break in the periphery of the violent wind!
Zhang Chong was overjoyed. He clenched his long sword, recited an exorcism mantra loudly, and raised his sword to stab Xu Wan in the back.
Meanwhile, Dong Zhi walked quietly around the rooftop, hiding in the shadows that weren’t illuminated by the light. With Xu Wan at the center, he was quietly setting up a bagua array. This was the formation method that assisted Long Shen in subduing the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain. After the fierce battle, He Yu had adjusted and taught him better, so his proficiency had increased.
One hand held a small compass to determine the direction, while the other hand held the talisman that set the heavens and earth. This time, the bagua array would be more effective than before. In the future, if he could excel, he would name this formation the Dong Zhi Yin-Yang Bagua Array. Or was it better to say Dong Zhi’s Invincible Bagua Array?
At this moment, He Yu spat out a mouthful of blood and sprayed it on a talisman, causing the clouds to move from all directions towards Tianyuan Building. Muffled thunder could be heard from afar. Dong Zhi was startled by the sound and hurriedly pulled his distracted mind back as he continued to lay a talisman in the direction pointed by the magnetic needle on the compass, then rushed to the next location.
Facing the thunder overhead, Xu Wan turned a blind eye and sneered, “It’s not even the five thunders from the heavens. What can you do with so little dry thunder?! It seems that this little brother is really out of strength, so it’s best to just give me your body and obey me obediently!”
With a wave from her right hand, Zhang Chong, who was about to get close behind her, was thrown away again, his head directly hitting the wall. He collapsed onto the ground, blood covering his entire face, his fate unknown.
“While this body isn’t difficult to use, I still prefer a practitioner with plenty of blood like you!”
Xu Wan smiled as she waved her hands. Wind surged in all directions, creating an invisible barrier that blocked the thunder and lightning that struck from above. Purple lightning slid along the side of the barrier and dashed towards Dong Zhi.
“Get out of the way!”
Dong Zhi was busy arranging the talisman array against the howls of the violent wind. His ears had become accustomed to the rumbling of the thunder, so he didn’t expect that lightning was about to strike right at him. When he noticed something was wrong, alongside with He Yu’s shout, Dong Zhi raised his head, and his eyes were almost blinded by the electric light.
Avoid it!
Was the only thought that came into his mind, but his body’s response was half a beat slower than his mind. He was about to be split into charcoal as a white line entered his sight. More precisely, it was a white light that separated him from the lightning.
The lightning was shattered by a piece of white silk*. Dong Zhi felt force as something wrapped around his waist and, with a strong force, pulled him aside! He fell heavily to the ground. His nose smelt the scent of something burnt, and his palms scraped against the ground, causing him to wince from the burning pain, but at least he managed to live.
*[Bai ling] (白绫) A kind of cloth usually made with silk. It’s sometimes used as a weapon, like the silk in this scene from House of Flying Daggers.
Someone had saved him at the critical moment! Dong Zhi looked towards the source of the white silk and saw a woman in ancient costume falling in front of him. With ribbons fluttering and white attire like an immortal, she looked like a divine being descending from the nine heavens. The sight was graceful, gorgeous, and dazzling.
In the next moment, the fairy lightly opened her lips.
“He Yu, do you want to die?! You think just because you’re the leader of the Hezao Sect you dare come alone to fight a demon? You even dragged in normal people! If laozi hadn’t arrived in time, you would’ve been wiped out by now!”
Dong Zhi: …
His reverie for fairies was instantly crushed.
He Yu was familiar with the newcomer as he immediately retorted to her words, “If you came earlier, how would I be in this kind of state! It’s your fault!”
As He Yu spoke, Dong Zhi saw him pointing his fingers slightly towards his side, and he immediately reacted, quietly moving his body in the direction of where the last talisman should be placed.
Xu Wan narrowed her eyes to look at the woman in costume, and then shook her head after a while. “Having only the appearance but not the essence1, with flesh of gold and bones of iron2… Useless, I don’t want this type3.”
1The original idiom is empty table/emptiness has its own appearance [kong you qi biao] (空有其表) which refers to its not real/on the surface it’s good-looking in appearance but in fact it’s not. 2The original idiom is copper bars and iron bones [tong jin tie gu] (铜筋铁骨) Metaphor for a very strong body. Also, could refers to a person who can bear heavy responsibility. From Journey to the West. 3Clarity: Xu Wan is changing a few words in the idioms. She changed (铜筋铁骨) to (金筋铁骨) which now replaces copper with gold. Combined with the first idiom, this would be basically her saying along the lines of “All you have is appearance.” There’s a reason why Xu Wan is saying this specifically to this person, but to avoid spoilers, I won’t put it in (because that reason isn’t revealed until much, much later, but keep this in mind).
The woman sneered. “Don’t you feel ashamed for a great demon like you to hide in a mortal’s body?”
“Shame is a human conception, but that doesn’t apply to someone who’s not human, such as I. Besides, no matter how human you try to act, you’re not human either!” Xu Wan smiled strangely, and her voice didn’t seem to be coming from her body.
She raised her hand and pointed to He Yu. “I don’t want you. Leave that man behind and you can go!”
The woman in costume noticed that when the other party was talking, her other hand was slowly curled up, her white fingers became bruised, and a thick black mist started to condense, forming around her palm.
Villains die by talking too much, but Xu Wan was not a gossiper. It seems that she needed time to gather magic, so she deliberately stalled for time!
The woman no longer hesitated. She took out a mirror from her sleeves and put it in front of her. The thunder and lightning continued to strike above her head, but they were all absorbed by the mirror. The mirror shook, then suddenly turned into a golden light as it soared into the sky!
On the other side, Dong Zhi was facing the fierce wind as he crawled forward with great difficulty, exhausting all his strength to place the last talisman in place!
The Sunlight Bagua Talisman Array was completed!
Looking in the distance, he didn’t know when, but He Yu was holding on to Zhang Chong’s brass sword with one hand while pinching his hand with the other as he spat out blood while reciting a spell that led to lightning to the top of Xu Wan’s head. Lightning suddenly slammed down in a flash!
Zhang Chong slowly woke up from a corner on the side. His face was confused as he didn’t know what was currently happening.
In an instant, the thunder and lightning, the mirror’s golden light, and the bagua array echoed each other, and the heaven and earth shook in all directions! Thunder surged between the clouds like an immortal’s tribulation while wind howled violently around them as if the world was coming to an end!
At this moment, if anyone were to look up at the sky, they would see a black hole spinning slowly above Tianyuan Building, turning purple as flashes of lightning struck from time to time. The scene was inexplicable and shocking.
Dong Zhi felt as if he was wandering between the realms of life and death. The power of the heavens and earth that were seduced and provoked was so great that mortals could only struggle to survive by hiding in the cracks and praying for God’s benevolence.
The sound of thunder was deafening, and the golden light was blinding. Suddenly, the barrier around Xu Wan shattered! Her body was imprisoned by the talisman array and was smashed to pieces by the lightning!
The golden light from the mirror suppressed all outside damage, isolating the battle within the range of Tianyuan Building’s rooftop, minimizing the damage.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before Dong Zhi felt the surroundings gradually calm down. The light had disappeared, and the thunder had subsided. His ears were still ringing, and his eyes were irritated from staring at the strong light.
Nothing remained of where Xu Wan was standing. On the ground were scorched marks left behind from the lightning and the damage surrounding their battle.
Everyone collapsed to the ground, including the woman in the costume. Her face was pale; her condition was not much better than He Yu’s.
“Is she really dead?” Dong Zhi asked after a long time, while he was still panting for breath.
Everyone worked hard, barely escaping death* and eventually defeating the demon, but everything felt surreal, as if it were all a dream.
*Nine deaths and lives (九死一生) Idiom refers to escaping death after going through all kinds of hardships and dangers.
Was the demon wearing Xu Wan’s human skin completely gone and would no longer be a scourge to the world?
There was blood spilling from the corners of He Yu’s mouth, as he probably didn’t have the strength to answer him.
The woman in costume said, “She used a human life to build up resentment and gather blood essence in order to wake up the dragon corpse, but it only resulted in it being destroyed by you and severely injuring her. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy for us to take her down this time!”
You call that easy…?
As he looked around, apart from his own weakness and multiple bruises, he saw that the blood on Zhang Chong’s head had dried, making him hideous. He Yu was obviously in the worst state. He had fought with Xu Wan directly and lost a lot of blood. Now he lay motionless on the ground, not even having the strength to say a single word, his breath becoming shallower.
The only one who seemed to be in good condition was the woman in the costume. She leaned against the wall, took out her phone and…
Took a selfie???
Dong Zhi: …
After posing for three consecutive shots, the woman noticed Dong Zhi was looking at her stupidly and raised her voice a few octaves higher.
“Why are you such an idiot? Fighting with a demon and dragging ordinary people into this mess?!”
He Yu’s response was to roll his eyes.
Dong Zhi: “Uh, hello, young lady. My name is Dong Zhi.”
The woman in costume spoke to him in a much softer tone. “Did you set up the bagua talisman array just now?”
Dong Zhi nodded and said shyly, “He Yu taught me it. Fortunately, I didn’t drag you guys down.”
“Your performance is very good.” The woman in costume flipped her hair. “My name is Tang Jing; the Tang of the Tang Dynasty, Jing* from clean.”
*Tang (唐) of the Tang Dynasty. Jing (净) from [gan jing] (干净) which means clean/neat (no dust, pollution, dirt).
“Hello, Tang Jie.” Dong Zhi called out obediently.
“Good boy,” The woman in costume said, in a very satisfied manner. “But it’s Tang Ge.”
Dong Zhi asked weakly, “…Tang Ge?”
He Yu asked weakly, “Why did the boss let you come over?”
Tang Jing said angrily, “Did you think I want to? I was participating in a cosplay at an anime convention, but I was urged by deadly serial calls* from Boss Long that I had to rush over and didn’t even have time to change my clothes!”
*Slang for incessant, non-stop calling.
He Yu said sourly, “The boss really trusts you. He only sent you alone knowing that I was still injured. If you can’t stand it, we can settle accounts tonight!”
Tang Jing sneered, “It seems you’re not very injured if you still have the strength to be jealous! If you want the boss to come be the hero to save the ugly, then you have to look at the distance between Beijing and here, plus the distance from the airport, including traffic conditions. By the time he arrives, your daylily will be cold*!”
*Reminder: (等到黄花菜都凉了) Colloquialism refers to people who are late or do things late. || In this context he’s saying by the time Long Shen gets here, it’ll be too late.
He Yu said angrily, “What do you mean be the hero to save the ugly? Go to the streets and see how many men are as handsome as laozi!”
Dong Zhi said weakly, “Stop fighting…”
The author has something to say:
The demon was injured in Changbai Mountain and went south to escape. It happened that Cheng Hui was asked by He Yu to perform a divination, and he found a clue and pursued it, causing him to be imprisoned by the demon. He Yu came to save him with Dong Zhi. Seeing as how He Yu had more blood and was more energetic, the demon wanted to take over his body, so he took Cheng Hui’s remnant soul as bait to lead him to Tianyuan Building. Although he knew it was a trap, he had to go. Dong Zhi took Zhang Chong to desperately try to save him. Little Baby Dong Zhi is not a drag on the mentally retarded.
— This is a plot summary for readers and friends who have a hard time following the story.
Kinky Thoughts:
Did not expect Tang Jing to be a guy.
—
Bagua gang method
For Taoist practitioners, step, gang and tread are all spells that must be learned when fasting, drawing talisman, practicing methods, and channeling spirits.
The gang method that has been circulated in modern times include fighting gang method, innate bagua gang method, acquire bagua gang method among others. The fighting method, the innate bagua method, and the acquired bagua method are mostly passed down in the folk.
Note: This is not part of the novel Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day but from the author’s other work, <Don’t Be Coquettish>. I have decided to translate the parts that are related only to <When You’re Older>, the movie adapted from this story in which Shen Jintai acts in, because I really like the story. You know the synopsis, and you know how it ends, so prepare for dog abuse if you continue reading.
A lifetime is not enough. I want to love you for a few more lifetimes.
Chapter 1
Luo Wensheng disappeared. When he went out in the morning, everything was fine, except it was rare for the two to hug, but as soon as he left, he never came back. He was getting older. His legs and feet were already inconvenient, and he was also suffering from illnesses. With his old age, Yu Nuo was afraid that Luo Wensheng would encounter an accident, so he asked everyone to help search for him. Still, despite searching every possible location, no traces could be found.
Ultimately, Yu Nuo called the police, who told him that, based on their experience, Luo Wensheng probably ran away from home.
“Who is he to you?” The policeman asked.
Yu Nuo said, “My lover.”
The policeman was stunned, obviously surprised by their age difference.
Yu Nuo said, “I have an immortality disease.”
Realization then dawned on the policeman. Immortality disease was an odd disease. There have been more than a dozen cases across the country. People who suffer from this disease will suddenly stop growing old, freezing at the age at which they first contract it. Doctors could not find a reasonable explanation and could not treat it. Many who hope to be young, and immortal have spent an insurmountable amount of money to contract it, but to no avail.
When Yu Nuo was diagnosed with this disease, he had been with Luo Wensheng for three years. At that time, their affection was strong, so naturally they were reluctant to separate. More than forty years had passed, and they were both now sixty-seven years old. Though their ages were nearly the same, one was a man who looked like he was in his sixties, while the other maintained the youthful appearance of someone in their twenties. He had jet black hair, rosy lips, and a perfect row of white teeth. No matter how he dressed, he couldn’t deceive the eyes of others, as his eyes were clear and his skin was firm and fair.
Truthfully, in the past few years, the relationship between the two has not been as close as before. Occasionally, when they looked at each other, Luo Wensheng would unconsciously turn his head, showing hints of embarrassment on his face.
When they were out, outsiders would always think they were grandfather and grandson.
Luo Wensheng was a teacher. His hair had turned gray early, and he had suffered from an illness the year before as he began to forget things. Despite his strong physique that he had maintained since he was young, the illness was so pervasive that it bent his straight back. However, he was stubborn and had picked up all the household chores, refusing to let Yu Nuo do a single thing house related. After retirement, he would get up every morning to do morning exercises. He even set alarms on his phone to remind him to take his medication so he would not miss a single pill. He said he would stay with Yu Nuo for at least another 20 years, and he planned to do so.
On the morning of his disappearance, he had swept away the fallen leaves on their porch early in the morning, then went out and bought him pickled cabbage, steamed stuffed buns, and sweet soybean milk. Such a person left without saying a word.
Yu Nuo had searched all over the country, and after looking for over half a month, he finally found Luo Wensheng’s hometown. Luo Wensheng owned a house here, which was about to be demolished. The house was unfit for an elderly person to live in because it was so depilated. Yu Nuo had peered in through the window, wondering if he should try to open the door, when he saw Luo Wensheng falling to the ground, crashing through a broken glass window.
Yu Nuo kicked open the window and jumped in, his movement slightly mechanical, as he shouted, “Luo Wensheng!”
He helped Luo Wensheng, who lay still and motionless. His lips were dry and chapped. Yu Nuo trembled as he touched Luo Wensheng’s wrinkled face, which was as warm as the tears he was shedding.
Luo Wensheng opened his eyes when he heard the sounds, and when he did, he laughed loudly, showing off the crevices of the wrinkles on his smiling face. “Did I trick you?”
Yu Nuo was extremely angry and put him down. Luo Wensheng let out an “ouch” as he hit the ground, causing Yu Nuo to quickly help him up again. “You deserve it, pretending to be dead.”
The old house was very cold, and when Yu Nuo saw that he didn’t look well, he helped him pack his luggage and led him back. Yu Nuo didn’t speak along the way, which was inconsistent with his style. Luo Wensheng had expected his reaction to be much more intense than this.
He asked, “Are you angry?”
Yu Nuo drove with a cold face as Luo Wensheng continued, “I did ask you to practice in advance so that one day, when I do really die suddenly, you won’t be as uncomfortable when that day comes. So practice more.”
Yu Nuo suddenly stepped on the brakes when he heard Luo Wensheng’s words, veered the car to the side of the road, and broke down in tears. Being sad was also not in line with Yu Nuo’s style, and it made Luo Wensheng regret seeing such a sight.
Chapter 2
Luo Wensheng was still insistent and kept pretending to be dead every three to five times a week. When Yu Nuo came back from work, he often saw him in his act. He strongly suspected that Luo Wensheng was influenced by a Japanese drama he saw. He had once swiped Weibo and seen a Japanese show called “Every Day When I Go Home, I See My Wife Pretending to be Dead”. He showed it to Luo Wensheng, thinking it was a funny video, but he didn’t expect Luo Wensheng to follow suit.
The problem was that the Japanese drama was a comedy, but their family was a tragicomedy. While the death was fake, it was still mixed with a bit of truth, foreshadowing the inevitable future.
He looked at Luo Wensheng, who had fallen to the ground and was lying dead. The act was so well done that he truly looked as if he were really dead. Even though Yu Nuo knew he was pretending, he still got worried every time he saw it. It seemed that one day, when he returned home, this would be a reality for him.
He felt pain in his heart, but he had to pretend to be impatient and kick Luo Wensheng as he said, “Get up quickly.”
Luo Wensheng got up when he heard Yu Nuo, wiped off the fake blood on his head, and said, “Doesn’t look right this time?”
Yu Nuo behaved very calmly and said, “It’s boring.”
Luo Wensheng had been lying in that position for a while, so his body was stiff. He limped to the bathroom to clean up as Yu Nuo took a mop to clean the floors, trying to hold back his tears and keep a wooden face.
He sometimes wonders why he is doing this. Maybe it was because he wanted to love for a little longer. Luo Wensheng was paranoid, and so was he.
Luo Wensheng had been in the bathroom for a long time and hadn’t come out. Yu Nuo was starting to worry, so he went in to take a look, only to find Luo Wensheng’s thin and rickety body sitting in the bathroom with eyes that were red.
Yu Nuo bent over and picked up the shower head on the ground, turned off the hot water, and said, “Get up and dry off.”
Luo Wensheng couldn’t get up. He had slipped in the bathroom, fallen on his waist, and become incapacitated. He must have fallen when he just got in, as the hot water had scalded his entire leg.
Yu Nuo took him to the hospital and stayed with him for half a month, taking care of his eating and drinking needs. He knew that his fate with Luo Wensheng was nearing its end, and he wanted to do more for him, but Luo Wensheng showed great resistance. Even though he knew that Luo Wensheng would not listen to him, he still said, “We’re an old husband and wife and I still love you.”
Luo Wensheng responded, “I hate myself.”
Yu Nuo hung his head, packed his things, and prepared to take him home from the hospital. Not long after his discharge, when Yu Nuo returned home one day, he found that Luo Wensheng was not at home.
The home that they had lived in for decades had a sense of homeliness, a breath of life that permeated every corner of the house, but when he returned that day, he felt the house was cold and desolate.
Luo Wensheng vanished once more, this time permanently, after leaving him a letter.
[I still can’t accept aging in front of you, and I don’t want you to watch me die.]
After saying so much, Yu Nuo knew that he could not be convinced, but he still couldn’t easily let go and was able to catch Luo Wensheng, who was about to get on the train at the station.
Luo Wensheng put his arms around his waist and said tremblingly, “Why are you doing this? Didn’t I make it clear in my letter.”
Yu Nuo said, “I’ll let you go. Just let me take a good look at you at the end, and I’ll let you go.” When he got old, Luo Wensheng resisted taking pictures, so he didn’t have a single picture of him at home.
The two looked at each other. Yu Nuo took in the other person’s face, which was now old and wrinkled. His eyes were glistening, just like when they first met in high school. He discovered that it wasn’t that his eyes were bright, but that it was because of the tears that were welling. They flowed down, bathing the wrinkles on his face, and for the first time, he had cried in front of Yu Nuo.
Unable to bear it, he said, “I’m leaving now.” Luo Wensheng stiffened his waist and got into the train with his suitcase.
Immortality is not always a good thing. An immortal should not love. Yu Nuo had sent away his relatives, his parents, and now his lover. All the ones he loves will eventually leave him.
When Yu Nuo returned home, he sat on the balcony looking at the setting sun as he put on “Gentle Wind and Rain” on his phone. This is a song that Luo Wensheng especially liked when he was young. It was originally sung by Terasa Teng, and Faye Wong later covered it.
“The breeze blows over the clouds, The drizzle slowly falls down the earth. Drenching me and drenching you, Makes the world poetic. The breeze, accompanied by the drizzle, Like I am with the lovely you. Looking at me and looking at you, See how beautiful the world is. Ahhhh~ may I be the wind and you the rain, Ahhhh~ the breeze in all the drizzle.”
For a long time, Yu Nuo sat there, clinging to his knees, as the music played in the background.
Chapter 3
Yu Nuo spent ten years alone before he finally found Luo Wensheng in a nursing home. By then, Luo Wensheng was already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and was in a severe state where he was always drooling and unable to speak clearly. The medical staff in the sanatorium didn’t bother to take care of such an elderly man who had no relatives, so he had sores all over his body.
Yu Nuo squatted down in front of him. The smell of the old permeated as he called out to him, “Luo Wensheng.”
“It’s me, Yu Nuo.”
Luo Wensheng was thin and haggard. He opened his soulless eyes to look at the speaker. By now, he was almost 80 years old.
Yu Nuo held his hands, which used to be so strong and slender when they were young but now look like withered branches. Still, it was warm, full of the heat of life. He took Luo Wensheng back to his home, the home they had lived in together for decades. It was now facing demolition. All the furniture in the house retained its exact appearance right before Luo Wensheng left, but Luo Wensheng no longer recognized it.
But now they were together again. Yu Nuo had quit his job to concentrate on taking care of Luo Wensheng. He bathed him, and they would bask in the sun together. The weather was perfect as the two sat on the balcony together to watch the sunset as they listened to “Gentle Wind and Rain”.
“The breeze accompanied by the drizzle, like I am with the lovely you.”
It transported Yu Nuo back to their high-school days. It was the first time they met. He was gnawing on a steam bun while running to school in a panic, his backpack flopping wildly on his back. When he turned the corner, he was knocked to the ground by someone on his bike who didn’t have time to stop. He hurt his arms, and he dropped the steam bun. When he got up, he saw Luo Wensheng extending out his arm to help him up. The seventeen-year-old Luo Wensheng was youthful like sunshine, and his eyes were bright.
On the day Luo Wensheng died, he suddenly woke up. That morning, he was asleep in a haze when he felt someone patting him. He opened his eyes and saw Luo Wensheng with tears in his eyes. Luo Wensheng had become clearheaded, but he couldn’t speak clearly, only saying, “Nuo, Nuo.”
His trembling lips and brown eyes were covered with a layer of mist.
Yu Nuo knew that the day had arrived. He climbed into Luo Wensheng’s arms, smelling his body fragrance, the same mint-flavored smell as his shower gel. When Luo Wensheng was young, he loved being clean, and this was the smell he had for decades.
Luo Wensheng hugged him tightly as they lay there in silence. Suddenly, Luo Wensheng gasped violently, as if he couldn’t breathe. Yu Nuo grabbed his clothes, but he didn’t dare look at him as he cried, “Luo Wensheng, Luo Wensheng.”
Luo Wensheng died in extreme discomfort, and Yu Nuo had died with him.
Chapter 4
Yu Nuo has the body of an immortal. He passed his days year after year, seeing the world around him change day by day. Many years later, the changes were dramatic. After conforming to international trends, same-sex marriage was finally legal in his country. On the day it became legal, many domestic comrades rushed to get married. He sat on the flower bed outside the Civil Affairs Bureau for most of the days, watching them go in and out happily while holding a red book* in their hands.
*It’s real estate certificate that can be freely bought and sold. It’s basically the title to a piece of real estate.
He still remembered that when he and Luo Wensheng were together, Luo Wensheng would often say that he didn’t know when gays could get married in their country, and he didn’t know if it would happen in his lifetime, but he wouldn’t care. Even if he was 70, 80, or however old they were, as long as his legs and feet could walk, the two of them would go together and get registered. They would be a real husband and wife, one that was recognized by the law.
Now, that dream was possible, but Luo Wensheng was no longer there. For Yu Nuo, it was always too late.
To avoid rumors and turmoil, the state issued a new ID card for Yu Nuo, who has now changed his name to Yu Sheng. With this new identity, he met new colleagues at work, and once, after dinner, he talked about what the future would look like.
Yu Sheng said, “In the future, there will be flying cars, but people’s environments will return to the past, and the rural areas will develop better than cities. There are few jobs that exist for humans, and everyone becomes more indifferent. When you go to the supermarket, all you see are robots that are working, and everything can be delivered. You don’t even need to see or interact with people for months, which can lead to a boring life. But the positive is that time travel has become a reality. Many people travel to the past, to live in a time of the past, and meet those who they will never be able to see again.”
His colleagues knew that he had a lover who had passed away, and when they heard him say these things, they comforted him, “Maybe in the future, we can really travel through time and space. Who knows, just like decades ago, who would have thought that you can pay, call, and make recordings with just your phone.”
Yu Sheng held his wine glass, staying silent.
Chapter 5
After Luo Wensheng died, he lived alone for many, many years. With the death of each generation, his name was changed several times. It had eventually progressed to the point where science and technology could make time travel a reality.
Anyone could use this technology to transfer their soul into any era in which they have lived in the past. As long as you had the money, you could utilize this technology.
After living for so long, Yu Nuo had saved up a lot of money. He packed up his home, closed the door, and immediately went to sign up.
His approval came shortly after. The staff told him that there are many rules that must be observed, such as not interfering with the past and following the original history trajectory. Of course, not everything must be exactly the same. Small deviations were negligible, but bigger life choices cannot be altered; otherwise, they would interfere with the past and affect the you the present era, and the cost would be immeasurable.
“Our current crossing technology is still immature, so it’s difficult to come back after going back in time. This also means that when you cross into the past, you have to start from that time period and live in that period all over again.”
Out of all the participants, Yu Nuo was the calmest. He nodded whenever they said anything. Unlike others who participated in this project and were hesitant while they considered their gains and losses, he seemed to be used to it.
As an orphan, his parents have been long gone, and those familial feelings have long eroded. When he was a child, he wasn’t happy living at his uncle’s house. When asked what time period he would most like to return to, he naturally chose the year he met Luo Wensheng.
Luo Wensheng was like his lifeline. Nothing was more valuable than spending half of his life savings to relive the moments between meeting Luo Wensheng and when he vanished.
He laid down in an enclosed capsule and saw the staff working through the glass. When the countdown clock sounded, he closed his eyes.
Three, two, one.
It was like a dream. With intense discomfort and pain, his soul and body seemed to have separated. His eyes remained close as tears moistened around them. After the long darkness passed, he only felt a bright light shining in front of him. At the age of 16, he was standing in front of a steam bun shop. The boss said, “Boy, what’s the matter with you? Here’s your steam bun.”
Yu Nuo hurriedly took it. On the cold winter day, all that came out was white steam from the bun that warmed his frozen hands. He took a bite, then ran towards the school quickly, but he didn’t run to the school. He was running to meet Luo Wensheng again.
He ran through one familiar street after another. A flock of pigeons flew from above a building as the streets began filling with students in twos and threes running anxiously towards the school, wearing the uniform that he was most familiar with.
This was it. This was the crosswalk.
He was so excited that tears were about to gush out, and he leaped forward with great difficulty. Immediately, he was knocked to the ground by a bicycle.
His arm was sore, and he dropped the bun in his hand. When he got up, he saw a hand stretched towards him. Because his eyes were filled with tears, he seemed to be unable to see clearly. He just saw a person standing vaguely in front of him and asked, “Classmate, are you okay?”
It was the 17-year-old Luo Wensheng, who was as youthful as the sun and had bright eyes. This was the fourth time in his life that he had seen this image.
What a terrible, self-abusive obsession. It was like drinking heavily poisoned wine to temporarily relieve his thirst. Yu Nuo knew the final ending. After Luo Wensheng disappeared, he followed the trajectory of the previous few times to find him and then took him home, watching him pretend to be dead before he finally really died in his arms.
Note: The campus era in the novel is not written in detail, so the following jumps directly to Luo Wensheng’s old age.
Chapter 6
Yu Nuo looked at Luo Wensheng, who had fallen to the ground and was lying dead. His act was so realistic that if he hadn’t known better, it really looked as if he was dead. He knew that one day, when he returned home in the future and saw Luo Wensheng like this, it wouldn’t be just “pretend” but “reality”.
Yu Nuo pursed his lips. His eyes were bitter but resolute. He pretended to kick impatiently and said, “Get up quickly.”
Luo Wensheng got up when he heard the sound, wiped off the blood on his head, smiled, and said, “How does it look this time?”
Yu Nuo said, “It’s boring.”
It stood to reason that with a person’s life so long, especially his, he shouldn’t be able to remember what he said or did, but every action remained vivid in his memories. The fact is, there was no need for him to follow history in these exact details, and a small deviation won’t affect anything, but he seemed as if he were acting in a movie, carrying out his own lines and walking his own steps according to the script.
Luo Wensheng got up and went to the bathroom to wash off the blood stains on his body, but he didn’t come out for a long time. Yu Nuo knew that he had fallen and couldn’t get up in the bathroom as the hot water was scalding his thighs. When he would go in, he would see the same scene he had seen many times already; a helpless old Luo Wensheng.
The hot water was scalding, but it wasn’t what burned him. It was Luo Wensheng.
What is he doing?
He had been through so many reincarnations. He asked himself, why? Was it because he was stubborn, paranoid, or morbid that he was constantly chasing Luo Wensheng, who insisted on maintaining his dignity?
In the end, he had gained nothing but an urn of ashes.
If the ending was destined, would the process of getting there still be meaningful?
Chapter 7
After Luo Wensheng died in his arms and his funeral had been arranged, Yu Nuo sat alone on the balcony, basking in the sun while listening to “Gentle Wind and Rain”, like a zombie. He was too tired to fall in love. With every death of Luo Wensehng, he also died inside. All he could do was use the decades of time to store his remaining energy before he could meet Luo Wensheng again.
Life was long, and there was more time for pain than happiness.
Was it really worth it? Yu Nuo slumped in his chair as he looked towards the sunset that bathed the sky in dying light.
He wanted the cycle to end. There are so many in this world, and he wasn’t ugly. It was easy to find another. It was a new era, one in which same-sex marriage was now as common as heterosexual marriages, and people’s views had improved. Even blind dating has now become popular among same-sex couples.
He uploaded his profile at a marriage agency and kept himself busy while trying to think that he wasn’t betraying Luo Wensheng. It wasn’t betrayal; he wanted to set them both free.
Within two days, someone from the marriage agency contacted him and said that they had helped him find several blind dates. If he was willing, one could be arranged for Wednesday. He agreed to it and went shopping. He hadn’t dressed well for so long that his life was a bit decadent. He bought new clothes and got a haircut. When he looked in the mirror, it was still the same young image that he had so long ago.
Luo Wensheng was now a skeleton, but he still maintained his youth.
Yu Nuo changed into his new outfit, stood in front of the full-length mirror, buttoned the top of his neckline, and went to the appointed place. He chose to walk instead of taking a taxi and sweated a lot along the way.
It seems that when you give yourself time, it opens more opportunities for you to repent. With every step he took, he felt regret creeping up. After walking for a while, he paused his movements. As he was dealing with his entangled feelings, he stopped at a crosswalk where he saw a pair of young boys, in their 20s, walking past him with arms hooked around their shoulders, like friends and lovers. The tall boy was very similar in height and size to seventeen-year-old Luo Wensheng.
Seeing the scene, he felt like dying inside. He continued walking and stopped in front of the place they agreed to meet. The other party called and asked, “Are you here yet?”
“Almost there.”
“I’m wearing a black jacket. There’s no one in the shop now, so you’ll find me easily when you come in.” The voice on the other line was gentle.
“Ok.”
He was standing on the corner. He only needed to take a few more steps and turn the corner, and he’d be there. From the glass window, he could see the man that he was going to meet on his blind date. This was the first step in his life. He could usher in a new relationship, and from now on, he didn’t have to go back to Luo Wensheng over and over again. He knew that as long as he was willing to open up, he could fall in love a second time. He may very well meet a man who was handsomer, had a better temper, and could fuck him better than Luo Wensheng, and he may love this man more than Luo Wensheng.
Luo Wensheng had become a thing of the past.
Yu Nuo’s heartbeat was pounding so badly that he couldn’t tell what was going on. He felt as if he was cheating. But Luo Wensheng is dead, and this was only him trying to move on and accept a new relationship. How ridiculous for him to feel that he was “cheating”.
He smoked two cigarettes on the corner of the street and called the other party. “I’m sorry. Something suddenly came up and I can’t meet anymore.”
The other party had a very good temper and didn’t get angry. He said, “That’s a pity. I read your profile, and I like you quite a bit.”
Yu Nuo hung up the phone and began to walk back. He felt he had betrayed Luo Wensheng when he tried to take one step forward and saw the face of his blind date.
How ridiculous. Why was he like this? He cried as he walked and then quickly ran away. He was like a moth to a flame. In this modern society, there was no other person like him.
As he ran, he felt as if he had returned to the year when he was sixteen years old, running fast to greet Luo Wensheng, who was riding his bike. He wanted another chance. If he persisted alone, perhaps in ten, twenty, or even a hundred years from now, medicine would overcome this difficulty. Perhaps there would be a cure to his immortality, and he’d be able to grow old with Luo Wensheng again, and they could die together.
As long as he didn’t give up, there was always hope.
If he simply gave up now and didn’t persist, wouldn’t this be equivalent to him giving up his love for Luo Wensheng?
Luo Wensheng could have found a normal person to be with. He had paid for himself all his life and suffered so much. A normal person can only love for so many decades. He had received this love from Luo Wensheng, and he should be satisfied. Thinking this, he found the courage to live alone for decades, waiting for that day.
Chapter 8
Yu Nuo lived for another twenty years on his own. Science, technology, and medicine were still developing rapidly, but the problem he wanted to solve hasn’t been solved. Instead, he had fallen ill and almost died from it. As someone who never grows old, he was still able to die.
Due to his diseases, he had to change jobs every few years and cities every decade. It wasn’t that he was afraid of being discovered, but he didn’t want to be regarded as some kind of alien. He no longer contacted his friends of the past, and after a long while, they stopped contacting him. It was better this way. He had experienced too many life-and-death partings.
He went to register himself for an infusion. Modern science and technology had advanced to the point that he hadn’t been to a hospital for many years. Many processes are different from before. While he may have had the body of a young man, he had an old soul. He felt that he was out of touch with society, and it was difficult to adapt.
After returning from the hospital, he slept at home for a day. He laid on his bed alone, in the dark room with only a little light that was exposed from the window. At this moment, he suddenly wanted someone to accompany him. It didn’t matter if it was someone he loved or not; just anyone would do. If someone was here, he didn’t have to be afraid when he was ill or dying.
He could find someone, but if the other person wasn’t serious, would the other party really take care of him in his time of need? On the other hand, if the other person really did love him, wouldn’t this turn into another Luo Wensheng situation?
He really shouldn’t have lived for so long. He should have died before time travel was discovered. Now that the technology existed, he was reluctant to die. While he could continue to travel back in time and relive the happy days with Luo Wensheng, he began to have more expectations for technology and medical care, looking forward to maybe one day being able to accompany Luo Wensheng in life and death.
But his patience was limited, and the technology may not come before he dies. If that’s so, then what would be the meaning of all these repeated lifetimes and hundreds of years of persistence? For him, whether it was bitter or sweet, it was his own choice. The blame was all on him, but what about Luo Wensheng?
If it weren’t for him, Luo Wensheng might have met an ordinary person and lived a happy and ordinary life. On the contrary, thinking about it this way, what he was doing was harming Luo Wensheng.
If Luo Wensheng didn’t meet him, he might be happier. They had been together for decades, and he could say that Luo Wensheng had been unhappy for about half of that time. There was the pain of coming out of the closet and the suffering when he reached old age. He was tortured physically and mentally, and he died without having a son or a daughter.
When Yu Nuo recovered from his illness, he went to Luo Wensheng’s cemetery and sat in front of his tomb for an entire day. The next day, he went to the Time and Space Travel Bureau and received his approval shortly after. The staff told him again about the rules that must be observed, such as not interfering with the past, and following the original historical trajectory…
“Otherwise, it will interfere with the past and affect the you in the present era. The cost is immeasurable. You may disappear, and your memory will be wiped along with it.”
Unlike the previous few times, Yu Nuo, who usually remains calm throughout the whole process, had an abnormal expression, as if he couldn’t sit still during the introduction phase.
As he laid down in the capsule, he saw the staff working outside. The countdown clock sounded, and he took in a few deep breaths. When the staff saw that he was acting abnormal, they asked, “Sir, do you want to terminate?”
Yu Nuo shook his head and closed his eyes.
Three, two, one.
With intense discomfort and pain, his soul and body were separated again. After the long darkness passed, he heard a strange voice say, “Boy, what’s the matter with you? Here’s your steam bun.”
At the age of 16, he was standing in front of a steam bun shop. The owner of the shop looked at him suspiciously and asked, “Are you okay?”
Yu Nuo shook his head and took the hot bun from the owner’s hand. On the cold winter day, all that came out was white steam from the bun that warmed his frozen hands. He took a bite and began to turn his head to run towards the school.
No matter where you are in my life, I will find you.
There was probably nothing happier in the world than running into one’s lover’s arms.
In less than a minute, he would be reunited with the seventeen-year-old Luo Wensheng.
He ran through one familiar street after another. A flock of pigeons flew from above a building as the streets began filling with students in twos and threes running anxiously towards the school. All these were scenes he was most familiar with.
This was it. This was the crosswalk.
He was so excited that tears would gush out. To get acquainted with Luo Wensheng, he only needed to leap forward quickly.
Luo Wensheng would stretch out his hand and ask him, “Classmate, are you okay?” His eyes were bright, and his voice was crisp.
It seemed that a long life was floating in his mind the whole time: the life they lived together, the cum they shot, the saliva they exchanged, the tears and blood they shed, and the most painful and helpless convulsions and suffocation experienced when Luo Wensheng died in his arms.
Luo Wensheng, Luo Wensheng.
Yu Nuo pursed his lips tightly and took a step forward. The jingling of the bike rang as he saw the 17-year-old Luo Wensheng flying past him.
What was the point? It seemed that the past few hundred years had suddenly become meaningless. He didn’t know what he was doing.
Yu Nuo’s face was distorted; he lowered his head and cried, and the seventeen-year-old Luo Wensheng glanced back at him, thinking what had happened to this student to make him cry so sadly.
Everything has changed. From then on, Luo Wensheng no longer knew Yu Nuo. They never met and never fell in love. In this world, there was no longer a Yu Nuo who traveled through time and space for Luo Wensheng. The memories of their past disappeared.
The bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. Groups of students began to walk out the gate. Spring was coming. On the road outside the school, cherry blossoms were scattered all around. Yu Nuo was walking home with his backpack on his back when he suddenly heard the crisp sound of bells, jingling, jingling.
He stopped on the side of the road as Luo Wensheng rode past him on his bike.
He patted his shoulder and continued walking away as if he were carried by the wind. Fine falling petals fluttered in the air and brushed against the 16-year-old Yu Nuo’s face.
He didn’t look up as he kept on walking.
My entire love for you is to give you an ordinary life.
Kinky Thoughts:
GOD I’M CRYING. WHY DID I TRANSLATE THIS?! I must be as self-abusive as Yu Nuo.
I was hoping for some more dog food like they had in high school or middle school, but NOPE! Just all fucking dog abuse. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I’m now sobbing, like all those who saw the movie.
“Ahhhhhhhh, Touhua’s ass landed on the hot search!”
“Hahahaha, I laughed when I saw it. It’s a shame to buy this hot search, hahahaha.”
“I think the hot search for Touhua’s ass is real, because it’s so fucking hot!”
“I’ve taken a special screenshot. I’m nose bleeding over here. So fair and firm, smooth and silky. Simply peerless!”
“I’m the only one who’s eating beauty. Needless to say, Bai Qingquan’s face is so beautiful. I think he’s much more handsome here than when he did The East Palace. I think the beauty of these two guys alone is worth the ticket.”
“I’m waiting to see reviews first!”
“In the entertainment industry, only Touhua is a real flow, and the purchasing power of gold powders is amazing. Just from the trailer, the box office presales have already passed 20 million. Going to 50 doesn’t seem like a pipe dream.”
“It’s normal. As long as the quality of the movie is good, it’ll definitely explode. As a rotten girl, I can’t refuse it at all. The double top flow of top actors, authentic gay themes, a romance movie, and it’s the only love film during Chinese New Year’s, and the reunion of Jintai Meijing from The East Palace. My only regret is that Shen Jintai is already taken, otherwise it would be unimaginable at the box office if you fry the CP!”
Not only were the gold powders excited, but even the moonlight powders felt riveted. Since Bai Qingquan’s crisis, many had abandoned the moonlight fandom, and their group had lost more than half of its members. Those who stay behind were considered to be true love fans. After this wave of abuse, the moonlight powders who remained were even more united. While this movie was icing on the cake for Shen Jintai, who was basking in the middle of the sun, for Bai Qingquan, it was a film that delivered charcoal in the snow. Failure was not an option!
“Everyone is going to the cinema to support my brother’s new movie. It’s time for our moonlight powder to shine!”
“I have already booked movie tickets with my best friend and rushed to be the first wave of viewers. I will give everyone feedback after I finish watching!”
“The kind of feedback that must be blown to death!”
“Two brushes*, three brushes, ten brushes, let’s go!”
*Movie term meaning to watch it again.
“Are there any relatives in the Wanda Theater in Nancheng Shopping Center? I heard that there will be an interview with the actors after the screening. Shen Jintai and my brother will be there!”
Immediately, a fan posted a photo of him in the theater. “Already seated, the seats are full. Waiting for the movie to open!”
“Ahhhhhhh, I’m so excited. My brother’s big screen debut!” The moonlight powders screamed.
“Wuwuwu*,” the gold powders were even more lively. “I’m so nervous and anxious. I hope my brother’s first movie sell well!”
*The term they’re using is [yingyingying] (嘤嘤嘤嘤). It’s basically a cute way to cry that’s normally used by girls, but it doesn’t really translate well, so I just went with wuwuwu instead.
“The early box office is very important. The pre-sale is high, the attendance rate is high, and the box office is high. When it’s officially released, there will be more theaters showing it. If there are more movies scheduled, the possibility of a box office explosion is even greater. Therefore, these days, everyone must go to the cinema to support my brother’s movie!”
“Private venue support!”
“In addition to buying tickets to watch, everyone should also pay attention and actively speak and comment on Weibo, TikTok, and forums. Word of mouth is very important in the early stages! Strictly prevent black powder from becoming a demon!”
“Honestly, this movie is all supported by my brother. Bai Qingquan used to be able to make a difference, but now he’s just dragging him down. His black powders are going crazy in the rabbit area.”
“Everyone, help Bai Qingquan. To help him is to help our brother. After all, it’s now one for all and all for one!”
Moonlight fans immediately came over to hug their thighs when they heard these words, and for the first time, the two major fan bases united like a family. With Chinese New Year approaching, all of Nancheng’s commercial business districts had become crowded in the past few days. Everywhere was filled with joy in anticipation of the coming holiday. The square outside the shopping center opposite the district government was already crowded.
Xingyun had suddenly decided to push the movie to an earlier release. Originally, <When You’re Older> was scheduled to be released on Valentine’s Day but was moved to the second day of Chinese New Year’s. Today, large-scale screening had already begun.
“I really want to go to the cinema to be the first wave of audiences,” Fang Fengmei said. “It’s a pity that my body can’t last.”
“I have already bought a ticket anyway. Just let me get off at the shopping mall,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
“You’re going to watch it by yourself?” Fang Fengmei asked.
Yan Yaoxuan made a weird expression. “Well, there was originally also you…”
Fang Fengmei: “You have to bring a few more people to see it. Better yet, rent out an entire space!”
Yan Yaoxuan smiled with joy. “There’s an actor’s interview at the Wanda Theater. You don’t know how difficult it was to get these tickets. The one I bought was from a scalper at a high price… just stop here!”
The car stopped on the side of the road, and Yan Yaoxuan got out of the car.
Fang Fengmei asked Yan Qiuchi, “You’re not going?”
Yan Qiuchi started the car and said, “I’ll wait for the official release before watching it. When the time comes, let’s go together.” As he said that, he glanced into the rearview mirror and vaguely saw the figure of Shan Cheng holding a coke and popcorn in his hand.
“Drink?” Shan Cheng asked.
Yan Yaoxuan took the coke and said, “I am here to thank you for accompanying me back to my country. Although you are of no other use than a burden, thank you. Today, I will show you the new changes in the cinema of the motherland.”
Shan Cheng said, “Nn. Then I have to thank you.”
As they walked through the crowd, since they were both tall and handsome guys, they attracted the stares of many girls.
Because of the actor’s interview, many fans who couldn’t get a ticket stood outside, unafraid of the cold. Yan Yaoxuan didn’t understand why they were all gathered outside until he entered the shopping center and saw that it was packed with hordes of people. The entire fifth floor was filled to the brim, and the third floor was jam-packed, as that was where the theater was located.
Bai Qingquan glanced out, then turned to Shen Jintai and said, “There are so many people. It’s scary.”
Shen Jintai first put on a hat, then a jacket, then took a mask from Xiao Tang and put it on. They were also watching the first screening, but they were pretending to be passersby and sit in the audience. Shen Jintai was nervous, afraid that he would be recognized if he sat next to a gold powder.
“The lights have been turned off, and there’s still a minute left before it starts. You can enter now,” Li Meilan said.
Bai Qingquan immediately became fully armed. He, Shen Jintai, Li Meilan, Wei Ge, and others entered the cinema in the dark. Due to being so nervous, when he was walking up the stairs, Bai Qingquan staggered and almost fell. Shen Jintai grabbed him by the arm and couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh.
The movie has started to play, and the opening music was accompanied by subtitles. When Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan’s names appeared, the fans screamed.
The beginning and the end of the movie were the same; both were scenes of their encounter on the way to school. Yu Nuo nibbled on a steamed bun as he ran towards school. When the bell rang, he bumped into Luo Wensheng’s bicycle at the intersection.
Pigeons in the attic of a roof flew in groups as Luo Wensheng quickly stretched out his hand. “Classmate, are you okay?”
Shen Jintai hadn’t watched the finished version of the film in advance. Now that he was sitting in the cinema and looking at himself on the big screen, he was really excited.
He’s been shooting <Welcome Rian on a Spring Night> for a while now. Looking back and watching <When You’re Older> he felt uncomfortable. The styles of the two movies were too different. <When You’re Older> had beautiful captures, moving music, and lines that were fantastical and dyed with sensational colors. He would blush when he watched himself say those lines, and it was obviously effective at hitting the hearts of girls. In the early stages, there would be commotion in the cinema at every scene. There were even more screams during the kissing and bed scenes. Shen Jintai blushed when the shot of his exposed ass was shown.
However, when Luo Wensheng got old, the atmosphere of the cinema began to become solemn. The gold powders who failed to get tickets to the premiere relied on the live broadcast of the movie group.
Crazy for a while: [Brother is so handsome!]
Scream for a while: [The two of them are so seductive. The plot is warm, the music is great, and every frame of the picture could be used as a wallpaper!]
Crying and laughing for a while: [It’s so fucking touching! My makeup!]
Although Yan Qiuchi didn’t go to the cinema, he was paying close attention to word-of-mouth. Fang Fengmei was lying on the hospital bed, and from time to time she would ask, “Has the evaluation come out?”
Yan Qiuchi: “The movie hasn’t finished yet, but some on-site reviews have come out, and the overall picture is good.”
Fang Fengmei: “Read it to us.”
Yan Qiuchi said, “You can see for yourself.”
He felt that a girl’s rainbow fart was not suitable for him to read out loud. He handed the phone over to her.
Old Lady Fang smiled and said, “I haven’t seen much of this Xiao Jin. He’s changed a lot. I remember that he used to dye his hair red and wear earrings. Now he’s clean and looks good.”
“I remember you didn’t like him back then,” Fang Fengmei said.
“It’s not that I didn’t like him, but I didn’t think it was a good match. The most important thing is that Qiuchi likes him.” Old Lady Fang smile and said, “I think he likes him now.”
“He more than likes him,” Fang Fengmei said.
The first wave of reviews came for <When You’re Older>. Tears flowed in the cinema, and as the audience of the first wave was mainly fans, their feelings felt more sincere.
The fans:
“Ahhhhhh, I’m bursting with tears!”
“The music, pictures, stories, and performances! This is the best romance film of the year! Don’t look at me. I’m a mess!”
“It was so good that I’m speechless. It definitely exceeded my expectations! Let’s go, two brushes!”
“At the end of the film, Yu Nuo’s running scene made me burst into tears. As soon as the lights turned on, everyone around me had red eyes. The screenwriter is awesome, the director is awesome, and the actors are even more awesome!”
“It’s no exaggeration to say that my boyfriend, who has always boasted that men don’t cry easily, is now crying like a stupid dog.”
Passerby：
“Are all these praises done by a water army?”
“It’s either a water army or the fandom. Isn’t it just a love film about some high school students? The trailer probably showed the best scenes the movie has to offer.”
“Better wait and watch it first. If the movie is as good as they say, the real word of mouth will come out in a day or two. For fan movies, be cautious about entering the pit this early in the stage.”
“I am neither a moonlight fan nor a gold fan. I can say with good conscience that it is the best romance movie in recent years and the best gay movie in the history of domestic movies. It has almost no shortcomings. I was really moved.”
Well-known reviewer Yu Dazui commented:
[I think fans should thank Director Sun Sihai. He was born to be a cinematographer. He delivered the best-looking shots for Touhua and Bai Yueguang. During the entire movie, I was surrounded by weirdos. In the beginning, I was a bit agitated, but later, I found myself crying. I give the cinematography 9 points, the music 8 points, and the story 8 points. The worthiest mention is the performances of the two actors that could be compared to the same level of a film emperor. They were absolutely phenomenal. I was dazzled, especially by the elderly scenes. The daily and delicate shooting of this film has gone beyond the scope of a romance movie and is more like a featured film. It’s hard to believe that this is the first big-screen work by the director and the two actors. I’m optimistic about the performance of this film during the award season.]
When the movie theater lights were turned on, the theater staff and security guards were the first to come in. Everyone looked up from their sobbing and looked at the stage, where they saw the main creators walk in one by one as applause rang out.
Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan took off their masks at this moment, and the audience sitting next to them instantly blushed and screamed. For a moment, they couldn’t tell whether they were Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan or Yu Nuo and Luo Wensheng, who had come out from the screen. The feeling was exhilarating, as if the male gods they just saw had suddenly turned into reality.
The girl sitting to the left of Shen Jintai, who was still crying, turned her head and jumped up when she saw him. She was a gold powder, and she had no idea she’d be sitting next to her idol, watching this movie with him. The surprise came so suddenly that she was so happy that she felt like exploding!
Then something even more amazing happened. Shen Jintai stretched out his arms and hugged her. Screams erupted instantly in the theater.
Shen Jintai’s eyes were red. He smiled, put his hands together, and bowed to everyone. Bai Qingquan was obviously crying much more severely. He was still sobbing as he embarrassedly wiped away his tears. Shen Jintai touched his arm, and the two walked towards the stage.
Both of them were excited because they knew that this movie was stable.
The author has something to say:
I want to see it too!!!
Kinky Thoughts:
Me too, so I decided to translate it. The next chapter is not part of this novel. Someone had graciously pulled out all the parts of <When You’re Older> from the author’s other novel <Don’t Be Coquettish>. It is a relatively short story (well, in a sense where it’s like 8 chapters). You know the story and you know how it ends, so prepare your tissues.
If you do not want to read dog abuse, then wait until the following chapter is released so you can skip it.
“Have you heard that Touhua was photographed going in and out of the hospital where the Yan family was located many times? According to insiders in the hospital, he went there almost daily, no different from the Yan family.”
“Rumors have it that he and Yan Qiuchi have already talked about it, so I think it’s true that it’s going to be announced to the public soon.”
“But I heard that Yan’s family has been in turmoil recently. Yesterday, I was chatting with my friends, and I was still emotional. Such a flourishing business empire could be so fragile that it could collapse at any moment.”
“Your district is really only suitable for water gossip. Such little IQ. Yan Tiefang may fall, but the Yan group will not. The country will not let them fall, as they are related to the jobs of tens of thousands of people. At most, there will be a successor.”
“Prince Yan, Prince Yan! Yan Qiuchi, as the Prince Yan of the Yan family, isn’t he the rightful and only successor? His younger brother seems to still be in school, right?”
“Yan Qiuchi is too young. I don’t think he can match the directors of the Yan Corp.”
“A company that has grown to that scale, the distribution of power must be relatively balanced. Unlike small companies, where the boss is in charge of everything, the Yan’s leadership is relatively intertwined, so the internal struggle will be fierce. When Yan Tiefeng was at the helm, he relied not only on business ability but also prestige. Yan Qiuchi is only 25 and is too young to helm such a large business.”
“Not only the Yan’s, but Sunshine Media stock has fallen a lot as well. It’s too miserable. It’s only been listed for less than a year.”
“Sunshine Media belongs to the Yan Group. It is the entertainment territory of the Yan Group. It is not surprising that it is affected by the parent company. However, I don’t think that Sunshine Media shares falling has anything to do with Bai Qingquan. After all, it is a matter of family. There were too many projects invested in by Sunshine Media last year, and they also acquired two major companies. There’s also a time difference between the projects and earnings, so the annual report looks ugly.”
“Yes, Sunshine Media has developed so well in the past two years that there will definitely be no problems. The main thing is the future of Yan’s parent company, and whether it can survive safely or not.”
Although Yan Tiefeng was sober, he couldn’t control the company’s affairs. Several shares of the Yan Group have fallen, and some have even been delisted, as the company was in turmoil.
The Yan Group was founded by Yan Tiefeng, so naturally his son is the successor. It’s just that after Yan Qiuchi graduated from college, he founded Sunshine Media to hone his skills. His main expertise was in the film and television industries, while the Yan group covered many fields like real estate, entertainment, tourism, and finance, forming a huge business empire. If Yan Qiuchi wanted to take over smoothly, he couldn’t do it without the support of the leadership of these various branches.
However, some members of the board of directors wanted to use this opportunity to decentralize power. With the internal struggle intensifying, rival companies have taken the opportunity to come and poach talent. The vice presidents of two important departments submitted their resignations and took their teams away; since the spot was vacant, someone would have to fill it, causing the factional struggle to become even worse and spiraling the Yan Group into a major crisis.
“Don’t worry about it,” Old Lady Fang said. “Old Wang and Old Li have a very good relationship with Tiefeng. They hold prominent seats on the board of directors. With their assistance, Qiuchi will be able to live up to their expectations. This difficulty will pass. The most important thing is for you to take care of your health. Everything else is unimportant. Isn’t the money you make in this life enough to spend?”
Mrs. Yan laid down and said, “It’s not a question of money or not. Old Yan has worked hard all his life. You can see how hard he fought and suffered when he was young. The Yan Group is his lifelong effort, and it can’t be taken away by others because of an accident, let alone have it collapse. Xinyang Group and Chunfeng clearly want to divide us.”
“But what can you do in this state?” Old Lady Fang said.
“Now that Old Yan is incapacitated, we have to support the company and then give it back to him when he recovers. Qiuchi is capable, but he’s too young. They’ll bully him for being young, so it’s impossible for him to compromise easily. I have to talk to them.”
“Look at your condition. You want to help, but you can’t even walk yet, and the scars on your body haven’t even healed,” Old Lady Fang hurriedly said. “Don’t be brave.”
Mrs. Yan smiled and said, “Only when I appear in front of them like this will they be soft-hearted. Qiuchi will be the one to take over in the future. He can’t be soft with those old things. When I think about it, it’s best for me to come forward. Moreover, they are all old people who have followed Old Yan for over ten years. It’s best to give them some benefits, then move them with affection and reason. I’m also familiar with all their wives as well.”
Having made up her mind, Mrs. Yan went to Yan Tiefeng’s room to learn more about the company’s inner workings. Since she planned to make a move, she must prepare to make a big movie.
Yan Tiefeng disagreed and said, “You’re like this. Just rest and recuperate for me.”
He was like Old Lady Fang; in this moment, her body was the most important. She still had bandages all over her arms.
“I think Qiuchi has been working too hard recently. He eats and lives in the company. Those old men rely on the old to sell the old1, and they always make trouble for him. One’s either an elder uncle or a younger uncle2. He’s still young, so it’s not a good outlook if he’s too aggressive. If this continues, maybe nothing big will happen, but it will affect his mood. After all, he is still the one who’ll take the helm in the future. Now that he’s deflated in front of these directors, who will be afraid of him in the future? You can’t move now, but I can. Don’t think I don’t have any skills just because I’ve been a housewife for all these years and go shopping and to beauty salons every day.”
1(倚老卖老) Idiom referring to an older person who shows his seniority, despises others, and believes that everyone must be humble and considerate to him. 2Clarity: She’s calling them [Shushu] (叔叔) and [Bobo] (伯伯). They both mean uncle, but shushu is used to refer to someone who is older than one’s father, while bobo is used to refer to someone younger or of the same age as one’s father.
Yan Tiefeng smiled and said, “I have never thought of you that way.”
“Before I got married to you, I supported myself. Later, when we got married, didn’t we work hard together in the early years? In fact, in the past two years, I have started to doubt. You are becoming more famous, and whenever I get out, everyone always calls me Mrs. Yan. I’m not only Mrs. Yan; I also have my own name. When did people stop calling me Sister Fang? Don’t people know that I’m Fang Fengmei.”
Yan Tiefeng smiled and patted her hand.
Fang Fengmei sat on the hospital bed and continued, “The Yan Group is your effort, mine, and the future of our children. I will guard you well, and you will recover from your injuries. When you recover, I will return it to you. In the future, you will lead Qiuchi and Yaoxuan to make the company even bigger and better. I know your ambitions best. Haven’t you always wanted to make Yan a world-class company?”
Yan Tiefeng’s eyes were moist, and he held her hand without speaking.
“Besides, if it weren’t for you protecting me at that time, it might’ve been me who couldn’t get up from the hospital bed. You know my temperament. If you treat me well, I’ll treat you well. I can’t stand being unable to help you and still lying in bed all day doing nothing.”
After Fang Fengmei finished speaking, she suddenly burst into tears. Yan Tiefeng said, “What’s wrong? It’s not that I didn’t agree with you.”
Fang Fengmei smiled, lied on top of him, and said, “If you don’t die in a catastrophe, there’ll be blessings in your future. Our blessing is all behind us.”
……
Yan Qiuchi was sitting in the office, preparing for the upcoming board of directors. A knock came from outside, then Gao Qiao came in, bowed, and said, “President Yan.”
Yan Qiuchi: “Your back.”
Gao Qiao nodded. He was extremely excited to see Yan Qiuchi again.
“Your spirits look much better than before,” Yan Qiuchi said as he stood up. “Are you ready? We’re going to fight side by side again.”
Gao Qiao excitedly said, “I’m at your disposal at any time.”
“You can discuss it with Fang Yun. Without affecting the normal operation of Sunshine Media, form a team for me. You two should take the lead and be courageous and capable.”
Gao Qiao: “Yes!”
“Go,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Gao Qiao hadn’t seen Yan Qiuchi for a long time, and he wanted to take a good look at his boss, but he also knew Yan’s current situation and that Yan Qiuchi was overloaded with work. He hurriedly turned around and went out when Yan Qiuchi suddenly stopped him. “Gao Qiao.”
Gao Qiao turned his head, and he saw Yan Qiuchi smiling at him and saying, “Be polite when you see Shen Jintai. He’s my partner now.”
Gao Qiao was momentarily stunned before blushing. “Don’t worry. I’ve changed my views on him a long time ago. I’m really happy for you.”
“Go,” Yan Qiuchi said.
After Gao Qiao left, Old Wang and the others came in. Yan Qiuchi stood up and greeted them. “Uncle Wang. Uncle Li.”
At the Yan’s last board meeting, the latest staff adjustment would be released soon. Whether it would be approved by the board of directors was still unknown. The entire headquarters was under high pressure as senior directors entered the meeting room one after another.
As the directors talked among themselves, they saw the door of the conference room pushed open, and Yan Qiuchi walked in dressed in a formal suit, holding a folder, and being surrounded by President Wang and President Li.
Yan Qiuchi’s eyes resembled Yan Tiefeng’s, and he looked extremely cold and dignified with his serious expression. Ignoring his abilities, his appearance alone could intimidate anyone.
The room became quiet as the meeting officially started. At first, the atmosphere was relatively harmonious, but after the latest staff adjustments were presented, everyone was unable to sit still.
“The chairman just can’t get out of bed, but we can still have a video conference. Letting Qiuchi participate in the board of directors’ meeting for the staff adjustment report by various management departments is a major event. I’m not saying he doesn’t have the ability, but is he familiar with the company?”
“At such a critical period, any small mistake can trigger a chain reaction. It would be better for the chairman to come forward, right?”
“What is Mr. Tian implying? Qiuchi and the chairman are father and son, so aren’t his intentions the same as the chairman’s? How would he act against the chairman?”
“Then as you say, if he’s just the mouthpiece for the chairman and can’t make decisions personally. Isn’t it better to hold a video conference? It’ll be clearer if we can hear directly from the chairman.”
While the meeting erupted into chaos, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open. Everyone looked over and saw a well-dressed, plump, and tall woman with her hair in a bun and a neat and calm demeanor walk in. It was Fang Fengmei, followed by her second son, Yan Yaoxuan.
“Deputy Director Liu, is there something that you still don’t understand?” Fang Fengmei walked in with a smile. Yan Qiuchi stood up, and she waved her hand to Yan Qiuchi to sit down, as she sat down on the vacant seat next to him. “If you’re still unclear, I can explain it to you.”
Fang Fengmei hadn’t intervened in company affairs for many years, but she was a veteran of the company and its largest shareholder. Back then, she earned her title as the Iron Lady. Many directors present had worked with her when she was young, so they were quite surprised by her appearance. Her arms still had plaster, and despite the gorgeous makeup, it still didn’t cover up all the injuries on her forehead. Who could say anything when such a woman was sitting in front of them?
“Many of the people here are old friends who worked hard with Old Yan back then. I have nothing to say. Everyone knows Old Yan’s current condition, and he will not be able to come back in a short time. Recently, the company’s stock has plunged sharply, and everyone here has suffered heavy losses. At this juncture, we should work together to support the company through this difficult time. Qiuchi just took office, and all of you are his elder and younger uncles. You all have watched him grow up, and I hope everyone can support him. Those who have any opinions can talk in private, but on the forefront, I hope everyone can come together in unison.”
After Fang Fengmei finished speaking, Yan Yaoxuan behind her said discontentedly, “As the successor of the Yan family, my brother is recognized by everyone, whether you like it or not. Even if he doesn’t take over today, he will eventually succeed. I hope that all you elder and younger uncles can support him for not only his own good but yours as well. Everyone in this room is smart. There’s no need to play games in this meeting.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Fang Fengmei said.
The mother-son duo was collaborating with each other*.
*Singing double reeds (在唱双簧) Metaphor referring to working together (like singing a duet).
Fang Fengmei had a gentle attitude as she talked and laughed, while Yan Yaoxuan, due to his habit of being a dandy, would step in with a harsher rebuttal. As for Yan Qiuchi, he remained polite to the directors present while hidden needles pricked his heart, just like his father. The three joined hands, and with Old Wang and Old Li, they were able to reach a compromise, and thus the staff resolution was successfully passed.
“Why are you here?” Yan Qiuchi asked as soon as he entered the office and hurriedly went to help Fang Fengmei.
Fang Fengmei let out a sigh of relief, sat down in pain, and said, “Your dad was afraid that you wouldn’t be able to handle them, so I had to step up.”
“Mom, did I behave well just now?” Yan Yaoxuan asked.
“I’ll reward you with a car.” Yan Qiuchi said.
Fang Fengmei smiled. “You did good and said everything we wanted to say but didn’t dare say.”
Yan Yaoxuan: “If you want, I can say that our family owns the majority of shares, and we don’t have to be afraid of them! What can they possibly do?!”
“That would hurt both sides,” Fang Fengmei said. “It’s not that simple to manage a company.”
Yan Qiuchi sent Fang Fengmei back to the hospital along with Yan Yaoxuan. On the way back, Fang Fengmei suddenly asked, “What’s the name of your friend who came back with you from abroad?”
Yan Yaoxuan: “Shan Cheng.”
Fang Fengmei: “Is it the Shan I’m thinking of?”
Yan Yaoxuan let out a vague “Nn”.
Fang Fengmei: “When did you make such friends? He’s quite loyal enough to stay by your side at the hospital for these past few days.”
Yan Yaoxuan: “He just messes around and is completely useless.”
Yan Qiuchi, who was driving in front, said, “I don’t think he is as bad as you say.”
Yan Yaoxuan immediately changed the subject, pointed out the window, and said, “Look, it’s Xiao Jin!”
On the big LED screen in the distance, the final trailer for <When You’re Older> was playing. Smiles, tears, youth, and a love that never ends. The scene showed a full back, then a naked body appeared in a flash, and finally the picture froze, showing Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan, twins of divine beauty.
The author has something to say:
The comeback of Bai Qingquan, the transformation of Mrs. Yan into Fang Fengmei, the deepening of Yan Qiuchi and Shen Jintai’s feelings, the emergence of Shen Cheng, the return of Gao Qiao, Yan Qiuchi’s career, and even the image of the Yan family foreshadow the performance of <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>. Li Meilan, Xiao Tang, Wei Ge, and Fang Yun are all supporting roles that have shown their warmth.
—After writing about Mrs. Yan for a while, I suddenly found that she was always addressed as Mrs. Yan and didn’t have her own identity. Thinking of the previous novels, several wives didn’t seem to have their own names, so I felt that everyone should remember her name.
Only an enlightened, tolerant, and tough woman like Old Lady Fang can raise an excellent mother like Mrs. Yan, and a husband and wife like Mrs. Yan and Yan Tiefeng can raise a dedicated and outstanding son like Yan Qiuchi. The Yan family are all good people.
Except for crazy black powders, there are no bad guys in this novel!
Kinky Thoughts:
Yassss Bai Qingquan comeback! I’m here for it!
I’m glad the author gave Fang Fengmei an empowering scene. Too often, danmei ignores the supporting roles of women. As one of my favorite characters, she’s getting the recognition she deserves!
“Go and get in touch with Xingyun and tell them that I’ll participate in the promotions,” Bai Qingquan said.
Wei Ge said, “They’ve actually been urging us for a while now.”
To the crew of <When You’re Older>, Bai Qingquan’s recent crisis was negligible. At most, it would affect the box office contributed by moonlight powders, but the box office for this drama never planned on relying on just fans alone. Bai Qingquan’s problem was not a legal or ethical issue. Passersby wouldn’t care that much, and the influence of <The East Palace is Coming> was still there, so the number of people who wanted to see this movie was always large, so they were generally optimistic.
Following The East Palace, there was finally another same-sex drama with similar face value and texture. The beauty and prosperity of Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan can make the audience forgive all their black history.
And this was the real selling point of their movie: Really handsome guys shooting a same-sex movie that encompassed love and beauty with a high level of acting and content production.
When the film premiered, they had full confidence in it.
“I always thought Bai Qingquan was weak, so I didn’t expect him to step up to the plate,” Li Meilan said. “He’s quite courageous for daring to show up in public when his scandal was still recent. Moonlight powders have turned into black powders and have been blackening him recently. As soon as he makes his appearance, there’s going to be a bloody storm.”
Shen Jintai said, “He has always been like this, beautiful and kind-hearted.”
If Bai Qingquan wasn’t kind-hearted, he wouldn’t have helped him get his role in <The East Palace> and he could have settled scores of the past with him. But because of Bai Qingquan’s kind heart, he couldn’t let him face it alone. Bai Qingquan had a girlish heart and needed a lot of face. If there were too much ridicule, he wouldn’t be able to stand it.
“Let’s also discuss it with Xingyun and adjust it a little bit. If it’s my turn to go, let me go. Don’t let Qingquan replace me. If there’s a need for both of us to attend together, don’t push for it. I’ll go instead.”
He felt that Bai Qingquan also needed him to support him.
Li Meilan nodded and said, “You can sleep for a while. I think your dark circles are showing.”
Shen Jintai laid on the seat and said, “I don’t know how Uncle Yan is now.”
He did not go directly back to the hotel but went to the hospital first. Outside the ward, he saw Shan Cheng and Yan Yaoxuan again. The two of them were standing at the window. Yan Yaoxuan saw him and went into the ward.
Shen Jintai nodded toward Shan Cheng. He thought Yan Yaoxuan had a really good friend who was very enthusiastic, since he has been in the hospital this whole time and has never left his side.
“Are you Shen Jintai?” Shan Cheng asked suddenly. He didn’t speak Mandarin well, a sign that he grew up overseas.
Shen Jintai nodded, and Shan Cheng said, “I wasn’t able to talk to you yesterday. Remember me? Shan Cheng.”
Before Shen Jintai could respond, Yan Yaoxuan came out, took Shen Jintai’s arm, and said in an unhappy tone, “Ignore him. He’s a psycho.”
Shen Jintai was pulled into the ward before Yan Yaoxuan let him go, then went out to talk to Shan Cheng behind the closed door. Shen Jintai vaguely heard Yan Yaoxuan say, “What are you planning?”
“I’m not planning anything. I have heard about him for a while now and want to get to know him in person,” Shan Cheng said. “He’s taller and more handsome than on TV. You have a good eye.”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “My house is messy enough. If you’re fine, then just leave.”
After speaking, he also went into the ward. Mrs. Yan had already been taken off the ventilator and was able to speak. Shen Jintai sat next to her with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes.
“Did I give you a scare?” Mrs. Yan touched his hand and said weakly, “It’s okay.”
Shen Jintai didn’t know what to say. He was uncontrollably happy to see Mrs. Yan able to speak again.
Mrs. Yan was still very weak. The Yan family hired a professional caretaker that would care for her 24/7 in addition to Old Lady Fang, who refused to leave and insisted on staying at the ward. Shen Jintai sat inside for a while before he came out. Suddenly, he saw someone rushing over. He was startled and hurriedly grabbed the man’s arm asking, “What’s the matter?!”
“The chairman is awake!” The man said excitedly.
Shen Jintai followed the man into Mrs. Yan’s ward. Yan Yaoxuan and the others were overjoyed to hear the news. Mrs. Yan burst into tears as Old Lady Fang wiped her own eyes and said, “Finally, you can feel at ease now.”
Shen Jintai also wanted to shed tears. He was incredibly happy for himself and for Mrs. Yan. He felt he needed to tell Yan Qiuchi the news quickly.
“My brother went back to the hotel to sleep. He just left not long ago,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
Shen Jintai immediately took the car back to the hotel. On the way, he told Li Meilan and Xiao Tang, and they too were overjoyed by the news. Li Meilan smiled and said, “Thank goodness. I’ve been holding onto my heart this whole time!”
Emotions can easily influence others. Shen Jintai suddenly felt relieved. When he returned to the hotel, he immediately ran into the bedroom excitedly but saw Yan Qiuchi lying on his side of the bed, his body curled up slightly, and he was sleeping soundly.
He returned to the living room, and Li Meilan asked in a low voice, “Is he sleeping?”
Shen Jintai nodded and said in a low voice, “You all go back first. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Then Brother Jin, call me if you need something,” Xiao Tang said.
After sending them away, Shen Jintai took off his coat, went to the bedroom, sat by the bed for a while, then took off his shoes and crawled into bed, lying gently behind Yan Qiuchi with his head resting against his shoulder and his arms gently resting on his waist.
His sadness and worry were not only his feelings for the Yan family but also because they were Yan Qiuchi’s parents. He loves Yan Qiuchi, so he didn’t want him to be sad, and he didn’t want him to lose such good parents.
Now that everything is better, he wanted to tell Yan Qiuchi the good news immediately, but he wanted him to sleep a little longer. Seeing him so haggard made Shen Jintai distressed, so he didn’t want to wake up, but he was afraid that Yan Qiuchi might suffer in his dreams.
He laughed slightly, and his eyes moistened as he put his face on Yan Qiuchi’s back and closed his eyes. He too can now get a good night’s sleep. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, but he suddenly woke up in a daze. He didn’t know when, but Yan Qiuchi had already turned around and faced him. Darkness covered the room. After he moved, he realized that Yan Qiuchi had woken up.
“Uncle Yan woke up,” was the first thing that he said.
Yan Qiuchi responded with, “Nn. I saw the text sent by Yaoxuan.”
Shen Jintai stretched out his hand and wrapped his arms around Yan Qiuchi’s neck. Yan Qiuchi hugged him, and the two embraced as their hearts beat against each other’s.
Shen Jintai felt that life was very fragile. A loved one can leave at any moment. Life was so impermanent, and the time spent together was even more precious. They couldn’t see each other clearly in the dark, but they were familiar with each other’s smell. When he breathed in Yan Qiuchi’s scent, his heart felt full.
“What’s the matter?” Yan Qiuchi asked.
“It’s nothing,” Shen Jintai said. “I just suddenly felt that I love you more than I thought.”
Their hearts have never been so close before. For the first time, Shen Jintai felt the deep bond they had formed, one that showed care for each other and each other’s families. This was something more precious than passion and will accompany them for a lifetime.
Yan Qiuchi touched his face. His skin was warm, and his fingertips were warmer.
The author has something to say:
Thank you to every little angel chasing the novel.
Kinky Thoughts:
So glad they pulled through! Now gimme that dog food!
Ignoring the misunderstanding of the boss, He Yu leaned forward, acting solemnly. “I’m here to catch an adulterer. Someone said that my wife came here to rent a room with a man. Pretty lady, can you let us check the rooms? If we don’t find anyone, we’ll leave immediately!”
The boss’ face sank. “It’s your own business if you want to catch your wife cheating. How can you expect me to open and let you search all the rooms in my business!”
This kind of inn wasn’t formal. As long as you can pay, you don’t need to register or show any documents. He Yu took 200 yuan and put it on the counter. “No need to search. Just help me identify someone.”
Seeing the money, the boss’s face improved. “Who?”
He Yu turned on Dong Zhi’s phone and pulled up the photo he had taken of Cheng Hui. “In the past few days, has this person ever entered your place?”
The boss frowned and said, “Not today. I wasn’t here two days ago.”
He Yu took out another 200 yuan and stuffed it in her hand. “Can you ask for me?”
For the sake of money, the boss called her husband. The boss looked at the photo again and then remembered. “I did see him! I remembered that he came here a few days ago but didn’t say whether he wanted to rent a room or not. After loitering around for a bit, he left. I thought it was a cop trying to confiscate porn, but he said he was looking for someone, then went to the foot spa nearby.”
He Yu: “Did he leave later?”
The boss replied, “I don’t know. I didn’t follow him!”
After leaving the inn, the two went straight to “Xinyue Foot Spa” diagonally opposite the inn. The light inside was dim, setting an ambiguous mood. From a glance, one would know that there was also a “side business” in addition to pedicures.
A charming middle-aged woman greeted them with a smile. “Are the two of you familiar with our foot therapists?”
He Yu said, “No. Can you introduce two of them?”
He lowered his voice again. “Young, beautiful, and pure.”
The middle-aged woman pretended to be displeased. “We’re all serious food therapists here!”
He Yu said impatiently, “Cut the nonsense. It’s 350 per hour!”
Seeing that he was familiar with the road, the middle-aged woman became delighted. She led them into a small room and said, with a smile, “Wait here for a minute,” then left.
Dong Zhi stared blankly at him and said, “How do you know that it was 350 an hour?”
He Yu laughed, “National prices will not differ much!”
Dong Zhi was speechless. “Are you planning to reimburse this?” As he finished speaking, he saw that He Yu was focusing on the compass and couldn’t help feeling a sinking feeling in his heart. “Is there a problem here?”
He Yu: “I sense some magic, but it’s not heavy. It should be that Xu Wan stayed here… Shh, someone’s coming!”
Dong Zhi immediately became silent. The door opened and two young women came in.
“Hello, sir. Let’s soak your feet first. Would you like sea salt or ginger juice?”
The two of them came in holding wooden barrels at the corners of their robes as one woman whispered to He Yu.
“Whatever! You are so beautiful that I’ll be comfortable with anything!” He Yu acted like an anxious lecher that had a tail that was wagging excitedly.
The two women seemed accustomed to this kind of flirty language, while Dong Zhi felt uncomfortable. Seeing as one of the women reached out her hands to help him take off his shoes and socks, he bent over and started doing it himself.
The woman pursed her lips and smiled. “Just lie down and let me handle it.”
For such an occasion, being tacit was key, and there was no need to put on airs. The therapist started massaging He Yu’s legs, slowly moving her hands up in an ambiguous movement.
He Yu quickly winced. “I have a backache. Do you have anyone here that can massage my waist!”
The woman chuckled. “It’s not convenient here, so how about we change places?”
He Yu: “Change it!”
He acted like a pervert who couldn’t wait as he quickly got up and followed the woman out.
Dong Zhi raised his voice. “Lao He!”
He Yu perfunctorily said to him, “This room belongs to you. You can do whatever you want. It’s all on me today!” After that, without waiting for Dong Zhi to respond, he hurriedly hugged the woman and left with her.
Dong Zhi: …
Suddenly, he felt pain on the sole of his feet that made him inadvertently scream, causing the woman to laugh. “You haven’t slept well in the past few days. Your meridians are a bit blocked. I’ll help massage it for you.”
Seeing that Dong Zhi was stunned, she laughed. “Or do you want to have your waist massaged too?”
As she spoke, she moved her hand along his calf, causing Dong Zhi to jolt and hurriedly stop her hand. “No, no, I’m okay!”
The woman laughed again, embarrassing Dong Zhi. He felt as if he had been completely seen through.
“My name is Xiao Dong. What’s your name, sister?”
Calling a lady by sister was very useful on women as she loosened a bit. “You can call me A’Yue. Is this your first time?”
Dong Zhi nodded and whispered, “A’Yue Jie, I’m here looking for someone.”
A’Yue became wary. “Who are you looking for?”
Dong Zhi took out his phone and showed it to her. “It’s her.” It was a picture of Xu Wan’s ID photo that He Yu had sent to him.
A’Yue was startled for a moment, then quickly denied. “There’s no such person here.”
She denied it so quickly that Dong Zhi knew she was lying.
“Truth is, she is my sister.” Dong Zhi said. Seeing as how He Yu left him here alone, it indicated that A’Yue wasn’t related to demons, so he could inquire with confidence.
A’Yue let out a sigh, showing a surprised expression.
Dong Zhi continued convincingly spouting nonsense. “When my sister got married, everyone in my family opposed it, but my sister loved my brother-in-law and had to be with him. As a result, she gave birth to a daughter with autism, which caused my brother-in-law to divorce her. Since she fell out with our parents, she didn’t want to go back, and in a fit of desperation, she came here to work. I asked many people to find her, and only then did I find out that she’s here. A’Yue Jie, if you know anything, can you please tell me?”
If this was said by He Yu, it wouldn’t be effective at all, but Dong Zhi looked pure and innocent, and seeing him act so cute and miserable, she couldn’t help but soften her heart at that moment, especially when he took out 500 yuan and stuffed it into her hand and said softly. “A’Yue Jie. Please tell me, okay? I won’t tell anyone.”
A’Yue finally loosened her tongue. “She came not too long ago, and she didn’t use the name Xu Wan.”
This was the norm, though, because who would use their real name in this industry?
Overjoyed, Dong Zhi hurriedly asked, “Did she come to work today?”
A’Yue said, “She took a two-day break. I’m not familiar with her, but there’s another person who’s closer to her that may know her address. I’ll ask for it for you later.”
Dong Zhi: “Thank you, A’Yue Jie!”
Since Xu Wan was related to demons and could be one herself, she came all the way to the south but lived in seclusion as a prostitute behind some back alley. In addition to hiding herself to avoid detection, was it because she also had further ideas, thinking this was a more convenient way to kill and escape?
He didn’t dare think too carefully about it, as it only made his fears grow.
Dong Zhi left her a message on WeChat and wanted to leave, but A’Yue made him stay, saying that their business was vigilant and guests could not leave halfway, otherwise it would make people think that it’s an undercover cop trying to investigate. With no other choice, Dong Zhi stayed the full hour, where he was overwhelmed with the other party’s constant questions. After the hour was up, he quickly fled, leaving behind A’Yue with a teasing smile.
When he left the shop, he waited at the entrance for a while before He Yu came out. As he came out, he stretched lazily and yawned, giving off a look as if he was addicted to money.
“Why did you come out so quickly? Didn’t you enjoy it?”
Dong Zhi was speechless. “Do you think everyone is as hungry as you? I’m not ashamed of being a virgin!”
He Yu said, “Tsk, tsk. Comrade, you can’t be thinking along this kind of line. I’m sacrificing my image for the sake of business. Besides, how can my precious chastity be wasted in such a place? You look down on my taste too much!”
Dong Zhi: “Then at what level will it be to your taste?”
He Yu thought about it quite seriously before saying, “It will have to at least be 800 an hour.”
Dong Zhi: …
He Yu finally remembered business matters. “Is there any news from your side? Although my side knew Xu Wan, she didn’t know her address. I used a little method on her to make sure she didn’t lie. If you didn’t get anything, then we’ll just have to go talk to the procuress.”
Dong Zhi said, “I exchanged WeChat with A’Yue, and she said she would help me ask.”
He Yu patted him on the shoulder and said with satisfaction, “I was right about you. Your appearance is the most evocative of a woman’s motherhood.”
Black lines appeared as Dong Zhi said, “I’m also a handsome guy with long legs! You’re insulting my dignity as a man!”
The two of them walked out of the alley while bickering when Dong Zhi received a WeChat notification. When he opened it, it was from A’Yue, who had sent him the address. The place was not far from here.
He Yu said, “In the future, we’ll send you on seductive tasks. This is the trust the organization places on you.”
Dong Zhi: “How thoughtful of the organization. Is it just us two going into the tiger’s den? Shouldn’t we wait for reinforcements to come?”
“I have already asked Lin Jun to notify them, but I don’t know who’s coming. Since the Special Administrative Bureau expanded, we have had many people like Lin Jun that’s half a bucket of water*. With Xu Wan’s cunningness, she would soon know that we’ve been to the place where she works and would move to another place that’s even harder to find.”
*(半桶水) Cantonese dialect that originally was half a bucket of shit but being too vulgar was changed to water. It refers to someone who’s not smart or good at learning.
He Yu patted his chest with confidence and said, “Don’t worry. You have this brother, so you’ll be safe and sound.”
Dong Zhi: …The more you assure me, the more uneasy I get.
Xu Wan’s residence was easy to find. It was just after 8, so there were occasional people coming in and out of the downstairs. He Yu and Dong Zhi blended in and followed them in, saving them a lot of effort. Each floor of the building held two families. According to the address given by A’Yue, Xu Wan lives in room 302. They went up to the third floor and rang the doorbell, but no one answered.
‘No one’s there?’ Dong Zhi mouthed to He Yu.
He Yu shook his head and looked at the compass in his hand. Since entering the building, the magnetic needle on the compass had been spinning frantically. Seeing this, He Yu didn’t hesitate any longer and used a shady method to quickly open the door. The room was quiet and pitch black, a sign that the owner was not at home.
He Yu turned on the lights in the living room. The home had two bedrooms and a living room, and the layout was simple. Looking around, Dong Zhi didn’t find anything related to children in the living room, nor were there any feminine furnishings. This was not normal for a supposedly single mother who loves her child very much.
“There’s a lot of demonic energy here. I’ll go to the rooms to have a look. Wait for me here and get the talismans ready,” He Yu said.
Although Dong Zhi didn’t sense any magical aura, he also felt a gloomy, dreary atmosphere here, which made him feel a bit breathless. There was no need for feng shui analysis. Intuition was often the most accurate. He recalled a time when he was about to rent a house. As soon as he walked into it, he felt a sense of unease and uncomfortableness. The agent who showed it to him had insisted there was no problem with it. It was only later that he found out from a neighbor that a murder had taken place in that house before. Now, this home gave him the same familiar vibe as back then.
As he was looking away from the last year’s calendar on the wall, he suddenly found a dark shadow at the door of the second bedroom, causing his heart to jump. When he looked at it more closely, he saw that it was a familiar figure.
“Tongtong?” Although Dong Zhi knew that Xu Wan was a major suspect, he still sympathized with this sick and innocent little girl. She didn’t even know that her mother had been in contact with demons.
The little girl looked at him motionlessly, as before. Dong Zhi couldn’t bear it and he lowered his voice more. “Tongtong, we didn’t mean to break into your house. Something happened to your mother, so we had to take a look. Do you know where your mother is?”
“Mom…” The little girl seemed to be touched, and suddenly raised her hand and motioned for him to come over.
Dong Zhi suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and slowly walked over. When he was about to walk to the door of the second bedroom, the corners of Tongtong’s mouth suddenly raised in a weird arc, and her pale little hands grabbed him.
Dong Zhi was already mentally prepared. Though he was still shocked, he hurriedly stepped back and quickly put the talisman he had been holding in his hand on her head. As soon as the talisman came into contact with the little girl’s skin, it immediately ignited spontaneously. The girl screamed, and blue veins appeared all over her face.
This scene made him think of Yao Bin, who was possessed by the Sneaky Yaksha on Changbai Mountain. All his hairs stood up as the talisman quickly burned out and the little girl’s expression became more hideous as her face became pale and blue and she rushed over!
Dong Zhi took advantage of the situation and grabbed her wrist, thinking that he could control her strength. Surprisingly, the little girl’s strength was even greater than He Yu’s, so she immediately slapped Dong Zhi with her backhand, gripped his thigh with one hand, and plunged her five fingers into Dong Zhi’s flesh!
Before he could scream, He Yu had run out of the master bedroom and choked the back of Tongtong’s neck.
“Cinnabar!”
Hearing He Yu’s roar, Dong Zhi ignored the pain in his thigh and hurriedly took out the cinnabar box from He Yu’s backpack and opened it.
He Yu formed a sword finger* with one hand and slammed it into the cinnabar box.
*[Jian Jue] (剑指) This is a gesture used in Taoism when casting spells. The finger shape also represents a sword in martial arts.
“The four great enlightenments, heaven and earth are eternal, water and fire extinguished each other, gold and water cut each other. Those who see demons and beasts will be destroyed from top to bottom, as hastily as I decree, break!”
As he used his index finger to paint the runes on top of the girl’s head, Tongtong screamed wildly. He Yu completed it in one go, and as the mantra was recited, he grabbed it with five fingers in the air! Dong Zhi saw black mist being pulled out of Tongtong’s body as it coagulated in He Yu’s hand. He tried his best to hold them in, and he struggled frantically.
“Sunlight Talisman!” He Yu roared.
Dong Zhi reacted quickly. As soon as He Yu spoke, he had already attached the sunlight talisman to the black mist. He Yu quickly let go as the black mist roared and wailed, and together with the sunlight talisman, it suddenly turned to ashes, leaving no residue behind.
Dong Zhi panted and caught the little girl who had fallen softly.
“Lao He, now…”
“Let go!” He Yu screamed at him.
Dong Zhi was startled and subconsciously let go of her hand, only to see the little girl suddenly open her eyes with a hideous smile on her face. When He Yu was about to make a move, the little girl bent backwards in a posture that no human could do and stood upright not far from them.
“I didn’t expect you to come so fast…”
The little girl giggled, her voice hoarse and low, definitely not the tone that she had ever spoken before.
Dong Zhi was incredulous. “Xu Wan?!”
The little girl gave him an eerie smile. “I should have eaten you a long time ago…”
This was completely different from the well-behaved Tongtong that he had met on the train. Dong Zhi inadvertently shuddered.
He Yu said solemnly, “I don’t care what collusion you have with demons. The remnant soul you captured is my junior brother. If you are willing to hand over his remnant soul, I can let you go! Or do you want to be hunted down by the Special Administration Bureau and the Hezao Sect forever!”
Hearing this, the little girl was not only not afraid, but she even laughed louder. “Long Shen is almost here and you dare rabble this kind of nonsense!”
Hearing her mention the boss, He Yu’s face sank more. This showed that the demon was familiar with them.
“If you want that remnant soul, take the stone tablet and come to me on the rooftop of Tianyuan Building!”
He Yu said angrily, “The stone tablet is now in Beijing. We won’t be able to get it for a while!”
She smiled gloomily and said, “Tomorrow before sunrise. Don’t be late!”
Before she even finished, He Yu had acted. Holding a seal in one hand and a talisman in the other, he rushed towards the monster. The latter didn’t have time to react before her neck was already squeezed by him and the talisman carrying the fire of wind and thunder was imprinted on her heart!
Dong Zhi heard a loud roar as thunder and fire suddenly erupted, causing the little girl to wail and fall softly to the ground. He didn’t know what was going on, so he hurriedly stepped forward but was pushed back by He Yu. Unprepared, he almost fell over.
At this time, the little girl’s body started shriveling at a pace visible to the naked eye. Countless densely packed maggots crawled out of the place where the small hole was made in her heart. Seeing the sight, all his hair stood up, and Dong Zhi cried out, “What are these?!”
He Yu threw another talisman that fluttered in the air, falling onto the little girl, but it immediately ignited, and the fire quickly spread all over the girl’s entire body. The light from the fire was extremely dazzling, but there was no billowing smoke as it was controlled by an invisible circle. In just ten minutes, the little girl’s body was engulfed by fire and burnt out. Dong Zhi looked at the empty ground that didn’t even have ashes remaining.
“Is she dead?”
“She is not a human being.” He Yu sat on the ground and said wearily, “You also saw it just now. Her body had long been invaded by those insects, and Xu Wan had been controlling her body.”
Dong Zhi was in disbelief. When he saw Tongtong on the train, she was no longer a living person.
“Is it a demon that controls Xu Wan and her daughter? Or…”
He Yu interrupted him, “The most important thing now is not to let it escape. I have to report to the higher ups immediately and rush to Tianyuan Building!”
When Dong Zhi heard him say “I” instead of “we”, he immediately said, “I’ll go too!”
He Yu smiled bitterly. “Little baby Dongdong, I have some confidence in you due to past events, and you’re capable of becoming a disciple. However, this time there’s no retreat, and I may not be able to protect you…”
Dong Zhi said without hesitation, “The demon was prepared a long time ago, and you’ve been injured again. Having an extra person will be better!”
“I need you to go to the Guangzhou office,” He Yu said solemnly. “Cheng Hui’s remnant soul is still in the hands of the demon. I can’t help but go, but I can’t do it alone. I remember that there is a magic weapon made of five-baht coins* in the office. Go and get it for me and find a few helpers. Come with as many people as possible!”
*Copper currency in ancient China. Most likely, the item is a sword-like weapon made entirely of five-baht coins stuck together.
Hearing this, Dong Zhi quickly agreed. He Yu took his phone and called Long Shen, mainly to explain the seriousness of the matter. Dong Zhi didn’t know what was said on the other end. Eventually, He Yu said a few ums and hung up.
“The boss said that there happened to be someone from the East China Branch in Xiamen. In the afternoon, he asked the other party to rush over to help, but I don’t know if he’ll make it in time. Anyways, I’ll go there first. Remember to bring me the magic weapon!”
Seeing Dong Zhi’s serious face, He Yu patted his shoulder and joked, “If I die, remember to tell the boss and ask him to burn a few more beauties for me every year. I don’t want to go down there and still be a single dog!”
Dong Zhi didn’t have his sense of humor. He smiled reluctantly and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely burn a few more handsome guys for you!”
The two parted at the intersection. Dong Zhi took a taxi to the Guangzhou office. The location was in another district that spans almost half of Yangcheng. Even if he went by car, it’d still take nearly two hours to reach his destination.
At first, the driver was chatty as he drove. When they were about to arrive, he became more restless and stopped talking. He would frequently look at Dong Zhi from the rearview mirror, and his expression became more serious, and he finally couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure the address is correct?”
The scenery outside the car was becoming more remote. After moving away from the bustling urban areas, the scene changed to small villages and towns. Without the setting of thousands of streetlights, the sparse streetlights on the road appeared lonely and cold.
Dong Zhi had never been here before. He felt his heart sinking into a bottomless pit and said, “That’s right. Just drive according to the address.”
If this incident wasn’t dire, he would have thought that He Yu was playing a prank on him. After all, who would set up an office next to a cemetery? But then he remembered that the original site of the General Administration Bureau was in a famous haunted house, so it’s not too surprising that there would be an office here.
The car finally stopped at its destination, which was a factory building near a cemetery. There were wastelands all around, and occasionally a few trees grew, exuding a desolated aura. A few abandoned factories were scattered across the highway. From the looks of things, even during the day, no one would deliberately stop at a place like this.
Dong Zhi took out his wallet and wanted to give the driver money.
The driver said, as he trembled with fear, “No cash. I only accept Alipay or WeChat.”
Dong Zhi: …
He knew what the driver was worried about, and he might even have cracked a joke to scare him, telling him some nonsense urban myth, but he currently wasn’t in the mood. After paying, Dong Zhi asked the driver to wait on the side of the road for a while, then he walked towards a factory where no one would reside in.
Kinky Thoughts:
A few chapters ago, I thought that Tongtong was the real mastermind and Xu Wan was being controlled by her, but I guess I was wrong. I didn’t put it in my Kinky thoughts because I was afraid that it might be a spoiler.
Still lost in a daze, Chung Hui slumped to the ground without saying a word. His expression was listless, as if he hadn’t heard their conversation at all. Since they met, Dong Zhi felt there was something off with him, but the situation at that time was urgent, so he didn’t have time to ask questions.
“What’s wrong with him?”
He Yu said, “A person has three souls, fetal light, cool spirit, and secluded spirt*. He has lost his cool spirit, so now he’s muddleheaded, like a mentally handicapped person. After getting off the bus, it seems you ran into a ghost that was determined to lead you towards the bridge. I wanted to chase after you, but I was stopped by a few naked girls who appeared dancing in front of me.”
*The three souls that govern the spiritual part of the body. Fetal light governs your life. Cool spirit governs your knowledge and wisdom. Secluded spirit governs your personality. See Kinky Thoughts for lore.
The corner of Dong Zhi’s mouth twitched. “Sola Aoi*?”
*Former Japanese AV idol who is widely considered the most famous AV idol of the 2000’s.
He Yu rolled his eyes. “Their figure was better than Sola Aoi’s. How could this master who had seen all her thousands of sails be fooled? Seeing that they couldn’t stop me, they all turned into Cheng Hui, and only one of them was real. I was eager to deal with them and rescue Chung Hui, but I lost you. Fortunately, the boss helped us out, or this would’ve been quite troublesome!”
Dong Zhi bluntly said, “I think you might get punished when you return.”
He Yu wailed, “That’s for sure! When I went out, not only did I carelessly lose you, but I also had to rely on the boss to save us. I can already see my beloved money sprouting wings and flying away!”
Dong Zhi wanted to cover his ears to block out He Yu’s whining, but he couldn’t help but think about the execution ground and the military policemen he encountered. The chill didn’t dissipate in his heart.
“What happened just now? Did we run into a ghost, or did we travel through time?”
He Yu said solemnly, “Neither. Someone had set up a trap around here and was waiting for us to crash into it. The things you saw were demons with highly condensed grievances. Human vision is often limited, so they can get easily confused.”
Dong Zhi was stunned. “So, what we saw just now was an illusion?”
But he was physically apprehended, and all the sobbing he heard felt so real.
He Yu: “It’s not an illusion. These guys belong to the same kind of demons as the Sneaky Yaksha, but they are of a lower level, so they cannot absorb the essence of the human brain and can only survive in a specific boundary.”
Dong Zhi said worriedly, “Then ordinary people will not be affected, right?”
He Yu shook his head. “This place was once an execution ground in the Republic of China. There were countless dead here, and their resentment was condensed here. After hundreds of years, it still had not dissipated, forming a special magnetic field. However, nothing was wrong until someone took advantage of this fact, deliberately lured us here and created an enchantment, making us think we had traveled a hundred years back in time. If we were to stay for too long, we would not be able to return again.”
The two set off with Cheng Hui, one holding his left side the other his right. There was no resistance since he was still muddleheaded. The hotel was crowded with people, making it inconvenient, so they returned to Cheng Hui’s rented home instead.
It was late at night, and the sky was clear. The landlady, who was in the middle of a good dream, was awakened by their arrival. She came to open the security door with a grumpy expression. When she saw they had really recovered Cheng Hui, she recalled the strange method they were using when she led them to his room and was in complete disbelief. The scolding that she was about to give them was instantly forgotten.
Dong Zhi lied and said that they had rescued him from the MLM organization, but because he had been bullied, he was in bad spirit and needed rest. They would take care of him for a few days and said she could temporarily increase the rent, successfully appeasing her anger*.
*Strangled in the cradle (扼杀在摇篮) Idiom referring to killing the idea before it’s even implemented. It refers to babies being defenseless and weak and therefore easier to kill before they can grow up and become a hidden danger. || In this context, the landlady was angry that more people were going to stay in a single room, but they offered to pay more rent, which appeased her before she even proposed the idea (and thus appeased her anger).
After settling Cheng Hui down, they both collapsed on the floor, exhausted and feeling like they never wanted to move again.
“I’ll report to the boss later and ask him to find someone to investigate that Liuhua’s Bridge enchantment,” He Yu said weakly.
Dong Zhi reluctantly got up, collected two bottles of water from the fridge, and tossed one to him.
“I feel as if someone is always seemingly pushing us towards something. Cheng Hui’s matter is most likely related to what you asked him to investigate.”
He Yu opened the bottle, took a big gulp, and let out a comfortable sigh. “It’s all my fault. I was too careless. This kid is very curious. He must have discovered something unintentionally attracting the other party’s attention.”
Dong Zhi took out a pen and paper, wrote the word train on it, then drew an arrow pointing it to Changchun. Southeast of Changchun is Changbai Mountain. Then there’s Guangzhou. Finally, he connected all the dots. From north to south, it spanned almost half the country.
Dong Zhi placed brackets with [Sneaky Yaksha] written in them besides the train, Changchun, and Changbai Mountain. He looked up at He Yu and wrote by Guangzhou: [Low-level Sneaky Yaksha].
He Yu frowned as he looked at the schematic diagram Dong Zhi drew.
“I remember there was a past event,” He Yu said. “Seven years ago, I was sent to the boarder of Yunnan to perform a mission there where I encountered a similar situation at that time. We were confused by the demons and thought we had returned to ancient Yunnan, thousands of years ago. I had just joined back then, so I was hotblooded and not afraid of either the sky nor the earth. As a result, I almost met my end. I later learned that those monsters were called Sneaky Yaksha, and they specialize in feeding on blood essence and souls.”
Dong Zhi was surprised. “They’re everywhere?”
He Yu shook his head. “They’re not difficult to deal with, but they’re elusive and they specialize in finding human weaknesses. The weaker ones are like those that we ran into in the enchantment, while the stronger ones possess the human body and suck out their brains, like what happened on the train.”
“I heard the boss say that for these demons, the weak follow the strong, while the strong follow the stronger. If they suddenly appear, they must’ve been summoned by a more powerful demon. They provide blood essence and souls for the demon, and in return the demon provides them with protection, so they can feed on humans without scruples.”
“However, last time on Changbai Mountain, we completely destroyed the bone dragon and also killed many of the Sneaky Yaksha. The demon hidden behind the scenes must also have suffered some backlash. Even if we didn’t kill it, they were most likely severely injured and shouldn’t dare show up again so shortly after.”
Dong Zhi pinched the two fluffy ears of He Yu’s backpack as he had now developed this habit while thinking. Lost in his thoughts, he almost deformed the bear’s head from his rubbing.
“To summarize, there are two possibilities. The first is that there may be a stone tablet here and the other party came to deal with it.”
He Yu let out a sigh, showing that he wasn’t surprised, as he was thinking along the same line of thought.
“The second possibility, according to what you said, is that the person who is manipulating the Sneaky Yaksha may have been severely injured due to the backlash on Changbai Mountain. If this is the case, he must find a place to heal, right? Since he’s injured, his power has decreased, so he can only summon lower-level demons in a limited enchantment, as he doesn’t have the strength to support the higher-level Sneaky Yaksha.”
Dong Zhi further analyzed it and said, “This corresponds to the fact that you asked Cheng Hui for his divination. It’s very likely that he had found some clues and inadvertently attracted trouble.”
He Yu was stunned, showing that he obviously didn’t think of this possibility.
Dong Zhi continued, “If he needed more blood essence and soul resentment, the ideal target area should be in a city like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, where there are three religions and nine streams1, and fish mixes with dragons2. Even if a few people go missing every year, it’ll probably be difficult to track them down in a vast sea of people.”
1Three religions are: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The nine streams refer to the identities of different ranks. See lore for more details. 2(鱼龙混杂) Idiom that means the good people mixes with the bad.
He Yu asked sarcastically, “Then why Guangzhou instead of Shanghai or Beijing, which are closer to Changchun?”
Dong Zhi answered seriously, “I remember you said that after the Special Administration Bureau was split into four, the southern headquarters was moved to Shanghai, and now there’s only a small office in Guangzhou. If I were that person, I would definitely choose a place that is far out of sight from the Bureau and has a decent foreign population size. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and even Hong Kong are all good choices.”
He Yu stared at him blankly, speechless. Dong Zhi got the creeps when he saw He Yu’s expression, but he couldn’t prevent him from patting him heavily on the shoulder.
“I didn’t expect you to be so smart!”
Black lines appeared as Dong Zhi asked, “Do I look stupid?”
He Yu: “You should show your cleverness in front of the boss next time, so maybe he’ll be willing to open a backdoor for you!”
Dong Zhi wanted to tell him, ‘Every time I’m in front of your boss, I get so overwhelmed by his aura that I forget where north, south, east, and west are, so how could I possibly show him anything?’
With that said, He Yu took Dong Zhi’s phone and called Long Shen. The phone rang for a while before it was picked up by Kan Chaosheng.
“What? The boss helped you get out of trouble today, so he’s exhausted and is resting. What do want?”
He Yu knew that Long Shen’s condition was severe, otherwise he would have answered his phone instead of having Kan Chaosheng do it.
“Can you wake him up for me? It’s urgent!”
Kan Chaosheng didn’t question him. After a while, the voice on the other line changed.
“What’s wrong?” Long Shen sounded tired.
Dong Zhi was too worn out and no longer had the energy, so he didn’t listen to He Yu’s conversation, and instead fell asleep while in a haze until he was awakened the next day.
He Yu’s spirits looked much better today, as he was joking around. “You sure can sleep. You didn’t wake up at all last night, as I talked to the boss. He said he could hear your snoring!”
Dong Zhi was shocked. “Really?!”
He Yu said bitterly, “Of course I’m lying. Why are you so gullible and cute! My little baby Dongdong, you’re no longer the great Dongdong Qiang* in my mind!”
*Clarity: That’s Dong Zhi’s online handle. Also, the Dong (咚) in his handle is a different character than the Dong (冬) in Dong Zhi.
Dong Zhi: …
Since Cheng Hui had lost a part of his soul, he was unresponsive. He sat cross-legged on the bed as he nibbled on a bun in his hand, remaining quiet, and didn’t get involved in their bickering.
He Yu slapped him with a stick, then gave him a sweet jujube* and hurriedly said, “I bought breakfast. There’s soy milk, fritters, rice noodles, and buns on the table. Take whatever you want to eat. To reward you for your hard work yesterday, this brother will treat you to a big meal at noon!”
*Metaphor for using both reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior (AKA carrot and stick).
Dong Zhi couldn’t care about food, so he hurriedly asked, “What did Boss Long say last night? What should we do next?”
He Yu said, “Good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
Dong Zhi: “…Bad news.”
He Yu: “According to the portrait you provided last time, we used facial recognition to find Xu Wan and her daughter. Their identities are not abnormal. Xu Wan did divorce her husband a few years ago and then took custody of her child.”
Dong Zhi found this strange. “So they’re not suspicious? What kind of bad news is this?”
He Yu: “A week ago, Xu Wan brought her daughter, Chen Tong, to Guangzhou.”
Dong Zhi was surprised. “They really have something to do with Sneaky Yaksha?!”
He Yu said, “You met Xu Wan on the train, and there happened to be a Sneaky Yaksha on the train. You met her at the hotel, and it happened that someone died there. Later, on Changbai Mountain… There are many coincidences in the world, but it’s rare for this kind of coincidence to happen related to this point. I even suspect that she wanted to attack you at the beginning—the water bottle being evidence—but was interfered with by the boss, so she had to divert her target to the train attendant.”
Dong Zhi murmured, “She became my replacement?”
He Yu shook his head. “No, I said that although your Ba-zi is useful, they are not the easiest to attract ghosts and demons. The train attendant was born on the Mid-Autumn Festival, so her Ba-zi was more suitable than yours.”
Dong Zhi: “But then at the hotel, you weren’t there. She obviously had many opportunities, so why didn’t she start with me?”
“Because of this.” He Yu took out a sunlight talisman and put it on the table.
“We broke her schemes on the train, so she had to remain vigilant. If something happens to you, it’ll allow us to track it back to her. She was eager to resurrect the dragon corpse and couldn’t afford any extra trouble, so she let you off.”
He sighed. “But others are not as lucky, like the person who jumped out of the hotel and Yao Bin. Before that, she must’ve killed many people along the way, collecting enough blood essence and resentment to awaken the dragon corpse.”
He thought about the number of times he ran into Xu Wan, even staying in an adjacent room next to her, and how he managed to escape death, making him inadvertently shudder. He couldn’t help pondering why he didn’t feel vigilant against her through their multiple encounters.
Dong Zhi recalled carefully and found that whenever he looked at Xu Wan, he always felt she gave off a gentle and amiable aura, and he even felt it was similar to his deceased mother, so he consistently dropped his guard around her. Even when he saw her on Changbai Mountain, he didn’t even doubt her, but instead thought she got lost, and didn’t find anything wrong with the situation until after a while.
It wasn’t until later, after they came down from Changbai Mountain, He Yu and the others started investigating the stone tablet that he told them about his “chance encounter” with Xu Wan that they started a deeper investigation into her.
He was afraid after that realization hit him, so he told He Yu about his thoughts.
He Yu didn’t seem surprised by them. “It’s not shocking. It’s a demon’s nature to confuse people. If Xu Wan is really related to demons, if she wanted you to fall in love with her wholeheartedly, it could be done. It’s just that we were too careless at that time and didn’t block the train for on-the-spot inspections. Otherwise, perhaps Yao Bin wouldn’t have lost his life. Fortunately, it’s not too late to make amends.”
Dong Zhi comforted him, “She was prepared from the beginning. First using the train attendant to distract our attention and even attracted the Japanese as a cover. This was done intentionally, and no one would have expected it.”
He Yu said, “Is there someone else behind Xu Wan, or is she a demon herself? Now that we have a clue, we need to find her to get answers. When the mother-daughter duo came to Guangzhou, whether it was through immigration or hotel registration, there were no records of them. I suspect they have used fake documents and certificates and are now hiding somewhere.”
Hearing such unexpected news first thing in the morning, Dong Zhi had to drink some soy milk to suppress his shock.
“What about the good news?”
He Yu smiled and said, “Willows and flowers*. Before you got up, I used a location method, and based on the approximation given by the chopstick, I asked my brother’s department to help with monitoring and investigation, and finally found a video of Cheng Hui before his disappearance.”
*(柳暗花明) Metaphor for sudden survival after twists and turns and hardships.
Dong Zhi gave a thumbs up. “The combination of Chinese and Western medicine has a good curative effect. So amazing, brother!”
He Yu brushed back his hair chicly. “That’s right. Look who’s doing all the work!”
Cheng Hui looked at him blankly and suddenly said, “Fool…”
He Yu said angrily, “Shut up! You’re the fool. I’m helping a big fool like you find your soul!”
Cheng Hui: “Big fool.”
He Yu: …
Dong Zhi was trying hard to hold back his laughter. Cheng Hui had lost his soul and was usually unresponsive. From time to time, he would utter a few irrelevant words out of nowhere, and He Yu was too lazy to argue with him. He pulled up the map app on Dong Zhi’s phone and entered the location.
“The video showed that Cheng Hui did not come out since he entered this alley that day. I did not sense a remnant of his soul near Liuhua Bridge, so it’s very likely that it’s still imprisoned somewhere. For now, since this is the only clue we have, we’ll check here first.”
Dong Zhi looked at the map. “The alleys in urban villages like this are generally very narrow, so there are no cameras. Most likely, it’ll be difficult to check.”
He Yu said, “We’ve narrowed it as much as possible. Let’s go over and have a look first.”
After finishing breakfast, Dong Zhi felt he had regained all the strength he lost from yesterday. “Is there anything I can do?”
He Yu said, “I’m injured. Come and help me draw talismans. We should prepare first, then set off in the evening.”
Dong Zhi thought this was odd. “Isn’t there more sunlight during the day?”
He Yu replied, “The other party is aware of this, so she’ll definitely choose to be active at night. As the night passes, I’ll be more likely to sense their magic energy.”
With that said, the two got busy quickly. Things like drawing talismans require focus. Even though he still remembered how to draw them, he wasn’t necessarily efficient at it. By the time evening approached, Dong Zhi was sweating profusely as he set his brush down. His ability to draw talismans had improved a lot, but still, only one in ten could be used, which was already quite remarkable. Using over half a day, he was only able to draw ten decent sunlight talismans.
He Yu had lost too much blood. In order to strengthen the talisman, he had to infuse his own blood into them. By the time he was done with all of them, he collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.
“I regret it now…” He Yu face looked as if he was dying. “I knew I should have pulled Kan Chaosheng over. His blood is much better than mine!”
Dong Zhi was a little worried. “Are you still able to locate someone in your current state?”
He Yu raised his hand weakly and made an OK gesture.
Dong Zhi also lay on the floor, not wanting to get up anymore either. “What do you want to eat? I’ll order takeout.”
He Yu said, “No, I’ll have someone deliver it.”
He made a call and ordered over a dozen dishes, such as Buddha jumping over the wall, stewed black chicken with donkey-hide gelatin, sea cucumber congee with millet, and ten other dishes, all in one breath, before contentedly hanging up.
Black lines appear on Dong Zhi as he said, “Can you finish eating all this and isn’t stewed black chicken* eaten by women?”
*Clarity: The dish is broken into 3 parts (based on ingredients) that each have a variety of (supposed) benefits. Black chicken helps with dysentery, wrists, and abdominal cramps (so it’s good for mothers) and also cures postpartum weakness, collapse, and leucorrhea. Jujubes can invigorate the spleen and stomach, nourish qi and blood. Donkey-hide gelatin helps with the liver, lungs, and kidneys and returns them to their meridians.
He Yu said confidently, “Replenishing blood and nourishing qi is what we need now!”
Dong Zhi: “You’re suddenly so extravagant. Is it because you can be reimbursed?”
He Yu proudly said, “My family’s Xiao Dongdong is so smart. Since this is related to demons, it shows that the Changbai Mountain incident is not over yet, so it’s business matters. The boss has agreed to reimburse me!”
Dong Zhi couldn’t stand him pretending to be cute like a five-and-a-half-year-old. “Who’s your family? Cheng Hui’s your family!”
He Yu frowned. “Then whose family are you? Boss’?”
Dong Zhi blinked, paused, and then said, “Why did you suddenly involved Boss Long?”
He Yu laughed. “Look at how nervous you are. The boss is so powerful, so it’s normal for you to admire him!”
While they were talking, the phone rang. He Yu went downstairs to pick up someone, and after a while, he came back with a young man who was carrying food in his hand. As soon as the takeout box was opened, a strong fragrance quickly filled the entire space.
He Yu introduced them, “This is Lin Jun, from the Guangzhou office. This is the Dong Zhi.”
Dong Zhi gave him a smile while the other party was extremely enthusiastic. “I wonder where Senior Brother* Dong is from?”
*Senior martial brother [shixiong] (师兄) Term normally used to address people who are from the same teacher and who are older than you.
He Yu said impatiently, “Eat first! I’m starving to death!”
Hearing him, Lin Jun shut up. The three, plus a Cheng Hui who had lost his soul, were like winds sweeping away clouds*, and swept away the entire meal quickly.
*(风卷残云) Metaphor for sweeping away the remaining things all at once, usually people’s food.
After finishing, He Yu stretched his legs out and twisted his waist side to side. His spirits looked much better now. He said to Lin Jun, “The incident happened so suddenly that I had to ask you for your help. If the people of the South China Branch arrive in time, can you ask them to come to this address to find us.”
Lin Jun looked at the location sent by He Yu on his phone, nodded, and said, “Senior Brother He, don’t worry. I’ll be watching Senior Brother Cheng here.”
Their luggage was still left at the hotel when they first checked in. Lin Jun was enthusiastic and volunteered to go collect it for them. After showering and changing into a new set of clothes, Dong Zhi felt completely refreshed. He Yu explained a few more things to Lin Jun and then left with Dong Zhi.
Dong Zhi was very curious about Lin Jun. “Is he your junior brother*?”
*Junior martial brother [shidi] (师弟) Term used for a disciple that’s younger than you (same concept as shixiong).
He Yu shook his head and said, “Senior Brother is just a generic term. He’s a member of the side branch of the Lin Family in Lingnan. His ability is mediocre, and his kung fu is just for show*. There’s no one in Guangzhou’s office now, so sometimes he comes in handy!”
*Stalking horses (溜须拍马) Metaphor meaning fawn over, shameless flattery.
Dong Zhi said unexpectedly, “Do cultivators also have this kind of life?”
He Yu rolled his eyes. “Cultivators are also human beings. Of course, flattery and intrigue are indispensable. If he was more capable, there would be no need for the two of us to brave the devil’s lair. I already sent an urgent request to Shanghai, hoping they’ll send a few reliable people over.”
Braving the devil’s lair was a very accurate way of putting into words of what they were doing right now. Suddenly, Dong Zhi felt a sense of sadness and solemnity.
The two took a taxi to the place they had found. It was another urban village that was lively at night, but this one was still on the main road. Once they entered the alleyways, there weren’t any bright streetlamps, and the surroundings immediately dimmed as lightbulbs that had fallen into disrepair flickered occasionally, making a sizzling noise.
“It’s here,” He Yu said.
They were standing at the entrance to an alley that was extremely narrow. Two self-built houses stood next to each other, leaving a small gap in the middle that formed the alley. Some alleys were difficult for even one person to squeeze through. Luckily, this was better. There were scattered lights and signs throughout the alley for shops for massage parlors, inns, and mahjong halls.
He Yu and Dong Zhi first picked the inn and went in.
The boss was sitting at the front desk watching a Korean drama. From the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of them coming in but didn’t take a closer look as she casually asked, “Want a room?” After asking, she gave them a quick glance, and her expression immediately changed as she gave them a meaningful look.
Dong Zhi: …
You’re the one who spoke up first before even looking at people!
Kinky Thoughts:
What are your thoughts on Chinese idioms? Should they be translated if a good translation exists, or do you prefer them footnoted? I usually footnote them unless they are too awkward to put in the translation or if the translated meaning makes it flow better. For example: “the fishes mixes with the dragons” could probably be translated as the good mixes with the bad or a mixed bag. They basically mean the same thing.
IMO I like the Chinese idioms as they give a little of Chinese culture to the novel, and it is, after all, a Chinese novel.
—
The three souls, more commonly referred to as the three souls and seven souls, governs the spiritual part of the body.
In Taoism, the three souls refer to the “heaven soul, earth soul, and human soul” which are respectively named “fetal light, cool spirit, and secluded spirit”. In ancient times this was called “main soul, awakened soul, and living soul” or “primitive spirit, yang spirit, yin spirit”.
Fetal light: is in charge of your life. If this is gone, that means you’re dead.
Cool spirit: is in charge of your wisdom, inspiration, and everything you need to think about. It is said that people who are stupid lack this soul.
Secluded spirit: is in charge of your lineage and any personality that comes with it. This includes such things like your hobbies, sexual orientation, your earthly wants and desires, ect.
When a person dies, the three souls return to their three lines.
Heavenly soul/fetal light returns to the Heavenly Road as it is only a conscious thought and is immortal.
Soul of the Earth/cool spirit returns to the underworld because it knows the karma and retribution of everything in your main soul.
Human soul/secluded spirit lingers among the cemeteries.
The three souls will reunite again when the main soul reincarnates.
The seven souls refer to:
Joy
Anger
Sorrow
Fear
Love
Evil
Desire
—
3 Religions and 9 Streams
The three religions are:
Confucianism: Confucianism revolves around the pursuit of the unity of the individual self and the God of Heaven, or, otherwise said, around the relationship between humanity and Heaven.
Buddhism: As expressed in the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, the goal of Buddhism is to overcome suffering caused by desire and ignorance of reality’s true nature, including impermanence and the non-existence of the self.
Taoism: Is the concept that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (natural order of the universe) and achieve perfection through self-cultivation.
These religions are further divided into 9 streams that are classifications of people’s status and occupational names in ancient China. They are:
Shen Jintai felt that Yan Yaoxuan’s friend was quite reliable since he accompanied him to fly back from abroad so urgently.
Seeing Shen Jintai’s haggard expression, Yan Qiuchi said, “After dinner, go back to the hotel and rest. The crew can’t wait for you for too long, so return back to them tomorrow.”
Shen Jintai nodded.
“Everything will be fine,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Shen Jintai’s eyes turned red, and he said, “The doctor didn’t say that Uncle Yan had stabilized yet, and he still hasn’t woken up.”
“We have invited a team of top doctors to come over. It will be fine.”
News of Yan Tiefeng and his wife’s car accident quickly spread. When Bai Qingquan found out, he called Shen Jintai as soon as possible. Shen Jintai had been caring for him recently, so he of course had to repay in kind.
“I have seen it all on the news. It’s terrible.” After he finished speaking, seeing that Wei Ge gave him a wink, he quickly said, “But don’t worry. They will be fine.”
Shen Jintai responded with a “Nn”.
Bai Qingquan said, “Just take a good rest. I’ll stop bothering you now and come visit you when I have time.”
Bai Qingquan planned to visit Shen Jintai.
“Are you willing to go out?” Wei Ge asked.
“When I had my crisis, he came to see me specifically. Now that he has encountered this kind of thing, as a friend, I should also go see him in person. I’ll go quietly so I don’t have to deal with the media,” Bai Qingquan said. “I hope Mrs. Yan will be fine. She’s a very good person and does so much for charity. A good person like that must live a long life; at least a hundred years old.”
Shen Jintai still didn’t sleep well that night. After waking up the next day, he went to the hospital first. Yan Qiuchi called Xiao Tang over and told him several times to pay attention to safety when driving.
“When I got up early this morning, the snow on the road was almost cleared,” Xiao Tang said.
In the past few days, due to the severe weather, there have been many traffic accidents. The municipal department responded quickly, dispatching snow shovelers and snow-melting agents to clear the road. The snow had also finally stopped falling in the middle of last night. Now, the sun was out, and the roads were cleared.
“They are all very stable,” Yan Qiuchi said to Shen Jintai. “Don’t worry, and film well.”
“There are so many people here, including Yaoxuan, so don’t stay up all the time,” Shen Jintai said.
He saw that Yan Qiuchi’s eyes were seriously red, his expression was extremely haggard, and his chin was full of stubble.
“I will go back to sleep today,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Shen Jintai went to visit Mrs. Yan again and saw that Yan Yaoxuan was guarding the bed. His eyes were swollen from all the crying. Mrs. Yan was much more lucid now and when she saw him coming, she moved her hands.
Shen Jintai wanted to cry when he saw her condition, but he was afraid that it would make her sad, so he endured it before he left the ward. On the way to the crew, Li Meilan said, “The Yan’s company stock plummeted today.”
It was clear how powerful Yan Tiefeng’s personal influence was. As she searched for relevant news, she was horrified when she saw it. It seemed that Yan Tiefeng hadn’t woken up yet, and the company’s struggle had already begun.
In such a high-level consortium, factional struggles were inevitable. Yan Tiefeng was the head, but now that his fate was unknown, the struggle for a successor had become heated. Reading the analysis of some professionals, she felt it was more thrilling than watching a war movie.
It stood to reason that the Yan’s business was built by Yan Tiefeng and his successor undoubtedly would be Yan Qiuchi. However, with his sudden accident and the fact that Yan Qiuchi had not yet been exposed to the Yan group’s business, this meant he had shallow qualifications in addition to his young age. It would be hard to convince a group of old men to let such a person take charge. Now she could only pray that Yan Tiefeng would recover and wake up as soon as possible.
In addition to worrying about Yan Qiuchi, she was also worried about Shen Jintai. It was already depressing enough with their current reality, and <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night> was about to usher in the saddest moments of the film. She was afraid Shen Jintai wouldn’t be able to hold on.
Qiu Hong was extremely considerate to Shen Jintai today. He arranged very few scenes for him and even came to comfort him, so Shen Jintai’s workload was relatively easy for the day.
Even the gold powders were talking about the news.
“I have seen the clip of the car accident, and it’s so scary. I hope everyone is okay.”
“I also went out yesterday, and I saw several small car accidents. Everyone must pay attention to safety when going out.”
“I don’t know if my brother will be affected. Yan Qiuchi must be extremely distressed.”
“My brother must be very sad too. He has a good relationship with Mrs. Yan. And I hope Yan Tiefeng is okay as well.”
“Although I usually complain when I mention Yan Qiuchi, I still hope that their family will be fine. In case my brother will be with him in the future, I hope everything will turn out okay.”
“Hug my brother. I hope he won’t be sad.”
Xiao Tang sat in the car, swiped his phone, and said, “I used to think that although the fans didn’t hate President Yan anymore, they still didn’t like him very much. But seeing how something had happened to the Yan family today, there are a few fan groups that are comforting Brother Jin. By default, it means that they have accepted the Yan family as Brother Jin’s family.”
“When Jintai comes back later, you can show him the fans’ condolences,” Li Meilan said.
As an agent, she didn’t need to stay on set all the time, but Li Meilan didn’t want to leave him. She felt she needed to accompany Shen Jintai during this difficult time. She and Shen Jintai had grown up together, and Shen Jintai was her only artist. Their relationship was no longer just agent and artist but had developed much deeper feelings, which also extended to Yan Quichi, making her extremely uncomfortable at seeing such a thing happen to the Yan family.
Her phone suddenly rang, and Li Meilan answered the call. After hanging up, she opened the car door and went out and said, “Qingquan is here, so I’m picking him up.”
This was the first time Bai Qingquan had appeared in public since his scandal broke. He was heavily covered up, wearing a hat, a mask, and a long jacket that completely covered his neck. Only a pair of eyes were exposed on his entire body.
“Where’s Jintai?” He asked.
“Still filming, he asked you to wait for him in the car.”
“Let me go inside and see him. I also brought something for the crew.”
When he arrived on the set, the crew didn’t recognize him. Shen Jintai was still filming, so everything was quiet on set. This scene was between him and Cai Jun.
Xu Dahai had transferred the family’s house to Xu Xingchen. After receiving the real estate certificate, the father and son sat in the yard and chatted. Artificial snow was flying all over the sky as Shen Jintai sat on a small bench and looked up. Cai Jun was smoking and coughed a few times.
The lines were detailed and lifelike. They were neither sensational nor refined, giving off a feeling of peacefulness. However, Shen Jintai found it difficult to film. After experiencing such a life and death situation, he knew the fear of grief that came with death. He couldn’t face Xu Dahai’s impending death with such a relaxed and flat tone. He didn’t even dare to look at Cai Jun’s appearance. Just seeing his gray hair and the furrow on his face made him want to burst into tears.
Qiu Hong felt that the shot wasn’t done well. Xu Dahai and Xu Xingchen’s most harmonious period should be warm yet bland, awkward yet intimate.
“Take a break. We’ll shoot later,” Qiu Hong said.
Shen Jintai got up, saw Bai Qingquan, and walked towards him. Bai Qingquan took off his mask and greeted everyone. The whole crew was very surprised to see him. Given the recent crisis, they didn’t expect him to appear in public.
Bai Qingquan was embarrassed and blushed slightly, but his face was still stable. He patted Shen Jintai on the shoulder, and after greeting the crew, he got into the car with him.
“I told you everything. You didn’t need to come,” Shen Jintai said.
“Siqi wanted to come too, but he’s still filming and couldn’t leave. He said he would visit you later,” Bai Qingquan said. “Is there any latest news? How are they?”
“Auntie Fang has stabilized and needs to be hospitalized for further observation,” Shen Jintai said. “The driver and Uncle Yan haven’t woken up yet.”
Bai Qingquan said, “The Yan family has a top team of doctors at their disposal, so don’t worry too much. I think you were in a bad state during filming just now. Don’t force it. I really don’t think you can concentrate on filming. Just ask the crew for a leave of absence and adjust yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“You have comforted me before, so it’s only fair to return the favor.”
Shen Jintai said, “Thank you.”
“I have thought about it on the way here. Tomorrow’s New Year’s. <When You’re Older> will start its publicity period. Now that you’re still filming and Auntie Fang is also a concern, I can’t put all the promotional tasks on you because of my own issue, so I’ll take over it.”
Shen Jintai was taken aback for a moment and asked, “Can you do it?”
“I can’t be a shrinking tortoise for the rest of my life,” Bai Qingquan’s face flushed slightly. Most likely, he made this decision with great difficulty and reluctance. “I’ll try.”
The early publicity work consisted primarily of pre-recordings on variety shows. There were about eight well-known shows that they could go on to shoot promotional materials for. Nowadays, self-media has more influence than traditional media. They also have to cooperate with TikTok celebrities and the like and make small clips to build momentum for the movie.
“Have you thought about it?” Wei Ge asked Bai Qingquan on the way back. “It’s only been a few days, and the heat hasn’t completely dissipated. The fans who have removed their powder are still in a period of excitement, and you’re promoting a same-sex film. Reporters and netizens will not let you off easily.”
Bai Qingquan’s expression was quiet; his throat bobbed, then he said, “Nn. It’s not like it can get any more embarrassing.”
This is the first movie released by the two of them. It is regarded as their big-screen debut. Whether he can turn around will all depend on this movie. It was more important to him than Shen Jintai, so he couldn’t just hide away because he was afraid of meeting people. He has to take on the responsibility that he should bear and face the cross-examination that he should face.
Wei Ge said, “Don’t be afraid. The whole team is behind you. Let’s work together to get through this difficult time together.”
Kinky Thoughts:
So proud of Bai Qingquan for stepping up to the plate!
Kinky Translations 