Editor: musk
The Twelfth Plane, W city
Luo Yiyan stuffed her phone into her pocket as she walked down the brightly lit corridor.
She looked over her shoulder, wanting to see whether the door that had just closed behind her would open, if someone would follow her out and ask her what she was doing, where she was going.
When she was about to turn at the corner, she looked back again, her expression somewhat stiff. She felt that her roommate was surely just about to open the door and call her name.
She sped up her steps, unconsciously trying to listen to all noises in case there was the sound of the opening door, in case a familiar sounding footstep could be heard.
By the time she really reached the other corridor, the muscles in her back were pulled taut. She left the passage behind, and her steps slowed. Did she.. No, this wasn’t right! Wasn’t she supposed to be noticed, wasn’t she supposed to be asked, even reprimanded, it really didn’t matter which one it was as long as it happened.
No, there was no one.
Luo Yiyan felt confused and conflicted at the same time. Was it too much to ask for a small bit of attention? Was she..
But she had clearly been the one to leave! Even she herself didn’t understand what she had been thinking.
She wasn’t asked, her decisions weren’t questioned.. Wasn’t this good? Wasn’t this something she had wanted?
She adjusted her bangs slightly when she realized that she had been standing in one place for some time now, an awkward and somewhat lost expression on her face as she continued on her way. It.. Didn’t matter. No, it was good that she wasn’t followed. She had things to do, and it wouldn’t be good to be questioned, it absolutely wouldn’t be..
She hummed out an almost-chuckle. What was she thinking about again? It wouldn’t be good to be like this, especially in the long term, but she couldn’t help it.
Luo Yiyan had a hard time falling asleep, especially recently. She would lie amidst her pillows, twisting and turning uncomfortably all night. On rare occasions when she managed to nod off, she would wake up after a short quarter only to stare at the ceiling endlessly until she deemed that it was already an acceptable time to get out of bed.
In the past few weeks, she had gotten used to using makeup to conceal the dark circles as much as she could every time she left home, but this could only cover up the matter; it wouldn’t help solving it.
Luo Yiyan was exhausted. Since she couldn’t fall asleep, she had a lot of time to think. Because she couldn’t fall asleep, she found it more and more difficult to focus.
She could barely pay attention at school, and she rarely spent her time with video games or reading. This way she had even more time to think.
She noticed that with time, she had more and more free time every day. This wasn’t good. She knew that there were things she usually did, things she had to do for life to keep going, but it was as if she had forgotten how to do them.
Gradually, those few minutes she spent sleeping every day became filled with nightmares. The dreams appeared more and more realistic with each passing day, to the point where she almost couldn’t tell them apart from reality.
The dreams were strange and familiar and beautiful, but also painful. Whenever she was dreaming, she felt as if she were awake, as if the nightmares really were reality, as if everything that happened were real. But, she thought, if she was awake, how come she couldn’t really wake up?
Whenever she dreamt, she felt as if she was aware of a great truth, something greater than anything she had ever come across before. She knew that thing, better than she knew herself, and yet she couldn’t directly think of the thing itself.
It was as if there was a film-like layer between her and the knowledge, a weak but impenetrable barrier where she could know about its existence and she could have a vague premonition about its contents, yet it could never be truly hers.
The dreams had started about three months before, a couple weeks after that had happened.
By now, Luo Yiyan’s state had become quite difficult to conceal. She caught herself simply staring off into space more and more often, as if her mind was gradually swallowing the entire person up.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
At times, when she had nothing better to do than lying on her bed and watching the shadows slowly creep up the walls, the blankness that engulfed her world would turn into buzzing, then noise, even snippets of ear-splitting music.
Kecfr jcv wfibvlfr rtf tjv cfnfg yfobgf tfjgv qijsfv lc tfg fjgr, bcfr bcis rtf jcv cb bcf firf mbeiv tfjg. Ktf werlm ofia yfaafg atjc jcsatlcu rtf tjv fnfg ilrafcfv ab, yea atf wfibvlfr kfgf jirb ubcf lc j yilcx bo jc fsf, cba fnfc ibcu fcbeut obg tfg ab gfulrafg ktja rtf kjr tfjglcu, bg ktja rtf lwjulcfv tfjglcu.
Now though, as she made her way through the densely crowded streets towards her destination, the noise in her ears was real.
Laughter, the sound of loud music came from the bars that occupied the ground floors and basements of almost every second building in the party district of W city. It was nearing ten o’clock at the moment, and for some, the night was just about to begin.
Luo Yiyan had a very specific destination in mind, or to be more precise, there was a person she wanted to find desperately.
She wasn’t one to indulge in harmful behaviours, but sometimes, even the worst solutions were better than doing nothing and playing a game of ‘who’ll last longer’ with the heavens. There weren’t any winners in those games.
The nightclub she planned to find was in the northern area of the district. It was rather far from the hotel their group stayed at, but the place had a special significance to a certain person, which was why Luo Yiyan didn’t have to think too much before choosing it as her destination.
Although the building was obviously very old, it was clearly well-maintained.
It didn’t have a door as entrance, but a heavy wrought-iron gate instead. The gates were half-open, just wide enough for one or two people to be able to pass through comfortably.
Truthfully speaking, from the street front, one wouldn’t be able to tell the building from the other residential buildings in the street. Although anyone could visit the club, it was obvious that no one would enter by accident.
This didn’t mean that the place was not crowded though.
The club took up at least two, possibly three floors of the building. The place was airy and expansive. Those who stood in the middle of the ground floor’s dance floor could see most of the first floor too.
Luo Yiyan made her way into the building slowly. After passing the gates, guests had to walk through an arched gateway that served as an anteroom, as the arch was quite wide, extending not only to the sides in an arc that pleased the eyes, but also in the direction of the inner chambers, creating an inimitable atmosphere.
There were barely any lights under the arches, but if any guest took the time to look around for a bit longer, they would discover that under the many layers of old and new stickers and posters, their own frame would be reflected in the mirrors that covered the walls. Looking up, even the whitewash of the arches reflected the faint lights coming from further inside.
There were many people inside, yet the place still didn’t feel crowded. Only a few guests were standing around, most of them dancing. The rest were all seated on furniture that appeared extremely shabby, as if it had all been taken over from a cheap second-hand store, or even brought in from the side of the road.
Of course, this was only to be expected. This place seemed to be one of those ruin bars that had gotten popular recently, focusing on making the experience as strange and memorable as they could, instead of on the actual quality of the time spent.
This wasn’t just Luo Yiyan’s opinion of the pub. The feeling was synonymous with the club’s name, as if it had really eaten itself into even the darkest corners of the building, permanently staining the atmosphere with its fresh flavour.
Although the flavour was fresh, it smelt of mediocrity and missed opportunities. It smelled too damn familiar.
Most of the walls on the ground floor were covered with posters and photos. If one looked carefully, it could be easily discovered that the owner didn’t condemn actual framed paintings either. It seemed that as long as it could cover up the dilapidated walls, it was good enough to hang up.
The posters were mostly of third-rate rock and indie bands, while the photos seemed to have had been taken of ordinary people. The paintings varied in terms of subject; they depicted either people dressed in clothes from older times, copies of famous pieces or random objects such as fruits or furniture.
Under the cold shades of the blinding lights, the images seemed to come alive with vividity, making the people sitting underneath them feel as if they were being watched by those glassy eyes.
The noise of conversations and the mildly loud music blended harmoniously in a way that while the cacophony sounded melodious, not a word could be understood in the end.
Luo Yiyan was standing near the entrance, looking around in hopes of noticing the familiar frame of a person, when she felt a gentle tug on her arm.
The sensation was abrupt, and she turned without thinking, wanting to see who it was that had something to say to her. In the end, she came face to face with the same bright smile she had been looking for just now.
The other’s voice was almost drowned out by the background noise, but Luo Yiyan could basically guess what her words contained.
Zeng Juanxiu was surprised to find Luo Yiyan here, but she also felt delighted. She came to this place today to reminisce, but she found that the night was still young, the memories hazy and distant, so naturally she felt happy to share the evening with someone.
The melody that filled the air was not fast, but it wasn’t slow either, the instruments that followed the beckoning call of the slightly raspy voice of the singer spread in the room like the roots of a tree, the tunes digging themselves into the hearts of the people present.
To be able to make live music like this, it required endless experience, yet the man sitting on the stage didn’t appear any more than thirty or so years old. He held his guitar with closed eyes as he played and sang. It seemed that there was perfect harmony between his voice and his playing – after listening closely, it was apparent that the other instruments were still a bit lacking.
Maybe the man wasn’t used to playing with the band that was currently accompanying him, causing them to not have that tacit kind of understanding of each other that people who have performed together for a long time are inevitable to develop.
Zeng Juanxiu saw Luo Yiyan looking over and couldn’t help but ask, ‘Do you like it?’
The question wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the sound of the flowing music, but Luo Yiyan guessed the meaning and nodded with a smile. ‘He’s great.’
The song currently playing was a love song, the kind that was filled to the brim with restrained but overflowing emotions. The man on the stage leant closer to the microphone, his eyes still closed as if he was immersed in an alternate world he didn’t want to part from.
This is why I learned to walk, for these belated bitter steps
Your last words still throb in my throat, a lingering move in the cracks
Time weighs heavier in the dark, upon my mind than in the light
The melody he sang softened, and the words that poured out from between his lips sank to the depths of people’s hearts like a mother’s lullaby.
Stars are bruises on the sky, the dawn bites the pupil-dark night
I bear the wounds of all the fights
All the fights I avoided in the past
The notes of the song still resonated in the air, but the singer had leaned back by then, resting on the back of his chair as his fingers still didn’t stop their slow dance on the strings of the instrument in his lap.
He had already opened his eyes again, but his gaze stayed on the strings under his palms strictly, his eyelashes covering up any leftover emotion in his eyes.
He looked rather cold like this, sitting under the unwavering gazes of the guests inside as if it was the most natural thing to do, as if he couldn’t care less whether he was seen or not, as if he would shine just as brightly no matter what.
He pulled at the strings again, playing the beginning of another song, and the others around him followed his hint, filling the building with another slow melody. Although he led the tune, it didn’t seem like he was planning to sing, merely humming along faintly.
Even though the man looked cold, he sang a lot in this bar and because he didn’t disdain talking to his audience for a bit after leaving the stage, the locals soon realized that he was a gentle person under the filmlike shell of that inexplicable feeling his voice brought.
After finishing the soft hums of the prelude, the man leaned back again, but only for a moment. In the next second the low, almost whisper-like voice rang out again.
I’m a paraphrase
Of silence as I’m floating over
Nameless days
With sanguine eyes
And blue lips I lie on God’s chest
I’m paralyzed
This time around there was nothing to obstruct the line of his gaze. That pair of dazed eyes watched the guests as if looking for something in their abundance, as if he wasn’t really looking at the present room, but not at one in the past either, as if a vague image surfaced in his sea of mind again, only for a flitting moment before disappearing again.
If there’s such a thing
A spiral of nothing
Well, it pulls me down
The song continued, the melody flowed in the air like an exceptionally delicious fragrance, engulfing all and every member of the audience, as if readying itself to pull them all into its trance.
Luo Yiyan glanced towards the stage again but took her gaze away soon. She hadn’t exactly come today to appreciate music, or to be more precise, she had a secondary purpose that enjoyed the right of being her first priority at the moment.
She felt the gaze of the person next to her on herself, and smiled as she pulled the other towards the bar counter not far from the stage, leaning closer to ask something in a low voice.
In another corner of the room.
The half-empty cup gave a clanking sound as it hit the table.
The teenager reached out towards it again, disregarding the persuading words. He could feel the disapproving gaze the woman sent towards him as he raised the glass.
A minute later, soft fingers wrapped around his hand, forcefully directing it down towards the table again.
This was a routine that the two had gone through countless times before, a small game that always ended the same way, with Qi Cheng letting go first and sighing helplessly.
‘It really is only my third one, you’ve been sitting here the whole time too, I really don’t see why this is necessary..’ He tilted his head as he stared up at the woman’s profile, ‘Just this once, huh? How about that?’
Lin Ran shook her head as she coaxed, ‘No, no, it’s too easy for water to go downstream; one rule break only makes another. You really should just enjoy the view instead. It isn’t every day that we can go sightseeing, let’s just appreciate it for what it is, what do you say?’
‘Sightseeing, yeah.’ Qi Cheng chuckled as his gaze inadvertently shifted towards the counter, where the good-looking young girl was chatting away, flashing a pretty smile towards the person next to herself. ‘Your so-called ‘sight’ is heading out soon.’
Just as he said this, the girl suddenly reached out and wrapped an arm around her partner in a familiar manner, bringing the two of them closer together. The other girl blushed, not even noticing the hand that slipped into her pocket before pulling away quickly as if nothing had happened.
‘You know that’s not what I meant.’ Lin Ran smiled indulgently. She couldn’t help but treat the young boy as a cute didi, always allowing him to get away with his unprofessional language. ‘W city is famous for its landmarks. Not only are there countless historical sites, but the natural sights are also breathtaking.’
‘Zhizhi told you that, didn’t she.’ The youth shook his head, sighing, ‘She keeps sending me emails with those bird videos and presentations and whatnot. I noticed she’s been getting into travel-focused content too recently, my inbox is completely full of it..’
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as the girl at the counter stood up suddenly, hugging her partner briefly before walking towards the entrance.
Qi Cheng’s sleeve was grabbed by Lin Ran and he stumbled as she pulled him up. He grabbed after the glass that still had some liquid in it, downing it quickly before he was dragged away.
The author has something to say:
The lyrics I used are from a band called Platon Karataev. They make atmospherical indie music. Here are the two songs: Bitter Steps & Aphelion.
Do you guys still remember LYY? She’d only been mentioned casually before this, at the very beginning of the story, so it doesn’t really matter if you don’t. Also, are you surprised that.. I don’t know, maybe that someone else is here too.. You didn’t expect him, did you now.
So from the fact that QC is an FB employee.. are there any conjectures you might want to make.. about the FB’s recruitment process? I’ll help a bit; there are two ways one can get a job at the feds. One of them is through the games.. So what is the other exactly?
it’s actually a pretty cool place
thanks for the chapter <3