They drove for almost an hour before returning to Yuhe Garden. In the second half of the journey, Liang Muqiu became slightly drowsy and with his teeth and claws retracted, he appeared weary.
At the red light, Cen Nan turned his head to look at him and saw his half-closed eyelids. The lips he had kissed were still rosy and the long eyelashes hung down. Quiet and well-behaved, just like he remembered.
So much so that he was reluctant to part.
But the long road would eventually come to an end.
When the car parked in the basement of the apartment downstairs, Liang Muqiu woke up from his sleep and rubbed his eyes, a little displeased that his sleep had been interrupted.
Cen Nan also didn’t disturb him. Today, he was able to have dinner with Liang Muqiu and watch a movie. He was already very satisfied. If he reached out for a yard after taking an inch, it would be counterproductive.
As they waited for the elevator together, Liang Muqiu’s phone rang.
Liang Muqiu took out his mobile phone from his pocket in confusion, wondering who would call him at this time. However, when he saw the name on the screen, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He answered the phone and spoke in his local dialect, “Grandma, it’s so late. What’s the matter, why haven’t you slept yet?”
The dissatisfaction between his eyebrows completely dissipated and he laughed like a child.
The elderly’s slow and hoarse voice came from the other side of the phone, “Just checking up on you, darling. Grandma had a nightmare, I want to hear your voice.”
Liang Muqiu was a little embarrassed and helpless. He was already so old, but his grandmother was still calling him a good boy. He was even laughed at when he voiced it out loud.
Cen Nan also heard Liang Muqiu’s grandmother on the other side of the phone.
Although he had never met her, he knew that Liang Muqiu and her were very close.
He looked at Liang Muqiu and smiled softly. Not knowing what came to his mind, his originally expressionless face suddenly became a little desolate.
Liang Muqiu didn’t pay attention to him and explained curtly why his grandmother had called him. Because she had a nightmare concerning him, she woke up in shock and needed to listen to his voice before she could feel at ease.
He coaxed his grandmother gently, “I’m fine, what’s there to be afraid of? Everyone will have nightmares, I dreamed of the earth exploding the day before yesterday, it’s fine.”
He coaxed his grandmother skillfully until she felt relieved. After that, she reminded him to take good care of himself outside and not eat takeaway all the time.
Liang Muqiu was very obedient at this time and agreed to everything. However, doing it or not was another matter.
“Go to bed earlier,” Liang Muqiu said. “I’ll come back to see you soon.”
His grandma was at ease and hung 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.
After hanging up the phone, Liang Muqiu still had a smile on his mouth and the irritable mood just now disappeared into smoke as he started thinking about returning to his hometown next month.
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Cen Nan smiled, “That’s good, you should spend more time with her when you’re free.”
Liang Muqiu thought, of course, that goes without saying.
Immediately, he remembered that Cen Nan had also been raised by his grandmother. From an emotional point of view, he had a deeper bond with her than his parents.
So he asked subconsciously, “Is your Grandma okay? Did you visit her after returning home?”
Cen Nan didn’t answer immediately.
The lights of the emergency room flashed in front of his eyes. The white hospital bed, the tulips outside the window and the pair of dry and thin hands he held tightly, never to be warm again.
He whispered, “She passed away.”
Not expecting his answer, Liang Muqiu was stunned on the spot.
The elevator reached the eleventh floor, and with a ding, the elevator door opened.
Cen Nan gently touched his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Liang Muqiu followed in a daze.
When he stood in the corridor, he apologized with difficulty, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
He looked at Cen Nan uneasily. For the first time since their reunion, he was at a loss in front of Cen Nan.
Cen Nan stretched out his hand and touched his soft hair. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”
Liang Muqiu pursed his lips and looked into Cen Nan’s eyes, hesitating to speak.
However, Cen Nan seemed to know what he was thinking and said calmly, “She passed away last autumn. She had cancer and had stayed in the United States for several years and tried various treatments but they didn’t help much. I did everything I could. She ended up leaving peacefully, so even though I’m sad, it’s not like I can’t talk about it. I’ve already accepted the fact that she’s no longer here.”
He spoke calmly but there was still a trace of sorrow in his eyebrows.
Being able to accept was one thing, and being sorrowful was another.
Liang Muqiu simply regretted it. He had been too excessive. Even if he put aside the relationship between him and Cen Nan, he was unwilling to expose other people’s scars.
But now, it was too late to say anything.
Liang Muqiu glanced at Cen Nan hesitantly, bit his lip and stepped forward, hugging him lightly before quickly releasing him.
“Sorry.” He said it again.
Cen Nan finally laughed and didn’t argue about right or wrong. He just said, “It’s over, I’m fine now. Go to bed early. I’m glad I got to spend the day with you.”
Liang Muqiu nodded, but asked uncertainly, “Then…where is your grandmother buried? Should I visit her as well?”
He had also eaten the zongzi made by Cen Nan’s grandmother and the kind-hearted lady had always treated him warmly. He couldn’t be indifferent to her death.
But Cen Nan shook his head, “No, it’s not that I don’t want you to go, but she was not buried in China. She stayed in the United States with my grandfather.”
Liang Muqiu was slightly surprised. Then he remembered that Cen Nan’s grandfather was of Chinese descent, but thirty years ago, he returned to China for work and his will stated that his family would return overseas to stay with their relatives.
He didn’t say anything and returned to his house. Just as he stepped through the door, he looked back and saw Cen Nan still looking at him from behind.
In the house, the roses that Cen Nan gave him were still blooming.
He headed straight to the bathroom to wash up.
While brushing his teeth, his fingers touched his lips and recalled the kiss with Cen Nan in the car.
It was completely different from the violent and mad kiss before. There was a hint of despair contained in it. Like a tyrant who gathered all his hostility, leaving only the softness of spring rain and apricot blossoms, it landed on his lips as light as a dragonfly skimming the water.
Liang Muqiu’s brushing action slowed down and his face became a little hot.
He spat out the foam in his mouth and splashed the water on his face to cool himself a little.
After washing, Liang Muqiu climbed onto the bed in his pyjamas.
It was May now. He had changed into a slightly thin cool cyan quilt for his bed and he was sitting in white pyjamas, resembling a floating feather in the sea.
He was used to watching documentaries or reading books for inspiration before going to bed, but today he couldn’t even look at his kindle for a few minutes before he was unable to focus. By the time he recovered, he had already picked up his mobile phone and opened Cen Nan’s Instagram.
He stumbled across Cen Nan’s Instagram accidentally last year.
This person didn’t post any interesting content abroad either. He lived like a monk secluded from the world, posting the occasional photos with even fewer words.
There were a lot of comments for him under the posts. A lot of orioles and swallows could be seen and it was obvious that they were interested in him but he never returned their words, as if he had never crossed paths with them.
Liang Muqiu scoffed at this behaviour, thinking that Cen Nan was a prude, and pulled out his account for an investigation. Each photo was dug out and judged, trying to find any evidence that he was not doing well.
He had never been broad-minded enough to congratulate his ex-boyfriend on his ambition anyway.
But in this scattered trend, there was one that left an inexplicable and deep impression on him.
More than half a year ago, Cen Nan posted a picture. The picture was lined with trees and it looked like a landscape photo with nothing special.
But the caption was, “It’s over.”
Liang Muqiu didn’t know why but when he saw these three words, his heart jumped. He should have turned a blind eye to Cen Nan, but he subconsciously searched the map for this photo.
Because of the iconic landmark, he quickly found out the location in the picture.
The moment he saw the search results, his heart sank.
It was a cemetery. On a mountain somewhere in the United States.
At that time, he vaguely speculated that perhaps some colleague or a friend of Cen Nan’s was buried in the cemetery, but he didn’t photograph the tombstone and he wondered uncertainly if Cen Nan was just passing by.
But now, he knew.
Buried there was not his friend or colleague, but Cen Nan’s grandmother, his most important relative in the world.
The old woman who raised Cen Nan and taught him to grow into a rational and mature adult was buried in a foreign cemetery last autumn.
And after this picture, his Instagram was deactivated and there was no more activity.
Half a year later, Cen Nan crossed the ocean and appeared in a bar in Bincheng.
Liang Muqiu stared at the phone, unable to tell what he was feeling right now.
When he stalked Cen Nan’s account, he cursed Cen Nan for falling into the pit with a small belly and chicken intestines, wishing for him to experience the eighty-one sufferings one day.
Now he knew that Cen Nan wasn’t doing well, that he wasn’t happy at all.
He looked out the window faintly, and couldn’t help but think what it must have been like for Cen Nan to be abroad, staying at his grandmother’s bedside and watching the person who mattered most to him leave.
Cen Nan always appeared dauntless and powerful. He was arrogant and stubborn from a young age and seemed to look down on everything. But in the face of life and death, he was only a weak and ordinary person.
In the end, he was left with nothing but a cold tombstone.
My mouse broke and I can’t fix it so trying to add the translator notes was very painful lol
Thanks for the chapter!!!
Thank You for the new chapter (•‾⌣‾•)و ̑̑♡
qwq
thanks for the chapter <3
Losing someone is hard. Every place, every important occasions makes you remember them, makes you feel alone without them. I now feel for Cen Nan. I don’t need another line to know why he left our lovable mc alone. Yeah he was wrong to do that but from a certain point of view he did that because he wanted him to live worry free but forgetting that when you love a person too much it hurts less being part of their hard life than without them.
😟