EmbersCh17 - Joining the Fun

translator: daisy


“Because you’re more handsome, so I’m jealous.” Sheng Renxing flashed a grin at the other and whistled appreciatively. v0ebSl

Xing Ye stuffed the mask packaging in his pocket and raised an eyebrow: “So will you also hit me?”

“Of course not!” Sheng Renxing shook his head, “I’m not as petty as you.”

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“Just remember that you should do more than fight me,” Xing Ye replied, tilting his head like a model, “You must also draw a magical rune circle to conduct curses in.”

“…” Sheng Renxing, “Humorous guy, aren’t you.” JBmSYQ

Xing Ye didn’t speak. Instead, he gave the other a calm yet amused look, his eyes reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.

As if he was laughing.

But with the mask’s obstruction, it was difficult to tell.

Sheng Renxing coughed: “Do you want to take the mask off now?”

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The inquiry made sense as there wasn’t a need to wear their disguise so quickly. Moreover, the material made it difficult to breathe and caused a stuffy feeling.

Xing Ye shook his head: “I’m afraid you’ll see my face and throw a punch out of jealousy.”

“…Be sure to take your time. I’ll quickly go draw a circle to curse you!”

Huang Mao and the rest of the group just happened to see this picture when they came out. XEHar2

Wan Guanxi hooked an arm around Jiang Jing’s neck in horror: “What’s wrong ?! Why is my dad laughing like…” When the knowledge in class finally came in use, Huang Mao regretted not learning properly before. Thinking hard, he managed to recite, “the blossoming flowers are trembling!”

Jiang Jing was finding it difficult to breathe and threw off his hand vigorously: “That’s not the right use of the idiom!”

Turning around, he complained to Xing Ye: “Xing Ye! Your son said that you’re flirting!”

“Don’t listen to him!” Wan Guanxi punched the other. 2ur4oL

Sheng Renxing turned to look at them, and then at Xing Ye, who was indeed rather eye-catching.

The other glanced back and tugged up his mask: “Come on, let’s go.”

The road was rather remote, which induced a sense of worry the longer one was to traverse it.

Sheng Renxing asked: “Are you guys planning on capturing him at his house or something?” EohdRC

“Of course not.” Jiang Jing looked back, raised his finger and pointed to the shop some distance away. “There’s a second-hand bookstore there, and Wang Dahai is known to come here everyday after class.”

So they came here to block his path.

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The other was rather surprised; these guys were pretty detailed in their plan.

The entranceway of the shop was very small, and gave off a cramped feeling. Inside, books were piled messily on various shelves, and the creases made it evident that they were second-hand ones. PoY tO

The overlight lights were rather dim, and the lack of windows further contributed to the store’s dingy aura.

As they walked in, the space inside became more and more constricted.

The women sitting by the door discreetly glanced at them in amazement, thinking about what these guys with dyed hair, piercings, and masks were doing at a place like this.

Like drops of ink in clear water, they were completely out of place. c vPfJ

The clerk quietly squeezed his chair to a further corner.

It may be that knowledge itself invokes others to show respect, or that the place was already pitch quiet, as no one spoke afterwards.

Sheng Renxing walked up to a bookshelf nonchalantly, as if he actually wanted to read something.

The clerk had a horrified expression; as if he had seen a ghost. dyobgO

Sheng Renxing stepped up to one of the rows and pulled out a novel casually.

Examining it, he could see a layer of dust covering this rather old book.

Sheng Renxing only found out after he picked it up, so holding it a little further, he grabbed the spine and gently shook it.

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.

The dust tumbled onto the ground like snow. OZLCSn

Rb ibcufg kjcalcu ab oilq atgbeut la, tf kjr jybea ab qijmf la yjmx bcab atf rtfio ktfc Wlcu Tf ragbiifv ys, ktb fsfv atf cbnfi lc tlr tjcvr.

“Qtja jgf sbe ibbxlcu ja?”

“Let?” Vtfcu Efczlcu ibkfgfv tlr tfjv ab mtfmx, bcis ab gfjilhf atja tf kjr tbivlcu atf bglulcji nfgrlbc bo Ufgms Vtfiifs’r qbfw mbiifmalbc.

—No wonder there was so much dust. Qrj1T

“Can you understand it?” Xing Ye asked in a low voice.

“You’re provoking me!” Uncaring of how dirty it was, the other turned to a page at random and read aloud:

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“The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix forever
With a sweet emotion……”

The more Sheng Renxing recited, the more he felt that something was off. Peering at the name of the poem gave him the answer: “Love’s Philosophy.” 83szF0

“…”

He snuck a glance at Xing Ye, who was intently focused and listening quietly.

Sheng Renxing bobbed his Adam’s apple and continued reading.

His voice was already clear and melodic, but when he intentionally lowered it, it became calm and gentle. Even the image of Sheng Renxing’s blazing red hair seemed to soften as he continued. ZXLx4f

Xing Ye wanted to withdraw his gaze, but saw that Sheng Renxing suddenly raised his head to look at him, with a smile in his eyes.

“……
And the sunlight claps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—
What are all these kisses worth,
If thou kiss not me?”

His eyes were soft, their gaze swirling into poetry and entering the other’s cochlea.

Xing Ye looked at him and squinted muzzily: “What does it mean?” NqToUb

After a round of teasing, Sheng Renxing smiled like a cat that got the cream: “Do you not know?”

“You were insulting me?”

“Guess.” Sheng Renxing shrugged indifferently. “My English can’t be better than yours. After you beat up Wang Dahai, you can come for me next.”

Xing Ye was impressed by the other’s ability to hold grudges, and pointed to him with a smile: “He can’t insult me, but you can.” 0pWxFi

I am infinitely thankful to you,” Sheng Renxing replied with a grin.

At this moment, the door was pushed open again.

Wang Dahai entered.

The two glanced at each other knowingly. Sheng Renxing placed the book back, and then followed Xing Ye further into the interior of the shop. 2H1ArN

Wang Dahai first went to the clerk to return some books.

“These two?”

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“Mn.”

“Wasn’t this borrowed a mere two days ago? Teacher Wang is such a fast reader!” 0g8WpS

“I just read whenever I have time, and somehow I find myself at the end of the novel.” The man said with a self-satisfied smile, as if he was proud of his reading speed.

Sheng Renxing recalled the scene he saw in the office last time. Without attending to his duties, he really had lots of spare time.

He turned around to see Xing Ye’s expression, and saw that the other was looking at him and gestured to his mask.

Sheng Renxing quickly put on his mask. v4WuN

Xing Ye wasn’t satisfied, who hurriedly took off his hat and placed it on the other’s head, covering his red hair.

The hat was the one Sheng Renxing gave to him before, and Xing Ye had coincidentally worn it today.

Sheng Renxing had given it a few glances when he took it out earlier, but he didn’t expect for it to be “returned to the original owner” so quickly.

Sheng Renxing thought about his extremely distinguishable hair and didn’t refuse the offer. Pushing back his hair with one hand, he repositioned the hat, exposing a smooth forehead. YKBsmi

After tidying up, he suddenly recalled the blond Wan Guanxi who was browsing books at the other end of the store.

Xing Ye whispered: “He’s all right.”

“?”

The other thought about it, and came to an understanding. zSwsAd

It was impossible for Wang Dahai to not know who Sheng Renxing was. Wearing a mask was just a means to prevent him from pinpointing his identity at first glance.

Among those who needed to hide their identities, the one who needed to be the most careful was himself.

Thinking of this, he rejoiced, feeling quite excited at the adrenaline rush.

Wang Dahai finished chatting, and since he was rather familiar with this place, he headed straight to one of the shelves. FAB2i

Sheng Renxing was shocked that this doghouse of a store actually had novels sorted into categories.

Soon, he would see the method of this madness.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Wang Dahai squatted down to the second last shelf. Without even reading any titles, he pulled out three books that were next to each other.

So novels were selected like that. T dQNe

Sheng Renxing was stunned by Wang Dahai’s method of picking books that he didn’t even react seeing Xing Ye and the others walk towards his direction.

Wang Dahai got up with the three books still in his arms. Before he even managed to straighten his back, he was suddenly pressed onto the bookshelf from behind. Out of terror, he sucked in a cold breath and screamed frighteningly.

“You…”

As soon as Wang Dahai finished inquiring, he felt a sharp pain on his leg, and his body fell to the ground involuntarily. The action knocked over a few books, which all fell on him. 2gmQ3b

Behind him, several hands pressed down on his back.

Someone pulled his hand out and pressed it on the ground. Taking the corner of one of the books he was holding, the assailant slammed it against the back of his hand.

Once, twice…

Wang Dahai screamed loudly and fought in place, but apart from his screams, no other sound was heard. JxITLK

It was a round of silent torture.

After a long while, the person who was hitting him finally released his hand, but Wang Dahai didn’t have the strength to struggle anymore.

The unknown attacker then placed the corner of the novel against his temple.

Before he could spit out the words of begging for mercy, Wang Dahai could hear a cold voice announce deeply, “This is where I’ll hit the next time you don’t come to class.” tr7N u

Wang Dahai shuddered fearfully, and in the next second, he suddenly knew who was behind him.

The hands behind him also let go.

He turned over angrily and caught sight of a few boys walking out of the bookstore.

“Xing Ye!” He gritted his teeth and cursed ferociously thinking about the cries of mercy he just shrieked. sKxZIF

When leaving, Sheng Renxing spared a glance at the table for renting books and found that there was no one there.

Xing Ye moved behind him and covered his back on the way out.

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There were only a few shops on this street, and when the screams erupted, all the neighboring doors and windows were tightly closed.

In the beginning, he wondered why he didn’t cover Wang Dahai’s mouth. Wouldn’t there be even more trouble if it attracted some passerby’s attention? C5HW0h

But in the end, no idle pedestrians stepped into the store to see what was going on.

However, anyone passing by would be treated as a trivial matter by the boys, who had long expected that it would turn out this way.

Stepping out of the store, the group was faced with the setting sun, turning half the sky red with its oblique rays.

Sheng Renxing squinted and raised his hand to block the sun, but bumped into the brim of his hat. KJRQWu

He turned to look at Xing Ye.

Without a hat, Xing Ye was blinded by the light and similarly raised an arm to block it.

Out in the open, one could easily see the bloodstain on his hand.

Sheng Renxing grabbed the brim of the hat to take it off, and clasped it on the other’s head. RiE0BX

Xing Ye angled his body in Sheng Renxing’s direction without making eye contact and carefully repositioned it.

“Ah!” Huang Mao stretched lazily, “Let’s find a place to eat?”

Jiang Jing: “Since Lu ge is treating, let’s leave it up to him.”

Another boy, Lu Zhaohua, replied: “Okay! Let’s go find a restaurant.” He waved his hand casually and walked to the forefront of the group. 4Getub

Sheng Renxing paused, unsure if he wanted to go or not.

Noting the other’s hesitance, Xing Ye grabbed his hand and said: “Come on, let’s go.”

Lu Zhaohua took them to a mala hotpot restaurant.

Going in, everyone chose the ingredients they wanted and handed it off to the boss to prepare. Bmjd3u

They also ordered a few cans of beer, and started drinking even before the dishes arrived.

After a few mouthfuls, Huang Mao spoke first: “Let’s guess, do you guys think Wang Dahai will tattle on us to Lao Li tomorrow?”

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Jiang Jing shook his head: “It’s probably going to occur even sooner.”

The remaining boy, Dong Qiu, answered: “I don’t think it’s going to be with Director Li.” k8ChRn

He clinked his can with Jiang Jing: “So we’ve come to a tacit understanding.”

“Lao Li is our school’s dean. Who would he go to if not him? Huang Mao also raised his glass and made a clinking gesture.

Lu Zhaohua bumped their beers together: “Who doesn’t know that Lao Li is biased towards us?”

“Fool!”, Jiang Jing scolded Wan Guanxi. ZuIwfx

Dong Qiu clinked their cans again, to show his agreement.

“Fuck!” Huang Mao cursed, “Then who is he going to run to?”

Lu Zhaohua guessed: “The principal?”

Jiang Jing and Dong Qiu clinked their beers together. jghJ4X

“For real?” Wan Guanxi couldn’t believe it.

Jiang Jing: “You wanna bet? Five yuan.”

Huang Mao rolled his eyes, unfooled by the other: “What does Xing ge have to say about this matter?”

Xing Ye leaned back in his chair: “Let Wang Dahai do whatever he wants.” wdFx3m

Except for Sheng Renxing, the other four all raised their glasses for a toast.

Xing Ye held up his beer perfunctorily, but didn’t drink it.

“Then what are you guys going to do?” Sheng Renxing looked around at their circle and wondered inquisitively.

Huang Mao finished his last mouthful and opened another can: “At worst, they’ll call in our parents. I’ve already prepared to get beaten.” kLwW8i

He glanced at Xing Ye and then at Sheng Renxing: “But what were you doing here?”

“Out of curiosity, I came to join in the fun,” the other replied quite frankly.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

A few were shocked by his undaunted spirit.

Jiang Jing smiled: “So how did you like this experience?” VbKsay

In his peripheral vision, Sheng Renxing caught a glimpse of Xing Ye staring at him, and he thought: “It’s very lively.”

The five, including Sheng Renxing, raised their glasses together to make a toast.


daisy: :blobwoah::blobwoah::blobwoah::blobsleepless:

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Translator's Note

He utilized a chengyu, which is a four character long idiom. The one he used approximately translates to a “lovely scene of blossoming plants swaying in the breeze”. It means that a girl/guy is dressed very attractively to catch someone’s eye in a flirtatious manner.

Translator's Note

He’s imitating those servants/officials who thank the Emperor after they are bestowed with gifts.

Translator's Note

A popular street food which consisted of skewers being cooked in a spicy broth.

Translator's Note

About 0.77 USD.

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5 comments

  1. Kinda feel bad for Wang Dahai… this group and their interesting sense of justice… kinda hope this is the last time they do this.

    Thanks for the chapter € ^ *^)/// ~~ ♡♡♡♡♡