translator: daisy
Half an hour later, Sheng Renxing got out of the taxi on the side of the road.
Before he even had a chance to thank the driver, the other stepped on the accelerator and drove away like he was running for his life.
Sheng Renxing dropped his hand and turned around to look at the otherworldly twists and turns of the dark alley in front of him.
The street lamp had illuminated the closest lane, and with the intersection of light and dark bands, it greatly resembled the boundary between Chu River and Han Street.
He also did not see Xing Ye.
“Xing Ye?” He shouted into the alley.
No one answered.
Sheng Renxing took out his phone and dialed the other’s number.
As soon as it went through, a sudden noise in the pitch-black alley startled him as countless movie scenes flashed through his mind.
—A dark shadow flashed past; the person in the dingy alley vanished, leaving behind a ringing phone on the ground.
He stepped cautiously into the entrance.
After just a few paces, he suddenly caught sight of a figure on the floor.
Despite being scared half to death, Sheng Renxing managed to stifle a scream.
Taking a closer look, he found that it was Xing Ye.
The other was sitting on the stone steps by the side of the alley with his head buried in his arms.
“?”
Sheng Renxing briskly moved forward, bent over, and pushed on the other’s shoulder carefully, “Xing Ye, you’re still alive?”
Just when Sheng Renxing was about to shake him again, Xing Ye blearily raised his head: “Alive.”
The other straightened his legs casually and stretched.
“Did you fall asleep just now?” Sheng Renxing breathed a sigh of relief. Straightening up, he turned on his phone’s flashlight.
In an instant, it lit up the surrounding ground.
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.
“Just a little confused.” Xing Ye rubbed his face, looking slightly unwell, “Please turn off the light.”
Mffilcu atja atf batfg vlvc’a kjca tlw ab rff tlr jqqfjgjcmf, Vtfcu Efczlcu vlvc’a tfrlajaf ab vb rb.
Veqqgfrrlcu tlr rajgailcu gfjmalbc ja mjamtlcu atf oiffalcu uilwqrf bo Wlcu Tf pera cbk, tf rja vbkc bc atf rbwfktja mifjc rijy cfza ab tlw.
Qtfc atfs vlrmerrfv ktfgf ab wffa bc atf qtbcf, Wlcu Tf tjv wfcalbcfv “Tjcpljcu Vagffa’r Vbeat Szla”, jcv atja jr ibcu jr tf abiv atja ab atf vglnfg, atfs kbeiv xcbk ktfgf ab ufa boo.
However, when he uttered those exact words, the driver’s face immediately changed. For a moment, it looked as if Sheng Renxing didn’t say an address, but rather pointed a knife at the other.
Just as when Sheng Renxing was starting to think that the location Xing Ye gave was actually a secret signal to assassinate some random target, the driver slammed on the gas pedal without saying a word. Had it not been for his sharp eyesight and quick fingers, Sheng Renxing was afraid that they would’ve driven away without taking the fare.
He craned his neck and glanced around. Although the murky darkness made it difficult to tell apart his surroundings, the rough layout of the area seemed no different from their last fight.
Similar to the last alley, it was both dirty and cramped.
At least it was more quiet here.
A quick glance at his phone showed that it was currently 1:13 am.
Within the depths of the lane, an indistinct noise floated towards them, sounding like the person was either spewing forth dirty words or laughing like a crazed madman.
Beyond that, Sheng Renxing could see several roads diverging, and in those places where moonlight could no longer touch, the streets were plunged into complete darkness.
Xing Ye’s home should also be somewhere in the dark.
Sheng Renxing was thinking about it when a voice instantaneously came from beside: “What are you looking at?”
He almost jumped in fright for the second time, but managed to suppress it.
“I’m looking for the place where we fought last time.” He looked back at Xing Ye.
The two were very close, so after a quick glance, Sheng Renxing briskly whipped around.
“You can’t see it from here.” Xing Ye no longer sounded unwell. He raised his finger, and moved his arm until it was in front of Sheng Renxing’s eyes.
“It’s to the west, but you can reach it from this alley.”
Sheng Renxing attempted to follow, but couldn’t see anything beyond the darkness. Thinking of how he acted like a headless fly last time, he sighed and replied, “The roads here are actual mazes, and you could somehow still remember them!”
“It’s intentional.” Xing Ye said lightly, “After all, I have been here for seventeen years.”
Sheng Renxing entirely missed the point: “You’re seventeen?”
“Huh?” Xing Ye was also taken aback, and then nodded, “Mn, do I not look at it?”
“You look eighteen.” Sheng Renxing replied deliberately, thinking in his heart that this person was actually older than himself yet still looked so tender.
Xing Ye chuckled softly but did not speak.
There was a long silence between the two.
Xing Ye continued to not speak.
Sheng Renxing yawned quietly, turned to look at him, and started a new topic: “So you found the poem I recited?”
“Mn.”
“How did you find it?” He was curious; did Xing Ye manage to remember a phrase at the time? He thought that the other party knew nothing about English. After all, he didn’t even understand the word “kiss.”
“I used a computer.”
“?” Sheng Renxing stared at him, “…oh.”
There was another silence, during which Sheng Renxing was starting to get a little impatient and uncomfortable.
He licked his lips: “You called me…”
Xing Ye spoke to him almost at the same time: “I don’t really want to talk right now.”
“…” Sheng Renxing, “Oh.”
He answered coldly, and got up to pat the ashes off his butt.
Feeling little irritable and awkward, Sheng Renxing felt really stupid for running over here in the middle of the night.
Within the next second, Xing Ye’s voice floated over and interrupted his thoughts.
The other turned his head to stare at him bewilderedly.
“Is it convenient?” Xing Ye asked again when he didn’t answer. The moon, which was currently obstructed by several clouds, reflected several bands of light in his eyes, giving the other a clear and focused countenance.
Sheng Renxing blinked, and nodded his head while pretentiously fiddling with his phone: “…Oh, it looks like my schedule is empty right now.”
He then sat down again.
A corner of Xing Ye’s lips curled up.
After sitting down again, Sheng Renxing didn’t speak.
Instead, he opened every single app on his phone and then closed them all.
Now that he ran out of things to do, he took a picture of the moon.
Originally, Sheng Renxing wanted to post it on Wechat, but after thinking about it, he logged onto QQ: [The moon is moldy.]
As soon as it was sent out, his phone began to vibrate non-stop.
Qiu Datou’s first message: [This night…]
The rest of the bunch began to line up after him: [This night…]
Among them, Huang Mao’s message broke their formation and was also the most eye-catching: [Yanjiang Street? ]
Sheng Renxing exited QQ and yawned again.
Xing Ye suddenly said, “Are you sleepy?”
“I’m okay, I’ve been blown awake by the wind.”
Within these long and narrow alleys, it was a perfect place for cold drafts to make a home.
Xing Ye lowered his eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. Placing his hands on the ground, he scooted over a little towards Sheng Renxing.
Being this close, the other realized that his body was cold.
He shook Xing Ye’s arm: “Can you still feel it?”
“A little, so I don’t have to amputate it.” Xing Ye replied. His smile was light and fleeting.
“I thought I would be scolded by you.”
Xing Ye only realized it was past twelve and that the other was probably asleep after he made the call.
“Huh?” When Sheng Renxing picked up the phone, his mind wasn’t very clear and he thought that he was still dreaming
At that moment, the feeling of surprise overtook anger.
Later, when Sheng Renxing felt a little more clear-headed, his temper did flare up slightly. However, before it would fully take shape, he was disturbed by that god Xing Ye again.
Thinking about it now, he nodded, “It’s too boring to scold you over the phone, so I’ll have to come here in person to vent my anger.
Xing Ye followed his gaze with closed eyes and raised his chin slightly: “Come on then.”
The way he switched to the posture was neat and straightforward as if it was premeditated.
“?” Sheng Renxing squinted at him in a daze.
Xing Ye unmovingly held his posture.
For a while, Sheng Renxing saw that he was very sincere, and excitedly circled his thumb and index finger. He moved it to his mouth and took a breath, and then lifted Xing Ye’s bangs with one hand.
“Bang!”
Flicked his forehead.
Ahhhh these two. I thought they would go back to his hotel instead of staying in the alleys all night.
Still, they’re rather cute together!
Thanks for the chapter <3
I- these two flirts!!!! This is totally flirting!!!! Fo you guys see the chemistry??? THEY ARE MEANT TO BE
Ty for the chapter!💜💜💜
Beauty from ashes… they complete each other.