EmbersCh38 - An Intermingling of Breaths

translator: daisy
proofreader: jay

Xing Ye didn’t say a word, instead opting to smoke quietly with his head bent. After finishing, he pressed the cigarette butt out on the brick wall next to him, and amidst the dirty marks on the surface, the black smudge quickly faded out of sight. 9 VjRr

Xing Ye pulled out another cigarette.

Sheng Renxing stood to the side and observed him. After an indeterminate amount of time in which Xing Ye finished smoking the entire packet, he bent down and tossed the empty box onto the ground, adding even more garbage on the already brick-littered ground.

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The other handed him the cigarette that was dangling in his mouth and suggested very sincerely, “Can we move to a less polluted place?”

Xing Ye nodded but didn’t move. MQTis1

Sheng Renxing tilted his head, “Let’s go.”

Since there weren’t any cars on the road, Sheng Renxing opened a map and walked back to Qinyuan community with Xing Ye.

The housing complex didn’t have an elevator, and the lighting wasn’t voice-controlled, so the two made their way up in the dark. Before going in, Sheng Renxing opened the corridor light and glanced back at Xing Ye, “No smoking at home. Go in after you’re done.”

Xing Ye snuffed out his cigarette in silence.

Sheng Renxing took out his key and opened the door.

The furnishings hadn’t changed since Xing Ye’s last visit, and the paintings were still hanging on the wall.

“Sit down.” Sheng Renxing threw the key onto the shoe cabinet, toed off his sneakers, and ran into the kitchen, “How on earth am I freezing into a popsicle when it was so hot at noon?”

“You wear too little.” Xing Ye’s gaze flicked down at the holes in his jeans. 3xZian

Sheng Renxing’s voice drifted in from the other room: “I can freeze to death, but I can’t look unfashionable.”

Xing Ye smiled, “Is there water?”

“Do you want some?” Sheng Renxing took out a can of beer, opened the cap, and tilted it back.

“Alcohol will also do.” Seeing the beverage in the other’s hand, Xing Ye did some backtracking. zL2G4H

“This is the last one.” Sheng Renxing walked towards the sofa and handed it to him, “Here, one sip.”

The other took the can and passed it back after finishing.

Sheng Renxing’s uncle had chosen a burgundy sofa so that it would match the theme of the living room, but in the middle of the night, looking at it only induced a gloomy feeling.

Xing Ye sat on the right side, and Sheng Renxing casually flopped down on the other end, slouching onto the backrest. Grabbing a cushion, he placed it behind his head, “You finished smoking.” Spv5X0

The tension wasn’t as strong as before. Maybe it was because this environment was much more comfortable. Or that it was safer, and so the two could focus their attention entirely on each other.

“What?” Half-leaning against the backrest, Xing Ye gave the other a sideways glance.

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“Don’t play dumb,” Sheng Renxing kicked him. “When did you find out?”

Xing Ye thought for a while, “When we exchanged secrets.” BmxIX3

“So early?!” Sheng Renxing sat up abruptly, causing the pillow to slip down from behind.

Xing Ye reached out and repositioned it against him.

The other stared at him unmovingly as he recalled how they interacted afterward, “And you were still so nonchalant after that! Are you a professional actor or something?!”

Xing Ye seemed like he just processed a whole boatload of information and finally sorted out his thoughts. Regarding Sheng Renxing, he slowly shook his head, “It’s not important.” ANqGgI

“It would be strange if it wasn’t important!” Sheng Renxing leaned back heavily and covered his eyes with his arms.

For a while, he stared at Xing Ye with a corpse-like demeanor, eyes lighting up with fiery demeanor, “And you still put your arms around my shoulder? And you touched me!” Who could do this sort of thing with a gay man who likes him?

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 other understood his implication, but he shook his head, “I don’t mind.”

Vtfcu Efczlcu rdelcafv ja tlw. gThlv2

Xing Ye paused: “I can't be hard on you.”

“Memx!” Vtfcu Efczlcu xlmxfv tlw yfobgf rdeffhlcu tlr fsfr rtea. Coafg j ktlif, tf mglfv bea, “Qtja atf oemx kfgf sbe atlcxlcu?”

“Mbg wf, atfrf atlcur jgfc’a lwqbgajca.” Wlcu Tf raevlfv tlr tjio-mbnfgfv ojmf jcv qegrfv tlr ilqr, “Tbe jgf ws oglfcv.”

“Dfra oglfcv.” Ktlr rfcafcmf kjr rlweiajcfberis ybat iluta jcv tfjns lc abcf. Vrz5pF

Sheng Renxing didn’t have the heart to analyze the meaning of his words. His mind was in a mess. He didn’t even know whether he was rejected or not.

Was this the first rejection in his life?

And he was rejected before he even had a chance to fucking confess!

What the fuck! Wkrv40

He suddenly put down the arm covering his face and turned his head to stare at Xing Ye: “How do you know you can’t get hard?”

In the face of such a question, the other faltered momentarily before scrunching his brows.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Sheng Renxing took a sip of beer, and placed the can onto the coffee table with a loud “bang”. With slightly red eyes and gritted teeth, he asked Xing Ye, “How could you know if you don’t even try!”

As he spoke, he suddenly leaned forward and approached Xing Ye. 1 nmWG

Xing Ye didn’t seem to understand what the other meant, judging by the way he just sat there motionlessly.

Sheng Renxing stared into his eyes. Despite always liking them, his gaze didn’t stay there for long, as it strayed towards Xing Ye’s lips soon enough.

They were thin and light in color, and he always habitually pursed them, tugging them into a straight line. Distant and unapproachable, his mirth wasn’t very obvious even when he smiled.

Sheng Renxing didn’t know where Xing Ye’s line of sight was, his own mind in a daze like he just swallowed a mouthful of twice distilled alcohol. SdZ1DF

His clothes had a heavy smoke smell, probably because he stayed too long in the chess and card room, or maybe it was because he just smoked a pack of cigarettes.

And Sheng Renxing had smoked the same one.

Nicotine was like poison. The smell encircled their pores and haunted them incessantly.

Sheng Renxing knew that they both smelled the same. RmtupU

Xing Ye raised his hand and pressed it against the back of the other’s neck. His cold fingers send a chill down his spine.

He didn’t use any force, and Sheng Renxing couldn’t tell if he meant to push him away or hold him tight.

It was only until the two were breathing the same air that Sheng Renxing deliberately stopped and studied Xing Ye, whose lips were moving as though he wanted to say something.

Sheng Renxing didn’t wait. He closed his eyes, raised his chin, and kissed him. 17koNl

A warm breath passed by his lips.

And then he bumped into a patch of cold skin.

He brushed his lips with Xing Ye.

But the other tilted his head to the side. nc8ZCs

The midnight bell had rung for Cinderella, and all the magic disappeared.

Sheng Renxing woke up.

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Xing Ye didn’t move. His fingers were still pressed against the other’s neck, but he didn’t push forward or backward.

In the next second, Xing Ye opened his mouth to call out, “Sheng…” 0hyr63

The person in question didn’t listen and suddenly opened his mouth to bite the other.

Pushing away Xing Ye’s shoulder, he got up unsteadily. Sheng Renxing had wanted to say something cruel, but unfortunately, his lacrimal glands weren’t under his control.

Sheng Renxing stared down at him from a commanding position for about half a second. Before tears could fall, he turned around and ran back to his room, slamming the door with a resounding “bang” and locking it.

In the following weeks, the relationship between Sheng Renxing and Xing Ye fell to a freezing point. ibZqG1

Whenever Xing Ye messaged him on QQ, the other would pretend that he didn’t see it and only sent a reply every other day.

If Xing Ye came looking for him at school, Sheng Renxing would find an excuse to run away after saying one or two sentences.

As for the group’s dinner gatherings, he didn’t attend a single one under the pretext of being busy preparing for the monthly examination and math competition.

And it so happened that Sheng Renxing had to play the piano during the school assembly. Since the event was coming up soon, he had even more reason to avoid Xing Ye. AWwMZx

Regarding what happened that night, they both came to a tacit agreement. Whenever Xing Ye wanted to bring it up, Sheng Renxing would shut the conversation down.

Silence fermented between them.
Xing Ye’s gaze swept down at his phone: Sheng Renxing sent a [I’m busy today] message in response to a dinner invitation.

“Won’t Sheng Renxing come today?” Huang Mao asked insensitively.

Xing Ye glanced at him and pocketed the phone without saying a word. Fdma4u

“You still haven’t made up yet?” Dong Zhuo opened the beer bottle with his chopsticks. “It’s been so long. Call him out for a drink. There’s nothing that can’t be solved by alcohol!”

Xing Ye just sat there. The zipper of his coat was pulled to the very top and covered the lower half of his face. His voice was deep and cold: “We didn’t argue.”

Several people glanced at each other, but Huang Mao didn’t get the hint: “So you fought? No wonder you had that mark on your chin!”

The bruise on his skin had disappeared by now, but when he went to school the day after, Xing Ye still had a small patch of broken skin on his chin. 3jXgdM

When the group started asking, Xing Ye said nothing.

“Ah?” Dong Zhuo whirled around with a shocked expression, “Is that true or false?”

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“It’s probably fake, how can they fight?” Lu Zhaohua studied Xing Ye’s face and passed Huang Mao a glass of beer to stop him from telling lies. Regardless of whether Xing Ye and Sheng Renxing had a fight or not, Huang Mao was going to get beaten soon if he kept this up.

Jiang Jing changed the subject and asked Xing Ye, “Did he say what he was busy with tonight?” 1LR8NV

“Practicing the piano?” Even alcohol couldn’t stop Huang Mao’s big mouth.

Jiang Jing turned to glance at him, “How do you know?”

“He told me himself.”

Xing Ye finally looked up and stared at him: “Did he tell you?” wfbj q

Huang Mao examined the circle and at least realized that the atmosphere was not quite right. He “ah-ed” and replied carefully, “I just chatted with him tonight.”

“What’s the matter?”

Xing Ye retracted his gaze and focused his attention back on his phone.

Afterward, he didn’t move his mouth except to eat. Regarding things that didn’t concern them, he didn’t like the group asking questions. WM0lOT

And so Jiang Jing and the others poured him some more beer and prudently didn’t ask anything else.

It was only until the end when Jiang Jing was walking back with him that the other tentatively spoke up, “Sheng Renxing has been very busy recently. He was tired yesterday. It should be all right after a while. ”

Xing Ye pursed his lips and nodded.

A while later, Jiang Jing couldn’t help but wonder, “What’s the matter with you two? Did you really quarrel? ” DQAyX7

Xing Ye shook his head and swept his eyes around the area before visibly pausing.

The other hummed with a smile, “Did you not fight, or do you not want to talk to me?”

When he finished speaking, he saw Xing Ye stop.

Following his line of vision, he was also astonished by the sight that greeted them. l9yCRO

They happened to see two figures across the street.

One of them was very familiar. It was Sheng Renxing.

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He didn’t know who the other boy was.

“Ah?” Jiang Jing raised his hand and wanted to shout at them, but Xing Ye suddenly pulled on him and tugged them back. 8Mv0V2

“Ah, my hand!” Jiang Jing hissed, “You’re going to dislocate my shoulder with your inhuman strength!”

After this delay, he saw that Sheng Renxing had already walked into a shop with his companion.

It was a bookstore.

“Didn’t you say that you two didn’t argue…” Jiang Jing rubbed his arm and turned his head, but suddenly froze when he saw Xing Ye. ZXEeD7

It was the same expression he wore back in the challenge arena.

Ferocious yet repressive.

Jiang Jing kept silent.

The next second, Xing Ye returned back to normal, but evaded his question with a “Let’s go.” EoUe1R

In the cramped dark room, Xing Ye didn’t turn on the light. He sat on the bed and stared out the window in a daze.

Snoring sounds came from the other bed.

This type of hotel was cheaper than normal ones. There were two rooms, four rooms, eight rooms, and communal dorms.

He stayed in a two-person one. Yu21RB

A middle-aged man was sleeping on the other bed. His snores were loud and echoed with the cacophony that was going on outside, creating a grating racket.

Xing Ye lowered his eyes and checked his phone. Sheng Renxing had just made a new post. The signal here was very poor, and Xing Ye had to wait several minutes before the photo loaded.

It was a picture of a piano.

Sheng Renxing sat in front of it, and as the soft yet bright beams of light hit him from above, Xing Ye thought that his red hair was more dazzling than any light. tDAkVG

His slightly lowered side profile held no expression, but it gave off an arrogant and noble aura, like the person in question was silently isolated from the world outside of the photo.

Someone left a message of [piano prince], and someone else asked which brand his suit was from and if he brought a piano.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

The messages were from the friends Sheng Renxing made at his previous school.

He replied to a few, and it could be seen that almost all of these people were complimenting him. V30JAq

Xing Ye watched the conversation for a while before saving the photo, exiting QQ, and opening SMS.

The latest message was sent by a string of numbers Xing Ye hadn’t saved: [Saturday, 10000, start, come?]

It was the challenge arena asking if he wanted to participate in the match on Saturday. He was guaranteed at least ten thousand yuan, and if Xing Ye won, he could receive money from the betting exchanges.

It was sent two days ago, but he still hasn’t replied. fLqzeM

Xing Ye glanced out the window. Today, the sky was cloudy, and no moonlight shone through.

[Mn.]

daisy: hi all, i’m terribly sorry for taking such a long hiatus  (´；ω；`) i sort of fell into this very vicious cycle of being like ‘okay i’ll translate after i finish these assignments’ which obviously didn’t work out very well since assessments are never-ending and so…. since revision week is coming up i’m going to make the best use of that time by studying translating and making up for all the chapters that weren’t posted. again i’m really sorry and thank you for your patience (´；ω；`)