Green Plum IslandCh17 - The Rainstopping Ceremony

“…Thanks.” I reach out to take the chocolate from Yan Kongshan. My sleeves are too long and it’s hard to move, making it a difficult process, and it’s nearly impossible to tear apart the wrapper. I struggle with it for what feels like an eternity before Yan Kongshan finally seems to lose patience and takes the chocolate back, unwraps it, breaks off a piece, and brings it to my lips.

I stare back and forth between the chocolate and him, overwhelmed by the sudden gesture. His face is expressionless, his emotions stable and not coloured. UE0ehs

Afraid to ruin my lipstick, I open my mouth carefully to grasp the chocolate with my teeth, making sure it doesn’t touch my lips. I also don’t want to accidentally bite Yan Kongshan considering how close we are.

In the frenzy, the chocolate slips down my throat and as I lick its remnants from my mouth, the tip of my tongue accidentally makes contact with Yan Kongshan’s finger, leaving a coarse feeling on my tongue.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

His fingertip is rough and callused, with a hint of tobacco…

He flinches as if I’ve hurt him and yanks his hand back, curling it into a fist. mxve91

“I’m sorry.” I reach for his hand, wanting to take a look. “Did I hurt you?”

He evades me and says harshly, “It’s fine.”

His attitude perplexes me, one minute intimate and the next minute cold. I can’t resist sneaking a glance at his face, but his eyes don’t meet mine. Over his head, his mood value, which was just white as a snowstorm in the dead of winter, shows hints of the palest yellow. As the seconds tick by, the colour fades more and more until it turns back to white.

Experience tells me that this is the sign of someone trying to repress their desires, which shakes me to the core. In order to confirm that it wasn’t all just in my imagination, I pinch my upper thigh, keeping my eyes on Yan Kongshan’s mood index.

dj6zi7

I stare until my eyes are burning, but his mood index remains white as ever, and at last I withdraw my gaze in defeat. Although my face is calm, a cyclone starts up inside my head.

Bless the heavens!

Yan Kongshan turned yellow for me, didn’t he? He just turned yellow because I licked him, didn’t he? Last time I wasn’t hallucinating, it actually happened!

But wait… why would he turn yellow because I licked him? It’s such a strange trigger that I–ah, because I’m dressed as a woman? Q a3Vg

A thunderbolt splits the cyclonic skies within me and jolts my soul.

…So the one who’s into cross-dressers isn’t Wen Ying, but Yan Kongshan?

“You feed him, I’m… going to head outside for a minute.” Yan Kongshan grabs Sun Rui, who happens to be passing by, and shoves the chocolate into her hands.

“Huh?” She stands there dazedly, chocolate in hand, staring at him with stars in her eyes. Belatedly, she replies, “Oh, s-sure! Leave it to me!” CB4dPJ

I watch Yan Kongshan walk off into the distance, thinking. There are two possibilities: Yan Kongshan might be into cross-dressers, or it’s also possible that he’s just into the sky maiden I’m playing the role of. If it’s the former, I have some hope. If it’s the latter, then that means he’s as straight as they come.

Well, sex can be changed. I look downwards, imagining a life without my little Yu Mian, and shudder. My legs immediately clamp together. No thanks, I can’t do it, not even for Yan Kongshan!

“Gosh, Shan-gege is so hot! My nonexistent manhood is hard for him.” Sun Rui stuffs a piece of chocolate in my mouth while salivating over Yan Kongshan. “There were two seconds earlier where I totally stuffed Wen Ying in the back of my mind and just wanted to lick the general all over!”

Who wouldn’t? I think wistfully, swallowing chocolate. BMeCHA

Yan Kongshan doesn’t come back into the rest area until Mr. Zhang yells for everyone to get into position. He walks in smelling of cigarettes, wearing a ferocious-looking red and white mask that covers half his face. It makes him look supernatural and terrifying, with white hairs sticking out around the edges and red paint outlining the rims of the eye sockets.

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.

No wonder he agreed so easily to be the general in the ceremony. He doesn’t even have to show his face.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Xfa gfjvs!” Zg. Itjcu lr olzjafv bc tlr kglrakjamt, bcf tjcv tjio-gjlrfv, kjlalcu obg atf gluta wbwfca.

Tjc Bbcurtjc mbwfr bnfg jcv kgjqr tlr jgw jgbecv ws kjlra. Pc jc lcrajca, P’w eq lc atf jlg, atf kbgiv aegclcu rlvfkjsr. Aera ilxf ijra alwf, tf tbivr wf alutais lc tlr jgwr. R1zteZ

At 6:10 p.m. sharp, Mr. Zhang waves his raised arm and hollers in a robust, ceremonial voice: “The auspicious hour has arrived, sound the gongs and drums!”

Immediately, clanging and drumming can be heard at the doorway.

“Let us receive the Sky Maiden!”

Yan Kongshan follows the red carpet out the door. Gongs and drums sound from both sides, with the intense crackling of firecrackers. jJXdY2

I position the round fan I’m holding at my lower eye-line and fix my eyes on his sharp jawline. Outside, the sun is just beginning to set. A golden ray of light spills onto the red carpet, creating a path leading straight to the sedan chair.

Amid the gongs and drums comes the sounds of endless camera shutters and people yelling at me to look their way. We finally arrive at the sedan chair; Yan Kongshan places me down gently and I kneel after arranging my clothing, fan over my face.

“Sky Maiden! You’re beautiful!”

The crowds go mad, their voices mixing in the air. 1dJsbw

“Sky Maiden, let me take a photo! You’re so pretty!”

“Is this a professional actor? He looks different from previous sky maidens!”

“Did you see the people filming over there? I bet they’re real actors.”

I keep my eyes straight ahead of me, mindful of Mr. Zhang’s instructions. After a while, a shadow looms over my head–Yan Kongshan has opened the umbrella and sat down behind me. RcSlT3

At the sound of ‘Go!’, the platform wobbles slightly and rises thanks to the twenty four people below chanting in unison, “1, 2, 3!” And with that, the rainstopping ceremony officially begins.

Towards the end of the street, the setting sun is just about to slip below the horizon. People worship us all along the road, the white-clothed sky maiden and the umbrella-wielding general in the ghost mask.

The shouting platform lifters chant their counting melody to the accompaniment of the drums and gongs. Yan Kongshan and I are truly actors–not for entertainment, but entrusted to us is the eternal hope of Green Plum Island’s people for a good life, a hope that has persisted since ancient times.

Prayers might be of little use, or they might be of great power, or they might do nothing at all, but no matter what, they offer comfort to mortal beings in times of need. And hope is the most important of all, especially hope in the aftermath of tragedy. gfHNzy

I squint my eyes instinctively against the distant horizon, where the sun is barely hanging on.

The Sky Maiden of Rainstopping is also the Sky Maiden of Hope. Perhaps she’s not so powerful, not so famous, nor does she have a vivacious, dramatic mythical backstory, but nevertheless, she is what the people of the island believe in.

Please support our translators at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

Even though in the beginning I was just helping out and somewhat unwilling to take on this task, successfully helping the sky maiden fulfill her job and perpetuating the island’s faith in her on this day fills me with satisfaction and happiness.

Both sides of the street are filled with spectators of the event, the sidewalks bustling and lively. It’s hard to focus on any one person’s face among so many, but I try anyways because Grandpa told me he’d bring Qiuqiu to come watch the parade. Q1d9jP

What I don’t expect is that rather than finding Grandpa, I see Fu Wei and his friends.

He’s standing in the front row, completely dwarfing the people around him because he’s so tall. His fresh, youthful face is such a far-cry from the average-looking people around him. I recognise him instantly.

Naturally, like anyone else at the event, his eyes are on the sedan chair. That is to say, on the “sky maiden.”

I stare at him, he stares back. Then a stupefied expression takes over his face, his eyes widen. He takes a step forward and only one word comes out of his mouth. “Yu Mian?” WjpNRK

Oh shit, he recognises me!

I bring the fan up in a hurry and twist my face to the opposite side, which just so happens to be where Yan Kongshan is sitting.

“What is it?” He looks at me, immediately deducing that something is wrong.

“…Just saw some old classmates.” RX7jGH

“The ones from last time?”

“The ones from last time.” I sigh, my pleasant mood from earlier gone.

Yan Kongshan shifts his eyes past me to the crowd behind me, searching the crowd for Fu Wei and his friends. “It’s almost over, I don’t think we’ll run into them again.”

Hopefully. 9pfxsy

As I’m internally sending prayers up above, Yan Kongshan continues, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t let any creepy men hang around you.”

He probably brings up his promise to Yan Wanqiu in order to reassure me. His eyes sweep across me calmly, one hand resting on his knee, the other holding the large umbrella. The mask on his face gives him an especially frosty look.

My grip tightens around the fan in my hands. Internally, I’m screaming, I’m not afraid of weird men hanging around me, what I’m afraid of is the fact that you always say things that are easily misunderstood despite the fact that your intentions towards me are totally pure! If you won’t turn pink, at least turn yellow for a second! Why be so stingy about it?

With that, I steel myself again (albeit unwillingly), and straighten myself on the chair once again. aOshGf

The street procession ends with the last lingering glow of sunlight on the horizon. The journey to and fro Nanpu Street took us an hour on the dot. It ends where it began, and just as it was in the beginning, the crowds are permitted to gather around for photos. It’s so packed that we barely have room, but thankfully Mr. Zhang prepared a resting place for the sedan chair beforehand, and the volunteers manage the crowds smoothly, ensuring that no one trespasses the cordons.

Chu Tong and Sun Rui are waiting for me when we return; as soon as the sedan chair stops, they come over.

Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

With the ending of the ceremony, I am once again Yu Mian and not the sky maiden, so I don’t feel comfortable asking Yan Kongshan to carry me all over the place. I pull myself up by the umbrella handle, picking my garments up from the floor and get ready to climb down the platform.

Yan Kongshan has taken his mask off and is already halfway down when he turns around. “Do you need help?” he asks. wnTsY2

I wave a hand. “No, I can do it.”

He doesn’t press further, and goes ahead. I follow in his footsteps, carefully making my way down the steps. There are two steps left to go when I’m interrupted by a piercing voice from that damn maggot of a person I just can’t seem to get rid of from somewhere behind me.

“Yu Mian! Yu Mian, is that you?” Did Fu Wei follow me all the way back here?

Yan Kongshan turns at the sound of his voice as well, his coarse, long brows furrowed tensely. His mood index starts turning an upset red. E7bqXZ

Simultaneously focusing on his mood index and Fu Wei’s position distracts me so that suddenly, my feet step in empty air. Balance lost, I start tumbling down the stairs. I yelp in surprise but it never makes it out of my throat. The world starts passing in slow motion.

The headdress goes flying, the fan falls to the floor. Yan Kongshan looks up, instinctively spreads his arms wide, and manages to catch me in a solid embrace.

Heartbeats pound in my ears. It’s hard to tell whether they’re mine or his.

After a few moments where fear and shock just about make me pass out, I finally hear Yan Kongshan’s voice in my ear asking, “Are you hurt?” xKDGN8

I shake my head, heart still throbbing with adrenaline. “N-No.”

And then the others come:

“Are you okay?”

“That scared me! Thank goodness Shan-ge was there.” CMWE1G

“Yeah, that was terrifying. Thank goodness…”

Fu Wei’s voice isn’t distinct among the fiasco of worried shouting from everyone around me, but neither is it completely unnoticeable.

Sun Rui glances over at him and asks me, “Yu Mian, is that a friend of yours?”

“No,” Yan Kongshan cuts in before I can speak. JyrbWU

Eyebrows raised, Sun Rui looks at me curiously, desire for gossip written all over her face.

The ground disappears beneath my feet–Yan Kongshan has picked me up horizontally once again.

Please visit chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

“I’ll carry you inside.”

Somewhere in the distance, Fu Wei is still yelling my name. It’s irksome. I snuggle my face in Yan Kongshan’s chest, this time not rejecting his help. JHpwxh

Yan Kongshan pauses as we make our way through the door and indicates to the nearby Mr. Zhang with his chin. “Block that kid, don’t let him enter.”

“Huh? Oh… Alright.” It’s apparent Mr. Zhang has no idea what’s going on, but nevertheless, he does as requested and shouts to a volunteer some distance away, “Stop that guy! Yes, don’t let him come over!”

For some reason, this entire situation is comical to me and before I can stop myself, I start shaking with laughter.

Yan Kongshan stops, looks down at me. “What’s so funny, kid?” lNRC0i

I mean, you sounded like an arrogant CEO just now.

Not that I’d tell him that. “Nothing,” I reply, and then correct him, “I’m not a kid, I’m nearly nineteen.”

He smirks, then looks straight ahead again. “Ninteen-year old kid,” he deadpans, as if deliberately being contrary.

Well, you turned yellow for this nineteen-year old kid, I mock silently, scrunching my nose. okPdVM