Green Plum IslandCh52 - Happy Birthday

Sunlight streams through the thin crack where the curtains part, landing devilishly on my eyelids, making me scrunch my eyes as I come awake, still in the fog of sleep.

I’m grown up now. nxTuc2

No wonder people like doing this kind of thing, it explains why people would even pay for it.

In the darkness of the night, it was okay. I could say anything and do anything. But now that the sun is out, exposed to light, it feels awkward. I pull the blanket up high and shrink down into the mattress until I’m entirely buried. My movements seem to wake Yan Kongshan up. The arms around my waist tighten and his head squishes up close to the back of my neck, his stiff hair tickling me.

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I writhe around, trying to break free of his embrace, but he doesn’t let me.

“Where are you going?” He pulls me until I’m enveloped into his chest. His voice is languid, slow, as if he’s not fully awake yet. jwo9LT

The question suddenly reminds me– “What time is it?”

He moves a little, loosening his hold on me, and turns over to the other side of the bed to check the alarm clock. “It’s…” he squints, “eight.”

Eight…

“Eight?!” All of a sudden, I leap up from bed and start scrambling around, picking my clothes up from the ground. “I have to go back home, who knows if Grandpa is awake already. I’ll be dead if he finds out.”

Yan Kongshan stares at me, eyes sweeping down my body, chin propped in my hands. Messy, flyaway hairs block part of his face, giving him a lazy, sexy appearance. Even though he doesn’t speak, the intensity of his gaze is difficult to ignore.

What a horrible thing it is to leave me like this, he seems to say, wanting me to feel guilty, to be unable to steel myself against him.

“I-I’m going…” I retract my gaze, not daring to look at him any longer. After I arrange my clothing, I charge outside.

I’ve already reached the living room downstairs and am nearly at the front door when I remember that I’ve forgotten something important. I retreat to the coffee table to grab the red leather box. m4jbpX

When I reach my front door, I first peer inside, and after confirming that there are no movements in there, I carefully insert my key and turn the lock.

Grandpa doesn’t seem to have woken up yet. Heart filled with relief, I tread quietly up the stairs.

The door opens, and victory is just before my eyes.

“Mian Mian?” Grandpa’s voice calls me from behind, filled with questions. “Did you just come home or are you just about to leave?” Tubd6Y

With a start, I swivel around stiffly, hiding the watch case behind my back. When I catch sight of Grandpa standing in front of his room, I freeze. His… His mood index, why is it gone???

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.

I rub my eyes. There’s still nothing over his head.

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What is with this synesthesia anyways? Tongzigong? Guaranteed to disappear after having your body “break”? ZtSsiY

“Zljc Zljc?” Xgjcvqj kjnfr j tjcv ja wf.

I come back to my senses and smile dryly. “Uh… You’re up early, Grandpa. I-I just came back from a morning run.”

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He looks dubious. “Since when have you been so healthy?”

“Yeah, well, I’m starting now. I’ll leave you, I’m gonna go sleep some more.” Before he can respond, I vanish into my room. pIKcy9

The disappearance of the mood index doesn’t freak me out as much this time because I experienced it before already. I walk quickly to the window. Soon, a passerby walking their dog ambles along past our house. Like Grandpa, he has no mood index.

My synesthesia has really disappeared…

For the moment I’m unsure how to feel about this. There’s a bit of relief, a bit of emptiness, a bit of loss… as if I’ve just had something important to me forcibly taken away. It’s not sad, but a hollowness that for the moment can’t be filled, which makes me feel empty.

Its sudden appearance, and sudden disappearance, is like a practical joke the universe decided to play on me, or like a hazy dream. Now the joke is over, the dream has ended, and it’s time for me to go back to normal life. d 9EO7

The loss of my synesthesia doesn’t give me a lot of consternation; rather, I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed, and by the time I wake up again, it’s already afternoon. I wake up starving, having skipped lunch, and feel my way downstairs to look for food.

When I get to the living room, I find Yan Wanqiu and Yan Kongshan sitting on the couch. The two of them are watching a food documentary. Yan Wanqiu sips watermelon juice through a straw while asking Yan Kongshan, “Ah Shan, have you eaten that before? Is it yummy?”

“It’s too sweet,” he replies, glimpsing the sugar-coated pineapple on the television screen, before looking back down at his phone.

Yan Wanqiu gives an “oh”, then says, “I bet I’d like it, I like sweet things.” Ly5B0o

The air is filled with the savoury smell of food, and I can see Grandpa and Granny busying around in the kitchen. There are several appetizer dishes on the dining table, plus a ten-inch cake at the very centre, with a “Happy Birthday” stuck in the middle of it.

“…” If my guess is correct, they mean to celebrate my birthday, right?

“Mian Mian, you’re up?” Granny comes out of the kitchen with a dish in her hands. “Are you hungry? Want to eat something?”

There’s nothing over her head either. What a strange feeling… ldQszb

“A little.” I rub my belly and nod.

“Then have some appetizers first, just to fill your tummy.” Granny puts down the plate of roast fish on the table and goes back into the kitchen.

In truth, I’m starving and even my legs feel weak. I grab some chopsticks and stuff a piece of beef straight into my mouth. The robust flavour of the meat coats my tastebuds, and I nearly sigh out loud. When I’m considering what dish to eat next, I feel a warm hand on my hip.

At some point, Yan Kongshan must’ve come over. “Tired?” AV7QXG

I look over at Yan Wanqiu sitting on the sofa, then at the kitchen. When I’m sure no one is paying attention, I risk a kiss on his cheek. “I’m okay.” When I got home this morning, I still felt a bit of soreness, but after my nap, everything feels fine.

“Did your grandfather find out?”

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“He just woke up when I came back, but I said I was returning from a morning run. I don’t think he suspects anything.”

Yan Kongshan’s lips curve up. “What a smart kid you are.” mKxQfF

His compliment, plus the meat in my stomach, sends my spirits soaring.

“At the very least I’m your school junior, smartness is guaranteed,” I say, not at all modest.

When the last dish is brought from the kitchen to the table, all five of us settle around the table and each with respective drinks in hand, Granny calls for us to raise our glasses.

“Happy birthday, Mian Mian!” Granny exclaims. YHRCqX

Everyone else follows her with the same, “Happy birthday, Mian Mian!”

I thank them one by one, touching my glass to theirs. Even Yan Wanqiu, who I bend down to touch glasses with.

The table is covered in foods that I like, and I’m surrounded by those who love me. In my ninteen years of life, I never really thought birthdays were that special and never really celebrated my own, but now I’m discovering that celebrating a birthday seriously is a really happy occasion.

As I blow my candles out, I make a wish. It’s not anything crazy — I only wish that for every birthday I celebrate from now on, I’ll have the people I love by my side. To be able to see them, and to be able to accompany them. plkKOw

After dinner, Granny sits and watches TV for a while, then decides to go home at around 8 PM. “I have to go walk my dog.” With that, she waves and whirls off.

Another half hour, and Yan Kongshan also makes his leave. Yan Wanqiu doesn’t want to go, but she keeps rubbing her eyes because it’s her bedtime. I see them out; in this short span of time, Yan Wanqiu is already sprawled over Yan Kongshan’s shoulders with her eyes closed.

I meant to just see them to the gate, but when we get there, I don’t want to go back just yet, so I continue walking with them. When we get to their yard, I still don’t want to go back, so then I walk with them to their door. Up until the moment Yan Kongshan puts Yan Wanqiu to bed, I still don’t want to leave.

“Are you coming tonight?” Yan Kongshan wraps his arms around me, kissing me on the forehead. 0lTmY7

The implications of his words are clear. He’s not asking, “Are you coming tonight,” but rather, “Are we doing it tonight?”

And although I want to nod and say yes, I really want to know if after 24 hours, my synesthesia will be back. Not to mention I still have that hollow feeling in my body, so I grit my teeth and force myself to turn him down.

Yan Kongshan’s gentle rocking movements still. After a while, he releases me and sighs. “I’ll send you back home then.”

I stroke his face. “Let me recover for tonight,” I promise. “Let’s get back to it tomorrow.” 3m1bjV

He stares at me strangely. “You speak as if that’s the only thing in my head.”

Well now I’m confused.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“… Are we not talking about that?” Did I misunderstand? Did he just want us to chit chat innocently under the blankets?

His eyebrows prick up and he looks like he has no idea what to even say to me. “Never mind, if you don’t get out of here, watch out, I’ll rip your clothes off you.” He swirls me around and musses my hair with a large hand. 6du7xS

I just sent him home, and now he’s sending me home. This back and forth doesn’t even feel extraneous — I suppose this is just a “couples” thing.

In the garden, the flowers have all scattered their petals, yet their leaves are still there. Luscious green twines around the bushes, looking especially resonant in the night. Two glowing fireflies catch my eye as they hover around, eventually landing on a rose leaf, their lit bodies twinkling. It’s already October, yet Green Plum Island still has fireflies.

“They’re mating.”

I turn back in surprise. “You can tell?” It’s so far away; if not for their light, I wouldn’t even have seen the little fireflies. HMyJVu

Yan Kongshan laughs. “I can’t. But fireflies emit light in order to search for their other half. Otherwise how do they find each other in the darkness of the night?”

So that’s how it is. It’s not easy, I think, to have to light yourself up just to find a mate.

When we reach Grandpa’s yard, I tell Yan Kongshan to stay put and that I’ll go in myself. But for a moment, none of us moves.

“It’s good to be human,” I say suddenly, hands clasped behind me. YmeMKG

“How so?” Yan Kongshan inquires seriously, although he looks at me in amusement.

I smile, but reply with sincerity. “Because… I can find you in a vast sea of people even without emitting light.”

“No matter how dark the night is, I don’t need to worry that I’ll lose you.”