Translator: phizzlepop
Editor: mantou
Soon after Ye Ming left, the hotel workers came in to clean up the broken dishes. No more issues occurred during the rest of their meal.
President He had a very pleasant discussion with Shen Ye, and by the time he left, he exuded the stench of alcohol. Suddenly, he recalled that back when he’d joked around about Shen Ye being interested in the waiter, Shen Ye hadn’t actually denied it, ba?
But, on the other hand, how could he have possibly become interested in him? Perhaps it’d just been too insignificant a matter to him, that he hadn’t bothered answering him then, President He thought.
When Shen Ye returned home, he was still fairly sober, because he hadn’t drank too much. The inside of his home was pitch-black, so he reached for the light switch by the door. With a kacha, the dark house was illuminated in an instant, but… no matter how bright it was, it was still empty and lifeless.
This was his apartment outside. He had moved out several years ago, and now lived by himself.
He went to his bedroom, and opened a drawer, reaching deep inside to take out a tin box. He was silent for a long time, a painful yearning surfacing in his eyes, before he finally opened it slowly.
There were a few old photos inside the box. These were the only memories he had left of Han Xu that he brought with him from his home.
Shen Ye gently flipped through the photos, before his gaze finally landed on a certain photo. Han Xu and him were both very young in this photo. That time… Han Xu had picked him up from school, so they’d taken this photo together on the way home.
He was staring at the person in the photo, but his mind had returned to earlier that night, when Ye Ming had pushed open the door and entered…
After a long while, Shen Ye let out a disparaging laugh, then put down the photo. What was he thinking?
I’m involuntarily thinking of you once more, merely because there’s someone who bears a slight resemblance to you. But, what about you? You’ve probably never thought of me. All those times you treated me well were nothing more than a deception, and all the words of love you spoke to me were nothing more than lies… and when you ruthlessly wanted to kill me, mercilessly leaving me behind, you probably also… never thought of how painful it’d be for me.
Even if you actually unintentionally remembered me during these past ten years, you’d only scornfully mock me for my stupidity ba, for mistaking scheming for sincerity.
Why won’t you come back?
Because you don’t dare to come back, isn’t that right.
………………
Ye Ming left the hotel early, and fell fast asleep as soon as he returned to his dorm room, snoring away. Because there was no class the next day, and no one else was in his dorm room, he slept all the way until noon, before going to the cafeteria to eat.
【888: Shen Ye isn’t planning to do anything to you. It seems that your grand schemes weren’t all that useful, after all. Even if you want to offer yourself up, you still have to be someone that can pique the other person’s interest ah.】
【Ye Ming: No rush, no rush. You have to give him some time to think things over, ba. It’s not like he’s so frustrated that he’ll just try to get with anyone that looks even a little bit similar. But, I’ll let him know that I’m different from the rest~ xixixi.】
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.
【888: …】This spicy chicken.
Tf Zlcu kjrc’a lc j teggs, jcv ilnfv bea tlr iflregfis mbiifuf ilof. Lf’v gfpfmafv jii atf qtbcf mjiir ogbw Itbe Aljqlcu atja tf’v gfmflnfv atfrf qjra ofk vjsr jrxlcu tlw bea.
【888: Cgfc’a sbe ublcu ab ygfjx eq klat tlw? Qts kbc’a sbe jcrkfg atf qtbcf?】
【Ye Ming: Yes, of course we have to break up. No matter how we break this down, this shell of mine no longer houses Tao Xu inside, so it’s impossible to keep on dating Zhou Jiaping. Breaking up is a matter of course.】
【888: If you’re going to break up, then just give it to him straight, and I’ll still respect you for being a true man.】
【Ye Ming: …】
【888: What?】
【Ye Ming: This is the very first time you’ve ever said that you’ll respect me as a man. I was so excited that I couldn’t speak QAQ.】
【888: Then hurry up and break up with him ah.】
【Ye Ming: But what really makes me distressed is that I can’t break up with him right now. I mean, for such an important matter, I have to hesitate a while for it to appear normal, ba? After all, I’m not that heartless!】
【888: …try saying that again with a clear conscience.】
【Ye Ming: o(∩_∩)o~】
After spending a few relaxing days of his pleasant and carefree college life without any classes, Ye Ming once again received a call from Zhou Jiaping. After several rings, Ye Ming finally picked up.
“Xiao Xu, you didn’t answer your phone yesterday either. What’s wrong?” Zhou Jiaping’s anxious voice rang out through the phone.
Ye Ming was silent for a long time, before he said, “Let’s go out for dinner today ba.”
Zhou Jiaping immediately replied, “Okay, still the usual place ba? I remember you really like the Sichuan fish with pickled mustard greens in that restaurant.”
Ye Ming said, “Let’s go somewhere else for today.”
Zhou Jiaping had finally managed to wait until Ye Ming answered his phone. Naturally, he wouldn’t argue over such a trivial matter, and readily agreed.
Ye Ming changed into a t-shirt and pair of jeans, looking fresh and neat, before taking a taxi and setting off. He arrived at the hotel first, choosing a well-lit location by the window, then waited for Zhou Jiaping there.
Zhou Jiaping soon arrived. He was a tall, handsome, and sunny young man. At first glance, he appeared to be the very popular type. Zhou Jiaping walked over and directly sat across Ye Ming, asking him uneasily, “Xiao Xu, why have you been ignoring me recently, did I do something to make you angry?”
Ye Ming looked at him with a complicated look in his eyes.
He could see that Zhou Jiaping really liked him. The emotions in Zhou Jiaping’s eyes were very sincere. Even though he was clearly the one in the wrong, he was still reflecting on his own mistakes, ingratiating himself to coax him. He’d never even considered that… perhaps he wasn’t at fault at all.
He subconsciously thought of Shen Ye. Back then, Shen Ye had been just like Zhou Jiaping right now. No… he’d loved him more than Zhou Jiaping, believing in him and loving him wholeheartedly.
And he’d failed him.
Ye Ming had agreed to come out with Zhou Jiaping today in order to break up with him. This was the decision he’d made after careful consideration.
He didn’t know why he’d come back to life. He’d already been dead for ten years. He should’ve been laid to eternal rest, but had been reborn in another person’s body instead. Maybe even the heavens themselves were unwilling to see him die just like that, so they’d given him this chance to crawl back from hell for revenge…
There was nothing but hatred left in his life. How could he drag down another innocent person? And my apologies, but the person you like is no longer here…
So, he’d decided to break up with Zhou Jiaping. But at this moment, facing Zhou Jiaping’s expectant gaze, it became hard for him to speak up. His decision was very cruel to someone like him who knew absolutely nothing ba.
But with some things, dragging them on wasn’t the solution. After the truth was revealed, it would only hurt that much more.
Ye Ming was silent for a while, before he said slowly, “You haven’t done anything wrong, the problem lies with me.”
Zhou Jiaping immediately looked at Ye Ming with concern, and comforted him, “Is the job hunt not going smoothly? Don’t worry, take your time. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Ye Ming instinctively chuckled. In their eyes, the most difficult thing was nothing more than whether or not their job hunt was going well… relentless hatred wasn’t a part of their world. It was ordinary, warm, and made others incomparably envious.
Ye Ming’s gaze softened, and he said, “Let’s eat, ba.”
No matter what, their talk could wait until after this meal. Zhou Jiaping acting like this really made him a little softhearted, but the person he loved wasn’t him. Instead of waiting for him to discover this cruel fact on his own, it was better for them to break up, ba.
And bring their relationship to its premature end.
………………
Shen Ye had come to the shopping mall today to choose out a birthday present for his mother. But, while he was browsing around, he inadvertently thought of that person again, his gaze slightly dimming.
In the past, Han Xu had always personally chosen out gifts for his mother’s birthdays. No matter what he gave her, his mother was always very happy, but… now, the only person left who could do this was him.
After that incident when Han Xu had attacked him ten years ago, before subsequently disappearing, his mother had become depressed for a very long period of time, that matter turning into a knot inside her heart. The person she’d loved and cared for like a son for 20 years had actually wanted to kill her other son for the sake of the company instead, before finally disappearing in the end…
A self-deprecating smile lifted at the corners of Shen Ye’s lips. He chose out a silk scarf and a coat. When the assistant helped wrap them up for him, he sat there and shut his eyes with some exhaustion.
But, what emerged uncontrollably in front of him instead was the image of Ye Ming unexpectedly opening the door in the hotel a few days ago, appearing in front of him.
In the past ten years, it wasn’t as though he’d never seen people who resembled Ye Ming. Walking amongst the vast sea of people, ebbing and flowing like the tide, he’d occasionally brush past others, catching sight of a similar figure, thinking it was Ye Ming… and couldn’t help but catch up with them to check.
But, it’d lead to nothing more than disappointment, time after time.
None of them were him. None of those people were him. Even if someone looked really similar to him, after a single glance, Shen Ye would know that it wasn’t him.
But this time, it actually took him a long while before he could come to this realization.
“Sir, your clothes,” the female assistant cautiously said. Although this man looked very handsome and magnanimous, he didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.
Shen Ye opened his eyes, then took his things, before leaving without saying a single word.
Truly ridiculous… had it been too long, had he hated this person for too long, so long that even his memory of him had blurred… that even a person who merely bore a slight resemblance to him could become this unforgettable? They only looked alike, what was the use of that.
He wouldn’t understand how much suffering he’d been through.
After all, he was nothing more than a passerby. Perhaps they would never meet again.
Shen Ye was thinking this, his lips curving up into a self-abasing smile, when the elevator doors slowly opened in front of him. When he walked out, his gaze fell on the restaurant across. A person with a gentle and handsome side profile that was sitting next to the window appeared in front of him.
Shen Ye abruptly stopped in place.
The young man in the glass window was sitting with another young man, smiling tenderly, the corners of his lips slightly raised into a pretty arc. His hands were resting on the table, and he seemed to be saying something, the atmosphere warm and harmonious…
At this moment, he seemed to traverse time and space, going back more than ten years ago to see the person he used to love appear in front of him once again… he once also looked at him just like this, sitting across from him, smiling gently.
But this time, the person by his side wasn’t him, but someone else.
………………
Ye Ming and Zhou Jiaping were getting along very well with each other. Zhou Jiaping was a humorous young man, and really understood how to take the other person’s mood into account when conversing and handling affairs. It was apparent that he really liked Tao Xu. Without this unexpected incident… perhaps, they really could’ve stayed together until the very end, ba.
When Ye Ming thought of this, his happy mood was dampened, and his gaze dimmed a bit. What he was enjoying right now didn’t belong to him.
Time seemed to pass by quickly, yet also drag along during this meal. Finally, when they were almost finished, Ye Ming seriously looked at Zhou Jiaping, slightly pursing his lips. In the end, some things still had to be said.
Ye Ming wet his lips, just about to speak, when he was suddenly interrupted by a deep voice coming from above him.
“What a coincidence.”
This voice traveled into Ye Ming’s ears, making his entire body freeze in place. He slowly raised his head, then saw Shen Ye standing behind him, staring at him with a kind of profound, gloomy look in his eyes. “I didn’t think we’d meet again.”
The translator has something to say: huhuhu… what a coincidence to see you here.
aahhh, excite.
i love this~ Ye Ming-gege being mischievous has me all excited~
Such a huge coincidence! 😝
yes, truly, so strange, so mysterious, the way the universe works sometimes~
Aww I somehow feel really sorry for Zhou Jiaping, aish really the life of a cannon fodder…
Welp anyways Jiayou Ye Ming! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Thank you for the chapter~ 💕
it’s truly a sad life when you’re neither the MC/protagonist nor the ML… lights a single candle
thanks for reading!~
The fact SY has the audacity to interrupt them even though they’re strangers still 😂
I feel bad for the throwaway boyfriend here 😕
3rd wheel Shen Ye… not a good look
Tsk tsk tsk aiyahhh wutt i coincidence neeee~ sHeN yE~~~
Thanks for the chappie translator-sama!!
Muah muah muah ( ˘ ³˘)♥
GHA- I must flip a table rn ヾ(￣▽￣) that sudden appearance tho