Ch45 - Apology (2/2)
Zhou Sheng, “Yoho——”
Yu Hao, “……”
The Tyrannosaurus Rex got up and shook its head like a dog, uncertain about whether it should rush forward again. Zhou Sheng jumped over the front cover of the car and said, “Let me play with it too!”
Yu Hao threw the shirt at him and hid behind Zhou Sheng. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was absolutely furious. It charged forward while roaring angrily, and in the next moment, Zhou Sheng jerked the shirt out in one swift move. The Tyrannosaurus Rex stumbled and staggered into the woods, but Zhou Sheng actually chased after it. The Tyrannosaurus Rex had just opened its mouth when Zhou Sheng shouted at it, “Get the hell up!”
Zhou Sheng waved the shirt and jerked it at the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was whipped onto its back, and all its limbs faced the sky as it flew straight upwards. As Zhou Sheng unfurled the shirt, the Tyrannosaurus Rex flew over their heads and harshly crashed into the jungle ten metres away. A loud crash immediately followed, then a tumble and a “boom” as the entire forest collapsed. It was actually an edge of a canyon.
Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng kept gasping for breath. Zhou Sheng passed the shirt back to Yu Hao, “Put it on; let’s go.”
The jeep drove through the jungle. Zhou Sheng focused intently on driving, but would occasionally glance at Yu Hao who was leaning on the passenger seat.
“Sleepy?” Zhou Sheng asked.
“A little.” Yu Hao answered, “What would happen if I fell asleep in a dream?”
“I don’t know, you can try……by the way, shall we exchange shirts?”
Please visit chrysanthemumgarden.com
“No.” Yu Hao simply refused——Zhou Sheng had never seen Chen Yekai’s photo before; he wasn’t aware of the sentiments in the clothes they wore in Chen Yekai’s dream, and what it meant to the owner of this world of consciousness.
As of this moment, Yu Hao was also in a very complicated mood.
Zhou Sheng, “If you don’t want to exchange shirts then so be it, but why are you staring at me like that?”
Zhou Sheng could only drop the subject. The car turned out of the jungle, and Yu Hao asked, “Where are you driving to? Why are you driving farther and farther away?”
“Look.” Zhou Sheng said, “There’s light near the boundary of the subconscious.”
Yu Hao quickly sat up straight and looked into the distance. Sure enough, near the top of Mt. Tianqing, a faint ray of light beamed down from the sky.
“Have you ever been there?” Zhou Sheng asked.
Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden.com
“I came down from that mountain.” Yu Hao answered, “I don’t think so.”
“Then before you came down, was that thing there?” Zhou Sheng motioned for Yu Hao to look in another direction, where the mountain peak was connected to the mountain ranges.
Yu Hao saw a suspension bridge. At one end of the suspension bridge a solitary peak had appeared, and on top of that solitary peak, a ray of light resembling a beam was cast from the gap between dense layers of cloud and illuminated the peak of the mountain.
Yu Hao murmured, “That mountain had already been destroyed by lightning.”
“The safe haven has been rebuilt.” Zhou Sheng turned the steering wheel and drove the car up the mountain, “This time, it’s right.”
As they drove to the midway point of the mountain, the restaurant they had recently dined in appeared. Zhou Sheng went to inspect it, just in case they missed anything. There was only one table in the entire restaurant — the table that Yu Hao and Chen Yekai had eaten at.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
Next, they hiked up the mountain. Yu Hao was extremely embarrassed, yet Zhou Sheng seemed to be his usual self.
Yu Hao, “After we finished our meal that day……”
“It’s alright, I just have a bad temper.” Zhou Sheng knew what Yu Hao wanted to say and answered in an uncharacteristic manner, “Yu Hao, are there times when, I……make you feel like you’re at a loss?”
Yu Hao, “N……no.”
Zhou Sheng, “Really?”
Yu Hao, “Really.”
“I’m asking you seriously, do you like him?” Zhou Sheng suddenly said, “You know what I mean.”
Yu Hao was about to say “I do like him very much as a friend”, but he knew what Zhou Sheng meant so he blurted out without much hesitation, “I don’t like him.”
Zhou Sheng grinned, “Compared to me?”
Yu Hao said, “Will you knock it off, please?”
The mountain road was pitch-black. Zhou Sheng leaned a little closer to Yu Hao and Yu Hao’s heart began to beat violently. Did Chen Yekai’s words affect Zhou Sheng? He could instinctively sense that Zhou Sheng had raised his hand as if he wanted to hold his own, and for an instant, Yu Hao couldn’t even breathe.
But Zhou Sheng raised his hand and placed it on Yu Hao’s shoulder.
Yu Hao couldn’t see Zhou Sheng’s expression, but he could guess what Zhou Sheng was thinking. It has already been several months since New Year, and during this period, they have been avoiding a problem that they both tacitly understood.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
Yu Hao still likes Zhou Sheng and Zhou Sheng knows it. Rather than mention it, they both just pretended that the issue didn’t exist. Although Zhou Sheng had asked Yu Hao to go find a boyfriend and date, he was always hostile towards anyone who stood a chance of becoming Yu Hao’s boyfriend as he couldn’t stand seeing Yu Hao with other people. In one of his major’s classes last week, it was mentioned that for some people, their possessive desires within their friendships was even stronger than that of love.
What the hell do you want me to do? Just say it yourself ba. Sometimes, Yu Hao felt like Zhou Sheng was even more childish than he was, and Zhou Sheng’s feelings seemed even more conflicted than his. But even if you asked him to explain himself, he wouldn’t be able to.
Every time Zhou Sheng gets angry, Yu Hao would feel somewhat at a loss. He doesn’t know what Zhou Sheng wants, and he doesn’t know what to do either. Zhou Sheng didn’t like Chen Yekai at first because he could tell that Chen Yekai had some kind of special interest in Yu Hao. So Yu Hao could only try his best not to get too close to Chen Yekai, and the only exception for this was that one time on Mt. Tianqing.
In retrospect, Chen Yekai might have already decided to take action that day. Although he never told them why he had wanted to kill Lin Xun——but Yu Hao has always felt some guilt after he took the knife from Chen Yekai’s hands. If he had been a bit more concerned about Chen Yekai in the month after school had reopened, he might not have needed to go that far.
But of course, this responsibility couldn’t be pushed onto Zhou Sheng either; one could only say that it was Yu Hao’s own choice.
“He’s pretty good.” Zhou Sheng said.
Yu Hao answered, “He is pretty good, but this is just a transference of feelings, and I don’t like him. He still loves Ryuusei.”
Please visit chrysanthemumgarden.com
Zhou Sheng looked at the darkness that surrounded them, “He’ll move on from it one day.”
Yu Hao, “You know what I mean. Besides, there won’t be feelings where there are none. He’s too outstanding; I don’t like it.”
“So I’m not outstanding ah?!” When Zhou Sheng heard that, he instantly felt like he had been mercilessly ridiculed.
Yu Hao quickly said, “You’re very outstanding, you’re General! It’s just that I think, we……ai, could you stop talking about it? It wasn’t easy for me to force myself to stop thinking about it!”
Zhou Sheng could only say, “I’m sorry, I also don’t know why……anyway, I won’t eat anyone’s vinegar anymore, just hang out with whoever you want to ba.”
Please visit chrysanthemumgarden.com
Yu Hao, “……”
Zhou Sheng, “What I mean is, ai, forget it, it’s fine as long as you understand. If I act up like that again, just scold me ba. No, treat me like a nutjob. Ignore me and give me the cold shoulder for a few days, and I’ll calm down on my own. I feel quite guilty towards Kaikai because of this too. If I hadn’t said those things to you, perhaps you would have cared more for him……”
“……and maybe then, he would still have a safe haven here……”
Zhou Sheng had his arm around Yu Hao’s shoulder as they walked forward. They circled around the cliff and arrived at the suspension bridge. Everything was tranquil and quiet. The suspension bridge disappeared into the misty clouds, and the pillar of light that beamed down from a crack in the dark mass of clouds illuminated the peak of the opposite mountain like a sacred light.
“I just want you to be happy.”
In the end, this was what Zhou Sheng said to Yu Hao.
Yu Hao answered, “I understand.” He wanted to say something else, but he held back.
I am pretty happy with how things are now. Of course, if you liked me just a little bit, I would be even happier.
“Cross the bridge.” Zhou Sheng said.
Yu Hao stepped onto the bridge. Zhou Sheng’s hand naturally slid off his shoulder and very naturally held his hand as he led him across the suspension bridge. In Chen Yekai’s dream, this suspension bridge suddenly became incredibly sturdy; there was no longer a sense of danger from it swaying about like it did at Mt. Tianqing.
“I’m fine.” Yu Hao laughed, “The suspension bridge is very stable.”
“You were so nervous when you crossed it last time.” Zhou Sheng said.
Yu Hao, “I got used to it after walking across a few more times.”
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
Zhou Sheng released Yu Hao’s hand. The two of them walked forward with one in front of the other. They crossed the suspension bridge and passed through the fog. Yu Hao saw the ruins of bricks and tiles strewn all over the floor, and it looked just like it did when he entered the dream world for the first time.
A ray of light cast down from the sky and coincidentally landed on the ruins.
In the middle of the ruins, Chen Yekai stood looking perplexed. He turned around and saw Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao emerge from the fog.