Chapter 10

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Translator: Ying

Editor: ayszhang

ch 10
Easter surprise and special announcement

Chapter 10

"Come with me." The female policeofficer took over from Jake, clutching Tang Shan"s arm the wayshe would that of a criminal.

Tang Shan was led away, unable to see theway through the sack, andhad no idea of where he was heading.

Once they arrived at a certain point, theystopped. This place seemed to be the heart of the plaza,and he could hear the piercing laughter from the ceramic dolls surrounding himfrom all directions.

While waiting, the female patrol officerspoke up, asking in a low voice, "There"s something I"m rather curiousabout. Do you still love Mr Li?"

Tang Shan wasperplexed.

The female officer did not get her answer.

The ceramic dolls" laughter stopped, andTang Shan was pushed along by the officer and made to stand still when they reached a certain place. At this point, his hands had been bound.Hearing the sounds of struggle from around him, he occasionallypretended to protestand move.

He was then led to sit on a chair, where his arms and legs were tiedto it. The moment he was truly immobile, he wasable to feel terror.

It wasgoing to end.

"Mmmmmnnnnmm—"

A sharp scream from a femalevoice sounded from beside him, muted by the sack on herhead. It was a dull sound comingfrom his left and probably belonged to the femalesoldier. Were they also covered by a sack like he was? That had to be the case,or else it would be much too obvious if he was the only one in this situation.

He could feel his heart rate speeding up,but he was unable to tell if this was fear or the excitement offinally being able to end this all. Even breathing was becoming a difficulttask.

"Verdict."

Li Yuanyu"s voice was practically swallowedup by the violent winds around them.

"You, who have damaged theinfrastructure of the town, are guilty."

A sharp, blazing heat emerged withinhis body and in his flesh, paining Tang Shan so much that he could only vigorously contort his body. This wasan instinctual struggle.

He wanted to shout, but no sound could bemade despite his opening his mouth wide.

"Guilty."

Tang Shan could not feel his toes, the soles of his feet- he knew hewas gradually disappearing.

It wasgoing to end.

In thismoment, he somehow thought of Li Yuanyu, remembering the great times they hadhad together. It was not of anyone else; not his family nor his fiancée,,Jenny, but Li Yuanyu.

LiYuanyu, who had embraced him, who had whispered humorous sweet nothings intohis ear, who had not even gotten mad at him for teasing him about readingtoo many romance novels. He had drowned in Li Yuanyu"s light kisses that heldwithin boundless love.

LiYuanyu, who had taken him by the hand andexplored the area, the two of themlooking for new routes in the town without a destination.They were close likefriends as much as lovers.

LiYuanyu.

Graceful, gentle Li Yuanyu.

Do you still love Mr Li?

Yes, hestill loved Li Yuanyu, but it was impossible to stay by his side any longer.

---

Somethingwas off.

LiYuanyu stared at the soldier seated in the middle,instinctively sensingsomething fishy. That person had not made a sound at all, despite the excruciating painthat should have come from having moonlight shone on them.

"Whois that?" Li Yuanyu questioned the female soldier who had led the personthere, pointing towards the middle.

Thefemale officer was frozen, too afraid to even move. Her role in this was immediately exposed.

d.a.m.n it!

LiYuanyu instantly realized andrushed towards the moonlight. Heremoved the cloak he had on, shielded Tang Shan withit, and undid the ropes. The chair could not be moved when under the moonlight, and the onlyway to escape was by untying the ropes. Li Yuanyu could not help but curse,similarly having to endure the burning from the moonlight on his body.

"Mmmnnmmm—" Tang Shan struggled as he cried outmournfully. He did not want to be saved.

"Shutup! d.a.m.n it!" Li Yuanyu loosened the ropes onTang Shan"s hands and went on torelease those on his legs.

TangShan pushed against Li Yuanyu, but was unable to push him away.He was disappearing and had lost much of his strength. Even raising his hand was nearly impossible.

With theropes on the man’s legs gone, Li Yuanyu forcefully pushed him aside and pounced on him.

He removedthe sack over Tang Shan"s head and slapped him multiple times.

TangShan’s head began to spin and he fell to one side. He saw that the othersoldiers who had been seated in the chairs had already turned to ashes, whichmeant that he had been that close– at this point, he could not help but beginto cry.

LiYuanyu watched him cry and gradually calmed down. Hegot off of Tang Shan, grabbedhim by the hair anddragged him away.

TangShan cried while he tried to strike at the hand that was holding him,attempting to scratch Li Yuanyu but to no avail. He was dragged all the way back to LiYuanyu"s villa.

"LiYuanyu!" Jake caught up to them and tried to persuade him,"Let him go! You know that will be the best for everyone!"

"Forwho? You? Me? Him?"

"For the whole town!" Jake wasresolute. Heavens knew the amount of courage he needed to stand before LiYuanyu and go against him, but-

"Stand down, Jake. This is a familymatter. Don"t interfere."

"No! Tang Shan- Tang Shan is myfriend!"

"Jake, don"t push me." Li Yuanyuthreatened coldly.

Jake suddenly roared and charged towards LiYuanyu, trying to force Li Yuanyu away.

However, Li Yuanyu merely raised his handand pushed Jake towards the side, and as if struck by an immense force, Jake crashedinto a fire hydrant that actually cracked on impact, causing water to spout.

"Jake!" Tang Shan cried out,wanting to see how Jake was doing but unable to move.

"He’ll live. I"ll take care of him onceI"m done with you. Let"s go." Li Yuanyu continued forward with Tang Shanin tow.

No, no, no, no!

Tang Shan struggled violently, unable to shifthis gaze from the unconscious Jake. He heldonto the red brickpavement tightly, not allowing Li Yuanyu to drag him away.With his other hand, he grabbed Li Yuanyu"s hand as he tried to get Li Yuanyuto loosen the grip on his hair.

Li Yuanyu finally let go, but just when TangShan made a bid to crawl towards Jake, his hands were stepped on.

"Ugh!"

"Where are you going?" Li Yuanyugrabbed hold of him once more.

"Don"t touch me!"

He struggled, terrified beyond measure,waving his arms around to prevent Li Yuanyu from coming closer. All of asudden, a sharp pain ran through his body, and everything went black. TangShan lost consciousness.

---

Within the darkness, he could feel swayingripples of water surrounding him. He should be safe, but air graduallydisappeared, suffocating him.

Suffocating—

Tang Shan jerkedawake and realised he was nowforced underwater in a pond, a situation similar to one he had experiencedbefore. Tang Shan struggled hard, flapping his arms and beating at the water,using all his strength to grasp at Li Yuanyu"s hand.

Li Yuanyu was in tears, looking terriblypitiful.

"Tang Shan, my love, it doesn"t hurt atall. You"ll forget everything. The good and the bad will all disappear."Li Yuanyu"s words were m.u.f.fled.

He repeatedly pushed down Tang Shan"s face that wantedto emerge from the water, time after time like a curse.

Tang Shan finally lost the energy tostruggle and gradually loosened his hold.

Suffocation.

Li Yuanyu carried powerless, limp Tang Shanin his arms. Despite the knowledge that the man could not hear anything, LiYuanyu constantly repeated– TangShan, I love you. I"m sorry.

He killed his lover, and then createdanother Tang Shan that loved him.

This way, Tang Shan would completely belongto him.

However, he also realised that this would no longer be theTang Shan he had loved.

What should he do? What should he do? Whatshould he do to regain Tang Shan"s love for him?

Li Yuanyu cried pitifully,heart-wrenchingly.

Meanwhile, time ticked by, never turningback.

---

He seemed to have slept for a long time, asif a whole lifetime had pa.s.sed. He sat up, joints throbbing all over.

Groaning, he sat up and looked around, unsureof his surroundings.

He tried to recall something, but his mindwas blank.

Who was he? Why was he here? Where was thisplace?

Besides the bed, there was nothing at all inthe room, which did not help matters at all. He opened the door and walked outof the room. The aroma of Broschtwas in the air.

Following the smell, he went downstairs andfound the kitchen. In there was a black-haired man with pale skin, thin andslender, who had his back to him, busy at work.

For some reason, his emotions fluctuated atthe sight of the man, and he could not tell what exactly this feeling was.

The man noticed him and gave him a lookbefore turning back to his work. Not long after, he spoke.

"Tang Shan, come here and taste thisfor me."

Tang Shan? Was that his name? Why was it soforeign? He had no recollection of it at all.

Tang Shan hesitated and found that the mandid not make another sound after a long while. Full of uncertainty andconfusion, he slowly proceeded towards him.

The man"s back was still turned as he took alittle dish and scooped some soup for him.

Tang Shan finally saw the man’s face. Hisfeatures were etched deeply, looking even more delicate than those of a woman.Based on just those features, it was difficult to even tell his gender.

Such a beautiful person sent a smile hisway.

Tang Shan was slightly dumb.

"Come on, taste this for me." Theman raised the dish, urging him on.

Tang Shan came back to himself and wasimmediately embarra.s.sed. How could he get so distracted by this man"s looksalone? He quickly took the dish, the soup still steaming.

"Careful." The man sounded verygentle, arousing something vaguely familiar.

A dumb Tang Shan drank the Borscht from thedish.

"How is it?"

The sweet-sour flavour of the soup spread inhis mouth. He wanted to revel in this taste for a while longer before answeringproperly.

"How"s the taste?" The man askedurgently for the second time.

Tang Shan answered honestly, "So-so.Something seems to be missing."

"Should I add some salt?"

Tang Shan shook his head. It was saltyenoughbut lacked a certain flavour. He thought about it carefully. What couldbe missing?

"Oh! Onion! You forgot the onion."

"Right, I almost forgot about them! Thanks,darling!" The man seemed to realise what was wrong and hugged himemotionally. He left a kiss on Tang Shan"s lips and released him before continuingto cook. The movements were all so smooth, so fast, so natural, that thisseemed to be a regular occurrence.

He glanced at the man working hard, complicatedemotions welling inside him. For some time, he was in a daze, unable to say aword.

"Tang Shan, help me set the table," the man spoke.

Tang Shan consented. He had no idea whereanything was located, but his hands opened the cupboards and found the tablewareeasily. His body remembered everything, and yet he had no memories at all. Whatwas going on? He was holding a plate and suddenly zoned out.

"What"s wrong? Are you not feelingwell?" Noticing the strange behaviour, the man enquired worriedly.

Tang Shan shook his head and looked at theman, who was similarly gazing at him. Their eyes met.

"Who are you? Who am I?" He asked,full of questions.

"I am Li Yuanyu, the lover of you, JosephTang Shan. We"re a couple. Did you lose your memory again, Tang Shan?" LiYuanyu explained, eyes full of pity. He extended his hand attempting at touchingTang Shan"s head.

Tang Shan backed away unknowingly.

"Do I lose my memory often?"

"Yes."

"We really are lovers?"

"Yes. Lovers, till the end of time."

"But you"re a man." He furrowedhis brows.

"You"re a man too."

"That"s the problem. I don"t think I"mgay, and I don"t think I would fall in love with a man."

"Honestly speaking, I didn"t think Iwas gay either, but you changed me, just as I changed you."

"You"re lying– "

"Do I look like I"m lying?"

He could not deny that Li Yuanyu lookedearnest, but there were many liars who seemed sincere and told very convincinglies, luring innocents in. Tang Shan did not let down his guard so easily and believewhatever the man said.

Li Yuanyu put the ladle down and got closerto Tang Shan. However, as Li Yuanyu approached him, he shrank back until he hitthe fridge.

"What are you doing?"

Li Yuanyu did not speak and merely leantdown, a hand around Tang Shan"s waist. Taking advantage of Tang Shan"s protests,he kissed Tang Shan and slid his tongue in. The provocative action, the actualkiss, and the wet, sloppy sounds wereso erotic they left him aroused. Just asTang Shan felt as if all the air in his lungs had been sucked out and he was onthe verge of suffocating, Li Yuanyu ended the sentimental kiss.

He nibbled at Tang Shan"s lips and cheeks,unwilling to let go so quickly.

"I love you, Tang Shan."

Li Yuanyu laid his head in the crook of TangShan"s neck, speaking as if he were sighing. His breath was on Tang Shan"sneck, causing his ear to feel itchy as it twitched.

Seeing this, Li Yuanyu let him go.

"What did you think about thatkiss?" he asked.

This was a random question for Tang Shan,but when he recalled it in detail,he immediately flushed red.

"I don"t have any special thoughtsabout it."

"Did you hate it? Tell mehonestly."

Tang Shan shook his head.

Li Yuanyu chuckled and continued cooking.His reaction left Tang Shan bewildered and uncertain.

"Did that have anything to do with ourinitial conversation?"

He asked even though he didn’t remember whatthey had been discussing.

"Yes. You really felt that kiss, didn"tyou? That means you love me. That"s good enough." Li Yuanyu answeredgood-naturedly, tone seemingly lighter.

Tang Shan felt as if he had fallen into sometrap and retorted, "That only means that you have an excellent kissingtechnique."

Li Yuanyu began humming.

After humming a section from one of ElvisPresley"s songs, he found Tang Shan still standing on the same spot, eyes onhim in confusion. His smile brightened as he reminded Tang Shan, "Um, doyou want to take care of that by yourself in the bathroom? I want to help you,but—"

Tang Shan looked down towards his crotch,alarmed to find there was a tent there. He awkwardly pulled at his shirt tohide it and fled to the bathroom， stumbling as he went.

In response, Li Yuanyu laughed heartily.

When Tang Shan appeared once more from thebathroom, he had taken a shower, face red as he stood at the entrance to thekitchen.

Li Yuanyu was about to serve the foodwhen henoticed him. He then called out, "What are you standing there in a dazefor? Come in!"

It sounded so natural that Tang Shan, whohad been standing there a little awkwardly, felt that he shouldn"t be so bashfulthe way women were. He walked towards the dining table and took a seat oppositeLi Yuanyu.

"Let"s eat." Li Yuanyu helped TangShan get a portion and beamed at him, watching him closely.

Tang Shan had a few bites, but it was trulydifficult to swallow with someone constantly staring at him. He put down hiscutlery.

"What"s wrong? Does it taste bad?"Li Yuanyu was immediately concerned.

"No, it’s fine. Thank you. You –Whyaren’t you eating?"

"Yes, I"ll eat. I just got distractedwhile watching you eat."

Goodness, how disgusting could this personget?

Tang Shan suddenly looked to the side at anunoccupied seat.

"What"s wrong?"

"Uh, nothing. I just—" wanted to catch a few more glimpses of the seatwith n.o.body there. Tang Shan withdrew his gaze hesitantly, feeling thatthere should be someone else beside him speaking. However, he could notremember who it was.

"Let"s go take a walk after this meal. Idon’t know what you still remember."

Li Yuanyu appeared to be cordial, and TangShan nodded without protest.

After eating, Li Yuanyu brought Tang Shanaway from the villa, and while leaving, Tang Shan turned back to glance at thevilla and an ill feeling appeared.

"Tang Shan?" Li Yuanyu waited bythe door.

Tang Shan turned to leave.

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing. Don"t worry." Tang Shanshook his head, not revealing the feelings that he himself was unsure of.

"Let"s go." Li Yuanyu let him outfirst before closing the door.

Where were they going? Tang Shan lookedaround, not feeling any sense of familiarity at all. This was basically aforeign place to him. He had lost his memory.Usually, a blank slate like him shouldbe feeling terrified, but he felt none of that. Instead, he was like a childfilled with curiosity and courage.

"Where are we going? There?" TangShan excitedly pointed towards the heart of the town.

"No, there"s construction work goingon. n.o.body is allowed there. Let"s go that way." Li Yuanyu pointed inanother direction. "My residence at the other side of town."

"You have another residence?"

"Yes. Both of us own it. What"s mine isyours, and what"s yours is mine."

"Hahahahaha!" Tang Shan burst outin extremely abrupt laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I"m laughing at your words. It"s justtoo unreal. It"s like something that"s happening in another world, since Idon"t have the slightest recollection of this at all."

"Are you afraid?"

"Strangely enough, no. It might bebecause I don"t remember anything, so I don"t have any thoughts at all. There’snothing to think about anyway. Well, since I"m a "white" man. Haha, don"t youfind me hilarious?"

"No." Li Yuanyu retorted.

"Then you don"t have any sense ofhumour." Tang Shan shrugged and headed in the direction that Li Yuanyu hadpointed out, leaving behind Li Yuanyu, who had a smile on his face as alwaysbut seemed serious.

Li Yuanyu caught up to him and spoke up forhimself, "But I do."

It was just that he could not bring himselfto laugh at this topic.

Tang Shan turned, noticing him lookingvexed. He answered, "You sure know how to tell jokes."

His teasing held within hints of revengewhich was in return for the embarra.s.sment from earlier that made him hang hishead in shame.Well, the guy down there had raised its head... Uh, that was nota good comparison.

"You"re not as blank as you think youare. At the very least, you know how to open and close doors, how to usecutlery, how to walk and how to speak," Li Yuanyu spoke again.

He had not actually taken everything awayfrom Tang Shan. He still felt remorse and didall he could to save Tang Shan.

"Hm..." Tang Shan listened on,advancing forward. He merely said, "If you"re trying to make a joke, I canonly reward you five points out of pity. The total points you can get is ahundred, so I hope you work harder."

Li Yuanyu forced a smile.

They walked for quite a distance, returningto a wooden house at another end. While Li Yuanyu was taking a key and openingthe door, Tang Shan sat on the floor andstared at the vegetable garden in thecourtyard absentmindedly. It felt like n.o.body had been taking care of it, and someplants were growing all over the place, causing him to feel sorry for them.

Afterwards, Li Yuanyu told him that he wasthe one who had planted the garden.

Li Yuanyu opened the door and let him in. Ashe walked in, he took the sight in. The colour scheme of the interior decor waswarm, and the air had a faint fragrance that he seemed to be familiar with.

The journey had left Tang Shan slightlythirsty, and he said exactly that to Li Yuanyu, who then brought him to thekitchen.

Li Yuanyu had him take a seat and turned topour some water. Seeing Li Yuanyu"s back while he was at work, Tang Shan feltthere was something different from what he had seen at the villa.

After pa.s.sing water to Tang Shan, Li Yuanyustood at the dining table opposite him, looking as if he wanted to saysomething but stopping himself.

"What"s wrong?"

"Tang Shan?" Li Yuan hesitated fora while before speaking, "Do you think we should live in the wooden house,or in the villa? Where do you want to stay?"

"You"re asking me?" He had alreadylost his memories. How would he know which was better? It didn"t matter wherethey lived, because he was fine with anything!

But...

"If you really want my answer, I preferthis place. It feels more homely." The villa had a dark, gloomy feeling toit. That might have to do with how large the house was, but he had no idea ifthat was the reason. Whatever it was, he didn"t really like that place.

Li Yuanyu smiled, apparently having made up hismind.

Though his Tang Shan could no longerremember the past, he had chosen the place where they had made the most happy memories.

Could this mean that he was still Tang Shan?

Li Yuanyu"s smile was filled with bitternessthat could not be eased.Outside the window, it began to rain.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ayszhang: Aaaaand we"ve arrived back at the beginning once more....and the cycle shall continue....

Thank you for being patient with us :) Dear Ying is heading to Scotland for uni soon, and in the meanwhile she is working at wuxiaworld, which is why she had so little time. This reminds me, I hope everyone knows we are not getting paid regularly, and ad money is close to zero, so please do not leave negative comments shaming the translators for being slow or unresponsive. We are volunteering essentially, doing this because we love Chinese BL. You can rush us, certainly, but at least do so politely.

As for the special announcement, I would like to let y"all know that there is a group of researchers at Peking University in China studying our blog and how we contribute to the development of Chinese internet literature. This is the fourth big exposure we will have following the three Global Times articles where I was interviewed (, and ). I also hope to share with you the graduate thesis that will be written on this site when it is completed (of course it is in Chinese....).

For my readers, I am finishing up with final exams (three more to go!) and will also be moving houses (just across the city), so it will be a hectic month for me. Then, May 13 I am flying to Quebec for a month and a half. I aim to start posting again in mid-May, but I will keep you updated :)

Happy Easter!

Epilogue

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