Translator: iamfeiii
Editor: –
Quality Check: –
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter Seventy-Six: The Correct Way to Use 'A Man of His Words'
(Not edited yet due to my mistake of submitting too late! Will be proofread in 48 hours! -iamfeiii )
The interesting part was that compared to the main items on the picture, the first thing that Xiao Yu noticed was the background instead.
Why wouldn't he? The background was all too familiar to him. It was Yan Jin's desk; the place where his cage was previously.
Now that he and his cage had been shifted to the living room, the desk was emptied. He wondered what Yan Jin was thinking as he placed a squarish pillow on the spot where his cage was originally and took this picture.
Knowing that familiar background was one thing, but that pillow looked very familiar to Xiao Yu too - isn't that the pillow on Yan Jin's bed?
So, Yan Jin wanted him to look at the pillow?
How could it be……
Xiao Yu recalled the last message that Yan Jin sent, "Then can you tell me if you still remember this bell?". He squinted his eyes as he looked for anything similar to that object.
Indeed, he found it.
There was a sliver bell that was turning slightly black lying in the center of the pillow. The edges were particularly rusty as if the bell had been repeatedly rubbed.
Xiao Yu somewhat understood the reason why Yan Jin had used the pillow. It was simply because if he had placed that broken little thing on the dark wooden surface desk, it would not be clearly seen at all. Which was why he had no choice but to find a white background for the contrast.
When Xiao Yu first saw that silver bell, he thought it was something like a wind chime or a tambourine. He did not expect it to be just a simple sliver bell.
Again, what kind of impression was he supposed to have for that broken little thing that was probably worth ten dollars for a pack of it?
That was what Xiao Yu had thought.
But in actual fact, the moment he saw that picture, the locked memories seemed to be flooding out from a dam as it all gushed towards Xiao Yu like the raging tides.
He had seen that silver bell. The true worth of that sliver bell… was not on its surface that was complete lack of feature.
Which mean to say the issue was inside it?
Something seemed to gush into his mind, but it was fleeting like it was unreal.
Xiao Yu gradually recalled things that had happened long time ago.
It truly was a long time ago. He was still a university student back then. It should be a message-in-bottle event that the school had organized. Back then, in order to meet more friends from the design circle, he participated in that event. If he remembered correctly, it was that activity that pulled his relationship closer with Lin Zhou.
That incident was far too long ago from now. Xiao Yu cannot be blame for not recalling it after so long.
However, Xiao Yu had remembered now. The event allowed the designers to receive a request from the bottle messages and they would then come up with a design. The organizer would then provide a certain limit of financial support for the physical item, although the designers would eventually need to fork out their own money for the manufacturing process. As he had registered late for the event, he missed the period to choose his bottle message. It was later when he realized his roommate had two bottles, he made him hand over one of them.
The bottle that his roommate had casually hand over to him had a meaningless question mark written on the paper. It was like a plot from some famous investigative. Xiao Yu almost wrote back an exclamation mark on the spot. Too bad, there was no method of replying for that unidirectional bottle message and he must come up with a design no matter what.
This sort of idiotic bottle message was naturally despised by his roommate. But for Xiao Yu who was designing for someone else for the first time, he was willing to give his own answer even if it was such a thing.
Back then, he had nothing on his hands. Even the basic equipment was borrowed from his roommate. Under the limitations, Xiao Yu thought of doing a simple design and borrowed a little bell that was meant for his end of term's design project. Initially, he wanted to carve words on the surface, but he felt that it lacked creativity. For some unknown reasons, he ended up carving on the inside of the sliver bell. He did not expect that unwise decision caused him to destroy seven bells and two hours plus.
When he painstakingly finished one of them, Xiao Yu felt that putting an exclamation mark seemed to be hard to distinguish it and it was had to see them clearly. After thinking for an hour, he decided to change the exclamation mark to 'YES'.
And that used up another two hours to crave the letters.
Finally, this item that Xiao Yu had done casually for the sake of completing the event, a design that where no effects were put in, used up his entire afternoon.
The side incident would be him accidentally craved on all the bells available and thus received a scolding from his roommate.
Thankfully, the final product did not disappoint Xiao Yu. although it was a seemingly normal bell, but in order to find out about the secret that was within, he wondered how long it would take.
It was like a harmless prank.
Xiao Yu looked at the picture of his iPad and the entered a strange frame of mind.
That bottle message belonged to Yan Jin? Why would Yan Jin participate in this event?
But those were not important.
The more urgent question to address would be why Yan Jin had kept that bell until now?
As for Yan Jin, what does this bell meant to him?
The same goes to himself - what does Xiao Yu's existence meant to Yan Jin?
Right up till this day, Xiao Yu could not remember the details of that event. But yet he realized that he could still remember the emotions that he had back then when he was carving the bell.
In the first ten minutes, he was probably taking it casually and putting in some effort. However, as he failed again and again, his thoughts slowly changed.
At least for that moment, it was as if Xiao Yu had understood the meaning of that question mark.
They were separated by an anonymous bottle message. Perhaps someone else was just like him, troubled for the faintly discernable and imaginary future, hesitating because of the endless questioning and rejection.
During Xiao Yu's university days, he wasn't even a design major. To him, designing was like a fabricated and expensive hobby. It may not even be his interest. He was like an orphan standing outside the glass window while looking at the price tag of the violin. He knew very well that no matter how spiritually satisfying it may be, it was still incomparable to a loaf of bread that could fill his stomach. But, he still couldn't tear his eyes off that violin.
As he did the simplest carving, he was questioning himself if there was a need to hold on to hope.
Was there a need? Could he do it? Would there be hope?
The questions that he knew the answers for sure, or even the ending that throttled miracles - what was there to be bewildered with?
Yes, because everyone said no. Because they denied the everything that belonged to someone else, using their experience as someone who had learnt their lesson and making a pompous viewpoint.
But Xiao Yu insist on writing that 'YES'.
He was answering himself and also answering that unknown questioner.
Of course, we can, there will be.
Xiao Yu gave a lot of thought, but he ended up writing the two words - I remembered.
After he replied that, he finally woke up from his endless memories.
Xiao Yu side glance like a thief towards the direction of the bedroom.
The sound of the tap had stopped but Yan Jin still hadn't come out. Maybe he was changing his clothes?
For that short period of pause, Grey-white SS already sent over a message.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: I remembered.
[Grey-white SS]: You admit it's your design?
Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment before he turned the iPad to another angle to its back facing the bedroom. That way, Xiao Yu would be directly facing the bedroom and if Yan Jin was to come out all of a sudden, he would have time to react.
And so, the human and hamster starting chatting over a door that was not closed.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: I did not deny it. I just didn't recall it.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: It's a design that I did when I just entered university. That's too far back, okay?
[Grey-white SS]: This as well.
[Grey-white SS]: image.jpg
Xiao Yu looked at the picture and he immediately became happy. Wasn't that the carpet underneath the bed in Yan Jin's room? If Yan Jin had mentioned earlier about that carpet, he could have recalled much earlier.
Hn, that Yan Jin, asking about the bell first.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Yes, that's me too. There wasn't much time gap between those two items.
Next, Xiao Yu thought Yan Jin might casually bring out some other works and photograph it. Little did he knew, Yan Jin did not do that.
[Grey-white SS]: Thank you. I like it very much.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Huh?
[Grey-white SS]: It's a late gratitude. Back then you were anonymous. I left a headline notice on your school's forum for a month, but I still couldn't find you.
Xiao Yu was slightly puzzled. He couldn't remember if he had done the work anonymously, but the organizers should have gotten his name? Putting a notice for a month long and still couldn't find him? How could it be…
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Oh, I see.
Maybe it was Xiao Yu's tone of disbelief that was communicated over the screen, the other person only replied after some time.
[Grey-white SS]: You studied at F University?
Xiao Yu was doubtful. Wasn't he just talking about the design and now he's suddenly asking about his university?
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Yes.
[Grey-white SS]: Oh.
[Grey-white SS]: Anyway, thank you.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: You don't have to be that exaggerating. It's just a small thing that I did randomly.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Regarding the Autumn Release Conference, is there anything else? Otherwise I'm going offline.
[Grey-white SS]: Wait.
[Grey-white SS]: Actually, I like your designs from very long time ago…
Wow. To have that sentence coming out from Yan Jin's mouth, Xiao Yu felt that it was too significant. So, he sneakily screenshotted the message and sent it to his private album before deleting it.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: I'm indebted for your love. I'll do the same thing for YL in the future.
[Grey-white SS]: That's not what I meant…
[Grey-white SS]: I just didn't expect things to be such a coincident and I'm a little messed up now.
[Grey-white SS]: I really like you.
Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat.
Wait, what the hell?
If it wasn't for the risk of getting his identity exposed, Xiao Yu really wanted to barge into the room and see if it was Yan Jin himself using the Grey-white SS account.
Since earlier that morning, this style of this account had completely changed - what the hell was going on?
Xiao Yu still remembered when he first starting to contact Yan Jin through his Grey-white SS account, the account gave him an impression that the owner was an unreasonable, wealthy second-generation heir. Every sentence he said was so childish. But when he gotten Yan Jin's trust, Grey-white SS seemed to change into that Chairman Yan who he was familiar with, every word and action fulfilling his cold character setting.
As for now…
Xiao Yu couldn't even find a suitable description right away.
What was going on with this eerie style of talking?
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Hm… Chairman Yan, would you like to go wash you face and calm down?
*Crash*
The sudden loud crash from the bedroom made Xiao Yu jump in shock.
Next, he heard Yan Jin taking big strides to the washroom, slammed the door with a bang and flipping the water tap to the furthest end. The sound of the gushing water was so loud that he could hear it even with a door in between them. Then, the water tap was turned off, the door was opened again as Yan Jin walked back to his room, picking up the chair that had fallen.
Xiao Yu was feeling extremely complicated. It was so bad that he only turned back to look at the screen after some time.
[Grey-white SS]: Can we meet?
[Grey-white SS]: If it's not convenient for you, I can go over and find you.
Xiao Yu was amused by that pressing tone of wanting to meet.
Haha, Yan Jin probably didn't expect himself to be just one step away from Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both.
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: That I really can't agree with. I have my difficulties too.
[Grey-white SS]: Then video call?
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Hm, not possible too. I'm sorry.
[Grey-white SS]: Not even that?
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: I apologized.
[Grey-white SS]: Okay. I won't force you.
[Grey-white SS]: But I want to ask, does that things you said before still counts?
[Fish and Hamster - You Can't Have Both]: Although I'm a man of his words, can I ask what exactly did I say?
[Grey-white SS]: It's regarding your confession to me.
Xiao Yu: Excuse me? WTF? Meow? NickYoungmeme.jpg
About The Author
Hey hey! iamfeiii here! Do check out my work [Reborn into a Hamster for 233 Days]! I can be contacted through Cha's discord, just @ me if you have any questions!