AVSMRWC Chapter 62 (Final)

Chapter 62 (Final)

Glass’s production is nearing its end.

In the plot, Ruan Jiangjiu and the doctor who treats his eyes become close friends. The doctor has a crush on Ruan Jiangjiu, but he has a vague feeling that there’s someone else in his heart – even if Ruan Jiangjiu himself doesn’t seem to want to admit it.

“Can you tell me about him?” The doctor asked. The two of them had gone for a walk in the park after the eye examination and were sitting on a bench.

Ruan Jiangjiu was shocked, his heart inexplicably panicked: “Who?”

The doctor shrugged: “The person you are thinking about right now.”

Ruan Jiangjiu was startled, then laughed out loud venting a few times. After a long time, he looked at the distant sky and narrowed his eyes, “I do have a good feeling about a person. He’s a very scummy guy, but somehow he’s too simplistic-you know, it’s the purest ones who are scummy that are the scariest.” After a pause, his voice lowered, seemingly perplexed, “But looking back, I have found him cute occasionally – maybe because we slept together.”

The doctor was silent for a moment, before asking, “Where is he now?”

Ruan Jiangjiu shrugged. There was no sadness on his face as he faintly said, “He left without saying goodbye, and at that time, I couldn’t see. So, although we slept together, I don’t know what he looked like.”

When the doctor heard this, he froze, his brows furrowed thoughtfully, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t say anything – Ruan Jiangjiu still didn’t know that he had actually been called by Huo Qi to the snowy mountains so that he could treat his eyes… If the person that Ruan Jiangjiu had developed good feelings for was encountered in the snowy mountains, then this could mean… He didn’t dare to think about it anymore. Throwing away his favorable feelings for Ruan Jiangjiu, the doctor’s eyes revealed a hidden pity.

From not far away, Huo Qi gazed mutely at the duo sitting together looking very close before turning to leave, his hand hanging at his side clenched tightly into a fist.

“CUT!”

With the scene over, Director Zhou called a halt. Qu Xueyu closed his eyes and exited from the play, but when he opened his eyes, he didn’t see Lu Bai.

“I just saw Mr. Lu heading towards the fountain.” The staff said. There was a public water fountain near where they were filming, and the road outside the park was just a short walk away from it. Qu Xueyu thanked him and got up to walk in the direction the man said.

“Xiao Bai?”

As a vehicle sped away from the park’s entrance, the water in the fountain was running, there was a broken flowerpot on the ground, and Lu Bai was standing on the side, his shoes and pants legs splattered with mud, carrying a small dog in his arms that was almost completely snow white.

Qu Xueyu looked at the fragmented flowerpot on the ground and his eyes widened. Lu Bai didn’t want him to worry, so he smiled and exclaimed, “I’m fine! I’ve already called the park staff and reported the situation, someone will be here in a few minutes.” Generally, there is no high buildings within parks, and management regarding falling objects is very strict. However, there were flower pots on the roof of this building for some reason, and just now if he hadn’t been able to quickly dodge, he would have been smashed and had no idea of what happened.

Qu Xueyu frowned as he swept the flowerpot fragments on the ground into a pile, and then his eyes moved to the dog in Lu Bai’s arms. He froze, for some reason, the dog made him subconsciously feel uncomfortable, but he was able to relax into a smile, and went up to rub Lu Bai’s hair, lifting his chin toward the dog¹I have noticed this is a thing my Filipino friends do, I believe it is because they are taught that its rude to point with your fingers? But indicating towards something with your chin is ok. Krone: As a Filipino, yes this is true. Part of the folk tales from our elders. Not entirely sure why though xD the one i’m most familiar with is to definitely not point at anything at night, cause you might inadvertently point to “something” that’s not quite human. There also the thing that if you do need to point to something, bite your finger afterwards. To ‘break the connection’. XD We have so many superstitions, truthfully xD, “And who’s this?”

Lu Bai held the back of the puppy’s neck with one hand and trailed his other hand over its back legs, stating, “I just picked him up, he was sitting right next to the fountain.” As he spoke, he looked at the ink spots on the dog’s ears, his face a bit puzzled, “This looks like Bai Mingyuan’s dog, the one we saw the other night. Yet, I somehow feel like I’ve seen him somewhere even longer ago.” But while the dog was mean to him that night, today it seemed a bit listless, and its ears were half-drooped.

When Qu Xueyu heard the name Bai Mingyuan, a chill crossed his eyes. But when he looked at Lu Bai, his eyes were soft, and he naturally smoothed over the back of Lu Bai’s neck, saying, “Be good, Xiao Bai, and put him down. I’ll ask Bo Yangzhi to return it to Bai Mingyuan.” He paused and then added, “Xiao Bai, whether it’s a stray dog or a dog with an owner, it’s dangerous to touch it carelessly.”

Lu Bai scoffed, “I know.” It’s just that when that flower pot came down, it wouldn’t have just been him who’d get hit. If he hadn’t grabbed the dog and dodged away, the poor dog’s head would have been smashed flat. As much as he hated Bai Mingyuan, he couldn’t watch his dog get crushed to death. Besides, he did feel that the dog, somehow, looked familiar.

In the nanny car, Lu Bai was sitting next to Qu Xueyu, obediently drinking his milk tea, and the dog called Ah-Bu was in the opposite seat with his eyes fluttering in sleep. Bo Yangzhi twitched the corners of his mouth and resigned himself to calling Bai Mingyuan.

“I don’t want it anymore.” Bo Yangzhi pressed the external speaker button, and Lu Bai and Qu Xueyu were able to hear Bai Mingyuan’s voice coming out in a playful yet apathetic tone, “It’s up to you guys. If Mr. Qu and Mr. Lu want to take it in themselves, or if you want to simply throw it away, it’s all up to you.” After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Bo Yangzhi’s eyebrows twitched, quietly cursing “What kind of human bah”, then looked at Lu Bai – after all, what should be done with the dog, depends on the master.

Lu Bai took a sip of milk tea and was about to speak when Qu Xueyu raised his eyebrows and said, “Don’t worry, Xiao Bai, I’ll let Bo Yangzhi help him find a good home.” This dog made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable, and he couldn’t let it stay by Lu Bai’s side. He was just about to smoothly pit Mr. Agent again and say that he would foster it at Bo Yangzhi’s place before he found a good home, when he saw his little sweetheart tilt his head to look at him, and smile, revealing a mouthful of small white teeth, “Let’s keep it at our place for now.” After saying that Lu Bai added, “I’ve noticed that it looks familiar, so I want to find out what’s going on.”

Qu Xueyu twitched the corners of his mouth, but still nodded -Bai Yangzhi was very efficient in his work, this dog should be sent away soon, there was no need for him to make Lu Bai unhappy because of this little bit of delay.

“Xiao Qu, you’re so nice.” Lu Bai smiled so much that his eyes curled up—he knew what Qu Xueyu was thinking when he saw Qu Xueyu’s expression—he was as natural as he had thought about it countless times. Thinking that Xiao Qu was always so nice, then he couldn’t help kissing Qu Xueyu’s chin, but because the kiss was too hasty, a small red mark was made by his teeth on Qu Xueyu’s chin. Qu Xueyu didn’t care, just smiled and took Lu Bai into his arms, with a sweet helplessness in his smile.

Bo Yangzhi was on the other side of the screen for the umpteenth time. He adjusted his glasses and resigned himself to contacting potential adopters for the dog. The dog named Ah-Bu gently opened its eyes, and Lu Bai’s smiling face was quietly imprinted in its deep blue eyes.

After the end of today’s scenes, Qu Xueyu and Lu Bai took the dog back home. Presumably because of being abandoned by his owner, he didn’t show any aggression towards Lu Bai as he did when they first met. It was as if his spirit had been exhausted, and he had a listless look as his ears were always drooping and his eyes were low.

On the way home, they visited the shopping mall to buy dog care supplies, and Lu Bai tossed around in the bathroom for half a day in order to give the dog a good bath, and then patiently blow-dry its hair.

After the bath, Lu Bai sat on the sofa in his pajamas, frowning slightly as he stared at the dog that had now become fluffy and was lying beside him, his right hand subconsciously rubbing a spot on his left wrist.

Qu Xueyu saw Lu Bai looking in such a state when he came out of the kitchen with a plate of rabbit apples. He narrowed his eyes, then sat between the dog and Lu Bai, stuffing a piece of rabbit apple into Lu Bai’s mouth. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Xiao Bai, is it sweet?”

Lu Bai chewed the apple and came back to his senses, he hastily nodded. He was startled when he looked at the plate of rabbit apples on the table, and his eyes became tender in an instant, he swallowed the apple and said, “I seem to like rabbit apples a lot.” Vague fragments flashed through his mind, he always felt as if someone had made it for him many times.

Qu Xueyu moodily continued to feed, saying, “I also thought that you would like it very much-” he said as he looked at Lu Bai’s palm-covered wrist, “What’s wrong with your wrist?”

Lu Bai was dazed, then he lifted a white, lustrous wrist in front of Qu Xueyu and frowned, “Xiao Qu, I always feel like I’ve been bitten by a dog here.” Saying this, he pointed to a spot on his wrist, “There should be a scar here only, there isn’t one.”

The dog next to him which had been keeping its head down seemingly understanding human language, heard Lu Bai’s words, and his ears twitched slightly, which nobody noticed.

Qu Xueyu held that wrist in his hands, gently rubbing. There was no trace of a scar, but he didn’t want Lu Bai to worry about it, so he pulled him into his arms. He rubbed his head and pointed to the dog lying next to him, “Maybe it bit you in your dreams, so we should hurry up and send it away.” Then he smiled and gently bit Lu Bai’s ear, with some teasing in his words, “Our Xiao Bai is so attractive, I also want to bite. It’s best to leave a mark that can’t be removed so that anyone who sees it will know that you are mine.”

Lu Bai raised his eyes to look at the other, a warm light flowing in his vivid honey eyes, so well-behaved that it was as if he wouldn’t resist anything being done to him. He looked at Qu Xueyu, blinked, and said in all seriousness, “Then do it.” After a pause, he supplemented, “Bite wherever you want.”

Qu Xueyu’s eyes deepened as he moved. This kind of “permission” and the teenager’s appearance as if he was letting others do what they wanted at this time was too tempting, no one could resist this kind of temptation in front of his lover. The possessiveness in his body seemed to be clamoring like a storm as if it was out of control. Qu Xueyu quietly regarded the teenager with his dark eyes for a long time, but in the end, he propped up his forehead and chuckled lowly, before hugging Lu Bai tightly into his embrace.

“I can’t bear to see you in pain.”

Lu Bai was buried in Qu Xueyu’s arms, Qu Xueyu’s words were so faint that they were like a hallucination. Lu Bai hugged his waist back, and a peaceful smile floated up at the corner of his mouth.

~~~~~

The filming of the movie “Glass” is getting closer and closer to the end, and the current scene is the last time Huo Qi goes crazy before he dies, and it is also closely connected to his death.

Lu Bai sat on a small bench and listened to Director Zhou discuss the scene.

“You’re in the scene now, as Huo Qi.” Director Zhou guided Lu Bai to find the right emotions.

Lu Bai nodded obediently, while his eyes changed a bit.

Director Zhou observed Lu Bai’s changing eyes and muttered in his heart that maybe this young master of the Lu family who came in purely for Qu Xueyu, was really born to eat this bowl of rice²“Born to eat this bowl of rice” in Chinese usually refers to a person who is born with a certain talent or skill and can succeed in a certain field. For example, if a person says “he was born to eat this bowl of rice”, it may mean that the person is very good at a certain technology or industry, as if he was born for this industry. This statement usually has a connotation of praise and envy. However, this sentence can also be used to describe a person who is more experienced and qualified than others in this field. —Baidu, but unfortunately, it is unlikely that a person will truly enter the circle. Shaking his head at this thought, he then continued, “You’ve already passed the stage of conquest. You like Ruan Jiangjiu so much that you’ve gone crazy, and possessiveness and jealousy are also driving you to madness, but you don’t know it yourself.”

“All you know is that what you want you have to get, no matter the means.”

“In a fit of jealousy, you told Ruan Jiangjiu that if he ever met with that doctor again, you’d find someone to have the doctor and Ruan Jiangjiu’s mother killed.”

“You spoke the truth, but before you could carry it out, the doctor happened to get into a car accident. Even though it was a close call with just scrapes and bruises, Ruan Jiangjiu thought it was your doing and came to confront you about it. It wasn’t your doing, but you didn’t deny it. You felt that you had already gone crazed numerous times wanting the doctor to disappear in the first place.”

“You saw Ruan Jiangjiu’s final desperate questioning and frenzy, only to end up eerily quiet as if relieved. He quietly looked at you, the last glimmer in his eyes disappearing, and then- for the first time- he voluntarily kisses you.”

When Director Zhou finished speaking, he was lost in thought for a while, so Lu Bai finally opened his mouth and asked him, “Why did Ruan Jiangjiu kiss Huo Qi at this time?” After all, the next scene is the ending of this “Glass”: Ruan Jiangjiu finally understands that he can’t get rid of Huo Qi for the rest of his life. It doesn’t matter that he is tortured by Huo Qi, but he can’t let his mother and the doctor who is so kind to him be trapped in the maelstrom of Huo Qi for the rest of their lives, unable to escape. Before such a tragic ending, why would Ruan Jiangjiu take the initiative to kiss Huo Qiu?

Director Zhou was pulled out by Lu Bai’s voice, he looked at Lu Bai and said, “Xiao Lu, why do you think?”

Lu Bai shook his head honestly and said, “I don’t know.”

Director Zhou then smiled at his words, “It’s fine that you don’t know, I suspect that Huo Qi doesn’t know either.”

Some bewilderment surfaced in Lu Bai’s eyes, so he asked a different question which was not included in the script at all, “Did Ruan Jiangjiu eventually realize that Huo Qi was the one at Snow Mountain? Did he finally realize that it was Huo Qi who asked the doctor to treat his eyes?”

Director Zhou shrugged and patted Lu Bai on the head, “I don’t know about this either.” He smiled and raised his chin towards Qu Xueyu who was walking over, “Come, Ruan Jiangjiu, tell our Xiao Lu, did you know all of that in the end?”

Qu Xueyu stopped beside Lu Bai, smoothed Lu Bai’s hair, and said with curved eyes, “For now, that’s a secret.”

Director Zhou laughed, Lu Bai bristled, but in the end, did not pursue the question.

Not far away from the nanny car, Bo Yangzhi was taking a rare nap. The dog that should have been left at home poked its head out of Lu Bai’s backpack, before jumping out of the car and running towards where Lu Bai was filming.

~~~~~

When everything was ready, Director Zhou said, “Start!”

In the dimly lit box, there were only two people, Huo Qi and Ruan Jiangjiu. Huo Qi sat on the sofa with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Pulling Ruan Jiangjiu’s collar, he dragged the person in front of him. Petulantly caressing the other’s lips, his eyes were ice-cold, and his voice was clear and full of malice: “You can only be mine, and whoever taints you, I’ll kill – you know I’m crazy and I’ll do anything.  I will even kill anyone you care about when you don’t listen. You were raised by your single mother, I’m told.”

After saying that Huo Qi had a rush of vivid pain and pleasure as he observed the anger and despair in Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes almost obsessively in the dim and eerie light. After admiring enough, he opens his lips and gently exhales two words, “Kiss me.”

Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes were red, in his eyes was bone-deep hatred and pain mixed with something else. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, and he said flatly, “The doctor and I have nothing to do with each other, and my mother doesn’t know about us. I’ll do whatever you want, so you, leave, them, alone.”

Clearly compliant words, but Huo Qi’s heart was inexplicably on fire when he heard them, and he violently threw the unlit cigarette to the ground and stomped on it fiercely. Like a child full of malice, he commanded to his possession, “Kiss, me.”

Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes tightened, and then he kissed the other party’s lips, nibbling on them in an almost beast-like venting manner. His hand, however, tightened into a fist, the veins bulging at the back of his fist.

~~~~~

“Cut! Pass!”

After this scene was finished they proceeded to record the next one. Ruan Jiangjiu didn’t dare to see the doctor again, but on a certain day not long after that, he witnessed the doctor’s car accident – a car barreled towards the doctor who was crossing the road, fortunately, the driver stepped on the brake before he had hit the doctor and the doctor only received a few bruises and scratches. The police judged that the driver was suffering from excessive fatigue after they arrived at the scene and took the driver back to make a statement while the doctor went to the hospital to have his wounds patched up first. 

Ruan Jiangjiu, seeing this scene not far away, had his eyes wide open, and his whole body was trembling.

As this scene didn’t include Lu Bai, Lu Bai sat on the sidelines and watched obediently. Ruan Jiangjiu’s panicked dodging when seeing the doctor, the doctor’s momentary tender look when he suddenly thought of Ruan Jiangjiu as he was waiting for the traffic light… everything was going smoothly… Until the car unexpectedly swerved without any warning and barrelled towards Lu Bai after starting up.

“Xiao Bai!”

Things changed too quickly, and before the others had time to react, they could only hear Qu Xueyu’s quaking call. Then they saw Qu Xueyu rush over, turning his back to the car and holding Lu Bai tightly in his arms. Clenching his teeth, he then lunged to the side of the road with the people, and while doing so, he did not forget to use his hands to protect the back of Lu Bai’s head.

The sound of squealing breaks and the out-of-control car came to an uneasy stop, the safety devices in the car doing their job. The airbag deployed, while the driver was gasping for breath in a sweaty state, and his feet were still subconsciously braking heavily. Qu Xueyu slumped to the ground, holding Lu Bai tightly in his arms.

“Xiao Bai, are you okay?” Qu Xueyu’s voice was desperate for the first time, even filled with terror.

Lu Bai who was in his arms, stared blankly with his eyes wide open. His head seemed to be splitting open, and it hurt like death. Countless fragments flashed through his mind, each of which contained the unmistakable face of Qu Xueyu. Countless memories returning so violently made his brain ache as if it were melting, but they were not as bad as the pain and suffering of his heart at this time.

His Xiao Qu had just  – once again – almost died to save him… “Xiao Qu, you’re so stupid… ” Lu Bai tightly grasped Qu Xueyu’s clothes, his knuckles were turning red, his fingers trembling: “Xiao Qu, you’re always so stupid…” he said, “Why are you always so stupid?!” His voice wailed with sobs.

Qu Xueyu’s trembling fingers dabbed away Lu Bai’s warm tears, then he sat up with the other in his arms, gently stroking Lu Bai’s back and coaxing him. His voice was as gentle as the warm yellow rabbit light in the dark night: “Xiao Bai, don’t be scared… I’m fine…” he repeated, “I won’t leave you… Don’t cry…” after a breath, he stated, “I’ll never leave you…

Lu Bai continued to tightly grasp Qu Xueyu’s lapel and did not let go, his knuckles were stark white and red like blood.

~~~~~

The set was in an uproar, and seeing that no one had an accident, Director Zhou finally relaxed. The props team was busy inspecting the props, and they suspended filming today, while the actors rested. Director Zhou stood under a tree, lit a cigarette, and sighed guiltily – this was the second time something had happened, and he even wondered if this movie should continue to be filmed. If something did happen again, he would not be able to face anyone afterward. Even though the loss would be huge if the production was stopped, he would still bear the burden… “Don’t be discouraged, Director Zhou. This is also Xiao Bai’s wish. This time, just like the last time, was just an accident.” Qu Xueyu’s left arm was wrapped in bandages as he walked up to Director Zhou and stated.

Director Zhou stared at the bandages on Qu Xueyu’s arm and sighed heavily again with guilt. Although he had dodged in time just now, Qu Xueyu’s left arm was still grazed by the car. While not serious, it was merely scraped and bruising, but the situation just now made him want to clear his throat when he thought about it. If Qu Xueyu hadn’t pulled Lu Bai back in time… if Qu Xueyu had dodged a little slower… Director Zhou didn’t dare to think about it anymore.

This kind of car accident scene is practiced by the driver before the shoot numerous times. All props were also inspected and tested before the shoot, but there was still an accident. Thinking about it, Director Zhou tightly frowned and laughed bitterly – perhaps, even the heavens didn’t want him to shoot this movie.

~~~~~

In the nanny car, Lu Bai dismissed Bo Yangzhi and the other assistants. He sat on the seat and quietly looked at the dog in front of him, the aftershock and fear still firmly occupying his heart, and his head was still hurting fiercely. He looked at the dog with chilling intensity.

“Was that just now something to do with you?” The question was a rhetorical one, and Lu Bai spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, “Why did you and Bai Mingyuan come to this world?”

The dog seemed to be even weaker than before, with his ears drooping. He just raised his deep blue eyes at this statement and quietly looked at Lu Bai, not even having the strength to show his ire.

“And if it really was related to you,” Lu Bai continued expressionlessly as he regarded the dog in front of him, “You want to kill me? Why are you being so ungrateful, I have saved you before, at least.”

He had finally remembered where he had seen this dog before. In his original world, he had once saved a dying puppy that was pure white, with only the tip of one ear a little black, and its eyes seemed to be damaged and couldn’t be opened for a long time, and he had named it Ah-bu. The puppy was so frightened at first that it bit him, thus leaving a scar on the left wrist of his original body. Later, this puppy disappeared for no reason, and he blamed himself and was sad for a long time when he couldn’t find it no matter how hard he looked.

The dog that was indifferent to anything twitched violently when he heard Lu Bai’s words. His fur fluffed up almost all over his body, and he stared at Lu Bai, with a fierce whine, and there seemed to be incredulity in his eyes.

“What the hell are you?” Lu Bai asked in a cold voice. No matter how dense he was, he could tell that this thing could understand him. If what had just happened truly had something to do with it, then it might also have something to do with why he had come to this world after he had died in that car accident.

He didn’t want to die. And no matter what, he didn’t want Xiao Qu to get hurt ever again.

Lu Bai looked at the ‘dog’ in front of him, his eyes getting colder and colder as he snapped, “Don’t believe me? Do you still remember my bell? It had your teeth marks all over it. I thought I had lost that bell, but it was clipped onto the family photo I brought here. That photo has been in my room since I was a little kid.” The notebook with the family photo sandwiched in it was the only other thing he’d had on him when he’d been in that accident in his old world and had somehow been brought with him to this one. The bell had been his favorite trinket, something he’d had the habit of carrying around before he’d picked up the dog, and then it had been chewed on by Ah-Bu and covered in teeth marks.

The puppy looked as if it had learned something unbearably awful, and its fur froze as he looked at Lu Bai, whimpering in barely audible volume.

Lu Bai kept eye contact, and a moment later, hostility and ferocity swept through his eyes as he stated, “I don’t know who or what you are, but regardless, if it’s you or Bai Mingyuan, no matter what your purpose is, if you guys hurt Xiao Qu again, I’ll kill you.” No matter what it was, or what kind of strange power it had, if Xiao Qu was ever to be harmed by it or Bai Mingyuan, he would, by any means possible, destroy them.

The puppy, however, acted as if it hadn’t heard his threat. It stared blankly at Lu Bai with its eyes wide open, its eyes almost embarrassed and pitiful.

There was a rattling sound from the car door, probably Qu Xueyu returning from Director Zhou’s side. As if he had been terrified, Ah-Bu vigorously fled from the car the moment the door was opened. Qu Xueyu’s eyebrows tightened as he turned towards where the dog had run off. He clearly remembered not bringing the dog with them when they had left that morning.

“Xiao Qu…”

Once in the car, as soon as the door was closed, Qu Xueyu’s arms were stuffed with Lu Bai. Qu Xueyu’s heart was a soft mess, rubbing Lu Bai’s hair, his eyes curved up, “Be careful.”

“Does it hurt?” Lu Bai painfully looked at the bandages on Qu Xueyu’s left arm.

Qu Xueyu didn’t want Lu Bai to feel sad, so he jokingly tapped his lips and raised an eyebrow, “Well…it’s a little painful, but if you kiss it, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Lu Bai, however, earnestly nodded his head. As he held onto Qu Xueyu’s neck, his eyes were colorful and clear but contained such softness in them. Looking into Qu Xueyu’s eyes, he exclaimed, “Okay, I’ll give you a kiss.” With that, he covered the other man’s lips…

The final verdict of the accident was that the vehicle and the driver did not have any problems, but somehow an accident occurred, and Director Zhou took all the blame on himself. He gave the entire crew three days off to rest and reorganize.

Lu Bai took Qu Xueyu back to the Jinghai suburbs. Entering his childhood room, he saw the scattered notebooks on the ground, and his family photo was lying quietly on the open page. The good-looking teenager in the photo had a gentle smile on his lips, his bare arms were dropped, and his white and slender wrist was displayed. There was an inconspicuous scar on the upper part of his hand, and one of his fingers was flexed holding a small bell, which had some deformation caused by toothmarks. In the photograph, there is an inconspicuous, small white object- that was where Ah-Bu exposed his little paws. At that time, Ah-Bu had not disappeared yet, and his parents had wanted to hold Ah-Bu for a family photo, but Ah-Bu refused to come over, and was only willing to lie down next to him and wag his tail, and his paws were accidentally caught in the mirror. His eyes couldn’t see, but Lu Bai and his parents loved him very much, so if he refused to come over they wouldn’t force him.

Lu Bai looked expressionlessly at the scattered notebooks and the photo on the floor – this one was had been hidden under his bed. The servants would not go through his things without his consent and were not allowed to come in even for cleaning, so it could only have been that dog. He quietly clenched his fists – no matter what it was. No matter what purpose it has with Bai Mingyuan. He would never… Qu Xueyu stepped forward and picked up the notebook. He was startled when he saw the photo of a teenager who looked exactly like Lu Bai, as well as the gentle looking man and woman beside the teenager… The wrinkles on his forehead appeared as pain shot up, and countless vague and indistinct fragments swept through his mind. Qu Xueyu’s expression was suspended in a trance for a minute.

Lu Bai stepped forward to take the other’s hand, he looked into his eyes and subconsciously softened, Qu Xueyu curled his eyes with a smile. “Xiao Qu-” with his finger pointing to the teenager in the photo, “This is me.”

When Qu Xueyu’s posture faltered, Lu Bai leaned forward and kissed the other’s lips, exclaiming, “Xiao Qu, you’ve said many times before that you won’t leave me, so you have to keep your promise.”

“Xiao Qu, do you want to hear a long, long story?” At last, Lu Bai looked at the youth with red eyes, as he was smiling.

“Yes. I will listen well.” The youth chuckled and hugged Lu Bai into his arms.

~~~~~

A few days later, the production of “Glass” resumed filming. The car accident scene was successfully filmed despite everyone’s trepidation, and the production was left with only one last scene, the fire at the grand finale.

This is a big scene. Before shooting, Director Zhou gave more time to rest, so that the actors could restore their energy.

During the break, Lu Bai sat in the nanny car and leaned on Qu Xueyu’s arms, sipping on the milk tea sent by Lu Guanguan, while Bo Yangzhi pushed his glasses back in his usual manner, and then spoke of the recent major events: “Bai Mingyuan had a car accident. The night before last his car crashed through a guardrail and tumbled down a cliff, where he died immediately following rescue. The entertainment community is in a tizzy.” Even though Bai Mingyuan was a newcomer with a low reputation, he was still considered to be within the entertainment circle, and news like this with a touch of drama was enough to explode.

Lu Bai sniffed and lowered his eyes. Then, remembering the shocked look of Ah-Bu when he told him that he was the one who saved it. He had an intuition that Bai Mingyuan’s death had something to do with Ah-Bu, but right now, he just chewed on the straw, and with apathy and indifference in his eyes, he burrowed his way into Qu Xueyu’s embrace. Qu Xueyu hugged the person tightly, then turned a slightly reproachful look towards Bai Yangzhi: don’t scare my little darling with such a horrible matter.

With years of tacit understanding, Bo Yangzhi smoothly understood Qu Xueyu’s meaning. With a twitch of his mouth, he obediently changed the subject, “What’s more, young master Lu, there is a new confectionery store on West Street, and the sweet yellow pea cake there is especially authentic! So today I’m planning to go and buy some for you to try.”

Lu Bai instantly lost interest in the milk tea he was drinking while in Qu Xueyu’s arms, “Oh, I want two kilograms! And some osmanthus cakes.”

Bo Yangzhi felt that his teeth were going to be spoiled by two kilograms of yellow pea cake, and he twitched the corners of his mouth, but he still nodded his head obligingly.

The last scene finally started shooting. Director Zhou, with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, shouted, “Start!”

~~~~~

Ruan Jiangjiu came to Huo Qi’s home for the first time. He had long known where Huo Qi’s regular home was, but ordinarily, unless Huo Qi summoned him, it was simply inconceivable for him to take the initiative to come to his home to look for him – but this time, he had no choice but to take the initiative to see him.

The door opened, and Huo Qi appeared in front of him. Behind him was an empty living room in cold colors, which didn’t look like it had any life in it.

Huo Qi is barefoot, wearing a white shirt with crooked buttons, and a pair of loose black pants. The excessively long legs of the pants are pooled on the tops of his feet, making them appear even whiter, with obvious greenish veins on them. His hair was messy, and it even diluted the indifference and callousness in his eyes, causing others to have the misconception that he was just childish yet well-behaved.

Ruan Jiangjiu looked at Huo Qi for a moment, and when he reacted, he fiercely grabbed Huo Qi’s collar and asked in a choked voice: “The car accident that just happened to him. It was you, wasn’t it!”

Huo Qi’s face flashed through fleeting bewilderment, then he just shrugged his shoulders flippantly and quietly looked at the other party without saying anything, and did not struggle.

Ruan Jiangjiu saw the other person’s behavior only as a tacit admission. He violently pinned Huo Qi against the wall of the entryway inside the door, and when the wind blew, the door closed with a thud.

In the shadowy darkness where the setting sun streaks across the room, Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes were red and fierce, and there was an almost desperate anger in his eyes as he said fiercely, “I didn’t meet with him again! Nor will I ever meet with him again! Why are you still doing this?! Are you still not satisfied! Do you still want to hurt my mother as well!”

“Huo! Qi! You’re a demon! You’re the most underhanded and repulsive demon in the world!”

“When the hell are you going to leave me alone? Ah?!”

Ruan Jiangjiu is almost hysterical, but Huo Qi just looked at him quietly. Then a smile full of malice appeared on his face, he leaned over to Ruan Jiangjiu’s ear and whispered like the demon he was accused of being, “Did you just realize that I’m a dirty and disgusting demon? I won’t let you go, you’ll never get rid of me. Ruan, Jiang, Jiu-” he savored the youth’s name as he chewed on it, “You care about your mother, you care about that doctor, and as long as you care about them, you’ll never be rid of me. Because you know that if you are no longer mine, I really will turn on them.”

‘Actually, it would be better if you only cared about me.’ Huo Qi whispered in Ruan Jiangjiu’s ear as he traced this sentence, but didn’t let the other party hear a sound.

“Demon…you’re really a demon…you’ll never let them go, will you?”

Huo Qi leaned back and nodded expressionlessly – as long as there was a possibility of Ruan Jiangjiu not belonging to him, he wouldn’t stop threatening him with the people he cared about.

Ruan Jiangjiu got the other party’s answer not knowing what to think. He looked a bit dazed as he removed his hand that had been trapped in the other party’s collar, his eyes completely sinking into inky darkness and silence.

He looked at Huo Qi’s delicate yet indifferent face in the increasingly dim sunset, and Huo Qi also looked back at him.

Suddenly, he reached out and held the other man’s face firmly, then covered the other man’s lips as if he were on fire.

“Unh…”

Huo Qi didn’t struggle and quickly indulged in the kiss, as he loved kissing the youth. Despite the fact that he saw that the eyes of the youth he was kissing resembled a lifeless deep sea, with madness brewing behind the death and despair.

~~~~~

Huo Qi let Ruan Jiangjiu tie him to the chair without a struggle, and watched as the fire from the youth’s hands tainted the curtains and crawled onto the carpet, the burning flames in the youth’s eyes seethed with hatred and determination.

The night consumed the world, but it could not devour this searing fire.

“Join me in hell.” Amidst the flames, Ruan Jiangjiu half-kneeled in front of Huo Qi, caressing the other’s cheek like a lover, “I hate you. When I get to hell, I will perhaps find you before you harm others again. I’ve always had a soft heart, unlike you, who is heartless like a beast.”

The blaze illuminated the smokey room, the backs of Huo Qi’s feet already felt the pain. He looked towards the youth half-kneeling at his feet, and dully asked, “Ruan Jiangjiu, have you ever liked me? Have you ever loved me?”

The youth stroked Huo Qi’s face gently but his voice was dripping with hatred: “Never.”

Huo Qi then laughed, like a dangerous flower that blooms in hell, he stared at the youth’s face. Looking at the face of his obsession that even the fire could not destroy, and feeling something like relief, he murmured, “That’s good.”

The fire swallowed everything…

“CUT! Pass! Let’s wrap it up!”

Director Zhou spoke with a trembling voice and reddened eyes.

Qu Xueyu came out of the scene almost immediately. Hugging Lu Bai tightly into his arms, he expressed words that were the complete opposite of Ruan Jiangjiu’s lines, “Xiao Bai, I like you, I love you. The words just now, they’re not true.” Just now, looking at the young man’s sorrowful expression, for the first time, he almost could not control himself from breaking away from the constraints of the role of “Ruan Jiangjiu”-even after restraining himself, he still said the wrong line, saying that they would go to hell together. Ruan Jiangjiu’s original line was “Even if we go to hell together, I won’t ever see you again, Huo Qi”.

“It’s all right.” Amidst the cheers of finalization, Director Zhou walked over to Qu Xueyu and patted him on the shoulder, “I think the lines you changed are better.” After saying this, he smiled softly at Lu Bai and left.

~~~~~~

As soon as evening began to fall, everyone began to say their goodbyes one after another, and the crew then began to pack up the set and the props.

In the car on the way home, Lu Bai sat in the backseat. Placing a large bouquet of flowers next to him, he leaned comfortably against Qu Xueyu’s shoulder.

He was a bit tired, so he closed his eyes and played with Qu Xueyu’s fingers.

Qu Xueyu draped his jacket over him and let him play.

“Xiao Qu,” Lu Bai closed his eyes, remembering the previous question he asked in a mumble, “Did Ruan Jiangjiu know that it was Huo Qi who was with him at Snow Mountain? Did he know that it was Huo Qi who ordered the doctor to cure his eyes? Does he love him?”

Qu Xueyu curved his eyes when he heard him, he tapped the tip of Lu Bai’s nose and then said, “I don’t know if Ruan Jiangjiu really knew, and I don’t know if Ruan Jiangjiu loved Huo Qi. However, Xiao Bai, I can’t help but love you even in scenes. Qu Xueyu’s ‘Ruan Jiangjiu’ may not love Huo Qi, but he loves Lu Bai.”

Lu Bai’s heart turned mushy in his heart, and he closed his eyes and curved the corners of his mouth, “Oh.”

Everything about Qu Xueyu was so reassuring, that Lu Bai fell asleep as he leaned on the man’s shoulder.

In his sleep, he seemed to have had a dream.

In the dream, there was a white-haired teenager with a single lock of black, his eyes were a deep inky blue color, and he looked mournfully towards Lu Bai.

“Thank you. I’m sorry.”

Lu Bai froze, suddenly realizing who the other person was. The room under his feet seemed to be from his original world, familiar yet unfamiliar as if it was a lifetime ago-it felt like a dream that had been built up by the young man. Lu Bai quietly looked at him, his eyes fading to indifference as he asked, “What exactly is going on?”

“I’m the ‘order’ of this world… Don’t worry, I’m going to disappear soon, and you and everything you love will be completely and utterly free.” The white-haired teenager said.

“The book – or rather this world – of ‘Gu Xue’ was missing a traveler to be the protagonist. The real protagonist chosen for this book was you. Originally, you would have been reborn in this world after you had passed away in your original world, that was the choice of this book… I, as the ‘Order’ originally had no consciousness or feelings, I was just responsible for receiving you here from your original world.”

“But I miscalculated the time of your death. I came to your world prematurely, and because of the imbalance of forces, I was rendered helpless. I was morphed into a puppy and lost all five senses³5 senses= Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, and Taste… You saved me, and I didn’t know at that time that the person I was going to be taking away with me was you – only once you died would I be able to sense you. “

“In the original world, Bai Mingyuan went to the same university as you. He liked you, but you weren’t familiar with him… He secretly took your personal belongings, and that bell was one of them…” Here the white-clothed teenager seemed to be in some pain, and it was only after he took a deep breath that he was able to get his voice to calm down again… He continued, “I only found out about all this from him not too long ago.” Unfortunately, it was already too late.

“Later, when you died in a car accident, Bai Mingyuan happened to die on the same day, also due to a car accident. I found him when I was looking for you, he had that bell in his hand, and by mistake, I thought he was the one who saved me. He wanted to live, and I wanted to return the favor by letting him stay alive in the book world.”

Under the care of this teenager, he gradually developed feelings and consciousness that he shouldn’t have. Even if he lost his five senses, he could still feel how gentle the youth taking care of him was, he wanted his teenager to live, he didn’t want him to die. But he had mistakenly recognized the wrong person.

Thinking of this the white-clothed youth lowered his head painfully, not daring to look at Lu Bai’s eyes again as he continued, “I wanted to save him, but you’re the one who had been chosen by this world. If I wanted to bring him back I would have to bring your soul as well – yes, no matter which world’s humans are in, there exist souls.”

Hearing this, Lu Bai unusually spoke up, “So?“

“So I brought both of your souls to this world.” The white-haired teenager spoke in a low voice, “You were in a deep sleep at the time, but Bai Mingyuan woke up. He was surprised to see me, but quickly understood the situation he was facing- and, he didn’t tell me that the person who saved me in the first place wasn’t even him. There can only be one main character in this world, so one of you two had to die. He begged me to save him, he demanded for you to die instead. While I am the ‘Order’ of this world, I can’t kill you directly, so I can only… kill you by weaving a plot.”

“I can control your behavior and the passage of time in this world by consuming my own vitality, and I can also barely spin together a different plot by controlling you. In the original plot, ‘Lu Bai’ existed as the absolute protagonist instead of a vicious male supporting role. ‘He’ would enjoy a peaceful and smooth life, and Qin Gu and Qu Xueyu were ‘His’ most important friends, as opposed to lovers. The book ‘Gu Xue’ was not about romance at all, but about the trivial and cozy life that revolved around ‘Lu Bai’. The birth of ‘Lu Bai’ is the beginning of this book, and this book only exists for the happiness of ‘Lu Bai’. And I, as ‘Order’, only needed to watch from the sidelines after actually bringing you to this world, I had no real qualifications to intervene.”

“But there can only exist one traveler and protagonist in this world, and only if you die could Bai Mingyuan stay. So I took control of you, interfering with this world, and compulsorily weaving the plot of a vicious male support for you… I wanted the plot to kill you, but it didn’t go well… You resisted even when you suffered from such pain and agony. So the plot that I had forcefully woven for you was gradually going out of my control, and the plot of the book itself was completely unraveling – I, as the ‘Order’ of this world, didn’t have any real way of controlling or interfering with the other characters in this world, only you. More than just that car accident at the end, Bai Mingyuan and I have woven countless plots to try and kill you. Some of which you may remember, such as when you were a child and fell out of a tree and into a pool, all of which were us trying to kill you.”

“But you have a really deep connection with this world. The world has been subtly protecting you, and all those accidents were neutralized by your family. Even in the end, Qu Xueyu preferred to die himself to save you. And my movements were discovered by the world, which is now slowly rejecting me and killing me.”

“When Qu Xueyu died for you, and you decided to make that catch-22⁴A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations deal with me because you wanted to save him, at that time, you were right to threaten me with Qin Gu. In the beginning, Qin Gu and Qu Xueyu were the most important friends of the protagonist, Lu Bai, so they were the “fortunate ones” of the world. If we achieved our goal and killed you, Bai Mingyuan would need to be inseparably connected to one of them to properly gain a foothold in this world. At that time, when Qu Xueyu died, there was only Qin Gu left.”

“Agreeing to make a pact with you was Bai Mingyuan’s idea, because after Qu Xueyu died instead of you, I could no longer control you, and Bai Mingyuan wasn’t willing to accept it. He wanted you to keep facing the death of your loved ones and finally crumble away in time loop after time loop. But he didn’t expect that you could save Qu Xueyu.”

“After you saved Qu Xueyu, Bai Mingyuan completely panicked. His original plan was to wait for you to die before appearing in front of them, but he couldn’t wait any longer, so he started appearing in front of you. My life and power were nearly depleted, and when he wanted me to try and kill you again, I had to draw on what was left of my power to weave small incidents to kill you, such as that flowerpot not too long ago, and then the out-of-control car on the set. I had to get in close range of you if I wanted to do these things, but I didn’t think you’d find me and take me with you… Bai Mingyuan thought it’d be easier to strike like that, so I stayed with you…”

“You know the rest. You regained your memories and… well, you recognized me. I confirmed your identity after seeing that picture. I, I knew, that you wouldn’t forgive me… After all, I was the instigator of all your misfortunes. That’s why I can’t even offer a ‘May Lu Bai be safe and joyful in the days to come’. I don’t deserve to bless you, let alone call you by your name. Disappearing completely from your world is the only thing I can do for you now.

“But I want to return this to you…please, take it…”

The hand of the young man that he stretched out towards Lu Bai was so transparent that it seemed like it was about to disappear, and in the center of his hand lay a bell full of teeth marks quietly.

Lu Bai quietly looked at the other party for a long time, before reaching out to take the bell from his hand, and asked again with an indifferent face, “Does Bai Mingyuan’s death have anything to do with you?”

The teenager was surprised, then he lowered his eyes, “This matter, you don’t need to know.” He had come to put an end to everything, Lu Bai should live on in this world happily and peacefully, and should not be tied up with Bai Mingyuan and him anymore.

The teenager raised his head after saying that, there was thick sorrow and guilt in his eyes, but he looked at Lu Bai with incomparable fondness, he said, “Derailment of the plot means real freedom. You did it. You got true freedom by your own strength, and in the future, no matter who, no matter what, they can’t bind you or hinder you from attaining happiness.”

Lu Bai lowered his eyes, but in the end, he did not say anything, and after a long time, he said, “How do I get out of here?” Beyond this dream world, there were still people waiting for him.

After the young man took one last look at Lu Bai, he pointed behind him and said, “Go in that direction and don’t look back.”

Lu Bai nodded. Before he turned around, he looked at the teenager and said, “Ah-Bu, goodbye.” Without hesitation, he turned around and left, striding towards the point of light at the end of the path – Beyond which was the world where Qu Xueyu existed.

Behind him where he couldn’t see, the white-haired boy’s eyes had widened when he heard that name, and he cried in silence as he watched Lu Bai’s back, tears covering his face. Before he disappeared, what abruptly came to his mind was a character in this world. The one called Chen Ming, at that time, he had laughed at the other’s stupidity and patheticness. That he would recognize his benefactor incorrectly, but in the end, he was even more pathetic than Chen Ming… He had almost, with his own hands, slain that person, the teenager whom he had wanted so much to like, to cherish, and to love…

Lu Bai slowly opened his eyes, and Qu Xueyu felt the movement and turned his eyes from the window back to the teenager.

The sun was setting in the west, warm yellow everywhere, and the tired birds were returning to their nests. Qu Xueyu rolled the window halfway down, the breath of light broke into the car’s interior, and the warm sunset colors illuminated Lu Bai’s face, making him look like a lazy cat. Lu Bai looked out the window at the neon lights that were starting to light up one after another, and said, “Hmm… This is the way home?” Home, such a warm and comforting word.

“Yep,” Qu Xueyu bent his eyes and kissed Lu Bai’s forehead, “Xiao Bai, we are precisely on our way home. Just now your family called – your parents, aunts, sister, your grandpa, and my grandpa – they are all waiting for us to go back home for dinner.”

Lu Bai chortled, carding his fingers one by one into the other’s, and tutted, “Okay, let’s go home. I miss them.”

“What’s that?” Qu Xueyu suddenly discovered Lu Bai’s other hand holding something. Lu Bai was astonished, spreading out his hand, a bell full of teeth marks was lying quietly in the palm of his hand. Lu Bai lowered his eyes and said, “It’s nothing important.”

Qu Xueyu raised an eyebrow, took the bell from his hand and rubbed Lu Bai’s hair with a smile, “Then I’ll put it away for you.” He somehow felt that the bell might evoke not-so-happy memories for the teenager.

“Mmm.” Lu Bai pressed his cheek against Qu Xueyu’s hand and rubbed it affectionately, muttering, “It’s okay to throw it away if you don’t like it, Xiao Qu.” Saying this he raised his head and blearily met Qu Xue Yu’s smiling eyes, “Xiao Qu, I still want to sleep for a while.”

“Then sleep.” Qu Xueyu swept Lu Bai into his arms and adjusted his posture so that the other party could lean more comfortably, “I’ll wake you when we get home.” Qu Xueyu pecked the other’s lips after speaking.

“Good.” Lu Bai snuggled in Qu Xueyu’s arms and fell asleep comfortably, this time without the interference of stange dreams.

The sky filled with stars, the car quietly traveling in the sunset and starlight mingling, on the road home.

~~~~~~~

X day, X month, X year

“Mommy Mommy, what are you writing?” The little gnocchi-like child ran over with his short legs, using his little fleshy hands to grab the corner of the woman’s coat in front of the desk to ask in a sticky manner.

“Yeah,” a man with a gentle smile swooped in and picked the child up, making the child giggle and call ‘daddy’, he came over to the woman’s side and teased, “On behalf of our Xiao Bai, I ask, Ah-Mei, what are you writing? Ah?”

The elegant woman smiled like the winter sunshine, she received the little boy, hooked the tip of the little boy’s nose, and said, “Mommy is writing Xiao Bai’s story.”

“Xiao Bai’s story?” The child pointed a finger at himself and asked in a milky voice, he was still too young to understand the concept of “storytelling”, and could only ask his mother with big honey-colored eyes.

“Yes,” the woman said as she grabbed the child’s chubby little hand with her own warm hand. Her eyes were full of light as she said, “Mommy wants to write a very happy story for Xiao Bai, and I hope that Xiao Bai grows up safe and sound and happy like in the story, and makes lots and lots of good friends, and has a super happy life! ” So she made her son the main character to write the story, imagining that the main character in the story, “Lu Bai”, would have a peaceful and happy life.

“Honey,” the man took the book in his hand, looked at it, and asked the woman with a smile, “Why is the title called ‘Gu Xue’?”

“Ah! Lu Zihao don’t read it, quickly give it back to me!” The woman’s face suddenly reddened – it was really too embarrassing for someone close to her to read her own story – “This is a story for my son! Not for you!” The woman’s face reddened as she snatched the notebook away.

“Hahaha,” the man leaned over and kissed the woman’s flushed face, and then his son, who was drooling with laughter, and asked, “Ah-Mei, why is it called ‘Gu Xue’ anyway?”

“Because-” the woman kissed her son’s cheeks despite her red face and muttered in recognition, “Because Xiao Bai loves the snow in our hometown the most. You forget how happy our Xiao Bai is when it snows⁵Reminder, ‘Gu Xue’ could mean many things! In this way Xiao Bai’s mom means it as ‘When it snows’ or ‘Snowfall’ instead of our earlier guess of it being a mash-up of our mistaken ‘Original ML and MC’ among other things..”

~~~~~~

On a very special occasion, Lu Bai seriously told Qu Xueyu, “Xiao Qu, in the original world my mother’s name was Ye Mei and my father’s name was Lu Zi Hao, very nice names, right? They loved me very much.”

“By the way Xiao Qu, the snow in my hometown is especially especially beautiful.”

~End of the story~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note: Wuwu, the author is back!

Happy New Year little angels! I wish you all a healthy, happy, peaceful, and prosperous new year, and all the best in the world!

This is the end of the story, the uncle’s extras and the Qin Gu’s extras (maybe there will be some) will be released for free to everyone⁶As of posting 3/3/24, Unable to find, sorry Krone: Just means we’re not meant for it xD~!

Thank you for your continued support, love you!

I’ll see you again soon, darlings. 

Thank you so much for reading along with me! (My apologies on the delayed posting of this final chapter, it was very very long and not wanting to split it was my downfall as the length was daunting) As of now I have no idea what my next project will be but I am looking for one! I am attempting to learn Korean so I might look at those to help my studies, although posting those gets tricky because they have stricter copyright laws…

I took notes during my translation and don’t want them just going to waste, so in the dropdown I have included a majority of them! I do recommend doing this as a translator as it helped me keep facts and names consistent.

Editor: Krone

Proof Reader: N/A

• 1
  I have noticed this is a thing my Filipino friends do, I believe it is because they are taught that its rude to point with your fingers? But indicating towards something with your chin is ok. Krone: As a Filipino, yes this is true. Part of the folk tales from our elders. Not entirely sure why though xD the one i’m most familiar with is to definitely not point at anything at night, cause you might inadvertently point to “something” that’s not quite human. There also the thing that if you do need to point to something, bite your finger afterwards. To ‘break the connection’. XD We have so many superstitions, truthfully xD
• 2
  “Born to eat this bowl of rice” in Chinese usually refers to a person who is born with a certain talent or skill and can succeed in a certain field. For example, if a person says “he was born to eat this bowl of rice”, it may mean that the person is very good at a certain technology or industry, as if he was born for this industry. This statement usually has a connotation of praise and envy. However, this sentence can also be used to describe a person who is more experienced and qualified than others in this field. —Baidu
• 3
  5 senses= Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, and Taste
• 4
  A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations
• 5
  Reminder, ‘Gu Xue’ could mean many things! In this way Xiao Bai’s mom means it as ‘When it snows’ or ‘Snowfall’ instead of our earlier guess of it being a mash-up of our mistaken ‘Original ML and MC’ among other things.
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  As of posting 3/3/24, Unable to find, sorry Krone: Just means we’re not meant for it xD