Chapter 26.1 – Song Xinglan’s Secret
Novel Title: 一屋暗灯 (Ephemeral Light)
Author：麦香鸡呢 (McChicken)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 宋谨 (Song Jin -MC), 宋星阑 (Song Xinglan -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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In the morning, while Song Jin was brushing his teeth, Song Xinglan also ran over with a toothbrush. He squatted by the sink, brushing his teeth alongside Song Jin. With a mouthful of foam, he smiled foolishly at him. Song Jin glanced at him and then continued brushing his own teeth.
“Ge, can I go out today?” Song Xinglan asked while standing next to Song Jin as he made breakfast.
“Whatever,” Song Jin replied. “Just come back early for dinner.”
“Okay.” Song Xinglan stared at Song Jin’s earlobe for two seconds before leaning over to give it a quick kiss.
At first, Song Jin didn’t realise what had happened. When he finally sensed something was off and turned his head abruptly, Song Xinglan was already standing straight, pretending to be casually watching the pot.
“Smells so good. I just don’t know how long it’ll take before we can eat.” He said this to himself with a serious expression.
After having breakfast, Song Jin went back to his room to work. Song Xinglan reported to him through the door and then went out to play.
By noon, Song Jin had finished cooking. After waiting for a few minutes without Song Xinglan returning, he was about to go out to find him when Song Xinglan hurriedly entered the yard, saying, “I lost track of time for a moment. Ge, have you been waiting for me long?”
“No. Let’s eat.”
Song Xinglan ate his meal rapidly like a gust of wind. Song Jin was still eating when Song Xinglan, waiting to wash the dishes, kept staring at him. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Song Jin said, “If you want to go out, just go. I’ll wash the dishes.”
“Then I’ll wash them tonight!” Song Xinglan sprang up from the chair and ran outside. After taking a few steps, he seemed to remember something. He turned back and quickly walked over to Song Jin. He placed one hand on the edge of the table and the other on the back of the chair as he bent down. He then kissed Song Jin on the cheek.
Song Jin was still in a daze when Song Xinglan turned and slipped away.
***
In the evening, Song Xinglan returned on time, smiling happily for some unknown reason. He was even humming a tune while washing the dishes. Song Jin ignored him and went to bed after taking a shower. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Ge, can I come in?”
Song Jin closed his book and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Song Xinglan pushed the door open and poked his head in, saying, “I have something for you.”
Song Jin thought for a moment and said, “Alright. Come in.”
Song Xinglan walked in and sat on the sofa beside the bed with a serious expression. He then started digging into the pockets of his hoodie.
He pulled out a roll of money.
Blue, yellow, green, red, new, old, folded, and crumpled—all rolled together into a thick bundle.
He placed it on Song Jin’s blanket and said, “Here. It’s for you.”
Song Jin was stunned for a long while. He sat up and asked, “Where did this money come from?”
Song Xinglan avoided the question, saying, “It was wrong of me to lose the money you gave me. From now on, I’ll let you handle all the money.”
Holding the money, Song Jin asked again, “Where did it come from?”
Did he steal it or did he rob it? Or did he blackmail someone?
But Song Xinglan stood up and said, “I’m going to take a shower, Ge.”
Song Jin threw off the blanket and followed him out, asking, “Song Xinglan, where did you get this money?”
Song Xinglan had already reached the bathroom door. Seeing Song Jin following him, he turned around and gave Song Jin a mischievous smile. He then quickly pulled off his top, taking off both his hoodie and the T-shirt underneath. He stood there bare-chested. He even reached out to start taking off his pants.
Song Jin immediately turned back to his room, feeling unusually flustered as he said, “You’re crazy.”
He heard Song Xinglan laughing childishly behind him.
***
The next day, when Song Jin got up, Song Xinglan was already gone. The bucket they often used to hold vegetables was also missing. He must have gone to pick vegetables.
After Song Jin finished making breakfast, Song Xinglan returned carrying vegetables. He seemed to really like bok choy, as he always picked it.
As soon as Song Xinglan sat down at the table, Song Jin asked, “Where did the money come from?”
“The porridge smells so good,” Song Xinglan said.
Song Jin pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
After washing the dishes, Song Xinglan went out. He initially tried to steal a kiss from Song Jin. But Song Jin turned to stare at him and asked, “Where did the money come from?”
Song Xinglan immediately bolted.
At eleven o’clock, Song Jin started cooking lunch and then went out.
He grabbed a random child on the street and asked, “Do you know where Song Xinglan is?”
“Song Xinglan?” The child thought for a moment. “That handsome fool?”
“Yes, the fool,” Song Jin said. “Where is he?”
“At the small shop!” the child said. “The one next to the basketball court.”
“Alright, thank you.”
When Song Jin arrived at the shop, he already had an idea of what was going on.
The shop owner, sitting behind the counter, greeted him with a bright smile. “Ah, Xiao Song is here. Your brother is in the private room inside.”
Song Jin pushed open the door to the private room. Inside, there were four mahjong tables, three of which were empty. Only one table was surrounded by people.
“Peng!” Song Xinglan’s arrogant voice came from the crowd. “Four circles!”
Song Jin felt dizzy. He couldn’t understand why this group of people would be playing mahjong with a fool, and how Song Xinglan could actually be winning. The money he brought home yesterday, when roughly counted, was about four to five hundred yuan.
So, his mahjong buddies lost to this fool?
This is such a surreal village.
Song Jin squeezed through the crowd. Song Xinglan was sitting in a chair, shaking his leg, with a lollipop in his mouth and a mahjong tile spinning in his hand. He looked extremely smug.
Seeing Song Jin arrive, someone deliberately said, “Xinglan, it’s time to go home for dinner.”
Song Xinglan looked up at the clock on the wall and said vaguely, “No rush. My brother hasn’t finished cooking yet. We can play another round.”
Before he could finish speaking, Song Jin slapped him on the back of his neck.
Song Xinglan was almost knocked flat onto the table. He took the lollipop out of his mouth, coughed a few times, and turned to see Song Jin. His eyes instantly filled with panic. “Ge?”
“Go home,” Song Jin said.
Under the caring and sympathetic gaze of the villagers, Song Xinglan collected his money and stood up. He obediently followed behind Song Jin out of the private room.
The shop owner waved at Song Xinglan, “Come back in the afternoon!”
Song Xinglan was speechless, feeling on the verge of tears.
After returning home, Song Jin started cooking. Song Xinglan stood next to him like a mute, afraid to speak or move.
After dinner, Song Xinglan immediately went to wash the dishes, while Song Jin washed some fruits and placed them on the table before retreating to his room.
After a while, Song Xinglan came to knock on the door. “Ge.”
Song Jin ignored him. But Song Xinglan continued, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”
Finding it somewhat amusing, Song Jin finally spoke, “So now that you’ve told me, you think you can just go play mahjong whenever you want?”
He walked over and opened the door, looking at Song Xinglan. “You don’t even have a penny on you, yet you dare to gamble? What if you lose? You’ll borrow money from someone? Or you’ll just refuse to pay?”
This matter could be neither big nor small of a deal. If mishandled, it could lead to disputes and unhappiness. Song Jin had always kept his distance from others. It was just his nature. But if Song Xinglan continued like this, Song Jin was certain that trouble would eventually find him. Being intellectually disabled, he understood nothing about the ways of the world. If he accidentally offended someone, he wouldn’t even realise it until it was too late.
“I was wrong, Ge,” Song Xinglan said even though he didn’t understand why Song Jin was angry. Regardless, he obediently apologised. “I won’t play anymore. Please don’t be angry.”
“Song Xinglan, if you’re going to be like this, then don’t stay here. Go wherever else you want,” Song Jin said.
Song Xinglan suddenly looked up. His eyes immediately reddened. “I won’t be like this anymore. I’ll tell you everything in the future. And I’ll listen to you. Please, Ge, don’t throw me away…”
He hugged Song Jin tightly, burying his face in Song Jin’s neck as he cried, “I lost the money and wanted to make it up to you. I didn’t know you would be this angry… You’re always busy. And you don’t have time for me. I’m so bored alone… It’s lively playing mahjong there, Ge. Many people watch me play and I’m not alone anymore…”
Song Jin tried to push him away but couldn’t. He could only say, “You can go play basketball.”
“Xiao Qiang and the others play so poorly…” Song Xinglan cried loudly. “I’ve been lenient with them a lot. But they still can’t beat me…”
Song Jin felt helpless.
Although he had always seen Song Xinglan as a fool, the fact was that after his head injury, the damage to his memory was the greatest. He basically couldn’t remember anything. However, his level of intelligence didn’t seem to have decreased too much. He could do basic household chores and learn things quickly. Although he seemed to act like a fool, he was not actually mentally disabled.
Song Jin asked him, “How did you learn to play mahjong?”
Sniffling, Song Xinglan said, “I don’t know. I just know how to play. They all say I’m very good.”
“Did you borrow money from anyone?”
“No, I won at the beginning, lost some in the middle. But in the end, I won back the money.” Song Xinglan wiped his tears on Song Jin’s shoulder, choking back his emotions as he reported truthfully.
Song Jin paused and asked him, “Are you really unhappy being alone?”
In fact, he already knew the answer. Ever since the day he pushed open the door to the small room and saw Song Xinglan sitting alone on the bed, staring out the window, he knew that these days were tough for Song Xinglan.
“I’m unhappy. Ge, you don’t talk to me or spend time with me,” Song Xinglan sniffled as he murmured, “You sit alone in your room working. And I have nothing to do. It’s very hard for me.”
“You have a tablet, don’t you? I can download some movies for you to watch when you’re bored.”
“I don’t want to.” Song Xinglan hugged Song Jin tighter as he stubbornly said, “I want you to accompany me. I don’t want to watch movies.”
How should he put it… Song Jin felt that Song Xinglan’s initial cautiousness and unease had mostly disappeared since he first arrived. His inherent domineering and paranoid nature had begun to emerge, taking advantage of him for being alone.
But compared to three years ago, this bit of arrogance was hardly worth mentioning now.
“Let go of me. Let’s discuss,” Song Jin said.
Song Xinglan then let go of him, looking at him with red eyes.
“I’ll make time to accompany you in the future. You can also go out to play,” Song Jin said. “You can play mahjong. But no matter when you leave the house, you must be back by ten in the morning or three in the afternoon. If you lose all your money, you must come back immediately. You can’t borrow from anyone. And you can’t argue with anyone. Can you do that?”
“I can!” Song Xinglan’s eyes lit up. “As long as you’re with me, I can refrain from going out and playing mahjong.”
“I have things to do. Sometimes I don’t have that much time,” Song Jin said. “I’ll try my best.”
“Thank you, Ge!”
As Song Xinglan spoke, he lifted Song Jin up. Meanwhile, Song Jin, feeling flustered, held on to his neck tightly. “Put me down!”
“No way!” Song Xinglan laughed and kissed Song Jin’s mouth. He then carried him out of the room and into the yard, spinning him around in circles. He shouted unabashedly, “Ge, you’re the best!”
Large sycamore leaves fell around them in the wind while Grapefruit basked in the sun on the swing frame. He lazily meowed at the two of them as he squinted his eyes.
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*Translator’s Note: SXL has been stealing kisses a lot, eh? By the way, my ‘buy me a coffee’ account got terminated today. To those who had donated, thanks a lot, but you will be refunded. Lol!-K
☝🏻Bok choy
Next update: -Daily-
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