Chapter 59 – Coral Pink (Extra 6)
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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One morning, while on his way to the vegetable field, Song Jin encountered a fellow villager walking a dog.
The dog was a massive Golden Retriever, clearly a purebred with its strong frame and proud posture. It gave Song Jin a friendly look but glanced at Song Xinglan with disdain.
With Song Xinglan’s current state of mind, he didn’t quite understand what that look on the dog’s face meant. He was just excited and asked the dog owner, “Can I pet your dog?”
“If it’s okay with the dog,” the owner replied.
Song Xinglan squatted down and reached out his hand.
Fortunately, although the Golden Retriever didn’t really fancy him, it didn’t bite. It proudly raised its head and allowed Song Xinglan to pet it.
The dog owner, seeing this, generously said, “If you like, you can take it for a walk. Just make sure it doesn’t eat anything weird. I could use a nap.”
Hearing this, Song Jin was immediately worried—he suspected that their vegetable field might be ruined by both Song Xinglan and the dog today.
But before Song Jin could politely decline, Song Xinglan excitedly snatched the leash from the dog owner and enthusiastically promised, “No problem!”
Song Jin sighed tiredly.
“Ge, this dog is huge,” Song Xinglan said, walking next to Song Jin. “What kind of dog is this?”
“Maltese,” Song Jin casually replied.
“Maltese,” Song Xinglan repeated without question, “such a big Maltese.”
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, “Then what kind of cat is Grapefruit?”
“A jaguar.”
Song Xinglan immediately looked awestruck—it never occurred to him that beneath Grapefruit’s chubby exterior lay such a cool breed name.
When they arrived at the vegetable field, Song Xinglan’s showy nature kicked in. He was walking the dog and watering the plants at the same time, squeezing himself and the dog into the narrow aisles of the vegetable patch.
Song Jin stood at the edge of the field, watching as the Golden Retriever wagged its tail and stomped on a few small cabbage plants.
“Could you two disappear from my sight for a bit?” Song Jin asked.
Both Song Xinglan and the Golden Retriever turned their heads simultaneously. Song Xinglan asked, “What do you mean, Ge?”
“Take the dog somewhere else to play. I’ll water the plants myself.”
“How could I do that, Ge?”
“Get lost.”
“Okay.”
After being scolded, Song Xinglan cheerfully led the Golden Retriever away, calling out to Song Jin as he left, “Ge, I’ll come home for dinner later.”
Song Jin replied, “It’s fine if you don’t.”
After busying himself for more than half an hour, Song Jin packed up his things and looked around. He couldn’t see any trace of Song Xinglan or the dog. He had no idea if Song Xinglan had gone off to play Mahjong with the dog or to eat spicy snacks.
Song Jin didn’t bother looking for them. He went home alone.
After sitting in front of his computer for over two hours, by the time evening came, Song Jin stretched his neck and decided to start making dinner.
As he walked into the kitchen, he realised something was off—the house had been eerily quiet all afternoon. Song Xinglan still hadn’t come back.
That silly kid was probably off playing Mahjong or hanging out with elementary school kids, playing basketball and eating snacks.
Annoyed, Song Jin turned around and left the house to find Song Xinglan.
After asking around the Mahjong parlour, the local store, and the kids playing basketball, no one had seen Song Xinglan. Song Jin began to realise something was wrong and headed to the dog owner’s house.
The dog owner had clearly just woken up, rubbing his eyes as he asked Song Jin, “Did you bring my dog back? Thanks, thanks.”
“Your dog is missing,” Song Jin said calmly. “And my brother is missing too.”
“Huh? What?!” The dog owner was stunned.
A few seconds later, he snapped out of it. He hurried back into his house to grab a coat and a flashlight, muttering, “Maojin, oh my Maojin, I only brought you to the countryside two days ago…”
“Try looking in the mountains, and also by the river,” Song Jin suggested.
“The… the river!” The dog owner was on the verge of tears. He then remembered something. “Oh, Maojin can swim! Thank goodness, thank goodness… Does your brother know how to swim?”
“I’m not sure.”
It was winter. The sun had already set early. By the time they entered the mountains, it was pitch black. A thick fog had rolled in. Even though they had flashlights, the visibility was extremely low.
The dog owner kept calling out, “Maojin, Maojin!” while Song Jin decided to conserve his energy, waiting for the dog owner to tire himself out before starting to call for Song Xinglan.
After shouting for five or six minutes, the dog owner began to dry heave, likely from swallowing too much cold air. Between his retching, he managed to say to Song Jin, “Y-you… ugh… your turn now… ugh…”
“Song Xinglan! Song Xinglan!”
Song Jin shouted twice and then stopped, waiting until they had walked a little further before calling out again.
After about another half an hour, the deeper they went into the mountains, the colder it became. The dog owner, shivering in despair, said, “We should call the police, there’s no other way.”
Panting, Song Jin shone his flashlight around. A few seconds later, he took a deep breath and called out one last time, as loudly as he could, “Song Xinglan!”
This time, unexpectedly, there was a response. Faintly, from a distance. But it wasn’t Song Xinglan who answered—it was a few barks from a dog.
“Maojin, my Maojin!” The dog owner yelled, rushing up the hillside.
Song Jin followed, climbing the slope while calling out “Song Xinglan” again. This time, along with the barking, there were finally some human voices mixed in.
“Woof woof woof!”
“Ge!”
“Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
“Ge! Ge!”
Eventually, they found both the person and the dog sitting pitifully on the ground beside a tree—Song Xinglan hugging the dog.
As soon as they saw Song Jin and the dog owner, both Song Xinglan and Maojin stood up, rushing toward their respective brother and owner.
Song Jin’s first instinct was to give Song Xinglan a beating. But it didn’t seem appropriate to do so in front of others. He swallowed his anger and let Song Xinglan throw himself into his arms.
Song Xinglan was genuinely frozen. His whole body was ice cold. He was trembling and sniffling as well.
Song Jin stiffly patted him on the back. “Alright, let’s go home.”
“Ge, you can scold me,” Song Xinglan said.
Song Jin replied, “No rush. I’ll scold you at home.”
The dog owner, after some heartfelt reunion with his Golden Retriever, finally remembered to ask, “So what happened? How did you two end up so deep in the mountains?”
“I was just looking around outside to see if there were any bamboo shoots,” Song Xinglan said, grabbing Song Jin’s hand. He realised his hand was too cold and tried to pull it away. But Song Jin gripped it tighter.
“Then… then we saw a rabbit,” Song Xinglan sniffled. “A wild rabbit. It was grey in colour. And it ran really fast.”
“The dog chased after the rabbit, and I couldn’t hold onto the leash. The dog chased the rabbit, and I chased the dog. Actually, I wanted the rabbit too, to catch it and bring it home for my Ge to raise,” Song Xinglan rambled incoherently. “I chased for a long time, didn’t catch the rabbit, and then it got dark, and I forgot the way back.”
The dog owner looked at him affectionately and advised Song Jin, “Let it go. He’s just a kid. It’s understandable.”
The group walked out of the mountains and back to the village.
As they parted, Song Xinglan said to the Golden Retriever, “Next time, I’ll take you for a walk again.”
The Golden Retriever gave him a somewhat resentful look and walked home without looking back.
On the way, Song Jin remained silent, making Song Xinglan anxious.
When they got home, Grapefruit the cat meowed and came running over. But after catching the scent of the Golden Retriever on Song Xinglan, it immediately backed away. It eyed him warily and with disgust.
Standing by the door, Song Xinglan hesitantly called out, “Ge…”
“Go take a bath,” Song Jin said, heading towards the kitchen. “And wash your clothes yourself afterward.”
“Okay!” Song Xinglan responded quickly, dashing into the bathroom. He then realised he hadn’t grabbed any clean clothes. So he rushed back out to his room to get them.
It was too late to cook a full meal. So Song Jin just made a pot of noodles.
After washing his clothes in the yard, Song Xinglan walked into the living room carrying a basin.
At the same time, Song Jin was placing the noodles on the table.
Without saying a word, Song Xinglan lowered his head and was about to go upstairs to hang the clothes.
Song Jin glanced at him and pressed his chopsticks onto the table. “Eat first.”
With a loud clatter, Song Xinglan put the basin down on the stairs. “Okay, Ge!”
He cautiously watched Song Jin’s expression and slowly started transferring the meat from his bowl to Song Jin’s.
At first, he placed the meat neatly at the edge of Song Jin’s bowl. But when Song Jin didn’t say anything, he grew bolder. His chopsticks were practically in Song Jin’s face as he dropped piece after piece of meat into his brother’s bowl.
“Are you uncomfortable if I don’t scold you?” Song Jin asked coldly.
Song Xinglan’s shoulders slumped. He hugged his bowl and shrank in on himself, silently eating his noodles.
He ate quickly, finishing even the soup. After he was done, he just sat there quietly, waiting.
As soon as Song Jin finished eating, Song Xinglan immediately grabbed his bowl and chopsticks and took them to the kitchen to wash.
He was like a spinning top, constantly moving—washing dishes, hanging clothes, sweeping the floor, feeding the cat, and even cutting up fruit. He brought the fruit into Song Jin’s room and then went to prepare hot water for Song Jin’s foot bath.
“I’ll do it myself,” Song Jin pushed his hand away and dipped his feet into the bucket.
Song Xinglan sat on the small sofa nearby, clasping his hands together and rubbing them nervously. Eventually, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Ge, does your feet hurt?”
His brother had an old leg injury. After walking so far in the cold, Song Xinglan felt deeply guilty.
“I don’t know. I can’t feel them,” Song Jin replied.
“…” Song Xinglan looked like he was about to cry. “It’s all my fault. Ge, I won’t take the Mar-geese for a walk next time.”
Song Jin wanted to say: The ‘Mar-geese’ probably doesn’t want to walk with you either.
“Do you want me to massage your legs, brother?” Song Xinglan asked pitifully.
“No need.”
Hearing this, Song Xinglan fell into silent sadness.
Once Song Jin finished soaking his feet, Song Xinglan carried the foot bath bucket out of the room.
A little while later, Song Jin heard the sound of the door closing in the adjacent room.
Leaning back on the bed to read for a bit, Song Jin thought for a moment before getting up and putting the fruit into the fridge in the kitchen.
Normally, the moment he left his room, Song Xinglan would open his door like a curious puppy, asking what Song Jin was doing. But today, the small room remained quiet.
Song Jin stood in front of the small room’s door and raised his hand to knock.
No response.
“Song Xinglan,” Song Jin called, “stop pretending to be asleep.”
Still no response.
“I’m coming in.”
Yet again, no sound.
Song Jin opened the door and saw that only a small desk lamp was on in the room. Song Xinglan was bundled up in a blanket—his large frame didn’t look fragile even when curled up. He still appeared as a big lump.
“What are you doing?” Song Jin nudged Song Xinglan. “Stop playing dead.”
Song Xinglan didn’t poke his head out but instead curled up even tighter.
Song Jin had no choice but to tug at the blanket. But Song Xinglan held on tightly, refusing to let go.
“If you keep this up, I’m not going to talk to you anymore,” Song Jin said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the blanket loosened.
When he pulled again, it easily came off.
Song Xinglan covered his face with his hands. But even so, Song Jin could tell that he was crying.
Whenever Song Xinglan cried, it always seemed out of place, especially now as he was hiding under the blanket like this—it felt even more wrong.
“Why are you crying?” Song Jin asked.
“I’m not crying,” Song Xinglan replied in a tearful voice.
“Then take your hands down.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because my eyes are leaking.”
“…”
Song Jin was speechless.
He grabbed a few tissues and stuffed them into Song Xinglan’s hand.
Sniffling, Song Xinglan started wiping his tears and nose, sneaking peeks at Song Jin through his red, puffy eyes.
“What’s there to—” Song Jin caught himself, realising that Song Xinglan wouldn’t admit to crying. So he changed his words, “—what’s there to feel bad about?”
Staring at the ceiling, Song Xinglan sniffed, “It’s all my fault. I made you walk so far, Ge. It’s only right if you don’t forgive me.”
As he spoke, a glistening tear rolled down the side of his face.
“I’m not mad at you. I was just worried you might die out there in the mountains.”
“Then why won’t you let me massage your legs?” Song Xinglan’s lips quivered as if he was about to cry again. But he held back and continued, “You must still be mad at me, right?”
“I’d suggest you stop overthinking things,” Song Jin said. “Careful, or your brain might explode.”
“Brains don’t explode,” Song Xinglan replied, choking back tears, “but hearts do.”
Song Jin found it amusing. “Why is that?”
“Because it hurts so much. It hurts so bad it feels like my heart’s going to explode.”
“All because I wouldn’t let you massage my feet?”
Song Xinglan couldn’t hold back anymore and began sobbing. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. “Stop it, Ge,” he pleaded.
“…” Song Jin kicked off his slippers and lightly kicked Song Xinglan. “Move over.”
Though puzzled, Song Xinglan obediently scooted toward the wall.
Song Jin sat on the bed, propped a pillow up behind him, and leaned against the headboard.
The small bed creaked under their weight. Song Jin suddenly realised how cramped it must be for a grown man to sleep on such a small bed.
“Is it uncomfortable sleeping here at night? This bed is so small,” Song Jin asked.
Song Xinglan was still huddled by the wall. His eyelashes were wet with tears as he nodded. “A little,” he admitted.
His legs couldn’t stretch out fully.
“Even if it’s uncomfortable, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t afford to get you a new bed.”
“No need. No need to change it. I’m just happy to have a bed to sleep in. It’s okay,” Song Xinglan quickly responded, being sensible.
Song Jin half-reclined against the pillow and stretched out his leg. “Go ahead and massage it.”
Song Xinglan’s eyes widened in surprise, glancing between Song Jin’s face and his leg.
The bed was so small that there was hardly any room left. After a brief hesitation, Song Xinglan carefully placed Song Jin’s leg onto his lap.
“Ge, I won’t run around recklessly anymore.”
‘Massage therapist Xiao Song’ began to knead Song Jin’s leg while reflecting on his actions.
“I told you, I’m not mad at you,” Song Jin said, pausing before adding, “You got lost trying to catch a rabbit for me, didn’t you?”
“Then… Ge, were you worried about me?” Song Xinglan’s gaze was intense as he stared at Song Jin.
The warm yellow light illuminated half of Song Jin’s face, giving him a quiet and gentle appearance.
Lowering his gaze, Song Jin responded, “What do you think?”
“You were worried,” Song Xinglan said confidently. “I thought about it. And if it were you who got lost, I’d be really worried too.”
“Oh, as long as you know.”
The wind began to pick up outside, lightly rattling the windows, making the room feel even cosier and warmer by contrast.
Song Xinglan pulled the blanket up over Song Jin and continued massaging his leg. “Ge, can you stay in my room a little longer?”
Whenever Song Jin wasn’t around, Song Xinglan felt lonely, especially when he was alone in this small room.
“How long is ‘a little longer’?” Song Jin asked.
“Hmm… Ten minutes, is that okay?”
Song Jin replied, “Eight minutes.”
“Okay!” Song Xinglan smiled brightly. His eyes sparkled with happiness.
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*Translator’s Note: I miss amnesiac SXL so much! -K
Next update: 2024.10.02
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