Chapter 5 – Torturous
Novel Title: 长夏醒迟 (Long Summer, Late Awakening)
Author：麦香鸡呢 (McChicken)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 余炀 (Yu Yang -MC/Gong), 靳吾栖 (Jin Wuqi -ML/Shou)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Jin Wuqi’s company was established in city A two years ago. Its first project was a collaboration with another large conglomerate, fearlessly emerging during a chaotic business battle at that time. It has since developed steadily and fiercely, with the true manager behind the scenes never appearing. It was only now that Yu Yang learned that it was Jin Wuqi’s company.
Since it can stay out of the public eye for several years, this company is probably just a pawn in Jin Wuqi’s chess set. Yu Yang thought that Jin Wuqi’s return to China this time was probably largely due to Cheng Yan’s wedding and he probably wouldn’t stay long.
Jin Wuqi’s words, ‘at most, we’re just friends with benefits,’ echoed uncontrollably in his mind. Yu Yang could vividly recall the sound of the wind blowing past his ears at that moment, feeling nothing but amusement.
The impetuosity and sincerity of his youth had been exhausted. A thorn had grown in his heart for several years, and even the most foolish person would know to avoid it. Yu Yang had loved too much in the past, holding on even when it hurt him deeply. He had foolishly wanted an explanation, wasting over four years. Now he had finally learned his lesson. He didn’t want to suffer anymore, nor did he want to degrade himself any further.
“When is the flight?” Yu Yang asked his assistant.
“Wednesday afternoon at 2:45. The flight duration is about six hours, and the meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. the next day,” the assistant replied, flipping through the itinerary.
“Okay.” Yu Yang stood up and picked up his phone. He then took his coat from the back of the chair, draping it over his arm. “This time, let Sun accompany me. You stay at the company and keep an eye on things.”
“Got it.”
***
Yu Yang finished work early today since Zhou Zhou invited him to dinner.
As soon as he left the parking lot, he saw a figure of someone standing by the large flower bed, wearing a sweater and jeans, with a backpack full of keychain dolls on his back. He was standing on the edge of the flower bed, looking at his phone. No matter how you looked at him, he looked just like a student.
Zhou Zhou now works at a design company, which has cooperation with Yu Yang’s company. Yu Yang can be considered as Zhou Zhou’s client.
Yu Yang honked the horn and Zhou Zhou turned his head to look. He then put away his phone and ran towards him. After running a few steps, he turned back, reached out his hand, and wiped the edge of the flower bed that he had just stepped on with his foot.
“I’m afraid of leaving footprints on the flower bed in front of Mr. Yu’s company.” Zhou Zhou said as he sat in the car, “Ah, such a big company. A client’s dad… can’t afford to offend him.”
There’s nothing good about Yu Yang’s best friend, this pretty omega… the worst part is his mouth. It never stops chattering.
“Cheng Che is really patient, he hasn’t been annoyed to death by you yet.” Yu Yang said as he drove.
“He’s always in the lab every day. A graduate student after all. A busy man. Where does he have time to listen to me?” Zhou Zhou complained. But his face was smiling. Obviously, his heart and mouth didn’t agree with one another.
Zhou Zhou is quite happy being a small office worker. His two dads work in other cities, and Zhou Zhou has no interest or talent in business. So, he happily nestles in the company he found, doing design work. When he encounters difficult clients, he goes to Cheng Che to complain, cries it out, and then gets back to work.
“Is Cheng Che still at the institute?” Yu Yang asked.
“No. He went to his grandfather’s house for dinner,” Zhou Zhou paused for a moment, glanced cautiously at Yu Yang, and said, “His brother went to dinner with them too.”
Yu Yang subtly exerted pressure on the steering wheel with his thumb and looked ahead, asking calmly, “Aren’t you going to dinner with Cheng Che as well?”
“A few days ago, I just went there. They should be discussing business this time, so I’m not going.” Zhou Zhou stubbornly steered the conversation back, as if inviting a punch. He continued, “It seems like Cheng Che’s brother is not leaving the country anymore this time.”
Yu Yang looked up at the traffic light, slowly stopped the car at the zebra crossing, then relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. He pinched Zhou Zhou’s nose and remained silent.
Zhou Zhou glanced out the window, touched his nose, and continued, “On the night of my sister’s wedding, I asked him why he hadn’t returned to the country for several years. He said, ‘If it was possible for me to come back, why wouldn’t I?'”
“So, I think he must have had a lot of things holding him back. Cheng Che also said that the situation was very serious over there. The whole company collapsed directly, torn apart. And his brother seems to not want any contact with the family there anymore, cutting off all ties completely.”
“Perhaps you can really listen to his explanation,” Zhou Zhou concluded.
Yu Yang pinched his own fingers. He suddenly wanted to smoke. He didn’t have a smoking habit. He just used it to adjust slightly when the pressure was too much. But now, he really wanted to smoke.
The green light came on and Yu Yang started driving the car. His tone sounded calm, “He had the whole four years to explain.”
Zhou Zhou was stunned for a moment. He then turned his head away, finally not saying anything more.
Jin Wuqi originally had four years to explain. No matter where he was, as long as he told Yu Yang the reason for his departure and apologized sincerely, even if he couldn’t make any promises to Yu Yang, Yu Yang wouldn’t have been so heartbroken until today.
But Jin Wuqi simply ignored all of Yu Yang’s messages and calls, abandoning the love and dignity of an alpha thousands of miles away. When they met again, he still didn’t mention a word about what happened. But instead spoke word by word about them being nothing more than friends with benefits.
Yu Yang didn’t expect the ashes in his heart to reignite. But at the very least, Jin Wuqi should stop reopening his old wounds and making him relive that long and unbearable time.
He was truly tortured to the point of fear.
***
After dinner, Cheng Che came to pick Zhou Zhou up while Yu Yang drove home.
Yu Yang used to live in a small community bought by his parents. Since he started working at the company, he moved to an independent duplex villa in a quiet environment.
When he moved, Yu Yang thought he would be reluctant to leave. The house not only had many traces of his growth over the years but also contained the summer days he spent with Jin Wuqi, even though it was only for a few months.
The songs they listened to together, the desserts they ate, the moonlight they gazed at while embracing, the nights they fell asleep amidst the scent of roses, and the mornings they woke up in deliberate teasing.
They were not together every day. The total time they spent together was not much. Jin Wuqi often stayed abroad for half a month at a time, but it seemed that most of his time in China was spent with Yu Yang.
They made love on the spacious bed, kissed on the soft sofa, and embraced on the cool balcony.
Because the memories were so beautiful and so addictive, reality seemed particularly cold and cruel.
Yu Yang’s reluctance had long been mercilessly crushed, leaving only a pitiful desire to escape and break free.
The house that was once filled with the scent of lemonade soda and rose pheromones no longer held any meaning or nostalgia. Yu Yang only prayed to be able to start living free of them all over again.
***
Yu Yang slowly drove the car to the front of the house, preparing to turn into the garage. But as the light of the headlights illuminated in front of him, he saw a tall and slender figure.
He hit the brake as he sat in his dim car, coldly looking at Jin Wuqi standing beside the sidewalk.
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*Translator’s Note: Gosh. This couple upsets me. The solution is just for them to communicate clearly. Ugh. -K
Next update: 2024.04.09
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P/S: The chapter list in the novel wasn’t updated. So please visit the novelupdates link below to find the chapters until I can resolve the issue with the moderator. Thanks!
Here’s the link to novelupdates. You can click on the chapters link from here: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/long-summer-late-awakening/
-K
Link to Chapter 6: https://freenovels.net/long-summer-late-awakening-chapter-6/
