EL Chapter 60

Chapter 60 – All the Colours in the World (Extra 7) -END-

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 knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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Song Jin worked overtime again today. When he left the company, it was already past ten at night.

As the car entered the community, it was nearly eleven o’clock at night. There were hardly any people around. Only the streetlights were lit and the trees gently swayed in the wind.

When he drove near the garage behind the house, Song Jin slowed down. The headlights illuminated a visible area ahead.

He stared ahead, suddenly dazed.

He slowly stopped the car and rolled down the window as he asked, “Why are you standing outside in this cold?”

Song Xinglan was wearing a black sweater, holding Grapefruit while standing by the roadside. The wind tousled his hair a bit. Against the night and his dark hair, his face looked pale and cold.

“I’ve only been standing for a few minutes,” Song Xinglan replied, “Grapefruit hasn’t fallen asleep yet.”

“Maybe he napped too much during the day.” Song Jin parked the car in the garage and took out his laptop.

Song Xinglan pressed the button to close the garage door, which slowly descended to close.

Grapefruit stretched his head, expecting to receive a can of cat food from Song Jin’s hands. But he didn’t get anything.

Once they entered the living room, Song Jin placed the laptop on the coffee table and took Grapefruit from Song Xinglan’s hands.

“Are you hungry?” Song Xinglan asked.

“A little. Should we order a late-night snack?”

“I cooked some noodles,” Song Xinglan said as he walked toward the kitchen.

Song Xinglan was learning to cook. Even though there was a housekeeper during the day, at this late hour, those cooking skills could still come in handy if needed.

——In general, following a recipe usually doesn’t lead to problems. Just right, Song Xinglan fell into the ‘general case’ category. Without any surprises, he quickly learned a good number of basic dishes. Recently, he started tackling pasta.

Song Jin held Grapefruit and also went to the kitchen, discovering that Song Xinglan had already cut up the meat and vegetables.

“Let’s taste my Didi’s noodles,” Song Jin said as he stood next to Song Xinglan, weighing Grapefruit in his arms.

Song Xinglan turned to look at him.

Song Jin awkwardly explained, “I was talking to Grapefruit.”

His reaction was clearly a case of him trying to cover up his embarrassment. 

Song Xinglan didn’t say anything and turned back, wearing an expression that was half-amused.

His sweater was covered in cat’s fur. Song Jin decided not to help him clean it off.

Not long after, Song Xinglan brought two bowls of noodles to the table, while Grapefruit sat beside the table watching them eat.

Song Jin was not that hungry initially. But the noodles made by Song Xinglan were surprisingly fragrant. He finished them in one go, sipping several mouthfuls of soup along the way.

“From now on, you can take charge of late-night snacks,” Song Jin said, “the noodles are really good.”

“If you’re willing to eat noodles all the time.”

“Can’t you study a bit more variety for late-night snacks, Mr. Song?” After saying that, Song Jin leaned back against the chair.

Seeing this, Grapefruit leaped onto his lap, causing Song Jin’s expression to twist slightly from the pressure.

Song Xinglan looked at Grapefruit and tapped his fingertips on the table.

Upon hearing the noise, Grapefruit glanced back at him, immediately lowered his head with a sad expression. He jumped down to sit quietly on the floor, wrapping his tail around the table leg.

“When I’m not home, do you hit him every day?” Song Jin asked.

Why Grapefruit behaved so obediently in front of Song Xinglan had always been a mystery to Song Jin.

Song Xinglan replied calmly, “You can check the surveillance footage.”

“If you’re abusing the cat, I’ll report you to the police,” Song Jin said seriously.

Song Xinglan chuckled, “Sure, I won’t run away.” 

After finishing the noodles, Song Xinglan tossed the dishes into the dishwasher, while Song Jin snuggled on the sofa with his laptop, continuing to work overtime.

After Grapefruit knocked the tissue box off the dining table, he nonchalantly strolled into the living room and lay down beside Song Jin’s legs.

Song Xinglan brought a plate of fruit and placed it on the coffee table.

As soon as he sat down, Grapefruit turned his head and extended a paw toward him.

While playing with Grapefruit’s paw, Song Xinglan said, “If you can’t finish it, just do it tomorrow.”

“It’s almost done.” Song Jin was staring at the screen. “Didn’t we agree to go out and have fun tomorrow?”

“No need to rush it.” Song Xinglan replied.

Grapefruit fell asleep shortly after, resting his head on Song Xinglan’s thigh.

Song Xinglan picked up his tablet and started handling some work.

They worked quietly for about forty minutes until Song Xinglan’s phone vibrated. He glanced at the focused Song Jin, then got up to answer the call in the kitchen.

It was a department manager from the company, reporting an issue with a contract that required an explanation from Song Xinglan late at night.

After a twenty-minute call, when Song Xinglan returned to the living room, he found Song Jin had tilted his head back and fallen asleep on the sofa.

Since starting work, Song Jin often dozed off in places outside the bedroom—on the sofa, in the study, or even in the car. In short, you never knew when you’d turn around and see him peacefully napping.

Song Xinglan walked behind the sofa and reached down to support Song Jin’s chin. He adjusted his head to a more comfortable position.

Song Jin opened his eyes. He was stunned for a moment and mumbled, “I fell asleep again.”

“Just do it tomorrow. We can go out to hang around next time.”

“No,” Song Jin leaned his head back, making eye contact with Song Xinglan. He smiled and said, “I’ve already finished. I was just sitting here waiting for you because you were still on the phone.”

Song Xinglan ran his fingers through Song Jin’s hair and said, “Then go to sleep.”

Song Jin shut down his laptop and nodded. He then rubbed his eyes and stood up.

The next morning, after getting up and getting ready, Song Jin went to refill the cat food in the automatic feeder and poured enough water for the cat.

Only after he saw Grapefruit buried the first morning poop did he leave the house with Song Xinglan.

They rarely had time and opportunities to go out together. Both were usually too busy. But this time, Song Xinglan had a rare complete Saturday. So a few days ago, Song Jin suggested they take a drive to relax.

Their destination was a coastal resort town. It was not too far away—just over a two-hour drive.

They heard that today just happens to be some kind of festival in the town. Song Jin couldn’t recall the specifics. But there would be a legal fireworks display by the sea later.

“Perhaps we should bring Grapefruit along?” Song Jin asked, sipping his milk tea, not sounding too sincere.

“It would probably be uncomfortable for him to sit in the car for so long.”

Feeling much less guilty, Song Jin nodded. “Right.”

Perhaps because he was too tired yesterday, Song Jin fell asleep in the car within half an hour.

Song Xinglan adjusted the air conditioning temperature a bit higher.

As they neared their destination, Song Jin woke up quite alertly. He looked out the window and saw they were driving along a coastal road. Even though it was winter, the weather was nice. The sea was still a beautiful blue.

He cracked the car window a bit. But the cold sea breeze rushed in, making him quickly roll it back up.

“I’m so hungry,” Song Jin said. “What are we having for lunch?”

“I made a reservation at a restaurant,” Song Xinglan replied, looking fresh and not fatigued at all from driving for over two hours. “Their soup is quite good.”

“Let’s go have seafood for dinner then, okay?”

Song Xinglan nodded.

Even though it was off-season, there were still quite a few tourists in the town.

After parking the car, the two went to the restaurant. It wasn’t long before their pre-ordered dishes were served.

Song Jin was genuinely hungry and didn’t lift his head while eating. Eventually, Song Xinglan put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair as he watched him eat.

The air conditioning in the restaurant was quite cool. Combined with the steam from the hot food, Song Jin’s face and ears turned a bit red.

With his mouth full, he suddenly looked up at Song Xinglan. After finishing chewing, he asked, “Are you full?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll eat a bit more.” Song Jin lowered his head to continue eating.

Song Xinglan smiled. He scooped a bowl of soup and placed it in front of his brother.

After finishing their meal, the two went to the beach to digest and soak up the sun.

Not far away, several couples were taking wedding photos. Song Jin admired them for a while, then tightened his scarf and said, “It’s really cold.”

“Do you want to go back to the car to get a thicker coat?” Song Xinglan asked him.

“No need,” Song Jin shook his head. “A little sun will warm me up.”

“Hello!”

A voice came from nearby. Song Jin turned to see a photographer holding a DSLR camera.

“Are you two models here for an outdoor shoot?” the photographer asked.

“No,” Song Jin replied, “we’re here on vacation.”

“Oh, I see I misjudged,” the photographer laughed. “I’m working on a photo collection. One of the sections is called ‘Ninety-Nine People Encountered on the Journey’. I was wondering if I could take a picture of you? Once the collection is complete, I’ll post it on my personal website.”

Upon hearing this, Song Jin’s first reaction was to look at Song Xinglan, thinking he might mind.

However, Song Xinglan simply met his gaze for a moment without saying anything.

“Sure,” Song Jin replied.

Without any professional backdrop or lighting, and without elaborate makeup or outfits, they stood like two ordinary tourists by the winter coastline. Seagulls flew across the bright blue sky behind them as the wind ruffled their hair.

Song Jin and Song Xinglan leaned against each other, relaxed as the photographer captured a series of photos.

Winter days seemed to pass especially quickly. After wandering around the beach for a bit, the two strolled through the town and it was already nearing late evening.

Before sunset, Song Jin and Song Xinglan found a seafood stall. They sat at a semi-open terrace table, watching the sunset while listening to the sound of the waves.

Holding a cup of warm water, Song Jin gazed out at the sea and said, “It’s gone so fast. The day’s already over.”

Perhaps it felt quick because they rarely got to spend time like this together. But thinking about it, leisure time always seems to fly by faster than work time. It’s a universal law.

“In a while, when I have a few days free, let’s go somewhere farther,” Song Xinglan said.

Song Jin was about to say, “Forget it. You’re so busy,” but then remembered how Song Xinglan had once cleared ten days just to accompany him on a trip to Xinjiang…

Worried that Song Xinglan might do something like that again, Song Jin hurriedly said, “Let’s talk about it when you have time. We can’t delay work.”

“Don’t want to go?” Song Xinglan asked, looking into Song Jin’s eyes. His tone was calm and unhurried.

The golden-red sunset illuminated Song Xinglan’s profile, as if placing him in an oil painting.

Song Jin lowered his head to take a sip of water and replied, “I want to go. But I can’t delay work.”

By the time the barbecue and seafood were served, the sun had completely set and colourful lights flickered on around them.

Normally, Song Jin ate very healthily at home. But he felt a bit lost in this high-oil, high-salt, delicious ‘gout feast’. In contrast, Song Xinglan was clearly much more disciplined. After eating a reasonable amount, he set down his chopsticks.

Song Jin wasn’t in a hurry. He slowly picked at his food, carefully peeled shells, and chewed slowly, savouring a sense of tranquillity that felt like a journey to the end of the world.

It wasn’t until a firework suddenly burst forth from a small island on the sea that Song Jin realised he had been eating for quite a while.

The bustling stall remained lively, with people toasting and laughing. The sound of fireworks drowned out the voices. The flames illuminated a large area of the sea, revealing the rolling waves.

With his hand resting on his water cup, Song Xinglan locked eyes with Song Jin amid the noise.

After several seconds, as the most brilliant firework shot up into the indigo night sky, Song Jin reached out. He lifted his drink and clinked glasses with Song Xinglan.

-The End-

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*Translator’s Note: Teehee. As I have mentioned in another translation of mine not long ago, SJ used the term ‘下面’ (xià miàn) when he talk about eating his Didi’s ‘noodles’. In Chinese gay slang, xià miàn can also be a euphemism with sexual connotations. The term literally means ‘below’ or ‘downstairs’. In this context, it’s often used to refer to someone’s genitals, particularly the penis. So, it can also imply sexual acts, such as giving a blowjob. 

Now that’s really the end. I hope y’all are happy with my translation. I tried my best.

On a side note, though there are some people who asked me to pick up translation for a few more Chinese web novels (especially those by Shui Qiancheng), I’m sorry to tell you guys that I might no longer be translating Chinese web novels after this. The last one would probably be ‘We Have broken Up’ by Yu Xiaofan. I’m moving on to translating Japanese light novels from now on. Thank you for your support so far. I love you guys! -K

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Links to my other translations are available on my blog: https://kin0monogatari2.blogspot.com/