He paused, the word “late” held inside his mouth and repeated, as if he was tasting its bitterness carefully. Then he wound his arms around Zhou Zishu’s neck, hugging him like an aggrieved manchild.

Zhou Zishu sighed. Wen Kexing wasn’t the only one to have tasted the bitterness of that word.

Then Wen Kexing let go and asked, “Your injuries can’t be treated?”

Zhou Zishu shook his head and smiled self-mockingly.

Wen Kexing, after falling into silence, asked again. “How many… how many years do you have left?”

Zhou Zishu calculated. “Around two to three years.”

Wen Kexing suddenly burst out laughing. Zhou Zishu felt like something was amiss with his attitude, “Are you alright?”

Wen Kexing shook his head, retreating step by step. “Throughout my entire life, I can’t ever have fun when I want to; when I grew up a little, I wanted to study under my parents but they were no longer there. Say, do you think… I was born in the wrong time? How fortunate…”

He stopped smiling, turned away and left, leaving a confused Zhou Zishu behind.

How fortunate, that I haven’t truly fallen for you.

One only knew autumn when the cold rain came; parasol trees dying of old age; the suffering of the cold under a thin blanket; wasting your lifetimes away… all belated regrets in the end, regrets that we hadn’t met sooner.

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Translator’s Notes. This is one of my favorite chapters in the novel for, uh, painful reasons

Chapter 30. Rainy Night

Gu Xiang opened an umbrella and held another one close to her chest while wading through the rain. Her embroidered shoes stepped on the stones underneath, causing the water to splash on her pant legs. A gust of cold wind caused her to shiver; she felt like no one could be more of a dedicated and loyal individual than her right now.

When the girl looked up, she saw a man walking alone in the rain with his head down.

Wen Kexing was soaked to the bone, messy clothes sticking to his body. He paid no mind to his slightly tumultuous state.

Gu Xiang caught up to him and called out, “Master!”

Wen Kexing didn’t turn to look back at her, but he evidently heard her voice as he stopped to wait. Gu Xiang ran up to him and gave him the other umbrella, internally feeling like suffering outdoors in this miserable weather was such a waste of her effort—seeing how her Master usually behaved, Gu Xiang was pretty sure that he had just been doing some indecent activities at some indecent places.

So she pursed her lips and asked somewhat disapprovingly. “Did you go fool around somewhere, Master?”

Wen Kexing opened the umbrella, taking a few steps before replying quietly, “Went fighting.”

Gu Xiang asked, out of instinct, “In the bedroom?”