Neighbors – Chapter 12

27.

Two days had passed.
Zhuang Nan squatted beside Lin Wen’s door, idly stuffing the postcard in his hand into the door crack. The postcards no longer came twice a day, instead coming N times a day. Zhuang Xian Sheng was unable to enter, so whatever he wanted to say, he would write it and stuff it into Lin Wen’s house.

Lin Wen was introverted, sensitive, and his skin was so thin it could be compared to a layer of paper. Just one light poke, and he would be crushed.

So, after explaining things that day, Zhuang Nan never saw Lin Wen again.
Squirrel Xian Sheng shamefully hid in his tree and used a large pine nut to firmly block the entrance, refusing the large bird who went to visit.

Zhuang Nan regretted his despicable mouth and disregarded his image as he sat gloomily on the soft carpet in front Lin Wen’s doorway. He pulled out a postcard from his side, knitting his eyebrows as he wrote.

– The cat is mine, the person is also mine, why should I not be allowed to see anything!
– I’m not allowed to see the person, but why don’t you let me see the cat?
– Why don’t you let me into the house, I swear that I will only see the cat, not the person.

He stuffed sheet after sheet, but he heard nothing from him.
Zhuang Nan rubbed the tip of his nose and looked at the time. It was time to go back and sleep.

Just as he started to get up, the door of A2401 that was tightly closed suddenly shook, then opened. The sound-activated light happened to extinguish along with the door opening, and the light from inside streamed out. Zhuang Nan sat very impersonally by the doorway and raised his head to look at the young man whose back faced the light and whose face was unclear. 

Lin Wen did not expect that Zhuang Nan would be sitting on the floor like this. He froze for a moment, then hesitantly reached his hand out to him.
He noticed that the postcards he had stuffed in had been collected, and Zhuang Nan had a smile on his face as he took Lin Wen’s hand, but he did not take the opportunity to stand up. On the contrary, he gave a strong pull. 

The weak hermit’s strength could not compare to his, so the little squirrel was abruptly pulled into the arms of the ill-intentioned wolf.
“Are you not angry anymore?”
Lin Wen’s ears had turned red. He pursed his lips wanting to get up, but his limbs were tightly clasped, and he could not move.
Zhuang Nan held him and did not let go. With a smile, he continued to ask, “Not shy anymore?”
Lin Wen was bullied to the point his ear were nearly going to drip blood. “Zhuang Xian Sheng!”

Zhuang Nan hurriedly smoothed his hair and stroked his back, tentatively moving closer to Lin Wen. He pressed his forehead against his. “Lin Lin.”
This was the first time someone had ever called Lin Wen this, and he was silent for a moment before quietly responding.
Zhuang Nan’s smile deepened. “What you said that day, is it still valid?”
Lin Wen bit his lip. His voice trembled, and he felt ashamed and indignant. “Can you, can you stop mentioning that…”

Zhuang Nan stopped teasing him, however, and his expression was particularly serious. “Lin Xian Sheng, take care of me.”
Lin Wen was silent.
Zhuang Nan came closer and closer to him. “I’m just a person with a cat, very easy to care for. You’re already raising the cat right now, so how about trying a person? You’ve picked me up twice before, and we all know each other quite well, don’t we?”
Lin Wen’s breaths were unsteady, and his eyelashes trembled slightly. When he spoke, their lips were already only an inch apart, if that.

“I… Zhuang Xian Sheng, you, you also…”
Zhuang Nan fixed his eyes on him as the soft light in the room poured over Lin Wen’s body, illuminating him so he looked like an angel in the night.
He calmly waited for Lin Wen to bravely respond.

At this critical moment, a “meow” suddenly came from the doorway. Song Song waited for quite a while but ultimately did not wait for its owner. When it came out and saw those two pulling each other about as they sat on the floor, it suddenly felt angry and took a few steps back to gather some strength. Then it charged toward them, using its body that now couldn’t be underestimated, and struck the back of Lin Wen’s head.

The two were already close, but once the cat struck him down, Lin Wen was taken by surprise as he leaned forward and kissed Zhuang Nan’s lips.
They both froze in confusion.

The cat walked with extravagant strides, nobly and elegantly sweeping its eyes over Zhuang Nan.
Its eyes seemed to say, “Little garbage, how is it? You couldn’t get a kiss after so long and still needed me to take it upon myself to help.”

“…”
Zhuang Xian Sheng was silent for a moment. Then while Lin Wen still hadn’t come to his senses, he pressed the back of his head and kissed him hard. Soon after, he stood up as he held him and lifted the cat with one hand, throwing it back inside, then closed the door behind him. He pressed Lin Wen against the door, clasped his jaw, and fiercely kissed him. 

28.

As the little snail’s shell was eaten away, he had not yet reacted, and falteringly called, “Zhuang Xian Sheng…”
Zhuang Xian Sheng was fully concentrated on dealing with him and didn’t raise his head. “Change the name.”
“Zhuang, Zhuang Nan.”
“Again.”

“Ge…”
“…”

“…Gege¹!”
“…”

“…”
“Lin Lin, come work out with me tomorrow, you’re too weak.”
Lin Wen: “…”

The night passed, and Lin Wen never found the correct way to recite the termination charm.

Translator’s Notes

1. “Gege” literally means “older brother” but is used to address older males that aren’t necessarily related to you. Back