Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 4

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 4

That night, Ye Qiao’s cold worsened. Despite having a 38.5C (101.3F) fever, Ye Qiao refused to go to the hospital.
They slept on the two sides of the big bed, each rolled up inside a blanket. In the middle of the night, head clouded by fever, Ye Qiao subconsciously drew closer to Zhou Tingsheng mumbling something all the while.

Zhou Tingsheng got up to turn on the light that was only strong enough to illuminate a small portion of the large room.
Ye Qiao woke up as well but started to have a splitting headache. She opened her mouth, though wasn’t particularly conscious of what she was saying: “......I haven’t apologized to her.”

She wasn’t really as calm and indifferent as she acted, the past still bothered her in her dreams.
Zhou Tingsheng lightly made a sound in reply. Then he held her tightly.
Her voice was tranquil but deep: “She likes you. Can’t you tell?”
Zhou Tingsheng cast his eyes down and replied after a long moment of silence: “......I can tell.”

That was the reason why he seldom went to visit her in the last two years. He thought maybe the distance would wear down her immature affections.
Ye Qiao felt like crying but she didn’t let the tears fall: “I feel guilty. But she likes you, so I didn’t apologize to her.”
Her voice grew hoarse. “Apologizing is a very sincere act. If I’m not willing to give everything to make it up to her, then that apology would be just for show.”
The tears she had been holding back began to flow like tidal waves which inundated her.

Ye Qiao tightly bit her lower lip, her voice was now almost inaudible. “Zhou Tingsheng, I really want to apologize to her.”
He tightly circled his arms around her. Her body was so hot that he felt like a cold blooded animal. If he hadn’t been so cocky in the past, today would have never happened. Everything was a consequence of his past sins. No matter who came to point fingers at him, he would readily admit it. However, she was the only one who aimed the origin of the sin at herself, giving him an invisible shield.

Ye Qiao seemed to have cried all the tears built up from the past ten years in these two days. The guilt she had only seen in her dreams was now right in front of her and it felt heavier than she had expected. Yet she was greedier than she thought she was. Ye Qiao kept going in and out of dreams. They began to grow darker.  Ghosts from hell came asking why she was still alive when she should’ve died a decade ago. Ruan Feiyan’s voice mixed with the ghosts. “You’ve already taken away my mom, why do you have to fight with me for him?”
It seemed that being alive was her greatest mistake.

By the next day, the high fever had somewhat incapacitated Ye Qiao.
Zhou Tingsheng called Qianxi over to help take care of Ye Qiao. Qianxi came with a doctor who gave Ye Qiao an intravenous drip.

Qianxi anxiously stayed at her cousin’s side, worried that Ye Qiao hadn’t come around. “She’s burning hot. If she doesn’t come to, we have to take her to the hospital.”
“She won’t go.” Zhou Tingsheng had tried many times, but Ye Qiao somehow found the unusual strength whenever he tried to move her.

“My cousin has always been fragile. What if the fever continues……” Qianxi tried the traditional method by applying cold towels on Ye Qiao’s forehead and worriedly said: “My cousin’s father fell ill not too long ago. I heard that he was coming to see her, but had a heart attack right before boarding the plane. The people at the airport sent him to the hospital. He hasn’t been well since. The genes in her family are really bad!”
Zhou Tingsheng gestured to Qianxi to stop while they were still at Ye Qiao’s bedside.
Qianxi scratched her hair and said: “Maybe I should just take leave from work and stay here with her. If there’s anything wrong with my cousin, my dad would want my head for sure!”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 3

They walked past the hospital ward’s garden, there was a thing layer of ice on the ground. The two of them carefully walked side by side, giving the illusion that they could walk like this till their hair turned white.

Zhou Tingsheng was the first one to open his mouth: “What did you say to her just now?”
“We chatted about random things. I told her about the psychological problems I suffered from and that I’ve only slowly overcome them after I met you. But you aren’t everyone’s ‘Prozac’; I can introduce a good psychiatrist to her if she needs one.”
Ye Qiao went into detail about her conversation with Ruan Feiyan, as if she was afraid that she wouldn’t have anything else to say to him after she ran out of things to say about the topic.

“I guess she must hate my father very much. I told her not to. My father is a rather proud, but upstanding person. When he was still a poor artist, he wouldn’t even give a single one of his paintings as a gift to a high official who appreciated his talent. When I was little, my favorite topic to write about was ‘My father.’ Sometimes, even though the assigned topic was about my mother, I would talk about my father on and on instead.”
“But, I didn’t tell her all that. There’s no point in telling her about things from the past.” Ye Qaio stopped for a little while: “What he did was all for me. I told her to aim all her hatred towards me.”

She knew very well how significant that love was, but it was also what had given her a guilty conscious that she couldn’t rid herself of.
She had wanted to be the pride of her father and had tried all she could to be the glory in his heart. But in the end, she had become the only stain in her father’s spotless life.
She could talk about her father forever.

They fell into a long silence.

Ye Qiao thought they would again part ways in silence. Zhou Tingsheng suddenly stopped and embraced Ye Qiao in his arms without saying or asking anything. His heavy breathes making puffs of fog. Ye Qiao bumped into his chest, the pain from the jolt made even her sighs hurt.

She reached out with her hand, now red from the cold, and lightly pat Zhou Tingsheng’s back: “It’s alright. I don’t blame you.”
Zhou Tingsheng tightened his grip on her, his throat moved up and down but couldn’t make a sound.

Ye Qiao comforted him like she was calming down a wounded animal. She softly stroked over his coat: “The words you told me before, did you say them because of me or this heart inside of me?”
“It’s because of you.” He said.
“I thought about giving up on you back then on the cruise ship.” He snuggled his head next to her neck: “Liang Zirao tried to persuade me many times. She believes that it’s for the best if we stopped interacting with each other. But I can’t do it.”

The path in front of them now had a layer of solid ice over it, blocking their way. Ye Qiao took a deep breath in: “I can’t tell what exactly I’m feeling right now.” She actually felt quite tranquil. But she knew she shouldn’t be this calm. Some of those disturbing feelings were lodged deep within her frozen heart, so deep that she could no longer even sense it.

“Fate likes to play tricks on people. I just never expected I’d be one of its victims.” She concluded.

That night, there was a heavy snowstorm. Even airports in nearby cities had their flights suspended.
The world seemed to have fallen into an endless dark night.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 72 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 72 Part 1

Lu Sicheng stuffed the plastic bag into Tong Yao’s hands, took off his shoes, and went to go check his fish.

Tong Yao opened the bag and looked inside. There was only one bag of chips and a box of bandages. It seemed that everything had been bought specifically for her…...Tong Yao felt even worse. Carrying the bag, she followed Lu Sicheng to his desk, watching him lift the fishbowl up with one hand to check. Tong Yao: “Uhr.”-- --

Lu Sicheng turned around.

Tong Yao backed away one big step. She was terrified he would angrily dump the fishbowl on her head.

She nervously looked at Lu Sicheng and squeezed her apology through her teeth. Little Fatty, who had finally figured out what had happened, came over to support her: “Cheer up, just think that your fish had developed wings and flew away-- --In the northern sea there’s a fish named Kun……” [1]

Lu Sicheng raised his eyelids to take a glance at Little Fatty. Little Fatty spinelessly stopped talking. Lu Sicheng put the fishbowl back on the desk, put on his earphones, then reconnected his other equipment to his computer. He did everything one swift motion, though one could sense from his movement that he was far from a happy mood.

-- --Tong Yao didn’t make a single sound for the entire duration.

She didn’t sit down on her own chair until Lu Sicheng had logged on and started a match. She moved her own chair a little bit away from his. As she was scooching her chair, she heard Lu Sicheng say, “Bandage.”

Tong Yao: “......”

She looked up at him and found that his eyes hadn’t left the screen at all. She answered with an “Oh, oh,” then took the bandages out of the bag and put one on her bloody heel. Afterwards she began streaming-- --

The stream soon attracted a large audience. Her viewers found Smiling sitting off to one side of the camera, almost out of the frame. They all began asking her for an explanation.

Tong Yao: “There’s ill feeling coming from the seat next to me. It’s so strong that it can almost cut through me.”

[......Damn, idiot.]

[How can such an idiotic person crush all the other players? I like it.]

[hhhhhhhh, wifey, what’s going on?]

[Didn’t you just come back from the frozen hell?]

[This afternoon some fans swore that you two were back on good terms. In the parking lot, your captain forcefully protected you.]

Tong Yao: “Yes, yes, yes, there was a brief moment when I returned from the frozen hell. But now I’ve gone back-- --Yet, this time it isn’t my fault, it was that beast Dabing-- --That’s right, that cat. The cat ganked my captain’s fish while no one was in the base……………………”

Tong Yao took a look at Lu Sicheng, who was still wearing earphones and busy with a ranked game. She gulped and glanced back at the bullet comments-- --

Tong Yao: “I apologized. It’s necessary to apologize. What else can I do?”

Tong Yao: “But, if apologizing is useful, why do we still need policemen.”

Tong Yao: “Yeah, Dabing is in jail now. En, I locked the cat in the cage-- --I’ve ordered the cat to reflect on its mistakes and correct its wrong doings. If there's a next time, I’ll send it back to my hometown…...It’s not that I’m cruel, the goldfish were here first and have been swimming happily for so long. What right did Dabing have to swallow that fish, right?”

While she was talking, she took a glance at the fishbowl. There were still several cat hairs floating on the surface of the water in the fishbowl. Wracked by guilt, Tong Yao reached over to drag the fishbowl over-- --Lu Sicheng took off his earphones: “What are you doing?”

Tong Yao used her fingers to stir the water and took out a hair: “Cat hair…...I’ll go change the water for you.”

Lu Sicheng said with a stone face: “Put it down.”

Tong Yao used both of her hands and gently pushed the fishbowl back to its original position.


[1]: He is referencing Zhuangzi's 'Carefree Excursion' a story from a compiled list of writings by Zhuangzi and is known as one of the two foundational texts on Taoism.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 59 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 59 Part 3

The more Xiang Nuan thought about it, the more she couldn’t get over the fact that Lin Chuyan constantly played tricks on her. And now he was in her own home acting like it was his. It was too much for Xiang Nuan.

Xiang Nuan thought she had to get even at least once this time.

Xiang Nuan went into the kitchen for a while, then came out and asked Lin Chuyan: “Let me make a cup of tea for you?” Lin Chuyan was flattered. “Oh? Yeah, sure.”

Xiang Nuan added salt, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mustard, and hot pepper oil into the glass, then poured in some water and stirred with a spoon…… She put a slice of lemon on the rim of the glass, giving it a more refreshing look.

She put the glass in front of Lin Chuyan: “Drink it.”

Lin Chuyan could tell from the smell that this wasn’t any normal tea, but he still took a sip of it. The taste was horrifying.

Lin Chuyan covered his mouth and coughed violently, his face twisted in pain. Xiang Nuan gloated: “Does it taste good?”

Lin Chuyan didn’t answer, he was still coughing.

Xiang Nuan: “Drink all of this and I’ll forgive you.”

Lin Chuyan wiped his mouth and cast his eyes down at the hellish drink. He undetectably sighed and said: “I’ll do whatever you ask me to do.”

Xiang Nuan was touched by the soft and tender tone of his voice when he said that.

Then she immediately despised herself: He’s a nutcase! A nutcase!

But when she saw Lin Chuyan pick up the glass and closed his eyes as if he were facing death, she didn’t have the heart to go through with it: “Nevermind, don’t drink it.”

Lin Chuyan put down the glass and looked at her with a smile.

Faced with his bright eyes, Xiang Nuan had difficulty breathing.

She lowered her head and said: “Don’t be too pleased with yourself. It’s only because I’m afraid that you’ll get poisoned and can’t play later.”

“En. I know.”

-- --

Their first match that day started at 10 o’clock in the morning.

Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan sat in the study of Xiang Nuan house. Both of them were logged into the chat group. The others in voice chat soon found out that when Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan spoke, their voices echoed.

“You two together?” Waiwai asked.

Lin Chuyan: “En.”

Waiwai suddenly felt quite sympathetic towards his good friend Shen Zemu. Shen Zemu had asked for Xiang Nuan’s address from him and it looked like he was planning to send some gift to her. Yet, after sending the gift, Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan became even more close to each other……

He really felt bad for Shen Zemu.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t the right time to think about gossip. They had to concentrate on the match they were about to play against Nanshan Institute of Physical Education.

The Institute had always been at odds with their university and recently the rivalry had grown fiercer. This match had caught the attention of the students from both colleges. Waiwai felt the burden on his shoulders was quite heavy, not just the money award but more importantly the honor of his own university.

The match started first with the ban and pick phase.

The Institute team picked all champions that were powerful during the early game: Zhuge Liang, Yuji, Dharma, and so forth.

Xiang Nuan and her teammates didn’t get much training time and had only a few champions they were skilled with. They had practiced more for the later game. Even if they ran into powerful champions in the early game, they had only so many champions they could pick that they could play well.

Xiang Nuan had picked Laofuzi, Lin Chuyan was Mai Shiranui, and Shen Zemu’s archer was Marco Polo.

Yang Yin had given them instructions in the chat group about who to ban and who to pick. After they had locked down their champions, Yang Yin told them: “With a lineup like this, you guys will have some trouble in the early game. Hold your ground, pull through their strong period. Wait till you all are well developed, then the team fights won’t be a problem for your guys.”

In a formal competition, the coach could give instructions at the ban and pick phase but once the match started, the coach had to back out and wasn’t allowed to communicate with the players.

After giving her final instruction, Yang Yin stopped talking. Though there wasn’t anyone monitoring, she still adhered to her professional ethics.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 71 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 71 Part 3

It was already 10 pm when the team arrived back to base.

Tong Yao had slept all the way back on the bus after stuffing herself at dinner. Little Fatty had to wake her when the bus came to a stop in front of the base. She took the jacket off her head and looked around in confusion. “......Where’s our captain?”

Xiao Rui: “All you know is to look for your daddy the moment you open your eyes.”

Tong Yao blushed: “Hey.”

Little Fatty: “Cheng Ge’s gone to buy cigarettes.”

Tong Yao mumbled: “Oh. Didn’t he quit smoking already.” She got up from her seat and took a step. The sharp pain in her right heel reminded her that she had forgotten to have the bus stop at the drugstore to buy some bandages.

Tong Yao jumped off the bus, walked into base, and kicked off her shoes. “Little Fatty, call our captain for me and ask him to buy some bandages for me-- --”

Little Fatty, without much expression on his face, lifted up Lu Sicheng’s jacket from his arms. Lu Sicheng’s cell phone was in his jacket.

Tong Yao: “......Damn, I’ll go buy it myself later.”

She irritatedly threw her backpack on her seat. Her cat, Dabing, was sleeping on Lu Sicheng’s chair. Tong Yao buried her face into said cat’s tummy. Dabing’s tummy felt a little wet, but she figured the cat might have gotten itself wet while drinking water-- --

She got up and turned on her computer. Then she glanced at Lu Sicheng’s desk and casually asked Little Fatty: “Hey, Little Fatty, why are there only two goldfish left in Cheng Ge’s fishbowl?”

Didn’t he always take good care of his fish?

Didn’t he refuse to let any accident happen to the fish?

Didn’t he always remember to change the water for the fish even if he himself was dying of thirst?

“It can’t be.” Little Fatty replied from afar: “There were still 3 before we left this afternoon.”

Tong Yao: “That can’t be right. Come and see for yourself. There are exactly-- --”

Tong Yao: “......”

Tong Yao abruptly stopped talking.

She lowered her head, as if she had suddenly understood something, and looked at the cat that was lazily lying on Lu Sicheng’s chair. She picked up the fat cat and got close enough to smell it’s mouth-- --The fish smell was so strong that she began to panic and almost threw up the lobster in her stomach!

Without delay, Tong Yao used her uniform to wipe the cat’s mouth and scooped it into her arms. She rushed with the cat upstairs to her own room and threw the cat onto her bed then turned around and closed the door behind her-- --

Just as she heard the click of the door, someone came into the base.

Lu Sicheng walked in carrying a bag from the supermarket. Before he could take off his shoes, he saw a silhouette dash down from the second floor like a whirlwind. He paused and raised the bag in his hand: “Shorty, your band-- --”

Before he could finish his sentence, said silhouette rushed into his arms with both arms stretched wide open in a passionate embrace that he had never seen before!

Lu Sicheng: “......”

Lu Sicheng used one of his big hands to cover Tong Yao’s face and push her away from him: “What’s going on?”

Tong Yao took her hands off him and stepped back: “Come to think of it, I haven’t really properly thanked our captain for the education you gave me. You’re like my second parent…… Our captain is kind and benevolent. His heart is as soft as a buddha. He loves all living things on the earth, honors the laws of nature, and respects the food chain that the strong prey on the weak. He never makes unreasonable demands or complaints-- --”

Lu Sicheng: “Tong Yao.”

Tong Yao: “......”

Lu Sicheng: “Don’t beat around the bush.”

Tong Yao: “My cat, according to the laws of nature, ate your fish.”

She had just came back from a freezing hell.

Now, she had a hunch that she was on the road back again.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 59 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 59 Part 2

The next day was Xiang Nuan’s great-uncle’s birthday. Her great-uncle lived in the countryside, some distance from Xiang Nuan’s home. Her parents left the house early in the morning to drive to great-uncle’s place.

Xiang Nuan was scheduled to play a match that day and couldn’t go with her parents, which her mother had grumbled about.

But Xiang Nuan was now immune to her mother’s grumbling.

When she was eating breakfast, she thought about what had happened yesterday and was still quite unhappy about it.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Xiang Nuan went to open the door.

When she opened the door, she didn’t see anyone but found a huge bouquet of flowers.

The flowers were various colors of roses: white, pink, and yellow. Each flower was in full bloom and fresh, all crowded together.

Xiang Nuan was taken aback.

It was probably very rare to find a girl who didn’t like flowers, especially such a large bouquet of flowers beautifully put together.

From behind the bouquet came a familiar voice: “Don’t be angry anymore.”

Xiang Nuan’s facial expression changed, she squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth: “Lin, Chu, Yan.”

Lin Chuyan quietly put down the bouquet and showed his face. With the complement of the flowers, Lin Chuyan looked even better.

He smiled: “Don’t be angry, Xiang Nuan.”

“Go away, go away, go away.” Xiang Nuan said as she tried to close the door.

Lin Chuyan slid through the doorway: “I’m not going.”

Xiang Nuan rolled her eyes.

Lin Chuyan even closed the door for her. Xiang Nuan was once again speechless by how shameless he was.

Xiang Nuan didn’t want to bother with him and went back to the dining room to finish her breakfast.

Lin Chuyan followed her to the dining room.

Xiang Nuan held a youtiao[1] and asked Lin Chuyan: “Lin Chuyan, what’s this?”

“Youtiao.”

“Wrong. This is called Lin Chuyan.” Xiang said and took a big bite of it with a fierce look on her face. “I’ll take a bite out of you, Lin Chuyan. Then another, and another, and another……”

Lin Chuyan turned his head away without saying anything but his eyes were smiling.

After a few bites, Xiang Nuan started to eat millet porridge.

Lin Chuyan saw two hard boiled eggs on a white dish. Without asking, he went to wash his hands and peeled the eggs for her.

Xiang Nuan ate the eggs but said: “Don’t think I can forgive you just because of that.”

“I haven’t had breakfast yet.” He said with a pitiful look.

Xiang Nuan sneered. “Then don’t eat. If you die from hunger, the world will have one less pest.”

Lin Chuyan cheekily went to the kitchen to cook a packet of instant noodles for himself and even added an egg to the bowl.

Xiang Nuan was shocked. “You really don’t treat yourself as an outsider here.”

Lin Chuyan innocently glanced at her and defend himself. “Your mom told me to feel comfortable at your home, just like in my own home…...Don’t you want some noodles?”

“No!”

Lin Chuyan carried the noodles over to the dinner table. He saw half of a youtiao that Xiang Nuan had left on the table, picked it up with his chopsticks and soaked it in the noodle soup before eating it.

“Hey……” Xiang Nuan protested, “I was eating it.”

Lin Chuyan paused, “Why didn’t you say so earlier.” Then he continued to eat it without feeling anything was amiss.

Xiang Nuan blushed and got up to leave.


[1]: 油条 (yóu tiáo) is a Chinese fried donut (without hole in it).



Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 2

Ruan Feiyan was lying on the white hospital bed. Two young nurses walked into the room, chatting energetically. One of the nurses said to the other: “I just saw Ye Qiao in the lobby. She’s prettier than on TV.” The other one replied: “Is this the first time you’ve seen her? She was here last time when she got burned while filming. It caused quite a stir. Someone sent her flowers everyday.” The two nurses didn’t stop until they saw the patient was staring wide eyed at them.

One of the nurses did a basic check up on Ruan Feiyan and cautioned her to keep the cut on her wrist dry. Ruan Feiyan was very cooperative and only asked: “Have you notified my guardian? Why isn’t he here yet?”
The nurses had encountered many suicide cases. They’d noticed that the cut on the girl’s wrist was shallow and the patient was eager to recover. She didn’t seem to need any psychological counseling since she showed a strong will to survive. The nurse simply replied: “We’ve already called him. He should be here any moment.”

Ruan Feiyan held her wrist, currently wrapped in gauze, and beamed with happiness. The nurse couldn’t stand it anymore and admonished her: “Young lady, don’t try to take your own life just because of something trivial. You should try to solve any problem you have. Hurting yourself is the most useless way to get over the hurdle.” Ruan Feiyan coldly gave her a glance and laid back onto the bed, unmoving.
Actually, in her condition, there was no need for her to stay in hospital. But since she didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving the bed, the nurses shook their heads and headed out of the room with their charts.

The one who came to visit Ruan Feiyan wasn’t Zhou Tingsheng.
It was Ye Qiao, all by herself, who passed by the two nurses at the doorway and quietly leaned against the door.
Ye Qiao didn’t make much noise and it took a little while for Ruan Feiyan to notice her. The smile on her face abruptly disappeared: “What are you doing here?”
Ye Qiao was surprised by her somewhat hostile attitude and asked: “You know me?”
Ruan Feiyan’s eyes grew evasive and she made up an excuse: “You’re a big movie star, who wouldn’t recognize you.”

Ye Qiao wasn’t that easily fooled, she always had the ability to see through others from the look in their eyes. She closed the door and walked over to sit on a chair next to the bed, then she said: “You look very much like your mother.”
An expression of apprehension flashed by Ruan Feiyan’s face. She didn’t know how to deny it: “How do you know……”
Ye Qiao lightly pointed at the position of her left chest: “Here, I can recognize you.”

In the hallway, Zhou Tingsheng stood next to the window. A row of empty blue chairs next to him reflected his blurry silhouette.
He knew all along that there would be a day like this.

Ever since the first time he caressed her bones and kissed the heart that pumped passionately for him under her skin, he thought to himself that there would be an end to his nightmare after all those years. It should end where it had all started.

She was like the moon that’s always there but forever lonely. Her loneliness was like a warm fire on a cold night, drawing him in because both of them were forever weighed by their guilt.
He wanted to stay by her side.

He flicked his gold lighter, igniting a flame, before dying from the cold wind. After repeating the same act several times, it could no longer spark a new flame.
The gas inside the lighter had silently leaked out, carried away by the wind.
He couldn’t remember how many times he had flicked the sparkwheel before the door finally opened. Ye Qiao walked out of the room and faced him.

Zhou Tingsheng had difficulty come up with an audible sound, like someone who hadn’t spoken for a long time: “How was it?”
“The cut is very shallow, there shouldn’t be any problems. She’s in a good mood and was cooperative with the nurses.” Ye Qiao had both of her hands in her pockets, walking towards him. She then asked: “Do you want to go in to see for yourself?”
After considering for a couple of seconds, Zhou Tingsehng said: “Nevermind.” He threw the lighter into the trash can with a loud thud. “If she had her way this time, she might try cutting herself every day later.”

He actually knew Ruan Feiyan’s temperament very well. It was only because he felt sorry for her that he failed to properly guide her like a normal parent. He thought he could change her by being patient, but all that did was make her spoiled.
Sometimes he would also think that maybe his guilty conscience wasn’t good for her.  But he was too young at the time and was unable to resist his family’s decision. He had tried with all he had to make it up to her, but he had used the wrong method.

Zhou Tingsheng couldn’t help feeling remorseful and slowly followed Ye Qiao out of the hospital.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.