translator â xiao he lian
friday updates â> chapter 3/12
chapter 149.1
shi ye: ââ¦â
wen chi stared at him unhappily and repeated word for word: âthis is not a chicken, this is a phoenix(é³³å° â fenghuang â here é³³(feng) is the male and å°(huang) is for the female phoenix. usually both the characters are written together to depict the overall word phoenix. the fenghuang bird is from chinese mythology and symbolizes both male and female qualities. the mythical phoenix bird represents hope, rebirth, resurrection, and grace.).â
this time shi ye remained silent for a long time and finally squeezed out a few words from his mouth: âhow does this look like a phoenix1é³³å° â fenghuang?â
wen chi said righteously: âbut what i painted is the male phoenix seeking the female phoenix2å¤æ±å° the phoenix seeks the phoenix (sima xiangruâs poem) âfeng qiu huangâ is said to be a guqin music from the han dynasty, which interprets the love story of sima xiangru and zhuo wenjun. the âphoenix seeking huangâ as a general metaphor not only contains the passionate courtship, but also symbolizes the hero and heroineâs extraordinary ideals, noble aspirations, and tacit understanding of close friends and other rich connotations. .â
shi ye stared straight at the thing on the painting that looked very much like a chicken and it took him a long time before he could get himself to ask: âis this a male phoenix3é³³(feng) as in male or a female phoenix4å°(huang) as in female ?â
âiâm not sure eitherâ¦â wen chi touched his chin and after much deliberation, he picked up the brush and drew another chicken next to it. then he put down the brush, tilted his head and admired his masterpiece for a while. he puffed out his chest and said with a sense of accomplishment, ânow there is a male phoenix and a female phoenix.â
shi ye: ââ¦â
wen chi didnât know if it was his illusion but he actually saw a helpless expression on shi yeâs face.
shi ye knew that discussing this matter with wen chi was undoubtedly a waste of time, so he wisely skipped the topic and asked instead: âdidnât you lose your memory? why do you still know how to draw a phoenix?â
speaking of this, wen chi also felt that it was strange.
he really couldnât remember everything, but some things seemed to be deeply imprinted in his mind5t/n -you mean the trauma?? lol. even if he didnât have to recall them deliberately, he could instinctively describe those things.
for example, he was familiar with shi ye for no reason.
another example is that he somehow painted this male phoenix seeking female phoenix.
âiâm not sure eitherâ¦â wen chi scratched his head in confusion. he thought about it seriously for a long time but unfortunately his mind was blank. he lowered his eyes, somewhat disappointed, âit seems that a friend of mine taught me this. unfortunately, i have forgotten who he is now. seeing that i can even remember what he taught me after my death, i must have had a very good relationship with him when i was alive.â
shi ye listened to wen chiâs words as if he was talking to himself and the emotions on his face slowly faded away.
finally, he looked at wen chi expressionlessly.
wen chi, who was immersed in sadness, was unaware of shi yeâs cold gaze. his eyes and nose were sore and red. it was obvious that he had no memory of his life but when his eyes fell on the painting, he still felt that it was so difficult to even breathe.
immediately afterwards, his tears fell without warning, falling on the desk with a clatter and bloomed into a small water flower.
the water flowers bloomed one after another.
wen chi stared blankly at the water splashing on the table. he seemed startled by this sudden situation and quickly raised his hand to wipe his face.
âsorryâ¦â wen chi tried to hide his embarrassment with a smile but he couldnât get himself to smile.
when he met shi yeâs eyes, he could only numbly, sadly, and helplessly let the tears pour out of his eyes one drop after another.
shi ye asked, âwhy are you crying?â
wen chiâs figure swayed and then he leaned on the desk. he felt bitter and astringent in his heart. the bitterness clogged up his throat, making his voice hoarse: âiâm so sad, it seems like iâve lost a very important person.â
âwhat you think is important is actually not that important.â shi yeâs tone was cold to the point of being unsympathetic, âif that person is really so important to you, how could you forget him?â
âiâ¦â wen chi opened his mouth, but couldnât refute, âyeah, i forgot about himâ¦â
but he had even forgotten who he was.
he forgot his life experience, his hometown, his relatives and friends, everythingâ¦
who is he?
he knew shi yeâs name, knew the names of the brother and sister, hua yin and hua yanran and even knew the names of the two maids, but he didnât know his own nameâ¦
wen chi slowly squatted down, curled up and hugged his legs. he was obviously an ignorant and senseless wandering soul but at this moment he felt a sense of suffocation overwhelming him.
***
in the end, wen chi didnât know when shi ye left. he vaguely noticed that shi ye was leaving with anger. he didnât know why shi ye was angry but he was no longer in the mood to think about it.
wen chi squatted beside the desk for several days.
during these days, shi ye walked in and out of the room but he acted as if wen chi didnât exist. he didnât even glance at him from the corner of his eye and even gave up practicing calligraphy and painting on the desk to avoid him.
this time wen chiâs emotions came more violently than any other time before. for the first time, he had a feeling of hopelessness and he felt that he couldnât get over this hurdle. he didnât want to talk to shi ye, he and shi ye lived under one roof but it was as if they were two strangers who had never crossed paths before.
until this afternoon.
wen chi was still squatting by the desk in a daze when he suddenly heard the door being pushed open with a creak, followed by a series of hurried footsteps.
wen chi knew that shi ye was back, but he didnât expect that shi ye to walk directly in front of him.
shi ye stood still in front of him.
wen chiâs blank gaze fell on shi yeâs shoes and after a while he looked up along shi yeâs legs.
only to see shi ye looking down at him with an expressionless face.
shi ye was so young and had some stunted features. he had to raise his head every time to look at wen chi. at this moment, he looked down at wen chi from a high position, which actually gave wen chi the illusion that the other person was unusually tall.
in a daze, shi yeâs young and fair face overlapped with the handsome and flawless face of a man.
wen chi blinked in confusion and when he looked again, the manâs face had disappeared, leaving only shi yeâs face.
shi ye said: âstill thinking about that man?â
wen chi frowned. he felt that the word âthat manâ was a bit harsh, but he didnât say anything. he lowered his eyes and continued to hold his legs in a daze.
he thought shi ye would walk away soon but he didnât expect shi ye to stand motionless in front of him for as long as a stick of incense(61hr), making him feel annoyed.
âwhat are you doing?â wen chi raised his head, imitating shi yeâs impatient expression and gaze. he said coldly and arrogantly, âiâm not short of stone piers here, if you want to be a stone pier go outside.â
shi ye ignored his words and continued to talk to himself: âyou are already dead and being nostalgic for people or things when you were alive will only bring back more memories and therefore more pain. losing your memory may not be a bad thing for you⦠â
t/n â the phoenix joke was a bit hard to translate but i hope you guys got it.