GBT Chapter 125

Late at night, Jiao Bai suddenly encountered one of the classic melodramatic plots in BL comics: the ugly daughter-in-law meeting the parents-in-law. Often, the appearance of such a plot signals the high tide of the emotional line, followed by a wave of angst, and then a happy ending.

However, his “parents-in-law” were both residing in their graves, unable to inquire about his household registration or make things difficult for him.

The melodramatic trope didn’t happen; instead, there was a sense of the supernatural.

The Buddha amulet under Jiao Bai’s collar was retrieved by Qi Yi Liao, who began to recount the story behind it.

The story was long, involving a genetically mutated person forced to undergo castration from hermaphrodite to single-sex, and how she preserved her qualities as a person under the tease of fate. She didn’t just favor one son; she taught all her children restraint, but people are of all kinds, and the temperaments of siblings also vary.

After repeated disappointments, she suffered a huge blow, and only then did she give her weak energy and the remnants of her ravaged life to the child who had learned self-control.

Jiao Bai didn’t ask questions, always acting as a listener. He knew that Qi Yi Liao didn’t want to discuss things, just needed someone to confide in.

Qi Yi Liao shared with Jiao Bai his youthful days, consumed by dense academic tasks, and suddenly asked, “Is this the first time you’re hearing about these things?”

Jiao Bai nodded. The Hospital Dean’s perspective wasn’t as detailed as Qi Yi Liao’s, revealing only a rough outline.

Qi Yi Liao raised an eyebrow; there was one more thing he hadn’t done before losing his memory. He placed the Buddha amulet back inside Jiao Bai’s collar, knelt in front of his mother’s tombstone, and bowed deeply.

One of his hands was still holding Jiao Bai’s, his knuckles gently but firmly inserting themselves, latching on.

Jiao Bai stood beside him, watching Qi Yi Liao maintain that posture for a long time. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Do I need to kowtow?”

“No need,” Qi Yi Liao said. “Wait until the second year of our marriage, during the Qingming Festival, then you can kowtow.”

The topic took a three hundred and sixty-degree spiral turn, and Jiao Bai’s mind went blank. By the time he reacted, Qi Yi Liao had already stood up and kissed his slightly cool eyelids. “Not going back to Lang Yue, staying here overnight?”

“Alright,” Jiao Bai glanced at Qi Yi Liao’s avatar.

The cat’s belly seemed to arch forward, begging for petting.

Jiao Bai’s hands itched, and his heart itched too.

“What are you looking at?”

A voice suddenly sounded in his ear, and Jiao Bai’s heart jumped. He blurted out, “The cemetery has a lot of old trees.”

“Mm,” Qi Yi Liao put his arm around Jiao Bai’s waist, leading him towards the ancient castle, his peripheral vision sweeping across the empty space he had been staring at, a strange and thoughtful look in his eyes, dark and unfathomable.

Jiao Bai slept in Qi Yi Liao’s bedroom. It was past midnight when he lay down. In the second half of the night, he dreamed of being chased and bound by tentacled monsters, constantly sliding on the edge of suffocation.

If he had woken up, he would have found that Qi Yi Liao had him trapped in his arms, staring at him the whole time, as if afraid that a pair of wings would grow out of his shoulder blades and he would fly away, fly far away, never to return.

That loss of security was invisible, but it manifested in a tangible way.

Perhaps it was because his memories were about to be restored and his emotions were about to return to their place, or perhaps it was because the side effects of the drug were coming early.

Jiao Bai didn’t sleep well, and Qi Yi Liao didn’t fall asleep. The two shared a muddled kiss in the morning, one went to school, and the other went to work.

The second day of military training was without rain, but very gloomy. The freshmen discovered that this weather was even worse than being in the sun, at least it wouldn’t be so muggy and humid, and there was a sour, musty smell in their camouflage uniforms.

Jiao Bai caught a cold, his head heavy and his steps unsteady. He held out until noon, then asked the counselor for leave, leaving the training ground under the tangled gaze of the campus hunk who was both trying to avoid him and wanting to get close.

His half-day off wasn’t for sleeping in. Jiao Bai went back to Lang Yue to change out of his camouflage uniform, took some cold medicine, and dozed off for a while before calling Shen Er An.

After a moment of ringing, the call connected.

“Shen Er An?” Jiao Bai spoke first, his voice hoarse.

The peace on the other end of the phone was broken. Shen Er An’s voice carried the unique authority of someone in a high position: “You’re sick?”

“No, it’s from yelling during military training.” Jiao Bai was sleepy. “Where are you? Do you have time to meet?”

Shen Er An was silent for a long moment: “I’m at the Mingyuan Temple.”

Jiao Bai’s drooping eyelids twitched. When Yu Ling encountered Shen Er An at the airport yesterday, he knew that the other party had come to West City, but he didn’t expect him to be at a temple.

What was Shen Er An doing at that temple? Wasn’t his mother’s grave moved back to Cheng Mountain?

Oh well, he would find out when he got there.

The melodramatic plot where Shen Er An’s activity level exceeded 50 had already been enacted. There shouldn’t be any major hurdles in joining the group, and even if there were, it would only be a drop or two that wouldn’t finish the job.

“Then I’ll head over. It just so happens that I took leave from military training,” Jiao Bai yawned. “Let’s talk when we meet.”

Jiao Bai opened the door, and Qi Er’s large, round face came close. “Young Master Bai, you’re going out with a cold?”

“A cold isn’t a serious illness. Aren’t there plenty of people who go to school and work normally with one?” Jiao Bai coughed as he closed the door. “I’m going to Mingyuan Temple to take care of some things.”

Qi Er bowed and rubbed his hands together. “Can some of us brothers follow you?”

“Sure, follow along,” Jiao Bai pressed the elevator button.

Qi Er was relieved. Mingyuan Temple was in the suburbs, near North City. It was a bit far, taking a little over an hour on the elevated highway. He didn’t know what Young Master Bai was going there to do, but it was fine as long as Young Master Bai allowed them to follow.

Two years ago, Jiao Bai and Zhang Zhen went to Mingyuan Temple to burn incense together. At that time, Jiao Bai was supported and carried for a section of the way by Zhang Zhen, but he climbed most of the way himself.

This time, he wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t climb, so he and a few bodyguards took the cable car up, with the beautiful scenery accompanying them along the way.

It wasn’t a holiday, and the weather wasn’t good, but the temple’s incense was still thriving.

Jiao Bai walked past several towering camphor trees, patting the stone lions and the large incense burner in front of the hall. He walked west along the bright yellow walls, heading straight for the release pond.

Passing by the lotus pond, even someone who wasn’t easily moved by natural scenery like Jiao Bai couldn’t help but take a few more glances. He continued walking west, all the way to his destination, spotting a figure squatting by the arched bridge from a distance.

It was Shen Er An, watching the groups of red carp in the water, not noticing Jiao Bai’s approach.

Jiao Bai walked over, sizing up Shen Er An as he went. He felt that the other’s temperament had changed a lot, and his complexion was very poor. Shen Er An gave him a very familiar feeling, one that was indescribable yet impossible to ignore. He couldn’t remember for the moment on whom else he had seen it.

However,

The smog over Cheng Mountain had thinned a lot, and the faint outline of the green hills could be seen.

Jiao Bai walked to Shen Er An’s side, stepping into the other’s cold and handsome aura: “Watching the fish?”

Shen Er An was startled. He turned sideways, tilting his head back, stretching his fair neck, revealing his increasingly handsome features to Jiao Bai: “You came so quickly?”

“I took the cable car up.” Every time Jiao Bai met Shen Er An, he would marvel at the artistry of the “Broken Wings” author. Especially the main gong, who was both handsome and beautiful from head to toe. Even every strand of hair, every fingernail, every eyelash was perfectly placed.

With dense melodramatic plots, and a visual feast, who else would be popular if this comic wasn’t?

Shen Er An straightened up. He looked at Jiao Bai, his thoughts sometimes clear and sometimes confused. Every time they met again, they were separated by many changes, like a world apart.

“Are you enjoying your university life?” Shen Er An asked softly.

“It’s only just begun, haven’t tasted it yet.” Jiao Bai put his hands in his pockets, chatting with him casually as if they were old friends. “What about your studies? How are you planning them?”

Shen Er An turned his gaze back to the pond: “I communicated with the school. I can study at home and just get enough credits and GPA.”

Jiao Bai clicked his tongue: “That’s so boring.”

Shen Er An’s laughter was carried on the breeze. He said, “No choice.”

Jiao Bai didn’t comfort him, because comfort was worthless. Time is limited, and so is energy. A person can only do one thing well at a time, they can’t do two things at once. This is a very simple principle.

A weight was added to his shoulder. He glanced at Shen Er An’s arm placed there, but didn’t shake it off.

Shen Er An didn’t make this move easily. It was very stiff. To this day, one of his two good friends was no longer in contact with him, and the other was no longer as close as before.

Time passes, years change, and living people change with their experiences, unless they die and can be forever fixed at a certain stage.

Jiao Bai felt Shen Er An’s sadness and depression. He didn’t force a conversation, but instead looked around at the surrounding environment. Tourists came and went on the arched bridge, stopping to take pictures or rest. From time to time, incense smoke wafted from the direction of the main hall, quite ethereal.

There were a few cameras that captured Jiao Bai and Shen Er An, but neither of them paid attention.

“How were the results of your treatment abroad?”

“Now that the seasons are changing, does your rib still hurt?”

Jiao Bai and Shen Er An spoke at the same time, and the two looked at each other. The former smiled and replied: “It depends on how big the change is. Today, there’s no problem.”

“Your turn,” Jiao Bai reminded Shen Er An, who was looking at his back.

“Same as always,” Shen Er An said. “I have to control my emotions, avoid extreme joy and sorrow. The doctor advised me to relax.”

When he said the last half of the sentence, a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes. Relax? Not to mention the quagmire and situation he was facing, even ordinary people would find it difficult to do.

Jiao Bai twitched the corner of his mouth. Shen Er An’s youthful spirit had been worn away, leaving nothing behind. If his avatar wasn’t a mountain, but an animal, Jiao Bai would think that something was also strangling the animal’s neck.

Some tourists came to release fish, the fish being thrown into the pond, the water splashing up, falling down, then splashing up again, falling down.

Jiao Bai became interested in watching, deciding to release some fish before leaving. It seemed like for every fish released, you repeated a wish once? It was strange, but it wouldn’t hurt to be strange once in a while.

“You flew directly to West City. Was it because you knew that Liang Dong was at the drug rehabilitation center here, and you wanted to see him?” Jiao Bai went to the main topic, asking tentatively.

“No.” The lines of Shen Er An’s cheek tightened. He was silent for a few moments. “He won’t see me.”

These words revealed that he did indeed know that Liang Dong was at the drug rehabilitation center.

Jiao Bai narrowed his eyes: “Then what did you come to West City for?”

Shen Er An stood silently for a while. He walked to the bottom of the arched bridge, stepping onto the steps smoothed by the footprints of tourists. Jiao Bai followed him slowly. They went to the lakeside pavilion.

The pavilion faced the main gate of Mingyuan Temple. There was no one there at the moment. Jiao Bai sat on the stone bench, his buttocks suddenly cold. He shivered, glancing around. Tan Jun was guarding Shen Er An like the apple of his eye. He was probably guarding some corner.

He wondered if Shen Er An had suppressed Tan Jun at this time.

The Cheng Mountain was still the same, the smog neither thick nor dissipating.

Shen Er An’s voice sounded from the railing of the lakeside pavilion. “I came to Mingyuan Temple in West City for Master Ran Ye.”

“The monks at the temple said that the Master will be back today. I want to ask him to clear up my confusion.” Shen Er An’s shirt was puffed up by the wind, the thin and narrow waistline vaguely visible. He was at an age when he should be full of vitality, possessing a top-notch appearance, just standing quietly, he carried a dazzling light.

Although Jiao Bai was a simp for good looks, he could be considered a fan of Shen Young Master’s face, but he wouldn’t be blinded by lust. There were plenty of handsome guys, just looking at them was enough, there was no need to go deep or sleep with them. So, as he looked at Shen Er An’s waist, he was pondering the other’s thoughts.

Shen Er An was a busy man. If he wanted to see the Master, he could just have his subordinates bring him to South City. Why did he have to come to the temple himself to wait?

This hands-on approach could be said to be extremely sincere, and at the same time, it revealed how much influence his inner confusion had brought to him, prompting him to attach so much importance to it.

Cheng Mountain was still the same, the smog neither thick nor scattered.

Jiao Bai supported his head with one hand: “What confusion do you have? Tell me about it.”

Shen Er An answered a phone call, his aura changing.

The Master had returned.

Jiao Bai and Shen Er An went together to see the Master. To his surprise, the Master wasn’t a white-bearded old man, nor was he a middle-aged person like Master Qingyun. Instead, he was a beautiful man with a Tsinghua aura, at most the same age as Zhang Zhen.

Another genius, an anomaly in Buddhism.

Ran Ye was wearing a white monk’s robe, his head shaved and round. He was talking to a young monk in the meditation courtyard, the two lamplights behind him gathering around him, his eyebrows and eyes delicate, cold, and otherworldly.

Jiao Bai was certain that there was no such character in Broken Wings. He was newly added.

To be precise, he was only there in the second playthrough, like the Yu family brothers. With his appearance, he would naturally bring a wave of plot.

As Jiao Bai was thinking this, he saw Ran Ye’s clear and cool gaze avoid Shen Er An, looking straight at him.

“…”

What, did he see the soul from another world in me or what?