To Raise A Soul

Yu Zhen jumped from fright and automatically moved to Yin Yan"s side.

“Drink some water.”

While he poured the water, Yin Yan extended a steadying hand to Yu Zhen. After glancing indifferently at the cat, Yin Yan also poured a drink for Bu Lian. For the first time, he spoke in a coaxing manner, "Don"t cry. Your cat is still by your side. If you"re sad, it"ll also be sad." 

The black cat suddenly trembled and stopped staring at Yu Zhen. It retreated, laying down on its stomach by Bu Lian"s arm. With a tilted head, it rubbed at Bu Lian"s arm gently and meowed continuously.

Bu Chen didn"t expect Bu Lian to start crying. Anxious, he hurriedly pulled his seat closer to his sister and gently patted her arm. Quietly, he too began coaxing, "Alright, alright. That was my fault. I shouldn"t have been frustrated with you. Let"s not talk about that. If you cry until your eyes swell, you won"t look good anymore. Look, even your Yin Ge was comforting you. Didn"t you use to stick by his side and listen to his words the most?"

Bu Lian was still young. Although she was tall, she had only recently turned sixteen. The young lady felt even more aggrieved after the attempts at coaxing and turned her head, burying it in Bu Chen"s embrace. She whimpered, "Dudu, I want Dudu."

Inadvertently blocked by Bu Chen, the black cat made a low cry when its name was called by its owner. It moved closer to Bu Lian and paced in a circle anxiously. 

Seeing this, Yu Zhen"s fear of the demon cat gradually disappeared and was replaced by a feeling of sadness.

The black cat"s attachment and deep feelings towards its owner were clear. Even in death, it wasn"t willing to part ways. However, the humans and the dead had different paths. Even if it showed its love and affection throughout its owner"s lifetime, the two would not have a chance to see each other again.  

"Xu Wu," Yin Yan quietly called.

Yu Zhen felt a weight on his legs as a ball of white appeared out of thin air. But before he could react, Xu Wu leaped onto the table with a swish of its tail and pounced onto Bu Lian.

"Hey, wait, be careful." Yu Zhen quickly stood up to block its path.

The black cat treated Xu Wu as an enemy and rushed forward with its own black qi flaring up.

[If you want Bu Lian to forever bear your ghostly aura and be miserable, you can continue to block us.]

The black cat froze. Wailing, it looked at Bu Lian reluctantly. It then moved aside and disappeared into the air.

Yu Zhen stared blankly then turned to look at Yin Yan.

Already on Bu Lian, Xu Wu softly called out.

Bu Lian stopped crying and looked over with red eyes. She stared blankly for a moment before taking Xu Wu into a tight embrace. She sobbed, "Dudu, is that you? I knew you wouldn"t leave me. Dudu, I"ve really missed you."

"This…" Confused, Bu Chen started in hesitation.

How did a cat suddenly appear in a roast duck restaurant?

[Yu Zhen.]

Again, Yin Yan didn"t speak aloud, but Yu Zhen could hear his voice. 

He sat down, aware that Yin Yan would likely want to pa.s.s some merits or some other things over to him. Looking to Bu Chen, he said, "This is my cat. It"s called Xu Wu. It secretly followed us today. It"s a bit mischievous."

"Oh, it"s your cat. It gave me a fright." Bu Chen relaxed. He looked at his sister who was gradually quieting down and let out a sigh. He looked back at Yu Zhen and said, "Let us borrow your cat for a while, my sister…Ai."

"It"s okay. I was worried about where to leave Xu Wu when we eat." Yu Zhen immediately waved his hands to express that it was no problem. He looked at Xu Wu pretending to be an innocent little kitten in Bu Lian"s arms and was left speechless.

I had no idea Xu Wu hailed from an acting school.

The dishes were quickly served. The star of the show, the roast duck, was very fragrant and the other dishes also seemed to be quite good. However, everyone at the table wore an unhappy expression.

"It turns out that your accident had something to do with Han Ya. Back then, when Wu Xuan went to manage the workshop in H Province, Han Ya followed him. You were out of your mind, following after her. What did I say to you back then? "Even if you like a woman, you can"t like them to that extent". Although Han Ya is beautiful, and she did take good care of you abroad, you didn"t need to be so dead set on her. Were you really willing to give up your life for her?"

Bu Chen had always been bitterly watching his friend make mistakes with Han Ya, so he decided to give some simple and well-meaning advice. Though, once he started, he was unable to stop, “For so many years, everyone could tell that Han Ya and Wu Xuan were entangled to death with each other. But you… you… Ai, I don"t even know how I should explain it to you. Back then, others would even go to the extent of saying some offensive words, calling you the male mistress.

"Thinking of Han Ya, this person who was invisible and at the edge of our circle, yet was praised by you as the "G.o.ddess of the Circle". And she even met Wu Xuan through you. I sometimes wonder if you"d been treated as a stepping stone. In the past, you were stubbornly unaware of your own problem, so I didn"t say anything since I didn"t want to hurt the feelings between us brothers. But now that you"ve got your head in the right place, I"ll say a few more words to give you a slap on the wrist – So you won"t repeat the same mistakes…"

“Ge!”

After calming down, Bu Lian couldn"t bear listening to those words anymore. She pinched her brother"s arm with force and smiled awkwardly at Yu Zhen. Reluctantly, she stroked Xu Wu"s little head a few times then moved him towards Yu Zhen. She decisively changed the direction of the conversation as she said, "Yu Ge, here. Thanks for comforting me. How should I say this? When my brother meets acquaintances, he can"t keep his mouth shut. He doesn"t mean anything by it. You"re the first person Yin Ge has let us meet. Yin Ge definitely cares a lot for you. No, it"s love. He loves you the most." 

After Bu Lian"s pinching, Bu Chen came back to his senses and realized his words could cause suspicion between the couple. Hurriedly, he stood up and filled a wine cup with alcohol. He raised the cup to Yu Zhen then downed it in one gulp. He then said, "Sorry. Yin Yan has always been earnest when it comes to relationships. Don"t overthink it, Yu Zhen. I was talking nonsense."

Unbeknownst to Bu Chen, Yu Zhen was happily listening to the gossip. He waved a hand to show it wasn"t a problem. Then, he nudged Yin Yan with an elbow to prompt some words from the man.

Yin Yan placed a piece of wrapped duck into his bowl and complied with Yu Zhen"s wishes. "Wu Xuan won"t be stuck with Han Ya until death. At most, their relationship will only last for half a year." 

Hearing those words, Bu Chen froze. Alarm bells began to ring in his mind. "Listen to yourself. I just told you not to make more mistakes. Yu Zhen is still here. How can you repe"

"Han Ya asked me to go to H Province. She said she was afraid that doing her exchange studies there would be too difficult, and she hoped that I would accompany her there."

Continuing with the show, he said, "The day before the accident, I accidentally found out that Han Ya and Wu Xuan had confirmed their relationship, and decided to make a clean break. But the next night, Han Ya suddenly called me saying she had broken up with Wu Xuan, and that she was drunk somewhere. She wanted me to pick her up.

"When I rushed there, she was indeed drunk. She made a fuss about wanting to go for a ride and take a breath of fresh air. Then she leaned onto me like usual. And you already know about the car accident which happened afterward.

"So there was no "male mistress". If I had known Han Ya and Wu Xuan were mutually interested in each other, rather than thinking it was Wu Xuan pursuing her one-sidedly, I wouldn"t have let all those things happen."

"In the past, I didn"t care about my reputation, so I pretended not to hear the gossip and slander. But now, that"s not possible. My parents can"t have a son who"s a "male mistress", and my husband can"t have a notorious partner. In the past, I had never done any unethical or immoral things, I only liked the wrong person. But I don"t wish for people to misunderstand this in the future."

Bu Chen showed another comically surprised expression. Looking at his friend in a new light, he began to doubt human society. Without any sadness or happiness, just shock, he gulped down some water. He thought about the question he was most curious about which he hadn"t dared to ask before. He decided to blurt it out, "So, you never took advantage of Han Ya when she was drunk?" 

Yin Yan frowned. He didn"t expect onlookers to have thought this way. "Never. Why do you ask?"

"…Because you were so good to the Han family and were always helping them out. Everyone a.s.sumed you had done something wrong and were making up for it!"

"No. Helping the Han family is as easy as lifting a finger. Han Ya asked for help, so I helped her."

Yin Yan"s answer was understated, but Bu Chen felt like he would have a heart attack.

I"ve been awakened to the truth! The rumors going around about the relationship between this good friend of mine and that Han Ya are completely wrong!

"Didn"t you know that Wu Xuan and Han Ya were in love? That was gossiped about."

"Han Ya said that wasn"t true."

"You didn"t hara.s.s Han Ya?"

"I thought it was an average level of pursuit. I"ve never been drastic with my actions."

“H Province…”

“Han Ya asked me to go.”

“The dinner party that year…”

“Han Ya wanted to go, but she didn"t have an invitation, so I took her despite my mother"s objections.”

Bu Chen didn"t ask any other questions. If I ask any more, I"ll explode from anger. 

"Why didn"t you ever clarify about these things? Everyone thought…" he started. After half-finishing his words, he paused to down another cup of wine.

I"m thinking in the wrong direction. With this guy"s temperament, how could he initiate talks about issues to do with love? And with his past zeal of stopping anyone from saying a bad word about Han Ya, how could it be possible for him to tell everyone about Han Ya begging him for help.

But-but if you don"t say anything, won"t bystanders" imaginations fill in gaps in the story?!

What is imagined will become considered the truth. The closer the rumors were to the truth, the less people dared to ask the involved parties about the rumors. Since everyone is from the same circle, they still need to be careful about their image. How could anyone consider bringing up these embarra.s.sing issues right to their faces? 

Everyone was quiet at the dinner table for a while. Yu Zhen looked at this and that and shifted uncomfortably on his b.u.t.t.

According to Yu Zhen"s understanding of Yin Yan, he wasn"t the type to go on about the love issues of the original owner in public. However, Bu Chen was clearly led to talk about this by Yin Yan. What is he trying to do by bringing up these issues? 

This feels like a conspiracy.

“Ah!”

Bu Lian cried out suddenly. She whipped out her phone and frantically tapped at the screen. Then, moving the phone"s screen into Yin Yan"s view, she excitedly asked, "So all of the nauseating chicken soup* that Han Ya recently posted in the circle was related to you?”

Huh? Chicken soup?

Yu Zhen leaned his head in slightly and secretly peeked.

[Sometimes, the best kind of love isn"t company, but a willingness to fulfill another"s wishes] 

[Happiness is like an illusion. Because today"s sunshine is very nice, I was suddenly reminded of you.]

[Looking back, things have remained the same but the people have changed. Good morning to you who has been so good to me.]

[Sorry, I"m the one who isn"t good enough.]

The phone"s screen wasn"t very large, so only those few messages could be seen. Yu Zhen covertly looked away and rubbed his arms.

“Cold?” Yin Yan asked. He looked away from the screen and held Yu Zhen"s hand.

Yu Zhen smiled awkwardly. At that very moment, he couldn"t say anything.

Bu Lian had cla.s.sified Yu Zhen as a fellow cat lover in her heart. On seeing his reaction, she pulled her phone back then blacklisted Han Ya and said, "She is definitely spot-on with her so-called ‘things have remained the same but the people have changed" post. Before, Yan Ge, I didn"t know you had gotten married. So, I thought she posted these roundabout messages to Wu Xuan. Thinking about it now, Wu Xuan might be wearing a green*-"

Bang!

A few steps away, at a table that was blocked from view by some potted plants, Wu Xuan pushed away his chair as he stood up. With repressed anger, he turned his head their way and said, “Yin Yan, come outside with me. Let"s talk!”

Translator(s): Epsea
Editor(s): Miiya
Proofer(s): Avalie

Epsea:

Oooooooooo. Good job, Yin Yan! Well played!

Miiya:

I did not see that coming at all. This black-bellied gong is good! I give you a Like! d(^_-)