Chapter 61

Acti VIII: The Cat Who Wants to Become Human (5)

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After their last seminar, the senior dormitory building was almost half empty.

Their graduation photos were scheduled to be taken in mid-June. Xiang Cai started to remind everyone in the group one week in advance to wear makeup, wear their class clothes, and to not be late.

As a result, on the day of the shooting, two people actually overslept.

The female photographer said, "Several classes are scheduled after your class. If you delay, there won't be enough time to take their photos later!"

Xiang Cai could only bow his head and apologize. He said that it was better for the photographer to take the photos of the other classes first, and reschedule their class photos for the afternoon.

His skin was pale, and he had run for a long time in the big sun, so the tip of his nose was sweaty, with his cheeks lightly flushed. The photographer felt that she was seeing a god.

"Oh, that's fine!" The young female photographer stammered. "You look so good, so for my brother’s... no, for such sincerity’s sake, I'll give you good face."

Xiang Cai smiled, his eyes narrowing into two beautiful crescents.

As a result of the rescheduling, his classmates had several hours with nothing much to do, so they scattered to find others to take group photos.

Xiang Cai was definitely the most popular person in the class. Every classmate was scrambling to take a photo with him. Even the dance students next door came to ‘borrow’ him.

The graduation photos of dancers were naturally different. Leaps, front flips and backflips, raising a leg to the side... Xiang Cai was very flexible. He stood in the sun and stretched his body gracefully, attracting many admiring eyes.

He had spent seven years in Huawu Academy, where his classmates had called him the prince of ballet. After he entered university and stepped into a new major, he spent four years to let everyone remember his new title-‘The Pride of the Musical Theatre Department’.

No one doubted his achievements. Wherever he appeared, the stage would be, spotlights shining.

"Class monitor Xiang!" A few female ballet students stood at the edge of the lawn, cheerfully calling him. Graduation photos of the ballet department were very interesting. The girls all wore white tights and tutus, and on their upper bodies was a colorful fluorescent t-shirt. The girls played ‘you push me, I push you’, and finally sent out one of the boldest people to ask him, "Can we take a photo with you?"

"Certainly." Xiang Cai laughed. "It’s my pleasure."

He walked over and stood among the lovely ballerinas.

The more than a dozen dancers automatically divided into two rows. The first row of girls kneeled on one knee with the other leg opened outwards. This was a classic curtain call in ballet. The second row of girls gave their best poses.

Xiang Cai was surrounded by the ballerinas, standing in the middle. He looked around and asked, "But who will take the pictures for us?"

All the girls: "..."

Yes, yes, they only cared about their own beauty, who was responsible for recording their beauty.

Just then, a hearty voice sounded behind him—"I’m coming!"

Everyone looked around, and a tall figure appeared in their sight. A 1.9 meter boy raised his SLR camera and took the initiative to say, "I'll take a picture for you!"

His temperament was incompatible with the dance academy. He had short hair standing spiritedly on his head, and his wheat-colored skin made him look like the type of person that loved outdoor sports.

Some people knew him, and some didn't.

The ballerinas whispered.

"Slippers with trousers, this outfit is really a waste of good looks ..."

"Look at this figure, is he from next door?"

"You don't even know him? He's Xiang Cai’s boyfriend!"

"Ah, it's him! I've heard gossip of this before."

"I thought that the sports academy only had straight men."

Xiang Cai didn't expect Cen Manchuan to appear here. He was pleasantly surprised, and asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

"After the internship, I came back to be your exclusive photographer!" Cen Manchuan fiddled with the camera in his hand. "Stand up, stand up, everyone stand up. I'll take a group photo of you."

After he finished speaking, he didn't wait for the girls to adjust their facial expressions, already pressing the shutter more than a dozen times in a row.

All the girls: "..."

Xiang Cai: "..."

After shooting, Cen Manchuan also happily let them view the photo, asking, "How is it?"

Everyone gathered around to take a look. Oh my god, there were some people blinking, some stiff smiles, there was a blurry body, there was a whole person that couldn’t be seen...

The main thing was that because he was so tall, the lens perfectly looked downwards at everyone when shooting. Obviously, the swan-like ballerinas were slim and tall, but in his camera, they all became short, fat little ducks.

Everyone talked:

"He's gay? How could that be, is it just a rumor?"

"There is no aesthetic sense at all."

"He is basically the picture of a straight man. If he can be Xiang Cai’s boyfriend, then I can marry Z baby tomorrow!"

[T/N: Z baby = Chinese nickname for prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova.]

Xiang Cai could not decide whether to laugh or cry. He wondered if he should remind them that he could hear their complaints clearly.

The ballerinas disgustedly dispersed, not even telling the fake straight man thank you.

Cen Manchuan didn't care either, shaking his head and leaning closer to Xiang Cai.

He had a refreshing, hot smell of sweat on him—if Xiang Cai were to describe it, he would call it a hormonal scent.

This scent once gave Xiang Cai endless peace of mind during the rainy moments.

Xiang Cai took a look at his outfit and knew that he had just come off the court.

"Why did you come over in a hurry?"

"I heard that you are taking graduation photos. I was thinking, we have been together for a hundred days, but we haven't even taken a photo of our anniversary, so I quickly borrowed a camera." Cen Manchuan fiddled with the camera. “I didn’t know how to use this thing, I thought it would just work if I pressed the shutter."

"... A hundred days ..." Xiang Cai was a little surprised, and murmured, "So fast?"

A hundred days was more than three months. It seemed that only yesterday, he was watching beside the court as Cen Manchuan slam dunked. However, in the blink of an eye, they had been together for a hundred days.

It was Xiang Cai’s first time being in a romantic relationship so he had no habit of remembering anniversaries. On the other hand, Cen Manchuan was involved in many but he had never taken the initiative to break up with a girlfriend since high school. His relationships lasted for two to three years, or sometimes as short as from May to June. He knew the importance of anniversaries, so, from the first day of their relationship, he had been counting on his fingers, waiting to mark their hundredth day anniversary.

The tall young man showed some childishness and said aggrievedly, "I also feel that time is passing by fast. Who decided for this to happen during the graduation season? I have my internship, and you are busy rehearsing, so we weren't able to see each other for a week."

He added, "But it doesn't matter. We can see each other every day after graduating!"

"See each other every day?"

"Yeah." Cen Manchuan said with a big grin, "Aren't you going to rent a house? I think we should just live together."

"..." Xiang Cai’s heart fell, and his brain went blank for a few seconds.

Cen Manchuan's proposal was reasonable. They were in a period of love, and a young couple should naturally want to be together all the time..

Xiang Cai had no reason to reject this proposal.

He suppressed his cluttered thoughts and forced himself to think about the feasibility of this matter.

Since he had just graduated, he had been looking for housing but it was a bit challenging because he didn’t have much savings. Although he had signed onto a crew now, during the rehearsal period, he had no salary except for a daily 30 yuan meal allowance and transportation allowance. He wanted to rent out a second bedroom of some place, but he couldn’t seem to find a suitable house.

He had lived in a boy's dorm for so many years, and of course knew that most boys in this world did not like to clean up their living area. He didn't want to live with someone with bad hygiene habits, but it was inconvenient for him to share with a girl.

If he could live with Cen Manchuan, on the other hand, they could split the rent evenly, and it would be convenient for the young couple to spend more time and do things together.

He thought about it for a while, and then took the proposal to heart.

He said, "However, renting a house in Huacheng is very expensive. If you live in a graduate dormitory, it is only two thousand yuan a year. If you move out with me, we must rent a whole studio. In this way, the cost will be much higher. Are your savings sufficient? "

"What savings?" Who would have thought that Cen Manchuan would have a confused expression on his face. He asked like he was dreaming: "... How do I not know that I have savings?"

"..." Xiang Cai was surprised. "You have been interning at the elementary school for so long, don’t you have a salary? And doesn’t your family already pay your monthly living expenses? Haven't you saved a penny?"

"Uh ..." Cen Manchuan was speechless. He bowed his head and looked at him with a pair of innocent puppy eyes.

Xiang Cai instantly understood.

It was precisely because of this understanding that Xiang Cai felt tired.

Cen Manchuan wanted to raise a motorcycle, go to an Internet cafe to play games on the fastest Internet speed, save money for basketball equipment, and eat and drink with his brothers...

The 21-year-old boy had thousands of reasons to be part of the moonlight clan, but had no reason to save money for the future.

[T/N: moonlight clan = people who completely spend their salary, as opposed to saving.]

Xiang Cai was a little disappointed for a moment.

But the next moment, he was disappointed with himself for being disappointed with Cen Manchuan.

Cen Manchuan had a good family background and was also an only child. A boy with such fortunate upbringing, had no need for careful budgeting. He was not like Xiang Cai, who had been tortured by life, and abandoned by his parents. Xiang Cai could only rely on his own luck in pursuit of his dreams...

Thinking thus, Xiang Cai realized that it was unreasonable for him to ask this happy big boy to become an image of himself.

They were just ... just, walking at different paces.

That difference in pace was not either of their fault.

The original reason he liked Cen Manchuan was because of his warm and impulsive fire.

Xiang Cai thought, let's temporarily put aside the cohabitation plan. If Cen Manchuan really wanted to live together with him, during the next three months of their summer vacation, he could go to work and save money. With his education and physical abilities, he could go to the gym and work as a personal trainer, or teach children to play basketball. He might make more money than himself. Xiang Cai could wait for him for three months.

Xiang Cai didn't want to think about this matter anymore. He took the initiative to change the topic, asking, "Why are you carrying a bag? What's in it?"

"It's a gift!" The silly big dog was indeed distracted from the subject. He opened the backpack in excitement, pulling out a large sweaty dark blue jersey, and throwing it into Xiang Cai’s arms.

Xiang Cai was caught off guard and suffered a close-range attack from the chemical bomb. His eyes rolled up for a moment, and he almost stopped breathing.

After half a minute, he struggled past the illusion of death and looked at the dark blue rag in his arms—that was Cen Manchuan's basketball team uniform with his name and number printed on it. The basketball jersey was big and long, and only a giant 1.9-meter tall man could support it.

It was precisely because he recognized what it was that he was confused. Why did Cen Manchuan throw a dirty jersey to himself???

Xiang Cai: "This is ...?"

Cen Manchuan scratched his head, his face flushing: "Actually, the basketball team has a tradition. When graduating, every boy must give his jersey to his girlfriend and let her wear it as a dress."

Xiang Cai was surprised.

"I know you're a man and don't need a dress. But I was thinking ... do you need a nightgown?"

The big boy's eyes were bright. He gave Xiang Cai the meaningful jersey that had accompanied him for several seasons. At the same time, he also gave Xiang Cai a hot and bright feeling.

"This ..." Xiang Cai murmured, "This is too expensive."

"It's not expensive," Cen Manchuan said, "At least it’s not as valuable as you."

He always knew how to make Xiang Cai feel special.

This suppressed Xiang Cai’s panic and softened Xiang Cai’s heart.

Xiang Cai took the jersey, folded it, and held it in his hands.

"I will treasure it."

He promised.

...

Cen Manchuan rarely came to the dance academy, so Xiang Cai did his best as a host to show him around.

Huacheng Dance Academy only occupied a small area, but it has been beautifully restored step by step. There were tree-lined roads, corridor arch bridges, atmospheric libraries, and dance classrooms full of memories.

The two took pictures as they walked. If someone was less forgiving than Xiang Cai, they wouldn’t be able to stand Cen Manchuan’s random shutter releases.

When they walked to the playground, a girl suddenly greeted them.

The girl asked shyly, "Brother Xiang, can you sign this for me?"

[T/N: brother = ‘shixiong’, which I’ll leave as brother (every time) unlike ge or dage.]

Xiang Cai was taken aback. A lot of students were looking for a group photo with him, but not many students were looking for his autograph.

The girl said that she was a fan of Xiang Cai and had watched his play, so she took the liberty to ask him to sign.

Xiang Cai was pleasantly surprised, and began to chat with her about the musical. Cen Manchuan grew dizzy when hearing this, and quickly ran away using the bathroom as an excuse.

The girl took out a pen and paper, and told Xiang Cai to please sign his name.

Xiang Cai asked what her name was with a good temper.

The girl said that her surname was Park.

"This surname ..." Xiang Cai guessed, "Are you Korean?"

"Yeah!" The girl said, "I'm a cultural dance major!"

Xiang Cai felt a little closer to her: "I have a good friend who is also Korean, and she also taught me to say something in Korean."

With that said, Xiang Cai wrote a string of Korean words on the signing paper—it was indeed the phrase ‘friends forever’ left on his classmate's record by Qi Ji when she transferred schools.

When Xiang Cai packed his baggage yesterday, he turned it out and looked at it.

He had a good memory, and just memorized the few strokes. Now, he drew the strokes according to the original, and his writing was not bad.

After he wrote it, he returned the signature to the schoolgirl surname Park.

The school girl took the signing paper and froze.

"This ..." Schoolgirl Park flushed. "Brother, do you know what you wrote?"

"Friends forever," Xiang Cai said, but saw that she didn't look right. "Is it not?"

"..." The girl shook her head and said awkwardly, "You wrote—'I like you’."

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The author has something to say: Breaking up requires a process. Cai Cai also needs to take the time to grow and see what kind of love he needs.

It suddenly dawned on me that immediately breaking up is not in line with human behavior, and that means that he wouldn’t have respected this relationship.

If everyone really feels tormented, you can make up for it after the scene is over.

[T/N: I made my millionth mistake. How presumptuous of me to assume that Qi Ji actually wrote ‘friends forever’. I took the time to put in the Korean picture word image thingy and that’s not what she actually wrote, smh.]

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