Chapter 63
Act VIII: The Cat Who Wants to Become Human (7)
----------
Fortunately, Xiang Cai was not as ‘cruel’ as Tan Yiming expected.
— "Female classmate?" Tan Yiming couldn’t help but raised his voice two decibels. "The relationship issue you wanted me to help analyze for you is that a female classmate likes you, and you don't know how to respond?"
"Not an ordinary 'female classmate!'" On the other end of the phone, the boy's voice became more genuine. "It's a 'female classmate' who had a very good relationship with me!"
Tan Yiming laughed: "Child, have you never been confessed to by a girl?"
"Yes, yes, but that's not the same. Qi Ji is the first friend I've met after transferring to that school. She is different to me." Xiang Cai said distressedly, "If I can, I want to be friends with her for a lifetime.”
"But you know, the moment she chooses to write down her mind, you can't be friends." Tan Yiming was far more mature than Xiang Cai, and had seen more emotions from the sidelines than Xiang Cai.
Every hopeless unrequited love turned into a desperate confession. The phrase ‘I like you’ broke the delicate balance between the two, and in the end, the friendship became impossible.
Xiang Cai sighed leisurely.
He grew tired of holding the phone, so he simply put it on the ground and turned on hands-free mode.
He leaned into the corner of the wall, hugged his legs, and stared at his mobile phone, murmuring, "Is there no other solution?"
"Yes." The man's voice came out of the speaker, echoing into the weak morning sunlight, "If you like her, you can respond to her feelings. But if she has already moved on and likes another person, you can still be friends."
Xiang Cai said, "But I can't like her, first of all ... first of all, she's not the right gender."
Tan Yiming laughed: "What if she is the right gender?"
"The gender is not right." Xiang Cai said firmly, "I have a boyfriend now."
"What if you were single now?"
"So I...then I..." The boy suddenly became stuck.
If he hadn't met Cen Manchuan three months ago, who would be standing next to him today?
The thought was like a match that was lit in the dark. Although the flame was weak, it was so conspicuous that he couldn't ignore it.
Xiang Cai tried his best to control himself, to not let any memories that could fuel the flame approach the little fire.
It was not until this second that he was shocked to realize who he was talking to —he must have damaged his head when he had turned over. Why was he calling his crush from five years ago? And the discussion was even about such a sensitive ‘secret crush’ issue?
He had obviously decided to forget. He had obviously decided to welcome summer. He had obviously decided to draw a line...
The 17-year-old boy hid in the depths of his memories again, leaving only the 23-year-old Xiang Cai staring at the phone in front of him, as if it would blow through the ground at any time.
During those few seconds of psychological activity, Tan Yiming across the ocean was not aware of it.
Tan Yiming was still helping him analyze the problem: "You treated that girl as a good friend. When you found that she liked you, you were surprised and guilty first. This proves that you value your friendship very much. My suggestion is that you have a clear chat with that girl. If at the end of the conversation, you find that you really can't continue to be friends, directly say goodbye."
He was silent for a few seconds, and then said, "... Otherwise, this matter will remain in your heart, become a knot, and turn into an obsession."
And obsession eventually - would become ‘habit’.
The habit of looking for a figure, the habit of thinking ’if only we were not originally separated’, the habit of dreaming about the future in every scene related to the other party.
Tan Yiming was deeply trapped in this disease called ‘habit’ and could not extricate himself.
Tan Yiming once thought that as long as he found the little swan he had lost, his ‘illness’ would be cured. But when they finally met, he found that Xiang Cai had stepped out of that unrequited love.
The singing swan on the stage, the sensitive and delicate Cai Cai off of the stage...This boy was far better than Tan Yiming's fantasy.
As a result, Tan Yiming noticed that his illness was not only not cured, but had even worsened.
He began to become a follower and secret admirer. He paid attention to everything that Xiang Cai did, and even supplemented himself with the classic musicals just for him. He only hoped that they could exchange a few more words when they met again next time.
...
For a while, neither of them spoke, and their breathing could be heard at both ends of the radio wave.
After their reunion, they had been cautiously avoiding each other, but sometimes fate had other ideas, allowing them to subtly touch an invisible boundary.
After some time, they both spoke and stopped at the same time:
"Well, I'm going to the cafeteria ..."
"The staff are looking for me ..."
"Since you've been called, please go." Xiang Cai took the lead and spoke first, "Thank you, Yun Da, for helping me analyze so much. I will think about it carefully and find a time to ask my friend and have a clear talk. "
"..." Tan Yiming only noticed one keyword, "What did you call me just now?"
Xiang Cai: "..."
The man said dumbly, "Cai Cai, my little swan. Will you call me that again?"
Xiang Cai didn't know how to describe the man's tone. Was it praying? Was it pleading?
The boy only felt that his entire scalp was numb, and he repeated: "Yun Da ..."
The person who talked to him on the phone was not the rusty ‘Teacher Tan’, but ‘Yun Da’.
When he called out this long-lost title, he was shaking from his lips to his throat to his chest.
Xiang Cai didn’t wait for Tan Yiming to say another word, immediately hanging up on the phone call.
He lay directly on the floor and pressed his head that was hot from overload onto the ground.
Gosh, why did he make that call ...
...
Looking at the phone call that was suddenly hung up, Tan Yiming was taken aback by the black screen, as if it was under some enchantment.
"You're disgusting." George pointed to his face. "Are you feverish or something? I've never seen you have such a rippling expression."
Tan Yiming put away his phone and raised an eyebrow: "It seems you forgot who introduced you to this job now?"
"No, no, no!" George hurriedly rushed up, and his weight of 180 pounds was like a heavy cannonball. "Leader Tan is my food and clothing parent. If it weren’t for Leader Tan, there would be no me here today!"
The two jested for a while, and made a few innocent jokes.
George said curiously, "But who was the kid talking to you on the phone? Was it a ‘situation’?"
Facing an old friend, Tan Yiming had nothing to hide. He answered honestly: "There is a situation."
"Like a situation between a man and a woman?"
"..." Tan Yiming was helpless, "Of course it is a male situation. However, it is not only a ‘male situation’, but also a ‘difficult situation’.”
"How difficult?"
Tan Yiming briefly recounted all the big and small events that had happened in the past five years. There was nothing magnificent between him and Xiang Cai, so in a few words, it was over in a daze.
"Oh~ I see." George immediately grabbed the crucial point. "Simply speaking, when he liked you, you didn’t know; when you knew, he ran away; you finally found him after so many years of searching, only to learn that he is living a happy, new life, with a new boyfriend, and you feel like something is wrong and feel uncomfortable?"
Seeing Tan Yiming nod, George immediately changed his face: "But have you thought about what you really think of him? Don't mistake that obsession that you can’t let go as love."
This time, Tan Yiming responded quickly: "Before I've found him, I just wanted to tell him I'm sorry that I didn't detect his heart. After I've found him, I only had one wish, and that is, if I could go back in time to five years ago, to confess to him one step before he finished singing that song."
"..." George said nothing, he just felt sore.
At their age, they would still be very lucky to have a sincere love.
"Ah," George sighed. "I thought I could help you and Yao Yin match up again..."
"Yao Yin?" Tan Yiming almost forgot that name. When George mentioned it, he immediately recalled the enchanting rose of five years ago. He laughed, "Don't mess around, we haven't been in contact for five years."
George said: "In fact, Xiao Rui has always had a good relationship with Yao Yin. Yao Yin returned to China some time ago. A crew asked him to come back as the music director and he is also in Huacheng. I also think that since you are close, maybe you can continue on that frontier."
"Where did this ‘continue’ come from?" Tan Yiming said, "We didn't even connect the first time."
George snorted: "Cut, you and that child hadn’t been connected five years ago!"
"..." Tan Yiming said darkly, "I forgot to tell you that I am now proficient in the eight pig snorts of Peppa Pig. Do you believe me when I say that I’ll go to your house as a guest to teach it to your daughter and son?"
"Old Tan, if you have something to say, say it!!!!"
----------
Fortunately, Xiang Cai was not as ‘cruel’ as Tan Yiming expected.
— "Female classmate?" Tan Yiming couldn’t help but raised his voice two decibels. "The relationship issue you wanted me to help analyze for you is that a female classmate likes you, and you don't know how to respond?"
"Not an ordinary 'female classmate!'" On the other end of the phone, the boy's voice became more genuine. "It's a 'female classmate' who had a very good relationship with me!"
Tan Yiming laughed: "Child, have you never been confessed to by a girl?"
"Yes, yes, but that's not the same. Qi Ji is the first friend I've met after transferring to that school. She is different to me." Xiang Cai said distressedly, "If I can, I want to be friends with her for a lifetime.”
"But you know, the moment she chooses to write down her mind, you can't be friends." Tan Yiming was far more mature than Xiang Cai, and had seen more emotions from the sidelines than Xiang Cai.
Every hopeless unrequited love turned into a desperate confession. The phrase ‘I like you’ broke the delicate balance between the two, and in the end, the friendship became impossible.
Xiang Cai sighed leisurely.
He grew tired of holding the phone, so he simply put it on the ground and turned on hands-free mode.
He leaned into the corner of the wall, hugged his legs, and stared at his mobile phone, murmuring, "Is there no other solution?"
"Yes." The man's voice came out of the speaker, echoing into the weak morning sunlight, "If you like her, you can respond to her feelings. But if she has already moved on and likes another person, you can still be friends."
Xiang Cai said, "But I can't like her, first of all ... first of all, she's not the right gender."
Tan Yiming laughed: "What if she is the right gender?"
"The gender is not right." Xiang Cai said firmly, "I have a boyfriend now."
"What if you were single now?"
"So I...then I..." The boy suddenly became stuck.
If he hadn't met Cen Manchuan three months ago, who would be standing next to him today?
The thought was like a match that was lit in the dark. Although the flame was weak, it was so conspicuous that he couldn't ignore it.
Xiang Cai tried his best to control himself, to not let any memories that could fuel the flame approach the little fire.
It was not until this second that he was shocked to realize who he was talking to —he must have damaged his head when he had turned over. Why was he calling his crush from five years ago? And the discussion was even about such a sensitive ‘secret crush’ issue?
He had obviously decided to forget. He had obviously decided to welcome summer. He had obviously decided to draw a line...
The 17-year-old boy hid in the depths of his memories again, leaving only the 23-year-old Xiang Cai staring at the phone in front of him, as if it would blow through the ground at any time.
During those few seconds of psychological activity, Tan Yiming across the ocean was not aware of it.
Tan Yiming was still helping him analyze the problem: "You treated that girl as a good friend. When you found that she liked you, you were surprised and guilty first. This proves that you value your friendship very much. My suggestion is that you have a clear chat with that girl. If at the end of the conversation, you find that you really can't continue to be friends, directly say goodbye."
He was silent for a few seconds, and then said, "... Otherwise, this matter will remain in your heart, become a knot, and turn into an obsession."
And obsession eventually - would become ‘habit’.
The habit of looking for a figure, the habit of thinking ’if only we were not originally separated’, the habit of dreaming about the future in every scene related to the other party.
Tan Yiming was deeply trapped in this disease called ‘habit’ and could not extricate himself.
Tan Yiming once thought that as long as he found the little swan he had lost, his ‘illness’ would be cured. But when they finally met, he found that Xiang Cai had stepped out of that unrequited love.
The singing swan on the stage, the sensitive and delicate Cai Cai off of the stage...This boy was far better than Tan Yiming's fantasy.
As a result, Tan Yiming noticed that his illness was not only not cured, but had even worsened.
He began to become a follower and secret admirer. He paid attention to everything that Xiang Cai did, and even supplemented himself with the classic musicals just for him. He only hoped that they could exchange a few more words when they met again next time.
...
For a while, neither of them spoke, and their breathing could be heard at both ends of the radio wave.
After their reunion, they had been cautiously avoiding each other, but sometimes fate had other ideas, allowing them to subtly touch an invisible boundary.
After some time, they both spoke and stopped at the same time:
"Well, I'm going to the cafeteria ..."
"The staff are looking for me ..."
"Since you've been called, please go." Xiang Cai took the lead and spoke first, "Thank you, Yun Da, for helping me analyze so much. I will think about it carefully and find a time to ask my friend and have a clear talk. "
"..." Tan Yiming only noticed one keyword, "What did you call me just now?"
Xiang Cai: "..."
The man said dumbly, "Cai Cai, my little swan. Will you call me that again?"
Xiang Cai didn't know how to describe the man's tone. Was it praying? Was it pleading?
The boy only felt that his entire scalp was numb, and he repeated: "Yun Da ..."
The person who talked to him on the phone was not the rusty ‘Teacher Tan’, but ‘Yun Da’.
When he called out this long-lost title, he was shaking from his lips to his throat to his chest.
Xiang Cai didn’t wait for Tan Yiming to say another word, immediately hanging up on the phone call.
He lay directly on the floor and pressed his head that was hot from overload onto the ground.
Gosh, why did he make that call ...
...
Looking at the phone call that was suddenly hung up, Tan Yiming was taken aback by the black screen, as if it was under some enchantment.
"You're disgusting." George pointed to his face. "Are you feverish or something? I've never seen you have such a rippling expression."
Tan Yiming put away his phone and raised an eyebrow: "It seems you forgot who introduced you to this job now?"
"No, no, no!" George hurriedly rushed up, and his weight of 180 pounds was like a heavy cannonball. "Leader Tan is my food and clothing parent. If it weren’t for Leader Tan, there would be no me here today!"
The two jested for a while, and made a few innocent jokes.
George said curiously, "But who was the kid talking to you on the phone? Was it a ‘situation’?"
Facing an old friend, Tan Yiming had nothing to hide. He answered honestly: "There is a situation."
"Like a situation between a man and a woman?"
"..." Tan Yiming was helpless, "Of course it is a male situation. However, it is not only a ‘male situation’, but also a ‘difficult situation’.”
"How difficult?"
Tan Yiming briefly recounted all the big and small events that had happened in the past five years. There was nothing magnificent between him and Xiang Cai, so in a few words, it was over in a daze.
"Oh~ I see." George immediately grabbed the crucial point. "Simply speaking, when he liked you, you didn’t know; when you knew, he ran away; you finally found him after so many years of searching, only to learn that he is living a happy, new life, with a new boyfriend, and you feel like something is wrong and feel uncomfortable?"
Seeing Tan Yiming nod, George immediately changed his face: "But have you thought about what you really think of him? Don't mistake that obsession that you can’t let go as love."
This time, Tan Yiming responded quickly: "Before I've found him, I just wanted to tell him I'm sorry that I didn't detect his heart. After I've found him, I only had one wish, and that is, if I could go back in time to five years ago, to confess to him one step before he finished singing that song."
"..." George said nothing, he just felt sore.
At their age, they would still be very lucky to have a sincere love.
"Ah," George sighed. "I thought I could help you and Yao Yin match up again..."
"Yao Yin?" Tan Yiming almost forgot that name. When George mentioned it, he immediately recalled the enchanting rose of five years ago. He laughed, "Don't mess around, we haven't been in contact for five years."
George said: "In fact, Xiao Rui has always had a good relationship with Yao Yin. Yao Yin returned to China some time ago. A crew asked him to come back as the music director and he is also in Huacheng. I also think that since you are close, maybe you can continue on that frontier."
"Where did this ‘continue’ come from?" Tan Yiming said, "We didn't even connect the first time."
George snorted: "Cut, you and that child hadn’t been connected five years ago!"
"..." Tan Yiming said darkly, "I forgot to tell you that I am now proficient in the eight pig snorts of Peppa Pig. Do you believe me when I say that I’ll go to your house as a guest to teach it to your daughter and son?"
"Old Tan, if you have something to say, say it!!!!"
***
"But have you thought about what you really think of him? Don't mistake that obsession that you can’t let go as love."- George is expressing my thoughts tbh. I really have been questioning TY's character and have been skeptical. Props to the author for looking at it from another angle beyond the fairytale. This is proof that I must trust the author and stop thinking too much haha.
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