Sundering Nature

Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don’t read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.

TL: Zhao

Editing: Krisaia

Li Yiming closed the door behind him and sat down on the sofa. He glanced at Shao Xian, who curled up into a ball in the corner. Two hours after being raided by guardians, he had chosen to return to Shao Xian’s apartment. The place and the settings were the same as before, but the atmosphere was no longer what it used to be.

Li Yiming knew that the guardians involved with the young man would not choose to involve the police in the incident, so he returned to the most dangerous location, which happened to also be the safest by reverse psychology. The apartment had been perfectly restored to its normal state, with even the bloodstains on the carpet meticulous cleaned.

’These people are professionals. But why are they after Shao Xian?’ Li Yiming wondered.

"Was my dream... all real?" Shao Xian asked after bearing witness to such a traumatic experience. Under the effect of the shock, the memories of the events on the Island of Eternity began to slowly come back.

Li Yiming nodded. To his wonderment, Shao Xian’s memories during that period did not seem to have been wiped out at all.

’Shao Xian, Chen Quan, Lin Lu, and Shen Jianming... Do they remember because of me?’ Li Yiming pondered as there had to be a reason for someone like Shen Jianming, who was in the prime of his age, to choose to retire rather than continue serving the country.

The room sank back into silence after Shao Xian received confirmation from Li Yiming. After a while, she walked up to her closet, still wearing nothing but a blanket, picked out a casual outfit and entered the bathroom.

Li Yiming sighed and closed his eyes. He focused his attention on the two mysterious characters and the shadow present in the deepest corner of his mind. As for Shao Xian, after coming out of the bathroom, she began tidying up the room.

As the light from the dawning sun began to slowly crawl its way between the slits of the curtain, Shao Xian finished her work. She wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead and looked at Li Yiming, who was still meditating quietly on the bed. She felt a strange sense of satisfaction from simply being with Li Yiming and living as if they were a couple.

"Can I... go buy something to eat?" Shao Xian took care of personal hygiene after finishing cleaning up and put on her mask and sunglasses. Just as she was about to open the door, she remembered the circumstances they found themselves in and asked Li Yiming.

"Well, if you really have to..." Li Yiming sighed.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The door was being knocked on once again. Shao Xian trembled as she sought refuge behind Li Yiming’s back, wary of another hostile intruder.

"Don’t worry, it’s me." A gentle voice was heard.

"Sai Gao?" Li Yiming frowned.

"You can open. You know Heaven’s Laws has no influence on me." Sai Gao said earnestly.

There was no reason for Li Yiming to doubt Sai Gao, as being a camouflager meant that he could not be controlled by Heaven’s Laws. In addition, their interests were undoubtedly aligned due to their both being bugs in the system. Li Yiming took a deep breath and opened the door.

"It must have been tiring to run around naked in the middle of the night. Here’s some food for you." Sao Gao smiled and said as he showed him a vinyl bag.

Shao Xian blushed at his playful comment.

"You were watching us the whole time?" Li Yiming asked.

"I came looking for her, but you were faster, that’s all." Sai Gao took the plastic bag and started to unpack it. Fried dough sticks, soy milk, steamed buns... It was all simple but delicious-looking food.

"You’re here for her too?" Li Yiming glanced at Shao Xian and then asked.

"I don’t know what you like, so I bought a little bit of everything. I hope you don’t mind." Sai Gao put a straw into the cup of soy milk and offered it to Shao Xian.

The sight of a man with such perfect physique and air was so imposing that Shao Xian could not look at Sai Gao in the eyes. ’That astrology site didn’t lie to me when it said that I would meet attractive people this month...’

"Wait, why are you all looking for her?" Li Yiming asked the question which had troubled him for so long.

"What? You don’t know?" Sai Gao asked with a frown.

Li Yiming waited for the explanation patiently, as he realized that he had been missing out on something important.

"You... you did this, right?" Sai Gao took out his cell phone and played a song with it.

"Yes." Shao Xian nodded timidly, red-faced from having a fan so handsome.

"Listen to it." Sai Gao put down his cell phone on the table and picked up a steamed bun.

"Wait, you sang this?" Li Yiming looked at Shao Xian as he watched the video. It was the video of Shao Xian performing in her own apartment.

"What is it...?" Shao Xian felt intimidated by the intensity of Li Yiming’s stare, especially after witnessing him kill someone without showing much emotion.

"Who gave the song to you?" Li Yiming asked with a sunken countenance. Sai Gao, who had finished eating, waited eagerly for the answer.

"It was a strange man," Shao Xian answered as she could feel the sudden change of the atmosphere.

"What do you mean?" Li Yiming pressed on.

"I don’t... remember..." Shao Xian stammered.

"When did he give it to you?"

"Two days ago?"

"Two days ago? He concealed his face?" Li Yiming was surprised.

"No. But I can’t remember. He came to my apartment and said that he wanted me to sing a song. Then he gave me the lyrics, the music, and a bank card with a lot of money in it," Shao Xian gave as detailed of an account as she could.

"In a Dream..." Li Yiming and Sai Gao exchanged a glance and understood immediately that the man must have been Mr. Kong.

"Don’t worry. It’s normal that you can’t remember." Sai Gao tried to console Shao Xian.

"Where did you get that video from?" Li Yiming looked at Sai Gao’s cell phone.

"That arrest warrant really did take all of your attention, didn’t it? It’s all over the internet now!" Sai Gao said.

"What?" Shao Xian had not used her computer or surfed the internet with her cell phone ever since her broadcast, being preoccupied with Li Yiming.

"You’ll see." Sai Gao puckered his lips.

Shao Xian rushed toward her desk and sat down. Having a lifelong dream to become a celebrity, she wanted to confirm it with her own eyes.