Un-edited so please don’t kill me if you find anything wrong, please gently commenting so I can fix it. Thank you.
Li Sinian and Fang Daichuan go up to the third floor again.
Last night, they heard Yang Song’s scream and ran down the third floor in a hurry. They found that Niu Xinyan’s son was burned, then they caught up with a series of messy things. People die one by one and they never go up again. The third floor still looks the same as they leave it. This time, the two went straight to the little black room, put away the scattered documents, bagged and sealed them. Beer belly’s body was also dragged down and buried back in the pit.
There are several other rooms on the third floor.
Fang Daichuan is curious. Tomorrow is the seventh day, someone will come to pick him up. In any case, this matter is almost over, naturally he will have other thoughts.
“Let’s open another door and take a look,” Fang Daichuan said, “Chen Hui is right, we still don’t know where the boss is behind the scenes, so we should look for clues, that way we won’t be too passive.”
Li Sinian nodded, found an awl or wire or something and fiddled with it for a long time. With a screwdriver in his mouth, he pushed a card into the crack of the door with his right hand, he loosened the screw and directly opened the door lock.
The two push open the door.
The room on the third floor is quite spacious, facing south, with good lighting and ventilation, it is half the size of the hall downstairs. Fang Daichuan held up the candle to observe, there seemed to be a small opening in the window, for there was a slight smell of sea breeze in the room. There is some furniture around the wall, all covered with a layer of white cloth.
Fang Daichuan walked to the corner and took off the white cloth.
It is a painting.
A man was tied alone on a rock by the sea, chains bounding his limbs, a flock of birds hovering in the sky, each bird is like a dark shadow, eager to consume his flesh. His chest was cut in half, revealing the blood-red viscera inside, the atmosphere is very gloomy.
“What is this?” Fang Daichuan frowned, reached out and touched the canvas. Whomever painted this probably did in a hurry and did not give the paint enough time to dry, there is a slight streak and brush mark on painting.
Li Sinian stood behind him and studied the painting: “Prometheus Bound.”
(T/N : Alright so although the famous one is Prometheus by Rubens, link below. I am sure the one used here is the one by Ilya, picture attached below since it is what came up when I put this on Baidu.)
It was a replica of famous painting, Fang Daichuan thought to himself. He suddenly remembered the “Wheatfield with Crows” that he had seen in Niu Xinyan’s room. It is possible that the boss paint it? That is a lot of work, he thought, brought the candlestick close to the canvas, carefully looking for signature on it.
(T/N : Shout out to jujube for guessing the painting on chapter 53 right. Excuse your humble translator for missing this piece of information. I kind of get distracted *cough* smut *cough* on this chapter and next one.)
In the corner is a discreet signature, the signature is cursive and using ink pen, with a single word, Eternity.
(T/N : Eternity is in English on raw.)
Eternity? Fang Daichuan said the word in his mind, recalling the small amount of English vocabulary he had learned at university.
If he remembered correctly, it seemed to be a religious word, meaning eternal?
Fang Daichuan couldn’t figure it out.
He lifted the white cloth one by one, under the cover were paintings, dozens of paintings, some that Fang Daichuan knew, some that he did not know, some replicas and some paintings of this island. Occasionally, there are a few religious-themed paintings, such as the Virgin looks down at the world with love* or the Greek goddess holding a jug*, bathed in the sun, makes people feel a little more peaceful.
(T/N : I have no idea what painting is this, comments are appreciated.)
For some reason, somehow Fang Daichuan felt uncomfortable.
“What a pitiful man,” he thought, and said bluntly.
Li Sinian was looking up at a statue of the Virgin when he heard the words: “What do you say?”
Art and aesthetic appreciation is a compulsory course for the director and Li Sinian’s comprehension of these paintings must be far more accurate than his own. Fang Daichuan felt he was showing off in the presence of an expert and said embarrassedly, “I don’t know appraisal, I just think that this person should be quite depressed and have a lot of conflict in his heart and isn’t happy at all.”
“He’s asking for help…” Fang Daichuan pondered the painting carefully, frowning tightly.
Li Sinian looked at it in order, from the first to the last. After watching it for a while, he smiled and shook his head. You don’t know if he disagreed with Fang Daichuan’s point of view or he really didn’t see it.
“Meow~”
A soft cry came from behind the curtain.
Fang Daichuan came back to his senses, he opened the curtain, the black cat was standing on the bay window, licking his right paw.
“It’s you?” Fang Daichuan said in surprise, “Where have you been these days? Have you eaten?”
Of course the cat couldn’t speak. The black cat ignored Fang Daichuan and ran to Li Sinian’s feet, rubbing its neck against Li Sinian’s feet.
Li Sinian squatted down and gently scratched the black cat’s neck with his fingers. The cat stretched out, made a purring sound, turned over to reveal its belly, which turned out to be white.
“Go out, don’t play here.” Li Sinian said, waving to chase it away.
The little black cat actually understood, walked back to the windowsill one step at a time, meowing twice and then got out of the window.
“It actually listens to you…” Fang Daichuan feels something but doesn’t know what it is.
The second room was empty except for a round table in the centre with a pen on it. Fang Daichuan picked it up and took a look. It was the same model as his own. It seemed that this room was the room where the Wolves discussed their strategy and met in the middle of the night.
The third room is full of records.
It’s not the kind of tape and compact disc. It’s a vinyl record. It’s a black disc with a certain thickness, with coloured rings embedded in the middle. It’s properly placed on a wooden frame, which fills a room.
There is a gramophone in the corner.
“This is good,” Li Si Nian stepped forward and touched the wooden box of the gramophone, “Move it down, let’s put it in our room.”
The gramophone was very heavy, Fang Daichuan closed the lid, lifted it carefully, asked, “But there is no electricity in the villa?”
“This is an old-fashioned needle gramophone, hand-operated,” Li Sinian pointed to the handle beside the box, “Wait for me to pick a disc.”
You definitely know how to enjoy life, Fang Daichuan said silently in his heart, noble young master.
After going downstairs, Li Sinian grabbed the wine bottle and Fang Daichuan went to the bathroom to take a shower.
The water inside the water heater has been completely gone. He waited for a long time without a drop of water coming out. The two were dragging the corpse out, smelling rotten and they also entered several dusty rooms. They were dirty and smelly. Fang Daichuan couldn’t sleep like this.
He put on his slippers, opened the door, stuck his head out and asked Li Sinian what to do.
Li Sinian looked out the window and smiled at him.
Seaside.
The moon is dim and the sky is studded with stars.
Standing shirtless in the waist-deep seawater, Li Sinian’s skin was so white that his muscles reflected the light from the hazy moon and stars overhead. The gauze on his left shoulder was already half wet with water and a little blood was seeping out, looking like a gorgeous ghost that sucked people’s spirits.
Fang Daichuan sat on a reef and flicked a handful of water at him with his foot.
Li Sinian was splashed all over and looked back at him with raised eyebrows. There were some drops of water on his cheeks and a smile reflected in his eyes, Fang Daichuan covered his face and cursed “Fuck” in his heart.
The other day when he was taking a bath, Li Sinian’s chest was full of bubbles from shower gel. Fang Daichuan had his mind occupied so he didn’t take a closer look. Now he’s got a full view of his front and back. A narrow row of tattoos on Li Sinian’s waist, which just happened to be positioned at the edge of his underwear, crossed the neatly arranged abs and slightly protruding crotch bone, with the mermaid line drawn at the side of his waist.
Can’t see, can’t see. Fang Daichuan took a few deep breaths, both of them were only wearing underwear, if he had any reaction here, the other party would be able to see it at a glance. It would be too embarrassing.
That is what he thought but the fire in his heart was burning hotter and hotter.
Don’t embarrass yourself. After taking a bath, Li Sinian wiped it off with his T-shirt and put on his clothes. Fang Daichuan didn’t wear a T-shirt, just put on the jeans and walked back behind him. The feeling of the wet underwear sticking to his skin combined with the rough jeans, making him feel uncomfortable.
The first thing Fang Daichuan did when he returned to the room was grab a new pair of underwear. Li Sinian’s back was turned to him as he tinkered with the gramophone, the handle cranking. Fang Daichuan hesitated for a while with his underwear. He felt that since they had kissed and hugged, if he had to go to the bathroom to change his underwear, it seemed a bit hypocritical which made him feel guilty.
Thinking like this, he stood beside the bed and took off his trousers as he gritted his teeth.
Behind him came the melody of trumpet and piano.
Fang Daichuan hurriedly put on his new underwear and turned around.
Li Sinian stood in front of the window with his arms folded, staring at him with interest.
The rough male voice flowed slowly from the hands of the gramophone, the sound was not pleasant, hoarse and thick but strangely it drifted into the heart.
“This music…” Fang Daichuan usually listens to a lot of popular songs and he is not familiar with this song. He just said carefully based on a little impression, “It’s very similar to the style in “La La Land”.”
Li Sinian snapped his fingers in surprise and praised: “Good guess, — it’s jazz. Louis Armstrong, Kiss of fire.”
He said and sang slowly to the beat.
(T/N : Click the video below to hear the song.)
Since first I kissed you my heart was yours completely
If I’m a slave, then it’s a slave I want to be
Li Sinian’s voice is very nice, with a standard youth timbre, when he laughs it becomes a little low. When he sings in English, his pronunciation is clear and his breathing is soft, which is completely different from when he speaks Mandarin.
Very sensual.
Fang Daichuan felt goosebumps.
He hummed softly: ” Don’t pity me, don’t pity me”
—— Don’t pity me, don’t pity me.
He sang and walked towards the bed, Fang Daichuan coming back shirtless, his jeans still unzip, covered in only two thin pieces of fabric. Li Sinian, on the other hand, was fully clothed, water droplets in his hair falling low on his T-shirt, quickly absorbed by the cotton.
Fang Daichuan swallowed hard, his eyes flickering.
Li Sinian leaned in close to his ear, a deep laughter in his voice.
Give me your lips, the lips you only let me borrow
Love me tonight and let the devil take tomorrow
I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me
Though it consumes me, your kiss of fire
Fang Daichuan couldn’t bear it any longer, he pulled over Li Sinian’s shirt and said in a low voice, “As you wish.” Then he opened his mouth and kissed him.
The record continued to sing with dedication.
I touch your lips and all at once the sparks go flying
Those devil lips that know so well the art of lying
And though I see the danger, still the flame grows higher
I know I must surrender to your kiss of fire
Fang Daichuan’s cheeks were on fire, the sound of kissing mixed with the mellow tone of the trumpet. Fang Daichuan bit Li Sinian’s tongue lightly and heard Li Sinian’s laughter in his ears, mixed with a thick nasal voice, which was hopelessly sexy. The two were breathing heavily and Fang Daichuan caught a glimpse of each other’s chests burning red with lust.
“Wait…” Li Sinian took a deep breath, smiled while pulled away. Fang Daichuan rubbed the side of his neck dissatisfied and the corners of his mouth were full of water.
Li Sinian reached out and touched the saliva at the corner of his mouth, panting and smiling, “I have something to confess to you.”
The record had finished playing and the lever reset with a soft click.
Fang Daichuan raised his head, his eyes desperate and eager: “Is it urgent, can’t we talk in the morning?” He rubbed gently against the other man’s waist and crotch, grinding against the rough denim through the thin fabric, hot and cool.
“It’s not urgent… It’s about my first love…” Li Sinian deliberately lengthened his voice.
Fang Daichuan wailed and flung him into the big bed behind him, picking him up on his hands and knees, biting his neck fiercely and saying gruffly, “You tell me now! Explain to me!”
During the action, their skins were stuck together and both felt each other’s body temperature. Li Sinian’s eyes darkened for a moment.
Author’s note :
I can’t write the meat! I have reached the word count, I am also very helpless! Forgive me!
Translator’s note :
Meat = smut. Next chapter is the smut. Don’t get your hopes up, I will try my best but don’t hope too much alright.