Du Xiu Chapter 97

It Takes Two had two characters for the players to control. Chu Duxiu and Xie Shenci each picked one, using the in-game tools to clear levels together – magnets, nails, and all sorts of abilities. Not only could they cooperate, they could also start little contests of their own, playing rock-paper-scissors, racing, and other mini-games.

Seeing her drag his character back and forth, pulling him over one moment and pushing him away the next, Xie Shenci protested, “What are you doing?”

Chu Duxiu answered, “Playing you.”

On the TV screen, the game characters kept leaping about. As the music and visuals shifted, time passed slowly, and the night outside deepened.

The level-based format had Chu Duxiu and Xie Shenci fully absorbed. They grabbed a quick meal halfway, then went right back to maneuvering their characters, hopping around in the game. Their cooperation was seamless, progress smooth, the atmosphere harmonious – without a hint of annoyance or quarrel.

Until something suddenly went wrong.

With a snap, the warm yellow light in the living room dimmed, and the screen went pitch-black as well, leaving only the moonlight spilling in from the window. Both of them froze.

Xie Shenci was the first to get up. Using his phone as a flashlight, he checked the appliances, even opening the fuse box to see if anything was off.

In the dimness, Chu Duxiu followed the faint light to the balcony. Seeing that the thousands of lights in the neighborhood had all gone dark, she instantly realized what had happened and said, “So you’ve lost power too.”

Earlier in the day, she had discovered that both her apartment and her company had lost electricity, so she had come over to Xie Shenci’s place. She thought his complex had escaped the outage – yet in the end, it had spread here as well.

The residential buildings now loomed like a silent steel forest, stripped of their usual glow.

“No idea how long it’ll last,” Xie Shenci said after checking the circuits and returning. “Why don’t we just use the laptop to play?”

A moment later, they set up the fully charged laptop and picked up where they had left off in the game.

The laptop screen was smaller than the TV, so Chu Duxiu and Xie Shenci simply leaned in close together, heads side by side as they stared at the glowing display, controllers still in their hands.

With a nostalgic look, Chu Duxiu sighed, “Feels like going back to childhood.”

All the surrounding lights had gone dark, leaving only the screen’s glow. Even the distant city noises seemed to fade, with only the gentle, playful game music flowing around them.

“How did you know exactly what I was about to say?” Chu Duxiu remarked. “Except, back then I was reading comics – scared of being caught, so I’d hide under the blanket.”

Drawing out his tone, he teased, “Ooh – then the next day at school, you’d swap plot updates with your male classmates.”

At that, Chu Duxiu felt both exasperated and amused. She couldn’t help pinching his cheek. “Why do you always hold grudges?” It was just a trivial little episode from school, yet he still brought it up!

Xie Shenci replied matter-of-factly, “I just have a good memory.”

The two of them shifted to a corner of the sofa and loaded up the saved game once more – but now they were sitting even closer than before the power outage. They sat on the soft carpet, the laptop set on the coffee table, their backs leaning against the sofa. To see the screen clearly, they both unconsciously leaned in.

In the dimness, their visible range shrank, but their senses suddenly sharpened; even the sound of their breathing and the faint rustle of fabric became noticeable, like the air before a summer downpour – warm, heavy, and sticky.

Chu Duxiu had just said it felt like going back to childhood, but now she felt as if her own words had turned against her. She couldn’t ignore his presence, and found herself sneaking glances at the person beside her.

The faint glow of the screen lit his face, casting tiny shadows from his eyelashes. With each shift of the game scene, light and dark flickered across his features, carving his expression into sharper relief. His arm rested naturally at his side, fingers wrapped around the controller, close against her back.

The cramped space forced them to press against each other. Perhaps the speakers weren’t strong enough, for although the game’s music had masked stray noises earlier, now it could no longer cover the sounds of breath and heartbeat.

Seeing her game character stop moving, Xie Shenci noticed her distraction.

“Don’t feel like playing anymore?”

“No, it’s fine…” Chu Duxiu gripped the controller and hurriedly refocused her gaze. “Let’s play a little longer.”

He asked, “Want to play something else?”

She was puzzled. “Play what?”

Xie Shenci lowered his head slightly, catching the brush of her playful strands of hair in the dark. They tickled faintly, like a spring breeze stirring flowers awake in his chest.

His Adam’s apple shifted; lips pressed together, he murmured, “What you just mentioned.”

The next moment, a damp, gentle kiss fell upon her, followed by the touch of tongues, his familiar scent enclosing her.

She had long grown accustomed to the clean fragrance of him. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, like soft clouds at sunset, lost in the warmth of lingering light. Behind her was the springy cushion of the sofa; his strong arms locked around her, and she found herself reaching up, winding her hands around his neck and shoulders.

The kiss deepened, leaving her body weak. She nestled closer to him, their ears brushing in the silence, heartbeats flickering like stars across the dark night sky.

They kissed in the shadowed stillness – until his movements began to change.

Chu Duxiu’s face flushed crimson. “You… how could you…” In that instant, she realized what he had meant earlier. When she’d said she wanted to “play him”, this was how he responded…

But it was hard to say who was playing with whom!

Unlike their usual affection, this brought a tide of desire, wave after wave surging over her. It wasn’t an aggressive conquest – instead, his touch was gentle and restrained, slowly dissolving her stiffness and scattering her thoughts.

It felt as though intoxicating wine had been poured into her stomach, her whole body starting to burn. Heat steamed up from her ears, her fingers curling tight. When her fingertips brushed the tender skin of his neck, she realized his temperature was rising too, like touching a wavering flame.

He must have had his own fleeting, romantic fantasies – but he didn’t rush into an advance. Instead, he pressed soft kisses against the corners of her reddened eyes. Only when her gaze grew wet did his warm breath graze along her cheek.

He held back, unwilling to frighten her sensitive heart, suppressing the restless impulse inside him.

Yet the hazy look in her eyes brought him another kind of fulfillment – one far richer than searing possession. He couldn’t help but draw her tighter into his embrace.

Outside, the night was deep, and all around lay in absolute silence. Time itself seemed to slow at this moment.

The glow of the laptop screen dimmed, veiling all her shyness. At her ear, however, he murmured softly, words like an enticing encouragement, luring her to sink deeper into the abyss. That voice was far more tormenting than touch – making her ears tingle as though a current had raced through, drawing helpless sounds from her lips.

In the haze, she felt like a small boat upon the sea, rising and falling with his tides, passing through the endless shoreline of changing seasons – welcoming warm spring, crossing bitter winter.

Chu Duxiu hardly knew what to say: was Xie Shenci simply too devoted, or was he deliberately tormenting himself, to ignore his own needs while focusing only on stirring her?

When everything was over, her eyes were still misty as she muttered, “Why would you…”

“Afraid you wouldn’t enjoy the experience,” he replied, pulling over a tissue to wipe his hands, speaking with mock seriousness. “Thought it wouldn’t be fun.”

It was a truly shocking remark.

How could anyone say something so shameless with such a straight face!!

In the pitch-black room, Chu Duxiu mustered her courage, reached out, and simply bit his Adam’s apple, hearing him let out a low hiss. The two of them tumbled against the sofa, close and entangled, sharing the lingering warmth of intimacy. After their tender entwining, the lights in the room suddenly came back on.

With a click, the electronics in the living room powered up again, giving off a faint hum of current, and the overhead light blazed bright.

The sudden light made Chu Duxiu squint. She simply turned sideways and buried her head against Xie Shenci’s chest, rubbing her cheek lazily against the fabric of his shirt, leaning on him as an unexpected drowsiness crept in.

Her fingers intertwined with his. Following along his fingertips, she traced upward with her touch, outlining the ridges of his knuckles and wrist, then continued along the smooth lines of his arm.

Finding it a little amusing, she reached for his other hand – only to notice he was holding something. Curious, she pried open his fingers. “What are you clutching?”

At some point, Xie Shenci had taken hold of a small box – she didn’t even know where he’d pulled it from. He handed it to her. “Saw it by chance. Thought it suited you.”

“What is it?”

Chu Duxiu opened the box and found a ring inside.

On the simple, elegant band sat a uniquely shaped microphone – its design adorned with diamonds to form the mic’s head, the pale silver metal lifting the sparkling stone so that under the light it shimmered with a faint brilliance, coming together as a delicate, miniature standing microphone.

It was a clever design: from afar, it looked like an elegant, minimalist motif; only up close did its originality reveal itself.

Chu Duxiu held the ring in her palms, stunned. “This isn’t… a proposal, is it…”

Xie Shenci froze. “So proposing can be that simple?”

His expression practically read ‘what a great deal’ – as if the moment she said yes, he’d instantly run with it and upgrade the whole thing into a proposal on the spot.

She asked, puzzled, “Then why suddenly give me a ring?”

“No reason.” Xie Shenci lowered his gaze. “Just wanted to give it to you.”

That day, he had happened to see it, and at first glance it caught his eye. The diamond-shaped microphone instantly reminded him of her on stage – it felt like such a perfect match that he bought it right away.

There wasn’t really a reason, nor a particular purpose. Perhaps when someone lingers in your heart, you simply want to gather everything that suits them and place it in their hands, one by one – even if it isn’t a holiday or a special occasion.

Chu Duxiu was dazed for a few seconds, her lashes trembling as she murmured, “That’s just so you.”

“What do you mean, so me?”

“Like that time at Typhoon Transit.”

It brought her back to their first encounter – perhaps he was like a live volcano beneath snow-capped glaciers. Even if his surface was cloaked in icy frost, inside there still surged burning magma, always breaking through with a stubborn, unwavering conviction that struck straight into people’s hearts.

Long before she had learned to believe in herself, he had already charged forward, laying everything out before her.

Chu Duxiu reached out on her own. “Aren’t you going to put it on me?”

At her words, Xie Shenci took the ring from the box. After pausing to think for a few seconds, he slowly slipped it onto her finger.

When she saw that he had placed it on her middle finger, how could she not notice the hidden intention behind it? She questioned him, “Is that really where it’s supposed to go?” If she remembered correctly, she was still unmarried.

Even when caught out, Xie Shenci’s expression remained calm. “This is just to help you avoid some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

With perfect seriousness, he replied, “Keeping overly enthusiastic comic fans from pestering you, so they won’t take up too much of the time you need for writing stand-up comedy.”

“…Thanks for being so considerate.”

“You’re welcome.”

With its unique design that tied in with her profession – and the fact that it was a gift he had chosen for her – the ring carried a meaning all its own.

Chu Duxiu stretched out her fingers, gazing at the brand-new ring. The more she looked, the more satisfied she felt – then something occurred to her, and she suddenly blurted, “Uh oh, you’ve raised the bar too high.”

“How so?”

“Normally, with a gift of this level, your proposal won’t be able to top it. What will you do then?” she teased. “Isn’t this just digging a hole for yourself?”

“No problem.” Xie Shenci blinked. “If I don’t outdo it once, I can just keep proposing again. Eventually, I’ll top it.”

Chu Duxiu widened her eyes. “Who proposes several times?”

Enlightenment dawned on him. “So that means if I propose once, you’ll say yes?”

She shot him a sidelong glance and deliberately said, “Of course not.”

“Exactly. Which means I’ll have to keep proposing.” He nodded with mock gravity. “Not bad. Proposing every year – it sounds pretty nice, actually.”

“What’s nice about that?”

Under her gaze, his lashes dark as ink, he reached out and held her hand, smiling gently. “Little by little, it still adds up to a lifetime.” Their fingers interlaced, sharing breath and warmth.

The diamond sparkled on the ring’s delicate standing-microphone design. As the city’s lights flickered back to life, it felt as if, in every home aglow, there would always be a pair of companions side by side.

(The End)

Translator’s Words:

Thank you for those who have read from start to the end. This has been a very challenging book to translate as a lot of the jokes don’t translate into English very well due to word play, cultural references, Chinese inside jokes etc. One of the reasons I chose this book was because I thought it’s gonna be easier than the other book I’m translating right now, as it is situated in a modern context. Never thought it would be so difficult due to the stand-up theme (face palm). However, I did enjoy reading this book as I translate, and I hope you all enjoyed it as well!