Blooming Romance Chapter 23

Thought I could make it last night for last week’s update but it got too late (๑•́ㅿ•̀๑) So there will be another update some time this week!

t/n (hover over the number to read the note without affecting your reading/clicking will bring you back here):
1. Banff National Park – Canada’s oldest national park and is located in the Rocky Mountains
2. Rocky Mountains – stretch some 3,000 miles from British Columbia and Alberta in Canada through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and down to New Mexico in the U.S
3. Yellowknife – the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories
4. Moraine Lake – situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks (a valley in the Banff National Park), at an elevation of approximately 6,183 feet
5. dirty thoughts (精上脑) and head full of dirty thoughts (满脑子精) – 精上脑 literally means sperms going up the brain. Lin Yanchen sort of did a word play and 满脑子精 literally means head full of sperms. So you can also take it as Lin Yanchen was referring to sperms too in the sentence.

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Four days later, they arrived at Banff National Park¹

Although it is still in the Rocky Mountains², they went a big round to get into Canada.

Chu Xun planned to take a look at a few beautiful scenery, head all the way north, then finally go to Yellowknife³. It was late winter now, just the right season to see the Northern Lights. He has never been an unreasonable person. He knows deeply that the world doesn’t revolve around him. That’s why, even when he’s terminally ill, he doesn’t have any unrealistic dream. It’s winter now, so he’s going to the extreme north to see the Northern Lights. If he was told that he was going to die in spring, he would probably go to somewhere warm to see the sea of flowers instead.

With little time left, anything he can see is considered good.

It was a bumpy ride up the mountain in an off-road vehicle.

Chu Xun hummed softly, “He was a friend of mine. Every time I think of him, I just can’t keep from cryin’… He died on the road. He just kept on moving. Never reaped what he could sow… He never done no wrong. A thousand miles from home. And He never harmed no one…”

Lin Yanchen listened quietly, and laughed. “He was a friend of mine… Is this why you want to go to Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains?” This is a soundtrack in the film, Brokeback Mountain. Though the story was set in Wyoming, the filming took place in the Rocky Mountains.

Chu Xun shook his head. “It’s not intentional, just coincidental.”

Jack and Ennis fell in love with each other in the Brokeback Mountain, but in actual fact, the Brokeback Mountain doesn’t exist. It’s just an unattainable utopia.

But even so, Chu Xun wants to see this unrealistic mirage.

They arrived at Moraine Lake⁴, a glacial lake so beautiful that it is printed on cash notes. It wasn’t the season which the lake would be at its most beautiful state, but standing by it and looking at the snowy scenery consisting of the Ten Peaks still made people feel at ease.

Standing between the tranquil mountains and lake, their soul relaxed too.

Chu Xun sat by the lake and recounted his life. What did he do after working so hard for half his life? There was nothing in return for the society or himself.

Chu Xun met a photographer, who had a frizzy beard and looked like an undeveloped gorilla, nearby. He naturally wanted to confront the photographer when the photographer casually snapped a shot of him. How can that person take a photo of him without his consent?

The photographer showed Chu Xun the photo he took. Reluctant to delete it, he complimented the composition and lighting of it, including Chu Xun’s expression at that time, “You have a beautiful side profile. I like the line from your head, to your neck and to your shoulder. It’s very elegant.”

He even said that he could share the photo with Chu Xun.

This bearded guy was quite a smooth talker. Chu Xun politely thanked the guy for the praise. Then, he said, “Delete it.”

The bearded photographer had no choice but to painfully delete the photo. He seldom met people like Chu Xun. Generally speaking, even after he took photos without prior permission, the owners of the photos would willingly let him keep the photos because the photos were beautiful. Moments when he finds inspiration are lost rapidly, so he will hurriedly press the shutter when these moments come. If he took the time to ask for permission, his inspiration would have disappeared.

“I heard that you’ve been here for several days. Have you been secretly taking photos of others by the lake?” Chu Xun teased the photographer.

The photographer argued that he had been waiting for nearly a week by the Moraine Lake to take a photo of the lake under the Northern Lights, but that just didn’t happen.

It isn’t so easy to see the Northern Lights in the Banff Park. The probability is low. Being able to see them once a month is considered very lucky.

Since Chu Xun also intended to see the Northern Lights, the photographer was very welcoming and recommended two websites, which could observe the solar activity and predict when and where the Northern Lights might appear, to Chu Xun so that he wouldn’t need to stay out and freeze in the night just to see the dark, gloomy night sky.

Then the photographer lamented, “But I haven’t seen them despite these websites’ claims that the Northern Lights can be seen over Moraine Lake these few days.”

“Then they aren’t accurate.” Chu Xun laughed.

Seeing them flirting with each other, Lin Yanchen couldn’t bear listening anymore.

He was polite enough to not interrupt them though, just quietly pulling them apart.

Chu Xun noticed Lin Yanchen’s weird behaviour only after quite some time. “What’s wrong?”

After that accident they had in the snow valley, Lin Yanchen roughly understood that Chu Xun was still treating him as an escort and that the older didn’t want others to know about it. It could be considered that he shot himself in the foot. But if he didn’t lie at the beginning, there wouldn’t even be a beginning, so he doesn’t know how to confess about his identity now.

Seeing that Lin Yanchen seemed to be sulking, Chu Xun pulled the younger’s hand. “Getting unhappy when I just spoke a bit with others, you really love getting jealous. You can even get jealous over a hairy gorilla. I really have nothing to say.”

Hearing the first half of Chu Xun’s words, Lin Yanchen was still quite angry. His anger then turned into laughter when he heard Chu Xun calling the photographer a gorilla. “You’re so rude.”

Chu Xun isn’t a real good person. He’s someone who knows what to say towards different people during different situations, though the number of times he complained about his difficult business partners behind their backs isn’t small.  He just didn’t dare to say anything offensive last time.

“I don’t know him anyway. It’s rude of him to secretly take photos of me too.” Chu Xun was indifferent about it.

They returned to the hotel in the evening.

Their sleep were disturbed.

Chu Xun is a light sleeper, so he woke up first. Walking to the window, he saw the magnificent Northern Lights lingering in the horizon at a glance.

Shocked by the lights that were beautiful beyond words, Chu Xun only snapped out of his trance after a while. He went to wake Lin Yanchen up. “Xiao Lin, quickly wake up!”

They quickly changed their clothes and excitedly went out with the other hotel guests, who were wakened by the commotion, to see the lights.

The purplish red streaks of lights were like shimmering veils, covering over the bright Milky Way.

The beauty the lights was breathtaking.

It was really cold late in night.

Chu Xun looked up and started laughing as he watched, puffing out white mist.

There are always unexpected changes to the plans he makes. He thought he would only see the Northern Lights somewhere else but he saw them a few days in advance. He met the Northern Lights in a much more beautiful place by chance.

What a coincidence, just like his encounter with Lin Yanchen.

Chu Xun was touched by these miracles.

“Do you feel very cold?” Lin Yanchen questioned as he grabbed Chu Xun’s hands, wrapping them in his palms. “I forgot to take the gloves because we left in such a rush.”

He continued, “Does your foot still hurt? Stone pavements aren’t good to walk on. Let me carry you back later. If you accidentally sprain your foot the second time, we’ll have to go to the hospital again.

Chu Xun didn’t turn down Lin Yanchen’s suggestion. He laid on Lin Yanchen’s back, asking, “Xiao Lin, what were you thinking about when you walked in the snow with me on your back that day?”

Lin Yanchen turned around slightly and looked at Chu Xun seriously, his eyes brighter than the stars in sky. “I said many times before that I really like you. You still don’t believe me?”

Chu Xun’s heart missed a beat when he saw Lin Yanchen looking at him in that way. He said, “…I believe you.”

Lin Yanchen couldn’t tell if Chu Xun was saying the truth or not. Never in his life has anyone been able to make him waver so much with just a few words like Chu Xun. But whether Chu Xun believed him or not, it’s a whole other thing from whether Chu Xun liked him or not.

Aish.

He asked, “Then are we still going to Yellowknife to see the Northern Lights?”

“We’ve seen it here already, so there no need to visit Yellowknife anymore.”

Lin Yanchen nodded. “Then I’ll cancel the reservation. Where are we going next?”

Chu Xun circled his arms around Lin Yanchen’s neck. “I can’t think of anything. Why don’t you decide? I’ll go wherever you bring me to.”

There aren’t many days left, so returning home is fine too.

Lin Yanchen suddenly stopped in his spot.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Xun asked.

Lin Yanchen dumbly commented, “The way you said that sounded as though you want to elope with me and it makes me want kissing you. I even want to…”

Chu Xun snorted. “Didn’t I say something similar to you on the first day we came out to have fun?”

“That’s different.”

“Even though we’re all men, you think dirty too easily.” Chu Xun disapproved.

Lin Yanchen honestly and very shamelessly corrected, “I’m not dirty-minded. It’s just that when I’m with you, my head is full of dirty thoughts⁵, so many that they are all about to spill out…”

Chu Xun: “…”

He has never seen such a brazen young man like Lin Yanchen. He admits his defeat.

Lin Yanchen suddenly thought of a place and excitedly announced, “Ah Xun, I’ll take you to a good place.”

“Where?”

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