Love Dependency Disease Volume 1 Chapter 35

Volume 1, Chapter 35: Night Exploration

TL: flarewk

"That's right, ever since you people came down from the belly of the large eagle, I have became very interested in Zhang Childe since then."

She sipped a cup of tea, and gave me a smile, that smile was extremely warm and beautiful.

"Interested in me? What's so good about me to have such interest at all....."

"Because I've started to take an affection of liking towards Zhang Childe."

Affection of liking? I'm don't really understand the word usage of traditional chinese, so she would probably had meant other things about this phrase.....

"Yè xiaojie, may I ask this rather bluntly...your meaning, is that you had fallen in love with me?"

"Mm."

A simple succinct reply; but she didn't even took a liking towards the Crown Prince at all, why had she exactly fallen in love with me?

Don't tell me...........I'm really handsome? Even more handsome than the Crown Prince?

"This small womanfolk upon seeing Zhang Childe for the first time, that already rotted heart of mine seemed to have jumped a beat, and this is the first time after five hundred and thirty two years, including when I was still alive, that I had experienced such feelings."

"Yè xiaojie........can it be a mistake......like maybe I looked like someone whom you once knew or something......."

She suddenly clasped her mouth and chuckled; her chuckling sounds were as pleasant as an alcedo's, were the laughing standards of ancient people really that low?

"Zhang Childe, I'm very sure, that the feelings I had towards you were those that were being known by people as love; from the moment I had my sights on you I have understood that, when this small womanhood is still in the living world, I had always been pining to find someone that I truly loved, a pity, until death.....even until after death I still couldn't fulfill my life's wish, and this became my biggest regret within my heart."

Her tone didn't became that relaxed any longer, it carried a slight ripple in it.

"Tha-......that's a real pity........."

I expressed pity for her destiny, and suddenly I really felt like doing something for her.

"Zhang Childe, may I ask you to call me by my name?"

She gazed at me with eagerness in her eyes, which made me completely unable to reject her request at all.

"Yè......Yè Zǐ"

I spoke out her name, and upon hearing it she became extremely pleased as she nodded her head; under the hazy glow of the moonlight, although her smile seemed rather dreamlike, I was able to feel the joy from deep within her.

"Yè Zǐ, you can call me by my name too."

Hearing myself being called as "Zhang Childe" seemed a little weird.......

"Zhang Jian."

"Mm."

"Zhang Jian?"

"Mm........"

"Zhang Jian!"

"What are you exactly trying to do?!"

She called out my name continuously three times, it's like a small child who became exhilarated after getting a new toy.

"Nothing, I just want to say it out a few more times only, hehee......."

"By the way, Zhang Jian you don't seem to fear me.........last time anyone who saw me would all be frightened......."

Yè Zǐ spoke about this issue; but that's true, why was I not afraid of her......even though it was my first time seeing something like a spirit..

I stared at her, all the while trying to think up of an answer to this question; and Yè Zǐ who was being stared at by me momentarily paused for a while before lowering her head and playing with her long hair, seemingly embarra.s.sed from my actions.

Can spirits be embarra.s.sed as well?

"Maybe it's because Yè Zǐ you looked way different from what I imagined ghosts to be, you're so beautiful, so who would be frightened by such a beautiful lady in the first place!"

"Zhang Jian, your eloquence is so wonderful, it's just as the same like those wealthy childes last time, but I don't dislike it at all, instead I quite liked to hear you say these sort of stuffs..........."

She grasped her mouth as she chuckled, what a cute spirit this is......

"Oh right, you really didn't see a yellowish hair, blue eyes girl here earlier?"

"Zhang Jian, is that foreigner your wife?"

Foreigner.....she indeed has seen her before!

"Yè Zǐ, please don't lie to me, although she wasn't my wife, but she's still a very important friend to me, I'm afraid that she might be in trouble."

"She really didn't came here, also.......I didn't really lie to you, it's me who pretended to be her to lure you into coming here.....I'm really sorry, you won't be mad at me, right?"

So it was Yè Zǐ who pretended to be her......as long as Amelia is fine then it's alright; the large stone in my heart finally had been lifted.

"I won't........if you wanted to see me, you could have just appeared in the first place."

"Sorry....I can't leave too far from my grave, if not, you won't be able to see my appearance......so I can only think of a way to make you come over.."

Yè Zǐ bowed deeply as she sincerely apologizes to me, how would I bear to blame her under this kind of situation.....

"It's nothing, since it's just a small issue......"

Since nothing really was at a loss here, I'll just forget about this matter then, since I'm always a person who's good-natured by heart too.

"Thank you for your understanding, umm.........can I touch you for a short while?"

"Come.......then, remember not to anyhow touch me!"

Since Yè Zǐ probably had not touched any living humans in such a long time, it's better to just satisfy this small request of her's.

Her hand shakily approached towards my face, sometimes retreating backwards in hesitation; and seeing that almost transparent small hands of hers, I was a little scared that her hands would just go right through me, being unable to touch me.

As the distance went closer and closer, she finally touched me, and an icy feeling appeared onto my face; although my face felt chilly, but at that moment my heart felt rather warm and fuzzy, the fact that she's able to touch me is better than anything else already.

The last sea of clouds finally vanished from the sky, as moonlight illuminated the entire courtyard. Her body emanated a slight florescence, and the sensation of her touch on my face became even and even more realistic, and as time pa.s.sed by, and it brought along little bits of warmth in it as well.

Her figure had no longer remained transparent, and that pale sickly white skin earlier gradually regained some rosiness in them.

(TL: rosy-red skin is used to describe healthy looking skin)

Yè Zǐ......the feeling that she gave me was like she was revived back to the living once again.

"Zhang Jian.....what are you doing....."

I touched her face briefly, there's a warm body temperature touch on it....not only was it smooth, it had a rather bouncy sensation too.

"Nothing.......since you touched me, can't I touch back in return?"

"There's nothing wrong with that....."

Towards my reasoning, she couldn't find a suitable retort back.

"Oh right, Zhang Jian, can you please put on this set of clothes?"

She took out a piece of purplish male Han clothes from the big hall, the design on this set of clothes looked extremely extravagant, and was exquisite to the point of being horrifying.

My dad was coincidentally a collector, he had his own individualistic understanding of some stuff from ancient times, and because of that, under the incessant lectures from that old man, I had quite a few understanding onto various relics, and this silk Han clothing is among one of them.

This undisputedly can be claimed to be one of the only unexistent Han clothing relic in the world, as this set of clothes is completely handsewned needle by needle; and to complete this product using only silks that's as thin as a hair and by only handsewing.......would probably take up an entire lifetime of a person!

"Put on this first, I'll take my leave for a short moment, please wait a while for me........"

She took small running steps towards the mansion, as I put on the clothes and thereafter stood in the middle of the courtyard.....while looking at the luminous moon hanging in the sky, my heart felt slightly unpleasant.

After just a short while, she had also changed a set of clothes as well, and it's still a purplish Han clothing; it was elegant yet exquisite, and it had extremely realistic tree leaves pattern on it, while the pattern on my clothes had strong firm large trees sewn on it.

Our clothes that we had on right now, is a matching pair.

She put on a little make-up, this made the original atmosphere around her become slightly more enchanting.

Gradually, she approached towards me.

"Zhang Childe, may I ask of you to have a tune of dance with this small womanhood?"

Yè Zǐ lifted her head, as she stared into my eyes and stretched both of her hands towards me.

But dancing........I had no idea how to......

"Umm......this.....I......"

If I had known about this then I would have registered for dancing cla.s.ses already! Damm it!

"It's alright, may Zhang Childe follow my pace along, I'll teach you."

She grasped my hand, and at such a nice moment like this, a strong gust of wind deliberately blew past us.

"Rise~"

A clear distinct traditional chinese zither melody rang out, and resounded among the silent mountain-hills, while this seemingly naturalistic melody made my body subconsciously move about, dancing.

"Gentler with your feet movements~"

"Ease up the stiffness on your waist."

"Be happier a little, and movements a little more graceful."

"No need to purposely catch up to my pace, just follow the melody and dance freely about~"

As the melody kept playing, I recognized this song, it's Guang Ling San, it's a very famous piece of traditional music.

(TL: one of china's top ten famous traditional zither music)

Just like that, I momentarily forgot about everything else, and danced along with her in the courtyard; although my dance-steps were like garbage, and if there were a crowd in the courtyard right now, I would have been pelted with rotten eggs to death already.

She joyously laughed as she pulled my hands along, and happily danced among the fallen leaves that were blown afloat by the wind; I have completely no idea what kind of dance I was making at this point.

Looking at my body that was being reflected onto the pool surface, I was shocked to notice that I was actually doing the disco!

I'm must be crazy.....

"This set of dance moves is really wonderful, can you teach me please?"

Yè Zǐ became interested in my dance movements, and after I've explained to her a few important pointers for it, she already danced till it looked perfectly normal already.

Not far from the courtyard, stood two lone graves, and on the tombstones wrote "Guard of the Ocean Yè Míng's grave and his beloved daughter Yè Zǐ's grave."

What made me take notice of the tombstones are not anything else, but the situation I am in right now.

I'm actually, in the latest of nights, within an old worn out house, doing the disco with a spirit in front of her and her father's graves......

Wearing Han clothes, listening to the zither............disco......

"Hahahaa......."

I suddenly burst out laughing vivaciously, which made her stop too as she looked at me strangely.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that I felt very happy when I'm with you only......."

"Is it? I'm very happy too. After five hundred years, this is the first time I'm as happy as tonight."

"Ai~yo......I'm a little tired, I'll rest awhile first."

I sat onto the stone bench and looked at the moon, and felt that the moon tonight looked especially nice.

"Oh right, Zhang Jian.......when would you be leaving?"

"Tomorrow early in the morning, i guess....."

Just like there won't be any unfinished banquets in the world, I'll eventually leave this place too.

"Really? That's great, the night, is still long......."

Initially, I thought she would be very unwilling, but I didn't expect her to reply me just like that.

"Can you fulfill a wish of mine?"

"Any wish, just say it."

"Even if it's a fake one, even if it's just only for tonight, I wish to be married to you."

"Sure!"

I agreed to her wishes unhesitatingly, as this wish, I don't think anyone could bear to reject it..

Also, since it's merely just a charade, not a real marriage as well, so I didn't have that much mental pressure onto this situation as much as I would have.

Yè Zǐ, she's rather pitiful too, so it should be fine if it was to just slightly satisfy her wishes.

"Then it's settled! I'll go decorate the big hall, finally I can use the stuffs that Father had prepared for me!"

"Hold on, I'll accompany you as well, since it will be faster with more hands."

From an old worn storage, she took out a lot of red colored cloths, red waxed candles, and a lot of "喜" word paper cuttings; while I, carried a piece of red long carpet and many red colored lanterns....these things looked to be still rather new, even though these stuffs are from a few hundred years ago already.....she must have been maintaining it all along, just to wait for this day coming.

Waited for a total of five hundred years for this.

"You'll go decorate the big hall, I'll go decorate the bedroom*~"

(TL: the bedroom referred in this context is the traditional chinese bedroom that a couple would compulsory go to on their night of marriage where they would have baby-making throughout)

The shadow of her figure disappeared in a flash, by the way about the bedroom and whatnot..............it should be just a charade only, right?

After I've finished laying the big hall with red carpet, I hung red lanterns by the doorsides, plastered '喜' cuttings around the walls, and lastly, lit up the red waxed candles; the big hall right now looked rather joyously festive.

"Zhang Jian, I'm done with my side, how about yours?"

She hid behind the door as she asked me, but why must she hide behind the door.......

"Also done!"

-ch 35 done-

(3147 words to tl)

TL: If I was to do 2 more chapters, I would hit vol 2 of LDD by then!! -fire raging-

Footnotes:
"Father" = Yè Zǐ referred to her father in a formal tone.

喜 = A chinese charcter that stands for "joy", "happiness", and it's paper cuttings decorated usually demonstrates the atmosphere around the house.

Glossary:
-xiaojie = an appendix placebo behind a name, it meant "young lady", usually referred to of an influential or wealthy family's young daughter.