Volume 2 - CH extra 3

In which the translator feels like Director Lin needs to learn about the beauty of sharks. Remember, kids, sharks usually won’t bite people willy-nilly! They are good creatures and should be loved and respected!!

Content warning (not bothering to hide it under a cut since this isn’t exactly a spoiler lol): this extra is centered on Director Lin and his uncle, so there’s incest involved.

There’s also some sex, but it’s a lot more… vague than previous chapters.

Volume 2, Extra 3

The Lin family’s authority had changed hands.

Everyone in the family was gathered in the Lin residence’s living room, waiting for that person who had previously been kicked out of the house and had now become the man who held power over the entire Lin conglomerate.

Only Lin Jiarui was absentminded.

He was sitting next to the window, staring out of it, taking in the beautifully bloomed tree peonies in the backyard. He imagined a beauty’s hands holding those delicate petals, the wrists tender and fair, the fingers as delicate as jade, looking even more graceful contrasted with the splendid red of the peonies. The camera slowly moved downwards, revealing an arm like lotus root, and even lower was a dark, satin-green qipao…

“Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.”

The image he painted was interrupted by the sound of footsteps, and the originally noisy living room turned absolutely silent in the blink of an eye.

Lin Jiarui knew who was coming, but he didn’t turn around, still looking out at those peonies in the backyard as before, the scenes in his mind changing very quickly. This time, what appeared was the night scenery from the Qinhuai River. A woman in historical clothes held a pipa in her arms, head lowered in concentration, her smile immersing outsiders into her inner world. With a soft move of her fingertips, a song poured out that tugged at people’s heartstrings.

“Lin Jiarui.”

The masculine voice that spoke his name was low and beautiful, covering up that pipa song in an instant.

Lin Jiarui’s heart trembled, and he returned to reality in a blink, slowly turning his head and raising his eyes to look at that familiar face that he had been separated from for over ten years.

That handsome appearance was the same as it was in the past.

Lin Yi’s face didn’t contain many traces of the passing of time, and no matter where or when, his lips seemed to bear the semblance of a smile, but his eyes remained as cold and heartless as ever.

For a split second, Lin Jiarui’s breathing stopped.

Just that one split second.

All that love and hate, all the yearning and regrets, so it turned out that it was only a mere split second.

Lin Jiarui couldn’t help but start smiling. “Uncle, long time no see.”

***

On the twelfth of every month at three in the afternoon, Lin Jiarui would arrive on time to the psychiatric clinic on the corner street.

Simple and elegant flowers were placed on the treatment room’s windowsill, and the sound system broadcasted some gentle music. With half-lidded eyes, Lin Jiarui was lying on the comfortable sofa next to the window and explaining, in vivid and colorful detail, his own fantastical dreams, “…And then after that, the shark opened up its bloody mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and the key I was looking for was hidden between those same teeth.”

“And then?” The psychiatrist Xu Yuan listened and nodded, sometimes writing down a few words, asking, “Did you find the key to the treasure?”

“I did. I traded my arm for it.”

“Did you open the door to the treasure?”

“Yes, I opened it.”

“What was inside it?”

“It was…” Lin Jiarui closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “One single teardrop.”

“A teardrop?”

“That’s right. The moment that teardrop fell into my hand, it disappeared without a trace.”

“That’s a very interesting dream. Actually, every one of your dreams are extremely peculiar. If you make them into movies, then they would most likely be remarkable.”

“Oh, if I have the time, I can try it.”

“But other than this, do you not have anything else you want to discuss, Mr. Lin? For instance, your lifestyle, your business, your feelings… I want to be of more help to you.”

Lin Jiarui yawned and said, “You’re already helping quite a bit. Some of the people who spend lots of money to come to psychiatric clinics enjoy revealing their own secrets, while others like complaining about their worries. And I come here because I want to talk about what I dreamed the night before. Can’t I?”

“Of course you can. Dreams are also a part of the reality of living.” Xu Yuan pensively spun his pen and then suddenly asked, “Mr. Lin, how long has it been since you last cried?”

Lin Jiarui closed his eyes, as if he was still immersed in the fantasy of dreams. After a long while, he finally said faintly, “How many tears could people cry in a lifetime? If you cried enough at eighteen, then when you get to twenty-eight, of course you could no longer cry.”

“You should let it out when you want to let it out. If you always keep suppressing your emotions, then it’ll be detrimental to your mental health.”

“Doctor Xu, we’ve already exceeded the hour-long treatment time, right? I don’t want to pay additional fees. I’ll come again on the twelfth of next month to drink some tea.” Lin Jiarui stretched and then leisurely sat up on the sofa. His T-shirt and sneakers along with his babyface made him look even younger.

Xu Yuan didn’t know what to do with him and so could only sigh, saying, “I hope that the next time you come, we can talk about the stories that you really want to tell.”

Lin Jiarui simply pretended he hadn’t heard and waved his hand without a care. When he had almost reached the door, he suddenly paused and turned back to say, “Oh, that’s right, did I forget to mention this? That uncle of mine who had been kicked out of the house recently returned from overseas, and he also gained authority over the Lin conglomerate.”

Every time Lin Jiarui came to the clinic for treatment, he always talked nonstop about those strange and grotesque dreams of his and very rarely mentioned anything about anyone else. As such, Xu Yuan immediately realized that this so-called uncle was definitely not as simple as that and hurriedly asked, “Oh? So the relationship between the two of you is pretty good, right?”

“He’s only older than me by a few years, and we could be said to have grown up together. But afterwards, a lot of things happened, and I remember that he once said that he hates every single person in the Lin family.”

Rich and powerful families were all like this. For the sake of fighting over the inheritance, fathers and sons, brothers and brothers, could all become enemies.

Xu Yuan knew Lin Jiarui’s family background and thus nodded in understanding before asking, “Then what kind of person is he?”

“Him?” Lin Jiarui furrowed his brows for a moment, his gaze seeming to travel far into the light of the past, but he very quickly woke up and said, as if it was no big deal, “Yes, he’s pretty good in bed.”

“Huh?”

Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment.

And Lin Jiarui had already picked up his bag and unhurriedly walked out the door.

He usually had a chauffeur to drop him off and pick him up when he left the house, but only on the days when he came to the clinic, regardless of wind or rain, he would walk there and back. On one hand, he didn’t want too many people to know about his private affairs, and on the other hand, he also wanted to lose himself in his thoughts as he walked. But his imagination jumped too quickly, his mind playing back a space opera in one moment and then changing into a historical action movie in the next. Right as he thought to calm down his thoughts and consider the script for his new movie, he saw a black sedan slowly drive up from behind.

The man sitting in the driver’s seat was wearing a pair of large sunglasses, his handsome appearance overshadowing all the movie stars that Lin Jiarui knew, his lips containing the hint of a smile as he rolled down the windows and said, “Get in.”

It was a simple and clear command, the tone extremely tyrannical.

Lin Jiarui didn’t think further, simply pulling open the door and sitting in.

“I just came from the Lin residence and am going out to eat dinner. Let’s go together.” Lin Yi lifted his foot and pressed on the gas, not waiting for Lin Jiarui to agree before starting the car. “Why didn’t you drive?”

“I don’t have a license. When I go out, I can ask someone to send me, or I can walk on my own two legs. Regardless, I don’t have an interest in driving.”

“A young master’s way of thinking.”

Lin Yi let out a sneer. Holding onto the steering wheel with one hand, he fished out a cigarette to stick in his mouth with the other, and then he threw the lighter at Lin Jiarui.

With very familiar movements, Lin Jiarui helped him light his cigarette.

Lin Yi shot the other a glance and asked, “I heard you’ve become a director now? Why did you run off to do something like this? I remember you used to say you wanted to become a doctor.”

“Humans change.” Lin Jiarui didn’t even blink as he said, “And my becoming a director is at least better than a certain person becoming a gangster.”

When Lin Yi heard this, he laughed out loud and then chatted idly a bit more with Lin Jiarui. In the end, he stopped the car in front of a certain hotel. The reservations had already been made, at a rotating restaurant on the top floor. From the windows, one could see the most beautiful scenery in the city.

Lin Jiarui quietly admired this touching view for a moment and then couldn’t help but ask, “Who were you originally planning on bringing here to eat?”

“Just myself.”

“Madam Lin didn’t return with you?”

“Which Madam Lin?”

Lin Jiarui couldn’t tell if he was just playing at ignorance and, after thinking for a moment, still explained, “That woman who married you.”

“Ah.” Only now did Lin Yi seem to understand and said, in a low voice, “There’s no one like that.”

Lin Jiarui swept past his ringless left hand. “You got a divorce?”

“It was originally just each of us getting what we needed. In this world, if there’s something you can use to your advantage, then you should do your best to use it, and after you finished using it…”

“Of course you just kick it aside.”

Lin Jiarui helped him complete his sentence.

Lin Yi simply smiled, meaning he had not the least objection. In these ten years of separation, his personality hadn’t changed at all. Even if his personality was bad, it was a confident and bold kind of badness.

If it was the eighteen-year-old Lin Jiarui, that person would’ve probably scolded him, calling him a bastard, asking in a loud voice what those who’d been used by him should do. But the twenty-eight-year old Lin Jiarui simply twitched his lips and lowered his head to look at the menu.

When the red wine was delivered, Lin Jiarui raised his glass and toasted Lin Yi, saying, “Congratulations on becoming the new chairman of the Lin conglomerate.”

Lin Yi drank the entire glass of wine in one motion. “This is what I deserve.”

For the sake of returning to the Lin family, for the sake of taking revenge on those who caused him despair, who made him crazy, he could even use his own marriage as a bargaining chip, so what else wouldn’t he be able to do?

Lin Jiarui could guess some of the complex machinations, but he was still somewhat doubtful. “How did you manage to obtain those stocks?”

“Your oldest brother likes to gamble, your third brother likes to take risks, and as for your second sister…” Lin Yi poured himself another glass of wine and said, smiling, “You probably don’t know, right? She’s keeping a pretty boy somewhere on the outside.”

Lin Jiarui raised a brow, but he actually wasn’t the least bit surprised. “Everyone has a weak point, and you managed to grab hold of all of theirs.”

“Yes, and the only one left is you.”

“Me? I’m no good at gambling, I don’t like taking risks, and even moreso, it’s impossible for me to keep anyone… I’m very curious. What do you think my weak point is?”

Lin Yi put down his wineglass and, for a while, looked at Lin Jiarui with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Then he moved to blow air by the other’s ear, softly spitting out one word, “…Me.”

Lin Jiarui’s body stiffened in an instant.

Memories of the past flooded his mind, and he also didn’t understand how, after all these years, after having all kinds of experiences, this man before him could still have such a large impact on him. He had to clench his fists tightly and forcefully before he finally calmed down. With a cold smile, he said, “Uncle, aren’t you being too self-important, believing your affections returned?”

Lin Yi seemed to have already expected this kind of reaction and sat back into his original seat, unhurried and composed, before starting up another topic of conversation, “I haven’t moved back into the Lin family residence yet. Can you guess where I’ve been living these past few days?”

He didn’t wait for Lin Jiarui to guess before he used a finger to tap on the table, answering the question himself, “Right at this hotel.”

The moment he finished speaking, he took out a keycard from his pocket and slowly pushed it in Lin Jiarui’s direction.

This kind of invitation really couldn’t be any clearer.

Lin Jiarui stared at that keycard with wide eyes.

As if comforting a small animal, Lin Yi patted his head and said, in a coaxing manner, “You should think it over. There’s no hurry, I’ll give you until the time I finish a cigarette.”

And then he really did pull out a lighter and started smoking without regard for anyone else. The hand he was using to hold the cigarette was very much at ease, and even his appearance of blowing out smoke was full of charm. As the lingering smoke gradually dissipated, he carelessly stubbed out the cigarette butt and then, without saying a word, turned around and left.

Lin Jiarui didn’t raise his head to look at the figure of Lin Yi leaving because he knew that the other would definitely not turn back. Since the person had said he’d give a cigarette’s worth of time, then he wouldn’t give a single minute, a single second, more.

Hadn’t he long been aware of that man’s disposition?

Lin Jiarui let out a bitter smile and finally reached out a hand to take that keycard on the table.

That’s right, he would admit it.

Lin Yi was his weak point.

Lin Jiarui followed Lin Yi into the elevator, and neither of them spoke, simply watching the numbers on the display change floor by floor. When the red number turned into a ’10’, Lin Jiarui suddenly said, “How should the payments be calculated? By day, or by number of times? Under my name, the stocks of the Lin conglomerate total up to…”

He had spoken only halfway when the rest of his words were blocked by Lin Yi’s lips.

The cigarette-flavored kiss felt both familiar and strange.

Lin Jiarui closed his eyes, giving in to Lin Yi’s tyrannical way of stealing his breath. After the kiss ended, he heard the other laughing next to his ear and saying, “I was joking. Did you take it for real? Xiao-Rui, I really missed you.”

The last few words were like an intangible hand, grabbing hold of Lin Jiarui’s heart in an instant. He slowly opened his eyes, reaching out a hand to press a button and once again closing the just-opened elevator door before then grabbing Lin Yi’s necktie and initiating another kiss.

The second kiss was even more fervent and lingering.

Lin Jiarui’s thoughts turned somewhat fuzzy, and he didn’t remember how exactly they got out of the elevator; the only thing he knew was that that keycard finally found its use. He seemed to have returned to a certain dream — just like the vivid and colorful dream that he had previously described to his psychiatrist, the one where he was looking for the key to the treasure in the ice-cold ocean, and the ferocious shark jumped straight over, tearing him to pieces in an instant.

In the surging waves, he struggled to breathe, the piercing pain causing his body to shudder unceasingly, but the strong thrusts that followed, with every hit, sent him into a pleasurable climax.

In a daze, he opened the door to the treasure room, and the inside was completely empty, with only a single, transparent teardrop.

Lin Jiarui cautiously reached out a hand.

But the moment that teardrop fell into his hand, it disappeared without a trace.

Lin Jiarui woke up from his strange and fantastical dream with the sun already bright in the sky. The hotel’s bed was exceptionally big, and Lin Yi was currently standing at the other end, tying his necktie in front of a mirror.

Lin Jiarui’s body gave off a dull aching pain, and he pulled off the blankets and got up with much difficulty, meeting the eyes of that handsome man through the mirror as he asked, “You’re leaving this early?”

“Yes, in the morning, the board of directors is holding an ad hoc meeting. Do you want to come along?”

“No need.” Lin Jiarui waved a hand and immediately said, “I’m not interested in anything to do with the company. Even if you completely bankrupt the Lin conglomerate, I won’t care.”

Lin Yi laughed out loud and moved over to kiss him on the face.

Lin Jiarui helped him tidy up his suit and, from his suit pocket, found a business card. After glancing at it, Lin Jiarui put it back again and said, “I thought you’d already have changed your name.”

“It’s still early.” Lin Jiarui was still smiling, but his eyes seemed to grow just slightly more vicious by degrees. “Before my desires are fulfilled, I won’t change this ‘Lin’ surname.”

Lin Jiarui then understood everything.

His goal had never changed all along.

He had come… for the sake of revenge.

Fun shark fact: sharks cannot see very well, so they actually bite things to determine what they are!! They are not trying to eat you!! But unfortunately humans are weak, so we get hurt by their bites. :( This is no fault of the poor sharks who are just trying to see things!! #Justice4Sharks.

Anyway, as I said before, I love how all this ultra melodramatic dogblood stuff is happening like… while Gu Yan and Qin Zhiyuan are just romcom’ing all over the place LOL. Anyway, I’ll probably check out Old Dreams sometime after this, but I’m not sure I’ll translate it. Like Gu Yan, I prefer “ordinary stories” over melodrama despite what my translating habits might’ve led you to believe ahahaha.