Axolotl Translations

On a weekend, Shangguan Yu was watching TV in the living room, while Zuo Zhou was cooking in the kitchen. The two of them were chatting casually across the dining room, the atmosphere relaxed and natural.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

It was unusual because, aside from Wang Hao, no one ever came to visit Shangguan Yu.

So, both Shangguan Yu and Zuo Zhou stopped talking at the same time, exchanging a puzzled glance toward the door.

“I’ll go see who it is,” Zuo Zhou said as he walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his red sausage-patterned apron and quickly heading toward the door.

“Who is it?” Zuo Zhou asked, bending down to look through the peephole.

“Oh, good afternoon! I’m from Dudu Delivery. Is this Mr. Shangguan Yu’s residence?”

Outside the door stood a delivery guy holding a large bouquet of flowers.

An ominous feeling surged in Zuo Zhou’s heart, but since Shangguan Yu was still looking over from the living room, Zuo Zhou, despite his reluctance, opened the door.

“Hello, are you Mr. Shangguan Yu?” the delivery guy asked.

“Yes, I am,” Zuo Zhou replied calmly. “What is this…?”

“Oh, these are yellow roses from Liangyuan Florist. I’m the delivery guy,” the courier said, handing Zuo Zhou his phone. “Please sign here.”

Zuo Zhou signed Shangguan Yu’s name with his fingertip, took the flowers, and walked back to the room, closing the door behind him.

“Who was it?” Shangguan Yu asked from the living room, but he quickly fell silent as he noticed the large bouquet of bright yellow roses in Zuo Zhou’s arms.

Zuo Zhou felt a bitter sensation rise in his chest but kept his expression neutral, answering in a calm tone, “Oh, a delivery guy. He said someone sent roses to you.”

“To me?” Shangguan Yu raised an eyebrow, surprised. But then, as if something clicked in his mind, his expression grew cold.

“Give them to me.”

Reluctantly, Zuo Zhou mumbled, “Oh,” and bent over to hand the bouquet to Shangguan Yu.

Shangguan Yu placed the bouquet on his lap and gazed down at it for a moment. He then noticed a delicate white card nestled among the flowers.

He reached out to take the card, and just as he was about to open it, he realized Zuo Zhou was still standing beside him, his gaze fixed intently on the bouquet, unreadable.

The look in Zuo Zhou’s eyes wasn’t something Shangguan Yu was used to seeing. A little confused, he was about to ask what was wrong when their gazes met for a brief moment.

In the blink of an eye, the complex emotions in Zuo Zhou’s eyes disappeared, replaced by his usual bright and cheerful demeanor. Shangguan Yu almost doubted his own perception, wondering if he had imagined everything.

“I’ll go make dinner, Brother Yu,” Zuo Zhou said, his tone light.

“…Mm.”

Zuo Zhou turned and walked back into the kitchen to continue cooking. Shangguan Yu looked down at the yellow roses resting on his lap.

Opening the card, he found a single line written on it.

“I still love you, please forgive me.”

There was no signature, nor did it need one.

Yellow roses symbolized “an apology from a lover,” and as far as Shangguan Yu was concerned, the only person who could be considered a “lover” in his life was Xu Jun.

Even though their relationship as lovers had been short-lived.

He had to admit, the yellow roses were beautiful, and they perfectly complemented the vibrant atmosphere that Zuo Zhou had created in his home.

However…

As Shangguan Yu sat in his wheelchair, holding the flowers and staring blankly at them, he suddenly heard Zuo Zhou’s voice.

While cooking in the kitchen, Zuo Zhou secretly checked the meaning of yellow roses on his phone. After reading it, his face hardened, realizing his guess had been right—the cursed bouquet of flowers must have been sent by Xu Jun.

Damn it!

That annoying, persistent pest! Last time, Xu Jun was literally thrown out of the house, and now he had the audacity to send flowers! How could he be so thick-skinned?

He’s got no shame at all!

Zuo Zhou cursed Xu Jun a thousand times in his mind. Initially, he had planned to maintain politeness and not interfere with Shangguan Yu’s personal matters, but after angrily smashing the cucumbers in the kitchen, the anger inside him didn’t subside. So, he gave up on his “well-behaved” persona and decided to ask Shangguan Yu casually while serving the cucumber salad, pretending nothing was wrong.

“Brother Yu, who sent those flowers?”

Shangguan Yu glanced up at Zuo Zhou and replied indifferently, “Xu Jun.”

“Oh, but I remember the last time he came over and arrogantly claimed that he had a past with you, and you kicked him out right away. So why on earth is he still sending flowers?” Zuo Zhou said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Shangguan Yu didn’t respond immediately, nor did he seem bothered by the unusual tone in Zuo Zhou’s voice. He simply lowered his gaze and looked at the flowers. After a brief pause, it was as if he came to some realization, and he suddenly turned to Zuo Zhou with a soft smile, saying casually, “Xiao Zuo, change those sunflowers and replace them with these roses.”

“What!” Zuo Zhou was so surprised that he almost lost control of his expression. “I mean, Brother Yu, when you see these flowers,it makes you think of Xu Jun and all those unpleasant memories. Why keep them in the house?”

Why not just throw them away and be done with it?

“The flowers aren’t the problem. They’re beautiful. It would be a waste not to put them in a vase,” Shangguan Yu said softly, as though speaking to Zuo Zhou, but perhaps also speaking to himself.

“…” Zuo Zhou was momentarily stunned. He felt that Shangguan Yu’s tone was subtly different from when he had seen Xu Jun at the house, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

In the end, Zuo Zhou sighed quietly and reluctantly agreed, “Fine, I’ll arrange the flowers.”

Later that night, after washing up, Shangguan Yu lay in bed, holding his phone, as if waiting for some kind of message.

Sure enough, just as he was about to drift off to sleep, his phone buzzed several times with incoming notifications.

Shangguan Yu opened his eyes, checked his phone, and saw a friend request from Xu Jun on WeChat.

“Xiao Yu, did you get the flowers I sent you today? They represent my feelings.”

“I know I’ve hurt you deeply, and I don’t expect you to forgive me right away.”

“All I’m asking for is a chance, a chance for both of us to start anew.”

“I beg you, please give me this opportunity.”

“Please accept my friend request!”

Shangguan Yu looked at the messages, his heart as calm as still water. He couldn’t help but recall the last time Xu Jun came to his house, when his own behavior had been completely out of control, lacking any semblance of dignity. He found himself wanting to laugh.

In fact, he had already let go. During the countless nights after the accident, Shangguan Yu had hated, cried, and felt like he couldn’t go on, but all of that paled in comparison to the simple fact that he was still alive.

He no longer loved Xu Jun, nor did he harbor hate. The pain had been unbearable, and he didn’t want to feel that way again.

Xu Jun was good-looking, and his family was well-off. He would surely find someone better after leaving him. The relationship between two men would be harder than an ordinary heterosexual one, and now that he was disabled, that difficulty was amplified.

Even if Xu Jun hadn’t been the one by his side, it was likely that anyone else in his place would have made the same choice.

After all, who would willingly choose to care for a disabled person for the rest of their life?”

Thus, the more Shangguan Yu thought about it, the more at ease he felt, the more open-minded he became. With a light press of the button, he accepted Xu Jun’s friend request.

Xu Jun was clearly stunned on his end, as if he couldn’t quite believe Shangguan Yu would really add him back on WeChat.

Shangguan Yu, however, wasn’t in any rush. He simply kept the page open on their chat screen, waiting for Xu Jun to send the first message.

Sure enough, after a couple of minutes, Xu Jun finally sent a message.

“Thank you, Xiao Yu, thank you for giving me this chance.”

It was clear Xu Jun had more to say, as the top of the screen displayed “Typing…”

This time, Shangguan Yu didn’t wait for Xu Jun to finish. Instead, he directly sent a message: “Let’s meet this weekend.”

Pause, typing, pause, typing…

After several rounds of this, Xu Jun finally sent his next message.

“Alright, I have so much to tell you.”

“Should we meet at the usual place?”

“Mm.”

“Okay! Then I’ll pick you up at your place!”

The two had agreed to meet at 5 PM on Saturday. Since he was going out, Shangguan Yu changed into his outdoor clothes at 4:30 PM, then went to the bathroom, and finally returned to the living room to wait for Xu Jun to arrive.

Zuo Zhou didn’t know about the appointment, but when he saw Shangguan Yu switch out of his loungewear and put on a thin cotton jacket, he thought it was a bit strange—because Shangguan Yu never left the house. After holding back for a moment, Zuo Zhou couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Brother Yu, are you going out?”

“Mm,” Shangguan Yu thought for a moment, then answered simply, “Xu Jun’s coming to pick me up soon. I’ll be out for a bit and won’t be home for dinner tonight.”

“What?!” Zuo Zhou was so shocked that he stood up from the sofa, “You’re… you’re going out with Xu Jun?!”

“…” Shangguan Yu was startled by Zuo Zhou’s exaggerated reaction. “Yeah, I don’t want him to keep interfering with my life, so I think it’s better to clear things up in person.”

“Oh, oh, I see…” Zuo Zhou’s voice suddenly became much lower, “Well, yeah, it’s better to sort things out. But I think it’s not a good idea for you to go alone. I should come with you, so if he gets mad or says anything rude, I can help you beat him up.”

Seeing Zuo Zhou seriously analyzing and carefully planning everything, Shangguan Yu couldn’t help but chuckle. “He shouldn’t cause any trouble, and we’ll be in a public place with plenty of people around.”

“But even so,” Zuo Zhou pressed, a little anxious, “what if you need to use the restroom or something else comes up? It’d be better if I’m there to help, right? You can’t expect Xu Jun to help you with that!”

Shangguan Yu thought for a moment and realized that Zuo Zhou was right.

Even though he’d already taken care of things at home, going out with his condition would definitely lead to unexpected inconveniences. That was one of the main reasons he hated leaving the house.

So, it felt safer to have Zuo Zhou with him.

After a pause, Shangguan Yu finally gave in and said, “Alright, you can come along.”

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