Axolotl Translations

After so long apart, the grandfather and grandson clung to each other for over ten minutes, just hugging.

No one interrupted. Everyone understood how rare and precious this moment was.

Before the catastrophe, even being separated for years wasn’t a big deal—a phone call, a train ticket, and you could see each other anytime. But after the disaster, a day, even just a few hours apart from loved ones might mean never seeing them again.

To reunite in the middle of the vast sea—such a thing needed both unwavering will and incredible luck.

Still…

It was one thing for the others to respectfully give them space, but why hadn’t Liang Zhao come over?

Gu Mengran finally pulled back from his grandfather’s arms and looked around, puzzled. It didn’t take long to spot Liang Zhao—stuck behind Zheng Yijie, who seemed to be holding him back. Gu Mengran didn’t hesitate. He lifted a hand and beckoned. “Come here.”

Liang Zhao’s body was still over there, but his soul had flown to Gu Mengran the moment he saw him. He couldn’t hear what Gu Mengran said through the noise on the deck, but the second that hand lifted, he understood—and jogged over.

“Grandpa Meng.”

It had been months, and now standing before the old man with a different status, Liang Zhao looked visibly uneasy. He rubbed his cold-stiffened hands together, not knowing where to look. He gave a quick greeting, then quickly looked away.

The old man, with decades more life experience, saw through him at a glance. He raised an eyebrow, letting out a small huff of disapproval. “Grandpa Meng? You used to call me Grandpa like Mengran did. What, we’ve grown distant now after not seeing each other for a few months?”

“That’s not what I meant—Grandpa Meng, I—I…” Liang Zhao clearly panicked, fumbling for words, unable to form a coherent sentence.

It was rare to see Liang Zhao so nervous—it was kind of amusing, actually. But Gu Mengran took pity on him. With a subtle look and a gentle smile, he offered a quiet nudge: “Try again. Just call him what I call him.”

“Can I?” Liang Zhao looked up, startled.

Gu Mengran blinked, feigning confusion. “Why wouldn’t you?”

The nerves hadn’t come from the old man himself. Liang Zhao wasn’t afraid of how to face him, and he certainly wasn’t wracked with guilt over ‘stealing someone’s grandson.’

What he feared… was Gu Mengran not acknowledging him. That he’d draw a line in front of his grandfather. That he’d pretend there was nothing between them.

But that one line from Gu Mengran was like a weight lifting off his chest. The light came back into his eyes. He stood straighter, no longer flustered. Meeting the old man’s gaze directly, he called out with quiet sincerity: “Grandpa.”

The old man didn’t say anything at first. He simply beckoned Liang Zhao over with a wave of his hand.

Once Liang Zhao reached him, the old man slung a strong arm around his shoulder and yanked him into a tight hug alongside Gu Mengran. “You two little rascals—my two rotten boys—you’re finally back. These past days, I’ve been worried sick. Couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. It’s drained me completely.”

“Really? Funny, you look like you’ve put on some weight,” Gu Mengran couldn’t resist teasing.

“Hmph! You’ve got the nerve to poke fun at your poor old grandpa?” the old man shot back. He gave Gu Mengran’s neck a quick squeeze and fired right back with a grin, “You disappear for a few months and come back to hear Xiao Liang still calling me ‘Grandpa Meng’? What happened to your influence, huh, Gu Mengran—no progress at all in all that time—”

Gu Mengran reacted fast, slapping a hand over his grandfather’s mouth. But it was too late. The words had already spilled out, and the implications hit hard.

Liang Zhao’s expression shifted immediately. His eyes widened with disbelief as he whipped his head around to look at Gu Mengran, then at the old man. His voice came out hoarse and shaky: “You… you knew about us from the start?”

The old man burst into laughter, completely ignoring the frantic warning glances from Gu Mengran. He gave Liang Zhao’s shoulder an affectionate pat. “What do you think? The two of you were always flirting and hanging off each other right under my nose. I’d have to be blind not to notice.”

Seeing Liang Zhao’s stunned expression grow even more intense, Meng Gaoyang paused, then asked hesitantly, “Wait… don’t tell me Mengran never told you? You’ve been spending all this time worrying I’d disapprove, haven’t you?”

Liang Zhao stayed silent, but that silence was answer enough.

The old man turned immediately on Gu Mengran. “What were you thinking, scaring the poor kid like that?!”

Gu Mengran pressed a finger to his brow in mock agony. “What could I have been thinking? I just wanted to wait till we got back to surprise him. And look—surprise! Though maybe… too much surprise?”

Before he could say another word, Gu Mengran found himself pulled tightly into Liang Zhao’s arms again.

Now, Liang Zhao held one arm around the old man, the other around Gu Mengran. His normally composed face was flushed with emotion, and his lips trembled as he spoke: “It is a surprise. A huge one. Thank you, Mengran… and thank you, Grandpa. I swear, I’ll take good care of him. I won’t ever let you down.”

Before Gu Mengran could respond, the old man spoke up first, his voice firm and kind: “I know you’re a good kid. Even if there weren’t anything between you two, I’ve long thought of you as family. You’re both men—taking care of each other should go both ways. Stand side by side, support each other, grow together. That’s how you make a life.”

“If you’re together, then be proud of it. There’s nothing shameful about it. So what if you’re both guys? I, Meng Gaoyang, am not some stubborn old fool. What matters most is that our family lives a good life—what other people think doesn’t matter one bit.”

Those words, spoken straight from the heart, didn’t just move Liang Zhao—Gu Mengran’s eyes were heating up too. If they weren’t still standing out on Yongyue’s deck with so many people around, he might’ve shed a few tears on the spot.

So what if he didn’t have parents? It didn’t matter. He had his grandfather—the best grandfather in the world.

But the old man had a packed schedule today. No sooner had he finished chatting with his grandsons than former subordinates, long separated by time, came to greet him. Meanwhile, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao were just as busy—barely had they stepped away before they were swarmed by Zheng Yijie, Xu Xinghe, Sister Fang… one after another lining up to say hello.

The deck was too cold, so they changed locations.

The Windwing had long since run out of fuel and lost all power. During this time, Grandpa and Zheng Yijie had both been staying aboard the Yongyue. And since Gu Mengran couldn’t very well whip out a stash of fuel in front of everyone and top off the Windwing, he could only stick with the group and follow them into the ship’s cabin.

There were too many people and not enough room, so Sister Fang led them all to the dining hall—the very same one where they’d once fought side by side and broken quite a few chairs and tables in the process.

Maybe it was just Gu Mengran’s imagination, but the Yongyue really felt different now. The ship hadn’t changed much, but the atmosphere certainly had. The dining hall was the same one as before, but the broken furniture had been neatly repaired. The tabletops were spotless—no dust, no grease, no grime.

Cleanliness aside, something else had shifted. And soon, Gu Mengran realized what it was: the Yongyue finally felt alive. It felt like home now—because the people on board had started treating it that way.

The adults sat at one table, the younger ones at another, each group chatting among themselves.

As the undisputed star of the day, Gu Mengran took his seat under the gaze of dozens of eager eyes. He spread his arms in dramatic surrender. “Alright, hit me. Let the storm come—I’m ready.”

He didn’t even finish the sentence before the whole dining hall exploded with excitement.

“Brother Gu! Brother Liang! Were you guys hurt back there?”

“How did you escape?!”

“We waited for days and didn’t hear a word—”

“You guys—!”

“Okay, okay! Timeout!”

The welcome was a lot warmer than expected—so warm, it nearly knocked him flat. Gu Mengran held up his hands to stop the flood of voices. “We’ve got plenty of time, alright? One at a time. If you all talk at once, nobody’s gonna understand a thing!”

Sister Fang nodded. “Makes sense. Well… I’ll go first then.”

Xiao Dong widened his eyes. “Hey! That’s favoritism, Sister Fang!”

She ignored his exaggerated protest and turned to Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao, her expression serious. “It’s really so good to see you both again. I—I mean, we—the whole village still owe you a thank-you. If it weren’t for everything you did for us back then, we wouldn’t be sitting here today, safe and sound, chatting like this.”

The solemn tone made Gu Mengran feel a little guilty.

Sure, they had helped out a bit back then, but they’d had their own reasons…

Before he could say a word, Sister Fang gave a bitter smile and continued, “And… we owe you an apology too. I’m sorry. Back then, with everything going on—the explosion, the fire on the water—I really thought… I didn’t think there was any way you could’ve made it out. That’s why we didn’t go back.”

“Later, Grandpa Meng insisted on waiting for you two, but we talked him out of it. I’m not trying to justify it, but the fuel really was running out. I’m so sorry. We left you adrift out there, and you were separated from Grandpa for so long because of it.”

She was getting emotional, hands covering her face, voice trembling with each word.

Oh no, she’s not gonna cry, is she? Gu Mengran panicked, pursing his lips and quickly trying to comfort her.

“Sister Fang, don’t say that. We made it back, didn’t we? Anyone in your shoes would’ve made the same call. You’re not superheroes—how could you have turned back for us in that situation?”

“Honestly, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t convinced Grandpa to leave, with how stubborn he is, he would’ve stayed there until the fuel ran dry. Please, don’t say sorry. Leaving was the right decision—any way you look at it. Grandpa and I talked about the East Sea before. See? We found each other again in the end.”

His words worked—somewhat—but not completely. Sister Fang still had her face covered, shaking her head slightly. “You came back because you’re capable. I was the one who left you behind. I have to say sorry—”

“Sister Fang, if you keep going, I’m really gonna lose it.”

Gu Mengran cut her off, switching to a more serious tone. “In a world like this, being able to meet and stick together is a kind of fate. We’ve lived side by side for over a year—not just neighbors, but friends. Helping each other through tough times—that’s what friends do. You don’t have to say stuff that makes us feel like strangers.”

Her shoulders trembled again, like she wanted to say something more, but Duan Yueyan gently patted her back and beat her to it.

“Alright, say any more and it’ll get awkward. Gu Mengran’s right—no one could’ve done anything in that situation. The important thing is, we all made it through.”

Then he looked over at Gu Mengran, raised his brows, and said simply, “I’ll keep it short. Thanks, bro.”

“No need,” Gu Mengran replied with a grin.

Two down… still more than ten to go.

Running on zero sleep, Gu Mengran pulled himself together, bracing for the next wave of curious, concerned, and long-winded “interrogations.”

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