INVESTMENT LIFE – CHAPTER 18

Investment life Novel Cover
INVESTMENT LIFE Translations

INVESTMENT LIFE – CHAPTER 18


previous chapter¦ TOC ¦ next chapter


Because of his age and the mysterious memories of his past life, Chen Yuanming was very careful to stay away from alcohol in order to control his emotions at any time. He did not drink that much in the afternoon and temporarily pretended to fall asleep in order to avoid Scarface’s questioning while waiting to completely sober up.  

Nevertheless, the alcohol had some effect and while he was not drunk, he had fallen into a wonderful dreamy state.

His limbs had softened, and he was relaxed as though completely engulfed in a warm liquid. His mind was free from inhibitions and refreshed. Something soft like a feather touched his cheek. It was like the most intimate comfort. Slowly, the touch became distinct, it kissed his eyelids, lips and throat, sliding all the way down.

Chen Yuanming gave a contented gasp, and a sweet chuckle responded to him.

“Yuanming …”

Chen Yuanming’s eyes were so heavy that he couldn’t seem to lift them. He wanted to stretch out his hand to hold the man in his arms and pinch the man’s body all over with his hands. However, his strength was restrained by something. He was deeply trapped in the soft mattress and could not move a fingertip…

What did that matter? Chen Yuanming laughed. Even without opening his eyes or touching, he was familiar with every inch of the man’s skin. His slender and slightly tilted peach eyes were always covered by black-framed glasses. There was a shallow mark on the bridge of the nose. His lips were thin and pale. His skin had a kind of whiteness that showed that he did not see any sunlight all year round. Only when he woke up in the mornings could you find some hairy stubble on his face.

But now he must have taken off his glasses. and his calm eyes were slightly squinted and veiled by a layer of watery mist. Chen Yunaming had always laughed at him and made a fuss whenever he took off his glasses and the other party would insist that they were physiological tears caused by blurred vision.

The heat gathered more and more yet the huff and puff of his breath was still not hurried. Chen Yuanming couldn’t bear it anymore, and let out a sound from his throat.

“… Ah kun.”

The sound of his voice seemed to make the man pause for a moment. His hot, warm and wet lips slid away and he crawled upwards towards his pillow. His soft hair pressed against Chen Yuanming’s neck and his lips were pressed against his Chen Yuanming’s ears intimately, whispering sweetly.

“Do you love me?”

“of course.”

“Really …” The warmth in his ear suddenly disappeared, and the damp breath exhaled onto the earlobe turned into a cold and hard object. The tone of his warm voice suddenly changed slightly. It was drowning in pain and apologizing with sorrow. “… I’m Sorry … Yuanming, I’m getting married to Song Ju’s daughter.”

… Too bad, I did not love you that much.

“Ha!!”

With a shudder, Chen Yuanming opened his eyes. What he saw was a white bed sheet with stains that could not be washed out, a narrow room, monotonous furnishings, two single beds …

A frivolous accented voice sounded from beside him, “Ah Ming, are you awake? Get up quickly, it’s time for us to get on the road …”

Where was this? Where was he? His heart pounded, and his entire body was soaked in cold sweat. Chen Yuanming turned his body over and lifted his face off the pillow. His consciousness gradually returned, and his heart fell back into place. He remembered it … he remembered it now … It was now 1991, there was no company, no Song Ju, and no lover, He was only 15 years old this year, and he was in the process of making his first bucket of life-changing gold …

“Ah ~~” A teasing voice sounded next to his bed, “a short while I thought you were just making waves, but it turns out you were actually drawing a map[1], ha ha ha ha ~~ Yes, you’ve grown up!”

For a moment Chen Yuanming was stunned till he suddenly realized that he was sticky and greasy and that the quilt covering him was at least lifted halfway. The imprint on the sheets was now quite obvious. This body was still too young, and after a long period of malnutrition and being overworked for the last six months, his physiological system could not keep up with the rate of growth. This was the first wet dream ever in this life, and it was because of that man!!

Irritability and nausea surged up immediately, followed by a burst of intense pain similar to phantom pain, how could he forget what always followed that sentence? It was the moment his flesh and blood went flying![2]

Sitting up from his bed, Chen Yuanming put on his clothes and rushed out. The bathroom was in the corner beside the stairs. What he needed most now was biting, cold water!

Scarface’s voice behind him was still laughing loudly, “Oh! Don’t be shy! Come back and let your brother teach you …”

A splash of cold water poured on his face. Chen Yuanming fisted both hands and placed them tightly against the sink. He only felt that breathing was difficult, and his head was buzzing.

Screw you!! Get out of my head!

But the voice wouldn’t stop echoing in his ears, he said “sorry”. He said, “I’m sorry”!!!

With a punch on the wall, real pain finally drove away the confusion in mind. Chen Yuanming took a deep breath. Fuck this! This is my life! A new life! I’ll change all that. Leave me alone!

Looking up into the mirror over the sink, Chen Yuanming saw his reflection. Young, handsome, full of anger, yet also containing traces of inexplicable pain. He stared at the dirty mirror for a long, long time until there was a cold smile on his face. Yes, he will change …

As he drove back on the road, Scarface’s mouth was still wreathed in a smile of ridicule.  

“Earlier, I didn’t expect that you would be embarrassed enough to run away…. Hey, by the way, do you remember?!” He laughed and bent over and pulled out a radio from under his seat.

After struggling with one hand for a long time a cassette tape was finally placed inside. Fast forward, rewind, fast forward. Eventually, he pressed the play button.

A sweet and graceful female voice floated out of the small broken radio and whispered softly like a lover. Her singing was like that of a warbler[3].

Sweet honey, you smile so very sweetly

Like flowers blooming in the spring breeze,

In the spring breeze,

Where, oh where, have I seen you before,

Your smile is so familiar to me,

For a moment, I cannot recall

Ah ~~ In my dreams …

I’ve met you in my dreams,

with your smile that is so sweet, so sweet as honey

It’s you ~ It’s you ~ the one I saw in my dreams …[4]

Singing along to the radio, Scarface also roared with his hoarse broken voice, “Ah ~~ in the dream … it’s you ~ it’s you ~ the one I saw in my dreams …”

Chen Yuanming’s jaw was so tight as he looked straight ahead at the road. He appeared to not be affected by his partner at all, yet he had clenched the steering wheel with both hands.

*****

“Hmm …” Ma Lei was sitting on the sofa, unconsciously tapping the armrest with his fingertips, “So he doesn’t intend to work with the Wuhan guy?”

“yes. It seems they have really split ways. That boy was drunk and confused that day, it can’t be false.”

“What happened?” Ma Lei leaned his head back against the sofa and narrowed his slender eyes. “I recall that he has made quite a fortune in the past two months. Can he let that go so easily?”

“Yes, that’s the most confusing part. He doesn’t look like he is working with no plan at all. He doesn’t send much money home every month. I don’t believe he doesn’t have a plan in mind! “

“Does he want to invest in a bigger deal?”

As soon as this sentence was uttered, Scarface’s eyes brightened, “Brother, do you mean …”

“Does he know about the changes in our business over the past two months?”

“Of course not!” Scarface immediately patted his breast and assured him. “Except for our brothers, none of the drivers helped load the shipment. Elder brother you know that our transportation and sales channel is handled by just two people. If the drivers can’t see even see it, how can they leak the news!”

“Then … did the boy make the guess himself?” Ma Lei pondered again. After a long time, he finally patted the armrest of the sofa. “No need to think about it anymore! Let’s meet him and talk about it directly. If he is really interested, its not impossible to include him. He’s not bad at all. And I can handle him no matter how wild he gets! “

After hearing such a domineering statement from his elder brother, Scarface suddenly laughed. That’s it! It was boring to go round and round in circles. This was more Scarface’s style, ask directly! Thinking of this, he grinned suddenly, “By the way, brother, if we are going to ask him, why not go there?”

Ma Lei frowned. “Bullshit! He’s so young, Let’s not scare him away even before we start talking!”

“Hey ~~ Brother, you don’t know but the kid has already probably experienced a battle. He was drunk and covered in perfume that time in Wuhan, and in the middle of the night he had dreams of spring. Spring dreams … hahahaha ~ ~ This kind of young man says no with his mouth, but his heart will be sulking! “

Scarface was so excited that his eyebrows danced. Ma Lei twitched his lips. He couldn’t stand watching him anymore. There was nothing wrong with his brother’s character but where did he learn to speak so crudely!

But Scarface was not wrong. If they really wanted to talk about it, something needed to be arranged. He just did not know if the boy would be into that sort of thing….

After thinking about it for a while, he eventually made a decision. “It was just that “place” anyway. Besides it was almost Chinese New Year and there would be a lot of other entertainment. You can set it up at a time when there is no one else there.”

“Okay!” Scarface held up his hand that was still in a cast and waved twice, “Leave it to me!”


The author has something to say: Note: The lyrics are from Teresa Teng’s “Tian Mi Mi”, released in 1979.

A certain major male partner appeared for the second time…sweet? Well, put away your wagging tail, this is cannon fodder!


Translator Notes: I almost cracked a rib laughing along with Scarface. Also, Teresa Teng is pretty glorious.

Teresa Teng

You should really listen to the song and imagine Scarface trolling Chen Yuanming by singing along in a broken hoarse voice.

Tian Mi Mi

Releases for IL are coming a little faster because I built up a smol stockpile. We can all be sad together when it finally runs out and I get back to a release a week. Lol


[1] Meaning he thought Chen Yuanming was just horny, but he actually had an orgasm and dirtied his blanket (drawing map) because of his wet dream (I think).

[2] Chapter 1, accident scene.

[3] A bird. All about warblers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warbler

[4] Lyrics from Theresa Teng’s 1979 release, Tian Mi Mi. This scene is so hilarious because the song is just perfect for trolling. The song talks about meeting someone in her dreams and given that Chen Yuanming just had a wet dream it fits perfectly. In Chinese, spring or dreams of spring refer to romance or a sexual encounters so that fits as well. Then there’s the talk about the experience being as sweet as honey. He he.


previous chapter¦ TOC ¦ next chapter

Please follow and like us:
6 Comments on INVESTMENT LIFE – CHAPTER 18Tagged , , , ,
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
cRows Tlau
cRows Tlau
3 years ago

Well I’m glad dream guy is gonna be just a cannon fodder he seems like a huge jerk

Anyways thanks for the chapter❤❤

red
red
3 years ago

Teresa Teng, omg that brings me back to the 月亮代表我的心/Yuèliang Dàibiǎo Wǒ de Xīn /The Moon Represents My Heart days. Loved the heck out of that song. Thank you for the update and all the effort you put into translating and research!

elli
elli
3 years ago

Thank you for the chapter and thanks for picking it up! I’ve actually completed this novel but I’m not too confident in my translation so I’m really excited to see this work being continued!

At the end T/N notes in chapter 1, you mentioned enjoying novels set in the economic expansion period so may I ask if you have any recommendations? I love them too but I think I’ve only read this and Epiphanies of Rebirth (another great one! Less economic detailed though).

Angel
Angel
3 years ago

Screw that scum man! Thank God he is not the ML.

Thank you for the chapter! ❤️

Back To Top
6
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x