Life: A Black and White Film (一生一世，黑白影画)

Chapter 12.1 - This Avici Hell (1)

For roughly one hour, she and Xiao Zhuang sat on the steps at the corner of the staircase, casually talking. Of the people here, only this boy, one year younger than her, could be considered her peer in age, and only this boy, as well, would chat with her.

Xiao Zhuang told her, he had actually previously never seen Cheng Muyun.

That day on the train had been his first time seeing this former leader of the ops team. At the time, it had been Fu Ming, hidden away in the shadows, who had directed Xiao Zhuang to pose as an ordinary traveller and get close to Wen Han to protect her.

"Did you know? When I walked over, he took one glance at me. And it was in that one glance that I knew he viewed me as a brother."

Xiao Zhuang spoke with extremely stirred emotions.

Her arm was being used as a pillow under her head as she tilted her head to look at Xiao Zhuang.

Pausing, Xiao Zhuang leaned in close and whisperingly said to her, "I'll tell you, my name is Zhuang Yan."

Zhuang Yan? That was his real name?<>Please read this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead

Prior to meeting Cheng Muyun, she had not known how great was the importance of someone's name and what it represented. But now, she understood clearly. Your name represents your past, your friends, your life, as well as places of refuge you once had. All of these are extremely important. Even Cheng Muyun had never told her Xiao Zhuang's real name.

Wen Han did not know how to express the alarm she felt when she heard it.

Rubbing a hand over her heart, she said, "You shouldn't have told me. I nearly died of fright when I heard it."

Zhuang Yan chuckled. "You know, this rule that the monk set really sucks. We, as brothers who go through thick and thin and life and death together, in the end don't even get to know each other's names. It's no fun at all. Remember my name. Who knows? Maybe one day you may see my tombstone in some place."

Suddenly, successive sounds of metal falling to the floor echoed out from the room behind them.

The sounds were very clear and carried that quality that indicated objects had flown out and slammed into something.

They both stopped simultaneously and turned their heads.

The bangles. That string of inexpensive bangles. Before the henna tattoo application, she had taken them off and put them under the pillow. That was such a concealed place. How could they have been found and then thrown? ... She immediately stood. Something must have happened.

"You're going in?" Zhuang Yan grabbed her sleeve. "Fu Ming said before, we cannot do anything that the monk does not allow." Such as right now, when the door was closed.

In other words, no one was allowed to go in.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

Zhuang Yan's Russian was not very good. He had told Wen Han earlier that he was not from Russia. These recent years, Fu Ming had actually not been in Russia. Zhuang Yan was actually Vietnamese, and therefore, amongst this group, he was the only one whose understanding of Russian was not very good.

She could hear it. Zhou Zhou was crying Cheng Muyun's name in Russian, was crying "Big Brother."

"Do not come in. Absolutely do not come in. You do what I say, got it?" The dialogue inside was already broaching upon Zhou Zhou's identity. She did not want Zhuang Yan to get involved in this.