"I'm going to Paris tomorrow."
"That's not a big deal. Is it necessary to specifically tell me?"
"You might not see me for a long time..."
"I've never seen you before!"
"...You're so frank."
"Although the dessert shop is just a small business, I'm still an honest businesswoman."
"..."
It's so hot this summer. The sound of cicadas continues non-stop until dusk, making people impetuous.
It's summer vacation now, and business at the store has slowed down a lot. With nothing to do, I decided to embrace a low-carbon lifestyle, moved a rattan chair to the courtyard, shook a palm-leaf fan, and gazed at the stars.
There are two cups of tea on the coffee table next to me, one is mine, and the other belongs to the person who had just left. Her cup is empty. She's the only person I have ever seen who can drink Fleeting Life in one gulp without even wrinkling her brow.
Fatty, holding a tub of vanilla ice cream, drifted out from behind me and asked in a slurred voice, "Boss, who were you talking to just now?"
I lifted my teacup nonchalantly, "I've been alone here the whole time."
"Impossible..." Fatty blinked his small eyes and grabbed Skinny, who had been pilfering food from the kitchen, to confirm, "You also saw it just now, right? The person sitting opposite Boss?"
Wiping the greasy residue off his mouth, Skinny shot Fatty a cold glance, "What is it?"
"That person was even wrapped in thick gray cloth, like a mummy, right?" Fatty gestured.
"Yeah, so what?" Skinny impatiently pushed away Fatty's hand. There are freaks aplenty visiting 'Unceasing.' A weirdo bundled up like a mummy in summer is nothing to fuss about.
"The problem is..." Fatty leaned in and whispered into Skinny's ear, "Boss said she's the only one here just now. Is she suffering from heatstroke, or possession, or did she hit menopause early?" Before he could finish speaking, Fatty yelped as my slipper landed squarely on his head.
"Damn Fatty, I'll definitely make you suffer a paralyzing stroke before I'm possessed!" I yawned, turned to the side, and leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes for a nap. Fatty and Skinny made a quick escape.
Neither Fatty nor Skinny were hallucinating. The person who had just sat across from me was undeniably real. And I hadn't lied; she was in front of me, but she is nothing at all. If you peel away the cloth she is wrapped in, you'll find only air.
My feelings toward her are somewhat contradictory. I know her ins and outs, and over the years, I've alternated between disdain and admiration. That year, she asked me, "What do you want for your birthday?"
I laughed, "Can I ask for anything?" I know she considers me a confidante, and even if I ask for the stars in the sky, she'll pluck them for me. She nodded hard as expected.
"Then give me a real Lu Ah-Cang." She stared blankly for a long time, forced a smile, and left sadly.
Yes, her name is Lu Ah-Cang. The cang in yincang…
Translator:
Our new character is called 陆 阿 藏. Lù (surname); lù means shore, land, continent. As explained in previous arcs, 阿 is a prefix. 藏 can mean zàng: storehouse, depository, Buddhist or Taoist scripture; 藏 can also mean cáng: to conceal; to hide away. So Shaluo is making it clear that the name is the character 藏 from 隐藏; yǐn cáng means to hide, to lie low.
The last line is something like this: Yes, her name is Lu Hidey, the hidey in hidey-hole…
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