After the shower room brawl, no one dared to mess with Shen Xi again for some time. According to the rumours, the man who led the fight against Shen Xi had serious injuries to his lower body and very possibly would never be a man again in his life. When the news reached 302, Fang Luowei obviously sensed the few people in the cell who were chatting animatedly shiver at the same time, glancing subtly at the silent Shen Xi and quietly distancing themselves from him.
Fang Luowei had seen Shen Xi’s attack with his own eyes and had already guessed the outcome, and even guessed the reason why Shen Xi had done so. Shen Xi was deterring those who were hiding in the shadows and had ideas about him, or those who might have had ideas about him in the future.
After this incident, Fang Luowei did not conceal his closeness to Shen Xi in front of others but appeared openly by his side, not caring in the least about the trouble Shen Xi might bring to him. He still remembered Shen Xiβs alienation when he first entered the prison, and the snicker he heard when he couldn’t sleep on his first night in prison. He could never have imagined that a few months later, Shen Xi would become his only trusted friend in prison.
After another confrontation with the inmates, Shen Xi and Fang Luowei were sentenced to confinement together. This was Fang Luowei’s first experience of confinement. In the small, dark space, no matter how wide he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness. The wounds on his body ached dully, and he and Shen Xi had not received any treatment before being confined. Fang Luowei groped his way closer to Shen Xi who hadn’t said a word since they had been locked in.
“What’s wrong? Does it still hurt?” Fang Luowei said in a low voice.
“I’m the one who dragged you down,” Shen Xi replied.
Fang Luowei froze; he quickly realised the reason for Shen Xi’s silence and said sternly, “Why do you say that!”
“They are coming at me.”
Fang Luowei reached his hand to hold Shen Xi, “We are friends, what’s the difference between coming at you and coming at me.”
Fang Luoweiβs words came from his heart. He and Shen Xi were friends and Shen Xi’s trouble was his trouble. Apart from that, because of his relationship with Shen Xi, many people did not dare to attack him again, so he really avoided a lot of trouble. Since he had enjoyed the benefits of this friendship, how could he refuse to give anything? Of course Fang Luowei had always been secretly curious, who had Shen Xi offended? Looking at Shen Xi’s opponents, it was clear that they did not intend to kill Shen Xi straight away but rather enjoyed torturing him.
Shen Xi never mentioned anything about his past, and although Fang Luowei was curious, he kept to the boundaries of friendship and never asked. This time, perhaps it was the darkness that made people weak, or perhaps it was Shen Xi’s true recognition of Fang Luowei but he took the initiative to reveal his scars in front of Fang Luowei, squeezing out the pus and blood inside.
As he told of his frivolous youth, of his familyβs dislike, of the consequences of an impulse, Shen Xi’s voice was not as calm as usual and carried a deep sense of resentment.
Fang Luowei listened quietly to Shen Xi’s narration, saying nothing. What Shen Xi needed was not his comfort, but simply a quiet person to talk to.
“I hate them, I hate my father, I hate the Shen family, I hate all the people surnamed Shen.”
Shen Xi ended his story with these words, and Fang Luowei held Shen Xi’s hand silently. The world that Shen Xi talked about was the world that Fang Luowei had never been exposed to, so he could not understand how there could be such a father in the world. Shen Xi was also his son, how could he be so biassed? How could he be so cruel stomping on Shen Xi’s desire for affection? How could he even kill Shen Xi’s hope for freedom? He thought of his own life. Although his parents died young, his grandparents had given him everything they could. Compared to Shen Xi, he was lacking in material things, but emotionally he was so much richer than Shen Xi.
Fang Luowei let out a silent sigh. He could understand Shen Xi’s resentment, but it did not mean that he wished Shen Xi to dwell on his hatred all the time. There was no turning back in one’s life, one could only ever keep moving forward. He wanted Shen Xi to live for himself, even if they were behind bars, even if they could never be free for the rest of their lives. At least their hearts were free. Shen Xi was still young, and he could not imagine Shen Xi living constantly gnawed by hatred for a long time in the future and looking back in his old age with nothing but hatred in him.
Nietzsche once said, “When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” Fang Luowei quoted these words to Shen Xi and hoped that Shen Xi would understand what he meant.
Perhaps, no matter how difficult the days were, two people supporting each other would always be much better than one person.
Unnoticeably, their confinement ended and unnoticeably, Fang Luowei and Shen Xi spent five years in prison together, supporting each other. During these five years, the two had been calculated by others and they calculated others. As the number of scars on their bodies increased, Shen Xi’s ruthless reputation grew, and fewer and fewer people came to pick a fight, until the wind and waves were calm for more than half a year. Fang Luowei thought this meant the arrival of a peaceful life later on. He never expected the change to come so suddenly.
The gloomy weather, the chaotic crowd, the strangers waiting for an opportunity to attack; Fang Luowei could see the hideous malice on their faces. He tried to pull Shen Xi away and run, yet the crowd blocked all their paths. A cry of alarm sounded behind him and Fang Luowei turned back in fear, only to see Shen Xi give him one last smile and then fall limply to the ground, covering his chest.
Blood stung Fang Luowei’s eyes as he hugged Shen Xi, feeling the body in his arms lose its warmth little by little, and his heart seemed to be lost with Shen Xi’s departure. Only then did he realise that his feelings for Shen Xi had long ceased to be a mere friendship, but he had been blinded by the fact that the two of them were inseparable and had not discovered his feelings in time.
“Shen Xi!”
The chaos of the crowd was stopped by the prison guards. Fang Luowei did not react to the outside world, just hugging Shen Xi tightly and repeating his name over and over again.
Time passed, and Shen Xi was once again standing in front of Fang Luowei. In the bar, Fang Luowei looked at the drunken Shen Xi in amazement, wondering how the man could know his name. Fang Luowei didn’t take the first encounter to heart. It wasn’t until he was in a desperate situation in the alleyway that Shen Xi’s help made him truly remember this handsome young man.
What happened next was far beyond Fang Luowei’s expectations. Shen Xi appeared in his life in a way that he could not resist at all. Shen Xi cared about his work, about his life, and even about his family. Shen Xi easily got rid of the punks for him, simply helped him solve his contract with the record company. Shen Xi even set up a company specifically with him alone as a signed artist in it.
He marched all the way towards his dreams with Shen Xi’s help, while Shen Xi stood behind him with a smile, supporting his every decision.
Past experiences made Fang Luowei sensitive, and he had once doubted Shen Xi’s intentions. But no matter how critical he was, all he saw in Shen Xi’s eyes was sincerity and goodwill. He inevitably fell in love with Shen Xi, but before he could muster up the courage, Shen Xi was already accompanied by another man.
That night, he and the director were trapped in the hotel by a so-called social gathering, facing the drunk man who wanted to approach him, and strangely enough, Fang Luowei was not afraid at all, because he knew that Shen Xi would definitely come. He guessed the beginning but not the end. Shen Xi stepped in and took him away, but left him with a difficult choice.
Did he want to be with Shen Xi? Yes!
Could he be with Shen Xi? No!
The word “Cousin” was like a pot of cold water dousing the fire in Fang Luowei’s heart. He cautiously moved up and reverently placed a kiss on Shen Xi’s lips before resolutely dialling Li Mingxuan’s number.
Since then, he resigned to his status as a friend and quietly watched over Shen Xi. He watched as Shen Xi was content, watched as Shen Xi was sad, watched as Shen Xi finally achieved happiness after all the dust had settled.
Brilliant fireworks bloomed gloriously in the night sky and Ye Han had an odd look on his face, “Where did Mingxuan and Shen Xi go?”
Lao K gave Ye Han a contemptuous look, “Stupid! Where do you think the bridegroom and the bridegroom could have gone on their wedding night?”
Fang Luowei smiled as he listened to the conversation between the two, silently blessing Shen Xi in his heart. Taking his drink, he left the lively crowd and walked slowly along the garden path, listening to the band playing not far away, his mind unexpectedly very peaceful.
“Hi,” someone greeted him across the fence.
Fang Luowei looked over curiously and met a pair of smiling eyes.
“I’m Mo Zheng!”
“I’m Fang Luowei!”
Some people say that everyone in the world is a semicircle, and that two people together make a complete circle. Every one of us is struggling to find the semicircle that suits us. Perhaps one day you feel you have missed the right semicircle. Don’t worry, believe in yourself. When you turn around inadvertently, you will find the semicircle that really suits you standing behind you and looking at you with a smile.
THE END
Translator’s note: Mo Zheng is a character from another book by Li Songru ‘Rebirth of Xia Ze’. I haven’t read it but Mo Zheng is the ML’s friend, and he and Fang Luowei are listed as supporting characters, so they are apparently a side CP π
The story is finished. Thank you, everyone who read and commented! I loved all your comments! If you enjoyed the story, please leave a positive review and/or good rating on Novelupdates π
Or, you can buy me some coffee π
Thank you, for the beautiful translation!
Thank you for bringing us Shen Xi and Li Mingxuanβs storyβ¦it was heartbreaking at so many places but thankfully our leads have a happy endingβ¦
β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Thank you!!! β€β€β€ I loved this story so much and it was fun to translate it, and I loved both Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan, I’m happy you also loved them ππ
I’m really glad that FLW has its own story and happy ending.
Thanks again for sharing I loved the story and its extras πππ
Thank you so much!!! β€β€β€ Your comments always made me feel so happy! Yes, the author like gave him a HE in a few sentences but it was rounded up nicely π
Aawww FLW also got his happy endingπ₯Ί.
I can’t believe it’s done. Congratulations TL-nim and thank you for your hard work πππ
Thank you!!! β€β€β€Yes, I loved that FLW also got a hopeful ending, he’s such a sweet guy π
I’m pretty much satisfied with the ending!
We even get the extras of future and past. It was Awesome!
THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH FOR THE AMAZING HARDWORKS IN TRANSLATING THIS ABSOLUTELY DIFFERENT AMAZING REBIRTH NOVEL!!!! ππππππππππππππ FOREVER GRATEFUL
Thank you so much! π π I’m happy you liked it! It was really different from other rebirth novels and I enjoyed it very much π
Thank you so much for translating this. It’s been a while since a story had hooked me in this badly. I finished it in 1 day lol! Love the MC and ML so much! I’m so glad they ended up getting married. Lowkey happy for Shen Ji and Shen Cheng too haha. It would easily have been in my top 10 if the story didn’t have a long break-up scene, those always ruin it for me. But aside from that, loved everything so much!
Thank you for all your hard work!! Keep translating great stories for us.
Thank you!!! I’m really happy you liked it! I also loved them all very much! I actually think their parting was very mild and short, I can imagine how much dog blood some other author could have stuffed into this situation π π Lu Minxuan was so nice he didn’t abandon Shen Xi even when they parted π I think he would be back even without dreams.
Thank you so much for translating and sharing this work with us! I can’t help but think what if LMX didn’t get attracted to SX (I will never forget the fact that they’re cousins lol) and FLW went ahead and courted him? I suppose WCL would’ve been successful in burning the Shen mansion with all its members = bad end? π
What if FLW was the one who was reborn and met 18-year old SX? Would he be able to prevent SX from going to prison?
Or maybe if both of them were reborn? I’ve come around to LMX (and I know how much he cherishes, respects and loves SX), but…SX x FLW is still my original ship. I still want an alternate universe (among countless universes) where they are happy together. ππ
Anyway, thanks again (Β΄,,β’Οβ’,,)β‘ I’m gonna add this to my favorites so I can read Shen Xi’s adventures again and again hehe
Thank you so much for your comments! I enjoyed them so much! β€β€β€ Ah, I wondered what would happen if there was no LMX. I think SX and FLW would be happy, no matter which of them was reborn, they would have find a way to overcome everything.
I also wonder if in the previous life, after SX’s death, WCL killed the rest of the Shen family. I think he did and there was no one to stop him.
Thank you so much for translating this novel. I really enjoyed it. Glad everyone have their own little HE. Tq
Thank you! ππ I’m happy that you liked it! β€β€
FL fell in love with SX for two lifetimesπ uuu i’m glad he’s able to let the feelings go and find someone to love him tooπ
Anyways thank you so much for the amazing translationπ€© This rebirth novel is so different than all the other ones i have read. I enjoyed and love it so much!!
I felt particularly sorry for him in the first life, where SX died in his hands. But the author rounded it up nicely, giving him hope and future i just a few sentences π
I was surprised that you finished this in less than four months, when I saw that the first chapter was translated this April, I thought I had to come back next year, your hardwork is very commendable you are one of the best translators out there. Thank you for this work, you did a marvelous jobβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Thank you! π I’m really obsessive π When I enjoy something, I can spend every free minute doing it π
Dear translator, thank you for your hard work! This was a great translation πππ
I was suspecting that FLW was in love with SX in their previous life; after all, SX saved and protected him. I feel that if LMX didn’t exist, SX & FLW would have been the perfect couple. But LMX was brave enough to go after whom he wanted, so good for him! I also like how FLW accepted the truth and didn’t try to “seduce” SX or do something stupid like that.
Overall, I feel like the author was a bit reluctant to go hard after certain characters, despite them being awful. Why did SDH survive and why did he lose his memory- so now he can’t even live to regret all his stupid choices. If his mistress had to die, he should have been a goner too. Also, I feel like we never got a clear explanation of the Han family’s role. I wish we knew a little more, but anyway… I appreciate that SX remained steadfast on his revenge until the end and didn’t suddenly become the forgiving type. I hate when that happens. Lastly, where’s Li Mingfei? I wanted to see a bit more of him.
Thank you so much for your comments, they were a lot of fun! I’m glad FLW has his own destiny, although I sympathise with him, especially in his previous life where SX died on his hands… As for SDH, I feel his fate is absolutely much worse than death. He might have retained some dignity if he died but being feeble-minded and being treated like an object is most horrible, I think. I wonder about Li Mingfei, too. I think the author might have planned to continue his story in some other book, like with FLW, or even did it (I just read a few chapters of Rebirth of Xie Ze because it dudn’t really capture my attention).
Thank you for translating this!
Thank you!!! βΊβΊ
Just finished binging this novel!!! Loved it!
What I loved about this one is how the characters really felt human. No one was truly right and no one was truly wrong, not a single person was perfect.
Thanks for your hard work translating this π
Thank you!!! I am happy you enjoyed it!πππ
Thank you so much for an amazing translation! I loved this story and all it’s crazy ups and downs, and am glad that everyone got what was coming to them.
π π π I’m happy you enjoyed it!
I stayed up all night because this novel is really good! Thank you so much for your wonderful translation! β€οΈπ―
Thank you!!! I’m really happy you enjoyed it πππ
Thank you so much for your wonderful work, dedication to complete the translation and kindness in sharing this with us. Iβm not a fan of revenge but your high Quality work made reading enjoyable so I persevered β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Thank you!!! I’m really glad you enjoyed it! It was such a fun story, never a boring moment, so I had a lot of fun translating it π π
Thank you for your hard work Translator-sama π Love the dept of each character π₯Ίβ€οΈ Glad almost everyone had a happy ending π
P.s appreciate how Yunyun-san replied to all the comments in each chapter π it somehow added to the feeling of ‘itchiness that can’t be scratch’ π€£ wanting to rush until the plot twist is revealed π«
Thank you!!! π π I’m happy you enjoyed it π I tried very hard to keep from spoilers (unless something was really obvious :))
Thank you so much for translating this story. There are some characters i really cherish. I also read your other story: Pastoral Daily Life. I wounder if you will translate ‘Rebirth of Xia Ze’ too in the future. I really like Fang Luowei. At the beginning i thought he will end up with MC π
Thank you!!! I’m really happy to hear it! I like this author very much, not all her stories, but at least half of them π I dropped reading “Rebirth of Xia Ze” at some point because the main couple dynamic seemed a bit boring. But I’ll probably try it again, maybe I was not in the right mood back then.
After consecutively dropping half a dozen novels in the first few chapters, this was the only one I actually read till the end. Your choices in novels are amazing, not to mention the five-star translation. Thank you very much dear translator, I know this was hard work! β‘β‘β‘
Thank you so much!!! πππ I’m really happy you had fun with it π π
Hii dear translator..thanks a lot for your hard work…u have done an amazing job in translating this story.β€οΈ I really enjoyed it a lot. Every character was so well developed…this work is definitely going in my list of top reads!!π₯°
Their is one thing I m confused about in relation to this extra of FL’s pov…does Fang Luowei also gains his memories of previous life in the end?also I kinda hoped for shen xi to open up about his rebirth to ML… anyways I hope u can clear my confusion:)
Thank you!!! I’m happy you enjoyed it! π π
I think Fang Luowei doesn’t gain his memories, it’s just an additional story of their previous life, revealing that Fang Luowei also loved Shen Xi in the previous life.
I would also enjoy it if the ML knew the MC was reborn. But I think the author chose not to go this way to show that the ML accepts the MC in any case, even without knowing about his previous life.
Ty for the translation, you did a great job, much appreciated!
πππ
The Story was so great that I can’t describe I though I missed this story in manga toon but luckily after a long search I finally got a chance to complete it Thank you so much for it .If you don’t mind could u please update it in manga again . if you don’t want to let me help u to update it in manga toon . I just don’t want others to miss this wonderful story . Thank you
I’m glad you enjoyed the story! But mangatoon… so, someone stole my translation and started posting it there under his/her own name? Not cool.
do you have his/her account name let me report it for you its your hard work no way i am not letting other person to take credit of your work i am your huge fan i never tolerate your work to be miss leaded tell me his/her account if u now
Well, the person who posted the translation on mangatoon is not me, she just took the translation and posted it there. But she seemed to drop it and there are only 16 chapters, so I guess it doesn’t matter π Thank you for your support, I hope you’ll enjoy my other translations as well π π
thank you, Yun!!! Best translator! <3 Do you know where I can find βRebirth of Xia Zeβ? I don't think its on novel updates o.o
It’s not translated, so it’s only in Chinese π
Muchas gracias! Realmente disfrute mucho la novela y los comentarios de todos!
Thank you! It’s great to hear! πππ
Thank you for the translation!! I could Not believe SC and SJ ended up together, but it seems oddly appropriate! At least now SJ has a guaranteed way to control his brother and the pair can stay together and not harm othersππ but the extras really removed my disdain for SC so that’s great, feels like a good resolution if not i wouldn’t be able to sleep. This was a very entertaining revenge story, thank you once again!!
Thank you!!! You’re right about SJ + SC being strangely appropriate. I didn’t see it coming at all but I didn’t mind it either π π
Thank you for translating!
WAIT?! WHY IT DIDN’T COMFIRM OR HAD CONVERSATION WITH SX WITH LH ABOUT HIS REBIRTH? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT EXPRESSION OUR ML WILL HAVE WHEN HE CONFIRMED IT, NOT JUST DREAMS
πππ
βI hate them, I hate my father, I hate the Shen family, I hate all the people surnamed Shen.β
Honestly, Shen Xi is right on track of becoming a second Shen Shang! The resemblance is uncanny. Thank goodness for Fang Luowei holding him back in both timelines, and Lao K and LMX later. Honestly, without them, Shen Xi will be immersing and brewing hatred until he become blind (become one with abyss).
I am disappointed π€£. Is that it for Fang Luowei’s long awaited gong lol. “I’m Mo Zheng!” π π€£π€£π€£. May I know, in Rebirth of Xia Ze, do Fang Luowei x Mo Zheng as side cp got their progress told, or just an extras like Shen Ji x Shen Cheng? Or don’t tell me it is just like this one, a one chapter one liner? π€£π€£π€£.
Thank you for completing this book! π I enjoyed Shen Xi rebirth of vengeance as well as finding peace with reality in the end. I also enjoyed LMX’s little junior malfunctioning episodes till upgraded into battle harden knight in armour lol. I just had a little complaint over Fang Luowei one liner husband π. Okay, see you in your next project that I will pick up as a read! I enjoyed your clean translation so much that I decided to binge it all one by one πͺπ.
I actually didn’t read Rebirth of Xia Zhe long enough to meet Fang Luowei there. It wasn’t a very exciting story. Mo Zheng seemed a good guy so I think they were happy, I can only guess it was not dramatic or anything. I liked Fang Luowei but he didn’t fascinate me, so I was fine just knowing he found his happiness.
Thank you for your comments!!! I love them so much, they really make my day!!!
Thank you for the translation. I realized I never thanked you for your hardwork when I read it the first time.
And I also realized that not one person apologized to Shen Xi for how they treated him. Tsk tsk. At least, being the elder brother, Shen Ji shouldβve sat down with Shen Xi and made amends. I wouldβve liked to see that, and maybe I would forgive him.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m happy you liked the story! π π
I actually think in this case the apology is unnecessary because Shen Xi took his revenge. If he hadn’t had his revenge, then yes, of course. But as it was, I feel, he and Shen Ji were even, that’s why they reconciled (and the Shen brothers even were invited to the wedding :))
Wow, just wow, what an exciting story this was! Couldnβt stop reading till the last chapter. All the tropes were so delicious and the plot was so engaging π€€ Thank you so much for the amazing translation! You totally rock and your taste in the novels is top-notch π― Wish you could share more of your fav novels with us!
Thank you!!! It really means a lot for me!!! I'[m very happy you enjoyed it! π π π