{"id":10924,"date":"2020-02-24T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/?p=10924"},"modified":"2025-09-08T18:31:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T22:31:06","slug":"death-progress-bar-76","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/death-progress-bar-76\/","title":{"rendered":"Death Progress Bar 76"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProject Page<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Harsh Light of Reality<\/span><\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There wasn\u2019t much information on Jian Jinwen, only two pages worth.<\/span><\/p>

The first thing it mentioned was that Jian Jinwen was Jian Chenghua\u2019s adopted child.<\/span><\/p>

This…<\/span><\/em><\/p>

Shi Jin paused for a moment. He was surprised, but perhaps he shouldn\u2019t have been\u2014although Jian Chenghua also was fat, his facial features were ordinary and didn\u2019t resemble those of Jian Jinwen at all. No one would be able to tell they were father and son from appearance alone.<\/span><\/p>

There was so little information it took Shi Jin less than ten minutes to read through the lot.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Jinwen\u2019s parents were unknown. He was abandoned just after birth and brought up in an orphanage until the age of two, when he was adopted by Jian Chenghua, who was unable to have children. Then, when he was twelve, he fell ill without any warning and had to be admitted to the hospital.<\/span><\/p>

His illness was of a troublesome kind\u2014while it would not kill him immediately, it was impossible to be completely cured. He had to be hospitalized for a long period of time and be given regular treatment with hormones.<\/span><\/p>

The bright, beautiful boy gained weight fast, which was one of the unfortunate side effects of the hormone therapy. He couldn\u2019t go to school anymore and couldn\u2019t do any strenuous exercises; he could only stay in the hospital and endure the dull and painful life of the chronically ill.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua loved his adopted son very much. He provided Jian Jinwen the best treatment environment he could, and also acted as his teacher: every day, he gave him classes, read him books and newspapers, and cultivated his ability to study independently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This situation lasted for many years. Jian Jinwen\u2019s physical condition had not improved but he was unfailingly optimistic, not only studying with enthusiasm, but even developing a hobby of writing. Every now and then, when his condition allowed, he attended charity events sponsored by Jian Chenghua. Those events were to help children living in orphanages or remote mountainous regions, and while there he would tell stories to younger children and teach them to read and write.<\/span><\/p>

It had to be said that Jian Chenghua was an excellent educator. Under his guidance, Jian Jinwen, who was tortured by illness, had not become depressed and withdrawn, but grew into a very gentle and kind person. He would donate his pocket money to buy stationery for children in orphanages, write encouraging letters to abused children Jian Chenghua reported on, and play with other sick children in the hospital to comfort and cheer them up.<\/span><\/p>

He was like a warm little sun, bathing everyone around him in kindness.<\/span><\/p>

It was a pity that fate did not treat such a gentle person the same way.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Jinwen\u2019s condition took a sudden turn for the worse when he was nineteen, and he had to be transferred to a big hospital in B city. It was the same year that Jian Chenghua quit his job at the municipal newspaper and began to work in one of B city\u2019s newspapers instead.<\/span><\/p>

After going to City B, Jian Jinwen underwent a major operation and stopped using hormones. Tortured by the pain his disease caused him, he lost weight at a rapid pace. A few short years later, he finally exhausted his life force and passed away, cutting his life tragically short.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin\u2019s hand paused. His chest felt a little heavy, but he was also confused.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Jinwen must have been Shi Xingrui\u2019s white moonlight, there was no doubt about that. However, when he went through Jian Jinwen\u2019s data, there was no trace of Shi Xingrui having contact with him. Leaving aside possible correspondence, the trajectories of their lives were like two completely parallel lines\u2014never intersecting.<\/span><\/p>

That was extremely strange. With Shi Xingrui\u2019s fixation on his white moonlight, Shi Jin thought the two would have had a deep, tragic relationship. But judging from the information he had at hand, let alone fall in love, it was a question if Shi Xingrui and Jian Jinwen had even met face-to-face.<\/span><\/p>

What was going on? Shi Xingrui seemed to love Jian Jinwen to the point of obsession, so how was this possible? Even if Shi Xingrui had temporarily lost contact with Jian Jinwen because Jian Chenghua took him to B city for treatment, Jian Chenghua\u2019s employment information was so transparent that with Shi Xingrui\u2019s ability, it should\u2019ve been easy to find him and as such, also his son.<\/span><\/p>

It was so easy and yet, Shi Xingrui didn\u2019t find Jian Jinwen. There could be only one explanation for this\u2014Shi Xingrui didn\u2019t <\/span>want<\/em> <\/span>to meet Jian Jinwen, and maybe even avoided meeting him on purpose.<\/span><\/p>

But if that was the case, things became even stranger. Loving somebody but avoiding them? It didn\u2019t make sense.<\/span><\/p>

Was it a secret crush, the type where you were afraid of meeting the other person? But with Shi Xingrui\u2019s personality, would something like that even be possible?<\/span><\/p>

The more Shi Jin tried to make sense of matters, the less sense everything made. Still, he was certain there must be something hidden, something the data didn\u2019t mention. After all, the way Shi Xingrui behaved later on\u2014searching for women similar to Jian Jinwen and having children with them, desperately trying to produce a replica of Jian Jinwen\u2014was just too crazy. It was diametrically opposed to his earlier avoidance.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThere is someone who should know the whole truth,\u201d Lian Jun said all of a sudden, pulling Shi Jin out of his thoughts.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin looked at him and, yet again thanking all the deities for blessing him with such a wonderful lover, asked, \u201cJiang Chenghua, you mean?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Lian Jun nodded and took out his phone. \u201cIf I remember right, Jian Chenghua settled in B city after he retired, and opened an orphanage. Would you like to talk to him?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin touched his own face on reflex, hesitating. After a moment of struggle, he nodded. \u201cYes, but\u2026 It\u2019s better if Jian Chenghua doesn\u2019t see me. I look too much like Jian Jinwen, I\u2019m afraid he\u2019ll feel sad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Lian Jun reached out to caress his cheek. \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

After lunch, the two went out, heading for the orphanage run by Jian Chenghua.<\/span><\/p>

Half an hour\u2019s drive later, the car stopped at the door of a relatively small building. Gua Two, dressed as an ordinary white-collar worker, straightened his collar, got out of the car with a bag, and went inside.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin watched him leave, waiting with Lian Jun in the car.<\/span><\/p>

About half an hour passed before Gua Two returned, bearing news of defeat.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cJian Chenghua is in there, telling stories to the kids. I spoke with him on the pretext of donating books, but he probably doesn\u2019t want to talk about the past. No matter how I guided the conversation, he wouldn\u2019t take the bait. I was afraid of making him suspicious so I didn\u2019t dare probe too much and found an excuse to come out. What now? Do you want to send someone else in?\u201d A helpless expression on his face, Gua Two glanced at the orphanage.<\/span><\/p>

Lian Jun frowned and looked at Shi Jin.<\/span><\/p>

After a moment of hesitation, the young man reached for the door handle. \u201cI\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Gua Two scrambled to take some \u201cprops\u201d out of the bag he carried, saying, \u201cWait a minute, I\u2019ll give you the donation list. You can pretend to be my assistant\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201cNo need,\u201d Shi Jin waved the papers away and pushed the door open. \u201cMy face will be enough to make him open up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Lian Jun shifted to the side of the car, moving closer to him. \u201cCall if you need me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin nodded, let out a light breath, and walked towards the orphanage.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The orphanage wasn\u2019t large, it only occupied one building. Shi Jin entered and a member of the staff guided him to the children\u2019s playroom. In the front of the room sat Jian Chenghua.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua was in his seventies, but even though his hair had turned snow-white, he looked healthy and energetic. He narrated a story, his eyes filled with kindness and <\/span>a Maitreya Buddha<\/strong><\/a>-like smile on his face. It seemed the children liked him very much, as they sat around him in a circle, well-behaved and listening to him with adoration.<\/span><\/p>

The worker who brought Shi Jin over called to Jian Chenghua. The old man looked towards them and his expression froze, his smile fixed, his eyes widening a little. He got up, nearly dropping the story book, and walked around the children to reach Shi Jin. Grabbing the teenager\u2019s hand, he said in a trembling voice, \u201cYou, you are\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201cHello Dean Jian. My name is Shi Jin,\u201d the young man introduced himself. Taking a few seconds to settle himself,<\/span> he continued with the truth,<\/span> \u201cI\u2019m Shi Xingrui\u2019s son. I have some questions about his relationship with Jian Jinwen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua looked confused, as if he suspected he had heard wrong, but little by little he regained control of his emotions and expression. Eyebrows furrowing, he scrutinized Shi Jin\u2019s face. \u201cWhat are you talking about? Whose son did you say you are?\u201d he managed to ask, the hand grasping Shi Jin\u2019s tightening without realizing it.<\/span><\/p>

Letting out a sigh inside his mind, Shi Jin patted the old man\u2019s hand in comfort. \u201cShi Xingrui\u2014my father is Shi Xingrui.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua\u2019s expression could be described as dumbstruck. He stared at Shi Jin for a long moment, mouth open, then snapped back to himself and left the room, pulling Shi Jin along as well. Once he had instructed the worker who had brought Shi Jin to look after the children, he led the teenager towards the dean\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin looked at the old man\u2019s hand holding his own in a death grip but didn\u2019t try to free himself, following him without protest.<\/span><\/p>

They settled in the dean\u2019s office. Jian Chenghua released Shi Jin\u2019s hand with some reluctance. After looking at him for a while longer, he poured him a glass of water and sat opposite him. Face complex, he began, \u201cYou\u2026 you and Xiao Jin look so much alike. Right, you just said your name is, Shi, Shi\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201cShi Jin,\u201d the young man repeated.<\/span><\/p>

[T\/N: \u201cJin\u201d in Shi <\/span>Jin<\/b> and Jian <\/span>Jin<\/b>wen is the same character, <\/span>\u8fdb<\/span><\/a> (\u201cto move forward\u201d).]<\/span><\/em><\/p>

Jian Chenghua stopped, his expression changing. Suddenly, he sighed. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to be like this\u2026 Ask whatever you want to ask, I\u2019ll do my best to answer. The person who wanted to donate the books earlier was someone you know, wasn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin nodded with some embarrassment. \u201cYes. I\u2019m sorry, I asked him to talk to you. I didn\u2019t want to show up directly in case it upset you\u2014after all, my face\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201cLooks just like Jinwen\u2019s,\u201d Jian Chenghua finished, changing the way he called Jian Jinwen. He sighed again and his eyes went absent, as though he was looking at events happening far off in time and space. Abruptly, his gaze focused on Shi Jin again. \u201cI probably know what you want to ask\u2026 Jinwen and your father did know each other and used to exchange letters when they were young, but they definitely weren\u2019t in the kind of relationship you\u2019re thinking. I don\u2019t know why Shi Xingrui would give you that name, or why your appearance\u2026 <\/span>sigh<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201cI came looking for you in order to figure that out.\u201d Shi Jin glanced at Jian Chenghua, judging his mood. After a momentary pause, he continued, \u201cWould it be possible for you to tell me in detail how my father and your son met, and elaborate on their relationship? I know it\u2019s a bit presumptuous of me, but I\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua waved his hand, interrupting him. \u201cI understand, with you looking so similar to someone else, it\u2019s only natural to be curious about that person. It\u2019s just that I myself don\u2019t really understand\u2026 oh well. Anyway, it\u2019s all old stories\u2014it wouldn\u2019t be bad to have someone I can talk to about it, actually.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

He poured himself a glass of water, got comfortable, and began to speak.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Just as Shi Jin guessed, Shi Xingrui and Jian Jinwen had indeed been pen pals for a long time, and the person who helped bring their friendship about was Jian Chenghua.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWhen I first heard about Shi Xingrui, he was only a primary school student. At that time, he\u2019d sent more than ten articles to the newspaper in one go, explaining the difficult situation at home, which attracted the attention of everyone in the office. Back then, Jinwen had only just been admitted to the hospital\u2014maybe it made me more sympathetic. Anyway, I was moved by Shi Xingrui\u2019s letter and wanted to help him somehow, at least a little. I tinkered<\/span> with the page layout, managing to squeeze in one of the short essays he submitted, and wrote him a letter of encouragement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

As the old man recalled the past, his gaze unfocused. \u201cJinwen could not go to school after he was admitted to the hospital, and there were no children to play with him. I was afraid he would be lonely, so I chatted with him about the daily happenings in the newspaper, and read him the interesting letters and contributions from young readers. That\u2019s how Jinwen knew about Shi Xingrui. He had been soft-hearted ever since he was small, so when I told him that Shi Xingrui\u2019s family was bad off, he took out some of the pocket money he\u2019d saved and asked me to send it along with my letter of encouragement, and added a little cheer-up note of his own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

In his heart, Shi Jin sighed with pity. Jian Jinwen was a kind, warm-hearted child but unfortunately, the Heavens didn\u2019t seem to care about him the way he deserved.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cAfter receiving my letter and Jinwen\u2019s pocket money, Shi Xingrui wrote me a polite thank-you note, and submitted another manuscript to me at the same time, saying he wanted the contribution fee to be donated to the local orphanage. At that time, I thought he was a sensible, kind child, a seedling worthy of cultivating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua seemed to think he\u2019d said something funny as he let out a short chuckle. Soon, his smile faded and his expression dimmed again. \u201cIt was around then that Jinwen\u2019s disease had been diagnosed and he started to be given hormone treatment. He was in pain and I wanted to distract him somehow; since most of his attention was on Shi Xingrui back then, I asked him to try to write to Shi Xingrui and sent the letter together with the official newspaper\u2019s reply to ensure it would reach him. Shi Xingrui was a kind-hearted child, and after receiving Jinwen\u2019s letter he would send a reply to him each time he submitted a piece of writing to the newspaper. They began to exchange letters just like that, with me as the middleman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua\u2019s words planted a seed in Shi Jin\u2019s mind. He grasped at the subtle thought\u2014in the beginning, Shi Xingrui probably established a connection with Jian Jingwen not because he was kindhearted, but because he\u2019d noticed Jian Chenghua\u2019s identity. It would only benefit him to have the editor-in-chief of the newspaper look favourably on him, since it would make it easier for his contributions to be published, and as such, earn contribution fees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

However, Shi Jin recalled Shi Xingrui\u2019s age at the time and decided he might be biased\u2014it was improbable that a ten-year-old child would be so scheming.<\/span><\/p>

He shook his head to get rid of stray thoughts and continued to listen to Jian Chenghua\u2019s story.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Xingrui and Jian Jinwen maintained that strange mode of correspondence ever since. They didn\u2019t communicate very frequently, their exchanges coinciding with however often Shi Xingrui submitted contributions to the newspaper.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Xingrui graduated from primary school and got admitted to the county town\u2019s middle school, but it was difficult for his parents to come up with the tuition fee. Shi Xingrui didn\u2019t tell Jian Chenghua about this, but only mentioned in his letter to Jian Jinwen that his parents had been having a hard time recently. It caught Jian Jinwen\u2019s attention; fearing that Shi Xingrui really would have to drop out of middle school, he told Jian Chenghua everything.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua just so happened to have a job editing a textbook when he heard about the situation, so he recommended Shi Xingrui\u2019s articles to the publishers.<\/span><\/p>

There was actually a period of time between the articles being accepted and when the contribution fees would be paid. Jian Jinwen was afraid that Shi Xingrui\u2019s situation was too urgent to wait, and yet again generously asked for his pocket money to be sent to his friend. Instead, Jian Chenghua decided to advance the payment of the contribution fee to Shi Xingrui so that he could get the money early.<\/span><\/p>

After this episode, Jian Jinwen and Shi Xingrui\u2019s relationship grew much closer; Shi Xingrui sent submissions to the newspaper more and more frequently, and Jian Jinwen\u2019s letters got longer and longer. The two boys slowly grew up, and when Shi Xingrui was about to graduate from middle school, Jian Jinwen put forward the idea of them meeting in person.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThey made an appointment, but unfortunately, Shi Xingrui\u2019s mother had an accident after his high school entrance examination, and the meeting was delayed.\u201d Jian Chenghua sighed and said with some regret, \u201cWhatever their relationship might\u2019ve become, it seemed <\/span>the fate decreed it wasn\u2019t meant to be<\/b><\/a>. After that, Jinwen\u2019s condition deteriorated and he had to be transferred to another hospital. By the time he came back, Shi Xingrui had already been admitted to a high school in the provincial capital, too far for a casual trip.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Though the plan to meet fell through, the two continued to communicate. However, the content of Shi Xingrui\u2019s letters started to change over time, more and more of his emotions bleeding through the lines. Jian Jinwen knew that he was sad because his mother had passed away, so he always took care to comfort Shi Xingrui in his letters.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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During that period, Shi Xingrui was probably feeling quite miserable. The submissions were all things that he had written before, but most of the contents of each envelope were meant for Jian Jinwen, and they oozed negativity.<\/span><\/p>

As Jian Chenghua spoke, his eyebrows set in a scowl. \u201cIt was then that I found out that Shi Xingrui was actually not the kind child I\u2019d always imagined him to be. He described his anger and pain in great detail to Jinwen, saying he wanted to make his grandparents pay, to interrogate his aunt and uncle, to beat up his cousins. He was filled with hatred but had nowhere to vent his feelings, so all of them fell on Jinwen. He became a stranger in the blink of an eye\u2014his letters were so cruel and violent that they made even me, an adult, horrified. I began to worry; Jinwen was too gentle, I was afraid he would be hurt by Shi Xingrui.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin couldn\u2019t help but frown. He realized that this should have been the turning point, the moment when Shi Xingrui\u2019s feelings towards Jian Jinwen changed. His emotions in turmoil after his mother\u2019s suspicious death, Shi Xingrui, who had no other place to vent, began to confide in Jian Jinwen, this time really laying his heart bare to him.<\/span><\/p>

The old man continued, \u201cI tried to persuade Jinwen to break contact with Shi Xingrui for a while. It might\u2019ve been selfish but as a father, I didn\u2019t want Jinwen, whose life was already full of physical suffering, to also become an outlet for someone else to vent their bad feelings. Jinwen refused\u2014he said that it was all because Shi Xingrui was going through adolescence that he couldn\u2019t control himself well, and that if he stopped letting Shi Xingrui vent, Shi Xingrui\u2019s mind might become twisted by the pain of his mother\u2019s death, and he might really go down the wrong path. He managed to convince me and I allowed them to continue keeping in contact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Throughout the first year of high school, Shi Xingrui was pouring his emotional sewage out onto Jian Jinwen. Jian Jinwen, like a cotton filter, received the sewage in its entirety, filtered out the filthy parts, and returned only gentleness and patience to Shi Xingrui.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Xingrui\u2019s mood adjusted as time passed; he stopped submitting old manuscripts and began to write new things. During the summer vacation dividing the first and second year of high school, he took the initiative to ask Jinwen to meet.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin\u2019s heart skipped a beat at that\u2014the summer vacation between the first and second grade? That period of time was very important, because he remembered that it was after the first semester of the second year that Shi Xingrui stopped writing in full, and began to devote all of his attention to studying.<\/span><\/p>

Could what happened during that summer vacation be the reason?<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin looked at Jian Chenghua with an eager gaze.<\/span><\/p>

The old man was caught in his memories and didn\u2019t notice that Shi Jin\u2019s eyes suddenly lit up.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cJinwen also wanted to meet Shi Xingrui; they had been pen pals for many years after all, and he happily agreed\u2026 but Shi Xingrui failed to show up. That day, Jinwen waited at the meeting place until night fell, but Shi Xingrui never appeared. In fact, he seemed to drop off the face of earth and couldn\u2019t be contacted anymore, and after a while, Jinwen\u2019s initial disappointment turned into real worry. Perhaps his emotions affected his body, because his physical condition deteriorated all of a sudden and I had no choice but to transfer him to a big hospital in B city.\u201d As he spoke of this, Jian Chenghua\u2019s expression became somewhat strained, and there was some blame in his tone. \u201cAlthough reason told me that Jinwen\u2019s condition worsened due to objective causes, I couldn\u2019t help but blame Shi Xingrui in my heart\u2014he said he wanted to meet with Jinwen, so why didn\u2019t he come? Why did he have to make Jinwen so upset?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin stared at him, dumbfounded\u2014almost right away, he realized that perhaps it wasn\u2019t that Shi Xingrui failed to keep the appointment, but that he saw Jian Jinwen and <\/span>\u201chis love was killed by the cold, harsh light of reality.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>

It was something that happened a lot when making friends and dating online. If one viewed things from Shi Xingrui\u2019s perspective: because of his mother\u2019s death, he began to lay his heart bare to his pen pal, slowly becoming emotionally dependent on him; after a year, as this dependence gave birth to a certain feeling, he asked to meet; then, when he went to the agreed-upon place filled with shy expectation, the person he saw was an ugly fat guy. Naturally, he hightailed it out of there as fast as his legs could carry him!<\/span><\/p>

This explained Shi Xingrui\u2019s abrupt change perfectly! How could a person as proud and arrogant as Shi Xingrui admit, even to himself, that the person he fell in love with was actually a fat man? So he ran away and disappeared, strangling his secret crush and cutting off all connections with the object of his feelings.<\/span><\/p>

It turned out the truth was this simple. This was really…<\/span><\/p>

In order to verify his conjecture, Shi Jin suppressed the thoughts running amok in his mind and asked, interrupting Jian Chenghua\u2019s reminiscing, \u201cUm, had my father and your son exchanged photos before they agreed to meet?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

For a moment, the old man looked at him with confusion, then nodded. \u201cThey had, but relatively early\u2014I\u2019m not exactly sure when, but it wasn\u2019t long after they began to correspond. Wait a moment, I still have those pictures, I\u2019ll show them to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

They actually had?<\/span><\/em><\/p>

Taken aback, Shi Jin began to suspect that he had guessed wrong.<\/span><\/p>

Jian Chenghua took out two aged, palm-sized photos from an old album and handed them to Shi Jin. \u201cThese two. Jinwen thought it was too embarrassing to do it by himself, so I was the one who picked which photo to send.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin took the pictures and looked at them.<\/span><\/p>

The picture on top was Shi Xingrui\u2019s. It seemed to have been cut out from a group photo because the edges weren\u2019t straight. The boy in the photo was about ten years old and his features were still childish, very different from his adult appearance.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin quickly swapped to the photo underneath to take a look at the one that interested him\u2014and was struck dumb.<\/span><\/p>

This picture was of a much better quality, and it was obvious that it was taken with a good camera. The child in the picture was also in his early teens, and quite pretty. He sat in a hospital bed, holding scissors and a paper cutout in his hands. His hair, a bit long, had grown past his ears. He\u2026 looked like a short-haired girl.<\/span><\/p>

Really, if he hadn\u2019t known that this child was a boy, he definitely would have thought the person in the picture was a girl! What\u2019s more, a beautiful, gentle, high-quality girl, a future goddess!<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin felt as if the skies had opened and sent a bolt of lightning crashing down onto his head, hitting it smack in the middle and leaving him dizzy and trembling, almost unable to speak.<\/span><\/p>

Shi Xingrui might\u2019ve experienced not only \u201cthe cold, harsh light of reality\u201d but also catfishing\u2026 <\/span>cough<\/span><\/em>, his goddess turning out to be a male god\u2026<\/span><\/p>

He calmed his turbulent emotions, looked at the old man who was still sighing with sorrow, and said, \u201cThat, um, can I see your son\u2019s handwriting? I\u2019m just a little curious\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

This request was rather strange, but Jian Chenghua didn\u2019t think much about it. Happy to be able to share his son\u2019s excellence with others, he took out a very well-preserved notebook and said with pride, \u201cCertainly. Jinwen was a quiet child and started practicing calligraphy when he was very young. His handwriting was very good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Shi Jin received the notebook, glanced at the handwriting, and fell silent.<\/span><\/p>

It was said that a person\u2019s handwriting was a good indicator of their temperament. Indeed, the characters written by Jian Jinwen\u2019s hand were pleasant-looking, with rounded shapes and no sharp edges or corners. His handwriting was very elegant\u2026 and looked like a girl\u2019s handwriting.<\/span><\/p>

If he was a young Shi Xingrui, then after seeing that photo and this pretty handwriting, he definitely would have taken for granted that his pen pal was a girl, a beautiful and gentle <\/span>girl<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask Jian Chenghua if Shi Xingrui and Jian Jinwen had ever confirmed each other\u2019s gender in their letters, but he swallowed his words before they formed.<\/span><\/p>

How could he ask something like that? That question was too brain-dead. Given that the photos had already been exchanged, who would have thought of confirming the gender of their pen pal? In those days, no one had ever heard about crossdressing or transgender people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Translator: Eques<\/em>
Editor: Con
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Eques:<\/strong><\/h3>

Jian Jinwen’s illness is not specified. I’m not a doctor but apparently hormone therapy is used for some types of cancer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSTILL WANTED<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA dedicated TL checker for Part-Time Taoist Priest. It's a great novel, but unfortunately, I can't give it attention it deserves. Drop in on Discord if you're interested.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProject Page<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[66,35,67,39,69,37],"class_list":["post-10924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dpb","tag-betrayal","tag-bl","tag-comedy","tag-modern","tag-system","tag-transmigration"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10924"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11654,"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10924\/revisions\/11654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betwixtedbutterfly.com\/translations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}