TGCMM Chapter 23 – Are you a tortoise?

~ Scheming BOY ~

The sunlight shone in from the roof and the windows, seeping through the gap into the room and hitting the large and messy desk with a single ray of light. The pearl lamp that had been illuminating the room no longer seemed dazzling as only a faint light remained. The incense burner at the corner of the room had gone out in the middle of the night but a hint of fragrance still lingered in the air.

Fu Wang, who had been lying sprawled on the table as he fiddled with a gadget, finally stopped what he was doing, picked up the finely crafted gadget that was on the table and looked at it with satisfaction in his eyes. Putting it back on the table, he wrung his wrists and threw on the outer garment that had been hanging on the chair before pushing open the door and walking out of the study room.

The air outside the confined study room was much fresher and Fu Wang clasped his hands as he stood at the doorway of the study room, his eyes squinted due to the sun’s glare.

He didn’t need to look at the adjacent room to know that Shu Yu had already gone out. Ever since she could engage the demon clansman in a fight, this “teacher” hadn’t assigned anymore homework. Shu Yu actively went out to find someone to practice on and he never had to worry about her again. He was busy learning many things and Shu Yu also had her own ideas so the two of them have been spending less time together than in the previous months.

Thinking about Shu Yu’s daily routine of going out early and returning late, only having a meal together at night before going to rest, then leaving again early the next morning, Fu Wang couldn’t help but to shake his head. He was sure that Shu Yu was avoiding him.

She had been doing it secretly, in no rush to avoid him but instead making slow changes, as if she was afraid that he might figure something out. But with Fu Wang’s ingenuity, he had sensed it once she had had that thought.

It’s just that even though he had realised it, there was nothing that he could do about it.

Over the past six months, Fu Wang had tried various methods but none of them worked. Looking at that girl, Fu Wang sometimes couldn’t help but to feel that she was actually a little tortoise. She appeared meek, allowing him to knock on her shell and not getting angry over it but her mouth was actually as unyielding as her shell. Regardless of how he hinted at or explicitly stated things, she remained calm and didn’t state her position. If he started to act ambiguously towards her, she would withdraw her head and let him act ambiguously.

This really……makes him feel more affection for her while also feeling frustrated. He had thought about using excessive means to force her but he couldn’t bear to do it so he could only watch as the little tortoise poked out its head to give him an innocent look before quietly withdrawing. Besides knocking on the little tortoise’s shell to vent his anger, what else could he do.

If she had displayed any signs of rejection, Fu Wang would have a cue to follow but she didn’t give him this chance. It seemed like she couldn’t refuse his kindness but she also wouldn’t give him any response. If you treated her well, she would do her best to treat you well too. Apart from this, there was nothing else.

Since she wasn’t willing, Fu Wang couldn’t force her. His character had determined that he wouldn’t resort to such rude behaviour to achieve his goal. On top of that, he had begun to care for Shu Yu more and more with every day that passed, so he restrained himself and didn’t use any of the little tricks he had used in the past. Unexpectedly, they had remained in this stalemate for so long.

Seeing that half a year had passed, although Fu Wang remained calm and collected as always, he was starting to become anxious.

“Becoming soft hearted to this extent, this is unlike Fu Wang.” soft like a sigh, those words dissipated in the morning light.

As Fu Wang was about to take a step down the stairs, he spotted something from the corner of his eyes and turned his head to see that there was something on the window sill. His heart skipped a beat. Walking over to take a look, it was just as he had thought. A few jade scrolls, two bottles of spiritual medicine that happened to be useful to him, and a letter.

—— “I chanced upon these yesterday, they should be of use to you. Also, you have to rest well at night.”

Stroking the handwriting that looked a little smudged because of the morning dew it had been soaked in, Fu Wang smiled, then let out a small sigh.

For the past six months, whenever she had something to give him, she had never given it to him in person. He would always have to inadvertently catch sight of the item and letter that she had left at an indefinite place, before he would know that she had left him something. Moreover, the few sentences written in the letter would always include words like “unintentionally picked up”, “accidentally dug up” or “chanced upon this”, purposely making clear that the items had been easily obtained with no effort.

A few times, he had caught her looking around with something in her hands and putting it on his desk or window sill like a thief with a guilty conscience before slipping away quietly. She totally looked like she was doing something bad, emitting a familiar foolishness the whole time. Fu Wang unwittingly recalled the day he first met her and the corner of his lips curled up.

He was never stingy towards Shu Yu and although she didn’t seem to care at that moment, she would silently treat him even better afterwards. This feeling of someone reciprocating and cherishing his efforts was captivating.

In some ways, Fu Wang was a stingy person, stingy to show others his feelings and true emotions. He often felt uneasy about his feelings towards Shu Yu so he was anxious to have Shu Yu feel the same way as him.

He wanted her to toss and turn in bed because of him, to worry about how to get him or about losing him.

So did she have these feelings? Fu Wang wasn’t quite sure. He put away the things on the window sill, save for one bottle of medicine which he put into the pot that was sitting on his small stove. He then sat on the chair that was beside the small stove. He hadn’t had a good rest in a long time and it felt great to lie down as he lazed and enjoyed the sun.

This rocking chair was the one that Fu Wang had made when he was still recuperating from his injuries. After his recovery, he had become obsessed with learning various things like arrays and elixirs so this rocking chair hadn’t been used. At some point, Shu Yu had started to occupy it, placing it in the yard and nestling herself into the deck chair after dinner every night, wrapped up in a woollen blanket as she looked up at the sky in a daze.

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She would always look sad, as if her mind was filled with thoughts. She might be homesick, longing for that world that she missed but had never mentioned. She had never told him about wanting to return but Fu Wang knew that she wanted to. So what if one day, she really could return?

Or what if, he made her believe that she could never return? If he did that, would she finally be able to put her mind at ease and remain by his side?

Fu Wang believed that Shu Yu felt the same towards him. He still remembered back when Shu Yu wasn’t able to be as merciless as she was now, she would only choose male demons to spar with and never made a move against any female demons.

He felt that it wasn’t appropriate and had accompanied her one day. Shu Yu, who had never attacked any female demons before, upon seeing a fox clan lady flirting with him verbally, had pursed her lips and wordlessly made a move. When she later turned to see his smile, her face turned red and she awkwardly fled. This incident left an impression on him.

Even if that wasn’t ‘like’, even if it was just interest, as long as she felt something towards him, he was confident that he could make her unable to leave him. It was just that she had too many concerns which she never confided to him, leaving him at a loss as to where to start.

The rocking chair stopped with a creak before slowly starting to rock again. The medicine’s fragrance vaporised and white steam curled up. Fu Wang’s half closed eyes drifted to the boiling stove that was bubbling, a complicated glint in his eyes.

She had been frightened by the injuries he had sustained when they first arrived at the Clear Wilderness. Even though he was currently in good health, she would still collect and bring back these medicinal herbs and spiritual objects. His body was that of a mixed half demon’s and because of his body’s mixed constitution, he had no talent for cultivation. Even if he were to practice his hardest for a hundred years, he could never compare to Shu Yu’s one month of cultivation.

From the moment he was abandoned at birth, he had always felt this gap. For those that looked down on and insulted him, something that they could easily reach for was something that he had to chase after and use all of his strength to obtain.

Unwillingness, rage, and the desire to change, he used to show these intense thoughts but as he grew older, he tucked them away in his heart, awaiting the day it could sprout.

Before, he had planned to rely on Jin Yu’s status to gain power and strength. So what if he was a half demon? He will eventually become an existence that everyone looked up to.

He was an ambitious man, and that had never changed. He won’t deny that he likes Shu Yu, or we can also say that it was exactly because he understood “love” that he felt even more desperate to gain power.

Half demons could only live for about two to three hundred years while Shu Yu had a divine body that was practically immortal. How could Fu Wang face the fact that he would only be able to accompany her for a short period of time? How could he accept the fact that a hundred years later, he would gradually grow old and meet his end while Shu Yu would still be in her prime?

This was unbearable. Fu Wang gazed at his slender and youthful hands before abruptly clenching it into a fist.

That night, Shu Yu was surprised when she returned to find that BOSS wasn’t hanging out in the study room to study those incomprehensible things. Instead, he was sleeping on the rocking chair in the yard and it even looked like he had been asleep for a long time.

BOSS, the one who needed sleep, often stayed up throughout the night as he busied himself. The demon that didn’t need sleep instead went to bed and woke up on time everyday, her rest time was even more regular and healthy than when she was in her original world. For BOSS to be hard at work while she slept, she had an indescribable feeling of guilt.

Shu Yu stood at the yard’s gate for a while and seeing that Fu Wang hadn’t moved, she couldn’t stop herself from tiptoeing towards the rocking chair.

His eyebrows were slightly creased, seeming like he was thinking about something troubling in his dream. He was only wearing his inner garments, having probably draped his outer garment over himself but it had slipped off as he lay on the rocking chair. His collar was wide open and she could see his beautiful collarbone and adam’s apple.

Shu Yu rubbed her nose and quickly averted her eyes away from his neck. She then reached out for the mound of woollen blanket that was beside Fu Wang’s leg and covered his abdomen. She then looked down to see that his long flowy black hair wasn’t tied up and had hung down to the ground. She squatted down and gathered all his hair before carefully patting away the dust and placing it back on the chair.

Just like every story, where the person covering another with a quilt will be found out, Shu Yu looked at the hand that had suddenly gripped onto her wrist and thought to herself: Why am I not surprised?

“Shu Yu.”

“En? The sun is setting and it’s getting windier outside. Why don’t you return to your room to rest?” Shu Yu said, still having not noticed that anything was out of place. Her body sensed the danger faster than her mind and she subconsciously took a step back.

Fu Wang was looking at her with squinted eyes and right after Shu Yu moved back, his hands pulled hard, pulled hard……Shu Yu had gathered her Qi at her dantian and her legs were slightly apart. She stood at the same place, remaining still like a lofty mountain, not falling straight into his arms like he’d expected.

Fu Wang: “……How much strength must I use to pull you down?”

Shu Yu turned silent and hesitated for a while before replying: “Probably more strength, umm, a little bit more.” Although she was saying a little bit, her hands truthfully gestured a very long distance.

Fu Wang looked at that “distance” and sighed as he let go of her hand. Pulling the woollen blanket up to his neck, he decided to occupy the rocking chair tonight to bar Shu Yu from sleeping on the rocking chair and watching the stars.

Fu-injured·BOSS·Wang^[1], took an arrow.to his knee, today’s seduction attempt was a failure and he was unhappy.

Sure enough, Shu Yu wasn’t able to sleep in the rocking chair that night and could only move the stool beside Fu Wang to watch the stars. As she gazed at the stars, she suddenly felt really sleepy and her head leaned against the rocking chair and she fell asleep. Fu Wang glanced at the incense burner he had placed beside Shu Yu just now and revealed a【kind and gentle】smile.

Fu Wang reached out to stroke her head, carried her onto the rocking chair, then he lay down beside her and embraced her.

Look, he always got what he wanted.

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^{1. Original text: 袱脆皮·BOSS·望
袱脆皮 (fú cuì pí) directly translates to: cloth covering – 袱) fragile – 脆) skin – 皮) and I’m thinking that this is a play on his name, to laugh at boss for his failed scheme.
Imagine it like this → Fu·BOSS·Wang
Loosely translated it to “injured” so that the text wouldn’t look too messy.
Look, so messy → Fu-Bandaged Fragile Skin·BOSS·Wang↩}

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This translation is brought to you by:
Iluska & Maelani Translations
Translator: Isadora
Editor: Sugakookie

Sugakookie: Fu Wang you scheming little…
…Little cutie! That last line was the icing on top, who’s with me?

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Welcome to Sugakookie’s rambling corner: (it’s longer than usual)
I’ve realised two things.
The first is that, all this time, I’d thought that I was doing pretty well with updating a chapter every two weeks but I’ve realised that a few times, I had actually updated in two weeks plus one day.
Because it’s usually past midnight by the time I’m done with the final edit and get to putting up the post, when my goldfish brain checks in one week later to confirm the deadline, it gets pushed back one day.
Basically, what I wanted to say is that, I’ll be fixing an update schedule, on every alternate Thursday (though it might show up as Friday because…midnight) (or Saturday latest if things get busy)
The second thing I realised was that…the agreement I had with Isadora was to update one chapter every month.
So…um…let’s keep this on the down-low and continue with two chapters a week, at least until I catch up with Isadora.
Isadora if you’re seeing this, I apologise for my goldfish brain, and I would like to offer a cup of bubble tea as a show of my sincerest apologies (for real, screenshot this and send me)

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