Clouds at Dusk, Friends in Spring

Republican Era:

At seven, his frail health led his family to send him away without a second thought to his maternal relatives in distant Chinan to recuperate. From then on, there was no longer any such person as the eldest young master of the Yao family in the capital. Whenever people spoke of him, they said he was delicate and sickly, with little time left to live. Eventually, they couldn’t even agree on whether he was a boy or a girl.

In the nineteenth year of the Republic, the Yao family suddenly summoned him back to the capital. A person who had vanished for fifteen years appeared out of nowhere, and the city was abuzz with rumors. Those who knew a little spoke in veiled hints, while those who knew nothing spread gossip all the same. Soon, this mysterious Yao had become the subject of bets at the gambling tables.

Some wagered he’d come back to fight his younger brother, Second Young Master Yao, for power. Others bet that, close to death, he’d returned to pay respects to his ancestors. Some even wagered on whether this mysterious person was a man or a woman!

The subject of their endless arguments was sitting on a train to the capital. A gauzy curtain covered the window, and a cloak hood concealed their face. No one could see what kind of beauty lay beneath, though now and then a glimpse of long hair appeared between the shifting folds.

A servant waiting outside the station received the news and galloped back to the capital to report it. Those who had bet that the person was a woman all smiled, waiting for the betting to open.

“Hmph.”

Yao Shutang looked at the message and gave a cold laugh. He slowly folded the paper, handed it to the person beside him, and ordered, “Follow the action. Bet on a man.”

That’s right, this person was the very subject of the rumors. He sat aboard the green train, and at every stop someone would pass a letter onto it. He knew everything that happened in the capital.

At last, the train arrived in North Beijing. A steward was waiting at the platform to receive him. He opened the latest letter from one of his subordinates. Two clear characters stood on the pristine paper: “Marriage alliance.”

With the eldest young master of the wealthy Shen family from Jiangnan.

Once on board, he drew back a corner of the curtain, revealing the long hair beneath his hat.

Meanwhile, in an alley, a bewitching young gentleman with a smile playing at his lips waited quietly, rolling two beads in his hand.

Present day:

Running into the same person three times, what kind of luck is that?!

I really believed that old monk’s nonsense. I left home once, came back, and now someone’s living in my heart!

I was just wondering how to win him over, and he started pouting, acting cute, and throwing himself at me all at once. By the time I came to my senses, he’d already gotten undressed!

Wait a minute, wasn’t I the one pursuing you?!

Republican Era: Frail x stoic

Present day: Innocent x seductive

A continuation of a bond left unfinished in a past life.

Reading guide:

1. The top has been with other people, but has never loved anyone except the bottom.

2. Past and present lives. The story alternates between them, so pay attention to the volume divisions (Republican Era + school life).

3. The Republican Era chapters are written in third person, while the school-life chapters are written in first person.

4. Choose what you like: each volume is labeled, so you can read only the Republican Era story or only the school-life story (the school-life story is pure sweetness).

5. The Republican Era story has a BE, while the school-life story has an HE.

6. Set in a fictional world, with many details invented by the author.

Thank you to everyone who clicked on this story.

A bad ending? It’s okay, Mom will write you a reincarnation story!

Theme: Fate is truly wonderful