Will you still love me even if I'm a man?

Epilogue 4: An Ziyan

Translator: Angela

Mai Ding's English ability was at a very basic, every-day level. For example, he could eat at restaurants and give basic greetings. But when it came to the street signs, he couldn't understand any of them and he also didn't know how to ask for directions. With a downturned face, he wondered why he couldn't find his way back, he shouldn't have gone that far, right? He closed his eyes and tried his best to remember how he got to where he was, but at that time, he was too busy looking around that he couldn't remember what was around him. Looking at all of the unfamiliar faces around him, Mai Ding started to feel a little scared. Without An Ziyan beside him, there was so feeling of safety in this entire world.

He lightly smacked his cheeks again to encourage himself: no matter what you say, you're still a man; don't be such a good-for-nothing! But where was An Ziyan? The more Mai Ding thought about it, the more he regretted it. He was also too scared to ask for help; if he ran into a bad person, what would he do? All he could do was stand there. He figured that it was better to stand there and wait for An Ziyan to find him than to wander around aimlessly. Also, they might miss each other if they're both walking around. It looked like Mai Ding wasn't a complete idiot. His eyes stared intently at every street corner until his eyes saw stars. That person, that person called An Ziyan, still hadn't appeared.

An Ziyan, who was still at the airport, asked pretty much every single staff member and traveller he came across. Did you see a Chinese man? How tall is he? What does he look like? But with so many people walking around, who would pay attention to Mai Ding? For someone like An Ziyan, who never interacts with strangers, this really was a tough task. When he couldn't find Mai Ding at the airport, An Ziyan went outside. Not having a car was inconvenient but at the same time, he was afraid of not spotting Mai Ding if he got on a taxi. All he could do was walk towards the airport exit. He didn't know which way he should search, he didn't know how much time had passed, he didn't know how far he walked. All he knew was that he had to search. He had to find Mai Ding no matter what!

Finally, he saw Mai Ding standing there warily with his hand fiddling about. Mai Ding also saw An Ziyan. He wanted to rush up and hug him, but when he saw An Ziyan's cold demeanour and tired expression, he hesitated. As his legs and feet began to feel numb, he could only stand there with his head drooping downwards and waited to be yelled at. An Ziyan slowly walked up to Mai Ding, but didn't say a word. Mai Ding found it strange: usually, even when he didn't do anything wrong, he would be mocked to hell and back. Yet now, when he actually did something wrong, An Ziyan was completely silent. This made Mai Ding feel even more guilty. He would rather be yelled at just to get it all out, but having words stuck in his throat made Mai Ding feel incredibly uncomfortable.

An Ziyan held up Mai Ding's chin and looked at Mai Ding's apologetic face. An Ziyan's stares made Mai Ding embarrassed, so he turned his head away: "W-what?"

"I thought you'd be so scared that you'd be crying by now." An Ziyan's tone wasn't mocking Mai Ding at all.

"It's only getting lost, it's not that big of a deal to make me cry. Besides, I'm a man." However, if An Ziyan arrived even a little bit later, then it might be another story.

Mai Ding waited a little longer, but still didn't hear the sound of An Ziyan's scolding voice. His entire body felt awkward and flustered. It was all his fault that he wasted their precious time! Mai Ding weakly asked: "Now what do we do?"

"What else can we do? We can't make it to the island today, so we'll have to stay somewhere nearby tonight."

An Ziyan turned around and walked away a few steps. When he noticed Mai Ding didn't follow him, he went back, grabbed Mai Ding's wrist, and pulled him forward. An Ziyan was pretty worried just a few moments ago, but when he saw Mai Ding appear in front of him, he let out a sigh of relief. This sigh was so big, that his temper went away along with it.