"Well … erm … Rong-Qiu-Chen …" After the crowd dispersed, Yuan Ge took the boy into the crew lounge, but he still feels very strange calling him by this name from his script.
"It's been quite a few days since I first saw you. You haven't been hiding in this mansion and never gone out all this time, or have you?" Rong Qiuchen looks dusty and grey from head to toe, his skin has lost the lustrous whiteness it had when he first saw him, and there is even dirt on his high nose bridge. It seems that he could really do with a good bath.
The boy looks at Yuan Ge with sorrowful eyes, seemingly ready to burst into tears at any moment, his gaze is filled with resignation and helplessness as he nods and whispers, "Childe Yuan, thank thee f'r being so kind to me … f'r … saving me the present day. I … Qiuchen … am anon all high-lone … the ordinary is so vast, yet thither is nay one whom i knoweth 'r who is't knoweth me, nay lodging to stayeth, nay lodging to wend … if 't be true thee mind not taking me with thee, i shalt beest at thy disposal."[1]
"Do you mean you finally believe me and don't plan to run away anymore?" Yuan Ge can't resist teasing him when he hears him speak in this formal way of the ancient literati.
But there is no sign of joking on Rong Qiuchen's face, as if he has made some difficult decision, nodding slightly, but still holding onto Yuan Ge's hand and refusing to let go.
Seeing his solemn and timid look, Yuan Ge somehow recalls the dream he had the other night, the image of their bodies intertwined together, and those intimate words and actions of the Third Lord. Although he cannot figure out whether he is the same Third Lord, the Rong Qiuchen in the dream does have the same face as the boy in front of him now. All of a sudden, he has a wicked association with the meaning of "take me with you" and immediately feels ashamed of himself.
Trying hard to dispel those wicked thoughts in his mind, Yuan Ge sighs, "I say little buddy, uh … Rong Qiuchen, you are close to freezing yourself to death on the street, can't you first take a little more responsibility for your own life? Let's stop playing games and stop being such a drama queen. Do you really think I'm some kind of lord or childe, and you're some kind of indentured opera singer of the ancient times? Please, just tell me the truth, what's your name? Where do you live? Is your home in Beijing?"
"Home? this is mine own home, wherefore would i dissemble thee?"[2] Rong Qiuchen looks at Yuan Ge blankly, and the light in his eyes dims a little. He bows his head for a long time before whispering, "So thee has't misgivings about me. If 't be true yond's the case, i would not dare to expect thee to taketh me in, so … i shalt taketh mine own leaveth"[3] Having said these words, he stands up and is about to walk out.
"Stop right there!" Yuan Ge pulls him back, seeing that pitiful look in his eyes like an abandoned puppy, and he feels that he is at his wit's end. Holding his hand to his forehead, he says in resignation, "I beg you, please just tell me what you want. Can you stop pretending to be an ancient guy? At least stop talking gobbledygook! Even though I can understand it, it sounds weird to me!"
Rong Qiuchen asks carefully, and in a trembling voice, "Childe yuan, i just wanteth to asketh thee to confirm one thing, as thee hath seemed to has't mention'd in thy haste yond day yond t is anon moo than a hundr'd years after the fourth year of Guangxu. Is yond … true?"[4]
"Of course it's true!" Seeing his obsession with cosplaying someone from the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Ge replies impatiently, "It's 2021! If you're transmigrated here, that's 143 years after the time you have lived in. Stop talking nonsense and put on some clothes!" He shouts as he throws his down jacket over.
"One hundred and forty three years …" Before Rong Qiuchen had time to exclaim, he is hit squarely in the face by the down jacket, "... What is transmigration? Where is Childe Yuan taking me?"
Yuan Ge looks defeated, ''Where am I taking you? Mr. Ancient Cosplayer, you almost stink to high heaven! I'm taking you home to take a bath! You refuse to give me your home address, what can I do but take you back to my house first. Stop dawdling, hurry up and get dressed. It's cold outside."
"You mean … you agree to take me in?" Rong Qiuchen gauges the sincerity in Yuan Ge's words and seems to finally feel somewhat reassured.
"Taking you in or taking you out, whatever. I just can't see you freezing to death on my film set. I have a small flat nearby, a fifteen minute walk, so you can stay with me for now."
Seeing that Rong Qiuchen is still frozen in place with a puzzled look on his face, seemingly struggling to digest the meaning of his words, Yuan Ge has no choice but to repeat in literate and formal language, "I have a private residence on Yandai Byway, just a short distance away. Would Master Rong please condescend to stay in my humble abode temporarily tonight?"
"Yandai Byway? Qiuchen knows it well!" For the first time, a small smile appeared on Rong Qiuchen's face. "If 't be true yond is the lodging, then Qiuchen would like to wend with thee, Childe yuan. In the past few days, i has't been in a daze, as if 't be true i wast in a dream. Anon yond i has't been did guide by thee, i realize yond things has't hath changed and everything is not a dream."[5]
"Talk to me properly, I don't have time to practice these ancient gobbledygook with you." Yuan Ge's words are sharp, but seeing the boy smile happily for the first time, he is still stunned by how beautiful and infectious that smile is . He wonders to himself, "Does that mean this crazy boy finally is going to admit that he has played enough of this crazy game?"
Although Rong Qiuchen is wearing Yuan Ge's down jacket, underneath it is still just a thin, dirty robe, his hair is dishevelled and he looks confused. Yuan Ge shakes his head, walks over, helps him zip and button his jacket, and pulls the fox fur hood at the back over his head. His waist-length black hair has nowhere to go, so Yuan Ge brings it over his shoulders to the front and lets it hang like black waterfalls.
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[1] Childe Yuan, thank you for being so kind to me … for … saving me today. I … Qiuchen … am now all alone … The world is so vast, yet there is no one whom I know or who knows me, no place to stay, no place to go … If you don't mind taking me with you, I shall be at your disposal.
[2] Home? This is my home, why would I deceive you?
[3] So you have misgivings about me. If that's the case, I would not dare to expect you to take me in, so … I shall take my leave.
[4] Childe Yuan, I just want to ask you to confirm one thing, as you seemed to have mentioned in your haste that day that it is now more than a hundred years after the fourth year of Guangxu. Is that … true?
[5] If that is the place, then Qiuchen would like to go with you, Childe Yuan. In the past few days, I have been in a daze, as if I were in a dream. Now that I have been guided by you, I realize that things have changed and everything is not a dream.