Hard to Escape Chapter 33 Part1

Candle: Hey guys… so lately I've been busy with summer cla.s.ses + grinding FGO + I've been playing the new Fire Emblem game like mad + I'm starting a job soon. In short, I'm lowkey swamped :') Hopefully that doesn't impact our release schedule but yeah uh….it's so hard to motivate myself to work on translations rip

Enjoy this happy chapter regardless!

It wasn't until the next day that Yin Li finally returned. He came in the room and turned off the TV. The entertainment gossip channels were currently broadcasting the press conference clip with Yin Xuan and Yin Li. Even though Yin Li had tried to suppress the news, there still were stations that were willing to offend him for the sake of getting more viewers. Currently, the anchor was excitedly deducing why the Yin siblings had both called out for "Yan Xiao", but with entirely different att.i.tudes. From old newspapers, one could see that Yan Xiao was Yin Li's supposed fiancee and the actress for the main supporting character in "Only I Dance."

Because the press conference was cut short so abruptly, many people believed that there was something going on behind the scenes. The drama from the three of us caused the media and spectators to concoct a crazy, melodramatic story of the rich and wealthy.　

"Yan Xiao, I've rescheduled all my work and have half a month of free time." Yin Li came over to brush my messy bangs into place.

I looked up at him. "I want to go away to a place where no one will recognize me, and just quietly stroll around." Yin Li had already planned to send Yin Xuan back to France to avoid the tabloids and do some introspection. But I didn't want to go back there, too.

I was unable to confront Paris and ballet. I only recovered a small portion of my memories. Why exactly did I want to end my life in that horrific manner?

This was the first time I had felt afraid of France. I tried to use Tchaikovsky and ballet to calm myself, but facing the row of mirrors in the studio, my fears only deepened. I was unable to face myself, and I was no longer able to dance peacefully. Right now, I only wanted to go to an unfamiliar country and wander around alone. I even didn't want Yin Li to come with me.

When Yin Li heard my thoughts, he surprisingly didn't object. He was shockingly calm. "That's fine. You and Xuan Xuan both need some time to yourselves. I also think solo traveling is good. Traveling and experiencing different cultures will help you be kinder to not just the world, but also to yourself.

I saw his beautiful smile and became a little lost in it.

"But I only have one request. Even if you want to travel alone, bring me along as your luggage. I just want to see the world with you." When he said that, his tone softened considerably.

His gaze concentrated on me, but was still calm and composed. He was sure I wouldn't reject him, and he was right. 

I nodded.

We packed our small backpacks just like that. Without knowing a lick of Spanish, we appeared in Mexico City.

Mexico City was dusty. The streets were filled with bright, colorful graffiti. This was a wild, crowded, lively, and unfamiliar place.

Yin Li and I quickly became lost in the crowd. The various foreign people and languages made me happy. Here, there were no Asians. All the natives that pa.s.sed us gave us strange looks and pointed. We only walked the length of one block before we were stopped by four people asking for a picture. Surprisingly, I wasn't offended. Here, away from the close gaze of the media, there were no paparazzi. There was only the naive curiosity of the people.

We were only pa.s.sing travelers. I felt at ease and happy.

They thought of us as novel, and likewise, we thought the same about them.

Yin Li could speak beautiful, fluent French and English. But when it came to Spanish, he was hopeless. The locals didn't seem to know much English either. I saw Yin Li gesture and wave his arms around when he tried to order food and ask for directions. When he became anxious, he lost his calm, restrained demeanor. "Dos! Dos!" Sometimes, his eyes would bulge and he would stick up two fingers. He wanted to use his newly-learned Spanish to stress that he wanted two orders of the dish, not one. Surprisingly, it was kind of cute.

We ate at all the local spots. One time, Yin Li and I decided to indulge our curiosity. We ordered beer and one of each item on the menu. We purposely sat along the breezy promenade. I was sitting on an elevated chair and swung my feet. We ate avocado-topped tacos and other foreign dishes I can't remember the name of.

"I'm going to gain so much weight from this vacation. When I get back, I'll have to go on a diet to maintain my figure." As I stuffed food in my mouth, I jokingly lamented. "I feel like I've never eaten this happily before."

Yin Li drank his beer and only looked at me.

I rubbed my tummy and also took a sip of the beer. Then I scooched closer and faced Yin Li.

"Now that I think about it, I still hate you a little," I said gloomily.

"Right now, I don't even want to dance anymore. I don't know what memories I've lost, but clearly they weren't as happy as I thought. In my past, there was also pain. I feel conflicted. To be honest, I really hate you." Yin Li showed me how wonderful the outside world could be. Humans are lazy by nature. Compared to sweating it out in the practice studio, eating and sitting outside was infinitely better. I took a big gulp of the Caldo de Res, a Mexican beef soup.

In that moment, three Mexican street performers strolled into the shop. They stopped in front of a table. Bursting with energy and joy, they played the accordion, fiddle, and saxophone for the couple sitting at the table. The couple put down their utensils and begun clapping with an uncontainable smile on their faces. It sounded like a merry tune. Nearby, a few Mexican hombres started to sing. The couple then stood up and started dancing and twirling about. The area sounded with rhythmic clapping. They were cheering something in Spanish. In response, the couple abandoned their table, walked outside, and danced uninhibited. Other diners and pa.s.sersby soon joined in on the dancing. 

The shop owner didn't nag the customers to pay their bills. In fact, he didn't raise an eyebrow to this at all. He merely laughed along from the sidelines.

See? Isn't the world so full of color and life?

This wonderful, colorful mortal world has joys aplenty that entice and slowly wear down a person's willpower.

I felt happy—happier than when I did beautiful ballet pirouettes.

To the rhythm, I dragged Yin Li out of his seat and into the dancing crowd.

The Mexicans finally noticed the foreign travelers, namely Yin Li and I. Their clapping became even more lively. The three street performers circled in front of us and started playing with even more gusto.

They all had smiling, warm-hearted expressions.