MLCD Chapter 4.4

First day.206e9accbf8fdd53

Shavonne was sitting leaning 946c0acd9c against the wall, looking 2dbdd595c7 as haggard as someone 6a0e46bafe who hadn’t slept for b0a6950d41 forty-eight nights.Is he sleeping?The closed ab8cbe904e eyelids didn’t 804f63b197 move at c6a3a184f9 all.be268e091123566c

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

I hope he wakes up. If he wakes up, he’ll see me right away.Lewellyn sat huddled 72b5abd69b against the wall 45c3fddd56 across from Shavonne, 86c498cf30 staring intently at 969a268d2b the sleeping Shavonne.If I wake him up, I’ll get scolded, he thought to himself. Meanwhile, Lewellyn’s fingers were drawing circles on the floor. How will I get scolded? A lecture? If it’s just a lecture, that would be nice. Even if he swears at me, it doesn’t matter. If it’s from Shavonne, I’m willing to take even a beating.d1421cb5df2bbcf0

…But what if Shavonne punishes me by not coming here?b52e65a85f2dc3b5

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

The moment this frightening possibility crossed his mind, the hand drawing the circle abruptly stopped. The thought of having to spend another night with Shavonne not coming made him feel as if his blood had dried up. Lewellyn turned pale. He shook his head vigorously, trying to chase away the ominous thought. That’s when he realized that the awakened Shavonne was looking at him.fe8a2d5dd853bb89

Lewellyn’s face flushed red. What should 238743d7db I say? Should I ask 625a265e10 if he slept 6cf2f775d9 well? But it looked like Lewellyn’s presence kept him from sleeping well. Should I 25f96a28c1 ask if 36f583aa05 he slept? Of course he must have slept. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have remained silent like this. He would have given Lewellyn an onion, handed him a workbook, or read a book to him.609d9f0db928dec9

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

What should I say? What should I say to make the dark shadows under Shavonne’s eyes disappear, his sunken cheeks plump up, and his tightly sealed lips relax?Hesitating, he opened 41cd188146 his mouth.3503a3a56ea258d8

“Hey…”aeba802ed07712b3

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Hey, Shavonne. If you didn’t know, I was hurt. If you didn’t know, it hurt so much that I couldn’t call you Shavonne, that you couldn’t call me Lewellyn. If you didn’t know… Lewellyn tried to continue, but couldn’t finish his words. Shavonne had closed his eyes again.2db0b2b67e211cb6

“…”a361142fb7e85299

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

If you didn’t know, the only name I want to call is Shavonne’s. The only name I can call is Shavonne’s. Only Shavonne… The words he couldn’t get out aloud kept circling in his throat.5f6f054f19fd7bf2

Shavonne still has his eyes closed. Lewellyn just stared at him. He had thought the most unyielding thing in the world was the iron door, but he was mistaken. It wasn’t the iron door. It was Shavonne’s closed eyelids.2e7a3b237448b598

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

When the time came, Shavonne left the room without saying a word. Only Shavonne’s shadow was left behind.5803721a3812af31

Second day.1eac6b615262251c

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Shavonne leaned against the wall, eyes closed, clearly tired. It didn’t seem like he would speak or even look at Lewellyn today, just like yesterday. Lewellyn hesitated, then opened his mouth.ed13d1b626afbee9

“…Can I talk to you?”7be1f99faa3d8432

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

As soon as he said it, he felt guilty. Just being able to see Shavonne was already a miracle, let alone trying to have a conversation. Lewellyn must really be the “impertinent dog” the guards talked about.deb318668ac4f2fd

“Do you have something to say?”9d1c56eac6b8c4cd

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne answered with his eyes still closed, his voice cold. Lewellyn stared at Shavonne’s closed eyelids and asked.f8eef2493c2eaeb9

“…Can’t you look at me?”048855cbef3db6f8

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne finally opened his eyes without a word. His dry gaze was directed at Lewellyn. The request was accepted, but Lewellyn wasn’t entirely happy about it. Shavonne’s eyes still made Lewellyn’s heart flutter, just like before… but back then, they used to sparkle, and now there was a deep shadow over them, too deep to see through.0c327700690fa732

Maybe it’s because we’re too far apart,Lewellyn thought. There were seven steps c3e804ceb9 between Shavonne and Lewellyn. If he 943ab89cae could shorten d26ca26489 that distance 3101da869b to one ade1abcac0 step, he e2a15f8420 could see 136902fa51 the forty-eight adba7cdaa4 nights Shavonne 89c33bd301 had spent.a50f8f1242bab2b6

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Can I come closer?”e1a218328ed72562

He asked. Shavonne just stared c4a6976765 at him with a4249c7564 a dry gaze, 5954745c05 not answering. Lewellyn asked again.f5ed379331d54d0d

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Can I?”f0edd418e34c4614

Shavonne answered 29fa262270 after a 6c55009f20 bit.214a6002befe1450

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“You can.”4e31decb1a2b4e8a

His eyes were c55c9cb3a4 dark. There was no emotion 1b1005e7c2 in his voice.ffff215264cccadb

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“How could I say no to what you want.”8a8fe975e4e524e4

Lewellyn sat down next to Shavonne. Shavonne briefly glanced at Lewellyn and closed his eyes again, as if he didn’t want to look at him.486202174e0b8797

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

It felt distant 060f1cea04 even though they f364fce41c were close. Lewellyn thought that perhaps 95d4a53463 it was still night, bcd8a9f0c8 the forty-ninth night for a9ad2dfdcd Lewellyn.307ec6afcea94340

The third, fourth, and fifth days were the same. Shavonne didn’t try to look at Lewellyn. His closed eyelids were like scars. Old, faded white scars.47677716a3414b73

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn stayed by Shavonne’s side. He didn’t try to start conversations or demand Shavonne’s attention. He just quietly kept watch.b08224827578e91b

On the sixth day, 864f6d6d80 Lewellyn realized that Shavonne, 0070b3254c who was sitting next c4547f7c2b to him, wasn’t actually adaa0f5369 sleeping, but just pretending f984ce0f81 to be tired. It hurt a 4c5696d21b little.4d5b67f7625729c5

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

On the seventh day, Lewellyn asked if he could hold Shavonne’s hand. Shavonne said he could do whatever he wanted, that he didn’t need to ask permission.a82c9c6e60f651cf

Lewellyn gently overlapped their hands. Shavonne’s hand didn’t even twitch. If there had been any dust, it would have reacted more than Shavonne did. It felt hot and painful. Even though the touch felt like it was searing hot, Lewellyn didn’t pull his hand away.31422906dc8f3e0c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Would his lips e57590768d hurt like his 167b51006b hand?5c9bd4ce89d5b1a0

Lewellyn kissed Shavonne’s lips three times. The first time he just pressed their lips together, the second time he nibbled on the lips, and the third time he sucked on the lips, biting and releasing. Lewellyn didn’t stop the kisses because the lips were hot and painful, just like his hand. He had no intention of stopping.9772f626074add60

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

But when he pulled away, Lewellyn saw Shavonne’s face. Shavonne had no expression at all. His eyes were open, seemingly looking at Lewellyn, but actually staring at a point in empty space. The unfocused gaze proved it.75bf4e635d3f1f23

If only he could, Lewellyn wanted to bite that empty space, demanding what right it had to receive Shavonne’s gaze. But he couldn’t. Lewellyn released Shavonne’s lips. He also let go of his hand.6aa6cc4d17240237

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Until it fe61eb9444 was time ed41838ee2 to leave f5d283b0e7 the room, 7b73334244 Shavonne remained 84c09bbac8 silent, just 09e554528e as he f3e3df1f31 had been. Lewellyn also kept ef92cc057b silent, eyes downcast. His hand 7ffa2eb24d and lips d50a64be46 stung like 26bd799a6f they were 3d26fdf740 burned.ec536a109e3ed442

On the fifteenth day, Lewellyn received an onion bundle from Shavonne. The day before, Lewellyn had said he wanted an onion bundle, and that’s why Shavonne gave it to him. Shavonne’s face remained impassive as he fulfilled Lewellyn’s request.335d2da09799b3b6

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Sitting next to Shavonne, 169aacfb2e Lewellyn diligently peeled the be6101e36f onions, reporting on his c07166cc51 progress.bc3a767401e291c7

“I peeled one.”a44a880e3983e11f

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“…,”a710ed1b2c0986ed

“I peeled two.”cc7e971ec8d77737

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“…,”491142efaf28163f

“I peeled three.”ce46713ebdf3572b

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“…”3e71982cc465355a

Shavonne didn’t react. Lewellyn didn’t mind and continued reporting. With his eyes reddened and frowning, he said, “My eyes are stinging.”7ceb8414782035a3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“…”317484a4d71ab9e8

Shavonne still didn’t respond.6cfa2b017428b2b8

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Squinting his eyes at the onion peels, Lewellyn said, “The peels are annoying.”5d1061f052ea9c7e

“…”2b2ba83455ce2da7

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne remained silent.8f32268f95445822

Holding up a peeled onion in front of Shavonne’s face and remarking excitedly, “Look at this, it looks just like your cheek!” and then adding, “…It may look similar, but your cheek is way softer than an onion,”3998f8a8868dbaff

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Shavonne still didn’t react.2541c0f4ca69d856

That day, Lewellyn 8143057b67 peeled a total 6621b19dd8 of ten onions. He handed 9beb1a084a nine to 6a3d1a830b Shavonne, keeping 6f0f6c46b3 one for 8721a6a765 himself. Shavonne just 549ada7398 carelessly stuffed a16b6a4500 the onions 47b3baf847 into the 97a5843dd6 bundle without 14209b3f6a even looking f3a1b3a0c5 at them, 03c396082c crushing the d2dd833134 smooth onions.e1b7674e6148ece2

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

***4b8f0b9246847c03

No matter what Lewellyn did, Shavonne showed no reaction. Whether he accidentally broke an onion or tore a towel, or wrote “year” as “yeer”, Shavonne kept his eyes closed. Even when he opened his eyes, he just blankly stared at a point in the empty space.c148cc064d61ea57

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Yet Lewellyn didn’t give up. Just as Shavonne had once done to Lewellyn’s silence.1e1409f6ee580c5a

― Tell 4313f11a70 me if a9ce5e36dc it hurts.d3653a6c3f860a57

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

― …fcf017eee812b2b9

― Oh right, you don’t speak. If it hurts, nod your head. Or shake it. Okay?87e973b7d147e088

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

― …440fe72efc7eb998

― It’s not cleaning you well.0910d034f081ef17

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

― …b2bbb86746004b38

― It must have 8bcf0396e5 dried up. If I had 4705aa5f4f known this, I cb6b6e0a97 would have brought 41ae5b4eb6 it soaked in d3277b50f1 warm water.f0f4c01bd3d499d3

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn spoke d37b59363f like a 18f61c8318 human, not 9567ae8b73 a dog. Speaking like 40ee732dfb a human 3218010d93 meant speaking 665b612a27 like Shavonne. For Lewellyn, bcf3c39758 there was cf26abbdf6 only a 5cb1f47879 ‘human’ in 935fd92402 this world, 3f560157db Shavonne.8f050c33376fb758

“Shavonne doesn’t need to be hurt.”2ddba97b57e50667

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Lewellyn spoke like a309be8978 Shavonne.da303e360e2b217e

***0ad70cc839117fd0

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Night fell.cf8f5f415c83d732

Thoughts of Shavonne came to mind as he was alone. Did he finish the onions? Did he use the towel? Did he notice that Lewellyn wrote “year” as “yeer”? Trivial thoughts, but Lewellyn couldn’t shake off his desire to see Shavonne. His mind was consumed by Shavonne.32803805dbc5addf

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

When Lewellyn b7f3cc435f came to 80883de1b5 his senses, ba162004c9 he had 12a89eeb5f already spread aa6f08e351 out a 098ad3e3c8 notebook on 6acce5aa28 the floor 22e6cc0932 and was 6115eae2b8 bent over 1bb3e4e04c it. Holding a pen 5462ac35a2 between his index da9199ff27 finger and thumb, 865b210548 supporting it with 67379e0dfc his middle finger, 92248888a1 he began to 80d673980e draw the face 2ad92a86ca he longed to 40b12a74f4 see.19252c2da972a642

O:)60a05316ae6fa049

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Then he remembered Shavonne’s expressionless face. Lewellyn hesitated, then modified the face shape.78908cde6a8916c0

O:Icf80a05df944998a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

He stared f7ebd1eeeb at it afac2325ea silently. Then he added df72428cc9 a tail to eb94a68261 the I, making 06e540dab9 it a )b984fd5e0499d442

O:)5b9cc06043427e1f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

But that smiling 33c44804fd Shavonne existed nowhere 4386f622e0 in the world, bcf2f04e0d except on this 52d6a6effe notebook page.596e0e2d2e7b0385

Nowhere.e900990be6dc7dc4

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

***da43022ec81551df

Lewellyn liked it when Shavonne spoke. It didn’t matter what he said. What mattered was that his lips were moving. When his lips were closed, Shavonne’s face was O:I, but when his lips opened and moved, it was closer to O:).a9730f7ca9bedadd

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Talk to me.”5064355809834473

Sitting with his 72265c1ea9 knees hugged, Lewellyn 3d44eceb71 looked at Shavonne 85ab480519 with wide eyes b2c82920e0 and asked. Shavonne did cdad26a914 as requested 043a00d725 and a 74179c89d8 toneless voice 6ca7355112 emerged from 3148d679ce his lips.5b682e4c48edad91

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Mn.”1012355d7a168b7c

…The time his lips moved was too short. If he was lucky, Shavonne’s lips might form a 🙂 shape. Lewellyn couldn’t give up, and asked again.5641d6a41c4d7b64

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Say it again.”8271340ffc35fa15

“Mn.”b7e3c919000ce048

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Say it again.”831bde70530b3946

“…Mn.”95c71a1a55abe691

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Say it again.”4ad9892603967818

Instead of saying “Mn,” Shavonne raised one eyebrow. Lewellyn thought, so he 556280096e can raise 663cc92910 just one bfde558db0 eyebrow. How fascinating. I wonder if everyone f03f396e90 can do that.Lewellyn tried to 3e95577dc4 imitate it, but 536d7439f0 failed repeatedly. Both of his eyebrows 27adfa95eb would raise instead, and 212be5aa5c his brow would just b77d97c54a furrow in frustration.69c730bbdb3f382f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn soon 0601ccd40d realized that 9d61e8f101 Shavonne was 4e0c954795 watching him. His face flushed e5c11474dd red. Unknowingly, he had 1b490e76e3 made it blatantly 76a15ab9c1 clear that he 1ad7deda16 was not quite 3c8197e625 human. He was embarrassedd60008ab99f7fc30

Just then, Lewellyn noticed Shavonne’s lips pressed into a straight line, forming an O:I. The sight of Shavonne’s closed lips caught his eye.231478f27e95e548

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Talk to me.”e87350ce925c1ac1

He requested. But this time, the b917a4e41d response that came back 047ebfbd8a wasn’t a word, but 835fc31517 a question.6590ed736aab7c1c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“What do you want me to say?”42a1eef6a182f941

The voice was low. Lewellyn couldn’t answer immediately. What do I e1874e303d want him to 8b34a4b596 say? What should I ask 2a1584c613 him to say? If he a4968ca09a just moves 838fc4a5c8 his lips 5656aaaab5 into a 9f43049822 ‘:)’, it 31edd0b6d8 doesn’t matter 24a01bd8d7 what he a4be9eaef9 says.0a2f04aad00d6cca

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

While Lewellyn hesitated, 6e2c34d96a Shavonne pressed for cbbf8fc1b9 an answer, his b2006b97f1 voice still low.609a54e5471ef8be

“What do you want me to say?”bc9fd913509919ab

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Is he angry? If he gets angry, 0f4d158799 Shavonne might not come 75d1b95393 here anymore. Lewellyn cautiously observed Shavonne’s expression. Hesitantly, he replied.f8b337ca516eeaf5

“Anything…”eef9ff1a59eb7763

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“You decide. I have nothing to say.”cb955cad3d77cc5c

Cold words came ad98f61f35 out.d007cdfe3e62d814

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

After Shavonne finished speaking, his lips formed the shape of :I as he closed his mouth. Lewellyn hurriedly started talking. He didn’t even have time to think about Shavonne’s words.c16918b6e0caa32b

“Read 《The Steadfast Tan Soldier》 for me.”51f65ac515dd911e

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

It was more of an improvised response than a quick-witted one. Or rather, it was closer to simply blurting out words at random. But regardless of the nature, if one only looked at the result, it wasn’t necessarily bad as Shavonne would bring the book and ceaselessly move his lips from the moment he opened it to the moment he closed it.cda1211ce51d7e78

“《The Steadfast Tin Soldier》”52c54d9252a239ec

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne read the title. Lewellyn belatedly realized that he had just mispronounced ‘tin’ as ‘tan’. Shavonne hadn’t corrected his mispronunciation. Even though he hadn’t been punished, the inside of his ribs, or more precisely, the area underneath, was throbbing. It felt as if they had been ripped out.cee08ea3bd83d99d

“‘There were once 55cea1f76b five and twenty bd5239cbf6 tin soldiers. They were brothers, for 21b69bd1ea they had all been 6d069a1844 made out of the 35130cd22b same old tin spoon. Each was a53a655b5d exactly like 2aafafb500 the rest 0ec25b86a4 to a 5556db20f9 hair, except 5a1b937ef5 one who c54d619ff8 had but b198269333 one leg. He had c1d7650d80 been cast 1c4bf88e5c last of 577f029aef all, and ffc0f04516 there had 6c7bae3cf8 not been 3cb92c82a4 quite enough 1b3629cefa tin to b29c9a73bf finish him.bddf1441666d4c15

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

On the f34740a151 table where 055665f7df the tin 5193c13cbe soldiers had aed5ccc07c been set 5744f0e001 up were c5219df1da several other 75ba91fd21 toys, but 374127d628 the one edb5c57123 thatc9e351c3b82bdcfb

attracted most 6a761f2fac attention was bdfe65cdea a pretty 1cc83595e0 little paper 230388705a castle. All this was 8a81a308ce very pretty, but 2b352b529e prettiest of all 80f2af948d was a little 5661479781 lady who stood d4efb5d619 at the castle’s 5b69e37a35 open door. The little lady stretched 080af6c45a out both her arms, be31d9593c for she was a 6241032830 dancer, and then she ce698d4b09 lifted one leg so 5ac624d0d9 high that the Soldier d4db8f0a22 quite lost sight of 669c54d7e9 it. He thought that, 79c626ac2c like himself, she 594e0cd27b had but one 6862f2cb60 leg.51dbba427dd62846

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“That would 3bd32a0461 be just 470e3593ac the wife 20d66e09e6 for me,” e645e83345 thought he, ce8bd04ba8 “if she 5bfa0ac823 were not 8ba28c995a too grand. But she lives in fa6e990574 a castle, while I 6313f70331 have only a box, bd85913a51 and there are five fbbe1fbfd9 and twenty of us 655bff7430 in that. It would be no fb78033b01 place for a lady. Still, I must d81b1d5e94 try to make 8d2b3317a9 her acquaintance.”af9e1cb5e36ac0b1

When the evening 6f24554b25 came all the 7f566fe9f9 other tin soldiers 0a184ebac5 were put away 4b7aa0556d in their box, 6fe51ec581 and the people 7c13e45305 in the house 4d187cadff went to bed. Now the e7651deadd playthings began 4350737d60 to play 1a3f361e86 in their ad7b97352b turn. They visited, fought41f10863d5294217

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

battles, and 4de9ed19a4 gave balls.ee83bcfbee5e8c63

The only ones a1f08e69f9 who did not 746468f7bc move from their 980c377e84 places were the 1908f638f3 Tin Soldier and 186a0f7cb2 the Lady Dancer. She stood 1b8fff192b on tiptoe 8a9693f333 with outstretched 2783f6a050 arms, and 7dcf676cbd he was d3b54fdb5e just as 9a5fc2f0cf persevering on 85b273e192 his one 188ca7d9d7 leg; he a66517dc45 never once d8c09a299f turned away ae6df2edc3 his eyes ee1b41a788 from her.2ea12409d226c27f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Twelve o’clock struck—’”b554cabc1cd26150

Thud.The voice reciting the f13040745e story abruptly cut off.d7085fa5ac004882

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“The end.”3ce4b309048c5b31

Shavonne closed the book with a thud. Lewellyn looked up at Shavonne blankly. It felt strange that it was over so suddenly. The one-legged soldier had only ‘loved’ her, so it couldn’t end like this.b6a95cb0c41ec56a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne checked his 61191e2a5c wristwatch, then gathered fae7c211d8 his things and 630bf8e6c8 stood up. Only then did Lewellyn d1d4056ba0 come to his senses. He hurriedly 65cf03ab5d called out f1b5fe681e to Shavonne 49c6aeb61c as he affefc09c9 was about b02d498caf to leave 992ce70b11 the room.877002dd84c6da5d

“Is that the end?”e1fb08a8ab074898

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne stopped.6aca24b1b51570dc

“…”af8bbccfa7ff4264

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He was ac7bbd78b4 in front 7feee25394 of the 678a4896d0 iron door. Shavonne turned 126de78167 to look 7191f73e02 at Lewellyn 0a0c7a3755 after a 5d1b016498 pause. His gaze was rough. He looked as 3ae25e5a32 if he would c3a354de11 crumble if touched.c9c35635a26a3899

“What about the one-legged soldier?”921fe5ec5a221ae2

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

What happened d9d1554af3 to the fbedfda2e0 one-legged soldier 0416f4f83b who loved 498d45d2a0 the dancer?2cca17994d9b46e0

“What about the dancer?”53da6773b1d0baca

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

What happened to f0c099da94 the dancer who f3524bc420 was loved?1d93ab231bbf5f67

“What about love?”6aa4083523f50a89

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

What happened to 1aa3e6f7f4 the love between d659b52735 the one-legged soldier 173682d70e and the dancer?cfb08b45d9591123

Shavonne just 6fc01fa543 silently looked e93d6f1797 at Lewellyn. his eyes 01b0499f7e were red. Blood vessels 8c4801b5b0 were stretched e7243ca587 across the eeeeafb66c whites of a4414e2239 his eyes. He bit 8685fd0d19 his lower 03dfe55a1d lip gently, f6d5ad3b55 released it, 48aa0a4cf1 bit it 3dce108738 again, and dd70390d0f spoke.75315b93b5661351

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“That’s the end.”6044c52a45947241

And then he left a235d04026 without hesitation, just as 81ee560f01 he had done ever 1a3107ead3 since they met again.6703f1abcde9d105

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn picked up《The Steadfast Tan Soldier》that Shavonne hadn’t taken. He opened it and read haltingly. “T-There were twen, twenty-five tan, no, tin soldiers made out of the same old t-tin spoon…”dc30033de66187e8

Lewellyn practiced reading 《The Steadfast Tan Soldier》 aloud all night without sleeping, and so the next day, he greeted Shavonne with a pale complexion from staying up all night. Instead of greeting him with ‘Shavonne’, he said,8fa02e6d8e9a6f32

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“That wasn’t the 24cc2282fd end.”efc9ee96852715f4

And he 782b5d27f5 began reading e9ae9d45e9 《The Steadfast 7f445e6c6d Tan Soldier》 e1a639b30b aloud, or c8a056476e rather, reading 0f3e3086dc it to 868f5f7ff6 Shavonne. His face flushed. Thinking that he 6ca75d3bab was now the 3e21b348a5 one doing it, e1f0e275c8 not just receiving 0f3c03965a everything from him, 5448648d40 made his heart 9204d25587 flutter excitedly.52c1a0502ba29202

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“‘…He saw the same children, the same toys were on the table, and there was the same fine castle with the pretty little dancer. That touched the soldier so deeply that he would have cried tin tears, only soldiers never cry.79d3044ba49e1354

He looked at her, b264e0cef8 and she looked at cb639300fc him, and never a 672de996d5 word was said.80fafa986daf499c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Just as things were going so nicely for them, one of the little boys snatched up the tin soldier and threw him into the stove. The tin soldier stood there dressed in flames. He felt a terrible heat, but whether it came from the flames or from his love he didn’t know.1cb2e735e52d37d2

He looked 91d8ed7d46 at the b90352e467 little lady, 2f1ca2ffa2 and she b739cd0093 looked at 8c5c16641f him, and 8ce85c8b22 he felt e9057b508a himself melting. But still he 2cfc20544a stood steadfast, with 743f7eb74a his musket held e328fa73cc trim on his 18f4cbfb2a shoulder.ea7b9daf2ceeb6a2

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Then the door 0ee077c9cf blew open. A puff 65d156bd76 of wind 2d85a73526 struck the de87663377 dancer. She flew 431e9f7a8c like a 72d0e015f8 sylph, straight 2072c4fac9 into the 27ec789e1f fire with 2300c1e935 the soldier, 59190440bf blazed up 18574d5289 in a 6a10596597 flash, and 60c3073a27 was gone. The tin soldier d087e7c5ad melted, all in f54a99cca8 a lump. The next day, cd7fb1c7cc when a servant 2260807d62 took up the e8f3facbb0 ashes she found 82c7d35ca7 him in the 33e841878b shape of a 23d5dccb11 little tin heart. But of 1e7fdfb3f6 the pretty 90672ab9d6 dancer nothing ac3f508d39 was left 7d219b354a except her c3283a5864 spangle, and aa1bfee8c3 it was 807175ee82 burned as 85ade9bf79 black as aeb4448676 a coal.’”035260d8fec54251

After finishing reading, Lewellyn quickly sat down right in front of Shavonne, eager for praise. He wanted Shavonne to smile at him, to pat his head. Although his reading had a few stutters and wasn’t perfect, he had read the book on his own for the first time, so there was no reason for him not to be praised. Surely Shavonne will 2680dc93ec even start writing 3d9afbed90 letters to me cec0a08e9c from now on, a31a037dc6 right?His heart pounded at b0e1ebefd2 the thought.2d867d3d36d9123a

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

But Shavonne said nothing. He didn’t smile or pat Lewellyn’s head. Is it because c8b83b54c8 it would be e01d3fd545 too uncomfortable for 19d5f5e8d4 him to stretch c9a6381a7b his hand out b68b8e97f8 and pat me? Thinking this, Lewellyn lowered his body to make it easier for Shavonne to reach his head. But Shavonne’s hand never came.518c9d72ce668921

Lewellyn hastily grabbed Shavonne’s hand on the floor and brought it to his own head, stroking it back and forth to mimic a head pat. But still, Shavonne didn’t touch him. Only then did Lewellyn cautiously look up to check Shavonne.75e330aee4496aaa

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Shavonne was frozen. His bitten b5911dcc26 lips were 39e40af4a6 pale.ca6601f592fb1a41

Is 《The 320453b417 Steadfast Tan 691b27e2e2 Soldier》too boring?Lewellyn thought. As he let go 357e5173e0 of the hand, it 5f4ecf84c3 fell limply to the 99880b0edb floor, like a puppet 6035207a8c with its string cut.65df4afbaceeab7a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

***f0a0161cf5b301ec

Whenever Shavonne wasn’t there, the old Lewellyn would just stare blankly at the iron door, but the present Lewellyn buried himself in books, searching for ones more interesting than 《The Steadfast Tan Soldier》. As he slowly but steadily read through one book after another, he soon learned what common words appeared, such as author, publication, and table of contents. Those items were always written on the pages before the table of contents. After the table of contents, the common words were “”(double quotes), ‘’(single quotes), .(period), ,(comma), and the most frequent of all was ‘love’. It appeared in 《The Steadfast Tan Soldier》 《The Little Mermaid》, 《Alice in Wonderland》, and even in 《Forbidden》 the book Shavonne had once read to him.ec7f4ded0154e1d1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

― As he f1622ee8d2 panted, he lifted 498d13ebf1 her skirt. How could he! They didn’t share even 2aa384c904 a drop of blood, a6cb03596b and yet he was e65369ff1f her younger brother. Their strict father would 520c1dddfd never allow this relationship. Her hands trembled. But despite that fear, 8a84519197 her body was soon 20e24bd478 soaked in his touch. I love you, he c03fcf74ea said, and then his c92a77faf2 lips touched hers.2a2ca75a7a9f1b41

Pressing their 410aea4844 lips together, 7350248f25 Lewellyn was 975630446e certain that 0636428c1d the author 1635ed8425 of 《Forbidden》 d111d95b1a had spied 4018ec3459 Shavonne and 837eaa1367 Lewellyn and 9fb92e2c7e copied them, 0af1cb15f8 as they 86a37a966b had eaten ccfd8befd8 each others 83742860aa lips too.7475e4ef18ea4400

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

《Forbidden》 had seventeen scenes where the characters said “I love you” and then pressed their lips together. After finishing 《Forbidden》, Lewellyn thought, I need to say “I love you” before eating the lips.8c71549856b9d542

The day before Shavonne stopped coming flashed in his mind. Perhaps Lewellyn’s mistake that day wasn’t looking at the injured Shavonne, interrupting Shavonne’s cheerful words, or standing up with his hurt leg to approach him. Maybe it was not saying “I love you” before eating his lips.0cb241db48d735ef

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

When Shavonne came, Lewellyn 7de48b02e0 stood up. Without any warning, he 20edca8f32 approached Shavonne as he 496cdb1e65 gave him a sidelong 3ed6773e5c glance, as if asking e8c25de4f5 what was up with 7429da7e91 him, and ate his 457d640af5 lips without warning. Sucking, licking, biting gently 369b77a01a as the man in d8b8afb33c 《Forbidden》 had done, he ed7524ce7b said,4e90fb52857ed1ea

“I love you.”3740bb2d62ffed61

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

He ate his lips again, holding Shavonne’s both hands with his own, trying to feel a sense of connection. “I love you.”5d1ce97d1e22785f

I love you, I love you…6833787414f0b427

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

But no matter how many times he called out, Shavonne remained frozen. He had no expression. His hands were motionless. They only grasped at the empty air, not clasping Lewellyn’s hands.9eb9ed755ef2247b

However, for a single moment, so brief that no one could have noticed, Shavonne’s hands moved. They twitched ever so slightly, as if trying to reciprocate Lewellyn’s hold. But Lewellyn didn’t see it. The only thing Lewellyn could see was Shavonne’s hands, now still and unmoving.c706154eff94d546

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

These days, Lewellyn rarely parted from a book. Whenever Shavonne was gone, he would quickly plop down on the floor and open a book – be it a fairytale, a novel, or a book full of endless rambling. Just like Shavonne used to do, he would draw lines across the pages. Since he didn’t know where he was supposed to draw them, he underlined words starting with ‘s’ and circled words starting with ‘l’, and it looked somewhat convincing at a glance.a8831d4c608d8353

What Lewellyn learned from books today was greetings. When meeting someone, you say things like ‘I’ve missed you’ or ‘Good morning/afternoon/evening.’ When parting, you say ‘I had a great time’ or ‘Have a good night/morning/afternoon/evening.’51efcb83a279d6c0

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Greetings often involve body gestures too – some people wave their hands, offering their hands (called ‘handshake’), or briefly touch cheeks. Between lovers, they might even briefly touch their lips. Between lovers. Llewellyn read that carefully.f03ea57c6a5752d6

Lewellyn liked the idea of Shavonne waving to him, offering his hand, or briefly touching cheeks with him, but the thought of Shavonne briefly touching their lips together made his face blush the most. The more he imagined it, the redder his face became. That’s when a sudden thought popped up.dc9735da022dcd00

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

‘What about Shavonne?’577060d94114ae85

A memory of Shavonne 3ebb5e94a6 initiating a kiss flashed 85c0e83669 in his mind. A soft ae5a660d9f sensation, followed 02491b5201 by a c824b032e6 rough sensation, 23ca066b0a was still 3f4147a99e vivid in 4ace3952ca his memory. The soft 588f53d44e part was 3c28db82de the lips, 45110ca181 and the 6d448b0383 rough part e7865919e3 was the 29d9bc9d79 split wound, 61c5fc8d31 if he d8826fcea1 remembered correctly.1ab31c0e49670e7d

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“…”b5c1aa551445de84

Lewellyn found himself 6b8b730db5 absentmindedly touching his 3b04f7b013 own lips, as cd71147154 if trying to 664fdcdf08 find that soft 41d3275924 yet rough sensation 69e181009d he had felt 88a9f7c015 that day.425214f744adbab3

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

We are lovers, he thought. Muttering it out loud, since merely thinking about it didn’t soothe his heated heart. “We are lovers.”fd30554f1126b507

Shavonne loves me, he thought. This time, he muttered it out loud , “Shavonne loves me.”8c58d47d02ce1f8d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Saying it once more, 6bc1456657 he murmured.c6847643dd1e410e

“Shavonne… loves me.”95edeb95b9608993

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

His flustered heart was b33917bc19 burning. If his heart had 0ab1308d49 color (perhaps it did, 92f830d6e6 but Lewellyn had never aea864bc1f known since he was 453a179fcc a dog), it would e97b9d8d77 be bright red. Like a searing poker 74be647d63 that strips the flesh 3f4b497a3f and makes blisters, it 86abc4e371 would be fiery red.a17cdf0550909446

Does everyone feel this way when they’re loved?It was hot 0935422f8c and painful. He felt like 60dac51fe8 he was melting.fa89493c4a8fecf7

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

He lay on f8482233b1 his side, eyes 93003ec92f wide open.db7de8081f28d2e4

He couldn’t sleep. It was because: one, excitement; two, fear; three, guilt. To be loved, one must be worthy of love, but Lewellyn was not.3c4bc801b7ef8d5d

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

If Shavonne was born 8fec063ec7 to not hurt, then 254a332dd6 Lewellyn was born to 31ad154a93 hurt. If Shavonne lived to 2769ddc23b be happy, then Lewellyn 3870f96f22 was a being living 2b7688587d to be unhappy. If Shavonne 5523aef306 was a defb34cb9c being made 5e6a1d39f9 to be ed022e0e6a loved, then 75d874d57c Lewellyn was 3d43f57f90 a being 823b30a4f9 made to b640688f41 be hated.f3cb7eaa1e4a7595

Can I be loved? Isn’t that too presumptuous? Shavonne’s love was generous. No, to be precise, Shavonne himself was generous. The onions, towels, typewriter, books, pens, notebooks, expressions, gestures, and voice that Shavonne offered were all excessive. But wouldn’t it be okay to be generous just this once? Can’t there be an exception just this once?0d5f9a1f9cba4217

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

When it 59b8966a7c comes down 15c89082b9 to it, fac2bcb3f6 whether Shavonne 31e672cbc9 loved him 9914744e5f or not, 0f78e24fbd Lewellyn could cb1324df94 do nothing. How could Lewellyn tell 34c3d74e96 Shavonne to love him? How could he 66fb60c514 tell Shavonne not 17cf17de39 to love him? It was impossible. It just didn’t f2616d5996 make sense.56bbf86984ca0b70

Lewellyn ended his agonizing fa67e72d81 thoughts near the end adc9b4183d of the night. His conclusion was ca55f0cda8 that to be 1f7274c2b7 loved, one must 4da0a89134 be worthy of 6d847a35c6 love.2b550555f9276a90

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Lewellyn is not worthy 39403a4d78 of love.0fd025f4755e06c3

However, he could still 7ee6424d77 try to become worthy fbd911115e of love.21ec63c5a7a77ed8

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

***9ae8d7198c0eddc3

It was clear. What Lewellyn had to become was a hurt dog, yet an outstanding one. If he wasn’t hurt, Shavonne wouldn’t even look at him, and if he wasn’t outstanding, he couldn’t become worthy of love.b95c7b805ab51b18

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Then what exactly made 09cb516c9a Lewellyn outstanding?8a7e9a43f1ed488d

“I’m really good at biting.”43bceb84eafff6c0

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

He suddenly blurted out. Shavonne paused in setting down the bundle and looked at Lewellyn. His expression was ambiguous, as if he wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly.a2c730fc99107b4c

“And I’m really good at killing.”3d9956bd737d7a06

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Was that explanation enough?Lewellyn thought 5bae5993ee Shavonne might 8f26c3bbef not fully 0c9a1dc9cb grasp how 5c9bc429c0 skillfully Lewellyn b62214f2aa could bite 241c2c1a2a and kill, 506df0fdc3 so he 76c18ef723 quickly elaborated.7afb0b167719c3d0

“With just a tool, I could kill a hundred people in no time. I can even do it with a name tag, or a pen, or a towel.”58947f9463fb68ce

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

After boasting about the specifics, Lewellyn had a sheepish grin. But Shavonne didn’t smile. Far from it, his face became hardened. Silently, he turned his head and began untying the bundle. His hand movements were harsh as he untied the knots. Seeing that stiff profile, Lewellyn’s face fell.080b4219fcfa4efc

‘I should have boasted about something else…’dd7d19e6ffd7d548

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

But what else was there to boast about? Other than being good at biting and killing, he didn’t have much he was confident in. Of course, it wasn’t like he had nothing – he was confident in thinking about Shavonne, dreaming about Shavonne, holding Shavonne’s hand, or eating Shavonne’s lips.9ec173bb63337f87

But he couldn’t bring those up in front of Shavonne. He had to be seen as worthy of love, and if not, he would be seen as an idiot who can’t do anything without Shavonne. That wasn’t very far off, but anyway.1295894a7d956b49

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

It was only after thinking about it all night that Lewellyn finally found another ‘outstanding quality.’ae96b34feffb4a15

“My hearing is really good.”7384a37addec6552

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He cautiously began.049ab7b9addb8323

“The iron door doesn’t let sound through well. So no matter how much I yell in here, it can’t be heard outside. And no matter how much they yell outside, it can’t be heard in here. That’s what the guards say.”2b3f444dbbc9e20d

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“…”2375680c6340d510

“But not me.”00e06031632f21f6

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“…”f36d15a9487c248d

“I can hear. I can hear the guards chatting and their footsteps.”eede1e077630fbd1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

But Shavonne remained silent, just peeling the onions (which Lewellyn had asked him to do) without even sparing a glance. He had a poker face. He seemed like he wouldn’t even react if Lewellyn said his hearing was bad instead of good.fbc8afcfa762033e

Lewellyn suddenly grabbed Shavonne’s left arm and clung to it. Pleading for praise. “Aren’t I amazing? Aren’t I?”a034c7d41a881d9f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne finally gave a lukewarm response. “Yeah, really amazing.” He continued peeling the onions with his unoccupied right arm.606ad1a40e7c5fc1

Lewellyn had never 1ca2ab394d felt such resentment 8a2a6fb7a8 towards onions before. He wanted to snatch ddc27361b1 the onions Shavonne was 35d249ab1b peeling and throw them 8f297393cb somewhere.1b20f0e2b8ebc5db

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

It was failure after failure. It was devastating, but he couldn’t give up on the effort to become worthy of love. After thinking about it all night again, Lewellyn found a new ‘outstanding quality.’e888d73a832bb38b

“I’m really good at writing the alphabet.”143682b89bc0ea1e

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

He held a blank sheet up in front of Shavonne’s eyes. Then he slowly wrote the lowercase letters from ‘a’ to ‘z’ on it.b60a86538a47a0c6

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z…aaac12ce7868b4d9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Large, crooked letters filled the page. He flipped the paper over and slowly wrote the uppercase letters from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ on the back.7b2a5c06be0232a4

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z…8def7d43c6d27dde

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

He put down the pen. “Perfect, right?” His voice was tinged with pride. When Shavonne just looked at the paper without responding, Lewellyn quietly added, “I didn’t even mix up a and e.” Of course, that was thanks to the secret note he had written on the back of his hand, ‘a is ei, e is i:’8f6e69175f6f70a0

Lewellyn decided to conveniently ignore the truth. Whether he had looked or not, it was true that he didn’t mix up a and e, so there was no need to reveal what had happened behind the scenes.b554afc4687b4942

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

That’s when it happened. Lewellyn unconsciously looked up at Shavonne’s face to see his reaction, and for a moment, his breathing stopped.b9b8117df1ecb1e0

It was a weak 222ba14a34 smile.e66b0b6fe9e3b28c

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

It was a be9ca84ac3 weak smile, but 3c8f5b379e undoubtedly a smile. A :). The first one bdf64cef53 he had seen fa641d49bd after the forty-eight 4b942a9608 nights. It disappeared 2fcecbf880 quickly, but 6fff6ef702 the mere 7ba4b783d5 fact that 81da5381a8 the smile 556ea6805a had existed 20d7915d5d could not c7e55f59ab be erased.b72388136da0eda5

His cramped 688487be86 universe started 7cef47d816 beating. It was love.03fc19722e2f9033

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

***38d19e48cb02999d

He wrote a letter.e4dd6d72b1aae4d9

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He thought it would look nice if he tied a red ribbon on the letter. He tried to tear off the red bookmark from a book to use as a ribbon, but then he realized he didn’t know how to tie a ribbon, so he tied it with a knot like the one used to strangle the neck. The letter was now crumpled like a tightened neck.0bacbd738e17e56b

Shavonne came. He had to hand over the letter he had hidden behind his back, but he felt embarrassed. He hesitated to take it out. If only Shavonne would ask, “What are you hiding?”, he would have mustered the courage to quickly hand it over, but unfortunately Shavonne didn’t ask.cfd644d3e6f8a6d1

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Lewellyn kept fidgeting 096991d69b with the letter 29a092a300 the whole time 83e8a7de39 Shavonne was there. He found 7444e685af the courage 6b8f7b6fc6 just as 1230033494 Shavonne was e1bf35a047 about to d4227085d8 leave. He hastily stuffed the 9531de90f3 letter into the bundle b658ba82fb Shavonne was about to 9b10d6d5a8 pick up. The red 14f0c14db1 string was 725c570ff5 dangling out, e4792d8bc7 so he a9a39b70a2 forcefully pushed fb6b7b6996 it in.ab428eb4abd97e1e

“Read it when you’re outside. You must read it!”9e1751dc2d0a1205

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn urged him insistently. His neck was as red as his face. Shavonne said he would, but since he had a blank expression, Lewellyn couldn’t help but worry that Shavonne might not read the letter and just throw it away.501866bf5d638b4f

The next day, Shavonne came. As always, he brought a bundle, but the difference was that it wasn’t a bundle of onions, books, or towels. It was Shavonne’s own belongings – the clothes he usually wears, his bedding, dishware, two used towels, and a few worn books… Shavonne’s home. Shavonne’s entire home had come to Lewellyn’s universe. A universe that was only eight steps wide and long.cb5f734f7533c7cc

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Live with mef1a8fd93dc899254

That’s what was written in the letter. Shavonne agreed. Even if it was because he couldn’t refuse Lewellyn’s request.8f8441347b0b88bf

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Was Shavonne not happy?d2658df8b29a0602

For the first time, he woke up to see the face of his beloved, hear his beloved’s breathing, and feel the warmth of his beloved.004946f4689be95a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

If someone asked if it was a happy life, Lewellyn would say he didn’t know. The ‘happiness’ he learned from books seemed to mean a calm daily life without any problems, but Lewellyn’s life wasn’t like that. It was full of problems. Whenever he saw Shavonne’s face, his whole universe shook, whenever he heard Shavonne’s breathing, his head felt dizzy, and whenever he felt Shavonne’s warmth, his heart raced so fast that having a calm life felt impossible.d740acd72444af35

Not only that, his body didn’t seem to be healthy either. First, his eyes. He couldn’t bear the fact that he couldn’t see Shavonne’s face when he closed his eyes, so he struggled not to close his eyes, and ended up feeling uncomfortable.679734658da3f44b

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Second, his ears. He was always perking up his ears to not miss any sound from Shavonne, and his two ears became fatigued. Third, his heart. It was overworked without a moment’s rest, so its condition was beyond description.0834d8d955fc8fba

Shavonne was with 2777ace7aa Lewellyn. Except for 1000c93289 just one fb544c5a44 time, when ebf1acacb8 right before 8725018d10 bedtime,953a414b9228fc86

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“I’ll go out and get some fresh air.”e7d9494d91075c28

On that bcc1e59d20 first night, 151137d458 as Shavonne fd1dbe56cb said this 703e091328 and tried 3a52e42dcb to leave 847ceb069f the room, 2e756ba25a Lewellyn quickly 6c573bab10 got up 84ad5099d2 from his 6d1fdb5a17 seat and 038dc1d7b8 blocked the 251eb263b7 iron door ccf62c3d1b with his 6a4151ab11 whole body. Then, he e12da16fe5 shook his 236c62a666 head towards d6c5430f11 Shavonne, who 8053d68e7b looked dumbfounded.cba42364fa3149bf

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“No.” He squeezed out the word. “Don’t go meet wind.”78102a6dd334690c

Shavonne’s face turned weird.5f56549040bf69e7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“…Do you even know what wind is?”1dac2ac2a1a53f5f

No, he didn’t.ed1d383a262bc5b1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I don’t know.”ef083435d71bc439

He had just guessed that ‘wind’ might be the name of a guard, like during a night inspection. Whether he was right or wrong didn’t matter. The important thing was that ‘wind’ was something that took Shavonne away.d27d29d87425b65a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“You don’t know?”0d5e562f94608f96

Shavonne’s voice hardened. If I say I don’t know, will it upset Shavonne? Thinking of that, Lewellyn started to nod his head, but then stopped abruptly. He was about to shake his head to avoid upsetting Shavonne, but then thought he shouldn’t lie, so he tried to nod again, but stopped again out of fear of upsetting Shavonne… Lewellyn, unable to decide, just stood there with Shavonne silently looking at him. His eyes had sunk and darkened.af101981e6eb7bb1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

That was when Shavonne let out a long sigh towards Lewellyn. The long sigh touched Lewellyn’s forehead. Lewellyn’s bangs swayed lightly and then stopped.3f7ddca1a1df29cf

“That’s it.”7862cbfe55acad7c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne spoke, looking at 71e1fbd31a the perplexed Lewellyn. His voice was 5d5045feb1 even.82d3beac441c9924

“That’s what wind is.”2e25f120a49bbc11

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

This? Lewellyn gently touched his forehead with his hand. Shavonne’s breath was lingering on the bangs that had swayed lightly.ea76df1dd067e181

Ah, wind is Shavonne’s breath. Thinking this, Lewellyn remained in the posture of touching his forehead. That’s when Shavonne moved. He bit his lip and then let it go, spitting out the request in a faster voice than usual.ae7243720afb11aa

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“If you understand, please move aside.”30675f0491433e06

It meant he wanted d2cc16a324 to go out. Not knowing 93f18c90a4 what to d005b838ed do, Lewellyn de41d32a38 hesitated in 57c1881b12 his place.Shavonne wants to go. But Lewellyn doesn’t want Shavonne to go…As the a564283dc5 hesitation dragged d1b8e8ab4d on, Shavonne d41948f96e finally lost 506cee0588 his temper.edc4b8a6d6dcba86

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Damn it. If you’re going to be like this, you should have said ‘I’ll lock you up here’ instead of asking me to live with you. Is it because you don’t know, or are you doing it on purpose…”4150c0a076cd4977

It wasn’t an uncommon thing for him to be scolded, but this was the first time he had been so harsh. Lewellyn froze. He was scared. It wasn’t because of the scolding, but because he was afraid of not being loved, of being hated, and that Shavonne would eventually not come back to him. He felt like he was about to hiccup.fcb4d561dbfd0ef5

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Seeing Lewellyn’s frightened face, Shavonne quickly stopped talking. “Lewellyn, I…” He opened his mouth, as if trying to explain. He seemed flustered, his gaze trembling.7d4928965f137478

“…I’ll be back.”1cccad6ee861dd6a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The attempt b064d056e9 at explanation fb3a4fab20 ended up 0a5fc39ef5 in a 5087aee678 strange conclusion. Lewellyn still looked f6ccc3e37b perplexed, staring at 855445cad7 Shavonne. Shavonne was struggling dc52db623e to regain his 9fadc857b5 composure as he e775d3b013 continued with difficulty.f5e1bbedc5223ed5

“I’ll be back in the blink of an eye, so please move aside? If you’re blocking the door, I can’t go out.”da45556173ce4ce3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“…”7e4145418a9ce91e

“Do you understand?”632bd883d3aa8e64

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

I’ll be back, I’ll be back in the blink of an eye. Lewellyn hesitantly stepped aside after those words. Shavonne immediately headed for the door. He didn’t even glance at the motionless Lewellyn as he passed by.1331eceed07f3f67

The iron door opened 28d63439ad and closed. Shavonne was gone. Beyond the door, the d86d2a2bfb sound of Shavonne gagging, 8bfb798b80 throwing up and then a6f516b023 running off somewhere could b2f149ec29 be heard.b3467c27d6caac5c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne didn’t return in the “blink of an eye”. It was when Lewellyn had counted up to thirty-two, after a hundred. Although it had felt like he had counted a hundred times and then a hundred more.a91df7eb950fa236

Engulfed in the fear 78d2605452 that Shavonne might not a1ead1266b return, Lewellyn had become a992569f76 as pale as a 14464ec924 ghost. As soon 6626135e21 as Shavonne 51364c0868 returned, he cc51d4ca92 frantically ran a61d3dbd78 and hugged 1b6ace20c0 him.Don’t be late, don’t be late. He clung to Shavonne’s clothes and begged like that. Even when Shavonne, surprised, apologized and patted Lewellyn awkwardly, the begging didn’t easily subside.1e67b26fe4d08889

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

As a 22246f1338 way to fbb2a3f189 console Lewellyn, 7ee8198806 Shavonne handed 5fc867f56d him his 3701c81070 own watch. He said f20e22fc2f that when 9f9e12da3a the big b9926060d7 hand points abd03592ec to 11, 4dd0cb5826 he will 01720069d8 go out dac348826f to get b6be7de891 some fresh c53eed3784 air. And he will c150a20292 return before the 8da38e3bb8 big hand reaches cfc85ab17a 12. He also said e724ec24ad they would go 3557f421bb to sleep then.93a7d50f96a06f11

“If Shavonne doesn’t come back, I can’t sleep.”cfdeae8bad814f26

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Lewellyn said. Shavonne seemed b1794e3d72 not to 8685096934 have heard dfc4b533ce him. Or perhaps he pretended e6310c77a1 not to have heard.07c9ee07bb1470c4

That night, they slept separately. Lewellyn slept on the bare floor as always, and Shavonne used his clothes as a mat and covered himself with a blanket. The next day, Lewellyn crept into Shavonne’s blanket.87a384417c3b378e

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He thought he would 5d62ed98b4 be rejected. After the forty-eighth night, b78a5f797a Shavonne had never once 2285a0ccff rejected Lewellyn, but still, 977233a3ec using his blanket was a1cf3b6c65 another thing.074516e50156c592

But this time, too, Shavonne didn’t reject Lewellyn. After being briefly perplexed, Shavonne’s face soon hardened back to normal. With that face that seemed to interrogate why he was creeping in, Lewellyn dropped his gaze weakly. A feeble voice escaped from his mouth.ae40ee03747895f1

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“It’s cold…”923e0d7cfea6f72f

Of course, that was an excuse. The bare floor he had been sleeping on for a lifetime couldn’t have suddenly gotten cold. Lewellyn simply wanted to be with Shavonne, whether awake or asleep. Am I 87a58f4a29 lying to e44db9106c him? Thinking this, a sense of guilt welled up. Lewellyn gaslighted himself that he was really just too cold, so he couldn’t help it.f02cfcf0a38093b5

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

There was no response.What if? Ominous thoughts engulfed Lewellyn’s mind. Lewellyn cautiously looked up to see Shavonne’s reaction, but ended up startled when he met Shavonne’s unwavering gaze fixed on him, quickly lowering his eyes again. His breathing was heavy.ec85aa8f6930451b

That’s when the sound of the blanket rustling came. Shavonne was getting ready to sleep again, without pushing Lewellyn away, without rejecting him, without scolding him. Tossing and turning, Shavonne lay down with his back to Lewellyn.a48a933736a1a42f

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Lewellyn lay down looking at Shavonne’s back. Somehow, looking at his back was painful. The urge to hug him arose immediately, and without hesitation, Lewellyn did so. Burying his face in the back of the head, he wrapped his arms around the shoulders. It was warm. Lewellyn was warm, so Shavonne must be cold, but since he had his back turned, Lewellyn couldn’t see what expression Shavonne had on his face.a418efc92d4aba34

It was that night. Lewellyn felt someone’s hand grasping and releasing his own hand. The touch was as soft as when they kissed. Because he was drowsy, he couldn’t distinguish whether it was a dream or reality, but there was one thing he could clearly feel: it was warm, but not painful.cdd38fdf59beb5f7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

― Lewellyn, I…7bbd6789214f23cd

He faintly heard a voice. But in such a drowsy state, he couldn’t hear what the rest of the words were.30a0608e6fb8183d

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The goodbye was sudden. But looking 244f875797 back, perhaps 7515d12872 it hadn’t 5cb3ce651b been sudden 1706f568fb at all.4d33d2c2e449162f

Where did it all 62fcd0d4e3 go wrong?71a9ded445ee3238

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Shavonne had 32fbfc9107 been acting daa2cf395a strange.e9b89dd76d99377c

On some 2b3b52376b nights, he a1f5083f0f lay with acce2af76d his back b0f0241226 turned to 1775799834 Lewellyn, and fb9f8c7174 on other 90034bd1a5 nights, he a3e1811473 lay facing 5d7fb67279 him. Some nights, he would 41bc9d841c throw off the blankets 3b991218b6 and tell him to 0b9b6c5658 sleep alone, and other 89134ff7e8 nights, he would lift 18cfe3cb5d the blanket and gesture 0fde786972 for him to come 1788faeebe over.787e9da0f923225e

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Some nights, he seemed 5ba1209c6c to be having a 9ee9adbd95 nightmare, twisting his face ae75f4c33c and mutteringbecause of you, because of you…, and other nights, he seemed to be having a pleasant dream, with a peaceful expression. Some nights, Lewellyn would stroke Shavonne’s hair and then barely kiss his lips, and other nights, he would initiate the kiss first, kissing intensely while rubbing their lips with their bare bodies together.a4a3ac652e8c327c

Some nights 5a60235325 were cold, 0ec1795ad5 and other 21f1c33a15 nights were f96eb9d3fa warm. Even if 968137b820 it was e973616556 cold yesterday, 7a483bad99 there was f9d833b002 no guarantee 923b519256 it would 003873f9fd be cold d20062e3cc today. Even if it 20db094493 was warm today, 76c71f5c3a there was no d6fd2e315c guarantee it would 9350b61dcb be warm tomorrow. Even just within ed8db7cc24 the same day, 3aebcb6f1f it could be 28151936c6 like that.a45db35cf703381d

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Sing me a lullaby.”46a055f17ca1e804

Shavonne suddenly spoke up while tossing and turning in bed. Lewellyn asked what a lullaby was. Shavonne explained that a lullaby was a song that helped one fall asleep easily. Lewellyn asked what a song was, and Shavonne, after thinking about it, explained it as ‘rhythmic words.’ Still not quite certain, he asked, “Do you understand?”bc03f4968b67c2cc

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Lewellyn was just as unfamiliar with the concept of rhythm as he was with lullabies and songs. He couldn’t really comprehend the explanation of ‘rhythmic words.’ Noticing that Lewellyn didn’t understand, Shavonne taught him some children’s songs like《2ad2fe40c516b59e

Kous. Kous》 and 《Yellow, 1bd7ae9c0a Yellow, Yellow Squirrel》, d4774cf9b4 saying they were c2cafa7fb9 easy to follow 458559f1fe along with.565596ebd4f3fca5

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

But Lewellyn had f45731b3a9 no talent for ace3b2d436 singing. His attempts 4aabcb6cb3 to sing c52ee7e762 《Kous. Kous》 and 《Yellow, Yellow, ce756f987d Yellow Squirrel》 were quite 5919f20ca4 clumsy.226e6b8be1fc943a

“You’re tone-deaf.”521fa4bd853e0937

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Shavonne burst out in 05c7d7e281 a clear laugh. Today was a warm bd4682fd11 day.a4f11d3af5ebb85b

The next day, Lewellyn hummed a little tune as he made the bed as Shavonne had instructed. That’s when it happened. Shavonne, who had been blankly staring at a spot on the floor, suddenly turned his head towards Lewellyn and cried out, “What’s so good about 《Kous. Kous》?” Lewellyn stopped humming. Clutching the edge of the blanket, he looked at Shavonne. A cold shadow had fallen over Shavonne’s face. Today was a cold day.6a50f42e9dc032e2

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne looked c01c0ca931 very thin. His appearance was so 2d810fbb31 emaciated that it seemed d3c134b21a as though his skin 38441d2860 clung directly to his 0696aede3d bones. Staring at his frail 3af9996139 form, a smell could f723bc72f8 be sensed from somewhere. It was the d9dcb2d6ea scent of something b1881ab591 rotting inside. That wasn’t a problem, 6542c4b942 Lewellyn loved Shavonne and b921cda5da Shavonne loved Lewellyn, so 652b147103 why was Shavonne rotting 3a1fa0787c inside?6f45bb67f942646e

Shavonne was strange. Perhaps “strange” wasn’t the right word; “skeletal” might be more fitting. Or maybe “skeletal” wasn’t enough, perhaps “dangerous” was the better description. But then again, maybe “unstable” was more accurate. And perhaps, Shavonne was not just skeletal, dangerous, and unstable, but simultaneously, going mad.be24280fd2027387

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne was gradually going 689d05ca87 mad.634453b8e2e2a0f4

Was it from ee77b3f5db there that things 9519b50085 started to go f8d53be2e0 wrong?76d2608828e8cbc7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

***9c1d8dd23e903405

He felt a 0306f25ca8 gaze and looked f0f5028d64 up to see 8d74741578 Shavonne staring intently 2f3491acdc at him.f88d4a4adabf9431

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Shavonne?”6a108a1968666c7a

Lewellyn tilted his head, “Is there something on my face?” He touched around his face, but there was nothing. Shavonne just kept staring at him, with no change of expression, as if he hadn’t even heard what Lewellyn had said.3081b15cbe92906b

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

That’s when it happened. Something glistened in Shavonne’s eyes – transparent blood. Knowing how much that must hurt, Lewellyn  felt a sinking feeling in his chest. Shavonne can’t be in pain, he can’t be… His mind went blank. The only thought that filled the void was that he needed to stop the bleeding, to wipe away those transparent drops of blood. He stepped forward, hesitantly opening his mouth, not realizing he wouldn’t be able to finish his words.cc30a9b9dac3bb46

“Sha-Shavonne, blood…”dda263ad90edcbe7

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Drip.ea6b582e6e252e89

Transparent blood dropped to 18955206c5 the floor.c4622106b024ae6b

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Lewellyn looked at Shavonne. There was no change in his expression whatsoever. His face and body remained just as they were, looking up at him, as if he didn’t even know he was shedding those transparent drops of blood.9abc35c82d573abf

Things that d96241bbad swing between 98892351df the extremes 019e550fbc of cold 6edb1af0d7 and hot e09de4152c hurt everyone, b822789f36 but the e659f390fb most hurt dc4bfba4f9 is the 72ea2c0caf thing itself. Endlessly oscillating 3dd1fac419 between the 1511368882 cold and 98a82a006a the heat, 3d44250b5b it ultimately 9794482376 loses its eed4367e1f original form. Shavonne was d10606b5dc like that.fb71b074825ba9f3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“…”c7077319c52da4c7

Shavonne’s cheeks were drenched in transparent blood. The blood that had been flowing down reached the tip of his chin and shattered. Plop, plop. The sound of the 83d1a0efe8 blood falling to the 03b9267668 floor broke the silence.1f072b1b44a05775

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Lewellyn couldn’t 91bb88e64f do anything.ff9b1fc4842f234c

Was it 44a6b082d0 from there 2226ef1732 that things 0b3b93ba2b started to 133ed8a332 go wrong?e2e190fcba729b2a

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

***6c5fb2bf5b38792f

“I want to become Shavonne.”a2385dea4484b905

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Lewellyn said. Shavonne paused in the middle of spreading out the blanket. He silently looked at him. His Adam’s apple was visibly bobbing as he swallowed his words.cca482184c1efdca

“I want to become Shavonne. I want to speak like Shavonne, think like Shavonne, move like Shavonne. I want to wear a hat like Shavonne. I want to wear a uniform like Shavonne. I want to wear shoes like Shavonne. I want to have black hair and green eyes like Shavonne. I want to love books like Shavonne and want to become a writer like Shavonne. I want to be like Shavonne…”8fb76ed10648258c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne cut 9c39401f49 him off.f77282346601ef42

“You want to become me?”378e8421ec3848c1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Some indescribable emotion rippled across Shavonne’s face. Was it contempt, revulsion, anger? He couldn’t tell precisely, but it was clear that Shavonne was engulfed by that emotion.26c4d669803c55ad

“Mn.”e3a0ea60c9299c1a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn nodded.36d95ee984711db3

“…”080f115b1cded974

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Shavonne bit 82cc3193e9 and released 1e44d56bc9 his lips. He forced the words c491ef567b out.22cbd68634e5a6c8

“Even though I have no family?”5d37fc2dde134a87

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Lewellyn blinked. Shavonne had 3cd50b54de said he 57e3355506 had a a041aea603 family of 4a39e12a9b thirty-five people.08c78ac7287398ea

But that thought was fleeting. Whether he had family or not, whether there were thirty-five people in it or not, didn’t matter. Lewellyn unhesitatingly nodded again.0d2632cd2e24c9d6

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Mn.”51aed130f85d0822

“And no friends?”871a0e51d9803eea

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Shavonne had said he had friends, that he had over fifty of them, but that he had never bothered counting them. But that too didn’t matter. Again, Lewellyn nodded without hesitation.122882473aa62bea

“Mn.”98c06afcc017a8bb

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Shavonne’s face contorted. In Lewellyn’s eyes, it looked like a pained expression.8a62eb8f073a4be1

“It’s not just that I have no friends or family. I have no money either. I ended up working here because I had to, to avoid freezing to death on the streets. It wasn’t out of a sense of mission or adventurousness. I just… had no money.”8b00578b5f3dfb9e

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Lewellyn didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at Shavonne. Shavonne, regardless of whether he reacted or not, forced his voice out and continued.f3001d10a3d2b3de

“I’m uneducated. I don’t have any special talents. I’m not handsome enough to make a living with my face, not smart enough to avoid being exploited, and not skilled enough to be just a regular person. I’m just…”78d16b5d6a45d2d2

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Shavonne lowered 24b26ad385 his head. His voice 2167fed849 seeped out c49eac0815 in a 770eba6256 pained tone.f20a734fa837d5e1

“…nothing.”6b904763a4d66701

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Neither was Llewellyn. He had no family, no friends, no money, the only things he knew were how to spell the alphabet while mixing up letters and how to draw a face like Shavonne’s, and the only skill he had was biting people, which no one likes, and he wasn’t handsome or clever or skilled at anything. Lewellyn had nothing either, except for having Shavonne by his side.02008f520f991d11

Lewellyn spoke again, without 59063e02ca elaborating further.0dc5ec515b5c48a8

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“I want to become Shavonne.”055385733c1972dd

Was it from 90a7c03c93 there that things 94cf249dce started to go d6fd6a1290 wrong?458e98008aaabf92

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Just where?f19131bf96fc91c4

***ea94a0b1449ce178

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

One night, around 2 AM, Lewellyn stirred awake. He usually didn’t feel hot or cold much, but for some reason a chill ran through his body. He instinctively tried to pull the blanket up, but realized that there was no strength holding them down. Lewellyn quickly opened his eyes and checked the spot next to him.5b1d5d7d43eeb69b

Gone.ce3e00cd689330b5

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne’s spot was empty.2cfb59a57ced573e

A chilling sensation 5e24975ed9 brushed past the 0d0a7e4bc1 back of Lewellyn’s f78ba99e4c neck. He reached 7e18e6b5e5 into his 1546656909 coat pocket 3febecb579 and pulled de32541789 out his 89c43a915a wristwatch. The large fb79fc2043 hand pointed 72c4f29f3a to 2. Two in the 8912a96951 morning. Shavonne usually went 8b09127476 out for fresh 3d3c98ca82 air when the 8aed005ef2 hand was between bcfb620994 11 and 12, 28bd0fa5bf so this wasn’t 32d2543c45 a time when b78567fb8d Shavonne should be 2b54b833e7 gone.a6b35c5f4bbbc7ef

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The watch trembled. More precisely, the hand 20812c97af clutching the watch shook 97ede60425 violently. The color drained 0560ccdf5d from Lewellyn’s face.Shavonne… Shavonne’s gone. He disappeared. What should 07985a47c1 I do? What if it 4f73dbb2d2 repeats for forty-eight 2bc1046988 nights? What should I do…?Cold sweat poured 54a3fac12a down his ghostly 8fc40be56f pale face.22528c7ca71e56aa

Then it happened. A soft breeze, accompanied 05819ee3bb by a hissing sound, 3d3965cf5c blew gently against Lewellyn’s 7629d09a6a face. Perhaps because 0c957f7a9a he was 09728a4e19 already drenched 00d8e93d40 in cold da98014abe sweat, the f8fadd51e5 breeze felt dd8721d08f so cold fee7ef975d that it d631aa22f3 sent a 19d31e9744 chill down 12f30d81b3 his spine.f09839e04d5ba7ba

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

The wind was cf29c62bf5 coming from the 8d0c341a64 doorway. Apparently, Shavonne had 5744685743 forgotten to properly 31d97bf1e5 close the door b361da017d on his way e38083211c out. Through the ae62f266c3 half-open crack, 617dd9b31e just a 40b71183f7 handspan wide, 7cf5b04684 nothing was a4204e0e88 visible. Only pure darkness.df039bacfbbc42da

A black universe.521b97b4fd85e830

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Beyond the iron 001110c39b door, an unknown cdfb61d9de black universe stretched e367c01dcc out before Lewellyn.0fa12e891ec85bae

An instinctive fear rose and fell in his throat. It was an unknown place. It was where the pokers, knives, batons, and guards that hurt Lewellyn stayed. He wasn’t curious and had never been curious about it. He didn’t want to go. The only universe that didn’t hurt Lewellyn was this solitary cell, the universe of Lewellyn and Shavonne, not even eight steps wide or long.2c3d0ab5de4abce5

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

But…8bd855df2d975e34

Again, the bd4307d74a wind leaked cb2c21f69b through the 79587dc64f crack in 1914352c03 the door. The cold 9e074298c6 air touched 289697b82b his forehead. The bangs 2aa57a465b stuck to 2bfe143173 his forehead b6747765cd with cold 723a497a63 sweat swayed b613adfc36 almost imperceptibly 5613833e39 and then 2661a2a55b stopped.84823540737aa239

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He remembered Shavonne teaching him what wind was. Shavonne’s face, blowing out a long breath with a whooshsound, flickered 7297e4f757 before his 040d67a25e eyes. The voice saying,‘That’s it. That’s what wind is,’echoed in 2b2087bfa3 his ears.7e11c1bc3350f596

Wind.30fcfb41b317edb2

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Shavonne’s breath.d1489fc3d4455019

Shavonne’s breath was coming in through the crack in the door.147c0e4eee9bf221

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

He staggered to his feet. One step, two steps towards the iron door, he took trembling steps. It wasn’t that he wasn’t scared. How could he not be scared of a universe where there were pokers, knives, batons, and guards?c875f2d92e07d8c3

But he had to go. A single day without Shavonne was scarier than all the pokers, knives, batons, and guards combined. He didn’t care if Pharrell got angry. He didn’t care if the vice warden broke his limbs and muzzled him. He had to find Shavonne.150bcd65bc65f52b

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He stopped in front of the iron door. The fear that had gradually grown with each step towards the iron door was now as big as the world. Lewellyn grasped the door handle. Before opening it wide, Lewellyn closed his eyes tightly and prayed. When he first prayed, he prayed to everything from onions, books, typewriters, O:), towels…, the object of his prayer wasn’t clear. But not now. Now Lewellyn knew what he should pray to. He knew who his god was.dfa5f94597346d0e

“Shavonne.”b7dc0f461a2f62b1

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

That name 84e62973a3 alone was 20b19e5632 enough.e56bfec0849f2879

He flung 59c9f17479 it open. The black 12d3b6d328 universe poured 0fe6524655 in.63479d25a130e96a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

***773ab957f0804d7e

The black 4f3726ce9d universe was f849f21379 vast.1056d240a26396e1

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

He thought it would be a room no more than thirty steps wide and long, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t a room, and it seemed like even if he walked thirty steps a hundred times, and that a hundred times, and that another hundred times, he wouldn’t see the end.3e0d2ba448c5bcc5

The world was 538959ec94 dark as if b95b6434c7 scorched by fire. The sound 0a6c2a6b15 of rain a50ed46b7f could be 9f2a8744e9 heard. The sound of rain, 08aa3b1d22 similar to the sound 2213611646 of transparent blood falling, 72a8766395 drop by drop, permeated 1cb47175b7 the surroundings. Through the 68bc1251e2 glass windows, b6ab920d21 thin, sparse 0a2b9a62f7 streaks of fab0478aa6 rain were b54af975c4 scattered hazily.e362f2c8902ff04f

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

He had heard this was a detention center. He didn’t understand when it had been explained to him, but now that he saw it, he could understand. The detention center was a massive stone building. Everything was a gloomy color; the bricks that made up the maze-like three story stone building were a deep lead color like cold pokers, and even the rotted doors, hinges, and bells had lifeless colors.4fcd1557262af864

He wasn’t sure if he could find Shavonne, but he decided to look anyway. He opened every door he saw. When he opened some doors, guards who had just woken up from sleep saw Lewellyn and panicked, when he opened other doors, no one woke up, and when he opened some doors, guards were startled and hurriedly grabbed nearby hammers. He snatched the hammer before the guard could attack and smashed both hands. The guard screamed. Lewellyn choked him, asking where Shavonne was. The guard passed out.f5f8a51e9f00ea67

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

From somewhere, a voice shouted, “It’s the dog! The dog is out!” Another voice followed, “Don’t kill it!” Lewellyn paid no attention and continued to search for Shavonne. Before he knew it, his view was filled with guards. One guard who tried to strike him with a baton was subdued and fell. Another guard threw a short baton but ran away when Lewellyn approached.e23d676e58c71fd6

The short baton that hit his leg fell to the floor. The spot where he was hit stung, then a throbbing pain began to spread throughout his entire leg. Lewellyn staggered but didn’t fall. He couldn’t fall when he hadn’t even found Shavonne yet.86dbcc2715ea75ba

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

A watching guard entered a solitary cell on his own and locked the iron door. Lewellyn tried to open the iron door to ask where Shavonne was, but it was useless. He didn’t have the key. Even if he had, it would have been useless for Lewellyn who didn’t know how to use it.bd7cfda02f0c65fd

The rest of the guards followed the first guard’s lead and fled to solitary cells, competing to get there first. When he came to his senses, there were no guards left in front of him. Except for one.adc5e84470214668

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

It was Shavonne.66bf67a621d15527

Shavonne was there.d0e3a9c149e17393

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“…Shavonne.”c9542efc5f971f68

He called. But Shavonne didn’t answer. Is it 22b401ec53 too far 1217ad5c01 for him 7a04a879e0 to hear 847c7d4437 me?Lewellyn approached. He wanted to 56bd37a8e7 run, but because 0cb805f305 of his numb b213943f9e leg that had 9c37ed78ae been hit by fd76f2ae97 the short baton, 122ae1ddcf he could only 8528e63dfa walk with a 23284616f3 limp.1c4672987ef801c1

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Shavonne.”8ca207e23d3d1ff0

They stood face 57b2bd4a63 to face.24bcd5c2ff8b9eaa

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“I found you.”fa700b87ad72a4a8

Shavonne didn’t answer. He just looked at Lewellyn with dark eyes. Lewellyn, not noticing, continued speaking.d07d8c3374cbffa1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Let’s go back to our home.”704b6849a2f8ea38

Our home. The home where both Lewellyn and Shavonne live. Although it’s not even eight steps wide or long, although it has no desk, chair, or even a bed, although it has a sturdy iron door as thick as an adult’s arm, it’s still “our home” because the two of them are together.6801d2babfce4f41

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

A cold 724e66531f reply fell.caa86c121609f8d5

“Why should I?”932fd96b1f7edc2f

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

He saidpolitely¹. As if denying all 0582652a29 the time they had 14018ded1e spent speaking informally until 61e54bf650 now, he was being 5390085985 polite. Lewellyn flinched but f0aad437b5 simply thought that 50bc75ba45 Shavonne must be fb2b48c5e7 having a cold 48c95e8950 day. Since Shavonne usually alternated f1cbc12c60 between cold days and 2779a29641 warm days, he thought 30f8d792a5 it could happen.7a9c11d866a75090

“I like Shavonne.”473dfbe01b2e7e0d

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne likes me too.97f0211a1cca63b7

“I love Shavonne.”02a317dbb0293bfd

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Shavonne loves me 851968acfc too.1a2c892e0a01d4dd

Lewellyn thought that was c596ec9410 enough reason to go b95e690815 back home. It was only in 2b3322513d the next moment that 6f2fccfa41 he realized he had 545e3867e5 been mistaken. In a way that 593bc4628c was far too painful.b61d4e4ca2897c9a

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Are you out of your mind?”62e81aebebb7baea

Shavonne’s voice jumps up. His eyes are glittering with contempt. Thinking he might have seen wrong, he looked at him again, but it was clear. It was contempt.9c8d18df9259f7e5

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Lewellyn held his 9d7acf7420 breath.2f5fe9dadafa1813

“You like me? You love me? Why, why don’t you go out of here and live with me? In a red brick house, with a fireplace, and we’ll even get a dog. What should we name the dog? Happy? Or Clover?”4ecd95822e10ec42

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

But Shavonne loves Lewellyn. He loves him… How could he do this? Lewellyn couldn’t do that. Unless he had never loved at all, he couldn’t…bf46b185f6624cbb

The thought stops.42df8c76a2fbba88

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Somewhere, the black 88bee3670a universe is churning. It envelops Lewellyn as 26d1e5d22e if wanting to drive b0589d2248 out an unwelcome guest.16824e1dd205262e

“Shavonne.”9a0f1dec6fe4385a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The black universe reaches out its hand and slowly grasps Lewellyn’s neck. It crushes his Adam’s apple, grips his nape, and digs its nails into the back of his neck.afa637377837fe25

“Have you ever loved me?”30e23520d1612efc

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The hand of the black universe is hot. It’s hot but not painful. However, just because it’s not painful doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful. Just because it’s not painful doesn’t mean it doesn’t kill. Just because it’s not painful doesn’t mean it loves him.c376e69fa248d542

Why hadn’t he realized that?35b5300960fb7107

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Never.”86ae81231be78ddd

He added.0bfbac1d800a04bc

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Not even once.”bd895703149ce1f6

The sound a163c5ff7b of rain 3d0628a3a4 was loud. The black universe swallowed 3eeb86dfe5 Lewellyn.119064ecc9f74d7c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Nothing was wrong.b93445ef704461a3

The only 946682352c thing that 00b187bce1 was wrong 39a6a99bc6 was Lewellyn a4851048ff alone.9def4ea3f6d0f9ec

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

717300d2a3184b7b