Chapter 115: Love Poem

Livestream disconnected…

Parsing address…

Reconnecting…

Reconnection successful…

A slightly raspy voice tested the air: “Hello? Hello hello? Am I connected?”

The screen lagged for two seconds, a massive wave of bullet comments rolled past, and then the picture brightened, finally revealing the host’s face.

• Good afternoon, Douzi! Good evening, friends!
• Dou-dou-dou-dou-Douzi! Happy Birthday!
• Happy birthday baby love you woohoo (emotional part over) WHY ARE YOU LATE AGAIN!!
• We meet again; the last time I watched your stream was the last time.
• Did you see the birthday event we made for you? Did you see it!
• Today is Chinese Qixi (Valentine’s Day), Lan-zai is finally celebrating!
• Voice still hasn’t recovered?
• Man, it gets raspier every time.
• Looks like Xie Lan trained you too hard.
• Xie Lan what…?
• What did Xie Lan do to him? (Can we ask this in the chat?)
• Huh? I haven’t watched for half a month, what happened?

On camera, Dou Sheng quickly unbuttoned his shirt collar, took off his watch, and tossed it onto the desk with a loud clatter.

• Hiss…
• MY EARS!!!
• You f*cking…
• DEAF!! I’M DEAF, DO YOU KNOW THAT!
• He wants to deafen everyone so he has a legitimate excuse to flake on the stream.

“Ah, sorry, didn’t realize it would be that loud. I just got back from moot court, so I’m a bit late. I’ve bookmarked the birthday event thread; I’ll check it out after the stream. Thanks, guys.” Dou Sheng replied to a few comments in one breath, pulled a can of soda from off-camera, popped the tab with a finger, and tilted his head back to chug it.

• Look how thirsty the kid is.
• Must be roasted, his forehead is full of sweat.
• It shouldn’t be that bad; London isn’t even 30°C today.
• No, Dou, your voice is like that and you’re still drinking ice-cold soda?
• Xie Lan really doesn’t know how to ‘pity the fragrant bean’…
• Teacher Xie is such a cold man.
• Douzi’s voice has been ruined by him 555.
• What on earth are you guys saying… I don’t understand but I’m getting more and more excited…

Dou Sheng set down the empty can. “What kind of rhythm are you guys stirring up again? My Teacher Xie is such a gentle person; look at what you’ve turned him into.”

His response only fueled the fire.

• “Gentle.”
• Recently, Lan-zai’s persona in my heart has been subverted.
• I love Strict-Lan I love Strict-Lan I love Strict-Lan.
• Xie Lan’s recent famous quote: “One more time” (Cold cat stare face).
• On… one more time??? What does that mean?
• Is it the meaning I think it is????
• Holy crap, what kind of riddle is this?

Dou Sheng scrolled up the chat for a few screens and chuckled. “So many people don’t know the truth? Every one of you, reflect on yourselves. How many livestreams have you skipped? More than half a month, for sure.”

The comments rolled even faster.

• You look pretty proud of being trained into such a raspy voice by Teacher Xie.
• Checking our attendance now, are we?
• He probably wants all the fans to see, tsk tsk.
• Why didn’t you check attendance before?
• Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk.

The birthday and Qixi double-special stream should have been heartwarming, but the vibe in the room remained unchanged—host and audience mocking each other.

Dou Sheng waited for the chat to slow down and clicked a link. “Fine, I’ll catch up those who skipped class so you don’t get misled. We weren’t doing anything ‘unspeakable.’ I’ve had a lot of moot court sessions this semester, and my London accent hasn’t been great. I always feel my presence is weak when I speak, so Teacher Er-Mao has been giving me extra lessons every day.”

The link was a recording of the previous stream. In the video, Xie Lan and Dou Sheng sat side-by-side on the bed. Xie Lan held a thick textbook and read: “An assumption underlying this project is that codification is a different process from law reform.”

Dou Sheng practiced shadowing him, following without the text: “An assumption underlying this project is that codification is a different process from law reform.”

• Whoa, they really were practicing oral English?
• Hiss… I knew Lan-zai’s British accent was charming, but Douzi is too?
• Douzi isn’t quite as standard, but I feel he’s more charming (whispering).
• After all, his voice is more magnetic than Lan-zai’s.
• After all, he is the ‘gong’ (top)… cough, the host for everyone to admire.
• What are they reading?
• A law textbook? Can’t understand it.
• Streaming English practice every day, LOL, it’s become my sleep companion.

In the video, Dou Sheng finished repeating and peeked at Xie Lan’s face. Xie Lan nodded slightly and continued: “This is the basis of the submission made to the Law Commission by the Committee of the Society of Public Teachers of Law which led to our appointment.”

Dou Sheng opened his mouth, then paused.

Opened his mouth, then paused.

Open…

Xie Lan looked up with an inquiring gaze.

“It’s a bit long, let me recall.” Dou Sheng closed his eyes to string it together, then repeated seriously: “This is the basis of the sub—”

“No,” Xie Lan interrupted. “Word stress is wrong. This is the basis of.“

“This is the basis of,” Dou Sheng repeated.

Xie Lan: “the Society of Public Teachers of Law.”

Dou Sheng: “the Society of Public Teachers of Law.”

Xie Lan remained silent. Dou Sheng glanced at him and read the whole sentence again.

Xie Lan said in a calm tone, “One more time.”

Dou Sheng read it again. After finishing, he cleared his throat and lightly rubbed his neck.

“Tired?” Xie Lan finally showed a hint of concern.

Dou Sheng nodded. “A bit.”

“Persevere,” Xie Lan said. “One more time.”

Dou Sheng: “…”

The chat was exploding.

• REVISITING. THE. CLASSIC.
• LOL, Er-Mao is so soft.
• “One more time (softly).”
• “One more time (friendly smile).”

As the chat rolled, Dou Sheng propped his chin with one hand and gripped the mouse with the other. “Don’t say it, from an outsider’s perspective, it really was a bit…”

• WE are outsiders??
• Stop trying to save face.
• Lowest household status.
• Humble Dou.

Dou Sheng laughed and sighed. “Fine, you say whatever you want, I won’t explain, okay?”

As he reached the last few words, his voice conveniently went raspy again, triggering another round of mockery from the chat.

Dou Sheng wasn’t angry. He closed the video with a smile. “Let’s talk business. Let’s talk about the theme for today’s birthday stream.”

• Mm-hmm, go on.
• Are we causing trouble?
• Suddenly formal, I have a bad feeling.
• Squatting in place and perking up my ears.

“Ever since we got to London, Xie Lan’s familiar turf, he’s been way too arrogant. Today is my birthday; let’s prank Er-Mao.” Dou Sheng checked the time. “I told him I wasn’t streaming today. When he comes back later, I’ll turn off the monitor but leave the camera on. It won’t affect your ability to watch the show.”

• Understood.
• So what kind of scene are we peeping?
• Is it… ‘mhm-mhm’ (sex)?
• Person above, watch it, this is a formal stream.
• ‘Mhm-mhm’ won’t bring the super-admin here, don’t worry.

Dou Sheng answered solemnly: “It’s still shadowing practice. I just finished a moot court session today and organized some trial transcripts to use as today’s reading material.”

• That’s it?
• I have a hunch this material isn’t simple…
• It’s not like it’s your first day knowing Douzi…

Dou Sheng smiled. “Who was it that said a few days ago they haven’t seen Er-Mao blush in a long time?”

• Damn… something big is happening.
• Douzi is starting to get ‘flirtatious’.
• This is wrong… but just this once, okay.
• This is wrong… elaborate?

The material was only two pages. Dou Sheng flipped to the second. “Standard routine. Admin, hop on QQ, I’m sending you a bilingual doc.”

• Bilingual doc?
• Translation of the material?
• Why send it to the admin?

Dou Sheng dragged the file over, muttering: “Court records use very difficult language. Even if you guys average Level 6 or 8 English, you’ll struggle to understand. To ensure the viewer experience, I’ll trouble the admin to type the Chinese subs in the chat in real-time. No need to thank me; I’m just that thoughtful of a Dou-zi.”

• He’s serious.
• The more serious he is, the bigger the event.
• Pitying/Expecting Lan-zai’s social death in advance.
• My Lan-zai—woo (hooray)!

Dou Sheng glanced at the chat and chuckled. “You guys. Xie Lan is truly unlucky to have fans like you.”

• Xie Lan is truly unlucky to have… cough like you.
• One day seven years ago, Lan-zai decided to return to China, unaware that his life was veering onto the highway of social death.

Just as Dou Sheng was about to engage in a war of words with the chat, he heard the door lock turn.

“Shh!” He immediately went expressionless, hit the monitor power button, pushed the gaming chair under the desk, and sat on the bed holding the materials.

The bedroom door opened. Xie Lan walked into the frame, completely unaware. “Moot court finished so early?”

• LAN-ZAI!!!!
• Even though I see him often, he still makes my heart skip a beat QAQ.
• Lan-zai really loves wearing linen shirts.
• Deep blue makes his skin look so white.
• Natural cooling vibe.
• Quiet, everyone! Low-key ambush, don’t let him find out.
• LOL, even if we screamed our lungs out, can he hear us?

Dou Sheng gave a hum in response, head down, continuing to pore over the materials and pick at pronunciations.

Xie Lan’s gaze passed over the dark monitor. He stood by the bed. “About that…”

“Hmm?” Dou Sheng looked up. “What is it?”

“The cake is a bit of a disaster,” Xie Lan said softly. “My brain short-circuited and I swapped the buttercream for animal cream; it didn’t hold its shape.”

Hearing this, Dou Sheng put down the papers and stood up. “How bad? Let me see—”

“No, don’t!” Xie Lan grabbed his arm and pushed him back down. “Just… one of the cats melted. I framed it with a mold. It’s in the fridge; we’ll see it tonight when we eat.”

“Which cat melted?”

“The pure orange one…” Xie Lan paused, avoiding Dou Sheng’s gaze.

• HE. IS. SO. CUTE.
• DON’T BLAME LAN-ZAI!!
• Wuwuwu Lan-zai really made a cake for you personally!
• Take a photo! Post it on Weibo! Don’t enjoy it alone!
• Douzi likely won’t post it; he’s stingy like that.
• Curse him, Douzi is so good at keeping things for himself.

Dou Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. “That one? That one doesn’t matter.” He sat back on the bed, picked up the two pages, and said casually, “As long as the orange-and-white one is okay.”

Xie Lan said “Ah,” “The orange-and-white one indeed had no problems.”

Dou Sheng smiled, pulled a piece of chocolate from his pocket, broke off half for him, and patted the bed. “Want to practice with me?”

“Mm.”

Xie Lan first walked over to open the window. It was a rare sunny day in London. The afternoon sunlight shone in, hitting his and Dou Sheng’s faces.

“Won’t the fans riot if you don’t stream on your birthday?” Xie Lan asked around the chocolate.

Dou Sheng just smiled. “Let them riot.”

• Damn it, Douzi, you’re a dog.
• Lan-zai, do you think we’re that immature?
• Cough, if he didn’t stream, we might actually…
• Douzi is an ungrateful wolf; Lan-zai is the kind one.
• Look at Lan-zai’s clearly disapproving look.

Unexpectedly, Xie Lan curled his lip and added: “If they riot too hard, it’ll be hard to coax them back. Have some restraint.”

Dou Sheng was caught off guard and almost fell off the bed laughing. He bent over to pick up the court records that had fallen. As he looked up, he secretly winked at the camera.

• Lan… you weren’t like this when you first came back seven years ago.
• Definitely corrupted by Douzi, lighting a cigarette.
• Douzi! You f*cking jerk!
• You’re quite proud of corrupting Lan-zai, aren’t you?

“Alright, Teacher Xie, let’s go.” Dou Sheng cleared his throat. “Just this page and a half. Read it with me; didn’t we book a restaurant for tonight?”

Xie Lan took the first page and scanned it. “How did it feel in court today?”

“Not bad. My oral English has improved significantly lately; I feel confident.”

Xie Lan nodded, naturally switching to a standard London accent. Holding the page of records he didn’t quite understand, he led the reading sentence by sentence. Dou Sheng’s expression also became serious, carefully mimicking his stress and pauses.

They sat cross-legged facing each other on the bed, knees occasionally brushing. Sometimes Xie Lan read too much in one breath, and Dou Sheng would press a hand on his leg, and he would tacitly cut the sentence in half to wait for him.

The gentle afternoon breeze stirred the window curtains behind Xie Lan. In the camera, he looked exactly as he did in his youth, though his silhouette carried more maturity and resolve.

The livestream admin typed Dou Sheng’s translated court records into the chat line by line, but no one cared about the translation.

• Friends, I’m dazed. Is this a prank or a flex?
• The prank hasn’t started and I’ve already been slapped with dog food.
• I’m dazed too, feels like seven years ago…
• It’s not seven years ago, but the two of them haven’t changed at all in these seven years.
• I can’t see any change in Er-Mao, let alone Douzi.
• Lan-zai is so gentle today. Douzi read it wrong twice, and he stopped to correct him slowly.
• It’s his birthday, after all, and Lan-zai’s cherished Chinese Qixi.
• Lan-zai was really looking forward to today; he was asking about baking in the group chat all day.
• Shh—reportedly he failed over a dozen times.
• Oh? Does Douzi know!
• Definitely not… if Douzi knew, his heart would ache and he wouldn’t let him struggle.

The chat was chatting passionately, while only the admin diligently copy-pasted Dou Sheng’s prepared Chinese subtitles. Xie Lan sat directly in front of the camera, completely oblivious. He read seriously to the bottom and flipped the page.

Dou Sheng unobtrusively leaned over, pulled a bottle of water from Xie Lan’s bag, and took a sip to moisten his throat. Today’s records were exceptionally tongue-tying, especially these sections Dou Sheng had specifically compiled—they were almost entirely long legal articles. Xie Lan had always disliked these difficult words; as he read, his brain began to zone out.

He continued reading the sentences on the second page almost mechanically— “Summer for thee… thee? There’s old English too? Is this a quote from an ancient code?”

Dou Sheng only hummed and repeated: “Summer for thee.”

His voice was lower and gentler than before. He looked up, gazing at the person before him.

In the chat, the blue admin text at the top suddenly turned pink— 【IT BEGINS】

Xie Lan lowered his eyes to the text. “Summer for thee, grant I may be. When summer days are flown.”

Dou Sheng followed with a low smile: “Summer for thee, grant I may be. When summer days are flown.”

[When summer days are flown.]

[Please allow me to be your summer.]

Xie Lan paused, flipped back to the first page to check the previous text, and knit his brows in confusion. “Did you add a piece of classical poetry here?”

He continued: “Thy music still, when Whippoorwill and Oriole… done.”

After reading this, he froze for an instant. He snapped his eyes up, crashing straight into Dou Sheng’s smiling gaze.

Dou Sheng smiled and followed: “Thy music still, when Whippoorwill and Oriole, done.”

[When the Whippoorwill and Oriole have finished their song.]

[Please allow me to be your music.]

• DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN
• Douzi, are you filming an idol drama here?
• Is this watching Lan-zai’s social death? This is watching us get killed by dog food!
• The poem is ‘Summer for Thee,’ a classic love poem.
• Douzi is the king of ‘playing’.

Xie Lan cleared his throat, placed the paper face down on his lap, and whispered: “What are you doing?”

“It’s Qixi.” Dou Sheng said matter-of-factly. “Teacher Xie, lead me in reading some poetry, okay?”

The bright sunlight highlighted every flicker of expression. The chat was waiting for Xie Lan to blush, but Xie Lan just looked at Dou Sheng for a while, then smiled: “Fine, continue then.”

“For thee to bloom, I’ll skip the tomb.”

“For thee to bloom, I’ll skip the tomb.”

[For you to bloom, I would rather cross the grave.]

“Pray gather me, phoenix tree flower.”

“Pray gather me, phoenix tree flower.”

[Please pick me, plane tree flower (Wutong).]

“Thy flower, forevermore.”

“Thy flower, forevermore.”

[Your flower, forevermore.]

• Holy… crap…
• AAAAAAAAH
• Who is gone? It’s me.
• Douzi he… he changed the poem.
• Where did he change it?
• ‘Phoenix tree flower’ was changed.
• The original poem says anemone.

Xie Lan put down the paper and let out a breath. His voice was still soft like in his youth. “Hey, isn’t it your birthday? I should be the one preparing activities.”

“It’s not just a birthday.” Dou Sheng’s lips curled up. “What day is it, forgot? You wouldn’t celebrate it in February, so now it’s July in the lunar calendar, we have to make up for the holiday.”

Xie Lan remained silent. Dou Sheng paused and clicked his tongue. “Besides, Teacher Xie has been so strict lately. The fans are calling me a ‘tragic bean.’ I’m feeling quite insecure.”

Xie Lan froze. “Say that again? Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Dou Sheng sighed. “Sigh, Big Cat is out of favor, can’t feel the love. I have to coax you into reading me some poetry.”

• …Such a flirtatious Dou-zi.
• I’m actually seeing Douzi act spoiled…
• Once-in-a-lifetime series…
• I actually… my heart softened.
• Holy crap me too… I’m reflecting.
• Damn it, I clearly know what kind of person he is, but I still felt pity!
• Please stop using your raspy voice to gain sympathy points!!

Xie Lan thought for a long time and nodded. “Fine, then continue.”

“Huh?” This time it was Dou Sheng who was stunned. He glanced at the half-page of text. “It’s finished.”

“If I want more, there can be more,” Xie Lan said. “Don’t you feel unloved? Follow me.”

The sunlight behind them grew a bit intense. Xie Lan turned to pull the sheer curtain shut, then looked at the blank half of the page and continued reading: “Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.”

Dou Sheng hesitated for a second, then followed as told: “Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.”

[Everyone, this part isn’t in Douzi’s prepared materials… I can’t translate it]

[AAAAH WAIT I FOUND IT! HERE!]

Xie Lan’s voice was even softer than before. “But when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.”

Dou Sheng’s voice faltered. A moment later, he smiled silently and continued: “…But when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.”

[Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you. But when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.]

“Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.”

“But when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.”

[Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you. When the trees bow their heads, the wind is passing by.]

“Why does the wind never rest? Wandering, whistling, to and fro.”

[Why does the wind never rest? Wandering, whistling, to and fro.]

“Bring rain out of the west. From the dim north bringing you.”

[Bringing rain from the west. From the dim north, bringing YOU.]

Dou Sheng had stopped following long ago. He just watched Xie Lan quietly from inches away. In the camera, Xie Lan was reciting poetry to a piece of blank paper, a point of steady, soft light in his dark eyes. He didn’t look as green as he did seven years ago, yet he was even more heart-stirring than back then.

Xie Lan put down the paper and raised an eyebrow. “Why did you stop?”

Dou Sheng licked his lip, instinctively glanced at the camera, and said nothing.

• REVERSED FLIRTING!!!
• You act all cool, you act all confident!
• Lan-zai has grown up! Great counter-kill!!
• AAAAAAAAH Teacher Xie killed me!!!
• Rounding up, Lan Lan was reading poetry to me.
• Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.
• Who eats dog food? There is me and there is you.

Dou Sheng clicked his tongue. “Uh… about that—”

“Hmm?” Xie Lan raised an eyebrow. “Why stop?”

“Teacher Xie… no, Er-Mao…” Dou Sheng laughed twice, head down. “I think I played too much. This… yeah, I didn’t expect this.”

Xie Lan snorted, casually folding the two pages. “This is called… growth.”

“No, you misunderstood me.” Dou Sheng couldn’t stop laughing. After a while, he let out a long sigh. “The two of us aren’t done for today.”

Xie Lan had already stood up, intending to finish his homework before the birthday dinner. As he reached for the computer monitor, he gave a casual “Mm.” “How else? It’s your birthday. Even without the poetry, the two of us would still…”

There was a loud crash behind him as Dou Sheng jumped off the bed in a panic! He clamped a hand over Xie Lan’s mouth!

“Mmph mmph…” Xie Lan was caught off guard. Before he could struggle, the screen before him lit up.

In the camera were the two of them.

The one covering the mouth had a helpless, slightly comical expression after a total car crash.

The one being covered was completely blank.

Dou Sheng let go and cleared his throat. “Uh… so, I didn’t expect you to… flip it back. Ah, you added a part for yourself.”

• HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
• Good afternoon, Lan-zai!! (Deep voice)
• Lan-zai’s English is so good! Old English is even better!
• Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.
• Who is blushing? The one in front of the camera.
• Lan-zai, don’t listen to their nonsense, you are the most charming!!
• Lan-zai, finish the sentence! The two of you would still WHAT??
• REQUESTING THE ENDING!! CRAZY!!!

Dou Sheng stood behind Xie Lan, hands in his pockets, comforting him: “It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re all one family now.”

He paused and whispered: “And you’re already in London.” There was no way to book a flight to run further away.

Xie Lan was silent. He stood before the camera for a full half-minute before straightening up. He still had no expression, his voice flat: “Oh. You guys are here.”

• “Oh.”
• Indeed.
• Yes, we’re here.
• What a coincidence, you’re here too?

The chat began to cooperate with his performance of “nothing happened.”

Xie Lan said as usual: “Fine, that’s it for the stream. I’m doing homework. We’re going out for dinner tonight; we’ve booked a restaurant.”

• Mm-hmm, heard you earlier.
• Do your homework well, stay safe on the road.
• Don’t forget to take the cake.

Xie Lan nodded. “Alright, we’re signing off.”

His calm, indifferent expression was exactly like Teacher Xie.

• Mm-hmm, sign off, sign off. We’re going to sleep too.
• It’s late in China.
• Cough, Happy Birthday Douzi.
• Happy Qixi Lan-zai.
• Happy Birthday!
• Safe and healthy every year!
• Happy Qixi!
• Forever together!

Among the massive blessings were a few uncontrollable truths.

• Look at those red ears…
• First time seeing someone’s ears turn that red.
• Sure enough, Lan-zai is still the same Lan-zai…
• Grown up, yet not.
• What did I say? Xie Lan’s shyness only exists in public.
• Shy in public as a kid, same as an adult.
• Reverse flirting in private as an adult, therefore it was the same as a kid.
• That’s called consistency.
• I suddenly wonder, when did they actually get together?
• It’s one of the world’s unsolved mysteries.

In the camera, Xie Lan’s face drew closer. He seemed to click the mouse and then bent over to turn off the monitor.

However, the livestream did not stop.

• I’m a bit confused… are we blacked out?
• He closed the browser, but the streaming software is still in the background.
• LOL, Lan-zai must be stunned.
• Douzi, save us! You aren’t expecting us to log off ourselves, are you!
• Douzi Douzi Douzi!

In the stream, Xie Lan took several deep breaths and clenched his fists.

“Dou Sheng.” He gritted his teeth. “YOU—”

“Don’t hit, don’t hit, I’ll make it up to you, I’ll really make it up to you—” Dou Sheng was shaking with laughter. As Xie Lan’s fist was about to hit his shoulder, he caught it, pulled Xie Lan’s shoulder back, and turned him away from the desk.

His other hand reached back, skillfully found the power button on the PC tower, and long-pressed it.

• Hey hey hey! How are you making it up!
• Damn, don’t cut our internet here!
• Hello? Hello? HELLO???

Livestream disconnected…

Parsing address…

A moment later, the disheartening “The host is browsing Bilibili” appeared.

…

The next morning, Beijing time, Bilibili updated.

[@PeerlessHandsomeDou_dm: The cake yesterday was perfect. The cake and the intention were both perfect.]

In the photo, the cake had a white cream base with light green accents. The orange-and-white cat pattern was clear and complete, while the pure orange cat next to it had melted into a puddle.

Fans arrived at lightning speed.

• Right, so perfect.
• Who said it was a disaster? Where? I don’t see it.
• This is the most perfect cake ever! /Crying
• So sweet. Was there, tasted it.
• Hard work Lan-zai!!

A few minutes later, another notification.

[@XieLan_em: Who sends love through the wind? It is me and it is you. Happy Qixi, everyone.]

---

Author’s Note:

Happy Birthday Douzi · Happy Qixi to the Six Eggs

—by Keyboard-Thumper

*Poem 1: 《Summer for Thee, Grant I May Be》 by Emily Dickinson [USA], excerpt, last line modified.

*Poem 2: 《The Wind》 by C.G. Rossetti [UK], last stanza modified.