Under the clear blue sky and bright sunlight, Ruan Nianchu felt as if she had entered darkness. After going through so much trouble to escape to this place, she was unwilling to meet such an untimely end.
So she stood there, looking at him, without moving. The man observed her with cold eyes.
Around them, towering trees surrounded them, and the sounds of wind and animal cries intertwined in chaotic harmony. However, there was a deathly silence between them.
After a moment, Ruan Nianchu tried to steady her trembling throat and almost pleaded, “Let me go, please. I won’t call the police, and I won’t reveal anything about you. I’m just here for volunteer teaching. Let me go home, please.”
Li Teng replied, “You can’t leave.”
“Why?” The suppression and endurance of the past three days erupted in an instant. Her eyes turned red, and she felt despair and helplessness. He neither killed her nor touched her, and she couldn’t understand why he wanted to keep her by his side. Trembling, she said, “There’s only you here. As long as you’re willing to let me go, I can leave, right? Please, let me go.”
Li Teng remained impassive, “I said it. You can’t leave.”
Ruan Nianchu drooped her head in disappointment, suddenly laughed, a self-mocking and mocking laughter. Birds of a feather flock together, and this person was in cahoots with that short and fat man. Why would she plead with him and hope he would let her go? How could he allow her to leave?
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
Fbl oyp vawzu qsszkpb yde dykhl.
Swyd Lkydnbw ckv bla zkr, nshlakdt bla qynl okvb csvb bydep, naukdt, bla pbswzelap valxczkdt. Nk Mldt pvsse dlyacu, oyvnbkdt bla qasx pvyav vs qkdkpb.
Fbl eked’v jdso bso zsdt pbl nakle wdela bkp oyvnbqwz lulp. Gzz pbl jdlo oyp vbyv, kd vbl xkepv sq bla vlyap, pbl pweeldzu blyae bkx prlyj kd vbyv nsze-yp-knl vsdl, “Mbl dlyalpv hkzzytl kp xsal vbyd 140 jkzsxlvlap yoyu, pwaaswdele cu eldpl fwdtzl, okvb lktbv xkdlqklzep. Rq usw vbkdj usw nyd oyzj swv yzkhl, ts yblye.”
Swyd Lkydnbw’p lulp olal poszzld qasx naukdt, yde sdzu dso eke pbl alyzkgl bla alnjzlppdlpp. Fbl jdlo dsvbkdt ycswv vbl tlstayrbknyz ldhkasdxldv blal, yde pbl bye nsxl eydtlaswpzu nzspl vs pvlrrkdt kdvs y xkdlqklze fwpv y xsxldv yts. Rq bl byed’v yrrlyale, pbl xktbv byhl clld czsod vs rklnlp.
Swyd Lkydnbw qlzv y nbkzz esod bla prkdl, alyzkgkdt vbl eydtla pbl dyaasozu lpnyrle.
Nk Mldt aykple bkp lulcasop, “Lsv zlyhkdt?”
“ā¦” Fbl alxykdle pkzldv, pwzjkdt.
“Ebld y rlapsd eklp, vblu zspl lhlauvbkdt. Usxl cynj okvb xl,” bl pyke, qszzsole cu vbl pswde sq bkp cssvp nawpbkdt elnyule caydnblp. Nk Mldt vwadle yaswde yde oyzjle yoyu okvbswv zssjkdt cynj.
Ruan Nianchu was stunned for a few seconds.
“When a person dies, they lose everythingā¦” His words echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes for a moment and then reopened them, taking steps to follow him.
~
Ruan Nianchu’s escape this time, from leaving the camp to returning, took only an hour. Unfortunately, besides Li Teng, others discovered her escape.
Around the camp were buildings, and in the middle was an open space.
It was a little after three in the afternoon, the hottest time in Cambodia. The scorching sun baked the earth. On the open ground, there was a rectangular wooden table scattered with US dollars. A large group of boy scouts stood around the table, cheering and shouting while gambling.
These boys were all under ten years old, with the oldest being around seventeen or eighteen. Ruan Nianchu dared not look around casually, instinctively moving closer to Li Teng.
Fortunately, the boy scouts were focused on gambling, and few noticed her. One of them, however, spotted Li Teng, grinned, and greeted loudly, “Brother Li!”
Li Teng smiled faintly, put his arm around the shoulder of the dark-skinned youth, and his cold eyes softened rarely, “How’s your luck?”
“Not bad.” The boy’s name is Tori and he’s around thirteen or fourteen years old. He was obviously in a good mood. Handing several banknotes to Li Teng, he said, “Brother, buy some alcohol for yourself.”
“Keep it for yourself.”
“ā¦Sure.” The older boy scratched his head, glanced at Ruan Nianchu when she hesitated, and then began to chuckle, “I’ll keep it, maybe find a beautiful wife in the future.”
Li Teng glanced at Ruan Nianchu. The girl was hiding behind him, gripping her dress, head lowered, and her complexion looked pale. Her small chin seemed sharper than when he first saw her. Her naturally fair skin, now even paler due to the loss of blood.
His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds, then quickly moved away. No further explanation was given.
As they chatted, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly approached. Everyone turned to see a stocky man with a round face. He panted, running to Li Teng and standing still in front of him. “Brother Li.”
“What’s the matter?”
The round-faced man furrowed his brows, glanced at Ruan Nianchu as if hesitating, and said, “Grandpa asked you to come. He said, bring this Chinese woman along.”
Ruan Nianchu was confused. Li Teng remained calm, nodding. “Okay.”
A few minutes later, Ruan Nianchu followed Li Teng to a tall wooden house. This place was located at the deepest part of the camp, surrounded by guards, and watchtowers were set up everywhere, with big men holding AK47s on duty around the clock.
It wasn’t the room she had stayed in for the past few days. Ruan Nianchu looked around, her heart tightening.
Li Teng stopped in front of the door, about to knock, when a very weak force tugged at him. He turned back, and the girl’s fair hand had grabbed onto his clothes, exerting some force.
His cold gaze moved up to look at her.
“ā¦Why did you bring me here?” Ruan Nianchu’s lips moved, whispering, “What are we doing in this place? It’s a tiger and wolf’s den1dangerous, and I’m genuinely scared.” She was cautious and felt like she was walking on thin ice
Li Teng said, “You’ll know once you go in.” As soon as he finished speaking, he knocked on the door. Knock, knock.
Inside, an older voice coughed slightly and spoke in Khmer, “Who is it?”
Li Teng replied, “Grandpa, it’s me.”
A sound of acknowledgment came from inside, “Come in.”
Li Teng pushed open the door. Ruan Nianchu, with a tense scalp, followed him. She gritted her teeth, cold sweat forming on her forehead. Unexpectedly, as they entered, the man said three words, with a voice that was typically cold and deep, surprisingly sounded gentle. He said, “Don’t be afraid,” his volume only audible to her.
Ruan Nianchu’s eyes flickered.
This room had curtains drawn on all sides, making it somewhat dim despite the afternoon. Tuwa held a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, muttering something with closed eyes. Hearing the movement, he didn’t open his eyes but smirked, saying, “I heard your woman wasn’t very well-behaved today; she ran out from here by herself.”
Li Teng faintly smiled, “She felt bored, so I let her wander around. Turns out she’s not very smart; she couldn’t find her way back.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Lee, are you sure you’re not lying to Grandpa?”
“I’m sure.”
At his words, Tuwa slowly lifted his eyelids. Li Teng stood a few steps away from him, eyes slightly lowered, a stern expression on his face. Tuwa squinted his eyes. Since the day he was betrayed and brought back from the brink of life and death by this young man, he had been working by his side for a full four years. From the very beginning, Tuwa knew that this young man was not simple. Used properly, he was the sharpest blade; used improperly, he could plunge you into hell with no chance of redemption.
Tuwa stood up and walked a few steps towards Li Teng. Seeing him approach, Ruan Nianchu moved further behind Li Teng, her eyes full of vigilance.
Then she saw Tuwa move and unexpectedly pull out a sharp dagger, raising it and placing it against Li Teng’s neck.
Ruan Nianchu was shocked and turned pale. Li Teng stood still, not even raising an eyebrow.
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Suddenly, Tuwa’s mouth curved into a smile, and he chuckled softly, handing the dagger to Li Teng, “Here, a good thing. A gift for you.”
“ā¦” Ruan Nianchu’s tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and she exhaled. Her gaze unconsciously swept over the dagger, pupils contracting sharply as she glimpsed the carved words “Chinese Air Force” on the handle.
Soon it became unclear.
Li Teng took the knife. He inspected it without much emotion, “What kind of knife is this?”
Tuwa smiled casually, speaking as if discussing a cheap cake, “It’s a parachute knife used by soldiers of the Chinese Air Force Airborne Corps. Four years ago, I and the boss killed two of them, and these two knives were the spoils of war. The boss kept one for himself, and he gave me the other. Now, I’m passing this knife on to you.”
Li Teng smirked, “A knife from the Chinese Air Force, indeed a good thing. Such a precious item, Grandpa should keep it for himself.”
Tuwa waved his hand, patting Li Teng’s shoulder, “Lee, I consider you half a son. Don’t be so polite with me.”
Li Teng said, “Thank you, Grandpa.”
While the two men chatted, Ruan Nianchu stood on the side, completely ignored. Whether it was an illusion or not, she saw Li Teng’s fingers gripping the knife, slender and powerful, getting tighter as if he was exerting great restraint.
Even though Li Teng maintained his usual calm demeanor.
~
Ruan Nianchu’s escape attempt was casually covered up by Li Teng. Tuwa was initially harboring ill intentions toward her but had to give up seeing Li Teng’s strong defense. She once again escaped a calamity under his protection.
Her mind was still filled with thoughts of escape, but she refrained from acting recklessly due to the warning from that person.
Days passed slowly and agonizingly. Ruan Nianchu continued to live with Li Teng. During the day, he occasionally went out, and she stayed in the house lost in thought. At night, she slept on the bed while he slept on the floor, and their communication was almost nonexistent.
She found his various behaviors puzzling. Sometimes she thought he was a strange person, while at other times, she believed he might still retain a trace of conscience, barely qualifying as a decent person in the midst of extreme evil. Maintaining a hint of kindness in such a dire environment was truly remarkable.
However, he had promised to ensure her safety, and considering the current situation, Ruan Nianchu believes in his promise. Thus, this simple yet cold and clean bamboo hut became her only refuge in the chilly long nights.
Apart from this, she had no other means to survive temporarily. Fortunately, their interaction was relatively harmonious, with at least a peaceful coexistence where neither person interfered with the other.
This harmony was unintentionally disrupted on the sixth day.
Cambodia’s rainy season, usually marked by high temperatures and humidity in the deep jungle, had tested Ruan Nianchu’s endurance for six days, and she finally reached her limit.
During dinner, she carefully chose her words before gathering the courage to ask Li Teng in a hushed tone, “Where do you usually take showers?”
Li Teng, eating a piece of sauced beef, replied nonchalantly, “In the river.”
Ruan Nianchu’s expression slightly froze, momentarily unsure how to continue the conversation.
Sensing something, Li Teng looked up, his gaze fixed on her face. He asked, “Do you want to take a bath?”
After a brief hesitation, she nodded.
Li Teng nodded as well, saying, “Got it.” With that, he dropped the beef and walked out of the wooden hut. When he returned, he was holding a large wooden bucket in one hand.
Seeing this, Ruan Nianchu instinctively went to help. However, when her fingertips touched the edge of the bucket, Li Teng coldly remarked, “Move aside.”
She hesitated for a moment, “ā¦”
“This thing is heavy, and you can’t handle it.” He said this while still lifting the bucket with one hand. Frowning, Ruan Nianchu followed the gaze of her eyes along the wooden bucket to his left arm, only then noticing the dragon-tailed floral tattooed bicep, tense with bulging veins, seemingly filled with boundless explosive power.
She could only stand there dryly.
Before long, Li Teng put down the bucket and went out again. A few minutes later, he returned with two buckets of freshly boiled water. Glancing at the half piece of beef on the table, Ruan Nianchu stammered, “You eat, I’ll fetch the water myself.”
Li Teng completely ignored her, pouring water into the wooden bucket before going out again, making several trips until the bucket was filled two-thirds. On his last entrance, he tossed something to Ruan Nianchu.
She was skeptical, but upon unfolding it, she found a pure white Cambodian sarong. Li Teng then said, “This is Ah Xin’s clothes. Other than you and her, there are no other women here. Only this one.”
Ruan Nianchu recalled the elderly lady who brought them food and cleaned the dishes every day. She nodded and was about to say something when Li Teng turned and went out, casually closing the door behind him.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she held the sarong, two words of “thank you” stuck in her throat and swallowed back.
~
The appearance of this woman wasn’t part of Li Teng’s overall plan. She was an unexpected addition.
The short and chubby man was lascivious, frequently bringing women from outside whenever he felt like it. Li Teng had grown accustomed to it over the years, never bothering with such trivial matters. However, on that particular nightā¦
Li Teng lay on the roof with his arm as a pillow, chewing on grass, squinting as he examined the passport in his hand.
After a while, he put away the passport and took out a cigarette from his pocket. However, upon searching, he realized the lighter wasn’t with him. So, he jumped down from the roof, intending to go back to fetch it. But just as he reached the door, he remembered the girl was still taking a bath.
Almost forgot. Li Teng bit the cigarette, furrowing his brows as he turned to leave.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. Since the window of the wooden hut wasn’t closed, the wind blew up a corner of the curtain. His gaze casually swept over, and he unexpectedly saw a snow-white back on the steaming wooden bucket. The girl was undoing her hair, shaking her head, and suddenly turned aroundā¦
Li Teng was momentarily captivated.
The next instant, his entire body’s blood boiled, muscles tense, as if on the verge of exploding.
There seemed to be footsteps outside, heavy and quickly moving away.
Ruan Nianchu’s heart tightened. She listened more closely, but there was no more sound. Perhaps she misheard. She relaxed slightly, submerging her entire body into the warm water. It was so comfortable.
What she didn’t know was that Li Teng spent half the night soaking in cold water in the river.
That scene was etched in his mind, unforgettable.
The flawless and soft back, the slender waist, and the faint touch of red when she turned to the sideā¦ Li Teng gritted his teeth, the muscles on his forehead forming a character å·. Damn it.
Sansukini: Li Teng is deep undercover. Imagine doing it for 4 years. So, Lee is what they call him in Khmer, I don’t think they know that he’s Chinese. Li Teng is his real name. And he started getting attracted to Nianchu because ofā¦. voyeurism? Hehe. J/K.
Btw, if you check novelupdates, there was a translator who tried translating this novel, under another title but they only released 2 chapters, with months apart, and they last updated a year ago. Anyway, their title is the alternative name of the drama in international streaming sites, The original title of this novel is Half Yin (He Confessed in the Backlight). Yin can also be translated into Whisper, so it’s like “Half a Whisper, He Confessed in the Backlight.” That title sounds really romantic, but Dang it, that title is so long, it reminds me of ARIES (After Rebirth, I was Entangled by the Second Generation Rich Man Again), which sometimes I forget the title in full because of it’s length. But worst is when the title is just one word but you don’t know what it means or how it is relevant to the story. Like “Casting Nets to Catch a Husband,” is a totally made up title, the original title of that novel is Zhejun. But I read the whole novel and I still don’t know what a Zhejun is. Anyway, thank you for reading my rant. I hope you’re all enjoying the translation. And no, this is not to promote my other works. Hehehe. But since we’ve already provided links, please check out my other translations, completed and otherwise…
Married to the Male Lead’s Hidden Rich Brother
Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visitĀ NovelUpdatesĀ and give a 5ā review. (äŗŗāį“ā)āŖŃŠ½Š°Š¹ŠŗćŃŠ¾ŃāŖ(āį“ā*äŗŗ)
You can also check out my other translations Here
I always wondered about the titles of some of these novelsā¦ but, what is he there to do undercover?? How did he learn to speak fluent Khmer?