#qi lin packs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zintranslations · 3 years

Text

Kaleidoscope of Death, Extra 1

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Extra: What He Is

It was an afternoon after they'd both returned to reality when Ruan Nanzhu figured out that Lin Qiushi had likely detected his little secret.

Ruan Nanzhu had nothing to do that day, and was flipping through a book on the balcony. And when he found an interesting line, he had read it out loud to Lin Qiushi.

He said, "when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back at you."

Lin Qiushi was napping at first, but when he heard this, he mumbled back, "anything you do unto the abyss will be reflected back at you, is that it?"

"Probably."

Ruan Nanzhu didn't think too much about it, leaning down to kiss Lin Qiushi on the mouth.

Then he heard Lin Qiushi say, "then maybe I should pull my zipper down at you…"

Ruan Nanzhu went still for a moment before chuckling quietly. In that moment, he understood that Lin Qiushi knew everything.

"That's right," was how Ruan Nanzhu answered. "So you should treat the abyss better."

Regarding the oddities in their life—at first, because all his attention had been on Ruan Nanzhu, Lin Qiushi hadn’t noticed. After Ruan Nanzhu returned though, all these oddities began gradually floating up to the surface, like icebergs hidden under the sea.

In Lin Qiushi's memories, he did not smoke. Even if he carried smokes on him, it was for the convenience of handing to others in his line of work. But after leaving the doors, he became fully an addict. He could smoke multiple packs a day, and felt none of the disparity of a first-time smoker.

And the family that had once been so distant began constantly contacting him, saying all this stuff like how much they worried about him. Bai Ming too—he was supposed to be Ruan Nanzhu's good friend, but now was acting like he’d known Lin Qiushi for years…

All these things, Lin Qiushi took in without looking in too deeply.

The answers to some questions weren't all that important to have. As long as Ruan Nanzhu was by his side, he felt like it was enough. As for what Ruan Nanzhu was…

Lin Qiushi reached out and caught his lover's earlobe in a pinch. Leaning his face in close, he murmured against Ruan Nanzhu's cheek: "My dear, what in the world are you?"

Ruan Nanzhu was reading, and glanced up at Lin Qiushi. Suddenly, he smiled.

"I'm your milk tea," he said.

Lin Qiushi, "…"

Ruan Nanzhu, "aren't you going to ask me why I'm your milk tea?"

Lin Qiushi lifted a brow. "The last time I heard this joke I was still a virgin. And now I'm already a mother of three."

And the two began to laugh, the atmosphere filled with the feeling of joy.

Ruan Nanzhu thought at first that Lin Qiushi would pursue the question, but Lin Qiushi only stretched and got up off the bed. He said he was going to take a shower, and ended the topic there.

Ruan Nanzhu watched Lin Qiushi go and parted his lips, mouthing a few words. Had Lin Qiushi turned right then, he would have found Ruan Nanzhu telling him one thing—I'm the door.

I'm the door. That's right. What Ruan Nanzhu said was, I'm the door.

He was the twelfth door.

But the truth was, prior to the night-time riot of a hundred ghosts, Ruan Nanzhu had not been aware of this fact. His memories were flawless, as if he truly was the leader of Obsidian. As if he—having started entering doors as a teenager, having surmounted countless obstacles and tribulations, and having finally made it past the tenth door with great difficulty—was a completely normal person. Ruan Nanzhu had possessed no memories regarding the doors, and had also been of the firm belief that he was a simple human.

This firm belief of his, after the night of a hundred ghosts had ended for him and Lin Qiushi, had been abruptly shattered.

Back then, the hours of the day were getting longer and longer, while their nights got shorter. The time Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi had together too had entered a countdown. When night no longer came, Ruan Nanzhu thought he was never going to see Lin Qiushi again—he’d gone crazy looking for the key and trying to escape, but very faintly, he’d also realized that some things appeared to have slipped out of his control…

What he hadn't told Lin Qiushi was that he also saw ghosts during the day. At first, this was because he didn't want Lin Qiushi to worry. After, it was because he realized these ghosts wouldn't hurt him. Terrifying ghouls lived on every corner, and even when Ruan Nanzhu opened his own suitcase, he would find the horrifying Hako Onna hidden inside—she had on such an innocent expression when Ruan Nanzhu dug her out, was all.

From the initial shock tinged with terror to the cold numbness that followed, Ruan Nanzhu went through about half a month like this.

By the time he truly comprehend that he would never see Lin Qiushi again, Ruan Nanzhu could already coolly sock the lady-ghost perched at the head of his bed onto the ground, telling her icily to not squat above his head, that he wouldn't grow tall this way…And perhaps he was seeing things, but he thought that after he said this, the lady-ghost looked a little bit wronged.

Angrily, Ruan Nanzhu had thought why are you feeling wronged? I haven't even had a chance to feel wronged.

At that point, though the situation around him was growing increasingly eerie, Ruan Nanzhu was still completely ignorant. He had no idea what was happening, and even thought that this was the doors punishing him. That was what he believed until one day, a little spirit in red guided him to a particular location.

When Ruan Nanzhu got there, he instantly recognized it as the apartment where Lin Qiushi had once lived. Only, the apartment complex hadn't been fully constructed yet, and it was all still ancient builds of tongzilou.

That little spirit-ghost was standing on the fifth floor, waving to Ruan Nanzhu. Ruan Nanzhu looked up at her, frowning.

"The fifth floor? What have you brought me here for?" He observed the ghost's appearance a little more closely, and said in disbelief, "you're not Satchan, are you?"

As soon as he said this, the little ghost before him smiled shyly…though, her making such an expression with that ghastly pale face wasn't cute at all.

Ruan Nanzhu was in a hurry to leave, but had no lead on the key still. So he figured he'd try any last resort, and went to see exactly what Satchan wanted to show him.

Ruan Nanzhu went up to the fifth floor and headed toward the room at the very end. He pushed open the barely-shut door, and found an abode. There was nobody in the room, only an old and dilapidated television sitting at the head of the bed. It seemed to be playing some kind of program.

Ruan Nanzhu's gaze fell on that television, and a bit of shock came into his eyes. He even thought he was seeing things as he sped over to the screen. Only then could he be certain that the TV really was showing him a young Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi was walking on a small path. Two people appeared at his side, and they were both people Ruan Nanzhu recognized—Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke, whom they'd met in their first door. Ruan Nanzhu held his breath, eyes stuck to the image on the screen.

"Where are we?" The young Lin Qiushi looked very youthful, and harbored terror in his dark eyes. He carefully asked next, "who are you guys?"

The images kept playing, and Ruan Nanzhu watched it all. What the television played was how Lin Qiushi passed his first door without Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu's fingertips grazed the icy screen, gently caressing Lin Qiushi's cheek through the glass. Even this young, Lin Qiushi was so easily entrancing.

He was just like raw, undiscovered ore; anyone who knew true value could see that there were dazzling treasures to be had inside.

So smart and brave and calm. Someone who wasn't blindly kind and yet maintained a bottom line—Ruan Nanzhu thought that under any and all circumstances, his lover still so thoroughly captured all attention.

The program on the television became a TV show, and it was all about Lin Qiushi. It was about how he entered doors, how he met a group of friends, how he took over Obsidian…

Ruan Nanzhu watched obsessively. A thought even popped into his mind, that why, when Lin Qiushi was going through all this, had he not been by Lin Qiushi's side? If only he could be with him, then how wondrous an experience that would be…And then Ruan Nanzhu startled back to attention, having detected his own odd state.

He had been at Lin Qiushi's side, and had gone through the test of the eleventh door with Lin Qiushi. But if that was so, then why had such a thought come to his mind just now?

Ruan Nanzhu could sense that something was wrong.

And that sense of wrongness grew broader, following the development of the TV show, as if an unstoppable pandemic.

Ruan Nanzhu saw Lin Qiushi's family in the show, and saw that the way they interacted was exactly the same as how he and his own family interacted. Ruan Nanzhu even saw Bai Ming, who ought to have been his own friend. On TV however, he was Lin Qiushi's sworn brother…

Lin Qiushi slowly grew up. Out of youth, he became a grown, mature man. The people around him came and went, yet his initial resolve never wavered, as if any darkness that was cast upon him couldn't even leave a shadow.

After watching Lin Qiushi for three days and three nights straight, Ruan Nanzhu finally realized something…He, didn't seem to be human.

He hadn't so much as rested in three day's time, but he didn't feel hungry. Nor did he feel tired. He was still full of energy, and had maintained his optimal state.

Time was null where he was concerned.

The ghost who had brought him here squatted beside him, staring up with big eyes

Ruan Nanzhu had been wary of her at first, but later grew exasperated. He said, "what are you showing this to me for? You want to tell me I'm not human?"

Satchan twisted her head, and said nothing as she watched Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu had more to say, but Satchan pointed a finger at the screen, indicating Ruan Nanzhu should keep watching.

Ruan Nanzhu thought, it wasn't like things could get worse. So he'd keep watching. He couldn't leave, and he couldn't see Lin Qiushi—it hardly mattered at all if he kept watching.

So Ruan Nanzhu kept watching as Lin Qiushi's time ticked on forward.

He was like a voyeur, peeking into every corner of Lin Qiushi's life after Lin Qiushi began entering doors. He watched Lin Qiushi cry, and he watched Lin Qiushi laugh. Watched his brilliant smile when he made new acquaintances, watched him sob himself mute when he lost a dear friend. Time ticked on bit by bit, and the Ruan Nanzhu who didn't need to rest had already lost all concept of the thing.

Finally, the images underwent a decisive change.

Ruan Nanzhu watched Lin Qiushi enter his twelfth door, and when the scenery twisted, Lin Qiushi appeared in a familiar rental apartment.

And at the same time, the scene around Ruan Nanzhu too began to change. Ancient decor retreated, and his surroundings became identical to what was on TV.

On the television, Lin Qiushi lied deeply asleep in bed. A dark shadow appeared beside him. There was no discernible shape to the shadow. It was only a clump of dark umbra. The shadow extended a finger and very carefully touched Lin Qiushi's cheek. It went from forehead to nose to lips, all exceedingly gentle, as if it was scared of waking the sleeping Lin Qiushi.

Then the shadow's form began to change. Black retreated from his body as he began to look more and more like a person, until at one particular point, he looked completely identical to the Lin Qiushi lying on the bed.

But the shadow didn't seem to want to have the same face as Lin Qiushi, and so quickly changed its appearance again. The moment the shadow decided on its final form, Ruan Nanzhu, who was watching all this from outside the television, chuckled bitterly—that shadow looked exactly the same as he did.

That's right. The shadow was Ruan Nanzhu.

Had it been anybody else, seeing this might have driven them crazy. But Ruan Nanzhu remained calm. Honestly, watching Lin Qiushi's life these past days, he'd already fathomed such a guess. It was just that seeing it with his own eyes now was still a little bit shocking.

On the television, Ruan Nanzhu smiled so longingly at Lin Qiushi. Then he began to fade, disappearing from Lin Qiushi's side.

And when Lin Qiushi woke up the next morning, the first thing he discovered was that Chestnut wouldn't let him hold it anymore.

The cat that had been so attached to him actually hissed and puffed up its fur at him, as if it didn't recognize him at all. And cat-slave Lin Qiushi, after seeing such a thing, was at a complete loss for what to do. Against the cat perched up on high ground with such a look of disdain on its face, Lin Qiushi could only mope, saying, "Chestnut, why don't you want daddy anymore? Chestnut?"

Once Ruan Nanzhu saw Lin Qiushi in such a state, his shoulders began to tremble. And then hearty guffaws were spilling out, because he knew that the story that belonged to him and Lin Qiushi was about to begin.

Sure enough, a few days later, Lin Qiushi opened a door.

The inside of the door ought to have been a sight he'd already seen, but because his memories had been altered, his gaze was completely strange. And this time, the path that he walked on had a new, unfamiliar face.

Ruan Baijie in women's clothes shuffled pathetically up to Lin Qiushi with tears in her eyes, asking Lin Qiushi where they were.

And when Lin Qiushi asked for Ruan Nanzhu's name, it was the three words “Ruan Baijie” that came out of Ruan Nanzhu's lips.

This was how they met.

The Ruan Nanzhu back then had also thought he was a regular human. He'd gotten his wish; in another way, he'd become an addition to Lin Qiushi's journey, and became an integral character who could not be removed from Lin Qiushi's life.

This was very satisfying to Ruan Nanzhu. Only, everything had to come to an end. Even the twelfth door had to end.

Ruan Nanzhu had still not recovered any memories of when he'd been inhuman. He only knew that he wasn't human, but what in the world was he? Ruan Nanzhu was still thinking of this question when he glanced at Satchan blinking up at him.

He suddenly said, "I'm not the NPC guarding the twelfth door, am I?"

Satchan peered at Ruan Nanzhu, not speaking, but Ruan Nanzhu spotted a touch of disdain in her gaze.

Ruan Nanzhu, "…" Ah fuck, it seemed he was.

To tell the truth, wiping his own memories to the point where it was likely he'd never get it back seemed to Ruan Nanzhu like something he was capable of. And now, he'd obtained his objective; he'd gotten the affection of the one he loved.

"I'm a bit happy about this, what do I do." There was nobody here, only endless ghosts, and Ruan Nanzhu sat in the dark softly grinning. "I just think about all that we've been through, and I feel so blissed out."

Satchan naturally wouldn't give him an answer.

"But now comes the problem. How do I get out?" Ruan Nanzhu lifted his head, looking around at the unfamiliar apartment. "I can get out, right?"

He thought about it for a moment before looking at Satchan once again.

"What else do you know?"

Satchan peered at a clock on the wall.

Ruan Nanzhu, "the clock?" He stood up, watching the ongoing, twelve-numbered clock, sinking deep into thought. Then he took the clock down.

He took the cover off the clock, and when he found nothing inside, pressed the button that controlled the hour hand, starting to turn it. Suddenly, he thought of something, and asked Satchan one last question: "That's right…When Qiushi and I crossed the doors, if I didn't successfully pass, would I have died?"

Satchan's expression at this went a bit strange, looking slightly like pity, and also like she was looking at a mental patient. In the end, she nodded.

Ruan Nanzhu snickered, thinking this really was his style—everything had to be done to perfection, and approximate reality as much as possible.

Ruan Nanzhu turned the clock. Moments later, two keys fell to the ground. He picked them up, read the words on them, and couldn't help but smile again.

Illusory life, an authentic death. No matter what kind of world Lin Qiushi wanted, Ruan Nanzhu would give it to him.

He could choose a cruel reality, or he could choose a beautiful dream. And the power to choose, Ruan Nanzhu had already set in Lin Qiushi's hands.

Only now that he thought about it, it was all probably superfluous; Ruan Nanzhu hardly needed to think to know Lin Qiushi's answer. He grabbed the key and left the building. He opened the door and found only one door in the hallway. That door was filled with gentle white light. Ruan Nanzhu approached and stepped inside.

The world-line changed accordingly.

The members of Obsidian, who first had no memory of a person named Ruan Nanzhu, felt a little extra something in their minds. So when they saw Ruan Nanzhu coming downstairs in the mansion, nobody looked shocked—Ye Niao even called Lin Qiushi in a state of excitement, telling Lin Qiushi that Ruan-ge was back.

On the other end of the line, Lin Qiushi was of course ecstatic.

Ruan Nanzhu, on the other hand, sat in the living room, silently observing his surroundings to make sure that it was no different from the ones in his memories.

"Ruan-ge, you're finally back," Ye Niao was saying to him. "Don't you know how hard Lin-ge had it this past year?"

"Year?" Ruan Nanzhu startled. "It's already been a year?"

"Yeah," Ye Niao said. "It's already been a year."

Ruan Nanzhu thought that it was a good thing he didn't hesitate. Had he waited any longer, Lin Qiushi's kids would already be three by the time he came out…

The two reunited in joyous embrace.

Lin Qiushi actually never asked why Ruan Nanzhu was only showing up now. The truth was, as long as Ruan Nanzhu came out, Lin Qiushi would never fault him.

But even immersed in happiness, Ruan Nanzhu quickly discovered one unfortunate thing. Ever since he came out of the door, the twelfth door for everybody else appeared to have been sealed off. A paper seal was stuck on it, as if telling the outside that the door was now empty.

With Lin Qiushi's intellect, after linking such an incident to other oddities, it wasn't difficult to guess that Ruan Nanzhu wasn't human. When he realized this, Ruan Nanzhu felt a bit panicked. He couldn't be certain, after all, whether or not Lin Qiushi would mind. At the end of the day, questioning whether or not your lover was a door god didn't seem to be a particularly joyous occasion.

And so when Ruan Nanzhu took the phone that Lin Qiushi had been browsing the forums on, he'd closely observed Lin Qiushi's reaction. Only when he found nothing changed in his lover's expression—that Lin Qiushi didn't seem to have noticed at all—did Ruan Nanzhu let out a held breath.

Of course, only later did Ruan Nanzhu realize that it wasn't that Lin Qiushi didn't know, it was that he pretended not to know; he didn't care at all what Ruan Nanzhu was.

"So how did you befriend Bai Ming in the first place?" Lin Qiushi sat on the sofa, remote in hand and watching TV as he idly chatted with Ruan Nanzhu.

"He was in coincidental possession of a high-level door hint, and I needed to bring someone through. So we hooked up," Ruan Nanzhu answered.

Lin Qiushi twisted around to look at Ruan Nanzhu, saying, "so what's he coming to chat with me every day for?"

"Hey, can you two stop pretending like I'm not here, chattering away like that?" Bai Ming munched on the sunflower seeds that Ruan Nanzhu had just fried up, angry. "Go take your banter somewhere else! Also, it was love at first sight from me to you, Lin Qiushi, isn't that alright?"

"No," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Get your claws off him."

Bai Ming, "hmph. Selfish."

Lin Qiushi's lips curved up, saying nothing.

Bai Ming got up and took his leave, saying his dearest had texted, that they were getting dinner.

"He still has time to get dinner with you?" Lin Qiushi commented idly. "Isn't he busy with his new movie?"

"He is," Bai Ming sighed. "But I like him making movies. Have you seen his The Way of Kings? I won't lie to you, on that set, we—"

"Shut it," Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu said at the same time, both of them hitting pause on Bai Ming's dirty joke at top speed. They didn't want unfortunate images coming to mind when they were watching the movie, after all.

"Damn." Bai Ming flipped up his palms. "You two are just getting more and more alike."

"Is it bad to be alike?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"You like dating someone with a personality so similar to yours?" Bai Ming said.

"I do." Lin Qiushi started grinning, but his tone was perfectly serious as he spoke. "My personality's great, why wouldn't I like it?"

Bai Ming, "…" He'd realized the two of them were intentionally stuffing him dog food, and so turned and left promptly, cussing out the two bastards all the while.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu shared a hearty laugh. Then, watching each other, they found in each other's gazes a certain profound meaning. Only, within that meaning, there was also love that couldn't be concealed.

Why must some things be so clearly thought out? Lin Qiushi thought. As long as Ruan Nanzhu was by his side, it was enough.

[Ch. 139] | [Extra: Shameless Couple (1)]

#kaleidoscope of death #xi zixu #cnovel #chinese translation #死亡萬花筒 #BAM #THEN SHE FUCKING DROPS THIS ON US #okay tho jesus christ i just forgot how tenses worked halfway through #i'm ESL :clown: if you spot something that needs to be fixed please please please tell me

258 notes · View notes

thescentoflavender · 4 years

Text

MLQC CN: One Hundred Days of Company Emails (Week 2)

For my personal records. I’m rather surprised at ZQL’s Day 7 message—I thought it sounded more like what Xu Mo would say.

Other Emails/Messages from this event:

Week 1 emails

---

Day 7

Ling Xiao: I can’t believe it’s already the end of the month. Finish my outstanding homework? Why should I be doing homework?

Zhou Qiluo: It’s the last day of August. As we step into a golden autumn, I hope every season that I spend with you is filled with colour.

Bai Qi: Everything I experienced with you this summer—I remember them clearly.

Xu Mo: September is coming soon. If you can’t bear to say goodbye, you can start looking forward to the next summer.

Li Zeyan: The last day of August is also something worth celebrating? I think you’re just craving food.

---

Day 8

Ling Xiao: The start-of-term assembly is so pointless, you think I’ll actually attend it and sit there quietly?

Zhou Qiluo: It’s yet another month! Please treat me better, September... And treat Miss Chips better too!

Bai Qi: I saw many teenagers in their school uniforms on my way to work, and I remembered how you looked when you were in your school uniform too.

Xu Mo: It’s the start of a new school year again. I wonder if a certain young lady will slip in for my classes.

Li Zeyan: Your schedule for September is very packed indeed. I look forward to seeing how much of it you’ll be able to complete.

---

Day 9

Ling Xiao: It’s the Hungry Ghost Festival today. I’ve already assembled a collection of ghost stories. Just you wait and see.

Zhou Qiluo: Apparently it’s the Hungry Ghost Festival today. Miss Chips, if you’re so afraid you can’t sleep tonight, you’re welcome to find me! If the two of us are together we won’t be afraid anymore!

Bai Qi: There’s a change in the weather these few days. The wind will be stronger where I’m not around, so remember to keep warm.

Xu Mo: I managed to secure tickets to the fall flower exhibition you mentioned last time. I wonder which of your holidays I can reserve?

Li Zeyan: There’s going to be a drop in temperature soon. Have you prepared your clothing for the new season? Or are you plotting to exploit your medical leave?

---

Day 10

Ling Xiao: Did you sign in just before the deadline closed yesterday? How have you not made this a habit yet... Don’t forget today.

Zhou Qiluo: Last night the fried chicken in the fried chicken shop sent me a dream pleading us to go and buy it. Let’s go fulfil its wish today!

Bai Qi: I heard that the ginkgo tree in your alma mater is at its most beautiful now. After I pick you up from work, let’s drop by and take a look.

Xu Mo: It’s become much cooler these few days, and I think it suits an after-dinner walk. What do you think?

Li Zeyan: You were almost late again today. The fact that the sun is rising later in the day isn’t an excuse for you to continue lazing in bed.

---

Day 11

Ling Xiao: It’s Friday. You didn’t forget about dinner with me, did you? Even if you did, it’s fine. I’ll remind you.

Zhou Qiluo: I sneezed really loudly just now. Is it because I’ve gotten a cold, or is it because you were thinking of me...

Bai Qi: I just received an urgent mission. I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you this weekend. Take good care of yourself.

Xu Mo: These few days I’ve found it hard to sleep because of all the noise the cicadas have been making. Then again, I cannot find it in myself to blame them for using the last vestiges of their life to search for their mate.

Li Zeyan: The grapes I bought this time are not bad. I’ve used them to make a new dessert. Your share is already in the fridge.

---

Day 12

Ling Xiao: Why are you still lazing around at home when it’s so cooling outside? Come out, I’ll take you to play something different.

Zhou Qiluo: The rain today was very sudden, but I haven’t had such a good time being drenched in forever! Remember to run a hot bath once you return home. Don’t catch a chill!

Bai Qi: This season, Lin’s Noodle Shop will have beef noodles. When I return from my mission, let’s go try it together.

Xu Mo: It rained for a short while just now. When I saw the birds flying back to the south, I couldn’t help but think of you.

Li Zeyan: You were clearly the one who was pestering me to go hiking this weekend. Now that we’re about to leave, you’re getting cold feet?

---

Day 13

Ling Xiao: Don’t remind me that I have to go to school tomorrow. Let me have a carefree weekend.

Zhou Qiluo: The fall programmes we’ve been looking forward to will be updated tonight! I’ve already prepared the titbits and fizzy drinks. "Couch Potato Mode” is now on!

Bai Qi: The mission has gone smoothly. I’ll be able to see you tomorrow. Wait for me to return.

Xu Mo: I don’t have any plans for this weekend. It seems like there’s some time for us to appreciate the last flowering season of this summer.

Li Zeyan: You don’t have any motivation because you thought of the pile of work waiting for you tomorrow? Rather than get depressed over what you’ll be facing tomorrow, you might as well have a good rest today.

#mr love: queen's choice #love and producer #mlqc #mlqc cn #恋与制作人 #one hundred days of company #百日相伴 #emails #thescentoflavender translations

27 notes · View notes

minmotl · 4 years

Text

Chapter 28: Sui Zhou Finds Out Just What A Glutton Tang Fan Is

Context: Follows directly after Chapter 27. For plot notes, scroll to the bottom.

Introduction Post | Masterpost

Highlights under the cut

Sui Zhou doesn’t know how he should face Tang-daren.

Looking at someone who possesses the talent of the top imperial scholar, while he wasn’t able to rank first in the end, he was still ranked in the top four amongst the nation’s scholars and was personally presented with a merit award by His Majesty. If he wrote something on Confucius like the Interpretation of the Analects or wrote an analytical piece on Zhu Zi, that counts as an extension of his studies and is an appropriate use of his talents, but what is Tang Fan doing now by writing erotica fiction?

Tang-daren smiles at him, not one bit ashamed. In fact, he’s proud of it, “My salary is low, so I’m just earning some money from the royalties. Guang Chuan, you do not have to be so surprised. Other than you, no one else knows that I wrote this, but this book was commercially printed by the publishers. A total of a thousand copies! It’s selling pretty well.”

Sui Zhou is now completely interested. He takes the single book out and says, “I will read this.”

“That’s great! Since you’ve accepted my book, I have something I’d like to trouble you with.”

Sui Zhou raises an eyebrow in question.

Tang Fan thinks that since Sui Zhou has accepted his book, he can now trouble the man to do something small for him, “How about you go outside and help me to pick the leaves from the locust tree?”

“…”

Does he think this is an exchange of favours? After being ridiculous for half a day, the other has not given up on eating cold noodles?

He truly is the world’s largest glutton!

Tang-daren naturally does not think so. He believes that it is fated for someone like him, who lives a riveting life filled with fun and enjoyment, to come and rescue the fool that is Sui Zhou. Just look at them now, since Tang Fan joined Sui Zhou here, the other man’s life is now filled with light.

In the end, he doesn’t manage to eat the Huai Ye Tao that has been constantly on his mind. This is because Sui Zhou brings the both of them out to a restaurant for a meal instead.

There is no Huai Ye Tao cold noodles, but there are crabs marinated with orange and steamed prawns, and the prawns were just caught from the river. While not as fresh and sweet as prawns caught from the sea, these aren’t bad at all - peeling off the prawn shells and dipping them into soy sauce with sesame oil and added minced garlic, this is truly one of the joys of life.

Tang-daren is eating with satisfaction and a sense of happiness washes over him, “Guang Chuan, that we can live so happily amongst the noise and bustle of life, watching as life happens before us as we eat, this is a freedom that we may not even have even if we begged for it. This is a form of enjoyment, enough for us to sit down and slowly savour.”

Tang Fan is easy to please, he’s not like the other officials who are exceedingly stubborn and rigid, difficult to interact with, and he’s definitely not like the plenty of other people in the world who lust after gold, property, huge salaries, unlimited power or beautiful women.

From Sui Zhou’s cold, stoic gaze, a little bit of warmth shines through. He shakes his head and says, “Even if it is a rest day, I stay at the Northern Administrative Court and look through records usually and rarely come out. Otherwise, having been promoted to baihu at my age, if I don’t work harder, people will think that I rose up in the ranks because of my connections.”

Tang Fan exclaims, “Whatever others like to think, that’s their business. We only have a pair of hands each between us and none of us can shut up so many mouths. As long as our conscience is clear, we should just enjoy ourselves when we can.”

What he said is very reasonable and Sui Zhou is about to reply, but Tang-daren changes the topic abruptly, “What’s that, later get the restaurant to pack two portions of cold dishes, we can eat that for supper at night.”

Sui Zhou stares at him, his face void of any expression.

Tang-daren blinks, “Then just one portion, that’s okay right?”

Ah Dong was unable to resist and is already covering her mouth, laughing so hard she’s collapsed at the side.

With one more Sui Zhou and one Ah Dong, Tang-daren originally thought that he could live a life of happiness without having to do any housework, but he did not expect that he found himself two old mothers who like to constantly manage him, especially when it comes to food. They’re so strict that Tang-daren can only look at the snacks and sigh.

However, in general, living like this is still pretty enjoyable. After all, every day when he returns home there is always one or two people waiting fo you. You can have a meal where there are plenty of hot, teaming dishes, you can be greeted with smiling faces, hear someone asking after your day. His sister is married and stays far away from here, but now it’s as if Tang Fan has two more people in his family, the feeling is entire different.

To Ah Dong who used to be with the Li family, while Lady Zhang treated her rather well and Ah Chun was very willing to take care of her, but she was still a servant and not meant to enjoy her life. There was a difference between her and those above her, as lively and energetic as she was she could not be do anything she wanted without control, and that’s why she liked running over to find Tang Fan. Now that she has recognised Tang Fan as her older brother, the feeling of having a family is indescribable. When she first moved to Sui Zhou’s house, she was so excited that she couldn’t sleep properly the first few days.

It’s not just Tang Fan and Ah Dong. Although Sui Zhou does not say it, he’s going home more frequently, the time that he reaches home getting earlier and even when it’s his rest days, he does not stay in the Northern Administrative Court anymore. From this, it seems that his thoughts are likely to be similar to Tang Fan’s.

***

“Da-ge, da-ge!”

His sleeve is shaken a few times and Tang Fan breaks out of his trance, seeing Ah Dong looking at him with confusion.

“What is it?”

“Da-ge, what are you thinking about? I kept calling for you but you didn’t respond, you scared me!” the young girl pats at her chest, and then points at Sui Zhou, who has just walked in from outside, “Sui da-ge is back, we can have dinner!”

Tang Fan frowns “Guang Chuan, regarding the Li family’s case, I thought of something and I’m about to tell you what I know, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you and the Northern Administrative Court again.”

Sui Zhou nods, “Let’s eat first.”

Ah Dong brings out the dishes with a spring in her step, and agrees, “That’s right, let’s just eat first, I’m about to die from starvation!”

Sui Zhou pats at Tang Fan’s arm, “We’ll talk after we eat.”

Although the words are simply and Sui Zhou’s tone is even, from this, Tang Fan feels that he can confidently trust in Sui Zhou. Tang Fan does not realize that his expression relaxes almost immediately at that.

He nods, and then smiles at Sui Zhou, “It’s all because of Ah Dong today that we can finally have some Huai Ye Tao, I’ve been craving it for so long!”

Ah Dong protests, “Da-ge you’ve got a lot of face to say this, you almost fell after climbing the tree, and to catch you, I almost broke my bones!”

“…”

Sui Zhou thought that after bringing Tang Fan to eat outside, the man would have given up on having the cold noodle dish, but who knew that Tang-daren would make use of his time while suspended from work and staying idly at home to actually climb a tree to pick the leaves himself.

Sui Zhou finally understands what a glutton’s fixation on food is.

===

Plot Notes:

If you haven’t read the introduction you should! Link is at the top of this post. In the introduction I mention Li Man, who is Tang Fan’s original landlord before he moves in with Sui Zhou, and also one of the big bads in the novel, working as a member of the White Lotus Sect.

The case that follows these few chapters is basically Li Man getting arrested and imprisoned for killing his wife, Lady Zhang. Tang Fan originally manages to arrest him for the murder, but then he realizes that something is amiss with Li Lin, Li Man’s only son who Tang Fan knows to be a good kid with a good temperament. After Li Man is arrested, Li Lin’s personality takes a turn for the worse and Tang Fan in the previous chapters is rather perplexed about this, but brushed it off somewhat, until Li Man kills himself in prison in this chapter, and he writes Tang Fan’s name on the wall as if accusing him of being responsible for his death. Because of this, Tang Fan is temporarily suspended from work while investigations continue.

Tang Fan solves the mystery at the end of this chapter — he determines that Li Man and Li Lin swapped places due to how similar they looked, i.e. Li Lin, his son, went into prison for his father, Li Man (yes some suspension of disbelief here). He also realizes that Li Lin wrote his name on the wall as a clue for him to beware of the current Li Man who is still alive and free, impersonating as Li Lin.

Li Man manages to escape with his mistress in the next two chapters, and he’ll turn up again in the next or next next segment! It’s pretty thrilling and amazing the next time he turns up, and Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are faced with a life-or-death situation in a cave and that’s when Sui Zhou realizes his feelings for Tang Fan so!!!

===

Notes:

*百户 bai hu

There are four ranks within the Embroidered Uniform Guards - 千户 (qian hu)、百户 (bai hu)、总旗 (zong qi)、小旗 (xiao qi) arranged highest to smallest rank, aside from the Commander 统领官 (zong ling guan).

*木头 mu tou

Literally means wooden block. Used as a metaphor for a person who’s dumb, rigid, boring or someone who’s not flexible in thinking.

*槐叶冷淘 huai ye leng tao

The novel names it huai ye tao, this is a historic cold noodle dish.

*十指不沾阳春水 shi zhi bu zhan yang chun shui

A line from an ancient poem, it means that someone is able to skip laundry duties in the winter in March due to the cold weather. What this actually means is that a person was born into a good family and has the fortune to not have to wash their clothes personally, or do house chores. This is usually used to describe females.

*眼睛里流露出一抹笑意 yan jing li liu lu chu yi mo xiao yi

This is frequently used for Sui Zhou in the novel and I’m putting a note in here because this is pretty interesting. What this literally means is that in Sui Zhou eyes, a smile is revealed/emerges. In Chinese we take it to mean that he’s smiling and the smile is reflected in his eyes, I’ve translated this to Sui Zhou either smiling or exuding warmth in his gaze, both of which are of course not quite accurate, but you can see why a literal translation would be strange.

#the sleuth of ming dynasty #tsomd #tsomd novel #成化十四年 #fanzhou #fanzhou highlights #tang fan #sui zhou #hahaha tang fan is honestly just...#hungry #and loves food

39 notes · View notes

acesgroupchat · 4 years

Link

Winters in Langzhuo had been difficult, full of a humid chill that sank deep into his bones and morning aches that never quite faded. Winter in Jinling, with its deep snow and hard freeze, is absolutely miserable. Li Gang doubles the household’s firewood budget, burns braziers in every room, and frets endlessly. Mei Changsu is never without a hot cup of tea for his hand, a warm cloak for his shoulders, bright glowing coals by his side. The tea keeps his throat clear, but the flames call to his bones, which remember fire’s touch all too well. He finds himself in the underworld far more often than he would prefer, driven to ground by the raging storm under his skin. The fire in his bones is soothed in the airless stillness of the stone halls, though it never truly leaves him.

Lin Chen is deeply unsympathetic. “What did you expect?” he says. “You aren’t meant for the living world, and every bit of your flesh knows it”. Mei Changsu gives a significant glance to the garden around them and he rolls his eyes. “This is still your borrowed body. So long as you wear it you will not belong anywhere.” Even so, he lays a hand to Mei Changsu’s forehead and lets the cool of his palm bleed into his bones.

He will have to return again tonight. It is far sooner than he would prefer, but this is the price the mountain weather will extract from him, and for today there is really no alternative. Li Gang nags him all the way up the mountain, but even he won’t argue their purpose. Such is Chiyan loyalty. It provides a convenient cover, even, when Xia Dong is startled by their presence.

Even so, she is gracious as they pay their respects. With his hands on the earth, Mei Changsu wonders idly who is buried here, which of his men might have found a way back to Jinling, carried by Xie Yu’s ambition, or whether he chose one of his own fallen soldiers. Lin Chen might know, but Lin Chen will certainly laugh at him and only maybe answer. He wonders whether this nameless person hears his prayers, has heard Xia Dong’s all these years. No one he knows has ever received prayers or incense, but no one he knows has a grave or a memorial tablet anywhere. He sends gratitude into the earth, and reaching searching thoughts out to Nie Feng, living and lost somewhere, certainly absent.

When he rises, Xia Dong is wiping tears from her face, lip caught between her teeth, clearly in the grip of strong emotion. It still catches him by surprise, when she returns his bow with a far deeper one. His joints scream as he stoops to raise her up, and he himself is biting back vicious disappointment. He does not believe Nie Feng could have died without his knowing, but if her husband lives, Xia Dong knows nothing of it. Her grief is profound, and profoundly sincere.

There is no such thing as idle talk with Xia Dong. As he follows her down the mountain, conversation turns to the recent murders, and he finds himself gently parrying comments that are not quite questions, that are not quite accusations. It’s certainly risky, turning her eyes to Xie Yu when his own plans are so delicately balanced, when she has never looked at him without suspicion, even at her husband’s grave. Even so, he has relied on her thoroughness, has counted on it, and as this is the only kind of sparring still possible for him, he won’t deny himself the stolen satisfaction.

They are interrupted by a flash of movement in the woods, a blur of grey and white that turns and flees the moment they catch sight of it. Li Gang reaches for his sword and Xia Dong is already running and Mei Changsu can only watch. It isn’t an assassin, isn’t even human, though Xia Dong is possibly too focused on pursuit to have realized that yet. It looks like a wolf, might be a wolf, but he has never seen a wolf run quite like that.

The chase ends abruptly. Xia Dong is interrupted, nearly tripping over someone, and the wolf vanishes in the ensuing scuffle. The newcomer turns out to be Jingyan’s stupider lieutenant Qi Meng, who gives Mei Changsu an extremely awkward bow as he offers to walk them both out of the forest. Xia Dong seems reluctant to give up the chase, but the wolf has left no easy trail to follow, and Qi Meng is apparently eager to explain himself.

“It is a wolf,” he says, nodding vigorously. “They don’t usually come so near to the city, but this one is without a pack, and it’s been bothering the villagers for weeks now. It keeps breaking into chicken coops at night, and two families have reported stolen goats! The magistrates men tried to trap it, but they’ve had no success, so they asked my lord to step in.”

Mei Changsu frowns. “Qi Meng, didn’t you start this hunt weeks ago?”

Qi Meng’s mouth twists ruefully. “It’s a very large mountain to cover, even with our troops, and it is very fast, as you saw. It also keeps avoiding our traps, even when we bait them well.” He leans in close, eyes wide. “The villagers say that it is as clever as a man, that a latched gate will not keep it out.”

Xia Dong scoffs, and Mei Changsu bites his tongue. It is not so unusual for a wolf to get through a fence, but he remembers its strange, evasive flight, too fast and too clever for even Xia Dong, and unlike any animal he has ever seen. A shadow of a thought brushes his mind, too faint to catch hold of, and gone with the next gust of the new year’s cutting wind.

By the time they leave the mountain, winter has sunk deep claws into his lungs, and when the carriage finally deposits him at home, he is almost too stiff with cold to walk. He leans on Li Gang, who bears him straight to bed and shouts for braziers even as he piles furs over Mei Changsu’s shaking form. The last thing he sees is Fei Liu settling at his bedside, before black halls steal him away.

#nirvana in fire #langya bang #what's up y'all its new chapter sunday!#mei changsu #lin chen #xia dong #li gang

8 notes · View notes

this-solaris-life · 4 years

Text

I’m Sorry

Writer’s Notes: This is set in my arranged au; In this au, Jin Ling’s parents where his mother died in child birth. His father is alive just stepped down now that his son has married;

Kiss Prompt: A Kiss Where It Hurts // Prompt List

---

“If my husband asks you who was injured during the hunt. I do not want you telling him I was among them.” Jin Ling ordered, trying to keep still as the healing disciple lathered a salve over his wound just above his right hip below his ribs. A deep gash from the claws of the monster he’d hunted with Lan Sizhui last night.

“With all due respect, Sect Leader, I am not telling Senior Lan that.” Liao Ting stated, bluntly before bowing in apologetic respect. The younger man’s face thinned into a frown. They both knew that Lan Jingyi would be upset that his husband had been injured, and most importantly he didn’t react well to not being informed. They both visibly shivered at the memory the last time it’d happened.

Jin Ling huffed in displeasure. He didn’t want his husband to know that he’d been hurt during the hunt last night. He’d promised Lan Jingyi that he wouldn’t be careless, and he wasn’t...honestly! It’s just that the beast they thought was causing trouble hinted that it was a solitary one. However, that wasn’t the case. It in fact had a pack and one of them had managed to get the slip on Jin Ling as he was protecting Lan Sizhui. Thankfully, Ouyang Zizhen had shown up shortly afterwards. They were able to get rid of the pack and head back to Baling.

“Whatever.” Jin Long grunted gesturing for the disciple to resume wrapping up his side. He hoped that by the time that his husband had returned from his trip to Leling that he’d be mostly healed. The first being that he didn’t want to explain how he’d gotten hurt and two…

He stopped his thoughts, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. His husband had an insatiable appetite. Something he should have seen coming after the many times he’d overheard conversations between his jiujius. Which led him to another thought that had him paling.

“Will it scar?” Jin Ling asked as the disciple finished dressing his wound.

“The claws dug deeper in certain places. I believe there will be a bit of scaring.” Liao Ting answered, nodding as he started to clean up his supplies.

“Damn it.” Jin ling cursed, low making the disciple still. “You can go, thank you, Liao Ting.”

“It was my pleasure.” Liao Ting answered, giving a respectful bow, then taking his things and leaving Jin Ling pondering just how he was going to tell his husband.

Lan Jingyi was back from his visit to Leing with the small group of disciples that he’d taken with him. The request to aid Leling had arrived shortly after Jin Ling had left for Baling. So, he’d gone there in his husband’s stead to assist the city. It hadn’t taken him long to find out that it was a group of bandits trying to trick the city into giving tribute to appease the deity they’d claimed the city angered.

I didn’t think he’d be back so soon Lan Jingyi thought as he spotted Jin Chan and Xue Qing talking in the courtyard just outside the great hall. He gestured in dismissal to the disciples that followed him before making his way to the great hall. The doors open allowing the cool spring air inside. He stood just in the doorway taking in the sight. Elder Tang is standing in the center of the room speaking while the other elder’s were seated at their tables. Looking past Elder Tang, to his husband sitting on the large golden throne on the dais at the far end of the room.

Lan Jingyi eyes narrowed at Jin Ling’s posture though. Instead of sitting in the center, the man was seated beside the right arm. The perfect posture he’d no doubt learned from his during his youth wasn’t present as he was leaning back and to the side putting most of his weight on the armrest. The happy smile on his face thining a bit. He hadn’t heard of his husband being injured when he’d come through. So it was confusing him as to why his husband was sitting as he was.

It’d taken Jin Ling a few moments to realize that it was his husband standing in the doorway. The robes had thrown him off because they were actually his and the least flashy robes he owned. The outer robe is made from a white opalescent silk with golden thread embroidery on the collar and sleeves. His long ink colored hair only half up with a white ribbon that matched his forehead ribbon. His hazel eyes staring intently at him had him realizing how he was sitting.

Instantly, Jin Ling went to correct himself but felt the pull of the stitches from the part of the wound that was still healing. He’d actually made his stitches come undone yesterday which is why he’s so tender and can’t sit properly today. He immediately looked away from his husband to Elder Tang, who’d stopped speaking at his sudden movement. Elder Tang turned around to see what his sect leader had been looking at making the other elder’s realize that Lan Jingyi was standing there. All of them rising and bowing to him in respect.

Lan Jingyi hadn’t missed how his husband had moved or the quickly fleeting grimace he’d made either. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was wrong.

Lan Jingyi forced a bright smile on his face gesturing for the man to continue speaking. Elder Tang understood immediately and went back to speaking to Jin Ling as the others returned to their seats. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a disciple carrying a tray of apples walking by. He grabbed one of the apples making the female disciple chuckle. Lan Jingyi waited for Jin Ling’s gaze to meet his. When they finally did, he took a bite of his apple before leaving without saying a word.

Jin Ling was already in their private quarter’s when Lan Jingyi returned. He knew that his husband was upset when Lan Jingyi hadn’t come to have dinner with him. Losing his appetite he’d sent his food back but kept some for when Lan Jingyi would return. He’d gotten word from Xue Qing that he’d gone to the training grounds and had taken over the evening training. That’d been two hours ago now. The sun almost gone for the day.

Jin Ling was sitting at their vanity table. The hair piece he’d worn today was already out and he was working the braids in his hair. He continued to take them out as he watched Lan Jingyi. The other stopped at the table to grab a hand full of the mandarian orange slices that Jin Ling had separated for him while waiting for him to come to dinner. Glad that the effort wasn’t wasted as his husband slowly walked towards him only to stop and lean against the archway separating the two rooms. Jingyi’s gaze dropping down to his waist then flicked back up to his face. The two of them waiting for the other to break the silence.

Jin Ling bit the inside of his bottom lip not really wanting to be the first one to cave. However, it was his fault that his husband was upset. So, he let out a heavy sigh before moving to stand. He first went for his mother’s clarity bell, untying it from the ring sewn on his belt.

“I’m sorry that I tried to hide that I was injured.” Jin Ling apologized, making sure to keep eye contact with Lan Jingyi. The indifferent expression on Lan Jingyi’s face wavered a bit. Jin Lin could tell that Lan Jingyi was thinking of what to say next. He’d broken the promise he’d made not to hide injuries after the last incident that caused the scar on his leg and a week spent in Lotus Pier. When Lan Jingyi looked away from him, Jin Ling leaned down to set the bell on their vanity. He stilled as he felt a painful pull at his side.

“Let me.” Lan Jingyi finally said finally stepping into the room. He helped Jin Ling to stand back up straight as he could then he started with untying the jade token he’d given him as a wedding present off. Lan Jingyi laid it beside the bell before stepping in close to him. His hands carefully untying the leader belt. Though he’d dropped it promptly on the floor before working on the silk sash beneath. It too joined the belt on the floor.

“Arms.” Lan Jingyi instructed looking at Jin Ling’s hands that’d moved to hold onto his biceps for stability. Jin Ling looked away dropping his arms to allow his husband to remove the pale silk outer robe leaving him in the thin white inner robe and trousers. Slowly, Lan Jingyi undid the stay keeping it closed then pushed it off his shoulders letting it join the rest of his clothes.

“It’s not that bad and it doesn’t hurt.” Jin Ling offered, finally looking at his husband’s now worried expression. Lan Jingyi gently ran his fingertips over where the bandage appeared to be the thickest earning a sharp gasp from Jin Ling.

“Oh? It doesn’t hurt, husband?” Lan Jingyi asked teasingly, a knowing smirk sweeping across his face. Jin Ling felt the heat rising on more than just cheeks.

Lan Jingyi couldn’t stay mad at him any longer despite wanting too. They’d talk more about breaking promises but Jin Ling was just too adorable like this. Especially with that delicious blush spread down his neck turning splotchy on his chest, making the freckles of his sun kissed skin more pronounced. He decided to give his wounded husband some mercy...or not.

Lan Jingyi started undoing the bandages around Jin Ling’s waist. The bandages joined the clothes on the floor exposing the wound. Most of the scratch was healed with pinkish white scars except for one strike from the middle claw. The cut had been the deepest there and the neat row of black stitches had Lan Jingyi closing his eyes. He pushed away all the fear that sprung up and knelt down opening his eyes. His hands moving to rest on Jin Ling’s hips to keep him in place.

“Hey…” Jin Ling started but stopped as Lan Jingyi leaned in pressing a feather light kiss to reddish tender flesh. Jin Ling let out another sharp gasp tensing beneath his touch. Before Jin Ling could say anything more Lan Jingyi stood back up and leaned in kissing him. One hand still gripped his hip while the other moved channeling qi to heal the wound. The healers of Lanling were good but their shared cultivation is stronger. Jin Ling reached out grabbing his husband’s arms again as he felt the cooling numbness of the other’s qi taking away his pain.

“Better?” Lan Jingyi asked, smiling as they parted for air. Their foreheads resting against each other.

“Yes.” Jin Ling answered honestly, leaning back to check the wound. The stitches gone leaving only a ugly red puffy scar. Lan Jingyi used his thumb to trace the scar making Jin Ling shiver from it being sensitive.

“Good.” Lan Jingyi answered, tone turning serious “I understand that you’ll get hurt. It’s the nature of being a sect leader just don’t hide your injuries from me. We’ve both seen what that has done with our families. You’re my other half, Jin Ling. There will never be another.”

“And you’re mine. I am truly sorry. I will not hide them again.” Jin Ling replied earning a bright smile from his husband knowing he’d been forgiven.

“Good, because I know the perfect way for you to make it up to me.” Lan Jingyi smugly smirked. His hands traveling down the back of the taller man’s thighs, gripping them and lifting him up. Jin Ling squirmed a bit laughing as his husband carried them to their bed.

#a love that is mine au #jinyi #lan jingyi #Jin Ling #mdz kiss prompts

21 notes · View notes

charger-batteries · 3 years

Text

Apple iPhone 12 mini Review

The iPhone 12 mini (starting at $699) is the smallest and most affordable phone in Apple's late 2020 iPhone quartet. It's sure to appeal most to owners of older iPhones (particularly the iPhone 5 through 8), as well as anyone fed up with a handset that doesn't fit into their pocket. The mini is also the best value in the iPhone 12 family, packing premium power and the latest features (including 5G and a very capable Night photo mode) into a smaller build for less money than its siblings. It's our top-pick iPhone this year and easily earns our Editors' Choice award.

Where the mini Fits in the iPhone 12 Lineup

Apple has a rich crop of phones this year. In addition to the iPhone 12 mini, there's the iPhone SE ($399), the iPhone 12 ($799), the iPhone 12 Pro ($999), and the iPhone 12 Pro Max ($1,099). Last year's iPhone 11 is also still available for $599.

If that long list makes your head spin, turn to our iPhone 12 series review for a fully detailed analysis of all the iPhone 12 phones and guidance on how to choose the right one for you.

The mini looks and feels like an iPhone 12, just smaller. Like the iPhone 12, it comes in glossy black, blue, green, red, or white, with a new "ceramic shield" glass front that Apple claims is less prone to smashing than previous iPhone fronts. The backs of our iPhone 12 review units haven't yet shown scratches when being knocked around in my pocket, which is a good sign. You're probably less likely to drop a small phone, but if you do, it's IP68 rated and should survive a voyage to the bottom of the bathtub.

At 5.18 by 2.53 by 0.29 inches (HWD) and 4.76 ounces, the mini is the smallest, lightest premium phone I've seen in a while. That 2.53-inch width measurement is the key, since width affects how easily you can reach across a phone. In my experience, when you get over 2.7 inches, you start to have to stretch, and many people's comfort limit is just about at 2.8 inches. The main iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are 2.83 inches wide; the Pro Max is over 3 inches wide.

The mini's luxury experience starts with the screen. The highly saturated OLED display makes the iPhone SE's LCD look washed out. At 5.4 inches and 2,340 by 1,080 pixels, it's even denser than the iPhone 12's display, with 476 pixels per inch. Yet it's the same brightness, averaging 625 nits, brighter than previous-generation iPhone screens.

Removing the big top and bottom bezels gives the phone significantly more screen real estate than the iPhone SE, 6, 7, and 8. With a Microsoft Word document open in portrait mode, with very small type, I saw nine more lines of text on the mini than on the iPhone SE. On NYTimes.com, which has a more readable text size and freer line spacing, I got three more lines of text. Of course, bigger phones with larger screens will give you more, but it's impressive that the mini delivers more information than the SE despite being smaller.

Little But Fierce

All of the iPhone 12 series phones are powered by an Apple A14 processor running at 3GHz. Like the iPhone 12, the mini has 4GB of RAM and comes in 64GB ($699), 128GB ($749), and 256GB ($849) storage sizes. Those prices are for carrier models; the unlocked model costs $30 more.

Our benchmark results were the same as the iPhone 12, as you'd expect. Its Geekbench scores of 1,602 single-core, 4,029 multi-core, Basemark Web score of 593, and GFXBench graphics benchmark scores were all very similar to both the iPhone 12 and the 12 Pro. They're also all better than the iPhone SE, to the tune of 20% higher on Geekbench Multicore and 10% on the Web browsing benchmark. It's pleasantly surprising to me that the mini even benchmarks the same as the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which costs $400 more and feels twice as large.

Like the other 2020 iPhones, the mini runs Apple's iOS 14. For more details on what's new in iOS, see our iOS 14 review.

Top-Notch Night Vision

No expense was spared for the cameras on the iPhone 12 mini; they're the same as in the iPhone 12. On the back, there are 12-megapixel regular and ultrawide cameras. On the front, there's a 12-megapixel selfie camera. Both the front and back cameras feature Apple's excellent Night mode, and they can record 4K video at up to 60fps. For a comparison of the iPhone 12 cameras with other leading flagships, see our main iPhone 12 review.

I took care to compare the mini directly with the iPhone SE. The biggest difference is Night mode. The SE doesn't have it, and Night mode makes a huge difference in terms of the quality of low-light pictures. That alone is a reason to upgrade to the mini. The SE also lacks the wide-angle camera; has slightly less light gathering in the main camera; and has a 7-megapixel, not 12-megapixel, selfie camera.

The mini also has better HDR than the SE. That means you get richer colors in shots with bright backgrounds and darker foregrounds, for instance. You can see that in the shot below: The sky is a bit overexposed on the SE photo, but it's rich and blue on photos from both the 12 and the mini.

If you want a better iPhone camera, you have to step up to the 12 Pro, which starts at $300 more than the mini. With the Pro, you get a 2x zoom lens and LiDAR, which improves focusing and gives you a gorgeous Night bokeh mode. I found that when I tried to focus on very close-up berries and branches with the iPhone 12 mini or the regular iPhone 12, the phones had trouble figuring out what the foreground object was, but the LiDAR on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max really locked that in.

In test shots of complex, non-human objects, the iPhone 12 Pro performed better than either the iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 12. On a portrait-mode shot of an apple, the mini and the 12 had some trouble keeping the whole fruit in focus while also blurring the background; the 12 Pro handled it well. When I photographed a cup, the bokeh blur went a bit wonky around the handle with the mini and the 12, but the Pro's LiDAR focusing clearly helped it judge focus there. I didn't see any difference between the models in my portrait-mode photos of myself, a human.

Clean and Clear Audio

The iPhone 12 mini has the same 4G and 5G capabilities as the bigger iPhone 12 models. That means much better cellular connections than the iPhone SE, the iPhone 11, or any previous iPhone. It supports all US carriers, including Verizon's millimeter-wave 5G network, and is the first line of phones to be certified for the "C-Band" networks that will be coming in late 2021.

Voice call quality is very good. It's worth noting that the dual (top and bottom) stereo speakers on this phone are much louder, clearer, and richer than the single speaker on the bottom of the iPhone SE and older iPhones. Of course they don't have bass, but they're surprisingly non-tinny considering the size of the phone, with treble that's rich, not squeaky.

I tested the mini against the iPhone 12 and SE on the Bell and Rogers networks in Canada. Speeds and reception were very similar between the Mini and the iPhone 12. On Bell's 5G network, the mini averaged 366Mbps down while the iPhone 12 averaged 393Mbps; on Bell's 4G network, the mini averaged 296Mbps down while the 12 averaged 261Mbps. Given the relatively small number of samples I took, both of those differences are within the margin of error.

But wow, the mini and the 12 deliver much better performance than the SE does. The SE doesn't have 5G, so I compared 4G results with 4G results. On Bell's 4G network, the mini got 296Mbps down where the SE got 147Mbps. On Rogers' 4G network, the mini got 111Mbps down where the SE got 77.8Mbps. That is a significant, real performance improvement, probably down to the mini's improved carrier aggregation and 4x4 MIMO antennas. I'd expect to see the same gains over the iPhone 11 or XR as well (they don't have 4x4 MIMO antennas), though the iPhone 11 Pro should perform closer to the mini and 12 (it does have 4x4 MIMO).

For those wondering whether these are Canada-specific results, never fear; the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro were tested in the US and showed good results, so I'd expect the same from the mini.

Dual-band Wi-Fi performance is similar to the iPhone SE's. Range on 5GHz Wi-Fi was a few feet short of the iPhone 12, meaning the 12 could get past one more wall where the mini and SE couldn't.

Battery: Not Bad for the Size

Battery life is the biggest concern with the iPhone 12 mini. It's a smaller phone, and it has a smaller battery than the bigger phones do. Comparing it to the iPhone 12, Apple says it gets 10 rather than 11 hours of streaming, and 50 rather than 65 hours of audio playback on a charge.

Our video streaming test didn't reveal much here: I got 10 hours, 37 minutes of streaming video over Wi-Fi, similar to the iPhone 12. But when left alone all night, the mini's battery dropped 9% while the iPhone 12's battery dropped 6%; I saw a similar difference on the second night. If you often forget to charge your phone, you might find that difference frustrating.

The mini's stats look better when it's compared with other small iPhones. Apple says the mini has better battery life than the iPhone 6, 7, 8, or SE. Overnight, the SE dropped 14% and the mini dropped 12%. Running some speed tests for two hours killed 13% of the mini's battery, but 18% of the SE's. So yes, the mini does have more battery capacity than the 2020 iPhone SE.

The speed test suggests that the iPhone 12 mini's battery can handle 7 to 8 hours of heavy use; my video rundown test and Apple's estimate put its use time around 10 hours on a charge. So the mini will last you a day if you aren't looking at it the whole time.

There's no charger in the box, but there are lots of options for charging your iPhone. The mini works with up to 20-watt wired charging and with Apple's own MagSafe wireless charger. I also have a Qi wireless charging stand, and the Mini worked on it once it had been propped up with a folded piece of paper—unassisted, the phone is just a little too short to properly link up with the coil on the stand. It'll work better on flat pad-style chargers.

Mini Price, Mini Size, Maxi Power

I really like the iPhone 12 mini. Now, I am biased. For years, I've wanted phones to be much more manageable in one hand. When there isn't a pandemic happening, I spend a lot of time out and about, holding on to a subway pole or a shopping bag or a child's hand. I gave into the large phone trend a while ago, but I definitely felt like I was giving up a bit of facility in the world in exchange for the big screen.

This year, we've spent a lot of time sucked into our phones. But just for today, I'm going to dream of the future when we'll go outside to shop and hold hands again. The iPhone 12 mini isn't the phone for the life I've had in 2020, but it's the phone for the life I want.

The mini has the best price-to-power ratio of any iPhone right now, with a beautiful screen, a lovely design, a terrific camera, and 5G for $100 less than the iPhone 12. It will serve you well for up to four years; it's a good investment. If I have to choose one iPhone right now, this one is it.

I won't fault you for choosing a different one, though. Bigger screens may appeal to you more than they do to me. Larger phones have bigger batteries; that's just physics. The Pro models also have better features for serious photographers, such as their LiDAR focusing system, their 2x or 2.5x zoom lenses, and improved Dolby Vision color video capture.

Should you upgrade from an earlier iPhone? If you want 5G (especially on T-Mobile, Bell, or Telus, where it makes a real difference) or photo Night mode (which makes a big difference for everyone), then yes! Many potential iPhone 12 mini buyers are likely currently using iPhone 6, 7, or first-gen SE models, which probably feel sluggish at this point. The mini will zip right along. All of this makes the 12 mini our Editors' Choice winner for iPhones, and one of the best phones of the year.

0 notes