STSC Translator Notes

The name of the novel actually a Chinese idiomatic expression derived from a poem by Du Fu that means missing/ longing for faraway friends!

 

Just out of fun, I(Translator Rikko) went through the comments from the raw site to find the author’s replies! Here are a few notable ones(just gonna summarize to save time!)

Bold=questions from comments

Normal=author’s replies

Italics=my explanation

Why didn’t Mo Shu’s mum(Aunt Zhu) correct Mo Shu’s violent instincts while Nan Ge Er was able to?

Because of love! (Jkjk) Do you believe that answer? Because I do! Ok, jokes aside, such questions stem from the assumption that Mo Shu’s mum went crazy after witnessing Mo Shu killing a person, which negates the question (since she got mad), but that also makes her go crazy because of that rather ridiculous. The truth is that Mo Shu’s mum didn’t witness Mo Shu killing; his dad was the culprit of Aunt Zhu’s madness!

Just think about it this way, in ancient times, mothers giving birth was a perilous matter. Mothers of older age might die from giving birth! They might die! However, the doctor stated that she started another family after forgetting her past and then had a baby. If that’s the case, Mo Shu’s mum was still young when Mo Shu could start getting violent. But then there arises a problem, if Mo Shu’s mum was young, then Mo Shu would be even younger! Even if Mo Shu would grow a liking for murder, how many could he even kill at such a young, tender age?

The author meant that Mo Shu’s mum got crazy when she witnessed Mo Shu’s dad killing others.

 

What happened to Nan Ge Er’s little brother?

I think the little brother is a pitiful child. Actually, strictly speaking, Nan Ge Er did him a disservice. Nan Ge Er’s protecting of his brother was not so much as him unconsciously feeling dependent on him because the child was the first thing he saw. For him, Nan Ge Er has done way too many untimely matters, which made his brother run headfirst into the path of being an idiot…

 

Discussing character’s weak points

Actually, in my opinion, my characters are somewhat lacking in quality. Still, such imperfect characters were liked by you guys, which is a delight to me. So, I must write characters of better quality for you all. Perhaps in my lifetime, I can’t write the most perfect story or the best characters, but I will try my best to polish my writing day by day, making my writing mature so as to not let down your love.

I know the bottoms(shou/ukes) in my stories might feel a bit overly compassionate, too weak and soft etc. But in reality, I personally admire such guys who are gentle yet forgiving, and insistent on their beliefs. I feel that this is the beauty of human virtues.

And in contrast, the tops(gong/semes)I wrote seemingly all have some sort of shortcoming, their personalities having some sort of flaw in one way or another. Perhaps such flaws are exactly the reason why they have charm. This is because we are all the same, having all kinds of shortcomings. Maybe one’s flaws are not as extreme as those in my stories, but they must exist nonetheless. This is why we feel love for them, because we find ourselves in them.

I like depicting feelings that grow naturally, and I like magnanimous love, so conflicts seldom appear in my stories. Perhaps this might make my stories seem to lack any rise and fall, but this is my personal preference, so this might never change in my whole life. Still, I’m elated to find you all liking my stories with such a dry plotline. I’ll continue working hard~ Thank you!

 

About Mo Shu and Nan Ge Er’s relationship

To be honest, if Nan Ge Er is not how Nan Ge Er currently is, or Mo Shu is not how Mo Shu currently is, then the story may not be wrapped up in a satisfactory end… Both of them having the personalities/characters that they do is precisely the reason they are able to connect to each other and get their lives entangled together~! Connections between one to another sure is a delicate thing~ ^^

 

Author’s thoughts on writing

To me, writing is excruciatingly painful since I’d face writer’s block, serious ones at that. Nonetheless, I find it delightful to write. My understanding of the world and admiration of various wonderous things are poured into my writing, which then is enjoyed by everyone. Being given such recognition, in turn, fills me with pride and joy. So, I think I do like writing and will continue writing. Thanks for liking my story!

 

About writing Guang Tian

Truth be told, I’ve always wanted to write about a place like this and a life with transformative change. It might be a simple, mundane life or perhaps a life with hardships, but a blissful tomorrow is always right ahead. Only after enduring the present darkness can it be reached. No matter when it is, don’t be blinded by the darkness in front~  Just walk straight ahead.

 

It’s worrying that Mo Shu would most likely kill Nan Ge Er’s little brother effortlessly without thinking about how it would affect Nan Ge Er… Since Nan Ge Er had been taking care of his brother for years, what would he feel if… his brother got killed like that?

Judging from Mo Shu’s personality, he would indeed kill that little brother of Nan Ge Er’s effortlessly in passing…

As for Nan Ge Er, he had already gotten over him, so he wouldn’t be all that melancholic about it. The only two reasons why he wanted Mo Shu to drop the idea are because it’s a hassle, and he didn’t want yet another massacre to happen…

After all, everyone does have something in their lives missing to some extent. It’s just that some aren’t that obvious, while others lean more to the extreme, obsessive end of the spectrum.

I merely wish the children I create could obtain the part they are missing and gain warmth from one another. Also, I hope every reader of my stories is able to believe that some beautiful things do still exist, even if we have never gotten hold of them.

 

How Guang Tian’s citizens view Mo Shu’s blood lust

To some extent, Guang Tian’s citizens are similar to Mo Shu. As explained previously, once they get out of Guang Tian, most will end up holding formidable roles in the outside world.

Therefore, not only are they protected by Mo Shu’s mighty strength, but they also don’t really mind Mo Shu’s blood lust. After all, they know that the Guang Tian citizens residing in the outside world will settle the trouble caused by Mo Shu.

Still, since it is some sort of a hassle, the doctor requested Nan Ge Er rein in Mo Shu.

As for Mo Shu becoming a wanted criminal, I can only say that neither Guang Tian’s citizens nor Mo Shu care about that. There’s no use listing him as a wanted criminal since people in the outside world catch him anyway…

 

About the Male Leads the Author creates

I’m not biased towards problem children, really. I don’t know why but when I write, they are all normal and perfect at the start. However, as I continued writing, deviations ran wild… By the time I realized it, things had veered far off the course… their personalities had already turned out distorted!

As an author who always wanted to challenge writing normal, perfect guys, this is an utter tragedy!

Strictly speaking, I don’t think feelings between a couple are simply innocent, pure love; that is why the two short stories I’ve written previously lean more into such relationships. But I personally find the relationship in this story(STSC) to be relatively simple and natural. It may be love or something else, but it will never contain the complex components of my previous two stories… probably…? OTL

 

Mo Shu’s character(This was asked and answered before the story is completed)

Well, about Mo Shu’s character… Personally, I really want to shape him into a perfect man, but at the moment, the story has not ended yet, so I don’t know if he will turn out like that. Maybe my writing will unconsciously continue running down a distorted path… I do have a habit of doing just that, you know?

Actually, who doesn’t love people who are perfect? (people who hate mary sues would say otherwise, LOL) Just that if their shortcomings are not so unbearable, they can be tolerated. After all, their positive areas are near perfection… So I think I have a wish to create a perfect top… Har har har!

 

From the point of view of Nan Ge Er’s little brother, isn’t Nan Gr Er kind of a crazed maniac?

That’s right! Nan Ge Er’s little brother does indeed feel that he is a crazed maniac ~ Haha! Of course, that’s another story. Still, he is an ignorant child, so in general, he won’t have much of an easy life, that’s for sure!