Demon X Angel, Can't Get Along! - Ch. 130.1 - The demon who lost his memory ②

[MangaDex]

 

[HunterCO]

Xiao has had a long day lol

That last message scared me for a second, I thought the series was getting the ax

 

[ZzombieNoel]

The story is giving me major pre-endgame vibes right now.
The author also hinted a bit during the dialogue in one of the previous chapters, although I could just be thinking about that too much.

 

[jdjohndoe13]

Translator's notes:

• Instead of "for the love of god", Xia Fan actually lists synonyms for "don't understand" in order to express the scale of her bewilderment: "I don't understand, don't get, can't comprehend, can't grasp" etc.
• When the supervisor says "yep", she actually says "Yes, da yo" where "da yo" are Japanese particles often added to emphasize the statement (in Japanese). Chinese otakus sometimes use certain Japanese words in their speech, as in the case with "da yo". What's more interesting is the fact that the supervisor is (seemingly) able to read Xia Fan's thoughts: Xia Fan asks "This person is an idiot?" internally (in her mind) and the supervisor says "is" (it's a common way in Chinese to answer a question by saying the verb: "Is he a doctor?" - "Is").
• There is a lot of ambiguity in this chapter. I tried to preserve it as much as possible, but it's totally possible that I failed and had to use pronouns like "she", "him" etc. to make text flow more natural for an English speaker.
• For example, it wasn't clear that Shan Shan was kidnapped because of the way she worded that sentence: "I heard it was something related to a demon kidnapping (someone) and a hostage being killed". Neither the number of kidnapped persons, nor the number of killed hostages was mentioned. Only when Xia Fan asked why Shan Shan is continuing to deal with demons even after she was kidnapped it became clear that Shan Shan was, in fact, among the kidnapped hostages.
• Again, when Xia Fan is dumbfounded by Shan Shan nonchalantly talking about kidnapping, Xia Fan is wondering why Shan Shan keeps X-ing with demons. Here "X" is a word that can mean "have a conversation" or "to live together with". So it's not clear whether Xia Fan is surprised by Shan Shan talking to Xia Fan or by Shan Shan living with Jia Cheng.
• Xia Fan didn't put two and two together and figure out that Jia Cheng and Jia Xin are related might have to do with the fact that there is a lot of people (demons?) bearing the same surname ("Jia" is a surname) in the demon world.
• Shan Shan came to the human world with intention to "deal with that person" (more precisely, to kill them). Again, because it's common to use substitutes like "that person", "the opponent" etc. in Chinese (and Shan Shan uses them in her monologue a lot), it's not clear whether "that person" is Jia Cheng or not. Especially since Shan Shan later admits that she was even okay with taking "that person" down with herself (see chapter 49, in the middle). On the other hand, it's probably not Jia Cheng since he was a kid back then and couldn't kidnap Shan Shan. It's also unclear whether "that person" is that demon who kidnapped Shan Shan or someone else.
• Since it was mentioned that Jia Cheng was scared riding a roller coaster (back in chapters 11-13), it's possible that his memories will finally be jogged back to life with the help of "School days" (see chapters 12 and especially 13.5, featuring a 6-years-old Jia Cheng watching it). Especially so since the supervisor entered the amusement park.

 

[wongirengjmbtn]

Let's Go

 

[Andasen]

There has been more progress and lore drop in this half chapter than the past 100 chapters

 

[Hardik_7547]

Bro when did this became monthly, thanks a lot for the translations tho.

 

[jdjohndoe13]

Bro when did this became monthly, thanks a lot for the translations tho.

What happened: chapters (on Chinese website) must come out every other Saturday, but the author published the chapter 5 days late (on Thursday). Then there wasn't Chinese source freely available for about a week (or two). And then I didn't have time to translate it for about a week due to workload. So here you go: triple tardiness.

 

[Hardik_7547]

What happened: chapters (on Chinese website) must come out every two Saturdays, but author published the chapter 5 days later (on Thursday). Then there wasn't Chinese source freely available for about a week (or two). And then I didn't have time to translate it for about a week due to workload. So here you go: triple tardiness.

No prob but thanks for the translations as always.

 

[LegendCat]

This chapter was so peak, their both so in love, its so cuteeeee. Farewell editor, and thanks for the translations as always!

 

[xRecyclebin]

Its giving me vibes of like, "yeah I'm broken, but He is more broken" our demon boy helped Her pick those pieces back up but He didn't even pick himself back up, if you get what im saying

 

[DPChaos]

Goodbye, Ms. Editor...

 

[VillainousKT]

What happened: chapters (on Chinese website) must come out every other Saturday, but the author published the chapter 5 days late (on Thursday). Then there wasn't Chinese source freely available for about a week (or two). And then I didn't have time to translate it for about a week due to workload. So here you go: triple tardiness.

And he's late again 😂 I love Philo but damn he be trolling us 😭😂
Thank you so much for the translation as always, I hope work gets a little easier so you've time to enjoy the summer 💛

 

[JoshTheMangaLad]

My crackpot theory

Spoiler

Jia Xin (Ah Cheng's big sis) might be the one who kidnapped Shan Shan as a kid. The proof I can remember now is Supervisor saying her that form being that of criminal and I might be misremembering but she knew about shan shan from the photo?
Maybe she did this to protect Ah Cheng from a conflict or something

About other things I wonder how the succubus-supervisor plot points will resolve. And Xia Fan's getting deported plot point will be dealt with along with her crush on male Shan Shan and the guy Gao shang crush on Xia Fan...
Author make the manuscript and chapters fast

 

[qwerty13542]

As someone who's binged this series in one day and then reread it in the next few days because there's no new chapters, here's a relatively neat theory that more or less lines up with past events (has quotes, so spoilers too)
I wrote this mostly because I was bored, but I think there's a legitimate chance this stuff is at least partially correct

Spoiler: But it's just a theory ...

TL;DR
In the debacle 10 years ago, both Shan Shan & Cheng were good friends, were a part of the project, and were kidnapped.
Shan Shan got severely injured / almost died / actually died then got brought back to life, but Cheng thought she passed away.
This was the cause of both Cheng's issues and Shan Shan's "problematic" backstory

I've shortened names to one word to make my life easier (the first time per character, I put their future shortened names in parentheses)

(Relatively) Grounded Ideas:

1. When Jia Cheng (Cheng) gets sent back to 8 years old, he got sent to shortly before the project
   • Cheng is extroverted and doesn't really have his "problems" (Ch. 130)
   • Cheng is probably 18-ish, since Shan Shan (Shan) is almost is/is 18 (Ch. 3)
2. Shan, Cheng, and Jia Xin (Xin) knew each other 10 years ago and both participated in the project (the direction of the story pretty much makes it certain)
   • A toy (most likely Shan's) ended up in Cheng's room (Ch. 92)
   • Young Cheng was really extroverted and likely would have been open to making friends with angels, like Shan
   • Both Shan's and Cheng's memories don't contradict them being there
     • Cheng had bad memories in the past, which probably triggered his emotional shift, which happened sometime at or after ~10 years ago
       • "Have you forgotten what they've done to you? ... How could I forget?" - Xia Fan & Cheng (Ch. 129)
     • Shan got injured and has amnesia of the entire time period
       • "I ... suffered a head injury ... memories of that period of my life became kinda fuzzy" - Shan to Xia Fan (Ch. 130.1)
3. Xin knew Shan relatively personally before meeting her in person (possible)
   • "I couldn't believe it when I saw that photo ... that was quite a shock ... that red hair" (Ch. 8)
   • Of course, the hair color might be a hereditary feature of a powerful family (like a Hapsburg chin, but better maybe?) and Xin could be referring to that instead
4. Before Cheng had his trauma, Xin was pretty normal (stature [1], ability, not a criminal [2], etc)
   • 1: In Xin & Cheng's picture, Xin is normal-sized, while now Xin isn't allowed to not be a child
     • Of course, this picture could have been taken
   • 2: "Does them finding out that you still have an ability to restore your body seem like a joke to you? ... Don't forget that this identity of yours is the one of a criminal" - Supervisor to Xin (Ch. 117)
5. At some point, Xin "failed" at supporting / being a good sister to Cheng
   • ["Harrasing" Cheng] is the only way we, brother and sister, can get along ... I'm no longer qualified for [saying that I love Cheng directly]" - Xin to Supervisor (Ch. 117)

Theory:

1. Cheng & Shan were good friends, and were close when living together during the "New Eden" project
   • Possibly close enough for Shan to come over to Cheng's room, but this isn't necessary
   • Also close enough to take a shit ton of pictures that would go in an album
2. When the kidnapping occured, Cheng & Shan got kidnapped together
3. Shan got severely injured to the point where Cheng thought she died (maybe she did and got revived, IDK)—this sparked his abandonment and trust problems ("I can't rely on anyone, I gotta do everything myself") because he maybe:
   • • Didn't want anyone else getting hurt or killed in the future helping him
     • Others tried to help him, he trusted them, they failed
     • Felt that he had to become strong and self-sufficient enough to fend for himself
   • Perhaps other authority figures around him (possibly Xin) abandoned the kids (him and his friends) or him specifically when everything went down
   • Perhaps this is the source of Shan's "head injury"
4. Xin was involved in the whole thing someway (and got herself branded a criminal & got punished by being midget-ized), and also failed to help/support Cheng adequately and lost his trust—they slowly started mending their relationship until it became kind of close again now
   • Maybe Xin failed to save Shan? Maybe when she failed she got blamed for causing her "death?" That could be an explanation

Application

1. Once Shan "died," Cheng didn't go in his room [A] because it reminded him of Shan—he went in as little as possible, kept everything that Shan had given him (like the toy gun)
   • A: "There is so much dust in here ... It looks like it hasn't been used in a long time" - Shan (Ch. 106)
2. He ripped up his album filled with memories of Shan because he didn't want to be reminded of her
   • A few people have seen this album:
     • Cheng, who hates how it reminds him of his "dead childhood friend" (Shan)
     • Shan, who has amnesia and doesn't know what it is since it's torn up
     • Xin, who knows everything
     • Supervisor, who, after taking care of Shan for years (Ch. 35, but also in other chapters I missed) and also knowing a whole lot of who-knows-what, can piece together what happened, helped by prior knowledge
3. Cheng became obsessed with his "waifus" because 2D girls can't abandon him by dying, running away, or failing

Interpretation

1. The normally broke & stingy Cheng buys Shan food even while feeling uneasy (Ch. 1) because he sees his dead childhood friend in her
2. The reason Shan's toy gun is in Cheng's room is because Shan gave it to him or left it in there at some point and he put it in his room, then never took it out
3. The reason Cheng gets royally pissed at Shan for going in his room (Ch. 107) is because he doesn't want people going around "defiling" his memory of "dead childhood friend," and maybe also since he sees Shan mirrored in his memory and he doesn't like it

I'm pretty sure there aren't contradictions in the story, but if you see anything let me know

Things this theory doesn't really answer

1. Anything related to Yin(g) Xi
2. Not much related to Shan's high status
3. Why Cheng has no wings and why he seems to be relatively powerless, or why going on the island gave him some demon ears
   • Can Xin transform into her "normal" form in the human world? Cheng still has his tail and eyes but no ears or horns in the human world? I don't know how any of that works
     • Young Cheng in his picture has pointy ears, slit pupils, and a tail, but no horns—did he lose the ears?
     • Little form Xin still has pointy ears even while not having horns so I really don't know

A game manhua theory!
Feedback is appreciated!


P.S. Currently-writing-me here, this is stupidly long and I'm very sorry
P.P.S. Still-currently-writing-me: If you don't want to read a poorly formatted "essay" i'll see if i can write a TL;DR at the end but no promises. Still, if you have time and patience on your hands, take a look maybe
P.P.P.S. Post-writing-me: This whole thing is quite a bit over 1000 words, so I'm sorry in advance if you decide to read this, but I will be very grateful if you do! And one final question to someone, maybe the translator:
The guy's name is Jia Cheng, so why does pretty much everyone that knows him call him Ah Cheng? Is a diminution where they take off the consonant sound, or is it some title?

Huge thanks to the translator as always!