NTBF: C07
Chapter Seven
This novel was posted on cntranslationss [dot] blogsp0t [dot] com, by anasiana. If you're not reading it there, you get what you get ￣へ￣)
I moved about eight loads of an assortment of suitcases, from the big to the small, into the Polytechnical dormitory of T-University; while Wenyang was lodging at the dormitory of the Chemistry Department building which was next to mine.
I laughed. Because everything else he can learn perfectly well, but getting poetry was something he couldn't do.
That old man of mine had enough power to even touch the heavens, but I was just that my own level of achievements were too low, so low, that his attempt to reverse this situation was in the end too weak. My results from my examination were such a mess I couldn't even manage to squeeze into T-University's undergraduate program, and the only option I had left was to scrounge for a place in the vocational college program.
But, Wenyang, of course, got into this school using his own strength. And with the Chemistry Department at this school being competitive as heck, this department's exam entry score requirement was freakishly high, and it turned out that he had gotten the highest score overall in the entire school (while my own was T-University's lowest).
Don't go flaunting your coffee wisdom, I can only make instant coffee anyway so I can't even compete.
I dreamt of Wenyang carrying out my luggage, despite my pleas to him to not kick me out. I dreamt of that witch standing at his side, wearing face brimming with joy, and of my own head drenched with sweat, my eyes soaking in tears... I was suddenly jolted awake.
But, Wenyang, of course, got into this school using his own strength. And with the Chemistry Department at this school being competitive as heck, this department's exam entry score requirement was freakishly high, and it turned out that he had gotten the highest score overall in the entire school (while my own was T-University's lowest).
Hearing the crash, Wenyang nervously pushed open the door and came in, his expression turning stiff at the sight of the shards of the vase: "If you want to come me, just come at me! Why are you taking out your temper on that stupid thing?!"
So it is clear as day that this extraordinary person and myself are nowhere in the same class.
I nodded.
Hearing the crash, Wenyang nervously pushed open the door and came in, his expression turning stiff at the sight of the shards of the vase: "If you want to come me, just come at me! Why are you taking out your temper on that stupid thing?!"
The top beauty of T-University had always been from the Foreign Languages Department, and right at that moment, it looks like those words were true.
But, nonetheless, there are times when comrades of different classes can come together.
Out of a sight and not hearing a damn thing was all perfectly fine!
You can say it all had to do with certain bad habits of T-University which had indirectly created an advantage for me. One was the power being cut off at eleven in the night, where even if it was during the hottest of days of the season and when you could bake a pancakes on your bed. The condition of the great pillars of our country, could not even compare to that of a migrant worker! With just a tiny ceiling fan attached to a headboard, only being able to blow weakly at the most as it shook. Then, in the evening, from within that elegant landscape of T-University, many hidden death-machines—mosquitoes—emerged; like tiny little air-bombers, and a wonderful by-product of the garden work done. The guy's who were not used to hanging a mosquito net would all wake up everyday with a face so swollen, it was beyond recognition, and looking more like a pineapple than they did a person!
This kind of self-deception, still left a burning sensation radiating throughout my face.
Plus, on top of all that, there was the dorm health inspection that was carried out every weekend—the regulations for which were super strict. No stuff on the tables, no stuff on the beds, no stuff piled under the beds too (and the stuff in question here referring to everything besides the person and the chair!)—and for the life of me I really don't get where this "stuff" was then supposed to be packed. The first week, when the dorm inspectors came, all the guys packed their shit on their backs and carried them on their person. But later, everyone could not take it anymore because there was then a department inspection along with a school-wide inspection, and when exactly these two would happen was unknown, so every damn day we would all be lugging around our stuff on our backs for two whole hours, just to be notified in the end that "this random day of inspection was not for you all".
Wenyang was knocking on my door: "Xiao Jing!! Don't just sleep the whole day away till it's dark. Get up and try some of Joan's afternoon tea."
I didn't even stay there for a month before I packed my shit and left. And what made me all giggly, was that Zhou Wenyang was looking for a place to live too. For him, what he couldn't stand was all the noise from the four guys in his dormroom when they played mahjong or watched adult videos, plus the forced power outage at eleven each night really affected his studying habits. Those perfectly timed-out study habits of his were not suited for a collective dormitory life at all.
You can say it all had to do with certain bad habits of T-University which had indirectly created an advantage for me. One was the power being cut off at eleven in the night, where even if it was during the hottest of days of the season and when you could bake a pancakes on your bed. The condition of the great pillars of our country, could not even compare to that of a migrant worker! With just a tiny ceiling fan attached to a headboard, only being able to blow weakly at the most as it shook. Then, in the evening, from within that elegant landscape of T-University, many hidden death-machines—mosquitoes—emerged; like tiny little air-bombers, and a wonderful by-product of the garden work done. The guy's who were not used to hanging a mosquito net would all wake up everyday with a face so swollen, it was beyond recognition, and looking more like a pineapple than they did a person!
Hearing the crash, Wenyang nervously pushed open the door and came in, his expression turning stiff at the sight of the shards of the vase: "If you want to come me, just come at me! Why are you taking out your temper on that stupid thing?!"
I remember that back then he had joined the Foreign Language Club's English Speech Competition and when he went to stand on the stage the audience—who where bored, sleepy and unenergetic just before—all perked up slightly, each one being brought back to life! (Bullshίt. His face alone can get him food and drinks without him having to worry about money at all! Don't even talk about him wearing that irredeemable chemistry department outfit so goddamn elegantly on his perfect-ass frame~~)
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
In the days that came, the situation with "her" soon headed in an een crappier direction. Two or three of her visits later, Wenyang even had a special coffee cup prepared just for her. I had looked on as she happily moved in a kettle for making her coffee and even when she also brought over an oven for making her deserts. These acts were no different than positioning oneself for a battle in the long run, as I, grew ever the more depressed at the unchanging premonition that I will be the aggressor being driven out by a united front. But despite my repeated efforts to smash that invasive-ass mug, in the end, I just chose to hold myself up in my room when she paid visit and put my stereo on full blast.
So we rented a two bedroom house not that far from the school together in the end. Seeming to both ignore that I was "gay" and we were in fact officially "cohabitating."
Our cohabitating life was even happier than I could've ever dreamed. Wenyang, everyday, woke me from my death-like sleep for me to attend class. He also, for me—who spent his entire life not lifting a finger on a chore and having no ability to tell one grain from the other as even boiling water with an electric rod would result in it being burnt, and lacking the self-awareness and care to go get take-out from the place near the apartment—"washed his hands, and made the soup" taking care of the household duties. Plus, he even helped me copy my timetable and stick it on the headboard of my bed, along with clearly printing the subject, teacher, and class location for each subject on my textbooks so I would be able to find the classrooms—or, to keep my behind from using "not finding the class" as an excuse to skip. So, by this meticulous care of his, my heart felt at complete ease and was so happy I was beside myself, unable to help myself from being no different than a Japanese woman: calling him "Anata Darling" everyday; bowing to send him off, and kneeling beside the door to welcome his return; and telling him "You've worked hard" while taking off his coat and shoes like the good little lackey I am, all with a flattering smile plastered on my face.
She smiled embarrassedly: "Um... Actually I wanted to make a latte, but the coffee was added to soon so it became a cappuccino.
四体不勤,五谷不分: never moved any of four limbs, can't tell the five grains from another; someone who hasn't done any labour in their life; someone who lives off others. [] 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family. [] ANADA: Japanese: あなた: anata: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you. []^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级). []^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little. []^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head. []^7. Chaber: A clothing brand. []^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband. []^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain. []^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines".[]あなた (anata) is often used in TV dramas between older married couples, particularly the wife to husband especially in moments where a tender emotion is being expressed but in reality but most older married couples I know will address each other as the other members of the family would. Ex. around their own children the mother would be お母さん (Okaasan) or Mother and the father would be お父さん (otoosan) or Father. Around their grandchildren they would address each other as おばあちゃん (obaachan) Grandmother and おじいちゃん (ojiichan) Grandfather respectively.
Wenyang's expression became vicious, his eyes trained on me in a glare, before slamming the door with even more force than I had not long ago.
"It's for you." With a dark face, I begrudgingly handed the phone over to him.
Our cohabitating life was even happier than I could've ever dreamed. Wenyang, everyday, woke me from my death-like sleep for me to attend class. He also, for me—who spent his entire life not lifting a finger on a chore and having no ability to tell one grain from the other[1] as even boiling water with an electric rod would result in it being burnt, and lacking the self-awareness and care to go get take-out from the place near the apartment—"washed his hands, and made the soup[2]" taking care of the household duties. Plus, he even helped me copy my timetable and stick it on the headboard of my bed, along with clearly printing the subject, teacher, and class location for each subject on my textbooks so I would be able to find the classrooms—or, to keep my behind from using "not finding the class" as an excuse to skip. So, by this meticulous care of his, my heart felt at complete ease and was so happy I was beside myself, unable to help myself from being no different than a Japanese woman: calling him "Anata Darling[3]" everyday; bowing to send him off, and kneeling beside the door to welcome his return; and telling him "You've worked hard" while taking off his coat and shoes like the good little lackey I am, all with a flattering smile plastered on my face.
How can I possibly sleep when inside my chest was hurting as if a million little bugs were gnawing at it? But I kept my lips zipped. If you can pretend I'm invisible, I can pretend you're mute.
In the days that came, the situation with "her" soon headed in an een crappier direction. Two or three of her visits later, Wenyang even had a special coffee cup prepared just for her. I had looked on as she happily moved in a kettle for making her coffee and even when she also brought over an oven for making her deserts. These acts were no different than positioning oneself for a battle in the long run, as I, grew ever the more depressed at the unchanging premonition that I will be the aggressor being driven out by a united front. But despite my repeated efforts to smash that invasive-ass mug, in the end, I just chose to hold myself up in my room when she paid visit and put my stereo on full blast.
At those special occasions hosted by T-University that I attended along with Joanna, her demeanour, the way she caught an endless stream of eyes, made her seem like a total female version of Wenyang; her Oxford English even made foreigners mute during debates.
Anyway during it all, I quickly carried on that fine tradition of college student: selective courses are a 'must skip' and mandatory ones 'maybe skip' which is the reason behind my newly found hibernation, as I lay on my bed snuggled under my blanket from head to toe in the middle of the day.
Everything I hear is always: Joan, Joan, Joan...
It was all because he used to taking care of his weak mother so taking care of someone else, whether that person was named Lin Jing or whatever else, simply did not matter.
Okay, I'll admit that this sort of passive evasion was really dumb and really cowardly—to the extreme. But, I can't for the life of me come up with a reason for it to not be that way.
Plus, on top of all that, there was the dorm health inspection that was carried out every weekend—the regulations for which were super strict. No stuff on the tables, no stuff on the beds, no stuff piled under the beds too (and the stuff in question here referring to everything besides the person and the chair!)—and for the life of me I really don't get where this "stuff" was then supposed to be packed. The first week, when the dorm inspectors came, all the guys packed their shit on their backs and carried them on their person. But later, everyone could not take it anymore because there was then a department inspection along with a school-wide inspection, and when exactly these two would happen was unknown, so every damn day we would all be lugging around our stuff on our backs for two whole hours, just to be notified in the end that "this random day of inspection was not for you all".
Anyway during it all, I quickly carried on that fine tradition of college student: selective courses are a 'must skip' and mandatory ones 'maybe skip' which is the reason behind my newly found hibernation, as I lay on my bed snuggled under my blanket from head to toe in the middle of the day.
Joanna drew a blank stare for a second, a light smile curving her lips, but she did not say a word. To that, Wenyang let out a laugh and patted my head: "Don't talk any more, okay. And isn't that French?"
So, in a fit, I grabbed myself a pen and scribbled on an innocent book. IDIOT!
But to me, an unambitious nymphomaniac, this illusion of happiness had long made me more than just confused as well as unable to break free. For once, I had secretly felt, apart from sеx, my current life was comparable to that of a classic marriage. And if it continued like this, I really wouldn't ask for anything, even though my beloved sleeping in the room right beside my own, won't ever lift a finger to touch me.
I kicked my desk ferociously, so much so, it caused the vase sitting on it's corner to fall.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
Yes, that's right! I was exactly this foul-tempered, yeah? How could that ever compare to your gentle, considerate and sensible Joanna.
I remember that back then he had joined the Foreign Language Club's English Speech Competition and when he went to stand on the stage the audience—who where bored, sleepy and unenergetic just before—all perked up slightly, each one being brought back to life! (Bullshίt. His face alone can get him food and drinks without him having to worry about money at all! Don't even talk about him wearing that irredeemable chemistry department outfit so goddamn elegantly on his perfect-ass frame~~)
The anger in me having yet to subside, I stomped on those pieces of porcelain, doing so until they were completely unrecognisable.
"It's for you." With a dark face, I begrudgingly handed the phone over to him.
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
四体不勤,五谷不分: never moved any of four limbs, can't tell the five grains from another; someone who hasn't done any labour in their life; someone who lives off others. [] 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family. [] ANADA: Japanese: あなた: anata: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you. []^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级). []^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little. []^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head. []^7. Chaber: A clothing brand. []^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband. []^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain. []^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines".[]あなた (anata) is often used in TV dramas between older married couples, particularly the wife to husband especially in moments where a tender emotion is being expressed but in reality but most older married couples I know will address each other as the other members of the family would. Ex. around their own children the mother would be お母さん (Okaasan) or Mother and the father would be お父さん (otoosan) or Father. Around their grandchildren they would address each other as おばあちゃん (obaachan) Grandmother and おじいちゃん (ojiichan) Grandfather respectively.
"It's for you." With a dark face, I begrudgingly handed the phone over to him.
And I—from the tip of my head to my toes, from my insides to my outsides—only have a face that can compete with her (and perhaps, along with Wenyang's heart).
And that's when it hit me right between the eyes[6]. T-They... they're even gonna come here too?!
With him smiling apologetically, putting down the pen in his hand to take hold of the receiver.
The loud crash making me stare in daze, at the shattered pieces on the floor.
A bitter feeling began forming with each bite I took. Because as they saying goes: a woman who can conquer a man's stomach, is not too far away from capturing his heart.
And I—from the tip of my head to my toes, from my insides to my outsides—only have a face that can compete with her (and perhaps, along with Wenyang's heart).
How can I possibly sleep when inside my chest was hurting as if a million little bugs were gnawing at it? But I kept my lips zipped. If you can pretend I'm invisible, I can pretend you're mute.
At those special occasions hosted by T-University that I attended along with Joanna, her demeanour, the way she caught an endless stream of eyes, made her seem like a total female version of Wenyang; her Oxford English even made foreigners mute during debates.
As I then looked down at my watch and began counting from the time the call started: one minute... one minute, thirty seconds...
How could he not know the verse "This newly ill-gotten withered state of mine; is neither due to my excessive drinking of wine; nor is on account of sorrow brought by this autumn's decline", huh?[8]
Suppressing all of my anger.
It was all because he used to taking care of his weak mother so taking care of someone else, whether that person was named Lin Jing or whatever else, simply did not matter.
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
The only gift he ever gave me; was now shattered and scattered to pieces on the ground; unable to be glued back together.
But to me, an unambitious nymphomaniac, this illusion of happiness had long made me more than just confused as well as unable to break free. For once, I had secretly felt, apart from sеx, my current life was comparable to that of a classic marriage. And if it continued like this, I really wouldn't ask for anything, even though my beloved sleeping in the room right beside my own, won't ever lift a finger to touch me.
I gritted my teeth secretly. Tch, men!!
Could he really not see that these women were all alike and had no other intention but to use those calls as an excuse to get mixed up with him?
"It's for you." With a dark face, I begrudgingly handed the phone over to him.
Or... could he actually be enjoying all that attention?
That old man of mine had enough power to even touch the heavens, but I was just that my own level of achievements were too low, so low, that his attempt to reverse this situation was in the end too weak. My results from my examination were such a mess I couldn't even manage to squeeze into T-University's undergraduate program, and the only option I had left was to scrounge for a place in the vocational college program.
I gritted my teeth secretly. Tch, men!!
Even if I have no interest in women, whatsoever; even I could feel the charm radiating from her body clearly. Her makeup and skin, both delicate and flawless, her clothes were high-class and refined, even though she wore a modest Chaber[7] cashmere sweater, I could see the perfect curvature of her body easily.
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
Anyway during it all, I quickly carried on that fine tradition of college student: selective courses are a 'must skip' and mandatory ones 'maybe skip' which is the reason behind my newly found hibernation, as I lay on my bed snuggled under my blanket from head to toe in the middle of the day.
"I'm so sorry!" Finally! I got his attention. He looked up to me and smiled, then began talking softer while using his hand to cover his mouth halfway as he whispered into the microphone.
My head pained like it was bound by the Incantation of the Golden Headband used to subdue the Monkey King[9], and God knows where I put that tape he lent me.
So, in a fit, I grabbed myself a pen and scribbled on an innocent book. IDIOT!
But to me, an unambitious nymphomaniac, this illusion of happiness had long made me more than just confused as well as unable to break free. For once, I had secretly felt, apart from sеx, my current life was comparable to that of a classic marriage. And if it continued like this, I really wouldn't ask for anything, even though my beloved sleeping in the room right beside my own, won't ever lift a finger to touch me.
That old man of mine had enough power to even touch the heavens, but I was just that my own level of achievements were too low, so low, that his attempt to reverse this situation was in the end too weak. My results from my examination were such a mess I couldn't even manage to squeeze into T-University's undergraduate program, and the only option I had left was to scrounge for a place in the vocational college program.
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
You can say it all had to do with certain bad habits of T-University which had indirectly created an advantage for me. One was the power being cut off at eleven in the night, where even if it was during the hottest of days of the season and when you could bake a pancakes on your bed. The condition of the great pillars of our country, could not even compare to that of a migrant worker! With just a tiny ceiling fan attached to a headboard, only being able to blow weakly at the most as it shook. Then, in the evening, from within that elegant landscape of T-University, many hidden death-machines—mosquitoes—emerged; like tiny little air-bombers, and a wonderful by-product of the garden work done. The guy's who were not used to hanging a mosquito net would all wake up everyday with a face so swollen, it was beyond recognition, and looking more like a pineapple than they did a person!
N/A
Can't you just hang up the phone out of the fear of disturbing me?
And I—from the tip of my head to my toes, from my insides to my outsides—only have a face that can compete with her (and perhaps, along with Wenyang's heart).
Then I slinked away into a corner of the living room, watching her and Wenyang spread out the English materials, which were nothing but alien characters to me, on the table; and became engulfed in their own discussions while sticking together so tightly a drop of water could not even squeeze through, making me feel all the more inferior and dejected without end.
N/A
Then angrily turned another page, trying to ignore this tragic scene, and continuing to vent my frustration while also straining my ears in an attempt to overhear bits and pieces of their conversation to tell when it was finally done.
My face quickly changed to the bloody-brown hue of a pig's liver. Then pushing from the table I stood up, not spilling a single peep as I returned to my room; using all my strength to slam the damn door shut.
I put a lot of effort into this skill, you know. Because after doing it every single day this training made my efficiency able to complete with a really good wiretap.
At those special occasions hosted by T-University that I attended along with Joanna, her demeanour, the way she caught an endless stream of eyes, made her seem like a total female version of Wenyang; her Oxford English even made foreigners mute during debates.
You see, at T-University there was more males than females. But, the quality of these specimens were inversely proportional to their quantity. So this is how the great gap between the rich and the poor where "the rich pile wine and meat till they rot, while the poor starve and die out in the cold[5]" all came into being. And even though, all year round, there were also some people who depite having a wide range to select from, chose to be anorexic. Zhou Wenyang was precisely the kind of person the librarian lady would go find to strike up a conversation.
After that, when he began to speak and that standard American English begun its departure from his lips, a slew of whistles came roaring from that crowd. (And I swear, this time it was not coming from me. I was sitting in a row behind a girl listening to her fawn over him back then, while gnashing my teeth and sharpening my [figurative] knife in hatred.)
I put a lot of effort into this skill, you know. Because after doing it every single day this training made my efficiency able to complete with a really good wiretap.
That enchantress had come a bit earlier, and was now happily chatting away in the living room with Wenyang. All I could do was act as if I were blind and deaf, and do my best to fall asleep, because when you're sleeping, everything devolves into nothingness.
So despite me already coming with every which way I can think of to not let Zhou Wenyang reveal his specialness; unfortunately, gold always shines, and let alone this one-hundred percent, pure, genuine block of gold that is Zhou Wenyang.
It really can never be glued back together. I squatted on the floor and tried for half a day, and all I got was a face drenched in sweat and hands soaked with blood.
From outside, I heard Wenyang apologise: "Sorry. Lin Jing just has a bit of a temper."
Joanna drew a blank stare for a second, a light smile curving her lips, but she did not say a word. To that, Wenyang let out a laugh and patted my head: "Don't talk any more, okay. And isn't that French?"
Can't you just hang up the phone out of the fear of disturbing me?
But, nonetheless, there are times when comrades of different classes can come together.
No matter how you try to hide strengths under a bushel, or how deep they're hidden away, one day, it will all come out into the light.
I didn't even stay there for a month before I packed my shit and left. And what made me all giggly, was that Zhou Wenyang was looking for a place to live too. For him, what he couldn't stand was all the noise from the four guys in his dormroom when they played mahjong or watched adult videos, plus the forced power outage at eleven each night really affected his studying habits. Those perfectly timed-out study habits of his were not suited for a collective dormitory life at all.
No matter how you try to hide strengths under a bushel, or how deep they're hidden away, one day, it will all come out into the light.
This kind of self-deception, still left a burning sensation radiating throughout my face.
With him smiling apologetically, putting down the pen in his hand to take hold of the receiver.
It was all because he used to taking care of his weak mother so taking care of someone else, whether that person was named Lin Jing or whatever else, simply did not matter.
I remember that back then he had joined the Foreign Language Club's English Speech Competition and when he went to stand on the stage the audience—who where bored, sleepy and unenergetic just before—all perked up slightly, each one being brought back to life! (Bullshίt. His face alone can get him food and drinks without him having to worry about money at all! Don't even talk about him wearing that irredeemable chemistry department outfit so goddamn elegantly on his perfect-ass frame~~)
Suppressing all of my anger.
After that, when he began to speak and that standard American English begun its departure from his lips, a slew of whistles came roaring from that crowd. (And I swear, this time it was not coming from me. I was sitting in a row behind a girl listening to her fawn over him back then, while gnashing my teeth and sharpening my [figurative] knife in hatred.)
My heart felt heavy, as if were covered in lead. Which part of me would still be able to eat even half a bite? But I didn't want to hear Wenyang's say those words again, so I dragged my self out of bed, trudged into the living room, where each bite I took, and each one I didn't were all under Wenyang's gaze.
I just hated that I wasn't a woman, and therefore had no right to claim Zhou Wenyang. Otherwise I, as his roommate, would have answered those incessant calls, oh so sweetly: "Why are you looking for my Wenyang, hm?" so those she-devils won't attack but instead—retreat~~
Wenyang's expression became vicious, his eyes trained on me in a glare, before slamming the door with even more force than I had not long ago.
I hate it! Why'd I have to be a man, huh? I lowered my head and glared at my lower half.
So it is clear as day that this extraordinary person and myself are nowhere in the same class.
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
"Yeah," he smiled. "My friend wants to come by later."
No matter how you try to hide strengths under a bushel, or how deep they're hidden away, one day, it will all come out into the light.
And that's when it hit me right between the eyes[6]. T-They... they're even gonna come here too?!
The anger in me having yet to subside, I stomped on those pieces of porcelain, doing so until they were completely unrecognisable.
Plus, on top of all that, there was the dorm health inspection that was carried out every weekend—the regulations for which were super strict. No stuff on the tables, no stuff on the beds, no stuff piled under the beds too (and the stuff in question here referring to everything besides the person and the chair!)—and for the life of me I really don't get where this "stuff" was then supposed to be packed. The first week, when the dorm inspectors came, all the guys packed their shit on their backs and carried them on their person. But later, everyone could not take it anymore because there was then a department inspection along with a school-wide inspection, and when exactly these two would happen was unknown, so every damn day we would all be lugging around our stuff on our backs for two whole hours, just to be notified in the end that "this random day of inspection was not for you all".
I hate it! Why'd I have to be a man, huh? I lowered my head and glared at my lower half.
The top beauty of T-University had always been from the Foreign Languages Department, and right at that moment, it looks like those words were true.
四体不勤,五谷不分: never moved any of four limbs, can't tell the five grains from another; someone who hasn't done any labour in their life; someone who lives off others. [] 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family. [] ANADA: Japanese: あなた: anata: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you. []^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级). []^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little. []^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head. []^7. Chaber: A clothing brand. []^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband. []^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain. []^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines".[]あなた (anata) is often used in TV dramas between older married couples, particularly the wife to husband especially in moments where a tender emotion is being expressed but in reality but most older married couples I know will address each other as the other members of the family would. Ex. around their own children the mother would be お母さん (Okaasan) or Mother and the father would be お父さん (otoosan) or Father. Around their grandchildren they would address each other as おばあちゃん (obaachan) Grandmother and おじいちゃん (ojiichan) Grandfather respectively.
So later when I opened the door to see that girl who called herself Joanna, my heart immediately emitted alarm.
"It's going alright." I said just because.
Even if I have no interest in women, whatsoever; even I could feel the charm radiating from her body clearly. Her makeup and skin, both delicate and flawless, her clothes were high-class and refined, even though she wore a modest Chaber[7] cashmere sweater, I could see the perfect curvature of her body easily.
Plus, on top of all that, there was the dorm health inspection that was carried out every weekend—the regulations for which were super strict. No stuff on the tables, no stuff on the beds, no stuff piled under the beds too (and the stuff in question here referring to everything besides the person and the chair!)—and for the life of me I really don't get where this "stuff" was then supposed to be packed. The first week, when the dorm inspectors came, all the guys packed their shit on their backs and carried them on their person. But later, everyone could not take it anymore because there was then a department inspection along with a school-wide inspection, and when exactly these two would happen was unknown, so every damn day we would all be lugging around our stuff on our backs for two whole hours, just to be notified in the end that "this random day of inspection was not for you all".
Then angrily turned another page, trying to ignore this tragic scene, and continuing to vent my frustration while also straining my ears in an attempt to overhear bits and pieces of their conversation to tell when it was finally done.
Or... could he actually be enjoying all that attention?
The top beauty of T-University had always been from the Foreign Languages Department, and right at that moment, it looks like those words were true.
So later when I opened the door to see that girl who called herself Joanna, my heart immediately emitted alarm.
So we rented a two bedroom house not that far from the school together in the end. Seeming to both ignore that I was "gay" and we were in fact officially "cohabitating."
It was once the most difficult prize at a street ring-toss game; Wenyang had thrown all thirty bamboo rings to win then give it to me.
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
Right now, all I can hope for, was that she was pretty on the outside and empty on the inside—that this beauty of hers was only skin deep.
From outside, I heard Wenyang apologise: "Sorry. Lin Jing just has a bit of a temper."
Wenyang's expression became vicious, his eyes trained on me in a glare, before slamming the door with even more force than I had not long ago.
Wenyang seriously wrote on some sheets over and over again, giving them to her to learn from, completely forgetting I was had taken these exercises as well, and was sitting—waiting—for his guidance.
Then I slinked away into a corner of the living room, watching her and Wenyang spread out the English materials, which were nothing but alien characters to me, on the table; and became engulfed in their own discussions while sticking together so tightly a drop of water could not even squeeze through, making me feel all the more inferior and dejected without end.
Can't you just hang up the phone out of the fear of disturbing me?
Wenyang seriously wrote on some sheets over and over again, giving them to her to learn from, completely forgetting I was had taken these exercises as well, and was sitting—waiting—for his guidance.
Plus, there is one key advantage I'm rather unwilling to mention, and that is: she is a woman.
In the end, noticing my own boredom, I packed up my things and quietly returned to my room.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
I nodded.
Plus, there is one key advantage I'm rather unwilling to mention, and that is: she is a woman.
It was quite late that night when I heard Wenyang open the door to send her off, then afterwards stopping in front of my bedroom door, knocking lightly before he asked: "Lin Jing, are you asleep?"
四体不勤,五谷不分: never moved any of four limbs, can't tell the five grains from another; someone who hasn't done any labour in their life; someone who lives off others. [] 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family. [] ANADA: Japanese: あなた: anata: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you. []^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级). []^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little. []^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head. []^7. Chaber: A clothing brand. []^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband. []^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain. []^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines".[]あなた (anata) is often used in TV dramas between older married couples, particularly the wife to husband especially in moments where a tender emotion is being expressed but in reality but most older married couples I know will address each other as the other members of the family would. Ex. around their own children the mother would be お母さん (Okaasan) or Mother and the father would be お父さん (otoosan) or Father. Around their grandchildren they would address each other as おばあちゃん (obaachan) Grandmother and おじいちゃん (ojiichan) Grandfather respectively.
I dreamt of Wenyang carrying out my luggage, despite my pleas to him to not kick me out. I dreamt of that witch standing at his side, wearing face brimming with joy, and of my own head drenched with sweat, my eyes soaking in tears... I was suddenly jolted awake.
I had no patience at all to listen to the slow and clear pronunciation of the words of that CD from that tiny stereo, so I just went on and said: "I can probably understand the lyriques[10]."
Could he really not see that these women were all alike and had no other intention but to use those calls as an excuse to get mixed up with him?
The top beauty of T-University had always been from the Foreign Languages Department, and right at that moment, it looks like those words were true.
How can I possibly sleep when inside my chest was hurting as if a million little bugs were gnawing at it? But I kept my lips zipped. If you can pretend I'm invisible, I can pretend you're mute.
I moved about eight loads of an assortment of suitcases, from the big to the small, into the Polytechnical dormitory of T-University; while Wenyang was lodging at the dormitory of the Chemistry Department building which was next to mine.
In the days that came, the situation with "her" soon headed in an een crappier direction. Two or three of her visits later, Wenyang even had a special coffee cup prepared just for her. I had looked on as she happily moved in a kettle for making her coffee and even when she also brought over an oven for making her deserts. These acts were no different than positioning oneself for a battle in the long run, as I, grew ever the more depressed at the unchanging premonition that I will be the aggressor being driven out by a united front. But despite my repeated efforts to smash that invasive-ass mug, in the end, I just chose to hold myself up in my room when she paid visit and put my stereo on full blast.
Winter is the season for the hoarded fat, and I have only gotten thinner and thinner. Though Wenyang confirmed to me I was not losing weight, then later, with all his heart, believed it was his cooking that was the issue.
So we rented a two bedroom house not that far from the school together in the end. Seeming to both ignore that I was "gay" and we were in fact officially "cohabitating."
But to me, an unambitious nymphomaniac, this illusion of happiness had long made me more than just confused as well as unable to break free. For once, I had secretly felt, apart from sеx, my current life was comparable to that of a classic marriage. And if it continued like this, I really wouldn't ask for anything, even though my beloved sleeping in the room right beside my own, won't ever lift a finger to touch me.
And I—from the tip of my head to my toes, from my insides to my outsides—only have a face that can compete with her (and perhaps, along with Wenyang's heart).
I didn't even stay there for a month before I packed my shit and left. And what made me all giggly, was that Zhou Wenyang was looking for a place to live too. For him, what he couldn't stand was all the noise from the four guys in his dormroom when they played mahjong or watched adult videos, plus the forced power outage at eleven each night really affected his studying habits. Those perfectly timed-out study habits of his were not suited for a collective dormitory life at all.
Out of a sight and not hearing a damn thing was all perfectly fine!
A bitter feeling began forming with each bite I took. Because as they saying goes: a woman who can conquer a man's stomach, is not too far away from capturing his heart.
Okay, I'll admit that this sort of passive evasion was really dumb and really cowardly—to the extreme. But, I can't for the life of me come up with a reason for it to not be that way.
Wenyang seriously wrote on some sheets over and over again, giving them to her to learn from, completely forgetting I was had taken these exercises as well, and was sitting—waiting—for his guidance.
At those special occasions hosted by T-University that I attended along with Joanna, her demeanour, the way she caught an endless stream of eyes, made her seem like a total female version of Wenyang; her Oxford English even made foreigners mute during debates.
She smiled embarrassedly: "Um... Actually I wanted to make a latte, but the coffee was added to soon so it became a cappuccino.
How could he not know the verse "This newly ill-gotten withered state of mine; is neither due to my excessive drinking of wine; nor is on account of sorrow brought by this autumn's decline", huh?[8]
"This posh coffee Joan made is really authentic, right, Xiao Jing?" He looked at the me who's movements were like a robot's, unable to even open my mouth to speak.
And I—from the tip of my head to my toes, from my insides to my outsides—only have a face that can compete with her (and perhaps, along with Wenyang's heart).
And that's when it hit me right between the eyes[6]. T-They... they're even gonna come here too?!
From outside, I heard Wenyang apologise: "Sorry. Lin Jing just has a bit of a temper."
So it is clear as day that this extraordinary person and myself are nowhere in the same class.
Plus, there is one key advantage I'm rather unwilling to mention, and that is: she is a woman.
It was quite late that night when I heard Wenyang open the door to send her off, then afterwards stopping in front of my bedroom door, knocking lightly before he asked: "Lin Jing, are you asleep?"
Winter is the season for the hoarded fat, and I have only gotten thinner and thinner. Though Wenyang confirmed to me I was not losing weight, then later, with all his heart, believed it was his cooking that was the issue.
I gritted my teeth secretly. Tch, men!!
"Alright to what extent?" he was relentless.
From outside, I heard Wenyang apologise: "Sorry. Lin Jing just has a bit of a temper."
I laughed. Because everything else he can learn perfectly well, but getting poetry was something he couldn't do.
"This posh coffee Joan made is really authentic, right, Xiao Jing?" He looked at the me who's movements were like a robot's, unable to even open my mouth to speak.
That enchantress had come a bit earlier, and was now happily chatting away in the living room with Wenyang. All I could do was act as if I were blind and deaf, and do my best to fall asleep, because when you're sleeping, everything devolves into nothingness.
So it is clear as day that this extraordinary person and myself are nowhere in the same class.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
Right now, all I can hope for, was that she was pretty on the outside and empty on the inside—that this beauty of hers was only skin deep.
How could he not know the verse "This newly ill-gotten withered state of mine; is neither due to my excessive drinking of wine; nor is on account of sorrow brought by this autumn's decline", huh?[8]
I remember that back then he had joined the Foreign Language Club's English Speech Competition and when he went to stand on the stage the audience—who where bored, sleepy and unenergetic just before—all perked up slightly, each one being brought back to life! (Bullshίt. His face alone can get him food and drinks without him having to worry about money at all! Don't even talk about him wearing that irredeemable chemistry department outfit so goddamn elegantly on his perfect-ass frame~~)
Anyway during it all, I quickly carried on that fine tradition of college student: selective courses are a 'must skip' and mandatory ones 'maybe skip' which is the reason behind my newly found hibernation, as I lay on my bed snuggled under my blanket from head to toe in the middle of the day.
Anyway during it all, I quickly carried on that fine tradition of college student: selective courses are a 'must skip' and mandatory ones 'maybe skip' which is the reason behind my newly found hibernation, as I lay on my bed snuggled under my blanket from head to toe in the middle of the day.
"Yeah," he smiled. "My friend wants to come by later."
[T/N: Another translator finished this so you will be redirected to her site when you click for the next chapter.]
That enchantress had come a bit earlier, and was now happily chatting away in the living room with Wenyang. All I could do was act as if I were blind and deaf, and do my best to fall asleep, because when you're sleeping, everything devolves into nothingness.
Everything I hear is always: Joan, Joan, Joan...
Hearing the crash, Wenyang nervously pushed open the door and came in, his expression turning stiff at the sight of the shards of the vase: "If you want to come me, just come at me! Why are you taking out your temper on that stupid thing?!"
Our cohabitating life was even happier than I could've ever dreamed. Wenyang, everyday, woke me from my death-like sleep for me to attend class. He also, for me—who spent his entire life not lifting a finger on a chore and having no ability to tell one grain from the other as even boiling water with an electric rod would result in it being burnt, and lacking the self-awareness and care to go get take-out from the place near the apartment—"washed his hands, and made the soup" taking care of the household duties. Plus, he even helped me copy my timetable and stick it on the headboard of my bed, along with clearly printing the subject, teacher, and class location for each subject on my textbooks so I would be able to find the classrooms—or, to keep my behind from using "not finding the class" as an excuse to skip. So, by this meticulous care of his, my heart felt at complete ease and was so happy I was beside myself, unable to help myself from being no different than a Japanese woman: calling him "Anata Darling" everyday; bowing to send him off, and kneeling beside the door to welcome his return; and telling him "You've worked hard" while taking off his coat and shoes like the good little lackey I am, all with a flattering smile plastered on my face.
Yes, that's right! I was exactly this foul-tempered, yeah? How could that ever compare to your gentle, considerate and sensible Joanna.
At first, I wanted to apologise. But the minute I saw that woman standing behind him and looking into this room, the scene from my dream suddenly overlapped with this moment, and I couldn't stop my rage-filled outburst: "It's just a cheap crappy thing; what's special about it!"
I dreamt of Wenyang carrying out my luggage, despite my pleas to him to not kick me out. I dreamt of that witch standing at his side, wearing face brimming with joy, and of my own head drenched with sweat, my eyes soaking in tears... I was suddenly jolted awake.
The top beauty of T-University had always been from the Foreign Languages Department, and right at that moment, it looks like those words were true.
Wenyang was knocking on my door: "Xiao Jing!! Don't just sleep the whole day away till it's dark. Get up and try some of Joan's afternoon tea."
I just hated that I wasn't a woman, and therefore had no right to claim Zhou Wenyang. Otherwise I, as his roommate, would have answered those incessant calls, oh so sweetly: "Why are you looking for my Wenyang, hm?" so those she-devils won't attack but instead—retreat~~
Everything I hear is always: Joan, Joan, Joan...
So we rented a two bedroom house not that far from the school together in the end. Seeming to both ignore that I was "gay" and we were in fact officially "cohabitating."
Plus, on top of all that, there was the dorm health inspection that was carried out every weekend—the regulations for which were super strict. No stuff on the tables, no stuff on the beds, no stuff piled under the beds too (and the stuff in question here referring to everything besides the person and the chair!)—and for the life of me I really don't get where this "stuff" was then supposed to be packed. The first week, when the dorm inspectors came, all the guys packed their shit on their backs and carried them on their person. But later, everyone could not take it anymore because there was then a department inspection along with a school-wide inspection, and when exactly these two would happen was unknown, so every damn day we would all be lugging around our stuff on our backs for two whole hours, just to be notified in the end that "this random day of inspection was not for you all".
It was quite late that night when I heard Wenyang open the door to send her off, then afterwards stopping in front of my bedroom door, knocking lightly before he asked: "Lin Jing, are you asleep?"
N/A
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
My heart felt heavy, as if were covered in lead. Which part of me would still be able to eat even half a bite? But I didn't want to hear Wenyang's say those words again, so I dragged my self out of bed, trudged into the living room, where each bite I took, and each one I didn't were all under Wenyang's gaze.
Could he really not see that these women were all alike and had no other intention but to use those calls as an excuse to get mixed up with him?
I put a lot of effort into this skill, you know. Because after doing it every single day this training made my efficiency able to complete with a really good wiretap.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
Wenyang seriously wrote on some sheets over and over again, giving them to her to learn from, completely forgetting I was had taken these exercises as well, and was sitting—waiting—for his guidance.
A bitter feeling began forming with each bite I took. Because as they saying goes: a woman who can conquer a man's stomach, is not too far away from capturing his heart.
[T/N: Another translator finished this so you will be redirected to her site when you click for the next chapter.]
"This posh coffee Joan made is really authentic, right, Xiao Jing?" He looked at the me who's movements were like a robot's, unable to even open my mouth to speak.
Or... could he actually be enjoying all that attention?
I nodded.
So despite me already coming with every which way I can think of to not let Zhou Wenyang reveal his specialness; unfortunately, gold always shines, and let alone this one-hundred percent, pure, genuine block of gold that is Zhou Wenyang.
She smiled embarrassedly: "Um... Actually I wanted to make a latte, but the coffee was added to soon so it became a cappuccino.
Right now, all I can hope for, was that she was pretty on the outside and empty on the inside—that this beauty of hers was only skin deep.
Can't you just hang up the phone out of the fear of disturbing me?
Okay, I'll admit that this sort of passive evasion was really dumb and really cowardly—to the extreme. But, I can't for the life of me come up with a reason for it to not be that way.
And I—from the tip of my head to my toes, from my insides to my outsides—only have a face that can compete with her (and perhaps, along with Wenyang's heart).
It was once the most difficult prize at a street ring-toss game; Wenyang had thrown all thirty bamboo rings to win then give it to me.
Don't go flaunting your coffee wisdom, I can only make instant coffee anyway so I can't even compete.
Then angrily turned another page, trying to ignore this tragic scene, and continuing to vent my frustration while also straining my ears in an attempt to overhear bits and pieces of their conversation to tell when it was finally done.
This kind of self-deception, still left a burning sensation radiating throughout my face.
How could he not know the verse "This newly ill-gotten withered state of mine; is neither due to my excessive drinking of wine; nor is on account of sorrow brought by this autumn's decline", huh?[8]
Our cohabitating life was even happier than I could've ever dreamed. Wenyang, everyday, woke me from my death-like sleep for me to attend class. He also, for me—who spent his entire life not lifting a finger on a chore and having no ability to tell one grain from the other as even boiling water with an electric rod would result in it being burnt, and lacking the self-awareness and care to go get take-out from the place near the apartment—"washed his hands, and made the soup" taking care of the household duties. Plus, he even helped me copy my timetable and stick it on the headboard of my bed, along with clearly printing the subject, teacher, and class location for each subject on my textbooks so I would be able to find the classrooms—or, to keep my behind from using "not finding the class" as an excuse to skip. So, by this meticulous care of his, my heart felt at complete ease and was so happy I was beside myself, unable to help myself from being no different than a Japanese woman: calling him "Anata Darling" everyday; bowing to send him off, and kneeling beside the door to welcome his return; and telling him "You've worked hard" while taking off his coat and shoes like the good little lackey I am, all with a flattering smile plastered on my face.
Winter is the season for the hoarded fat, and I have only gotten thinner and thinner. Though Wenyang confirmed to me I was not losing weight, then later, with all his heart, believed it was his cooking that was the issue.
"Xiao Jing, how is your Step-by-step listening practice going?" Wenyang saw my confusion, as I had nothing to say.
"Xiao Jing, how is your Step-by-step listening practice going?" Wenyang saw my confusion, as I had nothing to say.
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
I had no patience at all to listen to the slow and clear pronunciation of the words of that CD from that tiny stereo, so I just went on and said: "I can probably understand the lyriques[10]."
I hate it! Why'd I have to be a man, huh? I lowered my head and glared at my lower half.
At those special occasions hosted by T-University that I attended along with Joanna, her demeanour, the way she caught an endless stream of eyes, made her seem like a total female version of Wenyang; her Oxford English even made foreigners mute during debates.
My head pained like it was bound by the Incantation of the Golden Headband used to subdue the Monkey King[9], and God knows where I put that tape he lent me.
"I'm so sorry!" Finally! I got his attention. He looked up to me and smiled, then began talking softer while using his hand to cover his mouth halfway as he whispered into the microphone.
"It's going alright." I said just because.
Then I slinked away into a corner of the living room, watching her and Wenyang spread out the English materials, which were nothing but alien characters to me, on the table; and became engulfed in their own discussions while sticking together so tightly a drop of water could not even squeeze through, making me feel all the more inferior and dejected without end.
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
"Alright to what extent?" he was relentless.
But, nonetheless, there are times when comrades of different classes can come together.
I had no patience at all to listen to the slow and clear pronunciation of the words of that CD from that tiny stereo, so I just went on and said: "I can probably understand the lyriques[10]."
At first, I wanted to apologise. But the minute I saw that woman standing behind him and looking into this room, the scene from my dream suddenly overlapped with this moment, and I couldn't stop my rage-filled outburst: "It's just a cheap crappy thing; what's special about it!"
Joanna drew a blank stare for a second, a light smile curving her lips, but she did not say a word. To that, Wenyang let out a laugh and patted my head: "Don't talk any more, okay. And isn't that French?"
Chapter Seven
Everything I hear is always: Joan, Joan, Joan...
I dreamt of Wenyang carrying out my luggage, despite my pleas to him to not kick me out. I dreamt of that witch standing at his side, wearing face brimming with joy, and of my own head drenched with sweat, my eyes soaking in tears... I was suddenly jolted awake.
"I'm so sorry!" Finally! I got his attention. He looked up to me and smiled, then began talking softer while using his hand to cover his mouth halfway as he whispered into the microphone.
After that, when he began to speak and that standard American English begun its departure from his lips, a slew of whistles came roaring from that crowd. (And I swear, this time it was not coming from me. I was sitting in a row behind a girl listening to her fawn over him back then, while gnashing my teeth and sharpening my [figurative] knife in hatred.)
My face quickly changed to the bloody-brown hue of a pig's liver. Then pushing from the table I stood up, not spilling a single peep as I returned to my room; using all my strength to slam the damn door shut.
Don't go flaunting your coffee wisdom, I can only make instant coffee anyway so I can't even compete.
Suppressing all of my anger.
It was once the most difficult prize at a street ring-toss game; Wenyang had thrown all thirty bamboo rings to win then give it to me.
四体不勤,五谷不分: never moved any of four limbs, can't tell the five grains from another; someone who hasn't done any labour in their life; someone who lives off others. [] 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family. [] ANADA: Japanese: あなた: anata: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you. []^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级). []^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little. []^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head. []^7. Chaber: A clothing brand. []^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband. []^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain. []^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines".[]あなた (anata) is often used in TV dramas between older married couples, particularly the wife to husband especially in moments where a tender emotion is being expressed but in reality but most older married couples I know will address each other as the other members of the family would. Ex. around their own children the mother would be お母さん (Okaasan) or Mother and the father would be お父さん (otoosan) or Father. Around their grandchildren they would address each other as おばあちゃん (obaachan) Grandmother and おじいちゃん (ojiichan) Grandfather respectively.
A bitter feeling began forming with each bite I took. Because as they saying goes: a woman who can conquer a man's stomach, is not too far away from capturing his heart.
All those foreign languages are just gobbledygook, anyways! Who could tell which comes from where, huh!
In the end, noticing my own boredom, I packed up my things and quietly returned to my room.
My face quickly changed to the bloody-brown hue of a pig's liver. Then pushing from the table I stood up, not spilling a single peep as I returned to my room; using all my strength to slam the damn door shut.
You see, at T-University there was more males than females. But, the quality of these specimens were inversely proportional to their quantity. So this is how the great gap between the rich and the poor where "the rich pile wine and meat till they rot, while the poor starve and die out in the cold[5]" all came into being. And even though, all year round, there were also some people who depite having a wide range to select from, chose to be anorexic. Zhou Wenyang was precisely the kind of person the librarian lady would go find to strike up a conversation.
My head pained like it was bound by the Incantation of the Golden Headband used to subdue the Monkey King[9], and God knows where I put that tape he lent me.
I remember that back then he had joined the Foreign Language Club's English Speech Competition and when he went to stand on the stage the audience—who where bored, sleepy and unenergetic just before—all perked up slightly, each one being brought back to life! (Bullshίt. His face alone can get him food and drinks without him having to worry about money at all! Don't even talk about him wearing that irredeemable chemistry department outfit so goddamn elegantly on his perfect-ass frame~~)
This kind of self-deception, still left a burning sensation radiating throughout my face.
"Alright to what extent?" he was relentless.
How can I possibly sleep when inside my chest was hurting as if a million little bugs were gnawing at it? But I kept my lips zipped. If you can pretend I'm invisible, I can pretend you're mute.
I hate it! Why'd I have to be a man, huh? I lowered my head and glared at my lower half.
That enchantress had come a bit earlier, and was now happily chatting away in the living room with Wenyang. All I could do was act as if I were blind and deaf, and do my best to fall asleep, because when you're sleeping, everything devolves into nothingness.
Of course, assuming there wasn't so many "flies" buzzing aroung him.
From outside, I heard Wenyang apologise: "Sorry. Lin Jing just has a bit of a temper."
I put a lot of effort into this skill, you know. Because after doing it every single day this training made my efficiency able to complete with a really good wiretap.
I dreamt of Wenyang carrying out my luggage, despite my pleas to him to not kick me out. I dreamt of that witch standing at his side, wearing face brimming with joy, and of my own head drenched with sweat, my eyes soaking in tears... I was suddenly jolted awake.
"It's for you." With a dark face, I begrudgingly handed the phone over to him.
I had no patience at all to listen to the slow and clear pronunciation of the words of that CD from that tiny stereo, so I just went on and said: "I can probably understand the lyriques[10]."
That enchantress had come a bit earlier, and was now happily chatting away in the living room with Wenyang. All I could do was act as if I were blind and deaf, and do my best to fall asleep, because when you're sleeping, everything devolves into nothingness.
Yes, that's right! I was exactly this foul-tempered, yeah? How could that ever compare to your gentle, considerate and sensible Joanna.
You see, at T-University there was more males than females. But, the quality of these specimens were inversely proportional to their quantity. So this is how the great gap between the rich and the poor where "the rich pile wine and meat till they rot, while the poor starve and die out in the cold[5]" all came into being. And even though, all year round, there were also some people who depite having a wide range to select from, chose to be anorexic. Zhou Wenyang was precisely the kind of person the librarian lady would go find to strike up a conversation.
Okay, I'll admit that this sort of passive evasion was really dumb and really cowardly—to the extreme. But, I can't for the life of me come up with a reason for it to not be that way.
How can I possibly sleep when inside my chest was hurting as if a million little bugs were gnawing at it? But I kept my lips zipped. If you can pretend I'm invisible, I can pretend you're mute.
I kicked my desk ferociously, so much so, it caused the vase sitting on it's corner to fall.
Joanna drew a blank stare for a second, a light smile curving her lips, but she did not say a word. To that, Wenyang let out a laugh and patted my head: "Don't talk any more, okay. And isn't that French?"
The loud crash making me stare in daze, at the shattered pieces on the floor.
In the days that came, the situation with "her" soon headed in an een crappier direction. Two or three of her visits later, Wenyang even had a special coffee cup prepared just for her. I had looked on as she happily moved in a kettle for making her coffee and even when she also brought over an oven for making her deserts. These acts were no different than positioning oneself for a battle in the long run, as I, grew ever the more depressed at the unchanging premonition that I will be the aggressor being driven out by a united front. But despite my repeated efforts to smash that invasive-ass mug, in the end, I just chose to hold myself up in my room when she paid visit and put my stereo on full blast.
Hearing the crash, Wenyang nervously pushed open the door and came in, his expression turning stiff at the sight of the shards of the vase: "If you want to come me, just come at me! Why are you taking out your temper on that stupid thing?!"
N/A
It was once the most difficult prize at a street ring-toss game; Wenyang had thrown all thirty bamboo rings to win then give it to me.
Can't you just hang up the phone out of the fear of disturbing me?
At first, I wanted to apologise. But the minute I saw that woman standing behind him and looking into this room, the scene from my dream suddenly overlapped with this moment, and I couldn't stop my rage-filled outburst: "It's just a cheap crappy thing; what's special about it!"
That enchantress had come a bit earlier, and was now happily chatting away in the living room with Wenyang. All I could do was act as if I were blind and deaf, and do my best to fall asleep, because when you're sleeping, everything devolves into nothingness.
"Alright to what extent?" he was relentless.
"This posh coffee Joan made is really authentic, right, Xiao Jing?" He looked at the me who's movements were like a robot's, unable to even open my mouth to speak.
She smiled embarrassedly: "Um... Actually I wanted to make a latte, but the coffee was added to soon so it became a cappuccino.
How can I possibly sleep when inside my chest was hurting as if a million little bugs were gnawing at it? But I kept my lips zipped. If you can pretend I'm invisible, I can pretend you're mute.
Wenyang's expression became vicious, his eyes trained on me in a glare, before slamming the door with even more force than I had not long ago.
"Yeah," he smiled. "My friend wants to come by later."
Out of a sight and not hearing a damn thing was all perfectly fine!
[T/N: Another translator finished this so you will be redirected to her site when you click for the next chapter.]
The anger in me having yet to subside, I stomped on those pieces of porcelain, doing so until they were completely unrecognisable.
I dreamt of Wenyang carrying out my luggage, despite my pleas to him to not kick me out. I dreamt of that witch standing at his side, wearing face brimming with joy, and of my own head drenched with sweat, my eyes soaking in tears... I was suddenly jolted awake.
So later when I opened the door to see that girl who called herself Joanna, my heart immediately emitted alarm.
"This posh coffee Joan made is really authentic, right, Xiao Jing?" He looked at the me who's movements were like a robot's, unable to even open my mouth to speak.
Plus, there is one key advantage I'm rather unwilling to mention, and that is: she is a woman.
You can say it all had to do with certain bad habits of T-University which had indirectly created an advantage for me. One was the power being cut off at eleven in the night, where even if it was during the hottest of days of the season and when you could bake a pancakes on your bed. The condition of the great pillars of our country, could not even compare to that of a migrant worker! With just a tiny ceiling fan attached to a headboard, only being able to blow weakly at the most as it shook. Then, in the evening, from within that elegant landscape of T-University, many hidden death-machines—mosquitoes—emerged; like tiny little air-bombers, and a wonderful by-product of the garden work done. The guy's who were not used to hanging a mosquito net would all wake up everyday with a face so swollen, it was beyond recognition, and looking more like a pineapple than they did a person!
It was once the most difficult prize at a street ring-toss game; Wenyang had thrown all thirty bamboo rings to win then give it to me.
It was once the most difficult prize at a street ring-toss game; Wenyang had thrown all thirty bamboo rings to win then give it to me.
With him smiling apologetically, putting down the pen in his hand to take hold of the receiver.
"I'm so sorry!" Finally! I got his attention. He looked up to me and smiled, then began talking softer while using his hand to cover his mouth halfway as he whispered into the microphone.
The only gift he ever gave me; was now shattered and scattered to pieces on the ground; unable to be glued back together.
With him smiling apologetically, putting down the pen in his hand to take hold of the receiver.
"Wenyang, I can't solve this problem!" I swished the Level Four College English Test[4] paper within my hand, my intent to remind him that the set task for tonight was to tutor me in English so I can get past Level Four and to to be acting as though I was some kind of switchboard operator.
As I then looked down at my watch and began counting from the time the call started: one minute... one minute, thirty seconds...
It really can never be glued back together. I squatted on the floor and tried for half a day, and all I got was a face drenched in sweat and hands soaked with blood.
As I then looked down at my watch and began counting from the time the call started: one minute... one minute, thirty seconds...
四体不勤,五谷不分: never moved any of four limbs, can't tell the five grains from another; someone who hasn't done any labour in their life; someone who lives off others. [] 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family. [] ANADA: Japanese: あなた: anata: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you. []^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级). []^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little. []^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head. []^7. Chaber: A clothing brand. []^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband. []^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain. []^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines".[]あなた (anata) is often used in TV dramas between older married couples, particularly the wife to husband especially in moments where a tender emotion is being expressed but in reality but most older married couples I know will address each other as the other members of the family would. Ex. around their own children the mother would be お母さん (Okaasan) or Mother and the father would be お父さん (otoosan) or Father. Around their grandchildren they would address each other as おばあちゃん (obaachan) Grandmother and おじいちゃん (ojiichan) Grandfather respectively.
Chapter Seven
Could he really not see that these women were all alike and had no other intention but to use those calls as an excuse to get mixed up with him?
Plus, on top of all that, there was the dorm health inspection that was carried out every weekend—the regulations for which were super strict. No stuff on the tables, no stuff on the beds, no stuff piled under the beds too (and the stuff in question here referring to everything besides the person and the chair!)—and for the life of me I really don't get where this "stuff" was then supposed to be packed. The first week, when the dorm inspectors came, all the guys packed their shit on their backs and carried them on their person. But later, everyone could not take it anymore because there was then a department inspection along with a school-wide inspection, and when exactly these two would happen was unknown, so every damn day we would all be lugging around our stuff on our backs for two whole hours, just to be notified in the end that "this random day of inspection was not for you all".
[T/N: Another translator finished this so you will be redirected to her site when you click for the next chapter.]
All those foreign languages are just gobbledygook, anyways! Who could tell which comes from where, huh!
It really can never be glued back together. I squatted on the floor and tried for half a day, and all I got was a face drenched in sweat and hands soaked with blood.
Okay, I'll admit that this sort of passive evasion was really dumb and really cowardly—to the extreme. But, I can't for the life of me come up with a reason for it to not be that way.
Or... could he actually be enjoying all that attention?
"You're finally done, right?" I was jealous.
Author's Note:
Notes:
^2. 洗手做羹汤: wash hands and make the soup. It comes from a story of a rich woman(卓文君:Zhuo Wenjun) who gave up her lavish life to run off with her lover( turn husband, 司马相如:Sima Xiangru) who was poor. As well as a saying for a new daughter-in-law taking up the responsibility of caring for her new family.
^3. ANADA: {Japanese: あなた: anata}: Darling, dear (from a wife to a husband); you.
^4. CET4 (originally abbreviated in English|非专业四级): College English Test(非专业), is a national English test in the PRC for undergraduate and post-graduate students. It has two levels: CET4(非专业四级) and CET6(非专业六级).
^5. 朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨: while the rich horde wine and meat till they rot; the poor starve and die in the cold feasting on bones. [Please note this is my interpretation] Anyway, it is from a Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu's (杜甫) work 《自京赴奉先咏怀五百字》. Basically, the rich take too much, poor get too little.
^6. 当头一棒: a strike to the head, meant to show a warning for future events/or just a blow to head.
^7. Chaber: A clothing brand.
^8. 新来瘦，非干病酒，不是悲秋: this is a verse from a Song Dynasty poem "凤凰台上忆吹萧:Recalling the Flute-Duet at Phoenix Terrace" by Li Qingzhao (1081-1151?) Go to this link to see this guy's translation TLDR: It's about a woman longing for her husband.
^9. 紧箍咒: Tightening Incarnation of the Golden Headband: In the Journey to the West; the Monkey King was kept on a leash by the recitation of this spell by Tang Sanzang which caused the headband ti tighten and cause the Monkey King great pain.
^10. Lyrique: this word is of French origin(yeah, it's 'lyric' but the author meant the original French version so...) and Xiao Jing probably meant to say "Lines"..
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