Chapter 7 Part1 (2/2)
From top to bottom, left to right, Qiao Qiao swept her eyes over Jia He. ”When you were pa.s.sed out in sleep this afternoon, I was already back. How come I didn't see you driving it away then?”
”You came back this afternoon?”
”Of course. You had a high fever that wouldn't go down. You think I'd dare to not come back?” Qiao Qiao laughed. ”Sadly, though, it was obvious my presence was redundant. Wu Zhilun is so able to act, but even he didn't dare be an atmosphere-spoiling light bulb[5] there with you guys, let alone me.”
Jia He had no words to say to that. This afternoon, she had been dead to the world when she slept, so Qiao Qiao could fabricate things however she wanted and Jia He would not be able to expose her. Therefore, she decided simply to hold her silence.
Qiao Qiao fussed about for another little while before falling into a deep sleep, a pillow nestled in her arms. Jia He, on the other hand, having slept too much during the day, tossed and turned on the bed, and at one in the morning, she still had not fallen asleep yet. When she stepped out to get herself some water, she unconsciously glanced towards the study. The lights inside were still on.
After wavering for half a minute, she slowly treaded upstairs and gave a knock on the door.
”Come in.” Yi Wenze's voice was somewhat deeper, and weariness could be heard in it.
Pus.h.i.+ng the door half open, she saw that he was still sitting behind his desk, looking at his computer.
The tealight candle had long since burned out, and all that remained was a thin layer of tea at the bottom of the pot.
On the television screen was still the picture she had paused the movie at, with Maggie Cheung, dressed in a bright red gown, frozen in an action.
He typed out his last word, then lifted his head to look at her. ”Why aren't you sleeping yet?”
Fortunately, Jia He had come up with an excuse before coming upstairs, and now she only smiled and replied, ”I was in bed and then felt hungry. It just so happens that Qiao Qiao brought a box of Demae Ramen back with her. I'm going to be making some anyway, so if you want some, I can make yours together with mine.” Ah, sure enough, she was calmer if she first drafted up in her mind what she was going to say. More and more, she admired her own composure.
”Sure.”
”Want to add an egg to it?”
She was not really clear on what Hong Kong people's tastes were. If Qiao Qiao had not exposed her to it, she would not have even known about this brand, Demae Ramen. From her own common knowledge, she just believed that when you cook noodles, you need to add an egg in before it will be tasty.
He nodded again, his smile deepening. ”Sure.”
Jia He had originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but remembering that he might not even know what the refrigerator contained, she decided it would be better to simply go herself to have a look, and whatever was good to eat, she would just add into the noodles. Seeing that Yi Wenze truly did seem interested, she hurriedly went downstairs, found her way to the kitchen, and began rummaging around, a.s.suming that that Shanghainese housekeeper had brought a lot of things here today. Very soon, she dug out some luncheon meat and eggs, and pulling out a pot, she boiled some water. Only now did she notice that the box of noodles had not been opened yet.
There was a wide strip of tape across the box. Squatting on the floor, she slowly tore it at its edge with her fingers. A short while later, she heard the sound of boiling water. Right as she was about to stand, a hand was already reaching from behind her and turning down the stove.
<>Please support this translation by reading it at its actual site of posting, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. It would be greatly appreciated if you did so. Thank you.
She turned around. Yi Wenze, leaning against the edge of the marble counter, told her, ”The scissors should be in the cupboard to the right.”
Hastily crouching down again, Jia He grabbed the scissors, opened the box, and pulled out two packs of noodles.
Package of sesame-flavoured Damae Ramen. Packaging may vary in design and colour, depending on flavour and region. ()
Steam rose relentlessly from the roiling water, which emitted very light noises.
When she ripped open the package and pulled out a dried cake of noodles, Yi Wenze had already cut open the pack of luncheon meat, and taking out a clean plastic cutting board, he began cutting it into slices. His knife work was pleasant to watch and skilled and made Jia He, a smatterer when it came to working with a knife, sweat profusely with embarra.s.sment at her own skills.
Boil the noodles, crack the eggs, put in the meat.
He practically did everything. Jia He, standing to one side, gradually became the person who merely helped hand things over to him. Not until he was holding a pair of chopsticks and starting to stir things together did she recall that, just earlier, she seemed to have been the one who said she wanted to make noodles for him to eat…
Feeling a little sheepish, she began randomly searching for things to talk about. ”What a coincidence. The two movies that we talked about today both have scenes with cooking noodles. It seems you Hong Kong people really like to eat this stuff.”
His lips turned up ever so slightly, and he took a glance at her. ”Bring over two empty bowls.”
Hurrying again to rifle through the dish cupboard, she brought out two large, white, porcelain bowls. Before long, one bowl was filled.
He got some more cold water and began to heat it.
”How about you eat first?” She helped him rip open the other package of noodles.
He told her, ”It's okay. It'll be ready really soon.”
She was a little embarra.s.sed. ”I was the one who said I'd make noodles for you… You coming downstairs like this, will your leg be okay?”
Calmly, he replied, ”It should be fine. As long as you have no need for me to play ball or go running, there should be no problems.”
Jia He was glum for a moment. If she really did make any sort of request for him to play ball or run, she reckoned that everyone, from his talent agency down to his fans, would hack her to death, then grind up her bones into ashes and scatter them to the wind.
Tiny bubbles climbed up from the bottom of the pot. Slowly, the water began to boil again.
All the things that needed to be handed had been handed to him already. There was nothing else for her to do, and she was unable to find anything to converse about either. She could therefore only just stand beside him, staring at those bubbles on the bottom of the pot to try to distract herself. After he poured out the noodles into the other bowl, she hastily stretched out her arm to take the pot from him, wanting to first bring it away to wash.
And then, completely catching herself by surprise, her hand b.u.mped into his.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com only
[1]《前度》 Ex (2010) is a Hong Kong film starring Gillian Chung and William Chan.
[2]《志明与春娇》Love in a Puff (2010) is a Hong Kong romantic comedy starring Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue. It is about two smokers who fall in love over a week, after meeting outside while having a smoke.
[3]《东邪西毒》Ashes of Time is a Hong Kong wuxia movie that was first released in September 1994. It is a loose prequel to Jin Yong's Legend of the Condor Heroes (also known asThe Eagle-Shooting Hero). In 2008, it was re-edited and released as Ashes of Time Redux.
Ashes of Time stars big names: from left to right, Leslie Cheung, Brigette Lin, Tony Leung KFai, Jacky Cheung, Carina Lau, Charlie Yeung, Tony Leung Chiu-Was. Maggie Cheung was also in the movie, though not shown here on this poster.
[4] The extremely-loved Hong Kong actor and singer, Leslie Cheung, is also fondly referred to by the nickname “Gege,” which literally means ”Big Brother.” He suffered from depression, which ultimately led to his death by suicide in 2003, hence Jia He's sigh as she suddenly thought of him. Leslie Cheung played the role of the main character, Ouyang Feng, in Ashes of Time.
[5] In Chinese slang, being a light bulb is like being a third wheel when you are with a couple. A person who is hanging out with a couple is like a light bulb, s.h.i.+ning brightly on them and spoiling the atmosphere.
This story was translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com only. All forms of reproduction, redistribution, or re-posting are not authorized. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the copy is unauthorized and has been taken without consent of the translator.
Additional Comments:
Damae Ramen is a much loved instant noodle brand in Hong Kong. While it's not impossible to find it in Mainland China, it's not commonplace, especially back in 2011, when shopping on online sites like Taobao was not nearly as common as it is today. Qiao Qiao brought back a brand that Yi Wenze very likely was familiar with, so Jia He could “b.u.t.ter up” her idol. ?
This was the instant noodle brand that I grew up knowing. Forget Cup-O-Noodles, Mr. Noodles, etc. and all those other N. American brands. This one beats it hands down. Of course, nowadays, way more Asian instant noodle brands have made their way into the market, but this one is still my noodle of choice (on the off chance that I want instant noodles, which is… rare). It conjures up childhood memories.
Completed:
1 of 1 Prologue
19 of 58 Chapter segments
0 of 4 Epilogues
Post navigation
<script>