Chapter 16 Part2 (1/2)
Today is a personal milestone. 5 years ago to this day, I began posting the translation for Really, Really Miss You here on Fanatical. At the time, I had already “retired” from translating and had only wanted to spread a little bit of the happiness I felt when reading the novel, thinking RRMY's translation would be a one-time thing. As I look back on it now, time sure flies. 5 years is not a terribly long time, but neither is it an insignificant time. In these 5 years, I've injected some of my heart into every one of the stories I have translated, with the desire that they will touch someone else's heart. Thank you to everyone who has dropped comments of encouragement, followed along, told me what the story meant to you, etc.. The process of translation itself is one done alone, but it is you guys who remind me what I wished to accomplish with these. Thanks for 5 wonderful years! Cheers all!
Xiao You asks a very good question. ? And Wu Zhilun has finally figured out where he stands. LOL
Chapter 16.2 — The Unexpected (2)
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”Also,” Xiao Yu, pulling off from her wrist a black string that had been wrapped more than ten times around it and tying up her hair with it, asked, ”are you positive you're not preggers?”
A shudder racked through Jia He, and the tea cup knocked into her, leaving her teeth sore.
In no rush, Xiao Yu methodically twisted the string around her hair. When she had finally finished tying a slip knot, she resumed, ”You haven't been using any sort of birth control, have you?” Only Miss Xiao Yu would ask so directly.
Uttering a mumbled ”mm-hmm,” Jia He continued to dig at her cake with a spoon, digging and digging nonstop.
Xiao Yu pulled out her wallet and called, ”The check, please.” Afterwards, she led Jia He all the way to a pharmacy. It was past three in the afternoon, and there were not many people in the pharmacy, only a few older women cl.u.s.tered together, chatting.
Jia He, feeling extremely jumpy at absolutely everything, roved her eyes around. ”The supermarket should have them, too, right? And it's also self check-out.”
”Yes, they have them, but then you'd worry that quality isn't guaranteed.” After saying this, Xiao Yu turned a question to that group of people. ”Excuse me, do you have any home pregnancy tests?” Jia He had not expected that she would be so unperturbed and direct about this, and the thought instantly crossed her mind to turn and flee from there.
Luckily, those several older women had never seen someone so brazen about this sort of thing either, and they all fell quiet for several seconds before immediately scattering. Only one old woman remained. Clearing her throat, she put on a serious manner and asked, ”Yes, we do. What brand would you like?”
Xiao Yu smiled, ”I have no experience in this. Auntie, how about you recommend one?”
Utterly calm and collected, that old auntie told them, ”Please wait a moment,” and then she stepped over to a counter on the other side and pulled out three boxes. Walking back to them, she set the boxes in front of Xiao Yu and informed her, ”Price is actually about the same for all of them, but if you buy this one, you'll get a few more.” Saying that, she pushed out one box to spotlight it.
With an ”mm-hmm,” Xiao Yu picked it up, glanced it over a couple of times, and straight out decided, ”This one, then. Give me five boxes.”
The look in that old auntie's eyes faltered momentarily, but she nevertheless pulled over a notepad and began writing up the receipt.
Hence, when the two stepped out from the pharmacy, there was an extra bag in Jia He's hand. Jia He, however, had only a very small backpack-style purse that was just large enough to hold a wallet, mobile phone, and keys, so even if she wanted to hide that bag, she was unable to. In the brilliant suns.h.i.+ne, she watched as Xiao Yu sashayed away while she, holding that semitransparent bag, had no place she could go.
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In the end, she bought a non-transparent cloth bag, cased it around the other bag, and tied it up securely. Only then was her feeling of guilt placated.
At home there would be her mom watching over her, and if her mom discovered this bundle of stuff, she very likely would deliver the ultimatum that she had to see this ”knockoff Yi Wenze.” Should she go to Xiao Yu's home? Xiao Yu had said just now that she would not be home tonight. Go home? Despondently, Jia He discovered that in Beijing, her true home was the one she had with Yi Wenze.
The last place she could go was the production company, but that was his turf, too.
She was still at an intersection, wavering back and forth and not knowing where she should go, when she suddenly came up with an idea: she could go watch a movie! And then, in the washroom… And then after that thought of ”and then,” her phone rang.
”You're not at the office?” he asked.
She answered, ”Mm-hmm,” and made up an arbitrary fib. ”Some stuff needs to be revised in my new drama. I had a little meeting with Director Liu.”
There was a rare moment of silence on his end before he asked, ”Where are you? I'll go pick you up.”
Tilting her head to look up at Xiao Yu's office skyrise, she continued fabricating her story. ”I went to find Xiao Yu after the meeting. I'm on the downstairs level of Oriental Plaza.”
Right as she finished speaking, she heard a familiar voice on the other end of the call. A man's voice. For a moment, she froze. Then, tears instantly sprang to her eyes. Sure enough, there are always G.o.ds above you watching everything… It was Director Liu. How could she have forgotten? Those two had work collaborations as well, and they had even specifically met up in Tianjin.
A smile could be heard in Yi Wenze's voice as he responded with a few sentences to the other party before saying to her, ”I'll be there really soon. I'll make a reservation somewhere. You can go straight there and wait for me inside.”
She was exposed—utterly, thoroughly exposed.
He definitely did it on purpose…
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The restaurant was one she had been to previously for a post-project celebratory dinner, so before Yi Wenze got there, she estimated the timing of his arrival and then ordered an entire table's worth of dishes, gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth as she helped him waste his money. His text message came in just as she set down the menu: I'll be there right away.
Three minutes after this statement of ”right away,” the door truly was pushed open. The hostess leading the way was obviously a little too keen. Before the man of the moment had even made his appearance in the room, she was already incessantly rambling on, saying Mr. Yi this and Mr. Yi that. Jia He quickly bowed her head, keeping her eyes on the menu, until she sensed that two people had taken a seat. All of a sudden, a hand took the menu away from her. ”You've ordered already?”
Feeling awkward, Jia He looked up and, through the glow of interlacing lights, answered, ”Mm-hmm.” Next, she turned to Director Liu and tugged her lips up into a smile. ”Director Liu.”
”Ah, it's Jia He?” Director Liu smiled very deliberately, then informed her, ”I knew a long time ago. You don't need to be uptight.”
Jia He was genuinely struck stupid with this, and twisting her head to the side, she stared at Yi Wenze. He was unhurriedly flipping through the menu. With a very placid smile, he told her, ”When we were in Tianjin, I accidentally let it slip while I was talking.”
So, all along, she basically had been trying to fool everyone but had only been fooling herself? Like she was covering her ears to steal a bell[1]? Obstructing her eyes with a leaf and not seeing the obvious[2]?
So, yes, he did do it on purpose…
The dish of spinach stirred with a mustard sauce truly brought tears to her eyes when she ate it, and she reached for an orange juice. When her hand contacted the gla.s.s, though, she realized it was ice-cold. She hesitated, for she remembered those items in the black, non-transparent bag beside her, and then in guilty discomfiture she asked the female server to add a cup of warmed coconut milk to their order. After making this request, she received a glance from Yi Wenze.
All right, she did admit that she had always liked drinking iced orange juice with her meals.
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It was after they were already in the car and she had very carefully thrown that bag to the backseat that he finally asked her, ”Where did you go today?”
Jia He remembered that she still owed him an explanation. However, no matter how she racked her brain, she was unable to come up with a more decent, presentable excuse. So, she could only reply with unruffled composure, ”Xiao Yu broke up with a guy. I went to keep her company.”
Xiao Xiao, I've done you wrong.
She said this in her mind.
Yi Wenze could only let out a resigned chuckle. ”Your friends have relations.h.i.+p breakups so easily?”
She gave a firm, confident ”mm-hmm” and even explained in a pained voice, ”She, too, finds this too humiliating, so she told me over and over again that I was not allowed to tell anyone.”
He finally let her off the hook. ”You're feeling unwell today?”