Chapter 19.3 (1/2)
Published
at 10th of July 2019 05:37:37 AM
Chapter 19.3
In the afternoon, Wenrun brought the little nephew along to the supermarket while Yi Wenze took Jia He to the university he used to attend.
When Jia He was still in school, she had always felt that there was a wonderful atmosphere to Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s old campus in the Xuhui district. However, as she stepped foot into the University of Auckland, she felt that it did not even seem like a school. All the buildings were hidden amongst greenery and flowers, and because there was no main gate or a surrounding wall, many of the people strolling around near and far were not students. This place seemed more like a botanical garden.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Xuhui Campus
By Yi Wenze’s side, she ambled and listened to him tell her some of the things from his university days, exhaling contentedly, “Now that I’m counting, my university’s worldwide ranking is lower than yours by a triple-digit figure. That’s too demoralizing.”
With mirth, he asked her, “How do you know this?”
She lifted her brows. “Back then, I read through all the info on you. After I saw where you graduated from, I deliberately did some research on this school.” Very pleased with herself, she flicked him a glance and continued, “I also know that near your school is the largest national park in Auckland. Be honest and ’fess up. Back then, did you ever go on a date there with someone?”
She had originally been asking this merely as a joke, but he simply smiled and did not say anything.
Humph. I knew you would have…
Putting on a magnanimous front, she said, “A person’s days of youth are always when thoughts of love start to bud. Rest a.s.sured, I’m not going to blame you for things that are in the past.”
Still Yi Wenze maintained his silence, only smiling and gazing at her.
Finally, Jia He could contain herself no longer, and fixing her eyes on him, she demanded, “Don’t tell me the sight of all these familiar places is stirring up past memories and you’re starting to reminisce on them.”
“I am very sorry to say,” he at last laughed, “that at the time, other than the library and all the lecture theatres, I basically didn’t go anywhere else.”
Uttering an “oh,” Jia He remarked, “Truly such a shame.” But in her heart, she was already so thrilled she could burst with jubilation.
The two would stroll and stop every so often, all the while conversing casually.
Even in such an open, non-traditional school, she was still able to rediscover that feeling of one’s student days. Her steps in pace with his, she lightly took ahold of his fingers and intertwined them with her own. “I’m hungry.”
“All right. We’ll go home.” After saying these simple words, he extended a hand and ruffled her head. “You’re making me start to regret that I never dated back when I was in university.”
Jia He ran this sentence of his through her brain a couple of times, then nodded, very pleased. “Fellow student, it’s too late now. You’re a man with a wife already.”
The trees were very low. Through the breaks in the foliage, they could glimpse the faraway white clock tower. So very beautiful.
With her arm linked through his, she meandered along with him. All of a sudden, stirred by the moment, she told him, “Sometimes I’ll think, if I had just focused on my studies while I was in uni and not dated anyone, I would have been able to give my whole, complete love to you, and only ever loved you. How good that would be. But then sometimes I’ll think, if it hadn’t been for everything in the past, I wouldn’t have switched careers and become a screenwriter, and then I would never have met you…”
The ClockTower at the University of Auckland (Image credit: Cropped from “University_of_Auckland_Clock_Tower” by Larry Koester, original posted in /photos/larrywkoester/, image used under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Truly, everywhere in life are things that can be logically a.n.a.lyzed. For reasons unknown, she was very stirred with melancholy.
His smile was very light, and only after listening to her finish saying all that she had to say did he speak up. “Fellow student, would I be able to get to know you?”
She was briefly taken aback, but then immediately comprehending his intention, she released her hand from around his arm and took two backward steps. Pretending to hold some textbooks, she gave him a shy look. “Why?”
The look in Yi Wenze’s eyes gradually softened. “I think, your future should be tied to me somehow.”
The midsummer swelter and also his gaze scorched her heart.
She was not certain whether it was because his acting was too good or because their surroundings were able to evoke fancies in people, but she actually felt as if Yi Wenze truly was a heartthrob of this university’s School of Architecture, while she was merely an ordinary girl who every day only worried about how she could prevent herself from failing her courses. Her eyes randomly flitted about as she tried with all her might to think up some lines of dialogue that were so awesome they could even move immortals to tears. However, despite racking her brain for a long time, no good script came to her.
And Yi Wenze was simply looking at her, one hand in his pocket, his posture very casual as he stood there.
“Screenwriter, how are we supposed to act out the next part?” A slight smile touching his lips, he at last spoke up. “Do we need to cut?”
“No.” She tried hard to save face. “Don’t you know that right now, silence is more stirring than any speech.”
She suddenly remembered the only two scenes in which she had acted with him, and, moreover, her role had been one of a tearful, cast-aside concubine. Originally, she had been hoping to get into the mood of the scene here, but now, that idea was trounced by those memories. Looking at him, she finally heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry, but while I’m still in university, I don’t…”
All right, then, let me for once act out a person who rejects someone.
“Is that so?” A smile on his face, his gaze riveted on her, he took two steps forward and then, right then and there, brought his head down and brushed his lips over hers.
A very light, and also very chaste kiss. All around there were still people strolling by. Jia He’s heart was thundering furiously. She had not predicted at all that he would make such a move, and it was only out of reflex that she, lightheaded, moved back a step and gaped at him. “Did you skip some episodes? How come you only just hit on me and then it became a kiss scene? And plus, I rejected you, too.”
Yi Wenze looked at her with extreme seriousness. “I still haven’t acted the role of playboy yet, and I wanted to try out what it felt like.”
Giving an “oh,” she fiddled with the little gold pig that hung on her neck. She plainly had just been taken advantage of, but she was still grinning widely like she had hit the jackpot.
<>The translator would greatly appreciate it if you would only read this translation from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the actual site of posting. Thank you.
In the evening, Yi Wenze received a phone call.
Seeing him standing by the window speaking in a warm, gentle tone, Jia He’s heart instantly began beating a little unsteadily. At such an hour, such a phone call—it meant the madam wanted to meet the daughter-in-law… She had seen photographs of Yi Wenze’s family, and she had to say, he and his sister very much resembled their mother, especially the eyes, so warm and pleasant, with a gaze so intent it gave you a very safe, secure feeling.
Nevertheless, this was, after all, her future mother-in-law she was meeting.
Rather anxiously, she recalled all the advice and exhortations her own mom had given her: When she spoke, it needed to be in a soft, gentle voice. She should not dress too casually. She needed to help out with things to demonstrate that she was not a lazy person… While she was running these pieces of advice through her mind, Yi Wenze had already hung up. He saw her rummage through the clothing in her suitcase, pull out a jacket with three-quarter sleeves, and also select a very long skirt.
Watching her as she stood in front of the mirror holding the outfit up against herself, he chuckled and asked, “You won’t feel hot dressed like that?”