Chapter 5.2 (1/2)

Chapter 5.2

As expected, when I stiffly turned around I saw Yin Li leaning casually against the doorway. I didn’t even dare look at his face, but I somehow summoned up the courage and said, “What’s wrong with you! You don’t even knock before entering?!”

“The door was open.”

Unsatisfied with his response, I pointed to the wall of photos and criticized, “It’s all the fault of this room’s bad feng shui!1 With so many photos on the wall, everyone who enters becomes stupid, like they’re possessed! Ai! Looking at the person in those photos gives me the creeps, even my mind’s in a mess! I don’t even know what happened to me!”

1Pretty sure everyone knows what feng shui is, but for those of you that are in the dark, feng shui is this Chinese pseudoscience-y thing that’s like…architecture/room deco but arranging things so they’re auspicious.

Yin Li remained silent, so I stealthily snuck a peek at him and saw that he was staring at the photos, lost in thought. Warning lights went off in my head, not good! I was a fool, if this woman’s photographs were able to appear in Yin Li’s house, Yin Li must truly miss her a lot!

Yin Li’s attention at last returned to me. “Yan Xiao, did you immediately dislike her when you saw her?”

I forced a smile. “Actually, I get jealous of others very easily. Seeing someone who’s prettier than me, richer than me, and more graceful than me, makes me feel very uncomfortable.” Then I added, “See, even you admire her, right? Just that fact alone would make others detest her.”

“I don’t admire her.” Yin Li turned his attention away from me, taking another look at the girl on the wall. His expression certainly didn’t feel like admiration, instead like he was pondering something.

At this

time, I regained my courage. “Yeah, in fact, not admiring her means you have good taste.”

“Oh?”

I nicely explained for Yin Li, “Don’t you know? Women who do ballet have no b.o.o.bs! Look at how skinny this girl is! This chest—HD flat-screen TV! Too tragic! Thank G.o.d you don’t like her! There are plenty of fish in the sea!2 There’s no need for you to look for love in a flat chest.”

2The original text uses the idiom 天涯何处无芳草,  which translates literally to “in this big world, what place lacks fragrant gra.s.s?” Pretty sure the meaning is clear lmao.

In my mind I was already sure than this woman was Yin Li’s former love. Towards an ex, most people hope that after breaking up, the other person’s life becomes more and more miserable. In order to flatter Yin Li, I naturally didn’t hesitate to spare anyone from insult, and furthermore, I honestly didn’t like the girl in the photos very much.

Yin Li nodded with apparent approval. “En.”

Pleased with myself, I smiled at him.

He smiled back. “Yan Xiao, she is my younger sister, Yin Xuan.”

“Oh.” My scalp felt numb, like five lightning strikes had landed on it, as I backpedaled, “Even with a flat chest, she must be amazing. You see, ballet dancers have an aura that sets them apart from others, very n.o.ble!”

Yin Li stared at me. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” Then, he gave me a look full of confusion. “You shouldn’t be like this.”

Knowing that he was talking about the me from the past, I immediately felt hopeless. With a slight feeling that I should just give up and stop bothering, I responded, “In any case, this is who I am now. Just now, didn’t you see it? You definitely think I’m an idiot, that I’m always

always causing trouble and I can’t sense the atmosphere,3 right?” I didn’t know or understand what I was like in the past, which made me feel like a failure. My silly actions in front of the mirror earlier, which were for my own amus.e.m.e.nt, must have looked to Yin Li like narcissism, I thought with some desperation.

3The original text uses the phrase 跳梁小丑, which translates literally to “a clown jumping off a bridge”. It’s a chengyu (Chinese idiom) meaning “a bad person who constantly stirs up trouble and can’t sense/doesn’t respect the atmosphere”.

Yin Li stared blankly. “I didn’t mean at all that your current self is bad, just that your past self was different.” His response didn’t answer my question, but when he then directed his gaze elsewhere, I knew that he didn’t want to continue on that topic.

But I couldn’t contain my curiosity. “Did I know your sister before?”

Yin Li furrowed his brow. I knew my question was past his boundaries but he still politely responded, “No, you two weren’t acquainted and had never met.

“She’s been living in Europe for a long time and hasn’t returned home for a visit these past years. I went to Europe not only for work but also to see her.”