In the night, my phone messages beeped loudly and endlessly, I truly was very sleepy, just as I was en route of climbing to get my mobile phone, I lay on my stomach on top of Jiang Chen's body and fell asleep. The next morning upon waking up, Jiang Chen kept harping on how half of his body had been pushed down on till it was numb, and how women were truly difficult to support and so on.
Only on the road of him sending me to work when I fished out my mobile phone to look at the time did I recall the text messages from last night, opening them up to have a look, they unexpectly were sent by Big Senior, I shook my phone to indicate to Jiang Chen, "Big Senior's text messages."
He shot over a glance, "If there's nothing much, don't reply him."
I shrugged my shoulders, "He sent quite a few texts……"
I opened up the texts one by one, in order to formulate (what he said) smoothly and naturally, I won't especially emphasise on exactly which numbered text it was, in any case there were many.
With regard to its length, it was roughly the length of a composition of a Grade 6 Primary School student; with regard to its emotion, it was probably closer to daily life than 'The Comprehensive Collection of Love Letters'; with regard to its content ideology, it had a review of the past, anxiety about the present as well as despair about the future; with regard to its punctuation, what ought to be used were all used, what ought not to be used were all not used…… Should I talk about its content, I must I must……
He said, "Xiaoxi, I still remember the first day of the start of school, at that time, I was in the toilet, and heard a melodious female voice in the dorm saying, 'I'll come and help you wipe your bed board, all right.' When I came out, Jiang Chen was hanging up a mosquito net while you were inside the mosquito net wiping the bed board, across the mosquito net, you waved the cleaning rag facing me and said, 'Hello fellow student'. At that time, it was as if something struck at my heart, the moment you left I asked Jiang Chen who you were, he said (you were) his girlfriend. Only after a very long time when I heard you talk about the history of you chasing after Jiang Chen that was full of glories, blood and tears, did I know that I had been tricked by him. I went to interrogate him, he contrary to what one would expect was very unperturbed, saying that it went without saying that you ought to be his girlfriend, there was nothing extraordinary about whether the timing was earlier or later.'
Reading till here, I couldn't help but turn my head to the side to glance at Jiang Chen, he sensed my line of sight and reciprocated by sweeping a quick look at me, he was unable to make sense of it, "What's up?"
"Nothing." I lowered my head and continued to read the text messages:
'However, I didn't like you that much, at least after getting acquainted with Liu Xin Na in your dorm with an hourglass figure, I liked her more. I always joked with you that if I had known earlier, I would have chased after you, actually I was taking pleasure in that moment that Jiang Chen's face would darken every time I said those words, it gave me a sort of pleasure of revenge. When I knew that you guys had broken up, I even bought a bottle of red wine, went home and celebrated together with a movie, I wanted to wait for a while till you forgot about Jiang Chen and I forgot about Liu Xin Na, we would then make do with each other and live our days, however while I could forget Liu Xin Na, you couldn't forget Jiang Chen. Also, I'm very sorry about that matter that I brought up, these few years have passed by, you all haven't changed, it is only me who has changed, sometimes, I too will be frightened, how did I compel myself step by step to turn into this shameless manner, most likely you are also unable to understand how much internal battle between celestial beings there was in my heart when I wanted you to persuade Jiang Chen. Typing out such serious content, it really is very unlike me. Lastly, I hope that you guys can quarrel or maybe break up over these texts of mine. PS, if you guys get married, don't inform me.'
Kneading at my phone, for a moment, my mood was also a little gloomy, actually, what he said was wrong, everyone was changing, nobody was as pure as that version of themselves in the past, this is something that no one can do anything about, it's just like how if you eat something, you definitely have to poop it out…… Don't beat me up, please use a medical point of view to digest my analogy…… Uh…… The digestion I am talking about is to understand…… To understand.
I asked Jiang Chen, "Do you think I have changed? I'm not talking about outward appearance, (I'm talking about) my conduct."
"You have." He said indifferently, "In the past, you couldn't finish a bowl of rice, now you can eat two bowls."
This mister, you're here to be funny, aren't you……
I looked at Jiang Chen as if I was thinking about something, "For a time last night I suspected that you were being jealous, later on because of other reasons I forgot to ask you, so I'll ask you now, were you being jealous last night?"
He kept a straight face, "I wasn't."
"You weren't……" I scratched my neck and muttered to myself, "But Big Senior confessed to me over text……"
An emergency brake, I flew forwards, then was reined back in by the safety belt, the back of my head struck against the car seat and pounded loudly, "What was that for!"
"Red light." He lifted his chin to indicate for me to look out of the window.
I raised my head and fixed my gaze on the red light for a while, feeling like it really looked like a pair of eyes of the devil, flashing in the air, only when I lowered my head did I discover that the mobile phone in my hand had disappeared. I turned my head to look at Jiang Chen, discovering that he was in the midst of looking at my mobile phone, his entire face full of disdain.
I was stunned, this action of his was too shameless, peeping at the phone text messages of an innocent woman in broad daylight, in broad daylight, ya, in broad daylight! I dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak out, ya, dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak out!
After a few tens of seconds, the light turned green, he threw the mobile phone back into my embrace, then used an ordinary tone of voice that also embodied slight disdain to make two evaluative comments that were brief yet powerful, "Senseless, what a hideous mess."
Seeing him make such an evaluation so sternly from a place of righteous justice, I too began to examine myself deeply, it had been more than ten minutes since I finished reading the text messages, yet I was unable all along to discover their intrinsic essence of being senseless and being a hideous mess, I have sinned.
After two minutes, Jiang Chen asked me, "Are you thinking of how to reply his texts?"
I shook my head.
Roughly after another two minutes, Jiang Chen called me again, "Chen Xiaoxi?"
"What?" I glared at him very impatiently.
He stuck up the index finger of his right hand that was placed on the steering wheel to point towards the outside of the window to my right side, "Someone selling tea leaf eggs."
I, in a well-practiced manner, fished out three coins from the place in front of me that placed miscellaneous items, then pressed the button to roll down the car window, stuck out my head and my hand, "Auntie, six tea leaf eggs."
"Hey, alright. Little young lady has gotten prettier again." The auntie neatly packed the tea leaf eggs into a plastic bag while she praised me.
I engaged in sweet-talk and spoke, following her words, "Looking at how you are so young and pretty, one knows that I became pretty due to eating your tea leaf eggs."
"Aiyo, little young lady's words are so sweet, I'll give you an additional tea leaf egg."
"Thank you auntie." I twisted my head around and smiled proudly at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen shook his head smilingly, with a manner of 'I really can't stand you'. Later on, when I peeled the tea leaf eggs for him to eat, out of seven he ate five. Normally, when we bought six he would only eat four, this shameless person who exploits others' prizes of flattery!
The car stopped downstairs of my office, I said my goodbyes and wanted to open the door and dash out, Jiang Chen suddenly pulled and stopped me, "Sit properly."
Not understanding, I sat properly, he drew out a few pieces of wet tissue from the wet tissue box at the front of the car, pulled my hand over and slowly helped me wipe it, finger by finger, "You peeled the tea leaf eggs, you definitely won't remember to wash your hands when you reach the office."
I sucked in a breath into my thoracic cavity and didn't dare to spit it out, and stared straight at his slender fingers pinching at my short and fat fingers as he wiped them delicately, there was an odd moistened feeling as the wet tissue brushed across my skin. I actually had a feeling of being overwhelmed by favour from a superior, this sort of 'being overwhelmed by favour from a superior' was most likely something like a child who originally was the most unremarkable one in class suddenly being called by the teacher one day, and being patted on the shoulder and given tender encouragement. And I was that type of child that wanted to tap open the teacher's head to see if she had been invaded by aliens, I was unable to enjoy with a clear conscience this fortune that had arrived suddenly.
So I said, "Jiang Chen."
"Mm?" He didn't even raise his head.
I hemmed and hawed and tried to use the most gentle language to inquire, "Is it…… Is it that that box of wet tissues are about to expire…… And you want to finish using it? No worries, you can give it to me, I'll put it in the office to use, wipe tables and so on, don't worry even if it's expired.”
He slowly raised his head to glance at me, that little expression in his eyes was so complex, so gentle, so full of thousands of words, then he again slowly lowered his head, took out another two pieces of wet tissue, and picked up my other hand to wipe it.
Jiang Chen's lack of cooperation throttled my glib tongue, I quietly watched his serious appearance as he lowered his head, for a moment, I was a little distracted as I was shuttled back in time, that moment, him and I, wearing our white school uniforms with blue borders.
In Senior Year 2, after that time when I threw Jiang Chen's money all over the ground in the sports field, I launched a one-sided cold war at him, at that time, I was extremely discouraged, thinking that I would never again shamelessly bother Jiang Chen again, I even threatened myself that if I went to look for him again, I would call the police and turn myself in, and let the police catch me and lock me up……
I generally endured my internal torment like this and hid from him for about a week, when I came across him facing my direction and walking over, I'll immediately make a detour, if I really couldn't make a detour, I'll squat down and pretend to be tying my shoelaces, till one evening, my mum wanted me to buy soy sauce, I bouncingly ran out while carrying the soy sauce bottles, and, while still alive, ran into Jiang Chen who was carrying his schoolbag on his back and going home in the alley. Lowering my head, I discovered that I was wearing my dad's slippers on my feet, in that moment, I hated my dad, I felt very pained, exactly what kind of a dad was he, that he would wear a pair of slippers that didn't have shoelaces?
Hence, in a panic, I turned around and ran wildly, then because the slippers didn't fit my feet, my left foot stepped on my right foot, and I fell down on the street while brandishing the soy sauce bottles.
It was Jiang Chen who helped me up, he made me sit on the doorstep of the entrance of his family's courtyard, then he asked me, "Where does it hurt?"
I hung my head and stretched out the palm of my left hand, "It's bleeding."
He pulled out his sports water bottle from the side pouch of his schoolbag, twisted it open and poured water onto my hand, my conditioned reflex was to retract my hand back, he used his other hand to grip on to mine, and chided, "Don't move."
Then he pulled out the sleeve of the jacket of his school uniform to make it longer, and covered his thumb to help me wipe away the bloody water on my palm, "Fortunately, no broken glass pieces went in, your skin broke due to sand particles rubbing against it, I've washed away the sand particles, remember to apply merbromin* when you return home." (T/N: Topical antiseptic for cuts and scrapes)
He lowered his head and lightly blew on my wound, the hot air brushed at my skin, I could feel the hot air instantly spreading from my palm to my face.
"Is there anywhere else that's injured?" He lifted his head to ask me.
"There isn't." I shook my head.
He didn't believe me, and took my other hand to look, then he squatted in front of me and pulled up my trouser leg to above my knee without any explanation.
My heart was beating like a group of devils dancing disorderly, I was so bashful till I wanted to cry, because when I was younger, I'd watched a television drama serial that Donnie Yen had acted in called "Fist of Fury"*, inside it there was a Japanese female character called Yumi, she had said before, if a man saw your legs, you have to marry him…… (T/N: A 1995 Hong Kong television serial)
At that time, as I watched Jiang Chen furrowing his brows, seriously observing my knee, I told myself, "You see, God arranged for the broadcast of this television serial as well as the occurrence of his incident, he definitely didn't do so by chance, he is hinting at your future development, you ought not to make a big deal over such a small thing, you must know, you can't disobey the mandate of heaven……"
Afterwards, I one-sidedly decided that we had reconciled.
That Jiang Chen wearing his white school uniform coincided with the Jiang Chen in front of me wearing a white shirt, the Jiang Chen in front of me suddenly lifted his head and said, "Chen Xiaoxi, can I trust that you will handle the matter of the text messages well?"
I roughly used five seconds before realising what matter he was talking about, immediately I clapped my chest and pledged, "I'll definitely handle it appropriately, I won't leave any loose ends behind!"
My train of thought in my heart was this: Our relationship is so secure, it hadn't slacked anyhow because of Su Rui, Wu Bosong as well as Zhang Qianrong, hence, all the more I couldn't let an unfathomable Big Senior cause any setbacks, this principle was akin to how when Shennong* tried a thousand herbs, if he wasn't poisoned to death by the intestine-rupturing weed, he naturally shouldn't die from choking while drinking water; Madam White Snake* after managing to successfully pay her debt of gratitude with much difficulty naturally shouldn't be caught by the Cantonese to cook snake soup; Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai* after turning into butterflies and resting and flying together inseparably naturally shouldn't be caught and made into specimens…… (T/N: Shennong: a mythical sage ruler of prehistoric China, worshipped by the Chinese for being the father of agriculture, teaching the early Chinese how to farm, as well as the Medicine King. 'Shennong tries a hundred herbs' refers to popular mythology where he researched on medicines and herbs by eating hundreds of plants to test for their medicinal value and toxicity. It is said that he eventually died from eating a weed that caused his intestines to rupture.) (T/N: Madam White Snake: the titular character of the mythical legend 'Legend of the White Snake', one of China's Four Great Folktales, a white snake spirit who hopes to cultivate herself into an immortal, and who is helped by a human boy named Xu Xian and hence is grateful and eventually falls in love with him.) (T/N: Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai: titular characters of 'Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai'/'The Butterfly Lovers', another one of the Four Great Folktales. This folktale is about the two characters who fall in love but can't be together, and is often regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Romeo and Juliet [*cough* though its earliest written record dates about a few hundred years earlier than Romeo and Juliet *cough*]. In the legend, eventually their spirits both turn into butterflies, allowing them to fly away together and never separate again.)
Jiang Chen closed in and used his lips to lightly touch the corner of my mouth, and said, "Very good, quickly go to work then."
I happily went off to work while touching the corner of my mouth, but I kept on faintly thinking that it was weird, why is it that I've peeled tea leaf eggs so many times, yet I've never seen Jiang Chen helping me to wipe my hands? Also, every time his tenderness came abruptly, apart from making me feel comforted it also made my hairs stand on end…… Indeed, I am unable to enjoy with a clear conscience such fortune that arrives suddenly.
Translator's Corner:
Tea leaf eggs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_egg → like Jiang Chen and Xiaoxi, I am an ardent fan of these eggs too hehe ^^
40 chapters done!!! Thanks for the wait everyone, sorry that our schedules have been a bit erratic lately, real life is getting real tough ):