Chapter 98
An Yan’s Side Story – The Honey Peach is in my Hands (Part 2)
They made out for a long time . He embraced her and they kissed until her lips were swollen, but were still reluctant to let go . It turned out to be so intoxicating to have his girl in his arms . Moreover, Gu Fangfang was sitting in his lap . He made her feel something both familiar and strange, mysterious and exciting; a year’s wait had indeed been worthwhile .
Time passed, and it was late at night . To linger at the ground floor of a girl’s apartment at 11 p . m . and refuse to let go of her did not seem to be a wise choice . An Yan released her and stood up, unwilling to say that it was time for him to leave . Gu Fangfang also looked down and examined her toes .
“I . . . ” he started to say .
She looked up at him .
“ . . . will walk you upstairs?”
Her heart was thumping furiously, but her face was calmly indifferent . “Oh, okay . ”
After graduation, Gu Fangfang had rented a one-room apartment . Compared to her bright and beautiful outward appearance, her apartment seemed incredibly sloppy . However, when An Yan the otaku walked in, he felt it was highly suitable, very homely, very warm . In a last ditch attempt* to clean up, Gu Fangfang picked up a few things here and there . She looked up only to see An Yan’s dark, black eyes were lost in thought .
*T/N 临时抱佛脚 (lin shi bao fo jiao) – lit . to clasp Buddha’s feet when danger approaches/ at the last minute; fig . to profess devotion or ask for a deity’s help only when in trouble; to do something hastily at the last minute . This is one of my favourite Chinese idioms!
“What’s up?” Gu Fangfang asked .
“It’s nothing,” he replied . “I’m just thinking, in future, we will have to hire an hourly-rated cleaning specialist to see to our house . ”
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Never in her wildest dreams did Gu Fangfang anticipate that he would say such a thing . She hadn’t even thought that far ahead! Her face grew hot and she said, in a low voice, “Who wants to live with you . . . ”
An Yan had simply said what he was thinking, and had not intended to tease her . He would truly be an idiot if he could not pick up on the bashful rebuke in her voice . His heart was beating fiercely in his chest and he uttered a soft ‘oh’ .
Gu Fangfang wanted to hit him again! What did ‘oh’ mean?
She went to get him a bottle of water, which he uncapped and drank . Then, she moved a small wooden stool so she could sit opposite him . In such a narrow space, it felt as if there was electricity humming all around them . At this time, An Yan noticed that, apart from a few cosplay costumes Gu Fangfang had carelessly piled up on the study table nearby, there was also a stack of job application forms, resumes, and company briefs .
He asked with concern, “Has your job hunt been smooth?”
“It’s okay . ” When he asked this question, Gu Fangfang exuded weariness with the ups and downs of life . “It’s just . . . really tiring . ”
Being the top student, when An Yan graduated, he immediately achieved his aspiration as he was specially recruited into the Ministry of Public Security’s Information Technology Centre . However, from the news on the television as well as from what he had heard, he knew that current graduates faced intense competition and many challenges when hunting for jobs . He could almost imagine Gu Fangfang holding her resume amidst a sea of people, making a move akin to a lightning raid on a prospective employer, waiting nervously for a call for a written test or an interview .
He lowered his eyes slightly and said, “Sorry, I wasn’t able to accompany you as your boyfriend . ”
Speaking of this matter, Gu Fangfang actually did experience some disappointment . She remembered those job fairs, where the girls who had boyfriends would walk around as a couple; no matter how challenging or how crowded it became, their boyfriends were by their sides to take care of them . Even the hardest time would not seem hard . Who asked her to set her sights so high, to encounter by chance a man who was employed as a police officer and make him her boyfriend? Although, this year, having a boyfriend was the same as not having one . . .
She shook her head, not wanting to think about those depressing moments . Changing the topic, she asked, “Where are you staying tonight?”
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An Yan gazed at her silently for a while, then uttered the most shameless words he had said in his entire life . “I . . . don’t have a place to stay, yet . ”
Gu Fangfang exclaimed, “Ah?” She had really switched to an excellent topic .
An Yan looked down at his watch, coughed lightly, and continued to be shameless . “It’s already midnight, can you put me up for tonight? I’m good as long as I have somewhere to lie down . I’m so tired; I haven’t slept well the entire week . ”
The night was already deep, and the light outside the window was only a faint glimmer . Only a table lamp was on inside the room . Gu Fangfang lay on one side of the bed, wrapped in a blanket . An Yan lay on the outer side, another blanket covering his body .
Gu Fangfang said, “Good night . ”
An Yan responded, “Good night . ”
Both of them shut their eyes and remained silent for a while .
Gu Fangfang secretly opened her eyes and was immediately startled into stillness . An Yan was definitely not asleep; he had turned his head to stare at her . The funny thing was, when he lay down and looked at her, he seemed like a different person . His face became somewhat indistinct, but, in contrast, his gaze was deeper and the expression within his eyes was difficult to decipher .
“Why aren’t you asleep yet?” The words had hardly left her mouth when it was blocked . An Yan had taken advantage of the situation and leaned over to kiss her .
The night was too bewitching, and the atmosphere inside the room was too hot . Gu Fangfang had no idea when he snuck into her blanket . A young man’s slim figure was like the softest and gentlest painting in the depth of the night . He covered her body with his and lowered his head to kiss her as if he was drunk on her kisses . At some point of time, he had loosened her pajamas and his hands were now holding those two honey peaches, with the long, slender, pale fingers of the computer boy . Gu Fangfang’s brain was buzzing, and An Yan’s breathing became more urgent . These two people who were experiencing their first taste of love felt the bitterness yet also the sweetness of desire . They also felt a sudden surge in their bodies and minds at that moment, which was impatiently looking for a way out .
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In a daze, she heard An Yan whisper, “Fangfang, you don’t have to be anxious about me . I am a police officer and I have very little free time . I also spend very little time with you . But, I . . . I am very single-minded . In all these years, I have only felt this way about you . If you will be mine, I will never again look at another girl . ”
Gu Fangfang felt a bittersweet sensation well up in her heart . She hugged him tightly and said, softly, “Me, too, An Yan . From the day I first met you, I’ve never looked at another guy . ”
A fierce, thrilling emotion engulfed both of them at the same time . An Yan exhaled slowly, and asked, with a little trepidation and a little trembling, “Fangfang, can I?”
Before this day, Gu Fangfang had never thought that she would give herself to this ‘boyfriend’ whom she had only seen a few times . However, he moved her greatly, and she also felt a sense of tender emotion which she found hard to describe . Her mind was blank, so she answered him by shutting her eyes and clasping her hands around his neck .
……
However, just as they had progressed to the final stage, the two newbie lovers discovered a crucial issue – no condoms . He did not have any with him, and she of course had none in her apartment . His handsome face turned red, but he still managed to straighten up very calmly to say, “I’ll go and buy some . ” “Hm . ” She used the blanket to cover her body as she sat up, not wanting to separate from him even for a second .
Thus, the two of them walked downstairs together and found a convenience store . Together, with red faces, they bought some without any problem .
They held hands as the midnight wind blew, and headed back together to her apartment . An Yan suddenly laughed and said, “I feel as if I’m going to die from happiness . ” Gu Fangfang held his arm tightly and said, “Me, too . ”
Naturally, the subsequent process did not entirely go off smoothly .
It was the same old problem . Whenever any long-time bachelor otaku finally achieves what he has desired, it’s inevitable that he is unable to maintain control . As a result, the first time is over very quickly .
In the steamy nest of blankets, An Yan held Gu Fangfang’s soft body with a red face and great embarrassment . In a hoarse voice, he said, “Just now I was in a bit of a rush, it doesn’t count . . . let’s do it again . ”
Although Gu Fangfang was sore and flustered, when she saw how awkward he was, she smiled again and stretched out her hands to cup his face . She longed for the flow of time to stop right at this moment, so he could always hold her and be with her .
——
Early the next morning, in distant Yunnan, Bo Jinyan received a text message from An Yan . Because he had lost his sight, his cell phone was now equipped with an automatic reading function .
As the morning mist enveloped the room, Bo Jinyan leaned on the bed and listened to his cell phone’s mechanical female voice read out: Boss, what kind of experience is it to become a man?
Bo Jinyan frowned and said to Jian Yao, “Is An Yan’s brain damaged? Don’t tell me that he’s sending me pornographic advertisements?”
Jian Yao was unable to hold back her laughter . After some thought, she understood what was going on . “Could it be that he and Gu Fangfang . . . ”
Bo Jinyan totally understood . He expelled a light breath, picked up his cell phone and replied with an audio message . “I regret to say, I think the level and depth we have experienced is different . ” Jian Yao slapped him on the shoulder .
An Yan responded very quickly . “F*ck!”
At the other end of the line in distant Beijing, with a flushed face and a slight smile, An Yan put down his cell phone to look at the girl sprawled in sleep over his chest, soft and boneless . He bent his head to kiss and caress her hair . After last night, they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms . She said she would not be lonely again, and that she was unafraid of the future . She said she would work hard while on her own in Beijing, just like her boyfriend, the criminal investigator, for the sake of their future . Thinking of this, An Yan felt a strange force welling up within his heart . He knew that he would never again in his lifetime feel so elated, impatiently waiting to embrace the life that he and this girl would have together .