Alas, Jing Jing and Yu Tu will meet again in the most unlikely of places. Don’t worry, our real mother Gu Man will only write HE novels 🙂 Final 3 chapters countdown will start now.
Recruitment time for : If you read Chinese novels or listen to Chinese audio books. Also, if your English is reasonably good. In addition, if you are interested to translate Chinese book synopsis into English and post it in SSB with or without a review, please leave me a comment. For those who frequently visit SSB, you might notice that I seldom translate book synopsis nowadays. I didn’t even bother to translate the synopsis for this novel. This is because I am annoyed at some websites, which used my translated synopsis without crediting me or SSB. I might as well use translated synopsis from other websites and credit them, to save myself the time, effort and emotion. So, if you post any synopsis in SSB, be prepared to have it used elsewhere without proper credit when the book is being translated into English or adapted into a drama.
Chapter 35 (translated by peanuts and edited by hoju)
Qiao Jing Jing slept unexpectedly soundly on this night.
The next day was Chinese New Year’s Eve.
When she woke up, the sky was already completely bright. She opened her eyes and immediately smelled the aroma of food. What seemed to think of something. She got up of bed and opened the door of the bedroom. Sure enough, familiar voices came from the kitchen. Her parents had already arrived.
No matter how busy everyone is, the whole family must eat together on Chinese New Year’s Eve. These past years, the number of times she went home to celebrate the Chinese New Year was many, but occasionally there would be times like this year, where because she had to work, her parents would come over for the New Year’s reunion.
She walked to the kitchen doorway. Her parents saw her and smiles spread across their faces. “You’re up? We didn’t dare to disturb you.”
Qiao Jing Jing walked over and hugged Mrs Qiao.
Mrs Qiao was a little surprised and patted her. “Jing Jing, what happened? Suddenly being extra affectionate and cute with me.”
“Nothing,” Qiao Jing Jing replied in a muffled voice.
While going about busy at work, Mr Qiao took a look at them and, a little jealous, said sourly, “Isn’t your daughter always like this? Hungry, right?”
“Yes.” Qiao Jing Jing let go of her mother. “What’s there to eat?”
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Mr Qiao had already stewed sweet porridge for her. Qiao Jing Jing was drinking porridge at the small table in the kitchen while listening to her parents argue about the Chinese New Year's Eve family dinner.
“Why did you bring the beef from home? We can’t finish such a big piece. I told you to have more variety, but cook smaller portions for each dish since we will be going back early in the morning tomorrow and Jing Jing does not eat.” This was Mrs Qiao talking.
“How can the New Year’s Eve family dinner be lacking? It is a good omen to have leftovers.” This was Mr Qiao, who had switched careers in recent years to study cooking, talking.
“Superstitious and wasting,” Mrs Qiao concluded.
Qiao Jing Jing raised her head. “You two are not leaving with me tomorrow night?”
Her performance at the Shanghai Dragon TV station would probably end at about eight to nine o’çlock tomorrow. She had thought her parents would wait for her to return to Jing City together.
Mr Qiao was cutting the beef. “It's our family’s turn to give a dinner party on New Year’s night this year, so we have to go back early in the morning to start preparing.”
Qiao Jing Jing was upset. “Then I might as well have gone back today to have New Year’s Eve family dinner. That would have saved you from running around.”
Mrs Qiao said, “Then you would have had to run around. We are free, so it’s better that we come. If by any chance there is a traffic jam and you can’t arrive for the program on time, that would not be good.”
“Oh.” Qiao Jing Jing did not say anything anymore, holding the porridge bowl and drinking slowly.
With a bowl of warm sweet porridge now filling her stomach, it was as if she was starting to feel right and warmed up from the bottom of the heart, and the spacious, empty house was filled with lively human interactions once again.
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The New Year’s Eve family dinner that night failed to live up to Mrs Qiao’s expectation. The dishes were many, but the serving sizes were also too large. After saying a few auspicious words to each other, Mrs Qiao began to harp on Mr Qiao again.
Afterwards, both of them jointly tried to persuade Qiao Jing Jing to eat more.
Qiao Jing Jing was suffering inside because she also wanted to eat more, but remembering the skirt she was to wear during the performance tomorrow, she had to control herself.
After finishing New Year’s Eve family dinner, they began to watch the CCTV New Year’s Gala. Her parents sat on the sofa, and Qiao Jing Jing sat with them for a while. Then she sat alone beside the floor to ceiling window, holding her mobile phone.
Those eager people had already started to send Chinese New Year’s greetings, but the WeChat message that she sent in the early morning hours still received no reply.
More WeChat greetings flooded in at midnight.
Every year, she would copy and paste the same reply, but this year, she suddenly seemed to have more patience. Sitting by the window, she typed countless messages of “Wishing you a Happy Chinese New Year.”
By the time everything was done, she still didn’t put down her mobile phone. Her fingers unconsciously slid down on the WeChat page. When she realized what she was doing, she suddenly stood up.
It was as if she had abruptly woken out of her dream, and then she began to feel again that she was simply laughable.
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On the early morning of Chinese New Year, Mr and Mrs Qiao went back home. Qiao Jing Jing ate some of the leftovers at noon and went a little earlier to the venue for rehearsal in the afternoon.
The performance went very smoothly. After it ended after eight o’clock, Qiao Jing Jing changed her clothes and left the backstage area with Xiao Zhu. While walking to the car park, the thought of being able to finally take a few days off starting tomorrow made her feel lively.
Xiao Zhu's mood seemed even better than hers. As she held some things, there was spring in her steps. She was simply unable to hold back her high spirits. Qiao Jing Jing asked in surprise, "What makes you so happy?"
“Oh, nothing, nothing.” Xiao Zhu quickly shook her head in denial. Before three seconds passed, there was a mysterious smile on her face again.
Qiao Jing Jing could not be bothered to inquire.
But when they arrived at the underground car park, she finally knew where Xiao Zhu's look of excitement came from.
Not far away, a slender man stood waiting in front of her car. He was leaning against the car, his eyes lowered as if he was thinking about something.
He probably heard footsteps and, as if sensing her presence, he raised his head and stared straight at her.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Qiao Jing Jing halted her footsteps for a moment, then steadily walked over.
Yu Tu stood back up straight and watched her walk up in front of the car. He said in a deep and low voice, “Since you’ll be returning to Jing City, I am here to hitch a ride.”
Qiao Jing Jing was silent for a while, then turned to ask Xiao Zhu, “When did he call you?”
“Yesterday afternoon.” The one who answered her was Yu Tu.
Xiao Zhu, who was beside her, smiled like a sweet and naive young woman.
Qiao Jing Jing could practically imagine how happy and excited Xiao Zhu had been when she received the phone call yesterday. Then she cooperated with him to keep her in the dark in order to give her a “surprise,” because after all, Xiao Zhu didn’t know anything. Anyhow, even if Xiao Zhu knew something, Yu Tu would still probably find a way to persuade her.
The driver got out of the car to help them carry things. Qiao Jing Jing opened the door of the back seat without saying a word. The vehicle today was an SUV. Xiao Zhu jogged to the other side and was about to get in, but Qiao Jing Jing stopped her. “You don’t need to go with me. Spend a few more days with your mother.”
Xiao Zhu was from a single-parent family. Her mother had already followed her to Shanghai, so they’ll also celebrate the new year in Shanghai.
Xiao Zhu said: “It doesn’t matter. I will come back with the driver tomorrow. Anyway, I’ve already told my mom.”
Jing Jing glared at her. Xiao Zhu raised her hands. “Okay, okay, then I won’t go with you. I will go with the driver to pick you up later. Whenever you pack your things yourself, you always forget this and that.”
Suddenly Yu Tu said, “The driver does not need to take us either.”
Everyone was surprised. Qiao Jing Jing looked at him.
Yu Tu: “I’ll drive.”
Although Qiao Jing Jing didn’t want to talk to him, she couldn’t help doing it now. “Do you have a driver’s license?”
“Yes.” Yu Tu said, “Sometimes my work unit has to do some environmental field studies, and we will go to some places with extreme environments, such as the desert, snowy grounds, and the like. I’ve driven in all of those conditions before, so you don’t need to worry about just an ordinary highway.”
While talking, he took his wallet out of his pocket, opened it, took out a document, and handed it to Qiao Jing Jing. “My driver’s license.”
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Yu Tu sat in the driver’s seat and drove the car slowly out of the underground car park.
There were only the two of them in the car. Qiao Jing Jing was sitting in the back seat and holding Yu Tu’s driver’s license —— she didn’t know what had possessed her to take his driver’s license. Now, it did not seem right to have it, but returning it also seemed very odd.
She turned her gaze to the bright and multicolored streetscape outside the car window. It was overly quiet inside the car. After a while, Yu Tu started to talk by saying, “Jing Jing, please help me switch on the navigation system.”
Qiao Jing Jing was still looking outside and did not move as she said softly, “You don’t even know the way,. Why did you snatch the driver’s work?”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Yu Tu did not speak again and drove in silence. But Qiao Jing Jing’s heart had been stirred up by him and was no longer calm. After a while, she asked, “Why are you here? Don’t you need to go home for the New Year?”
“I came over from Jing City early this morning. If it hadn’t been Chinese New Year’s Eve yesterday, I would have come over yesterday.” Yu Tu’s voice was also very soft. “Jing Jing, I’m anxious.”
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Qiao Jing Jing's heart trembled and she couldn't help but look at him. However, from her angle, she could only see his taut lower jaw and that the hand holding the steering wheel seemed to be doing so especially tightly.
After a while, Qiao Jing Jing said. “I will sleep for a while.”
“Okay.”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Qiao Jing Jing leaned her head against the glass window of the back seat. Actually, she was not sleepy at all, and she did not even pretend to sleep. The so-called “sleep for a while” was merely a polite excuse to remain silent, and they were each well aware of it.
The car moved away from the bright and multicolored city and traveled along the monotonous highway. There was no street lights on the highway, and it was all dark inside the car. Only when their path criss-crossed with a car coming in the opposite direction did a moment of brightness shine in.
And every time this moment of brightness lit things up, Qiao Jing Jing would wake up from her fantasy.
She bowed her head and opened up his driver’s license.
In the photo on it, he was handsome and elegant.
He said that he was anxious…
She closed the document with a sound of snap.
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She lost track of the time, but at some time, the car left the highway and entered the winding road to the highway service area. Qiao Jing Jing moved slightly, and Yu Tu immediately noticed this. He explained briefly, “Fueling up.”
The driver had not filled the gas tank completely?
She looked at the dashboard in front, not really understanding it. The time on the dashboard showed that they needed another hour to get to Jing City. She hesitated for a while and said uneasily, “I’m going to the toilet.”
Yu Tu turned the steering wheel. “Okay.”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Yu Tu parked the car in a corner next to the public washroom.
Qiao Jing Jing put on her mask and got off the car. When she came out of the washroom, she saw Yu Tu’s standing, his back to her, at the public hand-washing area, as if waiting for her.
She slowed her footsteps a bit. At the same time, Yu Tu turned around and explained lightly, “It’s too late. I was worried.”
Qiao Jing Jing made a “hmm” sound. They walked to the car together.
It was a late, midwinter night. It was also Chinese New Year’s day. Thus there were not many people in the service area. It was empty and quiet all around, and it seemed as if you could hear the breathing of the people around you.
Yu Tu was walking beside her. Her down jacket would occasionally rub against his coat, and for no reason, there arose an ambiguous, evoking atmosphere that caused her mind to wander into certain fancies. Qiao Jing Jing moved to the side slightly, and automatically quickened her pace.
Arriving in front of the car, Qiao Jing Jing walked over to the back seat as before, but when her hand was on the door handle, a man’s palm suddenly thrust out and pressed hard on the door.
The piercing breath belonging to a man immediately enveloped her.
Qiao Jing Jing’s heart jumped. But then there was no movement. After quite a while, Yu Tu’s suppressed, hoarse voice was heard above her head.
“It really means nothing to you anymore?”
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Qiao Jing Jing looked fixedly at his hand that pressed on the car door.
“Why did you write to me and answer those questions? Are you feeling regretful? Because I was so foolish before, and that touched you?”
Qiao Jing Jing said in a low voice, “I don’t want that, Yu Tu.”
A hint of pain flashed through Yu Tu’s eyes. “Did I do something very stupid?”
Qiao Jing Jing pursed her lips.
“These recent days, every day I wrote letters late into the night, but I never felt tired. I was proud of what I was doing, full of expectations, thinking that you would be happy when you received them. Jing Jing, the fact that I thought that, does that mean my IQ has dropped to a negative number?”
His voice was pained. “Probably every stupid thing I’ve done in my life was for you.
“But, I couldn’t think of other ways,” he said softly. “I didn’t regret it because I saw the chat history. I was already regretting it a long time ago, but I dared not admit it.”
“Later, I went on a work trip and spent a month in the desert. I thought I was still struggling, but one day I found out that the time I spent struggling was too little. Most of the time, I was thinking, how can I win you back?”
“I even started to blame you.”
Blame her?
Qiao Jing Jing finally turned to look at him.
Yu Tu slowly lifted up his hand and took off the mask over her mouth. His eyes were gentle and also pained. “Blame you for coming to ask me so soon. If you had given me some more time, I would have surrendered to myself, and then at that time, I could have come to ask you.”
She clearly knew that she should not let herself be led by him, yet Qiao Jing Jing could not help asking, “Ask what?”
“Ask, 'Do you want to be together with me?’."
The air seemed to solidify.
They faced each other. Yu Tu looked attentively at her, then seriously and cautiously asked again: “Jing Jing, are you willing to be together with me?”
Qiao Jing Jing looked at him and was unable to suppress the sting in her eyes.
She had liked the person before her for too, too long already. There had been a time in between when she had let go, but those feelings had so easily returned.
In him were all the qualities that she liked. He defined her understanding of loving someone.
Would she be able to reject him?
She knew in her heart that it would be very, very difficult, but such awareness also made her feel so wronged and sad.
After staying silent for long while, Qiao Jing Jing lowered her head and said in a downcast voice, “I am a little willing, but when I say this, my heart also doesn’t feel happy.”
For a split second, Yu Tu felt as if his heart had been crushed. All of a sudden, a sharp stabbing pain penetrated into all the limbs and bones in his body. He can no longer control himself and he pulled her into his embrace.
“I am sorry.”
For a moment, whatever IQ and EQ he had all turned into ashes. Before this girl in his arms who felt terribly wronged, he only felt flustered and powerless.
He held her tighter and murmured repeatedly in her ear, “I am sorry.”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Qiao Jing Jing did not struggle. She let him hold her tightly in his arms, her cheeks pressed against the collar of his soft overcoat. She felt that she was too weak, but right now she didn’t really want to think.
“I don’t want to find someone who I like him more than he likes me,” she said.
“This is not true.” Yu Tu said, “I don’t like you less.”
“Yes.” She accused him, “You said that we are not suitable.”
“That’s because I was considering some very worldly, tacky reasons, such as income.” Yu Tu said with some difficulty, “For instance, what can I give you and do I’ve time to take good care of you?”
“I also don’t have time to take care of you.” Qiao Jing Jing said, “If you really like someone, you’ll be very impulsive. You won’t be hesitant or struggle and won’t think so much.”
“Then I am probably not the same as you. I think too much. You can’t imagine how much.”
“What other things did you think about?”
“Probably, I almost thought through everything to the end of my life.”
Qiao Jing Jing was quiet in his arms for a while, then stubbornly said: “Anyway, it’s still less than me.”
The ache in Yu Tu’s heart spread.
“Then how about this” He looked down at her. “You tell me a calculation method. How to calculate and how much, and then I will make up the difference. But you can’t have it where you don’t even tell me your calculation formula.”
Qiao Jing Jing blinked her eyes, a little dazed. What the heck was this calculation formula?
Why did this suddenly appear in their conversation?
She was confused for a while. “… You’re bullying me again.”
Yu Tu: “…..”
He immediately said, “I was wrong.”
“I haven’t said yes.”
Yu Tu sighed. “I know.”
After a while.
Qiao Jing Jing said softly: “I’m cold.”
“Then let’s get into the car, but can you please sit in front?” Yu Tu was practically coaxing her. “Help me switch on the navigation system. I really don’t know the rest of the way.”
Completed:
35 of 37 Chapters
0 of 15 Epilogues
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