I stood still letting Jiang Chen stare at me for as long as 10 minutes. During this period, I brought up, "Should I change to a better pose?", "Should I change to a s.e.xier piece of clothing?", "Can I charge you money for looking at me for so long?", etc. But he ignored all.
In the end I could not take it anymore, I stomped on my feet saying, "Just what are you looking at?"
He said, "Looking at you."
"What is there to look?"
To be honest, the moment I said that line I regretted. There are plenty of things to look at…
Jiang Chen said, "That"s exactly what I am doing, trying to figure out what"s there good of you to look at."
I pondered on his words. I feel that there’s a hidden meaning behind his words. Hence, I decided I should never ponder on his words ever again. So that his words won"t have a chance to affect me.
He continued, "In the past when I was really tired or dispirited, I would always think, if only Chen Xiaoxi is here. She is so dumb, if I were to look at her I would probably think that life is just like this, there"s nothing extraordinary."
I thought to myself, I just decided not to ponder on his words, but if I don"t think about what he said, I won’t really know if he is complimenting me or insulting me…
So, I asked him honestly, "Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"
He said, "What do you think?"
I flew over to push him and pressed him down, "You also know how to say lovey dovey stuff!"
I heard him groan from being pushed over, so I took it as he has just received a burden of happiness. He put his hand on my neck with efforts to push me off him, I hooped my arms around his neck saying that I won"t let go I won"t let go. I won in this match of strength, I felt at ease.
I leaned on his chest and said, "Wow that I"m in front of you, does seeing me makes you full of energy? Having me around you isn"t that bad right?"
His voice came from the top of my head, "Nope, I think it"s so-so."
"Ah!" I jumped up and strangled him, "I will strangle you to death today."
He pried away my fingers and said, "Take a pillow from the bedroom, suffocating someone using a pillow uses lesser strength."
I took a big bite on his neck, he turned and said while laughing, "Bite a little more to the side, the main artery is here."
Jiang Chen only told me that the surgery was not successful. He didn"t share with me how to face seeing a life pa.s.s away, how to face the tears of the family of the patient.
Life and tears, to me who is someone outside the medical field, is the hardest thing to confront in this world. However, he is doing it every day, perhaps he has already gotten used to it, it"s just that I will still feel heart pain for him. I just think that it will be more relaxing for us to go back home and sell sweet potato.
Jiang Chen said that he will stay overnight at my place tonight. But I said I don"t have clothes for him.
He said he has them in his car, and told me to get it.
So, I obediently went to take his clothes for him. When I got back, Jiang Chen had already finished bathing. He wrapped himself up with my towel, sat in front of my computer eating my instant noodles, and was watching my American series.
I stared at the towel that was draped loosely around this particular body part, I contemplated if I should be nose bleeding or to grieve for my new towel that cost me 43RMB.
I stood with arms akimbo, rampantly asking, "How could you touch my things without asking for permission first!"
He looked at me side-eyed, "If your eyes can refrain itself from staring at my towel, then your lecture can be more persuasive."
You see, hormones can mess with a person"s pupil movement. Therefore, affecting the area where it"s looking at, hence, I am innocent.
Since I couldn"t win him with words, I went to bathe instead. While I was bathing, I turned up the water temperature a little higher. I looked at the mirror while walking out of the bathroom, felt that my entire body pink from freshness, and looked delicious. I have to explain myself here, I am not a narcissist. Everyone says that if the female lead looks at herself in the mirror and talks about her own beauty, then that"s being narcissistic. However, I am not like that. I solely think that the red me, as compared to the white me, looks more delicious, plump, and tender. Actually, this is easy to explain, for more details, please refer to fresh prawns and cooked prawns.
I walked into the room in my ‘I"m very delicious’ mindset, Jiang Chen was still wearing that towel. Just that this time round, he was lying on my bed, flipping through my comics.
I coughed and said, "Didn"t I bring your clothes in for you? Why aren"t you wearing them?"
He flipped a page, and said nonchalantly, "It"s gonna be taken off anyway, why should I wear it?" (T/N: HALP.)
Why? How would I know why? So that when you are taking off my clothes I can also take off your clothes, and I won"t look like I have nothing to do.
So, so, so, so, I am actually really shy. Just that it"s not that obvious that I"m shy. Furthermore, I have a bad habit of faking up a strong front. So I acted as though nothing happened and took a pair of shorts out from his clothes and threw it to him saying, "If you don"t wear clothes, don"t lie on my bed."
After that, I walked back to my computer, and started watching my American series on the original timing from which I stopped. I then acted as though I was watching it with great interest. Actually, what are they acting, G.o.d knows.
Jiang Chen flipped the pages loudly on my bed, my palms started sweating.
China"s history has a way of dying, called death by a thousand cuts. How it works is that you kill someone by slicing them one cut at a time. Later it advanced into a higher level, and that is to wrap someone up with fish net, and use knife to slice the parts that comes out through the holes. The highest record holds at around more than 3000 cuts. The reason why I mentioned this, is to ill.u.s.trate just how cruel and human beings be. It"s not to prove how creative our ancestors are in their ways of murder. Instead, it"s used to show how Jiang Chen flipping the page one by page, is exerting the same pressure as slicing the person up one cut by one cut. I"d rather he just fly over to press me down, do this do that. (T/N: I almost died translating this my hands have no strength.)
Bao Feng Player* is at around one-third timestamp when Jiang Chen said, "Chen Xiaoxi." (T/N: Think it"s a kind of player like Tencent QQ.)
I trembled for a bit, to describe it in a more romantic language it would be “my delicate body shook.”
I clicked paused, turned to look at him. He had his head propped on one hand and leaned sideways from me.
I said, "What?"
"Come and sleep," he waved his hands while saying.
I glared at him. He returned the stare, smiling slightly which showed his dimple ever so slightly.
Demon!
I swallowed my saliva, said, "Urm… I"ll sleep after this episode. If you"re tired you can sleep first."
Jiang Chen didn"t say anything, he only remained in that position to look at me while smiling. His eyes sparkling with resentment.
I have no idea where he went to learn that expression from. It"s making my heart beat like crazy nonstop.
I shut down my computer, took out a new pillow from my wardrobe and threw it at him. "It"s new."
This pillow is a free gift. In order to get this free gift, I had to buy a large amount of detergent that was enough to bury me.
Jiang Chen stuffed the pillow behind his head, I scratched my neck and said, "Then I"ll turn off the lights?"
"Mmm."
Darkness.
I fumbled onto my bed, while I was lying down I heard Jiang Chen muttering something under his breath. I didn"t hear properly, so I asked, "what?"
"It"s very hot, don"t you have air-conditioning or fan?"
I climbed out of bed to turn on the lights, I dug out one palm leaf fan that I got from a trip to Yunnan from my wardrobe. "I only have this, there"s no air-conditioning, and my fan is broken."
Save electricity, save the earth.
The me in the darkness is hearing sounds of the fanning fan, the rhythm is hypnotic. Just as my eyelids were about to close, a sudden cold wind came from behind my neck, I shivered awake.
I have no idea when Jiang Chen came so close to me, to the point where his head was already on my pillow.
I moved around, "Why are you sleeping on my pillow?"
"Too hot, I can"t sleep."
"If you sleep so close isn"t it hotter?"
His arms wrapped over my waist, the heat from his arm transitioned to my waist. He gently kissed down my neck and back, like feather, like a gently breeze of wind, it tickles. I can"t help but close my eyes, he then stopped around my neck and licked gently. I writhed. Suddenly my neck felt a jolt of pain from being bitten, I cried out in alarm, "HECK, ZOMBIE!!"
His hands seized the opportunity to travel in and under my pajamas top. Like it was conducting current, it burnt me till I was shuddering. I squirmed around but was still trapped in his embrace. I can"t hide, I can"t defend.
He forcefully removed my shirt over my head. When it was removed I cried no tears, I tried explaining, "My top is an open front shirt, there are b.u.t.tons, there are b.u.t.tons…"
No use, I can hear at least two b.u.t.tons. .h.i.tting the floor.
I was woken up by my hunger past midnight. Only then did I recall that my dinner, that instant noodle, ended up in Jiang Chen"s stomach. I wanted to take out my anger by kicking the Jiang Chen that was sleeping. Little did I know the shock that I had when I opened my eyes slightly. His face was so close, a small pout and I will be able to kiss him kind of distance.
Actually, the part that shocked me wasn"t his zoomed in face, but rather, even though he seemed to be in a condition of being asleep, his hands were still in midair, holding on to the fan, fanning me. I looked at him without moving, I want to know if he is sleeping walking or awake.
After about 5 minutes, he pa.s.sed the fan from his left hand to his right hand. He continued to fan it above my head. Therefore, the wind moved from my back to my head. No wonder in my dreams my back was cold for a moment, and my head was cold the next moment, like a horror film.
He finished that process with his eyes closed. Perhaps it was something like closing one"s eyes to rest one"s mind.
I made a sound, and acted like I just woke up, I called, "Jiang Chen."
His hand stopped, opened his eyes and asked, "Why?"
"I didn"t eat dinner, I"m hungry." I said coquettishly, "You ate my dinner, you"re a b.a.s.t.a.r.d with heart of wolf and lungs of dog*." (T/N: lit translation, a bad person with no heart.)
I said the word "b.a.s.t.a.r.d" with the legendary baby voice, but as my skills were not up to standards, I could only say it with a nasal sound.
The Jiang Chen in the darkness clearly twitched his lips, "Speak properly! If you"re hungry, go cook something."
"You cook for me…. You ate my food and you don"t even want to cook for me…." I pouted my lips hard, dragging every syllable, I wanted to propose my suggestion but at the same time, test Jiang Chen"s level of resisting disgust.
His level of resisting disgust was weaker than I thought, because he kicked me off the bed. Not like how the male and female lead flirts while pursuing the ‘you"re bad, I"m bad, you"re bad, I"m bad’ kind of kick. Instead, he did it with such repulsion, emotion and colors, like he wants to kick me to the Pacific Ocean.
He said, "Go and cook noodles! Cook a bowl for me too."
I rubbed on my b.u.t.tocks, flattened my lips and limped out to cook noodles. I comforted myself continuously. Unknowing gentle care is the most touching, unknowing gentle care is the most touching*. (T/N: I"m not sure what"s the best way to put this across, but she meant care that is displayed like naturally is the best kind of care.)
Even so, can"t he give a bit of deliberate care…
Translator’s Corner:
I’M SO SORRY GUYS I FORGOT TO UPDATE YESTERDAY…
Also, I have another bad news.. I’ll be away for holiday the next 2 weeks so I wont have time to do my part of the translations D: Meaning there will only be 2 chapters/week for the week starting 5 March and 12 March! Then uploading schedule will go back to normal when I’m back! So please bear with me D:
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I legit cringed at that ancient torturing part..
Regards,
Xri