Les Interprètes

Hmm have you guys ever thought of the possibility that their breakup is also Qiao Fei’s fault? But at last! Ugh been waiting for this moment foreverrrrr

Translator: Tranzgeek

Chapter 48

Qiao Fei

I went to go see the head that morning. When he saw me he looked surprised: “Qiao Fei, you returned? Why didn’t you say hi to the department before?”

“After I left the college, I didn’t have a phone card in Paris so I couldn’t contact you.” I said.

“Is your body better?”

“It’s basically okay.” My hand clenched. On it was a scar.

“Ok ok, after a few days you are going to graduate, about your work……”

“I want to go to Shanghai to take a look.” I said.

The head looked at me: “You don’t want to stay here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ok, then you go first, rest a bit, reunite with your friends. If there is anything I will go find you.”

I came out from the head’s office, and went to the phone bars outside the school to get a cheaper long distance call. My hand had Huang Wei De’s namecard. I wanted to touch luck.

A nice sounding feminine sound answered the phone: “h.e.l.lo,  this is Chief Engineer Huang’s office.”

It turned out it was real. I said: “h.e.l.lo, I would like to find ‘Chief Engineer Huang’.”

“Chief Huang is currently not here. Who are you? Can you leave a message?”

“Ok, I am his friend,” I said this hesitantly. I felt I was begging him now, we weren’t even “friends”, “My surname is Qiao……”

“You are Miss Qiao Fei? Miss Qiao from the National Foreign Language Inst.i.tute?” I did not speak. The other woman asked.

“That’s me.”

“Chief Huang is in Paris. He has not returned, but he has left you a message.”

He was still a Northeastern person to the core. Lao Huang was so coa.r.s.e, but he was really very affordable. Before he recovered, he turned over my matter to the department in China.

“Whenever Miss Qiao is willing to come to Shanghai, please call this phone number and contact me. I will help you arrange transportation and accommodation, I am Chief Huang’s secretary, Jeremy.”

Wow, I felt so warm, but was very embarra.s.sed, I said: “Thank you, I, maybe after a few days, I will go to Shanghai.”

This time, I was very qualified to teach children, to be kind to others, and do some more good things as my own path would also become wider and wider.

But, in my heart, there were some things that had some vague ups and downs but I didn’t know what it was. I couldn’t see it clearly, I didn’t know what it was, but it made one uneasy.

I went out of the phone bar. The long overcast day began to rain. It didn’t rain very hard, but very rhythemtic. I wanted to return to return to my bedroom. I went through the school, pa.s.sed by the athletic field, the rain drops collected in a small pit, flying bubbles emerging, with a crisp rhythm, fragmenting the clearness.

I suddenly knew what made my heart uneasy, difficult to let go.

Cheng Jia Yang.

When I was about to leave, before I went to another place to work, I wanted to go see him. I wanted to tell him some things. I had never regretted being with him. He had given me more than I could have ever wished for in this lifetime.

But I had never thought, with him, I would meet him another way. Plus, it would be so fast.

I had just seen the head in the morning. I was called to his office again in the afternoon.

The head’s office had two other people. One was a stranger, the other was also a stranger, Cheng Jia Yang, expressionlessly looked at me, turned his head down, continuing to fill out a form.

What was he doing now?

I had no time to calm myself and did not understand this battle.

Before the head left, he said to me: “Do you not know him? Isn’t this your senior brother, Cheng Jia Yang? This a colleague from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His name is Teacher Li. They have come a.s.sess you.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs? a.s.sess me?

I slowly sat down.

It seemed that as the two monks scratched their heads no one spoke to me. They came to a.s.sess me? How was I going to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

I felt that I had always had the capability to deal with unexpected situations, but in front of me sat Cheng Jia Yang. Just looking at him I would deceive him. This was an old habit. Now I was a blank bubble in the fog. I looked up at him. This person lowered his head, focusing on the form in his hand. I could not see his face, and could only see his hand. He was still so skinny. Looking at him like this, I sighed. His pen suddenly stopped, but he still never looked up at me.

Teacher Li by his side kindly said to me: “How is the wound on your body?”

It seemed the whole world knew of this.

“It’s okay.”

“We came here to select young translators for the Ministry. The school recommended you. Of course, your grades are pretty good but you still need to go through a test. Today is an interview. Teacher Cheng, Teacher Cheng…….”

Jia Yang stopped his pen. Our conversation began to be in French.

“Please use French to introduce yourself to me.”

“I am called Qiao Fei, 22 years old. I came back from Paul Valery University as an exchange student.”

“Profession.”

“French culture, translation tendency.”

“Native place.”

“Liao Ning.”

“Hobbies or specialties?”

“None.”

“……”

Jia Yang’s voice did not bring warmth. My initialed confusion and doubts turned into chagrin.

“Sir, I do not understand.” I said, using French.

At this moment, he looked up to glance at me. His clean face, eyebrows, bottomless eyes made my mind so chaotic like the culprit.

“I never applied to go work at the Ministry.”

“Otherwise? Otherwise what are you going to do?” He said.

I have decided to go to Shanghai to find a job, but I think this does not need to be reported.”

“Shanghai?” He looked outside, and lightly laughed, “Why are you going there? Are you going to be an interpreter or an enterprise staff?”

“I have already approached the Michelin Shanghai company,” I said angrily. I was very unhappy with his att.i.tude and added, “Whatever I do it is better than staying here.”

He suddenly looked up at me: “What did you say? Say it again. Why is anything better than staying here. Has anything done anything wrong to you here?”

He had never spoken to me like this. I saw his almost angry look. He didn’t have the momentum himself, but I didn’t know what to say. I froze, staring at him.

Even though we used French to speak, our att.i.tude and tone was certainly unusual. Teacher Li next to him looked at Jia Yang: “Teacher Cheng, are you still asking questions?”

He frowned at the form and gave it to his colleague, walking out himself.

Teacher Li looked at him, looked at me then he looked at the form Cheng Jia Yang had thrown at him. He was probably surprised and said: “Qiao Fei, your interview has qualified. After another week we will go to the Ministry to have the written examination and test your listening.

I stood up. I clearly told Cheng Jia Yang: “I will not go.”

He walked to the doorway. When he heard this he looked at me. Whatever he wanted to say, there were colleagues there, so he couldn’t erupt. Gritting his teeth, he walked away.

The rest of myself stood, frozen in place. What had happened? Why was Jia Yang like this to me?

I found a nook in the playground/atheletic field and began to smoke. I thought of his warmth towards me before and his recent coldness. Women were said to be fickle, but really, men were the elusive things.

However deep feelings were, however crazy they had been, they all couldn’t make up for the gap we had in reality. We could not be together. I was clearer than anyone on that point.

But even if we could not be lovers, that did not mean that we had to be strangers. Since we were now strangers, his att.i.tude towards me just now was good.

But his face, why was it so hot?

I squinted as I thought.

Would his heart still like me? Was he going to act another scene of an idol melodramatic drama with me?

This type of thinking flashed like a small fly. I I quickly found a fly swatter to destroy it.

Qiao Fei, you should not desire Cheng Jia Yang anymore.

I finished smoking. I fiercely pressed the cigarette b.u.t.t onto the ground and stood up, stretching my lazy waist. The summer rain came quickly and went away quickly. Right now, the sun peeked through the clouds.

I planned to go to the cafeteria to eat. As for the University food, I was eating less and less.

A car stopped beside me. Someone came out from inside it, and said to me: “Get on the car.”

I didn’t know what was in my eyes at that moment. It was the light after the rain. Or the man always hidden inside of my heart.

　　Cheng Jia Yang

Qiao Fei frowned, took a closer look at me, her expression extremely strange.

“Qiao Fei, get on the car, don’t make me say it a third time.”

She suddenly laughed: “Senior brother, you want to treat me to eat? All right.” She obediently sat on the car. I knew what had happened. This was Qiao Fei usual trick: to pretend nothing was wrong.

I started the car, not looking at her.

“Where are we going? Can we go nearby? In a while I made an appointment with my friends to play poker.”

I accelerated, and rushed towards the highway and the beach.

“Senior brother, where are we going? I, I told you, I still need to return to play poker.” She was a little anxious, but her face was still smiling.

“Shut up!” The hate in my heart ah, “Buckle up your seat belt!”

I crazily drove out of the city. I really didn’t want to forget oneself, and I thought I could control it, but to the end, I was still a person without a set behavior. I didn’t understand skillful deflection, I didn’t understand pretending to be a fool in a timely manner. Beside me, the person had finally closed her mouth, and was also thinking of countermeasures.

I stopped the car at the beach, and got off the car myself. Facing the sea breeze, I lighted a cigarette.

Finally I saw Qiao Fei, but as of now, the distance between us was even farther away than a year ago.

I had many things I wanted to understand in her presence, but there were a thousand things and I did not know where to start.

But there was one thing that I knew very clearly. Qiao Fei was very talented. She should stay in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This would be the best path for her, and she would have the best future.

Whether it was for her or for myself, my head was full of confusion.

No matter what we had lived together before. Qiao Fei, she had more heart and eyes than me, but it was not without its flaws. I knew that I could not use force, I had to speak logically with her.

She walked to my side.

I turned and said: “Just now I shouted at you. Sorry. MyI,” I laughed, “mood isn’t very good.”

My att.i.tude was beyond the expectation of a proper person. She blankly stared for a while: “Ah, it’s okay.”

“Qiao Fei, the matter of going to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you should really consider it. I am taking you as a friend, persuading you like this. Think about it, this is a great opportunity. No one else can even dream of getting in, how do you not want to get in?”

“I feel like it doesn’t suit me.”

“Don’t you really want to be an interpreter? When you get into the Ministry, when you want to cultivate culture you can do so, when you want to practice, you can practice. When you go to work, it isn’t always like this. It’ll be strange if there isn’t a shortage in professionals.” I said this truthfully, “Your grades are so excellent, if it turns out like that, then it will be a pity.”

“I can also be an interpreter elsewhere.” Her mouth was very hard.

“Do you have any concerns?”

“……”

I said it very slowly. Some words in my mind had not fully formed: “You don’t need to think about it too much. Graduation is a threshold, you are going to become an adult. The matters in the future aren’t worth considering.”

When Qiao Fei heard these words, she was a little shocked. She looked up at me, with her brown cat eyes. I think they were misty.

“Plus, your family, won’t you consider that? No matter what you’ll be living closer to them a little, and you can care for them. If you really go so far away, who will your parents find when they run into problems?”

She lowered her head: “Thank you, but I must consider it. I cannot make a decision right now. Why don’t we return now.” As she said this she walked towards the car.

She couldn’t see me so I carefully studied her. She had thinned, her body in the skirt was a little empty. Her hair was still so good. This was this person’s hair, warm, strong, I had never been able to hold it.

I knew, these words would play a role in her heart.

Qiao Fei, she was a slippery loach[1], but her heart was soft.

I raised my head, saw that there was a person flying a kite faraway. The kite was very high, and gradually became a black spot.

I felt tired, like a person flying a kite without a reel, bare hands holding onto the line, trying to bring it back, until I became b.l.o.o.d.y.