Les Interprètes

Chapter 57 Part 1

Translated by Tranzgeek

If you are not reading this from tranzgeek.wordpress.com this chapter has been posted without the permission of the translator.

       Qiao Fei

I held Jia Yang. I held him for a long time until he fell asleep.

I supported him to my bed, putting him into my bed, helping him take off his shoes and clothes, until all he had on were some shorts.

When was the last time I had seen this scene?

I wiped his face with a hot towel.

He closed his eyes, his eyelashes black and long, leaving a shadow on his white face.

This kind of a man, had firmly given me warmth and someone to rely on, but now he was so helpless, crying into my arms.

Why did I always see his tears?

And these tears- most of them were because of me.

Was there any other incredible woman like this?

Making the man she liked cry.

Jia Yang turned over, arms around the quilt, his back towards me.

I saw his back didn’t have any healed wounds and had formed into little red scabs now. I used my hand to touch it, he moved a bit.

I slowly put my mouth on it. I lightly said: “Jia Yang, does it hurt?”

I was tired. Like this, I put my arms around the person I loved most, Cheng Jia Yang, and slept next to him on the warm and soft bed.

　　Cheng Jia Yang

I slept very well. I opened my eyes to say: “Fei, my back is itchy, help me scratch it a bit.”

No one replied.

I sat up. I saw there was milk and bread next to the bed. I wanted to find a piece of paper, but there was nothing.

Fei and her friend went to work.

I wore my clothes, washed up, and observed her room.

Before when I came, I ran over to argue with Qiao Fei about going to Africa, but I didn’t carefully examine her nest.

She liked light colors. She had used a light green for her curtains, bedspreads, and tablecloths. In the deep autumn air, her room also had the breath of spring.

I opened her wardrobe. There were some simple, clean clothes. I thought, Maybe I can find the things I bought for her before. Even one piece of clothing, a skirt, would be good, but I didn’t find any.

I flipped through her drawer.

I looked under the bed. I hoped I could find something in her place, something that had to do with me.

Nothing.

I was very dejected, and I sat in the chair finishing the things she had prepared for me.

I drove to work, meeting Qiao Fei in the hallway who was going to copy files.

We were both a bit embarra.s.sed. I said: “Where are you going now?”

“Senior sister is letting me go abroad.” She let me see the files in her hands.

“Where?” I grabbed the doc.u.ments.

“You saw it, the Ministry of Health is going to hold some international medical conferences in Chengdu. They need some interpreters from here. Senior sister let me go.”

“When?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

“The schedule is so tight? Why can’t they give you some time to prepare?”

“There isn’t time to prepare anymore. Originally, the Ministry of Health thought they could handle it sufficiently, so they weren’t going to let us go in the first place.” She took the doc.u.ments in my hands back, “I won’t talk to you anymore. I’m going. I still need to work.”

I wanted to call her back, but Qiao Fei walked quickly, her high heels making a clear sound.

I wanted to call Xu Dong out to drink some wine. In the phone he was very conflicted. I said: “You might as well turn against me like you don’t know me. When you looked for me, when did I never appear?”

“All right, all right, I’m going now.”

We met in the bar. He drank with me, his heart not in it. He said: “If you have anything, say it.”

“You have to go home to accompany your wife?”

“I do have to accompany my wife, and my son. Now, I play piano for him everyday to teach him.”

I laughed immediately so that it all sprayed out.

Xu Dong was very unhappy: “Do not laugh at a prospective father’s responsibility.”

“I wasn’t, I was touched.” I continued to laugh.

“You, I won’t talk about you. After you marry and half a child you’ll know. Let me tell you, right now when I see you, I only feel you are immature, really, you rascal, really immature.” He said this as he shook his head.

“I haven’t even married, and you’re talking about children.”

“Oh right, you should be about ready to solve your personal problems, how long will you prolong this for? You’re waiting, the but the girl can’t wait forever. That Xiao Hua isn’t young anymore,” He watched me, “But of course, she still looks pretty young on television.”

“Can you say something else?” I drank wine: “I asked you to come out to relax. Why are you also discussing this with me?”

“Fed up ah?”

“Ah.”

“This is it, you’ve gotten ahold of it, “He laughed, “Xiao Hua is in your palm, but you don’t take it seriously. What kind of person did I think you were, Cheng Jia Yang. Really, you are the same as me. So stop mentioning the things I didn’t do.”

Was I? (TL: I believe he’s asking if he’s the same as Xu Dong)

I looked at him, if I wasn’t, why did my heart obviously love one, but have another by my side; if it wasn’t, why did I purposely entangle with Qiao Fei time after time, when my head knew, Xiao Hua was the destined woman?

Xu Dong saw Liu Gongzi holding a pretty girl by the door, extending his arm to greet him. I said: “Hold it. If you call him, I’m leaving.”

“What? You two have really began a feud?”

I said: “You forgot, when we were little we didn’t like to play with him.”

“Why do I remember it was you two who ran on me?” Xu Dong said.

I returned to Xiao Hua’s place, taking off my clothes, bathing, sleeping.

Xiao Hua said: “Did you sleep? You haven’t slept yet right?”

I said: “What did you do?”

“Today I went to go see Ming Fang. I bought two sets of small clothes for her child. Let me tell you, Jia Yang, little kids, they are really things you can’t tell clearly. In a moment she’s grown to be so big.”

“Really?” I sat up, looking at Xiao Hua. She had put her hair up in a pigtail, wearing gla.s.ses, her two hands helping her describe the events, “She is a little curly, so white, her small hand so fat. When she walks it is very strong. Plus, she knows how to say ‘Auntie’ now.”

I said: “How big has she gotten?”

“Incredible right? Really, Jia Yang. I held her for an afternoon. Her body had a little milk scent on it. Don’t mention it.”

I hd never seen Xiao Hua say things like this before, like a little kid describing the toy she liked most.

“Right, I got Ming Fang’s DV that she recorded of her daughter. Are you going to watch it?”

Xiao Hua said this as she got the DV machine and let me see Ming Fang’s daughter recordings. When we saw the little white and fat rascal struggling with the couch, we both laughed.

Xiao Hua said: “It’s really strange. Two years ago, I didn’t like children. Now, I feel they’re so fun. Did I get old?”

“Yes, I did too.”

She looked at me, I looked at her.

Xiao Hua finally said to me: “Jia Yang, let’s get married.”

　　Qiao Fei

I arrived in Chengdu, registering in the hotel garden conference area. When I was registering, someone greeted me.

I looked at him, with more experience. The world in stories was really smaller than a fishtank.

Doctor Cheng Jia Yang half laughingly said: “You also came to have a meeting? I called you and you didn’t answer, and I even thought you disappeared.”

“That phone number was you? Haha, the number was weird. I even thought it was a scammer, so I ignored it. Haha…..”

I knew it was you big uncle, so what if I didn’t answer?

“Haha, I was even saying, were you unhappy.”

“Of course not, what matters, what unhappy?”

Hmph, in my experience the child of an influential family will have a sense of superiority and even know my secrets that I am not willing to tell others. I’ll remember you, defending against you for a lifetime.

“I’m going upstairs. Bye.”

“Don’t ah. Let’s go together. We’re both on the same floor.”

In the elevator, Cheng Jia Ming asked me if I had ever came to Chengdu. I said, when I was studying or doing a part time tourist job, I would stay here for a whole morning.

“Then have you ever eaten Three Big Bangs [1]?” (TL: Official name of the food is 3 big bangs according to Sina which is totally a credible source T_T I saw it also as three big cannons)

“Is it like candied fruit?”

“It’s more pastry-like.”

“Is it good?”

“You don’t even have to ask. It is really……”

When he said this, my stomach grumbled. The food on the airplane was hard and salty. When Cheng Jia Ming mentioned the cuisine, I was unable to control myself.