Les Interprètes

Qiao Fei

When the day became dark, I left that guesthouse, riding the bus back to school. My hips were a little sore and I curled up my legs under the bus pad on my knees. The cars drove along the coastal path, and I could see the blurred coastline. The sea breeze blew in, bringing some sand. My heart whispered one person’s name, Cheng Jia Yang, Cheng Jia Yang.

Cheng Jia Yang

When Fei finished wearing her clothes, and she was preparing to leave, I did a very dumb thing. I didn’t have any other attempts like she said, but I knew she needed money so I gave her 3000 yuan from my wallet.

She looked at that pile of money and looked at me, “I’ve already received my money.”

I said, “No, this, me.” In reality, I had no idea what I should have said.

“Is this for the second time?,” she asked.

I nodded a bit and then shook my head.

“Nevermind, go buy something for yourself then.”

“Don’t say things like that.” I said. I knew she wouldn’t accept this money, but I still had something else I had to say, “Being with you, was a very pleasing experience.”

“Me too.” She opened the door.

“If you have any troubles, you can come find me.” I said.

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Later she left. I turned around. The big room, had been made messy by our playing around. The bedding was messy, the bathrobes and pillows were scattered on the floor, and soaked in spilled red wine. The blue tablecloth had been pulled a little down arrayed with strawberry, pulpy mango juice and other bright colors.

Fei’s catlike eyes flashed before me, she sat on me for pa.s.sion.

By this time, I turned and began to read.

Outside the window there was the blurred coastline, the sea breeze blew over, bringing individual small particles of sand, my heart kept thinking back to one name “Fei, Fei.”

The second day I went to work, I energetically went to work.

Summary: He basically gets a new mission and he has to go to Canada for three days to do the oil corporation stuff like specifically exportation/importation over seas…something like that with overseas.

“Jia Yang, today, the colors of your face are not bad.”

“Really? Yesterday I slept pretty well.”

(I skipped a part because it was kinda unnecessary but anyways…)

The moment I entered my office, and put down my material, I got a phone call.

The person who was calling was a high school cla.s.smate, Xiao Chao. After high school graduation he did not continue on to college but instead, made his own travel agency, with very good management, which earned a lot of money.

We didn’t contact each other very often, but this guy had actually called for the fourth time. I could taste that had happened.

“Great interpreter, yesterday, I looked for you for a whole afternoon.”

“It’s so hard to find a break, I shut down my phone.”

“Are you busy?”

“It’s okay. After the next two days I’m going to leave the country. Do you need anything?”

“Ah?” When she heard I needed to go elsewhere, her voice changed, “Now what am I going to do? I actually do need something. It was so hard for me to find a French tourist group, and they’re staying within the country for half a month. Can you find me a French translator?”

I unconsciously thought of Qiao Fei.

“How much will you pay?”

“I’ll give 500, the foreigners also pay tips. This trip will earn us 10,000 to 30,000. Get a grip on the opportunity.

“When does your group arrive?”

“In 15 days, brother, can you help me grab this?”

“I’ll reply to you in a moment’s time,” I said.

Yesterday when we lay on the bed, resting, I asked her what she wanted to do during the break. She mentioned that she wanted to find a job and also earn some money.

Leading a travel group around was a great job. Even though the work was a bit hard, for student Qiao Fei, this was a very good practice opportunity.

My question was, yesterday, when she left, we had already agreed that we would make that day remain in memories. But outside of the room, would she be willing to see me again?

Even if that afternoon no longer lingered, we were still school mates and we had also worked together before. Introducing a job for her should have been a very normal thing to do.

Thinking like this, of course I overthought it. This made me realize that I didn’t even have her phone number. Well while we weren’t on break yet, I called the French Department Girl Dormitories. When the phone connected, my heart jumped a bit.

Was there another anxious man?

No one answered.

That afternoon, before I went to go eat something, I called another three times but still, no one answered. I thought, This must not be right, even if she isn’t at the dormitory, she should have dorm mates nearby. Should I go see her? This idea just flashed in my mind. I knew, this time, besides our embarra.s.sment there would be nothing else.

Never mind then, it wasn’t as if this was urgent. I waited. Xiao Chao’s French group still had some 15 days before they arrived right? (The book said Xiao Ping for some reason but I think that it meant Xiao Chao because I have never heard of Xiao Ping until now.)

My parents returned to the house today. We cooked dinner together and my dad asked me how my work was going. I replied him saying that three days later I would have to go to Canada. My father didn’t say anything else, and my mother laughingly asked him, “I asked your head already, he said your performance was pretty good.”

This was their old almanac. Since elementary school, my dad’s sources would come from an arranged week when he would go meet the cla.s.s homeroom teacher, and ask him how I performed. It actually continued to the present. Actually, my father had no point in asking me about my situation because he probably understood things a lot clearer than I did.

“Are you busy tomorrow?” My mother asked me.

“No interpreting a.s.signments.”

“I returned just recently with you dad, and missed you a lot. Let’s both go play some golf then.”

“Just because I have no a.s.signments doesn’t mean I don’t have work.”

“How can you not have work? Don’t you see interpretation as work?” My father said, “Tomorrow I have an appointment with a few friends from Benin, come with me to interpret.”

I didn’t talk. My dad was also a great interpreter in French, and he had even become an official, so he only brought professional interpreters.

Summary: The next part was a little confusing, but Cheng Jia Yang ends up calling Qiao Fei for money issues as she comes up to his mind first, since they just had the experience….and Qiao Fei proved to be someone who would do anything for money. I think the foreigners that his dad told him to help with the interpretations…they start a confrontation and demand 2000 American dollars which is x6 Chinese yuan. He’s a little shocked and he kind of doesn’t want to ‘offend’ them so he ends up calling Qiao Fei for money. I don’t think he has her phone number though unless he got it magically from the author but we’ll see… 

I called her, but still no one answered from the bedroom.

I said, “Dad, I have some things to do, so I’ll leave first.”

I didn’t wait for his consent. (niceeee)