Rock Sugar And Pear Stew

Chapter 36 - Bury the hatchet (Translated by Xing and edited by Souhi)

When Tang Xue woke up in the morning, her head pounded with a dull, throbbing ache. Sprawled across her bed, she recalled bits and pieces of what happened the previous night. She seemed to remember spilling her guts after drinking a little too much. Her memory was fuzzy but she had a vague impression of crying in Li Yubing"s arms……

…… good grief.

She wished that someone would come to wipe her memory immediately.

With a frown on her face, she picked up her phone and clicked into WeChat to distract herself.

Today"s WeChat was quite remarkable.

Li Yubing: Insomnia.

Bian Cheng: Insomnia.

Yu Yan: Insomnia.

Tang Xue: ……excuse me?? Did the three of them gather together to play Landlord the whole of last night?[1]

Out of the three of them, only Yu Yan attached a photo to his status. The photo was of an artistic-looking flower bouquet wrapped in old newspaper. Tang Xue wrote a comment to Yu Yan: What"s wrong?

Yu Yan did not reply her; he probably had training. When noon came, he gave her a call.

"Hey, Yu Yan, are you feeling down?" Tang Xue asked right after picking up the phone.

Yu Yan did not beat around the bush. He asked frankly, "Tang Xue, are you together with Li Yubing?"

Tang Xue was startled. "What? Don"t talk nonsense!"

"But last night, I saw the two of you……"

Right away, Tang Xue could guess what he saw. It wasn"t only Yu Yan, even she herself felt that what happened was a little incredulous. Thus, she explained, "I drank a little too much last night, so, eh…… I don"t remember what I did."

"Oh." Over the phone, Yu Yan heaved a sigh of relief. His tightly wound nerves finally relaxed. There was a hint of a smile in his reply. "You can find me the next time you want to drink." This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

"Huh? No way, I don"t want to be a bad influence on a minor."

Minor—it was that word again…… This word was now Yu Yan"s most hated word.

Yu Yan asked, "Let"s have lunch together?"

"Sure."

Right after Tang Xue hung up, Li Yubing"s call came in.

"Fool."

"Dog[2]."

The two of them endearingly exchanged insults before starting their conversation. Tang Xue asked, "Li Yubing, heard that you had insomnia yesterday. Did you have a nightmare?"

"Uh huh, I dreamt of you."

"Get lost……"

Li Yubing burst into laughter. His low and amused chuckle was like a soft brush that gently tickled her ear. He said, "Let"s grab lunch together. I have something to tell you."

"What is it that you can"t tell me now?"

"A piece of good news."

Tang Xue did not believe that Li Yubing could have any good news for her. However, curiosity made her agree to meet for lunch. Thus, when lunch came, the three of them were once again sitting together. Both Li Yubing and Yu Yan did not expect each other to be there.

From when they first met, they did not exchange a single word. However, they did exchange stares every now and then. As a bystander, Tang Xue could intensely feel how their gazes were charged. The air seemed to crackle and sparks flew every time their eyes met.

What the heck was going on……

As she gnawed on a huge steamed bun, her eyes darted all over the place shiftily. She looked like a suspicious person up to no good.

Li Yubing used the top of his chopsticks to rap her forehead lightly. "Eat properly."

Tang Xue swatted him away. She took a bite of her bun and chewed for a while before swallowing it. Then, she asked, "Li Yubing, so what did you want to tell me? You better not be planning to sell me a credit card after acting so mysteriously."

"We"ll talk after the meal."

Regarding his "good news", Li Yubing did not want to reveal it in front of Yu Yan.

Tang Xue felt that Li Yubing was actually quite obstinate. Therefore, she changed the topic and looked at Yu Yan instead. "Yu Yan, why are you feeling down?"

"I"m in a pretty good mood, actually."

"Oh. That"s good." Tang Xue thought that Yu Yan did not want to share his troubles. As a result, she did not continue prying.

The atmosphere of the entire meal was a little odd. Even as a mini expert at livening things up, trying to do so during this meal made her feel dispirited. When the meal was finally over and the three of them could part, Tang Xue saw barely contained impatience on Li Yubing"s face. She felt that he really had something to tell her and thus let Yu Yan leave first.

Li Yubing brought her to a remote corner with not much people around. He watched her with a smile. This translation is meant to be published only on teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

He had an attractive-looking pair of lips that was paired with an even set of teeth. When he smiled, his smile was warm and dazzling just like a ray of sunlight. Along with his gentle expression and limpid gaze, this smile was currently like a reminder of all the good and beautiful things on earth.

Nevertheless, Tang Xue was a little thrown off. Being used to Li Yubing"s usual behaviour as an annoying piece of trash, his sudden att.i.tude change to that of a pure and earnest person made her feel like something was amiss. She was bewildered and at a loss—just like how a person planning to eat instant noodles would feel upon discovering that the seasoning packet was missing.

The fact that he was not provoking her made her really insecure.

Is this how m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.ts feel……

"So, what"s up with you?" Tang Xue asked.

Li Yubing did not reply to her question. "Do you still want to ice skate?"

Tang Xue was baffled. "I"ll ice skate whenever I want. Why? Li Yubing, you can"t possibly be finding another excuse for me to be your little eunuch again, can you?"

"I"m not talking about simply going to the ice rink. I meant…… speed skating."

At hearing the words "speed skating", Tang Xue"s heart lightly pounded for a few beats.

She opened her mouth, her brows drawn together. She tried and failed to speak several times. Finally, she said, "Li Yubing, stop picking at this wound of mine. Yes, I want to, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride……"

"I"ve told your story to the speed skating team"s Coach Chu. Coach Chu promised to give you a chance." Li Yubing quirked his lips and patted her shoulder. "Do your best for it."

After saying this, he slotted a hand into his pocket and strode off without waiting for her to react. Stunned, Tang Xue froze for a few seconds before chasing after him. She trailed closely next to him. Bright-eyed and animated, she asked, "Really? I"ve asked the school team previously when I first started school but they didn"t even bother to reply me."

Li Yubing felt somewhat pleased with himself. His steps did not slow at all as he said, "Your Brother Bing is still someone with some capabilities."

Feeling exhilarated, Tang Xue did not feel that he was showing off. She scooted next to him obsequiously and heavily clapped down on his arm. "Brother Bing!"[3]

Li Yubing cracked a smile. He stopped his steps and turned his head to glance at her.

Tang Xue looked up at him, a smile on her face as well. "Li Yubing, let"s bury the hatchet."

"Oh?" He raised a brow.

"You see, I admit that I bullied you occasionally when we were young. However, haven"t you more or less gotten your revenge on me by now? We can even be considered comrades since we"ve teamed up and battled together before. Let the past stay in the past. We"ll take it that the both of us got even, alright?"

Li Yubing raised his head and gazed at the azure autumn sky. He looked to be lost in thoughts. After a while, he slotted his hand back into his pocket and continued walking.

Tang Xue pitter-pattered after him.

Walking behind him, she heard him exhaled a soft sigh that sounded as if he had the world weighing on his mind.

"It"s impossible to get even," he said.

Translator"s Notes:

[1] "Excuse me" is in italics as it was originally in English in the raws. Landlord, 斗地主 (dòu dì zhǔ), is a 3-player Chinese card game.

[2] I"ve updated the insult, 狗子 (gǒu zi), which I originally translated as "b.a.s.t.a.r.d" to simply "dog". Have edited the past chapters as well.

[3] 冰哥 (bīng gē) is actually "Older Brother Bing" instead of just "Brother Bing" but the full phrase feels too stiff. People address others as 哥 (gē) or 姐 (jiě), which means "older brother" and "older sister", as a mark of respect even when the person addressed might be younger.

TN originally from chapter 26. Reposting because it"s been a while and some of you might not get why Li Yubing smiled when Tang Xue addressed him this way. Just to clarify, 哥 (gē) is a little different from the Korean "oppa". Even though it sometimes is, it isn"t necessarily flirtatious when a girl calls a guy this.