Chapter 83 - A Flower (Translated and edited by Xing)
Tang Xue finally tasted what she had been eyeing for so long—Li Yubing"s jelly-like lips.
Soft, firm and beyond delicious. This was even better than what she had imagined.
Tang Xue"s heart pounded manically. She had the sensation that the world was covered in fireworks and the happiness was making her dizzy. Her brain seemed to lack oxygen and she did not know where to put her hands and feet. She tightly shut her eyes, her head raised while she froze in the spot.
Li Yubing was in a roughly similar condition. His mind was blank and he was so nervous that he forgot to breathe. The world ceased to exist except for the vivid sensation on his lips. A girl"s lips were even softer than a guy"s. Soft and satiny like fresh flower petals, they exuded a light fragrance.
The two of them stood together stiffly like this as if time was frozen. After a long while, Li Yubing finally found his breath. He breathed while moving his lips, lightly ma.s.saging her soft, petal lips. When he moved his head, his nose followed along and b.u.mped into Tang Xue"s nose.
The two of them had relatively high nose bridges and were both inexperienced at this as well.
When her nose was knocked, she instinctively drew her head and lips away.
The kiss ended just like this. Li Yubing was disappointed and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, clearly unsatisfied.
Tang Xue opened her eyes just in time to see his pink tongue. Soft, moist and agile, it somehow looked extremely sinister to her.
She looked away and pulled her hand back.
Under the rays of the setting sun, the young girl"s face was burning red, showing a deeper crimson than the sunset.
How can she be so adorable!
Li Yubing felt like his heart was stuffed with fluffy and sweet cotton candy. He raised his hand with the intention of stroking her cheek.
Just as his fingers were about to touch her skin, his phone suddenly rang.
He was forced to pull out his phone and when he looked at the caller ID, it was his mother.
Li Yubing picked up the phone.
The moment the call connected, wild laughter came out from the other end.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Li Yubing, "……"
For a split-second, he suspected that his mother had lost her phone and it had been picked up by a lunatic.
"Yubing," After laughing enough, Mama Li finally began speaking normally. "I heard that you"re in a relationship?"
"Mm."
"Oh~~~" Mama Li purposed dragged out her words before laughing again. "Well, is it convenient to tell mommy the name of that girl?"
Li Yubing pinched his forehead and replied reluctantly, "Don"t you already know?"
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Mm, there she went again.
Li Yubing said, "Mom, you seem to be very well-informed."
"Yubing, do you know that I"m in three of your fan groups?"
Actually, out of these three groups, Mama Li had been kicked out of two after saying that she was Li Yubing"s mother. She later picked up the jargon of fandoms and no longer revealed that she was Li Yubing"s mother, only saying that she was a mama fan[1], thus managing to blend in till now. As her typing speed was no match for the young fans, she usually did not type anything and purely lurked.
After she knocked off work and returned home that day, she found out that everyone was discussing Li Yubing"s relationship. She tentatively asked in the chat who Li Yubing"s girlfriend was. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
In the end, everyone answered with "Tang Xue".
Tang Xue?
Is it that Tang Xue?!
Mama Li felt that life was filled with surprises.
She replied in the chat: Thanks, I"ll call Li Yubing right now. #rose emoji#
Then, the young fans all spammed: You"re welcome, we"ll all call Ice G.o.d!
Mama Li: Do you have his number?
The young fans replied her with a string of ellipses.
Finally, one fan typed: Auntie, that is such a cold joke.
Anxious to call her son, Mama Li did not continue her conversation with them and immediately exited the chat window to call Li Yubing.
Here, after sharing the shenanigans with the fan groups, Mama Li said, "Good son, Mama loves you."
"I… really have to thank you…"
"Yubing, tell mommy the truth. Is your girlfriend Tang Xue that same Tang Xue that I know?"
"Mm."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Mom." Li Yubing"s expression was dead. "You interrupted our first kiss."
"Eh… Right, sorry. You, you, you two continue. We"ll continue chatting later. Remember to call mommy back and tell me the details. You two continue…"
"She already left."
Mama Li was a little apologetic. "Don"t worry. Mommy will send you a big red packet in a while. Now that you"re in a relationship, you can"t avoid spending money."
"There"s no need…"
"I insist. But, Yubing, mommy is very curious about one thing." When Mama Li said this, she wanted her son to prompt her about it. However, she was afraid that her son would hang up on her and hence spilled it without further ado. "I remember that, ahem, a certain someone seemed to really hate Tang Xue since young? And even lied in order to shake her off, landing me in an awkward situation? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now, how come… mm?? Mommy doesn"t understand."
Li Yubing knew that his mother would use that affair to make a joke out of him. Naturally, he dodged her question and said lightly, "Mom, I need to head to cla.s.s."
"Oh, then head to cla.s.s first. Remember to call mommy again after cla.s.s."
He would remember… only if the sky fell.
After Li Yubing returned to his dorm at night, he put his things down and went to shower. The rain showerhead in the bathroom was something that he paid for out of his own pocket when he first moved in. This showerhead used air to make the water spray soft and fine, like warm spring rain gently ma.s.saging the skin.
Li Yubing"s naked body stood under the showerhead. He let the water flowed over him from head to toe.
He closed his eyes and thought of Tang Xue. He thought of their kiss today, of the delectable view, and of the beautiful and lively rabbits in the bowls…
His heart became burning hot while his throat felt parched.
Li Yubing opened his eyes and felt the changes in his body. Though a little embarra.s.sed, what burned brighter was desire. He swallowed his saliva and realized that his mouth was dry.
A fine mist began to fill the bathroom, covering the walls and the mirror. This was good; he would not be able to see himself in the mirror.
He closed his eyes and raised his head. The white light in the bathroom fell on his eyelids and his eyelashes trembled. After hesitating for a while, he finally caved and self-derisively grasped that part.
Bang, bang, bang—
Someone suddenly knocked manically on the bathroom door.
Li Yubing got a shock.
Old Deng hollered from outside, "Li Yubing, are you done, you have a call!"
Li Yubing turned off the shower and asked, "From who?"
"A Flower in Tianqin Bay!"
It was his mother.
In order to guard against the event that their phones were picked up by scammers, his family used unique names for each other"s numbers. "A Flower in Tianqin Bay" was the nickname that his mother chose for herself.
Oh, right, Tianqin Bay was the name of his residential area. Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
After showering, Li Yubing came out of the shower wearing only a pair of linen shorts. His upper body was bare, revealing a tall and straight figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Every single muscle on his body, be it his pecs, abs or biceps, were simply beyond outstanding and top notched.
His three roommates glanced at him with deep envy. Which man doesn"t want a figure like this!
Old Deng grumbled, "Li Yubing, let us bros here warn you. Better wear more next time or you"ll risk getting beaten up." As he spoke, he shook his fists.
"Oh?" Li Yubing shot him a glance.
Old Deng quickly kept his fists and adjusted his sitting posture into one that was meeker. With Li Yubing"s build, Li Yubing had no problem beating up eight of him.
Then, Old Deng pointed to the phone on Li Yubing"s table obsequiously. "A Flower called."
At the present moment, Li Yubing did not feel like returning A Flower"s call. He picked up his phone and fiddled with it for a while before starting to take selfies in front of the mirror, focusing on his abs and taking shots of them from every single angle.
"Li Yubing, you"re flaunting way too excessively." His roommate could not help commenting.
Old Deng understood his thoughts. "If I had this figure, I would be taking 800 photos every day. Li Yubing is already being quite low-key.
After he finished taking, Li Yubing chose one that looked better and posted it on his WeChat with the caption: Goodnight.
That post had a special privacy setting that was clearly labelled as "girlfriend", with Tang Xue being the only audience.
After a while, Tang Xue posted on her WeChat as well.
Tang Xue: Selling picture of Li Yubing"s abs. $5 per piece.
Li Yubing: …
This is an original work of 酒小七 (Jiu Xiaoqi) translated by Tea Fragrance. If you are not reading this at teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been reposted without the translator"s consent. Head there for extra content or to leave feedback and comments on the novel translation.
Translator"s Notes:
[1] Mama fans are older ladies who fangirls over younger celebrities, claiming them as their "kids".
These few weeks, I only start translating on Sunday evening so the recent chapters have been released on Sunday nights instead. Thank you for being patient.
The drama"s second trailer is out! It"s waaay more lighthearted than the first one. It"s as if they heard novel fans" grumbles that the drama seems to take itself too seriously. Jiu Xiaoqi shared and commented that it"s "not bad" and has the vibe she has in mind. Do you guys want me to translate it? :p
Also, have I mentioned that this and the previous chapter were censored on JJWXC (official site of the raws)? It"s like they are trying to turn JJWXC into a monastery. We novel readers of Chinese novels have to turn ourselves into little nuns and monks.