Rock Sugar And Pear Stew

Chapter 92 - Swept out of the house (Translated and edited by Xing)

Li Yubing was recapping how he planned to please Tang Xue"s father when he saw his target storming towards him with a broom.

From Princ.i.p.al Tang"s murderous look, Li Yubing gathered that he was not coming over to sweep the floor.

Li Yubing"s heart skipped a beat and he rose up carefully.

Princ.i.p.al Tang raised the broom towards Li Yubing. "I"ll kill you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I knew you weren"t a good person!"

Li Yubing was utterly confused but he did not dare to oppose. As the s.p.a.ce between the sofa and the coffee table was small, he was unable to dodge and two hits landed on him.

Things happened too suddenly. Tang Xue was stunned for a moment before jumping over to stop her father. "Dad, what are you doing? What"s up with you? Mom! Mom!!"

Her resounding shout carried past the kitchen door and hum of the kitchen exhaust hood to enter Mama Tang"s ears.

Shocked, Mama Tang raced out with the wok spatula still in her hand. She took one look at the chaos in front of her and immediately stepped forward to intervene. "What"s going on? Let go!"

"Don"t stop me. I"ll make this brat pay the price today!"

Mama Tang threw her arms around Princ.i.p.al Tang who had lost his mind and turned her head to signal Tang Xue with her eyes. "Leave, quickly!"

Tang Xue grabbed Li Yubing and ran without delay.

Holding on to each other"s hands, they did not have time to change their shoes. The slippers they wore slapped against the ground as they escaped outside frantically. They dashed out of the residential area in one stretch before running down another two streets.

That day, someone started a thread on the forum.

[I think I saw Li Yubing! He was bolting down the street wearing Versace and plastic slippers!]

Everyone in the thread mocked the thread starter for being crazy and not coming up with a more believable story.

Tang Xue and Li Yubing finally dodged into a small alley. Then, Tang Xue went to the pharmacy at the intersection to buy some medicine, Band-Aids, and masks. On her way back, she pa.s.sed by a minimart and went in to buy a stick of ice cream.

She needed something sweet to comfort herself. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Back at the alley, Tang Xue held Li Yubing"s face and scrutinized it. He was fine except for some broken skin on his cheeks. Her heart ached and she mumbled to herself, "If this causes disfiguration, where am I going to find someone else that"s so good-looking?"

Li Yubing burst into laughter and peered down at her, his eyes tranquil and gentle like the moonlight.

Tang Xue asked him, "Does it hurt?"

Li Yubing shook his head.

Tang Xue continued, "I don"t know what"s wrong with my dad. The way he looked at you seemed like you killed his father… Oh wait, my grandpa is still alive, so how could you have killed him… Li Yubing, did you glare at him?"

"I wouldn"t dare…"

"That"s really strange." Tang Xue shook her head. She thought for a while and said, "Could it be that my father agreed to meet you in order to pull a Hongmen Banquet?"[1]

According to Li Yubing"s history knowledge, the Hongmen Banquet did not involve beating up someone upon seeing them.

Since they could not figure out what happened, they could only try to fix the issue on hand. Li Yubing bent down for Tang Xue to apply the medicine on his face. Though it was only a bit of broken skin which, by right, did not need any medicine, Tang Xue did not want anything to happen to Li Yubing"s good-looking face. She treated it with utmost care and not only applied the medicine for him but did so meticulously. After that was done, she took her time applying the Band-Aid with deep concentration.

Li Yubing suddenly hugged her and straightened up.

"Hey…" Tang Xue"s heart pounded furiously and she almost stuck the Band-Aid onto his eyes.

"I"m tired after bending down for so long."

Tang Xue let him hug her while she applied the Band-Aid. After she was done, Li Yubing continued to hug her and did not put her down. He raised his head to look at her and blinked unhurriedly. "I think I need a kiss."

"Stop fooling around. Let me down."

Li Yubing let her down reluctantly.

Back on solid ground, Tang Xue suddenly smiled as Li Yubing drew back his hands. "Li Yubing, I find this quite incredulous."

"Mm?"

"Originally, I don"t like guys who are too tall."

"Why?"

"Oh, I don"t feel secure."

It was Li Yubing"s turn to feel incredulous. He commented, "Shouldn"t having a tall boyfriend make you feel more secure instead?"

Tang Xue gave it some serious thought before shaking her head. "Well, I just don"t like it."

Li Yubing was a little depressed. "How about you break my legs?"

"But I like it now."

Tang Xue whispered this in a soft voice but Li Yubing heard every word clearly. He felt that his heart was about to melt. He lowered his head to watch her, the corners of his lips curving up as he drew out an "oh".

Tang Xue turned her face to the side and avoided his eyes. She reached for the plastic bag he held and took out the ice cream. Acting nonchalant, she tore the wrapper and asked, "Want some?"

"No."

"Have a taste. Sweet stuff will lift your mood."

Li Yubing was already in a good mood. However, seeing how she asked him so sincerely, he decided to do her the honour. Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Therefore, he nodded. "Mm."

"I"ll eat this side while you"ll eat this side."

"Okay, I"ll hold it."

Tang Xue pa.s.sed the ice cream over to him. Li Yubing held the ice cream while Tang Xue leaned over for a lick. It was sweet and icy, melting immediately in her mouth. After the ice cream melted, her whole mouth was filled with the light fragrance of milk.

Li Yubing usually ate his ice cream in bites. However, he liked seeing his girlfriend eat it in licks. At times like this, she was soft and cute like a tiny kitten.

They ate a few mouthfuls this way. Then, when Tang Xue once again leaned over to lick the ice cream, Li Yubing suddenly moved the ice cream away and lowered his head to meet her.

Tang Xue ended up with a mouthful of Li Yubing"s lips instead of the ice cream.

When she heard Li Yubing"s mischievous laugh, she was a little annoyed. She lifted her head and tried to dodge away but Li Yubing cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss.

Sugar began dancing on the tip of their tongues.

When the kiss ended, Li Yubing looked at Tang Xue"s kiss-reddened lips with curved eyes. He remarked, "I know why you don"t like tall guys."

"Oh?"

"You like to bully people. You"re afraid that you can"t take down those who are tall."

Tang Xue was somewhat guilty. "Li Yubing, what a low-minded thought."

Li Yubing did not continue to dispute this. He raised his finger and tapped her reddened lips lightly. "You"re not allowed to bully anyone else in the future. You can only bully me."

"Stop saying ridiculous things. The ice cream is melting."

Thus, they continued eating the ice cream.

The narrow alley was remote and deserted. Standing in front of an old brick wall covered with mottled patches of moss, they ate the ice cream in turns as the cold autumn wind swept through the alley. When they raised their heads, they saw the sun hanging slightly above the alley mouth, the sunlight shining brightly on the stretch of black bricks-paved floor.

It was a little chilly, and a little warm.

And also a little sweet.

Translator"s Notes:

[1] 鸿门宴 (Hóng mén yàn): Hongmen Banquet was an event in China"s history where a feast was held for Liu Bang with the intention of killing him. He escaped and went on to become the founder and first emperor of the Han Dynasty. People use this phrase to refer to events that hide malicious intentions.

I thought of replacing this with "red wedding" (à la Game of Thrones) but it seems too westernized.

I got a request to translate another novel when I"m done with this one. I took a look at it and it looks like a sweet candy novel, which is something that I"m honestly quite saturated with. It"s probably a fun read, but not interesting enough for me that I"ll dedicate effort over a sustained period of time to translate it.

I"ll most likely take a break after finishing this novel. Translating is fun but even fun hobbies can become tedious obligations when there"s a weekly deadline to meet. There was a period back when my friends asked me about my plans every weekend and my reply would almost always be "translate" with a grimace.

And I"m not a fan of removing the weekly schedule because a) I"m a severe procrastinator motivated by deadlines and b) I told myself that I"ll stick through with this project (deadlines and all) once I chose to take it up. There"s nothing more disappointing than finding out that a novel has been dropped or that the release schedule is insanely slow and I wanted to avoid doing this to others at all cost.

I do have another novel in mind (it"s a cackle-out-loud-in-public kind of funny, even funnier than RSAPS) but I"ll need to see if I can make the same commitment before starting a new project. The author is very active on Weibo so I"ll try to get her approval as well if I do choose to translate it.