New chappie out today! Many thanks to miumiu for helping out in finishing the chapter and as always, thanks to our regular translators and editors!
Hope you enjoy! They really are so cute together ^0^
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Chapter 51.2: He is a brilliant gem at my side. Even though he"s as ignorant about love as I am, I am unwilling to let him go.
The night slowly deepened. The entire room was bathed in warm light. Ji Bai was taking a shower, while Xu Xu lay on the bed, supporting her chin in her hands, looking out of the window to the quiet, star-lit night.
She heard footsteps behind her, the bed sank a little, and warmth slowly enveloped her.
"Do you like it?" Ji Bai"s deep tones resonated at her ear.
When Xu Xu looked down, she saw that he was holding a translucent green jade bangle.
She lifted her head to look at him: "A love token?"
Ji Bai chuckled: "Uhm". He lifted her hand and placed the bangle on it. The bangle was elegant, and would not easily be dislodged. The delicately clear jade, and her pale, snow white hands, were well suited for each other.
"My grandfather gave it to me. Wear it when we visit him later."
Xu Xu was startled by this revelation. It would seem that this bangle had been intended for Ji Bai"s future wife.
"This is too valuable. Isn"t it inappropriate to give it to me now?"
Ji Bai understood what was going through her mind. Their relationship was barely a few months old. If this bangle were to be taken as the present given to the Ji family daughter-in-law on first meeting her, it would really be too early. (I don"t think I"ve translated the sense of this correctly)given by Ji family to the daughter-in-law
Yet, on the one hand, he had met her father today, and he felt it was necessary to give her some indication of his intent. However, on the other hand . . .
No matter what happened in the future, regardless of whether they could really be each other"s life partner as they hoped, his whole-hearted wish, was that this bangle, which had accompanied him for almost 30 years, would belong to the woman in front of him.
Even more so, the possibility of the two of them holding hands to a ripe old age was extremely high. He could almost say with certainty that there were no obstacles to that conclusion.
Thus, he replied carelessly (casually): "What era do you think we live in? Don"t think so much. You"ve already said, this is a love token. Take care of it."
When he put it that way, Xu Xu stopped trying to decline his gift. It was just that, looking at the beautiful, sleek jade bangle**, she thought: what could she give him as a love token? What could possibly appropriately express her feelings for him? It was a headache ah.
(this is funny; 珠圆玉润 is actually meant to be taken metaphorically, to refer to excellent singing or polished writing – here, I a.s.sume it"s literal!)
Monday night was the department"s celebration dinner, with a special ceremony to commend Ji Bai and Xu Xu"s contributions in Myanmar.
It was early evening, the lights were already lit. The s.p.a.cious banquet hall bustled with the noise of hundreds of people talking and laughing in dozens of tables. Ji Bai and Xu Xu were sitting at the head table with the provincial and munic.i.p.al leaders. Most of the time, Ji Bai was the second person to answer questions by the leadership, thereby blocking the other colleagues" attempts to propose a toast.
When Liu Ting came in, he saw Ji Bai flushed with success and deliberately teased him, "Ji Bai, you should restrict yourself to three cups today. When I asked Xu Xu, who rushed to stop her? Turns out you’ve fallen for this little girl."
The leaders all laughed. Ji Bai willingly took the punishment. He answered with a laugh: "I would like to thank Liu Ting for mediating (announcing?) on behalf of us." Liu Ting was bemused. He laughed, shook his head and said, "Come on! If you’ve fallen for her, who can steal her away? Xu Xu is a good girl, you should be happy, ok?"
Ji Bai was calm. Xu Xu who was usually grave and composed, was mildly embarra.s.sed with the teasing in front of the leadership and only silently ate the food. After a while, she got up to go to the washroom.
Just as she went out and went round the corner in the corridor, she saw the familiar figure of a beautiful woman standing by the window. It was Yao Meng
Xu Xu was silent for a moment, then she stepped forward a few steps to stand by her side.
Yao Meng turned her head toward her, smiled, and didn’t make a sound. Behind them, every now and then, people were coming and going, especially colleagues from other departments. When they saw Xu Xu, they greeted her with a smile. But at Yao Meng, they only nodded, or just ignored her.
After a while, Xu Xu asked: “I heard tomorrow is your last day. How is the new job?"
Yao Meng looked out of the window to the night outside. She smiled but didn’t answer her. "Xu Xu, a lot of people are saying behind my back that I am living off a rich man.Why are you coming and talking to me about work?"
Xu Xu was silent for a moment, “Your character is not the kind that will be a rich man’s mistress, they misunderstood.”
Yao Meng was stunned and turned around and looked at her. She was silent for a few seconds before saying, “They are right, I did get a very rich boyfriend.”
“Then you must really like him.” Xu Xu said faintly.
Yao Ming did not say anything. She looked at Xu Xu, a complicated smile in her eyes, “Xu Xu, thank you."
They were silent for a moment. Xu Xu then said: “In fact, it doesn’t have to be like this."
Yao Meng was stunned and Xu Xu continued, "If you stop working, people will misunderstand you.”
Yao Meng looked at her quietly.
She is right, it doesn’t have to be like this.
She was determined to devote herself to her career, but now she had decided to give up. She no longer wanted to work alongside her former colleagues. Why? She had tried to a.n.a.lyse this. Was it due to the feeling of degradation she experienced from Ji Bai"s rejection? Or remorse over the Brother Lu case? Or was it also because of the shame she felt in yielding to the temptation of better opportunities for development, greater fame plus fortune, and abandoning her old ideals ?
But Xu Xu seemed to understand her.
The dark night was still. Yao Meng looked at the vast sky in front of the bright lights of the earth and softly said: “Xu Xu, sorry."
Xu Xu nodded: “I accept.”
Yao Meng could not help but laugh. She walked over and gently hugged her.
That evening Yao Meng left early. In front of the restaurant waiter"s respectful eyes and the questioning eyes of others, she got into her boyfriend’s luxury car.
Her boyfriend Lin Qingyan was more than thirty years old. He was tall and thin, and looked smart and handsome in a sophisticated black suit–like the senior executive of a large company. He gently held her hand: "Did everything go smoothly?”
Yao Meng had felt a bit emotional, but because of Xu Xu her mood had brightened. She nodded: “Everything went very well.”
Lin Qingyan smiled, pondered for a moment, said: “Although you have resigned, later, you should keep in touch with your previous colleagues. You are young, this is your first job after graduation, the friends you’ve made here are often for life."
Although the two of them had been together for less than two months, he was ten years older than her, more mature and serene; he was both a boyfriend and a mentor to her. This is what deeply moved Yao Meng. Leaning against his arms, she said “Ok, I will listen to you. Thank you for your support.”
Lin Qingyan looked at the beautiful face of the girl in his arms. Tender feelings rose in his heart as he gently hugged her and bowed down to kiss her.
This weekend, Ji Bai"s neighbours had organised a drive out to the suburbs (sounds like countryside haha) for some activities. Ji Bai had naturally brought Xu Xu along to partic.i.p.ate in them.
By the time they reached their destination, it was already very late on Friday night. The moonlight shone clear and delicate in the valley. The lake was deep, and occasionally, a startled fish would set off little waves across the water. The atmosphere was refreshing and pleasant.
Some people were fishing, some were rowing on the water, while others sat by the campfire cooking food and singing. Ji Bai liked to fish, so he and Xu Xu took a rod each and sat by the side of the deep lake. In no time at all, he had caught several big fish, earning the surprised admiration of the onlookers.
At this time, someone yelled: "Ji Bai, bring your wife over here for some skewers!"
Ji Bai pulled Xu Xu with him by the hand, and laughingly said: "My wife likes to eat spicy food, put more chili on it."
When Xu Xu heard herself being addressed by this t.i.tle, her cheeks flushed, and she remained silent.
That night, everyone put up tents and slept on the mountainside. (valley?)The next day, they planned to get up early and climb the mountain to view the sunrise. When it was approaching three o"clock, someone roused everyone else, and they followed the pitch-dark track up the mountain. Although it was dark and the wind was gusty, there were many couples. Each pair would hold hands and whisper softly, so it was not boring.
When they were almost at the mountaintop, someone suggested: "Let"s run! Let"s see who can reach the top first. Losers have to buy the victors breakfast!"
As everyone agreed, Ji Bai mischievously interjected: "What"s the point of running solo? Let"s have the men piggy-back their wives. Whoever reaches the top first is the winner."
The others felt this was more interesting, and agreed in succession.
Ji Bai knelt down in front of Xu Xu: "Get on." Xu Xu climbed up, and heard him whisper: "I didn"t break my promise. Today I will help you win to make up for the loss previously."
Xu Xu was startled, and thought – the previous time, when they had lost while planning tennis, he had said they would have opportunities to make up for the loss. Unexpectedly, he still remembered those words. At this time, someone gave the command, and all the men, with their wives on their backs, rushed up the mountain track.
Very soon, someone noticed: "Ji Bai is too evil! His wife is so light!"
Xu Xu leaned against Ji Bai"s shoulder, and could not help laughing.
Sure enough, they were the first to charge to the top of the mountain, leaving the others far behind. It was not time for the sunrise yet, so the light at the top was dim and grey. They were surrounded on all sides by nothing but rugged wilderness, and all was quiet.
More people had reached the top, and were quietly waiting for the sunrise. Ji Bai grew restless, and caught hold of Xu Xu"s waist, intending to kiss her. However, he then saw her retrieve something from her chest pocket. With flushed cheeks, she patted Ji Bai"s palm: "Open your hand."
Ji Bai obediently complied.
The light was not good, but he was still able to identify the object, it was . . . a piece of a grey rock?
Ji Bai held the rock, and heard Xu Xu methodically explaining: "This is a fossil. My dad found it when he went on an expedition previously. It"s not very valuable, but it is remarkable because there"s a very small flower inside, and a leaf. In a while you"ll be able to hold it to the light and see . . ."
As Ji Bai remained silent, she hesitantly looked at him: "This is a love token. Do you like it?"
Ji Bai suddenly laughed in spite of himself, and pulled her into his arms.
You use the grand pa.s.sage of time** to pledge your love for me–, of course I like it, I like it so much that I can"t stand it.
(沧海桑田 – literally, the blue sea turned into mulberry fields; figuratively – the transformations of the world)(yeah fossils takes thousands of years to form)
At that moment, through the misty clouds at the top of the mountain, the warm light of dawn crept over the horizon. Slowly, the land was bathed in the golden light. Some people cheered loudly. Xu Xu also felt her spirits lifting as she took in the majestic, gorgeous scenery. However, where Ji Bai was concerned, the most beautiful view had been in his arms. In the glorious light between heaven and earth, he hugged her from the back, turned her face towards his, and kissed her deeply.
Translators: Shl, miumiu
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Proofreaders: Librismuse