Chapter 34: Hug Tight For A Minute, Then Kiss For Ten
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
"President Jiang, are you One Hundred Thousand Whys?"
As soon as she said it, Jiang Shu’s leg moved. She was only wearing a T-shirt, her smooth skin touched Ji Lianxing.
With this touch, Ji Lianxing felt not good at all.
"President Jiang, don’t move."
"What’s wrong? Why can’t I move?" Jiang Shu’s toes rubbed a few times on Ji Lianxing’s ankle, like if Ji Lianxing told her not to do it she just had to do it.
Ji Lianxing’s breath trembled. She wanted to leave, but Jiang Shu held her tight, making her unable to move even if she wanted to.
"I want to get down!"
"No~"
"Wuwuwu, I was wrong." The hot damp feeling made Ji Lianxing feel very uncomfortable.
"Where were you wrong?" Jiang Shu’s voice had a smile. She thought teasing Ji Lianxing like this was really too fun.
"I don’t know where I was wrong, but I admit it. Let me down, okay?"
"Kiss me once, then I’ll let you down."
Ji Lianxing didn’t even think. Her lips touched Jiang Shu’s face.
"Face doesn’t count, it must be the mouth."
"You—" You’re too much!
But what way did Ji Lianxing have? She could only follow.
She lightly touched Jiang Shu’s lips. Usually it was Jiang Shu who took the lead, now it was her "taking the lead", she always felt very shy.
Jiang Shu’s lips were soft, with a layer of lip balm, carrying the sweet taste of papaya.
Ji Lianxing was drawn by this smell. Just when she was ready to leave, suddenly, she felt something went into her mouth, hooked her, tangled her, took away her soul.
In Ji Lianxing’s mind flashed the matches she played with when young, the kind that needed to slide on the phosphorus surface to light up.
Sizzle——
In the dark night it was like lighting a match. First a small flame, by accident it lit Ji Lianxing’s lips. Then it started burning fierce, burning till the skin was hot, the heart beating wild, even the blood started to run fast.
Sea water surged toward her, covered the flame, the flame burned back again, there was no way to put it out.
Ji Lianxing held Jiang Shu’s face. After a few times of restraint, she still answered her.
At that moment Jiang Shu opened her eyes. The dark ceiling blended with Ji Lianxing’s black hair. The faint light outside the window fell into her eyes. In her shining eyes there was the light that struck the soul, more beautiful than roses blooming at night.
"Little Hedgehog." Jiang Shu stopped this kiss.
"What is it?" Ji Lianxing’s breath was heavy, like she already used up all the oxygen in her lungs just now.
"Your kissing skill is not bad."
Ji Lianxing supressed her heartbeat, lay on one side, tucked the messy hair behind her ear that blocked her sight. "Actually I don’t kiss often."
"Which number am I?" Jiang Shu turned her body, faced Ji Lianxing, reached out and tucked the quilt for her.
"The first one."
In the dark, Jiang Shu raised her brow, thinking if Ji Lianxing’s answer was true or false.
"So the first kiss was me?"
"Mm." Ji Lianxing closed her eyes, her tongue licked her lip corner, feeling that kiss just now was a bit not enough.
Feeling Jiang Shu lean closer, she reached out one hand, hugged tight, just like when sleeping before.
Ji Lianxing leaned in her arms, listened quietly to Jiang Shu’s heartbeat, the rhythm calm.
"President Jiang, I feel a little sleepy."
"Go to sleep."
Ji Lianxing subconsciously said good night, but in fact no sound came out.
Jiang Shu held her, clearly felt her breath steady, only one or two minutes passed.
It seemed these days Ji Lianxing was really tired, so falling asleep in a second was not exaggerated at all.
Jiang Shu hugged her, closed her eyes, tried to sleep, after a while opened again, like this again and again, she ended up being sleepless.
Sleepless because of that photo. Ji Lianxing just now kept asking her. She didn’t say anything. One reason was she thought Ji Lianxing maybe did not remember her.
Staring at the dark ceiling, Jiang Shu recalled the past.
She remembered when she was twelve, she went with her grandfather to Lou'er County.
It was a summer vacation. Her grandfather went to visit an old comrade. When comrades met, they always recalled the glorious years. But as a child, Jiang Shu had no interest in their topics.
So she went to play with the grandson of her grandfather's comrade.
At that time, almost all country kids could swim. Each one swam skillfully. But Jiang Shu was born afraid of water. She couldn’t swim at all.
So she stood at the side of Jin'e River watching them.
Among the group of kids, the one she remembered most was the chubby girl with a swim ring.
She stood out too much. Her swimming was really good. She looked round and fat, yet in the water she was the most agile.
She could backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, all of them. That little swim ring even looked unnecessary.
“Hey! Come down and play! Why stand on the bank?”
In her memory it was the chubby girl who greeted her first.
“I can’t swim.” Jiang Shu was a little uneasy standing on the bank.
“Come come, I’ll teach you.” The chubby girl was very warm. “We have swim rings. The water here isn’t deep. You’re so tall, don’t be scared!”
So that day Jiang Shu really went down to swim.
That was her first time feeling what it was like to swim in a river.
The fear when water covered her throat and made her feel she couldn’t breathe swept over her.
“I feel a little scared.”
“Don’t be scared! I’ll protect you!”
The chubby girl held her, pulled her, and taught her how to paddle forward in the water.
They played in the river for almost half an hour. Jiang Shu finally tried to let go of the swim ring and swim once on her own.
If not for a naughty boy throwing a rubber ball at her, Jiang Shu might not have drowned.
It was strange. People who can’t swim are like this. Once in the water, it feels like they forget everything.
Jiang Shu was 1.5 meter-tall, yet in water only 1.4 meters, she still sank.
It felt like her ears were covered with plastic wrap. Sound and the world were cut off.
Her mouth was full of the taste of water. She could only struggle under the water, caught in that helpless feeling.
She tried to grab something, but nothing was there. She felt the next second she would suffocate.
Her sight in the water was blurry. But when that chubby hand reached for her, Jiang Shu grabbed it like a straw for life.
Right after, the swim ring slipped onto her. A force pulled her up, and she broke through the water, breathing air again.
“Hey, how did you fall down! The water’s not even as deep as your height!”
“Cough cough cough—” Jiang Shu choked badly.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” The chubby girl laughed while helping her catch her breath. “Hey, why are you crying?”
“I, cough cough, I’m not crying, I just choked!”
“Ai, you’re really dumb. Making people worry. Forget it, I’ll go borrow another swim ring for you!”
When Jiang Shu was little, she didn’t like to talk. She was born withdrawn and didn’t like making friends.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
But that afternoon swimming in Luo’er County, she felt the simple friendship between children.
Especially the smile of the chubby girl, it left a deep impression on Jiang Shu.
Sunny, warm, cute, helpful, all good words could be used on her. She really wanted to be her friend.
But sadly, after evening, Jiang Shu had to go home with her grandfather.
At parting, she realized she never asked her name. She only remembered that the kids all called her Obedient Little Fatty.
Later, for several summers, Jiang Shu went again with her grandpa to Luo’er County.
There were still many children swimming in Jine River in summer, but she never saw Obedient Little Fatty again.
Now Jiang Shu is already 28 years old. Every time she recalled her childhood, she thought of that summer.
That afternoon, though short, was so deep it made her remember it not only a thousand times but hundreds more.
Once heaven scatters the seed of fate, it will surely let it bloom and bear fruit.
Jiang Shu now had this feeling. She did not expect that the one she was looking for all along was now in her arms.
"Ah, you are really obedient." Jiang Shu held the sleeping Ji Lianxing, and could not help but drop a kiss on her forehead.
"Good night, Little Hedgehog."
Ji Lianxing slept soundly that night, the whole night without dreams.
In the morning, she was woken by the sound of birds outside the window.
Chirp chirp, the birds’ song worked even better than an alarm clock.
When she opened her eyes, Jiang Shu’s face was right in front of her.
No matter how she looked at her sleeping face, it was pleasing to the eye.
Ji Lianxing was in a half-dream, half-awake state. In that unclear moment, when she saw Jiang Shu’s face she felt very happy, as if Jiang Shu was her girlfriend.
She moved closer, eyes half-squinted. After struggling a few times between dream and reality, she opened her eyes fully. She started to look closely at Jiang Shu. On her smooth skin were tiny short hairs, and under the morning light it looked a bit too pretty.
Ji Lianxing began to count her eyelashes, one, two, three. Then Jiang Shu’s eyelashes trembled, the next second her eyes opened. From the thick lashes grew a pair of amber eyes, clear and bright. In her pupils, Ji Lianxing saw her own figure.
“President Jiang, good morning.”
“Good morning, Little Hedgehog.” Her voice was lazy and sexy. Then her arm came out from under the quilt, she stretched and let out a sigh. “You really made my sleep quality better.”
“I also slept well.” Ji Lianxing slipped back under the quilt, showing only a small head. The look in her eyes at Jiang Shu was full of hidden liking. “What do you want for breakfast?”
Jiang Shu’s eyes fell on the player. “Not hungry yet. How about some morning music first?”
“Sure, what do you want to hear, I will play it for you.”
“You choose.”
Ji Lianxing came out of the quilt and went to the CD rack to pick a disc. She showed Jiang Shu the cover, on it were Faye Wong in sunglasses and Takeshi Kaneshiro making a phone call. “President Jiang, how about we listen to this ‘Chungking Express’* soundtrack this morning?”
*Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong anthology, crime, comedy-drama film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence.
“Sure.”
Ji Lianxing put the CD in the player. The first song was Faye Wong’s cover of “Dream Lover.” The music began with drums and electric guitar, and Ji Lianxing’s musical cells were stirred up.
“Come on, President Jiang.” Ji Lianxing pulled Jiang Shu from the bed. “Listening to music needs dancing.”
Ji Lianxing put the CD in the player. The first track was Faye Wong’s cover of “Dream Lover.”* The music began with drums and electric guitar, and Ji Lianxing’s musical cells were stirred.
*Cantonese cover of ‘Dreams’ by The Cranberries
“Come on, President Jiang.” Ji Lianxing pulled Jiang Shu down from the bed. “Listening to music means dancing.”
“Dance? How to dance?” Jiang Shu was a little flustered. The only dance she had learned was folk dance, forced at home in elementary school, just some basics.
“I’ll hold you and dance.”
“You can dance?” Jiang Shu asked Ji Lianxing.
“I can’t.” But Ji Lianxing still wrapped her arm around Jiang Shu’s waist. The retro CD was already playing music. “Just do it casually.”
Ji Lianxing wore a white short tank top with loose shorts, bought at the market, the set cost less than 50 yuan. But on her it looked very good. Her hair was a little messy from just waking up.
Jiang Shu wore her pink oversize T-shirt. The two of them holding each other looked like two rebellious girls just awake from being drunk.
From the machine floated out the singer’s first line: “Dream lover, hug tight for a minute, then kiss for ten.”
Ji Lianxing held Jiang Shu’s waist and stepped back. Jiang Shu moved forward in sync. Ji Lianxing stepped forward, Jiang Shu stepped back. Their moves were a bit stiff.
“Haha, you’re so silly.” Ji Lianxing laughed at her.
“Aren’t you the one silly?”
“I’m not as silly as Jiang Shu.” Ji Lianxing, rarely, was a little playful.
“Jiang Shu is not silly, Ji Lianxing is silly.”
Ji Lianxing felt Jiang Shu was really silly.
“President Jiang, have you seen ‘Chungking Express’?”
Jiang Shu shook her head. “No~ I only watched ‘Fallen Angels.’ So what is ‘Chungking Express’ about?”
“There are three stories in total. In one of them, Faye Wong’s character is called A’Fei. A’Fei secretly loves Cop 663. She often sneaks into his house to help tidy up, and in his room she sings and dances as if no one else is there. Her secret love is hidden and private, but I think her feelings are direct and sincere.”
“And 663? Did he fall in love with her later?”
Ji Lianxing leaned her head on Jiang Shu’s shoulder, hugging her tight, smiling as she said, “Of course you need to see the ending yourself.”
Jiang Shu did not speak. She felt an urge to watch the movie right away and know the answer. She thought Ji Lianxing was really an interesting girl, always able to stir her curiosity.
She held Ji Lianxing and looked out the window. The sun was bright.
In autumn, such good weather was rare. Light came through the thin curtain, falling on their hair, sparkling, as if even the sunshine understood Ji Lianxing’s meaning.
Some say, in ‘Chungking Express,’ A’Fei’s story is the highest form of secret love. And Ji Lianxing’s way of secretly loving Jiang Shu was holding her in the morning while listening to this ‘Chungking Express’ CD.
They danced barefoot, the floor creaked under their steps.
With her clumsy steps Ji Lianxing stepped on Jiang Shu three times. Jiang Shu was pulled off by her and stepped on her twice. They did not know what kind of dance it was, but they were really happy, laughing and hugging each other.
Jiang Shu leaned close to Ji Lianxing, her heart thumping hard.
“Have we hugged for one minute?” Jiang Shu asked her.
“I think so.”
“Then should we kiss?” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
“Hmm?”
At this moment, the CD player looped back to that song “Dream Lover”:
[Dream lover, hug tight for a minute, then kiss for ten.]
Authors Note:
Sorry, because of the LOL finals, I need to go watch the match. The extra update will be moved to tomorrow.
That means tomorrow besides the regular update, there will be two extra chapters, three chapters in total.
