Chapter 4: Only Adding Trouble — He suddenly—slightly—wanted to kiss her.
Ultimately, because Xia Wei was terrified that Mr. Jiang really would call the police, she stopped. After exercising a little, her sleep was actually somewhat better that night.
Most unfortunately, the next day when she went to work, she once again ran into Mr. Jiang from downstairs in the elevator. After Jiang Zhi Zhou saw her, he clearly hesitated for a second before moving his feet to enter the elevator. Xia Wei mentally spat at him in contempt. Pah! If you have the ability, then don’t come in.
The two of them stood on opposite ends of the elevator, neither of them speaking——an absolutely awkward scene. Xia Wei took out her phone and lowered her head, pretending to play a game on her phone. When the elevator rang with its soul-saving beep, ding, she didn’t turn her head around as she exited.
Just as she left the gate of the neighborhood, she received a message from Ye Kai.
「Are you free tomorrow night? I want to treat you to dinner.『cheerful』」
Seeing Ye Kai’s WeChat1 message, Xia Wei’s heartbeat unawaringly sped up. The corners of her lips curved into a smile as she replied to him. 「We agreed that this time, I’ll treat you instead. What do you want to eat?」
Ye Kai: 「If I’m eating with you, anything will be fine『cheerful』」
…How can such an agreeable, pure sweetheart be so provocative?
Xia Wei: 「Then let’s go eat hotpot n(≧▽≦)n」
Ye Kai: 「Okay n(≧▽≦)n」
Pfff. Seeing that he had duplicated her own Japanese-style emoticon, Xia Wei couldn’t help but laugh. He really was…very cute!
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「Tomorrow night, I’m going to eat dinner with a cute boy~ Wish me well n(≧▽≦)n」
Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Is it that Ye Kai from last time?」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year” 「Yes!」
Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Jelly 『cry』Continuing to work overtime tomorrow. Don’t know when I can have a vacation 『cry』」
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Are you even as tragic as I am?『smile』I don’t know how many months I need to move bricks at the construction site『smile』
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「I feel that out of us all, the one most idle is Xia Wei」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「Where am I idle? Isn’t my nail salon also busy?『smile』」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「When you have the free time to date, isn’t that considered idle?」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『smile』」
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Twiggy, cheer up a bit. They’re going to break up immediately anyway.」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Hahahahahahahaha」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『smile』This goddess will not lower herself to your level and be at odds」
Although Xia Wei said such words, her several prior failures in love still made her somewhat nervous. This time…should go smoothly, right?
Ye Kai is so cute. It definitely will go smoothly!
On the day she was going out to eat with Ye Kai, Xia Wei intentionally wore a new dress, her nails painted again by Xiao Qiu. Xiao Qiu had asked her while helping paint Xia Wei’s nails, “Do you have a date today?”
Ke—ke— The word ‘date’ caused Xia Wei to cough. “Kind of?”
“Is it that handsome guy who asked to treat you to a meal last time?”
“Mhmm.” Xia Wei looked at her nails that had just been painted with an electric heart design. She was brimming with anticipation for her date tonight.
She was the one who had decided on a hotpot restaurant. While she would not dare to say that she had eaten all the hotpot places in A City, but at the very least, she had eaten from the vast majority. The restaurant she had decided on was the one she felt had the best flavor. Afraid that the proprietor wouldn’t give her a table that night, Xia Wei intentionally arrived half an hour in advance. She didn’t expect that Ye Kai would already be standing at the door, waiting for her.
She saw that he had also specially dressed for today as well, attired completely in straight guy aesthetics that wouldn’t make people looking at him want to ridicule him. When Xia Wei teased him, he said, especially embarrassed, that his younger sister had helped him pick his clothes.
Xia Wei felt that having a younger sister was truly convenient.
This time, she wasn’t as reserved, ordering a table of her favorite foods. Ye Kai also didn’t say much about this, simply smiling. After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Xia Wei sniffed at her sleeves and sighed helplessly. “Aahh, strong smell of hotpot.” I wouldn’t have worn a new dress if I had thought of this earlier, ai.
Ye Kai said, “It should be better after the wind blows it away a bit.” He looked at her probingly. “Why don’t we go for a walk?”
In her heart, Xia Wei was very willing, but in order to cover up her nerves and shyness, she raised a hand to brush back her hair behind her ear. “Okay. This helps digest the food a bit quicker.”
Xia Wei’s residence was not far away from the hotpot restaurant located in Starlight Plaza. The two of them chatted throughout the entire journey, unexpectedly and unconsciously walking back to Xia Wei’s neighborhood. She looked at the familiar building in front of her and halted. “Ah, I’m here.”
Ye Kai stared blankly. “So quickly?”
“Yes.” Xia Wei laughed, taking out her phone to open up an exercise management app. “Walked ten thousand plus steps! The highest record of mine this past year.”
Ye Kai also smoothed his lips into a smile, laughing slightly as he looked at the neighborhood before him. “The area you live in is pretty good.”
Xia Wei said, “I couldn’t afford to buy an apartment here. My friend did and is temporarily letting me live here. The area is really good though.”
This small neighbourhood had plenty of greenery. In addition, the park seemed to be decorated with flowers, trees, and ponds, resulting in a lot of people taking walks and exercising every day in it. She thought for a moment and asked Ye Kai, “Are you in a hurry? If not, we can still go inside for a stroll. The decor here is very beautiful.”
The speed at which Ye Kai’s ears flushed red could clearly be seen by the naked eye. Xia Wei felt that she resembled an evil tyrant taking liberties of a good house husband. Hurriedly, she explained, “Don’t misunderstand. I meant a simple stroll through the park.”
“Mn.” Ye Kai made a sound of agreement, but the redness of his ears still hadn’t faded.
At this time, there just happened to be many residents moving about the neighborhood. Moreover, because it was spring, a season of warmth and flowers, there were a lot more people than in winter. Ye Kai and Xia Wei walked side by side on the stone road, the warm yellow streetlights slowly lengthening their shadows.
Looking at the blooming peach blossoms above their heads, a tiny sigh escaped Ye Kai’s lips as he voiced, “Previously, I have only heard people talk about looking at cherry blossoms at night. I didn’t expect that peach blossoms would also be so beautiful at night.”2
When he said this, Jiang Zhi Zhou just happened to be driving his car past them. Tonight, he and Fang Wan had went out to eat Western-style food, so he had returned later than usual. His gaze swept past Xia Wei and Ye Kai’s bodies before he continued to drive the car into the open garage.
He had always had an impression of the Miss Xia who lived upstairs from him. She had moved in for merely a year, yet he had already seen her come back with three different men.
The first time had been when she had just moved in. The second time was the hottest period of last summer. The third time was just a moment ago.
His sister-in-law had once asked him, In the end, what type of girl do you think suits you? He was unable to come up with an answer to this question, but when it came to who was an impossible fit for him, that person would surely be this Miss Xia.
Suddenly, a burst of wind blew through the night, causing the peach blossom branches overhead to tremble in disorder. Pink petals fluttered about in the breeze, floating down gently like pink snowflakes.
“Wow, so beautiful!” Xia Wei couldn’t help but gasp. Sure enough, spring was the season of romance.
Ye Kai chuckled and gazed at her. “The petals are falling on your hair.”
“Mn? Where?”
“Don’t move. I’ll help you take them off.” Ye Kai raised his hand and lightly plucked out the peach petals that had fallen onto her head. He lowered his eyes slightly, meeting Xia Wei’s eyes.
Their gazes held for a moment, heartbeats suddenly speeding up.
Perhaps because of the moonlight intoxicating the heart or the peach blossoms captivating the eyes, he suddenly—slightly—wanted to kiss her. Both of their heartbeats seemed to pulse like a beating drum. Xia Wei gazed at Ye Kai’s face. The longer she gazed at him, the greater her desire grew. Suddenly, he leaned his head forward.
Ye Kai’s lips brushed against her hair, caressing it before he suddenly woke up.
“So—sorry!” His face was thoroughly red, and he was without a clue as to how he should explain his rude actions just now. “That, I, I didn’t on purpose… Sorry!”
Apologizing solemnly to Xia Wei once again, Ye Kai fled at lightning speed. Left behind, Xia Wei watched as he ran far away, her lips involuntarily frowning.
Hey, hey, it’s clear that she is the bully, so why is the one sinking and running away him…
Her heart, which had been wildly beating endlessly, gradually slowed down. Xia Wei exhaled and walked over in the direction of Building 3.
An orange cat was reclining on the outside steps beside the gate. Upon seeing Xia Wei return, she mewed and went up with her to eat. There were always stray cats inside the neighborhood. This orange cat in particular had previously been fed by Xia Wei several times, so it waited for her to get off work every night at that location.
Taking out her long-prepared cat food from her bag, Xia Wei examined the orange cat’s increasingly plump figure. She thought to herself that it was definitely deceiving her; she could not be the only one that was feeding it. As it was said said, ten orange cats, nine slags—this indeed was a bit true…3
Suddenly, she recalled that stray cat when she was in senior high school and the head teacher that loved to scratch cats during night study.
Sighing lightly, she grabbed her phone and opened up the best friend chat.
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「I realized that I really am no good『sheds tears』Just now, Ye Kai wanted to kiss me. I restrained myself for quite a while, and at the last moment, he fled『sheds tears』」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Hahahaha I knew it. Eight Treasure, pay up pay up~」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「Fucking Xia Wei, isn’t this disease of yours acting up too quickly! This was just a few days!」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「You actually gambled on this『smile』『goodbye』」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「『picks nose』」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「I think we should try and get a scientist to study Xia Wei. Such an adorable boy that makes you want to kiss him as soon as you see him, yet when he takes the initiative to kiss you, you even unexpectedly avoid it!」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Very sympathetic for her. She is destined to have no sex life」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『smile』『smile』『smile』『smile』」
Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Is it because you’re moving too quick? You should examine your interactions again.」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『covers face』Does dating really need to have physical contact? Can’t we just date properly?『covers face』」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「…Wake up girl. A man only wants sex. No one wants to talk about Plato’s platonic love with you」
Xia Wei despairingly pressed the screen lock button.
The plump orange cat was still concentrated on eating its cat food. Xia Wei pinched its fat behind and went upstairs.
Just before going to sleep, she once again opened her phone. The group chat already had several dozens of messages. Rather than reading all of them, she opened the message Ye Kai had sent her an hour ago.
Ye Kai: 「I’m really sorry for today. I also don’t know what happened to me… I really am not that type of person! In short… Sorry! Sorry!『cry』If you are still willing, can I take you out to the movies Saturday afternoon? I want to apologize you in person『sheds tears』」
Xia Wei stared at this message, lost in thought. Clearly, she was the root cause, yet she caused the other party to blame himself so much and be so distressed. She didn’t know how she should speak of this topic with Ye Kai. Perhaps it really was like what Sweetie said; everything had happened too quickly and too suddenly, which was why she resisted it.
Perhaps, it was better to spend more time together.
Embracing this kind of resolution, she sent Ye Kai an adorable 「Okay」.
Chinese messenger app by Tencent (桃花) peach blossom is also figurative for love affair. Go figure. (每日一笑，十只橘猫九只胖，这话真不假呀) A variation of a joke. Ten orange cats, nine plump—these words are indeed true.
Chapter 4: Only Adding Trouble — He suddenly—slightly—wanted to kiss her.
Ultimately, because Xia Wei was terrified that Mr. Jiang really would call the police, she stopped. After exercising a little, her sleep was actually somewhat better that night.
Most unfortunately, the next day when she went to work, she once again ran into Mr. Jiang from downstairs in the elevator. After Jiang Zhi Zhou saw her, he clearly hesitated for a second before moving his feet to enter the elevator. Xia Wei mentally spat at him in contempt. Pah! If you have the ability, then don’t come in.
The two of them stood on opposite ends of the elevator, neither of them speaking——an absolutely awkward scene. Xia Wei took out her phone and lowered her head, pretending to play a game on her phone. When the elevator rang with its soul-saving beep, ding, she didn’t turn her head around as she exited.
Just as she left the gate of the neighborhood, she received a message from Ye Kai.
「Are you free tomorrow night? I want to treat you to dinner.『cheerful』」
Seeing Ye Kai’s WeChat1 message, Xia Wei’s heartbeat unawaringly sped up. The corners of her lips curved into a smile as she replied to him. 「We agreed that this time, I’ll treat you instead. What do you want to eat?」
Ye Kai: 「If I’m eating with you, anything will be fine『cheerful』」
…How can such an agreeable, pure sweetheart be so provocative?
Xia Wei: 「Then let’s go eat hotpot n(≧▽≦)n」
Ye Kai: 「Okay n(≧▽≦)n」
Pfff. Seeing that he had duplicated her own Japanese-style emoticon, Xia Wei couldn’t help but laugh. He really was…very cute!
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「Tomorrow night, I’m going to eat dinner with a cute boy~ Wish me well n(≧▽≦)n」
Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Is it that Ye Kai from last time?」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year” 「Yes!」
Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Jelly 『cry』Continuing to work overtime tomorrow. Don’t know when I can have a vacation 『cry』」
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Are you even as tragic as I am?『smile』I don’t know how many months I need to move bricks at the construction site『smile』
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「I feel that out of us all, the one most idle is Xia Wei」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「Where am I idle? Isn’t my nail salon also busy?『smile』」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「When you have the free time to date, isn’t that considered idle?」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『smile』」
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Twiggy, cheer up a bit. They’re going to break up immediately anyway.」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Hahahahahahahaha」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『smile』This goddess will not lower herself to your level and be at odds」
Although Xia Wei said such words, her several prior failures in love still made her somewhat nervous. This time…should go smoothly, right?
Ye Kai is so cute. It definitely will go smoothly!
On the day she was going out to eat with Ye Kai, Xia Wei intentionally wore a new dress, her nails painted again by Xiao Qiu. Xiao Qiu had asked her while helping paint Xia Wei’s nails, “Do you have a date today?”
Ke—ke— The word ‘date’ caused Xia Wei to cough. “Kind of?”
“Is it that handsome guy who asked to treat you to a meal last time?”
“Mhmm.” Xia Wei looked at her nails that had just been painted with an electric heart design. She was brimming with anticipation for her date tonight.
She was the one who had decided on a hotpot restaurant. While she would not dare to say that she had eaten all the hotpot places in A City, but at the very least, she had eaten from the vast majority. The restaurant she had decided on was the one she felt had the best flavor. Afraid that the proprietor wouldn’t give her a table that night, Xia Wei intentionally arrived half an hour in advance. She didn’t expect that Ye Kai would already be standing at the door, waiting for her.
She saw that he had also specially dressed for today as well, attired completely in straight guy aesthetics that wouldn’t make people looking at him want to ridicule him. When Xia Wei teased him, he said, especially embarrassed, that his younger sister had helped him pick his clothes.
Xia Wei felt that having a younger sister was truly convenient.
This time, she wasn’t as reserved, ordering a table of her favorite foods. Ye Kai also didn’t say much about this, simply smiling. After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Xia Wei sniffed at her sleeves and sighed helplessly. “Aahh, strong smell of hotpot.” I wouldn’t have worn a new dress if I had thought of this earlier, ai.
Ye Kai said, “It should be better after the wind blows it away a bit.” He looked at her probingly. “Why don’t we go for a walk?”
In her heart, Xia Wei was very willing, but in order to cover up her nerves and shyness, she raised a hand to brush back her hair behind her ear. “Okay. This helps digest the food a bit quicker.”
Xia Wei’s residence was not far away from the hotpot restaurant located in Starlight Plaza. The two of them chatted throughout the entire journey, unexpectedly and unconsciously walking back to Xia Wei’s neighborhood. She looked at the familiar building in front of her and halted. “Ah, I’m here.”
Ye Kai stared blankly. “So quickly?”
“Yes.” Xia Wei laughed, taking out her phone to open up an exercise management app. “Walked ten thousand plus steps! The highest record of mine this past year.”
Ye Kai also smoothed his lips into a smile, laughing slightly as he looked at the neighborhood before him. “The area you live in is pretty good.”
Xia Wei said, “I couldn’t afford to buy an apartment here. My friend did and is temporarily letting me live here. The area is really good though.”
This small neighbourhood had plenty of greenery. In addition, the park seemed to be decorated with flowers, trees, and ponds, resulting in a lot of people taking walks and exercising every day in it. She thought for a moment and asked Ye Kai, “Are you in a hurry? If not, we can still go inside for a stroll. The decor here is very beautiful.”
The speed at which Ye Kai’s ears flushed red could clearly be seen by the naked eye. Xia Wei felt that she resembled an evil tyrant taking liberties of a good house husband. Hurriedly, she explained, “Don’t misunderstand. I meant a simple stroll through the park.”
“Mn.” Ye Kai made a sound of agreement, but the redness of his ears still hadn’t faded.
At this time, there just happened to be many residents moving about the neighborhood. Moreover, because it was spring, a season of warmth and flowers, there were a lot more people than in winter. Ye Kai and Xia Wei walked side by side on the stone road, the warm yellow streetlights slowly lengthening their shadows.
Looking at the blooming peach blossoms above their heads, a tiny sigh escaped Ye Kai’s lips as he voiced, “Previously, I have only heard people talk about looking at cherry blossoms at night. I didn’t expect that peach blossoms would also be so beautiful at night.”2
When he said this, Jiang Zhi Zhou just happened to be driving his car past them. Tonight, he and Fang Wan had went out to eat Western-style food, so he had returned later than usual. His gaze swept past Xia Wei and Ye Kai’s bodies before he continued to drive the car into the open garage.
He had always had an impression of the Miss Xia who lived upstairs from him. She had moved in for merely a year, yet he had already seen her come back with three different men.
The first time had been when she had just moved in. The second time was the hottest period of last summer. The third time was just a moment ago.
His sister-in-law had once asked him, In the end, what type of girl do you think suits you? He was unable to come up with an answer to this question, but when it came to who was an impossible fit for him, that person would surely be this Miss Xia.
Suddenly, a burst of wind blew through the night, causing the peach blossom branches overhead to tremble in disorder. Pink petals fluttered about in the breeze, floating down gently like pink snowflakes.
“Wow, so beautiful!” Xia Wei couldn’t help but gasp. Sure enough, spring was the season of romance.
Ye Kai chuckled and gazed at her. “The petals are falling on your hair.”
“Mn? Where?”
“Don’t move. I’ll help you take them off.” Ye Kai raised his hand and lightly plucked out the peach petals that had fallen onto her head. He lowered his eyes slightly, meeting Xia Wei’s eyes.
Their gazes held for a moment, heartbeats suddenly speeding up.
Perhaps because of the moonlight intoxicating the heart or the peach blossoms captivating the eyes, he suddenly—slightly—wanted to kiss her. Both of their heartbeats seemed to pulse like a beating drum. Xia Wei gazed at Ye Kai’s face. The longer she gazed at him, the greater her desire grew. Suddenly, he leaned his head forward.
Ye Kai’s lips brushed against her hair, caressing it before he suddenly woke up.
“So—sorry!” His face was thoroughly red, and he was without a clue as to how he should explain his rude actions just now. “That, I, I didn’t on purpose… Sorry!”
Apologizing solemnly to Xia Wei once again, Ye Kai fled at lightning speed. Left behind, Xia Wei watched as he ran far away, her lips involuntarily frowning.
Hey, hey, it’s clear that she is the bully, so why is the one sinking and running away him…
Her heart, which had been wildly beating endlessly, gradually slowed down. Xia Wei exhaled and walked over in the direction of Building 3.
An orange cat was reclining on the outside steps beside the gate. Upon seeing Xia Wei return, she mewed and went up with her to eat. There were always stray cats inside the neighborhood. This orange cat in particular had previously been fed by Xia Wei several times, so it waited for her to get off work every night at that location.
Taking out her long-prepared cat food from her bag, Xia Wei examined the orange cat’s increasingly plump figure. She thought to herself that it was definitely deceiving her; she could not be the only one that was feeding it. As it was said said, ten orange cats, nine slags—this indeed was a bit true…3
Suddenly, she recalled that stray cat when she was in senior high school and the head teacher that loved to scratch cats during night study.
Sighing lightly, she grabbed her phone and opened up the best friend chat.
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「I realized that I really am no good『sheds tears』Just now, Ye Kai wanted to kiss me. I restrained myself for quite a while, and at the last moment, he fled『sheds tears』」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Hahahaha I knew it. Eight Treasure, pay up pay up~」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「Fucking Xia Wei, isn’t this disease of yours acting up too quickly! This was just a few days!」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「You actually gambled on this『smile』『goodbye』」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「『picks nose』」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「I think we should try and get a scientist to study Xia Wei. Such an adorable boy that makes you want to kiss him as soon as you see him, yet when he takes the initiative to kiss you, you even unexpectedly avoid it!」
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Very sympathetic for her. She is destined to have no sex life」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『smile』『smile』『smile』『smile』」
Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Is it because you’re moving too quick? You should examine your interactions again.」
Asking for Suicide at Eighteen This Year: 「『covers face』Does dating really need to have physical contact? Can’t we just date properly?『covers face』」
Eight Treasure Congee Female Hero: 「…Wake up girl. A man only wants sex. No one wants to talk about Plato’s platonic love with you」
Xia Wei despairingly pressed the screen lock button.
The plump orange cat was still concentrated on eating its cat food. Xia Wei pinched its fat behind and went upstairs.
Just before going to sleep, she once again opened her phone. The group chat already had several dozens of messages. Rather than reading all of them, she opened the message Ye Kai had sent her an hour ago.
Ye Kai: 「I’m really sorry for today. I also don’t know what happened to me… I really am not that type of person! In short… Sorry! Sorry!『cry』If you are still willing, can I take you out to the movies Saturday afternoon? I want to apologize you in person『sheds tears』」
Xia Wei stared at this message, lost in thought. Clearly, she was the root cause, yet she caused the other party to blame himself so much and be so distressed. She didn’t know how she should speak of this topic with Ye Kai. Perhaps it really was like what Sweetie said; everything had happened too quickly and too suddenly, which was why she resisted it.
Perhaps, it was better to spend more time together.
Embracing this kind of resolution, she sent Ye Kai an adorable 「Okay」.
Chinese messenger app by Tencent (桃花) peach blossom is also figurative for love affair. Go figure. (每日一笑，十只橘猫九只胖，这话真不假呀) A variation of a joke. Ten orange cats, nine plump—these words are indeed true.
