CH 3.2

Sometimes, emotions could be impossible to control. Although he couldn’t tell why he didn’t want to be with her, he just couldn’t accept the facts at the moment. He had no good impression on this airdropped sister of his.

Fortunately, she wasn’t too annoying.

Is she not annoying enough?

This was only the first day, and the ambulance was almost called.

Fu Mingxiu couldn’t imagine how he would survive the rest of the time he had to spend with her.

Turning to make sure that the girl had indeed gone up, Fu Mingxiu threw the bag in his hand onto the table. He pointed at the bag and said angrily, “What’s the meaning of this, huh? Trying to attack me with your softness? It’s useless! Not! Going! To! Work!”

—

Lin Yujing woke up in hunger.

It was completely dark outside, and the night light clock showed that it was only nine. She slept for two hours, and she fell asleep as soon as she came upstairs.

During this time, she also had a thrilling dream. That delinquent-looking guy named Shen Juan was looking at her with a drill-like tool on his hand, and the sharp bit was making a sizzling noise. Shen Juan said without any expression on his face, “Take your pants down, I’ll give you a Hello Kitty tattoo.”

Lin Yujing replied, “No, my bottom is so beautiful, and your Hello Kitty is too ugly for it.”

Shen Juan said, “Then I’ll give you a luminous watch tattoo.”

Lin Yujing almost felt like it wasn’t hunger that woke her up, it was the dream.

She propped herself up and leaned against the bed for a good minute.

Then, the hunger came.

Her stomach was churning.

Since she returned from shopping, she only had a glass of water. At first, she was planning to find something to eat, but Mr. Li’s call made her forget about food.

Lin Yujing sighed, and gulped down the glass of water on the nightstand. She felt a little better.

Lying back on her bed, she stared at the ceiling and somehow thought about Mr. Li and the teenager who seemed to be his son.

If she was him, with a father like Mr. Li, then could she also be a little spoiled and sometimes throw a little tantrum?

She realized why she felt annoyed just then.

She was jealous.

Lin Yujing felt weird for having that thought. She never envied others. Probably it was because of this unfamiliar city, being in an unfamiliar environment, and staying with unfamiliar people that made her sensitive.

After all, she left the place where she lived for over a dozen years. Even her parent’s divorce still had some effect on her

No matter how broken it was, that was still her family, and now, even that was gone.

The rumbling from her stomach interrupted her sadness. She rubbed her face and grabbed her hair that was messed up from the nap. Putting on a random pair of pants and grabbing the keys, she decided to go out and seek some food.

There were probably some in the kitchen, but to avoid some unnecessary trouble, she didn’t want to go through other people’s kitchen during this time of the day. Outside, the lights were gentle and bright. The art of the street lamps was like an Italian light show.

The front gate didn’t seem far from the car, but now, it took her a while to get outside. It was busy on the streets, and even a corner revealed the taste of a major city. Following the path that she had in mind, she thought of a 7-11 near the old alley that she went past this afternoon.

With her decent sense of direction, she saw the welcoming 7-11 green sign in less than ten minutes.

Walking over, she got herself a rice ball, a mixed juice, a serving of Kanto cooking, with only three meatballs, spinach tofu, and a fish steak. After paying, she squatted down outside the store and fed a meatball into her mouth.

Unlike the suffocating heat from the afternoon, the city was a bit windy and humid at night. It wasn’t too cold, just enough to feel comfortable, blowing away her frustration she had over the past few days.

Lin Yujing happily chewed on the meatballs, and sent a second one into her mouth. Looking up, she saw a group of people showing up from the other end of the alley.

At first, they were too far for her to see clearly.

Then, they started crossing the street and coming toward her.

They were Mop No.1, 2, and 3, with the sleepy delinquent guy following behind.

The delinquent probably got some sleep this afternoon and finally looked awake. He still wore the same set of clothes but with an extra jacket. He had his hands in his pockets and was listening to the person next to him.

He seemed to hate the cold weather.

Not knowing what they were talking about, she saw the two Mops in front started laughing as they crossed the street.

Mop No. 1 finally saw her.

Lin Yujing was wondering if she should greet him. She wasn’t planning to return to that tattoo parlor ever again, so she thought she wouldn’t ever meet them again.

This might just be a coincidence. With their parlor nearby, they probably appeared regularly around here.

She put the rest of the meatball into her mouth and put the toothpick back into the paper cup. She wanted to raise her hand to just wave and leave.

Mop No. 1 turned his head back and said something to the others.

Then, Shen Juan looked over, and their eyes met.

They were already on this side of the road. The light from the convenience store and the street lamp mixed together to stretch out his long shadow. Submerged in the night, the young man’s facial features looked  gloomy and solid, like an old picture in a dark room that has lost most of its details.

Lin Yujing remembered that short, realistic dream and looked toward his hand, fearing that he would come toward her and say “Take your pants down, I’ll give you a Hello Kitty tattoo.”

Three seconds later, Shen Juan looked down again expressionlessly.

Lin Yujing was a bit stunned. She blinked and swallowed the meatball. Not caring much about what just happened, she picked up the toothpick and poked into a tofu.

Just as she was about to eat, a cluster of noises came from the other end of the alley. Another group of six or seven people walked this way.

Mop No. 2 cursed and rolled his sleeves up to prepare for battle.

Lin Yujing suddenly understood.

This was a scheduled match between the delinquents. It would probably start with a talk, then a fight. They meet in front of the 7-11, the two heads greet and have some physical interaction. This process was called cannon lighting.

Next, the side who lost in the argument would furiously pull out his fifty-meter blade and rush up along with a few buddies.1

Looking at the two fired up groups getting closer and closer, she noticed the head of the new group was only around eighteen or nineteen years old. The person had a cigarette in his mouth with a mad-looking expression on his face. It was like the words “I am fearless” were written all over his face. 

They got together, and the passerby all took a detour. Lin Yujing, with her cup of Kanto cooking in her hand, seemed very eye-catching being right in front of the store.

The fearless looked over at her.

Lin Yujing was not afraid of this situation, as she has long gotten used to it. She raised her head and looked back at him while still calmly chewing on the food she had in her mouth.

The fearless’s glance slipped to her slim white legs and stopped. He puffed out a bit of smoke and was about to speak.

Shen Juan suddenly leaned to his side and blocked between them.

“Chat over there?” Shen Juan raised his chin.

The fearless, “?”

Shen Juan was very logical, “How impolite of you to interrupt others eating Kanto cooking.”

Author’s Notes:

“Watch where ya looking at! Get lost!” — Shen Juan, a polite delinquent.