Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 10
Chapter 10
From that day on, Shao Qun seemed to be really hooked on the game of “protecting” him. Not only did he openly take him on walks around campus, but he often spent his lunch break with him.
Li Chengxiu was scared at first that he would do something wrong, and something bad would happen. More than that, he was actually deeply disappointed that Shao Qun had taken over his rooftop place which used to be his own “private land”. Since he had nowhere else to go during lunch, he could only accept this new reality.
But after a few days of getting along with Shao Qun, he felt a lot more at ease.
Shao Qun didn’t do anything bad to him – he just brought him a bunch of food, which he forced him to eat. He would touch his hair for a while and then pinch his face, as if he was playing around with a doll. It was a bit awkward at first, but if he dared to show any unwillingness, Shao Qun would immediately lose his temper. Li Chengxiu gradually got used to it and let him touch around as much as he wanted.
The more they got along with each other, the more his fear of Shao Qun faded. To think about it, even though Shao Qun would often threaten to beat him up, he had never actually done it. And now he was even… nice to him.
Li Chengxiu had finished the lunch box that Shao Qun bought for him. His facial expression was complicated, when from time to time, he would sneak a peek at the handsome boy who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. The outline of his face was as beautiful as a painting.
He didn’t understand why Shao Qun would suddenly hang out with him. He never concealed how much he hated Li Chengxiu before. As far as he could remember, Li Chengxiu had never done anything that would particularly please Shao Qun, yet they were now spending time and eating together every day.
He was vaguely afraid that Shao Qun might have some bad intentions, but he couldn’t figure out what exactly he could do to him.
It was easier for Li Chengxiu to endure contempt and insults from others than to get used to someone being nice to him.
He had already eaten too much of Shao Qun’s food. He was also forced to accept the reference book[32] he had been eyeing for a while that Shao Qun bought for him. In a short time, Shao Qun had become his creditor.
Receiving something that didn’t belong to him was very scary for Li Chengxiu, yet at the same time he was very moved.
Turns out there were still people in this world who would treat him well. It slightly frightened him. He had never imagined that this unattainable rich young master would do things for him that even his own parents never did for him.
He brought him delicious food, gave him medicine and clean clothes, and even told everyone to stop bullying him. Although Shao Qun’s attitude to him was uncertain, and he would still curse him out when he was unhappy about something, but more often than not, Li Chengxiu felt like he was being cared for.
Why did Shao Qun treat him so well?
Li Chengxiu couldn’t help but be cautious, because generally good things never happened to him. He was even afraid that it was all just a dream. One day he’ll wake, and all of this would turn out to be a fake.
Shao Qun seemed to sense his gaze. He half-opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to look at him.
Li Chengxiu raised the lunch box in his hand: “Thank you.”
Shao Qun squinted his eyes slightly and smiled at him. The lazy expression on this handsome, yet delicate face was unusually charming.
Li Chengxiu’s heart jumped again, and his cheeks felt slightly hot. He quickly lowered his head and continued to eat.
Shao Qun yawned and lay on the ground, turning his back towards Li Chengxiu: “Come here and give me a massage.”
Li Chengxiu took a few more mouthfuls of rice, wiped his mouth, and rushed over. He kneaded Shao Qun’s shoulders with his thin but powerful hands. He was glad to do something that made him feel like he owed Shao Qun at least a little less.
Shao Qun closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a while. Then he suddenly said, “By the way, I rented a place outside the school – it’s only 5 minutes away from here. In the future, you can rest there at noon. I will take you there after school.”
Li Chengxiu’s hands paused: “No… no need… I’m fine here…”
“Be obedient,” Shao Qun said these two words lightly, yet his tone was harsh.
Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you doing this?”
“This? What exactly?”
“Why… are you taking special care of me?”
“It makes me happy,” Shao Qun answered nonchalantly. He then raised his hand and pinched Li Chengxiu’s tender face, “Be obedient, and I will let you graduate comfortably.”
Feeling embarrassed, Li Chengxiu nodded. There was a hint of shyness in his eyes.
After school, Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu to the apartment he had rented temporarily.
At the school gate, the two of them ran into Li Wenxun. This kid’s eyes were still bruised which was probably why he hadn’t shown up at school for a long time. Big Li and Xiao Sheng usually hung out with each other, so Shao Qun was recently all by himself.
They greeted each other, and Li Wenxun gave Li Chengxiu, who was shyly standing behind Shao Qun like a little daughter-in-law[33], a surprised look.
Shao Qun told him what he was up to during the last week.
When Li Wenxun heard that Shao Qun had rented a place for Li Chengxiu, he dragged him aside with an expression of disbelief on his face and whispered, “Bro, you don’t have to do this anymore, okay? I’m telling you, Big Li has recently been too busy picking up girls. And I’ve been dealing with my brother and couldn’t get out of bed for the last couple of days. None of us cares about the stupid bet anymore! You don’t have to take it so seriously.”
Shao Qun put his hands up in the air: “He’s just funny. More like a puppy, really. I’ve been bored recently, so let’s just keep him around for shits and giggles.”
Li Wenxun snorted: “I don’t feel too good. You can play around by yourself. My brother is really ruthless, and I now even have a curfew. My driver is already here, and I have to leave. Just gonna have to wait for my brother to chill out at some point. Then we can go to that place you rented to have a drink together.”
Shao Qun pushed him: “Then go. See you around.”
The apartment was really close to the school. They just basically needed to cross the road and turn a corner to get there. The neighborhood was a little old, but the room was newly renovated, clean and bright, and the layout was very warm and elegant.
The place wasn’t too big – there was just one bedroom, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. All of the rooms were pretty spacious, though. For one or two people it was more than enough.
Li Chengxiu had never seen such a beautiful apartment before.
He lived in an urban village[34] in the old part of the city. It has been up for demolition for ten years now but nothing has happened yet. The traffic there was inconvenient and the road conditions were not good. The bungalow he lived in was blocked by the residential building behind him, so there was only a short time during the day when he could see the sun. The lack of light also made the house humid and cold. In the summer, it could be considered bearably cool but in the winter, it was terrible, since the heating was not working very well. Sometimes Li Chengxiu himself wasn’t sure how he and his mother could survive the harsh winters.
He had always dreamed of living in a house with broad windows, white walls, wooden furniture, and sunlight coming in generously and illuminating the room.
Shao Qun closed the door while holding the key in his hand. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed around.
“All right, it doesn’t stink here. Although it’s pretty crude, it has everything you need, and it’s very clean. In the future, you can come here at noon. Then you don’t need to sleep on the roof anymore. If you want to stay here at night, it’s also fine.”
Li Chengxiu kept looking around, unable to conceal his excitement.
Shao Qun suddenly shouted “Catch!” and threw the key in his hand to the unsuspecting Li Chengxiu.
Li Chengxiu couldn’t react in time, so the key hit him and then fell to the ground.
Shao Qun sneered: “Why are you so stupid?”
Li Chengxiu blushed, bent over to pick up the key, and stared at the silver-white metal in a daze.
Shao Qun sat down on the sofa and muttered to himself, “It was quickly available, and the layout is pretty good.”
Li Chengxiu looked at him, and the rims of his eyes gradually turned red.
As soon as Shao Qun saw his rabbit eyes he asked: “What’s wrong?”
“Is it for real? Are you really letting me live here?”
Shao Qun smiled and said, “Yes, really.”
“I……”
“Hey, you’re not allowed to say no. You have to take whatever I give you! Don’t you know how to show your gratitude?”
Li Chengxiu was holding the key in his hand and felt uneasy. What did Shao Qun want in return for such an amazing favor? The problem was, that either way he was not allowed to refuse. This kind of forced acceptance made him feel embarrassed, and the guilt in his heart only increased.
Shao Qun stood up and took him by the hand: “Come here and I’ll show you.”
He dragged Li Chengxiu through the whole place and finally reached the bedroom.
There were not many things in there, except for a conspicuously large beige bed.
Shao Qun suddenly jumped onto the bed, rolled around in it and let out a long sigh of relief: “Damn, I’m so sleepy. The old geography teacher is so boring. He always extends the class[35] because he talks too much.”
Li Chengxiu stood in front of the bed and carefully examined the room.
Shao Qun supported his head and looked at him with curiosity. Involuntarily, he smiled and waved Li Chengxiu towards himself: “Come here and lie down. This bed is very comfortable.”
Li Chengxiu swallowed, bent down and took off his shoes. He hesitated for a long time, and then finally cautiously climbed onto the bed.
Shao Qun was too impatient to wait, so he pulled him closer with his arm.
When he fell onto the soft bedding, Li Chengxiu felt as if the fatigue of the day had been relieved, so he unconsciously let out a comfortable sigh.
Shao Qun licked his lips, and then suddenly came closer and hugged Li Chengxiu’s waist.
Li Chengxiu was startled, but did not dare to move. He just lay there stiffly as he was hugged.
Shao Qun also seemed to be testing the waters. First, he just wrapped his arms lightly around him, then he slowly tightened his grip, and then he tightened it a little more. Seeing that there was no reaction from Li Chengxiu, not even a breath, Shao Qun became more daring. As if he had finally received permission, he wrapped himself around Li Chengxiu’s waist as tightly as possible.
Li Chengxiu felt that all the blood in his body had rushed to his face. At a complete loss, he just stared at the ceiling, not daring to react.
Shao Qun, on the other hand, gradually relaxed and became much less stiff. Soon he had already presumptuously put half of his body weight on Li Chengxiu and muttered: “I’ve been around you for a long time and I’ve already gotten used to your smell. Did you take a shower yesterday?”
“……Um.”
“Oh, that explains it… From now on you will take a shower here every day and change your clothes too. Do you understand?”
Shao Qun felt good holding Li Chengxiu in his arms – he was just the right size, so it made him comfortable. Suddenly he was really sleepy, so he closed his eyes.
“I’ll sleep for a while.”
Li Chengxiu nodded awkwardly and tried to move away.
Shao Qun pinched his waist: “No moving.”
Li Chengxiu’s body stiffened – every minute and every second he spent like this was very difficult for him.
It must be completely normal for two men to hug each other, so why was he so nervous? His heart was beating so loudly, he was scared it was about to jump out of his throat.
Fortunately, the “torture” didn’t last long. A while after Shao Qun had closed his eyes, his cell phone rang.
Shao Qun cursed impatiently, took his phone out from his trouser pocket and put it to his ear: “I see. I’m coming down now.”
He sat up on the bed: “The driver has come to pick me up. My dad is coming home today… I gave you the key already. I can’t stay here today but I’ll come over tomorrow, okay?”
Li Chengxiu also sat up, moved back quietly and nodded.
Shao Qun glanced at him, suddenly hugged him fiercely as if unwilling to let go and threw him on the bed again.
Li Chengxiu was startled, let out a low cry, and pushed him away: “Wha… what are you doing?”
“What’s wrong with a hug? Why are you so cautious?” Shao Qun asked self-righteously.
Li Chengxiu didn’t have anything to say to that.
There was really nothing wrong with a hug. He often saw his male classmates in school hugging each other on the shoulders. Sometimes Li Chengxiu even blushed when he noticed the boys do that. This right now was really just a hug… It was nothing unusual. He felt ashamed, when he thought that he had just behaved like a woman.
Shao Qun gave him another tight hug before finally letting him go and jumping out of the bed: “I’m leaving. See you tomorrow.” Then he ran out the door like a gust of wind.
Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the empty room and unconsciously touched his blushing face.
Neither of them remembered at the time that “tomorrow” was Saturday.
Li Chengxiu didn’t stay in the apartment that night. Seeing that it was still early, he went to the restaurant to work for a few hours. The next two days he was busy – he had reading to do, he needed to study and also work to make some more money. Occasionally, when he had some free time, he would think about Shao Qun.
Shao Qun he knew now was completely different from the Shao Qun he had met for the first time.
In Li Chengxiu’s opinion, although Shao Qun was arrogant and domineering, had a bad temper, and cursed a lot, he was actually a good person.
Even though he always forced Li Chengxiu to accept his kindness, in the end it was kindness after all. He didn’t know why he was worthy of Shao Qun doing all of this for him. Maybe he pitied him? Even though pity is such a cheap feeling, Li Chengxiu was still grateful and happy to know that there was at least one person who was willing to waste this feeling on him.
Now, when he thought of Shao Qun, he felt warm in his heart. And when he saw that heroic and handsome face in front of him, his ears felt hot. The intimate hug he received from Shao Qun, although it was short-lived, was still fresh in his memory – the warm chest, the strong heartbeat, the fresh and clean breath seemed to be still surrounding him.
Shao Qun was so nice to him, that he couldn’t help thinking how lucky he was to know him and be friends with him.
Li Chengxiu didn’t know which high school they will be admitted to in the future. But wouldn’t it be great if they went to the same high school? But even if they went to different schools, they would only have to be apart for two years. Li Chengxiu’s mind had drifted far, far away, as he was already imagining how they would enter the same university, study there together and work really hard for their ideals and their future.
Go, little rock star…
[1] “Xiao” = “small”, “little”, a term of endearment for someone of a lower seniority/younger than you.
[2] Victoria Harbor is a natural landform harbor in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north (source: wikipedia)
[3] Actually, the title Manager Zhang wants him to use is 总 (zǒng), which is something like a “boss” or “chief”.
[4] Also 总 (zǒng) – possible translations “chief Shao” or “boss Shao”.
[5] It’s what it says in the original (自闭). However, I would presume that he is not actually on the spectrum, rather the author wanted to say that he presents with certain symptoms of social anxiety.
[6] “Three highs” (三高), meaning “high blood sugar”, “high blood lipids”, and “high cholesterol”
[7] Preserve his dignity/ avoid humiliation.
[8] Shenzhen (深圳) is a city in Guangdong province (southeastern part of China). It links Hong Kong to China’s mainland, it’s a port city, and it has been called China’s Silicon Valley (Tencent and Huawei started there).
[9] Older Brother Li
[10] Around 160 USD. Pretty shitty even for the 2010 Shenzhen renting prices. Basically, he couldn’t afford anything decent, and the subsidy probably covered less than 50% of what he had to pay (correct me, if I’m wrong)
[11] 糖水(literally “sugar water”) – collective term for any sweet, warm soup or custard served as a dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese cuisine. Tong sui shops are one of the “must-see” places when visiting Hong Kong.
[12] Again, it’s what it says in the original. Probably, it means that he became more socially withdrawn.
[13] Putting A(阿) in front of somebody’s name is a term of endearment.
[14] Basically, everyone thought that the first character of his given name was his last name, and the second character of his given name was his name. Chinese full names usually consist of 2 or, more often, 3 characters.
[15] Industrial alcohol is distilled ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH), normally of high proof, produced and sold for other than beverage purposes. It is imperative not to confuse industrial alcohol with consumable alcohol! But people still drink it. My grand-uncle used to say that it was much cheaper and not that bad – he died of liver failure.
[16] 86°F
[17] Could be that he is referring to the meaning of character “Xiu” (秀, “beautiful”, “elegant”) in Li Chengxiu’s name.
[18] Around 2,40$. Bare monthly survival income would be around 380$. This is just to illustrate that he really can’t afford to give up on those 2,40$.
[19] 350$
[20] It could get you a small meal, or 5 small bottles of coke, or 12 eggs, or at least 7 bus tickets. I think you could even get a cheap T-Shirt for 15 yuan…
[21] To clarify: “illegal” here means that he was doing illicit work, namely not paying any taxes.
[22] 5’6 ft
[23] In China children are only eligible for discounted bus tickets, if they are not taller than 150 cm (around 5 ft).
[24] The use of national emblems on vehicles is restricted to authorities/people in high places/rich assholes.
[25] Nike swoosh mark, I assume
[26] In the original these clothes are described as 不男不女的打扮 (could also be translated as “unisex”). I’m making this note here because I’ve seen a couple reviews/comments claiming that Shao Qun made Li Chengxiu put on women’s clothes. That is not the case. I suspect he is just wearing some kind of k-pop idol outfit (no hate to k-pop idols)
[27] The original meaning refers to a title given to young masters by slaves when they are anxious. Nowadays it’s used when parents or other adults complain and blame children for being naughty.
[28] Older brother.
[29] Li Wenxun’s older brother also appears in “You’re in Love with an Idiot ” as a minor antagonist. Li Wenyao is kinda insane when it comes to his brother.
[30] Muscle and joint massage oil in traditional Chinese medicine.
[31] Reference to a Chinese idiom “under the crotch humiliation” (胯下之辱) which refers to the practice of having to crawl between somebody’s legs, showing humility and subservience.
[32] Could be a dictionary, could be an encyclopedia, could even be an atlas. We’ll never know.
[33] Means that someone is quiet, delicate, obedient, and pleasing to the eye. Modern usage doesn’t imply any familial relations – rather it’s a joking description of someone who is behaving very properly.(ex. “Hey, when did you become such a little daughter-in-law?”)
[34] Urban villages – are villages that appear on both the outskirts and the downtown segments of major Chinese cities. They are a unique phenomenon that formed part of China’s urbanization efforts. Urban villages are commonly inhabited by the poor and transient, and as such they are associated with squalor, overcrowding and social problems. (source: wikipedia)
[35] Basically, he continues to teach, even though the class is already over.
