Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 40
Chapter 40
After washing up, Li Chengxiu lay on the bed together with Teacup and glanced at the calendar over and over again.
In a few days, the results of the accounting exam were to be published. Like all the candidates waiting for the results, Li Chengxiu was feeling uneasy. He kept recalling the questions he answered and was second-guessing himself.
The little Teacup was whimpering in his arms. After a while, it patted the cheap calendar with his little paw. Seeing that Li Chengxiu didn’t respond, he bit it.
Only after that, Li Chengxiu came to his senses. He quickly took the paper out of the dog’s mouth.
He turned his body, held his little Teacup up, pointed its warm belly towards himself, and rubbed it with his fingers: “Hungry?”
The puppy wobbled its little chocolate-colored fluffy body and whimpered.
Li Chengxiu took out a couple of dog treats from under his bed and brought them to Teacup’s mouth: “You can’t eat too much! I have already fed you.”
He couldn’t figure out how this creature with such a tiny stomach could eat so much.
When Li Chengxiu was still living at Shao Qun’s house, Shao Qun had looked up the feeding guides for teacup poodles on the Internet. Such a small dog couldn’t eat heavy foods, or it would die. Li Chengxiu was very anxious about it. When he fed Teacup, he counted out the dog food for him kibble by kibble. As a result, he had now trained the little guy to only accept food, if it was brought up to his mouth. Li Chengxiu had to personally feed him. When sleeping, Li Chengxiu had to hug Teacup – only then, it would keep quiet.
Li Chengxiu was probably a naturally-born caregiver. When he took care of the ones around him, he always did his very best. Even if it was just a palm-sized dog.
After feeding the little guy, he put him in his dog nest and covered him with a thick quilt. He then turned off the lights to go to sleep.
Just as he closed his eyes, a harsh sound suddenly rang out in the quiet little room.
Li Chengxiu was startled. He quickly sat up, picked up the mobile phone from the bedside table and, without even looking at the caller ID, put it directly to his ear.
“Hello……”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
Li Chengxiu looked doubtfully at the display, and suddenly his heart throbbed.
It was Shao Qun.
Li Chengxiu also fell silent. Then he thought about it and quietly hung up.
Unexpectedly, just as he dropped the call, the phone impatiently rang again.
Even Teacup whimpered in protest. Li Chengxiu had no choice but to press the “accept” button again.
Shao Qun’s irritable voice entered his ear: “You really have the guts to hang up on me.”
Li Chengxiu worked hard to adjust his breathing, trying to get through the pain in his heart. He took several deep breaths in a row before he could finally calm down.
“Shao Qun, what’s the matter?”
Shao Qun’s voice was a little hoarse, and his tone was really bad: “You still have some things at my place. Come and pick your shit up. Did you leave it here, so it can grow maggots?”
Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, then he whispered, “I don’t think…I left anything.”
“I’m telling you that you did. If this rubbish isn’t yours, is it mine then?”
Li Chengxiu pursed his lips: “Then… throw it away.”
There was first a pause on the other side of the phone, and then Li Chengxiu could only hear cursing: “So now I have to take care of throwing out your fucking things? I don’t have time for this shit. Come over quickly and pack everything up!”
Li Chengxiu was resolutely unwilling to step into that villa again: “Get rid of it…I don’t want it.”
Shao Qun was so angry that his veins burst out. He gritted his teeth and said, “Where do you live? I’ll send it to you!”
Li Chengxiu repeated again: “I really…don’t need it.” He couldn’t remember leaving anything important behind.
“Tell me where you live! You left without saying a word. In case your phone doesn’t answer one day, who the hell am I going to call for the money you owe me? You want to renege on your debt?”
Li Chengxiu quickly said, “No… I will pay everything back… In the span of two years.”
“No way! How am I going to find you if you run away one day? I need to know where you are. Or you have to pay everything back to me now with interest.”
Li Chengxiu’s face paled. The arm that was outside the quilt was shaking from the cold.
He never thought that Shao Qun could be such a jerk. After the break up, Shao Qun’s vile nature was gradually exposed to Li Chengxiu. As if Shao Qun wasn’t controlling it at all anymore. The more Li Chengxiu understood him, the more it chilled him to the bone.
He said hoarsely: “In that case…you can find me at the place where I work.”
Shao Qun paused: “Address.”
The next day, Li Chengxiu was sweating profusely while cooking. The waitress came into the kitchen from the restaurant floor: “Chef Li, there’s a friend looking for you.”
Li Chengxiu thought that it might be Shao Qun, and his legs got a little weak. He hesitated and said, “I’m busy now. Ask him to wait.”
The young girl hummed in acknowledgement. Before she left, she couldn’t help asking with some anticipation: “Chef Li, how do you know such a handsome man? Are you close with him?”
Li Chengxiu shook his head awkwardly: “I’m not at all close with him.”
A few people working nearby made fun of the young waitress.
Li Chengxiu was restless, thinking that Shao Qun was just a few meters away. He felt his calves twitching.
The colleagues around him were all very nice, and Li Chengxiu was welcomed as a newcomer. After he finished cooking the dish, someone next to him took over, saying that since his friend was waiting for him, he should go on his break earlier.
This was the lunch rush – the busiest time at the restaurant. Everyone was supposed to be at their places, and everybody was very busy. Li Chengxiu felt embarrassed to leave, so he promised to return as soon as possible.
When he entered the lobby, he saw Shao Qun sitting at the table in the corner, holding the menu in his hand, looking bored with his chin propped up.
As soon as he noticed Li Chengxiu, his back straightened immediately, his cheeks were puffed up, and he sharply stared at him.
In order not to attract attention, Li Chengxiu pulled out the chair and sat down. With some difficulty he said, “What did I leave behind?”
Since the moment Li Chengxiu appeared, Shao Qun’s eyes never left his face. Casually he said, “I tossed it.”
“Huh? Didn’t you want to send it to me?”
Shao Qun said with confidence: “You said you didn’t want the stuff anymore.”
Li Chengxiu was speechless, but then he said in a low voice, “Then it’s fine…” He got up and planned to leave.
Shao Qun grabbed his hand.
Li Chengxiu was startled and looked around nervously.
They were sitting in the corner, and if someone didn’t deliberately look this way, they wouldn’t notice them at all, but even so, Li Chengxiu was still uncomfortable.
Shao Qun frowned: “Your hands are so dry! Can’t you put something on them?”
Li Chengxiu tried to pull his hand back and said in a trembling voice, “Let go. What are you doing?”
“Can’t I come see you?” Shao Qun still held Li Chengxiu’s hand tightly. He then exhaled and said, “Chengxiu, haven’t you come back to your senses after so many days? Are you still planning to continue fighting with me?”
In Shao Qun’s view, Li Chengxiu seemed reluctant to leave him.
He could see that this softie really liked him. So it was easy to understand why he was so mad when he found out about the marriage.
After calming down, Shao Qun thought about it carefully and felt that Li Chengxiu was just jealous. He most likely ran away from home, trying to attract his attention.
Although he felt that this kind of pointless back-and-forth with tears and all the girly melodrama was very annoying, he couldn’t help but secretly rejoice that Li Chengxiu liked him so much.
From the bottom of his heart Shao Qun believed that this matter could be resolved.
It was impossible for him not to get married, and now it was impossible for him to hide it from Li Chengxiu. So all he needed to do was offer him more benefits and find a way to make him accept the situation.
Li Chengxiu was so kind-hearted, that as long as Shao Qun coaxed him a little more, softened his attitude a little, and gave him a way out of this embarrassing situation, he wouldn’t be too rigid.
Compared with the love and obedience he could buy for money, Li Chengxiu’s undisguised, sincere and true love made Shao Qun feel both excited and happy.
So he needed to lure him back.
Besides, these couple of days that Li Chengxiu was away, Shao Qun felt really uncomfortable.
The house suddenly became empty, and it felt like nothing was in its place anymore. Shao Qun slept alone at night, and there was no one next to him to hold or talk to. He couldn’t help feeling this void. He couldn’t eat the food made even by the top level chefs anymore – all he could think about were Li Chengxiu’s home-cooked meals. Without Li Chengxiu, he felt a sense of crisis, as if his life had been derailed. Shao Qun suddenly found that everything was inconvenient, and he was upset by every little thing.
Li Chengxiu ended up occupying such a large part of his life. It’s not that Shao Qun didn’t understand that he was veering into dangerous territory, but his urgent nostalgia for the peaceful and stable life with Li Chengxiu had surpassed his vigilance. He hesitated but in the end, he still took the initiative to make a call.
It was no exaggeration to say that recently he had been thinking about Li Chengxiu every single day. But now that they met, Li Chengxiu seemed to be anxious to avoid him, and it looked like he was sitting in a frying pan every second of their interaction. Shao Qun couldn’t help but get angry.
Li Chengxiu clenched his fists tightly and enunciated word by word, “Shao Qun, we broke up.”
The muscles on Shao Qun’s face tightened. He was barely controlling himself, so as not to lose his temper right here and now.
With a gloomy face, he gritted his teeth and said, “Li Chengxiu, don’t be shameless.”
Li Chengxiu’s eyes felt hot, and he was trying really hard to remove his hand from Shao Qun’s grip.
Shao Qun held onto it, and didn’t let him move. He then said eagerly: “Just fucking say what you want!”
Li Chengxiu said urgently, “Let go.”
Shao Qun took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible: “Chengxiu, I’m going to buy a restaurant for you. You can choose any good location in Shenzhen, and you can manage it any way you like, okay? In the future, you can work, if you want. Or you can enjoy yourself at home, if you don’t feel like it. If you want to work at a company, I will find a position for you immediately. So stop all of this, okay?”
Li Chengxiu was about to cry: “Shao Qun, stop… insulting me.”
Shao Qun stiffened when he heard that, and unconsciously he weakened his grip. Li Chengxiu took the opportunity to pull out his hand. He pushed away his chair and ran back to the kitchen.
Shao Qun slammed the table and then slammed the door on his way out under the side glances of people around him.
Still panicked, Li Chengxiu got off work at four o’clock. Adrian called him right on time.
Now that he had memorized Li Chengxiu’s shift schedule, he would often drag Li Chengxiu to hang out with him, when he had nothing to do.
Li Chengxiu was not good at rejecting people. He was especially bad at rejecting people like Adrian who were enthusiastic and heartful, and didn’t understand or didn’t care about other people’s rejections. After helplessly getting into his car, Li Chengxiu couldn’t help but ask him, “Don’t you need to work?”
Adrian smiled nonchalantly: “There are other people in the store. If I need to be there every day, what’s the point of being the boss? Might as well let people support me.”
Li Chengxiu was critical of some of Adrian’s views. He thought that everyone needed to work. Even if they didn’t want to, they had to support themselves.
Adrian glanced at him with a smile: “I know what you’re thinking. But in fact, it’s also a valuable skill to get someone to support you. My biggest wish in the past was to find someone to support me. I wanted to be idle and happy every day. Later, I got kicked, and then I had to reconsider certain things. I don’t think that this plan will work out for me in the long-term, since I’m going to get older sooner or later. Fortunately, I’m talented, and I’m still alive and well, but…” Adrian smiled smugly, “I’m not as foolish as you. Look at my shop, and look at my car – all of it was pried out of my ex’s hands.[17] But I guess, if everyone was as stupid as you, the world would be in harmony.”
Li Chengxiu’s face was pale.
Adrian glanced at him with a sigh: “I know what I’m saying sounds ugly. But it’s just the way I am. You can think about it for yourself. And even though I probably don’t have the right to say it, I’m still going to say it – if somebody doesn’t take care of themselves first, they deserve to be unlucky.”
These days, Adrian would often take Li Chengxiu out to eat delicious food in different restaurants. Today he took him to a Thai restaurant.
Li Chengxiu was a little surprised when they arrived at the place. Wasn’t this the same Thai restaurant that Li Shuo took him to before?
After Adrian pushed him through the door, he winked and said, “I’m going to introduce you to a good man.”
Li Chengxiu was startled, but it was too late to leave. Adrian’s so-called “good” man had already lifted his eyes up from the menu and was looking directly at them.
That handsome and elegant man was no one other than Li Shuo whom Li Chengxiu hadn’t seen in a long time.
The two of them looked at each other with surprised expressions.
After coming to his senses, Li Shuo stood up excitedly, took a few steps towards them and exclaimed in disbelief, “Chengxiu!”
Li Chengxiu was also very surprised: “Boss?”
Li Shuo’s face was full of joy, and he couldn’t help hugging him.
Although the action was a bit sudden, he still didn’t cross any lines and just lightly hugged his shoulders.
Right next to him, Adrian exclaimed: “You two know each other? How could you have met behind my back? How about my sense of accomplishment as a matchmaker? What about my sense of accomplishment, huh? I demand compensation!”
Li Chengxiu was also very happy. He felt really guilty that he left without saying goodbye to Li Shuo.
Li Shuo asked eagerly: “Chengxiu, I’m so sorry that last time I provoked your boyfriend in a moment of anger! I don’t know how much trouble it caused you. Later, after you disappeared so abruptly, I felt guilty for a long time. Are you OK?”
Li Chengxiu smiled reluctantly: “I’m okay.”
Li Shuo led him to his seat: “Come on, sit down. Let’s have a good chat.”
Adrian pouted and sat down too. “I’m going to order the most expensive thing on the menu.”
Li Shuo smiled and patted his head: “Good boy, order whatever you want. You did an unprecedentedly good job at matchmaking this time.”
Adrian showed a rare gentle smile, half-joking and half-seriously he said: “I can’t sleep, if I don’t find you a good wife.”
Li Chengxiu vaguely felt that the atmosphere between those two was a little unusual, but he didn’t say anything.
Li Shuo already had his eyes on Li Chengxiu, as he raised the glass of readied wine: “To meeting old acquaintances at old places! I’m going to drink this glass. You can join me if you want,” said Li Shuo and drank his red wine in one go, as if there was no tomorrow.
Li Chengxiu took a symbolic sip.
While waiting for their food, Li Shuo carefully chatted with Li Chengxiu.
“When I went back home that night, I felt that I had done something wrong. I called you many times but I couldn’t get through. After that, you didn’t come to work, or even to class. I tried to find you in many ways, but I just couldn’t. At that time, I really regretted my actions, and I was so afraid that he did something bad to you.”
Li Chengxiu recalled that chaotic and crazy night, and unconsciously got goosebumps.
Li Shuo asked again: “Chengxiu, tell me honestly, was everything okay?”
Li Chengxiu shook his head stiffly: “Yeah. He just resigned for me.”
Li Shuo was a little relieved, but still very apologetic: “I’m so sorry. To be honest, at my age, I rarely am driven by impulses. But when I saw that you had to succumb to someone who clearly didn’t deserve you, I felt really upset from the bottom of my heart.”
Then Li Shuo smiled lightly: “However, now that you’ve broken up with him, I feel you’ve made the right decision. Although it will inevitably be painful, at least you are free now. I am very happy.”
Li Chengxiu’s face turned pale.
Li Shuo observed his expression and laid it on a little thicker: “When Xiaohui told me all about it, I didn’t know he was talking about you, but I already could sympathize with you.”
Li Chengxiu’s face was almost bloodless. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
Adrian was meanwhile shouting right next to him: “What did you call me? What did you call me again? How many times have I told you not to call me that! Do you think that a name that sounds that corny is worthy of me? Does it fit me?[18]”
Li Shuo blinked at Adrian: “Adi, Adi… okay?” He looked at Li Chengxiu again and smiled gently, “Did I say too much?”
Li Chengxiu shook his head slightly.
“But what I said was the truth.” Li Shuo looked into his eyes, “I’m indeed very happy that you are single now.”
Under his hot and sincere gaze, Li Chengxiu felt his face become slightly hot, and he slowly lowered his head.
[1] 315$
[2] In the original it says that he lay in the shape of this character: 大. I mean, if you even care to know at this point.
[3] Police
[4] Emergency Center
[5] Kowloon encompasses the northern part of Hong Kong, on the mainland across Victoria Harbour. It’s a shopping, arts, and entertainment district.
[6] It’s 130 km away from Kowloon…
[7] The school bully friend that I constantly forget even exists XD
[8] 2 hours and 30 minutes by plane.
[9] Chabei
[10] This superstition comes from the belief that ghosts and bad spirits would not pursue and trouble someone with an ugly, unlucky name. So children in the rural areas are often given derogatory nicknames to protect them from evil.
[11] From a short poem by Xu Zhimo (1897 – 1931) called “Shayanara” (“To Japanese Girls”). Full poem:
The most gentle one bowed his head,
Like a water lotus flower that is too shy to overcome the cool breeze,
The Tao is cherished, the Tao is cherished,
There is sweet sorrow in that precious voice-
Shayanara! (translation by Yu Xinying)
[12] The count of phones destroyed by Shao Qun in a fit of anger this far: 2
[13] “Third Young Miss” means that she is the third among the sisters, so she can’t be the eldest sister.
[14] Around 24,000$
[15] 6300$
[16] Read “Additional Inheritance” to know more about Shao Qun’s bad deeds in Beijing
[17] For heartbreaking details read “Additional Inheritance”, and then this passage will make you cry.
[18] “Xiaohui” (小辉) is Adrian’s real given name. “Xiao”(小) means “small” and “Hui”(辉) means “glow” or “light”, or “radiance”. So his name basically means “little ray of light”. Call me corny, but I think it’s beautiful.
