While Duan Ye is doing one vs. three on his side, Jiang Yumo has already finished washing up and returned to her room. The four girls also have their own group chat, where they discuss things that boys shouldn’t see.
Now that they don’t have to attend classes and the pressure of the college entrance exam is gone, they have a lot of free time every day. Sometimes, when Jiang Yumo wakes up in the morning, there are hundreds of messages in the group chat. It’s hard to believe how they can chat so much.
She is currently drying her hair when there’s another commotion in the group chat.
This group was created by Yan Qing, and the group name is “Chen Yu, Luo Yan, Bi Yue, and Xiu Hua1“…
Yan Qing : [@Luo_Yan Darling, are you home?? Don’t ignore your sisters’ messages just because you’re going out with your Dear Brother Duan~]
Jiang Yumo : […I’m home!]
Sun Mengting : [Um, even though I’ve always felt like you two were already dating, I still want to ask, have you started dating?]
Yan Qing : [@Bi_Yue, what a ridiculous question. Is Brother Duan that timid of a person? It’s definitely official!]
Sun Mengting : [Hahaha!]
Jiang Yumo : [Well~~~]
Yan Qing : [Look at these excited wave emojis, I really suspect that something big happened tonight.]
Ning Zhiyu : [I saw someone setting off fireworks.]
Yan Qing : […Why didn’t I feel surprised?]
Sun Mengting : [Probably because they set off fireworks once when Yumo was seventeen. This is the second time.]
Yan Qing : [Correction, there’s no Yumo in this group, only Luo Yan!]
Jiang Yumo : […]
Yan Qing : [But, Luo Yan, do you know how you messed up? I forgot to remind you today. The relationship should have been made official tomorrow!]
Ning Zhiyu : [What? Isn’t today an auspicious day according to the Chinese almanac?]
Yan Qing : [@Xiu_Hua, today might be an auspicious day according to the almanac, but it’s not suitable for defining the relationship. Think about it, today is Yumo’s, oh, I mean Luo Yan’s birthday, and also the day to define the relationship. Wouldn’t that mean celebrating both the birthday and the anniversary on the same day? What a loss! They’d have to celebrate on the same day and she would only receive one gift!”
Jiang Yumo hadn’t expected Yan Qing’s perspective to be so intricate.
And it wasn’t wrong.
But most people wouldn’t think of that, right?
Indeed, apart from Yan Qing, everyone else in the group fell silent, unsure how to respond. Sun Mengting finally broke the silence : [Hahaha, you’re really… considerate.]
Jiang Yumo : [It’s too late! I’ve already agreed~]
Yan Qing regretted deeply and sighed : [It’s not your fault, sweetheart. It’s my fault as your family member for not reminding you!]
Yan Qing quickly changed the subject, reviving the atmosphere : [By the way, by the way, hehe, have you kissed? Don’t try to trick me, I’m asking about a real kiss, not a kiss on the forehead or cheek!]
Jiang Yumo cautiously replied to the message.
She couldn’t directly say they kissed, but she couldn’t lie either, as the group’s principle was ‘lying to guys is okay, but not to girl friends’.
Jiang Yumo : [ . ]
Yan Qing, being her good friend for a decade, instantly understood : [Hehehehe~ By the way, this is the secret code in our group, @Xiu_hua, and a period means ‘yes’.]
Sun Mengting : [@Xiu_Hua, have you kissed Zhou Ji for real?]
A few minutes later, Ning Zhiyu replied : [ , ]
Jiang Yumo : [? Wait, hahaha! I get it!]
Yan Qing : [This is the most useless domineering male lead I’ve ever seen!]
Sun Mengting : [Alright, there’s another secret signal in the group chat. A comma means ‘no’…]
During this period, they were all very happy every day, leisurely wandering around Ningcheng, almost visiting every place. Since Duan Ye and Jiang Yumo officially became a couple, they were inseparable, holding hands whenever the eight of them went out together. Jiang Yumo was also very affectionate, while Zhou Ji and Ning Zhiyu turned into their contrasting duo. This dampened Zhou Ji’s enthusiasm. Previously, Zhou Ji used to boast in front of Duan Ye, bragging about being the first among them to be define the relationship, even having Duan Ye address him as ‘Master Zhou.’
Zhao Zheng was getting busier preparing for his enlistment.
Guo Shichao was planning to go to another city to pursue higher education and was preparing whether to leave early.
As the farewell drew nearer, the eight of them gathered more and more frequently. Zhou Ji also found himself in an inexplicably restless mood, noticeable to those around him. During a few meals, when his phone rang, he either directly silenced it or turned it off. After several instances, Ning Zhiyu, of course, grew concerned. After a certain date, when he walked her home, she noticed a black car following them from a distance.
It wasn’t the Toyota driven by Uncle Zhong, but a more stylish model.
Ning Zhiyu looked back frequently, and Zhou Ji directly said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll have them leave.”
Ning Zhiyu cautiously asked, “Is it your family’s car?”
“No,” Zhou Ji pursed his lips, “It’s probably a car sent by my father.”
Sent by his father?
Ning Zhiyu’s heart tightened, and she asked, “Is it to urge you to return to Yanjing?”
Before Zhou Ji could reply, she continued, “Actually, you can go back first. You don’t have to wait for me. I’ll go to Yanjing with Yumo when the time comes.”
Zhou Ji didn’t know how to respond, his mood was troubled as well, so he just gave a low response.
Arriving at Ning Zhiyu’s doorstep, she didn’t let Zhou Ji leave. Instead, she called him inside, turned on the fan, and got him a bottle of beverage. In reality, she didn’t drink beverages much herself. The small refrigerator she had recently acquired was filled with drinks he liked, but he, who had received so much since childhood, hadn’t really noticed this small detail.
“Tell me,” Ning Zhiyu looked at him seriously and said, “Don’t keep things from me. You know I don’t like it.”
Zhou Ji couldn’t help but feel helpless under her gaze. His shoulders slumped, and he said somewhat dejectedly, “My parents want me to go abroad. They say they’ve already made the arrangements, but I don’t want to go. I want to find a school here in China, preferably in Yanjing.”
Ning Zhiyu felt relieved upon hearing his words.
She had thought that his parents had found out and wanted them to break up…
But it turned out they just wanted him to study abroad.
She appeared much more relaxed, saying, “Then you should go abroad. Listen to their plans.”
If he went abroad, his parents would arrange for him to study at a decent university. In China… Ning Zhiyu couldn’t even imagine what kind of school he could attend. Moreover, even she knew that going abroad would be better for him than staying in China.
Zhou Ji looked at her with surprise. “It’s going abroad, very far away. The flight might take a whole day and night, and it’s different from being here in China. I might not be able to come back more than twice a year.”
Remembering something, he added, “Oh, and there’s the time difference. While I’m sleeping, it’s daytime here. By the time I wake up, you’ll be sleeping.”
“It’s okay,” Ning Zhiyu said in a cheerful tone, “What’s the big deal? You should go. After all, you’ll always come back, right?”
“Not really,” Zhou Ji shook his head, “You didn’t understand what I meant. I don’t want to go.”
He leaned in closer to Ning Zhiyu, their shoulders touching. “I’ll just stay in China. When the time comes, I’ll look for a suitable school in Yanjing to study. There should be one. Then, I’ll be in Yanjing with you. That someone is in Yanjing, too. How about this? You shouldn’t live in the dormitory, just stay at the Jade Garden with that someone… Oh, no, that won’t work. Lao Duan will definitely not agree. Well, I don’t care. We’re both in Yanjing anyway. We can see each other every day. Isn’t that great?”
Listening to his words, the smile on Ning Zhiyu’s face gradually disappeared. She turned her head and looked at him seriously, saying, “Why don’t you go abroad?”
Zhou Ji felt a bit wronged.
Why did she hope for him to go abroad like this? He didn’t even want a long-distance relationship, let alone an international one. Plus, he understood his parents. If he went abroad, it wouldn’t be just for three or four years.
Such a long time…
It’s not just a month or two. No, even two months felt long to him!
“I don’t want to go,” Zhou Ji said. “I just want to be with you.”
Ning Zhiyu looked puzzled.
It seemed as if she had just met Zhou Ji today. She looked at him and spoke more forcefully, “You should go.”
Zhou Ji : “?”
Naturally, the two quarreled. They had quarreled before, even when they were dating, but those were playful quarrels. This was the first time they argued so fiercely. Ning Zhiyu couldn’t understand why he refused to go abroad. It’s not like he was going to outer space or disappearing forever. Zhou Ji couldn’t understand why she insisted on him going abroad. Would he die if he didn’t go abroad? He could still live a good life in his home country!
Zhou Ji was driven out by Ning Zhiyu.
Of course, he was feeling sad, puzzled, and wronged. At this moment, he thought of his good friend. Skipping over Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao in his contacts, these two were good when hanging out together, but when it came to serious matters, Zhou Ji subconsciously trusted Duan Ye. Standing on the side of the road by the river, his back looked desolate as he dialed Duan Ye’s number.
Duan Ye was currently shopping with Jiang Yumo.
They had just watched a movie and Jiang Yumo remembered that she needed sunscreen for military training, so she pulled Duan Ye to the mall to buy some.
Duan Ye’s phone started ringing, and Jiang Yumo curiously looked to see who was calling. He showed her directly and said helplessly, “It’s Zhou Ji.”
Jiang Yumo snorted softly, “I saw the messages in the group. Wasn’t he swimming with Zhiyu and even had shaved ice? Isn’t that considered a date at this hour?”
Why is he calling now?
Duan Ye felt a headache, “It’s probably… because they had a quarrel.”
He had no idea what was going on.
Others always said he looked fierce. When he walked outside, no one would ask him for directions, and even advertisers would bypass him.
With his demeanor, when did he give Zhou Ji the impression that he was ‘easy to talk to’?
Zhou Ji really treated him like the best buddy.
Jiang Yumo looked slightly surprised, “They had a quarrel? Then you better take the call.”
Duan Ye had intended to hang up directly, but upon hearing Jiang Yumo’s words, he reluctantly answered.
Zhou Ji went on a crazy rant over the phone, and Duan Ye had no choice. He didn’t want to deal with this person, but Jiang Yumo still cared about Ning Zhiyu. So, Duan Ye had to give Zhou Ji his location.
Duan Ye and Jiang Yumo waited for Zhou Ji in a nearby park.
At this time, there were almost no people in the park.
They had only been in a relationship for a short while, still in the honeymoon phase. When Zhou Ji arrived, what he saw was this scene—
Jiang Yumo was sitting on Duan Ye’s lap, and Duan Ye’s hand was on her waist.
They seemed to be talking about something, and Duan Ye would occasionally lift his head to play with her hair. Even the frogs in the pond found their affection nauseating.
When Zhou Ji arrived, Jiang Yumo quickly stood up.
Duan Ye also stood up, but this time, his hand was on her shoulder, embracing her.
The two of them walked intimately toward Zhou Ji.
This scene stabbed at Zhou Ji’s eyes : Gods! Isn’t this unfair? Doesn’t your conscience ache like this??
rokumi’s note : so I’ve been looking around those sites and saw that they stopped updating, so I thought they have stopped reposting. But when I checked again yesterday, they updated again and have reposted the correct chapters… 😣😣
There are other measures I could try, but I don’t want to keep inconveniencing everyone who has been reading here on my own site. Also, this is so tiring for me, both physically and mentally. I don’t know if those measures will work or not anyway.
So, I give up. I won’t update the fake chapter today. Starting tomorrow, chapters will be updated normally.
Ah… what a waste of effort…😭😭 *sorry for ranting*
- the raw is “沉鱼落雁闭月羞花” (chén yú luò yàn bì yuè xiū huā) which doesn’t have a direct English translation, but it is often used to describe exceptionally beautiful women. It refers to how these women’s beauty is so remarkable that it can cause fish to sink, geese to fall, the moon to hide, and flowers to feel ashamed. It’s a poetic way of conveying someone’s extraordinary attractiveness. Yan Qing used this phrase to make nickname for themselves : Chen Yu for Yan Qing, Luo Yan for Jiang Yumo, Bi Yue for Sun Mengting, and Xiu Hua for Ning Zhiyu. ↩︎
It’s stupid terrible that others are stealing your translations and making money off them!! Especially since your translations are soooooo good! I love how you rephrase the Chinese sentences into English phrases that are very smooth to read and your grammar is always correct!
I’ve seen some other translators just put a paragraph or many in the chapters saying “this was translated by xxxx make sure you’re reading on xxx.com”. And it would be in a lighter colour than the chapter text. It never bothered me when reading.
Thank youu ☺️☺️
Also, thanks for the suggestion!😊
I was going to offer the same suggestion. I always make sure to go to the original translator’s site if I find a story that turns out to be copied.
Hm, I’ve also seen some translators do something like make a Chapter 84 post, and then the displayed text is something like Thanks for reading on X site, click on Y for the chapter, and then readers click on like a kitten image or something to access the chapter? But then within the chapter, there is still next/back buttons so new readers can easily read through chapters. Not sure if this would be helpful information, but thank you very much for sharing your translations with us!
Thanks for the suggestion!
Translator sama you can try uploading photos instead of text. For people on a reading mode you can add audio version.
Thanks for the suggestion! But I can’t do it, since photos won’t be inversed in dark mode…
It’s ok rokumi *pat pat*( T_T)＼(^-^ )