h.e.l.lo everyone! This is Crystal and I"m picking up this series!
I"ve always liked Chestnut"s books, so I"m super excited to get this going. I"ve attempted to contact the previous translator to ask for permission to take over, but they seem really busy so I haven"t received a reply. However, I"ll do my best to keep to their style and naming conventions. :)
I hope you"ll enjoy reading! I"ll attempt to post two chapters a week, but I"m a grown adult with a full-time job and I can"t promise solid dates. I"ll just update as I feel like it.
You can read chapters 1-31 over at Radiant Translations!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One can"t expect an uptight man to become a master of love all at once, so Xia Wei felt like she had to be a little understanding of the situation. For example, after receiving a notification that morning she rushed to call Jiang Zhi Zhou: "Mr. Jiang, I bought a dishwasher for you! It"s already being delivered, so keep an eye out for it!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
"In the future, you"ll be responsible for cooking, the dishwasher will be responsible for was.h.i.+ng, and I"ll be responsible for eating! Isn"t that fair?"
"..." Jiang Zhi Zhou was silent for a while and finally asked, "Have you ever heard of this saying? A dishwasher washes dishes, while people wash the dishwasher."
Xia Wei: "..."
So sue her! Cleaning the dishwasher is far easier than doing dishes, and at least the dishwasher isn"t cleaned every day!
She said with a depressed tone to her voice: "Mr. Jiang, do you know how many divorces dirty dishes have caused? The dishwasher is a great invention, safeguarding the feelings of couples worldwide and making an incredible contribution to family harmony. Please respect it."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
Aren"t you just being lazy?
"If I"m to install the dishwasher, then I won"t pick you up at noon today. You"ll have to make your own way back."
"Okay!" Since her relations.h.i.+p with Jiang Zhi Zhou began, Xia Wei had started going home to eat at noon. When single, your time is your own to arrange at will, but once two people get together you have to set aside some time for each other. Although it was a bit of a ha.s.sle, it also felt sweet.
By the time she took Suns.h.i.+ne over to Jiang Zhi Zhou"s apartment, the dishwasher was already installed. Xia Wei had originally wanted to buy a small, cheap, s.p.a.ce-saving model since there was only two of them, but since the pans wouldn"t have fit she had taken pains to buy a dishwasher that could wash 13 sets of dishes at once.
"The size is just right, I was worried that it would be a bit big." Xia Wei looked at the cabinet it was installed in and nodded in satisfaction.
Next to her, Jiang Zhi Zhou quipped, "You"re reluctant to buy eye cream and face slimming ma.s.sagers for yourself, but to get out of was.h.i.+ng dishes, you"ll buy a dishwasher."
Xia Wei: "..."
It"s for the sake of our future together!
"Since you gave me such an expensive silk scarf, this is my return gift to you." One that benefits her too. Jiang Zhi Zhou smiled, putting on an ap.r.o.n to start cooking, and let her go to the living room to accompany Suns.h.i.+ne and Tangerine.
Suns.h.i.+ne and Tangerine were playing together in the living room. Over time, the two were getting more familiar with each other, but Tangerine was still trying to maintain its aloof cat mannerisms, unwilling to take the initiative to extend an olive branch.
Xia Wei watched fondly for awhile, then called to the man in the kitchen, "I think Tangerine"s whiskers have almost completely recovered by now. Can you bring him along with Suns.h.i.+ne to be neutered?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou said: "Sure, I"ll bring them both later."
Xia Wei turned back and looked at Tangerine lovingly: "No worries, all the stray cats in this community have already been sterilized. If you ever return to nature, no one will discriminate against you."
Tangerine: "..."
Having said that, Xia Wei turned and asked Jiang Zhi Zhou: "After neutering Tangerine, are you going to continue raising him?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou thought for a moment. "I feel like he"s adapted quite well to being a housecat. I"ll let him choose when the time comes."
"Oh." Xia Wei remembered how in the elevator, Tangerine chose Jiang Zhi Zhou over herself.
Obviously this cat has an eye for the rich and beautiful.
After lunch, Xia Wei volunteered to take the dishwasher for a test run. Since they weren"t popular in China, it was her first time using one. She followed the instructions step by step and felt even more like this really was a wonderful invention.
By the time she was done in the kitchen, Jiang Zhi Zhou had fallen asleep on the sofa. He had always been in the habit of taking naps, but it was the first time Xia Wei had ever seen him sleeping.
Tiptoeing over, she leaned over the sofa to observe him. Jiang Zhi Zhou"s eyes were closed, all the hard edges softened, the lines of his face kinder than when he was awake. The orange cat snuggled up beside him, huddled together, sleeping soundly and sweetly.
Suns.h.i.+ne saw her walk out and wagged his tail. "Hush," Xia Wei made a gesture. "Don"t wake them up."
Suns.h.i.+ne looked up at her and stayed silent.
Xia Wei pulled out her mobile phone and took a shot of Jiang Zhi Zhou and the orange cat together on the sofa. It was a warm picture.
She smiled, then suddenly thought of something. Bending over, she nudged Suns.h.i.+ne, "I"m going to go get something. Wait for me here, I"ll come back soon."
Taking Jiang Zhi Zhou"s key, Xia Wei left. She was gone for less than five minutes and returned with several different masks. Light-footed as a thief, she walked to the sofa, picking a funny-looking geisha mask and sticking it on Jiang Zhi Zhou"s face.
She took a photo of his face and admired her masterpiece, sn.i.g.g.e.ring in a low voice.
Feeling something cold on his face, Jiang Zhi Zhou woke up too. Blinking as he came around, he saw Xia Wei laughing like a cat and he raised his eyebrows.
Oh? What seems to be on his face? He raised his hand and touched his face... then tore the mask off. "Xia Wei, what did you do to my face?"
"Ha ha ha ha!" Xia Wei finally couldn"t help but burst into laughter. "Don"t worry, it"s just a mask. It"s good for soothing the skin."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
That wet, sticky feeling on his face was kinda gross. He threw the mask into the trash can and hurried to the bathroom. Xia Wei followed him and leaned against the door, smiling at his actions, "You"re not supposed to take off a mask after such a short time."
"...I don"t need it." Jiang Zhi Zhou washed his face.
Xia Wei said, "Don"t think that skin care is just for women. Men need to maintain their skin too. You"ve got to be at least thirty years old, if you don"t take care of yourself, you"ll soon be old."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
He wiped the water off his face with a towel and turned back to look at Xia Wei. "Did you have to use such a fancy mask?"
"Ha ha ha ha." Xia Wei walked over and showed him the photo she had just taken. "This is the angry geisha mask I got off the Internet. Don"t you think you look gorgeous?"
"..." She even took a photo! Jiang Zhi Zhou solemnly ordered, "Delete it."
Xia Wei laughed even harder, "You don"t like this one? I have some solid color masks too." Pulling Jiang Zhi Zhou out to the living room, she handed him a mask that was still sealed. "This is the very famous ex-boyfriend mask. Why don"t you try it on?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou"s brows shot up. "So when it"s finished, it"ll change my face into your ex-boyfriend"s?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha." Xia Wei laughed until tears came. "You straight men have such straight-forward thinking."
"Then what does it mean?"
"It means that this mask works really well. Once you"ve used it, your ex-boyfriend will regret breaking up with you."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
He"s just a regular human who can"t understand complicated weird meanings like this.
Looking at Xia Wei, he asked, "And you"ve been using this mask?"
"Yeah, I have a lot of masks in my house."
"Do you want your ex-boyfriend to regret it?"
Xia Wei blinked. "Regretting means that he dumped me. My ex-boyfriend was dumped by me."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
"Want to apply another one? Come on and try it out~"
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
How is she so much like a boss in a particular industry?
Finally, Jiang Zhi Zhou caved and tried a rice mask. He felt like it was comfortable... very comfortable...
After Xia Wei arrived at the nail shop in the afternoon, she pulled out her mobile phone and sent a message to the girlfriend group: "Mr. Jiang thought that an ex-boyfriend facial mask would turn one"s features into that of the ex-boyfriend, hahahahahaha I about died laughing!"
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: [smile]
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: [smile]
Invincible Little Sweetie: [smile]
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: I want to give YSL to him to see if he says Yang Shu, ahahahahaha
[Crystal: YSL refers to Yves Saint Laurent, a brand name.]
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: [smile]
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: [smile]
Invincible Little Sweetie: [smile]
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: [Image]
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: I secretly put a geisha mask on him hahahaha when he fell asleep.
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: kicking your dog food [smile]
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: smas.h.i.+ng your dog"s head [smile]
Invincible Little Sweetie: messing up your kennel [smile]
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: [smile]
Although she was soundly ridiculed from the beginning to the end, she was quite relaxed both physically and mentally after handing dog food out to the group.
Smiling, she sent a message to Jiang Zhi Zhou: "Would you like to walk the dog together tomorrow morning? [Cute]"
Jiang Zhi Zhou: Sure, send me a message when you leave.
Xia Wei was still following her usual routine of first walking Suns.h.i.+ne for half an hour, then heading over to the nail shop. When leaving, she sent Jiang Zhi Zhou a text. The elevator descended to the 18th floor and stopped - Jiang Zhi Zhou stood just outside.
When he saw Xia Wei, his jaw dropped just a little. She wore a pink striped s.h.i.+rt, a pair of light-colored jeans and a pair of small, casual pink shoes. Her long hair, usually hanging down around her shoulders, was also tied into a tall ponytail, looking youthful and energetic.
"Good morning." Xia Wei greeted him. Suns.h.i.+ne barked enthusiastically.
"Good morning." Jiang Zhi Zhou coughed uncomfortably and walked into the elevator. "You"re very pink today."
Xia Wei raised her eyebrows. "A girl in pink will always be 18 years old."
"18 years old" again. Jiang Zhi Zhou said with a sigh: "Not only are you not 18 years old this year, but in two years, you won"t even be 18 ten years ago."
Xia Wei was. .h.i.t by a critical blow. "........."
Are you picking a fight this early in the morning?!
She smirked and said, "I"m afraid I"ve now decided to ignore you for the next forty-eight hours."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
Xia Wei really did ignore him. While walking the dog, she pretended not to know him. Jiang Zhi Zhou sent a message to her, while she did not return. This continued until noon, when Jiang Zhi Zhou sent another message to her: "Still angry?"
Xia Wei still did not reply, but after a while, Jiang Zhi Zhou received an update: "Still not talking to you. 44 hours and 35 minutes left (╯‵-") ╯ (┴─┴)
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
He hadn"t expected her to play so seriously.
Jiang Zhi Zhou: There will be boiled beef at noon today, with special steamed egg flowers and shredded pork with Beijing sauce. What soup would you like?
Xia Wei: ...Pickled cabbage and vermicelli soup
Jiang Zhi Zhou: Good :)
Xia Wei: "..."
In the battle called "Ignoring You", Xia Wei only held out for three hours before being soundly defeated.
When Jiang Zhi Zhou came to pick her up for dinner, she was still a little sulky. Jiang Zhi Zhou said nothing, merely looking at her with a smile.
When he got home, he started cooking immediately. Xia Wei"s mood finally rose as the aroma of food began to pervade.
"Is it ready yet?" Xia Wei ran to the kitchen door and looked in eagerly. "I am so hungry."
"Just about," Jiang Zhi Zhou was just plating when the doorbell rang.
Xia Wei looked toward the door and wondered: "Who could it be at this time?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou put down his spatula and said, "I"ll go check."
He walked over to open and was slightly shocked. "Sister-in-law?"