Chapter 38.2: Help Me Wear It

Lin Yujing turned and left without saying a word. Her brain must have been stuffed with paste.

She’d wandered back and forth for hours just to see if she could run into him, but when she finally did, it was a hot face against a cold ass [1].

The person just did not want to say one nice thing to her at all.

Lin Yujing was so angry her liver hurt [2]. She resisted the urge to go back and quarrel with him, and then hit him again while she was at it. She walked out of the convenience store, but before she could take two steps she was pulled back by the collar of her sweater.

She stepped back, turned her head, and the tip of her nose rubbed against the soft cotton fabric of the boy’s sweater. It smelled faintly of disinfectant.

She looked up.

Shen Juan took another dish of rice with pork chops and lowered his eyes. “Where are you going?”

Lin Yujing blurted out, “None of your damn business.”

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Nkd Zwfkdt oyp pvyavzle.

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The boxed lunch had just been heated up, and it was still pretty hot. Shen Juan removed the plastic film around the edge, opened the lid, and pushed it toward her, then lowered his head to open the other box.

Lin Yujing bit her chopsticks and looked at him.

Shen Juan tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong, is it hot?”

She blinked. “I sent you a message before, did you see it?”

“Yeah.” Shen Juan unscrewed the bottle of freshly squeezed juice and pushed it in front of her.

Lin Yujing expressed her thanks, and carefully asked, “Then… Do you understand what I mean?”

Shen Juan stared straight at her, curling his fingers unconsciously.

After a long pause he said in a very quiet voice, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I already regard you as a friend now, and if you have a girlfriend I will more or less keep away to avoid creating resentment.” Lin Yujing paused, and quickly added, “Of course, if you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to, just pretend I didn’t ask. Don’t be unhappy.”

“…”

The muscles in Shen Juan’s cheeks shifted slightly, as if grinding his teeth. “No.”

“Ah.” Lin Yujing breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you not unhappy, or…”

“…I don’t have a girlfriend,” Shen Juan said in a broken voice squeezed out through gritted teeth.

After hearing his answer, not only was Lin Yujing relieved, but she even felt inexplicably happy.

She picked up her chopsticks and started to eat. She’d never eaten pork chop rice before. She’d always thought that fried pork chops must be freshly fried to be delicious, but today it tasted pretty good.

It was probably because she was so hungry.

Shen Juan’s freshly squeezed juice was bought for her, as he seemed to prefer drinking cola and water. The two bottles of cranberry yogurt were also placed on her side. Lin Yujing silently glanced at the prices so she could transfer the money to him in the evening.

The two of them ate in silence. Lin Yujing looked out the window while eating the pork chop. Seeing pedestrians outside come and go, she would tilt her head to the side and watch them from time to time.

Lin Yujing felt that people change constantly—now she is completely used to eating this kind of packaged meal in a convenience store for dinner.

After they finished eating, they threw the food packaging into the trash can and left the convenience store. Lin Yujing’s stomach was too full for the yogurt, so she held one in each hand and followed Shen Juan. Rubbing her belly, she turned her head in his direction.

Just after eating, her voice was a little slow. “Are you going back to the studio today?”

After saying it she remembered that he lived in the studio.

Shen Juan said “mm.” He raised his eyes, his gaze falling directly in front of him, and his footsteps suddenly came to a stop.

Lin Yujing, still waiting for his next words, took two steps forward before realizing he’d stopped walking. She turned back to look at him. “Hmm?”

Shen Juan just stood there for a few seconds before suddenly rushing forward.

Lin Yujing paused.

Shen Juan moved quickly, his arm brushing her shoulder with force as he passed by, knocking her off balance. He didn’t seem to notice, however, as he raised his hand to grab the collar of the person walking toward him. Shen Juan, half-pulling and half-dragging him sideways, slammed him against the nearest wall with a “bang.”

Lin Yujing was startled. Hearing the person shout and groan, she focused on watching him so she could see what he looked like.

He appeared to be a skinny, frail-looking teenager with slender eyebrows, seeming very young and very small. Being held up like this, his feet almost left the ground. He struggled a few times in vain, his toes barely touching.

Shen Juan grabbed his collar and pressed him hard against the wall. He leaned in closer, his knuckles white, staring intently at the youth’s face. With a hoarseness in his throat he said, “Did I not f*cking say, don’t let me see you again?”

His voice was deep and reckless, carrying with it a kind of repressed, ice-cold ruthlessness.

—

[1] “热脸贴冷屁股” – “hot face stuck to a cold ass” – To show warm feelings and be met with cold rebuke; to be snubbed despite having good intentions.

[2] “气得肝疼” – “so angry one’s liver hurts” – This is a reference to Chinese medicine and the connection between emotions and internal organs.

Edited By: ceres