Chapter 12.1

On the day the results were released, the school was in turmoil and chaos.

The classroom was noisy and in disarray. A part of them were discussing the answers to the exam questions and their rankings, whilst a part of them were talking about the new TV series that had been released. They went from Wrong Carriage, Right Groom to Chinese Paladdin, from Little Soldier Zhang Ga to A Romantic Life¹these are all drama names.

The conversations between the girls overflowed like an endless stream.

Meng Shengnan glanced at the back row of the classroom, Li Yan was not there. A bunch of girls were talking and grinning, wearing colorful clothes, one more beautiful than the other. She retracted her gaze, and she heard someone calling her through her ear.

“What are you looking at?” It was Fusong.

She said: “Beauties.”

“Your hobby is really special.”

Meng Shengnan just laughed without replying.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

“Mbl Llo Zlya²alxkdela vbkp kp vbl Nwdya Llo Zlya okzz cl kd vld eyup.” Wwpsdt nbydtle vbl pwcflnv.

Yldt Fbldtdyd pyke, ‘ulr’.

“Tso’p uswa alyekdt tskdt?”

“R qkdkpble alyekdt Jsaela Msod.”

“Ebyv kdpktbv eke usw tykd?”

Yldvksdkdt vbkp, Yldt Fbldtdyd’p lmralppksd oyp zlpp alzymle vbyd clqsal.

“Nshl kd vbyv lay oyp alyzzu rwal.”

Ww Fsdt zssjle yv bla qwddu: “Zsw pyke sdl pldvldnl yde vbld pktble voknl, obyv’p wr?”

Meng Shengnan said: “When I think of the last scene with Cui Cui sitting on an old boat by the river waiting for Nuo Song to come back…she probably waited a year or two years, or even her whole life, it makes me feel bad.”

Fusong asked: “Do you think she will be able to await for his return?”

“I don’t know.” She asked back, “What do you think?”

Fusong said, “I think so.”

“Why?”

“One will always be able to wait till the end.”

Before he could explain, the head teacher came in. The classroom was suddenly silent and everyone returned to their seats one by one, staring with fixed eyes at the report cards in Old Wet’s hands. To describe their expressions as wanting to risk their lives to get those report cards was an understatement. A minute later, the class committee members began passing down the exam papers.

Xue Lin was so jealous that it looked like she was about to start crying.

“Meng Shengnan.”

Her expression was exactly the same as Shi Jin’s³reminder he is ML’s friend. However, his expression was due to being extremely surprised. At the time, the back row was full of excitement, one guy was spinning his textbooks with his index finger, already spinning for a few minutes, and the book still hadn’t fallen down. Shi Jing tilted his head to chat with Chi Zheng, not even caring about what the teacher was saying. A boy passed the test papers down from the front, being as surprised as Shi Jing.

“You’ve got it, you.”

Shi Jing was confused and he took a look at the paper. 

“Oh my dear!”

Chi Zheng raised his eyes, “What’s the matter?”

The English exam paper in the boy’s hand had three red big digits written on it. It was the first time in history that he had gotten over 100 in a subject, and it was a resounding 121, although he embarrassingly only received 5 marks for his essay component.

“Brother, I’m going to be too overpowered!” Shi Jin gulped.

Chi Zheng smiled: “Impressive.”

Shi Jin stared at the three digits, almost becoming enchanted.

“I say–” Shi Jin muttered to himself.

Chi Zheng asked: “What?”

“That girl is really no ordinary person.”

Chi Zheng glanced at him, “Who’s that?”

“A goddess.”

After Shi Jin had just said the last word, Chi Zheng’s paper was passed down.

“How much?” Shi Jin leaned over to look.

Chi Zheng chuckled, the big number ‘29’ was on paper.

“You got it, it’s two points better than last time.”

Chi Zheng said: “Scram.”

“I tried to give you the answers that time and you didn’t want them, aren’t you feeling foolish now.”

“I’m okay.”

“D*mn, aren’t you worried about your mother beating you up after seeing that?”

“You are the one who should be worried,” Chi Zheng said.

Shi Jin raised his chin and spun a pen quickly in his right hand.

“What do I have to worry about?”

The person at the table in front of them answered.

“Your marks suddenly increased by 100 points, your mum won’t get suspicious?”

Shi Jin was startled, and the pen in his hand fell to the ground.

Chi Zheng’s tongue arched towards his right cheek and laughed mockingly. Later, Shi Jin changed his mark to 78. His heart was bleeding, it wasn’t easy for him to get such a high mark . After receiving their results, all the students in school were almost gone. Meng Shengnan was stood up by Qi Qiao and went to the Plaza Bookstore alone.

She only got home when it was already dark.

The lights were brightly lit in the room, and there were voices and laughter. Sheng Dian was busy in the kitchen. As soon as she opened the door and went in, she saw Kang Kai. He and Meng Jin sat on the sofa and looked over together.

Meng Jin raised his voice: “What are you doing at the door? Look who’s here.”

Meng Shengnan gave a light ‘ah’.

“You don’t recognise me anymore?” Kang Kai stood up.

Meng Shengnan smiled blankly, “Um, you guys talk, I’ll see if my mother needs help.” After that, she quickly left.

“This girl.” Meng Jin shook his head.

Kang Kai smiled, glanced at the kitchen, and continued to chat with Meng Jin.

Meng Jin asked: “I remember that you applied for the Masters and PhD program at the time, right? How many years will it take to finish?”

“Three years.”

“You’ll be 25 by then.”

Kang Kai smiled and nodded.

“Do you plan to stay in Beijing or will you come back?”

Kang Kai said: “I’m not sure yet. I’m currently doing an internship at the Beijing Hospital.”

Meng Jin said: “Your temperament really suits studying medicine, Nan Nan can’t do it.”

“Uncle Meng, what are your thoughts?”

“I can only just think about it, I’ll let her do whatever she wants to.”

Kang gazed down and thought for a bit, “Studying medicine is very laborious for girls⁴TL’s note: if you dream to be a doctor, regardless of gender, go for it!, but Nan Nan has liked to read and write since she was a child, she’ll probably do well if she takes this path.”

“It’s rare for someone to praise her.” Meng Jin laughed a few times.

Kang Kai smiled.

Sheng Dian had finished cooking, Meng Shengnan called them over to have dinner. She hadn’t seen Kang Kai for a year already, and every time he came back, they seldom spoke. Perhaps it was because she had grown up now and was shy, the neighbourhood brother was no longer the boy who would accompany them to fool around when they were younger.

She brought over the washed fruits to the living room.

“Dad, Brother Kang Kai, it’s dinnertime.”

Both of them stood up, but Kang Kai declined, wanting to leave.

Meng Jin said: “Try auntie’s⁵the novel uses sister-in-law, as it is a common phrase used by people to talk about their girlfriend/wives to their friends and peers, but I think auntie here works better cooking skills, why are you in such a rush.”

Sheng Dian just came out of the kitchen wearing an apron.

“Why are you leaving in a hurry?” Perhaps she had heard the commotion, so the woman asked.

Kang Kai said with a smile: “Next time, auntie, I just came over to talk to Uncle Meng, if I stay my mother will get anxious.”

Sheng Dian went ‘ohh’ and laughed.

“Your mother’s temperament is like that, she’s been waiting for you to eat your first meal with her.”

Kang Kai said: “Then I will go there first, and come back to taste your cooking next time.”

“Okay.” Meng Jin said.

It was warm in the room, and the volume on the TV increased after Kang Kai left. Meng Shengnan’s family sat at the dinner table and chatted. After just a few words, Sheng Dian’s topic of conversation went to Kang Kai.

“I’ve said it before, I’ve watched him grow up from a child to an adult, the more I see him, the more I like this child Kang Kai.”

Meng Shengnan was digging at the rice vigorously.

Sheng Dian said: “He’s got a good education, he’s got good looks, he’s even got a good temperament and displays filial piety – where else can you find someone like him?”

Meng Shengnan almost choked.

Sheng Dian sighed, and someone was wailing on the TV. Meng Shengnan drank her last sip of the soup clean and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

“I’m done, I’m going upstairs.”

It was an old trick, escaping before Sheng Dian could open her mouth to speak. The stars were scarce that night, and the cold wind was blowing outside, flapping the windows. The sound of fireworks in the distance could still be heard faintly, going off one after another.

–

[Translator’s Note: If FL doesn’t like Kang Kai, I’ll take him hehe, give me my doctor boyfriend!! (Just kidding!) Two posts today as I split the chapter in half]