Green Plum IslandCh38 - Spending the Night

Dad stays overnight and leaves Sunday morning. As he’s leaving, he calls me over and stuffs a thick red envelope into my hands. It’s a hefty package, I imagine there must be several thousand yuan inside.

“It’s for you getting into college,” he says. “I know I’m not a competent father and you don’t need emotional compensation from me, but at the very least, I can provide for you financially.” a43 BG

I accept it, on account of how earnest he is.

“By the way, a rep from the construction team is coming over tonight to take a look at the house, I reckon they’ll be able to start working tomorrow or the day after.”

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Which means that I won’t be able to visit Yan Kongshan tonight either, making it three days in a row now that I haven’t seen him. I wonder if he misses me.

Probably not, it’s not as if he even likes me. Qiuqiu, on the other hand, is a different story. qR8hpj

“Mian Mian?”

Coming back to my senses, I give my dad a nod.

After a few beats of silence, he pulls open the car door, but seems to reach a decision before getting in. He says to me, “I often dream of the island’s wind, the ocean, the summer…”

The sudden change of topic takes me by surprise. I expect him to voice his past regrets to me and admit that he shouldn’t have rebelled against Grandpa and left the island, and to tell me to savour the precious island life I have now, but no, he doesn’t do that.

Z50jav

“…but I don’t regret leaving here,” he continues. “One day, you will leave too. Like me, you will cherish all your memories on the island, but you won’t ever come back. It’s inevitable.”

I watch his car go off into the distance, until it disappears at the end of the road. All of a sudden, the red envelope in my hands feels less like a blessing.

I understand what he’s saying, and in truth, it’s reality. The island doesn’t have a lot of businesses; it’s not a suitable place for a young person’s career to grow. And my area of study designates a future for me in places even further away, with no stationary home. But somewhere inside me, I feel the urge to rebel against my dad’s expectation — perhaps this is partially the reason why he and Grandma cut ties back then.

Red envelope in hand, I head off to go look for Grandpa, who is still packing his suitcase. I kneel next to him and shove the red envelope in his face. 6XL3m

His eyes flash and he says, “What a large red envelope! Did your dad give this to you? He has a conscience after all, knowing to give you an allowance. Save it for yourself, education costs a bucket load of money these days.”

I place the red envelope on top of a pile of his folded clothing. “Spend it on your vacation,” I say generously.

He picks it up and shoves it back at me. “I have money, your dad gives me money, so you don’t need to.”

“His money is his money, this is from me.” knaGBp

The poor red bag gets passed back and forth from me to him, him to me, until finally I decide this can’t go on anymore and shout, “If you keep doing this, I’m going to get mad!”

Grandpa stops moving, and at last, takes the envelope reluctantly, although this doesn’t stop him from immediately counting the cash inside gleefully.

A construction worker comes later in the night to take a look at the house and schedule an appointment — they’ll be starting tomorrow, and they estimate the work will take exactly ten days.

Grandpa asks woefully how much it’ll cost, to which the construction worker responds cheerfully, “CEO Yu will arrange things.” LiSuPe

A few years of not seeing each other, and apparently my father has risen in the ranks again, now addressed with the title of “CEO.”

Grandpa and I spend all night trying to clear away anything in the house that we can for fear that the renovations will make everything dusty. We cover all the furniture with tablecloths, and even pack up everything on our beds into the closet.

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The next morning, I help Grandpa lug his suitcase next door to Mr. Zhang’s, and soon Granny arrives with her bags as well. The tour group is meeting at the airport; getting them there is Mr. Zhang’s son’s duty. In the end, Granny still doesn’t feel comfortable leaving her pets with me, so she checks them in to a pet shop daycare service and simply leaves me with her house keys.

After the group settles in the car, I wave to them, reminding them to call often. Grandpa doesn’t forget to tell me to be careful, and also tells me to watch out for carbon monoxide leaks as if I’m an eight-year-old child. Q4Z6re

I exchange phone numbers with the construction worker, telling him to call me if anything comes up, then get on Tortoise King and head off to the spinster house with my bags.

I sent Yan Kongshan a text the night before telling him about the whole situation and that I’d be staying at the spinster house so that he doesn’t wait for me in the mornings.

“What about at night?” he asks.

Do you miss me? vHAyso

I stare at that line of text for a long time. Then delete it, it won’t do.

“I’ll come over after I finish dinner.”

After a while, my phone vibrates with Yan Kongshan’s response: “Okay.”

The spinster house is actually located in a very nice spot, it’s closer to Nanpu Street, and small hills litter the land behind it. In the mornings, it’s very serene, and at night even more so. The house didn’t used to be called the spinster house — that’s just a name that outsiders bestowed upon it. It actually has a formal name, written on the entrance plaque. Hall of Chastity. MkCrFO

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Ivy crawls up the red and green walls of the estate. The building runs so deep that even with the sun beaming through the large, arched windows on the first floor, it’s cool enough indoors that there’s no need for air conditioner. Granny’s room is at the furthest end of the hallway on the second floor, opening out to a balcony that presents a scenic view of the mountains.

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Ktf biv klcvbkr lc atf tberf kfgf yelia lc remt j kjs atja atfgf’r j atlc ujq yfakffc atf uijrr jcv atf kbbvfc ogjwfr; jr j gfreia, fnfgs alwf klcv yibkr qjra atfw, vfqfcvlcu bc atf ragfcuat bo atf obgmf, atf klcvbkr afcv ab wjxf j gjaailcu rbecv.

Both the second-floor toilet and the hallway light switch are located at the other end of the hall. Roused by the urge to pee in the middle of the night, all I can do is use a flashlight and feel my way to the toilet in the darkness. All the while, the windows downstairs rattle. Every once in a while as I step across the old, worn floorboards, there’s a creaking sound that makes the hair on my back rise. s0c1Mz

Truly, an experience that tests the courage of man.

At last, I reach the toilet, and bam! The lights come on, and my nerves gradually settle.

The wind on this night whips around wildly, so much that the ivy on the walls flail and dance around, creating moving shadows on the windowpanes. They make me jump when I catch them in the corner of my eyes, as I mistake them for some sort of living creature.

After relieving myself, I make my way speedily back to the bedroom. Silence wraps around me save for the rattling of the windows. It sounds like something is repeatedly knocking against them. I swallow and lock the door, then climb into bed and secure myself tightly under the blankets. 3pzO7U

Despite it being the middle of summer and there not being any air conditioning or fans around, I don’t feel hot under the covers. In fact, it’s so chilly it’s almost strange.

The more my imagination gets away from me, the more I start shivering. In an attempt to wipe my mind of all ominous thoughts, I chant, “Democracy, Prosperity, Harmony, Civilisation…”

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***

Early next morning, I show up at the bookstore with dark circles under my eyes, giving Wen Ying a shock. He asks me if I was out partying and pulled an all-nighter. MGWRNz

Exhausted, I rehash the events of the night to him, and then ask if he believes in ghosts.

After a moment of silence, he says, “I believe that after someone dies, they leave behind this ‘energy,’ like a sort of magnetic field that doesn’t disappear for at least decades.”

He didn’t have to speak so aptly…

I feel a chill across my shoulders and shudder. Wen Ying, realising that he said the wrong thing, quickly adds, “But magnetic fields are just like air and dust. There’s nothing actually there.” x0bDH8

“R-Really?” I ask doubtfully.

Before Wen Ying can respond, Yan Kongshan interrupts our conversation, “There’s customers.”

Wen Ying and I shut our mouths and split off to concentrate on work.

The bookstore’s toilet is located in the break room — it’s just a simple, single stall, allowing only one person to enter at a time. Needing to use the restroom, I head to there to run into Yan Kongshan in the midst of washing his hands. He must’ve just come out. ro5 Hz

He looks at me in the mirror. “Your grandpa went on holiday yesterday?”

I pause, stopping behind him. “Yeah, he left yesterday.”

“What do you eat at night?” he inquires in a casual tone.

The spinster house has a kitchen, and it’s stuffed with ingredients, but the only thing I’m really capable of making is noodles. zdGRPT

“I order takeout,” I answer. “There are plenty of restaurants nearby, or I can finish eating here before heading home.”

By “here,” I naturally don’t mean the bookstore, but the plethora of restaurants on the lively streets of Nanpu Street.

Yan Kongshan wipes his hands dry, then turns to face me. “Why don’t you have dinner at my place?”

I blink. It feels like I just won a five million dollar lottery. 6M Iu8

“You’re coming over tonight anyways, so there’s no point in wandering elsewhere.” When I don’t respond, he adds, “Two birds with one stone.”

Nothing is out of the ordinary when he speaks, but his mood index slowly begins turning yellow.

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“…” The change comes completely out of the blue, catching me at a loss. But then again, he’s always turned yellow at the most random of times. It’s impossible to pinpoint the triggers that cause it. It this were anyone else, I’d suspect that his intentions in asking me over to dinner weren’t pure.

But Yan Kongshan is definitely just asking me over to share a meal, I don’t think I should anticipate him wanting to do anything else with me. fH5yEo

“I’ll take you up on your offer then,” I finally agree, internally jumping with glee.

***

After the bookstore closes for the day, Yan Kongshan tells me to go ahead while he goes to pick up Yan Wanqiu.

The renovations on the house have already begun. Even from a distance, I can hear them working. I leave Tortoise King by the entrance and survey around; the renovation manager Mr. Zheng tells me that all is well and not to worry. I can’t make heads or tails of electrical wiring, so after a few minutes of observation, I leave. sTE4L3

Soon after, Yan Kongshan and Yan Wanqiu arrive back home.

Yan Kongshan is a speedy cook. In less than an hour, four dishes — three meat, one vegetarian — and a bowl of soup are ready to go.

“Mian Mian, can you come eat with us every day?” Yan Wanqiu has her eyes on the food, practically salivating.

I’m not any better than her, chewing on the ends of my chopsticks with my stomach growling. “Of course I’d like to…” Who would eat takeout if someone cooked for them every day? KJSxTG

Yan Kongshan removes his apron, hanging it on the wall, then comes to sit at the table. “Let’s eat.”

As soon as he gives the command, Yan Wanqiu and I raise our chopsticks in unison and start digging into the food at lightning speed. The meal passes largely in silence, and after we’re finished, the two of us collapse into our chairs, food babies rounding out our bellies. Yan Kongshan rolls up his sleeves, getting ready to tidy up, and order both of us to wait in the living room.

At Grandpa’s, if he cooks, I’m in charge of the dishes. We split tasks evenly, so I don’t feel comfortable making Yan Kongshan do all the work at his house.

“Let me, you go rest.” I quickly get up, wanting to take over doing the dishes. R7pqg1

Before my fingers even reach the bowls, he steps to the side, evading me, and indicates the living room with his chin, this time ordering me to leave more forcefully, as if my presence is a hindrance to his work. His attitude leaves me with no choice — rubbing my nose, I take Yan Wanqiu’s hand and go to the living room to play games with her.

“Mian Mian, where are you living right now?”

Yan Wanqiu has recently gotten her hands on a new game that requires two people to co-op and run a family restaurant. The game tests our teamwork skills and we have to delegate tasks: who slices vegetables, who cooks, who delivers the food… it requires a lot of strategic thinking. Apparently, couples who play break up, marriage partners who play divorce, and friends who play end up breaking off ties.

Our two-person team isn’t all that skilled, but neither of us cares too much about winning, so we just fumble around and manage to pass several stages just by pressing random buttons. fadlX7

“That big red house up ahead, my granny lives there. You know the place I’m talking about?”

“Oh, I know where that is. Oh no, there’s no more tomatoes. Mian Mian, hurry and cut them.”

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“I’m cooking a dish, hold on, in a sec.”

“Don’t you find that place super creepy?” FGPZTR

At the sudden change of topic, my hands still on the controller, I turn to look at her, unsettled. “…What?”

She’s watching me as well, innocence brimming in her eyes. “Every time I pass by there, I always feel cold. Who knows, maybe there’s something strange there.” Her chilling words are a complete contrast to her adorable face.

“I-I don’t think so,” I say in a faltering tone.

And even if so… well, they were Granny’s friends, a-and they wouldn’t mean me harm, right? fj9ceC

With a shrug, the little girl drops the subject. But the more nonchalant she seems, the more I suspect she did it on purpose. What a little devil… and now, I’m completely a nervous wreck. The more nervous I get, the more I think about how later I’ll have to take Tortoise King back to the spinster house. I’m literally on the verge of knocking on Mr. Zheng’s next door and spending the night with him instead.

Aiya, Mian Mian, your area is on fire, hurry and put it out!”

With a jolt, I come back to my senses and start running in-game, grabbing the fire extinguisher and putting out the fire.

Yan Kongshan goes to shower after he finishes the dishes, probably to get rid of the smell of cooking smoke from his body. When he finishes, Yan Wanqiu makes him join our game and become a member of our kitchens. The poor man, after feeding us, gets relegated to dishwashing duty again in the game. 4h1W k

“Ah Shan, how come you’re still not done washing? You’re so slow!” His slow movements drive Master Chef Yan Wanqiu bonkers.

The sweet, slightly lemon-y scent of shampoo wafts gently off his body, like lemon soda water…

Unable to resist myself, I dart a look at him. The game is beating him up so badly that he doesn’t even notice.

“Mian Mian, where are the cucumbers? The customers are mad!” Chef Yan urges me. T2F5fE

“Oh, coming, coming!” I shake myself, focusing back on the game.

By 9:30 PM, the game ends and Yan Wanqiu heads off to bed, yawning, Yan Kongshan going with her upstairs. I look down at the time on my phone, struggling over whether to leave or stay.

By the time Yan Kongshan comes back downstairs, I still haven’t decided, and I don’t even notice him returning.

“What are you thinking about?” N0IlZJ

“Where I’m gonna sleep tonight…” Suddenly, I start, lifting my head to find him looking down at me.

“Where do you want to sleep?”

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All at once, I decide to go about things another way. I look up at him, making myself appear small and frail. “Say, can I sleep here tonight?” Afraid he won’t say yes, I quickly add, “I can sleep on the couch!”

He squats down so we’re at eye-level. “The spinster house isn’t accommodating?” i0WVJo

It’s not that, but how am I supposed to tell him the real reason? It makes me sound so superstitious… what if he laughs at me?

I look away and mutter, “It’s a bit cold…”

He scrutinises me carefully, as if trying to calculate whether I’m telling the truth or not. I bite my lip nervously, wanting to tell him I’ve changed my mind, but then he suddenly stands back up and says, “You take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”

And then he leaves up the stairs. dVWUp6

I sit there in a daze, not reacting for the longest time, then scramble up and follow him upstairs. “I’ll take the couch, you sleep on your bed.” I watch him grab blankets from a wardrobe and put my hand over his to stop him, “I’m shorter, so the couch won’t be as uncomfortable.”

I don’t want him to sleep curled up on the couch awkwardly like last time, it would definitely affect his sleep.

He swats my hand away and says firmly, “You take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”

He heads out, brushing past me, but then suddenly, I turn and grab hold of a tiny corner of his shirt, my eyes fixated on the floorboards. “Then how about, we both sleep on the bed?” I suggest quietly. DozbnC

The giant bed is more than enough for the two of us. If we sleep apart, using different blankets, we probably won’t even touch each other.

Yan Kongshan seems at a loss for words. He doesn’t move, and I wait for his answer anxiously, my hand shaking slightly.

“Never mind…” Maybe I should just go back to the spinster house. I slowly let go of his shirt.

Right then, he turns around and tosses the blankets in his arms onto the bed. “Alright,” he says. “Let’s sleep together.” 3odeAK

I raise my head instantly, heart thumping so wildly like there’s a small motor inside my chest. I sneak a glance up at Yan Kongshan’s mood index. To my disappointment, it’s not yellow.

What is this? Is my reading of him not accurate? When he’s yellow he’s like this, when he’s not he’s like this. He should be turning yellow right now, so why isn’t he?

But no matter how much I question it, he remains white and clear, no hint of yellow whatsoever. His intentions towards me are clearly as clean as can be.

When I go shower, Yan Kongshan gives me his own pyjamas to borrow since I don’t have any with me. The top is fine, it’s an okay fit, but the pants… are too long, and too big. Everywhere. After I shower, I have to keep a hand on the pants to make sure they don’t slip off and so I can actually walk. lH9dTO

A single night lamp glows in the bedroom; Yan Kongshan has his back against the headboard and is scrolling through his phone. I peel back the covers and get into bed. As my head hits the pillow, I let out a deep, internal sigh. The temperature is perfect, the bed’s plushness is perfect, and there’s a hot man right beside me. This is what you call a five-star experience.

“You used Qiuqiu’s body wash?” Yan Kongshan reaches over and shuts off the bedside lamp.

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“Huh?” I lower my head and sniff myself. The faint smell of sweet milk candy wafts up. “I just saw a white body wash bottle.”

There had been two layers to the shower caddy filled with all kinds of bottles. I’d found the lemon-scented shampoo immediately, and when it came to body wash, I just took whatever I found first. It never occurred to me that it might be Qiuqiu’s. xf HEF

“It’s alright, either way it’s for kids.” His voice is magnetic, with a slight hint of laughter. “Suits you very well.”

I bury my head into the blankets, ears burning.

In the darkness, silence surrounds us save for the shallow sounds of our breathing. Yet when I shut my eyes, my mind is chaos and sleep doesn’t come. I’m too excited… really, I should have just gone back to the spinster house. At the rate things are going, I’ll be up until the sun rises. It would’ve been a better idea to go to Mr. Zheng’s.

I flip over to my side, letting out a frustrated sigh. There’s a rustling sound next to me, and then Yan Kongshan leans over, roused by the sound of my movements. i0shyu

“Can’t sleep?”

I can only just make out his hazy silhouette in the darkness. He’s close — close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off his body.

“Hmm…” My fingers wind around the blankets. “I’m a little not used to it, I guess.”

After a few beats of silence, he suddenly says, in the most serene tone, “Want to kiss?” IoNvPh

It takes me three seconds to realise what he just said. If my mind were made out of straw, then his question would be the spark that ignites me, those simple words causing my entire head to combust and fire to spread through my body, sending my blood surging through my veins.

“Don’t you?”

He seems ambivalent either way, and when I don’t respond, starts to lean back, but I stop him in a hurry, lunging forward and grabbing the sleeve on his arm in a frenzy.

“Yes.” I scoot closer, not letting him leave. mAQoYx

He moves like a creature of the night, the dark not seeming to affect his sight in any way. I can barely see the features of his face, yet he’s able to to find me in the darkness, to find my lips, and to slant his mouth over mine the instant I say yes.

Leave a Comment

25 comments

  1. How are you translating so fast!!! These new chapters make my night. Thank you! All these angst and sexual tension is driving me crazy!

  2. Hehe i think Yan Kongshan did miss you Yu Mian.

    ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

    I love seeing YKS taking initiative to invite YM, like asking about dinner and inviting him over. And then also asking to kiss first ^^

    He definitely didn’t have pure intentions lolllll but I’m sure he was suppressing them when he needed to, like when he said ok to sleeping together.

    Thanks for translating!

  3. Good job Wen Ying in being unknowingly the wingman in this chapter >3

    Say, is Qiuqiu saying all those stuff on purpose? Eating there every day, making Mian Mian feeling afraid of that old house again xDD

    Thx for the ch ٩(。˃ ᵕ ˂ )و

  4. I thank the nonexistent ghosts of the spinster house for sponsoring the kiss in this chapter 🙇🙇🙇

    Thank you for the chapter <3

  5. Thanks for your hard work!

    Now that he’s in his home, in his bed, and they are kissing… will YKS or Mian Mian try to take it further? As much as I don’t care about their age difference, I still don’t feel comfortable with them having $ex yet. Mian Mian is way too… ‘not ready’.

  6. That game sounds like Overcooked. When I play it with my friends and when the food starts burning or orders are missed we start bickering. Afterwards we say we could lose friendship over Overcooked 😂

  7. i both like how their relationship is progressing but i’m also kind of confused by it. (i’m a gal who needs things to be clearly spelled out!!) but if they’re both okay with this, that’s fine. >_<

  8. He is so contradictory. I feel like he talked to qiuqiu about the chilliness of mian’s current place, lol. And now he asks for a kiss as if Kongshan’s doing him a favor. Lol.

  9. he’d rather spend the night with mr zheng than with yan kongshan lmao but why do i feel like it was yan kongshan’s idea to scare mianmian into making him spend the night?