Green Plum IslandCh57 - Extra 4

The Third Year (4)

Our eyes meet. After a moment, Grandpa turns around and heads off, casually pushing his cart, leaving me and Yan Kongshan standing where we are. Neither of us know how to feel. oXZdm7

What… is the meaning of this?

I swallow nervously and head off in trepidation. “I’ll go see what things look like up there…”

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Before I take more than a few steps, Yan Kongshan grabs me from behind and clutches my hand. “I’m be just outside, if you need anything, call me.”

I nod and leave the yard. NHvd O

The egg cart is parked against the wall, the front door half-open; Grandpa has already gone inside. I stop outside the door and take a few deep breaths. After calming myself, I step in quietly.

The sink in the kitchen is running. Grandpa has his back towards me, in the process of washing rice. I stand stiffly behind him, unsure of what to say.

Grandpa, I’m dating Yan Kongshan, would you like to come meet your future son-in-law?

Is that too brazen?

sJYQW

Grandpa, Yan Kongshan and I have been together three years, we’re in a serious relationship. I can’t be without him and he can’t be without me, please accept us.

That sounds so melodramatic…

I’m still brainstorming like mad when Grandpa finishes with the rice and turns around, jumping in fright at the sight of me. He claps his hand over his chest, his face pale. Water splashes out from the pot.

“Why are you creeping around behind me like a ghost, are you trying to scare me to death?” iuvk0H

I hurry and apologise and stand there silently like a student who’s broken the rules and is waiting for punishment, head down and fiddling with my fingers.

A robotic female voice sounds out and announces that “rice cooking mode is on.” I peek up quickly. Grandpa has taken a butcher knife from the knife rack. He gives the knife a few wipes with a towel and then comes my way.

My legs get weak, but I firmly stand my ground. If I can’t even handle something like this, how can I even have Yan Kongshan marry me?

“Grandpa, calm down, let’s put the knife down first.” I raise my arms up, trying to calm him down. “Things haven’t gotten to this point!” xZfKrh

Grandpa stares at me strangely and goes to open the fridge right next to me.

“…..”

He takes out a strip of pork belly from inside and brings it to the cutting board, starting to slice the meat into thin strips.

I drop my arms down awkwardly by my sides. Rather than relaxing, I feel even more complicated. jId5YB

What is he thinking? Why is he acting like nothing happened? Is he hypnotising himself into believing that everything between me and Yan Kongshan is pure and innocent?

No, it’s not possible. We stopped being innocent three years ago.

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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.

“Grandpa,” I make my way over to him, “just now, Yan Kongshan and I—”

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For a moment, there’s not sound in the kitchen save for the cutting sounds. The opening of my throat seems blocked by a sweet and sour green plum, not coming out, not going down, nearly making tears form in my eyes.

“Does Granny also know?” I sniff, asking. n0EuJ7

“Seeing you show no indications of telling anyone, I went to her to discuss things. I only mentioned it to her last month or so, she even remarked that you had good taste…” Suddenly, his movements still and he turns back to look at me uncertainly. “You don’t think I crossed the line, do you?”

I shake my head.

How could I blame him? He has no idea how impressive he is, for an elderly man in his seventies.

I seem to have gotten lucky all my life. When I fell from the tree as a kid, I damaged my brain but I didn’t die. My parents divorced, but I was never short of food, clothing, or a home. When I wanted to try dating Fu Wei, I blessedly got rejected by him which prevented me from getting involved in a wrong relationship. g67IU4

“Why don’t you invite Qiuqiu and Ah Shan over for dinner? In the future they can come too. And stop sneaking back in the mornings, just go over there with confidence and come back with confidence.” He continues with his slicing. “You young folks engage in a lot of activities at night, I’m not an idiot, I know it all.”

At first my nose twitched and I felt like crying, but with that last comment, my entire face burns and I lower my head, letting out an “oh” before turning around and walking out the door.

As soon as I open the yard gate, I see Yan Kongshan leaning nearby, half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. Upon hearing me, he looks up and stills at my appearance. His already-creased brows knit even tighter together.

“What’s wrong? Did your grandfather yell at you?” He raises a hand and holds my face, thumb brushing the corner of my eye. RfBqXe

At his touch, the prickling feeling in my nose that had just disappeared comes back.

I am a lucky person, to have Grandpa, to have Yan Kongshan, to have such cute and kind people in my life. It’s such a rare blessing that I am struck with a wild fear. I’m afraid that the heavens will take back this blessing as quickly as it took my synesthesia.

“From now on, I’m going to do lots of good things…” My vision blurs and I swallow thickly. “I’m going to be a good person!”

“What?” Yan Kongshan seems freaked out by me and has no idea what’s happening. “Why are you crying? Yu Mian?” 3OYzeQ

The more his inquiries keep coming, the more I can’t stop crying, and I don’t even really know what I’m feeling. Happiness and sorrow mingle together, bitterness with sweetness. People really are complex, even tears can have so many meanings.

“Mian Mian… little one, what is wrong?” He wraps his arms around me, disregarding the fact that we’re in public.

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But it’s alright. Even if someone sees us, it’s alright. The people I care about don’t even care, so why should I?

I grasp tightly to his clothing and shut my eyes, tears trailing out of the corners of my eyes, falling onto his shoulders. DPJpls

“Grandpa wants you and Qiuqiu to come over for dinner,” I say to him, my voice stuffed.

He stiffens and pushes me back slightly. “Dinner?” He stares at me.

“Yep.”

“He didn’t get mad?” JXc 07

“Nope.”

“…Then why are you crying?”

“From happiness.”

Yan Kongshan gazes at me with squinted eyes for a long moment before a smile overcomes his face and his brows relax. xqjC9w

“Idiot.”

And just like that, cigarette between his lips, he gives me a new nickname.

“They’re tears of happiness, geez,” I mumble, rubbing my eyes and feeling belatedly embarrassed.

“Don’t rub your eyes with your hands, it’s unhygienic.” He grabs my wrist gently and brings my hand down. The tobacco scent from his fingers lingers at my nostrils. He intertwines his fingers in mine and starts walking. “Let’s go, to call Qiuqiu, and so you can wash your face.” n5wLTr

Beneath the setting sun, the somewhat stinging scent of smoke floats from him to me and mixes with the savouring smells of cooking food in the air, creating a strong, potently, and strange aroma.

I wipe the remaining tears off my chin with the back of my hand and hurry forward, walking into the house beside him.

“Qiuqiu, let’s go next door to eat. You go first, Mian Mian and I will be there in a sec.”

Yan Wanqiu calls out in acknowledgment and goes to put on her shoes. Afterwards, she heads out the door, happily clutching the box of desserts in her hands. ILQqfZ

Yan Kongshan brings me to the bathroom and makes me lift my head so he can use a napkin to wipe all traces of tears from my face. He drops a kiss on my eyelids. “They’re swollen.”

“It’ll go away quickly.” My voice comes out stuffed, nose not back to normal yet.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Now that the two of us are finally in a quiet environment and alone, I finally get the chance to tell him everything that just transpired. When I mention Grandpa and the butcher knife, he bursts out laughing so hard that he bends over and can’t get back up.

“If he wanted to chop someone up, it would be me, why would it be you?” Vfop4y

I scratch my nose, slightly embarrassed. “If you got chopped, I’d be miserable….” I say quietly.

At my words, he reaches over and claps his warm palm against the back of my neck, massaging the area. Like a little animal blessed with amazing petting on the back of the head, my entire body goes numb with pleasure and I press my lips together, eyelashes fluttering. Never mind moving, I can barely talk right now.

“What does any of this have to do with you wanting to be a good person?” he asks.

“Hmm…” Trying to focus, I manage, “Because… good things happen to good people. If I do good things, the heavens will bless me so fortune keeps following me.” WNaHqy

Yan Kongshan looks surprised, not expecting such a simple answer.

I purse my lips. “Don’t not believe it. The whole reason I am who I am today is because when I was ten years old I rescued a small bird.”

I came to Green Plum Island to live because I felt that I should, and I felt I should because of my synesthesia making my privy to other people’s inner emotions. If you got to the bottom of it, wasn’t this all because I saved that small bird?

“Because I saved it, I got to meet you,” I say. wuGm4j

Yan Kongshan’s eyes drop down to my lips. “Is meeting me one of your blessings?”

“Yes, an extraordinary blessing. More of a blessing than winning a million lotteries.”

The corners of Yan Kongshan’s mouth still hide traces of a smile, but his darkening eyes slowly fill with desire. “Then from now on, I’ll do good things with you—” He leans over and catches my lips, the rest of his sentence disappearing between our mouths.

The tiny space gets heated up quickly and sweat starts accumulating at my neck. With the last bit of rational mind left in me, I nudge the half-open bathroom door so it swings shut. QN1hZ2

“Grandpa and them… are waiting for us to go eat.” I writhe away from Yan Kongshan, but he simply starts kissing my neck instead, gnawing at the skin there.

My fingers start shaking; one minute the door widens, the next it shuts. “Ah Shan…” I plead.

He hides his face in the crook of my neck, then grabs my hand and with a “slam,” shoves me against the door.

“…..” n8wQp7

His clinginess sometimes makes me wonder if the heavens gave me secret seductive powers—that only work on one person—to replace my synesthesia.

After a while of grinding against each other, both of us are panting. My eyes are shut as he bites my earlobe, when suddenly, a familiar child’s voice sounds from the other side of the door.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Ah Shan, are you guys done yet? Tea Egg Grandpa is done cooking already.”

I jolt, pushing the man in front of me away by instinct. Yan Kongshan doesn’t even have time to react and starts falling backwards, and I reach out to try and grab him except I not only do not grab him, but I end up falling down myself as well. rqHcy4

Thankfully he grabbed onto the nearby washing machine. Not that it stopped his fall completely, but at least it slowed him down and prevented him from falling as seriously.

The two of us end up a tangle of arms and legs, clattering around making all sorts of noise.

Before I realise it, I feel a waft of wind. The shower curtain billows slightly. With fear, I look behind me and find that somehow, the bathroom door slipped open. Yan Wanqiu stands at the entrance, gazing directly down at us.

There’s a moment of silence as she observes the ridiculous scene in front of her. And then she gives a little tsk-tsk and leaves. wYunUv

“…..”

What is with that significant tsk-tsk-ing? What do you know at your young age?

Really, is my closet transparent or something? And here I was, fretting day and night over how to come out, when every single person already saw through me?

We’re still so startled by Yan Wanqiu catching us that neither of us are in the mood to continue. We quickly arrange our clothing, and when we arrive next door, there’s three dishes and a soup on the table where Yan Wanqiu is sitting, having obediently placed chopsticks and a spoon in front of each seat. 4OWvIs

When she sees us come in, her gaze sweeps over us. “Remember to wash your hands,” she says sensibly.

I had just plopped down, but at her words, my arse shoots up from the chair and I hurry over to wash my hands guiltily. Somehow I keep thinking there are meanings between her words.