Mai Dong asked the exam scores of everyone in the dormitory, and a despondent atmosphere immediately enveloped the room.
The culprit, oblivious to the situation, sat at the table, holding his new diary. When Mai Dong recalled the moment during dinner when Yan Xuming mentioned wanting to see the old one, he didn’t specify waiting for him to bring it down when they parted ways downstairs. So, Mai Dong thought it might have been a joke.
He was again a little reluctant to use the new book, and a little impatient to use it.
The touch of the little bear was comfortable, and its black beady eyes even had a detachable gold-rimmed glasses frame. Opening the clasp revealed cute pink paws inside.
Without any guilt this time, Mai Dong flipped to the first page, fully intending to boldly write the three characters “Yan Xuming.”
Unexpectedly the title page already had a line of text—“November 14, 2023, Yan Xuming gifted Mai Dong.”
Mai Dong felt that his emotions had been quite unstable lately, and looking at this simple line of text, his nose inexplicably turned sour. Yan Xuming had beautiful handwriting, something Mai Dong had always known.
In high school, Yan Xuming would make multiple copies of his compositions, not just for the seniors but also for students in other grades.
The diary that Yan Xuming had picked up, filled with his name, was once a product of Mai Dong’s imagination. It served as self-comfort and deception, often fantasizing that it was a notebook gifted by Yan Xuming.
Mai Dong never told Yan Xuming about it, but it seemed like he saw through it. Yan Xuming gave a notebook to Mai Dong with a straightforward attitude, “Yan Xuming gifted.”
Mai Dong cherished the title page and took several photos, sending them to Yan Xuming along with a crying emoji, saying, “Thank you, senior.”
Without an immediate response from Yan Xuming, Mai Dong contemplated sharing it on Moments.
He couldn’t resist, and he really wanted to show it off.
Mai Dong rarely posted on Moments, and he wasn’t fond of scrolling through it. He seldom had people reaching out to chat with him. WeChat was merely a tool for checking group notifications. This time, with careful editing, he chose two photos–One showcasing the plush exterior of the notebook and the other displaying the gift message by Yan Xuming on the title page.
The caption read, “Received a warm gift in this winter.”
Honestly, Mai Dong had gone through multiple revisions to settle on this caption. Deep down, he wanted to exclaim, “Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, my dream came true!” However, he knew he couldn’t be that direct. He also thought about saying, “No one understands my excitement. Tonight, I want to sleep hugging this notebook,” but that was also too much.
In the end, he elegantly wrote this line, capturing a sense of peaceful times.
Mai Dong had little understanding of how Moments worked. He didn’t comprehend the mechanism where only mutual friends could see likes and comments. Moreover, he had no idea what kind of response he would get by suddenly posting something, being someone who never shared on Moments.
Mai Dong’s WeChat exploded.
In just twenty minutes, a long string of comments had already appeared beneath the Moments’ post.
“Oh my god, xueshen posted on Moments???”
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.
“L**s rt*a, P atbeuta P kjr rfflcu atlcur. Zjl Gbcu qbrafv bc Zbwfcar!”
“Mgbca gbk ugbeq qtbab, n!”
“Front row group photo, taking it here! Not only do we have the xueshen’s first Moments post, but we also have the President’s signature.”
“Zjl Gbcu jcv Tjc Wewlcu jmaejiis xcbk fjmt batfg? Vegf fcbeut, lwwbgajir jcv ufclerfr yfibcu ab atf rjwf kbgiv.”
“Pr atf gfijalbcrtlq yfakffc atfrf akb qfbqif ab atf fzafca bo rfcvlcu uloar ab fjmt batfg??!”
“You guys just went online ah. The xueba and the President even greet each other when they cross paths ah.”
“Never mind, move over all of you, I’m coming for the picture!”
Mai Dong: …
Mai Dong was a bit slow to react. He held his phone as notifications on Moments kept increasing rapidly. Initially, he opened a few to check, but eventually, he stopped bothering.
Mai Dong hadn’t anticipated such a huge response to a simple Moments post. In hindsight, he felt he might have unintentionally caused trouble for Yan Xuming.
It felt like the entire world now knew that Yan Xuming had given him a notebook!
Mai Dong really didn’t expect this to happen ah!
He pitifully thought of apologizing to Yan Xuming and decided to share a screenshot of his Moments with him.
Mai-zi: “Ah, ah, ah, senior! I’m sorry. It seems like I’ve caused you trouble again! [Screenshot]”
As Mai Dong contemplated how to explain himself, and struggled for two minutes, he suddenly noticed the notification count on Moments reaching a new high. With a sense of surrender, he opened them and was surprised to find a comment from Yan Xuming.
Yan Xuming: “Back row group photo, Xiao Mai’s first Moments post related to me, v.”
Mai Dong: …
Mai Dong viciously poked open the private chat between the two.
Mai-zi: “What are you doing…”
Yan Xuming: “Taking a group photo.”
Mai-zi: “Do you mind?”
Yan Xuming: “Mind what?”
Mai-zi: “I didn’t expect so many people to check Moments. I just wanted to show off a little, but it turned into a big show off, and now everyone knows you gave me a notebook.”
Yan Xueming: “Don’t mind.”
Mai-zi: “That’s good!”
Yan Xuming: “Did you write today’s diary?”
Mai-zi: “Not yet.”
Yan Xuming: “I’m looking forward to it.”
Mai-zi: “Ah?”
Yan Xuming: “This is the notebook I gave you, it’s only reasonable that I want to take a look at it someday.”
Mai-zi: “?! Why are you such a person!”
Yan Xuming: “I’ve always been this kind of person.”
Mai-zi: “T T”
Mai Dong hesitated to delete the Moments post, letting it become a popular spot for photos among students from other departments. Leaving his phone aside, after bathing and burning incense, he opened the new diary.
November 14, 2023. Sunny
I hesitated for a long time before writing, unsure of what words could do justice to the beginning of this notebook. No phrase seemed fitting, so I decided to document my mood of wanting to craft a perfect opening for it. Perhaps, in a way, it could be considered a match.
I had hot pot with him today, and I received this super-duper cute diary with his name on it. I feel like I’m a balloon filled with a gas called “happiness.” It’s so unreal that I worry it might burst with the prick of a needle.
Yet, the Moments post I shared constantly reminds me that everything is indeed real.
While crossing the road, he held onto my wrist. I would always think back to the first time I liked him in high school when he also supported me by holding my wrist and guiding me to the field.
He probably doesn’t remember that incident, and he likely doesn’t know that a junior he casually cared for is me. However, I don’t regret it. Instead, I feel fortunate. The delusion from my youth has unexpectedly come true four years later. It’s an event with such a small probability, nearly close to zero.
Today, I started contemplating something–What kind of person is Mai Dong?
I’ve never really thought about this question. I’ve always believed that there are countless Mai Dongs in the world, so I just got lost in the crowd. But suddenly, I realized it wasn’t like that.
Professors from other departments can recall my name. Chen Sinian is confident that I can excel in debating, and I’ve indeed done well. Everyone pays attention to my Moments posts.
Quite narcissistically, I pondered, am I also a unique existence in everyone’s eyes, not just a little mushroom in the corner? Ah, today’s diary entry is a bit too serious, but it’s the first entry in the new notebook, so it’s normal for the mood to be different.
Lastly, I need to correct Mai Dong’s life status: From a creature lurking in the corner crushing on Yan Xuming to a super lucky little genius currently in an ambiguous relationship with Yan Xuming!
Before bedtime, Mai Dong opened his Moments, and unsurprisingly, there were so many comments and likes that they couldn’t fit on a single screen. He didn’t understand the rules of Moments and thought that everyone could see Yan Xuming’s comment. In reality, only mutual friends of both could see the replies.
“You two know each other ah. No, wait, how does everyone know you ah?”
“Yan ge, do you know Mai xueshen? Help introduce us, would you? I haven’t dared to talk to him for a month since I added him as friend.”
“Sure, you brat. I’ll pretend to be here for you. Showing off in the xueshen’s Moments now.”
Mai Dong tremblingly read these comments. He seemed to understand what Yan Xuming replied, yet at the same time, he didn’t.
He could only recall who added him as a friend a month ago. It was a senior who wanted his WeChat, claiming to have some project-related questions. Mai Dong was only in his sophomore year, and he had no clue about projects or anything, but since others were consulting him, he naturally let the senior add him.
While he was pondering this, Yan Xuming coincidentally sent him a WeChat message asking if he had slept. After Mai Dong replied ‘no’, Yan Xuming immediately called him.
It was a bit noisy on Yan Xuming’s end, and Mai Dong could vaguely hear a guy shouting, “Who are you talking to ah?” in a somewhat peculiar tone. It made Mai Dong doubt if the atmosphere in their dormitory was harmonious. Finally, he heard a more eccentric remark, “Is it Mai Dong ah?”
Mai Dong sat up straight, waiting for Yan Xuming to speak.
Yan Xuming started by chuckling and muttered, “Get lost,” with a low tone. Then, realizing the call had connected, he said “Sorry” to Mai Dong.
Mai Dong quickly shook his head and asked, “Uh, it’s okay. What’s the matter?”
It suddenly quieted on Yan Xuming’s end, as if he had left the dormitory. “En, did you see the comments on Moments? A friend from the student union knows you, and there’s something they want your help with. Do you know about the international debate team at the school?”
Mai Dong really wasn’t concerned about these things. “Ah, sorry ah, I didn’t know.”
Yan Xuming: “Why apologize? It’s like this. In January, they scheduled a debate with a university in Germany, and they need someone to provide a German tutor.”
Mai Dong was somewhat shocked, “A German school?!”
Yan Xuming: “En, it’s actually a partner university with which our school has an exchange program. It’s not entirely unfamiliar; the two schools are acquainted. They initiated the debate competition, and all participants were exchange students. They can communicate in both German and Chinese, but for debating, they need some extra help. I saw a video of you debating somewhere before, and after learning you’re the top in your major, I thought of inviting you to assist.”
Mai Dong found it a bit strange, “Why didn’t he just tell me directly?”
Yan Xuming: “He thought the chances of success would be higher if I told you. Is that true? Well, I also had the same assumption. Do you think I might be a bit too self-confident?”
This is making me giggle like an idiot 😀
Thank you 🫶
Gong is god damn strange, but I kind of liking it
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Oh my 😂
Thank You for the new chapter ლ(´ ❥ `ლ)
Love how unaware maizi was before all this 😂 such a special talented existence would hardly go unnoticed hun <3 smth tells me yan xuming definitely remembered him from high school ☺
Just two strange personalities complimenting each other.
Thank you for the chapter! 💕
These two are so cute, YXM is so playful. I bet Mai Dong is in for a lot of surprises and changes in his quiet life 🤣