‘Better than with me’……
Xiang Wan pondered the meaning of this phrase for several minutes, however, she wasn’t one to keep things to herself. So, she asked directly, “Are you unhappy?”
Chao Xin laughed, “No.”
“I just feel……” she sighed, “Am I hard to get along with?”
Chao Xin didn’t understand jokes, and she wasn’t very good at displaying rapport. The only person she had tried to get close to was Xiang Wan because she appeared to be just as clumsy as herself.
Clumsy, she liked this word.
“You’re not hard to get along with. Being with you is more comfortable than being with most people.” Xiang Wan replied.
Because Chao Xin was very tolerant, her experiences had lowered the threshold of what she could endure. It appeared that once someone entered her inner circle, they could do anything.
“Why didn’t you talk to me this morning then?” Chao Xin asked.
Xiang Wan didn’t talk during breakfast either.
“I was shy,” Xiang Wan said.
Chao Xin burst into laughter, her brows puckered with amusement. “You, shy?”
She didn’t notice that yesterday, Xiang Wan had a late reaction.
Xiang Wan pursed her lips, whispering, “Whenever I look at you, I think of you without your clothes on. I guess I haven’t adjusted well yet.”
The car jerked and drifted for a couple of seconds before returning to its normal speed. Fortunately, the highway was relatively empty at the moment.
Chao Xin was a bit embarrassed, “You can’t driving while driving.[1]“
“Huh?”
“You can’t talk about these things while driving,” Chao Xin rephrased.
“I see,” Xiang Wan nodded.
After watching the fleeting shadows of the trees outside the window for a while, she asked Chao Xin again, “What are we, exactly?”
“Are we together?”
Chao Xin shook her head, “No.”
Xiang Wan was at a loss for words.
Chao Xin gently stroked the steering wheel, patiently explaining, “Listen, I’m not being irresponsible, or saying I don’t like you. I just feel that sex can’t be used as a catalyst, or … the beginning of a relationship? You were not sure before we did it, and it’s unlikely that you figured it out after just one time. So, there’s no rush.”
“I really like being with you, and you might think I’m not bad too, but if we are to confirm our relationship, it’s not that simple.”
“It might require the other person to incorporate themselves into their future life, but I don’t think you or I are ready for that.”
Chao Xin paused, then continued, “You’re going back to school soon. You’ll be facing a completely different environment, and possibly, you’ll have more options.”
Her words were very tactful, but Xiang Wan, sensitive as she was, sensed Chao Xin’s lack of confidence. It was as if Chao Xin doubted that Xiang Wan would choose her over after meeting people her own age.
“I can accompany you in doing things you like, but if it’s about starting a relationship, think it over, be more cautious,”
Chao Xin suggested.
Xiang Wan stared at her, pondering, “Why do you keep saying ‘think it over’? What about you? What are your thoughts?”
“I…”
“Are you saying that if I make up my mind, you will agree?” Xiang Wan was curious.
“I didn’t exactly say that,” Chao Xin laughed, shaking her head.
“Then, what are your concerns? Tell me all about them. Let’s see if they make sense or not,” Xiang Wan turned sideways, blinking at her.
Chao Xin remained silent for a while.
Xiang Wan looked at her, rather nonchalantly, reminding her of how she had casually eaten oranges this morning.
“Do you know? With an attitude like yours, in our place, you’d be dunked in a pig cage,” Xiang Wan hadn’t witnessed it herself, but had vaguely heard older women talk about it.
Chao Xin raised an eyebrow at Xiang Wan.
“Or at least, you’d have to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and nights.”
Xiang Wan was actually throwing a tantrum, making Chao Xin laugh again, “So, when I invited you yesterday, and you were wildly tossing and turning in the bed, did you think about how many days you’d have to kneel?”
Xiang Wan held her face in her hands, ignoring Chao Xin.
Why was she throwing a tantrum?
Chao Xin didn’t quite understand. Hadn’t they discussed everything clearly yesterday? She had appeared so carefree while they were kissing, which had led Chao Xin to consider trying again with her.
“I don’t know, sometimes I’m impulsive, and other times I’m conservative,” Xiang Wan continued to hold her face in her hands.
“I noticed.”
“I didn’t feel anything wrong yesterday, but today when you put on your clothes, I feel awkward.”
“Can you stop talking about clothes on, clothes off?” Chao Xin was helpless.
“Sorry.”
“This kind of thing, I always lack experience,” Xiang Wan concluded.
“You don’t need to have a lot of experience.”
“Where is this coming from?”
“I suggest,” Chao Xin cleared her throat, “I suggest that you only need to do it with me.”
Xiang Wan hugged her arms, pondering the logic in Chao Xin words. Chao Xin wanted them to be casual, yet monogamous.
“Ah, it’s not a demand, it’s just that things can get messy, and at least both of us are healthy,” said Chao Xin, her ears turning red as she spoke.
“And you probably haven’t gotten the HPV vaccine, and you can’t use that… thing. It’s quite risky,” Chao Xin made a lot of sense.
“What about kissing?” Xiang Wan asked.
“Um… the infection rate of Helicobacter pylori is quite high now, do you know about it? It’s also transmitted through kissing and can increase the risk of stomach cancer. I don’t have it,” said Chao Xin.
“So, it’s also the safest with you.” Xiang Wan’s lips curved, forming a slight smile.
“Mm.”
“What if I ask the other person to provide a physical examination report?”
“Are you sure they won’t forge it?”
“What if I accompany her to the check-up?”
“Well, bring the medical report back and I’ll help you look at it. I’m afraid you won’t understand.”
Chao Xin pondered, feeling a bit overwhelmed internally. Xiang Wan, too, seemed to share the same sentiment with their back-and-forth conversation.
So Xiang Wan stopped speaking, only to say, “Ms. Chao.”
“What is it?”
“Zhouzhou and the others invited me for lunch, are you going?”
“Did they invite me?”
“No. Are you going, Ms. Chao?”
“Well, you invite me then.”
“Why should I invite you?”
“By saying this, don’t you want me to accompany you?” Had she misunderstood?
“I’m just showing respect, paying tribute to you.”
Chao Xin thought of something, her elbow resting on the car door, letting out a leisurely laugh.
“What?” Xiang Wan looked at her.
“Actually, you don’t want me to go, but you want me to drive you over, so you’re being polite, right?”
Experiencing intimacy together made a difference. Having a secret that no third person knew, Chao Xin felt she had learned a bit of blatant audacity.
“How could I think about these?” Xiang Wan was puzzled.
“Because I just remembered, it was ‘Zhouzhou’ who invited you.”
“So what?”
“Don’t you like Yu Zhou?” Xiang Wan was puzzled. Yu Zhou was easy-going and friendly, and almost everyone who knew her liked her.
“No. Author sama, I also… respect her.”
“Respect her then, go ahead. I invite you.” Xiang Wan sat up straight, sent a voice message to Yu Zhou, “Zhouzhou, I am bringing Ms. Chao over, is it convenient?”
Yu Zhou also sent back a voice message, and she laughed first, “Don’t tell me she is right beside you now, and you are asking me in front of her.”
“How did you know?”
“Don’t tell me, you broadcasted my voice message to her.”
“Indeed.”
“Then why are you asking me?! When are you two arriving?”
Xiang Wan glanced at Chao Xin, and Chao Xin signaled her to look at the navigation.
“We will arrive at Jiang City in about forty minutes. Send us the address, and we will go directly.”
After waiting for a minute or two, she glanced at her phone and said to Chao Xin, “XianNiuPin Chaoshan Beef Hotpot on Sports North Road, thank you.”
Once again, Xiang Wan treated her as a driver. Chao Xin glanced at her before changing the destination.
- ‘Driving’ has another meaning as making yellow jokes, talking about sexual things. [return to text]
CNYuriTranslation 