Love is Sweet – Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Lovers in Sync 情侣对表 (Part 1)

Translated by: lovexsweet

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS ANYWHERE. YOU ARE WELCOME TO LINK & CREDIT AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE, BUT IF I FIND THIS SOMEWHERE ELSE I WILL STOP TRANSLATING.

Translator’s Note: The first two characters of the title describe lovers/sweethearts and the last two describes when someone sets or synchronizes a watch.  The context for the title happens at the end of the chapter. Also, there’s a little swearing in this chapter and I’ve chosen not to tone it down. I’m also deciding between putting in-line translation notes vs. footnotes at the end of the chapter, so please tell me what you guys prefer when you’re reading (and why you like it better).  Also, if you can think of a better translation for the title of this chapter, by all means please tell me and I’ll consider it.  I tried out a few different ones but settled on this.

Preview: Jiang Jun felt that Yuan Shuai would not fall in love with her.  After all, if it were going to happen, it would have happened already, why would he wait until now?  She also didn’t want to take the initiative again in loving someone; the love that came from begging is never real love.  She had already paid for these lessons in blood and she really had no life left to go through it again.

~ ~ ~

When Jiang Jun arrived home, Yuan Shuai was cleaning up, pulling the sheets off her bed and dragging them down. Jiang Jun blushed and her heart beat faster when she saw the bed sheets, until she ended up standing beside him and staring blankly in a daze. The two of them had often helped clean each other’s rooms before, but this was the first time that she personally saw him pick up his own underwear from her bed sheets and put them in the laundry basket.

“My great lady, can you take a look around and see what kind of mess your house is in?” Yuan Shuai wiped his sweat and loosened the buttons on his shirt.  “Have you eaten?”  Seeing Jiang Jun shake her head no, he sighed, “I haven’t either.  You go cook, I have all the ingredients prepared for fried noodles.”

“Where’s Auntie Jin? Didn’t she come to clean today?” 

“Her grandson hasn’t been feeling well for the past few days, so she’s not coming over.  We’re on our own.  I’ll mop the floor and wash the clothes. You cook and dry the clothes, and we’ll wash the dishes together.  Fair enough?  Hurry up, let’s try to get it done before one o’clock.”

Jiang Jun felt awkward, but she couldn’t say exactly why.  They had lived like this before without her thinking anything of it.  So why, today, was there this faint, vague feeling of unease?

After Jiang Jun finished cooking the meal, Yuan Shuai quickly sat down at the table and picked up a large piece of meat from the sauce, waving it in front of her eyes.  “Your level today has dropped drastically, this practically turned into braised pork.”

Jiang Jun also knew that she was doing things abnormally. First, she cut the cucumber slices into cucumber slivers, and then she cut the diced meat into huge pieces. Of course she couldn’t tell Yuan Shuai that he was the reason for her absent-mindedness, so she had to randomly find another excuse.  “Don’t talk nonsense, you have food to eat but you’re still acting smug? I lost a big order today so don’t mess with me.”

“Isn’t it just a matter of letting Skyway dig themselves into a hole?  It’s not that bad, the loss last time was much more than this and I didn’t see you frowning.”

Jiang Jun looked at Yuan Shuai’s smiling face and fell into a bit of a trance, but just as she was about to say something, Yuan Shuai’s cell phone rang. He glanced at it and picked up, covering the speaker as he gestured to Jiang Jun: “My dad.”

Jiang Jun kept her head down and ate the noodles without saying a word. Yuan Shuai took the phone and went to the balcony. The sliding door was not closed totally and she could indistinctly hear his voice: “It’s so late and you haven’t gone to bed yet, I still have to go sleep myself. Meeting, what meeting, I’m only in my early thirties, I’m young, and still have many years…even if seven beautiful goddesses descended into the world, I wouldn’t want to meet them…whatever…  If you want to thrash me you can come over to thrash me, I’ll reimburse your plane ticket…  Who are you playing chess with? My dear dad, I’m begging you, you’re sixty-two years old, you’re not a twenty six year old young man. Hurry up and go shower and go to bed.”

Jiang Jun felt a little irritable and was not in the mood to eat.  [T/N: The gist of it is that she overheard Yuan Shuai’s dad nagging him to get settled down and married, like parents usually do.  The “meeting” is an arranged date/matchmaking.]

After Yuan Shuai finished his phone call and came back, he saw that Jiang Jun was not eating properly, instead playing with the noodles one by one.  He raised his hand and tapped her forehead: “On harvest day, sweat drips onto the soil. Don’t waste food.”

The tap wasn’t heavy, but it still infuriated Jiang Jun. She pushed aside the bowl and said in a huff, “I’m not going to eat anymore, I still have to work overtime. You can leave the bowl there after you finish and I’ll clean it up later.”

Yuan Shuai said with exaggerated consideration: “You do your work, I wouldn’t dare to disturb you.” Then he poured the little half bowl of her leftover noodles into his own bowl and ate it himself. Jiang Jun had nowhere to vent her annoyance, so she gritted her teeth and entered the study.

Because she frequently worked overtime, there was always a large box of snacks in the study.  Jiang Jun crossed her legs and held the potato chips for a long time, crunching away but still feeling hungry.  Noticing that the door was opened a small crack, she quickly threw the chips into the trashcan at her feet and sat upright, in the posture of a strong woman.

“Delicious, fragrant beef noodles! Would the esteemed guest like a bowl?”

Even if Jiang Jun had a big grievance, it was offset by this bowl of noodles, and while eating, she scolded angrily in her heart: “There’s no justice, Yuan Yuan-gege* is such a good man, but in the future, I don’t know which evil woman will get him for cheap.” The noodle bowl was a great success. [T/N* Brother, similar to Korean “oppa”]

Yuan Shuai saw that she had eaten the whole bowl of noodles, not even leaving any soup, so he served her another small bowl. Jiang Jun wiped her mouth and said, “I won’t eat more, if I keep eating I’ll get fat.”

“You can let this go, your body is so small that a strong wind would blow you two miles. Say, you do eat a lot, how come don’t you grow some curves?”

Jiang Jun noticed that when Yuan Shuai said this, his gaze obviously swept across her chest. This used to be her Achilles’ heel. Back in high school, she ate countless papaya but still couldn’t get them to grow any bigger. When she was in college, she felt inferior, but it really didn’t matter to her now. Miss Jiang succeeded by relying on her brain, not her boobs.  She pointed at her head: “Everything I eat turns into wisdom. You’re just a plebeian who can’t recognize that my body type reflects the high intelligence of an elite woman.”

Yuan Shuai couldn’t help laughing: “Then what’s with the big box of padding in your closet? All right, I was wrong… Don’t make such a face.  Tomorrow I’ll see the Director of Investment.”

The next morning, as Jiang Jun was changing her clothes, she received a text message from Yuan Shuai: I have a last minute appointment. You’ll have to drive yourself to work. Tonight Jiao Didi insisted on asking me to dinner, I’ll have to bother you to come out again.”

Jiang Jun hesitated, but reached out to open the closet drawer and took out the long-unused chest pads. Facing the mirror, she carefully stuffed it into her bra, adjusted the position, and consoled herself: “We’re not being vulgar, this is just being beautiful both inside and out.

After a busy day, Yuan Shuai was on time waiting downstairs when night fell. Jiang Jun was in very high spirits today and was inexplicably excited at the thought of getting rid of Jiao Didi; she was even a bit more efficient at work than usual. When passing by Du’s office after getting off work, she sped up out of fear of being caught by the workaholic for overtime.  But what you try not to dread always ends up happening and the door to Du’s office suddenly opened.  The boss stood at the door and cursed. “A bunch of losers! Juno, are you about to leave?”

Jiang Jun nodded calmly and kept walking. “I have an appointment with a client for dinner.”

“Hold on, wait.”

“I can’t wait, I’m already almost late, we’ll talk later.”  She didn’t want to wade into those muddy waters.  She waved and practically jogged away.

Getting into Yuan Shuai’s car, Jiang Jun clutched her chest, panting hard. Good thing she ran away fast, or who knows how long she’d have to work overtime tonight.

“What kind of acting is this, did you meet a pervert?”

“Hurry up and drive.”

Yuan Shuai started the car while looking at her.  “Today you’re taking the commoner’s road, it’s not easy to be an elite, hmm? It’s lonely at the top.”

Jiang Jun glared at him viciously. “Screw you, if you keep going at me,* I’ll get out of the car.” [T/N* The words she uses here is making a “run on the bank,” financial terms]

The restaurant chosen for tonight’s dinner was one of their own, called “Outside the City’s Gate.” The entire restaurant design was completely decorated in accordance with the old Beijing house in Jiang Jun’s memory, with blue bricks, gray tiles, red pillars, starlings, wicker chairs, grape racks, and authentic old Beijing style. In the beginning, Jiang Jun said that she wanted to invest in the business with Yuan Shuai, but Yuan Shuai looked at all her reported assets and said disdainfully: “You can save your money and buy some popsicles to eat, I’ll give you a share, you don’t have to pay.”  At that time, Jiang Jun hadn’t worked for long yet and still had high ideals, so even if her confidence was low, she still couldn’t accept the charity. To put it aside until now, she guaranteed it and had Yuan Shuai sign the contract immediately, but signatures wouldn’t be considered sufficient, fingerprints were also required.

Only when she arrived at the restaurant did she realize that Yuan Shuai had booked the whole venue. Jiang Jun thought sourly: He’s quite considerate and knows how to protect the reputation of the starlet, but how much money would be lost in this one night?  The restaurant was quite famous in Hong Kong; if you wanted to have a meal, you would need to make a reservation one or two days in advance.  Spending this kind of money was painful.

Yuan Shuai saw her little thoughts: “Look at your stingy energy. This afternoon, the TV station rented our venue to film some scenes, and it would be pointless to rush to open the restaurant tonight, so we might as well enjoy it.”

The starlet, whom Yuan Shuai and Jiang Jun privately nicknamed Jiao Didi, had waited in the restaurant after filming in the afternoon.  Seeing Yuan Shuai coming with Jiang Jun, she stood up and whispered half-baked Mandarin, “Zeus-ge.” [T/N* Zeus is in English, ge means brother but is meant affectionately]

Jiang Jun and Yuan Shuai coincidentally shivered at the same time. Jiang Jun rubbed at her exposed skin and thought: No wonder Yuan Shuai called her Jiao Didi,* she’s really like her famous name. [T/N* “Jiao didi” is a description meaning sweet, cute, delicately pretty]

Yuan Shuai intimately wrapped his arm around Jiang Jun’s slender waist and introduced her to Jiao Didi, “Miss Bai, this is my girlfriend Jiang Jun.  This restaurant is actually her property; I’m just in charge of it.  If you want to thank anyone, thank her.”

Jiang Jun’s heartbeat sped up sharply because of Yuan Shuai’s hand on her waist. She secretly pinched her own thigh, putting on a faint smile: “Miss Bai, I have heard of your name for a long time. Last year, the LG cosmetics ad was really good. A few days ago I had dinner with Zhang Dong and I even told her, don’t change people, it’s good to continue to use you.”

The other party didn’t know Jiang Jun’s background, but just looked at her carefully. Jiang Jun was accustomed to big occasions, and her natural energy was ninety percent higher than Jiao Didi’s, so she naturally was not afraid of scrutiny. These types of celebrities look at people’s clothes and jewelry first. Jiang Jun’s coat and shoes were custom and hand-made by famous designers, at her company’s expense. Even if the brand was not visible, the materials and tailoring were top-notch. She didn’t have on any jewelry except her watch, but it was this antique Breguet watch, which she had simply grabbed to match her clothes, that made Jiao Didi look surprised. Jiang Jun was still waiting for the other party to make a move, but Jiao Didi instantly changed her expression, still sounding coy, but her attitude exceedingly sincere: “Sister Jiang and Mr. Yuan are really a good match. I’m waiting here today to thank you for being willing to lend the locale for our shoot, but other than that, the most important thing is for me to apologize to both of you. The paparazzi made up so many scandals some time ago and caused you trouble.  I’m really sorry.  When you have a wedding, you must let me know so I can also share your joy.” 

Jiang Jun only felt bored, and her opponent’s level was really too low, which made it meaningless, but Yuan Shuai’s jealousy soared. The watch Jiang Jun was wearing was the only one of its kind in all of Hong Kong, and it was Du’s birthday gift to Jiang Jun this year. Du was born into a wealthy family, which started off in diamonds, and which owned several top jewelry stores in the United States. Getting the watch wasn’t difficult for him, but him giving it to Jiang Jun was a problem. Jiang Jun was naive and thought it was only a gesture from a boss to win over his employee, but Yuan Shuai understood Du and was afraid he had bad intentions.

After they chased away Jiao Didi, Yuan Shuai and Jiang Jun sat down for dinner. Jiang Jun watched Yuan Shuai sullenly stay quiet, and she teased: “Didn’t you see two women fighting for a husband?  Was the exciting scene of the big fight not entertaining enough?”

Yuan Shuai was peeved, and in a stern voice scolded, “Don’t wear that watch anymore.”

Jiang Jun was a little troubled by Yuan Shuai’s gloomy expression. “What’s wrong? I think it looks good.”

Yuan Shuai’s loss of temper was just for a moment, and he quickly recovered his senses: “This watch is beautiful, but it’s only worn by old ladies. You’re a beautiful and young woman wearing such an old antique thing, it looks especially mismatched.”

Jiang Jun was rather indifferent to it all.  She did really like the watch, but there was no need to argue with Yuan Shuai over an object, so if he didn’t want her to wear it then she wouldn’t.

She thought the matter was over, so she never thought that Yuan Shuai would be unwilling to overlook it, instead insisting on taking her to choose a new watch.  Jiang Jun never wasted her brain cells on thinking about jewelry and clothes. It’s said that people need clothes like horses need saddles, and luxury goods are coveted, but Jiang Jun already had several famous watches, all worth more than six figures.  She usually didn’t like to wear these things, finding them to be cumbersome, and really felt there was no need to buy new ones. But Yuan Shuai was the kind of person who couldn’t be dissuaded and Jiang Jun knew that if she didn’t go along with his intentions, he would be endlessly bothered over this.  In resignation, she accompanied him to a few watch shops until a pair of watches that were to Master Yuan’s satisfaction was finally selected.  At the checkout, Yuan Shuai said: “Let’s AA*, I’ll buy a women’s watch for you, and you buy a men’s watch for me.” [T/N* to go Dutch, i.e. to split the bill]

Jiang Jun thought to herself: Is Yuan Shuai going crazy? Isn’t this the same as each of us paying for ourselves?  Besides, the watch she liked was much prettier than the women’s watch chosen by Yuan Shuai.

Yuan Shuai raised his wrist to look from this and that angle, and then lifted Jiang Jun’s wrist to admire hers.

The young lady selling the watch was good at flattery: “You and your wife have really good taste.  In all of Hong Kong, there is only two of this couple watch that you’ve chosen. Although the design is simple, the gems inlaid inside are exquisite, symbolizing unwavering love. “

When Jiang Jun heard the words “couple watch” she got a headache, and when she heard that it was a symbol of love beyond life or death, she felt it was even more ridiculous. She thought for a while and asked Yuan Shuai in a low voice, “It’s inappropriate for the two of us to wear this, right?”

“Why is it inappropriate? I think it’s good. If one day I die in a car accident and you can’t recognize my face, you can still recognize our watch.”

“You’re really fucking sick,” Jiang Jun cursed furiously and angrily paid so she could leave.

In the days that followed, Jiang Jun kept wearing this watch. On the one hand, it was because Yuan Shuai was looking for it. On the other hand, she vaguely felt that the watch had another layer of meaning, and this realization stirred up certain emotions, which had been sealed away for a long time.