Love is Sweet – Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Brave for Love 为爱勇敢 (1/2)

Author: Qi Zi

Translated by: lovexsweet

Translator’s Note: So I’m not sure when the first edition of the Love is Sweet novel was written/published by Qi Zi (I should probably look that at up at some point), but you might have already noticed that the novel itself is set around the late 2000s. There are lots of clues like Hong Kong/mainland restriction differences, the timeline of 50 years after the CCP victory, and most importantly, the relationship between Faye Wong and Dou Wei, who are both very famous real life celebrities. 

The flashbacks (when JJ was in college) take place in the late 90s, which we know from this chapter since Faye Wong and Dou Wei had their baby in 1997 and divorced in 1999. That’s also why JJ and YS were still using dial up phones in college (and the excuse of a dropped call/bad connection still works) and writing letters to each other. 

Also, comparing the original draft to the revised newer edition, the sex scenes in the original draft are more explicit. Like for example, when Yuan Shuai and Jiang Jun meet each other in the emergency exit in the club, the original version is pretty detailed whereas the revision leaves it more to your imagination and is…more metaphorical LOL. I found the new ebook on IQIYI recently and it was censored compared to the edition that I’m translating from (basically the lines with sexual references were removed), but other than that it’s exactly the same, there were no further changes. So technically there’s the original draft, the revised edition (which is what I’m using), and slightly censored edition.

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When Jiang Jun was 19 years old, Yin Zhe graduated from graduate school and stayed at home to prepare for the ACCA exam. Jiang Jun was still studying her undergraduate degree. After class, she would run over to the house that Yin Zhe and his classmates rented so that she could clean, do laundry, and cook for him.

That year, Faye Wong married Dou Wei and had a baby.

The relationship between Jiang Jun and Yin Zhe was pure and their kisses were chaste and proper.

In the newspaper, Faye Wong and Dou Wei sat in the dining room and looked at each other; this scene was really beautiful.

At that time, Jiang Jun decided to open a restaurant of her own, a restaurant called the City of Love.

Yin Zhe’s family still didn’t like her, thinking that Jiang Jun was just a girl with a pretty face, absolutely not high class.

Yin Zhe didn’t care about his family’s attitude. He told Jiang Jun that his parents had forced him to have dinner with a very pretentious woman, and he had even had to use the excuse of going to the restroom in order to slip away.

Jiang Jun knew about his family affairs. Yin Zhe’s mother was the daughter of a tax commissioner in a northern city, and his biological father was the local vice mayor in charge of economic affairs. He was 15 years older than Yin Zhe’s mother, previously divorced, and his ex-wife had taken his son far away. When Yin Zhe was 4 years old, his biological father was sentenced to prison for financial problems. His mother took all of their property, married the current man, and soon had another daughter.

Yin Zhe grew up with his grandparents and his mother didn’t take him in until after the old man passed away, when he was almost sixteen years old. He was a person who desperately lacked the warmth of a family and who felt that he had no home and that no one loved him. Yin Zhe always told Jiang Jun that he liked to eat what she made, and that it tasted like home.

Jiang Jun solemnly told him, “We will have a home. I am the mother, you are the father, we are lovers, and each other’s children.”

She told her grandmother than she loves Yin Zhe and will marry him after graduation, and that she hoped her grandmother would meet Yin Zhe and see her beloved boy. Grandmother laughed and scolded her for not being at all bashful. She told her to wait, and that it wouldn’t be too late even if she waited until after graduation.

That year, Yuan Shuai returned home to work in China, and Jiang Jun and his family’s driver went to the airport to pick him up.

After he exited the gate, Yuan Shuai waved at her happily and hugged her, spinning them around in circles several times. A thin girl pushed the luggage cart next to him, took Yuan Shuai’s arm, and said to Jiang Jun, “Hi, I’m Qiao Na, your brother’s girlfriend.”

When Jiang Jun was a child, every time she misbehaved, her grandfather would lock her up and punish her by making her write characters. Her favorite thing to copy was the poem hanging on the wall of the study: Despite being battered by his wind and rain,* I stayed still.  [T/N Wind and rain are common metaphors for suffering hardship]

Jiang Jun’s complexion only changed slightly before she returned to normal, greeted Qiao Na happily, and talked and laughed all the way back home.

She did not tell Yin Zhe the news of Qiao Na’s return, nor did she tell Yuan Shuai about the relationship between Yin Zhe and Qiao Na. She didn’t say anything and just treated Qiao Na as a stranger.

Nothing changed. Before and after class, she spent her time with Yin Zhe as he studied, and she took care of his life.

Yuan Shuai became the person in charge of GT’s mainland office, and he was a man of mystery all day, a hidden dragon that couldn’t be found.

Qiao Na joined a certain mainland bank under the arrangement of her father, who was the president of a certain branch. She had an enviable salary without having to do much work.

Yuan Shuai and Qiao Na’s lives have nothing to do with Jiang Jun and Yin Zhe. Things moved along according to the original trajectory, without any deviation.

Jiang Jun breathed a sigh of relief, but who knew that this was only the calm before the storm?

Faye Wong held a concert in Beijing, and she and Yin Zhe went to see it. Jiang Jun heard Faye Wong’s love with her own ears and saw Dou Wei behind her, playing the drums for her. Their daughter had Dou Wei’s eyes and Faye Wong’s lips.  Her idol’s love had blossomed and borne fruit, but what about her and Yin Zhe’s?

Yin Zhe attended an ACCA training course and met a lot of friends. He brought Jiang Jun to meet his new friends, put his arms around her, and said with a blush, “This is my girlfriend.”

When they went to a nightclub, the group danced like demons venting their youthful restlessness. Someone touched Jiang Jun’s ass, and Jiang Jun punched the pervert, giving him a nosebleed.

She told Yuan Shuai about it rather proudly, but Yuan Shuai asked her why Yin Zhe hadn’t been the one to hit the guy. Jiang Jun was stunned, perhaps he simply didn’t react, although Yin Zhe was next to her at the time and the pervert was his friend.

The newspaper reported that Faye Wong and Dou Wei had quarreled and now lived in another city and in different hotels. But he still stood behind Faye Wong and played the drums for her.

Yin Zhe had three more parts to the ACCA exam. He was getting busier and busier, actively attending various training courses, going to bars and clubs with his friends, but never taking Jiang Jun with him. Jiang Jun wanted to go and also wanted to have friends. She used to be like a person living in a glass enclosure, able to see and hear the vivid living world, but never able to touch it. Now Yin Zhe had shattered the glass, but he was still unwilling to take her flying.

She went with her own classmates to bars and clubs, and had a great time without perverts and without Yin Zhe.

Her department recommended Jiang Jun for participation in the debate competition and she worked hard to win the best debater award. Her classmates screamed and cheered for her in the audience, but Yin Zhe, in a bad mood, criticized her, “Do you like to be in the limelight that much?”

Grandmother gave Jiang Jun a copy of a document, which was Yin Zhe’s recently submitted application for studying abroad. The school he had applied for was the same school that Qiao Na had graduated from.

Yin Zhe was going to go abroad, but he had never brought it up to Jiang Jun. His plans did not include her.

When Grandmother asked her what to do, Jiang Jun said without even thinking, “Of course I’ll go together with him!”

She pretended to offhandedly ask Yin Zhe if he had any plans for further studies. Yin Zhe said vaguely, “I haven’t thought about it yet, I’ll talk about it later.”

He’ll talk about it later, but who was he going to talk to? Yin Zhe told Jiang Jun the truth, which was that he only talked to Qiao Na.

Jiang Jun found course notes in Yin Zhe’s bedroom, on which that woman’s name was written in both Chinese and English. Qiao Na, the name that appeared in Yin Zhe’s diary countless times, had wandered into their love affair and lingered like a ghost.

Jiang Jun actually thought naively that if she didn’t say anything, no one would know and everything would go on as usual. She said to herself, “Zhong Jiang Jun, you’re really just a fool!”

She calmly continued to take care of Yin Zhe, skipping classes to follow him. She watched him chat with Qiao Na with exuberant delight, watched Qiao Na fall into his arms in sorrow, watched him wipe away Qiao Na’s tears with pity, and watched him make funny faces to make Qiao Na laugh constantly.

Yin Zhe and Qiao Na are Jiang Jun’s boyfriend and Yuan Shuai’s girlfriend.

Jiang Jun nearly couldn’t bear to walk up to them. Qiao Na stood up and said with a smile, “What a coincidence.”

Jiang Jun ignored her and only stared at Yin Zhe’s face. His expression was radiant with his high spirits. She remembered how Yuan Shuai had looked when he had come to see her not that long ago. He had become so much thinner and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes. He said, “Qiao Na might have someone else.”

Jiang Jun smiled rather than getting angry. She leaned over Yin Zhe’s shoulder and pulled his ears naughtily. “What are you saying to my sister-in-law?”

After that, she frequently met with Qiao Na, holding hands affectionately with her, and their sisterly love was so deep that it made people feel disgusted. The two of them talked about everything. Jiang Jun satisfied Qiao Na’s curiosity, and she also found out what she wanted to know.

They went shopping and she listened to Qiao Na talk about how Yuan Shuai loved her. It was surely love; Qiao Na could spend half of a normal person’s yearly income without blinking an eye.

“Yuanyuan-gege is so good to you, you’re really blessed!” Jiang Jun always said. Qiao Na gave her a silk scarf and Jiang Jun pretended not to recognize the brand, looking at the tag in amazement.

“This is Princess Diana’s favorite brand, I’m gifting it to you on your brother’s behalf.” With a self-satisfied expression, Qiao Na put it on her. “It looks great, you really look like a princess.”

Jiang Jun bowed her head and thanked her. When Qiao Na left, she immediately untied it and threw it in the trash can next to her, thinking: I don’t want your things, and you better not try to take mine.

Yuan Shuai came to see Jiang Jun, still frowning. Jiang Jun knew it was because of Qiao Na, and she hugged her Yuanyuan-gege as she did when she was a child, and let him lower his head to kiss her on her forehead.

“Are you happy? Are you happy with that kid?” Yuan Shuai asked.

“How about you, Yuanyuan-gege, are you happy being together with Qiao Na?”

Yuan Shuai lowered his head down and smiled bitterly. “This love thing, it’s such a fucking torture.”

Jiang Jun kind of wanted to cry. “Yes, it’s really fucking tormenting.”

Her love, Yuan Shuai’s love, and all these misfortunes were all because of Qiao Na.

Jiang Jun and Yin Zhe had been together for two years before they had their first fight.

Yin Zhe questioned her over her relationship with Yuan Shuai and he said, “Don’t think that I don’t know anything.”

Jiang Jun was so sad that she said without thinking, “You just know Qiao Na!”

Yin Zhe was stunned, and Jiang Jun rushed out and ran around on the sports field like a spinning top. She wanted to stop, but the string was held in someone else’s hands.

Yin Zhe found her. He was like a child who had been accused unjustly, so innocent and wronged, and he said, “There is nothing between me and Qiao Na.” 

Jiang Jun said, “Yuan Shuai is my brother.”

She chose to believe in Yin Zhe because she loved him, but what about Yin Zhe? They began to fight constantly, over Yuan Shuai, and over Jiang Jun’s identity.

She didn’t know what Qiao Na told Yin Zhe, but Yin Zhe thought that Jiang Jun was the child bride* of Yuan Shuai’s family. Fifty years after the liberation, would a family of generals who had participated in the revolution for so many years actually raise a child bride? Jiang Jun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and she really wanted to crack open Yin Zhe’s head to see if it was filled with water. [*girl adopted into a family as future daughter-in-law, a practice outlawed by the CCP in 1949, see this Wikipedia entry]

She could not tolerate Qiao Na sowing discord and told her bluntly that if she still wanted to be with Yuan Shuai, she should conduct herself with some dignity.

Qiao Na sneered, “What for?”

Jiang Jun gave her a chance, but it was Qiao Na’s own choice that led her to death. If she were a fox,* her tail would definitely be exposed, and if she were a ghost, she would definitely be afraid of sunlight. It was not surprising that the daughter would be so greedy, considering that she had a father who had misappropriated public funds for his own stocks and had lost his life savings.  [*like a fox spirit, who shapeshifts into a beautiful woman but is still revealed by her fox tail]

Jiang Jun took Yin Zhe to Yuan Shuai’s house and introduced him to Grandpa Yuan, Uncle Yuan, and Auntie one by one: “This is my boyfriend.”

On the way back, Yin Zhe begged her for forgiveness and carried Jiang Jun on his back for two hours as he walked on the road.

Jiang Jun urged Grandmother to see Yin Zhe as soon as possible, and Grandmother smiled as she promised to make the arrangements.

Someone told Jiang Jun that Yin Zhe seemed to be short of money recently and was borrowing money from everywhere. Jiang Jun knew this was because Yin Zhe was helping Qiao Na pay off her debt and that he would never say no to anyone but himself. He helped Qiao Na sell all kinds of jewelry, clothing, and even sold off his beloved computer.

When Jiang Jun stopped him, Yin Zhe said, “We are just friends, she asked me for help, so I should help her. It’s fine if everyone else doesn’t understand me, but not you. Qiao Na is falling apart because of her family matters, you don’t know how serious it is. If she can’t make up for the loss, her father will go to jail once it’s investigated and he’s found out. Your bastard of a brother actually doesn’t care and doesn’t ask about it, is he still a man?”     

Jiang Jun coldly looked at the diamond pendant in his hand, which was at least two carats. “Do you know how much that thing is worth? What have you ever bought for me? What have you ever done for me?”

She pointed to the pendant and told Yin Zhe clearly, “Yuan Shuai is not a bastard, and it’s because he’s a good man that he’s willing to spend money for Qiao Na, but he has no responsibility or obligation to pay off her family’s debts from their corruption.”

There were several times when Jiang Jun wanted to explain the truth to Yuan Shuai. The words would almost come to her mouth, but she would swallow them back down. Was she afraid of hurting Yuanyuan-gege or Yin Zhe? She didn’t know, maybe it was both.

The strange thing was that Yuan Shuai should have known that Jiang Jun was the one behind all of it. Although he did not help Qiao Na, he also distanced himself from Jiang Jun.

Jiang Jun felt very bitter. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, but there was no other way. Her love was like fighting an offensive war. There was no winning or losing, only hurt.

Yin Zhe stood at the door of his stepfather’s company, pacing back and forth, hesitating, and struggling between advancement and retreat.

Jiang Jun clutched his hand and begged him not to go in, but he still walked in to go beg a person he had despised for many years. For the sake of his so-called friendship, he threw away his own dignity that he had held onto for so many years.

He said, “How can you be so heartless?”

Was she in the wrong? Jiang Jun wanted to cry, but she couldn’t. Her tears were stuck in her heart, unable to flow and unable to dissipate.

When Yin Zhe walked out with his head hanging dejectedly, Jiang Jun asked him, “Was it worth it?”

Yin Zhe said, “I can’t see my friend suffer.”

“Then what about me? Is it okay for me to be hurt and to suffer?”

“What does it have to do with you?”

Jiang Jun’s smile was very ugly. What does it have to do with her? This question was really ridiculous to ask.

Yin Zhe would never give her happiness, and it turns out that the relationship she had tried so hard to maintain by every possible means had never had her in it.

It was a fated absurdity, a farce that she had played out all by herself.

Jiang Jun hated Yin Zhe, hated Qiao Na, and wanted to find Yuanyuan-gege to talk about what was on her mind, but his secretary said that he had left the country. He had gone abroad, but he had left his cell phone with his secretary in Beijing?

Later on, Yin Zhe happily told Jiang Jun that there was hope for Qiao Na’s father’s affair. Yuan Shuai had promised to help Qiao Na settle the matter.

Jiang Jun laughed bitterly and continued to call Yuan Shuai, and when he didn’t answer, she kept calling.

Jiang Jun asked her classmates to help check Yuan Shuai’s entry and exit records, and as expected, he has been in the mainland for the past two months. Jiang Jun also checked with Yuan Shuai’s usual airline and got his flight booking information: He was going to the United States in a few days, and the return ticket was scheduled for a month later.

The morning before Yuan Shuai’s departure, Jiang Jun sat in the café that was downstairs of his company, and filled out the form carefully. When she got to the column where she had to sign as the informant, she hesitated and wanted to hear Yin Zhe’s voice. Even a simple “where are you” would make her give up. She dialed the phone and the voice prompt told her that the other party was currently in a call. Jiang Jun held the phone and waited patiently, but she saw Qiao Na sashay into the building with her purse on her shoulder, talking on the phone.

When the call finally connected, Yin Zhe said happily, “Qiao Na found someone to help her end this matter.”

“Yuan Shuai is helping her with it?”

“It’s not your bastard brother. Anyway, she told me not to worry, she’s preparing to go talk to that person now.”

Jiang Jun watched Yuan Shuai pulling Qiao Na, who was crying and hiding her face, around the corner to the side of the café. She felt like she was a real lunatic. Only a lunatic could fall in love with such a heartless fool as Yin Zhe.

“Really? That’s great.” As she spoke, she solemnly signed her name on the form: Zhong Jiang Jun.

Since she liked to cry so much, she could just keep crying. After all, some fool would be around to feel sorry for her.

After leaving the office building, Jiang Jun said to the driver, “Go to the China Banking Regulatory Commission.”

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Translator’s Notes: Brace yourselves for the next part, Yuan Shuai might have helped set up the chessboard but it’s Jiang Jun who makes the ultimate move!  I’ll try to get it out to you guys ASAP but these two parts are both long.

To the person who offered to help me figure out how to sticky my Introduction post so that it actually stays on top, I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to email you yet! But your offer to help is greatly appreciated and I’ll get around to it eventually, I’ve just been a diligent busy worker bee recently 🙂