Love By Soup - Part 2: Falling in Love

When Xiaoxi felt his empty sleeve, she couldn’t control herself and moved upwards trying to find his hand until she touched his upper arm.  She was stunned and couldn’t believe he had this……condition……  She started blaming herself.  Her own actions had caused another person’s embarrassment.  It’s totally not what she had intended!

Xiaoxi took back her hand as if she had been shocked.  She was dumbfounded.  Boys moved past them in and out of the dorm and no one paid them much attention.  They probably thought that it was just a couple of lovebirds who didn’t want to say goodbye yet.  But Xiaoxi was deeply remorseful; when she touched what was left of his arm, she distinctly sensed a slight tremor.

She looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say.  What could she say? “Sorry?” Or “what happened?” Should she apologize for touching where she shouldn’t have touched?

Or should she blame herself for not being more observant?  After all, while at the cafeteria, he was standing right in front of her.  How could she not notice this at all?

For a while, no one spoke.  Finally, Yaonan opened his mouth.  “It’s getting dark soon, you better go!”

Xiaoxi raised her head and looked right into Yaonan’s eyes.

He appeared very calm and his words were very gentle.  There wasn’t a hint of pain or being offended.  He was acting like an old friend who was warmly telling her that it’s time to go home.

Xiaoxi pursed up her lips at first, then sighed and spoke with a small voice, “Sorry……”

Yaonan grinned.  “You’ve said that word hundreds and thousands of times today.  I forgave you already long ago!  Don’t worry.”

Xiaoxi hesitated a bit and showed the tube in her hand.  “This ointment is really good, I……”

She spotted pockets on the beige colored pants that he was wearing and pushed the tube into the pocket carefully.  “Here, for you…….”

After those words, Xiaoxi ran as if she was being chased away.

**

Kan Yaonan went back upstairs to Lao K’s prying.  “What were you two doing so secretively at the doorway?  We couldn’t even watch and have some fun with it.” -----Originally, Xiaoxi was standing outside of the dorm and if Yaonan had walked out of the doorway, the roommates could watch the two from the window above.

Yaonan told Lao K.  “Take out the tube from my pocket for me and see how to use it.”

“That girl gave you this?”

“Yeah.”

Lao K took out the tube from the pocket as told.  “What’s this?! No directions, no instructions, a counterfeit!”

Lao K looked up after these words and saw in Yaonan’s eyes an unusual expression of tenderness.  He frowned.  “Yaonan, not that I like to nag, but this girl is so hasty.  She may harbor some wicked ideas.  In addition, I don’t want you to get hurt.”  He put emphasis on the word “hurt”.

Yaonan seemed full of confidence.  “Don’t worry.  Come, put some on me.”

Lao K couldn’t help but respect Yaonan.  They have been best friends and were usually traveled together.  Throughout these years, he’d seen Yaonan encounter numerous glances of inquiry, sympathy, or even doubt.  Even though Yaonan had already proven himself with his exceptional skills playing soccer, most people were still skeptical.  Yaonan seemed to take it all in stride.  He never blamed anybody or anything.  In front of everyone, Kan Yaonan is always in high spirits.

In the end, the tube of ointment was thrown aside as Lao K grumbled.  He really couldn’t figure out how to use it.[1]  That night, Lao K  continued to use the ointment prescribed by the doctor.  It hurt so much that Yaonan shed tears.  “Damn Lao K, you’re trying to kill me!” he grunted between clenched teeth.

The next day, Yaonan, Lao K and others walked while chatting back to the dorm after their afternoon class.  The security guard at the gate seemed to be making a funny face at them as they passed  by.  What’s going on?  Why was a fifty something middle aged man making such face?

Soon enough, they realized why.  Right in front of the building, they saw a girl, whose hands were inside the pockets of her down jacket, jogging continuously back and forth to ward off the cold.

It was Xiaoxi.  She watched them coming closer and put on a smile.  When she saw that mean Lao K was right next to Yaonan, she turned a bit timid.

Yaonan’s kind words calmed her down.  “Anything I can help you with?”

She replied quietly.  “I forgot to tell you that the ointment was formulated by my father, so there’s no instructions.  But it truly is very effective.”

Yaonan thought that the way Xiaoxi anxiously trying to clarify was kind of funny.  He said to her in a good mood, “It’s very cold out here, why don’t you come up to our room to stay for a while.”

Xiaoxi agreed quietly and followed him.

At the beginning, Lao K and the other roommate stayed put in the room.  Because Lao K was biased against Xiaoxi, he didn’t bother to give her anything to drink.  Xiaoxi didn’t mind it at all.  She looked around and found her ointment tube on a desk next to the doctor’s tube.  The one she gave him is full and the doctor’s was obviously flattened somewhat.  She turned toward Yaonan.  “The doctor’s ointment hurts a lot, right?  I’ve used it before.  How about using mine today?  I’ll write down the instructions so you can follow it.”

She spoke as she wrote.  “Squeeze out some ointment, apply evenly, cover the burn area with a thickness no more than 2mm.  Massage for two minutes and then expose the area to some air, don’t cover it up so the wound can breathe……”

At this moment, Lao K spoke with a cold voice.  “One has to make up one’s own mistakes.  I don’t know how to use your new stuff!”

Xiaoxi heard him, silent for a moment.  Suddenly, she turned to unwrap the dressings on Yaonan’s arm.

Yaonan was somewhat caught in surprise.  “No, no, I can do it ……”

Xiaoxi unconsciously glanced over to his right arm.  Yaonan stopped speaking right then, how would he do it himself?

Yaonan’s not sure what have overcome him.  Maybe he really wanted Xiaoxi to apply the ointment on his arm.  The day before, Lao K applied the ointment so roughly on him and almost killed him with the pain.  Then how would it feel when this girl applied the ointment for him?

He couldn’t tell whether he had any other, deeper expectation from her.  So when Xiaoxi cautiously took down the dressings, he had no intention to avoid it.

Xiaoxi squeezed out some ointment onto her finger tips and then tenderly applied it onto Yaonan’s left arm.

Yaonan was secretly delighted.  It really didn’t hurt at all.  Not only that, it had a very pleasant smell, too.  Her tiny hand moved around his arm, lightly circling around to massage while applying.  After a while, she stopped.  She carefully checked the area and said, “Don’t wrap it up from now on.”

“Are you coming tomorrow?” Yaonan asked without thinking.

Xiaoxi hesitated.  “Yeah……”

**

The next day, Xiaoxi applied the ointment for Yaonan again.  Yaonan liked the feeling.  Since yesterday, after using the ointment from Xiaoxi’s father, his arm hadn’t been hurting.  He wasn’t awoken by the pain at the middle of night like before.  He finally had a good night of sleep last night.

However, Xiaoxi wasn’t feeling too good.  Today was the final game of the college soccer league.  If Yaonan wasn’t hurt, their school team might well become the champions.  The TV at the dorm was broadcasting the game live.  Lao K watched it intently.  Xiaoxi finally understood why Yaonan couldn’t play soccer even though only his arm had been burned.  During a soccer game, if one side kicks the ball out of bound, the other side will send a player to do a “throw in”.  That’s when the player has to use his hands.

Xiaoxi didn’t want to continue dwelling on this unhappy subject.  How does Yaonan usually throw the ball then?  Does he use his normal left hand with the support of the incomplete right arm?  She sighed.  Why does the heavens always play jokes on people with such outstanding talent?[2]

Yaonan could tell that Xiaoxi was not in a good mood.  He tried to comfort her.  “Haha, wait till winter time, there’s still the 7-players’ soccer games.  You think we can win?”

Xiaoxi replied firmly.  “For sure!”

“Then---- will you come to cheer us on?”

“I promise I will!”

Xiaoxi  felt a lot better now.

**

The following days, when Xiaoxi came over, Lao K and the other roommate left them alone.  Yaonan later asked Lao K what made him change his mind about Xiaoxi.  Lao K replied that regardless of what he thought, she had taken good care of Yaonan.

Yaonan’s arm no longer hurt, but he enjoyed the massages too much to stop.  The air between the two had become quite ambiguous.  Xiaoxi thought about staying away, but there’s something there that pushed her to go towards him.

She had to be sure that her feelings towards him is not out of sympathy.  She also had to be sure that she has no qualms about staying with such a person.  Could she really be able to do it?

Yaonan was hesitant as well.  Whenever he’s with her, he would unconsciously try to hide his right arm behind his body.

As Xiaoxi was chatting with him absent-mindedly, she suddenly straightened up and seriously asked, “Can I ask you a question?”

He knew they have reached a critical point.  “Sure.”

“What happened to your right arm?”

After a long pause, he finally responded.  “Fireworks explosion when I was little.”

She slowly stood up.  “I----should go.”

“Are you coming tomorrow?”

She thought for a bit.  “I’ll see.”

**

So, tomorrow, becomes the dividing line, the turning point, the critical point.

Xiaoxi asked herself: do I need to be this hesitant just to see him again?  Maybe tomorrow there’s more obstacles ahead.  But to live at the moment, shouldn’t I face my own true feelings?

There, she found herself at the bottom of the stairs to his dorm again.

Lao K whistled and walked in with Yaonan.  He pat Yaonan on his shoulder and left.

Now  there was only the two of them.

“Your wound is almost all better now.”

“Yeah, thanks to your ointment.”

“Uhm, tomorrow, I’m not going to come to put on the ointment for you.”

“Uhm, ok.”

“Then, I’m going now.”

“Be careful on your way back.”

Xiaoxi walked away.

Three seconds later, Yaonan ran up to Xiaoxi and hugged her from behind.  His voice was very tender.  “Could you give me a chance?  I like you.”

Xiaoxi responded immediately. “Alright, I like you too.”  Haha, it looks like she couldn’t wait for Yaonan to ask.

No one could imagine, a bowl of pickled veggie soup can spark a wondrous love story.  Should they be thankful to that bowl of hot soup?  

After a long while, they realized that there’s still a major problem.

“Well, Yaonan, what’s your last name?”

“Uhm…… Xiaoxi, is your last name Xi?”[3]

---

Editors Note:  You may notice that the Author uses 6 periods for her ellipses (e.g. ……. vs. …) and uses ---- for pauses in conversations like ellipses.  I’m not sure why she does this, but I thought that since she wrote it like this, it would be better to keep it as close to the original as possible.

[1]: Editors note: How did he not figure out how to use a skin ointment?

[2]:  For those who don’t know, in Chinese the equivalent of “god” in exclamations like “Oh my god!” is translated roughly as heaven, specifically from Lao Tian (老天) in Chinese.  So most Chinese exclamations would be “Oh my heavens!”

[3]: The reason why they are talking like this is because neither of them fully introduced themselves to each other when they first met.  They just realized that they haven’t and are currently taking care of the formalities… you know … after confessing their love.  Like most couples.  Yup.

In Chinese sometimes a person calls a girl by putting Xiao (小) in front of their last name, usually as show of closeness or friendship.  Somewhat similar to -chan in Japanese.  In this case, Yaonan thought that XiaoXi was using the 小 character in front of her last name, thus thinking that Xi was her family name.  In this case, he is wrong.  Her last name is actually Sui (隋).