Tea of Summer - Chapter 5 - 6: Summer Tea 2.2 & 2.3

Sorry for the late posting, I had an all-nighter getting a deliverable to work today. Group projects mang. Anyhow, enjoy!

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Chapter 5

Summer Tea 2.2

Not long after, San Qi quietly came over to her while she was still mulling over her clumsy reaction the moment she saw Bei Yan.

San Qi was about the same age as her. He had not gone to college and started working right after high school. He was close to Xia Liang in the recording studio. He came over and sat down across from Xia Liang. “Come. Come. Come. Tell Ge Ge[1], are you falling for the godly Bei Yan~”

Though they were the same age, San Qi was callous enough to refer to himself as “Ge Ge” just because he had one extra year of working experience.

Xia Liang stared at him then turned away.

San Qi giggled and then dropped the topic; he didn’t prod her sore spot anymore. He naturally switched the subject. “Ah, Xiao Xia[2], didn’t you say that you did some voice over several days ago? What did the director say about your recording?”

Only then did Xia Liang get over the embarrassment she had a while ago. She finally replied to San Qi’s attempts to start a conversation. “Don’t even mention it…...I was dragged onto YY chat by the director so that he could lecture me. Then I practiced with the lead voice actor for two hours. I managed to pass those 3 sentences that needed to have more “deep feeling” finally. It took two hours, ah, two hours!”

When two young people got together, they always had endless topics to talk about. They chatted for about an hour. San Qi suddenly asked a question out of nowhere, “Ah, Xiao Xia, then when are you going to US?”

Xia Liang tilted her head and thought. “I booked the direct flight to Seattle on August 15th.  I’m going back there one or two weeks earlier to get over the time difference.”

“Oh?” San Qi counted using his fingers. “Then isn’t it only a couple weeks left?”

Xia Liang nodded. “Uhm, only a little more than 3 weeks.”

Xia Liang finished talking and noticed that San Qi’s eyes were not looking at her. He was looking over her head and speaking enthusiastically. “Bei Yan, what’s the matter? Finished recording?”

Xia Liang turned her stiff neck towards the direction of Bei Yan who was looking at them calmly. She smiled embarrassedly. “Uhm, how are you?”

Bei Yan looked at her, “How are you, en, the recording was finished.” The latter was to answer San Qi’s question. Then he raised the empty cup in his hand to Xia Liang. “Do you have more water? Just plain water will do.”

Xian Liang went blank for a second, then quickly stood up. She took the cup from Bei Yan’s hand. “Yes, I do!”

She rushed to pour in half a cup of hot water mixed with another half a cup of cold water. She handed it to Bei Yan.

All the while Xia Liang was quietly questioning herself— ---warm water was better for the voice. He wouldn’t dislike it?

“Thank you.”  Xia Liang heard that “ear pleasing” sound coming from above her plus the sound of him swallowing water. Her thoughts began to wander until the figure in front of her began to turn his back to leave. He threw the empty plastic cup accurately into the trash can against the wall. Ah, good shot.

Bei Yan paused when he put his hand on the door knob. “Goodbye.”

Chapter 6

Summer Tea 2.3

On 15 August, at Pudong Airport.

Xia Liang, with 2 large suitcases, was accompanied by her parents as she waited in line to get her boarding pass and to check in the luggage. Her ears were full of her mother’s non-stopping nagging, so she could not stop her mind from wandering around.

She quit her intern job from the recording studio in the first week of August and went to Xining and Qinhai region for 10 days. She had gotten a deep suntan.. The days after she had returned from her trip were spent packing her luggage and getting ready to return to the US. She had to endure her mom’s constant nagging during the whole time.

Her eyes were constantly roaming around beneath her cap. Suddenly she noticed that the back of the man who was checking in luggage looked familiar……he looked so much like……

“Oh nevermind, I’ll just stop bothering you. Nevertheless whether you take good care of yourself or not is your own business.”  Her mother saw that Xia Liang was obviously absent minded and felt that she was wholly unappreciative of her advice.

Xia Liang quickly looked back and smiled affectionately. “Hey hey……I won’t starve myself to death.”

Her mother stared at her, “I am not worried that you’ll starve yourself. You have to remember to eat balanced meals. Eat more vegetables and fruits. Eat less garbage food. Additionally, a girl should watch out for your safety. Especially at night, absolutely do not walk around outside at night.” “I know I know~” Xia Liang played the role of nice and obedient daughter. Her mother stared at her in both annoyance and amusement at the same time.

When Xia Liang turned around again, that man’s back had already disappeared around the corner. She bit her lower lip. She must have been mistaken.

The airplane took off like a big white bird flying over the sky------

Xia Liang watched the ground become more and more tilted and far away. She quietly spoke to herself.

“Goodbye, Shanghai.

And, Seattle, here I come.”

[1]: 哥哥, “ge ge” in pinyin is Chinese for “older brother.”

[2]: Xiao Xia is Xia Liang, he’s just addressing her with 小 (lit: small) in the beginning, used for colleagues or friends or younger people. The inverse is true for older people where you add Lao 老 (lit: old).