Those Sweet Times - Chapter 61 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 61 Part 1

The regional phase of the collegiate competition started on the 12th day of the first month on the lunar calendar. The winner of each province would move onto the regionals; there would be eight teams for each region. The competition would only last for one day, producing the regional champion by the end of the day.

Starting from regionals, all matches would be played offline. The location for Xiang Nuan’s regional competition happened to be at Nanshan City.

The organizer for the competition was short on funding and couldn’t provide any lodging so Xiang Nuan planned to stay at school.

She left home one day ahead of the competition and took the long bus ride by herself to Nanshan City. While she was on the bus, Lin Chuyan messaged her, asking about the bus schedule and saying that he would meet her at the bus stop.

Xiang Nuan touched her wavy hair and searched inside her bag to find an old rubber band to pull her hair into a ponytail.

She wouldn’t give Lin Chuyan another chance to make fun of her hairdo.

……

When Xiang Nuan stepped off the bus, she saw Lin Chuyan right outside the open door. The moment she appeared, he smiled at her and his squinting eyes seemed to have a light shining from within.

Xiang Nuan felt a sensation of bliss for a moment. Whenever Lin Chuyan smiled at her, it would always elicit the same emotion, like the dog mentioned in biology books that would drool whenever it heard a ringing bell. It was simply a conditioned reflex.

Lin Chuyan helped Xiang Nuan pull her luggage out of the bus. He lifted the straps of the backpack on Xiang Nuan’s back to see how heavy it was. Then without even asking her, he took the backpack and threw it over his own shoulder.

“It isn’t heavy.” Xiang Nuan said in a small voice, but was touched by the gesture.

Lin Chuyan said: “En.” But he still carried her backpack and pulled her luggage. There were quite a few people getting off the bus. Seeing that someone could bump into Xiang Nuan, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side.

Her body stiffened when Lin Chuyan’s arm reached over her shoulder. She lowered her head without saying anything.

Lin Chuyan sensed her uneasiness and put his arm down right away: “Let’s go.”

He led her to a fancy red Ferrari. Xiang Nuan’s eyes lit up: “Wow, so beautiful…...Lin Chuyan, is this your car?”

“No.”

“Then let’s go.” Xiang Nuan pulled on his sleeve: “It’s good enough just to look at it.”

Lin Chuyan was amused: “It’s my dad’s car. Get in.” As he put the luggage away, he asked: “Do you need the backpack now?”

“No.”

“En.” He put the backpack together with the luggage.

Xiang Nuan got in the car, fastened the seatbelt, then asked Lin Chuyan: “Does your father know that you’ve taken the car out?”

“He knows.”

Lin Chuyan had to admit that there was a good side to his one-sided crush on Xiang Nuan. Ever since his father learned that he had a crush on a girl, his father had told him that he could use the car anytime and didn’t need to pay his father even if he damaged the car. In his father’s words: “You’re my son after all. I can’t stand to see you being single the rest of your life. Alas! It’s not easy to be a parent.”

Even though his father allowed Lin Chuyan to use the car freely, he still wouldn’t give Lin Chuyan extra money. When his mother wanted to give him a ten thousand RMB red envelope for his love fund, his father vetoed the suggestion.

To Lin Chuyan, his mother was a good mother, except for one thing-- --She listened to her husband too often. He figured that in a more normal family, the mother would give the son some money anyway behind her husband’s back, but not his mother……

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 48 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 48 Part 3

Ye Qiao seemed harder to please than usual. Zhou Tingsheng was at his wits’ end when she finally sulked: “Can you just quietly keep me company without fussing about anything?”
Zhou Tingsheng paused and raised his eyebrows with a smile: “Didn’t I fly over just to be with you.”

He settled into bed, stopped fretting, and just quietly held her in his arms. He put his palm over her stomach and slowly rubbed. Ye Qiao drew herself closer to him and Zhou Tingsheng held her tightly. They were hugging each other like two kangaroos.

Zhou Tingsheng kissed between her furrowed brows and regretfully said: “You shouldn’t have agreed to do this event in the first place. You already freed up your schedule for half a month, why bother attending an award ceremony.”
Ye Qiao only smiled, knowing that he was only saying it out of annoyance.

After a few minutes, Zhou Tingsheng changed positions and asked: “Does it still hurt?”
Ye Qiao buried her face: “Still hurts.”
As he rubbed her stomach, it felt like she had more muscles in her abs than before: “Have you gained some weight in the past few days?”
“Probably. After exercising, I usually ate a lot.” She found it rather odd that other people would lose weight from exercise, but she just put on more pounds.
“You don’t have insomnia anymore?”
“En.”

“It means that you were physically weak before.” Zhou Tingsheng began to wonder how he could convince her to continue exercising. After he discussed with Ye Qiao about his idea, he was suddenly reminded of something: “No matter what, we have to find a new coach for you.”
“You’re still concerned about that?” Ye Qiao chuckled: “He didn’t do anything to me. Stop being so paranoid.”
“You have millions of fans waiting to get close to you. How can I be at ease.” Zhou Tingsheng teased. Ye Qiao laughed, but the pain in her stomach increased. She gasped and moaned.
Zhou Tingsheng was about to say something to comfort her when his phone began to ring.

It was from Liang Zirao. He had to answer. He irritatedly greeted her after picking up the call. Liang Zirao thought he was annoyed because he was in the middle of some intimate act and joked: “What’s wrong? You don’t recognize your own relative once you’re in the arms of a woman?”
Zhou Tingsheng was not in the mood for jokes: “What do you want?”

“What day are you planning to come home? You only mentioned that you would bring your girlfriend home last time on the phone and didn’t say who the girlfriend is. Dad’s so excited he’s been busy arranging everything. He kept asking me about it, saying that it isn’t easy for you to settle down after so many years and as long as the girl is nice and from a decent family, we’ll treat her as our daughter-in-law.”
Zhou Tingsheng remained quiet, waiting for Liang Zirao to get to the point……

“I couldn’t tell dad everything. He always thinks the entertainment business isn’t a proper profession. It might be alright if she’s just an ordinary actress, but she happens to be Ye Qiao. You have to deal with that yourself.”
Now finished, Liang Zirao waited for Zhou Tingsheng’s response. She didn’t expect to hear him laugh and casually reply: “I know.”
She was a bit annoyed: “So what day are you coming back?’

Zhou Tingsheng covered the phone and asked Ye Qiao in a whisper: “Can you walk tomorrow?”
Ye Qiao answered in a low voice: “The pain usually only lasts for one or two days. It should be fine by tomorrow night.”
Liang Zirao could barely hear the exchanges on the other end of the phone. She tried to press the phone closer to her ear but couldn’t make out anything. Suddenly, Zhou Tingsheng’s voice became louder which gave her a shock: “I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“For dinner?”
“En. Make sure to make some light dishes. She’s been on a diet lately.”

Her normally indifferent brother suddenly seemed very interested in details. Liang Zirao felt like the sun must have risen from the west: “Tsk, tsk…...I’m impressed. Alright. Normally when you’re home we always have a table full of greens. We’ll just have to let her eat grass with you then.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 48 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 48 Part 2

In a similar hospital room in Yang City, the TV in the single room was showing the award ceremony. Ye Qiao lowered her head, the once youthful face was now more mature, but just as attractive.
She smiled shallowly: “There’s one person I especially want to thank.”

The audience was silent. Ye Qiao looked up; she couldn’t clearly make out the people in the audience because of the spotlights. She seemed to look past the crowd, towards the viewer on the other side of the screen-- --
“He’s my father.”
“I thank him for giving me life.”

Cheng Su quietly turned around to check the pale and fatigued middle aged man in the hospital bed. His gentlemanly face looked much older than his actual age. The light from the LCD screen reflected in his eyes.
His eyes were glued to the screen even though the camera had already switched back to the master of ceremony. That was his most cherished daughter, his only flesh and blood.
He had watched her birth with ecstasy and carefully watched her as she grew up.
In the end, he had exchanged all of his innocence and pride to give her a second life.

Ye Qiao went backstage and took off her heavy tassel earrings.
She looked up at the mirror and the face she saw was very reminiscent of Xu Zang. Ever since she was a little girl, no one asked her whether she looked like her mom or her dad. There wasn’t any need, as anyone could tell from just a glance that she was an exact replica of her father.
As expected, her acceptance speech didn’t cause much of a stir. It looked like she was only reading out a typical acceptance speech.
But her thumping heart was as real as the sound of the fireworks exploding in the air.
-- --No matter what, she thanked her father for giving her a second life.

Because his flight was delayed, Zhou Tingsheng didn’t arrive at the hotel until late into the night.
When he knocked on Ye Qiao’s door, she had just come out of shower and opened the door still in her bathrobe. Zhou Tingsheng threw his bag into the room and gave her a passionate kiss.
Ye Qiao struggled to close the door and breath: “I’m having my period……”
Zhou Tingsheng cursed, irritated that Ye Qiao would think that he’d come all this way just because he wanted to get into bed with her. He released his hold on her and noticed that Ye Qiao’s face was pale and her eyes had trouble focusing. No longer angry at her, he asked: “You’re not feeling well?”

Ye Qiao grimaced: “It hurts a bit…...It’s never hurt before. But today I wore that gown outside on the red carpet in the chilly wind for a while. My arms, legs, back, and chest were all bare; it was freezing cold no matter how many hand warmers I had on.” She used her arms to circle around his neck. Zhou Tingsheng wished she would always look at him with such longing.

Without thinking, he murmured in a small voice: “It’s been so long, why hasn’t there been a sign of good news.”
Though his voice was low, Ye Qiao still caught it. She harrumphed: “That’s your problem……”
“I had to fly over half of China to see you. Whose problem is that?” Zhou Tingsheng wasn’t too happy about it and annoyingly said: “Why are you still standing there.”
“Hrm?”

Zhou Tingsheng irritatedly picked Ye Qiao up, flipped the bed covers over, and put her down on the bed. He touched her calves under the bathrobe: “So cold, no wonder it hurts.”
He used his palms to warm up her icy cold skin. The warmth from his hands began to travel up and down her legs.

“I just came out of the shower when you knocked, who would have time to put clothes on.”
He put the cover over her and asked: “Where are your clothes?”
Ye Qiao kicked her foot towards a desk.

Zhou Tingsheng went over and pulled out a set of cashmere pajamas. After putting the pajamas on, Ye Qiao was still cold and clung to Zhou Tingsheng’s arm with a frown. Zhou Tingsheng had planned to go out and buy some painkillers for her, but now couldn’t move with Ye Qiao attached to him: “Painkillers will only mask the problem. If I take one now, the pain will just come back later and it’ll be even more painful then.” Zhou Tingsheng was speechless: “Where did you hear this nonsense?” Ye Qiao argumentatively replied: “<Huangdi Neijing>.[1] When it’s not clogged, it won’t hurt; pain means it’s clogged…...it’s no use blocking the pain.”
Even Ye Qiao felt like she was being irrational.

Zhou Tingsheng then suggested the only other thing he knew about the monthly female cycle: “Then, what do we do? I can get you some hot black sugar water?”
Ye Qiao, now bear hugging him, twitched her nose: “That tastes bad.”
“All good medicine tastes bad.”
“It’s still bad.”


[1]: 黄帝内经/The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor. An ancient Chinese medical text that was foundational to Chinese medicine.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 74 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 74 Part 2

While Tong Yao wondered when the two of them could compliment each other with sincerity, Lu Sicheng abruptly came to a stop when the crowd in front of him stopped-- --Tong Yao who was still focused on his earrings bumped into Lu Sicheng. To steady herself, Tong Yao grabbed Lu Sicheng’s wrist out of instinct!

After the crowd dispersed somewhat enough for them to continue, Lu Sicheng still stood there, unmoving. He lowered his head to see the hand on his wrist and paused for a moment: “Shorty.”

Tong Yao: “?”

Lu Sicheng: “You seem to be taking advantage of me today a lot, what’s going on?”

Tong Yao: “...................................”

Tong Yao: “Screw you!”

Tong Yao threw down Lu Sicheng’s hand and stepped back three steps to show her innocence-- --Lu Sicheng lightly smacked: “You can’t even wear shoes with heels well, why bother pretending to be a grown up.” Then he turned towards the fish section. Tong Yao stood at the same place and stared at his back for a while before hurriedly catching back up with him.

…...There was much fewer people over at the fish section.

Lu Sicheng intended to buy the cheapest kind of goldfish. They randomly picked a stand to ask for prices. Tong Yao squatted down in front of the stand with a small fish net in hand. Her eyes following the swimming fish. She asked without looking back: “Cheng Ge, how many do you want?”

“Whatever.”

“What color?”

“Black.”

“Those gold and red ones look much better. The tails are like little umbrellas.”

“Oh, really? I want black ones.”

“Red looks prettier and festive. Look at that one, it’s so lively. You can tell just by looking at it that it’ll live forever-- --”

“The one I had before could live forever if a fat cat hadn’t eaten it-- --I said I want a black one. Put down the net. Who’s buying the fish anyway, you or me?”

Lu Sicheng squatted down next to Tong Yao and grabbed the net out of her hands. Tong Yao wanted to grab it back but Lu Sicheng gingerly moved away out of reach…...They squatted in front of the stand pushing and shoving, bickering back and forth about whether to get a red or black goldfish each only worth 1.5RMB. They were having a genuine argument-- --

“It’s my fishbowl, I decide.”

“Why do you dislike red so much? Then in the future, let me always have red buff.”

“You just try to touch my red buff.”

“You’re so capable, why don’t you convince the developers to make a black buff in the jungle for you. Just say that you’d like it that way, no objections accepted. It’s your jungle, you decide. Just like that.”

“You’re so chatty.”

They talked back and forth for about 10 minutes, 8 minutes of which was arguing who would get the buffs in the jungle-- --The owner didn’t know what to think about the good looking couple that seemed to be speaking nonsense with complete seriousness……

Finally, the owner couldn’t stand it anymore. He was afraid that these two would bicker right in front of his stand for the entire day over just 1.50RMB fish. He interrupted them: “Young man, why don’t you just listen to this young lady. What’s the point of arguing about this with your girlfriend? Us men always suffer when women get irritated-- --Wait till next month, when she refuses to hold hands with you and says its because you didn’t even let her get a fish in her favorite color last month, then you’ll regret today.”

Lu Sicheng: “......”

While Lu Sicheng paused, Tong Yao took the chance to grab the net back, scooped up the fish she’d been watching, and put it into a small bowl at the side. Then she quickly stuffed the net into the owner’s hand with a smile: “You must be joking. I’m not his……”

“Will you sell the fish for 1 RMB?” Lu Sicheng asked.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 60 Part 5

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 60 Part 5

The bullet comments all went by saying: “Hu Ge won by doing nothing.”

Xiang Nuan was so happy for Oblivion and said: “Hu Ge, you need to work harder.”

Chen Yinghu said: “This Luna’s alright, about 20% of my level.”

They played a few more matches afterwards. Oblivion played Luna five times that night and won 4 times. His win rate reached 80%.

It wasn’t an easily attainable win rate since all the players in high elo were skilled players.

In addition, Luna was MVP for all 4 wins and for the one match they lost, she still was the MVP of her own team.

In the end, Chen Yinghu had to admit the fact. “This Luna is pretty good. Are you interested in coming to Pea TV and start streaming?”

Oblivion said: “I can’t.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“I don’t talk much.”

The bullet comments all laughed in response.

Oblivion was just stating a fact and didn’t mean to mock Chen Yinghu. The basic requirement for a streamer was being chatty. Sometimes, being chatty was more important than their own skill at playing the game. Some people watch streams for the babbling host, not the gameplay.

Xiang Nuan asked Chen Yinghu: “Hu Ge, do you know anyone who’s playing professionally?”

Chen Yinghu laughed: “I know a hundred professional players.”

Shen Zemu said: “He’s been asked to retire by a hundred professional players.”

The bullet comments were again covered with “hahaha” or “good job, cousin.”

Xiang Nuan kept asking: “Then are there any of the professional teams hiring? Don’t you feel that Oblivion is a very good player? It’s a waste if he’s not playing professionally!”

“Let me ask around. Most of the major teams are always looking for new trainees. But those are trainees, you may not have a chance to play a real competition.”

Oblivion asked: “Is it a paid position?”

“Of course, it’s not slavery.”

Oblivion: “It’s fine as long as I get paid.”

Chen Yinghu didn’t know what to think: “You know…… you should at least be a little bit more choosy.”

There seemed to have a good chance that Oblivion could play in one of the professional teams. Xiang Nuan was very happy for Oblivion.

-- --

That night after the game, Lin Chuyan sent a voice chat message to Oblivion. There was a hint of bitterness in his voice

Lin Chuyan: “Xiang Nuan seems very nice to you.”

Oblivion: “I just told her that I’ll send her some sticky rice balls, that’s all. She’s a very nice person.”

Oblivion: [picture]

Lin Chuyan: “You should know what she means to me?”

Oblivion: “I know. Don’t you worry, I’m well aware that a friend’s wife isn’t someone I should have a crush on.”

“A friend’s wife” made Lin Chuyan quite happy. He made Oblivion add a note to Xiang Nuan’s contact that said “Chuyan’s wife.” Oblivion changed it and took a screenshot to show Lin Chuyan, then they bid each other goodnight in satisfaction.

Oblivion was curious and asked Lin Chuyan: “Is that cousin of Hu Ge your rival? I could tell that he’s picking on you.”

Lin Chuyan: “My rival isn’t Shen Zemu.”

Oblivion: “Oh? Then who?”

Lin Chuyan: “It’s Kings of Glory.”

Oblivion: “…...My condolences.”



Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 74 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 74 Part 1

Though the team manager believed that Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng were going to the market and tying the knot at the same time, in reality the conversation in the car went as follows-- --

Tong Yao: “Cheng Ge, I heard that you were searching for piranha fry online after I’d gone to bed……”

Lu Sicheng: “That’s right.”

Tong Yao asked after a moment of silence: “Did you find any?”

“Somehow the search ended up at Venus Flytraps.” Lu Sicheng answered: “Since it’d have the same effect in the fishbowl, I just bought that.”

Tong Yao searched for Venus Flytrap on her cell phone and became silent after seeing the images of the vicious look of the plant: “What effect are you talking about?”

“Whoever puts their hand inside the fishbowl gets bitten.”

“......”

Tong Yao looked out the windshield without expression on her face. It was silent inside the car for the rest of the way. Lu Sicheng was concentrating on driving while Tong Yao dwelled on the question: “does he intend for it to bite me or the cat?”......When they arrived at the market, Tong Yao opened the door and saw a crowded market. This market specialized in selling flowers and all sorts of pets. A Labrador with a sign hanging from its neck saying “Looking for a mate, I have money,” walked pass Tong Yao. Tong Yao couldn’t move her eyes off the dog.

Tong Yao: “......”

Amazing, even a dog knew to come to this market to look for a mate.

Lu Sicheng parked the car and walked over. He took a glance at the huge crowd at front and another glance at the person next to him who was still too short while wearing platform shoes and would be buried amidst the crowd. He paused a moment then flatly said: “I’m thinking of putting an auto alarm system on you. With one push of the button, an alarm will go off and I won’t be afraid of losing you in a crowd.”

“........................” Tong Yao was a bit uneasy: “I have a cell phone. Who needs an alarm? If we get separated, please call me on my cell phone.”

“I won’t.” Lu Sicheng took a glance at her: “Just follow closely.”

With his height and conspicuous clothes, Lu Sicheng not only stood out in the crowd, he also parted the crowd like Moses. By following right behind him, Tong Yao found it easier to move through the crowd……

Tong Yao stayed behind Lu Sicheng. The man was like a hill in front of her, blocking her view in front. All she could see when she raised her head were his broad back and the earrings on his ears…...The silver earrings looked quite nice on him.  Tong Yao didn’t remember seeing him wear them before. She fixed her eyes on them-- --

“Cheng Ge.”

“What?”

“I didn’t even know that you have pierced ears. You look good wearing earrings. Why don’t you wear them at base?”

“For whom would I wear them for at base?”

“.......Then whom are you wearing them for now?” Tong Yao couldn’t get it: “The fish?”


“Aren’t you wearing a skirt? For whom are you wearing it for? The cat?”

“You even wore new shoes.”

“Are your shoes old?”

“......”

“......”

It was a moment of sweet embarrassment.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 60 Part 4

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 60 Part 4

Chen Yinghu said: “You guys don’t like me. I’m going to sing for you.”

The bullet comments very quickly changed their tune, saying that they liked Hu Ge and begged him not to sing.

Chen Yinghu snorted with laughter.

When Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan joined, Xiang Nuan asked: “Hu Ge, can I bring one more person in?”

“Sure, who is it?”

“A friend, he’s super good with Luna.”

“Ha.” Chen Yinghu gave an exaggerated laugh: “He has guts to play Luna in front of me. Good, I want to see it.”

After Oblivion joined, bringing the head count to four, Chen Yinghu thought for a moment and said: “Why don’t I get one more person. Let’s play a high Elo match and show these guys what it’s like.”

Chen Yinghu checked his friends list and invited Shen Zemu.

There were fewer teams in queue for high Elo matches. They waited for 5 minutes before they found a game. During the ban and pick phase, Xiang Nuan said: “Let me play support.”

Shen Zemu suddenly spoke: “I’ll play support.”

He had never played support before.

Xiang Nuan ended up played top as usual, Lin Chuyan was mid, Chen Yinghu as their archer, and Oblivion as their jungler with Luna.

Shen Zemu chose Daqiao.

At the beginning of the game, Daqiao went to mid lane and began farming Lin Chuyan’s minions. Normally, a support doesn’t farm their teammates’ minions in the early game to ensure their teammates could become stronger, faster.

But this Daqiao wasn’t following the rules.

After he was done with the minions at mid, Daqiao went to bot lane and began farming the minions there.

Chen Yinghu asked: “Cousin, what’s wrong with you?”

His cousin didn’t say anything, but quietly drew a circle on the ground.

Chen Yinghu: “No one wants to go back.”

Daqiao, however, stood inside the circle and teleported back to base.

Chen Yinghu said: “Are you here to mess me up?”

Chen Yinghu had guessed correctly.

Later in the match, Daqiao teleported both Lin Chuyan and Chen Yinghu back to base while they were in a team fight. Then he sent Chen Yinghu back to base again while he was farming minions. After that, he saw that Lin Chuyan only had a sliver of health left and began drawing on the ground again.

This time the circle was right under enemy’s turret.

Lin Chuyan acted as if he didn’t notice it and went back to base.

Chen Yinghu said: “Cousin, what’s wrong with you? !”

Shen Zemu snorted: “Why don’t you tell me why?”

Chen Yinghu quieted down with a guilty conscience.

The brief exchange between Chen Yinghu and Shen Zemu caught the chat’s attention. Many fans started imagining that the cousins were actually a couple and were having a lovers' quarrel. Chen Yinghu glanced at the bullet comments and thought…...what the heck!

Xiang Nuan was rather uneasy by the entire thing. She had brought Oblivion to play with them during Chen Yinghu’s stream, not to throw a game. She had a specific purpose for this game in mind after all.

“Xuezhang, please.” Xiang Nuan pleaded softly.

Her words worked. Shen Zemu stopped messing around.

In the end, they won the match. On the end game stats screen, Xiang Nuan noticed that Oblivion was MVP for the game dealing out the highest amount of damage on her team, higher than even Lin Chuyan and Hu Ge.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 48 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 48 Part 1

For the award ceremony, Ye Qiao wore a red gown specifically designed for her, with ruffles on the side seam that formed a rose on the gown. The saturated red made Ye Qiao’s fair skin look as white as snow.

Gu Jin was absent from the award ceremony though he had been nominated for best director. In the vip hospital ward, the LCD screen showed the red carpet before the award ceremony. Gu Jin, leaning back into his chair, fixed his eyes on the rose he had missed slowly walk down the red carpet, waving to the camera. Her black pupils reflected all the lights around her, sparkling like diamonds.

Ye Qiao wore a shallow smile on her face like a fully bloomed flower against the chilly wind. He admitted that he had sometimes had malicious thoughts, wishing ill upon her life.
But the excited voice of the host when he introduced Ye Qiao and the roar of cheers that followed all indicated that she was doing just fine.
She was going to receive the best actress award tonight.

Cheng Jiang had gone through another round of debridement and her open wounds were still healing. The scars left on her once elegant and poised face would need skin grafts. She had lost all her glamour and the loss of her child was the last straw that had totally crushed her. She looked very dispirited: “You want to go back to her, don’t you?”

Gu Jin was suddenly jolted back to reality. He moved his eyes away from the screen, but the bright and shining silhouette was left on his retinals. For a moment, he didn’t even know where to set his eyes on: “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t have to pretend to be nonchalant. I’m not a little girl that’s easily fooled.” Cheng Jiang gave a sad smile: “Wasn’t the reason you chose to be with me was because at the time she wasn’t able to stand side by side with you? The most important thing in your mind has always been your career. In order to reach greater success, you would even use your marriage as your leverage. I just happened to fit your needs at the time.”

“When you learned that we’re going to have a kid, didn’t you also account for the baby into your scheme? First, it was making the announcement during the premiere, then the proposal, the engagement, the wedding, and the soon to be born child.” The media exposure he and the film would receive would be worth more than tens of millions that a promotional budget could produce. Cheng Jiang lied amidst the white, sterile environment. It felt like the colors of the world had faded away. She thought her decision to be with Gu Jin had been a mature one, it had suited both of them well. She didn’t expect she would fail so miserably.
“Gu Jin, you think life is just like any of the movies you’ve directed. But your schemes have all failed. How do you feel now?”
The previous best actress was like a jade that had lost all of its luster, but it still retained it’s stubbornness. She said to Gu Jin: “Go back to her. I don’t need you pitying me.”

On the TV screen, Ye Qiao had just received the trophy for best actress from the presenter. She lowered her head to face the microphone and began to deliver her acceptance speech with her clear, smooth voice.
“Standing here today, I have too many people I would like to thank. The presenter, Director Lai, has been my mentor. To receive this award from his hands carries extraordinary significance to me.”

……

“But there’s one person in particular whom I especially want to thank.”

In Gu Jin eyes, it was as if her sweet smile was right in front of him. He remembered Ye Qiao had said that if someday she would stand on the stage to receive an award, she hoped it’s him who presented the award to her and she would mention him in her speech, to declare to the world that he was the one and only person for her.
Gu Jin quickly turned off the TV.

He put down the remote and looking out the window. The fireworks for the coming New Year seemed to coincide with the glamorous award ceremony, exploding into bright colors in the cold and quiet night sky. In his eyes, though, there seemed to only be endless desolation. He spoke , but didn’t direct it to anyone in particular: “Can’t go back now.”
The man next to her would never be him again.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 47 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 47 Part 3

Zhou Tingsheng became rather serious: “I’ll bear the consequences of my mistakes. I might not be able to make it up in this life, but I won’t use the rest of my life to make amends for this one thing. Whether you think I’m selfish or you’re disgusted with my past, just tell it to me straight.”
It was silent in the hallway. Zhou Tingsheng felt like time had frozen solid.
Deep down in his mind, he was uneasy and doubted his own confidence. But if even he couldn’t persist to the end, then he shouldn’t have gotten close to her in the first place.

Ye Qiao finally said in a small voice: “......I’m not disgusted with you.”
Zhou Tingsheng’s heart quivered. Ye Qiao moved her icy cold hands next to his and laced her fingers with his. Zhou Tingsheng didn’t question the authenticity of her words, he only wanted to warm up her cold pair of hands and heart.
Ye Qiao could feel the thin calluses on his palms. The hands felt so familiar and dependable.
She said: “I really don’t mind. Really.”

Zhou Tingsheng stood there, rigid, without looking at Ye Qiao. Ye Qiao tried to lighten up the mood: “What’s the point in not avoiding you. You aren’t even willing to look at me.”
Zhou Tingsheng turned to look at her. Ye Qiao held his face in her hands and stood on her tippy toes to give him a quick kiss on his lips: “It’s alright now. I missed you very much too…...I missed you everyday.”

Most of the time, Ye Qiao wasn’t a passionate person. Even when she spoke words of affection, the words came out like formality. Zhou Tingsheng knew she was showing her true feelings but compared to the way she delivered her lines during the audition, he really figured she was a brilliant actress.

Ye Qiao didn’t know what was going through Zhou Tingsheng’s mind, but hurriedly told him: “I really have to go back to pack.” She checked her watch on her wrist: “I have two hours. I’m flying to Yang City tonight. There’s an award ceremony tomorrow.”
Zhou Tingsheng’s eyebrows immediately gathered tightly together: “Why haven’t you mentioned this?”
“I didn’t have the chance to tell you recently.”
The eyebrows grew even closer together. Fortunately, what Ye Qiao said right after greatly encouraged him: “Didn’t we plan to go to your home during the New Year before? The year end award ceremony happens to be at Yang City and it’s already near the New Year, so I’ve agreed to attend.”
Zhou Tingsheng finally relaxed his eyebrows: “Then I’ll go with you.”

Ye Qiao didn’t have the time to refuse since Shen Ting was calling her on the phone to hurry her. She went back to her own apartment and hastily packed her luggage.
The tickets for that night’s flights were already sold out. Ye Qiao went to the airport with her assistant. When she arrived at the airport, Zhou Tingsheng sent a message telling her that he would fly over at noon the next day.

After meeting Shen Ting, Ye Qiao learned that there was another wave in the iCloud scandal. The relatively unknown Zhao Mo suddenly became the target. There was an anonymous actress, who worked with Zhao Mo on the same movie set, that revealed that Zhao Mo had affairs with Gu Jin and many other directors. Ye Qiao then remembered that she had received several phone calls from Zhao Mo. She was sick at the time. After she recovered, she hadn’t called her back since she was also troubled by many other things at the time.

The previous scandal had disclosed the entirety of Xu Yinshan’s black history, totally destroying her public image as a down to earth and kind person. Some insiders even maliciously predicted that she would only be appearing in adult movies in the future.

There were various gossip poured into Ye Qiao’s ears. The one that caught her attention was-- --Cheng Jiang miscarried.
Cheng Jiang had several abortions before and a miscarriage would probably mean that she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant again. In order to give the baby in her stomach a chance to survive, Zheng Jiang had refused anesthesia and had to bear the pain as they cleaned the great area of burns and the following skin reconstruction.

Ye Qiao had visited Lu Qing in the hospital, who suffered similar burns as Cheng Jiang. It was very hard for Ye Qiao to hear how the treatment was like. Cheng Jiang bravely endured the excruciating pain but still couldn’t save the baby. It was a double blow to Gu Jin who had to worry about his own career and take care Cheng Jiang at the same time. Shen Ting learned about the news through some staff members she had worked with before.

Shen Ting also heard that originally, there was a good possibility that Cheng Jiang would be nominated as one of the best actresses at the year end award ceremony after the release of <The Watcher> and Gu Jin planned to propose to her at the ceremony.
Who could imagine that the circumstances would change so much with the passage of time that Ye Qiao became the receiver of the award for best actress instead.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 73 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 73 Part 3

Tong Yao jumped out of bed, pulled her suitcase out from the closet, opened it, and dug out a blue striped white dress shirt and a darker colored pleated skirt-- --They were birthday gifts from Jinyang last year-- --The two were a matching pair, with a small cartoon bear head on each of them. That was the only childish thing Jinyang could stand to have on the clothes she gave to Tong Yao.

Tong Yao quickly put on the shirt and skirt, rushed in front of the mirror to stuff the shirt into the skirt, and spun in a circle after smoothing out the shirt. She had a narrow waist line, straight legs, and a flat tummy since she hadn’t had any breakfast yet…... 

Satisfied with what she saw in the mirror, she checked the time and hurriedly grabbed the black chain bag she seldom used and went for the door. Right before she touched the door handle, she suddenly stopped and went back to the mirror.

In front of the mirror, she checked to make sure that her mascara didn’t have any clumps, the color on her cheek was perfect, and the lipstick color was just right on her lips. She grabbed the hair conditioning oil on her dresser and applied some to the ends of her fuzzy hair-- --

She could smell the fresh fragrance of the oil.

Tong Yao picked up the bag, then pulled out a brand new yellow shoe box from under her bed-- --She opened the box, revealing a pair of black platform sandals with black strings that wrapped around the ankles, perfectly outlining the contour of the wearer’s feet……

This was also a gift from Jinyang when Tong Yao’s sandal broke in an earlier incident. Jinyang couldn’t stand Tong Yao’s incessant complaints and sent another pair to her.

Tong Yao rushed to put on one of the sandals. She was very satisfied with the additional 5 mm longer the platforms added to her legs. As a plus, she found the platform shoes to be comfortable and rather friendly to someone like her who couldn’t handle high heels-- --She took off the sandal and carried the pair in her hand, then opened the door and ran downstairs……

Her heart was pounding.

She was looking forward to how she would look in front of that man-- --

There were a few people on the first floor by now.

Xiao Rui saw Tong Yao coming down and hastily stuffed Dabing, who was halfway out of the cage already, back into the cage while hiding the can food behind him-- --He was about to say something when he noticed the skirt and Tong Yao’s fair skinned straight legs.

Xiao Rui: “? ? ? What’s this? ? When did we have a girl in our base? ? ?”

Tong Yao didn’t have the time to answer and simply raised her hand like she was going to throw the shoes at Xiao Rui. At that moment, Xiao Rui noticed the logo on her shoes-- --

Lu Sicheng happened to open his door at the same time.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans that showed off his broad shoulders and narrow waist line. The well tailored jeans made his long legs stand out-- --His hair looked a little damp, having just come out of the shower. The stubble on his face was now all gone. He leaned against the railing and looked down at Tong Yao: “Did you wait for long?”

Tong Yao: “I just came down.”

Tong Yao put her sandals down and bent over to put them on.

Lu Sicheng walked down stairs and glanced at the sandals in Tong Yao’s hand. He turned around and pulled a pair of black casual shoes that had a pair of yellow triangle monster eyes on them, instead of sneakers or flip-flops. He lowered his head and began putting on his shoes.

Xiao Rui: “? ? ? ? ? ?”

What’s going on? Why would they choose the same brand of shoes to put on?

Xiao Ru’s head was filled with question marks.

Until the two of them walked out the front door of the base after they had their shoes on, Xiao Rui was still standing at the same location, his posture frozen: “What’s going on here?”

Behind him, a large butt wearing Ultraman underwear was protruding past the open refrigerator door. Little Fatty stopped searching for food and looked up at Xiao Rui: “What are you talking about?”

Xiao Rui: “Where are our team’s two Cs going?”

Little Fatty: “They said they’re going to the market to buy goldfish.”

Xiao Rui: “What?”

Little Fatty: “Going to the market to buy goldfish.”

Xiao Rui: “Is it the market next to the Civil Affairs Bureau or the Civil Affairs Bureau right next to the market?”

Little Fatty: “......”

Xiao Rui: “It’s summer, that’s when all the little animals become restless……………………. It’s a date, silly, it’s a date! These two are so blatant, though our club hasn’t disallowed it…...But…...damn, why do I feel so irritated? Nowadays, even a retard and a grade school kid can go on a date, but me, a normal person like me, is still single! ! !”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 60 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 60 Part 3

Oblivion was the core of The Fangs. After all the champions he was skilled with were banned or taken by the enemy, The Fangs’ fighting power diminished considerably. They played like one of their legs has been chopped off in the next two rounds.

The Times won the next two rounds and came back to win the championship.

They won the ten thousand RMB award.

Xiang Nuan celebrated their victory with her teammates in the group chat. Then she left a message to Oblivion on WeChat: Don’t you have to go to work? Why are you playing in the collegiate competition? Are you only working part time? Both of our schools are in the same province, we aren’t far away from your school.

After a while, Oblivion sent back a voice clip: “I’m helping out my classmate from grade school. He said he’d give me half of the award money.”

Xiang Nuan replied with a long string of ellipsis.

Oblivion: “You guys played quite well.”

Xiang Nuan: It’s all because we banned all of your champions. Today is already the tenth day of the New Year, why aren’t you at work?

Oblivion: “I can’t go to work now.”

Xiang Nuan: Why is that?

Oblivion: “They bought a new machine to transport bricks, so my boss told us not to go back to work after the New Year.”

Xiang Nuan: …………………………….

Xiang Nuan: Wait a minute, what do you mean by a brick transporting machine?

Oblivion sent her a video clip. In the video, a machine used one of its arms to pick up the bricks on the ground then moves the bricks onto a truck in tidy rows.

Xiang Nuan finally understood. She asked Oblivion: When you said you were moving bricks, you actually were moving bricks?

Oblivion: “En. I don’t have to lie.”

Xiang Nuan: I was the one who misunderstood.

She had thought ‘moving bricks’ was only a nickname for his work. She didn’t expect Oblivion to be entirely honest.

Xiang Nuan asked: Then what are you going to do now?

Oblivion: “I don’t know yet. I’ll see after the 15th. By the way, I plan on sending some sticky rice balls to you. My mom made them herself.”

Quite flattered by the offer, she sent her address right away and remembered to be polite: Thank you!

Oblivion: “You’re welcome. I’ve sent some to Lin Chuyan as well.”

Chuyan, Chuyan, why was there Chuyan everywhere……

-- --

That night Xiang Nuan didn’t have any training. She and Lin Chuyan went online to look for Hu Ge.

Chen Yinghu was streaming. His audience cheered when they heard the news that Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan were going to join the stream.

Chen Yinghu asked: “Who are you coming here to see anyway?”

The bullet comments responded in unison:

-- --I am certainly here to see my little fairy Nuannuan. Who are you.

-- --I’m most definitely here to see Chuyan. Who are you.

-- --I’m here to see their pda. Hu Ge, who are you.

-- --Am I the only one here to see his cousin? Hu Ge, where’s your cousin? Oh, right, who are you.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 73 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 73 Part 2 

Tong Yao: “It would be more believable if you hadn’t spoken so harshly-- --Even I think you sound like you’re harassing him.”

“Oh.” Lu Sicheng said: “What do think Little Fatty thought we were doing?”

Tong Yao: “......”

Lu Sicheng: “Still think I’m harassing him?”

Tong Yao: “............”

Tong Yao lowered her head and stayed quiet.

Lu Sicheng yawned, lifted the blanket off himself as he stood up. He went over to the refrigerator to take out a can of cold cola. After taking a sip, noticing that Tong Yao was turned sideways looking at him with a serious look on her face, he paused and asked as if he had just remembered something: “What were you looking at me for?”

Tong Yao: “......Today’s Tuesday.”

Lu Sicheng: “En.”

Tong Yao: “There’s no training session.”

Lu Sicheng: “En?”

Tong Yao lifted her hand, with a little unease, and pulled her hair behind her ear. The sunlight shone through the window on her and Lu Sicheng could see from his angle the side of her fair colored cheek-- --And he could see that her earlobe was turning pink……

Lu Sicheng mover his eyes away, poured the cola down his mouth as his Adam’s apple moved up and down.

After a long while, he heard his team’s mid slowly started talking: “I was thinking that since we don’t have much to do today, I can go with you to the market to buy a goldfish-- --But you hadn’t slept last night because you were playing ranked games. I think perhaps-- --”

Lu Sicheng: “......”

Lu Sicheng threw the empty can into the trash, making a crisp clunk that interrupted Tong Yao. He took a glance at Tong Yao who was sitting on the floor next to the couch. After a long while, he flatly said: “Yeah, ok. Give me half an hour, I need to shower and change.”

Tong Yao: “......”

Lu Sicheng looked down at his own hands and rubbed his fingers together. Then he said heartlessly: “Please wash your hair as well before we go out.”

Tong Yao: “.............”

Lu Sicheng then went upstairs, opened the door, and shut the door close.

With the thud of the closing door, Tong Yao suddenly shivered as if she had just realized something-- --Her brain slowly began to function again until she realized:.....................................Lu Sicheng had agreed to go out with her to the market.

Tong Yao: “.................................................”

It felt like something exploded in her brain. She even forgot to retort back that her hair wasn’t greasy at all. Her brain was occupied by the fact that “he agreed to go to the market with her.” Tong Yao stood up in a daze and floated upstairs as if there were multi-colored clouds under her feet-- --

……

She went upstairs, took a shower, put on facial cream, blew dry her hair, put on body lotion, and put on some makeup.

Tong Yao opened her closet to check, all she had inside the closet were t-shirts and pants. She closed the closet in despair-- --After a few seconds, she came to the realization that was her entire collection of clothes. She quietly opened the closet again and began searching for clothing which weren’t black and white, didn’t have strange words at the front, didn’t have ugly cartoon characters on it, weren’t team uniforms, and didn’t look like men’s clothing. Finally all she had left on the bed was a bunch of shirts that even a high schooler would find boring. She stared at them in thought.

She didn’t know that she had so few shirts.

She regretted never buying some skirts before.

She kicked all the clothes on the bed off then rolled onto the bed. She took out her cell phone and sent a message to Jinyang on WeChat: “Am I a woman after all.” She stopped moving the moment she pressed the button to send the message-- --

Both her eyes brightened.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 60 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 60 Part 2

Xiang Nuan leaned back in the chair and exhaled. She sent a message to Min Lili: We won, ha.

Min Lili replied in seconds: Really? I'll post the news, yay yay yay!

Xiang Nuan: Don’t you want to know how I did it?

Min Lili: Haha, girl, you think too much.

Xiang Nuan: =  =

Beating the PE Institute was just the beginning of the competition.

There were over 70 colleges registered to play in their province alone. They had to play 4 matches the first day to qualify for the quarter finals, then 3 matches in the second day to fight for first place.

The Times had an easier time in their matches later in the day.

They had been through a systematic and professional training regimen after all. They were much more organized and coordinated than the other loosely formed teams. Though they couldn’t play like professionals, it was enough for them to have a strong presence in this kind of competition.

Soon enough, the team entered the finals.

Lin Chuyan had gone home after they finished their matches for the day. Before they were done, Xiang Nuan’s parents had come home. Ren Danyan enthusiastically invited Lin Chuyan to stay for dinner. Xiang Nuan however felt that it would be dark by the time they finished dinner and Lin Chuyan probably would stay the night at her house again. She had insisted he leave right after the matches, because she wasn’t sure whether she would do anything to him if he stayed longer at her house.

For the finals the next day, all five of teammates were online on voice chat.

The team they were up against had an intimidating name-- --The Fangs.

During the first round, The Fangs chose Luna as one of their champions. Xiang Nuan didn’t think too much about it. She had encountered Luna before; she wasn’t a strong champion in the current meta and so wasn’t a big concern.

However, today’s Luna was strong.

Not just strong, she was formidable…….

This Luna wasn’t over-aggressive, but was still very stable and could make precise decisions about the overall situation on the battlefield. She appeared when she was supposed to and retreated when she was at a disadvantage. This one champion could single handedly harass the entire opposing team.

Some Luna players would start to show off their abilities and forget to work with their own teammates.

But this player was different, he was very reliable.

That was the most difficult part.

This kind of Luna gave off a feeling of familiarity to Xiang Nuan.

She typed in the public chat: Is that you?

After a whole minute, that player replied

A mouthful of fangs: En.

“Oblivion! He’s Oblivion!” Xiang Nuan excitedly said.

Waiwai asked: “Who’s Oblivion?”

“A very strong player who’s especially good with Luna. This round, this round we……” Xiang Nuan felt that they would lose this round but didn’t want to say it out loud to demoralize her own team. She only said: “Let’s play well.”

No matter how well her team played this round, they ended up losing.

For the pick and ban phase in the second round, Xiang Nuan said: “Listen to me, ban Luna, Miyamoto Musashi, and Li Bai; these are the three champions Oblivion’s the best at. He’s also good with Ah Ke, let’s pick Ah Ke before them. Zheng Dongkai, you shouldn’t have any problem playing Ah Ke, right?”

“Certainly not.”

Waiwai was somewhat doubtful: “Are you sure? Miyamoto Musashi? He’s a pretty weak champion, seems like a waste of a ban?”

Xiang Nuan hesitated after hearing Waiwai.

Yang Yin spoke: “Let’s do as Xiang Nuan says.”

If the player is good enough, any weak champion would be a formidable adversary in their hands. They should ban his favorite champions while they still could.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 47 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 47 Part 2

On her way home, Ye Qiao noticed that the snow on the ground had already melted. There were only occasional holdouts left on the bare tree stumps by the roadside.
Ye Qiao looked up to the sky and breathed in the chilly, deep winter air. The scarf on her neck was about to slip down her shoulder and she was too lazy to pull her hands out of her pockets so she stiffened her neck in the hopes that would hold the scarf in place.
Despite her efforts, the scarf fell down anyways. She had no choice but to pull her hands out-- --
A hand reached over from behind to scoop the scarf up for her, then tightly wrapped it around her neck. The sleeve of the black coat smelled of cedarwood. It was from the cologne that she had specifically picked for him.

Ye Qiao turned around and found Zhou Tingsheng right behind her. He had just finished shopping, the hand carrying the shopping bags had reddish knuckles from the cold air. He used his other hand to tie the scarf into a knot and smiled at her. It was a familiar smile, yet so awkward at the same time.

Zhou Tingsheng had noticed for several days that Ye Qiao would go out for almost the whole day and come back exhausted. He asked around and learned that she had started to go to the gym. Though she looked tired afterwards, she looked much healthier than before. Zhou Tingsheng gazed at her shocked expression as if they hadn’t seen each other for years, amused but also upset at the same time: “Do you have to be this surprised to see me? Where have you been for the past few days?”

Zhou Tingsheng sounded quite casual, but Ye Qiao felt that he was just putting on a facade. His warm smile and the act of pulling her hair to the back of her ear, everything felt like it was a false act.
It seemed to her that she had been put under a spell. Ever since she had gone to see Ruan Feiyan, she could no longer comfortably face Zhou Tingsheng. She forced sound from her throat: “The gym.”

Zhou Tingsheng walked side by side with her back to their building and pushed the elevator button for her. Both of them entered the elevator together. He asked: “How’s exercise going for you?”
“It’s alright.”
“Is the coach a man or a woman? Has he taken advantage of you?”
He knew very well that there must be some bodily contact when a coach tried to correct the student’s posture. He had turned his frustration from not seeing her the past few days into jealousy. He stared at her, waiting for her answer.

Ye Qiao replied with a stone face: “It’s a woman.”
Zhou Tingsheng held her waist, now sore from working out, and squeezed: “Really?”
It certainly wasn’t true. Ye Qiao hastily bent down trying to avoid his hands and couldn’t keep the lie going: “It’s a white lie which you don’t want to believe.”

When the elevator arrived at their floor, Zhou Tingsheng wouldn’t let her go back to her own apartment. He grabbed her arm and dragged her in the opposite direction. Ye Qiao called out: “What are you doing-- --”
Zhou Tingsheng didn’t bother to go into his apartment. He pushed Ye Qiao against the wall in the hallway. Putting his forehead against hers, he gave a deep sigh: “I miss you very much.”
Ye Qiao tried to move her lips but didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Tingsheng calmed himself: “I know you need time to digest everything, to give yourself time to think it over. But can you not avoid me like this?” Ye Qiao listened with a serious face. He continued: “It’s like a husband and wife in separation.”
Ye Qiao suddenly turned her face to the side and chuckled.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 47 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 47 Part 1

Qianxi stayed for the night. Zhou Tingsheng let her and Ye Qiao have the master bedroom and he moved into the guest room.
In the middle of the night, he got up and walked to the entrance with no reason. The colors on the painting <Secret of the Mortal World> was impossible to distinguish under the dim lights. For the first time, Zhou Tingsheng lit up the candle sticks in front of the picture of Jesus. In the yellow-orange glow of the candles, the picture frame looked like it had been ignited.

Qianxi came out of the bedroom yawning. She saw Zhou Tingsheng stood quietly at the entrance. She drowsily walked over to comfort him: “My cousin’s fever has come down. She just fell asleep. Tomorrow morning you’ll see a lively and cute cousin again! Don’t worry.”
Zhou Tingsheng thanked her with a shallow smile. He knew well that it’s probably harder to see a cheerful Ye Qiao after she woke up.

Qianxi licked her lips and suddenly became more serious: “Actually, it’s a good thing to have some conflict. A conflict means there’ll be a way to solve it. It’s not like for some people, where there’s no possibility to be together because of their family or social economic background.”
It was the first time that Zhou Tingsheng discovered that Ye Qiao’s carefree cousin was capable of saying such intelligent words. He smiled and asked her: “Are you tired? I’ll be cooking something for your cousin in a while, you can also have some.”
Qianxi touched her stomach in surprise and asked in doubt: “Can I really?” She couldn’t figure out how this man, who was not only handsome but cooked delicious food, had somehow annoyed her cousin.
The conflict they had this time, however, was quite different from the ones previously. Zhou Tingsheng seriously doubted the possibility of resolving the conflict this time.

Ye Qiao rested for two days after the fever died down. She and Zhou Tingsheng were very cordial towards each other, neither mentioning anything regarding the crux of their problems. Finally, on the third day, Ye Qiao brought it up at the dinner table: “Maybe it’s best for me to go back to my own apartment?”
Zhou Tingsheng was quiet for a while before he agreed.  He made a phone call to arrange for someone to come and fix the heater in her apartment.

They were sure of the feelings they had for each other, but they didn’t know how to face each other. Even laughing felt like a sin. To avoid staying at home all day and slide deeper into depression, Ye Qiao made an appointment with a private fitness coach that a good friend had recommended. Everyday, she would sweat until she was soaked. Her exhausted body and sore muscles made her more aware of her own physical existence. Her distressed mental state became less important.

The private coach, Coach Fang, had made a specific training schedule for Ye Qiao based on the history of her heart problems. But Ye Qiao would constantly overexert herself. Once she stepped onto the machine, she wouldn’t get off. Coach Fang was worried: “I’ve never seen a movie star workout as hard as you. Pei Xindan trained with me for a while before she had to film some kung fu movies, but she wouldn’t treat herself this harsh.”

Ye Qiao asked with shallow smile: “You worried that I’ll pass out here?”
To her surprise, Coach Fang shook his head: “It’s not that. I have a Russian friend who had a heart transplant just like you. He’s even more daring than you; he’s broken one of his legs and still does extreme sports. So there’s nothing to be afraid about. If you dare, a heart transplant patient can still go parachuting.”

Ye Qiao asked herself whether she had the courage to do that. Occupied by her own thoughts, she didn’t really catch the rest that the coach talked about. After he had finished, Ye Qiao collected her wandering mind and said: “Tomorrow and the day after I have an award ceremony to attend. I won’t be here for those two days.”
“How about the day after those two days?”
Ye Qiao was taken aback: “......The day after those two days, maybe.”

Coach Fang laughed out loud: “I knew you'd be like that. You’re probably doing this just on a whim. After you’ve released whatever it is that’s bothering you, you’d just give up.” He squeezed Ye Qiao’s wrist: “See, how thin this is. A dog’s claw is fatter than this. Exercise is good for your body as well as your mind.”

Ye Qiao felt like she had been lectured for no reason and the feeling on her wrist wasn’t very pleasant either. The coach’s palm was sweaty and rough.. Ye Qiao quietly pulled her arm back: “I’ll take care of myself more in the future. Thank you.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 73 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 73 Part 1

[The rounded fat: Why did I have to see it?]

[The rounded fat: Why is it me again?]

[The rounded fat: I only get up early less than 5 days out of the 365 days in the year. Why do you have to choose those days to burn my eyes-- --...................................Wait a minute… maybe you’re just like this everyday……………………………………]

[The rounded fat: I’m going to call the police.]

The cell phone kept ringing in Tong Yao’s hand and she watched the string of messages grow further and further distorted. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore, threw the cell phone down, and pulled the hand on her head to the side-- --

In his dream, Lu Sicheng dreamt a sinister looking woman ghost was dragging him by the hand onto some railway tracks. Startled, he violently turned his hand and gripped the chilly ghost hand-- --At the same time, he woke up from his dream and opened his eyes wide. The first thing he saw was a big cat staring at him on the coffee table with its big bright eyes, then he noticed who the hand he had firmly grasped belonged to……

It was the hand of his team’s mid.

She was using one of her hands to support herself on the edge of the couch. Her body was tilting to one side and her hair was in a mess, as if she had just been mistreated somehow. Her wrist was firmly encompassed by his hand; her fair skin was turning red in the shape of fingers-- --

Tong Yao leaned forward, closing the distance between the two.

Lu Sicheng: “......”

Lu Sicheng: “Hey, whoa!”

There was a rare panicked expression on Lu Sicheng’s normally expressionless handsome face. In great alarm, he threw her wrist away and jumped up into the corner of the couch as if he was freaking out.

Tong Yao: “? ? ? ? ? ? “

Lu Sicheng: “What are you doing? What are doing getting this close when someone is sleeping?”

Tong Yao lifted her hand up to check the red marks on her wrist, then took a glance at her captain who was acting as if he had just been violated…… She suppressed the urge to give him a good slap on his face and pointed upstairs while speaking with a stone face: “This morning, I came down to check to see if my cat was still alive……”

Lu Sicheng’s dark brown pupils slightly tightened, but acted as if he didn’t trust her: “Why do you need to check to see whether your cat is alive or not? What kind of excuse is that? How can a healthy cat die suddenly?”

Tong Yao nodded and thought maybe she hadn’t explained herself clearly, so she added: “Oh. I came down this morning to check to see if my cat had been strangled to death and was about to be flushed down the toilet-- --”

Lu Sicheng: “......”

Tong Yao: “Then I found out that you had fallen asleep while still queue for a ranked game. Your stream was also on for several hours; the stream was full of questions marks and fans who were playing card games to pass the time. I turned it all off for you-- --Then based on my kindheartedness, I was afraid that you would catch a cold and found a blanket for you.”

Tong Yao pointed to the blanket on Lu Sicheng’s knees.

Tong Yao: “As I was putting the blanket on you, you pushed my face onto your tummy.”

Tong Yao pointed her own head: “And messed up my hair.”

Lu Sicheng: “How is that possible?”

Tong Yao: “You thought I was Dabing.”

Lu Sicheng: “......How could-- --”

Tong Yao: “Finally, the ending is that Little Fatty happened to see it.”

Tong Yao picked up Lu Sicheng’s cell phone and threw it at him-- --He caught it and checked his WeChat. His facial expression changed from being at a loss to surprise, before he calmed down again. Tong Yao looked at him with a serious look on her face. Lu Sicheng dialed a number on his phone. The phone rang a couple of times before the other side picked up. Lu Sicheng said: “Hello, Little Fatty? You’re mistaken, we didn’t do anything-- --Who would do that in the living room? You don’t have a brain, but I do.”

He hung up right afterwards.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 60 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 60 Part 1

There’s a saying among the professional players of Kings of Glory: “Dark Slayer 5000 rule.” It means whoever defeats Dark Slayer would get ahead by 5000 gold. If the team with the advantage got Dark Slayer, they’d rocket up even higher. If the losing side stole Dark Slayer, then there was a good chance that they could catch up.

It was crucial for Xiang Nuan’s team that Lin Chuyan stole Dark Slayer. They bought a chance to take a breather and catch up in gold. Most importantly, after Dark Slayer’s vanguards had spawned, Mai Shirunui and Marco Polo finally bought some items and the time for their comeback had arrived!

But in terms of turrets, The Times was still at an absolute disadvantage, but the scales were finally tilting toward their side as the match dragged on.

In the late game, the difference in turrets were less important because each champion could deal a greater amount of damage now and it took little time for them to destroy a turret. Victory could be decided from one teamfight.

The enemy Zhuge Liang was growing sluggish. It was the characteristic of the champion; every champion was strong during a period of the game, once that period passed, they would be weaker.

Yang Yin believed that Xiang Nuan’s team, assuming they were equal in skill, would have greater than 70% chance to win team fights if the team could last till the late game and didn’t fall too far behind economically. From what she’d seen so far, it seemed to her that The Times had more skill than their opponent. So it wasn’t a big surprise for her to see the team make their comeback at the end. Though their opponents seemed to be shocked by what was happening.

The Times team won the first round.

Xiang Nuan went to the bathroom. When she came back, she saw Lin Chuyan had already made two cups of citron tea.

He really was acting like he was at his own house……

Xiang Nuan took the cup and found the tea to be at the right temperature, neither too hot nor too cold.

“It’s ready to drink now.” Lin Chuyan said.

Xiang Nuan took a sip. It was sweet and warm, with a faint citron fragrance. It was rather soothing as the liquid slid down into her stomach.

She used both of her hands to hold the cup and sneaked a glance at him.

Lin Chuyan still had his earphones on and was looking down at his cell phone. A ray of sunshine slipped through the gap between the curtain panels and shone through the hair on his forehead, landing on his face.

His eyes cast downwards and his face looked quite tranquil.

Xiang Nuan felt like she was looking at a painting.

Lin Chuyan sensed Xiang Nuan’s gaze and suddenly looked up at her.

Xiang Nuan hurriedly moved her eyes away. As a cover up, she started to gulp the tea down……

Lin Chuyan twitched the corners of his lips.

Though it was a shame that his affection for Xiang Nuan was still a one way street, there were times that he felt that just being next to her was enough.

……

In the second round of the match, both sides had decided to either ban or pick the other side’s champions that had performed well in the first round. Lin Chuyan didn’t get Mai Shiranui again and ended up with Diaochan.

The opposing team picked Xiang Nuan’s Laofuzi before she could. She ended up with Guan Yu.

Guan Yu was a strong champion; he could protect and support teammates and was very useful in team fights. A good Guan Yu was extremely powerful, but required a high skill level to play well.

This match, Xiang Nuan’s performance with Guan Yu was average. Nevertheless, her team had a much easier time than the last round. It seemed that the opponent had an even smaller champion pool than them. After Zhuge Liang and Dharma were banned, they lost the momentum they had shown in the first round. They were sluggish from the start. The Times had the upper hand from the start of the game. In the end, the PE Institute wasn’t able to make a comeback.

Xiang Nuan’s team won again.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 72 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 72 Part 2

Before Tong Yao went to bed that night, she raised her voice so that Lu Sicheng could hear her even with his earphones on, to announce to all her teammates that Dabing was locked inside the cage of no freedom and would be denied canned food until it recognized its own mistakes-- -- When she passed by the cage, Dabing pressed its face onto the side of the cage and kept meowing. Tong Yao gritted her teeth and heartlessly walked by and thought to herself: If she was partial to the cat, then Dabing wouldn’t be the only one who wouldn’t see the sun rise tomorrow.

Tong Yao went upstairs and showered. Afterwards, she saw Jinyang’s WeChat message-- --

[Ah Mao’s mom: ………………………………Dabing’s in big trouble?]

[Ah Mao’s mom: Your captain’s searching online for piranha fry…...It’s so hilarious that I dropped my cell phone on my face.]

Tong Yao: “......”

… …

Tong Yao had a sleepless night.

First, she had to get used to sleeping by herself, without a cat next to her. Then she had to worry about what would happen when her cat and her captain were left alone together downstairs-- --

She had nightmares the whole night and got up very early the next morning.

She went downstairs and discovered that Dabing’s cage was empty, the cat wasn’t in there. Tong Yao’s heart skipped a beat; she was afraid that she would find the body of a cat flushed halfway down the toilet-- --She anxiously searched around the base and eventually found her cat on the couch in the living room. The cat was perfectly intact and quietly crouched down on a man’s body, bearing its teeth at her, the person who had locked it inside the cage……

The reason why the cat had the courage to be so haughty probably had something to do with the person under its feet-- --Under the cat’s fuzzy bottom, ZGDX’s captain was lying face up on the couch with closed eyes with faint bluish bags. His tummy rose up and down in regular intervals.

He was sound asleep.

He didn’t even realize that a cat weighing over a dozen kilograms was sitting on top of his stomach, using it as a floor mat.

Tong Yao turned to check his computer, which was still logged waiting for a ranked game…...But his id had already been kicked out of the queue probably because he had failed to respond when a match was found earlier.

He probably had played ranked games the whole night. When he finally had enough of them, it was probably already daybreak and he was too tired to go upstairs to sleep.

…...Such an internet addicted man.

Tong Yao lightly walked to Lu Sicheng’s computer to log off the game and turned off his computer for him. She turned to pick up a small blanket from another couch and waved her hand to get Dabing off Lu Sicheng. The cat jumped off his stomach. As Tong Yao bent over to put the blanket over his body-- --

A big hand reached over to cup her head from the back of her head and pushed her head down. Tong Yao was taken by surprise as her entire face was pushed against Lu Sicheng’s tight abdomen. Right at that moment, she heard the man said in a dazed voice: “Be still or get lost if you keep moving around.”

Then he stroked Tong Yao’s hair as if he was stroking the cat.

Tong Yao’s whole body stiffened up. Both of her hands gripped the edge of the couch as her face was buried in the man’s stomach with only a thin blanket and his clothing separating her and him. When she breathed, her nose with filled with his scent.

-- --If someone came over now, I probably can’t……

Before Tong Yao could finish her thought, she heard the sound of a door opening upstairs. Little Fatty, with sleepy eyes, came out wearing a white tank top and his big Ultraman underpants: “Cheng Ge, shit, you haven’t gone to sleep yet, I already woke up-- --”

Little Fatty’s voice abruptly stopped.

Tong Yao didn’t even have a chance to raise her head to explain to Little Fatty since the big hand on the back of her head was still exerting a steady amount of pressure-- --The next second, Little Fatty mumbled: “I’m not up yet, I’m sleep walking.” Then he turned and returned to his room.

A few seconds later, Lu Sicheng’s cell phone rang.

Tong Yao struggled to reach over for his cell phone on the couch and picked it up to take a look-- --

[The rounded fat: I didn’t expect that you’re this kind of captain. I was too naive.]

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 59 Part 4

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 59 Part 4

A few minutes after the match began, Xiang Nuan found Yang Yin’s early game prediction to be entirely accurate.

Their opponent started with a fierce attack. They first came into Xiang Nuan’s jungle and stole their blue buff, giving them an early advantage. Then the jungler worked with Zhuge Liang to slay Mai Shiranui and follow up by taking the first dragon. Every enemy hero was now level 4, pulling ahead of Xiang Nuan’s team in terms of level and economy. With the advantages they had, they pushed for a team fight and killed Marco Polo. At this point, Xiang Nuan’s team was far behind.

The opponent’s champions were strong in the early game to begin with. Now they were even stronger and in a great position.

Gradually, The Times team lost control of all three lanes.

Xiang Nuan’s champion, Laofuzi, was very capable of fighting by himself. She stayed away from the enemy and had brought down two enemy turrets, but by now all 9 of her team’s turrets had fallen.

The Times team now only had their unprotected nexus left and with underdeveloped champions!

Xiang Nuan was taken by surprise and couldn’t figure out how they were in such dire straits. Her teammates were always getting caught, they always lost their team fights, their tank was weak, their mage and archer couldn’t deal any damage to the enemy, and all of their champions seemed to be made out of paper mache……

Xiang Nuan was getting on edge. In one of the team fights, her team’s mage and archer had already died by the time she arrived. Normally, it would’ve been smarter for her to retreat and avoid the battle. But she rushed into the battle from behind the enemy, trying to trap Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang swiftly dodged the attack and she was quickly trapped and killed.

She was growing very upset: What do we do now, how can I play this bad……

In her earphones, she heard a gentle and calm voice: “We can win.”

Xiang Nuan looked up at Lin Chuyan, sitting right across from her.

Lin Chuyan continued to look down at his screen: “Hang in there, we can win.”

Xiang Nuan pulled herself together and checked the situation…...It didn’t feel like they could hang in there.

Yang Yin told them to hang on into the late game to have a winning chance. But it was under the presumption that-- --the opponent would allow her team to drag the game out that long.

When Xiang Nuan checked the status of her team, they had lost control of all three lanes and were far behind in gold. The enemy would have the ability to push their nexus when the next wave of minions came. Would they give them a chance to keep the game going?

Following the last team fight, there was still three enemy champions alive but there were four The Times players waiting at their fountain.

Then the fifth member joined; Zheng Dongkai’s champion also died because he was poorly equipped.

“The minions aren’t here yet” Lin Chuyan’s voice was as calm as ever: “They’ll go for the Dark Slayer.”

It would be the worst situation that could happen to The Times at this point. If the PE Institute team could kill Dark Slayer, they could get three waves of Dark Slayer vanguards to spawn down each lane. Xiang Nuan felt it would be impossible for her team to stop them then.

They desperately needed more time.

Lin Chuyan was the first one to spawn again. He moved his champion, Mai Shiranui, directly towards Dark Slayer. He took a look at his teammates’ respawn countdown timers. The next one would be Shen Zemu’s Marco Polo.

“Big Polo keep the base safe.” Lin Chuyan said.

“Don’t call me Big Polo.” Shen Zemu objected.

“Little Polo keep the base safe.”

Shen Zemu: “......” Somehow, Big Polo sounded much better.

Xiang Nuan was nervous and upset but broke into laughter. “Lin Chuyan, you’re a nutcase.”

Lin Chuyan chuckled but didn’t say anything.

Xiang Nuan knew what Lin Chuyan had in mind-- --He was going to grab Dark Slayer on his own. If he could do that, he could buy everyone on his team time. If he failed, then Mai Shiranui would probably die and the rest of the team would soon follow!

Mai Shiranui stopped in the lane for a while before he got closer to Dark Slayer. Xiang Nuan could see three enemies fighting against Dark Slayer.  Dark Slayer had only a small chunk of health left. Mai Shiranui threw his fan.

A notification appeared: Mai Shiranui has defeated Dark Slayer.

Ahhhh! He stole it!

Xiang Nuan was so excited that she started jumping and felt a rush of adrenaline.

At that very moment, she fell like pulling Lin Chuyan over and giving him a kiss.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 4

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 4

That night, Ye Qiao’s cold worsened. Despite having a 38.5C (101.3F) fever, Ye Qiao refused to go to the hospital.
They slept on the two sides of the big bed, each rolled up inside a blanket. In the middle of the night, head clouded by fever, Ye Qiao subconsciously drew closer to Zhou Tingsheng mumbling something all the while.

Zhou Tingsheng got up to turn on the light that was only strong enough to illuminate a small portion of the large room.
Ye Qiao woke up as well but started to have a splitting headache. She opened her mouth, though wasn’t particularly conscious of what she was saying: “......I haven’t apologized to her.”

She wasn’t really as calm and indifferent as she acted, the past still bothered her in her dreams.
Zhou Tingsheng lightly made a sound in reply. Then he held her tightly.
Her voice was tranquil but deep: “She likes you. Can’t you tell?”
Zhou Tingsheng cast his eyes down and replied after a long moment of silence: “......I can tell.”

That was the reason why he seldom went to visit her in the last two years. He thought maybe the distance would wear down her immature affections.
Ye Qiao felt like crying but she didn’t let the tears fall: “I feel guilty. But she likes you, so I didn’t apologize to her.”
Her voice grew hoarse. “Apologizing is a very sincere act. If I’m not willing to give everything to make it up to her, then that apology would be just for show.”
The tears she had been holding back began to flow like tidal waves which inundated her.

Ye Qiao tightly bit her lower lip, her voice was now almost inaudible. “Zhou Tingsheng, I really want to apologize to her.”
He tightly circled his arms around her. Her body was so hot that he felt like a cold blooded animal. If he hadn’t been so cocky in the past, today would have never happened. Everything was a consequence of his past sins. No matter who came to point fingers at him, he would readily admit it. However, she was the only one who aimed the origin of the sin at herself, giving him an invisible shield.

Ye Qiao seemed to have cried all the tears built up from the past ten years in these two days. The guilt she had only seen in her dreams was now right in front of her and it felt heavier than she had expected. Yet she was greedier than she thought she was. Ye Qiao kept going in and out of dreams. They began to grow darker.  Ghosts from hell came asking why she was still alive when she should’ve died a decade ago. Ruan Feiyan’s voice mixed with the ghosts. “You’ve already taken away my mom, why do you have to fight with me for him?”
It seemed that being alive was her greatest mistake.

By the next day, the high fever had somewhat incapacitated Ye Qiao.
Zhou Tingsheng called Qianxi over to help take care of Ye Qiao. Qianxi came with a doctor who gave Ye Qiao an intravenous drip.

Qianxi anxiously stayed at her cousin’s side, worried that Ye Qiao hadn’t come around. “She’s burning hot. If she doesn’t come to, we have to take her to the hospital.”
“She won’t go.” Zhou Tingsheng had tried many times, but Ye Qiao somehow found the unusual strength whenever he tried to move her.

“My cousin has always been fragile. What if the fever continues……” Qianxi tried the traditional method by applying cold towels on Ye Qiao’s forehead and worriedly said: “My cousin’s father fell ill not too long ago. I heard that he was coming to see her, but had a heart attack right before boarding the plane. The people at the airport sent him to the hospital. He hasn’t been well since. The genes in her family are really bad!”
Zhou Tingsheng gestured to Qianxi to stop while they were still at Ye Qiao’s bedside.
Qianxi scratched her hair and said: “Maybe I should just take leave from work and stay here with her. If there’s anything wrong with my cousin, my dad would want my head for sure!”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 3

They walked past the hospital ward’s garden, there was a thing layer of ice on the ground. The two of them carefully walked side by side, giving the illusion that they could walk like this till their hair turned white.

Zhou Tingsheng was the first one to open his mouth: “What did you say to her just now?”
“We chatted about random things. I told her about the psychological problems I suffered from and that I’ve only slowly overcome them after I met you. But you aren’t everyone’s ‘Prozac’; I can introduce a good psychiatrist to her if she needs one.”
Ye Qiao went into detail about her conversation with Ruan Feiyan, as if she was afraid that she wouldn’t have anything else to say to him after she ran out of things to say about the topic.

“I guess she must hate my father very much. I told her not to. My father is a rather proud, but upstanding person. When he was still a poor artist, he wouldn’t even give a single one of his paintings as a gift to a high official who appreciated his talent. When I was little, my favorite topic to write about was ‘My father.’ Sometimes, even though the assigned topic was about my mother, I would talk about my father on and on instead.”
“But, I didn’t tell her all that. There’s no point in telling her about things from the past.” Ye Qaio stopped for a little while: “What he did was all for me. I told her to aim all her hatred towards me.”

She knew very well how significant that love was, but it was also what had given her a guilty conscious that she couldn’t rid herself of.
She had wanted to be the pride of her father and had tried all she could to be the glory in his heart. But in the end, she had become the only stain in her father’s spotless life.
She could talk about her father forever.

They fell into a long silence.

Ye Qiao thought they would again part ways in silence. Zhou Tingsheng suddenly stopped and embraced Ye Qiao in his arms without saying or asking anything. His heavy breathes making puffs of fog. Ye Qiao bumped into his chest, the pain from the jolt made even her sighs hurt.

She reached out with her hand, now red from the cold, and lightly pat Zhou Tingsheng’s back: “It’s alright. I don’t blame you.”
Zhou Tingsheng tightened his grip on her, his throat moved up and down but couldn’t make a sound.

Ye Qiao comforted him like she was calming down a wounded animal. She softly stroked over his coat: “The words you told me before, did you say them because of me or this heart inside of me?”
“It’s because of you.” He said.
“I thought about giving up on you back then on the cruise ship.” He snuggled his head next to her neck: “Liang Zirao tried to persuade me many times. She believes that it’s for the best if we stopped interacting with each other. But I can’t do it.”

The path in front of them now had a layer of solid ice over it, blocking their way. Ye Qiao took a deep breath in: “I can’t tell what exactly I’m feeling right now.” She actually felt quite tranquil. But she knew she shouldn’t be this calm. Some of those disturbing feelings were lodged deep within her frozen heart, so deep that she could no longer even sense it.

“Fate likes to play tricks on people. I just never expected I’d be one of its victims.” She concluded.

That night, there was a heavy snowstorm. Even airports in nearby cities had their flights suspended.
The world seemed to have fallen into an endless dark night.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 72 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



You’re Beautiful When You Smile
Chapter 72 Part 1

Lu Sicheng stuffed the plastic bag into Tong Yao’s hands, took off his shoes, and went to go check his fish.

Tong Yao opened the bag and looked inside. There was only one bag of chips and a box of bandages. It seemed that everything had been bought specifically for her…...Tong Yao felt even worse. Carrying the bag, she followed Lu Sicheng to his desk, watching him lift the fishbowl up with one hand to check. Tong Yao: “Uhr.”-- --

Lu Sicheng turned around.

Tong Yao backed away one big step. She was terrified he would angrily dump the fishbowl on her head.

She nervously looked at Lu Sicheng and squeezed her apology through her teeth. Little Fatty, who had finally figured out what had happened, came over to support her: “Cheer up, just think that your fish had developed wings and flew away-- --In the northern sea there’s a fish named Kun……” [1]

Lu Sicheng raised his eyelids to take a glance at Little Fatty. Little Fatty spinelessly stopped talking. Lu Sicheng put the fishbowl back on the desk, put on his earphones, then reconnected his other equipment to his computer. He did everything one swift motion, though one could sense from his movement that he was far from a happy mood.

-- --Tong Yao didn’t make a single sound for the entire duration.

She didn’t sit down on her own chair until Lu Sicheng had logged on and started a match. She moved her own chair a little bit away from his. As she was scooching her chair, she heard Lu Sicheng say, “Bandage.”

Tong Yao: “......”

She looked up at him and found that his eyes hadn’t left the screen at all. She answered with an “Oh, oh,” then took the bandages out of the bag and put one on her bloody heel. Afterwards she began streaming-- --

The stream soon attracted a large audience. Her viewers found Smiling sitting off to one side of the camera, almost out of the frame. They all began asking her for an explanation.

Tong Yao: “There’s ill feeling coming from the seat next to me. It’s so strong that it can almost cut through me.”

[......Damn, idiot.]

[How can such an idiotic person crush all the other players? I like it.]

[hhhhhhhh, wifey, what’s going on?]

[Didn’t you just come back from the frozen hell?]

[This afternoon some fans swore that you two were back on good terms. In the parking lot, your captain forcefully protected you.]

Tong Yao: “Yes, yes, yes, there was a brief moment when I returned from the frozen hell. But now I’ve gone back-- --Yet, this time it isn’t my fault, it was that beast Dabing-- --That’s right, that cat. The cat ganked my captain’s fish while no one was in the base……………………”

Tong Yao took a look at Lu Sicheng, who was still wearing earphones and busy with a ranked game. She gulped and glanced back at the bullet comments-- --

Tong Yao: “I apologized. It’s necessary to apologize. What else can I do?”

Tong Yao: “But, if apologizing is useful, why do we still need policemen.”

Tong Yao: “Yeah, Dabing is in jail now. En, I locked the cat in the cage-- --I’ve ordered the cat to reflect on its mistakes and correct its wrong doings. If there's a next time, I’ll send it back to my hometown…...It’s not that I’m cruel, the goldfish were here first and have been swimming happily for so long. What right did Dabing have to swallow that fish, right?”

While she was talking, she took a glance at the fishbowl. There were still several cat hairs floating on the surface of the water in the fishbowl. Wracked by guilt, Tong Yao reached over to drag the fishbowl over-- --Lu Sicheng took off his earphones: “What are you doing?”

Tong Yao used her fingers to stir the water and took out a hair: “Cat hair…...I’ll go change the water for you.”

Lu Sicheng said with a stone face: “Put it down.”

Tong Yao used both of her hands and gently pushed the fishbowl back to its original position.


[1]: He is referencing Zhuangzi's 'Carefree Excursion' a story from a compiled list of writings by Zhuangzi and is known as one of the two foundational texts on Taoism.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Those Sweet Times - Chapter 59 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Those Sweet Times
Chapter 59 Part 3

The more Xiang Nuan thought about it, the more she couldn’t get over the fact that Lin Chuyan constantly played tricks on her. And now he was in her own home acting like it was his. It was too much for Xiang Nuan.

Xiang Nuan thought she had to get even at least once this time.

Xiang Nuan went into the kitchen for a while, then came out and asked Lin Chuyan: “Let me make a cup of tea for you?” Lin Chuyan was flattered. “Oh? Yeah, sure.”

Xiang Nuan added salt, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mustard, and hot pepper oil into the glass, then poured in some water and stirred with a spoon…… She put a slice of lemon on the rim of the glass, giving it a more refreshing look.

She put the glass in front of Lin Chuyan: “Drink it.”

Lin Chuyan could tell from the smell that this wasn’t any normal tea, but he still took a sip of it. The taste was horrifying.

Lin Chuyan covered his mouth and coughed violently, his face twisted in pain. Xiang Nuan gloated: “Does it taste good?”

Lin Chuyan didn’t answer, he was still coughing.

Xiang Nuan: “Drink all of this and I’ll forgive you.”

Lin Chuyan wiped his mouth and cast his eyes down at the hellish drink. He undetectably sighed and said: “I’ll do whatever you ask me to do.”

Xiang Nuan was touched by the soft and tender tone of his voice when he said that.

Then she immediately despised herself: He’s a nutcase! A nutcase!

But when she saw Lin Chuyan pick up the glass and closed his eyes as if he were facing death, she didn’t have the heart to go through with it: “Nevermind, don’t drink it.”

Lin Chuyan put down the glass and looked at her with a smile.

Faced with his bright eyes, Xiang Nuan had difficulty breathing.

She lowered her head and said: “Don’t be too pleased with yourself. It’s only because I’m afraid that you’ll get poisoned and can’t play later.”

“En. I know.”

-- --

Their first match that day started at 10 o’clock in the morning.

Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan sat in the study of Xiang Nuan house. Both of them were logged into the chat group. The others in voice chat soon found out that when Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan spoke, their voices echoed.

“You two together?” Waiwai asked.

Lin Chuyan: “En.”

Waiwai suddenly felt quite sympathetic towards his good friend Shen Zemu. Shen Zemu had asked for Xiang Nuan’s address from him and it looked like he was planning to send some gift to her. Yet, after sending the gift, Xiang Nuan and Lin Chuyan became even more close to each other……

He really felt bad for Shen Zemu.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t the right time to think about gossip. They had to concentrate on the match they were about to play against Nanshan Institute of Physical Education.

The Institute had always been at odds with their university and recently the rivalry had grown fiercer. This match had caught the attention of the students from both colleges. Waiwai felt the burden on his shoulders was quite heavy, not just the money award but more importantly the honor of his own university.

The match started first with the ban and pick phase.

The Institute team picked all champions that were powerful during the early game: Zhuge Liang, Yuji, Dharma, and so forth.

Xiang Nuan and her teammates didn’t get much training time and had only a few champions they were skilled with. They had practiced more for the later game. Even if they ran into powerful champions in the early game, they had only so many champions they could pick that they could play well.

Xiang Nuan had picked Laofuzi, Lin Chuyan was Mai Shiranui, and Shen Zemu’s archer was Marco Polo.

Yang Yin had given them instructions in the chat group about who to ban and who to pick. After they had locked down their champions, Yang Yin told them: “With a lineup like this, you guys will have some trouble in the early game. Hold your ground, pull through their strong period. Wait till you all are well developed, then the team fights won’t be a problem for your guys.”

In a formal competition, the coach could give instructions at the ban and pick phase but once the match started, the coach had to back out and wasn’t allowed to communicate with the players.

After giving her final instruction, Yang Yin stopped talking. Though there wasn’t anyone monitoring, she still adhered to her professional ethics.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.