Tea of Summer - Chapter 55: Tea of Summer Part 2.3

And we're done with Tea of Summer folks! Wednesday's will now be Secret Room, while we figure out what else to translate.

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Chapter 55

Tea of Summer Part 2.3

“I overheard your conversation with that guy in the recording studio------Zhao Ge called him 37?  Umm, I heard you talk about your flight date to Seattle.  I hurriedly changed my airline ticket to the same day and hoped that I’d meet you on the airplane.” He laughed and began to lament his own foolishness.  “At the time, I just thought that being on the same day would be enough, but I forgot that even if it was on the same day, there are many different airlines.  By the time you arrived at the airport, I was already boarding the plane.  So I still didn’t get the chance to talk to you.”

Xia Liang remembered glancing at a man’s back in the airport that day.  So she wasn’t mistaken, it was indeed Song Qiyan.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 54: Tea of Summer Part 2.2

Chapter 54

Tea of Summer 2.2

The car slowly moved forward on the green light.  Xia Liang looked in shock at the side of Song Qiyan’s face hidden in the shadow and then opened Qian Sui’s Weibo.

Qian Sui didn’t use Weibo very often, but he was more active compared to Bei Yan.  Most of his posts were about the release of his song and occasionally he would share posts from good friends in the circle.

His last Weibo post was a chain of replies with Bei Yan.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 53: Tea of Summer Part 2.1

Chapter 53

Tea of Summer Part 2.1

“Were you nervous just now?”  After an unusually cordial dinner, it seemed only natural for Xia Liang to ride in Song Qiyan’s car, with her suitcase, back to Shanghai.  Xia Liang sat in the passenger seat. After she buckled her seatbelt, she couldn't stop herself from asking the man next to her.

The man on the driver’s seat pursed his lips.  The contours of the side of his face looked strong and clear.  He didn’t respond.

Xia Liang stuck out the tip of her tongue and suppressed the urge to smile.

She clearly knew, after being together for so long, that the question made him uneasy. Unsurprisingly, she secretly watched his face from the side and saw his ears in the sunset turn faintly pink.

Ah, so he was very nervous too.  She felt much better knowing that she wasn’t the only one.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 52: Tea of Summer Part 1.2

Chapter 52

Tea of Summer Part 1.2

After a while, Xia Liang raised her head from his chest and tenderly rubbed his chin. She spoke playfully.  “Ah Yan, how did you come here?  Wow, how did you know that I was here?”

Song Qiyan kissed her forehead and answered in an uncharacteristic indirect way. “What do you think?”

Xia Liang flattened her mouth. “I told you the name of the village……How did you find the house?  Ah, was it from Qian Qian?”  Lin Qian visited twice with her last summer.

Song Qiyan admitted quietly.

Xia Liang pouted. “Traitor.”

Sung Qiyan used his index finger to touch her lower lip. “Didn’t you want to see me?”

Xia Liang raised her head abruptly and viciously nodded like a puppy while clinging his arm. “Hehe, I certainly do……I really missed Ah Yan~”  She fawned excessively.

Song Qiyan watched her silently, but his eyes were smiling.

Xia Liang looked aside-----His eyes were too intense……she couldn’t bear it!

Tea of Summer - Chapter 51: Tea of Summer Part 1.1

Chapter 51

Tea of Summer Part 1.1

“Ah Liang, come down, lunch is ready!”

Xia Liang was sprawled on the sofa watching a soap opera when she heard her grandmother.  She lept out of the sofa immediately and ran downstairs.

It was July.  Cicadas were singing outside the window.  It was much cooler inside the brick house in the peaceful countryside than in the city.  The air felt fresh and cool without the need of an air conditioner.

Grandma Lin had already set the table on the mahogany square table.  Though there were a few simple dishes in celadon bowls, they looked absolutely appetizing.

“Where’s grandpa?”  Xia Liang filled up two bowls of rice beside the stove before carrying them to the table.  Then she pulled out the long bench and sat down.

“The old man ate an early lunch and went out to play mahjong.”  Grandma Lin took a rice bowl, “We grow all these vegetables in our own field.  Eat more.  You’ll get a cold very easily.  You haven’t moved at all, even when I asked you to.  You just hide upstairs every day.”

“Hehe……,”  Xia Liang guiltily touched her nose and grabbed a chopstick full of vegetables.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 50: Spring Sunshine 5.3

Chapter 50

Spring Sunshine 5.3

In the sound of the pouring rain, Xia Liang finally pushed away from Song Qiyan’s chest.  She turned her eyes away from his gaze, which was filled with desire.

Song Qiyan sighed lightly.  He stood up from sofa and pulled his hand out of Xia Liang’s top. Then he pulled Xia Liang up and locked her in his arms.

Xia Liang buried her face into Song Qiyan’s chest, recovering her breathe.  Her face was flushed.

After a while, she poked Song Qiyan’s chest. “Qian Qian and shixiong haven’t come back yet!”  Then she poked again.  Umm, wow, he’s pretty brawny.

Song Qiyan buried his head in her hair and taking in the nice scent of her hair.  He said “Umm”.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 49: Spring Sunshine 5.2

Chapter 49

Spring Sunshine 5.2

When Xia Liang opened her eyes again, she was still lying on Song Qiyan’s back.  But they had already at the front of their vacation house.  He was opening the door.

Song Qiyan felt movement on his back and turned his head to look at her.  His voice was soft and magnetic, “Are you awake?”

Xia Liang rubbed her eyes and quietly yawned.  She spoke tiredly,  “Umm------? We’re already back?  Oh, where are Qian Qian and Wei Jian xuezhang……”

Song Qiyan opened the door and walked in. “I didn’t see them on our way back.  I left them a message and came back to the house directly.”

“Oh……”  Xia Liang was still drowsy, her head lazily hanging onto his shoulder.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 48: Spring Sunshine 5.1

Chapter 48

Spring Sunshine 5.1

“It hurts!” she hissed.  They were walking along the shore line and had reached a shallow tidal pool littered with washed up broken shells.  They were both walking barefoot on the sandy beach and unfortunately, not all of the shells had been smoothed by the tides.  At first, Xia Liang closely followed Song Qiyan, but soon felt that the bottom of her feet has turned a bit numb and uncomfortable.

Song Qiyan frowned lightly and crouched down.  He supported her as he raised her foot.  He noticed a cut on her big toe with fresh blood trickling from it.  Enough salt had been left behind on the beach by the ocean tide, which naturally made the cut painful.

Song Qiyan turned half a circle as he was crouching down, with his back facing Xia Liang.

Xia Liang hesitated before climbing onto his back and gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Do you want to keep walking?”  Song Qiyan asked her.

Xia Liang looked at the endless beach, then looked back at the distance they had walked so far.  She shook her head.  Then she realized he couldn’t see.  She put her chin on his shoulder. “No, let’s go back.”

As she wished, Song Qiyan turned back.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 47: Spring Sunshine 4.2

Chapter 47

Spring Sunshine 4.2

Finally when Xia Liang appeared on the beach, she had changed her white, chiffon robe into one of Song Qiyan’s loose oversized T-shirt which reached down to her knees.

Lin Qian couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when she noticed Xia Liang’s new outfit.

However, someone had obviously miscalculated.

Originally, he thought the T-shirt was at least opaque.  He didn’t realize that it was even more attractive, with only her white calves exposed underneath a loose T-shirt.  Song Qiyan had already facepalmed numerous times.  He made a note to himself that they should never go to the beach from now on……certainly, unless it was just the two of them.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 46: Spring Sunshine 4.1

Chapter 46

Spring Sunshine 4.1

Two days later, Xia Liang’s “special condition” ended.  Finally, she could go into the water.  After she ate breakfast early in the morning, Xia Liang excitedly went to the bathroom to change into her swimsuit.  The green two piece swimsuit in her hand was ordered online with one-day delivery.  It was not as exposed as most bikinis, it was more cute, like the kind that teenagers wore.

Aside from Lin Qian and Song Qiyan, Wei Jian was also outside as well. Xia Liang hesitated to go out like this, so she decided to put on a white, chiffon robe.

But Xia Liang didn’t realize that, sometimes, semitransparent was even more attractive .

Xia Liang gathered her street clothes and went back to her room.  Lin Qian looked up and down at her. “Tut,” then she took her swimsuit into the bathroom.

Xia Liang stood there and couldn’t decide whether to go out or not.  Someone knocked twice on the door.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 45: Spring Sunshine 3.2

Chapter 45

Spring Sunshine 3.2

It was afternoon at a private beach in Florida.

There were many people scattered around the large beach.  There were children on vacation and seniors from the nearby retirement community.  On the beach near the half exposed coral reef, there sat four young Asians underneath a big beach umbrella.

Song Qiyan and Xia Liang sat in the middle with Wei Jian and Lin Qian on each side.

Xia Liang looked to the left at Wei Jian who had very uneasy expression.  Then she turned to look at Lin Qian at her right who had a poker face.  She silently pressed her lips into a thin line and pulled back closer to Song Qiyan.

Song Qiyan held her waist and gave her the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had just made. 

Tea of Summer - Chapter 44: Spring Sunshine 3.1

Chapter 44

Spring Sunshine 3.1

Xia Liang was exhausted from traveling all yesterday and didn’t wake up until the sun was already high in the sky. She yawned and noticed that Lin Qian was still sound asleep next to her.  She silently slipped out of bed. Then found that she was still wearing the same clothes that she had changed into after she had arrived here last night.  She scratched her hair embarrassed; she realized how she probably got into bed last night.

She took out a change clothes and toiletries from her luggage and walked into the bathroom to take a hot shower.  Xia Liang walked out of the bathroom with wet hair and put the dirty clothes into a laundry bag.  Then she walked over to the living room.  The sliding door in the living room, dividing the public area and the sleeping area, was already open.  She peeked in and saw that there were only a bed sheet, a pillow, and a thin blanket left on the air mattress.  When she saw the black suitcase at the end of the bed, she knew this was the place where Song Qiyan had slept last night.  She looked around then saw the man himself leaning on the railing, enjoying the ocean breeze in the balcony outside the door.

Song Qiyan was dressed in a loose, large white T shirt and military green colored beach pants, which was ballooned out by the ocean breeze.  Xia Liang took a look at his back and tried to sneak up behind him.  But she was discovered before she had a chance to touch his shoulder when he suddenly turned his head.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 43: Spring Sunshine 2.2

Chapter 43

Spring Sunshine 2.2

Xia Liang and Song Qiyan walked hand in hand for more than half an hour.  It was already past 9 o’clock in the evening when they went back to the cabin.

There was a TV in the living room and many DVD movies beneath it.  Song Qiyan and Wei Jian knelt down and decided to watch <Avatar>.  It was the second time that they were watching this classic movie.

The sofa in the living room had 3 seats.  Sung Qi Yan sat at one side.  Xia Liang sat in the middle.  Wei Jian moved a chair over and let Lin Qian sit next to Xia Liang on the sofa.

In the beginning, Xia Liang attentively watched the movie with her head resting on Song Qiyan’s shoulder.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 42: Spring Sunshine 2.1

Chapter 42

Spring Sunshine 2.1

“It’ll be spring break after next week.  Do you want to go anywhere?”  They had been sitting on the couch for a while before Song Qiyan broke the silence.

Xia Liang moved a little in his arms to find the most comfortable position.  She then rubbed against his neck. “I don’t know……”

Song Qiyan poked her nose. “Do you want to travel?”

Xia Liang tilted her head. “Sure, but where to?”

Song Qiyan suggested, “How about Florida?”

Xia Liang still looked at him with her head tilted. “Just the two of us?”

Song Qiyan replied, “You can ask your roommate and I…...can ask Jeffery to come along.”

Thus, on the following Saturday, the four of them were standing at an airport in Florida.

They rented a jeep at the airport and dumped all of their luggage onto the back. The two men occupied the front row, Lin Qin and Xia Liang in the back seats.

They were excited about the difference in temperature from the north to the south. Wei Jian, who was sitting on the passenger side, rolled down his window, letting the spring air blow into the car.

They drove for about an hour until they reached the private island. There were many privately owned vacation cabins on the island. Song Qiyan drove into a village and eventually stopped in front of a cabin right next to the beach.

Lin Qin pushed Xia Liang who had fallen asleep against the window. “We’re here!”

Tea of Summer - Chapter 41: Spring Sunshine 1.2

Chapter 41

Spring Sunshine 1.2

Song Qiyan only briefly went through Weibo, replied to a couple of comments, then put the cell phone down.  With one hand held around Xia Liang’s waist, he used the other hand to stroke her hair.  Then he moved closer to smell the fresh scent of her hair and kissed her white tender face.

Even though Xia Liang was already used to this after the past three months, she still shyly looked down at the sofa, blushing.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 40: Spring Sunshine 1.1

Chapter 40

Spring Sunshine 1.1

That night, he held her hand as they watched the fireworks light up the sky.  She then insisted on taking him to the shopping mall.  They pushed their way through the crowd.  Finally she bought him a gray scarf and bashfully put it on for him.  Then they walked, hands held together, for half of the night and watched the crowd gradually thin around them.

Finally, exhausted, she ended their late night wandering by using his own words, “Umm, girls shouldn’t stay up late.  It’s unhealthy.”

He looked at her with a smile in his eyes.  Suddenly, he bent down and pecked the corner of her mouth.  He then quickly straightened himself.

Both of their faces were flushed since this was the first time they had ever done something so intimate.  They were silent on the way back to her apartment.  They just let the night breeze cool the heat on their faces.

He took her back to her apartment.  There was a subtle change in atmosphere between them when they were about to part.  He bent down again and kissed her forehand.  He spoke next to her ear with the voice she never tired of, “Goodnight.”

Tea of Summer - Chapter 39 Part 2: Winter Warmth 5

It's happening guys. It's finally happening.

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Chapter 39 Part 2

Winter Warmth 5

Song Qiyan raised his hand to pat her head under the furry hat. “Xia Xia, I have come here willingly.”  He stretched out another hand which was carrying a bag.

Xia Liang found out only now, that Song Qiyan had been carrying a bag in his hand all this time.

“For me?”

Song Qiyan nodded, “Christmas gift.”

Xia Liang took over the bag.  Then she thought in embarrassment; oh, no, she had never thought about getting him a Christmas gift……..She had never celebrated Christmas before, needless to say, she never thought about giving gifts for Christmas.

She opened the bag.  It was a bright red cashmere scarf inside.  Xia Liang used her hand to touch it.  It felt really good.

“Thank you shixiong.”  She smiled to Song Qiyan sweetly.  She was pondering secretly about when she should give him a Christmas gift in return.

“What are you thinking about?”  Song Qiyan asked.  Song Qiyan was a little perturbed by her expression. “Don’t you like it?”

Xia Liang hurriedly clarified, “No, no, I like it.  It is a very beautiful scarf.  I really like it, but I……”  She used her finger to scratch her cheek bashfully. “I don’t have the habit of giving Christmas presents.  So I didn’t prepare a Christmas present for shixiong……”   She then quickly raised her head.  Her brown pupils reflected the warm glow of the street light, which enhanced her attempt to find an easy way out.  “Let’s go pick up one later to make up for it. alright?”

Tea of Summer - Chapter 39 Part 1: Winter Warmth 5

Hey guys, Chapter 39 was pretty long so we had to cut it in half. Sorry about that! By the way, in the next part, IT finally happens.

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Chapter 39 Part 1

Winter Warmth 5

“Let’s park the car here.” Lin Qian led Xia Liang off the car before locking it.  “Who knows how crowded downtown is tonight.”

Xia Liang followed her closely and pulled on her long necklace uneasily.

An hour ago, Lin Qian, who was already dressed up, ran into Xia Liang’s bedroom.  She took out a stack of fall and winter clothes from the closet and threw them onto the bed.  Then she ordered Xia Liang in an authoritative voice, “Get changed!”

Under Lin Qian’s supervision, a stunned Xia Liang finally changed into the clothing she was now wearing.  She wore a cream-colored long turtleneck cashmere sweater, a cage-shaped retro style necklace that hung down to her chest, a pair of dark jeans that she usually wore, and a pair of khaki-colored boots. On top of them, she had put on a long red woolen coat with flannel lining and a plush fur collar around the neckline.  Lin Qian had also done her hair, which was usually in a ponytail or casually let it down.  Now her hair was spread down onto her shoulder; Lin Qian had used a curling iron to make it wavy at the end of her hair.  Finally on top of her head was a white dehair angora hat with a furry pom pom on top which was slightly swaying in the night breeze.  It was quite cute.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 38: Winter Warmth 4.3

Felt that Chapter 37 was a little short, so have another one.

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Chapter 38

Winter Warmth 4.3

After her last final, Xia Liang stood at the door of the lecture hall and stretched.  Finally it was Christmas break.  When the cold and damp December breeze blew over, she tucked her neck in, pulled her coat tightly around herself, and was ready to go back into her apartment.

“Summer!” Somebody called her from behind.

Xia Liang stopped.  She turned back and saw a Chinese student walked towards her.

Xia Liang tilted her head and thought for a while. She believed that he was a Chinese student in the same grade as her.  It seemed that he was also from Shanghai.  She met him in a Shanghai student party.

The man walked to her and smiled at her. “It’s going to be second semester soon.  Have you decided your major yet?”

In America, the first two years of college are for general requirement courses.  Most students chose their majors in the second semester of sophomore year.

Xia Liang earnestly answered. “Since I already have enough credits, I already decided on double majoring in Finance and International Trade in the second semester of freshman year.”

Tea of Summer - Chapter 37: Winter Warmth 4.2

Chapter 37

Winter Warmth 4.2

In the following month, Song Qiyan and Xia Liang proved that “the world is not as small as you think.” Both of them were on the same campus, but they hadn’t cross paths, not even once.

Though they still talked over the phone occasionally, their conversations didn’t have any actual substance, mostly just greetings.

“Shixiong, you…..” Xia Liang bit her lower lip.  She was thinking about how to phrase her question.

“Uhm?”  Song Qiyan just listened with great interest.

Xia Liang heard that familiar magnetic voice.  She suddenly felt that she couldn’t ask him any questions.  She changed the subject abruptly. “Uhm……, Shixiong, have you been busy recently?”

Song Qiyan at the other end laughed lightly.  There was a hint of tiredness in his voice. “Uhm, I just came out of the laboratory.”