Don't be So Proud

Chapter 8.3 — His and Her First Real Kiss (3)

“I am going to find Shen Xi.”

This single sentence brimmed with provocation and carried both a declaration of war and machoness, but someone was actually deaf enough to mishear it as “I’m going to tell the teachers.”

The person who misheard belonged to dorm room 922 and was a naughty, but timid person. Since grade one all the way until now, “I’m going to tell the teachers” was like a magic incantation that could control him and that he feared terribly. Although he had not heard it for a long time now since starting university, when he mistakenly thought that Lin Yu Tang had said it, he still grew anxious.

All he did was hit Lin Yu Tang’s hand when he was trying to steal the ball. Did Lin Yu Tang really need to go to the teachers to tell on him? Standing between Monkey and Brawny, he shouted in a quivering voice to Lin Yu Tang, who was up ahead, “Lin Yu Tang, we were all playing just fine. What are you going to tattle to the teacher for? You come back right now…”

The instant these words came out, Brawny and Monkey both gawped incredulously at this next-door dormmate, then together shoved him in the head. “Tell the teacher my ass!”

Who friggin’ was going to go tell the teacher anything? Lin Yu Tang was already quite a distance away. His steps had originally been steady and firm and his expression had been very indifferent, but when he heard this sentence, his left ankle inadvertently rolled out. In the end, he recovered and continued striding away, disappearing from everyone’s gazes without a backwards glance.

Lin Yu Tang had suavely left and left behind words that seemed to be a declaration of war. After Monkey and Brawny recovered from their surprise, they both walked over to Leader’s side. Monkey was torn both ways and did not speak; Brawny hesitatingly tried to persuade He Zhi Zhou. “Leader, how about you just forget it and back out? After all, Third and Beautiful Maiden Shen have been an item for a lot of years…”

He Zhi Zhou simply flicked a glance at Brawny and did not speak. Then, giving a firm pat to Brawny’s back, he strode away. However, he had only taken two steps before Brawny grabbed him. “Leader, don’t go!”

“Zhou Chen, let go,” he told Brawny.

Brawny did not let go and instead tried to use the method of acting cute to stop Leader. Snuggling up beside He Zhi Zhou’s ear, he enticed him, “Leader, don’t go. I’ll lend you my dolly to play with, how about that?”

Frick! He Zhi Zhou threw Brawny off of him.

Along the way back, He Zhi Zhou mulled over many things. He had never been someone who was overly enthusiastic about romantic relationships. Now, someone had at long last appeared in his life whom he actually wanted to love and treat well, but he discovered that this would not be an easy road to travel. Brawny had told him,“Shen Xi and Lin Yu Tang have known each other for many years.” It was not that he had never thought about this problem. A childhood friendship—Shen Xi and Lin Yu Tang shared between them many years and bonds that he could not intrude into. He had nothing to do with all those years that Lin Yu Tang had gone through together with Shen Xi. And in fact, he and Shen Xi would gradually lose that certain connection they had once shared.

Furthermore, Lin Yu Tang was his roommate, classmate, and a pretty good friend. There is a saying: “Covet not your friend’s wife” …

The more he mused, the more he forced his thoughts into a dead end. But then, he changed the direction of his thinking. It seemed Lin Yu Tang and Shen Xi had never made their relationship official; the ones who truly had an official relationship were he and Shen Xi. So what was Lin Yu Tang trying to do now? What was he doing, going to find his girlfriend? …

As his thoughts turned in this direction, He Zhi Zhou also sped up his steps…

While Lin Yu Tang was heading over to the normal college to find Shen XI, she was still in the dormitory room taking down the curtain that He Zhi Zhou had put up. During the entire process, Xia Wei Ye was throwing out sarcastic remarks, until Shen Xi wanted to yell at someone.

“Back then, didn’t you think you were too good for us and that’s why you put it up? Shen Xi, I’ve discovered that don’t stick to any principles in anything that you do.

“Didn’t you put up a nice cool pretense just a while ago, huh? Keep up your little act!”

Could she get any more annoying?! Shen Xi whipped around and crossly threw the curtains to the ground. She had been a man for a period and had not experienced the annoying bickering of dorm room conflict for a long time. Anger suddenly surged up in her, and she gave a fierce slap to the desk. “Have you said enough yet?! Just watch out ‘cause I might beat you!”

Xia Wei Ye: “……” Sob, sob.

“Quiet down, got it? Otherwise I will beat you!” After glaring at Xia Wei Ye and throwing out this threat, Shen Xi angrily picked up the curtain from the ground and packed it away into a bag. Her motions were abrupt and forceful and seemed to stir up a wind with them, leaving Xia Wei Ye staring at her in dumbfounded shock. She truly was not able to say a word.

Shen Xi just finished throwing her temper tantrum and then one second later, Lin Yu Tang arrived looking for her. When she arrived downstairs, her lips were still turned up in a pout, her face displaying that she was in a bad mood. The unpleasant dormitory atmosphere had never been of any importance to her before as she once thought that a noisy bickering always existed between girls. Likely because she now had something to compare to, she realized that the atmosphere in a dorm room could truly affect and be the number one killer of your good mood.

She looked up at Lin Yu Tang standing in front of her and noticed the dark circles under his eyes. For a moment, she was caught in a daze, not knowing whether she should call him Lin Yu Tang, Tang Tang, or Third. Here, in her true identity, facing Lin Yu Tang, her emotions were complicated and she also felt that she had been wronged. Plus, with Xia Wei Ye’s behaviour a moment ago acting as a trigger… She pressed her lips together, trying with all her might to suppress her emotions, which were approaching a breaking point.

If Lin Yu Tang asked her even one more question, she reckoned she would lose it. Sometimes, in front of the people we are extremely close to, we will unconsciously treat them like garbage cans that we can hurl, like trash, all our words of complaint into or stuffed toys that we can vent our grievances on.

“Xi Xi?” There was a quiver in Lin Yu Tang’s voice as well. Bending at the waist, he looked at her eyes, and carefully he opened his mouth to ask, “What’s wrong? Not in a very good mood?”

Lifting her head, Shen Xi allowed her gaze to meet Lin Yu Tang’s as she called his name. “Tang Tang…”

Tang Tang…

For the first time, Lin Yu Tang felt that the two words “Tang Tang” were so wonderful in the ears. Since he was young, he had always hated when people called him Tang Tang, because it sounded just like a girl’s name, Tang Tang Candy [Lin Yu Tang’s “Tang” is堂, but it sounds just like糖 “tang,” which means “candy”]. But of course, Shen Xi just had to especially like it. From “Big Brother Tang Tang” to just “Tang Tang,” to this day, she still addressed him like that.

Lin Yu Tang gazed at Shen Xi and gave a couple of foolish-sounding laughs. It was as if something he had lost was now found again, and a feeling of contentment because everything was now right rippled out, circle after circle, in his chest. The many days of gloominess and struggle dissipated instantaneously. He reached forward and, without saying a word, pulled Shen Xi directly into his arms, holding her tight.

So good!

Seven or eight in the evening was the time when there were the most people moving about downstairs of the girls’ dormitory building. The hug that Lin Yu Tang gave to Shen Xi caused the crowd of onlookers to immediately flock to them like bees. Without needing any instruction, everyone formed a circle around them, staring with gazes like little white bunnies, innocent and curious, at the two people who were embracing one another in the centre.

This was the scene He Zhi Zhou saw when he arrived, and actually, it was even more excessive than that—he even saw quite a few people applauding and complimenting them. He was tall, so even standing at a distance away, he could still see Shen Xi. She was tucked into Lin Yu Tang’s embrace, her long eyelashes fluttering lightly. Traces of fragility and sadness from being treated unfairly could be seen on her face.

Never before had he seen such a Shen Xi. Such a Shen Xi likely only ever appeared when she was with Lin Yu Tang. He Zhi Zhou jammed his hands into the pockets of his pants, the courage to walk over there suddenly gone.

“Xi Xi, my nightmare has finally ended…” Lin Yu Tang breathed by Shen Xi’s ear, his tone indescribably heavy.

A myriad of emotions filled Shen Xi’s heart. She reached out a hand and patted Lin Yu Tang’s back. In a voice that only the two of them could hear, she spoke. “Tang Tang, I don’t dare look up. You’ve drawn all the people over here.”

She was stating a serious problem.

Lin Yu Tang, though, chuckled. Taking her hand directly into his, he swiftly pulled her out of the crowd and left by circling around behind the dormitory. Holding her hand, he walked with her past streetlamp after streetlamp. An evening fog rolled in, causing the faint blue lights to become hazy, like there was a piece of gauze hanging in front of her eyes… Shen Xi was feeling already like she could not really see clearly.

It was nighttime, and here they were out for a stroll. Her calves had already been bitten twice by mosquitoes, and she bent over, scratching at them and feeling terribly miserable. It so happened that they were passing by the school supermarket, and Lin Yu Tang spoke up, saying, “Let’s go in to buy some fruit.”

When they stepped inside the supermarket, she went to the fruit section to select some while Lin Yu Tang went to the daily necessities section and picked up a bottle of mosquito repellant—the brand that she used since she was a kid. Then, before even paying, Lin Yu Tang opened the packaging on a bottle of hua lu shui [literally “floral water” (also called Florida Water); both a fragrance and a mosquito repellent], squatted down, and began applying some onto her calves.

“Tang Tang, I’ll do it myself.” Shen Xi felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Standing back up, Lin Yu Tang handed the bottle of hua lu shui to Shen Xi and then fixed his eyes on her. Shen Xi tugged on her hair, trying to shift the attention away from the awkwardness. “Is my new hairstyle nice?”

“It’s really ugly,” Lin Yu Tang replied. He lowered his head to help Shen Xi pick out some fruits, saying while he made his selections, “I’ve been putting up with it for a long time.”

Shen Xi played along with this intentional joke, giving him a little punch. Not only did Lin Yu Tang not retaliate, he was even smiling as he led her to the cashier and paid for the hua lu shui and fruit.

Shen Xi had not brought her wallet, so she had no choice but to use Lin Yu Tang’s money.

When they came out from the supermarket, she was walking on Lin Yu Tang’s left side, and she said to him, “Tang Tang, I’ll pay the money you spent at the supermarket back to you tomorrow.”

Lin Yu Tang halted his steps and looked at her with a gaze filled with shock and an inability to accept what had just happened. “What are you being so reserved and polite with me for?””

That’s true. Why so reserved and polite? She had never had qualms about spending Lin Yu Tang’s money before. When she was six years old, she had liked playing ring toss but had spent all her pocket money already. Lin Yu Tang gave his little piggybank to her and had not felt any anguish at all as he smashed it into the ground.

Crash! Coins had scattered all over the floor. Then, with the airs of a little rich tycoon, Lin Yu Tang had said to her, “Xi Xi, it’s all for you.”

That year, she saw a saying on the TV: “I am unable to repay the great kindness; thus in return, I shall pledge to marry you.” And she had felt that this sentence could not be any more apt in describing her and Tang Tang’s relationship.

Mini side story from the author

One day, God He told Xi Xi to study English. Eventually, the studying evolved to this stage: If Shen Xi wanted him to do something, she would have to express that request in English.

Shen Xi wanted God He to peel an orange for her to eat. She said in English, “Peel an orange for me. Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

He Zhi Zhou peeled one.

Shen Xi wanted God He to get a novel for her to read and, with some difficulty, was passably able to get her request across. He Zhi Zhou also reluctantly brought it over.

Halfway through finishing her orange, Shen Xi wanted to take the remainder and squeeze it to make orange juice, but she truly did not know how to say this one.

He Zhi Zhou was extremely merciless. “Think about it again.”

Shen Xi’s lip pouted out.

He Zhi Zhou turned away and was about to stand.

Shen Xi grabbed the corner of his shirt, saying very cutely, “I love you—does that work?”

Gah, only myself to blame! He Zhi Zhou turned around, swiftly took the remaining half an orange from Shen Xi, and squeezed it until it became a half a cup of juice.