See You Again (Time Already Knows) - Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - She Didn't Have a Boyfriend, She had a Husband
Two hours had passed already.
Shi Jian took out a pink walkman phone from her red down jacket. The glowing blue screen revealed that it was already 11 at night. Yi Pei still had not come out from Jia Shi Platinum Club. Bored, she picked at the line of pink stars on the back of her phone with her finger, thinking that her previous taste was quite interesting.
This year’s winter seemed to be one of the coldest ever. She was only unsure if it snowed. At Jia Shi Platinum Club’s main entrance, Shi Jian jumped twice in front of the flowerbeds. Behind her were clusters of neatly trimmed shrubbery. Jia Shi Platinum Club was located beside Dongqi River, close to Ninth Street. At this time, the surrounding area was still very lively, flamboyant, and bodacious as usual. Night market stalls came here to do business, waiting at the distant junction across the street. Above the electric scooters hung four words flashing red: Wang Ji Sweet Potato.
In the era where brands were chaotic and bold, even when eating a sweet potato one must mention a brand.
Why not find something to do? Shi Jian spent five minutes buying two Wang Ji Baked Sweet Potatoes, not forgetting to aim her eyes at the Mercedes-Benz with the license plate 06 in the parking space to the left of the main door. The sweet potatoes, fresh out of the oven, warmed her hands. She felt a bit bored, not knowing how long she was going to have to wait tonight.
She lowered her head, took a bite of the sweet potato, raised her head - then swallowed the bite as fast as possible. She took out the folder in her bag, and rushed over without care for when Yi Pei would emerge. Not appearing when he should, just as she wanted to peacefully eat her sweet potato, he appeared.
A group of people wobbled out of the main entrance. Out of them, Yi Pei was the most stable. He was black haired, short and thin, with long eyes that made him look very young. He nodded at the group of people, then smoothed and buttoned his sleeves.
Then, he walked towards the black Mercedes; she walked towards him.
Yi Pei did not drink little wine tonight. His driver first drove his drunk uncle back to make a business trip, so he could only lean on the front of the car and wait for the driver. Even his jacket was given to his uncle. It's true that drinking warms up the body. Even the chilly wind that drifted into his collar didn't feel too cold. On the contrary, it was even soothing, blowing away the unpleasant air that he brought outside with him.
His uncle, Yi Lingdong from the Yi family, used to have the famous nickname, “Bachelor of Fighting Against Wine.” Now, drinking two glasses of Fenjiu1 had him paralyzed and vomiting all over his body.
He aged early.
“Mr.Yi.”
“President Yi.”
He heard someone calling him across the sound of the wind, by two titles. A woman’s voice, a bit anxious, with the ending pitch risen. He turned his head, slowly looking at the woman walking towards him.
The woman looked at him as if he was in tonight’s spotlight.
The headlights of the car in front turned on, shining directly at them. Yi Pei squinted his eyes. When the car moved away, the woman was already standing in front of him, bringing with her the fragrant scent of baked sweet potatoes lingering under his nose.
If this girl came to him to buy baked sweet potatoes, maybe he really was a sweet potato vendor.
Evidently not.
This woman was quite spirited and beautiful, with an elegant nose bridge, and clear lip line. She looked about twenty, still had baby fat on her cheeks, rounded with collagen like mantou2. Her eyes were very big, with black pupils clear and bright, like deep pools of water. Additionally, her back was straight, and her hands held a folder made of craft paper, almost like…… she was reporting her work.
“I am an intern at Yi Mao, my name is Shi Jian. President Yi, please excuse me for disturbing you.”
She really did come to report her work. At first it was Mr.Yi, now it was President Yi. Shi Jian, was it?
Yi Pei leaned against the car, and asked, “What is it?”
Shi Jian handed over the folder and, trying to be as concise as possible, said, "Yang Jiantao, the construction leader of Party B in the Gelan City Project, illegally subcontracted the project in Zone C. This is a copy of the subcontract agreement and some qualification documents of the undertaking team.”
Yi Pei did not take the documents, but instead asked for the identity of the person in front of him, “You are?” seemingly reminding her of something.
“Yi Mao’s new intern……” Shi Jian replied again. She had another identity that was a bit difficult to explain. Besides being an intern at Yi Mao, Yang Jiantao was also her uncle, so the reason she came was to be impartial3.
“This matter is related to the quality of the project, please look into this problem to resolve it.” Shi Jian said again in order to make it clear to Yi Pei. She changed her tone to one that sounded like a subordinate in a television drama that was upright and outspoken to their superiors, unafraid of death.
Yi Pei still hadn’t said anything. Shi Jian raised her head and took a glance, pondering, worried that she said the wrong thing. But only in this way could she ensure that the document was delivered to Yi Pei’s hands, without attracting notice.
Otherwise, who would be willing to wait in front of a club in the middle of a frigid winter night?
“Oh, I got it,” Yi Pei finally responded. He didn't drink little today, and even if he was not very drunk, the effect of the alcohol could be felt. He thought about the issue, and momentarily felt too lazy to determine whether the files were legitimate or not. It's just that tonight’s strangeness was quite interesting. This kind of issue was told to him by an intern, beyond their authority, and without fear of repercussion.
Really was…… capable.
The driver still hadn’t arrived. Yi Pei tossed the folder directly into the shotgun seat. As he closed the door, he suddenly rose, turned his head, and asked the girl behind him, “Can you drive?”
The answer was expected, yet also unexpected. “I can.”
“How good is your driving?” He continued to ask.
“It should be…… pretty good.” Shi Jian was not modest. She had six years of driving experience.
She really was capable, how old was she exactly? His guess that she was around twenty years old was a conservative estimate. Interesting new occurrences always made him feel cheerful, such as an inexplicable woman, inexplicable documents, and inexplicable driving.
Yi Pei sat in the shotgun seat of his car, and thought he himself was also quite inexplicable, actually letting this Ms.Shi drive his car for him. But - she was not modest. She moved the stick shift, glanced at the two side mirrors, looked at the area behind the car, and already skillfully reversed the car out of the parking spot.
Yi Pei couldn’t help glancing at the person in the driver’s seat again. Red down jacket, simple black ponytail. The young woman's hip style of clothing hid a mature and calm nature that seemed opposite of her age.
The car moved into the street, on both sides were quiet street lamps slowly backing away. Shi Jian turned her head and asked with a smile, “Mr.Yi, what is your destination?”
Yi Pei gave an address.
Shi Jian thought about it and asked, “Okay…… drive on Xinzhi Street?”
“Xinzhi Street leads to the cemetery,” Yi Pei calmly replied, tone sounding like she was joking with him.
Shi Jian pondered for a moment, then asked two more questions. “Going to the area near Tianyi Bridge? Tianyi Bridge hasn’t been torn down yet?”
Yi Pei didn’t answer anymore. He disliked answering obvious questions, such as if someone asked him if salt was salty.
Shi Jian felt a bit helpless, and could only say, “How about this? When we get to the intersection, you tell me to go right or left. I am not…… familiar with the directions.” It should be said that she wasn’t familiar with the present directions.
Yi Pei lazily looked ahead, feeling a bit tipsy, at the intersection coming up. He automatically said, “Left.”
“Yes, Mr.Yi.”
“Right.”
“Okay.”
“Go straight.”
“I know this place.”
Ahead was Tianyi Bridge, and across was the brightly lit East City. Newly built skyscrapers rose majestically over the riverbank, reflections on the water brightly rippled. Shi Jian asked Yi Pei for permission and rolled down the window, steadily stepped on the throttle, and sped across the bridge.
The river’s wind loudly rushed in.
Shi Jian felt a lot more happy, and Yi Pei also felt more awake.
Ahead was a DUI check. Cars were lined up awaiting inspection. Shi Jian slowly stepped on the brakes and stopped, looking a little unusual.
What to do, she forgot that she didn’t have a driver’s license at present.
Yi Pei could tell something was wrong. He glanced sideways and guessed correctly, “...…no driver’s license?”
“En……” How careless. Shi Jian glanced apologetically yet annoyedly at the situation outside, then rolled up the window.
She felt like she should explain something, but had no way of explaining.
Suddenly, in the quiet car, Yi Pei snorted. His mood was unclear.
Shi Jian put her left hand on the black leather steering wheel, rolled her eyes, and thought of two questions. If she abandoned Yi Pei right now, then Yi Pei would get a DUI.
So was a DUI better or driving without a license better?
Both answers…… were terrible.
“Which department are you interning in?” Yi Pei asked lightly to remind her of something, as if he could guess what she was thinking.
Shi Jian turned her head away from Yi Pei, pursed her lip, but could not retort this businessman.
The traffic cop had already moved to check the white Chevrolet in front of them, passing both checks. Shi Jian couldn’t help but ask the person sitting next to her, “President Yi……”
“We can discuss it in a bit,” Yi Pei replied.
But in a bit, the traffic cop would arrive.
Shi Jian chuckled, and awkwardly said, “To be honest, right now I am a bit anxious. I didn’t expect tonight to be so unfortunate. President Yi, I have implicated you.”
When she said it like that, Yi Pei finally had a bit of a reaction. The traffic cop came over and knocked on the window. Shi Jian hadn’t even turned her head, the young traffic cop grinned and greeted, “Oh...… it is Mr.Yi! What a coincidence! Haha, have a nice night.”
Have a nice night…… my ass!
By the time Shi Jian returned to Yi Mao’s intern dorms, it was nearly 2 in the morning. She drove Yi Pei to his apartment and had returned the car keys. Yi Pei naturally did not ask her how she would get home. She came out of the subway bundled in her down jacket. Her phone did not have a taxi calling app, so she walked two or three blocks before she could flag down a passing taxi.
The dormitory was quiet. Shi Jian silently shut the door, not wanting to wake up Lai Qiao. She crept inside, but before she could take two steps, the door to the bathroom was suddenly pushed open by a dainty hand. A girl walked out with her hair loose.
Not surprisingly, two screams could be heard, one after the other. Shi Jian and Lai Qiao hugged each other, both having been startled.
Lai Qiao was going to the bathroom at night, not expecting to bump into Shi Jian coming in, and said angrily, “Shi Jian, you scared me to death.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Shi Jian apologized, quickly turning on the lights. Her roommate Lai Qiao wore lavender floral autumnal clothing. Her hair was messy, and she was glaring at her with half open eyes.
Hehe.
She warmed a cup of milk for Lai Qiao, and handed it over with a gentle smile.
Lai Qiao was finally satisfied drinking her milk, but did not forget to ask, “Why did you come back so late? Is it……” Midway through the sentence, Lai Qiao had no more intention to go back to sleep. Eyes crusty, she prodded, “Did you go out to see your boyfriend?”
Boyfriend?
Shi Jian rubbed her chin and sighed, “Not my boyfriend.” Tonight, she had gone to see Yi Pei, but this matter cannot be told to Lai Qiao, who had a big mouth.
“Oh…… not your boyfriend.” Lai Qiao understood this sentence’s flaw in logic, and said, “Shi Jian, you really have a boyfriend?” Wouldn’t she answer something along the lines of “Your mom doesn’t have a boyfriend,” if she didn't have a boyfriend?
“Yes?” Shi Jian thought about this question for a moment, pretending to be mysterious.
Because she didn't have a boyfriend, she had a husband.
Author’s Note:
Hello, lovely friends, Da Zhu returns. The most fortunate thing is to reunite with everyone in a new way ~~ so, are you all still there?
Regarding <<See You Again>>, Da Zhu will not give too many explanations or remarks, cough cough, it is a what you read is what it is kind of novel. = =
TN: I won’t bother translating the author’s notes unless it is something related to the story.
Thankyou so much for the translation!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for requesting it!
DeleteYayy thanks u for thr chapter! It sounds good already:)
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DeleteThank so much!!
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DeleteHello, the narrator should only narrate in past tense, only if it's a character speaking can you use present tense. Please change them to past tense :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me! When I first started translating I was unsure which tense to use so it just kinda… blended together.. But I've gone and edited the first few chapters in accordance now!
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