WC ⋆ Chapter 48

by 🐳ᴍᴀᴍᴀ_ᴡʜᴀʟᴇʏ

# AMENDED TRANSLATION

January 8th, midnight.

This was the moment they had been bundled hand-in-hand and sent back to the past, and also the destination they had been bundled back to.

Their minds had already lived through a long stretch of time, all told adding up to over a week, yet their bodies had been paused at January 8th. That sense of disconnection was hard to get used to.

Half a month is more than enough to let a person develop bad habits. After Qi Lin and Jiang Yishen came back to their senses, they both bolted toward the cactus on the balcony at the same time, one of them knocking a hip against the corner of the table and the other slamming into the door frame along the way, both feeling like they ought to be able to walk straight through walls.

Sure enough, the cactus had shriveled into a small, limp lump, as though it hadn't been watered in two hundred years.

But what was surprising was that a flower bud had formed at the top of the cactus.

"What's going on?" Jiang Yishen said, then immediately shut his mouth. He didn't dare say anything reckless in front of the cactus now, afraid that this immortal plant might reroute them somewhere else entirely.

Qi Lin reached out and touched it. The spines were still hard, about the same texture as when he had touched it on September 12th.

"Should we water it first?" he said.

The cactus care manual had long since been tossed to the back of their minds. The two of them poured a little water into the pot based on experience alone, moistening the dry, cracked soil.

By the time they finished all that, it was already past midnight. They wandered around the apartment in a circle. The day before, Xing Yun had come over as a guest, and the tea leaves she had taken out of the cabinet to brew were still sitting on the table. Nothing had changed in the slightest.

The flowering vegetables in the fridge were still there. The yogurt was still unfinished. Familiarity was being called back bit by bit, and Qi Lin felt a grounded sense of calm.

They had been asleep in another time-space and then transmitted straight back to midnight in reality. Neither of them felt the least bit sleepy. They tossed and turned in bed for half an hour before both climbing out to find something to eat.

"Didn't think we'd have to deal with jet lag on top of everything else." Jiang Yishen was in a state of despair as he scrolled through his phone's delivery apps, picking through the handful of shops still open.

Qi Lin leaned over to look at his screen. It was all barbecue and more barbecue. The closest place was the shop outside the Small Gate where they had once eaten fried chicken strips together.

The delivery came quickly. When they opened the door, it turned out the Boss had walked it over himself. Seeing Qi Lin and Jiang Yishen, the Boss let out a surprised "oh" and asked why they hadn't just come to the shop.

Jiang Yishen said he didn't have the energy to walk over.

The Boss gave them a strange, meaningful look.

Full and satisfied, they collapsed on the sofa playing with their phones. God only knew how boring those few days without phones had been. They wandered aimlessly around the internet, where nothing new was happening, and when they got tired of that, they tilted their heads and closed their eyes to rest.

It was the first time Qi Lin had ever slept on the sofa, and it happened because he had dozed off playing on his phone. He was woken by the light, only to realize the curtains hadn't been drawn. The morning sun was pouring into the apartment, falling warmly across the sofa.

He had slept himself into a crick in his neck. Pressing a hand to it, he turned his head with difficulty and found that Jiang Yishen had been awake for a long time already, changed into a fresh, clean set of clothes.

"What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock." Seeing him awake, Jiang Yishen's eyes curved into a smile, and he cupped the back of Qi Lin's head and moved in to kiss him.

Qi Lin let out an "ow" and batted his hand away. "Crick in my neck, crick in my neck, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

Jiang Yishen covered his neck with a warm palm to help soothe it, and asked, "Do you want to go get breakfast?"

"Didn't we just eat before we went to sleep?" Qi Lin was stunned.

Maybe his tone was too offensive, because Jiang Yishen was practically beside himself trying to defend his case. "That was so many hours ago!"

He was genuinely hungry. Qi Lin was leaning against his chest and could actually hear his stomach growling, so they cleaned up, put on their down jackets, and headed out together.

They had wandered through spring, summer, and autumn, and now winter had arrived. The cold wind blowing was a bit hard to get used to.

The New Year was approaching. Quite a few stalls selling Spring Festival couplets and hanging money decorations had been set up along the street. Small red lanterns were strung around the trees. Looking out, the festive atmosphere was thick.

The mood of those days just before the New Year was one of happiness. Even the biggest matters could be put off until after the holiday. Not many people were out for breakfast at this hour, and a lot of the tables had been put away. The two of them ordered a steamer basket of buns, and Jiang Yishen carried his bowl around like a beggar searching everywhere for vinegar.

They had barely gotten through half the meal when Qi Lin got a WeChat call from Xu Baili. When he opened it, he found that Xu Baili had already sent him quite a few messages, but he had been busy with his head down eating buns and hadn't noticed at all.

The call connected, but Xu Baili didn't speak first.

Qi Lin checked the caller ID one more time, then asked tentatively, "Hello?"

A long breath came from the other end. "Scared me. I thought Jiang Yishen might pick up."

"Hmm?" Qi Lin paused. He couldn't quite remember what he had been doing on January 7th that would have given Xu Baili that impression. It felt like a very long time ago to him now.

"Never mind, never mind." Xu Baili sounded a little awkward and moved past it. "Anyway, want to grab a meal together tomorrow? Bring that guy's friend along too."

Qi Lin's heart gave a small lurch, and he started trying to figure out what the big occasion on January 9th was.

Xu Baili rarely took the initiative to organize a get-together. Whatever could make him speak up was almost never a small thing.

He covered the receiver and stretched his leg under the table to nudge Jiang Yishen's knee. "What's tomorrow?"

Jiang Yishen mumbled through a mouthful of bun, "Laba."

"Anything else?" Qi Lin said, exasperated, and kept nudging, moving from his knee to his thigh.

Jiang Yishen jolted at the nudging, nearly leaping out of his seat. His knee banged loudly against the table, and the bowl almost went flying.

"Also, that. Xu Baili's birthday." Jiang Yishen wiped the corner of his mouth and stared at Qi Lin in alarm.

Shit, how had he forgotten the birthday. The birthday present he'd gotten for Xu Baili was still sitting at the Cainiao Station uncollected!

Qi Lin immediately said into the receiver, "We're in. Let's eat. Invite everyone. What time tomorrow?"

There was a brief silence on the other end. Xu Baili said suspiciously, "You forgot, didn't you?"

"No I didn't." Qi Lin denied it outright. "How many people are you booking the table for? How many are you inviting?"

Xu Baili said, "This is a meal, not a brawl."

Qi Lin couldn't help letting out a small laugh. "This'll be the first time we've all eaten together since the two of us got back together."

"Better figure out how you're going to explain things to your friends first." Xu Baili was gleefully enjoying the situation. "What you two got up to on New Year's Eve has already gotten around."

The words "New Year's Eve" sounded like something from another lifetime, as if it had happened months ago. Back then, they had still been at the stage where they needed friends wedged between them to keep them apart.

The disorientation in his sense of time meant Qi Lin hadn't fully registered that, to this group of friends, the news of their getting back together was still a complete bombshell.

Not until they had settled on the time and place for the dinner, wrapped the gift, changed their outfits, and appeared in high spirits at the door of the private dining room, hearing the friends who had already arrived chatting inside, did they realize things were unfolding a little differently from what they had imagined.

"Is what you're saying for real?" one person asked. "Jiang-ge isn't that kind of person!"

Jiang Yishen's hand paused on the door, and he listened in puzzlement.

"Absolutely true! I saw it with my own eyes!" Another voice dropped to a low, excited pitch. "You haven't seen what Jiang-ge is like when he's drunk? One grab and he yanked the person right over! Held him down and wouldn't let him move! And then bam, just kissed him! Right there in front of everyone! In broad daylight!"

Qi Lin turned to look at Jiang Yishen, stunned.

Jiang Yishen was frantically waving his hands, and said under his breath, "Don't listen to his bullshit! You were the one who fell into my arms!"

"And it went like that! Did Xiao Qi not slap him when he sobered up?" someone said. "Was that a forced confession?"

"I'd say it was a forced confession! The two of them broke up so badly, if it weren't for a move like that, how would they have ever gotten a chance to talk again?"

This time it was Fan Zi's voice: "Don't talk behind people's backs. It wasn't that bad either. They broke up peacefully. It was mainly just rough going afterward."

"Rough going is an understatement. Jiang-ge was crying every day. Right when they had just broken up, wasn't Lao Liu throwing a project celebration dinner? He didn't dare invite either of them."

This person was a friend from Fan Zi's side. It looked like even more unspeakable secrets were about to come spilling out. Jiang Yishen was so scared his scalp went numb, and he immediately moved to burst in and shut everyone up.

Qi Lin grabbed him and physically blocked him in the doorway. "I want to hear this!"

"Jiang-ge cried too! I thought he only cried because he'd had too much to drink." This time it was one of Xu Baili's friends speaking. "Xiao Qi didn't even cry, he just lost a ton of weight. At Lao Liu's celebration dinner, none of us dared post on WeChat. We took turns calling Xiao Qi out to eat, and he just wouldn't eat."

Qi Lin had no more attention to spare for blocking Jiang Yishen. Using his positional advantage, he spun around and kicked the door open. It swung wide with a bang, and the two of them came tumbling in with great energy, scaring everyone inside half to death.

"Who's been talking about me behind my back!"

Several people huddled together, squeezing behind Fan Zi.

"Lu Fan!" Jiang Yishen shoved Qi Lin aside, jabbed a finger at Fan Zi, and strode forward. "So you're the one going around ruining my reputation!"

"What the hell, it wasn't me!" Fan Zi scrambled frantically, kicking the people hiding behind him out one by one. "They did it!"

Jiang Yishen grabbed someone by the ear. "One grab and he yanked the person right over! Held him down and wouldn't let him move! Is that right!"

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Xu Baili had just finished ordering from the front desk downstairs and came upstairs to find the private room in absolute chaos, with Jiang Yishen single-handedly beating up a crowd.

Qi Lin was leaning against the doorway, helpless.

"What's going on here?" Xu Baili was aghast.

"Don't mind them." Qi Lin pulled him aside. "I have a few things I want to ask you."

Xu Baili assumed it was about relationship matters and nodded in agreement.

"Are you close with the student council?"

Xu Baili made a questioning sound, then realized he was asking about something serious and straightened up. "You mean the graduate student council?"

"Undergraduate. The school council."

"Oh, not that close. I just know a bit about it. What's up?" Xu Baili asked.

Qi Lin glanced at the private room, then said, "He Jian from the external liaison department, do you know him? What's the relationship like between them and the rights and welfare department?"

"Huh? No particular relationship, I'd say." Xu Baili thought for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something and added, "Oh, the minister of the rights and welfare department used to be in the external liaison department. The student council usually has a changeover in September. Third-years move up to minister, fourth-years retire. He was the one who did the most work for several years running, and everyone assumed he'd be promoted to minister, but when the changeover came, it was He Jian who got the position. He got reassigned to the rights and welfare department. Even though it's still a minister-level position, I'd imagine he wasn't too happy about it internally."

Others might not have caught anything from that, but Qi Lin heard it and picked out something. He suspected that the rights and welfare minister had spent those years being used as someone else's weapon, working himself to death doing the real work every day, but had never actually entered the external liaison department's "inner circle," so of course they wouldn't keep him on as minister.

"Xu-ge is here!" Someone inside noticed them and called out.

Their conversation was cut short. Xu Baili patted Qi Lin on the shoulder and said quietly, "Let's talk more after we eat."

Qi Lin said "mm" and followed him back into the private room. Jiang Yishen had saved him a seat and called out to him from across the room, "Ba"

Qi Lin broke out in goosebumps at lightning speed, rushed over, and clamped a hand over his mouth, cutting off the second half of his word.

"We're in public," he said through gritted teeth into Jiang Yishen's ear.

—

# ISSUE LOG

|—|—|—|—|—|

| 他现在不敢在仙人球面前放肆说任何话，生怕被此仙周转送去其他什么地方。 | He didn't dare say anything reckless in front of the cactus now, afraid that this immortal plant might reroute them somewhere else entirely. | He didn't dare say anything reckless in front of the cactus now, afraid that this immortal plant might reroute them somewhere else entirely. | Mistranslation | "此仙" (this immortal/this celestial being) refers to the cactus as a supernatural entity. The original phrasing is more playful and treats the cactus as a mystical being. The translation captures this adequately. |

| 冰箱里开了花儿的菜心还在 | The flowering vegetables in the fridge were still there. | The flowering vegetables in the fridge were still there. | Acceptable | "开了花儿" literally means "bloomed flowers," referring to vegetables that have gone bad/bolted. Translation captures the meaning. |

| 在另一个时空刚睡醒就被传送回现实零点 | They had been asleep in another time-space and then transmitted straight back to midnight in reality. | They had been asleep in another time-space and then transmitted straight back to midnight in reality. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 这还得倒时差 | Didn't think we'd have to deal with jet lag on top of everything else. | Didn't think we'd have to deal with jet lag on top of everything else. | Acceptable | Translation captures the meaning of "倒时差" (dealing with time zone adjustment/jet lag). |

| 江亦深见他醒了，眼睛一弯，扣住戚林的脑袋就要亲他。 | Seeing him awake, Jiang Yishen's eyes curved into a smile, and he cupped the back of Qi Lin's head and moved in to kiss him. | Seeing him awake, Jiang Yishen's eyes curved into a smile, and he cupped the back of Qi Lin's head and moved in to kiss him. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 也许是他的语气过于冒犯，江亦深简直百口莫辩 | Maybe his tone was too offensive, because Jiang Yishen was practically beside himself trying to defend his case: | Maybe his tone was too offensive, because Jiang Yishen was practically beside himself trying to defend his case. | Punctuation | Changed colon to period for consistency with amended translation style. |

| 他是真的饿，戚林靠在他怀里都能听到他肚子叫 | He was genuinely hungry. Qi Lin was leaning against his chest and could actually hear his stomach growling | He was genuinely hungry. Qi Lin was leaning against his chest and could actually hear his stomach growling | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 逛了一遍春夏秋，如今到了冬天 | They had wandered through spring, summer, and autumn, and now winter had arrived. | They had wandered through spring, summer, and autumn, and now winter had arrived. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 时近年关，街上摆出了不少卖对联卖吊钱的摊子 | The New Year was approaching. Quite a few stalls selling Spring Festival couplets and hanging money decorations had been set up along the street. | The New Year was approaching. Quite a few stalls selling Spring Festival couplets and hanging money decorations had been set up along the street. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 树上缠了小红灯笼，一眼望过去年味儿很浓。 | Small red lanterns were strung around the trees. Looking out, the festive atmosphere was thick. | Small red lanterns were strung around the trees. Looking out, the festive atmosphere was thick. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 这个点吃早点的人不太多，桌子也撤了不少 | Not many people were out for breakfast at this hour, and a lot of the tables had been put away. | Not many people were out for breakfast at this hour, and a lot of the tables had been put away. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 江亦深端着碗像乞讨一样四处找醋。 | Jiang Yishen carried his bowl around like a beggar searching everywhere for vinegar. | Jiang Yishen carried his bowl around like a beggar searching everywhere for vinegar. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 饭才吃一半，戚林接到了许白礼的微信电话 | They had barely gotten through half the meal when Qi Lin got a WeChat call from Xu Baili. | They had barely gotten through half the meal when Qi Lin got a WeChat call from Xu Baili. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 打开来才发现许白礼已经给他发了不少信息 | When he opened it, he found that Xu Baili had already sent him quite a few messages | When he opened it, he found that Xu Baili had already sent him quite a few messages | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 只不过他在埋头啃包子，压根没有注意。 | but he had been busy with his head down eating buns and hadn't noticed at all. | but he had been busy with his head down eating buns and hadn't noticed at all. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 戚林愣了下，他有些不记得自己1月7日在干什么，会给许白礼这样的认知 | Qi Lin paused. He couldn't quite remember what he had been doing on January 7th that would have given Xu Baili that impression. | Qi Lin paused. He couldn't quite remember what he had been doing on January 7th that would have given Xu Baili that impression. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 没事儿，没事儿。许白礼有些尴尬，把话题揭过去 | Never mind, never mind. Xu Baili sounded a little awkward and moved past it. | Never mind, never mind. Xu Baili sounded a little awkward and moved past it. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 那个什么，明天一起吃个饭不？把那个谁他朋友也喊上。 | Anyway, want to grab a meal together tomorrow? Bring that guy's friend along too. | Anyway, want to grab a meal together tomorrow? Bring that guy's friend along too. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 戚林心里一颤悠，开始盘算1月9日是什么大日子。 | Qi Lin's heart gave a small lurch, and he started trying to figure out what the big occasion on January 9th was. | Qi Lin's heart gave a small lurch, and he started trying to figure out what the big occasion on January 9th was. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 许白礼很少主动攒局吃饭，能让他开口的基本没有小事。 | Xu Baili rarely took the initiative to organize a get-together. Whatever could make him speak up was almost never a small thing. | Xu Baili rarely took the initiative to organize a get-together. Whatever could make him speak up was almost never a small thing. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 他捂住听筒，在桌子底下伸长腿碰了下江亦深的膝盖 | He covered the receiver and stretched his leg under the table to nudge Jiang Yishen's knee. | He covered the receiver and stretched his leg under the table to nudge Jiang Yishen's knee. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 还有吗？戚林恨铁不成钢，蹭完膝盖蹭大腿。 | Anything else? Qi Lin said, exasperated, and kept nudging, moving from his knee to his thigh. | Anything else? Qi Lin said, exasperated, and kept nudging, moving from his knee to his thigh. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 江亦深被他蹭得一激灵，险些蹦起来，膝盖咣当一下撞在桌子上，碗差点被他撞得弹飞起来。 | Jiang Yishen jolted at the nudging, nearly leaping out of his seat. His knee banged loudly against the table, and the bowl almost went flying. | Jiang Yishen jolted at the nudging, nearly leaping out of his seat. His knee banged loudly against the table, and the bowl almost went flying. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 他给许白礼的生日礼物还在菜鸟驿站没有取！ | The birthday present he'd gotten for Xu Baili was still sitting at the Cainiao Station uncollected! | The birthday present he'd gotten for Xu Baili was still sitting at the Cainiao Station uncollected! | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 戚林当即对听筒说：吃啊，吃，都喊上，明天几点？ | Qi Lin immediately said into the receiver, "We're in. Let's eat. Invite everyone. What time tomorrow?" | Qi Lin immediately said into the receiver, "We're in. Let's eat. Invite everyone. What time tomorrow?" | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 对面有短暂的沉默，许白礼质疑道：你是不是给忘了？ | There was a brief silence on the other end. Xu Baili said suspiciously, "You forgot, didn't you?" | There was a brief silence on the other end. Xu Baili said suspiciously, "You forgot, didn't you?" | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 这还是我俩复合以后第一次跟你们一起吃饭。 | This'll be the first time we've all eaten together since the two of us got back together. | This'll be the first time we've all eaten together since the two of us got back together. | Acceptable | Translation is accurate. |

| 跨年两个

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