17.2 - The Seventeenth Flavor Part 2

Translator: tarararawr

Since when did she start being like this?

The man began to think about this question. Was it the morning when he first talked to her about the paintings?

Did that hint scare her?

Maybe the little girl was really just practicing her sketching, but he understood it in that sort of way.

He might have seemed a little bit rash to her, like he was a vulgar uncle with ulterior motives.

Chen Zhuo laughed at himself in regret when he thought about these things. The words had already been spoken and he couldn’t take them back. He couldn’t even find an appropriate time to explain his words and apologize to her. He wanted to tell her not to worry about it.

But the more repressed he was about this feeling of being secretly in love, the easier it was for him to be consumed by his ego.

Every day Xian Bei thought “he must have discovered that he was probably embarrassed, but also he must be very upset to deal with me everyday because of business…..” and other similar thoughts in her brain that tormented her to madness.

The bad mood created a chain reaction. For two weeks, the plot of 《Qi Xie 1 》was letting its ego fly 2 . As a result, the message boards were in turmoil.

Her editor, Yuan Yuan, complained and shed tears on QQ: Madam! What the hell have you been doing lately? Are you obsessed with sucking milk tea until you’re drunk at the water pavilion 3 ?

——

One night, Xian Bei was looking at the screen and holding her stylus pen while mechanically moving around to color in some sketches.

Suddenly, two knocks came from the door.

Xian Bei turned her head around on alert. There was a glimmer of light in her eyes.

There was no one else outside the door. She heard Chen Zhuo’s voice. “It’s me. Are you asleep?”

Xian Bei instinctively shook her head to respond, despite the man not being able to see it at all.

She glanced at the computer screen. It was almost 10 o’clock……

He never came to see her so late……

Was there an emergency?

Xian Bei hurried to jump out of her chair, put on her slippers, and run to open the door.

She slowly pulled the door handle and thought that there would be a lot of light seeping in suddenly. Thus, she was squinting her eyes and her shoulders were hunched over——her usual defensive posture before coming into contact with the outside world.

However, the man’s tall figure was right in front of her. Xian Bei’s guarded actions were necessary. There was something more burning and eroding than the headlights in the living room, and that was the eyes of this man.

Xian Bei could feel those eyes clearly looking at her head. It was calm, but very powerful.

Wuuu 4 , her scalp was burning.

Tell me why you’re here!

What do you want with me?

Why aren’t you talking?

Let’s do it quickly, okay?

Xian Bei was so anxious that she could only use the corners of her eyes to stealthily look around and guess Chen Zhuo’s intention.

His hands: nothing.

His body: home clothes.

His feet: slippers.

So what does he want with her?

Just as she was about to silently shout in her heart, the man already opened his mouth and bluntly asked, “Can we talk for a minute?”

Talk about what?

Talk about the things from that time?

Did he see something? Did he come here to give her an explanation?

This!

No matter what she could not admit it! Xian Bei could only shake her head violently.

“Don’t you want to talk about it?” He asked again.

In this current situation, Xian Bei viewed any questions as coercion and pressure.

She could only nod and want to escape back into the room. Her fingers tightened into fists and her hands were sweaty.

Chen Zhuo still gave her time to think. “If I say something, you can nod or shake your head. Is that okay?”

Okay, it’s much easier that way. Xian Bei nodded to agree with this proposal.

“We live in the same place—”

Nod.

“I haven’t finished the sentence.”

“……” Oh….. .Nod.

“It’s impossible to be like total strangers, right?”

Nod.

“If you have any problems with me, then you can tell me directly. If it’s hard to say, then you can write it down. You can write a note for me just like before.”

Nod.

“Do you really have a problem with me?” A tone of surprise.

She shook her head. She fiercely shook like she was facing an enemy.

The man couldn’t help but laugh: “No?”

She nodded her head twice.

“Really no? Don’t be embarrassed.”

It’s still a positive attitude.

“Hey…..” The man above her head suddenly took a long breath. “It will be good if it can be said.”

Xian Bei was shocked. It was obvious that such a statement was like a heavy hammer hitting her body.

Xian Bei’s ears buzzed for a long before she recovered.

When she did, it was also when she realized that her eyes were filled with tears, her nose was sore, and her throat was more stuck than any other time in the past.

She couldn’t even do a simple action like open her mouth.

Xian Bei didn’t even try to rub her eyes because she was afraid that the man would discover that she was going to cry. She felt a sharp pain in her chest from the worry.

She couldn’t even look up at him, let alone have the right to let him hear her heart frantically and desperately shout “I like you”.

Crystal clear droplets were falling from Xian Bei’s lowered head.

She could only watch helplessly.

Sorry.

It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault. I’m so useless. Other people can show you a smile in their eyes, but I can only let you fall to the ground.

From the past to now, this was always the case. Always failing you. I’m sorry. I’m really so sorry.

Footnotes

奇邪 (qí xié) – Strange Evil. 放飞自我 (fàngfēizìwǒ) – internet term that means giving up or letting go to pursue a dream. 近水楼台先 (jìnshuǐlóutáixiān) – idiom meaning to use their proximity to a powerful person to gain benefits. 呜 (wū) – whimpering, crying sound