Li Chuan’s Past (沥川往事) : Special Appearance

friedbananaicecream

Special Appearance in “Jie Ai”

Pi Pi got a phone call after work.  It was from a neighbour who she hadn’t seen for a long time asking her if she could help take care of their cat while they are out of the country for two months.  It was the same subway station as He Lan Jing Ting took to get to their place; only that one would go East and one would go West.

The neighbour, Miss Xie, was very close with Pi Pi’s grandma.  Grandma called her Xiao Qiu, and Pi Pi followed suit and called her that as well.  The Xie family was also on the list of people whom Grandma would send her homemade bean paste to.  Later, Xiao Qiu moved to a high-end residential area after getting married; she even invited Pi Pi’s whole family to visit and have fun at her place.  Every New Year or special holiday, as long as they stayed in the city, Grandma would make them bean paste and call them over to get it.  When the cherries that they planted become ripe, they would also send some over to Pi Pi’s family.  But it had been almost two years since they last contacted each other.  Nonetheless, Pi Pi’s grandma liked them very much; she often mentioned them while chatting, so it felt like they were always around.

There was one main reason why grandma liked Xiao Qiu so much.  Before Pi Pi took her college entrance exam, Xiao Qiu tutored her in English for a while.  She became too busy, so the last two sessions were completed by her husband.  Just from their two months’ worth of lessons, Pi Pi got an unexpectedly high score in English, putting her third place in the entire grade.  Without it, she would have not made the score for even the lowest college entrance requirement.  Xiao Qiu’s husband was Mr. Wang.  He could be considered the most handsome man Pi Pi had ever met to date.  He was the kind that Chinese women liked; he wasn’t about the latest styles or casual with his romances, but was calm and dependable with a tint of innocence; he was noble and reserved, but was also friendly and gentle.  He had a face of a model; no matter women of young or old, they would blush from seeing him.  Pi Pi was no different.  The two times that Mr. Wang came to teach her English, she was in a daze the whole time and didn’t hear a thing.  Jia Lin later asked how it went, and her face couldn’t help but turn red.

It had been a few years now, so Pi Pi’s impression of Mr. Wang had become blurry.  She could only remember him being handsome and that his leg was not well, so he limped as he walked.  He also got sick often.  Every time Pi Pi visited Xiao Qiu’s home, Xiao Qiu was always the one busy with house chores.  He would sit and watch and didn’t talk much, but he was very friendly.  If they chat too long and it was late, he would insist on driving her family home.

From afar, Xiao Qiu’s white house on the hill was very eye-catching and easy to spot.  In order to save some taxi money, Pi Pi walked up the hill in the cold wind; her hands were numb from the cold when she arrived at the door.

The door finally opened after many rings.  It was Mr. Wang holding a cane.  He was probably in the middle of washing dishes as he was wearing a waterproof apron over his shirt.
“Hi, Pi Pi,” he said in a bit of a surprise, “hurry and come in, it’s cold outside.”

A warm breeze came from inside the house.  Pi Pi took off her coat, and Mr. Wang helped her hang it, “It’s snowing so hard outside, how come you came alone?  Didn’t your grandma tell you that I would drive over and drop Mia off at your place?”
“Oh?  She didn’t say.  My grandma’s ears are not good, so she probably didn’t hear you clearly.”
“I’m sorry, I’m giving the babies a bath right now.  Please have a seat and wait.”
“Do you need my help, Mr. Wang?” Pi Pi followed seeing that it wasn’t easy for him to move around.
“Don’t worry, Xiao Qiu is here.  Oh right, did you come visit when Xiao Qiu was pregnant?”
“No.”

Mr. Wang smiled politely, “Come and take a look at my babies.”

She could hear the sound of the babies babbling.  Pi Pi looked towards the bathroom, but realized that the sound was coming from the kitchen.  There were two sinks in the kitchen, and a baby girl sat in one of each while having fun playing with water.  The babies were smiling like angels.  They had to be twins as they looked exactly like each other.

Mr. Wang pointed to the one on the left, “That is An An,” and then he pointed to the one on the right, “That is Ning Ning.”

Xiao Qiu chuckled, “Wrong, you’ve got it reversed.”
“I can’t be wrong, unless you switched them.”
“I didn’t switch them.  You have been calling them the wrong names since the start, I was just too lazy to correct you.”

Mr. Wang smiled and didn’t talk back.  He said to Pi Pi, “Well then, that’s Ning Ning, and that’s An An.”  He then lifted one of the babies out of the water, wrapped her with a towel, and held her in his arms.  After wiping her dry, he patted her bottom with baby powder like he had done it many times.  Just as he was about to put on her diapers, he pointed to a bruised area on the baby’s bottom, “Look, I was right.  This is An An!”
Xiao Qiu lowered her head and looked closely, “Okay, you’re right.”
Mr. Wang was very satisfied and helped the baby put on some clothes.

Xiao Qiu lifted the other baby out of the sink and said while helping the baby put on some clothes, “Pi Pi, you came at the right time.  We made a plate of FBI.  You’ll love it.”
“FBI?”
“That is Fried Banana Ice-cream.  We just fried it, so it’s better to eat it while it’s hot.  What flavor of ice-cream do you like?  I have vanilla, strawberry, mango, green tea, and chocolate.”
“Mango.”
“Have a seat first, I’ll go make it.”  Xiao Qiu was putting the baby into the baby seat when Mr. Wang said, “You don’t know how to make it, let me.”

In the end, both of them went to the kitchen counter; one of them fetched the ice-cream, and the other fetched the fried bananas.  Pi Pi was facing the babies in their baby seats and didn’t know what to do.  Ning Ning and An An were rather quiet; they were each holding a bottle, concentrating on drinking their milk.  It suddenly reminded Pi Pi of something.  When she went to Xiao Qiu’s place for English lessons, the couple would work busily at the kitchen counter during dinner time.  They worked closely like a volleyball team.  One time, they were even cutting the same cucumber.  They talked softly while cutting and leaned against each other.  Their intimacy would make others envy, yet they never cared about letting others see them like this.  Pi Pi’s mom said that Mr. Wang was a Swiss and influenced by western culture, so he pampered his woman a lot, therefore, she couldn’t bear watching.

Pi Pi on the other hand, felt that Xiao Qiu’s family was no more different than other normal families.  The couple was loving, and wasn’t that how things should be?  Of course, every time she thought about love and marriage, Jia Lin would immediately flow into her mind, as well as the image of Jia Lin and her picking cucumbers.  That kind of happiness could only be given by Jia Lin.  From she was little till now, she had never thought of picking cucumbers with someone other than Jia Lin.

After she finished eating ice-cream, Pi Pi did not want to stay, so Mr. Wang insisted on driving her home.  The roads were slippery, so Mr. Wang was very careful in driving.  They chatted a little and Pi Pi told him that she was still studying English and even registered for TOEFL classes.  Mr. Wang asked, “Pi Pi, are you planning to study abroad?”
“Not me, my boyfriend is.  He has applied for scholarship at a college in America.”
“What is your boyfriend studying?”
“Economics.”
“That’s not easy to get in.  There’s a lot of competition in the program.”
“Yeah, but he has very good academic standings, so he has great chances.”

Mr. Wang thought for a moment and said, “What about you?  What do you plan on studying abroad?”
Pi Pi said depressingly, “I don’t want to study abroad at all.  I don’t like English, and I haven’t been studying it well in university, so it’s especially hard for me to pick it up again.”
“Actually, if you are studying at an average college, their criteria for accepting students aren’t as tough.”
“Hm, I’m thinking, if I really don’t get accepted, I’ll just wait for him here.  It’ll only be four or five years for him to finish studying his Ph.D.  I can wait.”

It was Pi Pi’s worst case scenario regarding Jia Lin studying abroad.  She even felt that if Jia Lin could bring her along, she could suspend her studies and find a job first; she would make some money and brush up on her English at the same time.  Or she could get married and have kids first; after their kids grow up, she could then go back to school and work at the same time.  Pi Pi was quite ambitious about work, but when it came to Jia Lin, she was unable to reach all the minimum goals and all her courage would be gone.  As long as she could be together with Jia Lin, she would be satisfied with anything.  Besides, her mom and grandma were both housewives, so Pi Pi didn’t think there was anything bad about being a housewife.  She also heard that it was common in other countries too.

The car drove down the hill and into the city.  Mr. Wang kept silent, but suddenly said to her, “Pi Pi, I have some connections abroad.  If your boyfriend or you have any troubles applying for college, I’m willing to provide financial aid to you guys.”

Pi Pi’s heart pounded non-stop, “Mr. Wang, do you think that I can apply with my level of English?”
“Aren’t you taking TOEFL classes?  From what I know, our domestic TOEFL classes are very good.”
“Mm, I memorize vocabularies every day, and I’ve secretly applied for the TOEFL exam in June.  I don’t dare to tell Jia Lin because I’m afraid that he will laugh at me.”
“How about this, if your boyfriend has any problems with applying abroad, you give me a call.  As for you, I’ll help you apply after you finish your TOEFL exam.  I guarantee that you’ll be able to study abroad.  My dad used to be a college professor, so he has quite a few friends working at colleges.  I can at least help you with this.”
“Mr. Wang——Thank you!” Pi Pi almost burst into tears.

The car arrived, Mr. Wang opened the door, fetched his cat from the backseat, walked her to the front entrance, and handed her his card and said, “If you guys love each other very much, don’t wait in sadness.  You should use your best effort to try to be together.  Waiting for someone is a painful task.  Life is also full of changes and requires both sides to overcome the challenges, do you understand?”

Pi Pi accepted his card, looked at him in silence, and nodded her head firmly.

31 thoughts on “Li Chuan’s Past (沥川往事) : Special Appearance

  1. So happy to know that the story ends with a happy ending. To LilZah and tofudessert, thank you so much for translating the book from the start to the end, I know it’s time consuming and it’s not easy, your work is greatly appreciated 😀

  2. Thank you so much for all the effort and work you guys have put into this…I really loved it!!! Thank you a bunch…

    I will definitely keep coming back for more…thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!

  3. I feel so happy they got their happy endings but I feel sad it’s already at the end! I’m going to miss reading these updates…I almost feel like these sweet side stories are almost worth the characters’ pain they sustained for, what, 10 years? Not saying I wouldn’t reread it ;p. Thank you for your hard work!!

  4. Thank you for translating this novel, your translations are all really accurate so I really enjoyed it a lot! Though the ending of the book was abit bland for me but im glad that it was a happy one! The love between LiChuan and XiaoQiu was too heartbreaking so I was glad that the author included a happy ending together with the many side stories of their life after reuniting with each other:)
    May I know where did you find the ebook together with the side stories online or the download link? The one I downloaded wasnt complete…

  5. All your hard work is much appreciated. These special chapters ( and certainly previous chapters too) had some challenging medical terminology. I admire how easy the translation was to understand. I am sad their story is over although I will not miss the angst of their too long separation!

  6. Thank you so much for translating this this was such a touching story. I’m so happy they got a happy ending.

  7. What a roller coaster ride of emotions…..so glad that LC got his bone marrow transplant and came back to find XQ…….it was so good to read the four chapters of side story……I wish these couple well tho I just couldnt resist the thought of there being a pair of boy and girl twins, a tiny replica of LC would have melted our hearts…..:)

    Hoping to see you do another book worthy translation similar to this as it was done well! Thanks for the hours of enjoyment we have derived from LC and XQ who fought so hard against cancer and made it….indeed life is transcient

  8. Thank you for translating such a beautiful novel. At first when i reached chapters 25 onwards i would cry or get frustrated about their relationship at chapter 51 my heart couldn’t handle it and i had to take a break for two days before i could continue the last part but it was worth the read.the side stories were the best treat they deserved to have a happy ending.

  9. Thank you so much. While reading halfway my heart cant stand whether they will have a happy ending and went to look at the final chapter. So happy they have a happy ending.

  10. Thank you so much, I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t comment before as I read through in a couple of days and was too busy reading and crying to thinking of words to write down, was also too engrossed to comment.. Thanks for your time spent translating. Looking forward to more from you in the future..thanks..

  11. Woahhh finally i finish reading this novel! I love it so much, i kept on thinking godfrey gao is li chuan 🙂
    The side stories are really sweet, and i like how it ends. I hope the drama will be the same with the novel, the story is already sad so no need to put extra drama to the storyline.

    Thank you for your hardwork translating this novel, i really enjoy it! 🙂

  12. I’ve stayed up for two nights to finish reading this whole story, because I couldn’t put it down. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster ride. Thank you very much for translating this beautiful story c:

  13. LilZah…
    You are a sweetheart. Thanks for this wonderful work. But seriously what have you done? I am head over heels for LiChaun… Lol.. I need time to get out of his charm. Read it without sleep, now let me get some sleep..

  14. I haven’t read the book yet but I did read the summary and I heard that Li Chuan gets an illness of some sort and thus forces himself to leave Xiao Qiu. Since I probably won’t be reading this book (all consuming study) can you *spoil please** on what illness Li Chuan gets and the details of their separation?
    And I would have put this comment on the intro page…but I didn’t want there to be a conflict between spoiling things for newcomers who probably wouldn’t have wanted spoilers~
    ~Thanks

  15. It is rare chance for me to read such a heartbreak but sweet novel even end up happily, finally. Anyway, thank you to the author and Lil’Bliss’s translate for leadind me through this touched novel.

  16. Thank you very much LilZah and tofudessert for taking time translate the book🌼🌺🌷! I greatly appreciate your hard work!

  17. Thank you so much LilZah and tofudessert for translating this novel. It was a definitely a roller coaster ride for my emotions! Li Chuan was a very stubborn and frustrating character but he really did love XQ. I can understand his reasonings for not dragging a 17 year old down but if he presented the truth and let her decide, life would’ve been so much easier. If I was XQ, I’m sure the thought of not knowing why he left was what was keeping her love strong. People always yearn for the unknown. If he udidn’t constantly pull her back and letting go, XQ would’ve moved on. The author’s balloon analogy of describing Li Chuan totally hit the spot for me. The more you try to pull him back, he floats higher and further away. Honestly, I found his suiscide attempt, the most selfish thing he could’ve done for XQ. How in the world would she feel knowing he died in her hometown. Crazy guy! Thank Again LilZah and tofudessert!

  18. Thank you soo, so much LilZah and Tofudessert. You spent so much time just to make us non-Mandarin speakers happy. A million thanks. This story is of the best! I so love it!

  19. Finally Li Chuan understands what he did was stupid. He should have tried to be together with xiao qiu from the very beginning and save both of them so many heartaches!!!

  20. I watch the drama and cry and cry. Why didn’t the director did that to our lead in the drama. I saw a little bit of season 2 and it not worthy. Why change lead for. My lichuang and my Annie xiaoqiu. Godfrey and jiao junyan forever never forget. That why I hate Chinese drama when they have a season 2 they changed the lead.

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