Part 9: Duel

While eating, Si Si is still upset that they didn’t come earlier. Otherwise, they might have been eating their meal at the table next to Xiao Nai. Er Xi knocks her out of it by saying, “Stop dreaming. The people with brother Xiao looked like professionals. They needed to discuss business; and definitely reserved a private room.”

On the side, Xiao Ling tries to hold in what she wants to say, but ends up saying, “I heard that it seems like brother Xiao’s company has run into some problems.”

“No way.”

Wei Wei and Er Xi also have looks of disbelief on them. To the underclassmen of the Computer Science Department, Xiao Nai exists on a spiritual level. How can there be problems?

“I heard from Da Zhong. Da Zhong has a basketball teammate who went to work for Xiao Nai’s company after graduating. The day before yesterday, he was eating lunch with Da Zhong and divulged a few things after drinking a lot. It seems like it’s a problem with investments. It happened in just these few days.”

Si Si says: “I still don’t really believe it. It’s Xiao Nai!”

Wei Wei, who is in the middle of biting into a chicken wing and can’t say anything, nods her head fiercely to express her agreement on what is just said. It’s Xiao Nai! If someone who is really tremendous and really formidable is know as an ox (牛 trans: awesome), then Xiao Nai has to be an rhinoceros (犀牛) ~~~ rhinoceros is a rare ox, a rarely seen ox…Can there also be things he can’t resolve?

Then again, thinking about Xiao Nai’s expression just now, underneath the light; he was still chatting and smiling before he became apathetic in the blink of an eye. Wei Wei isn’t very sure anymore.

Er Xi asks knowingly, “Is it a funding problem?”

“I don’t know.” Xiao Ling emphasizes, “I can’t guarantee the reliability of this, but even if this is false, you guys had better not talk about it to others.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.” Wei Wei nods and says, unclearly, with a chicken wing in her mouth, “Promise, won’t say anything. It’ll disappear like today’s chicken wings.” Read more

Part 7: LittleRain Clan

Thinking about this quest’s miserable experience, Wei Wei is a bit sympathetic towards him. But while she might be sympathetic, this person’s speech is, honestly, detestable. Whatever, let me slash him a couple more times first. In any case, this is done by the computer automatically; her hand will not be sore.

Thus, Wei Wei goes to steep tea and drink water. She chats a few lines with NaiHe, but it seems like NaiHe is also doing something else. His replies are not very fast. Wei Wei simply bows her head and starts working on problems.

After doing a page of reading, she lifts her head and sees that there are three more female players by the Celestial Mountains Snow Basins. Their IDs are LittleRainQingQing (LittleRainForeverYoung), LittleRainFeiFei (LittleRainSnowfall), LittleRainMianMian (ContinuousLittleRain.)

LittleRain clan?

Why are they here?

LittleRainQingQing is currently saying: “Hey, why are you ignoring us?”
Read more

Part 4: Eve of the wedding

Since the decision to get married is already made, then everyone is considered to be acquaintances.

Sigh, this sentence’s logic seems a bit weird…

Thus, during the following two days Wei Wei goes along with ASmileNaiHe and even joins ASmileNaiHe’s regular party. NaiHe’s party also consists of all masters. A couple of them have PKed with Wei Wei before, but she only knows them by their IDs anyway.

 

The first time Wei Wei meets up with them is like this.

MonkeyWine: “Hoho, new person.”

YuGongClimbsAMountain: “NaiHe, who is this girl?”

ASmileNaiHe: “My fiancee.”

He says it quite naturally. Wei Wei becomes speechless for a bit, and then types out a smiley face: “Hi, everyone ^_^”

MoZhaHim (Don’tHitHim): “Wow, third sister-in-law.”

YuGongClimbsAMountain: “Bull, the ten thousand year bachelor is also going to get married.”

Everyone starts talking at once, teasing them and congratulating them. Suddenly, someone says: “Third sister-in-law’s ID is a bit familiar.”

“Now that you say it, I also think so. Is third sister-in-law on the leaderboards?

Frank and outspoken, MonkeyWine says: “I remember now. Isn’t ReedWeiWei, RealWaterIsScentless’ ex-wife?”

The party immediately becomes quiet and the atmosphere became a bit odd. Just as Wei Wei is about to say that they are getting married because of the PK competition, she sees NaiHe, very flatly type out a line: “Mmm, your third sister-in-law actually married the wrong person before. Don’t discriminate against her, everyone.”

Wei Wei is choked by her potato chip.

Since then, Wei Wei is aware of one thing — when battling monsters or doing quests with brother NaiHe, never, ever, eat snacks or drink water. Otherwise, as soon as he says something astonishing, it’s either her being choked or the monitor being sprayed. Read more

Part 3: Receives a marriage proposal

Wei Wei has no way out of this dilemma. To run away and escape isn’t very heroine like. Standing there seems very much like a bandit. Thus, Wei Wei makes a quick-witted decision. She pulls up her clothes and sits down.

When characters sit down in “Dream Voyage in Rivers and Lakes,” they can rest, they can meditate to built up their inner powers, and another kind is like what Wei Wei is doing right now — sit down to set up a vendor stall for selling items.

When Wei Wei types out the stall name, “Medicine Convenience Store”, all the players around her cannot help but be speechless. Wei Wei quickly types out a ‘yell’: “Come and see, take a look, fresh out of the oven medicine made by a max level healer, selling it cheap at 20% off!”

Once this sentence comes out, all the players originally waiting to see the excitement, suddenly become fervent.

It must be a joke, there are no system bot run medicine stores that sell medicine made by max level healers, and only once in awhile can you get a drop from a monster. They are priceless valuables. Even though there are quite a few max level healers, they only serve their own guild. Very few ever bring out their own medicine to sell. Unexpectedly, there is cheap max level medicine being sold right now! The players on Vermillion Bird Bridge become excited and, immediately, rush up. In a blink of an eye, they drown out the heroine in red’s small figure.

 

The marriage sedan comes and the marriage sedan quickly leaves. For some reason, the marriage sedan that has been slowly proceeding the entire time, suddenly speeds up as it reaches Vermillion Bird Bridge. In a flash, it disappears at the other end of the bridge.

In the scramble for them, Wei Wei’s medicine is also sold out in a flash. Seeing there is no more excitement to see, the players scattered one after another. The lively Vermillion Bird Bridge that few people normally come to unless there is a wedding regains its loneliness.

Wei Wei closes her shop and stands up. She is just about to leave when she sees someone at the end of the bridge calling her.

“ReedWeiWei (HumbleReed).” Read more

Part 2: Wei Wei kidnaps the groom? ◎______◎

8:30 PM on the dot.

The heroine in red, with a sword on her back, stands majestically on Vermillion Bird Bridge in Chang’an City.

This is the spot that the marriage sedan must pass through during weddings.

 

Getting married in “Dream Voyage in Rivers and Lakes” can either be very luxurious or very plain and simple. At the time, when Wei Wei and RealWater got married, it was very plain and simple because they were poor. They just went to Yue Lao (God of marriage and love) and got notarized.  Plus, they got married in order to do a quest, so they didn’t really care about holding a celebration.

But today, RealWater and LittleRainYaoYao’s wedding scene is, undoubtedly, crazy luxurious.

There are hundreds of fireworks, gongs and drums to clear the way, eight person supported marriage sedan to parade through the streets, and an entire top notch restaurant booked for the wedding reception. It is said that everyone at the wedding reception will be sent a red envelope gift of 888 Gold.

In the game, there has already been continuous discussion about this wedding already. After all, LittleRainYaoYao has a reputation and RealWaterIsScentless isn’t a nameless character either. It is said even players from other servers were alerted about it. Some even created a new smurf (alternate, low-level) account to come and see the wedding.

 

On Vermillion Bird Bridge, the heroine in red continues to stand there without moving, her slim figure emitting an austere expression.

Read more

A Slight Smile is Very Charming
If I knew that, one day, I would love you this much, then I would have definitely fallen in love with you at first sight.

[Update] The series and movie “Love 020” released in 2016 were both based on this book.

I am happy to announce our next project, A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) by Gu Man (顾漫). It is a cute and upbeat love story. No angst. No waiting in despair. Just a story of two people who meet in an unconventional way and become a part of each other’s lives. What I love about this novel is that not only is the male lead handsome and smart, the female lead can also hold a candle to him in both beauty and brains. Together, they are quite a formidable pair, spicing up the lives of those around them.

The title of the book is actually a play on the name of the main female character, Wei Wei (微微). And the archaic meaning of Qing Chen (倾城) is

A drop-dead gorgeous woman; a beauty who could drive a man to distraction; a woman so beautiful, that he might be tempted to ignore his duties at court, and thus bring about the downfall of his empire. – Wordsense

In that sense, the name of this novel also can mean “It is Very Charming When Wei Wei Smiles” or “Wei Wei is Drop-Dead Gorgeous When She Smiles.”

While this story is much shorter than Li Chuan’s Past (by about half), it’s actually a bit more difficult to translate. However, I fully agree with this praise of the book: “A story that you read for a minute and will happy love it. A story that you read a hundred times and will still smile over it.” I can’t count how many times I’ve read the novel and listened to the audio books anymore. It’s brought a great deal of smile and laughter to me. So, please bear with us as we work our way through this project and share this lovely story with you.

[EXCERPT] Read more