The Destruction of a Triad Boss Trilogy (一个黑道大哥的毁灭三部曲) – Wu Xiu Long Xiang (无袖拢香) : Part 1

Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year! For the rest of the Chinese New Year celebration, I will be bringing you translations of a story called, The Destruction of a Triad Boss Trilogy (一个黑道大哥的毁灭三部曲) by Wu Xiu Long Xiang (无袖拢香) (No Sleeves to Catch Fragrances). It’s a fairly short story (though the author has even shorter ones) so let’s get right to it. Read more

A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 17

Part 17: For My Wife to Play With

When people say that enemies often cross each other’s paths, this is probably what it’s like.

Wei Wei looks at those across from her; she can’t help but feel speechless about her and NaiHe’s opponents in their first battle of the points accumulation round.

 

The couples PK competition finally begins on Friday after much wait.  The first round is points accumulation competitions; it will take half a month and there are no audiences to watch the games.  The opponents are randomly picked by the system; the participating couple just needs to click on the NPC and they will be taken to a battling field.  They won’t know who their opponents are until they get there.

YuGong and the others send Wei Wei and NaiHe off as they click on the NPC to enter the field.  The moment they enter it, Wei Wei is dumbfound —-their opponents, standing on the other side of the field, are actually RealWaterIsScentless and LittleRainYaoYao (LittleRainEnchantress).

>o<

 

Participating players don’t begin their PK battles right away; the system sets up a 3-minute preparation time before the battle.  NaiHe glances at their opponents and says casually: “I’ll take care of LittleRainYaoYao.”

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A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 16

Part 16: Together with me

Wei Wei hastily replies to all of the inquiries from her friends. During this entire time, no message comes from NaiHe. Wei Wei moves the mouse to block the world channel and everything becomes tranquil in a split second.

On the computer screen is still the same blackness. Only the heroine in red’s body is faintly lit, barely making out her silhouette. Looking at the screen, Wei Wei slowly starts feeling a bit lonely.

It’s true that guilds in the game aren’t actually anything, but at least it is a type of memory. She had invested in it and had been happy because of it. She might not regret leaving so suddenly, but it’s hard to avoid the disappointment and frustration.

What’s more, she left in such a manner.

What’s more, the system bot has even shut her in a small black room by herself at this time >o<

Wei Wei isn’t someone who thinks too much about things, but facing such a quiet and dull screen, she gradually becomes a bit gloomy. She randomly clicks the mouse to make the heroine in red walk back and forth. After walking in a whole bunch of circles, she still can’t break out of it. Just as she is suffering from pent up frustration, there is a ding sound and a message pops up on screen.

 

Your husband, ASmileNaiHe, has passed the test of the last stage, “Yearning for Each Other Enchantment.” Congratulations, you have completed The Return of the Condor Heroes quest.

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A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 15

Part 15: Till we meet again in Rivers and Lakes

YuGong and MonkeyWine? It’s true, they were going to go kill a boss, but how can they snatch someone else’s boss? Wei Wei still has faith in them for something like this. It is probably a misunderstanding.

With this in mind, thinking to clear up the misunderstanding, Wei Wei calmly says: “Can you please provide more details on what happened?”

BattleTheWorld: “Reed, shouldn’t you give me an explanation? You are a part of our guild after all. Your team snatching a guild member’s boss cannot be explained away. Plus the items that the boss dropped were things the guild member needed urgently. I leave it to you to resolve this.”

 

The other party is persistently condemning her and still can’t clear it up after so long. Wei Wei doesn’t feel like asking him again, so she says: “Which guild member’s team was it? Tell me the name and I will go ask YuGong.”

After a pause, BattleTheWorld replies with four words: “LittleRainQingQing.”

Wei Wei: “……”

Extremely frustrated doesn’t even come close to describing Wei Wei’s current feelings. She looks at her friends list, StormGoddessNiNi (StormGoddessGirl) is online; she sends a message to her: “When did LittleRainQingQing join our guild?”

Wei Wei knows about LittleRainYaoYao (LittleRainEnchantress) joining Sound of Blue Ocean Tides Pavilion and wasn’t surprised about it. After marriage, it is common for the wife to join the guild of the husband or the husband to join the guild of the wife. But how come LittleRainQingQing also joined? When did the standards for joining Sound of Blue Ocean Tides Pavilion get so low?

StormGoddessNiNi quickly replies: “It was last week. WeiWei you didn’t know?”

Wei Wei: “I didn’t know. Who accepted her?”

StormGoddessNiNi: “The Guild Master. She was accepted because of her relation to RealWater and YaoYao. Oh, that’s right, you weren’t online when they joined the guild. The entire LittleRain clan has joined our guild.”

Wei Wei: “……”

StormGoddessNiNi: “I was wondering why you didn’t have a reaction to it. I was afraid to bring it up myself. *sigh*, actually LittleRainYaoYao isn’t that bad as a person, but that LittleRainQingQing is extremely annoying. She always acts coquettishly towards the men in the guild. It’s disgusting. WeiWei, I’ll tell you this in secret, I’ve seen LittleRainQingQing and Guild Master Battle (BattleTheWorld) alone together many times. They even rode on the same horse together…”


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Book Review: Waiting For A Person, Coffee (等一个人咖啡) – Giddens Ko (九把刀)

Waiting For A Person, Coffee

Title: Waiting For A Person, Coffee (等一个人咖啡)
Author: Giddens Ko (九把刀)
Published: January 2013

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A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 14

Part 14: Torturous Quest

When it comes to gossip, StormGoddessNiNi’s typing speed increases twofold; another message arrives right away: “They’re both in City B.  It’s such a coincidence.  Wei Wei, are you also there?”

Wei Wei: “Mm, I’m studying in City B.”

It’s not really much of a coincidence.  The server they’re on is called, “Imperial Storm,” and it’s normal for people from City B to all be on it.  Speaking of which, maybe the Great Master and YuGong and the others are also from City B……

Wei Wei falls into a daze.

StormGoddessNiNi: “I’m in City T, 555 (boohoohoo), otherwise I would meet up with you guys.  Oh right, I have a photo of RealWater and LittleRainYaoYao together.  RealWater is actually quite handsome.  I have their photo.  Wei Wei, do you want to see it?”

Wei Wei: “>o<, not interested”

Wei Wei is not the least bit curious in what RealWaterIsScentless looks like, otherwise, she would’ve asked for a photo a month or two ago before they “divorced.”  Another pair from the guild exchanged photos at the time, but they immediately separated after seeing how each other really looked like.  That was also when RealWater suggested trading photos; Wei Wei was caught by surprise and replied uneasily: “I don’t have a digital camera, so I don’t have any digital photos.”  Although it was true, it clearly sounded like a fake excuse to turn him down.

Wei Wei feels that regardless of what excuse is used, it doesn’t matter, as long as he understands that she has no interest in trading photos.  They are only acquaintances on the internet; they don’t know who they really are in real person, so they should be cautious of exchanging photos.  Furthermore, exchanging photos when they are a “married couple” in the game suggests a possible love relationship in real life, and Wei Wei doesn’t like this feeling at all.

But RealWaterIsScentless obviously didn’t think the same.  Thinking back now, that was when RealWater’s attitude changed. Read more

A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 13

Part 13: He isn’t me

The video player is set up to play the video on loop. While Wei Wei is still entranced, the player has already started playing it again, the lively flute music starts, the figure of the heroine in red dazzles on screen, and is just about to charge down the mountain on her horse in matchless grandeur.

Wei Wei quickly closes it. Now that she knows the ending, it is a bit depressing to watch the spoof in the beginning. She doesn’t have any desire to watch it again.

Wei Wei opens the minimized game and sends NaiHe a message: “I finished watching it. It was really good.”

After she insipidly types out these words, Wei Wei has nothing else to say. Actually, her mind is clearly filled with thoughts, but she doesn’t know how to verbalize them. Can she actually say that it almost drew her to tears?

That seems pretty foolish, sigh = =

Looking for something to say, she asks: “You changed the ending?”

 

Just as she sent the message, NaiHe’s name lights up and with great speed, his reply comes back. “Uh-huh, I changed it. Otherwise, the length would not have been long enough.”

“You’re back ^_^~~length? What length?”

Wei Wei is a bit puzzled. Is he talking about the length of the video? But from her recollection, there isn’t a length requirement.

NaiHe: “In the detailed rules and regulations for the competition, it says that, if the length of the video exceeds half an hour, the experience and other rewards will multiple if it wins.”

NaiHe: “Since we already made it, then we should take all that there is.”

Wei Wei feels silly. Indeed, she didn’t notice this rule, but….classmate Great Master, how are you so certain that we will win… Read more

A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 12

weiwei-lotus pondPart 12: White Robe Red Shadow

YuGong comes back on and says weakly: “I’m hurt.”

MoZhaHim (Don’tHitHim) despises him: “A guy like you can get hurt from falling on your butt?”

YuGong says angrily: “I’m hurt inside!  I’m talking about inside!”

Wei Wei: “>o<, you guys are roommates?”

Wei Wei has suspected that they know each other and live together in real life from their speech; they’re probably also fourth year students because she has seen them talking about graduation internship work.  But Wei Wei has never been interested in how other players in the game are in real life, so she never asks, but she blurts it out this time.

MonkeyWine: “We are in the same dorm.”

As expected!

Wei Wei looks at NaiHe subconsciously; so the Great Master is also a university student like herself?  Why does it feel surreal?  The Great Master should be…….

>_<

She can’t think of how he should really be……

 

YuGong says: “Third sister-in-law, NaiHe often doesn’t come home at night.  You should keep an eye on him.”

MoZhaHim: “He doesn’t come home in the morning either!”

Wei Wei is dumbstruck. Read more

A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 11

Part 11: Video

If it weren’t for StormGoddessNiNi’s (StormGoddessGirl’s) bombshell of a message, Wei Wei would simply think that she is standing at the end of time.

Of course, the so-called end of time is —- lights out in the dormitory >o<

 

StormGoddessNiNi: “WeiWei, send me the video. Send me the video.”

Wei Wei: “What video?”

StormGoddessNiNi: “The one of your husband beating up RealWater single-handedly, the video of the duel! Even though I bought a ticket to go see it, the audience wasn’t allowed to record it.”

Single-handedly beating up…Wei Wei is embarrassed by her description: “Our (family’s) NaiHe is very refined…”

As soon as she types out this sentence, Wei Wei becomes embarrassed by her own doing. Why did she add “our” in front of NaiHe?!!! How come she subconsciously typed out that word?

>o<, it must be due to the influence of YuGong and them. They often thrown in words like “Our (family’s) third sister-in-law”, “Your (family’s) NaiHe.” Wei Wei speechlessly deletes the sentence and types up a new sentence: “You actually bought an admissions ticket!”

Buying an admissions ticket to see a duel is one of the twisted features of “Dream Voyage in Rivers and Lakes.” After purchasing an admissions ticket and clicking on the bodyguard in front of the gates of the imperial palace, the player will be sent to the battlefield. Generally speaking, the higher the levels of the two opponents, the more expensive the admissions ticket. Of course, people don’t go and see every duel.

StormGoddessNiNi: “RealWater was defeated so badly, even if he did record it, he wouldn’t put it out. Your husband must have recorded it.”

Wei Wei: “…he didn’t record it.”

She doesn’t even have to ask this question. With her understanding of the Great Master, the Great Master would never record such an insignificant battle. Read more

A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) : Part 10

weiwei-summitPart 10: Sinister, too sinister

Du…Du…Duel?!

Wei Wei is so alarmed, her tongue nearly ties into a knot. After a long time she says: “Why would RealWater agree to duel?”

No matter how you look at it, RealWater isn’t that type of impetuous person.

In “Dream Voyage in Rivers and Lakes,” there are two types of official one vs one competitions. One is skill improvement interaction, commonly known as PK. The other type is dueling. It’s okay if you lose at a skill improvement interaction; you don’t lose experience or levels. Only your battle ranking will not be as good. A duel is different, every time you lose a duel, you drop a level. If you are at a low level, then it’s alright. You can get back the level you dropped very easily. If you are at a high level, like Wei Wei and RealWaterIsScentless, losing a level means half a month of your time was wasted.

Not to mention, RealWaterIsScentless is also someone who spends real money to play the game. His equipment and stuff are all top-notch. But to compete with the same top-notch equipment as Great Master NaiHe in a duel…

Basically means you’re seeking death!

Wei Wei has partnered with both of them before, so she understands their strengths very well. She can’t help but say that the disparity between their micromanagements is just too huge. Great Master NaiHe is a heavenly immortal and no longer on a human level, while RealWaterIsScentless at most almost on par with Wei Wei.

Therefore, Wei Wei highly suspects that perhaps RealWaterIsScentless is taking things too hard. Read more