If You Don’t Go To Hell, Who Will? - chapter 50
Time flies by, and in the blink of an eye, Zhong Yuan is about to graduate.
On that evening, One, Two, Three, and Four jointly invited the people in Zhong Yuan’s dormitory to have a meal, calling it a farewell dinner for these four troublemakers. In reality, it was only a farewell for Lu Zijian because he was going abroad. The others, Zhong Yuan and Passerby A, would stay in City B to work after graduation, while Passerby B had been admitted to the philosophy graduate program at the same university. Passerby B, the senior, was truly remarkable. It was said that during his interview, he discussed ‘The Book of Change’ with the professor, leaving the professor baffled. It was also said that his goal was to become a successful Feng Shui master, even if he couldn’t become a successful philosopher.
During that farewell dinner, everyone in Zhong Yuan’s dormitory had a bit too much to drink, including Lu Zijian, who was usually the most composed. He kept holding onto the fourth and repeatedly saying, “Wait for me when I come back.”
The fourth wiped her tears and replied, “Of course I’ll wait for you, but if you dare to provoke others, I’ll break your bones!”
Hearing their conversation, everyone sighed. In fact, if the fourth thought Lu Zijian would provoke others, she was overestimating him…
Among the four of them, Passerby A was probably the most intoxicated. His face was red, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He mumbled incoherently throughout the evening. When we left the restaurant, he couldn’t even stand on his own. Zhongyuan, who was also drunk that day, had a habit of smiling more when he was drunk, and his smiles always seemed a bit mischievous. However, he had a high alcohol tolerance, so even when he was drunk, he should still have some semblance of reason.
As we left the restaurant, Passerby B walked in front of us, swaying from side to side, waving his hands erratically, and shouting loudly, “Ahahaha, you all have wives, but nobody wants me. Philosophers are always lonely… I’ll live a reclusive life and transcend worldly affairs… What are you looking at?”
I and Little Second walked behind him, watching him act crazy with exasperation. As senior brothers and sisters often said, graduation can make people behave strangely, and it was indeed true.
At that moment, Passerby A, who was originally being supported by Zhong Yuan, suddenly pushed Zhong Yuan away and ran towards us in a wild manner. Before the three of us could react, he grabbed Little Second and passionately kissed her.
Although we had noticed some unresolved tension between Little Second and Passerby A, this grand scene happening before our eyes left me dumbfounded. I looked at the eldest, and she was also frozen.
Little Second was a bit short, and at that moment, being held by Passerby A, her feet were off the ground. She struggled to push Passerby A away, but he remained unfazed, continuing to kiss her passionately.
I stared in shock at the rather intense scene in front of me, and suddenly, a hand covered my eyes.
Zhong Yuan covered my eyes with one hand and placed the other on my shoulder, pulling me away. After walking a little while, he removed his hand and whispered in my ear, “What are you looking at? You’ve done it before.”
I blushed and lowered my head, feeling a bit worried. I asked, “Will little Second be okay…?”
Images of Little Second being lifted off her feet by Passerby A flashed through my mind, and it looked quite dangerous.
Zhong Yuan brushed my stray hair away and slid his fingers gently across my cheek. He smiled at me, his gaze somewhat mesmerizing. “Try it, and you’ll find out,” he said.
I was momentarily taken aback and asked, “Huh?”
But Zhong Yuan suddenly lowered his head, capturing my lips and kissing me passionately. He held the back of my head with one hand, and his other hand slid down to my waist, pulling me close. The taste of alcohol from his sudden kiss made me dizzy, and I leaned weakly against him, letting him do as he pleased.
Zhong Yuan suddenly straightened his back, and the arm wrapped around my waist began to tighten, lifting me upward. Soon, my feet couldn’t find any support…
With no support beneath my feet, I suddenly felt unsafe, so I instinctively wrapped my arms around Zhong Yuan’s neck, holding on tightly.
Zhong Yuan chuckled softly, continuing the kiss for a while longer.
After a while, he released me and lightly touched my lips, saying, “Still alive?”
My legs felt a bit weak, and I leaned against him, avoiding eye contact.
Zhong Yuan smiled contentedly, taking me for a stroll around the campus. He walked slowly, reminiscing about the places where we had shared memories. He spoke in a calm tone and kept smiling, but I suddenly felt a bit melancholic.
When Zhong Yuan walked me to the entrance of the dormitory building, he suddenly embraced me, burying his face in my neck and breathing heavily. After a while, he raised his head and whispered softly in my ear, “One more year.”
I buried my face in his embrace, puzzled. “What?”
Zhongyuan chuckled softly. “One more year, and we’ll be married.”
Well, this guy… Shouldn’t we be expressing something more like parting sorrow at this moment? As for marriage… Well, I admit, I’ve never seriously thought about getting married right after graduation. Isn’t marriage supposed to be the grave of love…?
At this moment, when I remained silent, Zhong Yuan suddenly said with a chilly tone, “Blockhead, you already promised me that we’d get married after graduation. If you dare to back out, hmph…”
Those “hmph” words successfully sent a shiver down my spine. I said, “Zhong Yuan, can you please stop scaring people all the time? >_<”
…
When we returned to the dormitory at night, One, Two, and Four were already there. I saw Little Second squatting in the corner of the balcony, with her back to the eldest and fourth. The oldest and fourth were surrounding her, seemingly interrogating her about something.
As soon as I entered the room, I heard Little Second saying, “Ugh, I’m really shy, okay?”
One, Three, and Four: -_-
I walked over and asked the eldest, “What’s going on with her?”
At this moment, the eldest had a pair of chopsticks in her hand. She knocked on Little Second’s head while grinning and said, “Come on, confess. When did you and Passerby A team up? All day long, it’s either you scolding him or you scolding him. Today, all of a sudden, we’re hit with some R-rated content. I can’t accept this…”
Little Second, squatting in the corner, looked like she was being wronged. “Pervert! Drunkard! Ruining my reputation!”
Fourth, without any politeness, she revealed, “Your reputation is already quite tarnished. Whether it gets ruined or not doesn’t matter.”
Eldest winked at me, so I patted Little Second’s shoulder and said with great regret, “Well… little second, about those explicit stories you wrote, did Passerby A…”
Little Second suddenly turned to look at me, looking very anxious. “Did he see them?”
Seeing Little Second getting flustered and her face turning red, One, Three, and Four burst into laughter. Eldest knocked her on the head and said with a mischievous smile, “You claim you don’t like him? You claim you don’t care about him? Then why are you so worried about whether he saw them or not?”
Fourth playfully pinched Little Second’s ear and said, “Just admit it; don’t force me to communicate with you using body language.”
Little Second turned her face away again, looking very coy. She grumbled, “Ugh, annoying! Don’t you know I’m quite modest?”
One, three, and four were thunderstruck once again. Imagine the lecherous star of Room 1111 claiming to be “shy” and “modest.” What a peculiar sight!
But Little Second was indeed an interesting character. One, three, and four got hooked on teasing her and continued to do so for quite a while before going to bed. However, just as I was falling asleep, Little Second stealthily climbed onto my bed like a ghost, insisting on getting a clear answer from me about whether Passerby A had seen her explicit stories.
With my eyes closed, I mumbled, “He’ll have a chance to see them in the future.”
Little Second immediately hugged me from behind the blanket, excitedly whispering, “Third Blockhead, I love you!”
I furrowed my brow and kicked her away.
A week later,Passerby A invited people from both dormitories for dinner in the name of being Little Second’s boyfriend.
…
Zhong Yuan quickly moved out of the university and into a nearby apartment, which his dad supposedly bought for him to use after getting married. That day, after a long day of work and organizing his new apartment, Zhong Yuan stood on the balcony, wrapped his arms around me from behind, and held me for a long time. Later, he whispered in my ear, “When we get married, this will be our home.”
That night, as I gazed at the sparkling city lights, my heart suddenly felt warm, almost bringing tears to my eyes.
…
Summer vacation arrived, and I found an internship at a pharmaceutical company, working from Monday to Friday. On weekends, I would help Zhong Yuan’s uncle’s child, a boy named Shi Jing, with his schoolwork. Life was fairly fulfilling, but the work at the pharmaceutical company didn’t exactly ignite my passion.
Shi Jing, Zhong Yuan’s uncle’s child, was a quiet boy. He was only nine years old and exceptionally smart, but not very talkative. He attended various summer courses from Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays, I helped him review his lessons, leaving us with some spare time. So, after reviewing the lessons, we would often play chess, draw, or watch cartoons. It was during these moments that his face truly showed the innocence, curiosity, and delight of a child. At such times, I couldn’t help but sigh, wondering if children these days had such uneventful childhoods. Back in my own childhood, I used to climb trees, explore rivers, play pool, engage in games, and attend school. Those were truly carefree times.
Days passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, the Qixi Festival arrived. Since Zhong Yuan and I both had to work on Qixi, our date was rather simple. Initially, we planned to go to the movies, but Zhong Yuan said there wouldn’t be a romantic atmosphere in the cinema, and he had recently bought a good-looking DVD. So, we decided to watch it at his place. (T/N :The Qixi Festival, a celebration that captures the enduring tie between lovers and the enduring optimism that love would always find a way, even against the odds, was created as a symbol of their commitment and is also known as the Chinese’s Valentine Day.)
The movie was American, telling a poignant love story of a complicated relationship. It was very touching, and by the end, tears were streaming down my face. However, the latter part of the movie, after the main characters reunited, became quite explicit, with some, um, well…
So, when I saw those spicier scenes on TV, I suddenly forgot about crying and felt a bit embarrassed as I secretly glanced at Zhong Yuan. Fortunately, all the lights in the room were turned off at this moment, and it was quite dark, so I guessed he couldn’t see how red my face had become.
As I looked at Zhong Yuan, I noticed that he wasn’t watching television at all. Instead, he had turned his head and was silently gazing at me. His two eyes were very bright, like black pearls in the night sky.
I became even more self-conscious, lowering my head and not daring to look at him or the TV.
However, Zhong Yuan suddenly tackled me onto the couch, and nearly half of his body weight pressed down on me. I felt extremely nervous and stammered, “Wh-what do you want to d-do…”
Zhong Yuan suddenly captured my lips and kissed them gently at first. However, as the kiss continued, it became more intense, and it seemed like he was losing control. He kissed deeply, occasionally nibbling and biting my lips and tongue. My lips and tongue were left sore and tingling, my breath was suppressed, and my head felt dizzy from a lack of oxygen. His weight on top of me made my limbs feel powerless.
Zhong Yuan released my lips and began kissing my neck and collarbone. His hot breath circled around my neck, and I felt like I had a grip on something yet couldn’t grasp anything clearly…
Suddenly, Zhong Yuan’s hand slipped under my clothes, and his hot palm began to caress my waist for a while. Then it continued its way up, reaching my chest.
I understood what he intended to do, and, gasping for breath, I tried to stop him. “Zhong Yuan…”
“Blockhead,” Zhong Yuan looked at me with fiery eyes, his breathing ragged, “I can’t wait any longer.”
