Hard to Escape - Chapter 12.1

My injuries weren’t really that bad, but I didn’t want to cause further alarm to my classmates so I just claimed that I had tripped and fallen. Although my injuries had just about healed, sadly Yin Li did not permit me to participate in any activity that was even a little strenuous.

During our class’s volleyball tournament, I could only cheer from the sidelines. Under the blazing sunlight, I eventually grew bored and went off to wander around on my own.

I had only walked halfway through our campus’s flowering wisteria archway before I felt that something was off. Someone was following me. Discovering this, I felt a lingering fear. Because H University was an open campus, all sorts of people mixed in with the students, coming and going as they pleased. Though I was frightened, I maintained an outwards appearance of calm and smoothly strolled down the path, keeping my original pace. I headed towards the library, where there would be more people. The person behind me kept at a steady distance and didn’t make a move. When the amount of people around us finally increased, I dropped my pretenses and ran into the crowd.

The person behind me also ran out of their patience and chased after me, yelling, “Miss! Wait! Wait! Miss please wait! WAIT!1 I’m a good guy! I’m a good guy! Don’t run!” Unexpectedly, his Chinese had a bit of a Westerner’s accent. Out of curiosity, I turned my head around. To my surprise, a foreigner with a big, bushy beard was currently gasping for breath as he ran after me.

1 This “wait” was spoken in English, not Chinese.

Then when he saw my face, he said in surprise, “My god! It’s exactly the same!” Subsequently he continued to shout after me in a louder voice, pleading, “I have something really important to discuss with you! Miss! Stop! Don’t run!”

By then I had arrived at a densely populated area, and my fear of him also disappeared. Thus, I actually stopped running this time. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I looked at him suspiciously.

The foreigner smiled as he came up to me and stretched out his arm to offer a handshake. “I’m Frank. Miss, please excuse my boldness, but you really do resemble my idol!”

I snorted. “Bro, this kind of pick-up line is already old.”

The so-called Frank smiled. “No, Miss! Hear me out! I never had the slightest intention of hitting on you! It’s true! You truly do look exactly like my idol! Practically identical!”

“You foreigners also look practically identical to me. It’s the common problem of being face-blind to other races. You probably think all Asians look the same, that’s all.”

But he actually defended himself, “No, miss, it’s true! At the moment I don’t have a photo of her on me! But! If you could just let me see your ankle… And if you could let me touch it that’d be even better!”

I was currently wearing jeans. This foreigner son of a bitch wanted to see my ankle, and on top of that, feel it up?! Wasn’t he clearly taking liberties with me?! At this thought, the swells of the Chinese national anthem2 burst in my heart as I had a sudden desire to vanquish Imperialism. Yet the foreigner continuously inched closer with crazed eyes, seemingly wanting to get a glimpse of my ankle. In a moment of desperation, I drove my foot into the crotch of his pants.

2 Yan Xiao actually directly refers to the song 义勇军进行曲, “The March of the Volunteer Army”, aka the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China. Here’s a youtube link for the curious…

“Goddamned pervert, see how you like that, huh!?”

He made a sound of acknowledgement, seeming not to mind the pain. Rather, he stared at me as if he had encountered something unbelievable, muttering, “It seems that you really aren’t her. She would never do something so crass, or conduct herself in such a vulgar manner. Ai, seems like she really did die. Nothing in the world can replace my star of hope. She has already fallen.” Then he plopped onto the ground and, disregarding appearances, burst into tears.

I couldn’t make heads or tails of this foreigner and thought that it was best to keep my distance. Reflexively, I cursed at him in French, spitting out a “bâtard fou“3 as I ran off. By evening, I had already tossed this matter into the back of my mind.

3 bâtard fou means “crazy bastard”, thanks Google Translate.

Tonight, Yin Li had a private gathering to attend. Because of his car accident, many people with various motives paid a visit. And this was also the first time Yin Li had taken the initiative to include me in his circle.

However, my mood wasn’t very good because the amount of women fawning over him was overly excessive. But what was really upsetting was that I unexpectedly saw the woman who had blown a kiss at Yin Li from her Porsche that day at the hospital. Like always, she was wearing a red dress. This time it had a deep v-neck, revealing the sexy line of her cleavage. Her eyes glittered and her figure looked well-maintained. It was obvious that she had great confidence in her body.

When I drew closer, I saw her face more clearly and begrudgingly admitted that she was indeed a very attractive woman.

“Chen Qing Yan’s wearing red again today. Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have worn the same color. This sort of woman is really the enemy of all womankind. Wherever she goes, she attracts all the attention.” Sure enough, after paying attention to my surroundings, I found that many of the female guests were discussing her.

“She clearly rushed over here for Yin Li. I heard that its been months since he contacted her, she’s probably gotten impatient by now. Even if she’s the daughter of a big real estate mogul, so what? They still can’t be compared to the Yin family. She’s just here to see Yin Li’s expression, really it’s all one-sided on her part.”4 The girl who spoke made a gesture with her pinkie5 and then shared a smile of tacit understanding with her friend.

4 The original text uses 倒贴, which refers to when the woman financially supports her man. It’s sort of looked down on in Chinese society b/c the man is typically supposed to foot the bill for everything… (buying a house, etc.) The gossips are essentially criticizing Chen Qing Yan by saying that she’s doing all the work in her “relationship” with Yin Li.

5 比个小拇指 (make a comparative gesture with one’s pinkie) is used indicate that you’re looking down on someone, or sometimes also means that two people are dating.

But most of these sentiments could probably be considered as coming from a maiden’s jealous heart. The woman in question carried herself elegantly and looked completely at ease. Though she was the topic of many rumors, she didn’t look the least bit worried. On the contrary, she was completely in her element, having everything go her way.6 Furthermore, she wasn’t like the other girls who were anxiously trying to squeeze their way next to Yin Li. At the moment her lips were curled in a small smile at precisely the perfect degree, giving her a sumptuous and regal air that was very fitting on her. The male guests in front of her were all staring at her, their faces drunk with infatuation.

6 The original text uses 左右逢源, meaning “striking water left and right”. It describes when someone has everything go their way; benefits from both sides.

I was still digesting the kiss she blew at Yin Li that day. My mood soured, as if it was plunged into a jar of pickles. Unfortunately, no matter how critical my eyes were, every movement and gesture she made was the definition of perfection. As it so happens, these sorts of women were adept at reading the atmosphere and knew exactly what part to play at exactly the right time. When they should show off, they showed off. When they should construct the image of an imposing, not-to-be-crossed, well-bred young lady, they were extremely outstanding. It really gave me a sense of crisis.