Hard to Escape - Chapter 9.2

Candle: Chapter 9 is also on the shorter side so we’re splitting it into 2 releases like chapter 8 ^^;;

When I was one meter away from Yin Li, he finally looked up and noticed me. He looked a bit surprised, but without any hesitation I continued to take huge steps forward. Fearless in the face of death, I proclaimed, “Yin Li, I will take responsibility for you!” and then immediately threw my arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips.

Yin Li hadn’t anticipated anything like this happening. He went stiff for a few seconds before showing any reaction, and then he brought his arms around me in a hug. He didn’t push me away.

When our lips parted, I could practically hear the gasps from the surrounding crowd of people. Yin Li’s cold demeanor was probably legendary in these circles. Everyone who witnessed his current behavior couldn’t believe their eyes. I continued hugging Yin Li around the neck, but turned back to smile at Su Lin Lin. She stood with her mouth agape, lips trembling. She looked like a fish stranded ashore, desperately trying to take a breath, and on her face was an expression of shock, as if she had just watched someone willingly step in dog shit.

Yin Li followed my line of sight and guessed why I had come running over to force a kiss on him. “Yan Xiao, I’m not some bargaining chip for you girls to bet with.” He seemed exasperated. “I really hope you can grow up a little.”

I felt around his face. “Is your rash gone? How come you didn’t tell me you were allergic that day and just insisted that I throw the cat out?”

Yin Li pried my hand off. “Would you have believed me? You’ve never trusted me. And when I saw the cat, I had already started to feel unwell. How could I take the time to leisurely explain everything to you?”

“Then why did you give the cat a bath? You couldn’t have waited for me do it? You need to grow up a little too.”

Yin Li looked at me. “Yes, I’m also immature. I provoked you and brought it upon myself.”

I gazed at the graceful lines of Yin Li’s side profile, and suddenly thought of that night when he washed the kitten’s ears with a gentle expression. In truth, he wasn’t a person who regularly displayed that kind of tenderness, and I couldn’t shake off the memory of how softhearted he looked in that moment. It was as if it were some brief illusion that refused to vanish.

I pulled on Yin Li’s sleeve. “This morning I gave the kitten away to someone else to raise. You don’t need to worry about allergies anymore, you can come home.”

That I would take the initiative first to concede a step seemed to surprise Yin Li. He lowered his eyes into his glass, and acknowledged me with a “Mm.” In a rare occurrence, he explained, “These past few days I’ve been preoccupied at the company, it wasn’t due to the cat.”

“Then will you come home tonight?” To be honest, the house was so big that it was a bit scary to live alone in it.

Only when Yin Li nodded did I let out a breath I’d been holding. “Then I’ll return first to my friends. Don’t drink too much.” In a much better mood, I walked back. Along the way, I savored the strange expression on Su Lin Lin’s face.

“Yin Li actually spoke with you! And he didn’t even shove you aside! How much did he drink tonight! He’s probably delirious at this point!” She laid a hand against her forehead and lamented. Her tone seemed to say “You got off so easily, yet you’re like a lazy toad eating swan meat.”1

1 懒蛤蟆吃了天鹅肉 (“lazy toad eating swan meat”) is a Chinese proverb that refers to someone who doesn’t have the self-awareness to realize that what they want is impossible to get. It’s commonly used as an insult to describe an unattractive/dumb guy who wants to date a really exceptional goddess woman… So Su Lin Lin is basically insulting Yan Xiao lol.

Then she muttered under her breath, “You lucky bastard.” She had a troubled expression, as if she were contemplating whether or not she should take advantage of Yin Li’s drunken state to to go over and acquaint herself with him. It was a pity that before she could come to a decision, Yin Li had already left.

“How odd, he actually left so early today!”, she said again as if coming across another surprise. Disturbed by the strange turn of events, Su Lin Lin seemed to lost interest in us as well. She absentmindedly drank a bit more, and then quickly disbanded the party.

When I returned home, Yin Li wasn’t sitting on the sofa, reading the newspaper like he usually did. Besides him, there was another man in the house.

With an unfriendly expression, Yin Li pointed a finger across the room at the person who was currently cuddling a kitten, Mo Xing Zhi. He demanded, “So you gave the cat to him to raise?”

Mo Xing Zhi seemed to feel that his enmity with Yin Li was insufficient and shouted, “Yin Li, I heard you’re allergic to cats?! Is it true?! I’ve never met an actual person who was allergic to cats! Come over here and give ‘Yin Li Li’ a pet. I want to see what sort of reaction allergic people get, perhaps your face will swell up like a pig’s head? Don’t you know, I’ve already been waiting outside your house all night with this cat. Just humor me already, I even prepared a video camera. I have got to record your allergic reaction from beginning to end.”

On one side, Mo Xing Zhi continued clamoring loudly as if seeking death. On the other side, the disgust in Yin Li’s expression grew stronger and stronger. I immediately regretted my insistence on giving the kitten to Mo Xing Zhi to raise. Just as I was about to stealthily make my escape from this “battlefield”, Yin Li spoke.

“‘Yin Li Li’?2 Who chose this name?”

2 Yup, Yin Li Li (尹厉厉) is written with the same characters as Yin Li’s name (尹厉).

Mo Xing Zhi pointed at me. “Oh, Yan Xiao did. She said it had your eyes.”

When Yin Li turned to me, I gave him a ingratiating smile and quibbled, “Misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding! It’s the “li” in “mei li”, not the “li” in “Yi Li”! It’s “Li Li” (丽丽), not “Li Li” (厉厉)!”3 Then I shot Mo Xing Zhi a glare. “What are you still dithering around for! If Yin Li’s allergies flare up he’ll get mad, he might even have Yin Li Li castrated! If that happens, you’d better give up on your dreams of Yin Li Li turning the entire neighborhood into his harem and having and liters upon liters of kittens!”

3 The 丽 in 美丽 (meaning “beautiful”) is a homophone with the 厉 in 尹厉 (Yin Li’s name). Both are pronounced like “lee” and use the same tone.

I seemed to have reasoned with Mo Xing Zhi. He tightly hugged Yin Li Li in his arms and rapidly fled the scene, leaving me behind to continue placating Yin Li.

But Yin Li unexpectedly wasn’t angry. Rather, there seemed to be a smile in his eyes. “Go to sleep. There’s a thunderstorm tonight, so don’t forget to close the window.”

I rubbed my nose, knowing that I should quit while I was ahead. Returning to my room, I dove in bed and snuggled under my warm covers. I didn’t know that I wouldn’t be catching a wink of sleep that night.

Author’s Note:
Aiya, my beloved sleepless nights~ So many moments of naughty naughties are hidden away in these sleepless nights~ As for Yin Li, once the truth comes to light you’ll all do a 180 on him~ I believe that you’ll all love him. He’s a man who’ll stir up your emotions~ As for Wei Yan, I’m sure every girl has met someone like him countless times. After the plot progresses, I’ll write more of my thoughts on him~ TBH it’s not all bad. He’s a archetype you see quite often in real life. Yin Li is the sort you rarely come across~ By the time this is published I should be in Vegas~ I can gamble my night away! Oh la la la la! Give me luck so that I don’t gamble away my house and all my property! Love you all~ May your summers be cool~

Candle: May Yin Li Li be blessed with countless concubines… May he one day possess a harem that doesn’t lose out in size or quality to those of his cultivation-novel-MC brothers…

Niang Niang: Amen

Chapter end