My Wife Always Thought I Did Not Love Him - Chapter 33
Chapter 33 Translated by Lia of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Not long after they had left the kitchen, the birthday cake was delivered. All the lights in the room were turned off except for the glow emitting from the decorative stars.
In the dark, someone began singing ‘Happy Birthday’. XiaYao stood next to ZhouDu; suddenly, his hand was grasped firmly.
He turned to look at ZhouDus profile, while ZhouDu was looking along with everyone else on Jiang Shiwen, who was making her wish. XiaYao used his fingertip to tickle the palm of ZhouDus hand and saw the corners of his mouth turn up.
Once the candles were blown out, someone was just about to reach for the lightswitch, when in the dark, a boy interrupted, “Wait.” He continued, “Today is our beautiful Jiang Shiwen’s birthday, I want to take a bit of time on this special day to tell her a few words. Everyone, please quiet down.”
The boy speaking was in the same cla.s.s as Jiang Shiwen; everyone around them shushed one another while sharing a meaningful look. Chubby stood next to XiaYao with his head hung low.
“Cough, cough.” The boy was rangy in appearance. He tested the microphone he had gotten a hold of and said, “I’ve had the honor of being my Jiang Shiwen’s cla.s.smate for nearly three years. I remember being attracted to her the moment I first set eyes on her as a freshman. I made eyes at her both overt and covertly to the point they were almost twitching. However, despite all of my efforts, I was completely ignored by my Shiwen here.”
“Who’s ‘yours’, how cheeky of you!” one of Jiang Shiwens girl friends poked fun at the boy.
“Okay, okay, my bad, Jiang Shiwen belongs to everyone,” the boy gave a quick reply and though he got interrupted, he wasn’t angry in the least. Still with a cheeky grin from ear to ear, he continued, “Three years, it’s not long nor it is too short, but I put all my eggs in one basket called Jiang Shiwen. It’s already our junior year; I’m thinking if I don’t confess, someone will come along and swoop up a catch like her in no time. So, in honor of the day that she was brought into the world, here goes nothing”
“Jiang Shiwen! I like you, I really like you! Can you give me a chance?”
The crowd began to cheer as the blood drained from Chubby’s face. XiaYao looked at him sympathetically.
“Settle down, settle down, everyone,” Jiang Shiwen cracked a smile and interrupted her screaming friends.
“Hey, today’s supposed to be about me yet you’re stealing my thunder.” Jiang Shiwen shook her head and sighed. She was well aware of her popularity amongst the boys. She knew for a fact that there were two or three secret admirers of hers among the people who came today.
Jiang Shiwen was a girl with a daring spirit. That meant, if she fell for a person, she’d for sure confess to them. She wouldn’t regret her decision even if it were to end in rejection. However, this also meant that if she had no feelings for someone, she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot them down. It was beneath her to leave them hanging for the purpose of using them as a rebound.
As for the rest who crushed on her, Jiang Shiwen was at the end of her rope. She couldn’t just walk up to them and say exasperating things like, “Hey, stop liking me”.
Jiang Shiwen had actually already been going out with the boy who confessed to her, it was no secret to all of her girl friends. As for why the boy chose to make a public confession at the party, it was because he wanted to tell those who harboured feelings for Jiang Shiwen that she was no longer on the market.
Sure enough, after Jiang Shiwen finished speaking, she sauntered over to the boy, tiptoed and stroked his head, “Because you’ve made me very satisfied with your performance today, I guess I’ll give you a chance.”
The boy lifted her off her feet and pulled her in for an embrace.
The crowd to the side urged, “Kiss! Kiss!”
Just when the boy leaned in for the kiss, Jiang Shiwen pushed his face away with her palm, “I hardly managed to get my makeup on for today. If you dare kiss me, you’re dead meat.”
The boy wasn’t upset; instead, he gazed at Jiang Shiwen adoringly and murmured, “Alright, alright, as you wish.”
“Ugh~” Someone in the crowd let out a groan of disgust in the face of their public display of affection.
“Okay, let’s turn the lights on,” the boy said. He, however, did not expect Jiang Shiwen to interrupt him, “Keep the lights off! Why don’t we just play a game in the dark?”
She jumped onto the sofa and continued talking to the people below, “After our junior year, all of us sort of count as adults.” She pointed to the alcohol on the side and said, “We’re having too much fun today to not drink. But, only drinking is boring. Since there’s so many of us, lets play Truth or Dare. I can’t wait to find out all your little secrets~”
The lot seemed to be in high spirits and promptly agreed get involved.
Jiang Shiwen got off the sofa with a jump, plopped down on the floor and gestured, “Come sit down, all of you.” Everyone sat down in a circle.
Jiang Shiwen picked up a bottle of beer by her side, removed the cap with her teeth, and gulped down all of its contents.
“That hit the spot!” She placed the empty beer bottle on the floor with the lip pointing to her. “I’ll spin the bottle; whoever the bottle points to once it stops will have to choose either truth or dare.”
As the people witnessed Jiang Shiwen’s uninhibited exuberance, they thought it wouldn’t be right if they held anything back, so they eagerly stared at the bottle in her hand and awaited the game to start.
“Okay, I’m gonna spin it.” With a flick of her finger, the beer bottle began to go around. After a few seconds, the bottle pointed to her once again.
Everyone started to laugh, Jiang Shiwen knitted her good-looking brows and said, “Okay, I’ll begin. You guys ask away.”
“I’ll ask! I’ll ask!” Jiang Shiwens boyfriend eagerly raised his hand. The others didn’t find it right to fight him over it so they let him have at it.
The boy gave ZhouDu a glance, and asked Jiang Shiwen with a face of antic.i.p.ation, “Who do you find more attractive, ZhouDu or me?”
Jiang Shiwen stared at her goofball of a boyfriend and sighed, “Are you asking to be humiliated? Do I even need to say it?”
“Oh.” Her boyfriend’s head hung low while the others around him roared with laughter.
Jiang Shiwen continued to spin the bottle. After a few rounds, she said, “What’s with all your questions, it’s all child’s play. How about this, I’ll be the one to ask whoever the next person is.”
Hearing no objection, Jiang Shiwen resumed to spin the beer bottle. After a few rotations, it pointed to ZhouDu.
“Ho, ho.” Jiang Shiwen rubbed her hand together and eyed ZhouDu with a wicked smile, “So you’ve finally fallen into my hands.”
ZhouDu sat upright and looked at Jiang Shiwen with disdain.
Jiang Shiwen pondered for a few moments with her palm on her cheek. With an impish grin across her face, she asked, “ZhouDu, I want to know who you jacked off to the very last time.”
ZhouDu’s face burned up. He glowered at Jiang Shiwen, “What in the h.e.l.l kind of question is that! I refuse to answer.”
“Yo~” A boy teased, “What’s wrong with telling us, ZhouDu? Don’t tell me it was the First Lady! Hahaha.”
“p.i.s.s off!” ZhouDu snapped angrily at the boy.
“Fine, fine.” Jiang Shiwen stepped in to end the meaningless squabble between the two. “If you choose not to answer this question, then you must perform a dare.”
ZhouDu kept a wary eye on Jiang Shiwen whereas she sneaked a look at XiaYao.
“How about this, ZhouDu, you pick one person among the people present to do push-ups.”
Jiang Shiwen then clarified, “The person you pick will lie beneath you while you complete as many push ups as you’re physically capable of. What do you all say?”
“Woo! Yeah! Sounds good!” A person began to cheer rousing the crowd.
ZhouDu glared daggers at Jiang Shiwen. Jiang Shiwen pressed on, “Step on it. If you dont choose, I’ll help you. I’m sure my girl friends here will appreciate it.”
ZhouDu was good-looking and the object of many of his schoolmates’ affection. Even Jiang Shiwen herself had once confessed to him.
“I got it.” ZhouDu bit out hastily for fear that Jiang Shiwen was really going to go through with it.
As his eyes darted guilty to and fro in the direction of XiaYao, XiaYao grew so nervous that his hands had started to sweat.
“He will do,” ZhouDu pointed to XiaYao and whispered.
Seeing that her little plan proved successful, Jiang Shiwen said excitedly to ZhouDu, “Then you may start, but ZhouDu, don’t say that you can’t do anymore after one push up. After all, if you can’t even do push ups, how can you be happy in the future? Am I right, guys?”
The boys gave ZhouDu a look of ‘we understand’.
ZhouDu’s heart pounded against his chest, he looked at XiaYao and stumbled over his words, “You, you go lie down.”
Blood rushed to XiaYao’s face at once. He shifted backwards a few inches, but it didn’t seem like he had any intention to lie down.
“Eh? Looks like XiaYao doesn’t want to.” Jiang Shiwen sighed, “Then we’ll have to look for someone who’s willing.” She glanced at her girl friends.
“He is willing!” ZhouDu hurriedly interrupted Jiang Shiwen. He grabbed XiaYao by the arm and asked, “You’re willing, right?”
XiaYao naturally didn’t want ZhouDu doing this with anybody else. He was aware that if he refused to this very second, Jiang Shiwen wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest to put someone under ZhouDu.
He took in ZhouDu’s face of antic.i.p.ation and finally, he acquiesced and lay on the floor with a flushed face.
XiaYao had sat farther out in the corner. When he lay down, his whole body was enveloped by the darkness.
ZhouDu pressed himself onto XiaYao’s body.
The girls cried out in surprise and covered their faces while staring excitedly at the two on the floor.
ZhouDu’s hands were on both sides of XiaYao’s neck, and XiaYao nervously fixated on ZhouDu’s chest, not daring to look him in the eye.
“Come on, lets get started,” Jiang Shiwen ordered.
ZhouDu bent his arms and finished the first push up.
XiaYao couldnt help but hold his breath everytime ZhouDus face came near. ZhouDu looked at XiaYao who lay beneath him, and his heart nearly leapt out of his throat.
After a dozens of push ups, ZhouDu’s arms gradually lost strength. After all, preventing himself from touching XiaYao while doing the push ups only served to make the already straining task more strenuous.
“ZhouDu, are you tired already?” Jiang Shiwen teased mischievously.
ZhouDu gritted his teeth and did several more consecutive push ups.
“ZhouDu sure has good stamina,” a girl laughed and remarked.
ZhouDu ignored them. After doing a dozen more push ups, he stopped in the plank position.
“Is that enough?” he turned his head and asked.
Jiang Shiwen said, “If you admit that you can’t do anymore then you can stop.”
XiaYao knew that Jiang Shiwen was deliberately goading ZhouDu, so he whispered, “It’s fine, get up.”
“See,” Jiang Shiwen spitted out the sunflower seed hull in her mouth and continued, “even XiaYao thinks that you’re tired, tsk, tsk.”
ZhouDu gritted his teeth and scowled at Jiang Shiwen.
He would never admit defeat in front of XiaYao!!
Translator’s note: (Happiness) and (s.e.xual Welfare) are h.o.m.ophones. Jiang Shiwen saying, “How can you be happy in the future?” implicates that if ZhouDu lacks the stamina for push ups, he won’t have what it takes to please his future partner in bed.