Who Moved My Ashes Chapter 8
Translated by Novice Translations
Chapter 8
It was impossible to analyze naturally. Secretary Jiang’s heart was like the needle at the bottom of the sea that couldn’t be analyzed, secretary Jiang’s thoughts couldn’t be predicted even if they called the whole company together.
In the evening, Jiang Xichu and Chen Man returned home together. Jiang Xichu entered the kitchen non-stop. Yesterday she bought food that could be eaten for the next three days. The dishes she ate weren’t heavy. The dishes were two vegetables, one meat and one hot soup, plus fruit after dinner. It was homely and nutritious.
Tonight’s menu was stir-fried leek with bean sprouts, stir-fried shredded pork with garlic, small fried meatballs and a bowl of soup with white gourd ribs.
While marinating the shredded pork and the filling, she was busy cutting the vegetables and chopping ginger. Jiang Xichu was very fast. In less than three minutes, all the dishes were prepared. Then, she turned on the gas stove and began to cook.
Just as the food with water droplets was poured into the hot pot, a crash sounded immediately. Chen Man quietly went behind her, took some cloves of garlic she had taken out in advance and carefully peeled the garlic for her.
Jiang Xichu glanced at her for a while but didn't say anything. She continued to stir the things in her hand.
Jiang Xichu's skills couldn’t be compared to a chef, but it was very delicious and had reached the highest level of home cooking.
The two vegetarian dishes soon came out of the pot. She opened a drawer and found a bag of disposable gloves, Jiang Xichu wore the gloves and began to pinch the meatballs.
When Chen Man saw, her eyes lit up, “Here I come.”
She saw her look and knew that she thought it was fun to pinch the balls with the tiger’s den*. Jiang Xichu picked up her eyebrow, handed the gloves over and turned to one side, she filled the casserole with water and prepared to stew the pork ribs.
(TN: Tiger’s den – the web between the thumb and forefinger of the hand)
It took an hour for Chen Man to prepare and serve the meal. During this time Chen Man loaded the dishes and chopsticks and did all the work. When she finished, she was also responsible for putting the dishes in the dishwasher.
The three dishes and one soup were all served on the table. Chen Man happily sat down and picked up the chopsticks and wanted to taste them. Jiang Xichu slapped her wrist, “Did you wash your hands?”
Chen Man smiled and stood up immediately. “Forgot to, I will go now.”
At six o'clock in the evening, the sky outside was still bright, the windows were open, and the warm wind passed through the hall. It blew on the two people’s skin, both of them pursed their mouths and smiled together, obviously enjoying such a peaceful life.
When they ate, they didn't talk much, that is, they had their heads buried in their meals and waited until they had finished eating. When they were almost finished, Chen Man took a sip of soup, then her eyelids glanced up to look at Jiang Xichu.
Jiang Xichu didn’t lift her eyes and slowly said: “You have been looking at me all day like this, say, what do you want to do?”
Being caught, Chen Man didn’t feel embarrassed. She put the soup bowl down and looked at her curiously. “Did something good happen recently?”
Jiang Xichu looked at her inexplicably. “No.”
Chen Man’s expression showed that she was even more puzzled. “Then, why do you suddenly treat me so well, don’t scold me.”
Jiang Xichu: “...Do you want me to scold you?”
She smiled. “It’s okay, I can satisfy your needs.”
Chen Man: “...”
Chen Man laughed and waved her hands repeatedly. “No, no, I just thought it was strange. Your character appears to be different from before…There are always reasons for people’s characters to suddenly change.”
Jiang Xichu paused for the first time and nodded. “There’s a reason. I know I’ve changed a lot now compared to before. However, I think this change is very good and you will have to adapt slowly.”
She wanted to have a try with Chen Man. There was only one result with this try, that is, they would have a good life. Chen Man likes her so much and she…she doesn’t know how she felt right now. She only knows that she couldn’t live without Chen Man, so as long as they start, they can no longer be separated, they must always go on.
The pillow person and subordinate friend have different identities. She can’t spend another lifetime with Chen Man by quarreling. Therefore, Jiang Xichu wanted to change herself and wanted to make Chen Man’s life happier.
Jiang Xichu’s painstaking efforts, Chen Man didn’t know, she was still curious to ask: “What’s the reason, tell me about it.”
Jiang Xichu looked at her for a long time. After a long time, she chuckled. “Okay, I will tell you.”
Chen Man also laughed. She sat forward a little and waited for Jiang Xichu’s next words.
Jiang Xichu slowly said: “Yes…I didn’t tell you before, I wanted to try with that person. You say, my temper isn’t good, I think, I can’t wait to be someone else’s girlfriend with a bad temper. Since we are together, we must work hard for a lifetime together. So, I want to change my temper. It’s good for her and me.”
Chen Man sat stunned and didn’t say a word for a long time.
Chen Man couldn't see it, but Jiang Xichu had seen all her emotional changes with her eyes. Maybe even Chen Man didn’t know how pitiful her expression was now.
She dazedly looked at Jiang Xichu who had no worries. Her eyes were slightly red, tears were swimming in her eyes. As soon as she blinked, the tears would immediately fall. At first, Jiang Xichu was still appreciating her embarrassment of finding out later. Then, she found something was wrong and was also in a panic. She quickly stood up and walked to her. “Hey, I…”
Chen Man suddenly realized she was a little out on her feelings. She smiled stiffly. “The soup was a little hot. Ah, my tongue hurts. It hurts so much. I will go to the bathroom to deal with it. You sit here and keep things. I’ll come back in a while to clean it up.”
After that Chen Man stood up and left. Jiang Xichu didn’t think about it at first, and immediately followed her. But Chen Man walked so fast that she couldn’t catch up. She could only watch her run into the bathroom like a gust of wind.
Standing outside the door, Jiang Xichu opened her mouth, a little upset.
It seemed that the joke was too much.
At the same time, she was a little angry. If it was true, as Chen Man has thought, wouldn’t she be embraced by others soon? If it was like this, how come Chen Man still hasn’t said a word, as if there was no intention of taking her back.
Jiang Xichu returned to the dining room silently. She wanted to talk to Chen Man, but Chen Man didn’t give her the opportunity. As long as she mentioned the topic, Chen Man would quickly turn it around. After the latter cleaned up the dining table, she went back to her room and never came out again in the evening.
Jiang Xichu lingered outside her door for a while, finally sighed, and returned to her room.
At one o'clock in the morning, Jiang Xichu was lying quietly on the bed, her eyes were spinning at a high speed. Suddenly, she frowned, and her breathing became short. It seemed that she was having a nightmare. After about two minutes, she suddenly opened her eyes. She was afraid and was in despair, but her eyes weren’t focus. She froze for a while, then pulled herself out of the nightmare.
She stretched out her arm, touched the cellphone and looked at the time. Jiang Xichu sat up strangely, groaned and rubbed her temple which was a bit numb.
Since her rebirth, she has had nightmares every night. Even if she lives right across from Chen Man, she couldn’t relieve the pressure and shadow in her heart. She knew that her current state wasn’t right. On the surface, she looked very normal, but in fact, she was extremely anxious. She was on the edge of restlessness and collapse when she was extremely insecure. But she couldn’t show it, she can’t show it.
Chen Man's thoughts were delicate. As long as she showed it, she would be worried. She would become worried if she didn’t talk about it. She could only be anxious behind her back. What Jiang Xichu couldn’t see was Chen Man’s current unhappiness.
After she sat on the bed for a while, Jiang Xichu turned over and got out of bed and put on her slippers. She calmly opened the door and came to Chen Man’s bedroom door. Like the other night, she walked in quietly.
She came over like this for a few days. After being awakened by the nightmare, she came to Chen Man’s room and stood by her bed and watched her sleep. After half an hour to an hour later, Jiang Xichu felt her restlessness wasn’t so strong, so she would go back to her room to go back to sleep.
Of course, Chen Man didn’t know that Jiang Xichu’s movements were very light. She doesn’t do anything and just looked at her quietly. As long as she can see that her chest was slightly undulating, Jiang Xichu wouldn’t be afraid anymore.
Today, she came to Chen Man's room as usual. There was no light in the room, the curtains weren’t pulled, and even the quilt on the bed was clean and tidy.
No one.
Chen Man wasn’t here.
She…wasn’t here.
Jiang Xichu’s pupils tightened abruptly and retreated in horror, her breathing immediately became difficult and hurried. She retreated too fast and suddenly hit the door handle. The sharp pain came from her back, but Jiang Xichu didn’t care. Now her brain blanked, and her panic-filled eyes stared at the empty bed.
Chen Man was…not…there.
The tears fell without warning. Jiang Xichu’s legs went soft. She couldn’t help but sit on the ground. She didn’t know what to do. Should she go find someone? Where to find, where was she now? This was Chen Man’s home, was she a person? Or ghost, when, two months ago, or…a year later?
In front of her eyes, there was a burst of darkness. Now, Jiang Xichu couldn’t breathe. She was pale and breathed like a dying fish. She could breathe in, but she couldn’t breathe out. The feeling of lacking oxygen was very painful. When the door behind her opened, Chen Man heard the noise and walked back from the living room window. She saw Jiang Xichu sitting by the door and was stunned.
“Jiang Xichu, what are you doing, sleepwalking?”
When she said that, she went to Jiang Xichu, crouched down and saw Jiang Xichu’s present appearance with the moonlight. Her expression immediately changed.
For two minutes, Jiang Xichu was unconscious. When she was conscious, her surroundings became bright and her eyes saw soft white. She moved her fingers and found that she was in a person’s arms. Her hands tightly held the other, while the other’s hands were stroking her back, patiently and gently.
Chen Man held Jiang Xichu, her body wasn’t soft at all, it was all bones, very sultry, but her arms were too warm, the warmth caused Jiang Xichu to cry at once, she thought of it, but now she couldn’t get up, so she buried her head in Chen Man’s arms, her forehead against her chest. Chen Man knew when she moved, she would be all right, but she still didn’t let her go. They sat quietly on the ground.
After a long time, Chen Man’s voice rang. “Jiang Xichu.”
The person in her bosom raised her head and Chen Man slightly dropped her eyes to look into her eyes.
Chen Man was too calm now. She stared at Jiang Xichu’s eyes and spoke with an unbearable taste. “Tell me, what’s wrong with you.”