Defeated By Love

Translated by Fairy_Dust

I hope you enjoy! A few interesting things does happen hehehe

He felt a little wronged. 

Xie Ruhe wanted to welcome the New Year but he couldn’t find anyone to accompany him so he went to her. Although Shu Nian didn’t promise him she would be there, he had been constantly thinking about this matter and was feeling extremely anxious regarding it. 

He couldn’t sleep and kept tossing and turning as he thought it over. 

It was like he would always be waiting for her.  

In the end, she did get up like a thief in the middle of the night because she was scared her mother would notice her movements and went out to the backyard after much trouble to call him.

But he was sleeping.

He was actually sleeping. 

Shu Nian couldn’t describe what she was feeling.  

She felt a little loss and a bit of guilt too because she woke him up. 

She sighed and squatted beside the wooden chair, curling up into a ball and whispered: “Sorry, I didn’t know you were sleeping. It’s nothing much, I just wanted to say Happy New Year to you.” 

There was no sound from the other end. It was so quiet that she couldn’t even hear him breathe.

Shu Nian licked her lips: “You can go back to sleep…” 

Xie Ruhe asked: “Aren’t you sleeping?” 

Shu Nian stood up and stomped her foot on the ground to get rid of the cold. In a small voice: “I’ll sleep now.” 

“It’s almost midnight.” The phone was stuck to his cheek and it was icy cold. Xie Ruhe’s voice came out of the receiver and his tone sounded naturally cool. “Let’s wait a little longer?” 

Shu Nian paused and then “oh’ed” before squatting back down again.

It was probably because he heard the wind there because Xie Ruhe suddenly asked. “Are you outside?” 

Shu Nian whispered: “I’m in the yard.”

“Isn’t it cold?” 

Shu Nian honestly replied: “A little.” 

Xie Ruhe asked. “Why don’t you go back inside the house?”

Shu Nian didn’t know where to look for an excuse. Suddenly, there was a crackling sound. She glanced to the side and saw a family setting off fireworks not too far away. She subconsciously replied. “Someone is setting off fireworks outside, it’s very pretty.” 

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Shiyan Town was a small place and many things weren’t strictly controlled. Unlike the city that prohibited fireworks and firecrackers. In the New Year and with the lively atmosphere all around, people followed past practices and would set off fireworks to celebrate. 

Thin lines of light flew through the sky and then exploded one after the other. 

Most of the houses still has their lights on as they welcomed the arrival of the New Year. 

Something was happening on the other end of the phone.

There was some rustling and then suddenly, there was a loud noise followed by the sounds of a wheelchair turning and the sounds of the balcony doors being opened. The next moment, the wind in her exposed ear overlapped with the wind coming from the phone. 

Xie Ruhe said. “No one is setting off fireworks here.”

“It’s not allowed in the city.” Shu Nian looked up to the sky and asked. “Did you eat New Year’s Eve dinner today?” 

“En, I went to my grandpa’s house.”

“I’m at my grandfather’s house and sleeping in my father’s room. My mum also came over today to accompany me.”

Xie Ruhe hummed again. 

Shu Nian asked. “Do you have any New Year wishes?”

“New Year wishes?” 

“Yes.”

“…” 

“No?” Without waiting for his reply, Shu Nian crooked her head to the side and raised her eyes as she spoke to him. “Do you remember that time we welcomed the New Year together before? I remember that I didn’t plan to welcome the New Year but we just chatted and without knowing it, it became midnight.”

Xie Ruhe responded: ” I remember.”

“At that time, I told you what I wanted to do in the future.” Shu Nian reminisced. “I also said that I would buy you a cake and we could set off fireworks together but then…” 

At that point, she stopped and didn’t say anything more.

Xie Ruhe spoke to her in a calm tone: “But you bought me a cake last year. I originally wanted to take you to set off fireworks this year but we didn’t get to release them.”

Shu Nian pinched the corners of her clothes because she didn’t know what to say. 

Xie Ruhe asked: “Do you think we’ll still be together next year?” 

Next year? 

Shu Nian was a little stunned. She felt that there was another meaning in that sentence but she was worried that it was just her own illusion so she just swallowed and dropped her head to nervously whisper: “Probably…” 

Shu Nian’s surroundings were quiet so her small voice was easily amplified. It fluttered and drifted off into the air. Her words could be easily heard by other people. As if afraid of being heard though, she couldn’t help but cautiously lower her voice. 

“Probably… will.”

Shu Nian spent almost a week in Shiyan Town.

She didn’t usually go out much and even if she did go out, she would always be with her grandparents. Grandfather Shu and Grandmother Shu have lived there for decades and were friends with everyone.

Shu Nian was already 23 years old but she managed to get a few dozens of red envelopes.1 

On the fourth day of the lunar new year, Shu Nian received a phone call from Teacher Huang Lizhi. She basically asked her if she wanted to go dub a film from overseas. The recording place was in another province and if she was willing then she would need to be there on the eighth day of the lunar new year.

It was a foreign 3D animated film with five main characters.

And the character given to Shu Nian was one of the protagonists.

Shu Nian was eager to seize the opportunity but was afraid of going into an unfamiliar environment. She said with some difficulty. “Teacher, can I think about it?” 

Huang Lizhi knew of her condition and answered:  “Sure. I will also go there. If you go, you can live with me. I have rented a small apartment already.”

With Huang Lizhi as company, Shu Nian felt secure in an instant: “How long will it take?”

“Two weeks if it’s fast.” Huang Lizhi explained. “A month at most.” 

Shu Nian didn’t hesitate any more and agreed: “Okay.” 

The dubbing location was in G City’s Translation Company.

Shu Nian told Deng Qingyu about this. After discussing it, they decided to go back to Ruchuan together on the seventh day of the lunar new year but she booked a ticket to G City first. After arriving in Ruchuan, Wang Hao took her to the airport.

Shu Nian also mentioned this matter to Xie Ruhe on WeChat.

Xie Ruhe was silent for a moment and asked:【 Are you going alone? 】

Shu Nian:【 I’m going with my teacher. 】 

Xie Ruhe:【 How long will it be? 】 

Shu Nian:【 It should be about a month. 】

As if he was a little worried, Xie Ruhe never replied back. 

After thinking about it, Shu Nian added:【 Anyways, I won’t go anywhere except for the recording studio and I should always be with my teacher. 】 

Xie Ruhe:【 Good. 】

Xie Ruhe:【 Be careful. 】

Shu Nian had never gone anywhere far away since she was born. The furthest place from home she went was probably only from Shiyan Town to Ruchuan City for university but later, she settled in Ruchuan and never went anywhere else.

She was really afraid of strangers. 

She was also afraid that there would be some kind of unknown danger in an unfamiliar environment. However, Shu Nian felt like she had to grow up and to be more accurate, she wasn’t going to G City alone.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Deng Qingyu sent Shu Nian to the airport and accompanied her to complete the procedure and check-in. It was the end of the annual holiday and the number of people in the airport doubled compared to the usual which made it more difficult to breathe.

Shu Nian didn’t get Deng Qingyu to send her any further when they got to the security gates.

She held onto her boarding pass but suddenly felt someone’s stare from behind and subconsciously glanced back for a look. 

If there are any errors in the text then please kindly ping me on discord in the ‘report typos’ channel or leave a comment down below!

Thanks for reading!

Footnotes

In case anyone is unfamiliar with this tradition, during the New Year the elders of the family, friends or community will give out red envelopes of money to young children as wishes of good luck and health throughout the year.