Pristine Darkness

Chapter 98

Ah, young love . . . 'nuff said 8-)

**********

Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks

**********

An Yan's Side Story - The Honey Peach is in my Hands (Part 2)

They made out for a long time. He embraced her and they kissed until her lips were swollen, but were still reluctant to let go. It turned out to be so intoxicating to have his girl in his arms. Moreover, Gu Fangfang was sitting in his lap. He made her feel something both familiar and strange, mysterious and exciting; a year's wait had indeed been worthwhile.

Time passed, and it was late at night. To linger at the ground floor of a girl's apartment at 11 p.m. and refuse to let go of her did not seem to be a wise choice. An Yan released her and stood up, unwilling to say that it was time for him to leave. Gu Fangfang also looked down and examined her toes.

"I . . ." he started to say.

She looked up at him.

". . . will walk you upstairs?"

Her heart was thumping furiously, but her face was calmly indifferent. "Oh, okay."

After graduation, Gu Fangfang had rented a one-room apartment. Compared to her bright and beautiful outward appearance, her apartment seemed incredibly sloppy. However, when An Yan the otaku walked in, he felt it was highly suitable, very homely, very warm. In a last ditch attempt* to clean up, Gu Fangfang picked up a few things here and there. She looked up only to see An Yan's dark, black eyes were lost in thought.

*T/N 临时抱佛脚 (lin shi bao fo jiao) - lit. to clasp Buddha's feet when danger approaches/ at the last minute; fig. to profess devotion or ask for a deity's help only when in trouble; to do something hastily at the last minute. This is one of my favourite Chinese idioms!

"What's up?" Gu Fangfang asked.

"It's nothing," he replied. "I'm just thinking, in future, we will have to hire an hourly-rated cleaning specialist to see to our house."

Never in her wildest dreams did Gu Fangfang anticipate that he would say such a thing. She hadn't even thought that far ahead! Her face grew hot and she said, in a low voice, "Who wants to live with you . . ."

An Yan had simply said what he was thinking, and had not intended to tease her. He would truly be an idiot if he could not pick up on the bashful rebuke in her voice. His heart was beating fiercely in his chest and he uttered a soft 'oh'.

Gu Fangfang wanted to hit him again! What did 'oh' mean?

She went to get him a bottle of water, which he uncapped and drank. Then, she moved a small wooden stool so she could sit opposite him. In such a narrow space, it felt as if there was electricity humming all around them. At this time, An Yan noticed that, apart from a few cosplay costumes Gu Fangfang had carelessly piled up on the study table nearby, there was also a stack of job application forms, resumes, and company briefs.

He asked with concern, "Has your job hunt been smooth?"

"It's okay." When he asked this question, Gu Fangfang exuded weariness with the ups and downs of life. "It's just . . . really tiring."

Being the top student, when An Yan graduated, he immediately achieved his aspiration as he was specially recruited into the Ministry of Public Security's Information Technology Centre. However, from the news on the television as well as from what he had heard, he knew that current graduates faced intense competition and many challenges when hunting for jobs. He could almost imagine Gu Fangfang holding her resume amidst a sea of people, making a move akin to a lightning raid on a prospective employer, waiting nervously for a call for a written test or an interview.