You Sound Sleepy

Translator: BipBop

The book kiosk was less than 200 meters from the restaurant.

Lin Mian’s hands loosely rested on the back of Que Qingyan’s shoulders, her heart like a bouncing spring, jumping and frenzied. 

The tips of her fingers were trembling and her drunken nerves were unusually sensitive. Her palms felt warmth from his body through his thin shirt.

Que Qingyan’s body had a pleasant, clean smell, like the refreshing fragrance of nature. Her head stiff, Lin Mian didn’t dare to get closer to him to get a clearer picture of the smell.

When I’m close, he definitely hears my frantic heartbeats.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Que Qingyan didn’t feel the need to speak, and Lin Mian…

She was desperately trying to figure out how to speak.

It was already dark. The stars shone dimly and the street lights illuminated the road. From Lin Mian’s perspective, the back-side view of Que Qingyan’s face was under the dabbled light and shadows, his features well-defined. His jawline and necklines combined with his luxury brand shirt collar were enchanting.

Accustomed to drawing pretty boys in her manhua, Author Mu Mian had only a seven-word mantra left in her head.

… ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!

Silently taking a deep breath, Lin Mian, her face boiling, continuously brainwashed herself.

I am drunk. I am drunk.

That’s right, I’m so drunk that my brain isn’t working.

I’m so drunk so… it’s understandable if I do and say some stupid things, right?

Understandable.

Lin Mian had succeeded in brainwashing herself. Her hands were loosely on the back of Que Qingyan’s shoulders and the night breeze grew colder, but her hands were sweaty. 

“Que, Professor Que.” She brewed a concerned tone, her heart jumping anxiously, her voice low. “Are you cold”

Que Qingyan, who was carrying her on his back, briefly paused after hearing her. “What’s the matter?”

“I’ll perform a magic trick, ok?”

In a second, Lin Mian, her face blushing, and unafraid of death, put her head on the back of his neck. Her hands changed from touching his shoulders to gently wrapping around his neck.

I can’t get any closer than this.

“I,” Lin Mian stuttered, trying to explain. “I’m turtleneck now.”

“…”

“Wow, you’re a heroine, a wonder woman, and you’re insanely stupidly brave.”

Bai Jaiyi appraised decisively.

In front of the sink, Lin Mian opened her phone and turned on the speakers, listening to music while brushing her teeth. After a while, she closed her eyes in front of the mirror and placed her forehead on the mirror, still holding her toothbrush.

“Ah…”

I. Want. to. Die….

 “Then what?” Bai Jiayi listened excitedly. Biting a crunchy apple, she continued to ask. “What did Que Qingyan say? What did he say?”

“…” Lin Mian held her toothbrush and recalled what happened. She vaguely said, “Nothing to say.”

Bai Jiayi stood silent for a second. Like hell she would believe that! “What happened?!”

Lin Mian fully recalled what happened last night.

Que Qingyan carried her to the restaurant’s parking lot. When she got into his car and fastened her seatbelt, he leaned close to her and, with one hand on the top of the car, said:

“I don’t care if you lose your temper.” The interior lights of the car weren’t turned on. Under the dim light, the man’s eyes swept over her, his voice low and pleasant. “Now let’s talk about something else.” 

Bai Jiayi excitedly said, “And?”

“Flirting with a professor was deemed inappropriate,” Lin Mian said in a flat tone. “He asked me to write a 1,000-word reflection paper. I need to hand it to him when I’m finished.”

“…”

A 1,000-word reflection paper for hugging his neck…

Lin Mian whispered that sentence. Biai Jiayi wasn’t able to hear clearly. “What?”

Lin Mian rinsed her mouth, her face blushing. “I earned it.”

After finishing breakfast, Lin Mian sat in front of her computer, checking emails and her Weibo feed. She picked some fan messages and responded to them.

Once she was done, she created a blank word document. A new day, a new reflection paper.

Lin Mian had just written a 40,000-word reflection paper. Logically speaking she should be able to write a 1,000-word reflection paper easily. However, she was currently staring at a blank screen, lost. Guilty.

After a long time, she typed: I have already deeply realized my mistakes. I shouldn’t…

shouldn’t like you too much, though it’s really difficult to not like you.

Lin Mian stopped typing. “…”

Am I writing a love letter???

Delete. Delete.

While she was pondering, her phone placed beside her on the table vibrated. She glanced at it and answered the call.

The call was from Xu Tong.

Still late at night in Toronto, Xu Tong, after a couple of months of intense honeyed affection with her Canadian boyfriend, finally decided to return to China.

“Mianmian, I booked my plane ticket and will be in City B next Wednesday.” Xu Tong really didn’t want to leave. She was choking up. Sobbing, she said, “Just in time for the Economic Law class on Friday.”

 This happened so suddenly. Lin Mian, unprepared and stunned, repeated what Xu Tong said, “Will be in City B next Wednesday?”

“Yep.” Xu Tong was extremely grateful for Lin Mian covering for her. “I asked one of my classmates to borrow their notes and classwork. I’ll make up everything once I get back. Mianmian you don’t have to be there for attendance for me in the future.”

“Mianmian!” Xu Tong began breaking down, crying. “I’m gonna miss Ethan –”

Xu Tong will return to China next Wednesday. 

After hanging up, Lin Mian kneeled on the plushy computer chair, staring at the screen in a daze.

Before Xu Tong came back, Lin Mian attended class in place of her cousin, Xu Tong. So far, miraculously everything was going “smoothly.” Except for Xu Zhu, nobody knew her true identity.

But, when Xu Tong returned to China, Que Qingyan would definitely realize the truth sooner or later.

Lin Mian wasn’t Xu Tong. She had been hiding that from him for a long time.

In fact, Lin Mian had actually thought of being exposed one day. She knew it was going to get out eventually. It’s just that she didn’t know how to confess properly. If you considered the things she’s been doing so far… every single stunt she pulled would cause an old professor, who’s been teaching for several decades, to get high blood pressure.

Even if Lin Mian was confident about getting Que Qingyan…

If he realized that she deceived him the entire time, tried to pursue him through a variety of “interesting ways,” and even coveted him for many years…

Lin Mian buried her head into her knees and slowly shrank into a ball.

After a while, she deleted the document with a serious, solemn expression and opened a different document that had been on her computer for a long time. She poked the keys on the keyboard, slowly typing out a message.

《The Success Rate on Capturing Professor Que’s Fair Heart》

0

Be strict with confession and even stricter with resistance. 

Tl Note: original chinese (坦白从严，抗拒更严). This is a play on words based on one of china’s criminal policies (坦白从宽，抗拒从严) which basically means to be lenient with confession and strict with resistance.

In the afternoon, Lin Mian, working, scribbled on some drafts, biting her pen occasionally. She made her decision. She decided it would be best for her to confess to Que Qingyan in advance.

She was extending her head over a knife. It didn’t matter as she would also get cut if she retracted her head. Rather than let Que Qingyan discover it himself, it would be better if she told him herself. 

After making no progress in her draft, Lin Mian internally struggled for 10 minutes, fidgety checking the time. It was time. She inserted her pen into the pen holder.

She went out and pressed the 10th-floor button on the elevator. Taking a deep breath in front of a very familiar door number, Lin Mian rubbed her face and carried a face that was ready to accept death. Two minutes passed. After readying herself mentally, she carefully rang the doorbell.

She was going to plead guilty.