‘If you really don’t want her any more, then make it clear to her as soon as you can so that you don’t waste any more of her precious time.’
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Ch. 54
Ever since Ning Weixuan told Zheng Dingding about Ning Weijin’s routine, she began creating all sorts of ‘coincidences’ that allowed her to run into him, but these proved largely ineffectual as he tended to treat her as though she were invisible most of the time.
Whether it was the hospital, the library, the gym or Tianshui Court, Ning Weijin always had a way of ignoring her presence and being wholly absorbed in his own tasks.
Zheng Dingding returned crestfallen¹ every time, earning her Xiao Qiong’s derision.
¹ 鎩羽而歸. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
‘Please, isn’t it about time you changed this strategy of yours? You can’t be waiting around like this forever until his mood is good enough for you to approach him to talk. Problem is, are you actually sure that it’s ever a good time with him?’
‘But I have to at least choose a time when he’s willing to hear me out so that our communication will be meaningful.’ Zheng Dingding sounded even more morose as she added, ‘If I go up to him rashly and block his way, it’ll make him mad and then he’ll be even less inclined to listen to me.’
Xiao Qiong was speechless for a few moments before suggesting, ‘Why not try acting pitiful? Most men tend to fall for that.’
Most men tended to fall for that? Zheng Dingding mused to herself. But Ning Weijin was clearly not like most men.
‘Tch, Zheng Dingding! Does it really have to be him?! If you’re so free, you might as well use the time to get to know some other guys!’
‘At least I know what I’m doing now and won’t have any regrets,’ Zheng Dingding replied earnestly.
‘Forget it, forget it, I know you’re a stubborn mule who’s not going to listen to anything anyone tells you,’ Xiao Qiong sighed. ‘As your best friend, I can only wish you luck and hope that you can conquer that proud poker face soon.’
After hanging up, Zheng Dingding opened her photo folder and edited some photos before uploading them to her shop’s blog page, XOXO.
After doing that, she wrote an entry in her journal as usual and then went to bed. Just as she was closing her eyes, a thought occurred to her: the truth was, it wasn’t really as though she couldn’t live without him and the same was true for him. However, Ning Weijin was the first guy she had been romantically involved with — she had never really experienced falling in love until he came along. So to her, Ning Weijin was her only love, her love was him.
It was that simple.
Since she couldn’t bear to let him go, then giving up easily was not an option.
The Unsinkable downtempo bar.
Purplish-blue lights revolved slowly above the bar counter, reflecting off the glasses in alluringly darker hues. Blues music, soft and understated, was playing and a sexy female singer was currently swaying sensuously to its rhythm on a small stage in the centre of the bar.
Ning Weiming took a sip of his long drink before nudging Ning Weijin with his elbow and commenting laughingly, ‘Damn heartless you are. She’s already followed you all the way here, yet you’re still playing it cool and ignoring her?’
He was referring to Zheng Dingding who was sitting at a small, round table not too far from them, drinking juice and nibbling on fries.
Ning Weijin’s eyes were lowered, his long fingers wrapped round a can of tonic water. He pulled the tab off easily and gave the content of the can a gentle swirl, his expression unconcerned.
‘Never mind if it’s other girls but this is Dingding, you know? Are you sure you want to carry on like this?’ Ning Weiming’s amusement faded and he observed seriously, ‘It’s not easy for girls to do this. She must really have feelings for you, otherwise it would be impossible.’
‘Have feelings for me?’ Ning Weijin echoed coolly. ‘She likes another guy so how can she have any feelings for me?’
‘Why are you constantly harping on this senior of hers? He’s her ex, maybe not even that — just a guy whom she liked when she was younger. Who hasn’t had an innocent crush in their salad days?’ Ning Weiming cast a glance at Ning Weijin’s cold expression while talking and added, ‘All right, maybe you’re the exception but most normal people have, so you can’t impose your standards on her.’
As the blues music faded away and the lights dimmed, there was applause and whistling.
‘Dingding choosing to stay by the side of that senior when he was in critical condition is excusable in my view. After all, it wasn’t a trifling thing and helping him was called for on compassionate grounds. Can’t you stop being so prejudiced against it?’ Ning Weiming cast another glance at Ning Weijin and added, ‘No wonder you’re never able to make new friends.’
The latter did not speak again and merely drank his tonic water quietly.
Zheng Dingding finished her fruit juice and fries and checked the time on her phone — it was nearly half-past eight.
When she looked up again, she felt a hot, alcohol-laced breath gusting near her cheek.
A skinny guy wearing an American-style shirt was leaning over and asking kindly, ‘All alone, babe?’
She shook her head and fibbed easily, ‘My boyfriend is here too. He just went to the gents.’
‘Oh yeah?’ American Shirt wagged a finger gently, a smile in his eyes as he remarked, ‘I was observing you from Table 2 the whole time. From the time you came in until now, you’ve been eating all by your lonesome self. The so-called boyfriend doesn’t exist.’
Zheng Dingding cast him a sideways glance before ignoring him.
Ning Weiming was watching all of this unfold and turned his head to warn Ning Weijin, ‘Someone’s chatting Dingding up already. You really don’t care?’
The next second, Ning Weijin crushed his can of tonic water while giving off intimidating vibes.
Ning Weiming chuckled and reached out to pat his shoulder briefly. ‘Relax, I’ll help you take care of it.’
He left his seat and went over directly to rescue Zheng Dingding from her predicament. American Shirt had no choice but to back off and left with a disgruntled air. Ning Weiming sat down, chatted idly with her for a few moments and then chivalrously paid her bill before leaving.
Once back at his seat, he remarked with apparent carelessness, ‘A girl as cute and pretty as Dingding appeals to everyone so it’s no surprise that guys try to chat her up. If you really don’t want her any more, then make it clear to her as soon as you can so that you don’t waste any more of her precious time.’
‘I’ve already made it clear to her,’ Ning Weijin replied calmly.
‘Oh, really? And here I was thinking that you’re leaving someone at large now the better to catch her later², while still thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being chased by her.’
…
A moment later, Ning Weijin stood up, took out a red yuan note from his wallet and placed the money under the glass before commanding Ning Weiming, ‘Give her a lift home.’
The latter gave a brief shrug and smiled knowingly.
² 欲擒故縱. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Seeing that Ning Weijin was striding out of the bar, Zheng Dingding immediately got up and started to follow him but was hailed by Ning Weiming behind her before she reached the door.
‘Dingding, forget it. He’s in a bad mood now and won’t be listening to anything you have to say.’
She stopped, turned and looked crestfallen at him.
Ning Weiming came up to her, patted her shoulder briefly and offered, ‘I’ll give you a lift home.’
She did not say anything while in the car.
Ning Weiming turned the steering wheel and asked, ‘Do you really like Ning Weijin a lot?’
Zheng Dingding was briefly taken aback before instantly nodding and saying, ‘Yes.’
‘Then is he aware of how you feel about him?’
It was a question that had her stumped instead. She had assumed that Ning Weijin must surely have known and had never suspected otherwise. However, now that Ning Weiming had actually posed this question, she was suddenly a little uncertain. Ning Weijin was aware of her feelings for him, wasn’t he?
Ning Weiming smiled lazily. ‘An unsociable, eccentric and proud genius like him is hopeless when it comes to the way of the world. What most people take for granted might mean something else entirely to him. So, if you really want to get him back, here’s a tip for you: let him know clearly how deep your feelings for him run and what he means to you.’
‘You mean, confess my feelings?’
‘Yes, be clear, straightforward and to the point.’
‘…’ She considered this for a moment before venturing, ‘Will confessing my feelings really help? I feel that the crux of the matter is that he’s misunderstood me.’
‘The misunderstanding does need to be cleared up, but people don’t like to listen to any explanations when they’re in a bad mood, so no matter how justifiable an explanation is they’re not going to accept it. To someone like Ning Weijin, if he wants to accept something he’ll do so himself naturally, but no one can convince him to accept it if he doesn’t want to. You can think of ways to let him accept it willingly³, where he convinces himself, understand?’ Ning Weiming instructed her patiently. ‘Of course, all this is assuming that you’re really certain that he has a place in your heart and is irreplaceable.’
³ 心甘情願. Please consider reading from hiding in plain sight rather than from novelscraping sites.
The following day was Saturday and according to Ning Weixuan, Ning Weijin had the morning off and was going to do some research at the library.
Zheng Dingding had overslept, thus it was nearly noon by the time she rushed down to the library. She found Ning Weijin easily enough who was sitting at a table by a window, quietly turning over the pages of a book.
She chose a seat near him and sat down before taking out a copy of Just Kidding which she usually carried around with her.
At around noon, Ning Weijin had a call and went out into the corridor to take it. Seizing the opportunity, Zheng Dingding brought out a lunchbox and took out a sandwich she had made herself, went furtively over to his seat and placed the sandwich beside his book.
After doing that, she went back to her seat as though nothing had happened and continued to read her book.
Shortly after that, he came back in. Zheng Dingding spotted his tall, well-built figure out of the corner of her eye and began observing his reaction discreetly.
She then saw Ning Weijin halt, look down at that puzzling sandwich and appear to consider it for a moment before picking it up.
Just as she was expecting him to pull off the cling film and take a bite of the sandwich, he took a few steps forward and threw it into the rubbish bin which was standing in a corner.
Zheng Dingding’s heart sank all the way into her boots…
She had already placed a note ‘For Ning Weijin’ on the sandwich; she had already catered to his taste and made him a fresh vegetable sandwich — no meat, no spicy sauces, no preservatives — so why had it ended up like this?
It was the first time in her life that she was so openly chasing a man. She, who had never given anyone a love letter or even a single piece of chocolate, felt demoralised for the first time.
Ning Weijin went back to his seat and began typing away on his phone, wholly engrossed in the task and giving off a ‘do not disturb’ vibe.
A soft scoffing laugh suddenly drifted over to her ears. She turned round to look and saw a teenager covering his mouth and sniggering at her — he had probably witnessed her furtive actions earlier…
It looked like the things depicted in manga weren’t true after all — a couples’ bento was still better suited to couples who were in love.
(Approx. 2027 words)
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Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
Uff!! I agree with Weijin’s cousin that he’s playing hard to get so that he can later corner Dingding. But man I do feel that he’s on the verge of breaking her heart.
I am curious as to what sort of a confession it will for him to thaw towards Dingding. Go Dingding!! I am rooting for you!
Thank you for the update! This is a very fun story to read and I enjoy it thoroughly!😀
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The Prof is rather mean in this chapter 😑 But he’s not as unaffected by her as he likes to believe. Luckily the author doesn’t drag things out for too long.
I’m glad to hear you do! It’s nice to know people are enjoying it!
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