On a fall afternoon, after the small episode of encountering an old acquaintance, Bian Cheng’s mood suddenly became wonderful.
He walked into the office and placed the keys in the small wooden box on the desk where miscellaneous items were kept. Not long after he sat down when his phone received a message.
He picked it up and took a look. It was the neighbor with no environmental awareness again.
Since he moved in, he had developed a dislike for the neighbor he had never met. This person had been piling up trash in the hallway, which caused the hygiene of the living environment to deteriorate sharply—he hated seeing clutter in his view.
Now, the person had used the public space as a weapon, demanding that he remove the carefully selected cameras, and then sent a bunch of ineffective exclamation marks, accusing him of invading privacy.
Bian Cheng replied expressionlessly: [Do you have something you don’t want me to see?]
He had no interest in his neighbor’s comings and goings or daily life; installing the camera was just out of habit. When he was in the United States, the security in the neighborhood wasn’t good, and having a camera provided a sense of safety. Besides, many houses in China were equipped with intercom systems that allowed people to see the visitor’s face, which was similar in function to the camera.
Was it really necessary to be so worked up?
Could it be that there was really some unspeakable secret?
Suddenly, Bian Cheng became curious about the annoying neighbor next door. He opened the app connected to the camera, which showed signs of activity fifteen minutes ago. He played the footage, and the sound of footsteps going upstairs could be heard.
Then, a familiar face suddenly appeared on the screen.
In the video, the black-and-white eyes were wide open, the lips tightly pressed together, and a cute little indentation1凹陷: dented; indentation; hollow; pit; sunken. So honestly I’m not sure if the author means dimple or not, so I put indentation appeared on the chin as a result.
The terrified expression vanished in an instant. The next second, that person covered his face with his hand and dashed inside as if fleeing for his life.
Bian Cheng stared at the screen for half a minute, then put down his phone and closed his eyes. After a while, he reopened the recording on the app, and the image froze on that shocked face.
Ultra-clear image quality, every detail was exposed, leaving absolutely no room for error.
He placed his hand on his forehead and took a deep breath.
How is this possible? Isn’t this guy a PhD student? Why is he living across from next door?
He opened his contacts, found the number Wen Di had given him, and searched for it on WeChat.
A strange account popped up.
It wasn’t the account he had been arguing with.
But the person was definitely the same.
Bian Cheng recalled Wen Di’s strange reaction of fleeing in panic in front of the camera, which seemed like a guilty conscience.
A PhD student living in the faculty apartments, being cautious, refusing to show his face—illegal subletting?
He looked down at the account he had been arguing with for a month.
A secondary account for someone without proper registration?
If this account was also Wen Di’s, then…
Bian Cheng scrolled up, seeing phrases like ‘illogical,’ ‘tasteless,’ ‘ugly handwriting,’ ‘paramecium’…
He closed his phone and leaned back in his ergonomic chair, falling into a dissociative state.
He meant what he said to Song Yuchi—he didn’t need a social life, and talking to people made him feel exhausted. Even if he spoke without regard for other people’s feelings and without any emotional drain, interpersonal relationships still gave him a headache.
Now, it was clear that this belief was completely correct. If he hadn’t insisted on arguing with his neighbor, he wouldn’t have caused such a huge problem.
A huge problem!
A historical stain!
Then Bian Cheng remembered something, and the thought hit him like a blaring alarm, snapping his drifting mind back into his body.
Just now, to verify that the number was correct, he had called Wen Di. So now Wen Di knew his phone number.
If Wen Di used this phone number to search for him on WeChat…
He quickly opened WeChat, unlinked his phone number, linked it to another number he had, and then used the original phone number to register a new account.
His actions were very timely because, two minutes later, he received a friend request on the new account.
He accepted it, and sure enough, it was another Shakespeare avatar.
Sam doesn’t eat spicy food: [It’s me, Wen Di! [Rabbit waving.jpg]]
ℙ: [Hello]
Sam doesn’t eat spicy food: [I’m here to repay my debt! Professor, what do you usually like to eat? [Hamster eating rice.jpg]]
ℙ: [Chongqing hotpot.]
Sam doesn’t eat spicy food: [……]
Sam doesn’t eat spicy food: [OK! [Cute rabbit hugging a heart.jpg]]
Bian Cheng stared at the densely packed emoji for a long time, beginning to doubt his photographic memory. He switched back to his main account and reviewed the chat history with his neighbor.
“May all the wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed with raven’s feature from unwholesome fen drop on you!”
He was silent for a moment, then switched back to his second account, where a bunch of starry-eyed rabbits appeared before his eyes.
So this person is like this in real life?
He shook his head, then frowned at the inconvenience of switching accounts back and forth: the two of them were using four accounts, chatting in two completely different styles—either they both were crazy, or they had too much time on their hands.
‘Sam doesn’t eat spicy food’ then sent over several restaurant links, all near the school. Bian Cheng quickly browsed through them and chose a Chongqing Nine-grid hotpot.
Chongqing Jiugongge was a round pot with three different ways to cook: thorough boiling, boiling, and scalding.2for this, the author actually wrote 酣煮烫三种吃法. 酣 literally means ‘intoxicated’ or ‘thorough’ so that’s why I translated it to thorough boiling The only difference is between spicy and devilishly spicy.
On the other side of the screen, Wen Di stared at the red, oily restaurant sign, feeling his throat burn already. He had spent eight years in Beijing but still eats spicy hotpot with sauce flavor.
But the main goal was to chase someone, not to eat. It didn’t matter if he didn’t eat a bite, he could be full by looking at the handsome man through the steam. Besides, hot pot in Wudaokou wasn’t cheap, so eating less meat could save some money.
Then Wen Di remembered something. The last time they were chatting in the car, he had asked the professor to have dinner on Saturday—which was today—and the professor’s expression had seemed a bit strange. He had been thinking about it for a while, so since he had gotten the contact information, he might as well ask.
Wen Di: [We originally planned for today, but missed it. Luckily, we can make up for it soon, hahaha.]
Wen Di: [But, is there any issue with having dinner today?]
ℙ: [Issue?]
Wen Di: [Oh, after I mentioned it last time, you didn’t say anything for a long time.]
ℙ: [Today is my birthday.]
Wen Di, who had been lounging on the bed, immediately sat up straight.
What?! Did he blindly choose such an important day?
And he missed it? Such a perfect opportunity to strengthen their relationship?!
But then again, shouldn’t such a special day be spent with family and friends? Professor actually agreed to have dinner with him?
Wen Di felt flattered and honored. 3受宠若惊 basically means be overwhelmed by a special/unexpected favor; be overwhelmed by flattery and honor
Wen Di: [Oh my god!! Happy birthday!! [Cake][Cake][Fireworks]]
Wen Di: [Why didn’t you tell me earlier? What a pity!]
ℙ: [I don’t really celebrate my birthday.]
Wen Di: [No way! We have to make up for it tomorrow!]
ℙ: [No need.]
Wen Di: [It is!! How can you just let a once-a-year occasion pass by so casually!]
ℙ: [I don’t like crowds.]
Wen Di: [How much of a crowd can just one person make? Don’t worry ba.]
Wen Di: [But I have another question.]
ℙ: [What?]
Wen Di: [Why do you use IP as your avatar?
ℙ: [IP?]
ℙ: [This is projective space.]
Wen Di: […I just remembered I have a paper to write. Bye!]
He should have done a reverse image search first!
As the conversation came to an end, Wen Di pondered how to make up for the birthday. He wasn’t very close with Professor, so celebrating too grandly wasn’t an option—firstly, it would go over budget, and secondly, it would be too extravagant.
Maybe just a small gift would be better, especially since it was for his secret crush.
Giving gifts is very difficult. If it wasn’t to the recipient’s taste, the giver would leave disappointed, and the recipient would be burdened with something they didn’t want—a lose-lose situation. Wen Di didn’t want to give something that the other person wouldn’t like but would feel obliged to keep. Ideally, it should be interesting, fresh, and not too expensive, so it wouldn’t add any burden.
Wen Di decided to ask for help from outsiders. After mentally going through his list of friends, he decided to find Jiang Nanze, the love veteran.
Wen Di calculated the time difference—it was currently 2 a.m. in the Western Time Zone.
Great, he must be awake.
He poked the jellyfish head4the avatar and asked: [Are you asleep?]
The other party quickly replied: [No.]
Wen Di: [Is Iruka asleep?]5In case you all forgot, Iruka is his pet Irukandji jellyfish
Jiang Nanze: [No.]
Wen Di: [Is Thomas asleep?]
Jiang Nanze: [What do you want to ask?]
Wen Di: [Remember the professor I mentioned last time? I want to give him a birthday gift. What do you think would be appropriate?]
Jiang Nanze: [What are your requirements?]
Wen Di: [Something tasteful, high-class, unique, unforgettable at first glance, and most importantly, cheap.]
The other party was silent for a long time, and then replied: [Don’t be so stingy when you’re trying to pursue someone.]
Wen Di: [I’m not stingy, just poor.]
Jiang Nanze: [Those two are statistically significantly correlated.]
Wen Di rolled his eyes at the ceiling.
Jiang Nanze: [Why don’t you order something special ba.]
Wen Di: [Be more specific.]
Jiang Nanze: [What does he like?]
Wen Di: [Mathematics?]
Jiang Nanze: [Go online and see if there are any cups or plates with mathematical symbols printed on them.]
As expected of a top student with zero downtime between relationships—creative cups and tableware are affordable, frequently used, and perfect for leaving an impression and reminding someone of you. Wen Di sent a ‘thank you, da lao’6From wiki, 大佬- (Cantonese) elder brother; big brother; (Cantonese) old buddy · triad boss; boss; magnate; (Cantonese, video games) boss. In this context, it’s similar to da-ge 大哥 emoji and opened Taobao.
There are indeed many talented people on the Internet; heart-shaped math formulas, complex numbers, geometry—all designed to impress with their mysterious sophistication. Wen Di glanced over the options, and his favorite was a white ceramic cup with the outer part sculpted into the shape of a Möbius strip. It was simple, elegant, and stylish.
The store owner said they could engrave words on it and after much thought, Wen Di chose a phrase: Good morning, Complex Geometer!
Say hello every morning ba.
After paying and placing the order, Wen Di contentedly fell back onto his bed. The weather was clear, the sun was bright, the neighbors were quiet, and life was flourishing.
This weekend is going to be wonderful.
The author has something to say:
This weekend is definitely going to be troublesome.
T/N: Title is from Two Gentlemen from Verona, Act 1 Scene 2. The literal translation for the title ‘火关得越紧，烧起来越猛烈’ would be ‘the tighter the fire is contained, the fiercer it burns.’
