TICFL Chapter 10

In no time, Assistant Lin came into the president’s lounge, carrying bags of all kinds, filled with fruits and snacks.

 

Assistant Lin carefully peeled a lychee. The flesh of the lychee was translucent and mouth-watering.

 

He swallowed hard and placed the peeled lychee in front of Zhang Zhang, saying, “It’s fresh, give it a try.”

 

Zhang Zhang flicked the lychee away with her strong right limb.

 

Unfazed, Assistant Lin peeled another one and placed it in front of Zhang Zhang again, saying, “It’s imported, really delicious.”

 

This time, Zhang Zhang flicked the lychee away with her powerful left limb.

 

Assistant Lin, holding back his temper, peeled yet another one and pleaded, “Come on, please just try one, it’s so expensive! I can’t even afford to buy it for myself.”

 

Yet Zhang Zhang remained ungrateful.

 

Assistant Lin peeled another one, and Zhang Zhang flicked it away again.

 

Assistant Lin peeled one with both hands, and Zhang Zhang flicked it away with both limbs.

 

Assistant Lin peeled yet another one, and Zhang Zhang flicked it away again.

 

As the countless lychees rolled to the floor, Assistant Lin finally couldn’t bear it anymore. He furiously exclaimed, “By flicking my lychees, you’ve really pissed me off!”

 

【tantalize v.招惹】[1]

 

[1]

“Tantalize” is an English verb that means to tease or torment someone by showing them something they desire but cannot have.
“招惹” (zhāo rě) is a Chinese verb that means “to provoke” or “to annoy.”

The note is not part of the story itself but acts as a humorous aside, showing that Assistant Lin learned the word “tantalise” because Zhang Zhang’s actions (flicking the lychees) provoked him.

It’s like a joke: because Assistant Lin was annoyed, it’s as if he’s just learned the word “tantalise” to describe his experience. It’s not an idiom; it’s more of a clever way to insert a vocabulary lesson into the narrative.

 

By flicking his lychees, you provoked Assistant Lin.

 

Great, he learned a new word today.

 

Assistant Lin reminded himself to stay calm; after all, his promotion and salary raise depended on this “money god” cockroach. So, he forcibly restrained his anger and, with a clipped tone, said:

 

“By provoking me, you’ve basically kicked a cotton ball~” [2]

 

[2] In the text, when Assistant Lin says, “惹到我，你算是踢到棉花啦~” (“By provoking me, you’ve basically kicked a cotton ball~”), it uses a metaphor.

“踢到棉花” literally means “to kick a cotton ball.” Cotton is soft and doesn’t provide any resistance when kicked, which can symbolise trying to provoke someone but getting no strong reaction in return.

it’s like kicking a cotton ball—no matter how much Zhang Zhang tries, Assistant Lin won’t respond with anger.

 

“Lin Cotton Ball” then made a heart gesture towards Zhang Zhang with his hands, closed the door to the lounge, and walked away.

 

Assistant Lin thought to himself: If he couldn’t win against it, at least he could avoid it. It would eventually eat when it got hungry.

 

In the vast space, only Zhang Zhang the cockroach remained. Zhang Zhang thought now was the perfect opportunity; if she didn’t leave now, when would she?

 

Zhang Zhang flew to the other end of the thread. She bit at it, and, using her front limbs for extra strength, managed to gnaw through the thread in no time.

 

This has to be thanks to Fu Yiting for feeding her vigorously during this period. In order not to gain weight, Zhang Zhang secretly exercises every night while Fu Yiting is asleep.

 

At this time, when Zhang Zhang flexed her forelimbs, she felt that her muscles were more developed, and her shoulders and back were as broad as a double-door refrigerator.

 

She was very satisfied with her body shape, which was what a southern cockroach should look like.

 

However, although Zhang Zhang was burly, she was still flexible.

 

There’s a saying, “A cockroach isn’t made of liquid, but it might as well be.” As long as there is any gap, she can escape successfully.

 

Zhang Zhang observed the surroundings of the president’s lounge and found that the windows were closed. Finally, she locked her sight on the door crack of the lounge.

 

Only through the door crack!

 

Zhang Zhang had an idea in her mind, so she took off immediately and planned to slip out through the door crack.

 

When she just leaned out half of her body, she saw Assistant Lin standing by the window, talking on the phone with his back to her.

 

“Yeah, mom, I’m doing well.”

 

“Mom, how’s your health lately?”

 

“I’ll find a way to pay back the debts that dad owes.”

 

“Don’t worry… Is my sister’s tuition enough?”

 

“My boss is very good to me. I’m about to get a promotion and a raise.”

 

“Nothing, I’ll hang up first.”

 

A sick mother, a gambling father, a sister in school, and a broken man.

 

Alas…

 

Assistant Lin is just an ordinary office worker.

 

If she ran away now, Fu Yiting would definitely not let Assistant Lin have an easy time.

 

Zhang Zhang thought about how she had already lost her home and family because of Fu Yiting, and at this moment, she couldn’t bear to see Assistant Lin lose his job because of her, ending up with a broken family as well.

 

Zhang Zhang couldn’t bear it.

 

She didn’t want to be a sinner.

 

At this time, Assistant Lin had just finished the phone call, and his eyes were slightly red, and there were still tears in his eyes.

 

He could only look up at the sky at a 45-degree angle to prevent his tears from flowing down.

 

Assistant Lin cheered himself up, and he decided to cheer up his mood and continue to hug to hug the thigh of the “big red cockroach”.[3]

 

[3] The idiom here is similar to the Chinese idiom “抱大腿” (bào dà tuǐ), which literally means “hugging someone’s thigh,” is used to describe someone who is closely aligning themselves with a person of higher status or power in order to gain favour or benefit from that person.

 

Seeing Assistant Lin turn his head, Zhang Zhang quickly darted back into the president’s lounge.

 

She casually lay on top of a lychee and started nibbling on it.

 

It was actually pretty sweet.

 

Assistant Lin pushed the door and found that there was nothing next to the desk lamp. There was no trace of a cockroach, and there was only half a broken golden thread left. He automatically sang “The broken string, how to reconnect.”[4] in his mind.

 

[4] “断了的弦，该怎么连” (duàn le de xián, gāi zěnme lián) means “The broken string, how to reconnect.” It symbolises the challenge of repairing or resolving a problem after something has been broken or disrupted.

 

But when he reacted, he made a sharp scream in the next second.

 

“C-c-cockroach…? Where’s the cockroach? President Fu is definitely going to kill me!”

 

Assistant Lin was sweating profusely and looked around in panic.

 

Zhang Zhang couldn’t bear to see Assistant Lin anxious, so she moved her wings slightly.

 

And because of Zhang Zhang’s action, Assistant Lin finally saw her figure on a lychee on the ground.

 

Assistant Lin’s hanging heart finally settled down.

 

“Thank goodness, I thought I was about to lose my job.”

 

Assistant Lin stepped forward and helped Zhang Zhang and the lychee up respectfully. He tied the silk thread to the lamp again, and at the same time put the half of the gold thread that had been broken before into his pocket.

 

Assistant Lin didn’t dare to leave easily this time, for he was afraid that he wouldn’t be so lucky next time.

 

Assistant Lin looked at Zhang Zhang holding the lychee tightly, so he stretched out his finger and tapped Zhang Zhang’s head, saying proudly:

 

“god of Wealth, I told you the lychee is delicious, didn’t I? It cost me 250.”

 

It’s too expensive, the fruit shop owner is too cunning.

 

【guile n.狡诈】 [5]

 

[5] just like the previous one;

“Guile” is an English noun that means clever but deceitful behaviour, like being tricky. sneaky.

“狡诈” (xiǎo zhà) is a Chinese noun meaning “cunning” or “trickiness.”

In the text, the note “【guile n.狡诈】” is a playful addition, showing that Assistant Lin learned the word “guile” to describe the fruit shop owner’s trickiness.

 

Very good, I learned another word today.

 

Assistant Lin still looked at Zhang Zhang with a smile.

 

Zhang Zhang sighed inwardly.

 

Alas… I won’t run away today, sometimes being soft-hearted is really a disease.

 

Let’s just consider doing a good deed today.

 

___________________________________________________

 

Thank you for reading! If you found any typos please let me know in the comment section!

If you like the translation or novel please rate it on NU and support me on Ko-fi for bonus chapters:

Have a lovely day~~

(づ˶•༝•˶)づ𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒