My One And Only Love/ Exclusive Memory (Somewhere Only We Know) 独家记忆 Chinese Book [English Translation]— Chapter 1 Part 1

 Greetings, hello my dear readers! 

First post!☺♥️ This was how our two protagonists first met... Enjoy reading!

Chapter 1 Part 1: Mr. Beaver VS Miss Astro Boy

Translated by Fei斐 & Proofread by illumi

    There were two exams today, Introduction to Maoism[1] in the morning and Law in the afternoon.

    I worked so hard to solve the questions on the review materials. I transcribed it again, then took it to be printed in smaller size, and then I reduced it again and cut it into as small as dried tofu with scissors, and then sent it for printing. Coming and going, tossing around for a day, working harder than those who were holding on Buddha's feet and those who were cramming all night long.

    When I was handing out the test papers, I saw my friends pass trough the questions. I was a little bit overjoyed and weeping. The hard work paid off. When I copied the answers yesterday, I wrote down those rough estimation points. I was in a great mood, but as I just wanted to put the note away, I felt a flattering hot look on me.

    "Xue Tong, let me borrow it." Sitting behind me, Zhong Qiang, who was separated by an aisle said kindly, "Saving a life is better than building a seven-level Buddha."

    I looked at him, then looked at what was in my hand, gritted my teeth and handed it to him, "Remember to pay me back."

    Twenty minutes after the test, Teacher Luo, the invigilator, picked up a blank 'Introduction to Maoism' test paper and began to be lost in thought. After the reflection, his eyes became dim. It was obvious that Mr. Luo had started wandering. Meanwhile, the examination room successfully entered the golden cheating period. The courage of the students gradually fermented, and each showed their magical powers.

    Bai Lin behind me came to the classroom early this morning to copy the answers on the desk with a pencil, and she was now working really hard. However, Zhong Qiang looked at Teacher Luo on the podium, then fumbled inside his pocket. After a long time rustling the things inside his pocket, he finally unfolded the small note like doing a special mission. I no longer wanted to look at his stupidity. With a pen in my mouth and two eyebrows frowned together, I began to seriously ponder the essence of Chairman Mao's thoughts.

    After a while, I heard Zhong Qiang coughing and coughing constantly. As soon as I lifted my face, I saw him winking at me. I followed his gaze and looked down— the note I lent to help him was blown away by the wind to the foot of my table, lying on the spacious isle eye-catchingly.

    A piece of paper was densely printed with words smaller than ant. For convenience, I printed the answers for today's two subjects on it. The 'Introduction to Maoism' on the front and the Law on the back, both together were about half the size of a CD-ROM. Now, I looked at the paper a little distressed. I looked up at Zhong Qiang, who couldn't copy any answer, yet he could still make it fall to the ground. I stooped angrily to fish it up, but wasn't successful. When I increased the arc the second time, someone stepped on it. I grabbed the corner of the note pitifully and said in a low voice, "Classmate, you stepped on my thing." This person was really ignorant. If you wanted to hand in the paper, just hand in the paper, and if you wanted to leave, just leave. It almost broke my 'hard work'. However, the leg didn't move away.

    I said, "Classmate." After I finished speaking, I wanted to look up to see who was it, but the angle was too big that my neck was only halfway up when I saw his knees. If it weren't for the teacher who was sitting on the podium, I couldn't promise not to chew on him in normal times. Zhong Qiang, who was next to me, coughed and coughed, again and again.

    "Hey." I was anxious. This person can't just step on my things just because his leg is long...

    Bai Lin also coughed.

    Now, I was wondering. There was no flu at school, but why did these two have flu together? Were they intentionally letting me be discovered by the Old Man Luo? At this moment, the other party finally raised his foot, and I pulled the thing out. I was about to breathe a long breath, but I didn't expect the owner of those legs to bend his waist and squat down. Immediately, a young man's face slowly fell into my sight. I looked at the facial features that suddenly magnified before my eyes, my mind hadn't even resumed working. The man smiled sharply, pointed to the thing in my hand, and asked kindly, "Classmate, what are you holding in your hand?"

    As soon as the voice fell, the work permit hanging on his chest also swayed down. And the three bold words, which instantly made me utterly extinguished, were printed on it— the inspector(巡考只).

    Seeing the situation unfold, Zhong Qiang quickly got up to hand in the paper, and then quickly disappeared from the examination room. I looked at him, then at Zhong Qiang's disappearing back, and finally at the tightly pinched paper in my hand. My mouth opened, but no word came out of it. I was caught alive by the other party, and I couldn't argue. I was panicked, then ashamed, and then I began to look straight at the desolate life, and at last turned into an utterly righteous look. Originally, things fell on the ground, and everyone around didn't admit it. But sooner or later, he chose the best time to get the personal stolen goods to arrest me. I am more wronged than Dou E Yuan[2].

    "Still don't want to admit that it is yours?" In the office, the examiner teacher asked with a smile.

    "Kind of." I coldly sneered.

    "This thing is not yours?"

    "...Yes." I wrote, I printed, I cut.

    "You're not the one who bring it into the examination room?"

    "……Yes."

"Then, don't tell me.. you actually wanted to cheat, but before the exam you suddenly found out that you had decided to change your mind and you kindly lent it to your classmate. As a result, this classmate accidentally dropped the thing under your feet. Afterward, right at that very moment, I came..." The man raised his eyebrows, "Classmate, this line is no longer popular many years ago."

    My face changed from purple to black. This man said everything I could and wanted to say in one breath. I took a deep breath, why was there such a teacher in the world? When I saw that the other party was still posing leisurely and  complacent look, I was even more angry and there was an urge to pounce and strangle him immediately.

    Before leaving, I turned my head viciously: "Teacher!" I was looking upon death like going home[3].

    "Well, what else do you need to say?"

    "Please return my thing to me."

    "Why?" the man asked casually.

    "Because I still need to use it for the Law test in the afternoon." I replied.

    I heard a "click" at the door. Probably because Bai Lin, who was guarding outside at the door, fell.

    Unexpectedly, the man was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled slightly and gestured to the crime evidence on the table with his chin and said, "Take it. But, this classmate, if you cheat in the afternoon, you better pick a better method. To carry in slip of papers is the dumbest kind."

    Me:"……"

    Bai Lin: "..."

    Days after until all exams were taken, I was still not summoned by the counselor, nor did I receive any news from the department to deal with me. I was born with fewer roots than others (T/N: means she is more absent-minded/carefree compared to other people), and gradually did not worry about this matter. When I returned home, I focused on eating & drinking, raising some fat, and warmly welcoming my third year in university.

♡    💜    ♡    💜    ♡    💜    ♡

[1]  Maoism is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed for realising a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Republic of China.
T/N: Our female protagonist, Xue Tong, is studying English literature. I think this is only a compulsory subject in Chinese Universities, like the general introduction about Law. I'm not quite sure, but it seemed to be that way. Just in case you're confused, don't mind it!

[2] The full Chinese title of the play is Gan Tian Dong Di Dou E Yuan, which roughly translates to The Injustice to Dou E that Touched Heaven and Earth. The story follows a child bride turned widow, Dou E, who is wrongly convicted of crimes by a corrupt court official for actions perpetrated by a rejected suitor, Zhang the mule. After her execution, three prophesied phenomena occur to prove her innocence, including blood raining from the sky, snow in June and a three-year drought. After a visit from the ghost of Dou E, her father eventually brings the corrupt court official, a doctor and Mule Zhang to justice, thereby vindicating his daughter. Today, the phrase "snowing in June" is still widely used among Chinese speakers as a metaphor for a miscarriage of justice.

[3] It is an idiom 视死如归 shì sĭ rŭ guī 一 literally translated as 'look upon death like going home', it means: to not be afraid of "dying".

♡    💜    ♡    💜    ♡    💜    ♡

That's the end of Chapter 1 part 1. pheww!

Unsurprisingly, this post has 1,572 words (´∀｀）

This newbie translator got a souvenir from writing her first translation post: a sore neck and back! *lol* After finishing this I feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction HAHAHAHA. See you next week!

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