Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 80
by Little PandaLP: Rough translation… again!
You Must Protect Yourself
Anzhi didn’t know how long she had been asleep. When she woke up, it was already evening. She let out a yawn.
“Auntie! You’re back?” She found Yan Xi sitting on the edge of the sofa. Her books and test papers had all been tidied up.
Yan Xi hummed in acknowledgment, smoothing down Anzhi’s hair as she saw the girl’s face flushed from sleep.
“Did Xu Jia’er go home?” Anzhi scanned the room.
“Oh, she left,” Yan Xi said faintly. “Go wash your face. It’s time to go down for dinner.”
Anzhi touched her cheek. “Oh.” Did I drool? she wondered, a little confused.
After they finished eating, Anzhi sensed that Yan Xi was somewhat quiet. “Was work okay today?” she asked.
“Mm, it was fine.”
What Anzhi really wanted to ask was whether it had been awkward for her to see Liao Chengyu. But seeing as Yan Xi didn’t seem to want to discuss work, Anzhi didn’t press the matter.
Later that evening, after Anzhi had bathed, Yan Xi was there again to wrap her in a large towel. She helped her change into another nightdress. Anzhi secretly observed her, disheartened to find that the strange atmosphere from last night was completely gone. Yan Xi was calm throughout the whole process, wearing an expression that said she was already used to it. Afterward, Anzhi started reviewing her schoolwork, but her mind was elsewhere.
A short while later, Yan Xi emerged from her own bath. “Aren’t you going to your room?”
“Mm, I want to stay here. I still can’t hold a pen.” Anzhi looked at the pile of test papers, frustrated. It seemed she would have to miss this monthly exam.
“How did you review during the day?” Yan Xi asked leisurely.
“Xu Jia’er helped me review chemistry. We discussed our approaches to the problems, but I still have so many papers left…”
“I want to hold a pen and write!” Anzhi said, her voice full of misery.
Yan Xi couldn’t help but laugh. “Bring the papers over. I’ll write for you. You just dictate.”
“Huh? Is that okay?”
“It’s fine. Which subject first?” Yan Xi sat down on the rug as well.
Anzhi blinked at her. “Chinese? You’ve probably forgotten the material for the other subjects by now…” Yan Xi had majored in journalism, and her Chinese and English were excellent, but she must have forgotten all her science knowledge by now, right?
“…You’re underestimating me!” Yan Xi shot her a glare, pulled out a math paper, and got up to grab a few sheets of draft paper. “I refuse to believe I can’t do math!”
“A cone and a hemisphere share a common base. If the volume of the cone is equal to the volume of the hemisphere, what is the sine of the angle formed by the cone’s slant height and its axis?”
“Mm,” Yan Xi said, cupping her chin. “Let me think…”
Anzhi glanced at the problem and, after tracing it out on the table with her left hand, roughly knew the answer.
“If the volumes are equal, then the cone’s height is twice the base radius?” Yan Xi murmured to herself.
Watching her serious expression, Anzhi stifled a laugh. “So h=2r. Okay, that’s right. Let me calculate… is the result the square root of 5, divided by 5?”
Anzhi nodded. “Mhm, same as mine.”
The corners of Yan Xi’s lips lifted in a clear, slightly smug smile as she looked down at the next question.
Anzhi’s heart began to thump-thump in her chest, and she found herself irresistibly watching Yan Xi’s expressions and little movements.
“Is this the Law of Cosines?” Yan Xi asked with a frown, writing it out on the paper to show her.
“You have to multiply by two here…” Anzhi reminded her in a small voice.
“Oh!” Yan Xi said, suddenly enlightened. “That’s it! I was wondering!” She scribbled out her calculations, occasionally frowning, occasionally patting her head. In Anzhi’s eyes, she was so adorable that she wanted to hug her.
“Auntie, you’re amazing! You solved it!” Anzhi praised her with a wide grin.
Yan Xi’s face grew warm. She had only solved it with Anzhi’s reminder. A single glance at the remaining problems gave her a headache, and she could only drop her pen in surrender. “Never mind, never mind. I admit it, I really can’t do it!” She looked dejected, her lips unconsciously forming a small pout.
Anzhi had rarely seen this childish side of her. Her heart was in turmoil. She threw herself forward and hugged her. “Auntie, you’re so cute!”
Yan Xi was startled by the sudden movement, passively catching her. She didn’t know how to respond to such an unexpected comment. “…”
Anzhi had been wanting to hug Yan Xi since a moment ago. She thought that acting spoiled like last night might work, so she boldly sat right on Yan Xi’s lap, facing her and wrapping her arms around her, resting her head on her shoulder.
Yan Xi said, “…What are you doing? This isn’t how you hug someone…”
Anzhi was actually quite nervous, but she forced herself to remain calm. “This is how I want to hug.” She had to be shameless, just like a little kid.
Yan Xi felt a headache coming on. “How come burning your hand has made you regress to being five years old? You weren’t even this clingy when you were five.”
Anzhi wound her arms around her neck. “That’s right. I realized I really missed out back then. I didn’t take advantage of my age at all!”
Yan Xi was speechless. “…” She adjusted her posture to half-embrace Anzhi and patted her on the shoulder. “Alright, get down now and continue reviewing. You still have papers to finish.”
“No, I want a hug,” Anzhi said, clinging to her and refusing to let go.
Yan Xi felt a little uncomfortable. They had just bathed and were only in their sleepwear. Anzhi was pressed up so close that she could feel the girl’s soft, fragrant, youthful skin.
Before, when Anzhi was younger, and before she knew Anzhi liked girls, this would have been fine. Besides, wasn’t Anzhi dating Xu Jia’er?
Yan Xi thought back to the scene she had witnessed that afternoon, and her mood soured again. She had come home early, not feeling at ease with Anzhi being home alone. That feeling had only intensified after she learned Xu Jia’er was there alone with her.
She had to admit, she didn’t have a very good impression of Xu Jia’er. Her first impression had been biased from the start. Xu Jia’er reminded her of someone from her university dorm and some bad memories.
During her freshman year, there were four people in her dorm. Tao Zhenzhen, who had returned after a one-year leave of absence, had a bad reputation at the time, and she herself was proud, so she ignored them all at first. One was a top student who was only ever in the library or the cafeteria, so they barely interacted. The remaining one was a very handsome girl named Sun Yawei. She was quite cheerful and sociable, and at first, Yan Xi thought she was a nice person she could be friends with. But then she started hitting on her, sometimes overtly, sometimes subtly, and Yan Xi began to feel that something wasn’t right. Then, the other girl came out to her. It was the first time Yan Xi had encountered a girl who liked girls, so it was inevitable she’d be a little surprised, but she accepted it well, thinking it was no big deal.
Sun Yawei started to push things even further, initiating physical contact with a feigned casualness—touching her hand, wrapping an arm around her waist, all as if it were unintentional. Yan Xi eventually felt it was too much and tactfully told her so. To her shock, the other girl put on a wronged expression. “God, straight girls are so full of themselves, thinking every gay girl must have a crush on them… That’s a delusion, isn’t it?”
It was the first time Yan Xi had been mocked like that. She stood there, stunned, and couldn’t process it for a long time, even wondering if she had misunderstood the other person.
That was one thing. Thankfully, Sun Yawei moved out to live with her girlfriend in the second semester, only returning to the dorm occasionally. In her sophomore year, Yan Xi started dating Gao Jiming, and they were a rather famous couple on campus. One time, she was alone in the dorm when she ran into Sun Yawei, who had come back. The girl blocked her path and looked her over with ill intent. “You know, a man’s ability in bed is limited…” She wiggled her fingers in front of Yan Xi’s face. “I’m different, though. I can make you beg for mercy with just my fingers!”
Yan Xi was thoroughly disgusted. She tried to walk away, but Sun Yawei wouldn’t let her. An enraged Yan Xi pushed her aside with one hand. Sun Yawei just giggled and tried to advance again. Yan Xi, only eighteen at the time, was so furious that she threw a punch and knocked her to the ground. That seemed to scare her. From then on, Sun Yawei never dared to approach her and would avoid her whenever they crossed paths.
This person had a huge impact on Yan Xi. For a long time afterward, she had a very negative impression of homosexuals. Later, she thought it through and realized she couldn’t be like that. Every group had its unpleasant people; it was about the person, not their orientation.
Her upbringing and personal integrity all these years wouldn’t allow her to be prejudiced because of one person.
When Yan Xi found out about Anzhi’s orientation, she was extremely glad she had been able to come to terms with her past, or else she wouldn’t have been able to properly accept Anzhi. But she still didn’t like Xu Jia’er. Her appearance reminded her of Sun Yawei. Yan Xi knew this was her own problem; Xu Jia’er was actually a pretty decent young person. For Anzhi’s sake, she had helped them that time at school when they were being harassed and had tacitly allowed her to be friends with Anzhi.
But—the scene from the afternoon flashed through Yan Xi’s mind. If she hadn’t arrived in time, what else would Xu Jia’er have done to Anzhi? Even if they were dating, Anzhi was only fifteen…
Wait. As Yan Xi’s arm rested around Anzhi, a sudden realization struck her:
She hadn’t paid enough attention to teaching Anzhi about protecting her own body.
When she was little, Yan Xi had taught her not to go with strangers, especially strange middle-aged or elderly men. She always had someone pick her up from school, and a driver would take her out on holidays. They also talked on the phone often. In junior high, she had told her about essential physiology and hygiene, the origin of life, and had especially emphasized protecting herself when she was with boys.
After she started high school, Yan Xi had relaxed a bit, especially when she learned Anzhi might be dating Xu Jia’er. She didn’t want to be overly controlling. And she had naturally assumed that kids these days matured early; they probably already knew everything they should and shouldn’t know.
But Anzhi was different. Although she also loved surfing the internet and using her phone, she had skipped grades since she was young and spent far more effort on her studies than her peers. This silly, clueless Taotao of hers could probably be taken advantage of and not even realize it.
Yan Xi was overcome with remorse, blaming herself
“Taotao?”
“Hm?” Anzhi answered, tilting her face up to look at her.
Yan Xi stroked her hair and said, “From now on, you need to be careful to protect yourself, understand?”
“Huh?”
The author has something to say:
Even if Yan Xi hadn’t returned, Xu Jia’er wouldn’t have actually kissed her. Why did I design this plot point? Because it fits Xu Jia’er’s personality: she dares to act and takes responsibility for it; she’s frank and open.
I thought I made it very clear in the last chapter. She has this desire to be close to the girl she loves, but she’s also very proud, which is why she avoided the girl’s lips the first time. Because this girl doesn’t like her. If she really pursued Anzhi, she might have succeeded. Yan Xi’s impossibility is her possibility. I absolutely could have written it that way. But I didn’t.
Because she knows that even if she did win her over, Anzhi’s heart would never completely belong to her. But sometimes you just can’t control yourself. You know it’s impossible, but the attraction doesn’t stop. Those two kisses were also a fulfillment of her wish.
As for why Anzhi wasn’t on her guard, it’s simple: she genuinely sees Xu Jia’er as a friend, which is why she let her come up to the second floor. It was mentioned before that Yang Mengmeng even had a room on the third floor. She’s relatively naive; her first reaction wouldn’t be to think in that direction.
A writer constructs a character within the scope of their ability precisely so that people can interpret them. I don’t mind that. You can absolutely say I wrote the character poorly or something, but if you can’t stand it, then please stop reading. After all, it’s also very upsetting for me to have my characters misinterpreted.
I will not be explaining any future plot points. Honestly, it’s quite disheartening.
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