I See The Galaxy Chapter 5

While on their way to the restaurant, she learned that Zhan Xuming had offered to pick them up in person, but her aunt had declined. Yu Xing's opinion of him improved.

Although Yu Wanzhen was already 38, she was naturally beautiful and looked like she was only around 30, which made people think that she was very young. Everything about her, from her appearance to her temperament, was excellent, especially her character.

To Yu Xing, there was no one in the entire world who was better than her. Although she hid it carefully, she actually observed all of her aunt’s suitors closely.

There were decent men in the past, but after a while, she always found something unsatisfactory about them.

Yu Xing knew that her standards were high.

She didn’t want her aunt to be mistreated and also wanted to make sure that her aunt could truly be happy. So, while she was worried about it, she would not let her aunt settle for anything less than what she deserved.

Yu Xing had a good impression of Zhan Xuming. He was a senior executive of a company and a few years older than Yu Wanzhen, but perhaps because he took good care of himself, he looked to be around 36 to 37 instead of 40. Zhan Xuming had also had a previous marriage, but it had ended cleanly six years ago.

He and Yu Wanzhen met at a concert, and gradually his feelings for her developed enough that he was still courting her after three years.

Even if they were taking things slow and their relationship had yet to develop much, he did not complain or seem upset.

On their way to the restaurant, Yu Xing and Yu Wanzhen spoke in whispers, both of them internally scheming.

When they arrived, Zhan Xuming, who had arrived earlier, escorted them inside. He had always been attentive and proactive towards Yu Wanzhen.

He who loves the tree loves the branch as well. Zhan Xuming smiled kindly at Yu Xing.

“Xiao Xing, you look like you’ve grown taller.”

Yu Xing greeted him politely as she held Yu Wanzhen’s arm, then cheerfully said, “Uncle Zhan, you also look very energetic today, I was wondering who the handsome man standing here was!”

Zhan Xuming laughed heartily. When he turned to Yu Wanzhen, his entire countenance softened. “Were you hungry?”

Yu Wanzhen replied warmly, “Not particularly.”

The three of them entered the restaurant. Zhan Xuming asked Yu Xing how she was doing at her new school, as well as gave her some advice as her elder.

Yu Xing pretended to be ignorant, ‘concentrating’ on stuffing herself with food, but in reality she was listening closely to the both of them as they spoke.

Her aunt has done so much for her, this was the least she could do.

Yu Xing’s eyelashes fluttered. The fruit on her fork wasn’t at the peak of its ripeness; the sweet taste had hints of sourness.

Before even 30 minutes had passed, when the food had not yet even arrived, she put down her utensils.

Yu Xing lifted her head, smiling sweetly. “Auntie, Uncle Zhan, I’m full.”

“You’re full?”

“How are you already full?”

The two of them spoke at the same time, looking over at her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to order more? How about more fruit, or maybe dessert?” Zhan Xuming wanted to call a waiter, but Yu Xing stopped him.

Yu Xing emphasized her earlier words, “I’m really full already.” Then, she pouted pleadingly at Yu Wanzhen. “Auntie, it’s rare for me to have a break from school. Can I spend the afternoon hanging out with my friends… please?”

Yu Wanzhen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Annoyed, she said, “It was because you wanted to go hang out with your friends? I was wondering why you were eating so fast.”

Yu Xing smiled brightly, trying her best to look innocent. “Auntie–”

Zhan Xuming simply watched them and laughed. The atmosphere was really that of a happy family.

Yu Wanzhen eventually agreed reluctantly. “Fine, go ahead, just be safe and don’t come home too late!”

Yu Xing nodded her head like a chicken, repeatedly assuring her aunt that she would. Before she left, she made sure to thank Zhan Xuming as well. “Thank you, Uncle Zhan! The food here was really delicious!”

The two of them sitting at the table simply smiled and said nothing. Not two seconds later, Yu Xing opened the door again and poked her head in.

“That’s right! Uncle Zhan, I won’t be at home this afternoon, so my aunt will be alone for the rest of the day. Please accompany her for me! Next time, I’ll make you my one-of-a-kind poached eggs as a thank you!”

After saying that, she closed the door again and her footsteps gradually faded away.

Yu Wanzhen sighed and lamented how playful her niece had grown to be. “That child…”

—

Whew–

Once she was two blocks away from the restaurant, Yu Xing slowed down and let out a sigh of relief.

She was scared of getting a stomach ache after running so fast right after eating.

Yu Xing pulled out her phone and thought about what she would do that afternoon.

Su Qiu was busy at cram school that day, and Yu Xing wasn’t close enough with her friends to contact them. Without Su Qiu there to serve as a common connection, it would be awkward to talk to them.

She had also made absolutely zero friends at Lintian.

As for her previous school…

It was better to leave the past where it belonged.

Those were already all of her contacts. Outside of Su Qiu, there was no one else she could hang out with.

Yu Xing accepted her fate and decided to spend her afternoon by herself. She remembered an interesting bookstore that she wanted to go visit, so she opened a map and took a taxi there.

The bookstore was downtown and nearby a business district, which had well-decorated and impressive-looking stores on the street.

She stayed at the bookstore until four o’clock and then returned her temporary library card and left.

As she was walking, she strolled past a pink-colored arcade. The inside was packed with high schoolers and middle schoolers; this was clearly a popular place for them to hang out at.

Yu Xing ate her lunch too fast, so now she was hungry again. She bought a hot dog and an iced drink at the snack window near the arcade entrance, then roamed around the interior.

The claw machine was being monopolized by a young couple, the basketball machine was completely full of people, and the dance machine was occupied by a group of talented dancers who drew a large audience. Racing games, shooting games, and the currently popular lipstick-making machine…

It was very lively.

She didn’t end up playing, because the hotdog she bought was so hot that she had to turn it back and forth just to avoid burning her mouth when she bit into it.

When she walked past the boxing game, she saw that there was a group of boys surrounding the machine, so she moved to the side to avoid them. However, they didn’t notice her, and so in the midst of their bickering, one of them accidentally slammed his elbow right into Yu Xing’s face.

She had just opened her mouth to bite her hotdog, but because of his elbow hitting her mouth, she ended up biting her own cheek.

It hurt so much that tears sprang to her eyes.

Yu Xing staggered, trying to find her balance.

While it was painful, she was just glad that she had been eating the hotdog horizontally. If the stick had been facing her vertically, then…

“Yo, did I bump into you? Sorry, beautiful!”

When the boy turned to look at her, so did his entire group.

Yu Xing looked at them, and found that none of them were taking this seriously. Even the one who had caused the accident by elbowing her in the face didn’t sound sorry and even had the nerve to smile at her.

“You alright, beautiful? You hit your mouth, do you need me to…”

Their sleazy expressions were completely repulsive. Yu Xing did not want to talk to them, so she just shook her head slightly and walked away.

“Wait–”

“She walked so fast…”

They called out to her from behind, but Yu Xing just walked faster.

—

After she left the arcade, she was no longer in the mood to eat, so she threw away what remained of her hotdog and drink. There was still the faint taste of blood in her mouth from earlier.

At least it wasn’t a serious injury, so it would scab over in a few days.

Yu Xing went from store to store, and slowly, her mood improved. She was not very familiar with the area, so as she walked through countless streets, she had absolutely no idea where she was.

It was already a little past five o’clock.

It was not easy to get a taxi on the street she was walking through, so she consulted a nearby map and found out that she could pass through an alley to reach a livelier area, where there would be more taxis passing through. She copied the route, put her phone in her pocket, and entered the alley.

She had good navigational skills and a good memory, so after a few minutes of walking through the alleyways, she finally saw the exit sign. She happily turned to walk towards the exit.

As she turned in that direction–

Yu Xing’s heart skipped a beat.

At the entrance of the alleyway stood a group of boys who were surrounding a man lying on the ground.

They turned to look at her; from this distance, she could see them whispering to each other. Suddenly, Yu Xing recognized them– they were the boys who she had run into in the arcade. The one who had hit her mouth with his elbow was even among them.

Following her instincts, Yu Xing turned and ran.

She didn’t want to know if they were bullying or extorting that man. The entire situation was setting off alarm bells in her mind.

She just hoped that she had jumped to conclusions too fast and that her conscience wouldn’t be too guilty after the fact.

As she ran, Yu Xing prayed that they wouldn’t follow. Unfortunately, not even a few seconds later, the echoes of footsteps rapidly approached from behind her. She took a deep breath then ran even faster, turning a corner.

Yu Xing had despised the sleazy expressions they had given her back in the arcade. Now that she had caught them doing god knows what in the alley, who knew what…

What did they want to do to her? She didn’t know; all she knew was that she had to run.

The sounds of their footsteps grew nearer. Yu Xing panicked as she ran back and forth, turning corners and becoming even more frantic. Eventually, as she passed the wall of a courtyard, she paused, thought for a second, and did not run towards the next intersection.

Instead, she made a split-second decision.

Yu Xing estimated the height of the wall and withdrew a few meters away. After getting a running start, she managed to leap over the wall in one swift movement.

Her anxiety caused her to fumble her landing. Yu Xing roughly fell to the ground, pressing her hands against the ground and leaning back against the wall. She held her breath as she heard the footsteps come closer.

It was only when they completely passed her that she finally let herself breath out.

Her tailbone hurt. Before she could properly stand, she suddenly noticed someone standing in the corridor leading to the courtyard. She froze.

Although it was a courtyard in the downtown area, it was furnished traditionally.

In the courtyard, there were streams, flowers, and rocks; only a small number of simple and subtle decorations lying around.

It didn’t look like anything she’d seen before.

And under the eaves of the courtyard stood the boy who had scared her. He was about her age and was dressed casually with a self-assured posture. He put his hands in his pockets as he leaned lazily against a wooden pillar, his thin lips and the sharp curve of his nose making his handsome face look cold and indifferent.

He stood under the eaves of the courtyard with a false smile, staring directly at Yu Xing.

Translator's Note:

i love yu xing so much bc she’s been at lintian for two (2) months already and she has no friends + now they all bully her for having a ‘crush’ on the harry styles of their school and she literally doesn't care. i also love that her first instinct when being confronted with a problem is to just speedwalk away as fast as she can, honestly a mood