Caught in my Own Trap (作茧自缚) : Chapter 22.2

In the last post, we finally had a bit of an insight what exactly happen between Cen Shi and He He and why they went their separate ways. Although it is Zheng Xie’s doing in separating them, I could clearly see that he is doing all of it truly with He He’s best interest in his mind. How I wished I had an elder brother as caring as Zheng Xie too….. 

So in the last post ending, He He ran away after an outburst at Zheng Xie. A little surprised as from the beginning of the novel till now, we have always read about how kind-heart and obedient person she is. So what happen next?

Chapter 22.2: Two People’s Time Machine (两个人的时光机)

Zheng Xie looked at her fragile and slender back, smiled and shook his head. He gave up his plan to run after He He.

Hate him?

This is his first time seeing He He’s outburst. So, she also have the capability to throw temper and tantrums shamelessly just like a child.

Zheng Xie always felt that in personality, He He is too weak, just like his mother. Totally different from her own mother. So he is always ready to make decision for her, to avoid her being bullied or gone the wrong road of growing up and she seldom resist.

Now that he finally saw her little temper, he felt that she had made a big step forward.

In the afternoon, together with a few friends, they went to play cards while drinking. There were a lot of people, walking everywhere. The whole thing dragged into the night and they continued by going to the nightclub. Someone said that it is his girlfriend’s birthday dinner so there were many familiar faces but there were also many unfamiliar men and women.

One program leads to another and someone came up with a bizarre drink trick. With a watermelon, they dig out the flesh of the watermelon and turn it into a container. Then they poured red, yellow, while and black colors wine and soft drinks. Very horrible drink even to the taste. The room was filled with pungent smoke and alcohol.

Zheng Xie knew that he could not hold a mixed drinks and tried to find an excuse to leave a few times. Because he was leaving the next day to go abroad and it is not sure when he would be back, everyone refuses to let him go. He was pushed to consume the cocktail and someone even passed him a cigarette. Taking two puff only, he felt like vomiting. Then he was pushed to sing a duet with the birthday girl before he was able to escape for the night.

Later, everything became a blur. He vaguely remembers taking the cab home and vomited. The nanny took care of him while mumbling about why He He is still not home. And then he tried calling her a few time but were not able to find her. Later he went off to bed.

Because of the worry in his heart, he could not sleep peacefully and dreamt of many messy stuff. He grandmother that he had never personally met were dying many red eggs to celebrate his birthday. He He’s father whom he had only met once were playing spaceship with him in the playground. He went to attend the wedding of his first girlfriend but was mistaken as the groom, resulting in his getting cold sweat. His last girlfriend standing on top of a few hundred story building threatening to jump down. He drove strayed into the extra-dimensional world and saw a monster….. Incredible and bizarre.

Even in the most bizarre dream, he had never had such a childish dream even in the development of his youth. He leaped himself into the mysterious dreamland in the ups and downs. His mind is very clear about the party earlier where there are many possibilities that even the food would have been spiked, so he was glad that he left early.

Of course, in the object of his dream, Zheng Xie impressively illusion about Xiao He He and that woke him up. He looked out of the window and see that the sun had risen although it is still very early.

He got up and looked around. Apart from the unbearable smell of smoke and alcohol, there is no obvious abnormalities with his clothes.

Zheng Xie sighed with relief. He dizzily got up to shower and put on his pajamas wanting to go back into bed. But despite his heavy head, he could not fall asleep.

He struggled to get up, he opened the door and saw the nanny cleaning the living room on the first floor. The nanny is surprised to see him getting up so early.

Zheng Xie stroking the forehead of his dancing head and asked the nanny: “Has He He returned home?”

The nanny carefully observed his face before answered: “….. does not seem that she came back. Her room door is open but there is no one there…….”

The nanny that had worked for two decades is full of doubts.

Last night, she was waiting for He He and Zheng Xie to come home. After he came home, he told her to retire for the night and he will wait for He He to come home. According to Zheng Xie’s habit, Zheng Xie will not go to bed without He He safely home.

And she thought that Zheng Xie would be annoyed and upset if he knows that He He did not return the night before. Although she had never seen Zheng Xie angry, but she had seen him growing up for two decades especially his deadpan expression. Analyzing his emotions this morning, she could not understand why Zheng Xie after hearing that He He did not return the night before showed a relieved expression on his face. Indeed relieve expression. She could not be wrong.

Xiao He He like to watch Doraemon since young and always wanted to have a time machine. But she did not want to go back into the past to start again but hope that time will go faster. Because she thinks that a person’s personality does not change easily. The error that is mean to happen the first time may be avoided but may not be avoided the second time. She just want to destroy the card against her shameless brazen behavior. This is her way of thinking that has been greatly influenced by Zheng Xie. And the time that is a dose of excellent amnestic agents, when it goes faster into the futire, she can easily forget the things that she doest not want to remember. For instance, when she was caught lying to her mother the first time, the time in kindergarten when she performed on stage in disgrace, the memory of losing her first love and also the example of her guilty of the crime the night before.

Doraemon is a Japanese Manage that is written and illustrated by the manga writing team, Fujiko Fujio. It is a very popular icon in Japan and many other countries worldwide. There are many anime series and merchandising on Doraemon.

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter