RDCAB 12

Rebirth on the Doors to the Civil Affairs Bureau


Chapter 12 Love Poems



***

When Shao Yifan returned to the hospital, he seriously thought that Xia Feng married an unusual wife. He didn't understand what Yu Dong was planning and started to worry for his good brother.

"Why are you shaking your head, Did you see Yu Dong?" When Xia Feng came back to the office after talking with the Director, he saw Shao Yifan shaking his head and asked this.

"I saw her." Shao Yifan looked at Xia Feng as if he wanted to say more, but didn't.

"What's with your face?" Xia Feng thought he looked like there was something stuck in his throat.

"...I want to see you more!"

"Why are you being disgusting!" Xia Feng suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Anyway, did Yu Dong say anything? Did you help me explain?"

"Do you care about her opinion?" Shao Yifan suddenly asked.

"You've been outside for less than 10 minutes, how did you lose your brain on the way back. What's with all the inconsequential questions?" Xia Feng said impatiently.

"It's possible!" Shao Yifan saw the displeasure in Yu Dong's eyes when he met her and now felt that his IQ had been beaten down.

"Forget it! I'll just call her myself." Xia Feng took out his phone as he said this.

"Ah, there's no need, I've met the person and explained already." Shao Yifan stopped Xia Feng before he could call. "I've suddenly realized that you and Yu Dong quite match each other."

"Weren't you just going to observe in the sidelines?" Xia Feng wondered, "What's with this sudden enlightenment."

Ha ha, It's just that I saw your wife's true colors. It's inevitable, sooner or later you'll end up in her hands.

"By the way did the Director talk to you about the exchange program in America?" Shao Yifan changed the topic.

Xia Feng nodded and said, "The Director said that the 2 American experts were very interested in my new treatment plan, so they invited me to the States."

"Yes!" Shao Yifan praised the way, "Others desperately study to get a chance, you, on the other hand, was simply invited. The gap is too large."

"Keep your voice down, or you'll pull other people's ire!" Xia Feng glared at him.

"What are you nervous about? As a genius, you have to be prepared to bear the jealousy of ordinary people." Shao Yifan saw that Xia Feng was getting really angry at him, so he quickly backtracked and said, "OK, OK, I won't say anything more. So you're going to America next month?

"Yes." Xia Feng nodded and said, "There's actually only a few days left. I still have documents to prepare, so help me out."

By the time Xia Feng came home, it was already 1:00 a.m. and the room was empty, with only the small lamp on the desk still on.

Xia Feng changed slippers, took out his phone, turned on the radio function, skillfully tuned to Yu Dong's channel, and Yu Dong's light voice began to fill the room.

"Hello everybody, this is FM9666, you are listening to Midnight Phantom with DJ Fish Jelly." After Yu Dong skillfully said her opening lines, she picked up an envelope and said, "It's been a while since I started hosting Midnight Phantom, and while Fish Jelly admits to being a talented host, I never would have expected that listener friend would write to me so soon. When our staff passed me the letter, I was shocked."

"Now let's see what this listener friend wrote." When Yu Dong opened the envelope, she found a 100 dollar bill along with the letter.

Yu Dong became a little embarrassed. "It seems that we'll have to be little indulgent today. This is a love letter written by Frank from France, to a Chinese girl who he has a crush on. The letter says that they've been pen pals for more than 10 years. To pursue his beloved girl, Frank applied to a university in China and is now studying Chinese in a language school."

"Frank tried to translate his letter using Baidu but I can approximate his words and can see his intentions." Yu Dong continues, "But I'd like to remind this foreign friend, our radio station doesn't accept money, so next time you don't need to shove a 100 dollar bill with your letters."

As Yu Dong continues to speak, her computer started to display messages from other listeners.

"It seems that our foreign friend knows some Chinese customs, our red envelopes seems to be famous abroad, ah! This host has just quickly skimmed through the love letter, and don't they say all French men are romantic? It seems to be true!"

As usual, Yu Dong ignored the messages flooding in and continued with a teasing tone: "Tomorrow I'll help you donate this money to the Red Cross. Thank you for donating your help to the children."

"Now let's read the letter. It's a love poem. It's from Paul Ellujah, a future famous French poet, and it called: 'I have no wish but to love you.' "



Je n\'ai envie que de t\'aimer


Je n\'ai envie que de t\'aimer


Un orage emplit la vallée


Un poisson la rivière


Je t\'ai faite à la taille de ma solitude.


Le monde entier pour se cacher


Des jours des nuits pour se comprendre


Pour ne plus rien voir dans tes yeux


Que ce que je pense de toi


Et d\'un monde à ton image


Et des jours et des nuits réglés par tes paupières





I have no other desire than to love you


A storm filled the valley


A fish filled the river


I made you as big as my loneliness


The whole world makes us hide


Day and night so that we can understand each other


In order not to see anything else in your eyes


To only see my image of you


To only see the world in your image


And the days and nights your eyes control



Before her rebirth Yu Dong, there had been a time in her life where she had been obsessed with French movies. She learned some French but wasn't very good at it, only learning proper pronunciation.

So Yu Dong was able to read the poem naturally, and ended up shocking everyone who had been listening to Midnight Phantom. Even if they didn't understand the meaning of the poem, they were sucked in by Yu Dong's hypnotizing voice.

When Yu Dong started reading out the Chinese version of the poem, the computer blew up again with many messages popping up.


"The host is so OP, she can actually read French!"

" How many languages do radio hosts have to understand nowadays? "

"What a beautiful voice!"

"The love poem is so beautiful, I also want to have a secret lover!"

Yu Dong smiled after reading the messages and said, "Frank's girl, if you're listening in, you should've received the full extent of his love.  Such a lovely boy shouldn't be dismissed so easily, ah!"



……



"Today's program seemed to have been centered around love. As we're nearing the end of tonight's show, Fish Jelly suddenly thought of a phrase." Yu Dong said.

" 'I'm waiting for someone who can put a stop to my loneliness. So that when I listen to sad love songs, it won't make me want to cry.' "

"If you meet such a person, please don't let them go! You've probably fallen for them already!" Yu Dong said with a smile, "OK, that's where Midnight Phantom will end for today. Fish Jelly will talk to you same time, tomorrow!"

Xia Feng held a cup of honeyed water in his hand as he rested on the sofa listening to Yu Dong talk about love. Even though the poem was for a girl some stranger secretly loves, Xia Feng still ended up listening to Yu Dong in fascination.

As if his honeyed water turned into wine, Xia Feng's heart became drunk with love.


.......


"Hey, you just got back too?" Yu Dong was surprised when she came through the door and saw Xia Feng still sitting on the sofa.

Xia Feng turned to look at Yu Dong and noticed that she was wearing clothes he had never seen before. So he asked, "Did you buy new clothes?"

"Like it?" Yu Dong changed her slippers and said, "I spent all my money on this dress, that's why I asked you to help me with the restaurant bill."

"I'm sorry I couldn't go there myself today!" Hearing what Yu Dong said, Xia Feng remembered what happened during dinnertime.

"It's nothing. Dr. Shao said your boss needed to talk to you about something important." Yu Dong said.

"It was about me going to the United States in an exchange program." Xia Feng explained, "Every year our hospital does a study exchange at Edward's Hospital in the United States. I wouldn't have qualified this year, but thanks to the files you translated for me last time, my presentation managed to pique the interest of some American experts, so I won a spot."

"I just translated your papers, in the end, what got their interest was your research." Yu Dong asserted.

"Well, thank you anyway!" Xia Feng said seriously.

Yu Dong rolled her eyes and said, "Then when you go to America, get me something."

"OK!" Xia Feng didn't even think about it, "What do you want?"

"Some lotions, masks, lipsticks, perfumes..." Yu Dong realized that she wanted a lot of things, so she simply said, "Wait a bit, I'll make a list."

"OK!" Xia Feng smiled, fully prepared to indulge her.

Yu Dong was a little sleepy and couldn't help yawning.

"It is getting a little late, let's go to sleep!" Xia Feng said.

"Un! Good night!" Yu Dong headed towards her room in a daze.

"Good night!"

In fact, when Xia Feng came home from a tiring shift, he was already more than a little tired. Even he didn't understand why he ended up on the sofa listening to Yu Dong's broadcast.

Yu Dong was a mystery. Instead of being ignorant in the ways of the world, she instead hides a kind of grace and wisdom a young graduate could only hope to have.

Thinking of Yu Dong's closing words in her broadcast tonight, Xia Feng couldn't help but wonder if he and Yu Dong could have that sort of relationship someday?




The next day at noon in the hospital canteen.


Shao Yifan and Xia Feng were sitting together eating and talking about some of their patients. After a while, Shao Yifan changed the subject, "I listened to Yu Dong's broadcast last night, she's quite versatile. You said she translated your documents into English the other day. Then she goes ahead and reads a French love poem fluently during a live broadcast."

"Why were you awake in the middle of the night listening to my wife's broadcast instead of being asleep?"

"Hey, you're talking as if I'm Mr. Wang from next door." Shao Yifan felt a sudden urge to heave at the thought. Suddenly, he realized what Xia Feng just said, "Wait, your wife? You call her your..."


(T/N Mr. Wang from next door is apparently like a saying or a meme? referring to a neighbor who is supposedly sleeping with someone else's wife.)



"My wife? what's wrong with me calling my wife 'my wife' ?" Xia Feng calmly said.

"Alas...I thought you might've been able to resist for a little longer, but I didn't expect that my dear friend had already fallen into enemy hands." Shao Yifan shook his head and sighed.

"What the hell are you saying? You sound so shady."

"Nothing." Shao Yifan was a little sad as he said this, "Where do you think my destined girl is? Am I going to stay lonely and alone forever?"

Shao Yifan didn't want to keep eating dog food for the rest of his life!

"Didn't you once boast that half of the nurses were crushing on you?"

"I'll have you know, I am a man of principle." Shao Yifan shook his head and said, "I never date co-workers. If we break up, it would be so awkward working together!"

Ring.

Xia Feng picked up his phone, and when he saw that it was Yu Dong calling, he quickly answered.

"Xia Feng are you in the hospital right now?"

"Yes!"

"I have a friend who's not feeling well, she's in terrible pain. Can you help me find a place for her to rest for a while?"

"Where are you?" Xia Feng stands up.

"I'm at the outpatient ward!"

"Wait for me, I'm heading out now!" Xia Feng talked as he walked away.

"Where are you going? You haven't finished your food!" Shao Yifan yelled at Xia Feng's rapidly retreating back.




***



I had such a hard time structuring some lines in this chapter because they were meaningful, but the translations ruined the atmosphere. I had to find a way to make them flowery without going too overboard because technically, YD and XF aren't even in love with each other yet. Gah.


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Comments

  1. But they will soon. The ship has sailed and icebeg will melt when it meets it. Hehehehe!

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    1. Can't wait for them to really "love each other". But damnnnnn it's so fluffy that i suffocate in it !!!! I am also getting diabetes !!!!!

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  2. Thanks for the chapter! I think you did a good job of not being too flowery.

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  3. Thanks for the chapter!
    French poems, said with the correct rhythm, are really powerful. Contemporary English just doesn't have the same flair. The length of the words, the style of the poems, the French love of synonyms which bring with them subtle meanings, the pronunciation itself...
    This particular poem here is not exactly the best, maybe the Chinese "translation" was supposed to have the big impact.

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    1. Yeah, I tried to find anything in the translations that could have some sort of relevance but just couldn't find it haha

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  4. Waiting fr both of them fall in love each other.😍😍 i love this ship

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  5. I want to fall in love but has no one to fall in love with. Hahaha, thanks for the chapter. Novels like this makes me want to also reincarnate and then pick up a husband haha

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  6. Uncle Wang next door? Pfftt.. hahaha.. its from a chinese cartoon. A neighbour child looks like Uncle Wang with big heads except for the skin color. While the child's dad had small head. It just meant secret sexual relationship. Its a wonder how it is widely used till today.

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  7. Shao Yifan was looking for a girl and one is being brought to them

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  8. The poet's name is Paul Eluard, I was going to translate it from the french text but saw that someone already did it (and nicely at that). You can find it here : http://www.melodietreasury.com/translations/song124_Tel%20jour%20tel%20nuit.html

    The translation they chose is :
    I only want to love you
    a storm fills the valley
    a fish the river

    I made you to match my loneliness
    the whole world in which to hide
    days nights during which to understand one another

    to see nothing more in your eyes
    but that which I think of you
    and of a world made to your image

    and of the days and nights governed by your eyelids.

    Thank you for translating this novel, it's quite catching my interest so far !

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  9. Thank you for translating 😍😘

    Mm, i want to remind you, there is an incorrect structure on the last paragraph. 'You're haven't finished your food'. Please delete ('re) after the word 'you'. Thank you

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  10. How rare, mostly when I read the Chinese novel, most of the girl female lead rather works as an actress, so on.
    And she actually DJ, ?! Love it

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  11. Thank you for the lovely translation and sharing this heart warming story with us. It provide hope during the pandemic crisis happening now.

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  12. Ompf! Her closing lines... Thanks for the hard work!

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  13. I think you did a really good job translating all that. Thank you! 🌻

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