Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 214 - 211: A Look of Difficulty

By the time Yan Yan’s double portion of ham and cheese was served, she finally understood what Jiao Zhifei meant by a "conscientious price."

What was supposed to be a platter felt more like they had brought over a small table, with an amount that simply couldn’t be justified by just one plate.

Various types of ham from different years and cuts, homemade cheeses, served with a side of salad and pancakes, it was hard for Yan Yan to imagine how Jiao Zhifei had managed to stuff all of that into his stomach in such a short time.

"Old Sister, the ham here is particularly tasty, when we leave later, we can just carry a whole one back home," Jiao Zhifei said, the result of his recent chat with the owner being that he could now introduce the vintage of the ham to Yan Yan.

"We? You’re going home with me?" Yan Yan rarely shifted her focus away from food.

"Of course! If I don’t go home with you, should I sleep on the streets?" Jiao Zhifei asked righteously, his tone exactly that of a younger brother seeking shelter with his older sister.

"Uhh..." Yan Yan was visibly troubled, unsure of how to respond to Jiao Zhifei’s recent question.

"What’s with that ’uh’? Don’t you remember you yourself said that when I come to Italy, you would ’cover food, accommodation, and shopping’?" Jiao Zhifei suddenly remembered his own priorities.

"’Cover food, accommodation, and shopping,’ if I’m not mistaken, those words came from your mouth, and I, for one, never agreed to that," Yan Yan seriously recalled the previous encounter with Jiao Zhifei in Shenzhen.

"Old Sister, I only remember that when I said it, you didn’t object.

Are you turning your back on me now?

Wait, look at you hesitating—could it be you’re worried your husband might have something to say?

Your standing in the family is way too low! You make the call, I’ll talk to him," Jiao Zhifei took up the mantle with a sense of mission fitting of a ’little brother-in-law.’

"Why do you keep wanting to talk to Qi Yi? Last time in Shenzhen, you were also asking why you didn’t get to answer the phone. Do you have a thing for him or what?" Yan Yan quickly reverted to her usual way of talking with Jiao Zhifei.

"You can’t compete with your own sister for a man," Jiao Zhifei had confidence in his own integrity.

"He must be at work now, or else I might actually let you have a go: to see if he has any objections," Yan Yan made it clear she was indifferent.

"Old Sister, there’s where you’re wrong. Whether you make the call is up to you, but whether he answers is his business," Jiao Zhifei pointed out Yan Yan’s ’mistake.’

"But some calls can be made, and some can’t," Yan Yan wasn’t in the mood to acknowledge her ’mistake.’

"Why not?" Jiao Zhifei failed to understand.

"How can I let you make a call when you keep calling him brother-in-law? I’m not even married, so how am I supposed to let you speak to him?" Yan Yan questioned Jiao Zhifei.

"Come on, since when did my Old Sister get shy? Can’t I just not say it? Hurry up and make the call," Jiao Zhifei suddenly felt like he was learning something new today.

"Have you eaten too much and lost your mind? Which eye of yours saw me being shy?" Yan Yan rebuffed Jiao Zhifei.

"The left one and the right one," Jiao Zhifei answered Yan Yan’s question with unexpected seriousness.

"It’s not because I’m worried Qi Yi might have an opinion, it’s that I don’t even know you’re going to..." Yan Yan was cut off mid-sentence as the phone rang again.

"Don’t get caught up painting and forget the time, okay? Did you get the food map 1.0? Remember to have dinner on time, I’m going to start the resignation process now," Qi Yi called to remind Yan Yan to have dinner.

"Alright, I know. Have you reached the mine?" Yan Yan tenderly asked Qi Yi over the phone.

"Old Sister, could you be any more nauseating? If you ever talk to me in that tone, I’d throw up right in your face," Jiao Zhifei looked on, visibly appalled.

"Who are you with?" Qi Yi asked Yan Yan.

Jiao Zhifei’s voice was neither too loud nor too quiet, just right to reach Qi Yi’s ears directly.

"Jiao Zhifei from Humanities Class Two, I’ve only acknowledged such a little brother, and no one except him would call me ’Sister,’ especially with an ’Old’ in front of it." Yan Yan was dissatisfied with the way Jiao Zhifei addressed her.

"You’ve met again? How come I haven’t heard you mention his visit?" Qi Yi felt a bit surprised since he had no idea about it.

"It’s not just you who hasn’t heard about it, I only found out just now..." Yan Yan was trying to explain the situation to Qi Yi, but before she could finish her sentence, Jiao Zhifei kept gesturing from the opposite side to hand the phone to him.

"Old brother-in-law, old brother-in-law, old brother-in-law, I decided to come here on the spur of the moment, can I stay at my sister’s place tonight?

Your family’s discipline is so strict that my sister won’t take me in unless you say something." As soon as Jiao Zhifei got his hands on the phone, he completely forgot his earlier assertion that he wouldn’t call him brother-in-law.

Qi Yi was originally unsure how to react to Jiao Zhifei’s sudden trip to Florence.

However, being called brother-in-law three times in a row made him jubilant.

"Your sister, do you think anyone can control her?

Whether she takes you in should depend on whether she has an extra room at home, not on me." Qi Yi quickly categorized Jiao Zhifei as his own ally.

"Old brother-in-law, who can manage if not you? As a couch surfer, I just need a couch, there’s no need to worry about spare rooms." Jiao Zhifei indicated he was easy to accommodate. (note 1)

.........

Note 1:

[Xiao Mo’s class]

Couchsurfer comes from Couchsurfing, a famous travel website founded in 2003.

The word couch surfer is a combination of "Couch" and "Surfer"; if you don’t recognize the latter word, it’s okay.

But if you don’t recognize the former as well, then Xiao Mo will have to spank you.

Before, Xiao Mo’s class talked about ’Couch Potato’ and even specifically explained what a couch is.

Surfer has the root word ’Surf,’ which means surfing. Foreigners really like the word surfing; add ’er,’ and it becomes ’someone who surfs,’ and with ’ing,’ it becomes a gerund.

A couch surfer is someone who travels and stays on other people’s couches.

Why is staying on someone’s couch called ’couch surfing’? Where are the waves?

There’s no reason or explanation; people just simply like the word surfing because it gives a sense of vacation joy.

For example, surfing the net is called Netsurfing.

Many people think their English is bad because they lack vocabulary, but that’s not true; it’s because you’re afraid of it, that’s why you underestimate the number of words you know.

Surf, Surfing, and Surfer might seem different, but they’re essentially the same word.

Learning English by memorizing vocabulary lists is useless because you may memorize a hundred words the night before and forget ninety-nine and a half the next day. The half left is because the one you remember isn’t clear in your mind.

Remember one word a day, learn it, use it well, and after 365 days, from an English perspective, you’ll be a different person.

Today’s test for everyone, you know how to write surfing the net, so how should you write ’a person who surfs the net’?