Chapter 2644: with translation of chapter title

2545.2448 tattoo

Zheng Ren felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar, and he turned his head to look.

Su Yun, however, stood up at First Time, stretched out her hand and said with a smile: 'Beautiful lady, I thought you all didn't eat earthly food; how come you also came to this night market to eat. Director Lin, this is Reporter Sun Zeli from the TV station; during the Earthquake Relief she was in our team.'

After saying that, Su Yun then introduced Lin Ge to Sun Zeli.

Zheng Renye also stood up and greeted Sun Zeli. They had met during the Earthquake Relief, and he had vaguely seen her a couple of days before; the mosaic on Sun Zeli's face, which was not originally very thick, had now almost completely disappeared.

Originally Su Yun was preparing to pay the bill, but seeing Sun Zeli come, it didn't feel right to just leave directly; she pulled up a stool and they started chatting idly.

'Zheng Lao Ban, you've always said you wanted to interview me, but your side is really busy. When you have some free time, give me a chance?' Sun Zeli said with a smile.

'I can't speak into a microphone.' Zheng Ren gave a bitter smile.

'A colleague at the station has a friend in Sweden who said the judging committee will start in these two days; do you have any related news on your side?' Sun Zeli asked.

'I heard Fugui'er mention it a couple of days ago; she also said it's coming soon.' Zheng Ren said.

Just these two days? Lin Ge's ears perked up instantly. He knew the judging was before October 15, but the date was uncertain. So many reporters had no good option; with information blocked, they could only stake out early at the homes of possible winners.

For example, Haruki Murakami—every year at this time there are many reporters at his doorstep, but he always ends up just running alongside them, which is also quite frustrating.

'These few days, I wouldn't really say I'm bothering you.' Sun Zeli covered her mouth and laughed.

'Do you want to go together with the Medical Team?' Su Yun asked directly.

Sun Zeli was stunned; before, she wouldn't utter a word, but now she's opening up completely.

Her heart suddenly jumped up to 180 beats.

'Don't speak.' Su Yun said to Zheng Ren: 'I'm telling you, there are too many reporters; you still need an authoritative column's nameplate by your side. This is the official statement; everything else is false news. Otherwise, once there's even a hint of movement, they'll smear you with no recourse.'

'Not that bad.' Zheng Ren smiled: 'Little Sun, where do you live?'

'It's just this side, close to 912; if anything comes up, I'll arrive at First Time.' Sun Zeli laughed: 'Then we've got it set; after the October Holiday we can start working together.'

'We're still working normally; the Shou Bing hasn't stopped.' Su Yun said: 'You can follow along tomorrow. But if the day really comes, I guess you won't be able to. By then it'll be all people; if you're by my side, others won't easily chase you away. I'm afraid that within half an hour, Director Yan's phone call will come in.'

Lin Ge was also curious; he checked the official website several times, even over ten times a day, while Zheng Lao Ban looked on without much concern, as steady as Mount Tai. Though young, his psychological quality is just that good.

'Zheng Lao Ban, we've done a small special feature.'

'You?'

'With Tangxiu from Hai Cheng, she has some materials on you two from Hai Cheng; I've gathered more materials from Di Du, so we teamed up to do the special feature.' Sun Zeli smiled: 'After returning from the Earthquake Relief, I wanted to gather this bunch of comrades-in-arms; every time I contacted Yun Ge'er, he said your side's Nobel Prize project is busy.'

Zheng Ren glanced at Su Yun.

'When things are done, whichever day you have time, we really should get together.' Sun Zeli warmly invited.

'Sure.' Zheng Ren currently has no particular resistance to going out for meals or gatherings; even if he resists, sometimes he still has to grit his teeth and agree.

After all, we are social beings; especially today Lin Ge gave a vivid lesson, and Zheng Ren felt quite a lot.

After finally catching Zheng Lao Ban, Sun Zeli had many questions she'd been pondering for a long time, which she asked all at once. They chatted for a good while, and only then did the few of them disperse.

……

……

The night was deep; Sun Yue'nan walked aimlessly through the streets of Di Du, her mood gloomy, gloomy to the extreme.

Under 20 years old, she was diagnosed with infective endocarditis with aortic valve vegetation, underwent a sternotomy for cardiac Shou Bing, and had her aortic valve replaced.

The Shou Bing was major; she underwent it at the best tertiary hospital in her hometown. After the operation, the ICU issued multiple critical condition notices; she lay there for a full 27 days before barely escaping death.

But after she recovered, Sun Yue'nan faced a problem—her family had almost exhausted their savings to pay for her treatment.

Her academic performance wasn't good to begin with, and she hadn't thought about going to college; Sun Yue'nan simply dropped out and went out to work. As long as she was willing to work, she wasn't afraid of being unable to support herself.

Moreover, staying at home meant nothing. After undergoing major surgery, everyone in her hometown knew her condition; no family wanted to take in such a burden. Even if she wanted to marry, it wasn't that simple; everyone thought she'd be a good match for the village idiot next door.

She didn't want to marry the village idiot next door, so she brought just a little money and came to Di Du to work.

However, her luck was decent; she soon found a job in Di Du, and at her workplace she met several sisters, and several peers also took good care of Sun Yue'nan.

Although the earnings here aren't much, Sun Yue'nan also has few monthly expenses; aside from regularly sending money home to supplement the household, she gradually saved up some spare cash.

Today she and a few sisters had agreed to go to a newly opened sauna shop where tickets were 9.9 after forwarding the message, to take a bath and sauna.

She felt a bit inferior, but couldn't resist the other sisters' persuasion, so she ended up going.

But when she took off her clothes, a huge 20cm red scar on her chest was revealed, and she could see that the sisters' gazes were somewhat odd. Normally she could conceal it as much as possible, but while bathing there was no way to hide it.

Perhaps it was some inferiority complex, or perhaps she resented their strange looks.

So she remained depressed, feeling unhappy all day long. In the evening, when everyone else went to eat together, she didn't join; she walked alone, quietly, through the night of Di Du.

She utterly hated that scar on her chest.

Strolling the streets, Sun Yue'nan had no purpose, just walking aimlessly. She liked hearing people's voices, yet at the same time felt somewhat fearful.

The world is terribly unfair to her; whenever she recalls the sisters' gazes upon seeing her chest surgery scar, she feels an urge not to go on living.

Girls all love beauty, but this huge scar makes her feel so ugly as to be despised. Perhaps only the village idiot next door wouldn't despise her? Sun Yue'nan occasionally has such a thought pop into her mind.

Half a year ago, it was because she had a small scar on her foot that she went to a beauty salon in her hometown and got a tattoo.

A tiny scar was intolerable for her, let alone a chest scar at least 20cm long like a centipede… Every time she looked in the mirror and saw what seemed like a twisted centipede crawling on her chest, Sun Yue'nan felt she despised herself.

Such a long scar couldn't be covered even by a tattoo; Sun Yue'nan sometimes really wished that the legend of changing skins were true.

She would say anything to exchange for a flawless skin, no matter the cost.

The nights in Di Du are noisy, but Sun Yue'nan likes this noise. This is life, yet unfortunately she now feels apprehensive about contacting others.

Autumn has arrived; Sun Yue'nan feels that autumn is far more friendly to her than summer. In summer she dares not wear clothes too cool, lest her big chest centipede be seen.

Not knowing how long she had walked, she stopped, her eyes vague as she looked at a tattoo shop, feeling somewhat lost in her heart.

She wanted to give it a try, but could they wash off a 20cm-long centipede? The previous shop said they might have this technique, but one had to go to a big city. The bigger the city, the better the technique. Hospitals are like that, and tattoo shops are too.

Should she try? Sun Yue'nan hesitated for a long time, ending up standing in front of the tattoo shop for several hours, not even knowing it herself.

Only when the shop was about to close did Sun Yue'nan muster the courage to approach and ask the middle-aged woman who looked like the proprietor.

Sun Yue'nan was brought into the shop; the proprietor looked at her large chest centipede, showed no surprise, and instead chuckled, telling her there were many plans to choose from.

The choice of patterns still depends on Sun Yue'nan's own opinion.

After looking at many Photos of tattoos done at this small tattoo shop before, Sun Yue'nan felt hope ignite in her heart.

Super cool!

Those tattoos are super cool!

Just asking about the price, she sighed. She wanted to get a tattoo but was short of money, unable to come up with such a sum temporarily; this amount might be just a meal for the rich, but for Sun Yue'nan it would take at least half a year of scrimping and saving to save up.

The boss's wife didn't say much, smiling as she saw her out. She could tell this little girl had no money; this kind of merely potential customer didn't need to be persuaded with effort to get a tattoo.

Hope is like a prairie fire; once it ignites on the dry grass in the heart, it can never be extinguished.

Returning to her rented apartment, Sun Yue'nan began borrowing money.

Fortunately, she was usually kind and hardworking; though her female friends had little money, she still borrowed a 'huge sum' of 5000 yuan from the Boss to get the tattoo.

Among the many designs, Sun Yue'nan chose a plum blossom tree. The tattoo artist said her skin was fair, so a plum blossom would look better. Red plum blossoms falling on her white skin had a unique beauty.

The process was a bit painful, but for the sake of beauty, she could endure anything.

The tattoo took a full five hours; the tattoo artist was meticulous and earnest, at least appearing very professional in Sun Yue'nan's eyes.

When she saw the ferocious, terrifying large centipede on her chest transform into plum blossoms blooming one after another, Sun Yue'nan's heart overflowed with happiness.

This was the result she wanted.

She continually thanked the tattoo artist and the boss's wife; on her way back, in the crowded subway, she felt as if countless covetous glances were secretly staring at her.

This feeling was truly great; Sun Yue'nan thought it was too cool.

The next day, her work was also full of vigor; she wanted to work hard, earn money, and repay the 5000 yuan she had borrowed from the Boss as soon as possible.

Life now had a new direction, full of motivation.