[ENG] Tokyo Love Accident 《东京爱情事故》

Chapter 14 : Toothache, or Not?

On February 3rd, the day before the beginning of spring, also known as the traditional Japanese festival Setsubun, people eat rolls of seaweed-wrapped rice and throw beans to ward off evil spirits. In Japanese, the pronunciation of "beans (mame)" sounds like "mametsu (to destroy the devil)," so by throwing beans, they believe they can drive away evil spirits and pray for a year free from illness and disasters. They follow this tradition to blend in with the local customs. Wei Xiao holds a handful of beans, scatters them onto a plate, counts twenty-four, and lets Shi Yuquan eat them. It's said that eating one more bean than your age can keep you healthy and prevent colds for the year.

Shi Yuquan then counts thirty-two beans for Wei Xiao. Wei Xiao is upset that he has eight more beans than Shi Yuquan, so he hastily stuffs all the beans into his mouth and starts crunching. Suddenly, he exclaims "Ouch!" and covers his mouth.

"What's wrong?"

"My... my tooth... hurts so much..."

Wei Xiao's tooth feels like it's being sawed by an electric saw, the pain piercing to the bone. Shi Yuquan hurriedly takes her to the hospital. After examining her tooth, the dentist says she has several cavities in her wisdom teeth on both sides and suggests pulling them all out. Wei Xiao covers her mouth and shakes her head desperately. She's heard that tooth extraction is very painful, and she doesn't want the dentist to cut her gums... Shi Yuquan has no choice but to ask the doctor to prescribe painkillers for her.

Back home, Wei Xiao is very frustrated: "Colgate is such a big liar! I believed in it for so many years! It promised no cavities!"

Shi Yuquan stifles a laugh: "I've been using Colgate since I was a kid, and I don't have cavities. So, you should look for the reasons in yourself."

"What reasons could I possibly have?"

"Like being greedy, loving chocolate... like being lazy, not brushing your teeth after eating chocolate before bed..."

"Oh... it hurts so much..." Wei Xiao doesn't want to hear about her own embarrassing stories anymore, so she quickly changes the subject, "What are we having for dinner? I'm so hungry."

"Seaweed rolls."

"I can't bite."

Shi Yuquan knows she's just being difficult. Seaweed rolls are basically rice wrapped in seaweed with some cucumber, egg, and seafood inside. How could she not bite? But he still plays along with her act, "Okay, I'll make you porridge."

Wei Xiao then curls up by the fireplace, feeling happy watching Shi Yuquan put on an apron and make her favorite spinach fish slice porridge. Jiaozi slowly walks over and snuggles into the fireplace too.

When Shi Yuquan brings the fish slice porridge to the table, smelling the fishy scent, Jiaozi emerges from the fireplace. Shi Yuquan points at Jiaozi in surprise, "What's wrong with it?"

"What's wrong?" Wei Xiao shifts her gaze to Jioazi and is suddenly startled, "Why did its eyes change color?" To be precise, one eye changed color! One turned green, while the other remained blue! She hadn't realized that the Jiaozi she picked up was also a heterochromatic cat.

Wei Xiao suddenly realizes what's going on. This Jiaozi is actually Shi Yuquan's Jiaozi! That's why it responded to the name Jiaozi so naturally, and that's why it has heterochromatic eyes, and why it was so lively and playful when they reunited!

Shi Yuquan looks at Jiaozi with a hint of fear, "Is it... is this normal?" He even grabs a handful of beans, intending to throw them at Jiaozi.

Jiaozi doesn't understand why these two cat owners suddenly look at its eyes as if they've seen a ghost. It curiously stares at them, its unwavering gaze causing Shi Yuquan to hesitate and the beans in his hand to fly out without hesitation.