Chinese online short story 罪恶有痕 Traces of Sin 34 (Intermediate to Advanced)

Hiding in a small rented room, Zhuang Liqun was overwhelmed by boredom.

[simplified Chinese]
罪恶有痕 34

 

小屋里唯一的窗子被拉上了窗帘.屋外的亮和屋里的暗形成鲜明对比. 百无聊赖, 又坐卧不安的庄立群靠在床上.电视里放些什么他一点都看不进去. 即将过去的早晨是那样的漫长. 这让他逐渐对这个狭小的空间失去了耐心. 可一旦想起到手的那比丰厚的”收入”, 他烦躁的心情又平静下来.

这只是暂时的, 他对自己说. 这之后, 他开始盘算中午的午饭, 是出去买还是吃方便面. 正犹豫着, 门响了.

庄立群的第一反应就是去摸枪. 他迅速下了床, 站在门边听动静。

敲门声再次响起，”里面有人吗？我是房东！”

 

[vocab table]
Simplified Chinese     Traditional Chinese     Mandarin Pinyin     English Definition
鲜明     鮮明     xian1 ming2     bright; distinct
百无聊赖     百無聊賴     bai3 wu2 liao2 lai4     overcome by boredom
坐卧不安     坐臥不安     zuo4 wo4 bu4 an1     restless; fidgeting
丰厚     豐厚     feng1 hou4     generous; ample
盘算     盤算     pan2 suan4     to plot; to scheme
犹豫     猶豫     you2 yu4     to hesitate

 

[pinyin]
 zuì’è yǒu hén 34

 

xiǎowū lǐ wéiyī de chuāngzi bèi lā shàng le chuānglián. wūwài de liàng hé wū lǐ de àn xíngchéng xiānmíng duìbǐ. bǎiwúliáolài, yòu zuò wòbù’ān de zhuāng lì qún kào zài chuáng shàng. diànshì lǐ fàng xiē shénme tā yīdiǎn dōu kàn bù jìnqù. jíjiāng guòqu de zǎochén shì nàyàng de màncháng. zhè ràng tā zhújiàn duì zhège xiá xiǎode kōngjiān shīqù le nàixīn. kě yīdàn xiǎngqǐ dàoshǒu de nà bǐ fēnghòu de” shōurù”, tā fánzào de xīnqíng yòu píngjìng xiàlai.

zhè zhǐshì zànshí de, tā duì zìjǐ shuō. zhè zhīhòu, tā kāishǐ pánsuàn zhōngwǔ de wǔfàn, shì chūqù mǎi háishi chī fāngbiànmiàn. zhèng yóuyù zhe, mén xiǎng le.

zhuāng lì qún de dìyī fǎnyìng jiùshì qù mō qiāng. tā xùnsù xià le chuáng, zhàn zài mén biān tīng dòngjìng。

qiāomén shēng zàicì xiǎng qǐ，” lǐ miàn yǒurén ma？ wǒ shì fángdōng！”

 

 

[traditional Chinese]
罪惡有痕 34

 

小屋裏唯一的窗子被拉上了窗簾.屋外的亮和屋裏的暗形成鮮明對比. 百無聊賴, 又坐臥不安的莊立群靠在床上.電視裏放些什麼他一點都看不進去. 即將過去的早晨是那樣的漫長. 這讓他逐漸對這個狹小的空間失去了耐心. 可一旦想起到手的那比豐厚的”收入”, 他煩躁的心情又平靜下來.

這只是暫時的, 他對自己說. 這之後, 他開始盤算中午的午飯, 是出去買還是吃方便面. 正猶豫著, 門響了.

莊立群的第一反應就是去摸槍. 他迅速下了床, 站在門邊聽動靜。

敲門聲再次響起，”裏面有人嗎？我是房東！”

 

[English translation]
Traces of Sin  34

 

The only window in the small room was covered by curtains.The room felt even darker against the brightness outside. Leaning on his bed, Zhuang Liqun couldn’t find anything to do to cope with the boredom and anxiety. Whatever was on the TV didn’t attract his attention. The morning that was passing by was like an eternity. He realized that he was losing patience to that dingy place quickly.The only thing that could comfort him were the thoughts of the big “revenue” he made from the “deal”.

“It’ll pass.” He told himself. Then he began to think about lunch, whether to pick up something outside, or to cook convenient noodle. While he was uncertain which one to choose, there was a knock on the door.

His first reaction was to reach to his gun. He swiftly got off the bed and stood by the door side.

The knock came again,”Anybody there? This is the landlord!”