C5 French Translation

Chapter V: French Interpreter

Lu Yao did not know when she had drifted off to sleep, but when she regained consciousness, her lower abdomen had begun to ache.

She knew that this was a sign of her upcoming menstrual cycle. Shao Yunchen had been around the last two nights, so Lu Yao subconsciously reached out to find him. "Shao Yunchen, I am getting stomach cramps..."

She stretched out her hand to touch him, but only found thin air.

Lu Yao opened her eyes in a daze, only to realize that her surroundings were empty and cold. It was obvious that her husband had been gone for a long time. Her eyes found a note on the bedside table.

"Going on a three-day business trip."

Shao Yunchen's handwriting was the same as always, neat and tidy. The distance between each word was perfect.

Lu Yao's hands clutched the note tightly. The taut thread that had been holding her heart together finally snapped, and she buried her head in tears.

In the past three years, he had never before come home two nights in a row. She had spent countless days and nights alone. Still, she had never felt this heart-wrenching pain before.

Lu Yao grimaced in pain. She had menstrual cramps and was suffering from a cold. After calling up the office to ask for a couple of days of leave, she went back to sleep with her head covered by a blanket. When she got hungry, she ordered some porridge for home delivery. She spent two days in bed.

On the third day, when the cold was finally gone, she felt better.

Lu Yao got up from bed and went to take a hot shower. She combed her hair and dressed up, instantly feeling more relaxed. She then dialed Zhou Linlin's number. "Lin, there's something I need your help with," she said to her friend on the phone.

"What's the matter?" Zhou Linlin asked.

"Could you lend me some money?" Lu Yao was aware that Zhou Linlin's parents worked for a well-off family. Their monthly income was not very high, but Lu Yao had no other choice left but to ask for money.

"Is this because of your father?"

Lu Yao confirmed her friend's assumption in a hushed tone.

The downfall of the first judge of Southern City had sent shock waves among the public. Even middle-class people were aware of the news.

"I'm on night shift. I can't leave right now," Zhou Linlin said. "I'll transfer you 80,000 yuan from my phone. It's not much, but at the moment I can only give you this amount. I'll think of another way."

"Don't bother with more, I'll think of something else." Lu Yao was overwhelmed with gratitude. She did not know what else to say. "Lin, thank you so much for helping me out."

"Why are you thanking me? It's not like this is the first time we've met," Zhou Linlin said. Lu Yao could almost hear her friend rolling her eyes. "Oh, by the way... You're fluent in French, right? I have a client who needs a French interpreter for their business negotiations. One hundred thousand yuan for a night. Would you like to try it out?"

"A hundred thousand?" She could get paid a hundred thousand yuan for one night of negotiations alone? That sounded like a blessing to Lu Yao. She needed any money she could get her hands on right now. "I'm in! Give me his contact details."

"But they drink a lot though the meetings. Can you bear it?"

"That is fine by me. We used to drink so much when we studied together. Don't you know that I can handle my alcohol?"

"Sure."

Before ending the call, Zhou Linlin gave her a number.

Lu Yao dialed the number. Once she mentioned that Zhou Linlin was her reference, the client agreed to give her the task. He told her to get ready in business-appropriate clothes and meet him at Peace Hotel at six in the evening. Lu Yao agreed readily.

Lu Yao spent a few minutes detailing to the client her knowledge of the French language. She badly needed this one-time interpreter job.

Because of this one-off task and Zhou Linlin's loan, she had managed to accrue a total of 180,000.

Lu Yao was careful to present her best for the job. She rummaged through her wardrobe for several hours for the perfect attire. When she saw that it was getting late, she quickly put on some makeup and went out with her bag and keys.

About ten minutes later, her cab arrived at Peace Hotel.

Lu Yao mentioned to the concierge the room number that she had been given, who then led her to the third floor. The long corridor was covered in soft red carpet. The sound of their footsteps was muffled.

As Lu Yao walked in, she saw that only four people occupied the room. She could immediately tell who the boss was from his body language. She went up to the man and stretched out her hand. "Mr. Chen, I'm the French interpreter for this meeting, Lu Yao."

"Oh, you're here?" Mr. Chen was impressed that Lu Yao had greeted him as soon as she entered the door. In addition, she was well-dressed for the meeting and seemed to have a good temperament. He shook hands with her.

Mr. Chen quickly introduced his people to Lu Yao, who was to act as the interpreter in today's meeting. The negotiations were regarding the export of their goods. Since the other party was a French man, they had asked for an interpreter.