[NOTE: I feel like it's been a long time since I translated a Meiling scene. Anyway, as usual, her speech is characteristic of stereotyped Chinese characters in Japanese media: she uses her own name instead of personal pronouns. However, in this scene she finally drops a pronoun. Turns out she uses watashi, written in katakana as ワタシ to show that she's foreign. The way she talks isn't quite standard Japanese and should rightly be written with the typical characteristics of ESL Mandarin speakers, but I don't have the expertise to get that right without being offensive, so I'm just avoiding it.]
今日、メイリン、
少し機嫌が悪いね。
なぜなら、さっき変な男が来て、
メイリンをイジメたよ。
Ｕｇｈ， Ｉ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｆｅｅｌ ｏｕｔ
ｏｆ ｉｔ ｔｏｄａｙ．
Ｓｏｍｅ ｗｅｉｒｄｏ ｃａｍｅ ｉｎｔｏ ｍｙ
ｓｈｏｐ ａｎｄ ｈａｒｒａｓｓｅｄ ｍｅ．
[MEILING:] I'm a little down in the dumps today.
This weird man came in earlier and bullied me.
=====
来了、来了（いらっしゃい）
やあ、どう？
Ｃｏｍｅ ｉｎ， Ｃｏｍｅ ｉｎ！
Ｓｏ ｈｏｗ ｂｏｕｔ ｉｔ？
[MEILING:] Lai le, lai le. (Welcome.)
[YUUJI:] So, how's things?
[NOTE: "Irasshai", meaning "come in", is what Japanese shopkeepers say to welcome their customers. I'm not familiar with Mandarin, but from a Google search, it looks like the devs just translated the literal meaning into Mandarin, and "lai le" is more like "here you are!" than "Welcome".]
-----
はぁ？ なにが？
だからさ、商売もうかっている？
．．．Ｈｏｗ ｂｏｕｔ ｗｈａｔ？
Ｍａｋｉｎ’ ｐｒｅｔｔｙ ｇｏｏｄ ｐｒｏｆｉｔ，
ａｒｅｎ’ｔ ｙｏｕ？
[MEILING:] Huh? What things?
[YUUJI:] I mean like, is your business doing well?
-----
なにかオマエ！？
なぜそんなこと聞きたい？
オマエ、税務署の人間か？
Ｗｈｙ ｗｏｕｌｄ ｙｏｕ ａｓｋ ｍｅ
ａｂｏｕｔ ａ ｔｈｉｎｇ ｌｉｋｅ ｔｈａｔ？
Ｙｏｕ ｗｏｒｋ ｆｏｒ ｔｈｅ ＩＲＳ ｏｒ
ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ？
[MEILING:] What's wrong with you?! Why would you ask me that?
Are you someone with the tax office?
----
……あはは、違うよ。
ご近所さんとして、
ちょっと挨拶に来てみたんだ。
Ｏｈ， ｎｏ ｎｏ．
Ｉ ｊｕｓｔ ｃａｍｅ ｔｏ ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｅ
ｍｙｓｅｌｆ ａｎｄ ｓａｙ ｈｉ．
[YUUJI:] ....Ahaha, no way.
I just thought I'd come by and introduce myself. As a neighbor.
-----
ああ、そうか！
それならなぜ何も持ってこない？
へ？ 持ってくる？
Ｏｈ ｒｅａｌｌｙ？ Ｓｏ ｗｈｅｒｅ’ｓ
ｔｈｅ ｇｉｆｔ？
．．．Ｇｉｆｔ？
[MEILING:] Oh, I see! Why didn't you bring something, then?
[YUUJI:] Huh? Bring something?
----
中国ではそれが常識ね。
他人の家に手ぶらで行くのは、
バカか赤ちゃん。わからないか？
Ｏｈ， ｉｔ’ｓ ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ ｃｏｍｍｏｎ
ｓｅｎｓｅ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ．
Ｔｈｅ ｏｎｌｙ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ｗｈｏ ｄｏｎ’ｔ
ａｒｅ ｉｄｉｏｔｓ ａｎｄ ｂａｂｉｅｓ．
[MEILING:] In China, this is common knowledge.
The only ones who come empty-handed to someone else's place are idiots and babies. You don't know that?
----
ふ～ん、そうなんだ……。
それじゃ、今度持ってくるよ。
Ｏｈ．．． Ｉ ｓｅｅ．．．
Ｗｅｌｌ， Ｉ’ｌｌ ｂｒｉｎｇ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ
ｎｅｘｔ ｔｉｍｅ．
[YUUJI:] Hmm, I see...
Well, I'll bring something next time.
-----
それで何の用か？ 早く言う。
同じ商売人としてさ、
意見欲しいんだけど。
Ｓｏ ｗｈａｔ ｄｏ ｙｏｕ ｗａｎｔ？
Ｓｐｅａｋ ｑｕｉｃｋｌｙ．
Ｉ ｊｕｓｔ ｗａｎｔｅｄ ｙｏｕｒ ｏｐｉｎｉｏｎ
ａｂｏｕｔ ｒｕｎｎｉｎｇ ａ ｓｈｏｐ．
[MEILING:] So what do you want? Talk quick.
[YUUJI:] We're in the same line of work, so I just wanted your opinion.
[NOTE:] A rare double space in Yuuji's line there. That's a rare typo even in this game.
-----
ぼくの店、正直どう思う？
３区のＹＵＺＩって店なんだけど。
しらん。興味無い。
Ｍｙ ｓｈｏｐ ＹＵＺＩ ｉｎ Ａｒｅａ ３．
Ｈｏｎｅｓｔｌｙ， ｄｏ ｙｏｕ ｌｉｋｅ ｉｔ？
Ｎｅｖｅｒ ｈｅａｒｄ ｏｆ ｉｔ． Ｄｏｎ’ｔ
ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｃａｒｅ ｅｉｔｈｅｒ．
[YUUJI:] What's your honest opinion of my shop? It's YUZI, in District 3.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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[NOTE: This scene is different from most Pumpkin Witch scenes, which are usually pretty accurate and written in very consistent dialect. This one has more mistakes and doesn’t stick to the dialect. It’s not as bad as the scenes set in YUZI, but it’s almost like Yuuji being in the first half of the script file caused things to get worse.]
[MEILING:] /Wo de mama/ is beautiful and kind, but she is SCARY.
If I invite you home to see /wo de jia/, you better mind your manners or she'll kick you out.
[NOTE: Seems like 我的マーマ and 我的家 are meant to be spoken in Chinese ("my mama" and "my family"), although according to a post on StackExchange this phrasing doesn't sound 100% natural.]
----
それだけは気をつける、いいな？
はぁ～、今日は仕方ない。
少し難しい問題だった。
Ｊｕｓｔ ｂｅ ｃａｒｅｆｕｌ， ｏｋ？
Ｗｅｌｌ， ｔｈａｔ ｗａｓ ａ ｈａｒｄ
ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎ． Ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｗｏｒｒｙ！
[MEILING:] Just be careful, okay?
*sigh* Well, too bad. That was a tricky question.
----
次、ガンバル、いいか？
加油、加油（ガンバレ）。
それじゃ、また来るな。
Ｂｅｔｔｅｒ ｌｕｃｋ ｎｅｘｔ ｔｉｍｅ， ｏｋ？
Ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｇｉｖｅ ｕｐ！
Ｓｅｅ ｙｏｕ ａｇａｉｎ， ｏｋ？
[MEILING:] Better luck next time, okay?
Jiayou, jiayou. (Good luck).
See you again.
2}
=====
{1 >Ｍｅｉ Ｌｉｎ
あちゃ～、オマエ、大正解。
オマエの答えがあっている。
メイリンが一番偉くない。
メイリン、何もしていないな。
だから偉そうにできない。
Ｗｏｗ！ Ｃｏｒｒｅｃｔ！
Ｙｏｕ’ｒｅ １００％ ｒｉｇｈｔ． Ｉ’ｍ ｔｈｅ
ｄｕｍｂｅｓｔ ｉｎ ｍｙ ｆａｍｉｌｙ．
Ｉ ｈａｖｅｎ’ｔ ｄｏｎｅ ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ
ｔｏ ｂｅ ｐｒｏｕｄ ｏｆ， ｈｕｈ．．．
[MEILING:] Wow! Correct!
You're 100% right. I'm the least impressive one in my family.
I don't really do anything. So I have nothing to be proud of.
----
でも若いから、大丈夫。
これからガンバればいいな。
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ’ｍ ｓｔｉｌｌ ｙｏｕｎｇ， ｓｏ
ｉｔ’ｓ ａｌｒｉｇｈｔ．
Ｉ’ｌｌ ｊｕｓｔ ｓｔａｒｔ ｗｏｒｋｉｎｇ
ｈａｒｄｅｒ！
[MEILING:] But I'm still young, so it's all right.
I've gotta start working harder.
----
でも、オマエさすが！
メイリンの心が良くわかっている。
Ｂｕｔ ｙｏｕ’ｒｅ ａｍａｚｉｎｇ！
Ｙｏｕ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈａｔ Ｉ’ｍ ｔｈｉｎｋｉｎｇ？！
[MEILING:] But you're amazing!
You know exactly what I'm thinking.
----
オマエなら、胡家のみんな、
気に入る可能性高い。
キャッ！
どうする、どうする！？
Ｉ ｔｈｉｎｋ ｍｙ ｆａｍｉｌｙ ｗｏｕｌｄ
ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｌｉｋｅ ｙｏｕ！
Ｋｙａ！！ Ｗｈａｔ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ Ｉ ｄｏ，
ｗｈａｔ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ Ｉ ｄｏ？？
[MEILING:] I think my family would really like you.
Eee! Oh, what do I do?!
----
メイリン、そうなったら、
かなりドキドキする……。
…………。
Ｉ ｇｅｔ ｎｅｒｖｏｕｓ ｗｈｅｎ ｔｈｉｎｇｓ
ｌｉｋｅ ｔｈｉｓ ｈａｐｐｅｎ．．．！
．．．．．．．
[MEILING:] I get so nervous about these things....
Any retranslating here would just be rewriting the dialect used in the EN version, so just a few notes.
---
[if you pissed her off last chapter:]
[..]
In her second to last line under the “made her mad > ‘I came to apologize’” branch, she speaks in Chinese: “Ming bai le? (Understand?)” Though from searching, I think this is actually the form you use to say, “Yes, I understand”
---
---
[If you were nice to her in the previous chapter:]
[...]
When she’s talking about potstickers and soup, it’s originally “gyoza” and “ramen”, and she names Japanese people specifically. That’s why her next line asks why they eat two wheat flour foods together... even though soup isn’t a wheat flour food...
When she’s talking about the psychological test game, she doesn’t say “You get smart,” but “Your sixth sense will get better.”
---
土鍋のふたが壊れた
ギョーザ大失敗
ネコに食わせる
もったいない
納豆食べる
健康に良い
節約するつもり
お菓子も嫌い
香菜買いに行く
Ｃｌａｙ ｐｏｔ ｌｉｄ’ｓ ｂｒｏｋｅｎ
Ｆｕｄｇｅｄ ｔｈｅ ｄｕｍｐｌｉｎｇｓ
Ｆｅｅｄ ｔｈｅ ｃａｔ
Ｗｈａｔ ａ ｗａｓｔｅ
Ｅａｔ ｓｏｍｅ Ｎａｔｔｏ ｂｅａｎｓ
Ｇｏｏｄ ｆｏｒ ｔｈｅ ｂｏｄｙ
Ｔｒｙｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｓａｖｅ
Ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｌｉｋｅ ｃａｎｄｙ
Ｇｏｎｎａ ｂｕｙ ｃｉｌａｎｔｒｏ
The pot lid’s broken
Gyoza’s ruined
Feed ‘em to the cat
What a waste
Eat some natto
Good for the body
Gotta be thrifty
Don’t like sweets
Going to buy cilantro
---
ギョーザ
はい、間違い！！
ギョーザは失敗したから食べてない。
Ｐｏｔｓｔｉｃｋｅｒｓ [translated as dumplings in the Thought]
Ｎｏ！ Ｙｏｕ ｗｒｏｎｇ！
Ｉ ｍａｋｅ ｍｉｓｔａｋｅ ｐｏｔｓｔｉｃｋｅｒ
ｓｏ Ｉ ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｅａｔ．
Gyoza
---
ネコ
オマエ、バカか！？
メイリン、そんなもの
食べないね。
ワタシの家族は
みんな食べたことない！
Ａ ｃａｔ
Ｙｏｕ ｓｏ ｓｔｕｐｉｄ？！
Ｉ ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｅａｃｈ ｓｕｃｈ ｔｈｉｎｇ．
Ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ ｍｙ ｆａｍｉｌｙ ｎｅｖｅｒ
ｅａｔ ｉｔ ｂｅｆｏｒｅ！
A cat 😰
---
お菓子
お菓子食べるは、子供。
ワタシは子供ではない。
Ｃａｎｄｙ
Ｃｈｉｌｄｒｅｎｓ ｅａｔ ｃａｎｄｙ． Ｉ’ｍ
ｎｏ ｃｈｉｌｄｒｅｎ．
Candy
---
香菜
香菜だけ食べるバカいない。
ワタシ、香菜好きだけど、
それは間違いね。
Ｃｉｌａｎｔｒｏ
Ｎｏ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ｓｏ ｓｔｕｐｉｄ ｔｏ
ｅａｔ ｏｎｌｙ ｃｉｌａｎｔｒｏ．
Ｉ ｌｉｋｅ ｃｉｌａｎｔｒｏ． Ｂｕｔ ｔｈａｔ
ｗｒｏｎｇ ａｎｓｗｅｒ．
Cilantro
---
納豆
せいか～～い！！
オマエ、メイリンのこと
よくわかっているね～。
昨日はギョーザ失敗したから、
納豆だけ食べたのよ。
だけど、なぜわかった？
どこかで見ていたのか！？
もしそうだったら公安に突き出す、
わかったな？
Ｒｏｔｔｅｎ ｂｅａｎｓ [translated as Natto beans in the Thought]
[note: Natto is fermented beans, and as you may have noticed, was translated correctly in the file for her Thoughts. Due to their unique animations, all of Meiling’s Thoughts are in one file on their own (plus the one of Nami’s from the extra scenes which is animated similarly to Meiling’s.)]
---
When she says goodbye, she tells you to “Jia you! (Do your best!)”
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Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
She wears very unique clothes, but perhaps it’s a clothing [style] from her hometown? Still, it seems a bit too flashy even for a cheongsam*. Maybe she’s into cosplay?
[note: チャイナドレス (China dress) is usually used to describe a cheongsam. Meiling’s outfit doesn’t look anything like a cheongsam to me, but clothing terms aren’t really my specialty, so this might be off.]
The [ability] to shift her Thoughts fast enough to shake off the [mind’s] eye of a telepath is something that couldn’t be done without a fair amount of training. You wouldn’t expect it, but she’s not someone to underestimate. My guess is she’s also a telepath. She’s cute, anyway.
She unwittingly steals the hearts of the men who come to her shop. A faction of the men who like her beautiful appearance and harsh manner have formed a fan club. But she herself is completely unaware of it. Or rather, it doesn’t matter to her.
Her goal for the future is to marry the perfect man. To that end, she’s doing her very best to improve herself. But if a man of low intelligence comes within a five meter radius, she knocks him back with the folding fan she carries in her hand.
[note: “Housewife” in the EN release *possibly* came from the TL mistaking 嫁, a combination of the characters for woman and house, for something that means literally exactly that? However, it just means a bride. The phrase “becoming a bride” is used synonymously with “marrying”, so the になる in the sentence doesn’t mean she’s becoming anything permanently.]
Once a week, she shuts herself in the back of the shop to come up with new merchandise. Pen gripped tightly, she turns items in her head, one after another, into the drawings that are her specialty. Apparently [these] goods poured full of Hu Meiling’s love have the power to fascinate men.
Apparently she was taken back to China. The store feels so lonely without her... She was always smiling. I wonder where she is and what she’s doing now... She was a feast for the eyes...
When she went back to China, it’s said that she was in tears over the safety of the one she loves. Usually she acts tough, but she’s really just a girl in love. I’m so jealous of whoever it is...
[note:
1. Like L and R, F and H are not distinct sounds in Japanese, and when foreign words contain the sounds Fu or Hu, they will be represented by the same character, フ.
3. Chinese distinguishes between the regular N sound and the nasalized N, a distinction which is written in English as N vs Ng. But Japanese just has a single character for an N sound, and N is the only consonant that appears on its own in the syllabary. There’s no way to add a slight noise on the end without adding an entire extra syllable. So any N or Ng sounds in Chinese will be turned into the same thing when written in Japanese characters.
3. So Meiling’s name is written in most of the game as フー・メイリン , which syllabically is Fū / Hū Meirin. This tells Japanese players how they should pronounce the name 胡 美鈴. But it doesn’t give the translators a good idea of how to romanize her name by modern standards, unless they can look up the characters 胡 美鈴, which only appear a couple times in all the script files. Now, because Chinese and English are so different, there have been a lot of different ways to romanize Chinese over the years, and the EN release’s Fu Meilin isn’t wrong. I’m just going with the pinyin readings I found in my research to get something that’s hopefully the closest to modern standards.
[note: This seems to be a hook for some kind of sequel, hinted at in previous chapters by all the talk of Meiling’s family and their incredible psychic powers... however, Lux-Pain was received very poorly and no sequel ever materialized. Killaware filed for bankruptcy three years after its release and Meiling is presumably still waiting, ten years later.]
{1: None of this actually played for me in-game; it’s possible the branch starts after the first paragraph.
Thoughts put into Hu Meiling’s stuffed animal. Filled with affectionate thoughts toward a loved one.
我的情人
気づいたか？
Ｍｙ ｓｗｅｅｔｈｅａｒｔ
Ｙｏｕ ｎｏｔｉｃｅ？
Wo de qing ren [Chinese: My love/sweetheart]
You noticed this?
秘密で思念を込めた
メイリン故郷に帰るね
Ｉ ｓｌｉｐ ｉｎ Ｓｈｉｎｅｎ
Ｍｅｉｌｉｎ ｇｏ ｈｏｍｅ ＯＫ？
I put Thoughts in [here] secretly
Meiling is going back to hometown
パーパが来た仕方ない
でもオマエ中国来る
Ｐａｐａ ｃｏｍｅ， ｇｏｔｔａ ｇｏ
Ｂｕｔ ｙｏｕ ｃｏｍｅ Ｃｈｉｎａ
Papa came so I have to
But you come to China
[note: Papa is パーパ, Paapa, but I think the writers used the wrong diacritical mark and meant バーバ , which would read as the Chinese bàba.]
我信じて待ってる
我的愛永遠
Ｉ ｂｅｌｉｅｖｅ， Ｉ ｗａｉｔ
Ｌｏｖｅ ｙｏｕ ｌｏｎｇ ｔｉｍｅ
I believe [you will]. [I’ll] wait
Wo de ai yong yuan [Chinese: My love is eternal]
[note: The pronoun used in the first sentence is 我, which is the oddly formal ware in Japanese, but a normal “I” in Chinese. The rest of the sentence is Japanese.]
