通过我来约二位 一起吃个饭聊聊天
“he wanted to ask you both out to have dinner and chat through me.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
我就想起来一件事情 前几天呢他还想
“I just remembered something. A few days ago,”
通过 我来 约二位 一起吃个饭聊聊天
“he wanted to ask you both out to have dinner and chat through me.”
“I refused on the spot. Now it seems that”
“He tried to use me as a middleman to soften you up over dinner.”
In Chinese business and officialdom, critical negotiations and influence-peddling rarely start in meeting rooms; they are disguised as casual meals (吃个饭) mediated by mutual acquaintances.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
through me; using me as an intermediary
Commonly used when explaining that an indirect request or introduction was routed through oneself.
have a bite and chat
A typical Chinese euphemism used to downplay a serious lobbying or negotiation meeting as casual socialization.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“before summoning that woman here,”
“We promised each other”
“You asked. So I'd be here.”
“we're in the middle of nowhere. What's this about?”
“We've asked you to come in today to see if you can help us piece together Guo Bingbing's last days.”
“I asked you out, so I should be the one treating.”