Due today

下午，我收到同事的一条消息：“报告今天交。”

Xiàwǔ, wǒ shōudào tóngshì de yì tiáo xiāoxi: “Bàogào jīntiān jiāo.”

In the afternoon, I receive a message from a colleague: “The report is due today.”

消息很短，没有解释，也没有别的内容。

Xiāoxi hěn duǎn, méiyǒu jiěshì, yě méiyǒu bié de nèiróng.

The message is short, with no explanation or other details.

我以为他要我马上交，心里有点儿不舒服。

Wǒ yǐwéi tā yào wǒ mǎshàng jiāo, xīnli yǒu diǎnr bù shūfu.

I assume he wants it immediately, and I feel a little upset.

我写了一大段回复，想说明自己为什么还没完成。

Wǒ xiě le yí dà duàn huífù, xiǎng shuōmíng zìjǐ wèishénme hái méi wánchéng.

I write a long reply to explain why I haven’t finished yet.

发送以前，我决定先去问清楚。

Fāsòng yǐqián, wǒ juédìng xiān qù wèn qīngchu.

Before sending it, I decide to go and ask what he means.

他指着电脑说：“我怕你记错时间，就把这个提醒也发给你了。”

Tā zhǐzhe diànnǎo shuō: “Wǒ pà nǐ jì cuò shíjiān, jiù bǎ zhè ge tíxǐng yě fā gěi nǐ le.”

He points to his computer. “I sent you the reminder too, so you’d have the right time.”

原来，他刚参加完会议，正把同样的消息发给组里的每个人。

Yuánlái, tā gāng cānjiā wán huìyì, zhèng bǎ tóngyàng de xiāoxi fā gěi zǔ lǐ de měi ge rén.

He has just come out of a meeting and is sending the same message to everyone in the group.

我删掉了那段回复，只说：“谢谢提醒，我今天交。”

Wǒ shāndiào le nà duàn huífù, zhǐ shuō: “Xièxie tíxǐng, wǒ jīntiān jiāo.”

I delete the long reply and simply say, “Thanks for the reminder. I’ll hand it in today.”