Wu Yong was still speaking with Tang Yi-Bai when Matron Yuan passed by. When Matron Yuan saw Tang Yi-Bai, she nodded at him. "Yi-Bai performed very well today."
Tang Yi-Bai dipped his head down humbly, "Thank you, Matron Yuan."
Wu Yong was gleeful. With a strange light shining from his eyes, he asked Matron Yuan, "How's that? You see this? This child that I, Wu Yong, have taught, the new Asian flying fish! He may very well become the next Olympics champion."
Matron Yuan smiled slightly and said composedly to Tang Yi-Bai, "If you had followed me, you would have long become a world champion. What do you think? Interested?"
Wu Yong's face darkened. "Who tries to steal from others right in front of their faces like you do? What am I? A dead body?"
Tang Yi-Bai knew Matron Yuan was only joking, so he smiled and said, "Matron Yuan, Brother Feng is already enough to give you a headache. I'll not add to your troubles."
"Well, that's true." Matron Yuan nodded and drifted away.
Not sparing Wu Yong a single glance from start to end.
Complete disregard — it was even more damaging to an opponent than outright conflict.
Wu Yong was very angry; Tang Yi-Bai felt that even the short stubble on Wu Yong's face was quivering. Wu Yong pointed a finger at Matron Yuan's back. "This ... she ..."
"Coach Wu, don't worry, I will forever follow you," Tang Yi-Bai hurriedly consoled him, "But still, if I can speak honestly, you're really no match for Matron Yuan ..."
Matron Yuan was a very special person. She would be turning 43 this year, still unmarried. She had a petite frame and appeared to be a very gentle and agreeable little woman, but in fact, a Godzilla lived within her. Tang Yi-Bai had personally witnessed Matron Yuan beating Qi Rui-Feng. That time, Qi Rui-Feng had done many stupid things. The furious Matron Yuan had wanted to give him a good tight slap, but in an awkward turn of events, she was not tall enough to reach. In the end, Qi Rui-Feng had to squat down so Matron Yuan could hit him ... It was still chilling to think back on it now — back then, Tang Yi-Bai had hurriedly made himself scarce.
If a good friend was going through some unbearable situation, looking away and never bringing it up again was a better option than trying to comfort them.
Compared with Matron Yuan, although Coach Wu looked fearsome, he had never hit Tang Yi-Bai before. Based on this alone, Tang Yi-Bai believed that Coach Wu would be no match for Matron Yuan — Coach Wu just wasn't savage enough.
Wu Yong still felt like criticizing Matron Yuan, but she had already left. Badmouthing her to a young'un behind her back seemed too weak and underhanded, so Wu Yong could only let it go for now.
Tang Yi-Bai hesitated, then asked, "Coach Wu, I would like to go home tomorrow and only come back for the closing ceremony. Is that okay?"
"Something going on at home?"
"No," Tang Yi-Bai shook his head. "I just haven't been home for a while, and my mum hasn't even called me lately to yell at me. This is not like her. I'm worried if she's plotting something to punish me ..."
Wu Yong was rendered somewhat speechless. "... Fine, fine, go back. And you don't even have to come back for the closing ceremony. Running back and forth is too much trouble. I'll notify the team."
Tang Yi-Bai was very happy. "Thank you, Coach Wu!"
"Handle the exclusive interview issue yourself. I washing my hands of it. You should already know what you should and shouldn't say."
"Yes."
Wu Yong paused to think, and found that he had nothing else to add. Compared with the other athletes, Tang Yi-Bai has always been especially reassuring. Honestly speaking, Wu Yong was rather envious of Matron Yuan, because that child Qi Rui-Feng was constantly causing trouble every day ... coaches only felt really useful when athletes were troubled — this was the value of their existence. As for Tang Yi-Bai? This little fellow was an old soul, mentally mature and psychologically resilient. Sometimes, even he, the coach, needed Tang Yi-Bai to guide and advise him instead. Goddammit ...
That night, Tang Yi-Bai and Qi Rui-Feng returned to the hotel together by bus. Qi Rui-Feng had no events today and had only gone to the venue as an audience member to cheer for his teammates. When he had seen Tang Yi-Bai, he had punched him and said, "Splendidly done!"
Tang Yi-Bai had just smiled — he had already received many accolades of this sort today.
It was very dim inside the bus. The two of them sat side by side, and Tang Yi-Bai was looking out of the window. City-Q was a coastal city. The design of the city was modernistic — the roads were wide and the buildings were tall. The streetlights were emitting a soft yellow glow, like floating golden pearls in the night, dotted ornaments for this beautiful city. At the end of the reach of the streetlights was a murky dark black expanse, like a black hole in time and space, inciting fear at the very sight of it.
That was the ocean. The ocean which would accept anything and swallow everything.
Qi Rui-Feng suddenly asked, "Have you ever seen the ocean[hai]?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Houhai."
"Sod off."
Tang Yi-Bai laughed. He shifted, turning to fully face the car window. Colours flew by outside the window in a elusive blur — the only constant was the firm and silent sea.
He had not lied; he had really seen the ocean before. More than three years ago, in this very city. He had come to this city with a punishment ticket, an injured leg, and a bellyful of hurt and bewilderment. He had thought then that, from the ages of 7 till 18, he had already been swimming in the water for 11 years but he had yet to see the ocean. How regrettable was that? Therefore, he had wanted to have a look at the ocean now that his dreams were coming to an end. He wanted to have a glimpse of the widest expanse of water under the sky.
What had it been like then? Unending water as far as the eye could see dominating the entire horizon ... all who saw it could not help but find their mind's eye broadening. The crashing waves roared and snarled, charging tirelessly at the shore like giant beasts, layer after layer, stack after stack, frothing up into piles of snowy white.
The waves seemed to pound on his heart as well.
He thought then, Why should I believe in such a ridiculous thing as fate? My life, my luck, is all in my own hands. I have fallen down, but I just need to get back up again. Accepting everything, coming to terms with everything ... only then can I overcome it all. There is no such thing as shackles in this world. All shackles are just shackles people have put on their own hearts. Whatever I want, I will go for it. I don't believe that I won't achieve it!
On the road of life, suffering is like endless hordes of beasts. There's nothing at all uncommon about it. If you meet one, just swing your sword and cut it down.
Looking back on the wild passion of the past, all he felt now was a tranquil calmness. Tang Yi-Bai stared out at the darkness at the end of the reach of the lights and thought silently, Next time, I must have a good swim in the sea.
Qi Rui-Feng suddenly said, "I saw Yun Duo cheering for you today."
"Is that so?" He leaned back into his seat and turned his head to look at Qi Rui-Feng.
"Yeah, she was jumping very high, really like a little rabbit. It was very, very silly," said Qi Rui-Feng, a corner of his lips lifting into a dismissive smirk, yet his eyes were laughing. "I've recorded it."
"Let me see."
Qi Rui-Feng opened the Pad with a rose-red shell cover he was holding. This Pad was Matron Yuan's. Because Qi Rui-Feng had performed well recently, Matron Yuan had allowed him to play with it for two days. Earlier, when Qi Rui-Feng had been in the audience stands, he had already played a racing game for a good long while. It had felt amazing.
He found the video file and played it for Tang Yi-Bai.
The video had been recorded starting from when Tang Yi-Bai had been warming up; It was clear to see that Qi Rui-Feng's original objective had not been to film Yun Duo. The camera held steady for a long time on the pool, and then it swept over the audience stands. When the camera passed by the media area, it quickly backtracked to focus on it again.
And then, Qi Rui-Feng's voice could be heard saying, "Hey, isn't that Sister Egg?"
Tang Yi-Bai frowned. "You promised me to stop calling her Sister Egg."
Qi Rui-Feng quickly changed the topic. "Shut up. Keep watching."
After that, the camera remained focused on Yun Duo. Tang Yi-Bai saw her slender figure suddenly jumping and shouting. As she was too far away from the camera, he could not hear what she was saying, but Qi Rui-Feng's commentary was very clear. "Hahaha, how silly!"
Tang Yi-Bai stared at her figure on the screen and smiled softly. In the light coming off the screen, his pretty eyes were as gentle as the night sky.
The video soon ended. Tang Yi-Bai watched as Qi Rui-Feng exited the media player, then said, "Send me a copy of this video."
"Alright."
"And then delete the original file."
"Why?"
"If you don't delete it, Matron Yuan will delete it anyway. And after she deletes it, she'll still complain about you."
Qi Rui-Feng thought about it and found that Tang Yi-Bai was right. He nodded. "Okay ..." Suddenly, he became a little smug. "This is some dirt on Yun Duo. I also want to keep a copy."
The next morning, Tang Yi-Bai went home. It just happened to be the weekend today. He had been planning to surprise his parents, but when he arrived home, there was no one there besides the dog.
Er-Bai had been very lonely all alone at home, so he was very happy to hear someone arrive, and he quickly dragged a pair of slippers over to the door.
Tang Yi-Bai found that Er-Bai had become much more useful now, even knowing to bring slippers to his master. In the past, he only knew to use slippers as things to gnaw on. He rewarded Er-Bai with some pats on the head, but then when he looked down at the slippers, he found himself gobsmacked ...
They were a pair of pale pink, cotton slippers printed with the letter 'y'. They were roughly the size of one of Tang Yi-Bai's palms.
Tang Yi-Bai stared at the pair of cotton slippers in shock. Was his mother trying to revert to her youthful years? Wearing such things more suited to young girls?
He carefully put away those slippers and looked for his own pair to change into.
After taking a look around the house, Tang Yi-Bai confirmed that both his parents were not home. He decided to go back to his own room first and rest for a while. Only to find that his room was locked.
Hehe, luckily I came prepared.
Tang Yi-Bai drew out a key and with a quiet snick, he pushed the door open and entered the room.
And then he quickly retreated out of the room again.
Tang Yi-Bai blinked blankly for a moment, bewildered, falling into deep confusion and self-doubt. The room he had entered earlier was his room, right? Right? He should have gotten the correct door ... he looked down at the husky lying beside him and was convinced that he had not entered the wrong house.
He entered the room once more.
This room ... how should he say this? It was like a baked sweet potato which had suddenly morphed into carefully crafted sweet treats. The posters on the walls were gone, replaced by a bright and vivid landscape oil painting in a wood-coloured frame. A stack of books were on the desk, along with a small potted plant with fleshy leaves. A new bookshelf was nailed to a wall, and there were various books and handicrafts on the shelves. The bedsheets and covers had not changed, but there was now a large Winnie the Pooh bear on the bed as well. The sliding door of the wardrobe was closed. A large sticker adorned the doors — it was an image of two cute and innocent cartoon pandas.
He walked towards the balcony.
The curtains had also been changed. They were now double-layered light blue curtains with lace. Oh my god, lace!
Tang Yi-Bai's head hurt. Was this how his mum was planning to punish him? By decorating his room like the bedroom of a young girl? Lace, what the hell, it was horrifying just looking at it ...
He didn't want to look at all that lace; he pulled the curtains open completely with a quick tug.
A circular clothes rack with small clips was outside, and hanging on it were some socks with cartoon designs and a ... bra.
A pastel blue, flower-patterned, lacy, bra.
"Cough." He quickly pulled the curtains close again, his face flushed red and rather warm.
An awful thought was surfacing in his mind. He quickly took his handphone out and called his dad.
"Dad, do we have a relative visiting us right now?"
"No, son, what're you talking about?" Daddy Tang replied.
"Then why is my room ...?"
"Oh, that. Your mum has rented out the room. Wait, you've seen the room? Get out now, that's someone else's room now."
... Fuck!
Tang Yi-Bai had the strong impulse to slam his head against the wall.
He backed out of the room and asked, "Why rent it out? Are we short on money ...?"
"No, but your mum said the rental can be used to buy snacks for Er-Bai."
"..." Tang Yi-Bai clenched his teeth and grumbled, "Who is her actual child? Er-Bai or me?"
His mother's voice suddenly came through over the phone. "What do you think? Er-Bai accompanies me on walks every day, while you don't even show your face once in three months. There's a perfectly good room here that you don't want to live in. Well, there are plenty of others who would love to stay in it."
"Mum ..."
Daddy Tang said, "We're on our way back now. Let's talk when we're home."
Wu Yong was still speaking with Tang Yi-Bai when Matron Yuan passed by. When Matron Yuan saw Tang Yi-Bai, she nodded at him. "Yi-Bai performed very well today."
Tang Yi-Bai dipped his head down humbly, "Thank you, Matron Yuan."
Wu Yong was gleeful. With a strange light shining from his eyes, he asked Matron Yuan, "How's that? You see this? This child that I, Wu Yong, have taught, the new Asian flying fish! He may very well become the next Olympics champion."
Matron Yuan smiled slightly and said composedly to Tang Yi-Bai, "If you had followed me, you would have long become a world champion. What do you think? Interested?"
Wu Yong's face darkened. "Who tries to steal from others right in front of their faces like you do? What am I? A dead body?"
Tang Yi-Bai knew Matron Yuan was only joking, so he smiled and said, "Matron Yuan, Brother Feng is already enough to give you a headache. I'll not add to your troubles."
"Well, that's true." Matron Yuan nodded and drifted away.
Not sparing Wu Yong a single glance from start to end.
Complete disregard — it was even more damaging to an opponent than outright conflict.
Wu Yong was very angry; Tang Yi-Bai felt that even the short stubble on Wu Yong's face was quivering. Wu Yong pointed a finger at Matron Yuan's back. "This ... she ..."
"Coach Wu, don't worry, I will forever follow you," Tang Yi-Bai hurriedly consoled him, "But still, if I can speak honestly, you're really no match for Matron Yuan ..."
Matron Yuan was a very special person. She would be turning 43 this year, still unmarried. She had a petite frame and appeared to be a very gentle and agreeable little woman, but in fact, a Godzilla lived within her. Tang Yi-Bai had personally witnessed Matron Yuan beating Qi Rui-Feng. That time, Qi Rui-Feng had done many stupid things. The furious Matron Yuan had wanted to give him a good tight slap, but in an awkward turn of events, she was not tall enough to reach. In the end, Qi Rui-Feng had to squat down so Matron Yuan could hit him ... It was still chilling to think back on it now — back then, Tang Yi-Bai had hurriedly made himself scarce.
If a good friend was going through some unbearable situation, looking away and never bringing it up again was a better option than trying to comfort them.
Compared with Matron Yuan, although Coach Wu looked fearsome, he had never hit Tang Yi-Bai before. Based on this alone, Tang Yi-Bai believed that Coach Wu would be no match for Matron Yuan — Coach Wu just wasn't savage enough.
Wu Yong still felt like criticizing Matron Yuan, but she had already left. Badmouthing her to a young'un behind her back seemed too weak and underhanded, so Wu Yong could only let it go for now.
Tang Yi-Bai hesitated, then asked, "Coach Wu, I would like to go home tomorrow and only come back for the closing ceremony. Is that okay?"
"Something going on at home?"
"No," Tang Yi-Bai shook his head. "I just haven't been home for a while, and my mum hasn't even called me lately to yell at me. This is not like her. I'm worried if she's plotting something to punish me ..."
Wu Yong was rendered somewhat speechless. "... Fine, fine, go back. And you don't even have to come back for the closing ceremony. Running back and forth is too much trouble. I'll notify the team."
Tang Yi-Bai was very happy. "Thank you, Coach Wu!"
"Handle the exclusive interview issue yourself. I washing my hands of it. You should already know what you should and shouldn't say."
"Yes."
Wu Yong paused to think, and found that he had nothing else to add. Compared with the other athletes, Tang Yi-Bai has always been especially reassuring. Honestly speaking, Wu Yong was rather envious of Matron Yuan, because that child Qi Rui-Feng was constantly causing trouble every day ... coaches only felt really useful when athletes were troubled — this was the value of their existence. As for Tang Yi-Bai? This little fellow was an old soul, mentally mature and psychologically resilient. Sometimes, even he, the coach, needed Tang Yi-Bai to guide and advise him instead. Goddammit ...
That night, Tang Yi-Bai and Qi Rui-Feng returned to the hotel together by bus. Qi Rui-Feng had no events today and had only gone to the venue as an audience member to cheer for his teammates. When he had seen Tang Yi-Bai, he had punched him and said, "Splendidly done!"
Tang Yi-Bai had just smiled — he had already received many accolades of this sort today.
It was very dim inside the bus. The two of them sat side by side, and Tang Yi-Bai was looking out of the window. City-Q was a coastal city. The design of the city was modernistic — the roads were wide and the buildings were tall. The streetlights were emitting a soft yellow glow, like floating golden pearls in the night, dotted ornaments for this beautiful city. At the end of the reach of the streetlights was a murky dark black expanse, like a black hole in time and space, inciting fear at the very sight of it.
That was the ocean. The ocean which would accept anything and swallow everything.
Qi Rui-Feng suddenly asked, "Have you ever seen the ocean[hai]?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Houhai."
"Sod off."
Tang Yi-Bai laughed. He shifted, turning to fully face the car window. Colours flew by outside the window in a elusive blur — the only constant was the firm and silent sea.
He had not lied; he had really seen the ocean before. More than three years ago, in this very city. He had come to this city with a punishment ticket, an injured leg, and a bellyful of hurt and bewilderment. He had thought then that, from the ages of 7 till 18, he had already been swimming in the water for 11 years but he had yet to see the ocean. How regrettable was that? Therefore, he had wanted to have a look at the ocean now that his dreams were coming to an end. He wanted to have a glimpse of the widest expanse of water under the sky.
What had it been like then? Unending water as far as the eye could see dominating the entire horizon ... all who saw it could not help but find their mind's eye broadening. The crashing waves roared and snarled, charging tirelessly at the shore like giant beasts, layer after layer, stack after stack, frothing up into piles of snowy white.
The waves seemed to pound on his heart as well.
He thought then, Why should I believe in such a ridiculous thing as fate? My life, my luck, is all in my own hands. I have fallen down, but I just need to get back up again. Accepting everything, coming to terms with everything ... only then can I overcome it all. There is no such thing as shackles in this world. All shackles are just shackles people have put on their own hearts. Whatever I want, I will go for it. I don't believe that I won't achieve it!
On the road of life, suffering is like endless hordes of beasts. There's nothing at all uncommon about it. If you meet one, just swing your sword and cut it down.
Looking back on the wild passion of the past, all he felt now was a tranquil calmness. Tang Yi-Bai stared out at the darkness at the end of the reach of the lights and thought silently, Next time, I must have a good swim in the sea.
Qi Rui-Feng suddenly said, "I saw Yun Duo cheering for you today."
"Is that so?" He leaned back into his seat and turned his head to look at Qi Rui-Feng.
"Yeah, she was jumping very high, really like a little rabbit. It was very, very silly," said Qi Rui-Feng, a corner of his lips lifting into a dismissive smirk, yet his eyes were laughing. "I've recorded it."
"Let me see."
Qi Rui-Feng opened the Pad with a rose-red shell cover he was holding. This Pad was Matron Yuan's. Because Qi Rui-Feng had performed well recently, Matron Yuan had allowed him to play with it for two days. Earlier, when Qi Rui-Feng had been in the audience stands, he had already played a racing game for a good long while. It had felt amazing.
He found the video file and played it for Tang Yi-Bai.
The video had been recorded starting from when Tang Yi-Bai had been warming up; It was clear to see that Qi Rui-Feng's original objective had not been to film Yun Duo. The camera held steady for a long time on the pool, and then it swept over the audience stands. When the camera passed by the media area, it quickly backtracked to focus on it again.
And then, Qi Rui-Feng's voice could be heard saying, "Hey, isn't that Sister Egg?"
Tang Yi-Bai frowned. "You promised me to stop calling her Sister Egg."
Qi Rui-Feng quickly changed the topic. "Shut up. Keep watching."
After that, the camera remained focused on Yun Duo. Tang Yi-Bai saw her slender figure suddenly jumping and shouting. As she was too far away from the camera, he could not hear what she was saying, but Qi Rui-Feng's commentary was very clear. "Hahaha, how silly!"
Tang Yi-Bai stared at her figure on the screen and smiled softly. In the light coming off the screen, his pretty eyes were as gentle as the night sky.
The video soon ended. Tang Yi-Bai watched as Qi Rui-Feng exited the media player, then said, "Send me a copy of this video."
"Alright."
"And then delete the original file."
"Why?"
"If you don't delete it, Matron Yuan will delete it anyway. And after she deletes it, she'll still complain about you."
Qi Rui-Feng thought about it and found that Tang Yi-Bai was right. He nodded. "Okay ..." Suddenly, he became a little smug. "This is some dirt on Yun Duo. I also want to keep a copy."
The next morning, Tang Yi-Bai went home. It just happened to be the weekend today. He had been planning to surprise his parents, but when he arrived home, there was no one there besides the dog.
Er-Bai had been very lonely all alone at home, so he was very happy to hear someone arrive, and he quickly dragged a pair of slippers over to the door.
Tang Yi-Bai found that Er-Bai had become much more useful now, even knowing to bring slippers to his master. In the past, he only knew to use slippers as things to gnaw on. He rewarded Er-Bai with some pats on the head, but then when he looked down at the slippers, he found himself gobsmacked ...
They were a pair of pale pink, cotton slippers printed with the letter 'y'. They were roughly the size of one of Tang Yi-Bai's palms.
Tang Yi-Bai stared at the pair of cotton slippers in shock. Was his mother trying to revert to her youthful years? Wearing such things more suited to young girls?
He carefully put away those slippers and looked for his own pair to change into.
After taking a look around the house, Tang Yi-Bai confirmed that both his parents were not home. He decided to go back to his own room first and rest for a while. Only to find that his room was locked.
Hehe, luckily I came prepared.
Tang Yi-Bai drew out a key and with a quiet snick, he pushed the door open and entered the room.
And then he quickly retreated out of the room again.
Tang Yi-Bai blinked blankly for a moment, bewildered, falling into deep confusion and self-doubt. The room he had entered earlier was his room, right? Right? He should have gotten the correct door ... he looked down at the husky lying beside him and was convinced that he had not entered the wrong house.
He entered the room once more.
This room ... how should he say this? It was like a baked sweet potato which had suddenly morphed into carefully crafted sweet treats. The posters on the walls were gone, replaced by a bright and vivid landscape oil painting in a wood-coloured frame. A stack of books were on the desk, along with a small potted plant with fleshy leaves. A new bookshelf was nailed to a wall, and there were various books and handicrafts on the shelves. The bedsheets and covers had not changed, but there was now a large Winnie the Pooh bear on the bed as well. The sliding door of the wardrobe was closed. A large sticker adorned the doors — it was an image of two cute and innocent cartoon pandas.
He walked towards the balcony.
The curtains had also been changed. They were now double-layered light blue curtains with lace. Oh my god, lace!
Tang Yi-Bai's head hurt. Was this how his mum was planning to punish him? By decorating his room like the bedroom of a young girl? Lace, what the hell, it was horrifying just looking at it ...
He didn't want to look at all that lace; he pulled the curtains open completely with a quick tug.
A circular clothes rack with small clips was outside, and hanging on it were some socks with cartoon designs and a ... bra.
A pastel blue, flower-patterned, lacy, bra.
"Cough." He quickly pulled the curtains close again, his face flushed red and rather warm.
An awful thought was surfacing in his mind. He quickly took his handphone out and called his dad.
"Dad, do we have a relative visiting us right now?"
"No, son, what're you talking about?" Daddy Tang replied.
"Then why is my room ...?"
"Oh, that. Your mum has rented out the room. Wait, you've seen the room? Get out now, that's someone else's room now."
... Fuck!
Tang Yi-Bai had the strong impulse to slam his head against the wall.
He backed out of the room and asked, "Why rent it out? Are we short on money ...?"
"No, but your mum said the rental can be used to buy snacks for Er-Bai."
"..." Tang Yi-Bai clenched his teeth and grumbled, "Who is her actual child? Er-Bai or me?"
His mother's voice suddenly came through over the phone. "What do you think? Er-Bai accompanies me on walks every day, while you don't even show your face once in three months. There's a perfectly good room here that you don't want to live in. Well, there are plenty of others who would love to stay in it."
"Mum ..."
Daddy Tang said, "We're on our way back now. Let's talk when we're home."
