That night, Tang Yi-Bai did not dare stay at home, hurrying back to the training base. When he returned, he asked Qi Rui-Feng and found out that Coach Wu had not come looking for him. Lucky, lucky.
Still, Tang Yi-Bai found that something was off with Qi Rui-Feng. Feng's strange behaviour was not a sudden thing. It was just over the last two days — as soon as Feng saw him, his mood would turn sour and he would be unresponsive towards him. During meal times, Feng would made absolutely sure he did not sit next to him, and if he had something to ask, he'd seek out Ming Tian or Zheng Ling-Ye and the others, even going so far as to seek out Xiang Yang-Yang to avoid him.
It was so strange. Tang Yi-Bai searched his memory and could not recall doing anything to offend Feng, so why then did it feel like Feng was... distancing himself from him?
Yes, distancing himself.
One could not beat around the bush when dealing with someone as straightforward as Qi Rui-Feng, so Tang Yi-Bai asked him directly, "Feng, are you mad at me?"
Qi Rui-Feng looked stunned. "Why would I be mad at you?"
"Then, are you still mad at Yun Duo?"
"Why would I be mad at her? Oh, she called me a mascot. Yes, I'm very angry about that. Hmph!"
So that wasn't it either? Tang Yi-Bai thought of the worst possibility. "Are you interested in my Yun Duo? Are you planning on fighting a brother over a girl?"
Qi Rui-Feng bristled in anger. "Tang Yi-Bai, are you mental?"
Tang Yi-Bai spread his palms. "Then why have you been keeping a distance from me recently? Are you planning to end our friendship next?"
"I..." Qi Rui-Feng deflated. "You absolutely do not want to know the real reason."
"No, I want to know. I can only resolve the issue once I know what it is."
Qi Rui-Feng used his phone to pull up a video and showed it to Tang Yi-Bai.
The video was a fanmade MV. The song and lyrics were haunting and sentimental, and then, the images in the video were all clips of Qi Rui-Feng and Tang Yi-Bai interacting with each other. Hugging each other, staring at each other, smiling at each other, and so on... This fan was truly a whiz at video editing. He strung together clips of ordinary innocuous interactions and made them extremely clingy and cringey — the two men felt like their world view was crumbling around them by the end of the video.
Tang Yi-Bai put a hand on his forehead. "This... just ignore it..." Honestly, it wasn’t that easy to ignore it — this video had already inflicted some psychological trauma on him.
"There's also this." Qi Rui-Feng opened his Weibo and showed him some top comments.
Many of the hot comments were urging Qi Rui-Feng to become Tang Yi-Bai's bride.
Tang Yi-Bai: =?=
Qi Rui-Feng was sullen. "In fact, most of the comments were asking me to take you as my bride before, but after I became a mascot, now they're asking me to be the bride."
Tang Yi-Bai: =?=
He suddenly felt that he had made a wise decision to not check his Weibo. If there were new comments every day urging him to take Qi Rui-Feng as his bride, he would not be able to take it.
Qi Rui-Feng said anxiously, "I don't know how to face you anymore. What if the netizens manage to make me bent?"
Tang Yi-Bai wiped a drop of sweat from his temple. "Feng, you’re thinking too much." And even if you become gay, I am absolutely loyal to Yun Duo...
"But I really don't want to see things like this. Which leads to not wanting to see you."
"..."
He felt like he needed to re-evaluate the weight of their friendship.
Holding back, Tang Yi-Bai said, "If you don't want to see those things, then just say so to the netizens. They should be pretty reasonable, especially when facing their own idol."
"How should I tell them?"
"Forget it, give me your phone."
Tang Yi-Bai entered a passage on Qi Rui-Feng's Weibo: I am as straight as a pencil. So straight that I do not wish to see anyone posting homoerotic things about me with others. I hope you all can understand, and stop asking me to become Tang Yi-Bai's bride, not even to take him as my bride. Okay?
Qi Rui-Feng looked it over and felt good about it, so he published it.
The netizens commented ——
A: Okay!
B: Yes, yes, yes, whatever you want. You're the lucky mascot!
C: Those shipping people can just go ship behind closed doors. Pushing their homoerotic fantasies to the front, that's really not very polite. I support Feng-feng!
D: What's going on? Why isn't this Weibo radiating powerful Chuunibyou vibes? Mascot Feng, have you changed character?
Qi Rui-Feng was rather satisfied with the netizens' reaction, though the one calling him Mascot Feng was a bit...
After several minutes, Tang Yi-Bai shared Qi Rui-Feng's Weibo, adding only one comment: Brother Feng said it well.
Qi Rui-Feng rolled his eyes. You're just praising yourself, aren't you?
The comments on Tang Yi-Bai's repost increased at a rate equal to that on Qi Rui-Feng's original post. However, when he took a closer look at the comments, he was dumbfounded ——
A: My hubby said it well.
B: Husband, you've updated your Weibo! Heavens, you've updated! Oh my god! ! !
C: Hubby, where are the photos? It's been so long since you updated and it's just a repost? Where's the sincerity? I demand photos!
D: Girls these days really have no self-respect. Calling any young handsome and successful man they see husband. It's annoying! Have some respect! Isn't that right, husband?
E: Hubby, our baby is already 3 months old. When are you coming to take him home?
Tang Yi-Bai was erupting in cold sweat as he read, and he quickly exited from his Weibo.
Qi Rui-Feng was muttering to himself, "I still think I should go get a girlfriend."
The next day, when Tang Yi-Bai saw Coach Wu, Coach Wu did not glare or huff at him, which proved that Coach Wu had not found out about him sneaking out of the team base.
There was bruising around Coach Wu's left eye, left there by Matron Yuan. It had been darker when he had first been hit, but it had become a little lighter. Coach Wu was a reasonable man. Even though he had been beaten, he had still ordered a large bouquet of roses for Matron Yuan as compensation yesterday, though they had all been thrown away by Matron Yuan in the end.
Tang Yi-Bai, Coach Wu was in high spirits. He said to Tang Yi-Bai, "I have something to do in the afternoon. Train on your own while I'm gone. Be disciplined, don't slack off."
"Okay." Tang Yi-Bai saw Coach Wu glowing face, and he could not help but ask curiously, "Coach Wu, something good?"
"I found you an endorsement."
Tang Yi-Bai frowned at the mention of an endorsement. "What is it this time? Facial masks? Moisturising cream?" Ever since he became famous, all kinds of companies have been after him to be their celebrity spokesperson. Face masks, lip balms etc... these things instantly brought to mind feminine girly things, leaving him uneasy and embarrassed. Luckily, Coach Wu's aesthetics were aligned with his and had helped him decline all those nonsense things.
So now, whenever Coach Wu brought up a new endorsement, Tang Yi-Bai instinctively responded with suspicion.
Coach Wu smiled and said, "This one is very proper and reliable. I'm just not sure whether you can get it."
"What is it?"
"Tell you when I come back."
So Tang Yi-Bai did not ask any further. He wasn't that keen on advertising endorsements — after all, too many of them would affect his primary job, and even the team does not recommend their athletes take on too many endorsements.
In the afternoon, Coach Wu returned and said happily to Tang Yi-Bai, "Let me tell you, there's hope! You'll come with me to see the advertiser tomorrow."
"Okay." Tang Yi-Bai just stepped out of the pool and was currently in the training room doing his dryland training. When he saw Coach Wu come back, he stopped temporarily.
Coach Wu said, "Aren't you going to ask what it is?"
Tang Yi-Bai was amused. "Coach Wu, you can keep it a secret for now. Please don't tell me what it is."
Coach Wu choked, his beard trembling from anger. "Once tomorrow comes, I'll let you endorse facial masks, and lipsticks, and nail polish!"
"Coach Wu, I was wrong," Tang Yi-Bai quickly played nice, "What is the new endorsement?"
Coach Wu was gleeful. "It's for a branded watch!"
The watch company was a Swiss brand, not particularly famous, but not insignificant either. Tang Yi-Bai had heard of them before. The company had taken a shine to Tang Yi-Bai's good looks which were comparable to that of a supermodel's. Furthermore, his popularity was skyrocketing and he was also well-known in China, on top of having a wholesome sunshine personal image.
Tang Yi-Bai was fine with or without the endorsement, but he would cooperate since Coach Wu asked for his cooperation. Still, he felt that it was about time he earned some funds for a wife — he needed to support Yun Duo in future...
At the thought of Yun Duo, his heart grew warm. He could not help but duck his head to hide a smile.
Coach Wu cuffed him lightly on the head and ordered him to continue training.
At this moment, Matron Yuan walked by the entrance. Coach Wu quickly scrambled over and called out to her, "Hey!"
Matron Yuan stopped and swept a glance at him.
Coach Wu leaned against the door frame and smiled sleazily, "Let me share some good news with you. Yi-Bai is about to endorse a brand-name watch soon, hehehe... Has your Lil' Feng accepted any endorsement offers recently? Oh, I almost forgot, he did, an endorsement for some yogurt, right? Hehehe..."
Matron Yuan walked towards him without any expression on her face. One step, two steps, three steps... she walked to stand right before Coach Wu and raised her head to stare at him.
Coach Wu actually felt a little nervous, his back pressing back against the door frame. His felt rather faint of heart. "You— what are you doing?"
Matron Yuan suddenly grabbed hold of his collar and tugged him down. Coach Wu had no choice but to bend his head, bringing the two of them even closer, face to face. Coach Wu stammered, "A-are y-y-y-you planning to molest me?! I-I-I-I'm going to scream!"
"You're. In. Sane," spat Matron Yuan, and then she released him and turned to leave.
"You're the one who's insane," muttered Coach Wu under his breath. When he turned around, he saw Tang Yi-Bai looking at him with a stifled grin.
Godd*mn, even though I can't go against Matron Yuan, I can definitely handle you! Coach Wu raised an eyebrow at him. "Additional training for today!"
Just because of one look, Tang Yi-Bai found himself saddled with additional training. After extra practice, Coach Wu told him more bad news: The leaders have given notice that the athletes were to practice speaking English, especially the more well-known athletes. Negative examplar Qi Rui-Feng was once again brought up for criticism, and the leaders reminded everyone to not learn from his example.
The motion this time was rather impactful — it was said that there would even be spot checks, and those who were found lacking would have their allowance deducted.
Tang Yi-Bai nodded to indicate his acknowledgement.
And so, at the dinner table that night, "English" once again became the topic of conversation among the friends. Basically, everyone was very worried — even the typically bold Xiang Yang-Yang was afraid she'd be chosen for a spot check. No need to even mention Qi Rui-Feng — he was fearless like a dead pig in boiling water with regards to English; he knew he was hopeless at it. However, he was vain and it felt horrible being criticised by name.
Only Tang Yi-Bai remained as calm as usual.
Ming Tian said, "Big brother Yi-Bai, aren't you worried?"
Tang Yi-Bai replied, "Nope, I have a girlfriend who's excellent at English."
With just one statement, he drew the envy and hate of the crowd. Ming Tian stabbed his own rice bowl with his chopsticks and huffed, "Why did I give you the chance to say this?!"
Qi Rui-Feng said to Xiang Yang-Yang, "Let's go dating too."
Xiang Yang-Yang immediately thumped him over the head. "Who wants to date you?!"
Qi Rui-Feng felt wronged. "Who said I would be dating you?!"
Tang Yi-Bai ignored them messing around as he quietly sent Yun Duo a text.
Tang Yi-Bai: There are going to be spot checks for English in the team. [Pitiful]
Yun Duo: Ah, what are you going to do? When are the checks starting? Is there enough time to brush up?
Tang Yi-Bai: There's enough. Help me?
Yun Duo: Sure. I'm pretty good with oral English. Back when I first had my interview for the agency, the management suggested I go work for the international version of the publication, but I didn't want to go.
Tang Yi-Bai: Ok. Then I'll ask you anything I don't understand. ^_^
Yun Duo: Okay. ^_^
Tang Yi-Bai: Then, how do you say "I really like you, I'm obsessed with you" in English?
Yun Duo: ...
Tang Yi-Bai: Send a voice message.
Yun Duo: Get lost...
That night, Tang Yi-Bai did not dare stay at home, hurrying back to the training base. When he returned, he asked Qi Rui-Feng and found out that Coach Wu had not come looking for him. Lucky, lucky.
Still, Tang Yi-Bai found that something was off with Qi Rui-Feng. Feng's strange behaviour was not a sudden thing. It was just over the last two days — as soon as Feng saw him, his mood would turn sour and he would be unresponsive towards him. During meal times, Feng would made absolutely sure he did not sit next to him, and if he had something to ask, he'd seek out Ming Tian or Zheng Ling-Ye and the others, even going so far as to seek out Xiang Yang-Yang to avoid him.
It was so strange. Tang Yi-Bai searched his memory and could not recall doing anything to offend Feng, so why then did it feel like Feng was... distancing himself from him?
Yes, distancing himself.
One could not beat around the bush when dealing with someone as straightforward as Qi Rui-Feng, so Tang Yi-Bai asked him directly, "Feng, are you mad at me?"
Qi Rui-Feng looked stunned. "Why would I be mad at you?"
"Then, are you still mad at Yun Duo?"
"Why would I be mad at her? Oh, she called me a mascot. Yes, I'm very angry about that. Hmph!"
So that wasn't it either? Tang Yi-Bai thought of the worst possibility. "Are you interested in my Yun Duo? Are you planning on fighting a brother over a girl?"
Qi Rui-Feng bristled in anger. "Tang Yi-Bai, are you mental?"
Tang Yi-Bai spread his palms. "Then why have you been keeping a distance from me recently? Are you planning to end our friendship next?"
"I..." Qi Rui-Feng deflated. "You absolutely do not want to know the real reason."
"No, I want to know. I can only resolve the issue once I know what it is."
Qi Rui-Feng used his phone to pull up a video and showed it to Tang Yi-Bai.
The video was a fanmade MV. The song and lyrics were haunting and sentimental, and then, the images in the video were all clips of Qi Rui-Feng and Tang Yi-Bai interacting with each other. Hugging each other, staring at each other, smiling at each other, and so on... This fan was truly a whiz at video editing. He strung together clips of ordinary innocuous interactions and made them extremely clingy and cringey — the two men felt like their world view was crumbling around them by the end of the video.
Tang Yi-Bai put a hand on his forehead. "This... just ignore it..." Honestly, it wasn’t that easy to ignore it — this video had already inflicted some psychological trauma on him.
"There's also this." Qi Rui-Feng opened his Weibo and showed him some top comments.
Many of the hot comments were urging Qi Rui-Feng to become Tang Yi-Bai's bride.
Tang Yi-Bai: =?=
Qi Rui-Feng was sullen. "In fact, most of the comments were asking me to take you as my bride before, but after I became a mascot, now they're asking me to be the bride."
Tang Yi-Bai: =?=
He suddenly felt that he had made a wise decision to not check his Weibo. If there were new comments every day urging him to take Qi Rui-Feng as his bride, he would not be able to take it.
Qi Rui-Feng said anxiously, "I don't know how to face you anymore. What if the netizens manage to make me bent?"
Tang Yi-Bai wiped a drop of sweat from his temple. "Feng, you’re thinking too much." And even if you become gay, I am absolutely loyal to Yun Duo...
"But I really don't want to see things like this. Which leads to not wanting to see you."
"..."
He felt like he needed to re-evaluate the weight of their friendship.
Holding back, Tang Yi-Bai said, "If you don't want to see those things, then just say so to the netizens. They should be pretty reasonable, especially when facing their own idol."
"How should I tell them?"
"Forget it, give me your phone."
Tang Yi-Bai entered a passage on Qi Rui-Feng's Weibo: I am as straight as a pencil. So straight that I do not wish to see anyone posting homoerotic things about me with others. I hope you all can understand, and stop asking me to become Tang Yi-Bai's bride, not even to take him as my bride. Okay?
Qi Rui-Feng looked it over and felt good about it, so he published it.
The netizens commented ——
A: Okay!
B: Yes, yes, yes, whatever you want. You're the lucky mascot!
C: Those shipping people can just go ship behind closed doors. Pushing their homoerotic fantasies to the front, that's really not very polite. I support Feng-feng!
D: What's going on? Why isn't this Weibo radiating powerful Chuunibyou vibes? Mascot Feng, have you changed character?
Qi Rui-Feng was rather satisfied with the netizens' reaction, though the one calling him Mascot Feng was a bit...
After several minutes, Tang Yi-Bai shared Qi Rui-Feng's Weibo, adding only one comment: Brother Feng said it well.
Qi Rui-Feng rolled his eyes. You're just praising yourself, aren't you?
The comments on Tang Yi-Bai's repost increased at a rate equal to that on Qi Rui-Feng's original post. However, when he took a closer look at the comments, he was dumbfounded ——
A: My hubby said it well.
B: Husband, you've updated your Weibo! Heavens, you've updated! Oh my god! ! !
C: Hubby, where are the photos? It's been so long since you updated and it's just a repost? Where's the sincerity? I demand photos!
D: Girls these days really have no self-respect. Calling any young handsome and successful man they see husband. It's annoying! Have some respect! Isn't that right, husband?
E: Hubby, our baby is already 3 months old. When are you coming to take him home?
Tang Yi-Bai was erupting in cold sweat as he read, and he quickly exited from his Weibo.
Qi Rui-Feng was muttering to himself, "I still think I should go get a girlfriend."
The next day, when Tang Yi-Bai saw Coach Wu, Coach Wu did not glare or huff at him, which proved that Coach Wu had not found out about him sneaking out of the team base.
There was bruising around Coach Wu's left eye, left there by Matron Yuan. It had been darker when he had first been hit, but it had become a little lighter. Coach Wu was a reasonable man. Even though he had been beaten, he had still ordered a large bouquet of roses for Matron Yuan as compensation yesterday, though they had all been thrown away by Matron Yuan in the end.
Tang Yi-Bai, Coach Wu was in high spirits. He said to Tang Yi-Bai, "I have something to do in the afternoon. Train on your own while I'm gone. Be disciplined, don't slack off."
"Okay." Tang Yi-Bai saw Coach Wu glowing face, and he could not help but ask curiously, "Coach Wu, something good?"
"I found you an endorsement."
Tang Yi-Bai frowned at the mention of an endorsement. "What is it this time? Facial masks? Moisturising cream?" Ever since he became famous, all kinds of companies have been after him to be their celebrity spokesperson. Face masks, lip balms etc... these things instantly brought to mind feminine girly things, leaving him uneasy and embarrassed. Luckily, Coach Wu's aesthetics were aligned with his and had helped him decline all those nonsense things.
So now, whenever Coach Wu brought up a new endorsement, Tang Yi-Bai instinctively responded with suspicion.
Coach Wu smiled and said, "This one is very proper and reliable. I'm just not sure whether you can get it."
"What is it?"
"Tell you when I come back."
So Tang Yi-Bai did not ask any further. He wasn't that keen on advertising endorsements — after all, too many of them would affect his primary job, and even the team does not recommend their athletes take on too many endorsements.
In the afternoon, Coach Wu returned and said happily to Tang Yi-Bai, "Let me tell you, there's hope! You'll come with me to see the advertiser tomorrow."
"Okay." Tang Yi-Bai just stepped out of the pool and was currently in the training room doing his dryland training. When he saw Coach Wu come back, he stopped temporarily.
Coach Wu said, "Aren't you going to ask what it is?"
Tang Yi-Bai was amused. "Coach Wu, you can keep it a secret for now. Please don't tell me what it is."
Coach Wu choked, his beard trembling from anger. "Once tomorrow comes, I'll let you endorse facial masks, and lipsticks, and nail polish!"
"Coach Wu, I was wrong," Tang Yi-Bai quickly played nice, "What is the new endorsement?"
Coach Wu was gleeful. "It's for a branded watch!"
The watch company was a Swiss brand, not particularly famous, but not insignificant either. Tang Yi-Bai had heard of them before. The company had taken a shine to Tang Yi-Bai's good looks which were comparable to that of a supermodel's. Furthermore, his popularity was skyrocketing and he was also well-known in China, on top of having a wholesome sunshine personal image.
Tang Yi-Bai was fine with or without the endorsement, but he would cooperate since Coach Wu asked for his cooperation. Still, he felt that it was about time he earned some funds for a wife — he needed to support Yun Duo in future...
At the thought of Yun Duo, his heart grew warm. He could not help but duck his head to hide a smile.
Coach Wu cuffed him lightly on the head and ordered him to continue training.
At this moment, Matron Yuan walked by the entrance. Coach Wu quickly scrambled over and called out to her, "Hey!"
Matron Yuan stopped and swept a glance at him.
Coach Wu leaned against the door frame and smiled sleazily, "Let me share some good news with you. Yi-Bai is about to endorse a brand-name watch soon, hehehe... Has your Lil' Feng accepted any endorsement offers recently? Oh, I almost forgot, he did, an endorsement for some yogurt, right? Hehehe..."
Matron Yuan walked towards him without any expression on her face. One step, two steps, three steps... she walked to stand right before Coach Wu and raised her head to stare at him.
Coach Wu actually felt a little nervous, his back pressing back against the door frame. His felt rather faint of heart. "You— what are you doing?"
Matron Yuan suddenly grabbed hold of his collar and tugged him down. Coach Wu had no choice but to bend his head, bringing the two of them even closer, face to face. Coach Wu stammered, "A-are y-y-y-you planning to molest me?! I-I-I-I'm going to scream!"
"You're. In. Sane," spat Matron Yuan, and then she released him and turned to leave.
"You're the one who's insane," muttered Coach Wu under his breath. When he turned around, he saw Tang Yi-Bai looking at him with a stifled grin.
Godd*mn, even though I can't go against Matron Yuan, I can definitely handle you! Coach Wu raised an eyebrow at him. "Additional training for today!"
Just because of one look, Tang Yi-Bai found himself saddled with additional training. After extra practice, Coach Wu told him more bad news: The leaders have given notice that the athletes were to practice speaking English, especially the more well-known athletes. Negative examplar Qi Rui-Feng was once again brought up for criticism, and the leaders reminded everyone to not learn from his example.
The motion this time was rather impactful — it was said that there would even be spot checks, and those who were found lacking would have their allowance deducted.
Tang Yi-Bai nodded to indicate his acknowledgement.
And so, at the dinner table that night, "English" once again became the topic of conversation among the friends. Basically, everyone was very worried — even the typically bold Xiang Yang-Yang was afraid she'd be chosen for a spot check. No need to even mention Qi Rui-Feng — he was fearless like a dead pig in boiling water with regards to English; he knew he was hopeless at it. However, he was vain and it felt horrible being criticised by name.
Only Tang Yi-Bai remained as calm as usual.
Ming Tian said, "Big brother Yi-Bai, aren't you worried?"
Tang Yi-Bai replied, "Nope, I have a girlfriend who's excellent at English."
With just one statement, he drew the envy and hate of the crowd. Ming Tian stabbed his own rice bowl with his chopsticks and huffed, "Why did I give you the chance to say this?!"
Qi Rui-Feng said to Xiang Yang-Yang, "Let's go dating too."
Xiang Yang-Yang immediately thumped him over the head. "Who wants to date you?!"
Qi Rui-Feng felt wronged. "Who said I would be dating you?!"
Tang Yi-Bai ignored them messing around as he quietly sent Yun Duo a text.
Tang Yi-Bai: There are going to be spot checks for English in the team. [Pitiful]
Yun Duo: Ah, what are you going to do? When are the checks starting? Is there enough time to brush up?
Tang Yi-Bai: There's enough. Help me?
Yun Duo: Sure. I'm pretty good with oral English. Back when I first had my interview for the agency, the management suggested I go work for the international version of the publication, but I didn't want to go.
Tang Yi-Bai: Ok. Then I'll ask you anything I don't understand. ^_^
Yun Duo: Okay. ^_^
Tang Yi-Bai: Then, how do you say "I really like you, I'm obsessed with you" in English?
Yun Duo: ...
Tang Yi-Bai: Send a voice message.
Yun Duo: Get lost...
