Chapter 101 – Inevitable encounter (Translated and edited by Xing)
Being a matchmaker was something that Tang Xue did on a whim. She did not spare much energy on advancing her roommates’ relationships as she was about to begin competing.
Since mid-November, Tang Xue was in the full swing of the competition season. Short track speed skating competitions were usually concentrated in spring and winter while summer and autumn were considered off-season. Since the University Championship till now, Tang Xue had trained for more than half a year. It was finally time to put her skills to the test.
The first competition she welcomed was the Province Winter Games.
There was no particularly outstanding short track speed skating athlete in the province that Rain City was in. Both Tang Xue and Zhang Yuewei’s usual training results were enough for them to rank the top three in the entire province. Therefore, both of them managed to slay their way into the finals without any issues.
On the day of the 500 metres event, Li Yubing and Tang Xue’s group of sketchy friends all went to cheer her on. Like the head of a fan group, Li Yubing produced a banner with the words “Go for it, Tang Xue!”. Rather than being printed, the words were written by an old man in the park whose hobby was practicing calligraphy on the ground using water. The bold and ostentatious calligraphy was huge. When the banner was unfurled, it attracted much attention.
Zhang Yuewei had the best result in the semi-finals and was placed in the first lane while Tang Xue was placed in the second lane. When the gun went off, Tang Xue responded immediately and set off to a good start. She soon charged to the forefront.
For short races like the 500 metres event, a good start would determine half of the success.
“Woah, woah, woah, go for it, boss! Boss, you’re the best!” Liao Zhenyu shook the banner wildly and shouted.
Tang Xue’s roommates were extremely agitated as well. “Ahhhhh! Tang Xue, go for it!”
Even Jiang Shijia could not help yelling, “Sis-in-law is amazing!”
Li Yubing sat up straight, luxuriating in everyone’s worship of his girlfriend.
Tang Xue led the entire way and everything appeared to be going smoothly. However, in the fourth round, Zhang Yuewei took advantage of the turn to suddenly burst in speed. Unfortunately, Tang Xue choose to skate slightly towards the outer lane at this moment. The result was that Zhang Yuewei managed to successfully surpass Tang Xue through the innermost lane and seize the leading spot.
“Sigh—” Jiang Shijia had just started sighing in regret when he stopped abruptly as if choked. His eyes were wide open.
In the blink of an eye, the situation on the rink had changed again. Tang Xue was indeed overtaken by Zhang Yuewei. However, the moment Zhang Yuewei did so, her body swung towards the outer edge uncontrollably. And on the other side, Tang Xue, after falling behind, had already adjusted her direction and picked up her speed rapidly. She similarly overtook through the inner lane as well.
She retook the lead! This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
There were too many twists and turns in the process, causing everyone to hold their breaths subconsciously. The crowd only exhaled in relief when Tang Xue regained her lead.
Afterwards, Tang Xue maintained her lead all the way to the finishing line without a hitch.
The group of friends in the stands all leapt to their feet and cheered. Jiang Shijia clapped enthusiastically and said, “As expected from a woman that caught Brother Bing’s eyes.”
After he had calmed down from the excitement, Liao Zhenyu asked Li Yubing, “Did my boss deliberately let her overtake at first?”
“What do you think?”
Accurately speaking, it was not exactly planned. She had merely anticipated what the other person would do. Zhang Yuewei’s aggressive advance meant that Tang Xue faced both the dangers of being overtaken and breaking the rules. Rather than facing her head-on, Tang Xue choose to retreat slightly in order to advance even further. No one could escape Newton’s second law and it was inevitable for Zhang Yuewei to swing towards the outer edge at the turn. Thus, Tang Xue avoided that trap in the beginning and was prepared to re-take her lead in advance.
Short track speed skating was never merely a test of speed—it was a sport that pitted one’s wits and skills against others as well.
……
Tang Xue pounced down the podium like a majestic little tiger. She saw Li Yubing waving at her from the stands behind the boards and headed over. She raised her head and looked at him. The audience was seated at a much higher level. Separated by the boards, Li Yubing leaned over and stretched his hand out to rub her head.
Tang Xue grinned. She removed her newly-obtained gold medal and wanted to put it on for him. However, as she could not reach, she tossed the gold medal upwards and Li Yubing caught it firmly.
As Tang Xue still had another competition to go, she turned and left. Li Yubing held the gold medal and walked back to his seat. On his way back, he lowered his head and kissed the medal.
This scene was captured by a reporter at the venue. The reporter uploaded the photo online eagerly and it soon spread. Numerous netizens were abuzz discussing the photo. Some squealed over the sweetness in excitement while others ate the ‘dog food’ with amused looks. A portion of the people blasted them for putting on a show and being disgusting while another group continued criticizing Li Yubing’s poor results.
Then, oddly, Li Yubing’s head rub, medal kiss and display of affection—despite being not related to sports—became the highlight of the Province Winter Games. To think of it, this was not surprising. Winter sports were a niche interest with little attention. Even when combined, the public awareness of all of the athletes involved was not as high as the attention that Li Yubing got.
Li Yubing could not understand the netizens’ mentality at all. He continued to be in poor condition with lacklustre results. Naturally, he should have been disregarded by the public but there was still much attention on his every gesture. Just how idle were the masses?
He told his confusion to Manager Wu. Manager Wu slapped his thighs. “Please go back and take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Attractive people do not have the right to live a low-profile life. No one in the whole country would agree to that.”
Li Yubing: = =
Manager Wu did not have the heart to tell Li Yubing that though he was now the most hated ice hockey player in the entire country, he was also the most valuable one… Well, the club did not know whether they should cry or laugh either.
——
In a wink, it was December and Li Yubing could finally take a breather. He temporarily bade farewell to the Silk Road League in order to prepare for the World University Winter Games in January. This was decided at the beginning of the Silk Road League. However, when it was announced, netizens once, once, once again began their mockery and accused him of having no guts and fleeing from the problem. His fans and haters clashed vigorously in Weibo’s comments section.
A netizen with the ID “Brother Qi doesn’t have a D” posted an interesting comment: So what if my Ice God is shit? My Ice God’s wife is willing to dote on him, what can you do about it?
Torn between laughter and tears, Li Yubing liked this comment surreptitiously.
Since the second half of November, Tang Xue participated in a total of three short track speed skating competitions in the championship held across various cities in China. Not only so, but she also ended up qualifying for the Beijing 500 metres event. Beijing was the last and most important leg of the championship. Gathered there were the top athletes in the country.
It was the highest level of competition that Tang Xue had ever participated in so far.
Principal Tang specially made his way down to Beijing to cheer his daughter on.
Li Yubing also went down to the competition venue as a self-declared family member.
And that was how the two of them met on the spectators’ stands.
Li Yubing did not want to sit next to Principal Tang, primarily because he was afraid that Principal Tang would suddenly take off his shoe and start hitting him.
However, he did not dare to show any hints of rebuff on his face. Thus, he risked his life and sat down next to his father-in-law.
These days, Principal Tang would always hear someone scolding Li Yubing. As Li Yubing’s condition only started deteriorating after he swept him out of the house, Principal Tang began to feel somewhat guilty towards Li Yubing, both consciously and subconsciously.
Furthermore, his wife would nag into his ear all day long. She would go on about how it wasn’t easy for that child and how Tang Xue managed to deplete his bank account until there were only six yuan and five cents left. Just who do think is bullying whom… After listening to her for a long while, he began to acknowledge Li Yubing.
At present, Principal Tang glanced at Li Yubing several times, hoping that Li Yubing would get his intention. Let’s ceasefire and come to a truce.
Li Yubing failed to decipher anything. He did not dare to engage Principal Tang in a conversation and merely uttered some conventional greetings before keeping quiet. He sat obediently in his seat and stared straight ahead without turning.
The atmosphere was slightly awkward.
Principal Tang was suddenly filled with a sense of responsibility as an elder to take the initiative to ease the tension. After all, he was the one who struck Li Yubing first.
How should he show his goodwill in a polite and friendly manner without seeming overly enthusiastic to improve their relationship?
Principal Tang rubbed his head and suddenly thought of Li Yubing’s nickname in school.
Got it.
Thus, in a reserved and somewhat cordial tone, Principal Tang addressed him, “Green Ice”[1]
Li Yubing, “…………”
Translator’s Notes:
[1] If you don’t remember why Principal Tang called Li Yubing “Green Ice”, go back to Chapter 65.
Chapter 101 – Inevitable encounter (Translated and edited by Xing)
Being a matchmaker was something that Tang Xue did on a whim. She did not spare much energy on advancing her roommates’ relationships as she was about to begin competing.
Since mid-November, Tang Xue was in the full swing of the competition season. Short track speed skating competitions were usually concentrated in spring and winter while summer and autumn were considered off-season. Since the University Championship till now, Tang Xue had trained for more than half a year. It was finally time to put her skills to the test.
The first competition she welcomed was the Province Winter Games.
There was no particularly outstanding short track speed skating athlete in the province that Rain City was in. Both Tang Xue and Zhang Yuewei’s usual training results were enough for them to rank the top three in the entire province. Therefore, both of them managed to slay their way into the finals without any issues.
On the day of the 500 metres event, Li Yubing and Tang Xue’s group of sketchy friends all went to cheer her on. Like the head of a fan group, Li Yubing produced a banner with the words “Go for it, Tang Xue!”. Rather than being printed, the words were written by an old man in the park whose hobby was practicing calligraphy on the ground using water. The bold and ostentatious calligraphy was huge. When the banner was unfurled, it attracted much attention.
Zhang Yuewei had the best result in the semi-finals and was placed in the first lane while Tang Xue was placed in the second lane. When the gun went off, Tang Xue responded immediately and set off to a good start. She soon charged to the forefront.
For short races like the 500 metres event, a good start would determine half of the success.
“Woah, woah, woah, go for it, boss! Boss, you’re the best!” Liao Zhenyu shook the banner wildly and shouted.
Tang Xue’s roommates were extremely agitated as well. “Ahhhhh! Tang Xue, go for it!”
Even Jiang Shijia could not help yelling, “Sis-in-law is amazing!”
Li Yubing sat up straight, luxuriating in everyone’s worship of his girlfriend.
Tang Xue led the entire way and everything appeared to be going smoothly. However, in the fourth round, Zhang Yuewei took advantage of the turn to suddenly burst in speed. Unfortunately, Tang Xue choose to skate slightly towards the outer lane at this moment. The result was that Zhang Yuewei managed to successfully surpass Tang Xue through the innermost lane and seize the leading spot.
“Sigh—” Jiang Shijia had just started sighing in regret when he stopped abruptly as if choked. His eyes were wide open.
In the blink of an eye, the situation on the rink had changed again. Tang Xue was indeed overtaken by Zhang Yuewei. However, the moment Zhang Yuewei did so, her body swung towards the outer edge uncontrollably. And on the other side, Tang Xue, after falling behind, had already adjusted her direction and picked up her speed rapidly. She similarly overtook through the inner lane as well.
She retook the lead! This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
There were too many twists and turns in the process, causing everyone to hold their breaths subconsciously. The crowd only exhaled in relief when Tang Xue regained her lead.
Afterwards, Tang Xue maintained her lead all the way to the finishing line without a hitch.
The group of friends in the stands all leapt to their feet and cheered. Jiang Shijia clapped enthusiastically and said, “As expected from a woman that caught Brother Bing’s eyes.”
After he had calmed down from the excitement, Liao Zhenyu asked Li Yubing, “Did my boss deliberately let her overtake at first?”
“What do you think?”
Accurately speaking, it was not exactly planned. She had merely anticipated what the other person would do. Zhang Yuewei’s aggressive advance meant that Tang Xue faced both the dangers of being overtaken and breaking the rules. Rather than facing her head-on, Tang Xue choose to retreat slightly in order to advance even further. No one could escape Newton’s second law and it was inevitable for Zhang Yuewei to swing towards the outer edge at the turn. Thus, Tang Xue avoided that trap in the beginning and was prepared to re-take her lead in advance.
Short track speed skating was never merely a test of speed—it was a sport that pitted one’s wits and skills against others as well.
……
Tang Xue pounced down the podium like a majestic little tiger. She saw Li Yubing waving at her from the stands behind the boards and headed over. She raised her head and looked at him. The audience was seated at a much higher level. Separated by the boards, Li Yubing leaned over and stretched his hand out to rub her head.
Tang Xue grinned. She removed her newly-obtained gold medal and wanted to put it on for him. However, as she could not reach, she tossed the gold medal upwards and Li Yubing caught it firmly.
As Tang Xue still had another competition to go, she turned and left. Li Yubing held the gold medal and walked back to his seat. On his way back, he lowered his head and kissed the medal.
This scene was captured by a reporter at the venue. The reporter uploaded the photo online eagerly and it soon spread. Numerous netizens were abuzz discussing the photo. Some squealed over the sweetness in excitement while others ate the ‘dog food’ with amused looks. A portion of the people blasted them for putting on a show and being disgusting while another group continued criticizing Li Yubing’s poor results.
Then, oddly, Li Yubing’s head rub, medal kiss and display of affection—despite being not related to sports—became the highlight of the Province Winter Games. To think of it, this was not surprising. Winter sports were a niche interest with little attention. Even when combined, the public awareness of all of the athletes involved was not as high as the attention that Li Yubing got.
Li Yubing could not understand the netizens’ mentality at all. He continued to be in poor condition with lacklustre results. Naturally, he should have been disregarded by the public but there was still much attention on his every gesture. Just how idle were the masses?
He told his confusion to Manager Wu. Manager Wu slapped his thighs. “Please go back and take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Attractive people do not have the right to live a low-profile life. No one in the whole country would agree to that.”
Li Yubing: = =
Manager Wu did not have the heart to tell Li Yubing that though he was now the most hated ice hockey player in the entire country, he was also the most valuable one… Well, the club did not know whether they should cry or laugh either.
——
In a wink, it was December and Li Yubing could finally take a breather. He temporarily bade farewell to the Silk Road League in order to prepare for the World University Winter Games in January. This was decided at the beginning of the Silk Road League. However, when it was announced, netizens once, once, once again began their mockery and accused him of having no guts and fleeing from the problem. His fans and haters clashed vigorously in Weibo’s comments section.
A netizen with the ID “Brother Qi doesn’t have a D” posted an interesting comment: So what if my Ice God is shit? My Ice God’s wife is willing to dote on him, what can you do about it?
Torn between laughter and tears, Li Yubing liked this comment surreptitiously.
Since the second half of November, Tang Xue participated in a total of three short track speed skating competitions in the championship held across various cities in China. Not only so, but she also ended up qualifying for the Beijing 500 metres event. Beijing was the last and most important leg of the championship. Gathered there were the top athletes in the country.
It was the highest level of competition that Tang Xue had ever participated in so far.
Principal Tang specially made his way down to Beijing to cheer his daughter on.
Li Yubing also went down to the competition venue as a self-declared family member.
And that was how the two of them met on the spectators’ stands.
Li Yubing did not want to sit next to Principal Tang, primarily because he was afraid that Principal Tang would suddenly take off his shoe and start hitting him.
However, he did not dare to show any hints of rebuff on his face. Thus, he risked his life and sat down next to his father-in-law.
These days, Principal Tang would always hear someone scolding Li Yubing. As Li Yubing’s condition only started deteriorating after he swept him out of the house, Principal Tang began to feel somewhat guilty towards Li Yubing, both consciously and subconsciously.
Furthermore, his wife would nag into his ear all day long. She would go on about how it wasn’t easy for that child and how Tang Xue managed to deplete his bank account until there were only six yuan and five cents left. Just who do think is bullying whom… After listening to her for a long while, he began to acknowledge Li Yubing.
At present, Principal Tang glanced at Li Yubing several times, hoping that Li Yubing would get his intention. Let’s ceasefire and come to a truce.
Li Yubing failed to decipher anything. He did not dare to engage Principal Tang in a conversation and merely uttered some conventional greetings before keeping quiet. He sat obediently in his seat and stared straight ahead without turning.
The atmosphere was slightly awkward.
Principal Tang was suddenly filled with a sense of responsibility as an elder to take the initiative to ease the tension. After all, he was the one who struck Li Yubing first.
How should he show his goodwill in a polite and friendly manner without seeming overly enthusiastic to improve their relationship?
Principal Tang rubbed his head and suddenly thought of Li Yubing’s nickname in school.
Got it.
Thus, in a reserved and somewhat cordial tone, Principal Tang addressed him, “Green Ice”[1]
Li Yubing, “…………”
Translator’s Notes:
[1] If you don’t remember why Principal Tang called Li Yubing “Green Ice”, go back to Chapter 65.
