Translators: Minodayz, shl
Editors: Miss Bookie, kira, Librismuse, maripaz
No one in their wildest dreams could have thought that Li Erqin would run on the inside track, next to Rong Si, and calmly ask him, “Do you want to give up?”
Rong Si’s face showed no emotion, but his lips tightened until they turned white.
Li Erqin was running at the same speed as Rong Si was. After a moment’s pause, she asked again, “What is more important, winning or your health?”
Silence.
Li Erqin didn’t receive any answer.
She waited for a while and then suddenly gave a strange laugh and said, “Fine.”
Fine?
What was fine?
Rong Si didn’t ask. Nor did Li Erqin explain further.
Both of them ran in silence on the red running track.
So long, without an end in sight.
One after another, people started to quit the race, including Peng Zige.
However, the two of them kept on moving forward, as if they could neither see nor hear anything. Li Erqin was entirely focused on the rhythm of Rong Si’s breathing. Whenever his breathing seemed to falter due to exhaustion, she would intentionally inhale and exhale loudly so that it would encourage him to re-calibrate his breathing to a more steady and even rhythm.
Humans seem to have a specific threshold. Once that threshold has been reached, it is as if the body then loses the ability to perceive tiredness. A part of them becomes numb to the point where the mind believes that as long as the body doesn’t stop moving, it can keep going or keep running forever.
After Rong Si was able to push past this wall of pain, he was able to gradually establish his own breathing and pace. The numerous white spots he had been seeing slowly dissipated. Soon after, he turned back and glanced at a struggling Li Erqin.
“Li Erqin,” he said.
Li Erqin replied in a mechanical yet even voice, “Yeah.”
“Li Erqin.” He called to her again, and this time, he forced his voice to pitch lower.
The taste of blood seemed to permeate from his stomach to his throat, and every time it happened, it felt as if it was tearing apart his windpipe.
However, as the words “Li Erqin” were forced out from between the gaps of his teeth, strangely it felt as if he was tasting a subtle sweetness in his mouth.
“I like you.”
(Minodayz: OHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY – we got our confession at looooooong lasssssttttt!!! I really wanted to bold I LIKE YOU and leap up and down and run 5000m, well, maybe not 5000m lol! – ok I can die happy now lol – actually I should go to bed as it’s almost 3am – sweet dreams to me!!!!
kira:kawaii!!!!!!
MissBookie: YES! FINALLY! I feel like I’m the one being confessed to, I’m just so happy! wiping a tear They grow up so fast!)
These three words had been with him as he walked through crisp autumn days filled with the scent of maple leaves and through the beautiful snow-covered landscapes of winter. He thought they would remain with him through the passing of time and stay deep in his heart, gathering dust. However, here, on this acrid smelling race track that had been scorched by the sun’s heat, and in a voice that was hoarse and weak, the three words had come out.
(T/N ‘I like you’ is three words in English, but in Chinese it’s four ‘words’ – 我喜欢你.)
Silence again.
Li Erqin accompanied Rong Si on the final lap.
There was not a single person before them on the long, continuous running track.
— Where are all the people?
— Don’t know.
— How many people did we just overtake?
— Don’t know.
— Where is everyone else?
— Don’t know.
— What position are we in?
— Don’t know
Right now, the only clear thought in Li Erqin’s mind was the phrase that Rong Si had just uttered.
I like you.
I. LIKE. YOU.
(MissBookie: Same, Erqin. Same.)
(Minodayz : YES HE DOES LEQ!!!)
Never had there been three such words, which, when combined, would stir the depths of her heart to repeatedly question, confirm and savour them.
Do you know what it’s like to be *‘bursting with joy’? It’s like one’s heart is filled with clusters of exquisite fresh flowers fighting to spring forth in blossoming beauty. That sense of joy and exhilaration simply cannot be suppressed.
(TN: 心花怒放 (xin hua nu fang) – lit. the heart flowers and bursts forth; fig. to be elated, over the moon)
Yet, she could not laugh out loud. She was afraid that if she laughed too loudly, the words and the moment would fragment and dissipate.
After they had rounded the final bend, the finishing line was still there at the end of the final stretch.
Victory was in sight.
Li Erqin turned her head to look at Rong Si, who was running steadily with tightened lips. She looked at his fair, handsome side profile, the high bridge of his nose, the corners of his mouth which were naturally upturned.
She was just about to speak when she saw someone in another school’s PE uniform round the bend and speed up towards the final stretch, rapidly closing the gap between them. She gasped nervously, “Someone’s catching up!”
Without waiting for Rong Si’s reply, she immediately continued, “I can’t run any faster. You speed up and wait for me at the finish line.”
Rong Si glanced at her.
Li Erqin smiled and said, “You have to win!”
The words had just left her mouth when Rong Si suddenly put on a burst of speed. Soon, he had left her behind.
As Li Erqin looked at his figure slowly close in towards the finishing line, she stopped in her tracks. Her eardrums were pulsating with the sound of her heart beating urgently and resoundingly. Even her temples were pounding viciously, and she struggled to swallow her saliva. Her vision was alternating between periods of white and black spots.
As for Rong Si, in the space between her rapid heartbeats, he had lunged past the blue ribbon at the finishing line in a victorious pose.
In that instant, jubilant cheers resounded from all directions and filled the air. The classmates and form teacher, who were waiting behind the finish line, almost immediately surged forward to engulf Rong Si.
As Li Erqin’s line of sight gradually turned black, Rong Si’s existence was the only thing that was radiating a dazzling brilliance that was captivating.
As more runners crossed the finish line in quick succession, the final stretch of track near the line became crowded with students and teachers, and almost everyone’s attention was focused there.
At the other end of the stretch, Li Erqin, who was standing all alone, started to sway. A figure clad in white, short-sleeved sportswear dashed across the track and caught her as she fell backwards.
Rong Si was hemmed in on all sides by the crowd. He looked in the direction where he had last seen Li Erqin, but his effort was futile.
He couldn’t see anything.
His arms and legs felt as if all the strength had been sapped out of them, and the crowd around him kept pulling and pushing at him. It was only with great effort that he was able to keep his balance.
A bottle of cool mineral water was shoved into his hand, and his ears were filled with all sorts of sounds.
“You can’t sit, walk around some more!”
“Are you alright? Do you want me to support you?”
“Congratulations!”
“Impressive!”
“I knew you could win!”
And on and on….
However, he could not hear the voice he was searching for.
With great effort, he managed to exit the crowd.
The spot where Li Erqin had been moments ago was only an empty space now.
For the first time in his life, Rong Si’s brain was blank.
Translators: Minodayz, shl
Editors: Miss Bookie, kira, Librismuse, maripaz
No one in their wildest dreams could have thought that Li Erqin would run on the inside track, next to Rong Si, and calmly ask him, “Do you want to give up?”
Rong Si’s face showed no emotion, but his lips tightened until they turned white.
Li Erqin was running at the same speed as Rong Si was. After a moment’s pause, she asked again, “What is more important, winning or your health?”
Silence.
Li Erqin didn’t receive any answer.
She waited for a while and then suddenly gave a strange laugh and said, “Fine.”
Fine?
What was fine?
Rong Si didn’t ask. Nor did Li Erqin explain further.
Both of them ran in silence on the red running track.
So long, without an end in sight.
One after another, people started to quit the race, including Peng Zige.
However, the two of them kept on moving forward, as if they could neither see nor hear anything. Li Erqin was entirely focused on the rhythm of Rong Si’s breathing. Whenever his breathing seemed to falter due to exhaustion, she would intentionally inhale and exhale loudly so that it would encourage him to re-calibrate his breathing to a more steady and even rhythm.
Humans seem to have a specific threshold. Once that threshold has been reached, it is as if the body then loses the ability to perceive tiredness. A part of them becomes numb to the point where the mind believes that as long as the body doesn’t stop moving, it can keep going or keep running forever.
After Rong Si was able to push past this wall of pain, he was able to gradually establish his own breathing and pace. The numerous white spots he had been seeing slowly dissipated. Soon after, he turned back and glanced at a struggling Li Erqin.
“Li Erqin,” he said.
Li Erqin replied in a mechanical yet even voice, “Yeah.”
“Li Erqin.” He called to her again, and this time, he forced his voice to pitch lower.
The taste of blood seemed to permeate from his stomach to his throat, and every time it happened, it felt as if it was tearing apart his windpipe.
However, as the words “Li Erqin” were forced out from between the gaps of his teeth, strangely it felt as if he was tasting a subtle sweetness in his mouth.
“I like you.”
(Minodayz: OHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY – we got our confession at looooooong lasssssttttt!!! I really wanted to bold I LIKE YOU and leap up and down and run 5000m, well, maybe not 5000m lol! – ok I can die happy now lol – actually I should go to bed as it’s almost 3am – sweet dreams to me!!!!
kira:kawaii!!!!!!
MissBookie: YES! FINALLY! I feel like I’m the one being confessed to, I’m just so happy! wiping a tear They grow up so fast!)
These three words had been with him as he walked through crisp autumn days filled with the scent of maple leaves and through the beautiful snow-covered landscapes of winter. He thought they would remain with him through the passing of time and stay deep in his heart, gathering dust. However, here, on this acrid smelling race track that had been scorched by the sun’s heat, and in a voice that was hoarse and weak, the three words had come out.
(T/N ‘I like you’ is three words in English, but in Chinese it’s four ‘words’ – 我喜欢你.)
Silence again.
Li Erqin accompanied Rong Si on the final lap.
There was not a single person before them on the long, continuous running track.
— Where are all the people?
— Don’t know.
— How many people did we just overtake?
— Don’t know.
— Where is everyone else?
— Don’t know.
— What position are we in?
— Don’t know
Right now, the only clear thought in Li Erqin’s mind was the phrase that Rong Si had just uttered.
I like you.
I. LIKE. YOU.
(MissBookie: Same, Erqin. Same.)
(Minodayz : YES HE DOES LEQ!!!)
Never had there been three such words, which, when combined, would stir the depths of her heart to repeatedly question, confirm and savour them.
Do you know what it’s like to be *‘bursting with joy’? It’s like one’s heart is filled with clusters of exquisite fresh flowers fighting to spring forth in blossoming beauty. That sense of joy and exhilaration simply cannot be suppressed.
(TN: 心花怒放 (xin hua nu fang) – lit. the heart flowers and bursts forth; fig. to be elated, over the moon)
Yet, she could not laugh out loud. She was afraid that if she laughed too loudly, the words and the moment would fragment and dissipate.
After they had rounded the final bend, the finishing line was still there at the end of the final stretch.
Victory was in sight.
Li Erqin turned her head to look at Rong Si, who was running steadily with tightened lips. She looked at his fair, handsome side profile, the high bridge of his nose, the corners of his mouth which were naturally upturned.
She was just about to speak when she saw someone in another school’s PE uniform round the bend and speed up towards the final stretch, rapidly closing the gap between them. She gasped nervously, “Someone’s catching up!”
Without waiting for Rong Si’s reply, she immediately continued, “I can’t run any faster. You speed up and wait for me at the finish line.”
Rong Si glanced at her.
Li Erqin smiled and said, “You have to win!”
The words had just left her mouth when Rong Si suddenly put on a burst of speed. Soon, he had left her behind.
As Li Erqin looked at his figure slowly close in towards the finishing line, she stopped in her tracks. Her eardrums were pulsating with the sound of her heart beating urgently and resoundingly. Even her temples were pounding viciously, and she struggled to swallow her saliva. Her vision was alternating between periods of white and black spots.
As for Rong Si, in the space between her rapid heartbeats, he had lunged past the blue ribbon at the finishing line in a victorious pose.
In that instant, jubilant cheers resounded from all directions and filled the air. The classmates and form teacher, who were waiting behind the finish line, almost immediately surged forward to engulf Rong Si.
As Li Erqin’s line of sight gradually turned black, Rong Si’s existence was the only thing that was radiating a dazzling brilliance that was captivating.
As more runners crossed the finish line in quick succession, the final stretch of track near the line became crowded with students and teachers, and almost everyone’s attention was focused there.
At the other end of the stretch, Li Erqin, who was standing all alone, started to sway. A figure clad in white, short-sleeved sportswear dashed across the track and caught her as she fell backwards.
Rong Si was hemmed in on all sides by the crowd. He looked in the direction where he had last seen Li Erqin, but his effort was futile.
He couldn’t see anything.
His arms and legs felt as if all the strength had been sapped out of them, and the crowd around him kept pulling and pushing at him. It was only with great effort that he was able to keep his balance.
A bottle of cool mineral water was shoved into his hand, and his ears were filled with all sorts of sounds.
“You can’t sit, walk around some more!”
“Are you alright? Do you want me to support you?”
“Congratulations!”
“Impressive!”
“I knew you could win!”
And on and on….
However, he could not hear the voice he was searching for.
With great effort, he managed to exit the crowd.
The spot where Li Erqin had been moments ago was only an empty space now.
For the first time in his life, Rong Si’s brain was blank.
