Chapter 37 - Ups and downs (Translated by Xing and edited by Souhi)

The "chance" that Li Yubing spoke of was Coach Chu promising to let Tang Xue head over to the speed skating team for a try-out. If she performed well, she would be able to stay on and train in the team as an unofficial member first. Once she applied for the athlete certification and obtained the qualification of a second tier athlete[1] or above, she would be able to join as an official member.

Tang Xue practiced several days in advance for the try-out. She did not dare to practice too vigorously as she was worried that she would overstrain herself. For it had been some time since she was required to exercise so intensely.

In the wink of an eye, it was Friday once again.

Tang Xue followed Li Yubing to the west wing. This was her second time to this area. The previous time she was here, she had even acted like a rogue towards Li Yubing. How embarra.s.sing.

The practice venue for the speed skating team was near the practice venue for Yu Yan and those in the figure skating team. Li Yubing brought Tang Xue to the door of the practice venue and casually pointed inside. "Head in yourself. Just say that you're looking for Coach Chu."

Tang Xue stood rooted to the ground. She appeared somewhat hesitant and spoke haltingly, "How about, eh, you head in with me to have a look?"

Li Yubing lowered his head and watched her with crossed arms. His eyes rested on her for a few moments before twitching up the corners of his lips. "So… you get frightened too?"

Tang Xue thought this was not a matter of her being frightened. She simply felt that the presence of another person was better for bolstering courage.

She stood there in silence. From her hesitation, Li Yubing could decipher a certain degree of bashfulness. He lightly rubbed his head.

Tang Xue took it that Li Yubing was unwilling to accompany her. Thus, she braced herself, turned and stepped into the practice venue.

Li Yubing stretched out his long legs and followed behind her unhurriedly. He was tall and his strides were long, so what would have been a normal walking pace was to him a slow, leisurely stroll. This translation is meant to be published only on teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Chu Xia was currently overseeing the team's strength training. When she raised her head, she saw a young lady walked into the practice venue. The girl was quite good-looking with a short bob, large eyes and a face that still retained some baby fat. Behind the young lady was Li Yubing. Here, he was trailing behind her docilely just like an oversized puppy. The only thing missing from this picture was a leash wound around the young lady's hand.

Chu Xia had never seen Li Yubing like this before. Feeling how bizarre this was, she could not hold in her amus.e.m.e.nt and broke into a light laughter.

Li Yubing saw Chu Xia and waved to her. "Coach Chu."

Tang Xue walked over and bowed. She greeted, "h.e.l.lo, Coach Chu." Then, she straightened up and secretly observed Coach Chu.

It was said that Coach Chu's son was already in university. However, she looked relatively young and had the appearance of someone in her early thirties.  Her neat bob was dyed a deep brown. She had slender single eyelids, thin lips, and cheeks that were lightly dotted with freckles.

Just as Tang Xue was observing her, she was also observing Tang Xue.

As Chu Xia swept her eyes over Tang Xue from head to toe, a slight smile appeared on her face subconsciously.

From just her body alone, this girl had a good stature. Her body proportions were excellent with a slim waist and long legs. In particular, her legs were straight and long, perfect for speed skating.

Chu Xia let Tang Xue change into the appropriate clothing and a pair of skates, and let her warm up her body first.

Then, holding a stopwatch, she timed Tang Xue's speed.

First was 500 metres. Tang Xue pushed her body as hard as she could. When she reached the finis.h.i.+ng line, she secretly glanced at Chu Xia, only to see her initially relaxed brows lightly furrowed.

Tang Xue's heart tensed.

Next was 1,000 metres and 1,500 metres. The furrows on Chu Xia's forehead deepened.

Finally, she gave a light sigh.

Tang Xue also knew that her results were not ideal. She exited the ice rink and next to Chu Xia, said in a small voice, "I haven't practiced for a long time."

"It's obvious," Chu Xia said.

Tang Xue became even more dejected.

"Go change first. We'll a.s.sess your muscles."

"Ok!"

After the muscles a.s.sessment, Chu Xia flipped through the booklet in her hand. Tang Xue stood at the side. As if she was waiting for a judge's verdict, her heart felt deeply nervous and she could only draw in light, shallow breaths.

Coach Chu paused for a moment to consider her words before opening her mouth. "Mm, your foundations are not bad."

"Thank you, Coach Chu."

"But it's been too long since you practiced. Your muscles have declined too much. Compared to that of a professional athlete's, the difference is a little big. Do you understand what I'm saying? "

"I… I'm willing to work hard!"

Chu Xia looked at Tang Xue's eyes; bright and lively, they burned with a wholehearted sincerity. She suddenly found herself unable to continue her words. Being a mother herself, her greatest fear was seeing her child's wounded expressions.

Nevertheless, what must be said must still be said. Chu Xia exhaled and continued, "You say that you're willing to work hard, but can you guarantee that your effort would bear fruit? Even if it does, how long would it take? Ice sports require large financial investments. This means that my team and I face tremendous pressure to have the results to show for it. This is something that Li Yubing should also be clear on; the expectations that the ice hockey team faces are even higher. We cannot afford to spend time and money on a… how should I say this… a person whom we aren't certain what her results would be like in the future, do you understand?"

"I…"

Chu Xie closed the booklet. "I am moved by your pa.s.sion towards speed skating. However, I am very sorry. I cannot accept you into the team."

Tang Xue did not know how she managed to exit the ice stadium. As she walked along, she saw her shadow on the floor. When she raised her head, she discovered that she was already standing under the sun.

Dazzled by the sunlight, she rubbed her eyes, lowered her head and continued walking.

She actually saw this coming miles away. Still, she could not help but feel upset when facing the actual rejection.

So upset that she felt like crying.

Li Yubing was standing at her side. He looked down at her. Her head was hanging very low and he could only see her s.h.i.+ny black hair. The way she hung her head dispiritedly really felt like a rooster after losing a fight. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Li Yubing felt a little strange. Usually, he despised seeing Tang Xue roaming about with unbridled arrogance. When she was this way, he could not help but have the urge to make her lower her head. However, now that she was actually lowering her head, he discovered that he could not bear to see her doing so…

He rubbed his head and felt like slapping himself…

The two of them walked like this in silence; neither of them spoke a single word.

When Tang Xue was retrieving her bike, Li Yubing unexpectedly grabbed her arm. He said, "Wait here."

She raised her head. "Ah?" Not yet recovered from the blow of the rejection, both her actions and reactions lagged a little.

"Wait here for me. Don't move." After tossing out these words, Li Yubing turned and ran back.

He ran very quickly and was gone in a flash.

Tang Xue held the bicycle lock in her hands. She stared blankly in the direction that he had disappeared towards and mumbled, "What is he doing…"

Even though she was lost as to what was happening, Tang Xue waited as per his instructions since she had no other plans in the afternoon.

Around ten minutes later, Li Yubing bustled back.

There was a hint of a smile on his face as he stood in the sun and watched her.

Tang Xue was puzzled. "What?"

He grinned. "Go report tomorrow."

Tang Xue could not make heads or tails of what was going on. "Report for what?"

"Are you a fool?" He prodded her head. "Of course it's for speed skating."

"You're the fool. Hadn't Coach Chu expressed it clearly earlier, I've been rejected!"

Li Yubing crossed his arms. "I just came back from pleading with her—she's changed her mind."

"…Really?" Tang Xue could barely believe her ears. Her mood which had originally fallen into the depths of a valley suddenly soared. Her heart started pounding rapidly and she swallowed her saliva. Thinking about it, she was afraid that Li Yubing was only joking with her. Thus, she threw him a guarded look. "Li Yubing, don't joke around with me. I'll explode right in front of your eyes if you're still joking with me on this!"

"I'm not. However, the team won't be able to subsidize you and if you don't manage to become a second tier athlete within half a year, you need to reimburse them for the loss."

The look of suspicion lingered on Tang Xue's face. "I still don't believe it. Earlier, Coach Chu had rejected me cleanly with no grounds for negotiation… What exactly did you say to persuade her?"

Li Yubing's expression was a little mysterious. "This came at a huge cost to me."

Tang Xue scooted a little closer. She probed, "What cost?"

Li Yubing glanced at her from the side of his eyes. He saw that her eyes gleamed like that of a curious child and had finally regained its usual spark. He grinned and raised his hand to knock her head. "You'll die of shock if I say it."

Tang Xue immediately shrunk back and s.h.i.+elded her head with her hands. Considering how he just did her a huge favour, she decided to forgive him without hesitation.

Anyway, her mood had lifted again. In one day, she had experienced both great dismay and great delight—these ups and downs were more exciting than riding a roller coaster. Such was life!

"Li Yubing, I really have to thank you." Still s.h.i.+elding her head, Tang Xue beamed.

Li Yubing nodded. "You really have to thank me."

"I'll treat you to a meal?"

"Very sincere of you."

"You can pick the place!"

Li Yubing shrugged. "We're athletes. Food isn't our priority."

"Eh…" Tang Xue tapped her chin with a finger as she considered what else she could do. In the end, she let him call the shots. "Say it, what do you want?"

"I want you—" He purposely dragged his words and paused for a moment. Finally, he continued, "To continue being my lackey."

"You… you…" Tang Xue fumed as she pointed her finger at him. A look of realization flashed over her face. "Well done, Li Yubing, so that's what you were up to!"

Li Yubing gazed at her with a winsome smile, his face radiating innocence.

Tang Xue raised another finger and shaped her hand into a V sign before holding it up to him. Li Yubing was mildly confused at what was going on. However, he mirrored her V sign gesture good-naturedly.

Then, narrowing her eyes, Tang Xue retracted her index finger slowly so that only her middle finger was left standing.

"Pfft…" Li Yubing burst into laughter. He stretched out his arm, used his thumb and index finger to encircle her wrist loosely and shook her hand. He asked, "Do you what this gesture of yours means?" He leaned a little closer and bent his head. In a lowered voice, he spoke at a deliberately unhurried pace, "You. Want. To. f.u.c.k. Me."

Tang Xue: "…………"

She turned and walked off.

Her hand still held the bicycle lock.

In the same spot, Li Yubing's head was still bent as his body shook with stifled laughter.

The warm rays of afternoon sun shone on the back of his ears. On this most delicate and sensitive spot of a person's skin, there was the lightest tinge of pink.

Translator's Notes:

[1] There are three tiers of athletes in China. Third tier athletes are relatively easy to qualify; just partic.i.p.ate in any compet.i.tion of a certain scale (e.g. province, city or national) or at least 20 official compet.i.tions. For second tier athletes, one need to obtain certain results in an official compet.i.tion. First tier athletes are considered "National Level" athletes. It's very tough to qualify and they're usually the best of the best.

Error 404: Li Yubing's well-mannered temperament as a child not found.

Oh no, Li Yubing, you've been thoroughly infected by Tang Xue!!

You guys were this close to not getting an update because I was binging on "Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage" over Chinese New Year and cheering for Shen Miao to drink the blood of her enemies. Good thing Souhi is a friend who I could coerce into last minute edits. There's this novel with similar elements that I would love to translate but it's going to be some time before I finish translating RSAPS. Also, it's an ancient Chinese novel and double the length of RSAPS so I'll probably die translating it.