Chapter 63 – Pounded with excitement (Translated and edited by Xing)

When Li Yubing reached home, he found his parents still awake .

The living room lights were adjusted to dim . The two of them sat in the living room and the atmosphere suspiciously felt like they were conspiring something .

From the very moment Li Yubing appeared, his parents’ eyes had not left the pink dinosaur in his arms .

“It’s a gift,” Li Yubing explained .

“From who?” Mama Li asked .

Li Yubing did not answer .

Mama Li tried again in a more subtle manner . She asked, “Boy or girl?”

“Girl . ”

Li Yubing did not want to take the dinosaur back into his room . He put it on the corner cabinet in the living room instead .

Then, he bade goodnight to his parents and headed upstairs . There were some things which he needed to think about in silence .

After their son left, Mr and Mrs Li stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the corner cabinet and stared at the dinosaur .

“He’s lying . ” Mama Li suddenly spoke .

Papa Li patted her shoulder . “No matter what our child decides, we need to respect him . The most important thing is that he’s happy, right?”

Mama Li straightened up . “Quit drinking after Chinese New Year . ”

“All right…”

——

Tang Xue’s Chinese New Year eve was spent in a manner that was unprecedentedly peaceful . She went to her grandparents’ house for reunion dinner before watching the New Year’s Gala with her whole family . Halfway through the program, she fell asleep .

Princ.i.p.al Tang woke her up to go back to her room to sleep .

Tang Xue was sleeping peacefully and a little grumpy at being woken up . She made her way back to her room half-consciously . When she slipped under her blanket, she thought, if it was Li Yubing, he definitely wouldn’t have wakened her and would have carried her back in without saying a word .

Ah, what was she thinking…

Tang Xue’s phone was left in the living room and rang non-stop with notifications . Finding it a little annoying, Princ.i.p.al Tang switched it to silent mode .

The next morning, Tang Xue saw numerous missed calls after waking up . It was obvious that those calls were made to convey New Year’s wishes .

She returned the calls one by one .

The first was Xia Menghuan .

“Hey, Consort Meng, Happy New Year! Have you seen the red packet that I’ve sent you?”

“I’ve seen it, thanks, my king! Eh, my king…”

“Mm?”

“You and Li Yubing… Cough, I mean, Li Yubing hasn’t been bullying you recently, right?”

“Nope, he’s rarely triggered these days . I feel that he’ll soon be won over by my personal charm . ”

“Ah, my king! You’ve finally realized it?”

“Of course . I feel that it won’t be long before Li Yubing joins my grand team of lackeys . ”

“…”

“Be good . Don’t fight for my favour . He actually has an older qualification than you . ”

“…”

The second was Liao Zhenyu .

“Hey, Liao Zhenyu, Happy New Year! Have you seen the red packet that I’ve sent you?”

“Boss, it’s a two cents red packet . Can you not sound so proud of it?”

“Isn’t two cents money as well? You’re not grateful at all . ”

“Boss . ” Liao Zhenyu’s voice suddenly became a little mysterious .

“Mm? What?”

“If you’re willing to give me three pairs of limited edition sneakers, I’ll tell you a shockingly huge secret!”

“Sure, bring zhen’s Bagua Lotus Grand Writing Brush here . I’ll draw it for you . What brand do you want? Adidas or Nike?”

“…”

The third was Li Yubing .

“Hey, Ice Dog, Happy New Year! Have you seen the red packet that I’ve sent you?”

“Mm . ” Li Yubing was laughing .

From his laughter, Tang Xue visualized an image in her mind . In it, Li Yubing’s lashes were lowered as he laughed lightly, looking gentle, intoxicating and absolutely delicious . Tang Xue’s face immediately reddened . She asked him, “What are you doing?”

“Lazing about at home . Visiting relatives tomorrow . You?”

“I’m at my grandparents’ house . Waiting to collect money later, hehe . ”

Li Yubing laughed again . Even though they were only chatting about mundane things as plain as water, neither of them felt bored .

After hanging up her call with Li Yubing, Tang Xue flipped through her missed call list again . The rest were from people like Yu Yan and Bian Cheng . She did not feel like speaking to them and returned messages filled with sincere New Year’s wishes instead .

——

On the fourth day of Chinese New Year, Tang Xue went to visit Teacher Du who recently gave birth .  This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

As it was the New Year, numerous people had family activities while some of them did not even live in Lake City . Therefore, the number of students who went to visit Teacher Du was only slightly more than ten .

Teacher Du used to be a slender beauty . Now, she was plumper by a round like a blown balloon . However, she was smiling a lot more and quite spirited after giving birth . Teacher Du wanted to ask her students to stay for lunch but she was still in the midst of postpartum confinement and it was inconvenient for her . As everyone did not want to trouble Teacher Du, they planned to have lunch outside instead .

Before bidding farewell to Teacher Du, everyone took a group photo with her and the baby .

After they left, they discussed where to have lunch . Zhou Ran was one of those who came down today and Tang Xue did not hide their hostility towards each other . She saw Zhou Ran interacting closely with the other cla.s.smates and did not want to partic.i.p.ate in their conversation . She waved her hand and said, “I still have something going on at home . You guys go ahead . ”

“Don’t . ” Zhou Ran tugged on her arm, making it seem like the two of them were close . “We’re all scattered over the country after going to university . It’s rare for us to gather so let’s have this meal together?”

“My uncle is coming to my house today and his red packet is always over a thousand yuan . How about you compensate me for it?”

Zhou Ran released her silently .

Since Tang Xue was not eating, Liao Zhenyu felt that he would be a traitor if he stayed . This, he followed Tang Xue and left .

On the way back, Tang Xue saw Zhou Ran updated her Moments with the photo that they took at Teacher Du’s place earlier . Zhou Ran photoshopped everyone to look better except for Tang Xue . In fact, Tang Xue felt that Zhou Ran might have done the opposite and photoshopped her to look uglier .

This was another reason why Tang Xue did not like Zhou Ran—she was full of petty tricks and schemes, and never confront anyone directly .

Actually, Zhou Ran was not that close to those who stayed either . At most, they were only friends on the surface .

When Tang Xue was on the train, she received a series of messages from two or three of the cla.s.smates there . They all exposed how Zhou Ran was sharing various gossips and negative news with them . For example, how Tang Xue threw her weight around and bullied new cla.s.smates, how she was always unreasonably jealous and aggressive over Li Yubing, and how she two-timed blah blah blah……

The narration that Zhou Ran gave was too darned exciting .

The more Tang Xue read, the more irritated she got . She was thinking of how to give Zhou Ran a lesson when an incoming video made her completely blow her top .

In the video, Zhou Ran said ambiguously, “She went to a hotel with a guy from the figure skating team and was caught by Li Yubing . The commotion caused by this incident was huge . I heard that the guy was so affected by this that he was forced to leave school . ”

Tang Xue did not plug in her earpiece . The video played over her phone speaker and Liao Zhenyu who stood near her heard it as well . After listening, his face was stunned . “There was still something like this? Boss, how come I didn’t know?”

Tang Xue was so furious that her chest started heaving with anger . Her face appeared still as water but there was a murderous glint in her eyes that was quite frightening .

Liao Zhenyu had also realized the truth . “Boss, she’s slandering you!”

Tang Xue stood up with a “swoosh” and walked towards the train doors .

Liao Zhenyu quickly followed along and asked, “Boss, what are you doing?”

Tang Xue got off the train without saying a word . She headed to the opposite side for the train back .

Worried, Liao Zhenyu lagged behind and secretly gave Li Yubing a call . Speaking quietly, he said, “Hey, Li Yubing, come quickly, my boss is probably about to go crazy!”

……

Tang Xue stormed over to where Zhou Ran and the rest gathered for lunch . She found the correct room number and used one leg to kick the door open .

Bang!

The people inside were having a light-hearted conversation . Caught off guard, all of them got a shock . They turned to look at the door in unison, the smiles still on their faces .

Tang Xue entered and swept her eyes across the scene . Finally, her gaze fell on Zhou Ran and she said to the rest, “Continue . Ignore me . ”

Bian Cheng stood up and called her name, “Tang Xue…” He looked to be in a bad mood as well and his eyes were a little upset looking at her .

Tang Xue raised a hand at him . “Don’t worry, I just want a little chat with her . ”

She circled Zhou Ran a few times, her stare making Zhou Ran extremely nervous . Zhou Ran’s face paled and she asked, “And how have I offended you again?”

Seeing the beers on the table, Tang Xue grabbed a bottle that was almost empty and heavily swung it down on an unoccupied chair at the side!

Cras.h.!.+ The beer bottle broke into pieces in response . Bottle-green gla.s.s shards fell all over the floor and crisp tinkling sounds rang out chaotically as they struck the ground .

Everyone present received another huge shock . Some of the girls even covered their ears and shrieked .

Tang Xue gripped the remaining half of the beer bottle in her hand . The edge where the bottle broke was jagged and sharp . She pointed the bottle towards Zhou Ran, closing the distance between her and the jagged gla.s.s .

Zhou Ran was terribly frightened . She wanted to fight back but did not have the guts to do so . She thought of running but was afraid of getting injured . Now, she froze on her chair and spoke with trembling lips, “What, what are you doing?”

“Do you know why I insist on playing sports?” Tang Xue blinked languidly and said in a mild voice, “It’s because just as I can reason with those who can be reasoned, for those who can’t be reasoned,” She paused here and gave a wicked smirk, “I can be unreasonable instead . ” As she spoke, she began to advance with the beer bottle .

Zhou Ran was so frightened that she covered her head and let out a piercing shriek . She frantically retreated behind . “Ahhhhh!”

Bian Cheng and a few other guys quickly stepped forward to stop Tang Xue .

At this moment, Tang Xue suddenly felt someone hug her from the back .

It was a broad, warm and indisputable hug that enveloped her tightly like how the ocean enveloped a shark . Immediately following this, her hand which held the bottle was also captured . He grabbed her hand and using his fingers, exerted a light force to press her hand open and remove the bottle .

Then, from above her head, she heard a low, familiar male voice that was pleasant and gentle, “Don’t be angry . ”

It was Li Yubing .  Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

He did not criticize her nor ask her to knock it off . He only wanted her to stop being angry .

In an instant, Tang Xue was not as furious anymore . In fact, she was a little touched .

She went limp in Li Yubing’s arms . Everyone exhaled in relief when they saw this .

Only Bian Cheng looked even more upset .

Li Yubing released Tang Xue and threw the broken bottle into the rubbish bin .

Tang Xue pointed at Zhou Ran and threatened, “If you slander me again, I’ll disfigure you!”

Zhou Ran’s face alternated between green and white, looking extremely terrible . Her gaze secretly slid to Li Yubing and when she saw how Li Yubing was looking at Tang Xue with doting and indulgent eyes, Zhou Ran felt even more terrible .

Tang Xue’s physical threat was way more effective than any law . Zhou Ran did not even have the courage to defend herself and simply hoped that Tang Xue would quickly leave .

Li Yubing was afraid that Tang Xue would be triggered again . He grabbed her hand tightly and towed her out of the room .

Tang Xue followed behind Li Yubing . Her head was lowered and her sight was filled with his coffee-coloured jacket, light blue cropped jeans, white sports shoes, and their clasped hands .

She immediately felt her heart softened . Like the spring wind caressing a wheat field in early spring, what she felt rippled gently for miles .

After stepping out of the restaurant, Li Yubing let go of her hand .

Tang Xue touched the released hand and felt his residual heat .

“Why were you so angry?” Li Yubing asked .

Tang Xue waved her hand and said . “I was only scaring her . I didn’t intend to actually hit anyone at all . You should know that Zhou Ran is a vile person who only bullies those who don’t retaliate . I need to show her that I’m not someone she can mess with . ”

“Was it over Bian Cheng?”

“Ah?”

Li Yubing looked at her eyes and asked, “Afraid that Bian Cheng hears about the rumours?”

“What does it have to do with Bian Cheng?” Tang Xue shook her head . “I just afraid that the rumours Zhou Ran is spreading would spread to my dad . Today, it’s our cla.s.smates . Tomorrow, it might be our teachers . My dad knows all of my high school teachers . If he ever catches wind of these rumours, he might kill me . There’s too much red packet money that I haven’t collected . I can’t just die like this…”

Li Yubing did not know whether to cry or laugh . He pushed her head . “What low aspirations you have .

Her head still skewed to the side, Tang Xue looked at Li Yubing and asked, “What are you doing in the afternoon?”

“No idea . ”

“Ice skating? Last time you treated so I’ll treat this time . ”

“Sure . ”

——

Tang Xue never thought that she would one day jinx herself . After playing for the afternoon, she returned home for dinner at night and saw her dad sitting on the living room sofa with a grim look on his face .

Her mother sat beside him and gave her a look loaded with meaning .

Tang Xue… could not understand it at all .

She walked a little closer and saw several photos spread out on the coffee table . She stretched out her neck curiously to take a closer look and discovered that the photos were of her which had been taken secretly by others in school a while back . The photos of the chase were still acceptable but the photos of Li Yubing and her lying on top of each other on the gra.s.s were a little too much .

Even though she knew that things were not as it seemed in the photo, Tang Xue still felt embarra.s.sed looking at it . And strangely enough, she felt even more embarra.s.sed looking at it compared to the previous time . Tang Xue pointed to the photos and explained, “It’s all fake . ”

“Why are you getting more irresponsible with age!” Princ.i.p.al Tang slapped the coffee table several times . “How can you do something like this when you’re a girl? That’s too frivolous! Do you think that the other person would like you because of it? Wrong! He would only look down on you! You’re destroying yourself!” Princ.i.p.al Tang’s anger was not light . His face and neck were flushed from saying those few lines .

Tang Xue pointed at the photos and said, “Where did these come from?”

Mama Tang explained, “Someone sent it over by express delivery . Your father’s students were also present and your dad tore open the package without thinking much . In the end…”

In the end, everyone saw his precious daughter’s exciting performance .

Tang Xue rubbed her temples in frustration .

“Your dad’s phone received a set of photos as well,” Mama Tang added, “GIFs . ”

Tang Xue recalled the GIF of Li Yubing and her and her face reddened . That simply made things impossible to explain . She shook her head and said, “Dad, why don’t you think about why someone sent this to you . Isn’t it obvious that someone wants to wreck our father-daughter relations.h.i.+p?”

“Don’t try to change the topic!”

Tang Xue held up three fingers . “I swear on my conscience that all these are fake . ”

“Oh, you have a conscience? Who believes that?”

“I swear on my integrity that it’s really just a misunderstanding . Li Yubing only wanted to look at the scar on my head . ”

Princ.i.p.al Tang shook his head and let out a long exhale . He said, “Your mother and I don’t control you too strictly as we feel that you’ve grown up and know how to be responsible for yourself . I was afraid that you’ll be annoyed at us if we nag too much . But now, look at yourself . ” As he spoke, he held up the photos and shook them . “You still don’t think you’re in the wrong?! What else can I say? You’ve greatly disappointed us!”

Tang Xue was angered and wronged by his words . “Yes, I don’t think I’m in the wrong . In fact, I think there’s something wrong with the two of you . You choose to believe a few photos rather than your own daughter . Is seeing really believing? You usually believe all the rumours you hear, don’t you? Do you know that when you get deceived by the rumours you hear, you’re an accomplice to spreading them!”

“You…!!”

Princ.i.p.al Tang wanted to leap to his feet in anger but Mama Li quickly held him back . She said to Tang Xue . “Child, how can you speak to your father in this manner? Quickly apologize . ”

“I’m so sorry to have disappointed the two of you but I don’t think I did anything wrong at all . ” As she spoke, Tang Xue turned and walked off .

Behind her, Mama Tang asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to cool down outside . ”

After Tang Xue left, Mama Tang was worried and wanted to follow her .

Princ.i.p.al Tang stopped her . “Don’t bother . Let me see if she still comes back . ”

On ordinary days, Princ.i.p.al Tang would have welcomed a slap to the face if he dared to speak to his wife in this tone . However, Mama Li could understand his current mood and did not take offence . She sat back down and said, “Alright, cool down . She’s just a child . Who doesn’t commit mistakes at the age of eighteen or nineteen?”

Princ.i.p.al Tang slapped the coffee table furiously again . His finger jabbed Li Yubing’s handsome face in the photo and he exclaimed in frustration, “It’s this rascal—he’s full of bad intentions and evil tricks!”

Mama Tang picked up the photo and took a closer look . Puzzled, she said . “Wasn’t Li Yubing very well-behaved in the past? From what I remember, Tang Xue was the one bullying him . ”

Princ.i.p.al Tang snorted . “It’s tough to tell a person’s true nature . ”

“Young man’s quite good looking though . ”

“Let me tell you, if this rascal dares to enter our house, I’m going to break his legs . ”

Mama Tang was amused . “Keep exaggerating . You can’t even bring yourself to kill a fish . ”

——

After Tang Xue left her house, she gave Li Yubing a call .  This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

Over the phone, her voice was a little choked up . She did not explain in detail what had happened and merely said that she wanted to see him .

Li Yubing got a shock and hailed a taxi over .

Tang Xue stood in the chilly wind for more than twenty minutes . When Li Yubing saw her, her nose was red from the cold .

She looked at him, her face sad and aggrieved . She appeared both pitiable and a little comical at the same time . Li Yubing really wanted to give her a hug but was worried that it was too out of nowhere . He stood in front of her, looked down at her face and said, “Are you dumb? Don’t you know to wait in a warmer place?” Even though his words scoffed at her, his tone was very gentle .

Tang Xue said, “I don’t know where to go . ”

“Couldn’t you have waited at home?”

“I don’t have a home . ”

Oh, you poor thing .  Li Yubing held in his laughter and said, “Do you want to follow me back to my home?”

Tang Xue shook her head, looking utterly miserable .

Li Yubing brought her to a barbeque place . He ordered a table of food and sat opposite her . Using a pair of tongs, he barbequed the meat as he listened to her grievances . When the meat was ready, he put it onto her plate .

In one long breath, Tang Xue told him about her fight with her parents .

What she could not stand the most was that her parents did not believe her and even said that she had disappointed them . Those words were simply too hurtful .

Li Yubing was focused on another issue . He stopped barbequing the meat and asked Tang Xue, “Who sent those photos? Which delivery company was it? From what I know, none of the delivery companies have resumed operations yet . ”

“Don’t know . ” Tang Xue shook her head . “This is obviously a set-up . My dad’s been sharp his entire life; why is he so muddleheaded now?”

“His concern over this issue makes it hard to stay level-headed . And those photos are too realistic for any explanation . In your dad’s eyes, no matter who sent it, it’s still a fact . ”

“Humph . ”

Li Yubing asked, “Who do you think is the culprit?”

Tang Xue pondered for a while . “My guess is Zhou Ran . She holds a grudge against me for scaring her today and wants to get even . ”

Li Yubing mused over this for a long while . “The photos only had you and me in it and no Yu Yan? Nothing else?”

“No . ”

“Then it’s definitely not Zhou Ran . ”

“Why?”

“If Zhou Ran did this, her aim would be to infuriate your dad and embarra.s.s you . If that’s the case, it’s even better for her to include the photos of you and Yu Yan and print out all the rumours online…”

When Tang Xue heard this, she used her hands to mime above her head . “If that really happened, my dad would have blown his top and started smoking like a chimney . ”

Li Yubing saw that she was finally back in a mood to joke around . He smiled and looked at her . “Not angry anymore?”

Fixated by his gentle gaze, Tang Xue felt her ears heated up for no reason . She lowered her head and took a sip of lemon water . While biting her straw, she answered with a soft “mm” .

As meat sizzled on the grill . Li Yubing continued his a.n.a.lysis . “So, this means infuriating your dad was not the goal of the person who sent those photos . Or rather, not the main goal . ”

“Then what could it be?”

“If—I’m saying if—we’re already together and your dad sees those photos . What would be his reaction?”

“Eh… to break us up?”

“Mm . ” Li Yubing nodded, his heart grouching unhappily .

Breaking them up before they even got together .

Getting into Princ.i.p.al Tang’s good graces was the biggest challenge that he had ever faced in his entire life .

Li Yubing let out a faint sigh . ”Eat . ” As he spoke, he used the steel chopsticks to put a piece of freshly grilled beef tenderloin onto the plate in front of her .

There were already quite a few pieces of meat on it .

Tang Xue sneaked a glance at Li Yubing .

His eyes were lowered . Under the restaurant’s soft, yellow lighting, his face appeared even gentler than usual . His das.h.i.+ng brows and raised nose were as perfect as a drawing out of a manga . Lost in unknown thoughts, his cherry blossom-coloured lips were gently pursed .

Tang Xue stared at his lips and like a little rogue, she licked her own lips .

Done with putting the meat on her plate, Li Yubing raised his eyes and looked at her .

Their eyes met . Neither of them s.h.i.+ed away .

She saw his black pupils looking as clear as water and s.h.i.+ning faintly . They stared back at her steadily, warm and focused . She sank into the softness of this gaze and had the sensation that the whole world was falling away except for the two of them .

Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum…

Tang Xue heard her heart beat—so heavy that it was like a beating drum, and so light that it was like a blossoming flower .

Each beat pounded with excitement .