Chapter 77 Part 1 – Courage and drive[1] (Translated and edited by Xing)

Li Yubing ran over .

Tang Xue did not expect him to arrive so quickly . She was squatting by the road and people watching mindlessly when he suddenly called her from the side . “Hey . ”

Tang Xue twisted her head and looked at him . As she was squatting, her worm’s eye-view was dominated by his pair of long legs .

Li Yubing looked down at her, panting from his run . Beads of sweat covered his forehead and glimmered under the soft street light .

Tang Xue felt that Li Yubing might have grown wings . Otherwise, how could he have reached her so quickly?

Li Yubing bent down and look at her . “What are you doing, squatting like a beggar?” He pulled her up without giving her a chance to reply .

Using his strength, he hauled her up by her arm like a duck . She had no choice but to stand up regardless of whether she was willing or not .

After she was pulled up by Li Yubing, Tang Xue saw that he was wearing a black t-s.h.i.+rt that exposed his firm and muscular arms .

April nights in Beijing were still relatively cold . Tang Xue asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

“No . ” Li Yubing released her . “Tell me, what’s wrong?”

Tang Xue was about to speak when a few girls engaged in lively conversation pa.s.sed by . When one of them saw Li Yubing, she exclaimed in surprise, “Ah! Li Yubing? Are you actually Li Yubing? Ahhhhh!”

Li Yubing looked at the girl with a puzzled face . “Who’s Li Yubing? My name is Liao Zhenyu . ”

“Eh… I’m sorry…” The girl left awkwardly with her friends . As she walked off, she whispered, “He’s so attractive! And they look so similar! But Li Yubing is at RCU now so how could he be here in Beijing . My brain must have been fried hahaha…”

At the side, Tang Xue snorted, somewhat disdainful and amazed . She hated to admit it but she was a little envious as well .

Li Yubing’s lips curved . He nudged her shoulder gently . “Let’s go . Tell me what’s up . ”

The two of them took a stroll nearby . Tang Xue narrated the day’s unexpected turn of events to Li Yubing as they walked .

After listening to her story, Li Yubing commented, “For any compet.i.tion, there’s always a contingency plan . Coach Chu must have her reasons for choosing you . They definitely weighed the odds before this . ”

“Li Yubing… actually, I’m really not confident . ” Though Tang Xue was embarra.s.sed when she finally confessed what was bothering her, she felt much better after admitting it .

“Tang Xue, do you remember when we were young, I always went to Canada for training and to partic.i.p.ate in their local compet.i.tions during the holidays every year?”

“Of course . You always came back with loads of prizes . ” Tang Xue pressed her lips, a little aggrieved . How was this meant to comfort her? Li Yubing seemed more like he was bragging .

When Li Yubing heard Tang Xue put it this way, he lowered his head and smiled . “That was in primary school . Things were completely different after that . ”

“Oh?”

For those learning ice hockey in North America, the age of 12 marked a turning point . Before they were 12, body contact was not allowed and excelling on the rink was a matter of skills . Li Yubing had excellent techniques and was like a fish in water when he played against others of the same age . He used sheer skills to suppress his opponents and with this advantage, won more than he lost .

However, this smooth sailing journey ended the year he turned 12 .

When he turned 12, the rink started allowing reasonable body contact . Then, Li Yubing discovered that all his skills and tactics were thoroughly suppressed by what seemed to be rampant and mindless collisions . He was unable to utilize his skills and could no longer use it to dominate the rink . The rink ceased to be the same compet.i.tion grounds that he was so familiar with .

Hearing this, Tang Xue could not help asking, “What happened next?”

“Then, I realized that I’ve misunderstood ice hockey all those while . Rather than skills, the key to this sport is courage . It’s a test of whether you have the guts to dive into the game at the speed of 45 km per hour . It’s not just about facing your opponents . It’s also about facing your inner fears and cowardice, about facing yourself . From then on, I changed the way I approached ice hockey and started using body contact myself . It was a difficult process . I was never someone brave by nature . You know that as well . ” Here, Li Yubing’s voice lowered . “How weak I was as a child . ”

“Li Yubing…”

Li Yubing suddenly raised a finger and pressed it against her lips to stop her from speaking . “Shh…”

Feeling the lightly calloused finger against her lips, Tang Xue’s heartbeat quickened as she watched him with blinking eyes .

“I’ve already left that weak me in the past . The present Li Yubing is a Li Yubing with courage and confidence . Now, let me…” As he spoke, he lifted his hand and rested it on her head . His voice was solemn but there was a twinkling smile in his eyes . “Let me pa.s.s this Li Yubing’s courage to you . ”

The way he carried this out was like a quack . Tang Xue had the urge to laugh but was overwhelmed by the soft warmth in her heart .

“From now on, courage is yours . This Tang Xue is fearless . Remember, as long as you have the courage, the whole world would give before you . ”

Tang Xue’s lips curved . “Okay . ”

When Li Yubing put his hand down, Tang Xue saw pink and white petals fell from his shoulders . Curious, she raised her eyes and saw that they were currently standing under a midget crab-apple[2] tree . Flouris.h.i.+ng with bold and unrestrained warmth under the street light, thick and heavy cl.u.s.ters of crab-apple blossoms perfumed the air with an intoxicating scent .

In the distance was the back door of the ice stadium . The two of them had walked an entire circle around it .

Against the backdrop of crab-apple blossoms, Li Yubing looked down at Tang Xue . “I’ll give you a hug . ”

“There’s no n…”

He pulled her into his arms before she could even finish refusing .

After being stunned for a moment, Tang Xue’s hands crept up and circled his back .

Her heart pounded furiously . She buried her head into his chest, closed her eyes and luxuriated in the warmth of his broad embrace . Sometimes, she really needed a hug as well .

“Tang Xue,” Li Yubing whispered her name into her ear .

“Ah?”

“The Tang Xue I see will always be dazzling . ”

Tang Xue felt a pang in her heart . Head still buried into his chest, she remarked, “That’s definitely not a biased statement . ”

Li Yubing’s lips quirked . He said, “I’ll be waiting for you here after the compet.i.tion tomorrow . ”

“Sure . ” This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

——

When Tang Xue returned to the hotel, she saw that Zhang Yuewei had already been sent back . She scrolled her phone while leaning back on the bed, a pair of crutches beside her .

For some odd reason, Chu Xia had chosen to put the two of them in the same room despite how they always fought .

Tang Xue was in a good mood . She hummed a happy little tune that was off-key as she entered the room . When she entered, she asked Zhang Yuewei, “Hey, Little Wei Wei, what are you looking at?”

“None of your business . ”

“Yo, someone’s being c.o.c.ky . If it wasn’t the fact that it’s already injured, I would have broken your leg myself . ”

“What in the world…” Zhang Yuewei quickly locked her phone when she saw Tang Xue coming over . Seeing happiness written all over Tang Xue’s face, she got even more irate . “Don’t think that being the second skater is such a glorious affair . Are you able to undertake the responsibility that comes with it? Let me see if you can still be so happy if you fail to perform and implicate the team!”

“Ah?” Tang Xue startled before realizing that Zhang Yuewei had misunderstood her . She shook her head and explained, “I’m not smiling over this . I’m just…”

Zhang Yuewei watched her attentively . She did not say anything else but her expression showed that she was listening intently .

Tang Xue said, “Let me ask you a question . What do you think is the most romantic thing for an athletic?”

“Winning a gold medal?”

“Nope!” Tang Xue giggled as she walked over and plopped herself down beside Zhang Yuewei .

Zhang Yuewei edged to the side disdainfully .

Tang Xue declared, “The most romantic thing for an athletic would be winning a gold medal and…” As she spoke, she raised her left hand and pretended that she held a gold medal . She then slung her right hand over Zhang Yuewei’s shoulder . Zhang Yuewei was thoroughly annoyed but unable to shake Tang Xue off due to her injured knee . Tang Xue gazed at the ‘gold medal’ and said, “And telling the person you like ‘look, this is the world that I’ve conquered for you’ . ”

Zhang Yuewei remained silent for a good while . She suddenly said, “All the best, then . ”

She unexpectedly did not scoff at Tang Xue . Not used to this behaviour, Tang Xue tossed her a curious glance . “Did you take the wrong meds?”

Zhang Yuewei’s expression dimmed . “I just think that it’s extremely fortunate when you like a person and that person likes you back . ”

——

The next day, the men’s and women’s relay finals were the last two events held in the afternoon .

Princ.i.p.al Tang did not attend cla.s.s while Mama Tang took leave . All of Tang Xue’s four grandparents came over . With plenty of time to spare, the six of them crowded in front of the television which was tuned to the Beijing sports channel .

After the commentator gave a brief overview of the upcoming compet.i.tions, the camera swept across the audience and paused at certain areas .

It just so happened that Li Yubing was captured on camera .

Grandma Tang could not help exclaiming, “What a good-looking child . ”

Princ.i.p.al Tang gave a loud and disgruntled “humph” .

At the same time, when the program director saw the hunk in the camera, she quickly waved to the cameraman . “Go back, go back and give him a few close-ups! Everyone should feast on the sight of such a good-looking person . ”

……

For the women’s relay, Tang Xue and team were placed in the second lane . In the first lane was Jade Mountain Sport University . In other words, Jade Mountain Sport University performed better than RCU[3] in the semi-finals .

And that was with Zhang Yuewei in the team too .

Jade Mountain Sport University’s ace was Pang Shuangshuang . Last year, it was she who led Jade Mountain Sport University to clinch gold in this event . This year, Pang Shuangshuang had bagged the silver for the 500 metres event and the gold for the 1000 metres event . From the looks of things, they planned to go all out for the women’s relay .

As the skaters prepared to enter the rink, Teacher Xie stood next to Chu Xia at the coaches’ stand . He asked Chu Xia, “Why Tang Xue? Can you finally tell me after keeping me in suspense for so long?”

“Of course . Teacher Xie, the chances of us clinching gold is extremely low without Zhang Yuewei . You can even say that it’s near impossible . Even obtaining silver or bronze would be a tough fight . ”

“Mm, I know . You’ve said it before . ”

“I’ve calculated their timings . Right now, everything will depend on their performance . Our goal is to secure bronze and fight for silver . ”

“But what does this have to do with Tang Xue?”

“I want to see how far she can go . She’s the only variable among the four of them . ”

“…oh?”

“Tang Xue’s circ.u.mstances are a bit special . She’s talented but undertrained and not experienced enough, which keeps her from performing her best . Despite this, she has made vast improvements . Another thing, she has a strong compet.i.tive streak . There is a relatively large difference between her performance during compet.i.tions and during regular training . ”

Teacher Xie stared blankly . “Then…” He pointed at Tang Xue . “How far can she go in the future?”

Chu Xia smiled . “That’s what I want to know as well . ”

Within the span of their conversation, the players were on their marks . They tore off at the sound of the gun and the compet.i.tion began .

RCU’s first skater was Liu Yun . Liu Yun was not as tall as Tang Xue but she had a st.u.r.dy built and tremendous strength in pus.h.i.+ng others[4], which was perfect for being the first skater . Whereas being the person pushed, Tang Xue’s figure was highly suitable for being the second skater .

Tang Xue skated on the inside of the track, her eyes tracing Liu Yun as she prepared to receive the relay . She felt her heart raced as the adrenaline increased the rate of blood pumping through her body .

After one round, Liu Yun placed second and was close on the tails of the first skater . Tang Xue skated to her front and after being pushed heavily from behind, skated out with her might!

It was a beautiful handover and Tang Xue immediately shot to first . With the effort of the entire team, they managed to keep their lead in the subsequent rounds .

The situation appeared well but they were actually in dire straits .

It was clear that though Jade Mountain Sport University was currently in third place, their skaters were going at a more relaxed pace and not too far behind the team in front of them . They were saving their strength for the end .

Brows furrowed, Teacher Xie asked Chu Xia, “Have we used the wrong strategy?”

“The problem doesn’t lie with our strategy . We have no choice but to do it this way . ”

Jade Mountain Sport University dared to be so bold purely because they had Pang Shuangshuang . RCU did not have the odds to take the same gamble and was forced to evenly distribute the burden among all four members . They had to gain every single edge that they could .

Luckily, their four skaters were performing very well .

The biggest pressure was on Tang Xue .  Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

Being the second skater meant that she was directly up against their toughest opponent . If she was not careful, the advantage that her teammates had established would be quickly worn away . Thus, she did not dare to let her guard down for even a single moment .

The four teammates went all out and gradually drew a distance away from their opponents .

The only team that they were unable to leave behind was Jade Mountain Sport University .

That’s good enough, Chu Xia told herself as she watched Tang Xue’s figure on the ice .  The four girls have done their best .

Tang Xue, in particular, had completely exceeded her expectations . There were twice when Pang Shuangshuang tried but failed to overtake Tang Xue, which proved that her speed had exceeded her performance in prior compet.i.tions . Instead of crus.h.i.+ng her drive, the tremendous pressure had roused and ignited a burning flame in her .

“What an impressive child!” Chu Xia sighed .

The compet.i.tion entered its final stage and the compet.i.tion started to intensify . Everyone was going all out and no longer holding back their strength . Tang Xue pa.s.sed the relay to third skater Zhao Ruiying, who in turn pa.s.sed it to fourth skater Li Huan . After Li Huan was Liu Yun, who then returned the relay to Tang Xue .

Finally, it was down to the last two laps .

The anchors of all four teams began to raise their speeds .

Going by the current situation on the rink, the compet.i.tion was split into two segments . RCU and Jade Mountain Sport University were fighting it out in the forefront while the other two teams were a distance behind .

Pang Shuangshuang sped up and overtook Tang Xue after half a round . What made this even more nerve-racking was that the team in third place suddenly carried out a burst in speed as well .

Teacher Xie felt that Tang Xue might be too tired . It was an understandable but regrettable fact . He lamented, “Sigh—” Then, he suddenly cursed, “Holy f.u.c.k!”

Tang Xue had once again increased her speed .

It was as if she could not bear to see someone overtaking her . The very moment Pang Shuangshuang’s figure shot past her, she sped up maniacally and did not allow Pang Shuangshuang to pull the distance between them further than the mere inches that Pang Shuangshuang had gained .

“Step on it! Hurry! Hurry!” Teacher Xie bellowed as he pounded the table in the coaches’ stand .

Tang Xue felt like she could hear screams and cheers from the audience but it also felt like she was surrounded by silence .

It was as if there was a barrier between her and the world outside . She was in a world of her own and had left everything behind . Only she mattered . Only her presence mattered . And the fact that she needed to spare no effort in charging forward .

Go, go, go .

She was actually extremely exhausted but it was as if there was a huge gear in her body that pushed her on in spite of the pain .

At the same time, she was thrilled . Her heart pounded as blood surged through her veins and set her aflame .

Go, go, go!

There was half a round left . The distance between Tang Xue and Pang Shuangshuang was not big in the first place . At the turn, Tang Xue suddenly took the opportunity to accelerate and cut past from the inner lane!

Past the turn, both skaters rushed forward with every last ounce of their strength . After overtaking, Tang Xue gained a tiny lead . Pang Shuangshuang did her utmost to close this gap . The two of them were neck and neck as they slid past the finis.h.i.+ng line at what appeared to be the same time .

Even Chu Xia was not clear who came first . She was a bundle of nerves as she waited for the referee to announce the result . Beside her, Teacher Xie commented, “She’s that good?”

“She broke her limits . ”

“How?”

“If I knew how, I’ll be making everyone in the team break their limits . ”

Shortly after, the referee announced the result . Tang Xue crossed the line faster than Pang Shuangshuang by 0 . 01 second .

She probably led by only the distance of her skate blade’s tip .

Teacher Xie and Chu Xia both sighed in relief .

At the same time, someone else sighed in relief in the audience . He wore a cap and a black mask, revealing only his eyes . Topped with thick and heavy lashes, the round doe-like eyes showed a bright and gentle gaze . As this pair of eyes traced a certain figure in the resting area, a hint of a soft smile flashed across its depth .

……

This is an original work of 酒小七 (Jiu Xiaoqi) translated by Tea Fragrance . If you are not reading this at teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been reposted without the translator’s consent . Head there for extra content or to leave feedback and comments on the novel translation .

Translator’s Notes:

[1] Chapter 77 doesn’t actually have a t.i.tle so I picked something apt . I’ll do the same for the second part of Chapter 77 as well .

[2] Midget crab-apple is 西府海棠 (xī fǔ hǎi táng) in Chinese . The “tang” here is the same “tang” in Tang Xue’s name .

[3] With the introduction of Jade Mountain Sport University, this is a quick reminder that RCU, 霖大 (lín dà), is short for “Rain City United University”, 霖城聯大 (lín chéng lián dà) since it’s been abbreviated throughout the novel .

Interesting trivia: The synopsis on My Drama List is wrong to call 霖大 (lín dà) “Lin Da University” since the character 大 (dà) is short for 大學 (dà xué), which means university . So it’s more of “Lin University” for short . I abbreviated “Rain City United University” as “RCU” rather than “Rain University” since that’s how English university names are usually abbreviated . (Also, it’s shorter to type )

[4] “Skaters ‘pa.s.s the baton’ by giving each other a little push on the b.u.t.t . ” – Source: Twitter Moments