Chapter 111 - I miss you.
Work done, You Liangxing did not mention that Liao Su had sent a small video when he was chatting with Kang Shengzhe that night and merely exchanged simple goodnights with him. The second day arrived soon after and it was yet another busy day.
Everything could be smoothed over when he was busy, but perhaps because he had been poisoned by Liao Su, he would constantly recall the crowd of girls, each br.i.m.m.i.n.g with youthful vitality, shouting out Kang Shengzhe’s name.
Although it could not be said that he was incomparably panicked, he did feel stifled…
It was as though an ant was crawling near his ear and it irritated and distracted.
There were a few times where You Liangxing wanted to bring it up to Kang Shengzhe but every time he typed the words ‘nearby female students’, he felt like his hands had been scalded and he deleted them.
… He definitely could not ask it out loud.
If he could ask it blatantly, he would not be You Liangxing.
After going through a few baffling unhappy days, You Liangxing had an abrupt whimsical thought when he was winding down for the night and he decided to browse the web forum of A University.
You Liangxing had never voluntarily entered the web forum before and he did not understand much about it. But by benefit of a.s.sociating with Liao Su, the web forum had always left an impression in him that it was the place to go for news whenever there were signs of disturbances or troubles in school.
Once he entered the main page, You Liangxing typed the keywords ‘Kang Shengzhe’ into the search bar bracket and a huge volume of posts emerged in succession soon after. As he stared at it, You Liangxing could not describe what he was feeling, just that his eyelids were jumping slightly and it unconsciously gave rise to a distinctive expectation.
As expected, Kang Shengzhe was the sort of person that people could not help but pay attention to.
Judging from the number of female students at the basketball court, it could be presumed that Kang Shengzhe was very well-received in the school.
【High and Bright! Striking! The Little Giant is playing basketball oat the court today, sending water and encouragement squad, are you ready!!!】
【Incredible, Kang Shengzhe actually personally went to the cafeteria to eat…. A member of the crowd watching on, offering this front profile picture of this beauty to the G.o.ds. (Everyone charge with me!!)】
【This is the collection of high definition photos for the Liberal Art College’s Little Giant, everyone please contribute some strength to it. (Comrades, this way please)】
You Liangxing: “……”
While You Liangxing had always heard Liao Su bring up the two words web forum, this was the first time he entered.
Coincidentally, he did not encounter his own veritable number and variety of sticky threads and he did not see the great ma.s.s fervour that the discussion about what kind of relationship he had with Kang Shengzhe had sparked. Instead, he had b.u.mped into the forum during the period where he had been absent from school for some time and the school’s face dogs who were yearning for him had turned their attention towards Kang Shengzhe’s beauty as a new nourishment for their minds.
【Today’s yields are particularly rich because I was in the same commonly required course cla.s.s as Kang Shengzhe. I chose a good seat and it allowed me to see Kang Shengzhe’s face. Later, I discovered….】
【What did you discover?】
【This person yawned thirty-one times in one cla.s.s. (Laughing and Crying)】
【Pfft hahahahahaha!!! Why is Kang Shengzhe so sleepy every day?】
【Don’t you find counting the number of times he yawned pointless…】
【What does yawning thirty-one times count for, the Little Giant specialises in falling asleep while standing when he was punished to stand up. The students in the cla.s.s almost laughed themselves to their deaths, alright? – That’s right, I’m a cla.s.smate from Kang Shengzhe’s cla.s.s. (Proud Face)】
【You can continue your pointless chatter, I’ll just lick his face. Does anyone have a picture of Kang Shengzhe’s photos, take it out for our enjoyment.】
There were countless of news regarding Kang Shengzhe and it had every sort, and the information he received surpa.s.sed what he would get when he was idly chatting with Kang Shengzhe.
As he scrolled through the a few thousand worth of floors in the post, he noticed that quite a few netizens commented that he was k2018;very cute’, k2018;his face value really high’ and wondered k2018;if they could encounter Kang Shengzhe today’. When You Liangxing reached a photograph Kang Shengzhe buying items at a supermarket while his hair was down, he closed the forum in a hurry.
… Even he did not have that many photographs of Kang Shengzhe.
No… now that he carefully thought about it, in actuality, You Liangxing did not have a single photograph of Kang Shengzhe.
Not even one.
He had never taken a photograph of him!
You Liangxing felt the pain in his head escalate bit by bit and his mood was hard to describe.
Early on, he had already known that it was inevitable for Kang Shengzhe to become the focal point for people and having the eyes of thousands on him was normal. But what You Liangxing felt continued to grow fiercer albeit sluggishly, and he was not aware when these feelings germinated but at this moment, an inexplicable sourness rose.
Kang Shengzhe had been unreasonable as he rolled about and made a scene ever since the first day they separated, but it was only now that he started feeling uncomfortable.
He opened Kang Shengzhe’s WeChat and the time happened to be when Kang Shengzhe’s live broadcasting ended. You Liangxing did not intend to disturb his downtime but it was hard to lay his own thoughts to rest and he really wanted to say something – anything – with Kang Shengzhe. After he thought about it back and forth, he only sent this in the end:
— Goodnight.
A language deficit man could only use such phrases. However, today was different from the other days because Kang Shengzhe did not reply with a goodnight. Instead, he asked: — Is it convenient?
This meant that he wanted to talk, You Liangxing: — Convenient.
Once he gave his reply, the video call request came quickly. Because it was night-time, Kang Shengzhe’s background was a hazy black and he hastily changed his angle in order to find some light.
The colour of sky was dark. Unexpectedly, he was outside.
You Liangxing said, surprised, “You’re outside?”
Kang Shengzhe was currently adjusting the camera and he only showed half of his face after he hummed out a noise of agreement.
It was entering the beginning of autumn; the night’s temperature was becoming cooler. However, Kang Shengzhe was only wearing a basketball shirt, revealing his sweat soaked neck and he radiated heat.
“I’m playing basketball, it’s a night match.”
“With whom?”
“Teammates.” Slight gasps could be heard in Kang Shengzhe’s voice. Afraid that You Liangxing would misunderstand, he immediately added: “It’s fine, I’m quite far away from them. I came off court to take a break.”
Although they talked yesterday, You Liangxing felt like it had been a while since they met. Or maybe it was because this was the first time he was so close to a basketball playing Kang Shengzhe, and You Liangxing could essentially feel him breathing as the camera captured his face.
It was very quick.
He was breathing heavily.
“Tired?”
Kang Shengzhe was not courteous at all as he said: “Tired to death~” He shot a smile towards him as he said that. That smile was unadulterated and You Liangxing’s heart akin to a gla.s.s candle being lit since his mood brightened the instant it entered his eyes..
“There’s still three more days to the compet.i.tion and the Liberal Arts College only played two matches before they lost last year. Therefore, they stepped up the training this year and I really don’t want to move. But I don’t have a choice, ying~”
Toward You Liangxing, Kang Shengzhe did not shy away from acting coquettish whenever he opened his mouth to speak. However, You Liangxing knew that if this person really did not want to move, even a thousands bulls could not pull him. The fact that he was practicing basketball at night evidently meant that he was hard at work.
“What are you mainly practicing?”
Kang Shengzhe’s breathing eventually smoothed out. Body bending, he sat on the floor. “Three-pointer b.a.l.l.s.”
You Liangxing had somewhat expected it. “Sure enough.”
“You guessed it?” said Kang Shengzhe.
You Liangxing smiled softly, not replying. According to Kang Shengzhe’s personality, no guessing was required to reach that particular conclusion. Other than three-pointers, he could think of no other role that could allow him to move as little as possible on the basketball court.
“The school senior wanted me s.n.a.t.c.h and block the b.a.l.l.s to fully exhibit my height but I don’t feel like jumping. In the end, we negotiated and settled for three-pointers.”
Although the reason for choosing three pointers rendered people speechless, but indisputably, it was a sharp weapon that could earn points. As long as it was practiced well, the other trivialities could be neglected or disregarded.
Thus, You Liangxing simply said: “It’s quite effective.”
Kang Shengzhe said, “What did Liang Liang practice back then?”
You Liangxing thought back about it, “Don’t think I practiced much.”
“Then what position did the Economic Management Faculty get?” Kang Shengzhe asked.
You Liangxing said: “En, first place.”
“Pfft,” Kang Shengzhe laughed out loud, “Really? How am I not surprised at all?”
It was apparent that it was not meant to be a compliment but You Liangxing felt like he was being praised. While he had been the target of praise ever since he was young, You Liangxing starting to discover that as long as it came from Kang Shengzhe’s mouth, he felt that it had some effect.
He was inexplicably happy.
“Why wasn’t I born on the same year as Liang Liang, I really want to see you playing basketball in person.”
Deep inside, You Liangxing felt the same. At this very moment, he truly wanted to stand on the basketball court and watch Kang Shengzhe playing basketball….
Perhaps, he might even send him water.
After saying a few more lines, it seemed like someone was shouting for Kang Shengzhe and they were calling his name. The man in question turned towards where the voice came from but he did not walk over. Instead, he moved even further by a few steps.
He brought the camera closer as if he wanted to say something secretly. Kang Shengzhe said, “Liang Liang, when are you coming back?”
It was hard to decide when he could go back right now. You Liangxing’s heart softened and he said warmly, “I’ll come back as soon as possible.”
Quietly, Kang Shengzhe enjoyed this piece of warmth that was hard to come by. He squinted his eyes and softly told him: “I miss you, Liang Liang, I miss you.”
You Liangxing’s eyes widened as if he had been stabbed. “Kang Shengzhe… I…”
The latter half was covered by another sound. The female’s voice behind him was loud: “Kang Shengzhe!! Come here and take a towel now! Hurry up! Stop slacking off!”
Kang Shengzhe pouted and replied lazily, “I know.” Then, he turned his head back and said, “Liang Liang, what did you say just now?”
You Liangxing did not answer and asked instead: “Who?”
Calmly, Kang Shengzhe said: “Some cla.s.smates from my cla.s.s, they came here to join the fun.”
Some… The basketball practice was taking place late at night, and the female students accompanying him did not stop at one. You Liangxing choked and he could not speak.
Kang Shengzhe really wanted to stay with You Liangxing for a while more but after being urged so frequently, he could only bid farewell to You Liangxing. “Liang Liang, I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow morning, rest early.”
You Liangxing said: “Okay…”
As he said that, Kang Shengzhe’s face instantaneously blurred and it was obvious that the video call was about to cut. Hurriedly, You Liangxing said: “Wait.”
“What’s the matter?” asked Kang Shengzhe.
You Liangxing faltered and then let out a soft sigh. His intelligence was still functioning but his emotions were in control and he just wanted to call Kang Shengzhe. “I’ll be back in a few days.”
In a blink of eye, Kang Shengzhe showed his surprise, pleased. “Really? When??”
You Liangxing said: “I can’t be certain for now, but I should be able to make it back for the last few matches of your compet.i.tion.”
“That means I definitely have to win until the end. And when you come back, you’ll manage to see me attain the championship.”
You Liangxing: “Championship?”
Kang Shengzhe said: “Yeah, champions. Since you’re coming back, I definitely have to take the first place in the school for you to see.”
You Liangxing had unconsciously encouraged Kang Shengzhe to attach importance to the place he would achieve in the compet.i.tion. However, Kang Shengzhe’s love for victory was innate and You Liangxing would not refute him either. Hence, he said, “Okay.”
Having obtained a promise, Kang Shengzhe’s smile became wider and he could not hide it even if he tried. Grinning, he said: “I’ll be waiting for you.”
You Liangxing felt dazzled by that smile and it took him a long moment before he said: “Kang Shengzhe, bring your phone closer.”
Kang Shengzhe did as ordered, “Like this?”
You Liangxing uttered, “A little closer.”
Kang Shengzhe placed the phone by his ear. From the perspective of others, it looked like he was listening to a call.
Now that he could no longer see Kang Shengzhe’s expression, You Liangxing heaved a sigh and said slowly, “Kang Shengzhe… I miss you too.”
His words startled Kang Shengzhe. He wanted to give some reaction but a sound rang out in his ear, signifying that the video call had already been cut off. Running after he was done speaking, fleeing after being defeated—that was not in You Liangxing’s character. As Kang Shengzhe stared blankly, a blush swiftly rose up his face.
A short while later, Kang Shengzhe laughed out loud and mumbled to himself: “Liang Liang, I heard you.”
T/N: Alternatively t.i.tled, Liang Liang’s vinegar.