Rock Sugar And Pear Stew

Chapter 60 – Daddy loves you (Translated and edited by Xing)

Li Yubing ate dinner very early. When he was done, he tidied up, took his bag and changed his shoes at the entrance hall. Holding a gla.s.s of water, Mama Li pretended to walk past. She stopped a short distance away and observed him secretly.

The way her son looked extremely pleased with himself seemed kind of dangerous.

“Yubing, are you going on a date?” Mama Li pretended to ask nonchalantly.

Li Yubing quirked his lips without confirming or denying anything. He merely said, “I’ll be back a bit late today. You and Dad can head to bed first.”

After her son left, Mama Li paced the house with a suspicious look while still holding the gla.s.s of water. Papa Li blurted, “Our child is already an adult. It’s natural for him to have his own life, you don’t have to fret.

“I’m only worried,” As Mama Li spoke, she suddenly looked at him cryptically. “Hubby, I remembered something.”

“What thing?”

“Yubing seems to not like girls from young.”

Papa Li was stunned. “It, it can’t be?”

“Really.” Mama Li sat down next to Papa Li. “Do you still remember his primary school deskmate, Tang Xue?”

“Yes, yes. I’ve never met her before but I’ve heard you two talk about her.”

“Tang Xue is the princ.i.p.al’s daughter. She’s pretty and smart, someone extremely adorable. Everyone in their cla.s.s likes her except for Yubing. Yubing told me before that he wanted to change deskmate. When I asked why, he said that he simply didn’t like Tang Xue. When I asked him who he wanted to be deskmate with, I’ve forgotten who exactly he named but it was a boy.”

”Oh, what happened next?”

“Later, I felt that wanting to change deskmate because he simply didn’t like the person was too wilful. Since it wasn’t good for his character development, I didn’t say anything to his teacher and wanted to see how things play out between the two kids. In the end, after hanging out for six years, he not only failed to develop any cla.s.smate care but also tricked poor Tang Xue right before graduating. I was so ashamed that I couldn’t face Tang Xue’s parents.”

Papa Li nodded and said, “Right, I’ve heard you say this before. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I also think that it’s a bit strange. Logically speaking, Yubing was quite popular in his six years of secondary school. However, we’ve never heard of him being close with any girl…”

Both husband and wife looked at each other before suddenly grasping each other’s hands for rea.s.surance.

“I think we’re overthinking it.” Mama Li shook her head.

“Absolutely, youngsters these days are occupied with so many things. Don’t think too much—we’ll talk to him again when we find the time.” Papa Li wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders and patted.

“Eh, hubby.”

“Mm?”

“I still want a grandchild…”

“Don’t think too much, there’ll be a way.”

“Right, if things really don’t work out, it’s not too late to have a second child.”

“…”

——

At that moment, Li Yubing was far away at the amus.e.m.e.nt park, unaware of his parents’ complex train of thoughts. He waited for Tang Xue at the amus.e.m.e.nt park’s giant entrance. As it was almost Chinese New Year, numerous racks similar to grape trellis were built above the pedestrian walkway outside the amus.e.m.e.nt park. From it hung countless square red ornate lanterns fashioned after those seen in the past. The red gauze covered lights were arranged in neat rows. From far, it was as if there was a sea of orange flames in the sky.

Li Yubing waited for Tang Xue under the lantern rack.

He was in a good mood. It turned out that it was possible to be happy waiting as long as the person was someone you wanted to wait for.

Tang Xue stepped out of the train station. The moment she drew a bit closer, the first thing she saw was Li Yubing.

It could not be helped, that rascal’s height was simply too eye-catching…

Today, Li Yubing was finally not wearing a tracksuit. He wore cargo pants and a casual windbreaker but with his broad shoulders, slender waist and long legs, the way he nonchalantly stood there was like a model doing a street photoshoot.

Even when dressed casually, this person was able to exude easy-going confidence and draw eyes to the elegance of his tall and straight body. Was it that great to have a good figure? What a show-off.

Li Yubing turned and saw her as well. He shot her a smile. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Perhaps the backdrop of lanterns was too stunning; the way he stood under the warm light and gazed at her with a smiling expression made it seem like his entire person gave off a soft radiance. His smile was gentle and attractive.

From long ago, Tang Xue knew that Li Yubing was good-looking. However, this was the very first time that she had such a vivid impression of his good looks, the very first time she distinctively felt his attractiveness jolt her heart.

She felt a little embarra.s.sed for no reason and walked over silently.

When she walked closer to him, Li Yubing saw that Tang Xue wore a red wool hat. At the top of the hat was a giant white pompom that bobbled along playfully with her every move. On impulse, he raised a hand and brushed the pompom.

“Hey.” Tang Xue shielded her head and glared at him.

When she raised her head to glare at him, her big, l.u.s.trous, jet-black eyes reflected the countless little lanterns behind him, shining like fragmented stars.

This was beautiful beyond words.

Li Yubing’s heartstrings were tugged and he went into a daze.

Tang Xue was baffled. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

“Mm?” He turned and adjusted his bag. “Nothing, let’s go.”

The two of them followed the walkway towards the ticket entrance. The lights flickered as the lanterns above swung gently. Walking beside Li Yubing under the orange lights, Tang Xue momentarily felt that the atmosphere was a little weird. She was obviously here to skate but why did it feel like she was here on a date?

Trying to fill the silence, she said, “Do you think that red-light districts in other countries look like this?”

Li Yubing felt like taping her mouth shut. “Not like I’ve seen before.”

“It’s good to go see the world in the future. No need to go far, Thailand would do. I heard Xia Menghuan said that…” Tang Xue suddenly stopped speaking at this point.

Li Yubing asked curiously, “Said what?”

Tang Xue scratched her head in embarra.s.sment. “Let’s, let’s queue…”

Li Yubing knew that it was not something good. He did not press her for a reply.

There were a lot of people queueing to get in at the ticket entrance. It took them fifteen minutes to actually get in. Tang Xue took a map of the park. She was examining it closely when Li Yubing suddenly said, “You’re not allowed to go.”

Tang Xue raised her head from the map and looked at him, a little confused, “Ah?”

Li Yubing plucked the map from her hands and turned, “Let’s go.”

“Lunatic.” Tang Xue jogged over to catch up with him.

From the minute they stepped in the entrance, they could hear frequent announcements reminding visitors to safeguard their belongings and watch their children closely.

The moment he heard the part on watching the children, Li Yubing patted Tang Xue’s head. “Watching closely.”

Tang Xue felt utterly undignified and at the end of her patience. “Go away, you’re the child.”

“Oh, who’s the one who called me ‘daddy’? Disowning me so quickly?”

Tang Xue was speechless and could only glare at him in silence.

Li Yubing felt his pockets, fished out a piece of sweet and held it out to her.

“Li Yubing! Are you addicted to being a dad! Go away, go away, go away!” Tang Xue pushed his claw away. “Are you seriously taking me for a child?!”

She walked off with a stormy expression while Li Yubing chuckled beside her and unwrapped the sweet as he walked. After a while, Tang Xue suddenly felt someone held her shoulder still.

Li Yubing stood behind her and used one hand to hold her shoulder. He snaked the other hand to her front and stuffed something into her mouth. Tang Xue was caught off guard and completely unprepared to put up any forms of resistance. Her lips and teeth were pressed open one after the other, and a hard object was stuffed into her mouth.

Immediately, the sweetness of tangerines began to spread in her mouth.

When Li Yubing withdrew his hand, his calloused fingers unintentionally brushed against her lips, causing her face to heat up. From above her head, she heard laughter that he failed to stifle. Low and pleasant, this laughter expressed unspeakable delight. Then, still laughing, he spoke in a murmur.

Li Yubing, “Daddy loves you.”

Tang Xue: = =

Have the ice dog’s guts grown or have her blades dulled?

Seeing that Tang Xue was about to explode, Li Yubing turned and escaped without hesitation. The way he grinned while running was beyond despicable. Tang Xue had the impulse to beat him up even though she originally had no thoughts of doing so.

However, she was not someone ungrateful. When she recalled how Li Yubing was the one who brought her in to skate—though he did not spend any money—she decided to spare his dog life.

Thus, the two of them managed to make their way to the ice rink peacefully. 

The Ferris wheel was huge. Layer by layer, rainbow-coloured lights flickered and changed colours periodically. Against the expanse of the sky, the vibrant colours of the large, slowly-turning wheel made for a stunning sight.

Li Yubing saw Tang Xue’s face raised to look at the Ferris wheel. Her lips were slightly open and she looked dazed like a lost chick. He asked her, “Want to sit?”

Tang Xue shook her head. “I’m here for business.”

And business was ice skating.

That being said, the ice rink was built very well. It had almost no flaw save for the large crowd. However, everyone was on holiday at the end of the year and all ice rinks would be crowded. It was impossible for Tang Xue to carry out her usual training like in school. Here, her only goal was to retain her familiarity with the ice.

It was the same for Li Yubing.

Thus, both of them skated quite leisurely.

There were too many people at the ice rink. Even though they started out skating together, they drifted apart after a while. Tang Xue breezed through one round and helped two kids who fell. Then, she planted herself at the side and scanned the crowd for Li Yubing’s figure.

It was way too easy to find Li Yubing. The one skating most frivolously in the whole rink was him. However, it was not entirely his fault. Being a professional, what was child’s play to him was in others’ eyes exceptional skills.

Furthermore, this rascal had an outstanding figure and a good-looking face. Completely languid and at ease, he circled around the Ferris wheel with his hands clasped behind his back, just like a graceful black swan.

There were some girls who tried to attract his attention and purposely fell near him. Li Yubing was like a blind black swan unconcerned with everything except for his own skating.

Somewhat embarra.s.sed, the girls got up silently.

Tang Xue was extremely entertained. She was about to head over when she suddenly saw someone fell near her. That person was obviously a novice to this. He could not find his balance and had to hold onto the boards at the edge of the ice rink in order to barely stand up. Whenever he tried to move a step, he would lose his footing and seem as if he was about to fall, causing him to hastily grab the boards again.

He staggered along the boards in this pathetic manner and reached where Tang Xue was after much difficulty. When Tang Xue saw his body lurched towards the ground, she gave him a hand.

After helping him up, Tang Xue saw his face.

Both of them were startled.

“It’s you?”