Chapter 61 – Our Green Ice (Translated and edited by Xing)
The person in front of her was Bian Cheng.
Tang Xue did not expect to see him here. What a small world.
He looked the same as always—full of quiet elegance and appearing polite and refined. Nothing seemed to have changed. When Tang Xue saw him, a wave of emotion somewhere between rue and lament suddenly surged within her.
After standing firm, Bian Cheng adjusted his spectacles and looked at her.
She was unable to read the emotions in his eyes under the cover of his thick spectacle lens.
Tang Xue asked him, “Why did you suddenly come to ice skate?” And doing it so terribly, too.
“I heard you went back to ice skating,” Bian Cheng said.
Tang Xue was startled.
Bian Cheng seemed a little embarra.s.sed and said, “I was thinking, I want to understand it more.”
Tang Xue looked at his face. After a long while, she replied with an “oh”.
Bian Cheng did not dare to meet her eyes. His sight kept drifting towards the Ferris wheel.
Tang Xue glanced around and asked, “Alone?”
“Mm, you?”
“I—”
Before Tang Xue could finish speaking, Bian Cheng suddenly saw a figure from afar skate towards them at a high speed, appearing in front of him in a blink of an eye. The abrupt appearance of the large, looming figure gave Bian Cheng the gut feeling that they were about to collide, causing him to instinctively take a step back. With this little movement, his skates slipped and he was once again unable to stay upright. His body plummeted towards the ground.
However, that person did not crash into them. By simply angling one foot, he came to a beautiful halt at the very last minute and stood firm on the ground. When he braked, the blades sc.r.a.ped against the ice and stirred up a large smattering of ice fragments. Sitting on the ice, Bian Cheng looked up just in time to see a swirl of ice fragments flew all over the place. Some tiny ice pieces landed on his face, cold and uncomfortable.
Before Bian Cheng could fully react, something grabbed hold of his shoulder. With startlingly huge force, it smoothly hauled him up from the ice.
Bian Cheng, “…”
As a man, it was rare for him to be in such a vulnerable position.
“Sorry.” That person patted his arm. “I didn’t expect you to be so timid.”
Bian Cheng was a little annoyed. He raised his head and through his spectacles—as well as the ice fragments on the lens—he saw that the person was Li Yubing. Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
“The two of you…” he deliberated.
Li Yubing flashed a smile and said, “I’ve known her much earlier than she’s known you.”
Bian Cheng looked towards Tang Xue.
Tang Xue felt that Bian Cheng cut a sorry figure like a punching bag. She gestured at Li Yubing and gestured at herself, and explained, “Primary school cla.s.smates.”
“It’s deskmates.” Li Yubing emphasized.
Tang Xue slanted her eyes towards Li Yubing. “Weren’t you unwilling to be deskmates with me?”
“Whether I’m willing or not, it’s still a fact.”
Without batting an eyelid, Bian Cheng observed their expressions. Then, he lowered his head calmly and cleaned his spectacles. As he did so, he said to Tang Xue, “Do you know that Teacher Du has given birth?”
Teacher Du was the teacher in charge of their high school year one cla.s.s. Astonished, Tang Xue exclaimed, “Ah? When did this happen?”
“A few days ago. The twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month… We talked about this in our cla.s.s group chat.”
Tang Xue was a little embarra.s.sed. “I muted the chat.” Ever since she resumed training, she was busier than an emperor. She felt that the cla.s.s group chat was very disruptive with how it always rang with messages. Hence, she muted its notifications and only clicked in to glance at what they were saying when she occasionally remembered to do so.
“Mm.” Bian Cheng re-wore his spectacles, raised his head and looked at her. “The cla.s.s is planning to visit Teacher Du on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.”
Tang Xue’s reaction was beyond fast and she immediately got her lackey to shoulder the blame. “Liao Zhenyu didn’t tell me about it.”
“Are you going?”
“Sure, why not.”
Li Yubing stood at the side and listened to their discussion, unable to take part.
His heart felt unbearably sour.
After Bian Cheng finished talking about Teacher Du, he began chatting about their other cla.s.smates. Tang Xue knew about some of the news he shared but not all. Actually, her relationship with all her year one cla.s.smates was pretty good except for Zhou Ran. Of course, Bian Cheng was an exception as well.
At the side, the ignored Li Yubing finally could not take it anymore. He gently pushed Bian Cheng’s shoulder.
At once, Bian Cheng lost his footing and looked as if he was about to fall.
And yet before he could do so, Li Yubing grabbed hold of his shoulders and yanked him upright.
Simply put, it was like a cat playing with its prey.
“What are you doing?” Bian Cheng asked with a frown.
“I’m teaching you to ice skate,” Li Yubing said. At the same time, he thought, before you could chatter her to death.
Bian Cheng wanted to refuse but before he could say another word, Li Yubing had hauled him to the side.
Tang Xue followed behind leisurely. As Li Yubing taught Bian Cheng, she would interrupt, “Lean forward slightly, mind your centre of gravity, don’t stand up, don’t be afraid of falling, the more you’re afraid of falling the easier it is to fall…” She was thoroughly having fun being a teacher.
Bian Cheng’s affinity for physical activities stopped short of his mental capability. His movements were stiff and painful to watch. Luckily, Li Yubing was considered a responsible teacher—at least in preventing falls. If not, Bian Cheng would have long cracked his head.
Tang Xue was bored after playing for a while and skated off dashingly to elsewhere.
After she left, Bian Cheng asked Li Yubing, “What do you mean by this.”
Li Yubing was amused. “What do you mean by this?”
Bian Cheng skated to the boards at the edge of the ice rink. He straightened up by holding onto it and turned his head to look at Li Yubing. Both of them were expressionless and stared at the other person evenly. As they looked face to face in the thick silence, it was as if swords flashed and clashed soundlessly.[1]
After they pa.s.sed some time like this, Bian Cheng suddenly smiled. He adjusted his spectacles and said, “If I say that she confessed to me before, what will you do?”
Hearing this, Li Yubing felt a wave of anger. His heart was sore and uncomfortable beyond words. However, he still had to maintain his pretentious front. He gazed at Bian Cheng, quirked his lips and smiled as well. “Of course I’ll choose to forgive her.”
After saying this, the two of them began a second round of staring as swords once again seemed to flash and clash soundlessly. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
In the end, it was Bian Cheng who felt that this standoff was a little meaningless. His line of sight shifted to the distance and he started searching for Tang Xue’s figure.
When he saw her, Bian Cheng’s face darkened by several degrees. Curious, Li Yubing followed his line of sight and looked over. Then, his face darkened as well.
—It had only been a short while but two guys dressed like punks were trailing behind Tang Xue. She was skating in front happily, showing off her skills while the two punks trailed behind docilely and looked perfectly content to follow her.
“You go.” Bian Cheng said unhappily.
Without waiting for him to open his mouth, Li Yubing had already turned and was skating towards Tang Xue. He circled two rounds around her, doing so nimbly and with ease. This was to the point that his actions were overflowing with carefree grace.
“Who are they?” Li Yubing asked.
The two punks first took in Li Yubing’s build before taking in how agile he was on the ice. His skills were at a level which they could not afford to provoke.
Thus, they left.
Tang Xue looked at Li Yubing and beamed. “The two of them wanted to pick me up by teaching me how to ice skate.”
Li Yubing’s heart felt a wave of discomfort. Just like hatching an egg, he needed to carefully hold this person in his hands at all times. Let his guard down for one moment and she would be gone the next with goodness knows who.
“Call me over the next time anyone pesters you,” Li Yubing said.
“There’s no need.” Tang Xue shook her head. “I told them that we can talk if they manage to catch up with me.”
Then, from start to end, she maintained a lead while they lagged behind. No matter how they tried, they were not able to catch up with her. Like walking a dog, she was walking the two punks.
Li Yubing was both annoyed and amused. He could not resist bopping the pompom on her head. “Way to go.”
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] 刀光剑影 (dāo guāng jiàn yǐng): Literal translation: Appears as if there are flashes of knives and shadows of swords. It means that the atmosphere is tense.
In this chapter, Li Yubing is a cat instead of a dog.