Chapter 82 - Idol pays the price (Translated and edited by Xing)
Tang Xue marched on with a darkened expression. She was really, really mad. She was not mad that she was being scolded—anyway, those scolding her were devils that she should not care about. Instead, she was mad at how those people were doing so while fantasizing themselves as Li Yubing"s official girlfriend. G.o.ddammit!
Li Yubing trailed beside her and soothed in a gentle voice. "Don"t be angry. It"s my fault. I"ll post a declaration and ask them to stop hara.s.sing you."
Tang Xue was in no mood to talk, especially with Li Yubing this calamitous "beauty". Her steps became faster and faster and Li Yubing did not know what to do. Suddenly, he strode to her front and carried her up in one motion.
Tang Xue was abruptly lifted into the air. She yelped, "Hey!"
Li Yubing had one arm behind her legs and the other arm across her back. He lifted her at least 30 cm off the ground.
It"s the crazy "carrying-your-daughter" posture again! So what if you"re tall, you shameless scoundrel! Tang Xue rolled her eyes. "What are you doing? Put me down."
Li Yubing raised his head and looked at her. "Don"t be angry. You can whack my dog head." As he spoke, he obediently lowered his head and presented his dog head.
What a refreshingly unique way of coaxing…
Tang Xue swung her legs. "You, you, you… let me down first."
"Only if you"re not angry anymore."
"Li Yubing!"
Tang Xue struggled in his arms like a crab. After lowering his head, Li Yubing"s line of sight was at her chest. Today, Tang Xue wore a pink, white and grey striped shirt. After squirming in his arms, her b.u.t.ton had popped open without notice and Li Yubing unexpectedly saw the lively view under the shirt. Fair, plump and adorably beautiful, it was like two bunnies crouching in bowls.
He felt his body burn hot and his heart pound like thunder. He was having difficulties breathing.
Thus, he closed his eyes and put her down.
After Tang Xue"s feet touched the ground, she saw that Li Yubing"s face was slightly slanted to the side while his gaze seemed to dodge her. Most importantly…
"Li Yubing, why is your nose bleeding?"
"Nothing." Li Yubing calmly dug through his bag for tissues and said, "b.u.t.ton up your shirt first."
Tang Xue looked down, gave an awkward cough and hurriedly b.u.t.toned her shirt. When she was done, she could feel her face burning slightly. Somewhat guiltily, she asked, "Why is your nose bleeding?"
Li Yubing wiped his nose and looked at her meaningfully. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Shut up, you."
Li Yubing gave a stifled laugh. Tang Xue was strangely heated by his laughter. She turned with her hands clasped behind her back and prepared to leave.
Li Yubing grabbed her wrist and called her softly. "Tang Xue."
Tang Xue turned her head and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, Nosebleed Emperor?"
"Don"t be angry, I"ll do anything you want."
Tang Xue looked down and thought for a moment before lifting her eyes and beaming at him. "Anything I want?"
An ominous feeling surged in Li Yubing"s heart. Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
Li Yubing first went to the washroom to clean up before following Tang Xue to the small garden at the old agricultural science building. It was relatively isolated there.
Spring was flourishing and numerous trees in the garden were flowering. Eye-catching cl.u.s.ters of red, white, pink and yellow blossomed enthusiastically like fireworks on trees.
Facing the setting sun, Li Yubing stood in front of a peach tree. He looked at Tang Xue and sang, "Chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled. And my smile has turned yellow—"[1]
Tang Xue videoed him with the phone raised in her hands. "Mind your expression. Don"t keep a poker face and look more melancholic. Melancholic, not constipated, again!"
"Chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled. And my smile has turned yellow—"
"Li Yubing, do you want to cry?"
"I want to die."
Tang Xue patted his shoulders. "Cheer up."
A gust of wind blew some peach blossoms off the branches. They drifted down slowly and flitted past the camera in dancing swirls. With the sunset, fresh flowers and sunny, handsome youth, this scene could absolutely be used for a postcard.
Li Yubing gazed at Tang Xue, his eyes resigned but still full of warmth.
Tang Xue"s heart began to beat manically. She was really roused and had a strong urge to pounce over.
She licked her lips and took a few steps back to pull her distance from him. "I"m warning you. Don"t try to seduce me."
Li Yubing gave a wicked smirk. "This counts as seduction? There"s even m—"
"Li Yubing, sing."
Li Yubing helplessly held his head and started again. "Chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled…"
After goodness knew how many more times, Director Tang was finally satisfied. She edited the video slightly and added a beauty filter before posting it on Weibo.
Caption: Idol pays the price for the behaviour of fans.
Li Yubing camped on Tang Xue"s Weibo and fought for the sofa[2]. Mm, his effort to please her was probably going off the charts.
As one of the involved parties of the gossip, Tang Xue"s followers had increased drastically, with the bulk of them from Li Yubing. When she posted the video, it immediately garnered numerous people"s attention.
The image of their G.o.d singing with such a melancholic expression was simply beyond exquisite. However, the lyrics of "chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled. And my smile has turned yellow" were too mind-blowing… All his fans were stunned and unable to believe their eyes.
[f.u.c.k, this is not Ice G.o.d, don"t try to trick me! Hand the real Ice G.o.d back!]
[Ahhhhh, woman, what spell have you cast on Ice G.o.d?!]
[*bows to the real boss*]
[I now fully believe that Ice G.o.d"s love for you is real.]
[Please let my Ice G.o.d off. He"s only a child despite being 1.88 m and eating 18 bowls of rice every meal.]
[I want to see more. Miss, if I start scolding you now through private messages, does it still count?]
[Miss, we really like you. Please don"t let the actions of a few idiotic fans ruin your mood. Hearts~]
After venting, the fans soon discovered that their male G.o.d had actually fought for the sofa as well. Heh! This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
[Ice G.o.d, your chrysanthemum is already busted and you still have the mood to fight for the sofa. Just how open-minded are you?]
[I know, Ice G.o.d is hinting us that his chrysanthemum got busted on the sofa.]
[Don"t be so dirty-minded. Can"t Ice G.o.d have hemorrhoids? Ice G.o.d, go to my page, I can recommend you a doctor.]
[I want to see if people still dare to scold her. After you guys scold her, in the end, it"s still Ice G.o.d who needs to cheer her up hahahaha!]
[Add~on~WeChat~to~see~full~collection~of~Ice-Snow[3] videos, spreading the joy~]
[GDI don"t trust that video seller. I spent 1 yuan and ended buying a collection of the best past Winter Olympic videos. What darned Ice-Snow collection, f.u.c.k!]
Holding her phone, Tang Xue giggled as she read the comments.
Though there were still people scolding her, she simply ignored and blocked them.
Looking at her laugh, Li Yubing smiled as well. It was as if there was a flower blooming in his heart—quiet, pristine and gentle. He could finally understand the story of "King You of Zhou and the warning beacons"[4]. King You of Zhou offended the world, not because of Bao Si"s beauty but simply because he loved her.
For her smile, he would go against the world.
After Tang Xue spent some time reading the comments, she raised her head and saw Li Yubing looking at her. His gaze was clear and soft while his lips were raised in a faint smile. The fading light of the setting sun fell on his face and tinted the edge of his hair with a vermillion glow. Exquisite and gentle, it made him seem extremely docile and innocent, just like a golden retriever.
Tang Xue felt like someone had prodded her heart with a finger. Her heart was quivering non-stop, to the point that she forgot to breathe. She swallowed, walked to his front and looked up at him.
She whispered, "Li Yubing."
"Mm?" Li Yubing replied softly as he looked at her with a smile.
"Mm…" Her hands clasped behind her back, Tang Xue"s eyes darted. She said, "There"s a reward for being obedient."
Curious, Li Yubing lightly tilted his head to the side. This made him look even more like a golden retriever.
Tang Xue gauged the differences in their height and suddenly leapt up to kiss Li Yubing"s lips. It was a flitting touch akin to dragonflies tapping on water and thoroughly insufficient to appreciate and taste. However, her heart was already racing like mad and she quickly turned and ran after kissing.
But Li Yubing"s reaction was too fast. He grabbed her wrist and with a forceful tug…
… Tang Xue swung back.
Swinging back was not within her control. Without waiting for her to react, his head was already lowered to receive her.
A kiss landed.
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] The song Li Yubing sang is called "Chrysanthemum Terrace". It"s from the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower" and sung by Jay Chou. I used the lyrics translation with slight modification. This translation is the best out of the few I found as it manages to capture the poetic imagery evoked by the original Chinese lyrics.
Also, chrysanthemum is a euphemism for the b.u.t.thole and Li Yubing has changed the original lyrics from "your smile has turned yellow" to "my smile has turned yellow".
[2] "Sofa" is the Chinese equivalent of people typing "first" in comments sections. It"s cute and makes sense so I"m not going to localize it.
[3] Ice-Snow: The 雪 (xuě) in Tang Xue means snow while the 冰 (bīng) in Li Yubing means ice.
[4] Bao Si "was considered one of the most beautiful Chinese women ever". King You of Zhou lit "the warning beacons used to summon armies from the surrounding va.s.sal states in times of danger" in order to coax a smile from her and in this process lost his n.o.bles" trust. - Source: Wikipedia
This is the song for any of you who are interested. Do give it a listen! I personally really like it as well. The particular line that Li Yubing sang begins at 1:35.