Ch72 – Compet.i.tion
Zhou Sheng got up early on the day of the finals of the National College Cycling Invitationals and bought breakfast for Yu Hao, but he didn’t wake Yu Hao up before leaving to take the urine test. It wasn’t until Chen Yekai knocked on the door that Yu Hao got up groggily.
“Let’s go watch the compet.i.tion?” Chen Yekai said.
“c.r.a.p! Where’s Zhou Sheng? Why did he leave without calling me?” Yu Hao sat up abruptly. His alarm hadn’t gone off either, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest in fright.
Chen Yekai, “It’s still early, it only starts in the afternoon. Let’s go.”
Ying City ushered in its hottest day in ten years. Intense heat emanated from the asphalt roads, yet there were large crowds of people on both sides of the race track. Contestants weren’t allowed to see the track before the race and had to stay in the rest area. Yu Hao wanted to go to the preparation area to say ‘jiayou’ to Zhou Sheng, but he couldn’t find him. He was almost about to be sunburned just looking over the racecourse.
Yu Hao nervously sent messages to Zhou Sheng to ask about his whereabouts, but Zhou Sheng only replied with a grinning emoji.
“Don’t go anywhere, just stand there!” Huang Ting was waiting in front of the race track as he talked to Yu Hao.
Yu Hao said, “It’s so hot today, would they get a heatstroke?!”
The clamour that surrounded them was deafening. Chen Yekai handed out whistles, and people from Sports Cla.s.s 1 began arriving one after another. The last people to arrive were Fu Liqun and Cen Shan. Chen Shan was wearing a red hat and the crowd roared, “h.e.l.lo sis-in-law!”
“h.e.l.lo——hi hi everyone.” Cen Shan said, “Yu Hao come over here.”
Fu Liqun said, “Don’t move anymore, both of you stand properly. Gege will shield you guys from the sun.”
Fu Liqun stood behind Yu Hao and Cen Shan, subtly shielding them from the sun.
Yu Hao began laughing. Cen Shan held up a small fan and turned it towards the three of them. Everyone had a whistle in their mouths as they turned around to look at the starting line.
“When Young Master rides over later.” Someone called Xia Lei from Sports Cla.s.s 1 said, “Then Gege, shift to the back a little.”
Fu Liqun said, “Okay!”
“Why move?” Cen Shan asked, baffled.
“To highlight Yu Hao, so that he can be seen ah.” Fu Liqun answered.
Yu Hao, “???”
Yu Hao couldn’t listen to their idle chat any longer. He looked towards the starting line. The contestants all pushed their bikes out one after another, and they were more than thirty metres away from the starting line. Yu Hao couldn’t tell which one was Zhou Sheng.
The starting pistol fired with a “bang”, the race started!
All of the contestants raced forward on their bicycles. Yu Hao hadn’t snapped out of his daze yet, and not long after, a group of colourful guys on their bikes flew past his eyes. Yu Hao could only recognise Zhou Sheng’s bicycle helmet, yet he couldn’t tell which one was him. When he was looking towards the front, someone who had fallen behind shouted angrily, “Where the h.e.l.l are you looking at?! Laozi’s here!”
Yu Hao, “!!!”
Zhou Sheng threw a kiss at them, and they all whistled back. This scene shook the heavens and the earth, and Yu Hao laughed. He shouted, “Jiayou!”
Zhou Sheng raised his hand again and waved, then disappeared into the large peloton. He had fallen quite far behind.
“Let’s go.” Chen Yekai said, “The next track!”
Everyone immediately moved on to the next track. In response to the 40-degree heat, the organiser distributed paper cups and medicinal concoctions to provide relief from the summer heat. Chen Yekai bought ice water for the whole cla.s.s. Everyone walked through the park, and outside of it, a group of athletes swept by them again.
This time, Yu Hao exerted his utmost force to whistle — he saw Zhou Sheng! The distance between the cyclists had opened up; after he pa.s.sed by, the next contestant only followed a whole 20 seconds later.
“Jiayou!” Fu Liqun shouted, “Young Master! Good luck! Let’s eat chicken tonight!”
The crowd roared with laughter; they followed the organiser across the road and moved on to the next location to watch the race. A strong wind blew by the river. Yu Hao was the first to notice Zhou Sheng; this time, he was very much ahead! Yu Hao counted as he whistled. Huang Ting said, “14th.”
Everyone shouted “yeah” in unison. As long as he entered the top 10, he would receive a prize!
Chen Yekai shouted at the group of bicycles in the distance, “Jiayou!”
They continued to move. In the park at the foot of the mountain, the viewing platform in front of a cafe was crowded with people. The lady boss personally came forward and rebuked, “No one else get on! There’s too many people! Spectate from below! What are you guys trying to do?!”
Fu Liqun, “28 cups of coffee frappuccinos, super large, and 30 double scoops of sea salt matcha ice cream. We’ll book the entire second floor.”
Lady boss, “Ah okokok, then open up the sunshades in the corner by yourselves okay?”
Chen Yekai, “Liqun you robbed me of my lines……”
It was Fu Liqun’s treat. Everyone held a cup of frappuccino and an ice cream in their hands. Fu Liqun could eat three portions by himself. Yu Hao was so nervous his stomach hurt; he kept staring at the race track at the point where the contestants were expected to first come into view. They arrived!
“11th.” Huang Ting’s gaze swept over and reported calmly, “Can we get another cup of ice cream?”
Everyone whistled, Yu Hao shouted, “Zhou Sheng! Jiayou——!”
“The next checkpoint!” Chen Yekai said.
Everyone hastened down the stairs. The fifth checkpoint was at Yunding Mountain Nature National Park in Ying City. Zhou Sheng was now in 7th place!
The sixth checkpoint was outside the amus.e.m.e.nt park that Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng had worked at before. Yu Hao got distracted and didn’t see Zhou Sheng; his eyes darted around rapidly as he searched for his figure and thought, c.r.a.p, something couldn’t have happened to him right?
“9th.” Huang Ting said, “Let’s go?”
Yu Hao said, “He pa.s.sed us already?”
Huang Ting said, “Believe me, there’s no mistake.”
At dusk, the last checkpoint. The organising staff removed the flags and changed the starting line to the finish line. Cen Shan asked, “Which places get the trip to Australia for two people?”
“Top 3.” Fu Liqun replied.
“That won’t be easy.” Huang Ting said, “There are too many professionals.”
Chen Yekai said, “As long as he gets into top 10, the college will have to give him a prize. Just getting into top 10 would already be considered pretty good.”
“Yu Hao are you alright?” Fu Liqun said, “Don’t get heatstroke.”
Yu Hao waved his hand, “I’m still okay, do I look really nervous?”
“You barely spoke today.” Cen Shan comforted, “Don’t worry, Zhou Sheng himself isn’t worried.”
Yu Hao nodded, “He must be tired, he’s been cycling for so long.”
“Go back and ma.s.sage Young Master tonight.” A guy from the sports cla.s.s said, “He still needs to celebrate his birthday tomorrow.”
Everyone burst out laughing. Yu Hao thought that it seemed like there would be a course in TCM next year for those studying Psychology; it seemed to be about ma.s.sage and acupuncture in TCM, and is often joked to be the “Big Health Care Major” by the sports students……he should take that, then maybe he could help ma.s.sage Zhou Sheng.
The scorching sun that boiled the city finally ended its task for the day, turning into a fireball sunset that sank into the horizon and shone on the track until it turned a b.l.o.o.d.y red. Yu Hao placed one hand on his forehead, his brows were scrunched up with anxiety. He looked towards the horizon to see a figure appear, backlit by the setting sun!
On both sides of the track, everyone — including Yu Hao and gang — shouted together!
It wasn’t Zhou Sheng, but their cheers had nothing to do with the compet.i.tion or contestants — their cheers represented everyone’s praise and respect for the one in first place.
The first place cyclist rushed through the finishing line in the midst of everyone’s cheers.
Yu Hao felt like he had returned to the time when his junior high school was reciting the rankings as everyone had to take their papers, and his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He kept trying to compose himself. When he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, a whistle that shook the heavens and earth suddenly rang out!
Just ten seconds after first place rushed by the finishing line, the second place cyclist darted towards the finish — it was Zhou Sheng!
Yu Hao let out a loud shout and subconsciously reached out. Zhou Sheng wore sports gla.s.ses and an expressionless face, bent forward on his bike, and swept past like a gale — that appearance of his was so cool that it made everyone on the track shout out together. Before anyone could register it, Zhou Sheng hugged the periphery of the track, stretched his hand out and — with incredible precision — gave Yu Hao’s outstretched hand a high five.
The setting sun pooled around them like liquid gold, leaving behind only their silhouettes against a bright backdrop. Time seemed to come to a standstill at that moment, and Zhou Sheng crossed the finish line like a bolt of lightning!
Only then did Yu Hao react. A loud “AHHH——” sounded. The result was completely unexpected for all of his cla.s.smates, and they started to shout like they had lost their minds. They all turned around and rushed towards the finish line.
“The race isn’t over yet!” One of the volunteers for the organisation shouted, “Don’t go there! Don’t crowd around!”
The third place arrived, followed by the 4th, then the grandiose army hurried over, and the scene started to descend into chaos. Chen Yekai immediately said, “Retreat! The awards will be presented later!”
Zhou Sheng sat on the gra.s.s field behind the race track. His bike was on the ground beside him, and the champion was sitting on the roadside, gasping for breath.
“You’re amazing!” Zhou Sheng said to the champion.
The champion replied, “I had the advantage since it’s my own bike.”
Zhou Sheng, “My bike belongs to the college, let’s go for a one-on-one next time.”
“Okay.” The champion came over and gave Zhou Sheng a high five, then pulled him up.
Following which, a formidable array of people rushed towards Zhou Sheng, lifted him up, and threw him into the air. Zhou Sheng immediately said, “Knock it off! Hold on……I need to go to the toilet!”
Cen Shan was at the side, taking pictures like crazy. The whole cla.s.s took turns and it looked as if they were there for a group fight. The champion could only slowly walk away with his bike. Zhou Sheng struggled to break free and looked outside the crowd, and in the end, Yu Hao rushed towards him to give him a bear hug.
“Bring me my basketball pants.” After the sound of running water stopped in the bathroom, Zhou Sheng wore an expression on his face that made it seem like there wasn’t anything worth living for in this world. Yu Hao laughed and threw him his basketball pants.
Zhou Sheng put it on over his skintight shorts and took off his skintight top. Yu Hao said, “You still need to accept your prize, don’t take it off!”
So Zhou Sheng could only take half of it off, revealing his beautiful and chiselled abs before lowering his head under the tap’s running water.
“Your neck looks sunburned.” Zhou Sheng glanced at Yu Hao, “Your skin will definitely peel off tomorrow, come over and wash it.”
Yu Hao said, “I’ll wash it when I get back ba. Hurry, go and get your prize.”
“Get what prize……come over to Laozi……”
Zhou Sheng pressed Yu Hao down and rinsed him with water.
Yu Hao kept shouting, and the two of them got water all over themselves outside the bathroom. The organising committee had already come over to summon Zhou Sheng, so Zhou Sheng threw his helmet and gla.s.ses to Yu Hao and smiled as he went to collect his prize. In contrast, the champion was alone as he stood quietly. When he bowed to receive the medal, Yu Hao took the lead in whistling, followed by the whistles and applause of the entire cla.s.s.
Zhou Sheng smiled and gave Yu Hao a thumbs up. When it was his turn to go on stage, the crowd erupted in an uproar.
“Woah f.u.c.k, those good looks can practically kill the whole crowd in seconds.”
Yu Hao overheard a comment made in private.
Late at night, everyone went down the mountain and entered a small stir-fry shop. This shop didn’t have many seats, and it only served a range of stir-fries. Zhou Sheng treated everyone to dinner. Chen Yekai and Huang Ting had an appointment with the plaintiff’s lawyer, so they had to take their leave in advance. Zhou Sheng led the bubbling group of locusts that rushed in, and they completely occupied the shop within an instant.
“What does everyone wanna eat? The menu’s on the wall, look for yourselves ba.” The boss glanced over and saw that there were so many people who came in, so he hurriedly put on his reading gla.s.ses and took out a notebook to take orders.
“Fry up this whole wall!” The pack of wolves instantly cheered.
Zhou Sheng roared angrily, “Yes! Fry up this whole wall!”
Yu Hao was laughing really hard. Fu Liqun went to open a bottle, and everyone in the shop began to drink. However, Zhou Sheng had been thrown to one side and sat in a corner. He and Yu Hao looked at each other, and within this lively world, only the two of them remained as they sat opposite each other. Zhou Sheng hunched over slightly as he sat, looking just like a monkey, and only smiled when he looked at Yu Hao.
“Australia.” Zhou Sheng held his phone and showed Yu Hao the content of his chat. The organising committee requested that Zhou Sheng fill in the names, and Zhou Sheng filled in his and Yu Hao’s ID information and names.
Yu Hao smiled, “I really didn’t expect that you would get second place!”
“The first place’s bike is too good.” Zhou Sheng smiled, “If I rode that bike I would’ve been faster than him, forget it.”
Yu Hao didn’t know why but he was momentarily at a loss for words. He wanted to praise Zhou Sheng for being way too handsome today, so much so that he was even shining, yet he was too embarra.s.sed to say it. Shortly afterwards, the boss served the dishes, and Zhou Sheng encouraged everyone to eat up. The group of people from the sports cla.s.s were like wolves and tigers. Yu Hao was suffering from heatstroke and didn’t have much of an appet.i.te. He poured some alcohol for Zhou Sheng, who said, “Drink less and eat more. This boss is my Dad’s Shige, the taste of his dishes is superb.”
Yu Hao was a bit surprised. He wanted to eat more, but firstly he was too excited, and secondly he had stood under the sun the whole day and didn’t have much of an appet.i.te. After awhile, Cen Shan was the first to come over. She was holding a beer and rubbed Zhou Sheng’s head, “You did pretty well today, sis-in-law has stuff to do so I have to leave first. Cheers to the both of you.”
Yu Hao quickly held up a gla.s.s with Zhou Sheng and drank it. Cen Shan said goodbye to the rest before she left. Fu Liqun sent her out to the car and said to the crowd, “Wait till I get back before you guys start drinking! Open up some white wine!”
After filling up his stomach, Yu Hao once again realised that this group of people could drink as much as bandits; those who drank beer only did so because they were thirsty, and they all began drinking white wine from 7pm onwards. At the start, he thought that they had neglected Zhou Sheng, but it turns out that everyone was just hungry, and once they were sated, they began making Zhou Sheng drink. After they made him drink a few cups, they made Yu Hao drink too. Not only did they make the two of them drink, they were all forcing their own dormitory mates to drink as well. Zhou Sheng asked Yu Hao not to get drunk, and when Yu Hao got any drinks he would take it. Yu Hao didn’t let him drink too much; he was afraid that after today’s high-intensity race, drinking would badly affect his heart.
After a while, Fu Liqun came back and roared angrily, “Gege wasn’t around! And you guys dared to sneak away?! Come? Ai that……Yu Hao take a drink for me, I need to mentally prep myself first.”
“Get lost!”
Fu Liqun began to display his strength as fresh reinforcements and managed to drink for nearly an hour. In the end, the crowd was so drunk that they collapsed everywhere and cheered loudly for Yu Hao to sing. Yu Hao was a bit tipsy, though his mind was still sober, so he asked Zhou Sheng to choose a song.
Zhou Sheng, “Sing one yourself, I’ll choose the next one.”
“Then——let’s go ba, who knows what’s ahead——”
“Then——let’s go ba, the scenery there is the same.” Yu Hao laughed as he sang.
Yu Hao started directly from the chorus, and the whole restaurant fell silent once he began to sing. The guests sitting outside all turned around at the same time, and even the boss moved a chair out from the kitchen to sit down and listen. Meanwhile, Zhou Sheng earnestly chose the accompaniment from his phone and found《Drown One’s Sorrows》.
Once the accompaniment started, along with the dim sunlight in the pub, the revolving green electric fans, the scent of summer gra.s.s, the moonlight in the sky, and the slight intoxication from the wine, it seemed even more ethereal, as if everyone had fallen into a dream for a moment.
“Cheers to the morning sun, cheers to the moonlight, wake up my yearning, turn the cold windows gentle.”
When he sang part of the chorus, everyone actually sang along with Yu Hao; half of them sounded desolate while the other sounded rueful as they all began singing in unison. It was as if there was an inconceivable depth of indescribable melancholy within these 20-year-olds. The last moments of their youth was about to end, just like the gentle breeze in this summer night. It silently penetrated their restless souls, a.s.saulting their senses before brushing past their face.
After the song ended, there was silence.
“The last song.” Zhou Sheng said in the silence, “After we finish this gla.s.s, let’s disperse for the night ba.”
“Good flowers don’t bloom often——beautiful sceneries don’t appear often——” Yu Hao sang again. When he sings, his eyebrows would raise slightly. He grinned as he looked at Zhou Sheng. Fu Liqun then played an accompaniment.
When it ended, the crowd b.u.mped their gla.s.ses against one another and they all said, “See you next term.”
“See you next term——”
Zhou Sheng’s money was all with Yu Hao, so he motioned for Yu Hao to settle the bill. Yu Hao used his phone to pay: 26 people, 7 tables, including all the alcohol, and the total came up to 920. The boss even rounded it off for Yu Hao and only charged them 900; this was really too cheap.
“See you next term lo!”
Yu Hao was very glad to bid farewell to the rest. From now on, Zhou Sheng was his.
Fu Liqun, Yu Hao, and Zhou Sheng walked together, “See you again when school reopens lo.”
Zhou Sheng, “Why are you following us?”
Fu Liqun said, baffled, “To return to the dormitory ah, otherwise where would I stay?”
Zhou Sheng, “Aren’t you gonna get a room with your wife!”
Fu Liqun, “Are you blind?! Didn’t you see her leave long ago, where would I go to get one? I only brought a 1,000 with me when I left, and I spent it all on treating them to coffee and ice cream.”
Yu Hao exploded when he heard this, “The ice cream was that expensive?! Are you crazy?!”
“Let’s go ba let’s go.” Fu Liqun was drunk too. He asked, “Can you walk? Do you guys want Gege to carry you back?”
At 11pm in the evening, the three of them arrived at the foot of their dormitory building. Zhou Sheng and Fu Liqun stood as they sang《A Little Happiness》. As Yu Hao watched, he thought they looked funny but he still earnestly directed them. After they sang for awhile they got scolded by the 7th floor; Zhou Sheng wanted to go up to pick a fight, and Fu Liqun quickly said ‘never mind, never mind’, then rested his arm around Yu Hao and flipped onto the second floor to return to their dormitory.
“Ai! We’re finally back!” Yu Hao’s head was spinning; his tipsiness hadn’t faded yet.
Fu Liqun waved his hand, “Don’t mix drinks next time.”
Zhou Sheng collapsed into a chair, “Kaikai and Huang Ting ran away pretty quickly, I wanted to get him drunk today.”
Fu Liqun dry retched a few times but didn’t vomit. He drank some water and gargled, then turned around, “He’s afraid that we wouldn’t be able to drink to our heart’s content if he was around, so he found an excuse to leave first.”
“How could the light of a firefly compete with the light from the sun and moon!” Zhou Sheng laid on his chair with legs spread, looking just like a huge crab. He kicked away a stool with one leg, “Yu Hao am I right?!”
Yu Hao, “I didn’t understand.” As he spoke, he took a wet towel and folded it before handing it to Zhou Sheng.
“Un?” Zhou Sheng opened his eyes to look at Yu Hao. His eyes were a little red from being drunk.
Yu Hao said, “Place it over your eyes, they’re red.”
Zhou Sheng lifted his hand and pointed at his eyes, then laughed. Yu Hao folded the towel, “Close your eyes.” Then he placed it on his eyes.
Fu Liqun lit up a cigarette. Yu Hao said, “Why did you start smoking too?”
Fu Liqun said, “Just one.”
“Yu Hao, you ah——” Zhou Sheng said slowly with his eyes blindfolded.
“What about me again?” Yu Hao asked.
Fu Liqun laughed.
Zhou Sheng stopped talking. Yu Hao asked, “Fell asleep?” He turned around to look at Fu Liqun, then looked at Zhou Sheng again with question marks all over his head. Fu Liqun placed one foot over his other knee and looked down at his watch.
Zhou Sheng suddenly said, “Yu Hao you’re a Sagittarius ba? I remember that.”
Yu Hao, “Yeah.”
“Sagittarius.” Zhou Sheng said, “Un, a womanizer.”
Yu Hao, “Un, not as family-oriented as you Cancers, okay okay.” As he spoke, he patted Zhou Sheng again.
Zhou Sheng said, “I’ll give you the medal~ do you like it?”
Yu Hao, “I like it.”
Zhou Sheng, “Then that’s good.”
It was Yu Hao’s first time seeing Zhou Sheng this drunk, and he was on the verge of laughing himself to death. Fu Liqun teased, “Why don’t I have one? You’re too biased!”
Zhou Sheng said, blindfolded, “Or you can talk it over with Yu Hao? Yu Hao, do you want to give it to him?”
Fu Liqun, “He gets Australia and the medal too! Why?! I won’t accept it!”
Zhou Sheng said, “Then I’ll give you everything next time?”
Fu Liqun immediately said, “Then please do!”
Yu Hao was on the brink of madness from laughing. Zhou Sheng uttered another “un”. Fu Liqun continued, “That’s more like it.” As he spoke, he took out a lighter and motioned to Yu Hao.
Zhou Sheng waited for a while. The electric fan in the dormitory stopped, and he said, “Yu Hao, have you recorded the song for me? Where’s the song?”
No one answered. Within the silence, Zhou Sheng waited for awhile longer, “What’s going on?”
There was still no answer. Zhou Sheng removed the cloth covering his eyes. In the darkness, Fu Liqun held a birthday cake with candles all over it, and stood in front of Zhou Sheng with Yu Hao, the light illuminating their entire dormitory.
—