Minodayz: We ended last with "who are you looking for?" – I can"t wait to find out what next…. I"m sure with our foursome, nothing is as straightforward as we expect. (kira: that sounded so perveted minodayz)
Chapter 45.1
Translator: shl
Editors: maripaz, kira
Proofreader: Librismuse
The wind blew from the direction of Ruan Mingxian, bringing with it the faint smell of sweat. It wasn"t unpleasant. Ruan Mingxian probably had just finished exercising; his neck and shoulders were covered with glistening beads of sweat.
(MInodayz : Oh myyyy…guess it wasn"t as I had hoped!!! This should be interesting!!! Where is RS?)
On observing Li Erqin pinching her nose firmly, he sat far away from her in embarra.s.sment and asked, "Is the smell of sweat too strong?"
Li Erqin shook her head.
Ruan Mingxian continued explaining, "I sweat very easily."
Li Erqin smiled and said, "It doesn"t smell bad."
Ruan Mingxian resumed his usual ruffian-like manner and looked at her through his lazily-lidded eyes. "That"s good. I just finished running."
"What event did you register for?"
"5000."
"Rong Si signed up too."
"Oh." Ruan Mingxian shut his eyes and used his arm to cover them. "What about you? What event did you register for?"
"Shot put."
Ruan Mingxian chuckled and asked, "You"re not good at sports?"
"Mmm."
"So, when we had our schoolwide run every Thursday, you were skiving off?"
Li Erqin asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
Ruan Mingxian closed his eyes and retrieved an inspection permit* from his pocket. "I"m responsible for inspecting that session."
(T/N We think it"s some kind of badge proving his authority, or perhaps a little booklet where he writes down the name of errant students, to be handed in to the discipline master)
Li Erqin was even more surprised. "Is that why I"ve never been caught?"
Ruan Mingxian opened one eye to look at her and laughed rakishly, "If not, then?"
"Then do you catch other people?"
Ruan Mingxian laughed heartily as he replied, "Nope."
"Rong Si also very seldom catches people."
Ruan Mingxian sighed and sat up straight.
(maripaz: can"t catch a break, poor guy!) (Minodayz: yes, he just keeping having a go regardless!)
"Look, can I make a suggestion," he said. Pointing to himself and to Li Erqin, he continued, "when it"s just you and me, would you kindly not bring up Rong Si?"
Li Erqin remained unruffled. "I can"t control it."
There was silence for several seconds.
Ruan Mingxian conceded defeat. "Ok, ok . . . pretend I never said anything."
Candid Li Erqin naturally would never go against her nature and say, Ok, I"ll try my best not to talk about him.
Ruan Mingxian continued to close his eyes in order to regain his composure.
The sweat had just evaporated from his body when someone below the stands called out to him, "Ah Xian!"
"What?" he replied lazily, with the huskiness of youth.
"Someone"s asking if you want to run one more time!"
Ruan Mingxian did not move as he replied, "Nope."
The person saw Li Erqin by his side and laughed maliciously while saying,
"Another girl just came by to bring you a drink! If you don"t return to receive it, she will be sad!"
Ruan Mingxian laughed helplessly and looked up at Li Erqin, before yelling down to the person below, "Get lost!"
"Then your *humble servant will get going now."
(TN: 奴家 (quan jia) – old term for female servant)
Ruan Mingxian just waved his hand.
The person disappeared into the distance after a few steps.
"Do you know how to throw the shot put?" Ruan Mingxian, having rested enough, seemed to have a little more energy. "Do you want me to teach you?"
Li Erqin answered, "No need."
"Really?"
Li Erqin said seriously, "I"m very good at throwing things."
Ruan Mingxian was befuddled.
Li Erqin explained, "My next door neighbour has a large dog. For many years now, I"ve been unable to outrun it. Each time, should I come home and find it lurking outside, I would throw something at it to distract it before escaping as fast as I could into the house."
(Minodayz: LEQ I"m not sure how worried I should be with you throwing stuff!)
Ruan Mingxian laughed in spite of himself. "What do you throw?"
"Things it can eat or play with."
"How heavy can those things be?"
Li Erqin twitched her lips but had nothing to say.
Ruan Mingxian gave a dry swallow and was a little regretful that he had not gone to retrieve the drink. The euphoria he"d felt after completing the run had slowly dissipated, leaving his throat feeling raw and dry.
"Do you want a drink?" Li Erqin was able to discern his "suffering" at one glance.
Ruan Mingxian said "Yes!" several times.
Li Erqin slowly retrieved her bag to get a drink. Her fingertips brushed against the bottle of mineral water that was still nice and cold and still beaded with water droplets. She had originally intended to give it to Rong Si.
She pursed her lips and took it out of her bag. "Here . . ."
The drink was suddenly s.n.a.t.c.hed out of her hand, and she looked up in surprise.
Rong Si was standing behind her with the sunlight shining obliquely on him. The sweat that had beaded at the tips of his hair seemed to sparkle like the stars.
(kira: blinks) (Minodayz : WOOOOOO RS is turning green! Lol nice one matey!!! About time I"d say!)
Li Erqin watched him unscrew the cap in a relaxed manner. Then, lifting his head, he drank half the bottle of water in one go.
(Minodayz: Not quite the dark haired boy I was looking for but I got to put one of my few fave characters from Kuroko No Basket! Ryoto Kise)
With the sun at his back, she was unable to see his expression.
Ruan Mingxian was stupefied at this sudden turn of events. He waited until Rong Si had drunk almost all the water before saying, "Can you leave a little for me?"
Rong Si held up the mineral water bottle and shot him a glance out of the corner of his eye. Then he tilted the bottle and finished every last drop of water.
Ruan Mingxian was struck dumb.
Li Erqin was similarly stunned.
Rong Si screwed the cap back onto the now empty plastic water bottle and said with an indifferent expression, "Sorry, I"ve drunk it all."
Li Erqin: ". . ."
(Minodayz: hahahaha RS – I do so love a vindictive you!!! Evil grin!!! )
(Kira: I feel me being a single woman sucksruns towards the corner to cry)
Ruan Mingxian smirked and said provocatively, "I have eyes, I saw what you did."
Rong Si ignored him point blank, sat down and asked Li Erqin, "Aren"t you going down to watch?"
Li Erqin took the empty plastic bottle that Rong Si had set aside and tossed it into her bag. "This spot is excellent."
Rong Si didn"t say any more.
Silence.
Ruan Mingxian pushed himself up with his left hand, and as he stood, he said, "Li Erqin, I"m off."
"Bye."
Ruan Mingxian forced a smile. This person really would not make any effort to persuade him to stay. "If you want to practise the shot put, look for me. I"m an expert!"
Li Erqin said, "Bye."
(Minodayz: OH MY… BYEEEEEE!!! Hahahahahaha – dear RMX guess you know her well by now.)
It could be considered a tactful form of rejection.
When Ruan Mingxian had walked far away, Rong Si lifted his head and leaned against the steps behind him, exactly as Ruan Mingxian had done when he first sat down. They both shared the same expression of extreme fatigue. Rong Si looked like his entire person had been dredged from the water, and his chest was still heaving violently.
Li Erqin felt that this was the first time she had ever seen Rong Si"s mood so mercurial, and she stared at him curiously.
Rong Si let out a short laugh that seemed to erupt deep from his chest. "What are you looking at?"
Li Erqin immediately looked upwards and replied, "The ceiling."
However, Rong Si kept his eyes shut while his breathing eased up. "What"s so interesting about the ceiling?"
"There"s dust."
She got no further response from Rong Si.
Li Erqin stopped gazing upwards and resumed looking at Rong Si. After a while, she felt her face heating up, so she once again redirected her gaze elsewhere, this time to the field.
A fresh group of students was on the running track, decked out in colourful sportswear. Several groups of spectators were scattered around the track; some were yelling "jia you"* and others were slowly jogging alongside delivering drinks. On the other side of the running track, a group of people was practising for the high jump. Once in a while, they would burst forth in exuberant exhortation.
(T/N : *加油 (jia you) – literally "add oil" – a term of encouragement.)
Meanwhile, the breathing of the youth by Li Erqin"s side had gradually settled down, and he was so quiet that his breathing could hardly be heard.
April"s cool breeze brushed past them, and a small spot of orange light glowed a few centimeters above his head. Time seemed to revolve quietly around that small spot, moving slowly without end.
Li Erqin also laid down. It was really uncomfortable as her bones pressed against the steps, but since it was Rong Si lying by her side, it was a discomfort she could easily overlook.
She still couldn"t stop herself from directing her gaze towards him, and she watched as the orange spot from the gradually setting sun slowly moved towards his face. A high nose bridge, pale lips, perfectly curved jaw, and an Adam"s apple that was becoming more and more prominent.
— Ai.
— Rong Si.
— Like you.
——I like you。
(Minodayz: Say it LOUDER LEQ – or maybe when he is conscious! AHHHHH)
For *"little ol" Li Erqin, having this level of intimacy with someone that was closer than she had ever had with any of her friends and being able to lie down next to Rong Si and secretly confess how much she liked him in her heart already made her immeasurably satisfied.
(TN: the word used was small or insignificant.)
She felt as if she had sneakingly eaten candy, and the sweetness was in her heart.
Minodayz : awwwwww so much sweetness… LEQ can’t you just say or shout it out like when you said "Love life"! But my oh my, a jealous RS is toooooooo cute and adorable. Wish LEQ would see the jealousy in his eyes. Dear RMX sadly doesn’t get any slag – wish for someone special for him. I’m still oozing from all their sweetness…lol! Have a great weekend everyone – til next week.
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