Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As the snow fell heavily, god knew how much time passed in the peaceful village. After remaining in the house for an additional day, Eleven felt a little bored and went out to walk. Anthony, despite what she said, would not allow her to.
She was not in good shape despite her fever subsiding as she had a slight cough. Anthony would never allow her to go out, but Eleven insisted. Anthony could not help it and had her dolled up in a jacket and even had her wear Mrs Kurt’s hat so that she looked like a clumsy bear which would not catch the cold wind. Eleven was exceptionally speechless at how stiff her hands and legs became from the dressing.
“Anthony…” You’re a little overreacting.
“Wear it, or I’ll not allow you to step out,” Anthony looked at her sternly and wished Eleven would just take off all her clothes and not step out.
Eleven remained silent and went with him.
The two of them stepped out. As the snowstorm was smaller in the afternoon, it was no longer a whiteout and one could clearly see the scenery in the distance despite the extreme cold. Anthony had to shield her from some of the cold wind.
As it was a frigid winter, there was not much to be seen. A few teenagers were ice-skating at the river before their doorsteps and seemed to be competing against each other. Some distance away, a few people, youths or teenagers, were making snowmen and laughing out loudly.
Eleven’s solemn mood was much lightened up, and she had a slight smile in her eyes. As she was rushing around the world all-year round, she rarely saw people enjoy and have fun and felt those were precious times. While she was not a person who enjoyed the crowd, she was happy from watching other people in a crowd.
“Do you know how to ice skate?” Anthony asked her.
“I do!” Eleven nodded.
“Let’s borrow some ice skates from them,” Anthony smiled. “Do you want to play?”
Eleven looked at the smiling faces in the snow and could not help but nod. “Sure!”
Anthony’s eyes lit up and he had her wait on the spot while he talked to two of the teenagers hoping he could borrow their ice skates. There were many people playing on the ice, and Eleven could not help but walk closer. The two teenagers looked in her direction, and Eleven seemed to hear the words ‘lovers’ through the snowstorm, as though it could not be blocked out.
Eleven’s heart thumped for a while before it calmed down.
That Anthony.
The two teenagers happily passed their ice skates to Mo Ye, and Eleven felt a little embarrassed. The teenagers were talking and had a simple smile as they walked over. They seemed to be around Eleven’s age.
She heard them mention that their house was just ahead and they still had ice skates to spare and hence gave them the ice skates.
They were really generous – Eleven secretly thought to herself.
After she thanked them, Eleven waited for them before she could not help but ask Anthony, “How did you convince them?”
“It’s a secret!” Anthony smiled mysteriously and knelt down to help Eleven put on her ice skates. Eleven began to take off her jacket, but Anthony hurriedly stopped her. Eleven stared at him and said, “I’m wearing too many layers and am like some clumsy bear! Are you waiting for me to fall to my death?”
“It’s cold out there.”
“I’ll warm up after some activity,” Eleven smiled. Since Anthony saw that she was in a good mood, he yielded to her but said, “If it gets cold, we stop playing?”
“Got it.”
The two of them wore their ice skates and joined the teenagers having fun as they played on the ice. Eleven’s ice-skating skills were not too bad, and she had a whale of time skating. Anthony was afraid she would fall and closely followed her.
“Slow down, Little Seven.” Anthony could not help but shout out to her as he saw her skate even faster.
Eleven looked back and smiled beautifully. Anthony could not help but skate upwards and held her hand whilst they drew a perfect circle in the ice. The surrounding teenagers could not help but whistle and shriek.
Anthony held her waist and smiled as he looked down. “I’ve never seen you this happy before.”
“Ice-skating is so fun! I really like it!” Eleven smiled.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ll bring you out to play earlier next time.”
Eleven quietly smiled. She did not know him too well back then, and now…
“Anthony, chase me!” Eleven hooked her finger and smiled. Anthony, instead, was arms akimbo as he looked at her with a seeming smile that was passionate, focused and somewhat alluring.
“Why are you looking at me like this?”
“If I catch up with you, would you belong to me?” Anthony asked as the wind diffused his voice but not its heat. Eleven felt herself blush.
She remained silent and did not respond.
Anthony quietly waited. He looked at her and said, “If I catch up with you and not get anything outta it, I’m not chasing you then.”
“You’re plain too cunning.”
“Dear friends, what do you say that she belongs to me IF I catch up with her?” Anthony lously asked the young men skating. The young people loved the crowd, let alone such steamy gossip.
“Yes!”
“That’s a given.”
“It’s not easy for us men to chase a woman.”
They hence whistled and applauded. A few young men came over and tapped Anthony’s shoulder in demonstration of their support for him.
Eleven could not help but smile at how shameless he could get.
Amongst the young people ice-skating, a few ladies were charmed by Anthony’s handsome face and cheered him on. Anthony gently smiled. “Dear Little Seven, how does that sound? Should you belong to me or not?”
Based on how Anthony performed earlier, Eleven was guessing that he would not be able to catch up with her and was not afraid of him. She looked up proudly like a queen and agreed to Anthony. “Very well then. If you catch up with me, I’ll belong to you.”
Anthony seemed a little lost and then responded ecstatically. He excitedly grabbed Eleven’s hand and said, “Are you serious Little Seven?”
“Definitely!” Eleven replied decisively as he would never be able to catch up.
“You have to honor your word. If I manage to hug you at the end of it, I win and you will be my girlfriend,” Anthony looked at her deeply as he was deeply afraid that she would have the slightest regret.
Eleven looked at his serious gaze and really regretted what she said. Was she too mean to use her own advantage to utterly disappoint Anthony since he wouldn’t be able to catch up?
Since she had already made a promise, she could not renege on it.
“Good.”
“Deal!”
“Deal!”
Anthony suddenly held her hand and looked at her seriously and emotionally. “I’ll catch up with you, my dear Little Seven.”
Eleven’s heart suddenly thumped and she could not help but back away and gently smile to conceal her nervousness. “Very well then, let’s see how you perform then.”
“Hey pals, be my witness ok? If she regrets, please look down on her as much as you could,” Anthony seemingly bowed to the young adults watching the spectacle. Eleven broke into laughter.
The chase had begun.
The two of them started five meters away from each other and had to chase each other within a specified parameter on the ice. As long as Anthony manages to hug Little Seven within twenty minutes, Anthony could be considered to have caught up with Little Seven.
Eleven aggressively ice-skated as though she easily coursed through the elements. Her unique constitution allowed her to freely control her speed. Anthony simply had no chance to catch up with her.
While Anthony was naturally good at ice-skating, he could not be compared with Eleven who was special.
The two of them were extremely far apart from each other.
As the young people cheered for Anthony, there were screams…
“Buck up, pal! Go, go, go…”
“Push! Catch up with her and she’s yours.”
“Go for it…”
The cheers of encouragement rang and fell. Eleven was extremely confident that Anthony would not be able to catch up with her.
Eleven only agreed as she was extremely certain he would not catch up with her. Given how seriously Eleven took her promises, she would definitely not take such a risk. She, however, felt very differently about Anthony.
What her mind rejected was what her heart yearned. While she went back and forth between distancing herself and drawing closer to him, she did not want to overthink it. She only wanted to follow her heart to create beautiful memories in these carefree days.
She actually had to admit that she did not dislike Anthony. She even felt… that he was somewhat special.
But she could not be his girlfriend.
“Anthony, you’ll never be able to catch up with me. Give up!” Eleven looked back and shouted. Anthony tried to catch up with his dear life, but could only lag some distance behind her.
“That woman is just too fast. How could she ice-skate this quickly?”
“Oh yes! I’ve ice-skated for so long and never saw anybody ice-skate this quickly. Even the best athletes don’t ice-skate this quickly.”
“That’s totally bizarre.”
“That guy is really fast, and he’s clearly better than all of us. She’s just better—way better.”
“Simply inhuman.”
As the discussions rang, Anthony squinted and smiled confidently. “Little Seven, I’ll catch up with you,” he retorted.
As it was three minutes to the twenty minute limit, time was about to be up. Anthony suddenly sped up as though he could not care about his own safety. Everybody around him shouted. “Be careful!”
Eleven suddenly turned back and was shocked. This loony…
Anthony suddenly lost his balance and fell to the side. The teenagers were shocked as he would become a cripple had he fell at this speed. Eleven, without thinking, immediately turned back and grabbed Anthony’s falling body. Little did she expect Anthony to turn around and spin on the spot thrice while hugging her and stabilizing themselves.
Eleven was astounded. “You…”
Anthony gently smiled. “Little Seven, I’ve caught up with you.”
“F*** you…” Eleven could not help but swore. Anthony did not allow her to continue and leaned in to kiss her in plain view of everybody.