Chapter 31 - Three musketeers (Translated by Xing and to be edited by Souhi)
The whole afternoon, Yu Yan was out of form during practice. He was troubled by some thoughts and unable to concentrate.
After practice, he received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Yu Yan. It's me, Tang Xue."
He was unable to explain why the moment he heard her voice, his heart drooped dejectedly. He let out a gentle exhale. "Oh."
Tang Xue's voice was a little embarrassed. She said softly, "Yu Yan, can you do me a favour?"
"Yeah?"
"My phone is with Li Yubing. Can you help me to retrieve it? I don't want to see him."
Thinking back on the message he received that afternoon, Yu Yan finally understood why it was so strange. So it was Li Yubing who sent it…… That explained everything.
His mood lifted instantly.
"Sure," he replied in a resolute tone. However, he remembered how Li Yubing seemed like someone difficult to handle and added, "What should I do if he refuses to pass it to me?"
"Eh…… If he refuses to pass it to you, tell him that his contact details will start appearing on advertisement leaflets for treating infertility and related scams[1]. See if he still won't pass it to you then."
Yu Yan rubbed his forehead. "Okay……"
The two of them conversed for a while more. When they were about to hang up, Yu Yan suddenly asked , "My phone number—did you memorized it?"
"Yup, it's not something difficult to do."
Every year, the school would assign phone numbers to the new batch of incoming students. Students of the same batch received numbers that were similar to each other. The first seven digits of Tang Xue and Yu Yan's phone numbers were the same; only the last four digits were different and memorizing them wasn't difficult.
Even though it was a simple thing, Yu Yan was still a little happy.
After saying goodbye to Tang Xue, he headed to the ice hockey rink to find Li Yubing. Li Yubing had coincidentally ended his training and was walking out with a few others. The shortest member of the ice hockey team was over 1.8 m. Standing alone in front of them, Yu Yan's figure was petite in contrast.
"Senior, I'm here to help Tang Xue get her phone.' Yu Yan got to the point straightaway.
With both hands in his pockets, Li Yubing looked at him impassively. "Tell her to come herself."
"If you don't pass me the phone, your contact details will start appearing on advertisement leaflets for treating infertility and related scams."
Yu Yan spoke in an extremely even tone while making this bizarre threat. The effect was astonishing and Li Yubing's teammates burst into laughter; one of them even started to double up with laughter and had to hold onto the shoulder of the person next to him. This translation is meant to be published only on teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
Someone raised his thumb at Yu Yan. "You've got guts!"
Li Yubing did not have to rack his brain to know that this must be Tang Xue's idea. He really had to applaud that scoundrel for having a mind that was a bottomless pit of wretched ideas. He supposed that this could be considered a talent she was gifted with.
Furthermore, every time he met her, he would helplessly be infected and turn into a lunatic as well. This was the scariest part……
With a darkened expression, he fished out the phone and passed it to Yu Yan.
As Yu Yan took the phone, Li Yubing suddenly raised the corners of his lips. "Go and ask her why she doesn't dare to get it herself."
"Thank you, senior." Phone in hand, Yu Yan turned and left.
Li Yubing's teammates were gossiping about Yu Yan.
"Who's that?"
"A new student from the figure skating team. Apparently, he's a young prodigy. When he came, he had his own team."
"That amazing? Compared to my Ice God, who's better?"
"Don't be an idiot. How do you compare apples with watermelons?"
"I like watermelons."
"I like kiwis."
Li Yubing felt his ears hurt from their clamour.
That night, Tang Xue did not have dinner with Li Yubing. They also did not study together.
On the second level of the library, Li Yubing was a little bored after finishing his assignments. Thus, he began to flip though the books on the shelves.
As he browsed, he saw a familiar-looking book. He thought for a while before remembering Tang Xue reading it previously.
It was the biography of a Tang dynasty princess. The cover looked rather innocuous. After thumbing through the book for a while, his face heated. He mumbled, "That rogue."
At night, the rogue barged into his dreams.
This time, she did not flee. If she did not flee, what did she do?
He did not know; he could not explain clearly. He only knew that she was at his side. He could smell her scent and was fully enveloped in it as if he had sunk into soft clouds. She drew near and spoke into his ears, her body tangled with his. As for her hand? What was her hand doing? He did not know……
His dream was a series of chaotic fragments. However, what his body felt was so vivid that it seemed real. The joy, the delight, the……
When he woke, Li Yubing opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes filled with a confused haze.
It was already daybreak. However, the curtains were drawn. The room was dim and his roommates were still sleeping. Snores filled the room. Old Deng appeared to be eating something in his dream and smacked his lips in between snores.
His three roommates were making as much noise as a symphony orchestra.
Li Yubing moved a little and felt cold slickness beneath him. He shut his eyes and placed his hand over his forehead.
His head hurt.
While attending lessons in the morning, Li Yubing received a WeChat transfer notification from Tang Xue.
She had transferred him 37,550 yuan.
Looking at this number, Li Yubing drew his brows together.
A message notification from Tang Xue came in: Use it to buy bones, Ice Dog. Count it as my debt to you from my past life.
Li Yubing: I was just fooling with you.
Tang Xue: …..??? What do you mean?
Li Yubing: I said, I was just fooling with you. You don't have to pass me any money.
He sent this message and proceeded to transfer Tang Xue a sum of money as well; it was the pay that he should have given her.
Tang Xue suspected that this was another of Li Yubing's schemes. She hesitated for a moment before concluding decisively that one should not be too greedy for petty gains. There were way too many cautionary tales on television which showed people being swindled due to greed.
Therefore, she did not accept the sum of money.
Tang Xue: Li Yubing, let's not ever meet up again in the future.
Li Yubing: Still embarrassed?
Tang Xue: Screw off.
Tang Xue: What I mean is to prevent any bloodshed that could happen when we meet. It's best for us to not have any contact till the day we die.
Li Yubing: What about the singing competition?
Tang Xue: Just withdraw from it.
Li Yubing: No way. I don't like to do things halfway.
Tang Xue: Just admit that you want to play the cello for me. Alright, I'll give you another chance. If you dare to pull any tricks again, I'll kick you out straightaway.
Li Yubing: Yeah right, who's the one pulling tricks……
Thus, the two of them gathered together again during lunchtime.
However, there was another person with them: Yu Yan.
Tang Xue felt a little awkward at seeing Li Yubing again so soon. She lowered her eyes and focused on her meal, refusing to look at him.
Beside Tang Xue, Yu Yan was also engrossed in eating.
With the both of them lowering their heads in silence, it felt like they were primary school kids repenting on their mistakes.
Li Yubing sat opposite them. His eyes flickered between Tang Xue and Yu Yan several times. In a slightly interrogative voice, he asked, "What's the meaning of this?" This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
Tang Xue did not want to look at his face or meet his eyes. She spoke with her head still lowered. "The meaning is that Yu Yan would be our background dancer. With his dance background, he'll have no problem following the dance moves from an online video. I've already downloaded one. When the time comes, you'll play the cello while he'll dance and I'll sing. With this arrangement, we'll definitely dazzle the entire audience. Once we win——"
"You'll treat me to bubble gum?" Li Yubing cut in before she could say it.
"Ah?" Tang Xue finally raised her head. She stared at him in surprise. "You only want bubble gum? I was originally planning to split the prize money evenly."
Li Yubing: = =
Li Yubing did not expect Tang Xue and Yu Yan to team up so quickly. What more could he say? If he opposed their decisions, they would definitely vote to kick him out.
Next, the three of them arranged for a time to practice. Both Li Yubing and Yu Yan were extremely busy. As before, they could only use the period right after lunch to practice. Two days later, Tang Xue managed to book a dance studio located at the basement.
In order to save time, they planned to cycle over. There was just one problem: Yu Yan did not know how to cycle……
Li Yubing was stronger than Tang Xue. Therefore, the responsibility of fetching Yu Yan over fell on his shoulders.
Truly, he felt like beating someone up.
Yu Yan had not only a dance background but an excellent physique. He learnt the basic dance that they had selected from the internet rapidly. On the first day of practice, he could already dance out the entire dance from start to end rather smoothly.
Li Yubing played the cello while Yu Yan danced. As for Tang Xue, she stood at the side and sang while holding a pencil case as a mike.
"When will the bright moon appear again?——
I raised my wine cup and ask the clear sky——
In the celestial~ palace——
What year is it now——"[3]
There was only one thought in Li Yubing's mind: Hang in there, we can still win.
Yu Yan stumbled a little. As he regained his feet, he turned and flashed a glance at Tang Xue.
Tang Xue beamed at him.
Yu Yan pursed his lips and returned the smile.
However, his smile was a little forced.
Looking at them exchanged glances, Li Yubing snorted. He abruptly changed the tune and started playing "The Moon over a Fountain".
As she sang and sang, Tang Xue felt a wave of melancholy washed over her and thought that she should be holding a bowl in her hand[4]. She stopped suddenly and looked at Li Yubing. "Hey, Li Yubing, you're out of tune."
Li Yubing thought, impressive, you actually know what tune is.
Without batting an eye, he replied, "Sorry, I remembered wrongly. Let's continue."
And so they continued.
Afterwards, whenever Tang Xue and Yu Yan exchanged glances with other, Li Yubing would seamlessly switch from playing "Wishing We Last Forever" to "The Moon over a Fountain" as an extremely effective distraction method.
Tang Xue was very annoyed. She put her hands on her wrist and paced the floor anxiously. "Is there any way to hack the speakers? We'll find a cello soundtrack and play that instead. When the time comes, just pretend to move the strings."
Li Yubing remarked, "I recommend you to lip-sync. When the time comes, just pretend to move your mouth."
At the side, Yu Yan was a little stunned. "Doesn't this mean that I'll… be the only one putting in real effort……"
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] Raws actually stated advertisements for treating infertility and 重金求子 (zhòng jīn qiú zi), which literally means offering a large sum of money in exchange for children. Apparently this is a scam where the scammer pretends to be a childless woman unable to conceive due to various reasons with her husband. She claims to seek a man's help to get pregnant and offers him a large sum of money, with additional reward to be given if she manages to conceive successfully. However, the scammer would first ask the victim to pay a "security deposit" to protect her interest and to ensure that he is not doing this out of lust, with the guarantee that this money would be returned to him along with the "reward" once the transaction goes through.
[2] Jiu Xiaoqi was quite ambiguous with her description of the "cool slickness" that Li Yubing felt when he shifted in his bed. Is it the satiny bed sheets? Is it something else? I’ll leave this to your imagination.
[3] Lyrics adapted from musicboxforever's video of "Wishing We Last Forever", which I linked in Chapter 29.
[4] She's probably referring to the bowls that buskers use to collect money.