Chapter 43 - Repay you (Translated and edited by Xing)
When dinnertime came around, the three of them were once again gathered together. Tang Xue and Li Yubing shared a meal card. When the two of them headed to buy their food, Yu Yan trailed behind.
Li Yubing was a little annoyed.
They sat down after buying their meals. Yu Yan and Tang Xue chatted while Li Yubing sat at the side, browsing his phone with a lowered head. As he did so, he perked an ear to listen to their meaningless chatter.
Yu Yan asked, "How was today's training?"
Tang Xue replied, "Still alright. But I got scolded by the coach in front of everyone. I almost died from fright."
"I was also lectured by my coach."
"Ah?" Tang Xue was surprised. "What did he lecture you for?"
"Something along the lines of me not being focused and how it was showing in my results."
Tang Xue nodded. "Seems like all coaches are the same."
Mm, if someone like Yu Yan could get scolded, it was probably nothing much for a small fry like her to get scolded as well. She was unexpectedly consoled by this fact…
Tang Xue saw that Yu Yan looked worried. Guessing that he was unused to it as he was a good child who rarely got scolded, she comforted him, "All coaches like to blow things out of proportion. Don't take it to heart."
Yu Yan let out a sigh. He spoke in a soft voice, "I'm just worried that I'll continue growing taller."
This was a very distressing topic.
Li Yubing originally wanted to see if anyone was still scolding Tang Xue. After browsing through the forum, he discovered a very meaningful discussion thread instead. The thread said that he, Tang Xue and Yu Yan were like a family of three as they gathered for their meal. It looked as if a dad and mom were out on an excursion with their child.
As for the question of who were the parents and who was the child, wasn't it obvious enough?
The discovery of this thread placed Li Yubing in a fantastic mood. Putting down his phone, he felt that Yu Yan did not look as irritating as usual when he looked at him again. In fact, Li Yubing's eyes began to take on the indulgent gaze of a father looking at his favourite child.
Yu Yan: "…"
Feeling a little uncomfortable, he lowered his head and silently ate his food.
The atmosphere settled into an awkward silence that lasted throughout the entire meal. As they left the canteen after finishing their meals, Tang Xue told Li Yubing, "I'll definitely return you the money."
"Take your time."
Yu Yan tapped Tang Xue surreptitiously. He said, "I still have money."
Li Yubing silently rolled his eyes at the side, what does it have to do with you?
He had the urge to stuff this unfilial child into the rubbish bin.
It was great that Tang Xue waved her hands to reject him. "It's fine, I have a plan. My dad is a little tight-fisted but there's no lack of people who love me. I shall seek some sponsorship."
Intrigued, both Li Yubing and Yu Yan stared at her curiously.
Right in front of the two of them, Tang Xue called her four grandparents. The content of all four calls was basically the same, which was to inform the few elders that their precious grandchild had decided to make a comeback in the speed skating scene. The only problem was that she was a little tight for money and needed people to sponsor her. She had decided to raise funds in the form of a competition with a prize. The one who sponsored her with the highest amount would be the person that she would thank first when she wins a competition and gets interviewed in the future.
Blah blah blah…
Li Yubing had the vague feeling that he was witnessing an elderly fraud take place.
Yu Yan's eyes were nearly popping out of his head. After Tang Xue finished the calls, he pointed to her phone and asked, "Will it actually work?"
Tang Xue gave a slight nod. "I don't think there'll be any issues."
It was a huge, huge, huge issue. Even though it was not guaranteed and would only happen in the future, the elders in the family were highly agitated at the thought of being the first person that Tang Xue would thank. The issue was no longer as simple as sponsoring Tang Xue; all four grandparents viewed each other as direct competitors. They would squabble with their partners at home and when they met their in-laws outside, they would try to secretly sound out the other party's sponsorship amount before exchanging barbs and parting ways.
While competing with each other, the four elders remembered Tang Xue's instructions to not leak this matter out and only fought within themselves. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
Lately, Principal Tang felt that something was wrong. The family elders had been retiring peacefully at home all this while. Why were they so grumpy these days? It was the same for both his parents and his in-laws. Could it be related to the sunspots phenomena that had appeared recently?
This was only his suspicions. Principal Tang discovered the severity of the matter only when his mother sneaked to the bank to transfer money. As it involved a rather large amount, the bank employee was concerned and called a family member to verify the transfer.
Principal Tang rushed down to the bank. When he saw that the intended recipient of the money was Tang Xue, he fumed with rage. "I knew it! That unlucky child must have caused trouble!"
He fetched his mother home. On the way back, he had her narrate the entire incident to him.
Then, Principal Tang called Tang Xue. When she picked up, the first thing he did was to rain her with criticisms.
"Do you still have a conscience? It's not easy for your grandparents to accumulate some savings at their age. Don't you feel guilty tricking them out of their money? Do you think that no one can keep you in check now that you've entered university? Just you wait, I'll head down to find you tomorrow!"
"Dad, I'm not scamming their money. I'm really joining the school speed skating team on the condition that I pay for my own expenses first," Tang Xue explained.
Principal Tang gentled his tone. "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I was worried that you won't support me…' Tang Xue sulked, "because of a few ten thousand yuan, you even said that I was adopted."[1]
"Oho, you have such a clear memory of this incident. Why do you not seem to remember other more positive incidents?"
"I do remember other positive incidents. I remember when you brought me to ice skate for the first time, the coach said that I was as resistant as a Nokia to falls. Even after we went home, you were really indignant on my behalf for a very long time."
"Humph." Principal Tang was tickled by her words. He had the urge to laugh but held it in as he felt a little embarrassed. After a while, he suddenly exhaled a heavy sigh. "I must have owed you a debt in my past life."
"Dad, don't put it this way. When I start earning in the future, the first two people I'll repay would be you and mom."
"Forget it. Continue skating if you want to do so. Our family can still afford this sum of money. Just be mindful of your conduct and don't go around boasting about it."
Tang Xue was delighted. "Thanks, dad, you're my biggest hero!"
"Yes, yes. Stop being so glib. Just keep one thing in mind."
"What is it?"
"This money is from your mother and I. When you win competitions, we should be the first that you thank, got it?"
Sure, what was so hard about that?
After Tang Xue received the money, the first thing that she did was to find Li Yubing.
Li Yubing left class with Old Deng and the rest after the lesson was over. He was much taller than the average student and stood out easily from the crowd. Seeing that it was raining when they reached the building entrance, Li Yubing lowered his head and reached for his umbrella. Suddenly, Old Deng pointed at the road in the distance and exclaimed, "Hey, your emperor is here."
Li Yubing raised his head and saw Tang Xue holding a red umbrella. She stood in the rain and gazed at him.
He refastened his bag and slung it back onto his shoulders decisively. Risking the rain, he ran towards her.
The winter rain swirled in the wind and fell on his body, face and head.
As he approached her, Tang Xue lifted the umbrella a little higher to accommodate his height.
When Li Yubing ducked beneath her umbrella, he automatically stretched to take the umbrella from her without batting an eye. His hand drew close to the back of her hand as he instinctively reached for the handle. From all angles, it looked as if he was about to wrap his hand around hers.
His palm burned with a dry heat as it unintentionally brushed against the soft and sensitive skin on the back of her hand. She withdrew her hand quickly.
Li Yubing gripped the umbrella and adjusted it slightly so that it was tilted towards Tang Xue. Then, he lowered his head to look at her and asked, "What's up?"
Tang Xue looked up at him and beamed. "Clearing my debt."
With this one smile from her, Li Yubing found himself smiling as well. He did not know what he was smiling for. Every time he saw this fool lit up, he could not help but be infected by her happiness.
It was as if he was under a spell…
Tang Xue fished out her phone and transferred the money to Li Yubing.
Li Yubing did not ask her why she came to find him even though the money transfer was an online transaction. He thought that she probably wanted to see him. Translated by Xing for teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com and no other sites.
"I still want to thank you in person. Li Yubing, thank you," Tang Xue said after returning the money.
Li Yubing lightly raised a brow and asked, "That's it?"
"Of course not. Let me think, how can I repay you…" Tang Xue's voice trailed off as she suddenly rubbed her hands like a fly that had landed on a watermelon. A mysterious smile spread across her face.
When Li Yubing saw this particular smile, his thoughts began to wander.
Li Yubing narrowed his eyes and scanned her face intently. Then, he met her gaze and in a hesitant tone, asked, "You can't possibly be… thinking of pledging yourself to me, are you?"
This question made Tang Xue a little flustered.
She shook her head, saying, "Li Yubing, I don't think you know my taste."
Li Yubing thought, I know all too well.
Tang Xue declared, "Don't worry, I won't stretch my evil claws towards you."
Li Yubing thought, wow, thanks.
Tang Xue continued, "I'll admit, you're quite good-looking. However, a highly sought-after male god like you who are chased by countless other girls is not my cup of tea. I only like those cute guys who are fair and delicate-looking."
Li Yubing thought, I used to be fair and delicate-looking too.
… Who would have thought that I'll grow up to be so large!
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] Principal Tang joked that Tang Xue was adopted in Chapter 27 when she tried to ask him for money to repay Li Yubing.
I know our main characters are usually the highlight but I want to give a shout-out to Tang Xue's family. Their love and support for her make me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Mini Announcement
My thesis is due next week and Chapter 44 is twice the length of a normal chapter. I like to release full chapters so I may skip next week's release and only update on 7th April (UTC+8, around 12 midnight) if I can't finish translating in time. Here's to hoping that I don't break my current streak of weekly updates for 2019 😊