Chapter 72
Chapter 72 – Fan group (Translated and edited by Xing)
Tang Xue’s annoyance stayed with her all the way back to her dorm . When she entered the room, she vented by thumping her bag heavily onto the desk . The strength she used caused the bag to hit the desk with a loud thud .
On the bed above, someone sat up swiftly and squawked in alarm . “What happened? An earthquake?”
Tang Xue jumped in shock . “I, I, I’m sorry I woke you up… Consort Meng, why are you back so early? I thought there wasn’t anyone in the dorm . ”
The beds in their dorm were all special loft beds used by students . The bottom was a desk while the top was a bed . The height of the bed was roughly at the level of Tang Xue’s head . As Xia Menghuan had a petite build, she was indeed difficult to spot when she lay on the inner side of the bed . Tang Xue felt that with her size, Xia Menghuan most likely had an easy time wriggling out of morning exercises in high school .
“I was too bored staying at home . My king, I bought food to share with everyone . Let me get it for you . ” As Xia Menghuan spoke, she climbed down the bed .
Tang Xue said, “I bought some as well . ”
The two of them were exchanging delicious snacks when Ye Liuying rolled her luggage in .
Their food convention of two immediately expanded to three people .
As Ye Liuying chewed, she looked at the other two with puzzled eyes . “I gained 5 kg over the holiday! Why didn’t the two of you become fatter? Don’t you have the tradition of putting on meat[1] over Chinese New Year?”
Tang Xue replied, “We only have the tradition of eating meat over Chinese New Year . ”
Ye Liuying picked up a piece of pork jerky “Please don’t be so blunt and show some love to your poor roommate . ”
Tang Xue said, “Do you know…”
Both Ye Liuying and Xia Menghuan stopped their motions of eating and looked at Tang Xue curiously .
Tang Xue’s face was a little mysterious as she prepared to gossip . She said in a low voice, “Li Yubing suddenly has a lot of fans! And some of them are not even from our school!” She waited eagerly for everyone’s reaction to her words .
The two listeners were calm . Their expressions were unmoved as they looked at Tang Xue without saying a word .
Feeling like she had overreacted to nothing, Tang Xue was a little embarrassed . She thumbed her nose and said, “Aren’t you two curious as well…”
Ye Liuying mused, “We’re more curious about how you actually don’t know this . All right, I now believe that there’s really nothing going on between Li Yubing and you . ”
Tang Xue was shocked and turned to look at Xia Menghuan . Xia Menghuan also wondered curiously, “My king, do you really not know about it? Don’t you read the gossip columns? I thought that you avoid this topic with me because you were shy . ”
“You know about this as well? I don’t have time… tell me about the gossip . ”
Xia Menghuan gave a brief summary .
Strictly speaking, this matter originated from last year’s World U-20 Ice Hockey Championship . Li Yubing and the rest of the team had obtained decent results . After returning to the country, they accepted the interview of a relatively popular sports magazine and took several photos with them . As a core member of the team who had shone in the competition, the magazine paid special attention to him by giving him close-ups and a one-on-one interview . The men in the publishing team simply wanted to spread awareness of ice hockey as a sport . Who knew that after the magazine was published, a female reader went to repost Li Yubing’s close-ups onto the internet . The combination of this rascal’s good-looking face, clean and sunny vibes, and fantastic figure was simply irresistible . The post immediately drew widespread attention .
The magazine publisher was pleased to see this and released a new set of Li Yubing’s photos that was not published . This move helped Li Yubing to secure a batch of fans that was attracted to his looks .
Tang Xue failed to comprehend . “Seriously? Purely because he’s good-looking?”
Ye Liuying replied, “Okay, it’s not purely because he’s good-looking . Li Yubing does have some skills . ”
Tang Xue pondered for a moment . “A few days ago, I saw that the account ‘Li Yubing’s Gossip Information Counter’ had been deactivated . Is it related to this? I asked Li Yubing and he said he doesn’t know anything . ”
Ye Liuying nodded . “There was some pretty personal information on that account . It’s fine to gossip about it within our school but it may cause trouble for Li Yubing if leaked to the public . That’s why the account owner closed the account . Oh, right, quite a few threads on the forum had also been deleted . If not, you might have been doxed as well . ”
Tang Xue was at a loss for words after hearing this . She recalled the scene she saw earlier—of how Li Yubing had suddenly become a mini idol who looked beyond grand as countless girls chased after him . He had interacted warmly with them as well… humph!
“My king? My king?” Xia Menghuan called her . Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .
Tang Xue snapped out of her thoughts . “Mm?”
“Towards Li Yubing, you…”
That moment, Tang Xue’s phone suddenly rang . Xia Menghuan could only stop talking and let her pick up the phone .
The call was from Li Yubing .
After seeing the caller ID, Tang Xue narrowed her eyes and curled her lips . She picked up . “Hello?”
“Hello . Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Tang Xue gritted out, “Why should I wait for you . Are you the emperor?”
Li Yubing was puzzled . “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing . I’m doing great . Thanks so terribly much for asking . ”
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“Let’s eat dinner together . ”
“Eat? What for? Didn’t you eat yesterday? Eating again today—are you a pig?”
“…”
……
After chewing out Li Yubing, Tang Xue kept her phone and found Ye Liuying staring blankly at her .
“What’s wrong?”
“Tang Xue, were you talking to Li Yubing just now?”
“Yeah . ”
“His fans are going to kill you if they know!”
“Like I’m scared . ” Tang Xue waved her hands and still felt indignant . “I’m so mad . Why does he have fans; I want some as well!”
“Don’t panic, don’t panic . I’ll buy some for you from the market this very instant . ”
“…” Tang Xue was left speechless . After stuttering for a while, she finally spluttered, “You rebel!”
Ye Liuying clutched her belly, utterly tickled . “I learnt it from you . ”
Xia Menghuan soothed Tang Xue, “My king, don’t be anxious . I’ll create a fan group for you immediately . ” As she spoke, she whipped out her phone and created a WeChat group named ‘Tang Xue’s Fan Group 1’ .
Her responsiveness was definitely at the max level .
Including Tang Xue, there were five founding members of the group . The other four were her roommates and Liao Zhenyu .
Tang Xue felt that this was great . Thus, she went to change the name of her family WeChat group to ‘Tang Xue’s Fan Club 2’ .
From now on, she was a mini hotshot with two fan groups .
When Principal Tang saw the name change, he was shocked at the extent of his daughter’s shamelessness . He scoffed to his wife, “Say, why is she so shameless . Who exactly does she take after?”
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Mama Tang was tickled . “She’s your daughter . Who do you think she takes after?”
“I’m definitely not so shameless . ”
“Ok, she takes after Old Wang next door, then . Happy?”
“…” Both his wife and daughter were bullying him . He was so aggrieved .
——
In the evening, Tang Xue assembled at the west wing training hall for a meeting . There was no training that day as it was the first day of returning to school .
This semester, the speed skating team’s primary focus was the upcoming National University Speed Skating Championship in April .
“The results of this competition would directly affect the funds all of you will receive,” Coach Chu stated bluntly . “And of course, my bonus as well . ”
Her words cracked everyone up .
Tang Xue raised her hands . “Coach, I have something to ask . ”
“Mm, Tang Xue, what do you want to say?”
“Coach, do we have a target for this competition? Like the need to obtain a certain number of gold medals?”
Coach Chi laughed, “How many do you have in mind?”
“Of course it’s as many as possible . ”
Beside her, Zhang Yuewei whispered, “Please have a limit even when boasting . Do you think that the National University Championship is as chill as the Ascendance Cup?”
“Please . Don’t use this tone when speaking to someone whom you have a crush on . ”
“I—fuck…” Zhang Yuewei did not manage to control herself and directly swore . This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .
Actually, Tang Xue was clear that Zhang Yuewei did not have a crush on her . Over the New Year, her New Year’s messages to Zhang Yuewei were completely ignored by her .
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Mm, knowing so meant that she could joke about this with no pressure .
As Zhang Yuewei rolled her eyes at Tang Xue, Coach Chu replied, “Mm, it’s good to have a goal . However, it’s still too early to talk about setting targets . We need to be realistic . Tomorrow, we’ll have a test to see how much all of you have regressed over the New Year . ”
After the meeting, Tang Xue invited Zhang Yuewei into her fan group .
Zhang Yuewei was not paying attention and casually accepted . When she realized that the chat group was named ‘Tang Xue’s Fan Group 1’, she was terribly annoyed .
“Can you be even more shameless than this!” Zhang Yuewei exclaimed as she exited the group .
“Of course . Do you want to try me?”
“Get lost…”
The two of them bickered as they walked towards the exit . When they reached the door, Tang Xue saw Li Yubing .
Today, he wore a deep blue tracksuit . He was currently standing still with both hands slotted in his pockets . This was a most ordinary posture—and Tang Xue had no idea how—but he had managed to make it look absolutely dashing . It was undeniable that he was naturally talented at this . Tang Xue really wanted to award him a top prize for being pretentious .
Li Yubing was watching the crowd exit from the training hall . When he saw Tang Xue, he locked his eyes on her .
Being gazed by him like this, Tang Xue felt her heart beat faster like an idiot . She paced towards him while facing his gaze . One step, two steps . In order to prove that she was not nervous, she kept her head high and took great pains to meet his eyes .
When Tang Xue reached Li Yubing, she stood firmly in front of him . His eyes were lowered and fixed on her . The way he watched her eyes attentively seemed as if he could pierce right into her thoughts . His clear and bright gaze was like a magic mirror that revealed everything she has to hide .
A wave of embarrassment suddenly washed over her . Tang Xue turned away and stopped looking at him .
That moment, Li Yubing laughed unexpectedly . Though soft, his laughter was both a little knowing and a little gleeful .
Tang Xue felt her cheeks heat up from his laughter .
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] I translated 长肉 (zhǎng ròu) literally as “putting on meat” instead “gaining weight” in order to keep Tang Xue’s wordplay in her reply of 吃肉 (chī ròu), which is “eating meat” .