Chapter 82
hapter 82 – Idol pays the price (Translated and edited by Xing)
Tang Xue marched on with a darkened expression . She was really, really mad . She was not mad that she was being scolded—anyway, those scolding her were devils that she should not care about . Instead, she was mad at how those people were doing so while fantasizing themselves as Li Yubing’s official girlfriend . Goddammit!
Li Yubing trailed beside her and soothed in a gentle voice . “Don’t be angry . It’s my fault . I’ll post a declaration and ask them to stop harassing you . ”
Tang Xue was in no mood to talk, especially with Li Yubing this calamitous ‘beauty’ . Her steps became faster and faster and Li Yubing did not know what to do . Suddenly, he strode to her front and carried her up in one motion .
Tang Xue was abruptly lifted into the air . She yelped, “Hey!”
Li Yubing had one arm behind her legs and the other arm across her back . He lifted her at least 30 cm off the ground .
It’s the crazy ‘carrying-your-daughter’ posture again! So what if you’re tall, you shameless scoundrel! Tang Xue rolled her eyes . “What are you doing? Put me down . ”
Li Yubing raised his head and looked at her . “Don’t be angry . You can whack my dog head . ” As he spoke, he obediently lowered his head and presented his dog head .
What a refreshingly unique way of coaxing…
Tang Xue swung her legs . “You, you, you… let me down first . ”
“Only if you’re not angry anymore . ”
“Li Yubing!”
Tang Xue struggled in his arms like a crab . After lowering his head, Li Yubing’s line of sight was at her chest . Today, Tang Xue wore a pink, white and grey striped shirt . After squirming in his arms, her button had popped open without notice and Li Yubing unexpectedly saw the lively view under the shirt . Fair, plump and adorably beautiful, it was like two bunnies crouching in bowls .
He felt his body burn hot and his heart pound like thunder . He was having difficulties breathing .
Thus, he closed his eyes and put her down .
After Tang Xue’s feet touched the ground, she saw that Li Yubing’s face was slightly slanted to the side while his gaze seemed to dodge her . Most importantly…
“Li Yubing, why is your nose bleeding?”
“Nothing . ” Li Yubing calmly dug through his bag for tissues and said, “Button up your shirt first . ”
Tang Xue looked down, gave an awkward cough and hurriedly buttoned her shirt . When she was done, she could feel her face burning slightly . Somewhat guiltily, she asked, “Why is your nose bleeding?”
Li Yubing wiped his nose and looked at her meaningfully . “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Shut up, you . ”
Li Yubing gave a stifled laugh . Tang Xue was strangely heated by his laughter . She turned with her hands clasped behind her back and prepared to leave .
Li Yubing grabbed her wrist and called her softly . “Tang Xue . ”
Tang Xue turned her head and looked at him out of the corner of her eye . “Yes, Nosebleed Emperor?”
“Don’t be angry, I’ll do anything you want . ”
Tang Xue looked down and thought for a moment before lifting her eyes and beaming at him . “Anything I want?”
An ominous feeling surged in Li Yubing‘s heart .
——
Li Yubing first went to the washroom to clean up before following Tang Xue to the small garden at the old agricultural science building . It was relatively isolated there .
Spring was flourishing and numerous trees in the garden were flowering . Eye-catching clusters of red, white, pink and yellow blossomed enthusiastically like fireworks on trees .
Facing the setting sun, Li Yubing stood in front of a peach tree . He looked at Tang Xue and sang, “Chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled . And my smile has turned yellow—”[1]
Tang Xue videoed him with the phone raised in her hands . “Mind your expression . Don’t keep a poker face and look more melancholic . Melancholic, not constipated, again!”
“Chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled . And my smile has turned yellow—”
“Li Yubing, do you want to cry?”
“I want to die . ”
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Tang Xue patted his shoulders . “Cheer up . ”
A gust of wind blew some peach blossoms off the branches . They drifted down slowly and flitted past the camera in dancing swirls . With the sunset, fresh flowers and sunny, handsome youth, this scene could absolutely be used for a postcard .
Li Yubing gazed at Tang Xue, his eyes resigned but still full of warmth .
Tang Xue’s heart began to beat manically . She was really roused and had a strong urge to pounce over .
She licked her lips and took a few steps back to pull her distance from him . “I’m warning you . Don’t try to seduce me . ”
Li Yubing gave a wicked smirk . “This counts as seduction? There’s even m—”
“Li Yubing, sing . ”
Li Yubing helplessly held his head and started again . “Chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled…”
After goodness knew how many more times, Director Tang was finally satisfied . She edited the video slightly and added a beauty filter before posting it on Weibo .
Caption: Idol pays the price for the behaviour of fans .
Li Yubing camped on Tang Xue’s Weibo and fought for the sofa[2] . Mm, his effort to please her was probably going off the charts .
As one of the involved parties of the gossip, Tang Xue’s followers had increased drastically, with the bulk of them from Li Yubing . When she posted the video, it immediately garnered numerous people’s attention .
The image of their God singing with such a melancholic expression was simply beyond exquisite . However, the lyrics of “chrysanthemums strew on the ground, like the embattled . And my smile has turned yellow” were too mind-blowing… All his fans were stunned and unable to believe their eyes .
[Fuck, this is not Ice God, don’t try to trick me! Hand the real Ice God back!]
[Ahhhhh, woman, what spell have you cast on Ice God?!]
[*bows to the real boss*]
[I now fully believe that Ice God’s love for you is real . ]
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[Please let my Ice God off . He’s only a child despite being 1 . 88 m and eating 18 bowls of rice every meal . ]
[I want to see more . Miss, if I start scolding you now through private messages, does it still count?]
[Miss, we really like you . Please don’t let the actions of a few idiotic fans ruin your mood . Hearts~]
……
After venting, the fans soon discovered that their male god had actually fought for the sofa as well . Heh! This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .
[Ice God, your chrysanthemum is already busted and you still have the mood to fight for the sofa . Just how open-minded are you?]
[I know, Ice God is hinting us that his chrysanthemum got busted on the sofa . ]
[Don’t be so dirty-minded . Can’t Ice God have hemorrhoids? Ice God, go to my page, I can recommend you a doctor . ]
[I want to see if people still dare to scold her . After you guys scold her, in the end, it’s still Ice God who needs to cheer her up hahahaha!]
[Add~on~WeChat~to~see~full~collection~of~Ice-Snow[3] videos, spreading the joy~]
[GDI don’t trust that video seller . I spent 1 yuan and ended buying a collection of the best past Winter Olympic videos . What darned Ice-Snow collection, fuck!]
……
Holding her phone, Tang Xue giggled as she read the comments .
Though there were still people scolding her, she simply ignored and blocked them .
Looking at her laugh, Li Yubing smiled as well . It was as if there was a flower blooming in his heart—quiet, pristine and gentle . He could finally understand the story of “King You of Zhou and the warning beacons”[4] . King You of Zhou offended the world, not because of Bao Si’s beauty but simply because he loved her .
For her smile, he would go against the world .
……
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After Tang Xue spent some time reading the comments, she raised her head and saw Li Yubing looking at her . His gaze was clear and soft while his lips were raised in a faint smile . The fading light of the setting sun fell on his face and tinted the edge of his hair with a vermillion glow . Exquisite and gentle, it made him seem extremely docile and innocent, just like a golden retriever .
Tang Xue felt like someone had prodded her heart with a finger . Her heart was quivering non-stop, to the point that she forgot to breathe . She swallowed, walked to his front and looked up at him .
She whispered, “Li Yubing . ”
“Mm?” Li Yubing replied softly as he looked at her with a smile .
“Mm…” Her hands clasped behind her back, Tang Xue’s eyes darted . She said, “There’s a reward for being obedient . ”
Curious, Li Yubing lightly tilted his head to the side . This made him look even more like a golden retriever .
Tang Xue gauged the differences in their height and suddenly leapt up to kiss Li Yubing’s lips . It was a flitting touch akin to dragonflies tapping on water and thoroughly insufficient to appreciate and taste . However, her heart was already racing like mad and she quickly turned and ran after kissing .
But Li Yubing’s reaction was too fast . He grabbed her wrist and with a forceful tug…
… Tang Xue swung back .
Swinging back was not within her control . Without waiting for her to react, his head was already lowered to receive her .
A kiss landed .
Translator’s Notes:
[1] The song Li Yubing sang is called “Chrysanthemum Terrace” . It’s from the movie “Curse of the Golden Flower” and sung by Jay Chou . I used the lyrics translation here with slight modification . This translation is the best out of the few I found as it manages to capture the poetic imagery evoked by the original Chinese lyrics .
Also, chrysanthemum is a euphemism for the butthole and Li Yubing has changed the original lyrics from “your smile has turned yellow” to “my smile has turned yellow” .
[2] “Sofa” is the Chinese equivalent of people typing “first” in comments sections . It’s cute and makes sense so I’m not going to localize it .
[3] Ice-Snow: The 雪 (xuě) in Tang Xue means snow while the 冰 (bīng) in Li Yubing means ice .
[4] Bao Si “was considered one of the most beautiful Chinese women ever” . King You of Zhou lit “the warning beacons used to summon armies from the surrounding vassal states in times of danger” in order to coax a smile from her and in this process lost his nobles’ trust . – Source: Wikipedia