Ch3 - Sports Meet

Translator: phizzlepop

Editor: mantou

Heated discussions among the Department of History bunch about the incident with this Archaeology program student only went on for the first half of the day. By the evening, they all vanished without a trace after all the advisors uniformly sang from the same hymn sheet, “This matter is currently under investigation. May all students please refrain from listening to hearsay. Anyone who is found maliciously disseminating rumors shall be punished with due severity.”

The “due severity” the school was referring to was nothing more than a conversation with an advisor, issuing a public notice of criticism to the entire department, and at worst, deducting a few points from the semesterly comprehensive evaluation. It hadn’t escalated to the point of affecting academic degree certificates or graduation certificates. Nevertheless, no one was willing to cause unnecessary trouble.

Later, Song Fei heard in private that there was indeed a boy missing from the Archaeology program. As for the reason one was missing, there was “murder by dismemberment”, “lost contact after leaving for archeological fieldwork”, “eloped with a female teacher”, “withdrew from school because of inability to pay tuition”, “internet-addicted youngsters just didn’t want to study anymore”, along with many other versions. Song Fei wasn’t a curious baby, so everything went in one ear and out the other, and the incident passed by just like this.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the sports meet.

Autumn in November, harvest season. Song Fei’s university was in a city that was situated inland. Early November was just the time for a pleasant breeze, and couldn’t be more suitable for hosting a sports meet.

A rousing march, the rising and falling cadence of the sports commentator, the hubbub of voices on the sports field, one procession after another, youthful spirit and vitality everywhere— if you ignored the students who were secretly playing on their phones in the stands.

“Now, coming towards us is the Physical Education Department! Look, this uniform pace! Listen, this resonant chant! They are the rising sun, they are the future…”

“This speech is too outdated.” Ren Zhe couldn’t listen any longer. His phone didn’t have a good battery life, and he didn’t want to bring a power bank along everywhere he went. Originally, he’d mulled things over, it’s the opening ma, perk up and watch it a while. If it’s really boring towards the end, then play on the phone. Saving some battery was key. But the result was, it suffered a violent blow of 100% after he’d arrived to an entry notice that the internet was down.

Xiang Yang who had just finished up a round on his mobile game was speechless, “You’re actually listening, ah.”

Ren Zhe admiringly glanced at his roommate’s domestically-manufactured phone with invincible battery life, wondering whether or not he should show some love for his country the next time he changed his phone, “The speech was a bit lacking, but the placard bearer-meimei is eye-catching, ah.”

Those from the Department of History walking in the opening ceremony procession were all first-years, so now they could sit in the stands and nitpick at everyone else.

Song Fei had been scrolling through Weibo for a while, and was feeling pretty bored. Hearing Ren Zhe say so, he looked over reflexively. They were currently in the second zone after the executive box. At this time, the procession from the Department of Physical Education had just made their way to the front of their zone. As expected, the placard bearer sister had a “pretty waist and pretty legs”, neither fat nor thin, her figure especially beautiful. Although her facial features were simply delicate, she was thoroughly an athletic beauty from head to toe.

The Department of Physical Education was closely followed by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. If the placard bearer sister for the Department of Physical Education had a “pretty waist and pretty legs”, then the placard bearer sister for the Department of Mass Communication had a “pretty waist and pretty chest”. But prettier than her chest, was her face that was virtually as beautiful as a goddess. Song Fei knew that the Art program, Broadcasting and Hosting program, and the like, whether the guys or girls, all had appearances that were typically above average, while many were very distinctly above it. But even if this sister was placed among them, she would still be instantly spotted at a glance. In addition, her beauty wasn’t the “drop dead gorgeous” type, but rather, the gentle and neat type that made people feel very comfortable.

Who knew if the gazes of the male students in the stands were too direct, but when this sister walked past, she actually turned her head and smiled at the stands.

“Eyes bright, teeth white, a clever smile a charming sight, ah.” Wang Qingyuan brought along these two literary phrases, and forcibly inserted them.

Song Fei did listen, but didn’t understand, and was sulking, when the female voice over the loudspeaker became increasingly high-spirited—

“Now walking towards us is the Department of Life Sciences! The immense sea allows fish to leap at liberty, the vast sky lets birds fly freely…”

He completely didn’t take in whatever else the commentator said after that, wholly preoccupied with looking for someone. Unfortunately, in the end, he didn’t find that familiar figure inside the procession. Their procession was probably made up of first-years as well. Watching as the Department of Life Sciences procession moved farther away, Song Fei was a bit lost in thought.

A cool breeze sprang up.

It blew over him and Song Fei came to with a start, suddenly reacting. F*ck, what was the point of looking for that bastard? He was the one who’d suggested breaking up. Continuing to think about him now, at this point, was really too much.

Shaking it off, Song Fei directly went to Xiang Yang for a distraction, “Yang-zi, when’s your girlfriend coming?”

After a struggle to the death, Xiang-furen achieved a complete victory. Xiang Yang not only opened the gates wide and agreed to bring the girl to the sports meet, but even the trays had been carted out with the sorrowful inside story of him taking part in the Eight Trigrams Tai Chi Fan event. Unexpectedly, the girl was very much looking forward to it, and not only planned to come herself, but was also going to bring along her two roommates and best friends.

Xiang Yang sighed despondently, “At noon. Aren’t we performing in the afternoon, ma.”

“So, she’s making a special trip here just to see you, ah,” Ren Zhe was green with envy, “Why can’t I find true love like that.”

Xiang Yang very sincerely gave him some advice, “You’re always thinking about our school’s girls. This won’t do. Let me tell you, distance gives rise to beauty. You have to extend your claws into our sister schools.”

Ren Zhe’s eyes lit up, “Didn’t your wife mention that she’d bring her two best friends over this afternoon? How do they look? Have any pictures?”

A look of vigilance spread across Xiang Yang’s entire face, “If I really had photos of my wife’s best friends on my phone, then wouldn’t this case be too complicated?”

Ren Zhe rolled his eyes, “Can’t you just take a look in your wife’s Moments, ah!”

Xiang Yang slapped his forehead, then speedily opened it up on his phone. Ren Zhe promptly leaned over to take a look. Wang Qingyuan could appreciate beauty, but didn’t seem to have much interest in the pursuit of beauty. Song Fei was also not interested, and simply started scrolling through Weibo again.

The morning sports meet finished without much fanfare, and because a majority of them were the preliminaries, those competing weren’t the most excited, while those spectating were even less excited. Except when the Spiritual Civilization inspection team dropped by on patrol, and Song Fei took the time to applaud them and wave an empty plastic bottle filled with pebbles around, the rest of his time was spent scrolling intently through his phone, and sparing a cursory glance at events the Department of History was participating in.

The exception was the Military Boxing performance from the Department of Mathematics.

As fellow bitter gourds on the same vine, these brothers over at the Mathematics department held a special place in Song Fei’s heart. Especially after seeing them grunt heng heng ha hei in their earthy green military uniforms, this roiling emotion surged to its highest peak.

At noon, it was Xiang Yang’s treat, and he brought all of 440 along with Xiang-furen and her two best friends to the walk-up windows with stoves on up on the second floor of the canteen. Xiang Yang’s girlfriend was very cute, with a round face, large eyes, and very long eyelashes that fluttered with each blink, a standard loli.

Ren Zhe employed every trick in the book trying to get closer to the other two girls, but to no avail, because the girls didn’t feel much of a spark with him. Instead, they kept trying to strike up a conversation with Wang Qingyuan. Wang Qingyuan would push up his glasses in a refined manner, and if it wasn’t “en”, then it was “oh”, interspersed with the occasional “I don’t know”, and in the end, the two girls got the message, and stopped inviting rejection upon themselves.

Song Fei wasn’t as desperate as Ren Zhe, but also wasn’t as aloof as Wang Qingyuan. There was no conflict of interest between him liking men and him wanting attention from girls. The former was a matter of sexual orientation, while the latter was a matter of appeal. So when he was about to finish eating, he asked half-jokingly, “Why aren’t you guys paying any attention to me, ah?”

The two girls exchanged looks, and with a puchi, burst out laughing.

Girl #1 said, “You look a bit like a player.”

Song Fei really wanted to file a complaint, unresigned as he asked Girl #2, “You think so too?”

Girl #2 shook her head, “You just look like you don’t perform too well in school.”

Song Fei paused for two seconds, then turned back towards Girl #1, “You’re right.”

—Even as an academic underachiever, he still had his stubborn pride.

The first event in the afternoon was the Tai Chi Fan. Presumably, the organizing committee also knew that everyone was liable to feel drowsy during this period of time, so they naively thought to use the large-scale group events to heighten the atmosphere, and pluck up everyone’s spirits.

The 440 squad changed into their elegant white Tai Chi uniforms, hands holding onto their clanking red Tai Chi fans. As they made their way to the sports field, wherever they went, they were the center of attention, whenever they passed by, there were candid shots taken, a scene simply too beautiful for words.

It wasn’t until they entered the sports field and arrived at the gathering place in the corner, bright whites and reds everywhere in sight, that they finally gained some sense of security.

Taking advantage of it not being time yet, these Tai Chi masters were idling around in twos or threes, while Xiang-furen secretly snuck over, and pulled Xiang Yang into a corner to raise her boyfriend’s spirits, “Oppa, fighting!”

Xiang-oppa flicked open his fan with a flourish, fanned himself twice with great difficulty, his buzz cut not moving the slightest with the wind, “Watch gege!”

While they were talking, a few athletes in shorts and short-sleeves came in through the entrance of the sports field. After the Tai Chi Fan were the competitive events, so these people also had to come in advance to wait for check-in. The figure that couldn’t be found this morning, shockingly appeared before his eyes.

Song Fei cowardly shrunk into the crowd, silently chanting in his heart, can’t see me, can’t see me, can’t see me, whoever sees me is a son of a b*tch.

…

“Song Fei?!”

A son of a b*tch was calling for him.

Song Fei bit the bullet and walked over, a friendly smile on his face, “Competing, ah?”

Qi Yan nodded, then quizzically looked his ex-boyfriend’s current appearance up and down.

Song Fei also flicked open his fan with a flourish, but very sensibly didn’t fan himself with it, “Eight Trigrams Tai Chi Fan.”

Qi Yan was amused, his eyes curved like crescent moons.

This was when Qi Yan looked the most harmless. Honest, like an actual nice guy.

Song Fei almost lost himself in this smile again, but fortunately, the other side added, “Pretty cute.”

Song Fei really wanted to put on some track spikes and give him a kick.

Soon, it was time for them to gather, and the commentator broadcasted over the loudspeaker, “Next up, please enjoy the performance brought to you by the Department of History and Culture, the Eight Trigrams Tai Chi Fan. Let us welcome them with a big round of applause.” The second-years of the Department of History who were already arranged in formation started dashing towards the center of the sports field.

Qi Yan and the twenty or so athletes who would soon take part in the competitions watched from the track nearby. Especially Qi Yan, now that was someone who was full of interest.

The hairs on the back of Song Fei’s neck were tingling, and right up until the music started, he was still distracted by that side.

As the saying goes, “you can’t do two things at once“. The result of not focusing, was that when the snow crane spread its wings for flight, he lost his grip, and his fan actually went flying, directly smacking Xiang Yang who was in front of him right on the back of his head. That was a fan with stainless steel ribbing, ah. Although it’d been the folds that had smacked him, and wasn’t nearly as lethal as a sending a straight stab over, Song Fei still felt pain just from seeing it. Sure enough, Xiang Yang made a strange yelping noise, and the fierce tiger failed to descend the mountain. But immediately following that, the Great Peng spread its wings and it flew right back, movements like floating clouds and flowing water, gentle, but firm. Song Fei said in his heart, this was the power of love, ah, then hastened to run up two steps and retrieve his fan, before proceeding to cleave Mt. Hua.

After finally making it to the end of the performance, Song Fei blended in with the crowd and left the sports field posthaste. When he walked out of the gate, he even saw Qi Yan over there laughing so hard he couldn’t stand straight.

In front of this person, his image had never been that great before anyway. Song Fei thought self-deprecatingly, it wasn’t like it could be that much worse because of this.

By the time they got back to the stands, Qi Yan was already standing on the starting line. It wasn’t until he heard the broadcast, that Song Fei found out that this guy was actually participating in the 10K. When they were still together, Song Fei had indeed been dragged along by this person to run around the sports field at night in the name of physical conditioning. But after two rounds of conditioning, Song Fei put his foot down, and refused to go again even if it were a matter of life or death. Thinking about it now, from study habits to lifestyle habits then to pastimes, the two of them didn’t have a single thing in common. The fact that they could even date for a semester was already pretty amazing.

The starting pistol went off, and the twenty-or-so people on the starting line started running at a steady pace.

Qi Yan was very eye-catching amidst the crowd, 1.83 meters tall, and all legs. He was even more attractive when he ran, brimming with strength and beauty. Song Fei was watching this when his throat felt a little dry, and he unconsciously swallowed a bit. He retracted his gaze in a huff, and forced himself to lower his head and play on his phone.

He had a crush on Qi Yan, and was also the one who’d flirted with him first. Later, when the other party had agreed to date him, he’d been so happy that he hadn’t been able to fall asleep for several days. But along with the deepening of their relationship, came the gradually increasing disharmony, most evident in the two’s daily lives. Qi Yan was classroom, library, canteen, dormitory, these four in a row. If there were classes, he attended them. No classes, then self-study. At night, he still had to go exercise on the sports field; contrary to him, if he had classes, he attended them. No classes, then dormitory. Outside of physical education classes, he never ventured onto the sports field. The library, even more so, was somewhere he never set foot in. At first, Song Fei could still put on an act, and pretend to be a good student and accompany him. After a while, he really couldn’t stand it anymore. Qi Yan could bury himself in self-study all day, while he sat next to him, a day passing by like a year. No matter how handsome Qi Yan’s side profile was, it wasn’t an American TV show to watch. Towards the end, with Qi Yan’s study invitations, if Song Fei could avoid them, then he avoided them. Qi Yan wasn’t stupid either, and after a few times, he understood, then embarked on the endlessly long road of education, AKA— dissing. The general idea was that this part of Song Fei wasn’t right, that part also wasn’t good, he was basically just muddling about in school, and when he joined the workforce later on, there was no way he’d have a bright future, etc. Song Fei didn’t have an especially good temper. When he’d heard enough, he’d start arguing. His arguing had nothing to do with who was right or wrong, Song Fei just hadn’t liked the other basically insinuating that he “looked down on him”. Since he looked down on him so much, then why had he agreed to date him in the first place. But, Qi Yan hadn’t even bothered arguing with him, and every time he’d blown up, he’d tell him to calm down, calm down, once he was clear-headed, then they could talk. Time after time, Song Fei had been left with a stomach full of rage with nowhere to take it out on. During the last incident when he finally hadn’t been able to calm down, he’d directly suggested breaking up.

The students who knew him all said that Qi Yan had a good appearance, a good disposition, good grades, and basically nothing bad to pick at.

Song Fei felt that all of the bad had probably been reserved for his own people.

Author’s Chapter Summary:

The autumn season welcomes the festival, graceful Tai Chi that makes people want to kneel!

The translator has something to say: my fave part of doing Tai Chi sword or Tai Chi fan performances was actually the uniforms… (/ε＼*). anyway, any thoughts now that we have the DL on SF/QY’s break-up? mine are: fair point, but delivery -10,000