Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 14
Not really.
Initially, it was nonsense.
I’m mainly afraid that you might mind.
I wasn’t that familiar with you then…
It all sounds weird.
All the pores on Song Yang’s body opened up at this moment, and hot air came out with a “whoosh”. His whole body was heating up as if it had been electrified.
No matter how Li Xun responded to this question, it would be inappropriate, and if he couldn’t respond at all, it would seem even more unusual.
Song Yang thought quickly and shifted his attention to Urine, taking out a tissue to wipe it.
Li Xun didn’t care about his reply, but he couldn’t help laughing when he saw him apologizing to a dog.
After a while, he picked up the water bottle again and asked, “Do you want to drink?”
Song Yang shook his head, too embarrassed to speak.
But Li Xun was in high spirits. Even though there was no need, he had to add, “Then I’m going to kiss you indirectly.”
Song Yang’s heart rate, which had just dropped, suddenly soared to a new high.
The culprit took a sip of lemonade, leaving Hotpot with a lot of thoughts in his mind, and got up to practice archery.
The rising sun illuminated the horizon, and traffic was shuttling back and forth on the viaduct in the distance. An hour had passed since the drinking water incident. Li Xun had put the set of bows and arrows into the quiver, while Song Yang was still thinking about life.
It’s a small matter for a boy to drink a boy’s drink. It can’t be considered a kiss. When Luo Luo came to his house, he always borrowed his Hulusi to play it. If this can be considered a kiss, he lost his first kiss in elementary school.
But for some reason, the two sentences said by Li Xun were like listening comprehension questions, playing over and over in his mind.
He couldn’t help but care about this matter.
What is going on?
Song Yang squatted on the ground, holding his chin with one hand and stroking the dog with the other. From his hair to his toenails, he exuded an innocent and silly look.
A pair of big hands waved in front of his eyes: “What are you thinking about?”
Song Yang’s soul came back to life, and he turned around to find that Li Xun had already packed up everything and was holding a quiver in his hand.
“We’re leaving now.”
“Well, I also want to send Chuzhi to the Children’s Palace to learn painting.”
“Why haven’t I heard you mention it before?” When Song Yang stood up, he froze in place as if he had been electrocuted.
My legs are numb from squatting for too long and I can’t stand up.
“She just signed up a few days ago.” Li Xun put down the quiver box and reached out to help him up. “A classmate in her class brought an ink painting to school. The teacher praised her and gave her several red flowers. The painting was also posted on the blackboard for display. She then insisted on learning it.”
“She’s so well behaved. My mom signed me up for various music classes when I was a child, hoping to cultivate my sentiments and help me develop in the artistic direction. But I often pretended to be sick and skipped classes to go out and play with friends in the mud and water guns, and my mom would beat me up for it.” Song Yang’s right leg was so numb that it couldn’t touch the ground. He lifted it in the air and used Li Xun’s wrist as a handrail to steady himself.
Although Song Yang was not fat, he was tall, at least 140cm tall. Li Xun was caught off guard and was almost pinned down by him. He reflexively held his hand back.
Both of them were stunned at the same time.
Li Xun was a man in his late thirties, so he was not at all flustered by such a small situation. He even easily held his other hand to steady him, and then teased him naturally: “Your dog just peed in the same position.”
Song Yang: “…”
Ms. Li Huiying called to urge Xiaolongbao to go back, so they had to speed up. Li Xun carried two heavy arrow boxes, Song Yang held the lanterns and the target, and Song Yang was not idle either, with a quiver tied to his back, and he worked hard to clear the way for them.
The soup dumpling restaurant is very close to the park, less than ten minutes away. This store is probably a long-established brand. Although the storefront is not big, there are a lot of people queuing up, and you can smell the fresh aroma of crab meat from a long distance away.
Song Yang unbuckled his seat belt, and Li Xun said before him, “I’ll go, you wait here and memorize some words.”
Song Yang took out the breakfast money his father gave him from his pocket, but Li Xun didn’t take it and said, “I haven’t had plum juice for a while.”
Song Yang understood what had been said. He happily put away the funds and began to think about other things.
Looking back to more than two months ago, he couldn’t even give out a cup of fruit tea. Now, not only has he become Li Xun’s disciple, but he is also cared for by his master. This makes him happier than qualifying for the Olympics.
He rolled down the car window, looked through the traffic, locked onto Li Xun’s back, and recited English to himself.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, Li Xun came out carrying two large bags of steamed buns, and Song Yang raised the car window again.
Li Xun passed the food to the passenger seat: “Eat it while it’s hot. It won’t taste so good if it gets cold. The vinegar bag seems to have fallen to the bottom. Look for it yourself.”
“Hmm.” Song Yang took out a tissue and put it on his legs, then opened the lunch box. Inside was a combination of shrimp and crab roe.
He had said these two flavors were the best the last time he tried this soup dumpling restaurant, but he didn’t expect Li Xun to remember them.
Song Yang picked up the soup dumpling, and Li Xun slowed down the car a little and passed the speed reducer smoothly.
“Oh, by the way, there is something I need to tell you.” Li Xun turned his head and glanced at him, “Starting next week, I won’t be able to practice archery with you every day.”
The soup dumpling in Song Yang’s mouth immediately lost its fragrance, and he asked in confusion: “Why?”
Li Xun said calmly, “I changed my job. I live in the staff dormitory on weekdays and come back on Friday night.”
“Ah?” Song Yang was even more anxious than his parents when they went on a business trip abroad. “What job did you change to? Is it far away?”
“It’s not very far, T University, you know?”
“Of course! I’m a local!”
T University, a national key university, has many government-supported specialty majors. It is located in the easternmost part of South City, about two hours’ drive from home. Song Yang’s mother graduated from the School of Economics and Management of T University. But at that time, the school was not as famous as it is now.
Song Yang has never had the chance to visit it, but he knows that T University has several campuses with beautiful scenery and is one of the best universities in the province.
“Are you going to be a teacher?” To be honest, Song Yang found it hard to imagine him walking into the classroom with a lesson plan. It felt so weird… He always felt that he would stand on the podium, take out a bow and say, “Do you know the difference between a bow with a maple core and one with a foam carbon core?”
Li Xun: “Then you must not know that the school established a new archery training hall last year and is recruiting professional coaches.”
really.
This fits the image very well.
Song Yang’s eyes lit up: “How did you know?”
“One of my roommates in high school is now a lecturer at T University.”
The reason why Li Xun was able to obtain this piece of information was actually thanks to Song Yang. If Song Yang hadn’t insisted on adding him on QQ that night, he would not have contacted his old classmates.
Li Xun’s classmate is in charge of the Department of Physical Education. When this matter came up during a casual chat, Li Xun asked about the requirements for the coaching position.
After confirming that he met all the requirements in terms of academic qualifications, experience, certificates, etc., Li Xun submitted his resume and received a reply shortly afterwards.
Working in a school is definitely easier than working in an archery gym, and it is also more stable. The people he leads are the elites of the school team and the pillars of the country. Song Yang thought this was a good thing, so he continued to eat his soup dumplings.
“But you go to work so far away, who will pick you up?”
“Teacher Sun said she could do it for me, and I’ll give her a little more food money every month.”
“That’s good,” Song Yang asked cheekily, “Will you take me to practice archery when you come back this weekend?”
“It depends. I’ll call you if I have time.”
When Song Yang was helping Li Xun clean up the house, he saw his degree certificate. He didn’t study a sports-related major, but a master’s degree in finance, and he also took the teaching certificate. With this qualification, he could have chosen a better position with more room for promotion, but in the end, he still had something to do with archery.
It can be seen that he has a special feeling for this industry.
Song Yang closed the lunch box, wiped his mouth, and cast his eyes over carefully: “Can I ask you a question?”
“Um.”
“Since you like archery so much and are so good at it, why did you retire?” Song Yang paused for a moment, and after confirming that the other party had no unpleasant emotions, he continued, “Is it because you want to take care of your family?”
Many people have asked this question, and Li Xun’s answer is always “yes”, but only he himself knows that this is not the whole story, otherwise he would have gone back long ago.
From the age of thirteen to twenty-eight, for the past fifteen years, he has been accompanied by bows and arrows and has no other hobbies. From the year he joined the national team, he officially started his professional career.
He likes archery, and he does not deny that it is the happiest thing in life to be able to step into the industry he likes, but once you turn your hobby into a profession and use it as a source of income, you will also have to bear pressure and risks.
Only by achieving results will you be remembered, and only by constantly winning awards can you fill the river of desire. Such a life is also quite boring.
Dreams begin with fantasies.
No matter what happens, it is most charming at the beginning when everything is ignorant.
When he found out that this sport was so unpopular that even the training funds were insufficient for a long time; when his team received extremely unfair treatment in international competitions; when his teammates who joined the national team at the same time as him retired one after another; when he found out that the income he had saved for several years was only enough to pay for his family’s medical expenses; when his coach told him that an 18-year-old newcomer would replace him in the World Championships, his love for this industry was no longer as fanatical as it was at the beginning.
There are not so many infinite possibilities. They are just supporting characters played by fate.
For three whole years, he failed to break his own record and was completely stuck in an embarrassing bottleneck. His position in the world ranking kept falling. He knew that there was a big problem with his mentality.
Decreased ability to regulate emotions, anxiety, and inability to concentrate for long periods of time are all fatal factors for archery athletes.
It’s not that he can’t go back, it’s just that he can’t face the self who is unable to move forward.
Now that the secret was shared with a second person, Li Xun suddenly felt much more relaxed. He said calmly, “But I don’t regret it. Although the past fifteen years have not been glorious, they have been wonderful enough for me.”
After listening to this complicated experience, Song Yang’s impression of Li Xun changed a little. He realized that the sharpshooter who was so brilliant in everyone’s eyes also had unknown troubles and helplessness, but this was not a deduction. Instead, it made the person in front of him more down-to-earth and less out of reach.
Then he did something extremely bold and even counterintuitive – he raised his hand and smoothed Li Xun’s hair as if he was peeing.
Li Xun almost ran a red light.
The buzz cut felt great, Song Yang savored it with lingering feelings, and said with some regret: “If only I had been born a few years earlier.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Then I can go to watch your competition in person,” Song Yang sighed, “You know, the Asian Games is your last time to compete. I will definitely take out all my pocket money to fly to Incheon.”
Li Xun also had mixed feelings in his heart: “I didn’t win the championship, what’s there to see?”
“You do not understand……”
That glance, that smile, that arrow, and that head-patting shot ten years ago cast a thick filter over Li Xun. From then on, Li Xun was different from all the athletes on the field.
The appearance of Li Xun was the most exciting highlight for him.
Every arrow ignites the hope of the Chinese team.
But I can never see it again.
Song Yang was like a wounded animal, saying sadly: “I used to think you would keep competing until I grew up, and I even dreamed of competing with you on the same stage. I found out that the IWS World Championships allows amateur players to register and compete with national team athletes.”
Li Xun was surprised: “You know the market so well.”
Because you have compared.
I watched every single one of your games that I could find.
I can still remember the total number of rings you scored in each competition, and I remember it more firmly than the required ancient poems and essays in the Chinese textbook.
But these words sounded a little strange, so Song Yang just nodded and said, “I like archery, too.”
At the traffic light, Li Xun freed his hands to rub his little head: “Then you keep working hard. If you have a chance to play in the future, I will definitely go to watch your game.” His technique was not so gentle, and after rubbing, Song Yang’s hair became explosive.
“That’s what you said.”
After eating too many soup dumplings, Song Yang felt thirsty. Li Xun’s water bottle was empty. Song Yang opened the storage cabinet on the passenger side, hoping to find some milk in Chu Zhi’s snack cabinet to quench his thirst, but unexpectedly, a bottle of mineral water rolled out.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t bring it?”
Li Xun was also shocked by this. He really didn’t remember when the bottle of water was put in there. But after he said, “I don’t know, it seems that Chu Zhi put it in there,” Song Yang looked at him with a meaningful look, which made him speechless, so he simply gave up.
She even said rudely, “Don’t look at me like that, as if you’ve suffered a great loss by kissing me indirectly. Besides, it’s indirect, not a French kiss. Only you little brats take it seriously.”
An inappropriate image emerged in Song Yang’s mind. His face turned red like a chili pepper. He pinched Li Xun’s cheek with his left hand, picked up two soup dumplings and stuffed them into his mouth to block it.
Li Xun’s cheeks were puffed up and he couldn’t speak. Only his soft, doting laughter echoed in the warm carriage.
