Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 25

That’s what I said.

It’s ambiguous and sharp, and it’s really hard to respond.

From a subjective point of view, he certainly welcomed Song Yang to join the archery team. After all, the kid was very smart and really loved archery and was willing to endure any hardship. But to be fair, his physique was indeed more conducive to track events.

The results of the school sports meet are enough to speak for themselves. 1 minute 52 seconds is already the level of a first-class athlete. If I train well in starting acceleration, it will only be a matter of time before I run under 1 minute 50 seconds.

But in archery, many problems will be encountered.

First of all, in terms of his physique, Song Yang has flat shoulders and a small face. He does not have the visible advantages of top archery athletes. Moreover, although Song Yang looks lively, he is delicate and sensitive inside. He gets easily nervous and excited when encountering any little thing. His face gets red, his hands tremble, and even his breathing becomes unstable.

This is the case when he is shy, nervous, and angry. This character is fine in other sports, but not in archery and shooting. In competitions, he is easily distracted by the surrounding environment, which leads to poor performance.

He couldn’t say for sure how much potential Song Yang had in archery and how big a breakthrough he could make.

I just think Song Yang still has a chance to choose a more suitable project to hone in on and challenge himself…

But it is obvious that the little guy doesn’t want to listen to the honest advice.

Li Xun handed the roster to his colleague, hooked Song Yang’s shoulder, and pushed him to a small corner where there were not many people.

“So what do you want to hear from me? Welcome to join our archery team? Or do you want me to praise your archery talent?”

Song Yang lowered his head and remained silent.

He had intentionally added the second half of the sentence, simply because he wanted to hear Li Xun say something nice, but Li Xun’s rapid-fire questions made him even more depressed.

He didn’t know what to say, so he just sat down in the corner and buried his face in his arms. The sunlight shone through the branches, leaving a tiny spot of light behind him. He looked like a little kid who had lost something he loved, and he didn’t look excited at all like a champion.

Li Xun squatted in front of him and rubbed the still soft “sheep wool”. Song Yang buried his head even lower.

“I don’t really need you to praise me for anything, I just don’t understand.”

Li Xun rarely tried to coax his nephew and asked softly, “What don’t you understand?”

Song Yang sighed silently.

There are many things he can’t figure out.

For example, what are Li Xun’s reasons for caring and taking care of him? To what extent is he tolerant of him? And is this tolerance related to having a good impression of him?

If you like him, then at what level do you like him? Is there any possibility of going further?

But all these complicated thoughts are destined to be unable to be expressed, so I can only digest them slowly.

He tried his best to control his emotions and picked up the most insignificant topic to start the conversation: “That day in the park, you told me to perform well in the sports meet. I thought you were looking forward to my joining the archery team, but you encouraged me to go to Coach Zhang instead.”

Li Xun laughed dumbly, spread his hands, and expressed his helplessness with body language: “You have good grades, and you are not happy with my encouragement? Also, when did I say that I don’t expect you to join the archery team? Encouraging you to practice track and field and expecting you to join the archery group seem to be contradictory, but they are not contradictory at the root. You recognize it yourself, and being happy is the most important thing.”

Song Yang raised his head, revealing a pair of bright pupils. He had long lost his sense of propriety and changed the concept without authorization: “Then do you like hearing me call you Master?”

Li Xun scratched his nose.

If he had a choice, he would rather act like a hooligan on the spot than admit such a thing in a disgusting way.

“I gave you my bow and arrows for free, didn’t I? You are such an ungrateful little bastard.”

Song Yang’s attention was briefly attracted by this new name, and he felt that he was really seriously ill.

It’s obviously not a compliment, but my mood suddenly cleared up and I returned to my Samoyed-like smile with squinting eyes.

“Then I’ll be honest with you. I have no intention of joining the track and field team. I only like archery, and I only like you…” He saw Li Xun’s expression change from calm to astonishment, and added in a fake tone, “Anyway, I don’t want to recognize anyone else as my master anymore.”

This is a big breath.

Li Xun was so shocked that he almost fell down.

He squeezed Song Yang’s shoulders and said solemnly: “No matter what your final choice is, whether your future can get better and better and continue to shine, this is what I really care about and look forward to. It’s that simple.”

These words are not romantic but full of sincerity, and they touch the heart directly.

Song Yang puffed his lips, half of his face shyly tucked into his arms, his eyes curved with a smile: “You are so nice to me.”

“…”

Is that it?

Li Xun really couldn’t figure out the kid’s temper. He was clenching his fists angrily one second, and then he was in a state of disbelief the next.

But to be honest, this feeling of being trusted is still very pleasant.

In the past thirty years, Li Xun has never met a boy as straightforward as Song Yang, at least one who doesn’t say cheesy words.

When you get poked unexpectedly, it feels like drinking sparkling water, which is crisp and numb when you drink it, and has a sweet aftertaste.

Li Xun was not good at this kind of expression. He scratched his hair, threw down a word “idiot”, and stood up gracefully, leaving Song Yang immersed in the sweet vortex, grinning foolishly.

The archery event was scheduled for 9:30 am on the third day. Due to the small number of participants, only the indoor competition was arranged, with four ranges of 10 meters, 20 meters, 30 meters, and 50 meters. Each person shot ten arrows per round, and the top six with the highest total scores would advance to the finals.

This is also the last event of the school sports meet, and the award ceremony will be held after it.

Li Xun was the person in charge of this competition project. He was busy all morning and only saw Song Yang when he called the roll.

The little guy was sitting on a chair against the wall. He was wearing too much, a hoodie and a jacket, wrapped tightly. His eyes were drifting to the window with a dull look, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

Li Xun called out three times, but Song Yang didn’t respond until a classmate next to him pushed his arm. Then he came to his senses and forced a smile.

After Li Xun explained the order issues to several volunteers, he walked over and asked with concern: “Why do you look so bad? Are you feeling unwell?”

Before Song Yang could speak, Zhou Junlin, who was standing next to him, said, “He must have a fever.”

“Fever?” Li Xun subconsciously touched Song Yang’s forehead. It was indeed very hot, and his cheeks were also abnormally hot. “When did it happen? Didn’t you go swimming yesterday afternoon? Did you catch a cold? Did you take medicine?”

Before Song Yang could reply, Li Xun hurriedly helped him stand up from his seat: “Why didn’t you tell me earlier that he was not feeling well? Classmate, please take him to the school clinic to see what’s going on.”

Zhou Junlin looked at Li Xun, who had a worried look on his face, and then at Song Yang, who looked pale, with an embarrassed expression on his face.

His first reaction after discovering that Song Yang had a fever in the morning was the same as Li Xun’s, but Song Yang said he didn’t want an IV drip and insisted on waiting until the competition was over, so he took a fever-reducing pill to deal with it.

“Nonsense!” Li Xun’s shout attracted the attention of all the contestants around him, “Look at yourself in the mirror and see how you look now. Can you pull the strings with your arms?”

Song Yang nodded firmly: “I can pull it.”

“Are you sure?” Li Xun pinched his arm hard. Song Yang couldn’t break free. The soreness in his muscles made him frown.

“Just go do your thing and leave me alone! If I say yes, it means yes.”

Li Xun glanced around and everyone turned their heads and started to “get busy”, chattering about their own things.

Li Xun lowered his voice a little: “I asked you to go to the school clinic now, will you listen to me?”

Song Yang was like a child whose toys were snatched away by an adult, aggrieved: “I’ll go right after the competition, it won’t take long.”

While they were arguing, someone called Li Xun away.

Song Yang turned to look at Zhou Junlin and said, “I’m really fine. Go get me some hot water. I’m a little thirsty.”

Zhou Junlin couldn’t persuade him and did as he was told.

Song Yang turned to the bathroom, turned the water flow to the maximum, bent down, scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his cheeks to cool himself down.

With this pounce, all the muscles in his body trembled.

What he said just now was very confident, but his physical condition was indeed a bit bad. When he woke up in the morning, he just felt a burning pain in his throat. Now even his head was a little dizzy, and his bones all over his body felt like they were falling apart, sore and painful.

I was so sleepy that I wished I could teleport back to bed and sleep till the end of the night.

But he didn’t want to, and couldn’t, miss this competition.

He had specifically asked the team leader before, and there are currently two ways to join the school team. Either he has to show impressive results in the school sports meet, or he can challenge the 70-meter shooting range. If the total number of rings in the 10 arrows is above 75, he can be admitted into the team as an exception.

Considering his current level, the difficulty coefficient of the latter is too high. His highest record in 70 meters is an 8 ring that just barely passes the line. He can only fight for his life in this match.

The competition was about to begin. Li Xun sat in the referee’s seat and read out the rules of the process. Song Yang walked around him with his head lowered, as if he was hiding from the dean of instruction. He stood side by side with several other contestants at the starting point and sorted out his equipment.

The rule is that fifteen contestants shoot arrows at the same time. After shooting ten arrows, the scores are counted by the on-site referee. Then they all step back ten meters at the same time to proceed to the second round, and so on, until the 50 meters are over.

Song Yang was afraid that Li Xun would suddenly say, “Player number nine, you go down first,” so he didn’t dare to look up and look at him. He tried to keep himself busy, just like avoiding the gaze of his boss.

The competition allows contestants to bring their own bows and arrows, but most of the people here were pushed here to make up the numbers, and they all used bows and arrows provided by the school, which were colorful but ordinary in style.

Song Yang heard someone behind him praising his bow and arrow as being special.

Under normal circumstances he would definitely show off the origin of this bow and arrow, and chat about a few important things between him and his coach, but today he was in no mood.

The competitions in the previous two days had already consumed a lot of his energy, and coupled with his illness, he even found it difficult to lift the bow.

The referee blew the whistle and the competition officially began. The contestants took their positions and raised their bows. Bang bang bang sounds were heard on the opposite wall.

Most people at the scene followed the flying arrow and landed on the target opposite, except Li Xun.

He folded his arms the entire time, staring straight at the number nine.

Song Yang looked really uncomfortable, his face was pale, and it was not known whether he was nervous or thirsty. He kept licking his lips, and his arm holding the bow was shaking. It took him twice as long as others just to aim.

He was the last of the fifteen contestants to finish the task, and when everyone was staring at him, he seemed even more nervous, causing one of his arrows to malfunction and he only got a 7 ring.

How many 10-ring shots are needed to make up for a 7-ring shot?

It also depends on the state of the opponent.

This is already a matter of going from active to passive.

At the end of the first round, in the 10-meter area, there were masters who scored 99 rings, and there were also “masters” who missed the target because they closed their eyes incorrectly. For an experienced person like Li Xun, one only needed to take a look at their aiming and shooting movements to tell which one had practiced and which one had a poor result.

Song Yang’s physical condition today definitely won’t allow him to achieve good results.

Li Xun could already foresee the final result when he shot the first arrow.

But just like a marathon runner who couldn’t run any more halfway, Song Yang had to crawl back to the finish line, and he insisted on shooting the last arrow.

The total score of 40 arrows was 330, ranking seventh in the group. He barely qualified for the finals, but he was the last one among the thirteen players.

During this process, Li Xun also used some hidden strength.

Song Yang’s number of rings was tied with that of another contestant. He should have had another round to eliminate one of them, but he found a plausible reason to keep both of them in the final.

Halftime.

Song Yang put on his coat and drank some hot water handed to him by his roommate.

This is the time when the medicine is taking effect, and the viruses in the body are suffering from a group attack. I am sweating and shivering all over, and my palms always feel damp as if I had just washed my hands.

The squad leader also noticed that something was wrong with him, so he handed him a tissue and asked, “You have a lot of sweat on your head, are you okay?”

Song Yang shook his head, stood up and said, “I’ll go wash my face first.”

All his senses were forced into a dormant state due to the effects of the drug, and his vigilance was reduced. He walked through the long corridor and into the bathroom without noticing anyone following him.

Li Xun felt sorry for him when he saw that he looked half dead, but he couldn’t help talking badly: “Frequent urination? You’ve come in several times in such a short time.” After saying that, he realized that he was kind of confessing himself, and thought that Song Yang would respond with “Why are you staring at me all the time?”

However, the fever made someone’s thinking become unusually slow, and he didn’t hear the other information implied by this sentence at all. He just explained in a low voice: “I came in to wash my face.”

Halfway through washing, he raised his wet head and added dully, “I just came in to wash my face.”

“The shoelaces are untied.” Li Xun reminded.

Song Yang looked down, shook his hands, squatted down and tied the bow again, and tied the right foot tighter.

There was no one in the bathroom. Li Xun put one hand in his pocket and softened his attitude: “Why are you doing this? There is not only one way to join the archery team. I will practice 70 meters with you…”

Before he finished speaking, Song Yang’s body, which had just stood up, swayed and struggled for a few times like an ear of wheat facing the wind and waves, and held on to the wall with one hand, looking like his brain was lacking oxygen.

Li Xun secretly thought that something was not good and rushed over in two steps. Song Yang’s body fell uncontrollably against the wall, slowly slid down, and knelt on the ground. Just as he was about to hit the floor tiles, Li Xun grabbed his body and pulled him into his arms.