Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 27
“It’s not that scary, right?”
Li Xun took the cotton swab from the nurse and pressed it on the needle hole to stop the bleeding. When he lowered his head, Song Yang happened to look up. They looked at each other unexpectedly for a moment, and before they could see each other’s eyes clearly, they turned their heads away.
His chin was a little itchy from the hair, so Li Xun raised his hand to scratch it. He heard Song Yang say something that was totally off topic: “You have a smell that’s quite nice.”
“Oh——” Li Xun suddenly realized and said, “You also smelled my scent when you went downstairs, right?”
“Yes.” Song Yang answered, and after a few seconds, he realized, “Then why didn’t you put me down at that time?”
Li Xun was stunned by his question.
Sometimes people’s behavior is really out of instinct, without any reason, but in this situation, he had to make one up even if there was no reason. Several terms flashed through his mind quickly.
“He’s skipping work openly. Besides, the strength of the contestants in this competition is very different, so there’s no suspense about the top three.”
Song Yang didn’t believe his reason, but his attention was still attracted by the second half.
“Who do you think will be the champion?”
Li Xun put his coat on him and sat in the corridor waiting for the report to come out.
“Do you remember the boy who scored 99 in the first round?”
Song Yang shook his head. He only scored 7 rings with his last arrow. He felt a huge psychological gap and was stunned for a long time. He didn’t even pay attention to the volunteers who were pulling out the arrows.
Li Xun continued, “His name is Yu Shenwei, and he is also a freshman. I remember his 50-meter score was 81, which was basically within the yellow circle, tying him with Wu Jianian. I don’t know how his 70-meter score was, but I noticed that his entire set of movements was very standard, his aim was sharp and clear, and his demeanor was very calm. He must have had competition experience.”
Song Yang turned his head in surprise. Li Xun usually used descriptions like “the one in black” or “the telephone pole” to replace students’ names. Only students who he had seen more than three times and showed off their presence would be remembered by him.
Today, I not only remembered the name, but also the other person’s grade and grades.
It turns out that coaches only remember the athletes with the highest total scores, just like teachers always favor students with good grades.
“He’s going to be picked for the school team, right?”
Li Xun confessed: “If he is interested.”
There is no harm without comparison. Song Yang sighed deeply: “He is so good at training, how can I not be interested?”
“That’s not necessarily true. Just like you rejected Coach Zhang, he may also refuse to join the archery team,” said Li Xun.
Song Yang threw away the cotton swab, frowning: “Do I still have a chance to apply to join the archery team?”
“Don’t think too much about it for now,” Li Xun patted him on the back and comforted him, “Get well first.”
“Why should I take care of myself? This is not confinement. I just have a fever and will be fine tomorrow…” Song Yang asked sensitively, “Is there no quota? I can only join after the old team members retire, right?”
Li Xun smiled and said, “This is not a promotion in the workplace. You have to outlast the old team members. Sports competitions only look at strength, not seniority. However, there are only a few places in the national competition, and the members of the school team must also be screened before they can participate. Only the top ones can go. Do you think your performance can surpass Wu Jianian and others? You might as well go running instead of coming in as a substitute.”
Song Yang remained silent because Li Xun was telling the truth.
He really thought everything was too good to be true, thinking that as long as he joined the school team, he would be able to follow the same path as Li Xun and go to various places to compete.
But he forgot that Li Xun started practicing archery at the age of thirteen and had already participated in national competitions at his age.
In sports competitions, what is most lacking is people who are willing to spend time and effort to hone themselves.
Whether it is Wu Jianian or Yu Shenwei, they must have spent more effort on archery than others to achieve such results today.
How can I compare with them?
Song Yang was a little stimulated and suddenly quickened his pace. Li Xun chased after him and teased, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to listen to me again? Or is there something you don’t understand again?”
Song Yang heard a hint of ridicule, but this time he did not dwell on it like he did the day before. Instead, he raised his chin and announced solemnly: “I will recover quickly and go back to practice archery. One day I will surpass them.”
Li Xun was stunned. This sentence was like a key that opened a long-sealed black box of memory.
At that time, he was still a member of the Nancheng provincial team.
At a national grand prix, the head coach recommended another player whose performance was comparable to his, because that player had a calmer mentality, was not impatient, and had been training for longer periods of time.
Not to be outdone, he yelled the same words at his coach.
One day I will surpass him.
This fearless morale is so familiar, yet so distant.
“Do you really like archery that much?” Li Xun asked.
“Of course.” Song Yang replied decisively.
“Why?”
Song Yang scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed: “When I was a kid, I saw you win the championship and I thought you were so handsome, so I wanted to be like you.”
Li Xun laughed when he heard that: “So, you chose me because of my looks? Then when I wanted to practice track and field, did you fall in love with running?”
“Maybe.” Song Yang said honestly, “My idol is like a beacon, pointing me in a direction. But later, as I practiced, I found that archery is really interesting. It brings me a lot of happiness. Every time I immerse myself in practice, I don’t feel the passage of time.”
Li Xun smiled faintly, recalling that more than ten years ago, archery had brought him a lot of happiness, but he didn’t know since when, the pain was more than the happiness.
Song Yang asked: “What about you? How did you first become interested in archery?”
Li Xun said: “I saw people hitting balloons on the street and thought it was fun, so my dad bought me a toy bow. Later, my situation was similar to yours. I couldn’t put it down after practicing for a while.”
The sunlight shone through the glass. Li Xun squinted his eyes, missing those confused youthful years. At that time, he really had nothing, but he was full of energy.
Not long after, the report came out. Li Xun went downstairs to get the medicine and ran back to the third floor.
There were three bags of medicine in total, two large and one small. The nurse said that the hospital had no extra beds, so I could only wait in the infusion hall or wait until the ward was vacant, which would take about an hour.
“Then let’s go to the hall.” Song Yang said.
It was the time of season change, and the hall was filled with patients and their families. The sounds of coughing, loudspeakers, and phone calls filled this crowded space. As soon as you entered, you felt an indescribable sense of oppression.
After Song Yang sat down, he found that Li Xun was gone. He stretched his neck to look around. The nurse took out the cuff from the cart and reminded him to take off his coat.
When Song Yang saw this thing, he shuddered reflexively: “Can you wait a moment?”
This nurse was far less gentle than the previous one. She looked serious and asked in a tone similar to that of a dean: “It’s just an IV. What are you waiting for?”
Song Yang reluctantly took off his coat and through the floor-to-ceiling window, he caught a glimpse of a figure running towards him. It was not a big deal, but he felt his heart drop back to its original position.
Li Xun ran up, panting. Seeing that the nurse hadn’t taken any action yet, he automatically formed a human wall between the two of them and used the things in his hand to attract the child’s attention.
“cute?”
Song Yang looked up and saw a transparent glass cup with a lid hanging on his index finger. The lid was shaped like a carrot.
“It’s pretty cute.” Song Yang guessed, “It must be Chu Zhi’s.”
“No.” Li Xun turned the cup so that it faced him.
A cartoon lamb is printed on the silicone insulation ring of the cup.
Song Yang took it with a look of surprise: “Where did you get this from?”
Li Xun smiled and said, “There is a small supermarket downstairs. I scalded it with hot water. You can drink it directly after the water cools down.”
“Thank you…” Song Yang was surprised at his attentiveness. He held the small cup and smiled foolishly, not caring when the nurse left.
“Do you like it?” Li Xun asked as he sat next to him.
Song Yang nodded.
“Then I’ll give it to you. Drink more hot water. I’ll get you more when it runs out. Are you hungry now?”
Song Yang once again asked irrelevantly: “Have you had many girlfriends before?”
Li Xun was stunned: “Why do you ask?”
“I can feel it.” Song Yang lowered his head and muttered softly, “Sometimes you are so considerate that you don’t seem like a normal man.”
As soon as these words were spoken, all the patients around them laughed.
It was the first time that Li Xun was praised to the point of being speechless.
Song Yang asked with a sad face: “Did I guess right?”
Li Xun raised his eyebrows and said “ah” softly, without commenting. However, his eyes clearly said – how could someone as popular as me never have had a girlfriend?
Song Yang snorted lightly, turned his head away, and felt jealous without any basis.
“What are you humming about? Don’t you believe it?”
Song Yang curled his lips: “No…it’s just hard to imagine what kind of girl can attract you.”
That’s a good question.
Li Xun himself didn’t know.
Influenced by the failed marriages of his parents’ generation, he didn’t have much aspirations for love. Even though his peers were all getting married and having children, he calmly declined the introductions from his elders.
When a person is single for a long time, he or she really doesn’t want to fall in love or get married.
This is the state he is in now.
“What about you? Have you ever been in a relationship?”
Song Yang pursed her lips shyly: “Not yet, but as long as someone is willing and interested, we can start at any time.”
Li Xun looked disdainful: “You are not picky.”
“You’re wrong.” Song Yang turned and looked at him, his eyes frank and sincere, “I’m very picky. The person I like is a ball of fire, but also a pool of clear water.”
Li Xun didn’t quite understand: “What do you mean?”
“He can make me boil, and he can also calm me down.”
