Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 61
In the hall, passengers came and went in waves.
Song Yang stood like a stabilizing force in front of the transparent floor-to-ceiling window of the terminal building, like a bonsai, waiting for the flight to take off at 10:30.
Although I don’t know if I can see it.
The sky was clear, with pure white clouds spreading across the endless blue, comfortable and cozy. Below, the runway extended into the distance, dividing the tea-green lawn into irregular geometric shapes.
Like him, they are all frozen, forming a colorful painting.
The phone in my pocket is ringing.
He was completely unaware.
Human skin also has memory function, once the instantaneous touch is transmitted to the brain, it can never be forgotten. He recalled everything that had just happened, his heart rate could not slow down, and the corners of his mouth were stretched wider and wider, and he could not stop it at all.
The memory reminded him again and again that he had just been kissed.
Kissed by Li Xun.
It’s like a dream.
He held his red cheeks in his hands, squatted down and laughed, immersed in his own world, thinking about the meaning of Li Xun’s kiss and the ideological struggle he went through before giving this kiss.
It should be more than just a social etiquette, right? Otherwise, why would they run?
It must be because of shyness.
He really regretted not being more proactive just now. He let his wife speak first and he didn’t have time to respond.
Ahhhh…
If only I had reacted quicker!
The sadness of parting disappeared under the stimulation and urging of this kiss.
He raised his head, took a deep breath, clenched his fists towards the auspicious clouds in the sky, and swore secretly: I will definitely do it next time!
The cleaning lady next to him went back and forth dozens of times, and finally couldn’t help reminding him: “Brother, your phone is ringing.”
“Ah?” Song Yang’s three souls and six spirits all returned to their positions, “Oh.”
Song Jingshan yelled on the phone: “What’s going on? It’s almost an hour. We’re about to exceed the time limit.”
“Here it comes, here it comes!”
Song Yang jumped all the way out. There was wind outside, and the strands of hair on his forehead stood up in the wind. His smile spread wildly, and he couldn’t stop even when he got to the parking garage.
Song Jingshan started the car and asked, “Did you pick up any money on the road?”
Song Yang thought of the suffocating kiss in public again, licked his lips and smiled.
“It’s not as exciting as picking up money.”
Song Jingshan has been engaged in education for many years and has encountered all kinds of situations. As soon as his son smiled, he understood everything.
“I’m lucky in love.”
Song Yang stretched his neck and widened his eyes: “How do you know!” He regretted it the next second after he said it, he was confessing again.
Fortunately, Song Jingshan is relatively lenient in this regard.
“It’s OK for young people to fall in love, but don’t let it affect their studies, otherwise it will be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Well! Don’t worry, being in love will only make me more clear-headed and move towards my goal.”
“The other party is also practicing archery?”
Song Yang hesitated and said “hmm”.
“I heard from Xiaoxun that your school team is made up of boys. Where did you meet this girl? Is she new?”
Song Jingshan’s doubts made Song Yang realize the huge mountain that stood between him and Li Xun. He leaned sideways, holding onto the seat belt, and pressed his forehead against the car window, bumping against it from time to time.
“Dad.”
“Um?”
Song Yang couldn’t speak for a long time.
“Never mind. It’s nothing.”
Song Jingshan: “Just say it if you have something to say.”
Song Yang glanced at him and whispered, “Are you and mom planning to have a second child?”
“………………”
Song Jingshan’s car almost got stuck in the bushes nearby.
He looked at his son like he was crazy: “Do you know how old your mother and I are this year?”
“You are 43, and she is 42.” Song Yang cited several female artists as examples, “Some are almost 50 years old and can still give birth. You two are not that old, there is still hope.”
Song Jingshan laughed: “It’s troublesome enough to raise you alone, we don’t have that plan.”
Song Yang risked being beaten and asked, “You are not good anymore, are you? I heard there is a medicine that can make you very strong after taking it.”
My ability was actually questioned by my son!
Song Jingshan’s thoughts were in a mess.
For a moment, I didn’t know whether to beat the person first or to care about why the child suddenly had such an idea and what purpose he had in “hearing” those things.
He patiently explained, “A woman over 35 is considered an advanced maternal age. Giving birth is very dangerous. When she was pregnant with you, she had a difficult labor and had heavy bleeding. We were all scared to death. You are willing to let your mother take this risk, but I am not.”
Song Yang curled his lips and kicked over the bowl of dog food.
“Then you should have worked harder when the policy was liberalized a few years ago and given me a little sister sooner.”
Song Jingshan was speechless: “It was too late by then.”
Song Yang commented in a condescending manner: “It’s because my mom’s belly is not good enough. It would have been great if she had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl.”
Song Jingshan couldn’t bear it any longer and raised his elbow to push back.
“Hey, hey, hey – a gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists!”
The royal blue car went up the elevated highway and headed south. Behind it, the plane rushed into the sky and headed north, leaving behind a trail of arrows piercing the clouds.
Li Chuzhi sat near the window and pushed open the sunshade of the porthole.
“Uncle, the clouds outside are so beautiful.”
She bumped Li Xun’s arm.
no response.
“Uncle? I’m a little hungry.”
Still no response.
Twist it hard.
“Hiss——” Li Xun took a breath, “What are you doing?”
“what are you thinking about?”
What else can I think of?
Li Xun fell into the vortex of adolescence that was delayed for more than ten years. With a smile on his face, he said faintly, “Children don’t understand.”
Li Chuzhi was full of curiosity: “Then tell me about it and I will understand.”
Li Xun didn’t want to talk about this with the little brat, but at the moment his mind was already on someone. He licked his lips and asked indirectly, “What do you think of your brother Song Yang?”
Li Chuzhi quoted Li Huiying’s most common line: “Except for studying, I am good at everything!”
“…Your grades aren’t that good either.” Li Xun asked again, “Do you want him to become your family?”
“Isn’t he my family?”
“What I mean is, he doesn’t treat you as my brother, but as…” Li Xun thought about the issue of seniority.
Aunt-in-law?
No no no.
“How about letting him be your uncle?”
Li Chuzhi resolutely said: “I don’t want it.”
Li Xun was confused: “Why!?”
There was an old lady sitting nearby, listening to their conversation.
Li Chuzhi blushed, stretched her neck to lean close to Li Xun’s ear, and said in a voice that couldn’t be any lower: “My godmother said that I will marry my brother in the future. I am his fiancée.”
Li Xun’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, his face turned pale and blue, and it took him a while to find his voice: “Do you know what fiancée means?”
“Of course,” Li Chuzhi was quite proud, “The fiancée is his future wife, and she has to call him husband, just like godmother and godfather.”
Li Xun: “…”
He could no longer find any reasonable adjectives to curse.
When was this kid brainwashed?
After a while, he asked tremblingly: “Do you like him?”
Li Chuzhi nodded: “I like it.”
Li Xun was shot in the chest with an arrow, and asked again: “Then do you want to marry him?”
“yes.”
Another arrow.
Li Xun was a little overwhelmed.
He never imagined that he would fall to the point of competing with his niece, who was twenty years younger than him, for a man.
And do whatever it takes.
He frowned and showed the dignity of an elder: “I don’t agree with your marriage!”
Li Chuzhi frowned: “Why!?”
“Why?” Li Xun said sternly, “It’s too early for you to think about these things now! Besides, godmother was joking with you, don’t take it seriously. You and your brother are too far apart in age. The country doesn’t allow you to get married. You can only be his relative, just like I can only be your uncle. The law stipulates it.”
Li Chuzhi didn’t quite understand the relationship here, but usually his uncle had the final say at home, and if his uncle said no, then it was no.
It took her half a minute to sadly and reluctantly accept this reality, and then she started to worry about other things.
“Who will be his wife in the future?”
Li Xun cleared his throat and said, “Don’t worry about it. I will help him deal with this problem.”
“oh.”
Two and a half hours later, the plane landed at the Capital Airport with its wings shaking.
Returning to this land again, Li Xun felt a little emotional.
He should have come back earlier.
But when I thought of Song Yang, I felt that all this was destined and was the best arrangement.
In the next few days, Li Xun ran around and investigated to solve Li Chuzhi’s accommodation and schooling problems.
Before he came to Beijing, Zhang Han had already contacted several schools, both public and private, with both boarding and day schools. Li Xun looked through a lot of information, asked Chu Zhi for his own opinion, and finally decided on a semi-closed international private school.
The reason I chose this school is mainly because it is close to the training base. There is one subway line and it only takes an hour to get there, which makes it convenient for us to meet during the holidays.
The rest of the time, Chu Zhi lives with Zhang Han and is taken care of by his grandparents.
After taking care of the housework, Li Xun put the last check mark on the memo. At that moment, he felt his shoulders relax, but it was quickly replaced by guilt.
Everything has its pros and cons, and what you gain is gained by giving up something.
When Chuzhi gets used to life here, maybe she won’t need him anymore. It’s time to change the person who takes her out for travel in the future.
On the day of departure, the temperature was high but the sky was a little cloudy. Li Xun was invited to eat at a newly opened Japanese restaurant.
He couldn’t eat raw food or untested meat, so he didn’t eat much. Chu Zhi was the same, but she didn’t eat much because she didn’t like Japanese food. Zhang Han didn’t know any of this.
Halfway through the meal, Zhang Han realized that many dishes on the table were still there, so he decided to take them to the Sichuan restaurant next door.
Li Xun waved his hand and said no.
“Chuzh prefers braised meats and chicken cooked in curry. He doesn’t like fish with bones, but he likes pickled fish and squirrel fish…”
He gave a lot of explanations in a very eloquent manner.
Zhang Han took out his phone and said, “Say it again, I forgot to turn on the recording just now.”
This was the longest meal Li Xun had ever eaten, until he received a call from his coach saying that it was time to report to the base.
Li Chuzhi stood in the restaurant and watched him leave. As soon as Li Xun said goodbye, her tears burst out, leaving Zhang Han helpless.
Li Xun took out the last Mickey Mouse lollipop from his pocket and said, “Next time I come over, can I bring you some taro cakes?”
Li Chuzhi wiped away tears and burped: “Is the taro crisp delicious?”
Li Xun smiled and said, “Not bad. Your brother Song Yang likes it very much. I’ll buy one for you and send one to him.”
“Well.”
Li Xun pressed his thumb on her eyelid and wiped it gently. Then he remembered something and kissed her on the cheek: “I’m leaving.”
Li Chuzhi’s eyes widened in surprise, but she reacted much faster than Song Yang. She quickly held Li Xun’s jaw and kissed him. Because she was not prepared and used too much force, she left a wet saliva mark, which Li Xun wiped off with a look of disgust.
It was after 2:00 p.m. when Li Xun dragged his luggage to report to the base. When he came out of the subway station, the sky was clear again. After walking a few steps, he was sweating profusely.
Wang Nanfeng’s car was parked just outside the subway entrance.
Ten years later, the vehicle that came to pick him up was no longer a broken bicycle, but an SUV.
However, when Coach Wang saw him, he still greeted him with the same enthusiasm as he had ten years ago, patting his arm and saying, “You look a lot stronger now.” Then he couldn’t help but hug him and said, “It’s been almost three years since we last met.”
Li Xun’s back was patted again and again, and two wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes as he smiled: “Two and a half years.”
Wang Nanfeng let go of him and got straight to the point: “You came back at the right time. The technical team of the A University Research Institute has shipped two interesting new devices to our base.”
Li Xun immediately guessed: “AI command system?”
Wang Nanfeng was delighted: “How did you know?”
Li Xun said: “I saw it before when I was looking up literature.”
Decades ago, some people suggested that in the future, it would no longer be the athletes who would determine the outcome of sports competitions, but a country’s level of science and technology.
The reason why South Korea and some European and American countries have been able to crush other countries for a long time is because they have high investments, the most advanced equipment and the experience of their predecessors.
These sophisticated instruments will first collect a large amount of data – every time the athlete raises the bow, draws the string, releases the arrow, the angle of standing, the amplitude of the movement will be recorded, and then the technology will be compared and analyzed.
Coaches and athletes can use this reliable data analysis to adjust deficiencies in movement and strength.
So far, the most advanced system can even predict which ring the arrow will hit and where the arrow will hit on the target paper based on the wind speed, wind direction, athlete’s arm angle, string pull strength, etc., thereby reminding the athlete to adjust the arm angle and sight.
Such high-precision instructions would certainly not be possible even if thousands or tens of thousands of experienced coaches were assigned to analyze them simultaneously.
With these technical supports, all that remains is for the athletes to study hard and practice diligently, memorize the data analyzed during training, and adjust their movements according to circumstances.
Wang Nanfeng gritted his teeth, his eyes gleaming with a sharpness: “In the past, we could only envy others, but now we can do it too!”
After hearing this, Li Xun’s blood boiled and he was full of anticipation.
When we arrived at the base, we skipped even the greetings and pleasantries with several leaders, put down our luggage, and headed straight for the training ground.
New equipment, new instruments, new assistant coaches, new team members, new technologies, even the gym at the base has been renovated, just like his life.
Wang Nanfeng smiled and said, “Warm up here first, and I’ll teach you how to use the new equipment later.”
“Um.”
At the same time, Song Yang on the other side was also running and warming up in the gym.
Since the end of the University Games, he has been spotted by the leaders of the Nancheng provincial team and has been training at the provincial team’s base with Yu Shenwei and Wu Jianian.
During the break, Wu Jianian squatted in a corner, playing with his phone with a silly smile. After a while, he asked again, “My girlfriend’s birthday is coming soon. Help me think of a gift for her?”
Song Yang’s face fell.
Whenever someone around him shows off their affection, he always thinks of Li Xun first. However, there has been no news from the person who promised to contact him as soon as she was free and take him to Beijing for a trip.
The last time they talked was two days ago.
Song Yang took the initiative to send a message and asked Li Xun what he was doing. Six hours later, Li Xun replied with two words – busy.
Visible perfunctory attitude.
There’s no way to continue the conversation.
To be honest, Song Yang was somewhat resentful towards Li Xun. The things he promised him were like bullshit. He even suspected that Li Xun was fooling him like he was Li Chuzhi, and would just turn his back and forget about it.
But Li Xun’s social status, which he had not updated for a long time, the games he had not logged into, and the number of steps on WeChat, which remained at the top for a week, seemed to tell him that Li Xun was really busy.
He was stuck in two conflicting emotions, unable to extricate himself. He rolled his eyes and said sourly, “Dating is really troublesome. I don’t have this kind of trouble.”
At night, they all lived in the base dormitories, which were single rooms like those in a motel, with just a bed, a desk and a small bathroom. They could barely be considered clean, but the internet speed miraculously remained at the level of five years ago, and a TV episode could be loaded in half a year.
It was late at night and Song Yang was lying on the bed bored, but he couldn’t help but click on Li Xun’s profile picture.
–What are you doing?
Unexpectedly, the line on the other end quickly displayed “typing…” tonight. Song Yang grinned excitedly, turned over and lay on the bed, waiting for it to stop.
——I was just about to send you a message.
Song Yang was overjoyed, a smile spread across his lips, but he replied reservedly.
——Well, I don’t believe it.
——Really, I’m not lying to you, I’m exhausted these days. I just took a shower and lay down on the bed.
Song Yang bit the knuckle of his index finger and chuckled. Just as he was about to reply “Me too” when the other party suddenly popped up a video request.
He was startled and reflexively stood up, then straightened his frizzy hair and wrinkled pajamas in front of the mirror.
A second before clicking the connect button, he withdrew his fingertips, unbuttoned the three buttons on his chest with a wicked smile, lay back in the bed, and clicked the connect button while ensuring that the other party could see the exposed area.
What caught my eye was Li Xun, who was drinking water, choked, and coughed so hard that his facial features were distorted.
“What’s wrong with you?” Song Yang asked.
“It’s okay…” Li Xun put down the water cup, stared at the two pink pieces on his chest without blinking, and made a stupid remark without thinking, “Have you taken a shower?”
“Nonsense, why else would I wear pajamas?”
“Too……”
Li Xun awkwardly picked up the water cup, took two sips, and stood up to pour more. During this time, he was reluctant to put down his mobile phone and stole a glance while getting the water.
Song Yang’s hair was cut shorter, and the warm light made his skin look as smooth as jade. Li Xun pulled up his pants and crawled back into bed in a place that was out of the camera’s reach.
“Can you still adapt to the training intensity of the provincial team?”
“It’s OK.” The base dormitory has poor sound insulation, so Song Yang lowered his voice, “It’s just that our coach is so fierce. He starts scolding us when we disagree with him, and he always punishes us to do push-ups or something.”
“Is it Zou Haitao?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Li Xun laughed: “He also took care of me before.”
“Really? What a coincidence.”
“Yeah, but the funny thing about him is that he’s henpecked. When his wife is mean to him, he doesn’t even dare to fart.”
After Song Yang finished laughing, he thought of himself and said shyly, “Actually, I am also afraid of my wife. When I fall in love with someone in the future, I will definitely listen to my wife.”
These self-boasting words took on a different meaning when they reached Li Xun’s ears.
Li Xun suppressed his smile.
That day at the airport, they all…they all did that!
Song Yang is actually still thinking about getting a wife.
He was filled with sourness: “I have to get it first.”
Song Yang said nonchalantly: “I’m not in a hurry. At worst, I won’t ask for it.”
Li Xun thought that this was pretty good.
The night sky outside the window was clear and dotted with stars. They talked about gossip, training, competition, study and life. They could talk about anything and didn’t notice the time passing.
When Song Yang noticed the time, it was already past twelve o’clock. The call lasted three hours, which was more than what he had said in the past week.
He asked reluctantly, “Isn’t it time for you to go to bed?”
“No.” Li Xun said while holding back a yawn, “I’m not very sleepy today. If you are sleepy, go to sleep first. I need to stay for a while.”
Song Yang blinked his sore eyes and said softly, “I’m not sleepy either.”
