Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 77
Li Xun returned to the base with an injury and received a lot of attention. From the teaching assistants, the team leader to the aunt who served food in the cafeteria, he had to explain the reason for his injury to everyone he met. However, he was also treated like a national treasure because of this. Yu Shenwei carried his bow and arrow box, Song Yang helped him get his coat, and even someone served him when he poured water.
Since the injured part was his right hand, which he used for eating, it was inconvenient for him to hold chopsticks, so he had to use a fork to roll up the noodles for dinner.
Song Yang helped him cut the steak into small pieces, peeled the shells of the blanched shrimps, and finally picked up two braised quail eggs and put them in his bowl.
Li Xun raised his head: “Don’t you like to eat this?”
There were quite a few people in the cafeteria. Song Yang leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: “Auntie said that what you eat is what you replenish. I have to replenish you well.”
Li Xun’s mouth curled up a little: “That’s too small, it must be an egg, right?”
Even though he said he was disgusted, he still put the food into his mouth obediently. Halfway through, he thought of something and couldn’t suppress the smile on his face.
Song Yang and Li Xun have been together for a long time, and they know the reasons behind every smile.
He pressed against Li Xun’s toes under the table: “Come to my room tonight? I’ll give you a make-up.”
After Zhang Qiao moved out, there was no one else in Song Yang’s room.
At one o’clock in the morning, Li Xun took advantage of Yu Shenwei’s deep sleep and went over. Song Yang was still lying on the table sticking arrow feathers. The desk lamp illuminated a corner. The tablet was playing a video. The background was a classroom of T University. It was obvious that the students in the back seat helped to record it.
Li Xun locked the door, raised his legs and sat behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder, and said softly: “How long will it take for the get out of class to end?
Song Yang still held the glue gun in his hand. He tapped the screen with his little finger, and it showed that the video still had seventeen minutes left. He turned around and kissed Li Xun’s cheek: “It will be ready soon. If you feel sleepy, go into the warm nest first.”
Li Xun put his arms around him: “I don’t want to move, I’ll sit here to accompany you and reminisce about the time when I was in college.”
“Did any female classmates ask you for your contact information at that time?” Song Yang thought for a moment, “No, did any classmates write to you at that time?”
“…”
Li Xun pinched his waist hard, and Song Yang huddled up in itchiness, with the hot melt glue in his hand dripping onto the table: “Stop it, stop it, I’m gluing something.”
Li Xun said: “But writing letters was quite popular back then, especially in middle school.”
“I knew it!” Song Yang laughed, but because of the insurmountable age difference, he felt sour, “Did a lot of female classmates write to you?”
Li Xun stared at the video, his lips moved but no sound came out.
Song Yang raised his shoulder and gently bumped his chin: “What excuse are you coming up with to give me?”
Li Xun said: “I did receive some letters, but when I look back, I find that the only one that makes my heart beat faster is your ‘typing’.”
The dark night made the words sound even more seductive. Song Yang turned off the glue gun and the tablet, turned around and kissed him, from a light kiss to a lingering deep kiss, successfully igniting a fire, with a hard thing pressing against him from behind.
Li Xun was physically disabled but mentally strong, and he displayed the skills of an excellent archery athlete. He flexibly unbuttoned and took off his clothes with one hand, pushed his naked boyfriend down on the bed, leaned over him, and carefully let his right hand hang on the edge of the bed, not participating in this exercise.
Seeing Li Xun twisting the cap of the lubricant bottle with his hands and mouth, Song Yang smiled like a little fox who had succeeded in his evil plan. He touched Li Xun’s back and teased him: “Can you do it with just one hand? Or let me try tonight?”
Li Xun finally bit open the bottle cap and put it aside. He pinched the hem of his shirt and raised his hand to take off his sweater and base lining together, revealing his muscular body: “Don’t worry, I can guarantee that I can make you feel great with just one hand.”
Song Yang’s ears were numbed by these words, and his whole body was numbed. He gently stroked the back of Li Xun’s neck, hooked him in front of his eyes, and painted on his body with the tip of his tongue.
If time could go back, he would definitely kiss Li Xun when he was seven years old, and ask that nineteen-year-old, high-spirited boy to give up his immature first kiss, so that Li Xun would definitely remember him for many years.
Unfortunately, time cannot be reversed, and he can only try his best to please Li Xun, asking this 32-year-old, calm and composed man to stay up all night and go crazy for him, sweating for him. In that way, Li Xun will probably remember him for the rest of his life.
No matter what you do when you are surrounded by your lover, the days seem too short.
In the blink of an eye, it’s already the end of May.
Eighteen days before the World Championships, the entire team bid farewell to the vast land of Qinghai and returned to Beijing.
After spending nearly half a year on the plateau, the first feeling I had when I returned to the capital base was that my breathing was so smooth. I didn’t have to worry about fainting from lack of oxygen. Running was much easier. Everything was good, except at night, when Song looked up at the sparse stars in the sky, he would miss the magnificent night sky of Qinghai.
On Saturday, after dinner, everyone conducted combat training outdoors, and the sounds of drawing bows and shooting arrows echoed over the base.
Wang Nanfeng pushed a large box of stuff on a cart and walked behind everyone, shouting, “Stop for a moment, come and try out the new equipment.”
Song Yang let go of the last arrow, and after confirming that it was a ten-ring, he put down the bow and jumped over happily: “What good stuff?”
As he was talking, Li Xun had already used the keychain to open the box. Several newcomers, including Song Yang, who had never seen the world, exclaimed “Wow”.
It was equipment specially customized for World Championship athletes, including bows, arrows, quivers, chest protectors, arm guards, and finger guards.
Song Yang found his own portion and unpacked it carefully.
A string of clear English words is printed in the center of the arrow shaft: A SY.
It is so light that you can spin it with your fingertips, but it is so heavy that it carries the country’s trust in it.
He looked at his own face, then at Li Xun’s, and somehow he felt like crying.
Wang Nanfeng said, “And your new clothes. Try them on to see if they fit you. If they are too small, I’ll give them to you.”
The national team’s uniforms are all in the color of the national flag, with a classic polo collar and loose casual pants. To be honest, if these clothes were put in a shopping mall, Song Yang wouldn’t even look at them, because the color combination is so tacky.
But when the five-star red flag was embroidered on its chest and “A Song Yang” was printed in gold on the back, it became a priceless treasure, worthy of exchanging his entire youth for it.
He put them on immediately. The clothes fit him perfectly. He turned around facing the glass window and said, “Master, please take a picture for me! I’ll send it to my parents!”
Li Xun took out his cell phone: “Take a picture of the front and back?”
Song Yang said: “Both sides! Find a good angle and make me look more handsome. I will also post it on WeChat Moments.”
Li Xun half-knelt and raised his phone: “You look handsome from any angle.”
Yu Shenwei uttered a speechless “vomit”.
It’s hard to describe Li Xun’s photography skills in a few words. To be more precise, even if you just press the shutter button while peeing, the photos you take may be better than those taken by Li Xun.
Song Yang finally picked out one with clear back view from among nearly a hundred shots. As for the frontal photos, he was either talking or had his eyes closed, and none of them looked good.
Song Yang deleted all the blurry photos and asked, “Master, can I take a photo with you?”
Li Xun said “hmm” and leaned over slightly.
Song Yang used a primitive camera. The difference in skin color between the black and white was particularly obvious under the lens. The two faces were pasted together and frozen.
Li Xun joked: “Please make it whiter in post-production, the contrast is too obvious.”
Song Yang lowered his head and zoomed in on Li Xun’s features. His metabolism was excellent, his diet was very regular, and his skin looked no different from that of a man in his twenties.
Song Yang said: “It’s pretty good.”
In fact, even if Li Xun was tanned, had wrinkles, and looked not so young, he was still good-looking in his eyes, because he still retained the heroic spirit and courage that he had when he won the championship with one arrow at the age of nineteen.
Compared with before, Li Xun is calmer, gentler, and more manly.
“I think wheat color suits you better.”
“Really?”
“of course!”
Yu Shenwei was listening on the side, speechless: “Your idol filter is too strong, I think it’s just average, not as good-looking as me, let’s take a picture together.”
“Huh.” Song Yang set it as wallpaper and put away his phone, “I don’t want to waste that memory.”
“…That’s too disrespectful! We are classmates after all!”
Li Xun also ignored him and said to Song Yang: “Send me a copy of that photo just now.”
“oh!”
Everyone was immersed in the joy of the arrival of new equipment, and no one noticed that Wang Nanfeng was missing.
He went back to the room, took off his long-sleeved shirt, changed into a thicker piece of clothing, and then put on a loose sweater. He looked in the mirror and asked the team doctor beside him: “Can you tell that I’m wearing something underneath?”
The team doctor turned around and said, “There’s an outline on the back, you can put on another coat.”
Wang Nanfeng flipped over another coat and said with a smile, “If the weather gets any hotter, it won’t be able to hide.”
The team doctor looked at him under the lights with a worried look on his face: “Do you really want to train them like this? I think it’s still too dangerous. The Korean methods may not all be suitable for us.”
Wang Nanfeng said: “It’s not a question of whether it’s suitable or not. We have to try all methods. I have always believed that there is no problem with the strength of our athletes. The reason they lost is their psychological quality. The performance in domestic competitions is too far from that in international competitions. We must make them really nervous during training.”
The team doctor asked, “What if you really get injured?”
“Aren’t you here?” Wang Nanfeng smiled carefreely and zipped up his jacket. “I believe in you, and I believe in them.”
It was past nine o’clock in the evening, the night sky was lit up by stars, the lights in the tall buildings gradually went out, but the training ground was still brightly lit.
Wang Nanfeng and the team doctor came to the shooting range together, gathered the team, and announced: “I will give everyone a special test in a while to check the recent training results.”
Everyone got scared when they heard about the test. One female athlete asked, “Isn’t it another earthworm or silkworm?”
Wang Nanfeng said: “This time it’s not an animal.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The team doctor said: “But it is much scarier than animals.”
Li Xun raised his eyes alertly and looked at Wang Nanfeng. Suddenly, the corner of his eye twitched and he had a premonition.
As expected, Wang Nanfeng walked towards the target seventy meters away. His fat back looked a little lonely at this moment.
Song Yang moved behind the telescope and saw Wang Nanfeng standing on the left side of the target, with his lowered arm just enough to cover the third ring.
“Fuck…” Yu Shenwei was shocked, “No way?”
The assistant coach said, “Your mission tonight is to hit the ten rings.”
Song Yang frowned and said, “You’re standing too close. It’s very dangerous.”
“Still close?” The assistant coach sneered, “Can you normally hit three rings?”
Of course not.
But when there is a living creature standing next to the target, the feeling is completely different.
Yu Shenwei asked: “If someone is not careful, who will bear the responsibility? Is it considered intentional injury?”
“It’s not considered intentional injury, but whoever hits him will be held responsible.”
A girl whispered, “Can we not fight?”
Assistant coach: “If you don’t want to play, send the substitute in.”
Wang Nanfeng shouted from the other side: “Hurry up, who’s the first one?”
Everyone looked at each other, no one dared to go up, and no one wanted to go up. Not only was that person a living creature, but he was also their head coach who had done them a favor.
As the captain, Li Xun couldn’t let the situation remain deadlocked, so he stepped forward and said, “Let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”
The first person to go on stage was Yu Shenwei. After the timer rang, he hesitated and asked if anyone wanted to go on first.
The assistant coach urged, “Hurry up! You’re going to get stabbed anyway, sooner or later. I told you to shoot, not to stand by. What are you afraid of?”
Yu Shenwei hunched his shoulders: “Let’s make a deal first. If anything happens, don’t sue me.”
The assistant coach roared, “Hurry up!”
Yu Shenwei shrugged in fear.
Song Yang reminded him: “There are still eight seconds.”
How does it feel when an arrow from a distance is aimed at you?
Li Xun was thinking about this question when he was carefully raising his bow.
Wang Nanfeng put his life in their hands.
As expected, Yu Shenwei’s arrow was very ineffective and he hit the third ring on the right.
Wang Nanfeng took a look at the target paper and said angrily, “What the hell is this! Can you hit it properly?”
Yu Shenwei adjusted his state and gritted his teeth to shoot the second arrow, but the level was still very poor, hitting the sixth ring on the right.
Wang Nanfeng held the intercom and said, “Change people.”
At a range of seventy meters, the athlete cannot see the target clearly. When the line of sight is focused on the crosshairs, the center of the target will blur into a small circle. The athlete needs to find the most appropriate time to release the target while pulling the bowstring.
The most difficult part is that they are not pulling an ordinary bow, but a 51-pound competitive bow, which is equivalent to 46 kilograms. Their arms will shake under such a pulling force, and they can’t stop shaking.
Just like playing a game, master the pattern of shaking and predict the direction by feeling.
In order not to hurt the coach, everyone tacitly aimed at the half of the yellow heart on the right side within the visual range. The best result came from Song Yang’s second arrow, an eight-ring.
Wang Nanfeng frowned, “Don’t you dare to fight? If you can’t practice well tonight, just keep practicing until you hit three ten-rings in a row before you can go to bed.”
Yu Shenwei rubbed his forehead vigorously and said helplessly: “It’s really terrible…”
“Li Xun.” The assistant raised his eyebrows, “It’s your turn.”
Li Xun stood still at the starting line with his legs slightly apart. It had to be said that the feeling was very similar to standing on the playing field. His heart was beating like a drum and his blood flowed faster, which was completely different from the state he was in during the training just now.
In the telescope, Wang Nanfeng’s body moved slightly to the left, and his arm just covered the seventh ring.
Li Xun could feel his movements, and his arms, which had just been raised, dropped again. He said, “Does it have to be so exciting right from the start?”
Wang Nanfeng’s slow voice came from the intercom: “What did I tell you on your first day in the team?”
Li Xun raised his bow and arrow, aimed at the target, and his arms shook slightly.
Always believe in yourself and the bow and arrow in your hand, he said silently in his heart.
Veins bulged on the back of his hands from the pulling action, his brows were furrowed, and a taut bowstring pressed against the corners of his mouth.
The whole team’s attention was focused in one direction.
The signal piece landed with a “pop”, Li Xun released his fingers, and the black carbon arrow flew out in a spin.
Nineteen long years.
His youth was branded into the center of the arrow shaft.
His name is Li Xun.
He is also A LX.
