Rock Sugar And Pear Stew Chapter 53

Chapter 53 - Flowers for you (Translated and edited by Xing)

Li Yubing did not dare to hug Tang Xue for too long and released her after patting her gently. When he lowered his head and saw the tears in her eyes, he felt his heart twinge and asked, "There's still a chance, right?"

"It'll depend on the judges." She was extremely embarra.s.sed at how he saw her crying and raised a hand to scrub her face. "I wonder if the recording managed to capture everything clearly. I don't know if they'll say that I impeded."

At the point of the accident, the two of them were too close and going at a high speed. Tang Xue could not remember clearly if her arm had obstructed the other party when the girl tried to cut into the inner lane. Sometimes, the fouls committed on the rink were merely unintentional actions and it was up to the judges to decide. However, the judges were human after all. Different judges could have different evaluations of the exact same circ.u.mstances.

As Tang Xue waited next to the rink, her heart beat in nervous apprehension while her hand rubbed her b.u.t.t subconsciously. Seeing her like this, Li Yubing felt his heart ache but at the same time had the urge to laugh. He really wanted to share her burden but was scared of being beaten up.

It did not take long for the judges to finish reviewing the recording. After some a.n.a.lysis, this was the final conclusion: Tang Xue was obstructed from coming in second place and could advance to the next stage of the compet.i.tion directly.

Tang Xue let out a huge sigh of relief.

Li Yubing curved his lips and raised a hand to rap her helmet. "Good job."

Tang Xue was going to reply Li Yubing when she saw Zhang Yuewei walked in front of them towards the semi-finals B of the 500 metres event. When she pa.s.sed by them, Zhang Yuewei glanced at Li Yubing. Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Li Yubing was still playing with Tang Xue's helmet.

Tang Xue told Zhang Yuewei, "Good luck, you."

For once, Zhang Yuewei did not roll her eyes, stare in annoyance or laugh at Tang Xue. Instead, she replied with a soft "okay". Her voice was gentle and bashful, absolutely befitting a young lady from a n.o.ble family in ancient times.

Tang Xue was shocked. "Zhang Yuewei, did you take the wrong meds? Feel your chest and tell yourself that you're a man!"

Zhang Yuewei's leaving figure stumbled and Tang Xue seemed to hear the sound of grinding teeth.

Tang Xue withdrew her gaze and found Li Yubing looking at her. She pointed at Zhang Yuewei and said, "That's the newest lackey I took in from the speed skating team. How's she? Isn't she obedient?"

Li Yubing patted his hand on her helmet.  "Way to go."

All you know is how to take in lackeys—take in a husband if you can.

Zhang Yuewei successfully entered the finals. With this, RCU had two partic.i.p.ants who managed to enter the finals of the 500 metres event. Chu Xia was greatly satisfied with this outcome.

When it came to a.s.signing the lanes, Zhang Yuewei was placed on the innermost lane as she had the best result. As Tang Xue was sent into the finals by the judges' decision, she was placed on the outermost lane disadvantageously. This handicap was clear from the get-go. Though she was not any slower than the other contestants, she was ranked last.

Li Yubing's gaze traced the figure on the ice bringing up the rear. He commented to Chu Xia, "Being able to achieve this level of performance within three months is already an accomplishment."

"Yes," Chu Xia nodded, "I did not expect her to enter the finals."

Li Yubing set aside his worries silently.

Chu Xia was still a little mournful. "She's too inexperienced."

For a sport like speed skating, one needs not just the speed but also the skills to surpa.s.s other contestants. It could be seen that Tang Xue was trying to advance persistently but three rounds had pa.s.sed and she had yet to do so.

At the fourth round, Chu Xia no longer held any requirements for Tang Xue and was satisfied as long as she managed to complete. In any case, Zhang Yuewei was showing a stable lead and the gold should be theirs if there were no unexpected accidents. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

However, Tang Xue suddenly went all out and her speed increased explosively. She was like a missile as she found the appropriate opening to cut into the inner lane from the outer lane. Her burst in speed was too sudden and the two opponents she sped past had no way to guard against it. They could only watch in vain as a figure dashed past them in less time than it took for them to blink.

Your mom's egg![1] Give chase!

But they couldn't catch up…

Just like this, Tang Xue completed the remaining distance while maintaining a third place. Though she did not stop attempting to overtake even in the final half lap, she ultimately did not succeed.

However, obtaining bronze for her first battle was still pretty impressive!

When she left the podium and returned to the lounge with her flowers, she saw Li Yubing watched her as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Thinking of the hug he gave her earlier, she felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

Thus, she held out the flowers in her hand to him. "Victory spoil, for you."

As Li Yubing took the flowers, his eyes landed on her face. His face had a hint of a smile and his gaze was bright and clear.

Tang Xue began to feel a little awkward and s.h.i.+fted her sight away.

Li Yubing held the flowers up to his nose and inhaled. At the same time, in his right pocket, his hand clutched a piece of raw amber. He rubbed the stone lightly and hesitated. Finally, when he was almost about to take it out, his hand loosened and the amber fell back into his pocket.

Now's not the time yet. I can't alarm her, he thought.

For some people, stewing gently is the way to go.

This is an original work of 酒小七 (Jiu Xiaoqi) translated by Tea Fragrance. If you are not reading this at teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been reposted without the translator's consent. Head there for extra content or to leave feedback and comments on the novel translation.

Translator's Notes:

[1] 妈蛋 (mā dàn) has been translated literally as mom's egg but it's meant to be a very mild form of cursing like "darn". I really like how cute some Chinese curses are when translated literally so I decided to do the same for this phrase.

Oh, look, a bonus chapter released for this week. Surprise! Don't expect this to be a regular thing!