Rock Sugar And Pear Stew Chapter 62

Chapter 62 – A chance encounter (Translated and edited by Xing)

The two of them played for a while more on the ice rink, this time with Li Yubing closely following beside Tang Xue and not leaving her side for even a moment . Tang Xue did not see Bian Cheng again and thought that he left .

When they left the ice rink, they saw Bian Cheng at the exit .

Li Yubing smiled grimly in his heart .  This is a good game he’s played .

Since they met, the three of them headed out together . The amus.e.m.e.nt park was still buzzing with activity . Tang Xue was actually quite keen to have fun . She wanted to ride both the roller coaster and the drop tower but there were long queues everywhere . Everyone was out to play before the New Year .

She did not want to waste her time queueing and chose to shoot balloons in the end .

The game used toy guns with plastic bullets . The balloons varied in sizes and the smaller balloons came in different colours . Different balloons gave different prizes; there were large and small stuffed toys and all kinds of popular toys .

Among all the balloons, the small red balloon was the most valuable . Anyone who successfully hit it could freely pick among all the large toys .

Tang Xue spotted a pink dinosaur on the prize rack . In the past, she did not believe in love at first sight but now she was convinced .

“I want that . ” Tang Xue pointed to the dinosaur .

“Buy it on Taobao . ” Li Yubing showed her the light .

However, Tang Xue had already pa.s.sed twenty yuan over . “I’ll play a twenty yuan round first . ”

And another, and another, and another .

The more she played, the deeper she sank . Each round made her more frustrated than the last .

One hundred yuan was gone like this . At the last shot, Li Yubing suddenly pressed down on her shoulder .

Tang Xue turned to look at him . She thought that he wanted to play as well and held the gun out .

Li Yubing did not take it . He did not believe that it was possible for the toy gun to hit the tiny balloon at all . Though he could not explain why, he felt that there was something fishy going on .

“Let’s go . I’ll buy one for you,” Li Yubing said . He paused before emphasizing, “One that’s exactly the same . ”

“Let me give it a try . ” Bian Cheng who has been observing silently from the side suddenly spoke .

The two of them looked at Bian Cheng .

Bian Cheng stepped forward to take the toy gun . He aimed at the balloon and explained, “The gunsight for this gun is not accurate; it’s slightly off . Therefore, you won’t be able to hit the things that you’ve aimed at . ”

Tang Xue was astonished . “Ah? So what can we do? Just shoot blindly?”

Bian Cheng shook his head . “Nope, the deviation is fixed . You just have to calculate the angle difference and adjust according when aiming to make up for it . For example, like this…” As he spoke, his hand that was supporting the gun moved slightly below . His left eye was closed while his right eye was fixed on the gun sight . After a while, he raised his head and gazed at the target . This repeated several times .

Tang Xue felt very amazed . She stretched her neck and leaned over to his side to take a closer look .

Then, Li Yubing wanted to see what was going on as well .   He suddenly squeezed over and wedged his large body in between the two of them, crowding up s.p.a.ce at once . After a while, he seemed to feel that Tang Xue was obstructing his sight and tugged on the back of her collar to toss her to the side .

Tang Xue, “…”

Finally, Bian Cheng was done with aiming and suddenly pulled on the trigger .

Bang—

Pop!

The small red balloon burst and vanished into thin air .

Tang Xue was stunned for three seconds before breaking into wild applause . “Wow! That’s amazing, no wonder you’re a top student!”

Bian Cheng smiled and pushed up his spectacles . He returned the toy gun to her .

Tang Xue took the gun and put it on the counter . She pointed to the pink dinosaur on the rack and told the boss, “I want that!”

The boss took it down and held it out to her . Tang Xue rubbed her hands and reached out but before she even touched it, the dinosaur suddenly changed directions .

Li Yubing had taken the dinosaur before she could do so . He held it in his arms and said, “Mine . ”

Tang Xue could not believe that such ridiculous behaviour existed . She stared blankly . “Li Yubing, have you no shame?”

Li Yubing was unperturbed as he looked at the dinosaur . The answer was clear on his face: What’s shame and who cares?[1]

“Be reasonable . ” Tang Xue could not win him in a fight and could only reason with him . “The money was spent by me . ”

“I took you ice skating,” Li Yubing countered .

“Eh… The balloon was shot by Bian Cheng so we should give it to him . Right, Bian Cheng?” Tang Xue looked at Bian Cheng as she spoke .

Bian Cheng was about to speak when Li Yubing quickly interrupted, “I taught you ice skating; this is the lesson fee . ”

Unable to counter him either, Bian Cheng tugged on Tang Xue’s s.h.i.+rt and comforted her, “How about I’ll shoot one more for you?”

Hearing this, the boss kept the toy gun and said curtly, “Sorry, no more . ”

And that was how Tang Xue ended up spending a hundred yuan on a pink dinosaur for Li Yubing .

Li Yubing, a man of 1 . 88 m, was holding a cute and girly stuffed toy in his arms . This was a sight that could kill .

The three of them left the amus.e.m.e.nt park . Li Yubing asked Tang Xue, “How are you heading back?”

“I’m taking the train . ”

Li Yubing had already fished out his phone and was prepared to book a taxi . Hearing her reply, he lowered his phone and said, “I’ll take the train as well . ”

Bian Cheng… Bian Cheng was going to take the train as well .  This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

However, Bian Cheng and Tang Xue were not heading in the same direction . He did not even have the chance to pretend otherwise . This was because Tang Xue pointed at the train map and said, “Bian Cheng, don’t you stay at Gulou? We’re heading in opposite directions . ”

Heh, she even knows where he stays .  Li Yubing’s heart started feeling sour again .

And there was nothing he could do to relieve that sour feeling .

The three of them parted like this . Li Yubing and Tang Xue stepped into the train carriage together .

There were fewer people at night and they managed to find adjacent seats . After sitting down, Tang Xue ignored Li Yubing as she still felt indignant over the dinosaur .

Li Yubing had his own pent-up frustrations and kept silent as well . He leaned back and closed his eyes to rest .

Things stayed this way for more than ten minutes . Then, Tang Xue furtively glanced at Li Yubing out of the corner of her eye .

Li Yubing sat relatively straight . His head leaning against the carriage wall, his breathing was even and his eyes were tightly closed . It looked like he had fallen asleep .

Tang Xue very, very surrept.i.tiously tugged on the dinosaur in his arms .

Towed by its tail, the dinosaur very, very slowly left Li Yubing .

Then, it very, very quietly… climbed back into Li Yubing’s arms .

Tang Xue, “…”

The dinosaur was alive?

She looked up at Li Yubing and caught him smiling with his eyes still closed . Lips the colour of cherry blossoms were curved up in a beautiful arc . Under the carriage lighting, those lips appeared not only vivid and satiny but also soft and firm . It looked extremely delicious .

Tang Xue suddenly felt an urge, or rather, an impulse welling up from the depth of her heart . She terribly wanted to taste this beautiful pair of lips…

This thought flas.h.i.+ng through her mind came instinctively out of nowhere . When she fully registered the thought and rationally squashed down the bafflingly strange impulse, she heard herself swallowing her saliva .

Mm, maybe… she was just hungry?

Tang Xue scratched her head and looked down in embarra.s.sment . She saw that the dinosaur had fully returned to Li Yubing’s arms . His hand was placed over the dinosaur’s belly and grasping its feet .

Tang Xue was speechless . No wonder .

Tang Xue quietened down after that . When it was her stop, she moved to the door . Li Yubing followed behind and exited along with her .

Tang Xue asked, “Are you going to say that you stay in the same residential area as me?”

“It’s late . I’ll send you home . ”

It was only a few hundred metres from the train station to her residential area . Tang Xue was used to walking back and not afraid . However, she still felt a little touched that someone was thoughtfully looking out for her like this .

But when she saw the dinosaur in Li Yubing’s arms, her feelings of being touched vanished . “Don’t think that I’ll forgive you like this . ”

……

The number of people around reduced drastically when they stepped out of the station .

The two of them walked on the road side by side . Under the streetlights, their shadows shrank and elongated repeatedly . Tang Xue’s head was lowered as she kicked a pebble along . After walking like this for some time, she reached the entrance of the residential area she lived in .

She still thanked him in the end .

Li Yubing lowered his head and looked at her . He suddenly said, “I’m curious about one thing . ”

“Ah?”

“I remember that you dislike Bian Cheng . ”

Tang Xue scratched her head and answered, “It’s not a very strong dislike . I simply don’t want to see him . You’re right—by giving up a dream for love, one won’t be able to stop thinking about that dream . In the end, not even affection is left after being worn away . Sigh, Li Yubing, sometimes I think that you’re a lunatic and sometimes I think that you’re a philosopher . ”

“Then what do you think I am most of the time?”

“Most of the time, I think that you’re a dog . ”

Here it goes again… Li Yubing placed a hand on his forehead . He asked gently, “What about now? What do you feel towards Bian Cheng?”

“Now? I’ve put the past behind me . After going about in circles, I manage to end up doing what I want . Fate has been good to me . I’m not going to be resentful of anyone anymore . ” After saying this, Tang Xue suddenly exhaled a sigh . She lamented, “Speaking of this, sometimes when we say that we dislike someone, perhaps it’s not that we truly dislike them . We simply dislike the period a.s.sociated with that person, and dislike who we were then…”

Li Yubing was stunned for a moment . He gave a rueful smile and thought, isn’t this the case .

Tang Xue rubbed the dinosaur’s head and said to Li Yubing, “Give this to me . I’ll call you ‘daddy’ one more time . ”

That exact moment, a spirited male voice interrupted them . The voice was filled with thick displeasure . “Say it again, who are you calling ‘daddy’?”

Tang Xue turned her head and saw her real father standing in the distance . She jumped in shock . “Dad…”

Princ.i.p.al Tang held a takeout box in his hand . Fury was written all over his face as he stared at Tang Xue before staring at Li Yubing . Which family forgot to keep a close eye on their pig, allowing it to come and dig up his house’s cabbage?![2]

Li Yubing did not expect to meet Tang Xue’s father under such circ.u.mstances . He had never been as nervous as he was now, feeling so ill at ease that his body was stiff and he had no idea where to put his hands . His usual calm had completely disappeared without a trace .

“h.e.l.lo, uncle,” Li Yubing said .

His politeness did not make Princ.i.p.al Tang put down his guard . However, after scrutinizing Li Yubing once from head to toe and comparing him with his own daughter, he was suddenly a little confused at who exactly was the pig .

Tang Xue tugged Li Yubing forward and introduced, “Dad, this is Li Yubing . Do you still remember him? My primary school deskmate . ”

Princ.i.p.al Tang reacted as if he had touched a live wire . His entire body jolted and as if he could not believe his ears, he raised his voice and thundered, “Who did you say he was?!”

His reaction was too extreme, giving Tang Xue a large shock . She replied timidly, “He’s Li Yubing, my deskmate of six years . The person that you reminded me to learn from every day, Li Yubing . ”

Princ.i.p.al Tang looked at Li Yubing again . At this moment, his expression was guarded and unwelcoming, and did not look as if he was looking at his daughter’s role model .

Ideally, Li Yubing had visualized him paying a call on Tang Xue’s parents by visiting her house with gifts . Great, now Tang Xue’s real father had stumbled on them while she was randomly calling him ‘daddy’ . His first impression was completely ruined and he had no gifts with him, too . From head to toe, he only had the pink dinosaur which could barely count as a gift . If he were to actually give it to a middle-aged man, he would probably be labelled as a lunatic .

He braced himself to withstand the onslaught of Princ.i.p.al Tang’s gaze . It felt like Princ.i.p.al Tang’s eyes held profound feelings beyond mere anger at having his t.i.tle stolen .

However, Li Yubing could not recall any incident which he might have offended Princ.i.p.al Tang .

It was inappropriate for him to linger under such circ.u.mstances . Li Yubing bade farewell to the Tang parent and child, and escaped hurriedly . He needed to do some reflection at home .  

Princ.i.p.al Tang watched Li Yubing’s leaving figure as he left and asked Tang Xue, “Don’t tell me that there’s something going on between the both of you . ”

When Tang Xue heard this, a pair of cherry blossom-coloured lips lightly curved with the hint of a smile appeared in her head . Her face heated and she shook her head lightly . She answered, “Dad, you’re thinking too much . If we’re really together, do you think he can’t even bear to let me have a soft toy?”

“That’s true . ” Princ.i.p.al Tang had huge confidence in his daughter . She was brazen enough that she would not hide something from him simply because she was shy . If she said that it was not so, then things were really as she said .

“So what is happening between the two of you?” Princ.i.p.al Tang asked again, “Why the sudden contact? I’ve never heard you mention this before . ”

“We happened to meet on campus . It’s such a coincidence that we ended up in the same school again . He’s in the ice hockey team while I’m in the speed skating team . ” Tang Xue beamed as she shared the details . “Don’t judge him by his appearance—even though he looks like a lunatic, he’s quite talented at what he does . He recently represented China at this year’s World U-20 Ice Hockey Champions.h.i.+p as a core member . However, he’s usually sooo pretentious in public . ”

Princ.i.p.al Tang observed Tang Xue suspiciously as she rattled on . She felt baffled and fell silent . Seeing the takeout that her father held, she then asked, “What’s this?”

“Your mom felt like eating duck blood vermicelli . I went to buy it for her . ”

“The two of you are still publically displaying affection at this age . I can’t take it anymore . I’m going to move out to a place where there are only single dogs . ”[3]

The father and daughter duo chattered as they headed back .

“Are we going to grandpa and grandma’s house tomorrow?”

“Mm, we’ll have reunion dinner together . ”

“Dad, how much red packet money are you giving me this year? Give me a hint?”

“Heh . ”

“Don’t be like this . I’ll first give you a hint at how much I’m eating these days . Let you mentally prepare yourself…”

“Say, you and Li Yubing—”

“Dad, haven’t I explained it clearly? There’s really nothing going on . ”

“Even if there’s nothing going on right now, there can’t be anything going on in the future, understand? I’m telling you, I’ll never agree to the two of you being together . ”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because… I just don’t agree!”

Translator’s Notes:

[1] “Who cares” is in italics as it was originally in English in the raws

[2] From Chapter 9: 拱自家小白菜的猪 (gǒng zì jiā xiǎo bái cài de zhū) . I love this phrase . Instead of straightforwardly describing a potential suitor as a guy interested in his daughter, a dad will use this phrase to refer to him as a pig intending to dig up his house’s cabbage, with the cabbage referring to his daughter .

[3] From Chapter 27: Single dog, 单身狗 (dān shēn gǒu), is a very common Chinese internet slang for single people to refer to themselves self-deprecatingly . This phrase also comes with dog food, 狗粮 (gǒu liáng), and dog abuse, 虐狗 (nüè gǒu) . All affectionate gestures displayed by couples can be considered either dog food or dog abuse (to all single dogs) .