It was not until they saw the runners of the 800-meter race coming out of the exit of the all-weather running track grandstand and walking towards the field. Shi Man and Xiao Yuqing slowly walked towards the start of the race together.
Lin Xian and Xia Zhijin were next to each other on the track and were doing warm-up exercises and moving their arms and legs. By her side, there were already several students who were in the same department as Lin Xian and others from different departments who came to cheer for Xia Zhijin.
As soon as she saw Xiao Yuqing coming with her SLR, Lin Xian stopped her hand and foot movements and smilingly stood up straight at the camera, like a big star who had been waiting for an interview.
Seeing that she had changed into cleats, Xiao Yuqing looked down and carefully checked to see if she had tied her laces and only after confirming that they were perfect did she raise her eyes and cheer Lin Xian, “Do your best.” Her voice, as always, was soft and gentle.
Shi Man was not far away, there is no hidden restraint her voice which was loud, clear, and crisp. The young girl’s open and provocative words reached the ears of Xiao Yuqing and Lin Xian at the same time, “Zhijin, go! Leave Lin Xian behind, humph, she proudly mocked me during the physical test the other day, you have to help me take revenge.”
Lin Xian was dissatisfied when she heard the words and turned to the side, “Why don’t you remember who was kind enough to help you walk after you staggered after running?”
Shi Man’s charming peach blossom eyes slightly curved, not afraid of Lin Xian at all, “En, I remember the kindness, I also remember the hatred, both are not the same, what’s wrong with it?”
Xia Zhijin gently patted Shi Man’s little head, smiled shyly at Lin Xian, and thanked Lin Xian, “Thank you for taking care of Manman.”
Lin Xian was just teasing with Shi Man, so when she saw Xia Zhijin suddenly thanking her in a serious way, she was embarrassed and waved her hand, “It’s a small thing, no need to be so polite.”
Thus, Xia Zhijin relaxed her eyebrows and her cold face had a soft look. She took a look at Shi Man, who was still waving wildly, and then turned around and teased Lin Xian, “Then, do your best.”
“Whoa, what do you mean by that! I was going to give it my all, but you make it sound like I’m holding it back. Aunt Xiao, you said they weren’t angry.” She couldn’t believe that such a serious Xia Zhijin could also joke! Sure enough, if it’s not a family, don’t enter the family1! Lin Xian was immediately dissatisfied.
Xiao Yuqing had a smile on her lips and reassured her, “It’s okay, we’re not afraid, don’t argue with them. Just use your strength to do the talking.”
Lin Xian nodded her head.
Xiao Yuqing then stroked the soft hair on top of her head and told her, “I’ll be waiting for you here.”
Lin Xian smiled and felt a fierce warmth in her heart and a smile leapt on her bright and youthful face, “Okay, you wait for me.”
She continued, “I will definitely not make you wait long.” The young girl’s eyebrows and eyes were soaring with confidence and Xiao Yuqing couldn’t help but feel happy when she looked at her.
Two minutes before the race officially started, Xiao Yuqing and other onlookers retreated to the side of the track, she turned on the video mode of her SLR, faced towards Lin Xian, and stood prepared.
The starting gun sounded with a bang over the vast open-air ground and all the athletes who were ready to run, almost at the same time, dashed away from the starting line like an arrow from a string, circling the oval-shaped track and rushing towards the finish line.
The entire field was boiling with the start of the race. Every few seconds, every time the athletes passed by a block of spectators in the stands, there would be a section that resounded with the chants of the spectators cheering for the students of their college.
When the running figures of Lin Xian and Xia Zhijin entered the grandstand area of the College of Finance and Economics, Xiao Yuqing heard that the College of Finance and Economics had finally sounded their two big red drums.The sound of the drums shook the sky and the people’s ears, and they shouted and cheered: “Shang Ying emerges, beyond the limit. The students of Finance and Economics are infinite in vitality! Don’t give up!”
Through the SLR lens, Xiao Yuqing watched Lin Xian’s figure, which was a blurred tiny figure in the distance and then it gradually became clearer and bigger, and then larger… The curve of her lips became more and more obvious.
After the first turn change, Xia Zhijin was slightly ahead of Lin Xian. When the first lap was about to end, Lin Xian and Xia Zhijin were always in the third and fourth position, they followed the pace of the first and second round unhurriedly.
When Shi Man looked at Xia Zhijin, who was getting closer and closer to her, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She cupped her hands together and, along with several other students from the Student Council, shouted at Xia Zhijin, who was approaching from afar, “Zhijin (director), go! Zhijin is the best!”
There were also a few sparse voices shouting, “Go Lin Xian, go Lin Xian!”
Xiao Yuqing was in the middle of it, feeling the enthusiasm of the others around her, holding the SLR in her hands and for a bit she felt at a loss, feeling out of place…
She turned her camera and gazed scorchingly at Lin Xian’s increasingly close figure. As the distance gradually drew closer and Lin Xian was about to pass by, Xiao Yuqing seemed to see that Lin Xian had turned to the camera, looked at her, slightly bending her eyebrows, with a warm and soft smile on her bright face, and her eyes were so bright and clear…
Xiao Yuqing’s hand that was holding the SLR suddenly gave a lurch, the smile that was too beautiful was like a stone cast into the lake of her heart, creating ripples…. After a long time, Xiao Yuqing suddenly ended the video and put down the SLR.
She looked at the back of Lin Xian who had already run past, looking at the girl’s athletic and energetic pace, her youthful ponytail flying, and squeezed her hands together nervously, licked her lips, and finally gathered her courage, gently, in a quiet voice, opened her lips and said, “Lin Xian, go…” Her fair and beautiful cheeks, with the sound of her own shout, little by little was dyed red up to the roots of her small ears.
However, no sooner after she said the words that she heard Shi Man playfully teased her, “Auntie Xiao, you are so quiet, Lin Xian she can’t hear.”
Xiao Yuqing slightly lowered her eyes, biting her moist red lips, and her little ears, which were exposed in the air, were red as if they were about to drip blood.
Aunt Xiao in this way looks, so…. pitiful, so cute, so delicious.
Shi Man controlled the urge to reach out and touch Xiao Yuqing’s poor little ears to soothe her thoughts, turned around, directed at Xia Zhijin’s back that was already running away, and suddenly let go of her voice and said loudly, “Xia Zhijin, go…..!” She turned her head to the side, blinked her beautiful eyes, and taught her, “You have to shout like this….”
Xiao Yuqing was obviously embarrassed, “I did my best…” Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the shrieks of the people around her.
“Lin Xian is about to surpass the director….. ah, they’re surpassing….” the students of the student counsel suddenly started to chatter with joy.
Xiao Yuqing also looked at with their line of sight, Lin Xian who was originally in the third position, slightly behind Xia Zhijin by a body distance. With about three hundred meters left in the race, it seems that Lin Xian had suddenly began to speed up and so did Xia Zhijin. The two gradually shortened the distance between them and the first student, then they overtook the first place with Xia Zhijin first and Lin Xian second, then Lin Xian slowly followed behind Xia Zhijin…
Shi Man couldn’t stand it anymore, she didn’t care if Xia Zhijin could hear her from such a distance, she was calling for her beloved with her voice, “Zhijin, go! Zhijin go! Zhijin go!” One by one, louder than the other and one by one, shouting more urgently.
Xiao Yuqing looked at the young girl running in a bright red jersey on the field, watching her gradually overtake Xia Zhijin, and at about 100 meters, she picked up speed again and sprinted to the finish line.
The field was abuzz with people, and the whole field reverberated with the cries of “Go! Go!” Several students around her also let their voices go, shouting even more frantically than during the first lap, “Lin Xian! Go!! Director! Go!!!”
Shi Man had already started to run closer to Xia Zhijin’s position, looking at Xia Zhijin who was sweating profusely, and painfully running at the fastest speed in her life on the inner side of the track, giving Xia Zhijin a companion run so that she could receive her as soon as Xia Zhijin crossed the finish line.
Xiao Yuqing was infected by the atmosphere of the whole field and couldn’t help but follow the voices of the crowd, trying to let go of herself a little and shouted, “Lin Xian, go!” She finished her short shout and closed her voice sharply, biting her lip and subconsciously looked around–no one was putting their eyes on her, no one was paying attention to whether she was sane or crazy, and no one was paying attention to whether or not she was a stable senior who should be in her prime.
She suddenly lifted the corners of her lips, as if relieved. The next second, she imitated what Shi Man had just taught her, folded her hands next to her cheeks, and shouted loudly into the distance, “Lin Xian! Go for it! Lin Xian! Go!”
Her voice, always warm and clear, was not sharp and unpleasant after being forced to raise it.
Lin Xian had never heard Xiao Yuqing’s voice when she spoke loudly, her consciousness was actually a bit foggy, but she still recognized Xiao Yuqing’s voice at once, amidst the many, noisy shouts.
She looked towards the end and saw from a distance that the woman, who was always well-groomed and elegant, was now dancing like a child regardless of her posture, and was one with the many young and youthful people beside her, not at all abrupt, but, rather, so harmonious and so outstanding….
Lin Xian’s legs were already as heavy as lead, but she still wanted to go faster, faster…
She is waiting for her at the end…
She wanted to go faster and jump into her arms.
She wanted to get a little closer and see the genuine, wanton smile of Xiao Yuqing….
That was the splendor and joy she had never seen before…
Xiao Yuqing, when she was young, did she smile just like this?
Lin Xian finally, in the midst of everyone’s shouts and cheers, crossed the finish line in first place. After that, without stopping, Lin Xian continued to run and rushed into the soft embrace of Xiao Yuqing who had been waiting in front of her….
Lin Xian almost gave her whole body weight to the thin but soft and warm embrace in front of her. She felt so tired, yet so satisfied….
Xiao Yuqing wrapped her arms tightly around Lin Xian, supporting her. She gently patted Lin Xian’s back lovingly and praised her with unconcealed joy in Lin Xian’s ear, “Xianxian is great!”
Lin Xian nestled in the nook of her neck, calmed down a little bit, her voice was still very weak and unsteady, but she had the energy to tease Xiao Yuqing, “I just heard you cheering for me. Aunt Xiao, it’s the first time I’ve heard you so loud.”
Xiao Yuqing’s body stiffened slightly and her fair face reddened for a moment….. she, just now, made a gaffe…. in front of the juniors. It was really too unsteady and rude…
She unconsciously pulled the sleeve of the girl’s t-shirt, with a rare embarrassment, not knowing how to respond to Lin Xian’s teasing, and had to stiffly change the subject, as if nothing had happened, “Let’s take a short walk and then find a place with fewer people to sit and rest for a while.”
Lin Xian laughed silently and gently in her arms, did not push Xiao Yuqing, and softly answered her, “Okay.”
The two of them slowly walked out of the open air field and went to a small area of grass on the opposite side of the basketball court and sat down on the ground.
Xiao Yuqing made Lin Xian straighten her legs and gently massaged and relaxed the muscles on her legs. Lin Xian quietly gazed at Xiao Yuqing’s quiet beautiful side profile, her eyes swirling with a darkness that no one had noticed.
She remembered Xiao Yuqing’s rare animated look when she was shouting and cheering for her and with a longing in her heart, she asked Xiao Yuqing, “Aunt Xiao, what were you like when you were a student?”
Xiao Yuqing gave a slight pause as she rubbed Lin Xian’s muscles and replied with a faint smile, “Actually, everyone’s student days were pretty much the same.” The same vigorous and energy, the same radiance, the same carefree…. right?”
Lin Xian gave a soft chuckle and teased her, “Is that so? Will it be like those dramas? In your youth, you meet someone who is unforgettable?” Once the words were out of her mouth, Lin Xian had a moment of bewilderment, she was a bit unsure of why she, herself, suddenly asked such words, what exactly was she trying to pry. It was clear that she knew that Xiao Yuqing, by no doubt, had an unforgettable past.
Xiao Yuqing’s movements stopped completely.
Lin Xian noticed that the soft small smile on Xiao Yuqing’s face had quietly disappeared. Her heart was sore, followed closely by a shallow pain that was like being stabbed by a thin needle. She apologized, “I’m sorry….”
But Xiao Yuqing gently moved again and there was a light and faint smile in her tone again, gently soothing her, “It’s okay, why do you need to apologize.”
Lin Xian looked deeply at Xiao Yuqing for half a second, suddenly held down her hand that was pressing and rubbing, lifted a bright smile and proposed, “Aunt Xiao, I’ll take you to a place.” When she said that she would go, she immediately stood up, holding Xiao Yuqing’s slender and soft hand, pulling her, who was still uncertain, to stand up and go straight to her destination.
The place Lin Xian took Xiao Yuqing to was at the most northern corner of the school near the fence. When Xiao Yuqing was studying in Jiangnan, she had never ventured into this place.
This corner, was very remote, but also very quiet and beautiful. White steel bars built up a simple artistic roof, surrounded by scattered flowers of various colors, and a round table covered with dust with a few wooden chairs. Next to a little, a few steps higher than the place, quietly hung a swing. Opposite to the swing, there was a short fence, under which there were several scattered bricks.
Lin Xian asked Xiao Yuqing for a tissue, wiped the dust on the swing carefully, and explained to Xiao Yuqing, “I found this little place by accident with Shi Man and the girls. It’s so remote that few people come here, but, it’s very interesting.”
She took Xiao Yuqing’s hand and asked Xiao Yuqing to sit on the swing.
Xiao Yuqing felt that she was too old so she was embarrassed to do something that only young girls have the aptness to do, so she shook her head and refused.
But Lin Xian was very stubborn, pulling Xiao Yuqing hard, pushing her to the front of the swing, insisting that she sit on it, being unreasonable, “You just helped me relax my fatigue and massage for so long. I want to return the favor and help push the swing for a while, are you not even willing to give me this opportunity? Must I be a person who does not know how to return the favor and is ungrateful?”
What nonsense is this? Xiao Yuqing said that she couldn’t, and seeing that she insisted, she was willing to indulge her in the smallest things, so she finally obeyed her and sat on the swing.
Looking around, there is no one here, right? Xiao Yuqing blushed a little, deceiving herself.
In the distance, the announcements were still broadcasting news about the various races and events and the sound of shouting and drumming came faintly from time to time. Xiao Yuqing sat on the swing, but she felt that the surroundings had gradually quieted down, leaving only the soft flowing sound of the breeze in her ears and Lin Xian’s clear and melodious voice, “Did you see the fence on the other side? I accidentally discovered it when I was playing with Shi Man earlier. Inside the fence is a lavender garden and in the garden there was a stone tablet. I saw it when I jumped up, but it was too far to see what was engraved on it. I made a bet with Shi Man that whoever reads the engraving first will get to enjoy the other’s service of fetching water for the next week. Aunt Xiao, you’re taller than me, will you go and help me look at it?”
Xiao Yuqing teased her, “Are you cheating?”
Lin Xian was ashamed and gently swayed the rope of the swing to act spoiled.
Xiao Yuqing sighed dotingly, “Little fox….” With her feet, she stood up and walked towards the fence without any question.
She stood in front of the fence, only to find that the fence was higher than she had expected, half a head higher than her. She stood up on her toes and seriously looked across, but could only catch a little purple in her vision.
Lin Xian squatted down when Xiao Yuqing was standing on her toes and helped Xiao Yuqing by neatly placing the scattered bricks under the fence. When she saw that Xiao Yuqing had found nothing, she called to Xiao Yuqing, “Aunt Xiao, you can stand up here. You should be able to see better from up here.”
Xiao Yuqing looked at the neatly stacked bricks at her feet and tilted her head towards Lin Xian, who was smiling at her like a cute Samoyed, helplessly. Anyway, for today, she has already lost her image, so let’s accompany her to fool around once more.
She lifted her feet and stood up. The view did broaden up a bit and she saw a little more of the enclosure…. is a patch of purple lavender, at this time the bloom period will soon be over so the flowers were no longer good anymore. She gently stood up on her toes and seemed to have seen a vague stone.
Lin Xian had already stood up and was standing steadily at the side of Xiao Yuqing. She hooked her lips and a cunning grin passed by in her eyes. As Xiao Yuqing gently stood on her toes, she quietly and quickly raised her right hand behind Xiao Yuqing and had her hand ready to throw to the opposite side.
Xiao Yuqing told Lin Xian, “I think I see the stone tablet you said.” She was about to help Lin Xian seriously check the inscriptions on the tablet but instead of seeing the tablet in its entirety, she saw…. a black German that was chained up and jumped out towards her, barking loudly, “Woof woof woof!!!”
Xiao Yuqing was caught off guard, panicked, and lightly exclaimed, “Ah…” Her feet reflexively took a step back and she went out of the range of the stacked bricks and fell down….
Lin Xian instantly embraced Xiao Yuqing firmly and fixed her in her arms, and in the next second, she laughed out loud “hahahahaha”.
Xiao Yuqing leaned against Lin Xian’s arms in shock, calming down her heartbeat, but in two seconds, she reacted. She pushed Lin Xian away, turned around and said angrily, “Lin Xian, are you teasing me on purpose?!” In her tone, she was flustered, angry, and amused….
Lin Xian just took her hand and swung it with the action of pampering, still happy, there were even tears in her eyes… Xiao Yuqing was annoyed and finally could not help it, following Lin Xian’s hahaha, openly laughed, but still snapped at Lin Xian, “Childish! “
Lin Xian covered her belly that was hurting from laughing, pleasingly took the hand of Xiao Yuqing who still had some residual anger, brought her back to the swing, let her sit down, calmed down her breathing, smiled, and retorted Xiao Yuqing, “Is it bad to be childish? You just laughed, aren’t you happy?”
The swing slowly swayed as Xiao Yuqing looked at the scorching sun in the sky and finally curved her lips and admitted, “Happy.” It seems that after a scare and a smile, she forgot all the previous melancholy caused by past.
Lin Xian looked at the woman’s frail and beautiful back in front of her, and a longing and regret suddenly rose from her heart: If only she had been born a little earlier.
That way, she would have been able to experience the youthful years of swinging with Xiao Yuqing, to see her past youthful innocence and spirit, rather than today’s introverted gentleness and occasional melancholy vicissitudes.
Xiao Yuqing’s introverted gentleness and calm sadness was charming.
But it also makes people feel heartache.
Xiao Yuqing’s mind gradually drifted away. Once, there were someone who accompanied her like this, in the quiet afternoon, swinging on a swing, listening to the call of the wind, and later, they were….
Is it childish? Ha…
Perhaps, the fate between people is like this, like the wind blowing, the encounter was accidental, and the drift was inevitable.
Lin Xian suddenly asked her faintly in her ear, “Aunt Xiao, what are you thinking about?”
Xiao Yuqing smiled lightly, without hiding, “I was thinking about what you just said, is it bad to be childish?” Her tone was soft and light and Lin Xian could not hear the emotions, “A person once asked me if I could be less childish and more mature. From then on, I began to slowly and truly become an adult.”
Real growth, sometimes, seems to be only in a fleeting moment.
It may be between the between heartbeats, or between a heartbreak.
Lin Xian’s bright face gradually became gloomy…
She frowned and suddenly pushed the swing with a slight force, using a clear and bright voice with certainty to Xiao Yuqing, “But, adults always have a lot of worries and are easily unhappy. Aunt Xiao, I hope you can always be happy.”
“Someone taught you to become an adult, then I will bring you back to a child, okay?”
The breeze gently blew past her ears and Xiao Yuqing’s heart, like it was also being gently brushed by this breeze, the tip of her heart was itchy and trembled…
She lowered her eyes, and a gentle smile appeared on her lips, but it seemed to be a little desolate and lost…
1 “If it’s not a family, don’t enter the family” a proverb that means that people who can live together have similar interests, temper, etc.
Translator: Wha- How many words was that? That took me forever…….. Also, good news. I contacted Yuri Translation about My Feelings Can Wait, so I’ll be translating that too but they will still be the one releasing the chapters. I’ll do my best.
ʕ ꈍᴥꈍ ʔ Thanks for the hard work as always translator-san! Can’t wait for her feelings to wait lmao (ヮﾟヮﾟ) Goodluck!
Ah it looks like her heart is beginning to stir
Thank you for the update! I’m so happy that they get to have fun together. 🙂
Man that was a great chap, really feels they grew a little closer.
I just live this author’s writing, she’s really able to bring out the emotions if the characters and let us experience their feelings.
My feelings can wait hu? A great series by the same author lol I loved it and machine translated it but the MTL fir that one were thankfully pretty all right, still u would like to read a better translation.