“2004 Qingniao Cup National Youth Tennis Tournament, Men’s Singles Third Place Winner, Cai Xin.”
“Second Place Winner, Huo Yunchuan.”
“And the Champion…”
“Sigh…” Coach Ou let out a regretful sound from the stands, his body slowly rising as he supported himself on the railing that was being vigorously shaken by the cheering crowd, anxiously looking at his student.
The second-place winner just announced by the judges was his most prized student, Huo Yunchuan.
It was a real pity. Huo Yunchuan was almost sixteen years old, and this year was his last chance to qualify for the Qingniao Cup…
He had been fine during training yesterday.
How did this happen?
Coach Ou furrowed his brows in deep concern, as he wasn’t the only one who placed great importance on this match.
The young man, enduring severe headaches but continuing to compete, had a pale face under his white baseball cap, showing an unusual flush and slight perspiration.
Upon hearing the results, he pursed his lips tightly.
Second place?
An expected result.
Feeling somewhat sorry for himself for enduring the match despite a high fever, Huo Yunchuan thought dully as he pushed himself off the chair to receive the award he found so unsatisfactory.
Seeing his student’s downcast mood, Coach Ou’s worry became even more evident. He left the stands to wait for him backstage.
After the award ceremony ended, Huo Yunchuan, holding the somewhat meaningless trophy, walked back to the backstage with a blank expression, preparing to leave.
After all, apart from Coach Ou, there was no one he knew in the audience.
So there was no need to deal with anyone.
“Yunchuan?” Coach Ou spotted his tall and slender student around a corner of the corridor, dressed in a specially tailored competition outfit that made him look very handsome and dashing.
However, this kid’s personality always remained cold and aloof, even when facing his teacher.
“Hey, Old Ou.” Huo Yunchuan greeted him flatly.
“Ah, about the competition…”
Before Coach Ou could finish, the boy, who was suffering from a headache and was in no mood for small talk, interrupted, “Oh, I know what you want to say, and I don’t need it.”
A loss is just a loss, Huo Yunchuan thought. What’s the use of saying these things? “I’m leaving.” He adjusted the straps of his backpack and turned to leave.
“Hey?” Coach Ou’s expression turned complex.
At the same time, he felt a bit angry. Could this kid not accept other people’s good intentions?
After leaving the gym, he discovered it was raining outside.
The dazed boy stood by the roadside, looking up at the unappealing sky, and sneezed as the cold wind and raindrops hit him.
He quickly took a step back to save his clothes from getting soaked.
“…” The headache made Huo Yunchuan’s expression sour, and his reactions felt a bit dull. Plus, having lost the match put him in a bad mood.
Carrying his racket, he headed toward a nearby shop, wanting to find a comfortable place to drink something warm.
Normally, such small roadside shops would never attract Huo Yunchuan’s attention, even if they existed for a hundred years, unless there was a special circumstance like today.
But right now, he was dizzy and just wanted a cozy spot to lie down.
“May I ask how many?” A voice that sounded like a staff member rang in his ears.
Huo Yunchuan quickly scanned the shop, confirming it was not crowded and had a nice atmosphere. “Just one, cough, cough,” he said, his hoarse voice prompting the staff to examine him closely.
Unfortunately, wearing a hat, they could only see his chin and the hat.
“Are you catching a cold? If so, you might want to try our special ginger tea with cola today.”
“Whatever.”
He chose the most secluded corner, the sickly boy casually placed his tennis racket down, and then nestled into the beige two-person sofa. “Achoo!”
He sneezed again and then… rolled over to face the bottom of the table, wrapping himself tightly in the thin outer jacket he was wearing.
Attracted by the sound of sneezing, a little boy crouched on a sofa in the next row and turned his head to search for the source of the noise.
He then saw a curled-up older boy in the distance… Is he sick?
“An Wuyang, where are you going?” An Wuyu, noticed her four-year-old brother jumping off the sofa and said, “Don’t run around, behave yourself, okay?”
Four-year-old An Wuyang was small, slender, and fair-skinned, and he was usually very afraid of his sister being stern with him.
“I need to pee.” He blinked slowly.
The staff member, hearing the commotion, came over with a smile to take him to the restroom. “Little one, let’s go to the bathroom.”
An Wuyu who was still in elementary school, and his cousin, who was staying at her house while visiting Beijing, were regulars at this drink shop and were already familiar with the staff. “Thank you,” he said, then continued chatting with his cousin.
“Big sister.” After using the bathroom and pulling up his pants, An Wuyang asked the staff member, “Do you have a small blanket?”
He was thinking about the boy who sneezed and wanted to make sure he had something warm.
The staff member replied, “Yes, we do. Are you cold?”
An Wuyang nodded. “Mm!”
The staff member took him outside, got him a small blanket, and then returned him to his sister.
The three-headed little darling, holding the blanket, glanced at his sister, who was still chatting and not paying attention to him, and walked with his short legs towards the corner sofa.
The corner, with its curtains drawn, was a bit dim.
Tiny strands of hair fell softly over the boy’s pale, slender cheeks. Apart from the unusual flush, the exposed skin had a sickly pallor.
Including the slender hand hanging below the sofa.
An Wuying peeked at the older boy and, seeing that he was asleep, quietly tiptoed and placed the blanket over him…
“Hmm…” He then spread the blanket out.
Covering his shoulders, his stomach, and his bottom.
But the little darling noticed that the older boy’s cold hand was still exposed.
He thought, that might get cold.
The sick boy, feeling something moving on his hand in his drowsy state, instinctively grabbed it, and opened his eyes to see a pair of eyes.
“…” Huo Yunchuan saw a small, clean face looking at him with a pair of dark eyes. A child?
He followed the face down to his fist and opened it to reveal a tiny hand.
Soft and warm to the touch.
“Cough, cough…” Huo Yunchuan, who usually didn’t like children, let go of An Wuyang’s hand with irritation and said, “Stay away from me.”
Then he turned over and wrapped himself tighter in his blanket…
“Hmm…?” A blanket?
Huo Yunchuan was surprised, staring at the small blanket on him, frowning as he tried to recall when he had asked for it.
But he didn’t think much of it, assuming it was given by the staff.
“Brother, are you sick?” As he was preparing to sleep, he heard a small, kitten-like voice from behind.
Brother…?
As an only child from a wealthy family, Huo Yunchuan had always been solitary and eccentric, and he had never encountered anyone who would dare to call him “brother” in such a way.
He turned over, staring expressionlessly at the small figure now at his height, and said, “Who’s your brother?”
An Wuyang stared at him blankly. “……”
Huo Yunchuan pointed to the sofa across the table and said, “Go play somewhere else. Don’t bother me.”
The little one, who had gathered the courage to give the blanket to the older boy, blinked, his nose turning red, and his lips pouting as if he was about to cry.
“Hey…” Huo Yunchuan’s face darkened. This was the reason he disliked children—they cried at the drop of a hat and were completely unreasonable.
“Wah…” Feeling unfairly treated and lonely because no one wanted to play with him, the little one used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes.
…He softly warned the boy on the sofa, looking stern he said, “Be quiet.”
The obedient little one immediately stopped his faint, mosquito-like crying. However, his eyes were red, and his expression was pitiful, like a pufferfish that had been wronged.
He was relatively obedient.
“What do you want?” Huo Yunchuan couldn’t believe that, in his depressed state after losing the match, he was being pestered by a small child.
“Can I play with you? I won’t disturb you.” The little one quietly moved forward, plopped down on the empty space beside him, and looked at the unsmiling older boy with a tilted head.
His eyes, which had been crying, were still wet, but when he looked at others, they sparkled like stars.
The teenager, who usually had no patience with children, tried to suppress his indifference and grumbled, “Whatever.”
However, as he wasn’t paying full attention for a moment, the small figure edged closer to him.
“Hmph.” Huo Yunchuan watched the tiny hand on the sofa, pretending to be asleep, and indeed, it moved closer to him. “Hey.”
He spoke suddenly, causing the startled little hand to retract.
But soon, it moved forward again with determination.
“……” This is too strange, right?
Is it because I don’t look fierce enough, or is my tone not bad enough?
“Why are you sticking to me?” The boy, clearly in a bad mood and feeling unwell, was filled with heavy doubts at this moment and wanted to figure it out.
“Ah?” The unfamiliar little kid opened his mouth and made a… silly sound.
“Ah, your head.” Huo Yunchuan paused, reached out from under the blanket, and beckoned him closer with his hand: “Come here.”
An Wuyang smiled and bounced over.
When the little creature got closer, Huo Yunchuan distinctly smelled a somewhat pleasant fragrance. He immediately thought it was the unique smell of the little kid and didn’t find it strange.
“Brother.” The little treasure called out eagerly.
Huo Yunchuan pinched his not-so-chubby cheek and said, “I’m really tired, so you’d better not make a sound.” Then, despite feeling sick, he used his still-strong arms to scoop the little creature up under his armpit and pulled him into the blanket…
Such a light and slim little creature.
Is he even two years old?
With no real concept of children’s ages, the boy drowsily tagged An Wuyang as two years old.
Then he hugged the fragrant, soft little heater and fell into a light sleep.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
