My Soulmate is A Libero
After the match between the Chinese team and the US team, Qin Chunxiao had some free time on his hands, so he started looking for things to do. He wandered around aimlessly.
Following the match between the Chinese team and the Japanese team, everyone gathered in the gym to compare their strength. The main participants were Fu Biyang from the Chinese team and Sakano Ennosuke, the opposite hitter from the Japanese team. Both of them were muscular and sturdy men, but Sakano Ennosuke seemed to be slightly shorter and had a smaller frame compared to Fu Biyang. Nevertheless, he appeared quite strong.
In terms of muscle mass, Fu Biyang had more, but his larger frame could handle it. He looked more like an agile and robust black panther. According to Qiao Mingming, Coach Lorenzo once praised Fu Biyang for having “the most beautiful and powerful frame” he had ever seen.
They took turns doing bench presses, squats, and other exercises, and Fu Biyang outperformed Sakano Ennosuke in all of them. The squat data was 20 kilograms more, while the bench press was only 10 kilograms more.
Ming Yaoyang looked puzzled, “With arms as thick as his, how come he’s a bit weaker in bench pressing?”
You Ziyu, standing nearby, replied, “It’s because of arm span. People with longer arm spans tend to be slightly weaker in bench pressing.”
Fu Biyang’s arm span was more than ten centimeters longer than his height. Achieving his current level in bench pressing was the result of dedicated practice.
Meanwhile, behind them came the sound of rapid strikes. When they turned to look, Qin Chunxiao was punching a punching bag, leaving small dents with each punch. He was quite sharp, coordinating his movements with footwork and demonstrating excellent evasive techniques.
Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that this guy wasn’t just scratching the surface of boxing, he had trained specifically for it!
The US team captain Caddy also knew how to box. Originally, he wanted to spar with Qin Chunxiao, but they agreed to warm up first. Now, he stood quietly on the side, smiling and telling his teammates, “Misha is indeed formidable. No wonder he knocked down that hot-headed Frenchman with just one move.”
In any case, Caddy didn’t step onto the mat.
In the end, it was Ding Rong who approached Caddy, saying to Qin Chunxiao, “Come on, let’s spar.”
Qin Chunxiao was eager to try, “Sure, I’ve been wanting to spar with Brother Rong again.”
Ding Rong smiled without saying a word.
Thus, a battle began. The entire Chinese team gathered around, curious to see if Qin Chunxiao could successfully challenge Ding Rong and claim the title of China’s number one in combat. Even Newton and Jiang Xiaohai made a bet, and said, “I think Dun’er has a chance this time. He’s been training in Russia for so long.”
Jiang Xiaohai added, “I’m not so sure. Ding Rong’s uncle practices Xingyi Quan. Later, he became a special forces soldier. I’ve heard that there’s even a lineage of ‘Eighteen Falls on a Single Robe’ in their family. Ding Rong grew up with his uncle, and if he has even half of his uncle’s skill, Dunzi is in trouble.”
Newton laughed, “Ha, now you’re calling him Dunzi too!”
Jiang Xiaohai immediately covered his mouth, looking frustrated. He had inadvertently picked up Newton’s nickname.
Li Ling, Fu Biyang, and Min Yaoyang gathered together and shouted, “Xiao Zai, go for it!”
Gao Depi pulled Tong Shulan and Qiao Mingming, shouting, “Lao Ding, let Xiao Zai experience your strength!”
Qin Chunxiao had wanted to challenge Ding Rong for two lifetimes. Now that he had the chance, he was naturally excited. He took off his gloves, leaving only finger protectors, and he wore only a black tank top and athletic shorts. He rushed forward barefoot, considering that he would be using kicking techniques later, and he didn’t want to hurt anyone by accidentally kicking too hard.
Ding Rong shouted, “Come at me!” and assumed a stance.
Three minutes later, Qin Chunxiao found himself pinned to the ground by Ding Rong’s dual-hand control. “Ah, ah, ah! I give up, let go!”
Ding Rong got up, drenched in sweat, and heaved a sigh of relief internally. Although they had a match to consider later, during their bout, they had restrained themselves and only exchanged techniques, not using any truly vicious moves. However, Qin Chunxiao had come dangerously close to toppling him just now. Fortunately, Ding Rong’s childhood martial arts training and muscle memory had enabled him to hold the upper hand.
He knew that this young bear had spent a long time in Russia, constantly yelling “Ura” and becoming increasingly hard to deal with.
But Ding Rong had practiced martial arts since he was a child. He was taller and heavier than Qin Chunxiao, possessing a significant physical advantage. It had almost been a challenge to keep Qin Chunxiao down. His combat instincts, agility, and fierce fighting spirit were not something that could be easily explained by saying “he has Russian blood.”
Ding Rong wiped his brow, saying, “Xiao Zai, if you lived in ancient times, you would definitely be an extraordinary martial arts prodigy seen only once every few hundred years. You’d train for one year, achieving what others would in five, and in ten years, you’d become the leader of the martial arts world.”
Qin Chunxiao got up, modestly and shyly, “Brother Ding, don’t exaggerate. I might have a tiny bit of talent, but I still can’t beat you.”
Ding Rong: “I genuinely meant to praise you…”
The surroundings had fallen into complete silence. Caddy swallowed his saliva, feeling immensely relieved that he hadn’t really fought against Misha Qin. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even need to play the match tomorrow. Even if Misha Qin used only one hand, Caddy wouldn’t have been able to last 10 seconds against him.
After this battle, both Xiao Qin and Lao Ding earned the respect of everyone in the gym. In addition to his Chinese teammates who already held him in high regard, the American, Japanese, and Canadian teams all looked at him with a sense of awe.
Despite Qiao Mingming, Min Yaoyang, and Liu Yuelou making a noisy entrance to the matches, putting on a lively show with their sunglasses and shoulder embraces, in reality, the setter Ding Rong and Misha Qin were the true powerhouses. Add in the imposing presence of the two towering coaches and the referee, who could explode a few meters when provoked, and Fu Biyang – this group was the pinnacle of China’s team strength.
A long time ago, during the Asian Championship, the Chinese team’s appearance, with its bunch of burly men who seemed like bandits and their habit of pounding their chests and roaring when scoring, created immense psychological pressure on the Iranian team’s net players. The referee even blew a whistle to warn the Chinese team.
On the second day of the VNL fourth-week USA station, the match against the Japanese team also came with some pressure.
As everyone knew, when the Chinese team played against Japan, their morale was at its peak. Once their momentum picked up, their bandit nature became unstoppable.
The fierce roar after scoring was an invigorating and blood-pumping move, and even China’s second-string team occasionally joined in.
The referee’s ears finally couldn’t take it anymore. He issued a warning to Tong Shulan, who was the most enthusiastic screamer.
Fans who were following the China-Japan match burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, although I know volleyball can get noisy, the Gua Squad is really overdoing it today, hahaha.”
“Don’t say that, Yangyang’s spirit is quite strong today. I remember in the Japanese league, when he got into a fight, his club and another team had a dispute. But he just stepped in front of his teammates, and both sides backed off. His teammates even pulled him away, advising him to cool down.”
“I remember that match! Yangyang’s female fans kept saying she got anxious when she saw him stepping in. I rewatched it several times and thought Yang Ge had a strong presence. His face was tense. It’s hard for us men to understand the feelings of motherly fans.”
“That warning was well-deserved. With their shouting like that, I’m starting to wonder if this group of burly men will celebrate their victory by cooking a big pot of chicken stew.”
Anyone who knew about the internal affairs of Henan Province’s team would know that Ming Yaoyang, like Li Ling, held an undefeated record since childhood, all thanks to Xiong Wu’s protection. Someone even composed a classic saying for this situation – “Humans and bears are showing off, but only Yangyang is getting beaten up.”
After winning against Japan with a score of 3:0, Jiang Xiaohai stood with his hands on his hips and scolded this bunch, “Do you guys even remember that you’re here to play volleyball? Has the spirit of sportsmanship and courtesy completely taken away from you? The match is a match, why are you shouting so loudly? What if the Japanese team has someone as hot-headed as Vincent? Are you planning to pick another fight?”
“Tong Shulan, look at me! During your youth team days, didn’t you get beaten up in a fight and saved by Meng Yuqing passing by? What if another fight breaks out? There won’t be a righteous sister from the women’s volleyball team in New Jersey to save you!”
Tong Shulan muttered, “The one who helped me in that fight was Yuling. Later, she didn’t want to write a self-criticism, so she blamed it on her sister.”
Jiang Xiaohai: “…”
Qin Chunxiao intervened, “It’s okay, Hai Ge. We have our limits. We all know that in volleyball matches, we must remain pure – we can only play the game, not fight.”
Ding Rong also chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, anyone who causes another violent incident, I’ll team up with Xiao Zai to mince that bastard into pieces.”
This statement sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
Newton sighed, “Ah, you guys are really ruthless.”
When it came to playing against Canada, the Chinese team didn’t put on their tough-guy act. They all entered the arena in an orderly manner and began their warm-up.
An enthusiastic fan in the front row yelled, “Mingming! Why aren’t you wearing sunglasses today?”
Qiao Mingming waved his hand apologetically, “Not wearing them today.”
After the coaches’ scolding, they should behave a bit better and not go around provoking Jiang Xiaohai’s nerves.
The Canadian team couldn’t be considered weak. China only sent its second-string team to play against them, so the situation was a bit precarious. Thus, Newton frequently swapped in Qiao Mingming, Tong Shulan, Fu Biyang, and You Ziyu, while focusing on training the second-string team at other times.
Those who paid attention could see through it – Lao Newton was using the VNL matches to help the players who hadn’t gone abroad for competition gain experience!
The Canadian coach grumbled, and Newton was indeed playing his cards well. This coach felt quite anxious inside, but the current Chinese team was vastly different from the team of a few years ago, who could be easily bullied.
After a 90-minute match, China once again won 3:0. With this victory, they had accumulated a record of 10 wins and 2 losses in the VNL preliminary matches, securing a spot in the finals during the fourth leg.
Just looking at this record, they were truly a top-notch team!
Following that, Qin Chunxiao, together with his teammates, headed to Brisbane, Australia for the next station of the tournament. They would be facing the teams from Australia, Poland, and Brazil in this stage.
Brisbane, known as the city of rivers, offered a view of the Brisbane River’s night scene from the hotel windows. Qin Chunxiao stayed on the 26th floor, and when he drew the curtains, he could overlook half the city.
Sitting cross-legged on the balcony’s wicker chair, enjoying the breeze, he received a phone call. With only a two-hour time difference between Australia and China, Qin Chunxiao quickly calculated that it was still 8 o’clock in China.
In a lazy tone, he said, “Good evening.”
Lu Xuandong: “Good evening, Chunxiao. Sorry for disturbing you so late. Do you know about Wang Ziran getting imprisoned?”
Qin Chunxiao: “I know, it’s that scoundrel Bai Ming.”
Lu Xuandong: “And then, my little brother was targeted by internet trolls again. Someone wants him to write a letter of apology, otherwise, they’ll [mute] him.”
Qin Chunxiao sat up silently: “Again, by elementary school kids?” Hearing the word “[mute],” Qin Chunxiao thought that the person who could do this couldn’t be older than 10.
Lu Xuandong: “This time it’s junior high school students.”
Qin Chunxiao: …
He didn’t know whether to mock the fact that in this world, only kind-hearted people who cared about life could be threatened by others, and kind-hearted people shouldn’t be threatened, or to mock Wang Ziran for getting himself into trouble and involving Lu Xuandong’s unfortunate little brother.
To prevent his brother from being threatened by bored middle-school kids for trivial matters and to keep him from being morally manipulated by random strangers, Lu Xuandong gave his brother some travel funds, allowing him to take a month-long trip abroad. However, his brother really wanted to invite Yashenka to travel together. It seemed he was eager to finish counting down the days and get it over with, as he was preoccupied with this matter.
Qin Chunxiao was quite puzzled, “Then let him invite Yashenka himself.”
Lu Xuandong sighed, “The problem is, after Yunchen returned from Russia last time, Yashenka stopped answering his calls. But he’s not in good health and needs to drink traditional Chinese medicine for an extended period. Yet, he refuses to see a doctor or get prescription adjustments. This has been causing Yunchen a lot of distress, thinking that he did something wrong. I asked him what he did, but he won’t say.”
“He’s planning a one-month trip to Russia and asked me to ask you if you could send a message to Yashenka, letting him know that Yunchen will be coming.”
Qin Chunxiao casually agreed, “Sure, your brother seems like a good kid.”
Lu Yunchen was going to visit Yashenka in person, informing him in advance. This meant that whether they would meet in the end was still Yashenka’s choice. If he didn’t want to see Yunchen, he could avoid him beforehand.
From this perspective, Lu Yunchen was really polite and respectful towards Yashenka.
Qin Chunxiao composed a text message for Yashenka and jokingly told Lu Xuandong, “It’s great being your brother. He has travel funds and can go on a Siberian vacation whenever he wants.”
Lu Xuandong replied seriously, “If there’s a potato-digging project in Siberia, I’d prefer to send him to dig potatoes rather than travel.”
Lu Xuandong found Lu Yunchen to be quite troublesome. Every time something happened, he had a very low chance of being able to solve it himself. He was soft-hearted and easily led by others. Apart from his optimism and friendly nature, he didn’t seem to possess other qualities suitable for the entertainment industry.
Qin Chunxiao said, “Well, you don’t have to say that. Besides, I’m quite troublesome too. I used to ask you to cook for me and get insoles for me…”
“But you’re different.” Lu Xuandong first responded firmly and quickly, then his tone softened. “You are Zhe Yue’s partner, and I believe you have great potential. You might even become an Olympic champion in the future, so helping you play better is something I should do.”
“And as a friend, I think everything I’ve done for you is worthwhile. Just seeing you use the insoles I sent makes me happy. This kind of emotional feedback is something others can’t provide.”
His tone was so gentle, his voice so pleasant that it made Qin Chunxiao’s face inexplicably warm. At that moment, Li Ling emerged from the bathroom, loudly saying, “Xiao Zai, I’m done showering. It’s your turn!”
In a hurry, Qin Chunxiao said into the phone, “I’m going to take a shower and rest now. Goodnight.”
Click.
Lu Xuandong smiled.
“Rest well.” He spoke these last words to the now-disconnected call, then pulled out a piece of blank paper and began writing a new song contentedly.
Just then, Lu Yunchen called him, “Bro, I’ve packed my luggage. I’ll be heading to Russia tomorrow. Is there anything you want me to bring?”
Lu Xuandong: “No, take care on your journey. I’m a bit busy, so I’m hanging up.”
Click.
My Soulmate is A Libero
After the match between the Chinese team and the US team, Qin Chunxiao had some free time on his hands, so he started looking for things to do. He wandered around aimlessly.
Following the match between the Chinese team and the Japanese team, everyone gathered in the gym to compare their strength. The main participants were Fu Biyang from the Chinese team and Sakano Ennosuke, the opposite hitter from the Japanese team. Both of them were muscular and sturdy men, but Sakano Ennosuke seemed to be slightly shorter and had a smaller frame compared to Fu Biyang. Nevertheless, he appeared quite strong.
In terms of muscle mass, Fu Biyang had more, but his larger frame could handle it. He looked more like an agile and robust black panther. According to Qiao Mingming, Coach Lorenzo once praised Fu Biyang for having “the most beautiful and powerful frame” he had ever seen.
They took turns doing bench presses, squats, and other exercises, and Fu Biyang outperformed Sakano Ennosuke in all of them. The squat data was 20 kilograms more, while the bench press was only 10 kilograms more.
Ming Yaoyang looked puzzled, “With arms as thick as his, how come he’s a bit weaker in bench pressing?”
You Ziyu, standing nearby, replied, “It’s because of arm span. People with longer arm spans tend to be slightly weaker in bench pressing.”
Fu Biyang’s arm span was more than ten centimeters longer than his height. Achieving his current level in bench pressing was the result of dedicated practice.
Meanwhile, behind them came the sound of rapid strikes. When they turned to look, Qin Chunxiao was punching a punching bag, leaving small dents with each punch. He was quite sharp, coordinating his movements with footwork and demonstrating excellent evasive techniques.
Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that this guy wasn’t just scratching the surface of boxing, he had trained specifically for it!
The US team captain Caddy also knew how to box. Originally, he wanted to spar with Qin Chunxiao, but they agreed to warm up first. Now, he stood quietly on the side, smiling and telling his teammates, “Misha is indeed formidable. No wonder he knocked down that hot-headed Frenchman with just one move.”
In any case, Caddy didn’t step onto the mat.
In the end, it was Ding Rong who approached Caddy, saying to Qin Chunxiao, “Come on, let’s spar.”
Qin Chunxiao was eager to try, “Sure, I’ve been wanting to spar with Brother Rong again.”
Ding Rong smiled without saying a word.
Thus, a battle began. The entire Chinese team gathered around, curious to see if Qin Chunxiao could successfully challenge Ding Rong and claim the title of China’s number one in combat. Even Newton and Jiang Xiaohai made a bet, and said, “I think Dun’er has a chance this time. He’s been training in Russia for so long.”
Jiang Xiaohai added, “I’m not so sure. Ding Rong’s uncle practices Xingyi Quan. Later, he became a special forces soldier. I’ve heard that there’s even a lineage of ‘Eighteen Falls on a Single Robe’ in their family. Ding Rong grew up with his uncle, and if he has even half of his uncle’s skill, Dunzi is in trouble.”
Newton laughed, “Ha, now you’re calling him Dunzi too!”
Jiang Xiaohai immediately covered his mouth, looking frustrated. He had inadvertently picked up Newton’s nickname.
Li Ling, Fu Biyang, and Min Yaoyang gathered together and shouted, “Xiao Zai, go for it!”
Gao Depi pulled Tong Shulan and Qiao Mingming, shouting, “Lao Ding, let Xiao Zai experience your strength!”
Qin Chunxiao had wanted to challenge Ding Rong for two lifetimes. Now that he had the chance, he was naturally excited. He took off his gloves, leaving only finger protectors, and he wore only a black tank top and athletic shorts. He rushed forward barefoot, considering that he would be using kicking techniques later, and he didn’t want to hurt anyone by accidentally kicking too hard.
Ding Rong shouted, “Come at me!” and assumed a stance.
Three minutes later, Qin Chunxiao found himself pinned to the ground by Ding Rong’s dual-hand control. “Ah, ah, ah! I give up, let go!”
Ding Rong got up, drenched in sweat, and heaved a sigh of relief internally. Although they had a match to consider later, during their bout, they had restrained themselves and only exchanged techniques, not using any truly vicious moves. However, Qin Chunxiao had come dangerously close to toppling him just now. Fortunately, Ding Rong’s childhood martial arts training and muscle memory had enabled him to hold the upper hand.
He knew that this young bear had spent a long time in Russia, constantly yelling “Ura” and becoming increasingly hard to deal with.
But Ding Rong had practiced martial arts since he was a child. He was taller and heavier than Qin Chunxiao, possessing a significant physical advantage. It had almost been a challenge to keep Qin Chunxiao down. His combat instincts, agility, and fierce fighting spirit were not something that could be easily explained by saying “he has Russian blood.”
Ding Rong wiped his brow, saying, “Xiao Zai, if you lived in ancient times, you would definitely be an extraordinary martial arts prodigy seen only once every few hundred years. You’d train for one year, achieving what others would in five, and in ten years, you’d become the leader of the martial arts world.”
Qin Chunxiao got up, modestly and shyly, “Brother Ding, don’t exaggerate. I might have a tiny bit of talent, but I still can’t beat you.”
Ding Rong: “I genuinely meant to praise you…”
The surroundings had fallen into complete silence. Caddy swallowed his saliva, feeling immensely relieved that he hadn’t really fought against Misha Qin. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even need to play the match tomorrow. Even if Misha Qin used only one hand, Caddy wouldn’t have been able to last 10 seconds against him.
After this battle, both Xiao Qin and Lao Ding earned the respect of everyone in the gym. In addition to his Chinese teammates who already held him in high regard, the American, Japanese, and Canadian teams all looked at him with a sense of awe.
Despite Qiao Mingming, Min Yaoyang, and Liu Yuelou making a noisy entrance to the matches, putting on a lively show with their sunglasses and shoulder embraces, in reality, the setter Ding Rong and Misha Qin were the true powerhouses. Add in the imposing presence of the two towering coaches and the referee, who could explode a few meters when provoked, and Fu Biyang – this group was the pinnacle of China’s team strength.
A long time ago, during the Asian Championship, the Chinese team’s appearance, with its bunch of burly men who seemed like bandits and their habit of pounding their chests and roaring when scoring, created immense psychological pressure on the Iranian team’s net players. The referee even blew a whistle to warn the Chinese team.
On the second day of the VNL fourth-week USA station, the match against the Japanese team also came with some pressure.
As everyone knew, when the Chinese team played against Japan, their morale was at its peak. Once their momentum picked up, their bandit nature became unstoppable.
The fierce roar after scoring was an invigorating and blood-pumping move, and even China’s second-string team occasionally joined in.
The referee’s ears finally couldn’t take it anymore. He issued a warning to Tong Shulan, who was the most enthusiastic screamer.
Fans who were following the China-Japan match burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, although I know volleyball can get noisy, the Gua Squad is really overdoing it today, hahaha.”
“Don’t say that, Yangyang’s spirit is quite strong today. I remember in the Japanese league, when he got into a fight, his club and another team had a dispute. But he just stepped in front of his teammates, and both sides backed off. His teammates even pulled him away, advising him to cool down.”
“I remember that match! Yangyang’s female fans kept saying she got anxious when she saw him stepping in. I rewatched it several times and thought Yang Ge had a strong presence. His face was tense. It’s hard for us men to understand the feelings of motherly fans.”
“That warning was well-deserved. With their shouting like that, I’m starting to wonder if this group of burly men will celebrate their victory by cooking a big pot of chicken stew.”
Anyone who knew about the internal affairs of Henan Province’s team would know that Ming Yaoyang, like Li Ling, held an undefeated record since childhood, all thanks to Xiong Wu’s protection. Someone even composed a classic saying for this situation – “Humans and bears are showing off, but only Yangyang is getting beaten up.”
After winning against Japan with a score of 3:0, Jiang Xiaohai stood with his hands on his hips and scolded this bunch, “Do you guys even remember that you’re here to play volleyball? Has the spirit of sportsmanship and courtesy completely taken away from you? The match is a match, why are you shouting so loudly? What if the Japanese team has someone as hot-headed as Vincent? Are you planning to pick another fight?”
“Tong Shulan, look at me! During your youth team days, didn’t you get beaten up in a fight and saved by Meng Yuqing passing by? What if another fight breaks out? There won’t be a righteous sister from the women’s volleyball team in New Jersey to save you!”
Tong Shulan muttered, “The one who helped me in that fight was Yuling. Later, she didn’t want to write a self-criticism, so she blamed it on her sister.”
Jiang Xiaohai: “…”
Qin Chunxiao intervened, “It’s okay, Hai Ge. We have our limits. We all know that in volleyball matches, we must remain pure – we can only play the game, not fight.”
Ding Rong also chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, anyone who causes another violent incident, I’ll team up with Xiao Zai to mince that bastard into pieces.”
This statement sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
Newton sighed, “Ah, you guys are really ruthless.”
When it came to playing against Canada, the Chinese team didn’t put on their tough-guy act. They all entered the arena in an orderly manner and began their warm-up.
An enthusiastic fan in the front row yelled, “Mingming! Why aren’t you wearing sunglasses today?”
Qiao Mingming waved his hand apologetically, “Not wearing them today.”
After the coaches’ scolding, they should behave a bit better and not go around provoking Jiang Xiaohai’s nerves.
The Canadian team couldn’t be considered weak. China only sent its second-string team to play against them, so the situation was a bit precarious. Thus, Newton frequently swapped in Qiao Mingming, Tong Shulan, Fu Biyang, and You Ziyu, while focusing on training the second-string team at other times.
Those who paid attention could see through it – Lao Newton was using the VNL matches to help the players who hadn’t gone abroad for competition gain experience!
The Canadian coach grumbled, and Newton was indeed playing his cards well. This coach felt quite anxious inside, but the current Chinese team was vastly different from the team of a few years ago, who could be easily bullied.
After a 90-minute match, China once again won 3:0. With this victory, they had accumulated a record of 10 wins and 2 losses in the VNL preliminary matches, securing a spot in the finals during the fourth leg.
Just looking at this record, they were truly a top-notch team!
Following that, Qin Chunxiao, together with his teammates, headed to Brisbane, Australia for the next station of the tournament. They would be facing the teams from Australia, Poland, and Brazil in this stage.
Brisbane, known as the city of rivers, offered a view of the Brisbane River’s night scene from the hotel windows. Qin Chunxiao stayed on the 26th floor, and when he drew the curtains, he could overlook half the city.
Sitting cross-legged on the balcony’s wicker chair, enjoying the breeze, he received a phone call. With only a two-hour time difference between Australia and China, Qin Chunxiao quickly calculated that it was still 8 o’clock in China.
In a lazy tone, he said, “Good evening.”
Lu Xuandong: “Good evening, Chunxiao. Sorry for disturbing you so late. Do you know about Wang Ziran getting imprisoned?”
Qin Chunxiao: “I know, it’s that scoundrel Bai Ming.”
Lu Xuandong: “And then, my little brother was targeted by internet trolls again. Someone wants him to write a letter of apology, otherwise, they’ll [mute] him.”
Qin Chunxiao sat up silently: “Again, by elementary school kids?” Hearing the word “[mute],” Qin Chunxiao thought that the person who could do this couldn’t be older than 10.
Lu Xuandong: “This time it’s junior high school students.”
Qin Chunxiao: …
He didn’t know whether to mock the fact that in this world, only kind-hearted people who cared about life could be threatened by others, and kind-hearted people shouldn’t be threatened, or to mock Wang Ziran for getting himself into trouble and involving Lu Xuandong’s unfortunate little brother.
To prevent his brother from being threatened by bored middle-school kids for trivial matters and to keep him from being morally manipulated by random strangers, Lu Xuandong gave his brother some travel funds, allowing him to take a month-long trip abroad. However, his brother really wanted to invite Yashenka to travel together. It seemed he was eager to finish counting down the days and get it over with, as he was preoccupied with this matter.
Qin Chunxiao was quite puzzled, “Then let him invite Yashenka himself.”
Lu Xuandong sighed, “The problem is, after Yunchen returned from Russia last time, Yashenka stopped answering his calls. But he’s not in good health and needs to drink traditional Chinese medicine for an extended period. Yet, he refuses to see a doctor or get prescription adjustments. This has been causing Yunchen a lot of distress, thinking that he did something wrong. I asked him what he did, but he won’t say.”
“He’s planning a one-month trip to Russia and asked me to ask you if you could send a message to Yashenka, letting him know that Yunchen will be coming.”
Qin Chunxiao casually agreed, “Sure, your brother seems like a good kid.”
Lu Yunchen was going to visit Yashenka in person, informing him in advance. This meant that whether they would meet in the end was still Yashenka’s choice. If he didn’t want to see Yunchen, he could avoid him beforehand.
From this perspective, Lu Yunchen was really polite and respectful towards Yashenka.
Qin Chunxiao composed a text message for Yashenka and jokingly told Lu Xuandong, “It’s great being your brother. He has travel funds and can go on a Siberian vacation whenever he wants.”
Lu Xuandong replied seriously, “If there’s a potato-digging project in Siberia, I’d prefer to send him to dig potatoes rather than travel.”
Lu Xuandong found Lu Yunchen to be quite troublesome. Every time something happened, he had a very low chance of being able to solve it himself. He was soft-hearted and easily led by others. Apart from his optimism and friendly nature, he didn’t seem to possess other qualities suitable for the entertainment industry.
Qin Chunxiao said, “Well, you don’t have to say that. Besides, I’m quite troublesome too. I used to ask you to cook for me and get insoles for me…”
“But you’re different.” Lu Xuandong first responded firmly and quickly, then his tone softened. “You are Zhe Yue’s partner, and I believe you have great potential. You might even become an Olympic champion in the future, so helping you play better is something I should do.”
“And as a friend, I think everything I’ve done for you is worthwhile. Just seeing you use the insoles I sent makes me happy. This kind of emotional feedback is something others can’t provide.”
His tone was so gentle, his voice so pleasant that it made Qin Chunxiao’s face inexplicably warm. At that moment, Li Ling emerged from the bathroom, loudly saying, “Xiao Zai, I’m done showering. It’s your turn!”
In a hurry, Qin Chunxiao said into the phone, “I’m going to take a shower and rest now. Goodnight.”
Click.
Lu Xuandong smiled.
“Rest well.” He spoke these last words to the now-disconnected call, then pulled out a piece of blank paper and began writing a new song contentedly.
Just then, Lu Yunchen called him, “Bro, I’ve packed my luggage. I’ll be heading to Russia tomorrow. Is there anything you want me to bring?”
Lu Xuandong: “No, take care on your journey. I’m a bit busy, so I’m hanging up.”
Click.
