My Soulmate is A Libero
Min Yaoyang firmly believed that Qin Chunxiao’s evil spirit could suppress any supernatural beings. So, on the last night of the Australia leg of the competition, he confidently laid out a blanket on the floor of Qin Chunxiao’s room and slept there.
Qin Chunxiao: “Me? An evil spirit?”
Xiong Wu was making Min Yaoyang’s bed. Hearing this, he quickly clarified, “You heard wrong. Yangyang clearly said ‘positive energy’!”
It wasn’t that Li Ling or Qin Chunxiao didn’t want to share a bed with Yaoyang, but Yaoyang was a towering 2.08 meters tall. If he occupied a bed, there would hardly be space left for Li Ling, who was almost 2 meters tall. And as for sharing a bed with Qin Chunxiao… he would likely be punched to the bottom of the bed by Qin Chunxiao’s sleep punches.
However, Min Yaoyang still didn’t sleep well, and Li Ling couldn’t rest properly either. In the end, Qin Chunxiao got up, randomly clicked on an Ultraman video, and let the Warrior of Light soothe Min Yaoyang’s soul.
The next morning, they saw firefighters coming to catch snakes. It was said that a total of five snakes were found in the hotel. Apparently, a Brazilian team athlete was scared by a snake yesterday, and their coach contacted the hotel staff overnight to handle the situation.
Newton couldn’t help but sigh, “The wildlife in Australia is quite active.”
Min Yaoyang breathed a sigh of relief, “Luckily, I only saw the big-toothed ghost yesterday. If I had seen a snake, I would have passed out.”
Qin Chunxiao yawned, “Don’t even mention it. Since coming to Australia, these guys have been calling me to deal with bugs every night.”
Some of the brightly colored bugs were especially cute, and Qin Chunxiao couldn’t bear to kill them. Now, as they were leaving, he took out a jar from his backpack and released the bugs onto the street.
Gently, Qin Chunxiao said, “Thank you all for keeping me company these past few days. Let’s play together next time.”
The creatures with many legs crawled out of the glass jar.
Min Yaoyang suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed with a groan. Xiong Wu and Liu Yuelou quickly supported him. In a panic, Xiong Wu shouted, “Yaoyang, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me, Yaoyang!”
Team doctor Wang Yan rushed over, “Don’t move him around. Lay him down first!”
Ding Rong, unusually agitated, grabbed Qin Chunxiao and scolded him, “You’re already this old and you’re still playing with bugs? It’s fine to enjoy playing with small animals, but know your limits. Save it for playing with dogs when you get home. You know we have so many scaredy-cats on the team. I better not catch you playing with bugs or mice again!”
Qin Chunxiao defended himself with a hint of grievance, “I really didn’t expect him to be so afraid of even these cute bugs.”
Amidst the chaos, the Chinese team managed to arrive at the airport on time. Unfortunately, during their trip to Australia, everyone was busy with matches and had no time to see kangaroos. In the end, they could only buy animal headgear from the airport as souvenirs of this station of the competition.
Qin Chunxiao was scolded by Ding Rong for the first time and appeared a bit downcast. Qiao Mingming laughed at his appearance and bought him headgear and gloves featuring kangaroos, koalas, and platypuses.
Then, everyone flew directly to Chicago in the United States, where this year’s VNL finals would be held.
It was already July 2019. Since the start of the VNL, they had been playing matches abroad. Qin Chunxiao had run out of masks, so upon entering the United States, he left his luggage at the hotel and went to a nearby pharmacy to buy a total of 50 masks.
This wasn’t a huge quantity; it was enough to distribute among the team members. Currently, apart from Qin Chunxiao, no one else had the habit of wearing masks on the team.
As a result, when the Chinese team made their appearance, Xiaoqiin was the easiest to recognize. As long as he wasn’t overshadowed by his tall teammates, the 1.8-meter-tall figure with a mask was him.
Many teams had chosen to arrive in Chicago early to prepare for the finals. Teams from Brazil, Poland, Russia, Italy, Iran, and France had all arrived. Only the United States team was still at home, reportedly undergoing their final round of training.
Last year, the Chinese team had received training from the reigning beach volleyball champions in Italy. This year, on July 3rd, they sat in front of the TV and watched the Beach Volleyball World Championships held in Hamburg, Germany.
Kristian and Tim’s partnership remained strong. They swept through the group stage, and their main competitors were from Germany, Russia, and the United States.
You Ziyu was Kristian’s direct disciple, and he too was watching his master’s matches on TV.
Meanwhile, Chang Xiaole checked China’s beach volleyball results and found out that they hadn’t even made it to the top 16. A deep sense of disappointment appeared in his eyes. “When I was serving, we always made it to the quarterfinals.”
Moreover, Lian Zhiqi and his partner failed to qualify for the World Championships. Before the competition, they announced their retirement. As former world number three players, they were finally forced to leave the court in silence due to the ravages of time and injuries.
Newton grinned, “The pair that succeeded Lian Zhiqi’s team consists of two strong-willed players. They’ve been teamed up for only half a year, and they still play a bit separately. They don’t have that sense of wholeheartedly considering their partner. If you were to step in, you might actually achieve some good results.”
Chang Xiaole’s lips twitched, “How could I do that? I was almost crippled before retirement. I spent these years recuperating with Dr. Li, and my condition has improved a bit.”
Newton smiled, not confirming nor denying.
Chang Xiaole’s injuries were severe for two reasons. First, he took on more responsibility for ground defense back then, leaving the more dazzling attacks to Lian Zhiqi. Second, Lian Zhiqi’s setting wasn’t very good, sometimes resulting in balls being set too far back, causing Chang Xiaole to arch his back and spike, increasing the strain on his waist.
This was similar to when Li Ling’s setting skills were not up to par, and the attackers had to adjust and exert their waist muscles while playing his balls, leading to constant adjustments and core strengthening.
However, this year, this young player had made tremendous progress. The balls he set were much more comfortable to work with, and both fans and teammates praised him non-stop.
Newton observed Chang Xiaole’s physique – 197 cm tall, with good proportions of long limbs, good jump, flexibility, and strength. Balanced in attack and defense, with high volleyball IQ, he was suitable for both setter and receiver positions.
Back in the day, domestic volleyball coaches had also considered nurturing this promising talent, but beach volleyball coaches made the first move and recruited Chang Xiaole. Later, he became enamored with Lian Zhiqi and was determined to play beach volleyball. By the end, he managed to at least make it into the top five in the world rankings. It was indeed much better than staying in indoor men’s volleyball under Coach Zhao Youde.
Li Ling passed by and glanced at the beach volleyball court. He mumbled, “Why aren’t our Chinese team’s partners speaking?”
Min Yaoyang chimed in, “They both have so many adhesive patches on their left shoulders. Are they injured in the same spot?”
With that remark, the two went hand in hand to watch Ultraman. Meanwhile, Newton and Chang Xiaole exchanged glances, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Out of curiosity, they simultaneously took out their phones and searched for news about the partner pair. They found a news article related to them:
“Shocking! Male Beach Volleyball Players Xie Yaozi and Ming Zhouzhou, Champions of the National Championships, Engage in Fistfight at the Airport!”
“Beach Volleyball Coach Zhang Fei Reflects Deeply on the Physical Altercation Between Athletes, Pledging to Manage Athletes More Strictly”
Zhang Fei was Chang Xiaole’s senior in beach volleyball. He was once a well-known, sunny, handsome guy. However, the Zhang Fei in the video now had half his head shaved, his face full of bitterness, apparently extremely worried about his two athletes.
Newton commented, “Could these two be from the rival soulmate? But that doesn’t make sense. They’ve been partnered for half a year, so they should have brushed past any rough edges by now. It can’t be a negative distance…”
If it was a “negative distance,” the human tongue length was 5-6 centimeters, at most 8 centimeters. The world record was 10.16 centimeters. If they were determined enough, they should have brushed past that mark, right?
“If these two really can’t talk and they still play separately even when fighting, yet still manage to perform at their current level, maybe they’re just the type of players with an astonishing natural understanding.”
Chang Xiaole expressed relief, “There were people who invited me to be Xie Yaozi and Ming Zhouzhou’s coach before. Thank goodness I didn’t go.”
Although the indoor men’s volleyball team might stir up trouble too, Captain Qiao Mingming was an honest person. With Ding Rong and Qin Chunxiao suppressing any dissent, not only did no one dare to cause trouble on the team, even foreign teams had to be polite. They were much easier to handle than those two in beach volleyball.
VNL was a commercial competition, but it was also organized by the International Volleyball Federation to keep the sport’s popularity up. Each year, they assembled strong teams from various countries to provide entertainment for the fans and attract more sponsors.
For example, the China station of VNL this year had secured sponsorship from a major brand named Zhe Yue, much to the delight of the International Volleyball Federation and the Chinese Volleyball Association.
After the officials had made their lengthy speeches, Li Ling was nearly falling asleep. But once all the officials retreated, Italy’s Mattia rushed to the sound system. Then, ear-piercing rock music resounded through the hall. Fu Biyang led the way, wearing a kangaroo headgear and danced onto the table, starting to perform street dance.
It was at this moment that Lu Xuandong received a video call request. Seeing the caller ID, he promptly accepted the call and was greeted with an ear-splitting blast of sound from the other end.
On the screen appeared a koala head.
A koala?!
Next to the koala, two hands appeared, holding the koala’s head and lifting it up. Then, a kangaroo head appeared.
The kangaroo head emitted Qin Chunxiao’s voice, “Xuandong, could you help me check my college entrance exam scores?”
Lu Xuandong’s mouth hung open, blinking his eyes a few times before he calmly responded, “Sure.”
Lu Xuandong swiftly followed Qin Chunxiao’s instructions and checked his college entrance exam scores. 656, which fell within Qin Chunxiao’s normal performance range. It was definitely sufficient to get him into Zhonghai University.
The university’s marine science program ranked first in the country. Qin Chunxiao had always wanted to attend this university. When he heard his score, he immediately raised both arms with joy.
“I passed!”
In the background, a group of guys wearing animal headgear also started cheering loudly. The rock music grew louder and louder.
Qin Chunxiao removed the kangaroo head and turned to the phone on the table, waving his hand, “Xuandong, am I awesome?”
In the quiet office, Lu Xuandong leaned back in his chair, loosening his tie slightly. “Yeah, you’re awesome. You’re the most awesome in the world.”
Qin Chunxiao shouted in delight and also jumped onto the table, dancing around. Lu Xuandong didn’t mind that only Qin Chunxiao’s ankles were visible in the camera frame. He positioned the phone correctly and amidst the lively background noise, resumed his work.
Both of their phones continued to stay on. Lu Xuandong felt that Qin Chunxiao might have forgotten that his phone’s camera was still on while he was playing around.
Once the commotion on Qin Chunxiao’s end settled down, he held his phone and returned to his room. “Xuandong, it should be around 1 AM in China, right? Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Lu Xuandong casually replied, “I’ll sleep after I finish this.”
Wait, did he notice that I’ve been on?
Qin Chunxiao stretched lazily, “Do you want me to keep you company? It’s daytime here, and I don’t have any training tasks for the next two hours.”
Newton allowed the athletes to take a nap after lunch every day, with training resuming at 3:30 PM. This was mainly because from 1:30 to 3:30 PM, the Brazilian team was playing matches in the reserved gym. During these hours, Qin Chunxiao was awake due to jet lag, and he found himself with plenty of free time.
“Okay.”
Qin Chunxiao didn’t hear clearly, “What?”
“I want you to accompany me.” Lu Xuandong requested, “Please stay with me to finish this last bit of work.”
Qin Chunxiao agreed and plugged in his phone to charge it. He sat down at the hotel room’s desk and opened a novel with an Antarctic exploration theme.
Golden sunlight bathed the buildings of Chicago, casting a bright layer of color onto the nearby bridge. A film crew was shooting a kissing scene there.
Qin Chunxiao shared this news with Lu Xuandong.
Lu Xuandong hadn’t watched many romance films, and he hadn’t acted in one himself. However, he had his own perspective on kissing scenes, “The most iconic kissing scene is the final one in ‘Cinema Paradiso.’ It feels like all the love in the whole era was in those kisses.”
Qin Chunxiao responded, “Yeah, the first time I watched that movie, I thought that if I ever meet someone I like, I would take them to watch ‘Cinema Paradiso.’ Then, during the final scene of the movie, I’d go in for a kiss. As long as they don’t reject it, I’ll know they’ve fallen in love with me.”
It sounded quite romantic, but Qin Chunxiao was raised in a romantic family. He grew up listening to his grandparents’ love stories and watching his parents dance in cheongsam in the living room. In the end, he became someone who would take friends stargazing and had a dog in his grandfather’s backyard. His upbringing instilled in him a romantic foundation.
Lu Xuandong’s pen paused on the paper, and finally, he left a small ink dot at the top.
“Chunxiao, if someone doesn’t refuse your kiss, it means they already loved you before watching the movie.”
Qin Chunxiao smiled, “Really? Is that so?”
Lu Xuandong said, “What about after the kiss? What would you do? Would you take the person you like on a date?”
Qin Chunxiao replied, “That’s a matter after the kiss. I don’t know what I’ll do at that time. Maybe I’ll whisk them away for a night of skiing in the Alps, or perhaps I’ll treat them to a can of my favorite orange-flavored canned fruit. I especially love the syrup inside. Since becoming an athlete, these canned food products have become more distant from me.”
“But if it’s someone I like, I’ll eat half of the fruit, and then give them the other half of the fruit and all of the syrup.”
My Soulmate is A Libero
Min Yaoyang firmly believed that Qin Chunxiao’s evil spirit could suppress any supernatural beings. So, on the last night of the Australia leg of the competition, he confidently laid out a blanket on the floor of Qin Chunxiao’s room and slept there.
Qin Chunxiao: “Me? An evil spirit?”
Xiong Wu was making Min Yaoyang’s bed. Hearing this, he quickly clarified, “You heard wrong. Yangyang clearly said ‘positive energy’!”
It wasn’t that Li Ling or Qin Chunxiao didn’t want to share a bed with Yaoyang, but Yaoyang was a towering 2.08 meters tall. If he occupied a bed, there would hardly be space left for Li Ling, who was almost 2 meters tall. And as for sharing a bed with Qin Chunxiao… he would likely be punched to the bottom of the bed by Qin Chunxiao’s sleep punches.
However, Min Yaoyang still didn’t sleep well, and Li Ling couldn’t rest properly either. In the end, Qin Chunxiao got up, randomly clicked on an Ultraman video, and let the Warrior of Light soothe Min Yaoyang’s soul.
The next morning, they saw firefighters coming to catch snakes. It was said that a total of five snakes were found in the hotel. Apparently, a Brazilian team athlete was scared by a snake yesterday, and their coach contacted the hotel staff overnight to handle the situation.
Newton couldn’t help but sigh, “The wildlife in Australia is quite active.”
Min Yaoyang breathed a sigh of relief, “Luckily, I only saw the big-toothed ghost yesterday. If I had seen a snake, I would have passed out.”
Qin Chunxiao yawned, “Don’t even mention it. Since coming to Australia, these guys have been calling me to deal with bugs every night.”
Some of the brightly colored bugs were especially cute, and Qin Chunxiao couldn’t bear to kill them. Now, as they were leaving, he took out a jar from his backpack and released the bugs onto the street.
Gently, Qin Chunxiao said, “Thank you all for keeping me company these past few days. Let’s play together next time.”
The creatures with many legs crawled out of the glass jar.
Min Yaoyang suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed with a groan. Xiong Wu and Liu Yuelou quickly supported him. In a panic, Xiong Wu shouted, “Yaoyang, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me, Yaoyang!”
Team doctor Wang Yan rushed over, “Don’t move him around. Lay him down first!”
Ding Rong, unusually agitated, grabbed Qin Chunxiao and scolded him, “You’re already this old and you’re still playing with bugs? It’s fine to enjoy playing with small animals, but know your limits. Save it for playing with dogs when you get home. You know we have so many scaredy-cats on the team. I better not catch you playing with bugs or mice again!”
Qin Chunxiao defended himself with a hint of grievance, “I really didn’t expect him to be so afraid of even these cute bugs.”
Amidst the chaos, the Chinese team managed to arrive at the airport on time. Unfortunately, during their trip to Australia, everyone was busy with matches and had no time to see kangaroos. In the end, they could only buy animal headgear from the airport as souvenirs of this station of the competition.
Qin Chunxiao was scolded by Ding Rong for the first time and appeared a bit downcast. Qiao Mingming laughed at his appearance and bought him headgear and gloves featuring kangaroos, koalas, and platypuses.
Then, everyone flew directly to Chicago in the United States, where this year’s VNL finals would be held.
It was already July 2019. Since the start of the VNL, they had been playing matches abroad. Qin Chunxiao had run out of masks, so upon entering the United States, he left his luggage at the hotel and went to a nearby pharmacy to buy a total of 50 masks.
This wasn’t a huge quantity; it was enough to distribute among the team members. Currently, apart from Qin Chunxiao, no one else had the habit of wearing masks on the team.
As a result, when the Chinese team made their appearance, Xiaoqiin was the easiest to recognize. As long as he wasn’t overshadowed by his tall teammates, the 1.8-meter-tall figure with a mask was him.
Many teams had chosen to arrive in Chicago early to prepare for the finals. Teams from Brazil, Poland, Russia, Italy, Iran, and France had all arrived. Only the United States team was still at home, reportedly undergoing their final round of training.
Last year, the Chinese team had received training from the reigning beach volleyball champions in Italy. This year, on July 3rd, they sat in front of the TV and watched the Beach Volleyball World Championships held in Hamburg, Germany.
Kristian and Tim’s partnership remained strong. They swept through the group stage, and their main competitors were from Germany, Russia, and the United States.
You Ziyu was Kristian’s direct disciple, and he too was watching his master’s matches on TV.
Meanwhile, Chang Xiaole checked China’s beach volleyball results and found out that they hadn’t even made it to the top 16. A deep sense of disappointment appeared in his eyes. “When I was serving, we always made it to the quarterfinals.”
Moreover, Lian Zhiqi and his partner failed to qualify for the World Championships. Before the competition, they announced their retirement. As former world number three players, they were finally forced to leave the court in silence due to the ravages of time and injuries.
Newton grinned, “The pair that succeeded Lian Zhiqi’s team consists of two strong-willed players. They’ve been teamed up for only half a year, and they still play a bit separately. They don’t have that sense of wholeheartedly considering their partner. If you were to step in, you might actually achieve some good results.”
Chang Xiaole’s lips twitched, “How could I do that? I was almost crippled before retirement. I spent these years recuperating with Dr. Li, and my condition has improved a bit.”
Newton smiled, not confirming nor denying.
Chang Xiaole’s injuries were severe for two reasons. First, he took on more responsibility for ground defense back then, leaving the more dazzling attacks to Lian Zhiqi. Second, Lian Zhiqi’s setting wasn’t very good, sometimes resulting in balls being set too far back, causing Chang Xiaole to arch his back and spike, increasing the strain on his waist.
This was similar to when Li Ling’s setting skills were not up to par, and the attackers had to adjust and exert their waist muscles while playing his balls, leading to constant adjustments and core strengthening.
However, this year, this young player had made tremendous progress. The balls he set were much more comfortable to work with, and both fans and teammates praised him non-stop.
Newton observed Chang Xiaole’s physique – 197 cm tall, with good proportions of long limbs, good jump, flexibility, and strength. Balanced in attack and defense, with high volleyball IQ, he was suitable for both setter and receiver positions.
Back in the day, domestic volleyball coaches had also considered nurturing this promising talent, but beach volleyball coaches made the first move and recruited Chang Xiaole. Later, he became enamored with Lian Zhiqi and was determined to play beach volleyball. By the end, he managed to at least make it into the top five in the world rankings. It was indeed much better than staying in indoor men’s volleyball under Coach Zhao Youde.
Li Ling passed by and glanced at the beach volleyball court. He mumbled, “Why aren’t our Chinese team’s partners speaking?”
Min Yaoyang chimed in, “They both have so many adhesive patches on their left shoulders. Are they injured in the same spot?”
With that remark, the two went hand in hand to watch Ultraman. Meanwhile, Newton and Chang Xiaole exchanged glances, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Out of curiosity, they simultaneously took out their phones and searched for news about the partner pair. They found a news article related to them:
“Shocking! Male Beach Volleyball Players Xie Yaozi and Ming Zhouzhou, Champions of the National Championships, Engage in Fistfight at the Airport!”
“Beach Volleyball Coach Zhang Fei Reflects Deeply on the Physical Altercation Between Athletes, Pledging to Manage Athletes More Strictly”
Zhang Fei was Chang Xiaole’s senior in beach volleyball. He was once a well-known, sunny, handsome guy. However, the Zhang Fei in the video now had half his head shaved, his face full of bitterness, apparently extremely worried about his two athletes.
Newton commented, “Could these two be from the rival soulmate? But that doesn’t make sense. They’ve been partnered for half a year, so they should have brushed past any rough edges by now. It can’t be a negative distance…”
If it was a “negative distance,” the human tongue length was 5-6 centimeters, at most 8 centimeters. The world record was 10.16 centimeters. If they were determined enough, they should have brushed past that mark, right?
“If these two really can’t talk and they still play separately even when fighting, yet still manage to perform at their current level, maybe they’re just the type of players with an astonishing natural understanding.”
Chang Xiaole expressed relief, “There were people who invited me to be Xie Yaozi and Ming Zhouzhou’s coach before. Thank goodness I didn’t go.”
Although the indoor men’s volleyball team might stir up trouble too, Captain Qiao Mingming was an honest person. With Ding Rong and Qin Chunxiao suppressing any dissent, not only did no one dare to cause trouble on the team, even foreign teams had to be polite. They were much easier to handle than those two in beach volleyball.
VNL was a commercial competition, but it was also organized by the International Volleyball Federation to keep the sport’s popularity up. Each year, they assembled strong teams from various countries to provide entertainment for the fans and attract more sponsors.
For example, the China station of VNL this year had secured sponsorship from a major brand named Zhe Yue, much to the delight of the International Volleyball Federation and the Chinese Volleyball Association.
After the officials had made their lengthy speeches, Li Ling was nearly falling asleep. But once all the officials retreated, Italy’s Mattia rushed to the sound system. Then, ear-piercing rock music resounded through the hall. Fu Biyang led the way, wearing a kangaroo headgear and danced onto the table, starting to perform street dance.
It was at this moment that Lu Xuandong received a video call request. Seeing the caller ID, he promptly accepted the call and was greeted with an ear-splitting blast of sound from the other end.
On the screen appeared a koala head.
A koala?!
Next to the koala, two hands appeared, holding the koala’s head and lifting it up. Then, a kangaroo head appeared.
The kangaroo head emitted Qin Chunxiao’s voice, “Xuandong, could you help me check my college entrance exam scores?”
Lu Xuandong’s mouth hung open, blinking his eyes a few times before he calmly responded, “Sure.”
Lu Xuandong swiftly followed Qin Chunxiao’s instructions and checked his college entrance exam scores. 656, which fell within Qin Chunxiao’s normal performance range. It was definitely sufficient to get him into Zhonghai University.
The university’s marine science program ranked first in the country. Qin Chunxiao had always wanted to attend this university. When he heard his score, he immediately raised both arms with joy.
“I passed!”
In the background, a group of guys wearing animal headgear also started cheering loudly. The rock music grew louder and louder.
Qin Chunxiao removed the kangaroo head and turned to the phone on the table, waving his hand, “Xuandong, am I awesome?”
In the quiet office, Lu Xuandong leaned back in his chair, loosening his tie slightly. “Yeah, you’re awesome. You’re the most awesome in the world.”
Qin Chunxiao shouted in delight and also jumped onto the table, dancing around. Lu Xuandong didn’t mind that only Qin Chunxiao’s ankles were visible in the camera frame. He positioned the phone correctly and amidst the lively background noise, resumed his work.
Both of their phones continued to stay on. Lu Xuandong felt that Qin Chunxiao might have forgotten that his phone’s camera was still on while he was playing around.
Once the commotion on Qin Chunxiao’s end settled down, he held his phone and returned to his room. “Xuandong, it should be around 1 AM in China, right? Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Lu Xuandong casually replied, “I’ll sleep after I finish this.”
Wait, did he notice that I’ve been on?
Qin Chunxiao stretched lazily, “Do you want me to keep you company? It’s daytime here, and I don’t have any training tasks for the next two hours.”
Newton allowed the athletes to take a nap after lunch every day, with training resuming at 3:30 PM. This was mainly because from 1:30 to 3:30 PM, the Brazilian team was playing matches in the reserved gym. During these hours, Qin Chunxiao was awake due to jet lag, and he found himself with plenty of free time.
“Okay.”
Qin Chunxiao didn’t hear clearly, “What?”
“I want you to accompany me.” Lu Xuandong requested, “Please stay with me to finish this last bit of work.”
Qin Chunxiao agreed and plugged in his phone to charge it. He sat down at the hotel room’s desk and opened a novel with an Antarctic exploration theme.
Golden sunlight bathed the buildings of Chicago, casting a bright layer of color onto the nearby bridge. A film crew was shooting a kissing scene there.
Qin Chunxiao shared this news with Lu Xuandong.
Lu Xuandong hadn’t watched many romance films, and he hadn’t acted in one himself. However, he had his own perspective on kissing scenes, “The most iconic kissing scene is the final one in ‘Cinema Paradiso.’ It feels like all the love in the whole era was in those kisses.”
Qin Chunxiao responded, “Yeah, the first time I watched that movie, I thought that if I ever meet someone I like, I would take them to watch ‘Cinema Paradiso.’ Then, during the final scene of the movie, I’d go in for a kiss. As long as they don’t reject it, I’ll know they’ve fallen in love with me.”
It sounded quite romantic, but Qin Chunxiao was raised in a romantic family. He grew up listening to his grandparents’ love stories and watching his parents dance in cheongsam in the living room. In the end, he became someone who would take friends stargazing and had a dog in his grandfather’s backyard. His upbringing instilled in him a romantic foundation.
Lu Xuandong’s pen paused on the paper, and finally, he left a small ink dot at the top.
“Chunxiao, if someone doesn’t refuse your kiss, it means they already loved you before watching the movie.”
Qin Chunxiao smiled, “Really? Is that so?”
Lu Xuandong said, “What about after the kiss? What would you do? Would you take the person you like on a date?”
Qin Chunxiao replied, “That’s a matter after the kiss. I don’t know what I’ll do at that time. Maybe I’ll whisk them away for a night of skiing in the Alps, or perhaps I’ll treat them to a can of my favorite orange-flavored canned fruit. I especially love the syrup inside. Since becoming an athlete, these canned food products have become more distant from me.”
“But if it’s someone I like, I’ll eat half of the fruit, and then give them the other half of the fruit and all of the syrup.”
