My Soulmate is A Libero
As someone who often played volleyball abroad, Qin Chunxiao was actually quite familiar with perfumes. Unlike East Asians, both black and white people had stronger body odors, so they had the habit of using perfumes to mask the smells. Foreign players also had to take showers after games for the same reason. Qin Chunxiao sometimes delayed his shower until he returned to the dormitory because his body had no scent other than sweat.
To put it mildly, he knew as many perfume brands as he knew teammates. These big men had a somewhat delicate side too, and they generally didn’t want to clash with their teammates’ perfume scents.
During this time, he wasn’t without people recommending perfume brands to him. For those with odor issues, perfume was a common item. There was no concern about being “too feminine” when using perfume. Rather, it was considered polite to not subject others to unpleasant body odors. On Qin Chunxiao’s birthday, Ruslan had given him a bottle of Davidoff’s Cool Water.
The reason Ruslan chose this brand was simple. The scent of Cool Water was neutral and widely accepted. It was suitable for beginners (both men and women). The fragrance carried a sense of the ocean from the bottle to the aroma. And since Misha Qin was supposedly going to study marine science in college, he should have a fondness for the sea, at least?
Little Ruslan was truly trying to please his team captain.
This was the origin of the bottle of perfume in Qin Chunxiao’s home. But it wasn’t until today that he felt he should use some perfume himself.
Qin Chunxiao had only been back in the country for less than half a day when he heard about Lu Xuandong falling ill and rushed over. Once he arrived, he not only prepared medicine but also took over the kitchen, preparing a table of light home-cooked dishes: blanched vegetables, steamed beef balls, lean meat and vegetable congee, and red bean buns.
Lu Xuandong was astonished when he saw the red bean buns. “You can make pastries too?”
“Grandma taught me.”
Qin Chunxiao took a shower and changed into Lu Xuandong’s T-shirt and sports shorts. He leaned on his hand, quietly watching Lu Xuandong’s face. He realized that this guy was indeed good-looking.
He truly deserved to be the object of winter fans’ affection.
This 22-year-old Zhe Yue Prince had a very classical face. If he were in traditional Chinese clothing, he would be the epitome of an elegant and handsome young nobleman from ancient times—looking expensive. However, this kind of person, while biting into a red bean bun, puffed up his cheeks and actually looked a bit cute.
Qin Chunxiao pushed a cup of effervescent Vitamin C towards him, and Lu Xuandong quickly reached for it. Their fingertips accidentally brushed against each other. Lu Xuandong’s expression remained unchanged, but his fingertips moved slightly, the beautiful man emptied the cup in one gulp, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed.
“Dong’er, there’s something I’ve been thinking about before coming here.”
Lu Xuandong was a bit lost as he looked up and gazed into a sea of golden ripples reflected in blue, only then realizing those were Qin Chunxiao’s eyes under the light, like gemstones.
He asked, “What is it?”
“I’m still thinking, but I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”
Unexplainably, Lu Xuandong felt that Qin Chunxiao’s gaze was somewhat familiar. He had only seen this kind of gaze in Qin Chunxiao during matches before—a predatory, aggressive look when a wolf wanted to hunt its prey.
But in this room, it seemed like there was no prey for Qin Chunxiao. Was it an illusion?
Afterward, Qin Chunxiao didn’t say anything more. He simply placed the dishes and utensils into the dishwasher. Lu Xuandong began to sweat after eating the congee, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as when he had a fever. Qin Chunxiao sat by the edge of the bed, watching the book Lu Xuandong had left at the bedside. “You never seem to complain to me about how hard your work is.”
“I don’t want to burden you with negative emotions.” Lu Xuandong had far too many grievances to share. At the premiere of the only movie he had acted in, he shed a few tears while holding onto Qin Chunxiao. He felt that was already excessive.
His adoptive father from childhood and adolescence had been full of foul language and complaints. His foster mother, who endlessly babbled in incomprehensible language, the combination of a gambler and a human trafficker—these had all taught Lu Xuandong how difficult it was to bear someone else’s negative emotions.
Qin Chunxiao more or less understood his mindset. “But I’ll tell you when I’m upset about losing a match. You can tell me these things too. If you only use me as an emotional trash can, I’ll feel like that’s not right.”
“Your negative emotions aren’t unbearable for me. I’m happy to hear you talk to me about many things.” Lu Xuandong smiled.
“In that case, starting now, you’re different to me too.” Qin Chunxiao placed the book back, lifting up a corner of the blanket. “Do you mind?”
“…No.”
The young boy slipped under the blanket, and Lu Xuandong’s face was just inches from his. They were so close that they could feel each other’s breaths. Their breaths grew closer, and then, his head was gently pulled into the other’s embrace. Their breaths met against their foreheads—deep, steady, and even the strong heartbeat could be felt through the chest muscles.
Qin Chunxiao’s body wasn’t thin, quite the opposite—it was full of vitality. Hugging someone like this in the summer seemed too warm, yet Lu Xuandong felt a sense of protective warmth being radiated towards him for the first time.
Qin Chunxiao had a strong sense of protectiveness towards the people he cared about—Qin Chun Feng, for example, or Er Leng and their teammates. But today, Dong’er had clearly felt that he was also the one being protected.
Lu Xuandong finally realized that their relationship had grown closer than before. The exact extent of this closeness was hard to define, but Qin Chunxiao was no longer maintaining the attitude of “Don’t treat me as your savior, and don’t expect too much from me just because we’re soulmates” like he did when they first met.
He opened his mouth and tentatively spoke about some of his worries: “A lot has been happening recently that I haven’t told you about. Yun Chen liked a script that depicted poverty realistically, and it caused a lot of public criticism saying they were sensationalizing real-life struggles. Mom asked me to help smooth things over, not to let a good script go to waste.”
“Some employees substituted lower-quality goods, affecting the quality of a batch of products. I’m planning to recall that batch, but managing the public opinion is tricky. I’m thinking of apologizing. If people are willing to accept the replacement products, that’s good; if not, we can refund them.”
“A designer came up with a design for furry slippers. Coincidentally, there’s a girl in the poverty-stricken county we’re collaborating with who decided to become a farmer. However, her rabbits were stolen by several lazy men from the same county who refused to work. She reported it to the police and when she came back, she found her remaining rabbits had been poisoned by the lazy men’s relatives. When I was young and lived in the mountains, I saw a lot of people like that.”
Qin Chunxiao patiently listened, patting his back. “I’m an athlete; I don’t understand the things you’ve encountered, but just listening makes me realize how tough it’s been for you.”
“Yeah.” Lu Xuandong smiled, hearing the young boy’s heartbeat, feeling that this moment was a bit luxurious for him. “I now possess wealth that I didn’t dare dream of having when I was fifteen. So, I don’t feel the same pain as before.”
Money had alleviated most of his suffering.
Qin Chunxiao patted his back. “Was it really painful back then?”
Lu Xuandong nodded. “Yeah, because I couldn’t see a future. I dropped out of school back then, and I wasn’t of legal age. Finding work was difficult. There was also that human trafficker and Xiang Nan—both of them were in bad states…”
There were some things Lu Xuandong didn’t say, like the fact that his human trafficker foster mother had syphilis. He didn’t know which man from the village had infected her. He forbade her from getting too close to Xiang Nan. Every time she got near, like when he changed her clothes or fed her, he worried about her getting infected too, since they couldn’t afford the medicine.
Those things were just too painful, too painful. They weren’t the kind of things Chunxiao should hear. His life should be full of glory and brightness, eternally accompanied by sunshine, passion, and joy.
When Qin Chunxiao’s breaths became steady, Lu Xuandong called out to him a few times, confirming that he had truly fallen asleep. Then, he whispered the rest of the negative things he wanted to get off his chest.
“When I was a teenager, my uncle who moved with me to earn money by moving houses found out he had advanced liver cancer. The cancer had spread. I gave him a hundred thousand yuan for treatment fees, and he asked me to give his only daughter five hundred thousand yuan. He said it would settle the favor from back then. His daughter has Down syndrome.”
“There’s also this girl who used to sing on the streets. She often ate at the food stall nearby. She worked at a factory and was a minor, just like Xiang Nan. She looked like a child. Later, she got tricked by someone and came back to the village pregnant.”
“When I was fifteen, I was in a lot of pain because I was poor. I couldn’t see a future. Now, it seems like I have everything, but it also feels like I have nothing. My parents’ home isn’t my home. My mom told me she hopes I can help Yun Chen with the script soon. I told her I’ll need a few more days, because I have a fever. She just replied with ‘Okay.’”
“I’m infatuated with someone, but I also feel like there’s a great distance between us. He’s lively and courageous, while I’m always gloomy and timid.”
Lu Xuandong wanted to receive unconditional love and embrace from someone. But that someone could only be that one person. He didn’t want anyone else. However, now he felt that the existence of that distance didn’t matter anymore, because in this moment, he was being held by this person.
Being held like this, he thought that even if he were to die in this moment, it would be a good ending.
That’s just how Lu Xuandong was. There were some things he only wanted to say in front of Qin Chunxiao, but he didn’t want Qin Chunxiao to hear them. Strangely enough, Qin Chunxiao seemed to understand this mindset too. So, he closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. But he wasn’t asleep; he could hear those words loud and clear.
After Lu Xuandong fell asleep, Qin Chunxiao opened his eyes and thought for a while.
Admittedly, their backgrounds, upbringings, and current careers were worlds apart. If it weren’t for the matter of soulmates, their paths would never have crossed.
However, he didn’t feel that the distance between him and Lu Xuandong was very far. It was a distance that he could easily bridge by reaching out, by taking just one step forward. Qin Chunxiao was willing to listen to Lu Xuandong’s stories, to understand him, embrace him, and share all the years ahead with him, bringing them closer together.
[“If this is love, then yes, I love him.”] Qin Chunxiao understood.
Several hours later, Zhao Zhaoyan carried a bowl of congee from a restaurant and arrived at Pazhou for the first time.
She wasn’t familiar with this place. With the help of her assistant, she managed to find the residential area where her son lived. Then, she took the elevator and rang the doorbell.
A stranger answered the door, a young boy with black hair and blue eyes. He was so handsome that both Zhao Zhaoyan and her assistant behind her thought he could be a celebrity. However, his posture and demeanor indicated that he wasn’t from the entertainment industry.
A thought crossed Zhao Zhaoyan’s mind – this kid had great looks. Among the post-2000s newcomers in the industry, none were as impressive as him. Should she call her agent and let them know she found a promising talent?
“Oh, you’re Dong’er’s mom,” the young boy said, offering them slippers. “Hello, Auntie. I’m Qin Chunxiao. I’m friends with Dong’er. I heard he was sick, so I came to take care of him. He took his medicine and fell asleep.”
Qin Chunxiao spoke politely. His Mandarin wasn’t exceptionally standard. Zhao Zhaoyan had been a host before, so her Mandarin was impeccable. She noticed his slight accent quite clearly.
Zhao Zhaoyan responded politely, “I’ve heard him mention you before. You’re the world’s number one defensive genius in volleyball.”
Well, he did take care of her son. Even if her emotional intelligence was rock bottom, she wouldn’t adopt a haughty rich-lady demeanor now. That wouldn’t be low emotional intelligence, that would be rude.
She exchanged pleasantries with Qin Chunxiao, complimenting his achievements, using phrases like “promising youth” while speaking.
“He said I’m the world’s number one?” Qin Chunxiao laughed. “Alright, I’ll strive to become an indisputable number one as soon as possible.”
Qin Chunxiao had to go back to doing household chores. His mom had returned from a business trip, and as he didn’t usually spend much time at home due to competitions, he wanted to make dinner for her.
He bade them farewell and left straightforwardly.
Zhao Zhaoyan didn’t keep anyone either. She asked her assistant to put the congee in the fridge and sat on the sofa to memorize her script lines. According to her habit, she needed to have her lines memorized before entering the set.
Actually, Zhao Zhaoyan had intended to take Lu Xuandong to the hospital and buy congee for him to eat on the way. But since her son was already being taken care of, she didn’t want to trouble anyone further.
The assistant entered the kitchen and came out again. “Sister Zhao, there’s food in the fridge.”
Nutritious and delicious dishes were stored in the fridge, along with a note.
[Heat it in the microwave before eating. Don’t be lazy; cold food is bad for your stomach.]
Seeing the good-looking dishes, Zhao Zhaoyan agreed. She felt that her eldest son’s friend was quite nice. She didn’t think much about it. However, when Lu Xuandong woke up, she casually mentioned, “You’re not suited for eating out right now. Mom doesn’t want Xiaolin to go out either. It’s too hot. So, I’ll just warm up the food your friend left, and we can eat together.”
Initially, Lu Xuandong was very happy about his mother’s arrival. However, upon hearing her words, he fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he took out his phone. “That’s a meal for a sick person. It’s not suitable for you guys. Let me order some delivery. Dad said you don’t like cilantro, right? How about abalone rice?”
Zhao Zhaoyan replied, “I’m on a diet. Give the abalone rice to Xiaolin. Order me a salad.”
In August 2019, Qin Chunxiao got half a month off. His sister was also on summer break. With his parents at home for the weekend, the young man took the initiative to clear the table and sat down in front of them.
There was a serious air about him, as if something big needed to be said. He hadn’t worn such a solemn expression even when he decided to switch to playing volleyball. Qin Mom, Dad, and Qin Chunfeng also became serious.
Qin Chunxiao: “I have something I want to tell Dad, Mom, and my sister. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. So, what I’m going to say next is something I’ve carefully considered.”
Qin’s mom glanced at her husband and daughter, then nodded. “Go ahead.”
Qin Chunxiao: “I’m bisexual.”
Qin’s mom : “I know. You told me about this last year.”
Qin Chunxiao: “I’ve fallen in love with a man and want to pursue him.”
“If I’m lucky enough to gain his affection and a promise of companionship, I will introduce him to Mom, Dad, and my sister. I will tell you his name and his story. I hope that at that time, we can all receive the family’s blessing. If I can’t win him over, I’ll try to maintain a friendship with him.”
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
My Soulmate is A Libero
As someone who often played volleyball abroad, Qin Chunxiao was actually quite familiar with perfumes. Unlike East Asians, both black and white people had stronger body odors, so they had the habit of using perfumes to mask the smells. Foreign players also had to take showers after games for the same reason. Qin Chunxiao sometimes delayed his shower until he returned to the dormitory because his body had no scent other than sweat.
To put it mildly, he knew as many perfume brands as he knew teammates. These big men had a somewhat delicate side too, and they generally didn’t want to clash with their teammates’ perfume scents.
During this time, he wasn’t without people recommending perfume brands to him. For those with odor issues, perfume was a common item. There was no concern about being “too feminine” when using perfume. Rather, it was considered polite to not subject others to unpleasant body odors. On Qin Chunxiao’s birthday, Ruslan had given him a bottle of Davidoff’s Cool Water.
The reason Ruslan chose this brand was simple. The scent of Cool Water was neutral and widely accepted. It was suitable for beginners (both men and women). The fragrance carried a sense of the ocean from the bottle to the aroma. And since Misha Qin was supposedly going to study marine science in college, he should have a fondness for the sea, at least?
Little Ruslan was truly trying to please his team captain.
This was the origin of the bottle of perfume in Qin Chunxiao’s home. But it wasn’t until today that he felt he should use some perfume himself.
Qin Chunxiao had only been back in the country for less than half a day when he heard about Lu Xuandong falling ill and rushed over. Once he arrived, he not only prepared medicine but also took over the kitchen, preparing a table of light home-cooked dishes: blanched vegetables, steamed beef balls, lean meat and vegetable congee, and red bean buns.
Lu Xuandong was astonished when he saw the red bean buns. “You can make pastries too?”
“Grandma taught me.”
Qin Chunxiao took a shower and changed into Lu Xuandong’s T-shirt and sports shorts. He leaned on his hand, quietly watching Lu Xuandong’s face. He realized that this guy was indeed good-looking.
He truly deserved to be the object of winter fans’ affection.
This 22-year-old Zhe Yue Prince had a very classical face. If he were in traditional Chinese clothing, he would be the epitome of an elegant and handsome young nobleman from ancient times—looking expensive. However, this kind of person, while biting into a red bean bun, puffed up his cheeks and actually looked a bit cute.
Qin Chunxiao pushed a cup of effervescent Vitamin C towards him, and Lu Xuandong quickly reached for it. Their fingertips accidentally brushed against each other. Lu Xuandong’s expression remained unchanged, but his fingertips moved slightly, the beautiful man emptied the cup in one gulp, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed.
“Dong’er, there’s something I’ve been thinking about before coming here.”
Lu Xuandong was a bit lost as he looked up and gazed into a sea of golden ripples reflected in blue, only then realizing those were Qin Chunxiao’s eyes under the light, like gemstones.
He asked, “What is it?”
“I’m still thinking, but I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”
Unexplainably, Lu Xuandong felt that Qin Chunxiao’s gaze was somewhat familiar. He had only seen this kind of gaze in Qin Chunxiao during matches before—a predatory, aggressive look when a wolf wanted to hunt its prey.
But in this room, it seemed like there was no prey for Qin Chunxiao. Was it an illusion?
Afterward, Qin Chunxiao didn’t say anything more. He simply placed the dishes and utensils into the dishwasher. Lu Xuandong began to sweat after eating the congee, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as when he had a fever. Qin Chunxiao sat by the edge of the bed, watching the book Lu Xuandong had left at the bedside. “You never seem to complain to me about how hard your work is.”
“I don’t want to burden you with negative emotions.” Lu Xuandong had far too many grievances to share. At the premiere of the only movie he had acted in, he shed a few tears while holding onto Qin Chunxiao. He felt that was already excessive.
His adoptive father from childhood and adolescence had been full of foul language and complaints. His foster mother, who endlessly babbled in incomprehensible language, the combination of a gambler and a human trafficker—these had all taught Lu Xuandong how difficult it was to bear someone else’s negative emotions.
Qin Chunxiao more or less understood his mindset. “But I’ll tell you when I’m upset about losing a match. You can tell me these things too. If you only use me as an emotional trash can, I’ll feel like that’s not right.”
“Your negative emotions aren’t unbearable for me. I’m happy to hear you talk to me about many things.” Lu Xuandong smiled.
“In that case, starting now, you’re different to me too.” Qin Chunxiao placed the book back, lifting up a corner of the blanket. “Do you mind?”
“…No.”
The young boy slipped under the blanket, and Lu Xuandong’s face was just inches from his. They were so close that they could feel each other’s breaths. Their breaths grew closer, and then, his head was gently pulled into the other’s embrace. Their breaths met against their foreheads—deep, steady, and even the strong heartbeat could be felt through the chest muscles.
Qin Chunxiao’s body wasn’t thin, quite the opposite—it was full of vitality. Hugging someone like this in the summer seemed too warm, yet Lu Xuandong felt a sense of protective warmth being radiated towards him for the first time.
Qin Chunxiao had a strong sense of protectiveness towards the people he cared about—Qin Chun Feng, for example, or Er Leng and their teammates. But today, Dong’er had clearly felt that he was also the one being protected.
Lu Xuandong finally realized that their relationship had grown closer than before. The exact extent of this closeness was hard to define, but Qin Chunxiao was no longer maintaining the attitude of “Don’t treat me as your savior, and don’t expect too much from me just because we’re soulmates” like he did when they first met.
He opened his mouth and tentatively spoke about some of his worries: “A lot has been happening recently that I haven’t told you about. Yun Chen liked a script that depicted poverty realistically, and it caused a lot of public criticism saying they were sensationalizing real-life struggles. Mom asked me to help smooth things over, not to let a good script go to waste.”
“Some employees substituted lower-quality goods, affecting the quality of a batch of products. I’m planning to recall that batch, but managing the public opinion is tricky. I’m thinking of apologizing. If people are willing to accept the replacement products, that’s good; if not, we can refund them.”
“A designer came up with a design for furry slippers. Coincidentally, there’s a girl in the poverty-stricken county we’re collaborating with who decided to become a farmer. However, her rabbits were stolen by several lazy men from the same county who refused to work. She reported it to the police and when she came back, she found her remaining rabbits had been poisoned by the lazy men’s relatives. When I was young and lived in the mountains, I saw a lot of people like that.”
Qin Chunxiao patiently listened, patting his back. “I’m an athlete; I don’t understand the things you’ve encountered, but just listening makes me realize how tough it’s been for you.”
“Yeah.” Lu Xuandong smiled, hearing the young boy’s heartbeat, feeling that this moment was a bit luxurious for him. “I now possess wealth that I didn’t dare dream of having when I was fifteen. So, I don’t feel the same pain as before.”
Money had alleviated most of his suffering.
Qin Chunxiao patted his back. “Was it really painful back then?”
Lu Xuandong nodded. “Yeah, because I couldn’t see a future. I dropped out of school back then, and I wasn’t of legal age. Finding work was difficult. There was also that human trafficker and Xiang Nan—both of them were in bad states…”
There were some things Lu Xuandong didn’t say, like the fact that his human trafficker foster mother had syphilis. He didn’t know which man from the village had infected her. He forbade her from getting too close to Xiang Nan. Every time she got near, like when he changed her clothes or fed her, he worried about her getting infected too, since they couldn’t afford the medicine.
Those things were just too painful, too painful. They weren’t the kind of things Chunxiao should hear. His life should be full of glory and brightness, eternally accompanied by sunshine, passion, and joy.
When Qin Chunxiao’s breaths became steady, Lu Xuandong called out to him a few times, confirming that he had truly fallen asleep. Then, he whispered the rest of the negative things he wanted to get off his chest.
“When I was a teenager, my uncle who moved with me to earn money by moving houses found out he had advanced liver cancer. The cancer had spread. I gave him a hundred thousand yuan for treatment fees, and he asked me to give his only daughter five hundred thousand yuan. He said it would settle the favor from back then. His daughter has Down syndrome.”
“There’s also this girl who used to sing on the streets. She often ate at the food stall nearby. She worked at a factory and was a minor, just like Xiang Nan. She looked like a child. Later, she got tricked by someone and came back to the village pregnant.”
“When I was fifteen, I was in a lot of pain because I was poor. I couldn’t see a future. Now, it seems like I have everything, but it also feels like I have nothing. My parents’ home isn’t my home. My mom told me she hopes I can help Yun Chen with the script soon. I told her I’ll need a few more days, because I have a fever. She just replied with ‘Okay.’”
“I’m infatuated with someone, but I also feel like there’s a great distance between us. He’s lively and courageous, while I’m always gloomy and timid.”
Lu Xuandong wanted to receive unconditional love and embrace from someone. But that someone could only be that one person. He didn’t want anyone else. However, now he felt that the existence of that distance didn’t matter anymore, because in this moment, he was being held by this person.
Being held like this, he thought that even if he were to die in this moment, it would be a good ending.
That’s just how Lu Xuandong was. There were some things he only wanted to say in front of Qin Chunxiao, but he didn’t want Qin Chunxiao to hear them. Strangely enough, Qin Chunxiao seemed to understand this mindset too. So, he closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. But he wasn’t asleep; he could hear those words loud and clear.
After Lu Xuandong fell asleep, Qin Chunxiao opened his eyes and thought for a while.
Admittedly, their backgrounds, upbringings, and current careers were worlds apart. If it weren’t for the matter of soulmates, their paths would never have crossed.
However, he didn’t feel that the distance between him and Lu Xuandong was very far. It was a distance that he could easily bridge by reaching out, by taking just one step forward. Qin Chunxiao was willing to listen to Lu Xuandong’s stories, to understand him, embrace him, and share all the years ahead with him, bringing them closer together.
[“If this is love, then yes, I love him.”] Qin Chunxiao understood.
Several hours later, Zhao Zhaoyan carried a bowl of congee from a restaurant and arrived at Pazhou for the first time.
She wasn’t familiar with this place. With the help of her assistant, she managed to find the residential area where her son lived. Then, she took the elevator and rang the doorbell.
A stranger answered the door, a young boy with black hair and blue eyes. He was so handsome that both Zhao Zhaoyan and her assistant behind her thought he could be a celebrity. However, his posture and demeanor indicated that he wasn’t from the entertainment industry.
A thought crossed Zhao Zhaoyan’s mind – this kid had great looks. Among the post-2000s newcomers in the industry, none were as impressive as him. Should she call her agent and let them know she found a promising talent?
“Oh, you’re Dong’er’s mom,” the young boy said, offering them slippers. “Hello, Auntie. I’m Qin Chunxiao. I’m friends with Dong’er. I heard he was sick, so I came to take care of him. He took his medicine and fell asleep.”
Qin Chunxiao spoke politely. His Mandarin wasn’t exceptionally standard. Zhao Zhaoyan had been a host before, so her Mandarin was impeccable. She noticed his slight accent quite clearly.
Zhao Zhaoyan responded politely, “I’ve heard him mention you before. You’re the world’s number one defensive genius in volleyball.”
Well, he did take care of her son. Even if her emotional intelligence was rock bottom, she wouldn’t adopt a haughty rich-lady demeanor now. That wouldn’t be low emotional intelligence, that would be rude.
She exchanged pleasantries with Qin Chunxiao, complimenting his achievements, using phrases like “promising youth” while speaking.
“He said I’m the world’s number one?” Qin Chunxiao laughed. “Alright, I’ll strive to become an indisputable number one as soon as possible.”
Qin Chunxiao had to go back to doing household chores. His mom had returned from a business trip, and as he didn’t usually spend much time at home due to competitions, he wanted to make dinner for her.
He bade them farewell and left straightforwardly.
Zhao Zhaoyan didn’t keep anyone either. She asked her assistant to put the congee in the fridge and sat on the sofa to memorize her script lines. According to her habit, she needed to have her lines memorized before entering the set.
Actually, Zhao Zhaoyan had intended to take Lu Xuandong to the hospital and buy congee for him to eat on the way. But since her son was already being taken care of, she didn’t want to trouble anyone further.
The assistant entered the kitchen and came out again. “Sister Zhao, there’s food in the fridge.”
Nutritious and delicious dishes were stored in the fridge, along with a note.
[Heat it in the microwave before eating. Don’t be lazy; cold food is bad for your stomach.]
Seeing the good-looking dishes, Zhao Zhaoyan agreed. She felt that her eldest son’s friend was quite nice. She didn’t think much about it. However, when Lu Xuandong woke up, she casually mentioned, “You’re not suited for eating out right now. Mom doesn’t want Xiaolin to go out either. It’s too hot. So, I’ll just warm up the food your friend left, and we can eat together.”
Initially, Lu Xuandong was very happy about his mother’s arrival. However, upon hearing her words, he fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he took out his phone. “That’s a meal for a sick person. It’s not suitable for you guys. Let me order some delivery. Dad said you don’t like cilantro, right? How about abalone rice?”
Zhao Zhaoyan replied, “I’m on a diet. Give the abalone rice to Xiaolin. Order me a salad.”
In August 2019, Qin Chunxiao got half a month off. His sister was also on summer break. With his parents at home for the weekend, the young man took the initiative to clear the table and sat down in front of them.
There was a serious air about him, as if something big needed to be said. He hadn’t worn such a solemn expression even when he decided to switch to playing volleyball. Qin Mom, Dad, and Qin Chunfeng also became serious.
Qin Chunxiao: “I have something I want to tell Dad, Mom, and my sister. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. So, what I’m going to say next is something I’ve carefully considered.”
Qin’s mom glanced at her husband and daughter, then nodded. “Go ahead.”
Qin Chunxiao: “I’m bisexual.”
Qin’s mom : “I know. You told me about this last year.”
Qin Chunxiao: “I’ve fallen in love with a man and want to pursue him.”
“If I’m lucky enough to gain his affection and a promise of companionship, I will introduce him to Mom, Dad, and my sister. I will tell you his name and his story. I hope that at that time, we can all receive the family’s blessing. If I can’t win him over, I’ll try to maintain a friendship with him.”
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
