My Soulmate is A Libero
In the early morning, Qin Chunxiao felt a slight itch on his back, and someone was humming a tune he hadn’t heard before.
Without opening his eyes, he asked, “What are you drawing on my back?”
Lu Xuandong used his fingers to trace the young man’s smooth back. “Musical notes from a score.”
He didn’t dip his fingers in ink, so these notes naturally wouldn’t leave any traces. However, they did leave an impression in Lu Xuandong’s heart.
Qin Chunxiao opened his eyes, picked up a model airplane hanging on a silver hook at the bedside, and with Lu Xuandong’s humming as accompaniment, he let the model soar through the air.
The ceiling fan whirred softly. In a seaside city with a maritime climate, there was no need for a humidifier. Everything felt moist and had a hint of saltiness.
Then, Qin Chunxiao leaned against the door frame, observing Lu Xuandong, who was wearing only a pair of boxers, as he stood by the piano, pressing the pedals with his feet and placing his fingers on the keys. Even though he wasn’t using much force, the sound could still resonate deep within a person’s heart.
“Yesterday morning, when I was leaving home, the two graduate students from the neighbor’s house asked me if my roommate was studying music.”
Qin Chunxiao continued floating the model in the air, making his way over to the piano and then sitting on the stool.
Lu Xuandong asked, “What did you tell them?”
“I told them that my boyfriend is studying in London, and when he has free time, he flies over to keep me company. He dabbled in art during high school, and he plays the piano for me because I sometimes need a bit of musical hypnosis.”
This explanation seemed reasonable, and it made Lu Xuandong laugh. He turned and planted a kiss on Qin Chunxiao’s lips.
If there was one thing that wasn’t ideal about studying at Zhonghai University, it was that there was no Runfulou.
Back in the day, when Qin Chunxiao was playing baseball with his brother-in-law and sister on the street and caught the attention of Coach Yang Yun, his grandfather invited him to Runfulou for breakfast. The old man treated him to breakfast there because, as he recalled, Runfulou’s business was doing well. When Qin Chunxiao’s high school class graduated, they held their thank-you party at Runfulou.
The teacher even refused to let the students’ parents pay the bill and settled it himself. It seemed that many students in that class had excellent academic performance, and the teacher received a substantial bonus. It wasn’t in vain for him to have worked so hard for three years.
If Qin Chunxiao wanted to continue having dim sum for breakfast while studying at Zhonghai University, he would have to rely on his current roommate, the one who shared a roof with him and slept in the same bed.
Lu Xuandong was a resourceful person. He could cook, and when he was in a good mood, he would arrange fruits and vegetables beautifully on a plate. He would drizzle them with juice and set them on a small table, inviting Qin Chunxiao to enjoy his breakfast.
After living with him for a few days, Qin Chunxiao began to reflect on whether he was becoming somewhat lazy and decadent. He even thought that if someone could take care of him like this for the rest of his life, it would be wonderful.
After being pampered by Lu Xuandong for a few days, Qin Chunxiao’s lethargy reached its peak. He would attend classes during the day, come back home, and aside from his necessary training, he would just lie on the couch and read novels like crazy.
Mainly because he had already exhausted most of the TV series and games he was interested in, and the ones he hadn’t were either too boring or he was tired of them. If he wanted to find a form of entertainment, books were a vast treasure trove. He had already gone through the works of East Asian authors like Higashino Keigo and Murakami Haruki, but now, he had moved on to works by Zhang Ailing and San Mao.
“I thought boys your age might find their emotions too delicate in their writings.”
Lu Xuandong inserted a piece of watermelon into Qin Chunxiao’s mouth.
When Qin Chunxiao was competing in Japan, he didn’t have the luxury of eating watermelon freely. Similarly, the Russian club’s cafeteria was well-stocked with vegetables and fruits, but during the club’s season, which was concentrated in the winter, he had to go out of his way to buy watermelons. Plus, there was no guarantee of food safety. In the end, Qin Chunxiao saved his watermelon cravings for when he returned to China.
Qin Chunxiao’s legs trembled. “Emotions need to be present in the stories to make them interesting. Moreover, reading this kind of delicate writing is beneficial for my essay writing. My high school Chinese teacher once said that my essay scores benefited from reading works by Wang Zengqi and Shi Tiesheng.”
Texts without emotions might seem good for a moment, but later on, Qin Chunxiao wouldn’t remember them. Human brains probably knew how precious their memory was, so text had to contain something that deeply moved the brain in order to qualify for memory storage.
Although he was a science and engineering student, Qin Chunxiao believed that he could appreciate literary works. He read books at a very fast pace. He would first read the entire content in one go, then savor it slowly later on. It might require seeing a particular scene or having a specific passage come to mind for him to truly appreciate it.
Lu Xuandong understood this characteristic of his after living with him, so he understood his approach. Being a busy executive himself, he often had to savor literary classics in a similar manner.
“Some things, you can’t really feel them until you’re in that situation. When I was a kid, I read a copy of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ donated by college students in the charity library at my elementary school. There were a lot of things in there that I couldn’t understand at the time.”
Lu Xuandong offered Qin Chunxiao another spoonful of grass jelly. This plant had a unique texture, especially when dipped in yogurt.
Lu Xuandong smiled. “He’s a pastry chef, so he definitely pays attention to basic food hygiene. Did your grandmother just mention it casually?”
Qin Chunxiao took the fork, skewered a piece of grass jelly, dipped it in yogurt, and fed it to Lu Xuandong. “Yes, they’re all very clean. My hygiene habits are what they instilled in me. I used to stay at my grandparents’ house a lot when I was a kid.”
In Lu Xuandong’s mind, he pictured a younger Qin Chunxiao, with rounder cheeks than he had now, a chubby toddler in a red cotton-padded jacket, sitting on his mother’s lap in a pose reminiscent of an old man. There was even a red dot on his forehead.
“It’s quite cute,” Lu Xuandong remarked.
This chubby, old man-style appearance didn’t transition into the beautiful “girl” style until Qin Chunxiao reached the age of three. In his childhood photos, he looked like a character straight out of a fairy tale, standing in the snow, dressed in white furry winter clothes, and building a snowman. He appeared like an elf from a storybook.
However, as he grew older, Qin Chunxiao’s features took on a more masculine appearance. His mixed heritage added a touch of ruggedness to his high cheekbones and nose bridge. So, the boy’s handsome qualities became more prominent. On the other hand, his sister maintained her ethereal beauty reminiscent of a northern goddess. With her refined temperament, there were times when she appeared silent and solemn, resembling a wise Nordic goddess.
However, Lu Xuandong once heard Qin Chunfeng tell his parents a skit over the phone during Chinese New Year.
In the skit, when Qin Chunfeng teased, “As soon as I heard your accent, I knew you must be from Guangdong!” Qin Chunxiao coughed and replied solemnly, “Are you trying to harm chickens?”
Lu Xuandong, also a native of the Guangdong region, knew that cheerful young people didn’t mind such playful teasing about their accents. In fact, they often made fun of their accents themselves and even created humorous skits. But when he had left the rural area for the city, he was initially reluctant to hear people make fun of his accent. He secretly practiced for a long time before achieving a standard Mandarin pronunciation.
As for Qin Chunxiao, he and Gao Depi had been committed to spreading the Guangdong accent among the national team players. Currently, Li Ling’s accent had been completely transformed. Going outside, many people would mistakenly think he was a native of Guangdong. Fu Biyang’s accent was originally influenced by the Hainanese flavor, but after adding some Guangdong flair, he seemed to be developing his own distinct style.
As for Hubei’s You Ziyu, he was unique. During the period when he played in the Japanese league, he made sure his teammates understood the meaning of “I believe you are possessed by a demon” from the Chinese internet slang.
In Qin Chunxiao’s past, where Lu Xuandong had never participated, this young man had still lived a splendid and enjoyable life. So, what could he and Lu Xuandong achieve together?
Money? Qin Chunxiao wasn’t lacking in that department. His sports career was his own business. If his performance declined after starting a relationship, the public might even blame Lu Xuandong for supposedly hindering Qin Chunxiao’s training.
All things considered, Lu Xuandong didn’t think he could offer much to Qin Chunxiao. However, he had wholeheartedly chosen to be with him. During his confession, he had expressed so much recognition and affection that Lu Xuandong couldn’t help but feel a certain unease about whether he deserved such deep love.
This was probably the main reason why Lu Xuandong hadn’t progressed to the next stage with Qin Chunxiao yet. He no longer cared about the theory of soulmates having to be together for a lifetime. He wanted to give each other an exit strategy. If he couldn’t make Qin Chunxiao happy or if he continued to demand things from Qin Chunxiao unilaterally, such a relationship would be pointless.
Qin Chunxiao held up the airplane model, with his legs draped over Lu Xuandong’s legs. It was as if he knew what Lu Xuandong was thinking. “You, you’re even more cautious than I imagined. I’ve given you so many opportunities, and yet you hesitate. I don’t know whether to praise your self-control or scold you for not understanding my hints.”
“Love is much less enjoyable when you nitpick over everything. It’s like when I read Eileen Chang’s novels. I’m moved by her stories, but I don’t delve into the author’s experiences and then criticize her. I’m not her, I haven’t experienced everything she has. So, I only comment on the story, not the person.”
“I’m the same way with you. I don’t care if you’re not perfect. Planning to further develop with you means accepting your imperfections along the way. If there’s something about you that I can’t accept, I’ll tell you.”
“Dongzi, I’ve already come this far. What are you still hesitating about?”
Their blue eyes were just 5 centimeters apart in the next moment. They stared at each other closely, their breaths intertwining.
Lu Xuandong looked into those eyes, at the unique patterns on the irises, and his throat felt dry. “No, quite the opposite. It’s precisely because you’re so charming that I hesitate.”
“Then don’t hesitate. If you’re not good for me, I’ll leave.”
Lu Xuandong’s heart tightened at these words, but Qin Chunxiao continued, “But I’ll give you a privilege. If one day I want to leave, but the reason isn’t that one of us has made a fundamental mistake, then you can chase me back. We always have the opportunity to start a second relationship. Although I believe that with our compatibility, our love has a high probability of lasting a lifetime.”
“In that case, will your concerns be a little smaller?”
They looked at each other, the wind gently swaying the wind chimes on the balcony, stars twinkling outside the window, and the scent of the ocean seeping in through the cracks in the bed.
Although it took a long time, many things were naturally meant to be. When a relationship reached a certain stage of development, everything happened naturally.
The process was not as difficult as Lu Xuandong had imagined. In fact, it went too smoothly, to the point that when they embraced, he had an urge to cry.
His lovely partner chuckled lightly at his overflowing emotions, using his thumb to caress the corner of his eye and scolded him, “You’re such a fool. You should be holding me tightly right now.”
My Soulmate is A Libero
In the early morning, Qin Chunxiao felt a slight itch on his back, and someone was humming a tune he hadn’t heard before.
Without opening his eyes, he asked, “What are you drawing on my back?”
Lu Xuandong used his fingers to trace the young man’s smooth back. “Musical notes from a score.”
He didn’t dip his fingers in ink, so these notes naturally wouldn’t leave any traces. However, they did leave an impression in Lu Xuandong’s heart.
Qin Chunxiao opened his eyes, picked up a model airplane hanging on a silver hook at the bedside, and with Lu Xuandong’s humming as accompaniment, he let the model soar through the air.
The ceiling fan whirred softly. In a seaside city with a maritime climate, there was no need for a humidifier. Everything felt moist and had a hint of saltiness.
Then, Qin Chunxiao leaned against the door frame, observing Lu Xuandong, who was wearing only a pair of boxers, as he stood by the piano, pressing the pedals with his feet and placing his fingers on the keys. Even though he wasn’t using much force, the sound could still resonate deep within a person’s heart.
“Yesterday morning, when I was leaving home, the two graduate students from the neighbor’s house asked me if my roommate was studying music.”
Qin Chunxiao continued floating the model in the air, making his way over to the piano and then sitting on the stool.
Lu Xuandong asked, “What did you tell them?”
“I told them that my boyfriend is studying in London, and when he has free time, he flies over to keep me company. He dabbled in art during high school, and he plays the piano for me because I sometimes need a bit of musical hypnosis.”
This explanation seemed reasonable, and it made Lu Xuandong laugh. He turned and planted a kiss on Qin Chunxiao’s lips.
If there was one thing that wasn’t ideal about studying at Zhonghai University, it was that there was no Runfulou.
Back in the day, when Qin Chunxiao was playing baseball with his brother-in-law and sister on the street and caught the attention of Coach Yang Yun, his grandfather invited him to Runfulou for breakfast. The old man treated him to breakfast there because, as he recalled, Runfulou’s business was doing well. When Qin Chunxiao’s high school class graduated, they held their thank-you party at Runfulou.
The teacher even refused to let the students’ parents pay the bill and settled it himself. It seemed that many students in that class had excellent academic performance, and the teacher received a substantial bonus. It wasn’t in vain for him to have worked so hard for three years.
If Qin Chunxiao wanted to continue having dim sum for breakfast while studying at Zhonghai University, he would have to rely on his current roommate, the one who shared a roof with him and slept in the same bed.
Lu Xuandong was a resourceful person. He could cook, and when he was in a good mood, he would arrange fruits and vegetables beautifully on a plate. He would drizzle them with juice and set them on a small table, inviting Qin Chunxiao to enjoy his breakfast.
After living with him for a few days, Qin Chunxiao began to reflect on whether he was becoming somewhat lazy and decadent. He even thought that if someone could take care of him like this for the rest of his life, it would be wonderful.
After being pampered by Lu Xuandong for a few days, Qin Chunxiao’s lethargy reached its peak. He would attend classes during the day, come back home, and aside from his necessary training, he would just lie on the couch and read novels like crazy.
Mainly because he had already exhausted most of the TV series and games he was interested in, and the ones he hadn’t were either too boring or he was tired of them. If he wanted to find a form of entertainment, books were a vast treasure trove. He had already gone through the works of East Asian authors like Higashino Keigo and Murakami Haruki, but now, he had moved on to works by Zhang Ailing and San Mao.
“I thought boys your age might find their emotions too delicate in their writings.”
Lu Xuandong inserted a piece of watermelon into Qin Chunxiao’s mouth.
When Qin Chunxiao was competing in Japan, he didn’t have the luxury of eating watermelon freely. Similarly, the Russian club’s cafeteria was well-stocked with vegetables and fruits, but during the club’s season, which was concentrated in the winter, he had to go out of his way to buy watermelons. Plus, there was no guarantee of food safety. In the end, Qin Chunxiao saved his watermelon cravings for when he returned to China.
Qin Chunxiao’s legs trembled. “Emotions need to be present in the stories to make them interesting. Moreover, reading this kind of delicate writing is beneficial for my essay writing. My high school Chinese teacher once said that my essay scores benefited from reading works by Wang Zengqi and Shi Tiesheng.”
Texts without emotions might seem good for a moment, but later on, Qin Chunxiao wouldn’t remember them. Human brains probably knew how precious their memory was, so text had to contain something that deeply moved the brain in order to qualify for memory storage.
Although he was a science and engineering student, Qin Chunxiao believed that he could appreciate literary works. He read books at a very fast pace. He would first read the entire content in one go, then savor it slowly later on. It might require seeing a particular scene or having a specific passage come to mind for him to truly appreciate it.
Lu Xuandong understood this characteristic of his after living with him, so he understood his approach. Being a busy executive himself, he often had to savor literary classics in a similar manner.
“Some things, you can’t really feel them until you’re in that situation. When I was a kid, I read a copy of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ donated by college students in the charity library at my elementary school. There were a lot of things in there that I couldn’t understand at the time.”
Lu Xuandong offered Qin Chunxiao another spoonful of grass jelly. This plant had a unique texture, especially when dipped in yogurt.
Lu Xuandong smiled. “He’s a pastry chef, so he definitely pays attention to basic food hygiene. Did your grandmother just mention it casually?”
Qin Chunxiao took the fork, skewered a piece of grass jelly, dipped it in yogurt, and fed it to Lu Xuandong. “Yes, they’re all very clean. My hygiene habits are what they instilled in me. I used to stay at my grandparents’ house a lot when I was a kid.”
In Lu Xuandong’s mind, he pictured a younger Qin Chunxiao, with rounder cheeks than he had now, a chubby toddler in a red cotton-padded jacket, sitting on his mother’s lap in a pose reminiscent of an old man. There was even a red dot on his forehead.
“It’s quite cute,” Lu Xuandong remarked.
This chubby, old man-style appearance didn’t transition into the beautiful “girl” style until Qin Chunxiao reached the age of three. In his childhood photos, he looked like a character straight out of a fairy tale, standing in the snow, dressed in white furry winter clothes, and building a snowman. He appeared like an elf from a storybook.
However, as he grew older, Qin Chunxiao’s features took on a more masculine appearance. His mixed heritage added a touch of ruggedness to his high cheekbones and nose bridge. So, the boy’s handsome qualities became more prominent. On the other hand, his sister maintained her ethereal beauty reminiscent of a northern goddess. With her refined temperament, there were times when she appeared silent and solemn, resembling a wise Nordic goddess.
However, Lu Xuandong once heard Qin Chunfeng tell his parents a skit over the phone during Chinese New Year.
In the skit, when Qin Chunfeng teased, “As soon as I heard your accent, I knew you must be from Guangdong!” Qin Chunxiao coughed and replied solemnly, “Are you trying to harm chickens?”
Lu Xuandong, also a native of the Guangdong region, knew that cheerful young people didn’t mind such playful teasing about their accents. In fact, they often made fun of their accents themselves and even created humorous skits. But when he had left the rural area for the city, he was initially reluctant to hear people make fun of his accent. He secretly practiced for a long time before achieving a standard Mandarin pronunciation.
As for Qin Chunxiao, he and Gao Depi had been committed to spreading the Guangdong accent among the national team players. Currently, Li Ling’s accent had been completely transformed. Going outside, many people would mistakenly think he was a native of Guangdong. Fu Biyang’s accent was originally influenced by the Hainanese flavor, but after adding some Guangdong flair, he seemed to be developing his own distinct style.
As for Hubei’s You Ziyu, he was unique. During the period when he played in the Japanese league, he made sure his teammates understood the meaning of “I believe you are possessed by a demon” from the Chinese internet slang.
In Qin Chunxiao’s past, where Lu Xuandong had never participated, this young man had still lived a splendid and enjoyable life. So, what could he and Lu Xuandong achieve together?
Money? Qin Chunxiao wasn’t lacking in that department. His sports career was his own business. If his performance declined after starting a relationship, the public might even blame Lu Xuandong for supposedly hindering Qin Chunxiao’s training.
All things considered, Lu Xuandong didn’t think he could offer much to Qin Chunxiao. However, he had wholeheartedly chosen to be with him. During his confession, he had expressed so much recognition and affection that Lu Xuandong couldn’t help but feel a certain unease about whether he deserved such deep love.
This was probably the main reason why Lu Xuandong hadn’t progressed to the next stage with Qin Chunxiao yet. He no longer cared about the theory of soulmates having to be together for a lifetime. He wanted to give each other an exit strategy. If he couldn’t make Qin Chunxiao happy or if he continued to demand things from Qin Chunxiao unilaterally, such a relationship would be pointless.
Qin Chunxiao held up the airplane model, with his legs draped over Lu Xuandong’s legs. It was as if he knew what Lu Xuandong was thinking. “You, you’re even more cautious than I imagined. I’ve given you so many opportunities, and yet you hesitate. I don’t know whether to praise your self-control or scold you for not understanding my hints.”
“Love is much less enjoyable when you nitpick over everything. It’s like when I read Eileen Chang’s novels. I’m moved by her stories, but I don’t delve into the author’s experiences and then criticize her. I’m not her, I haven’t experienced everything she has. So, I only comment on the story, not the person.”
“I’m the same way with you. I don’t care if you’re not perfect. Planning to further develop with you means accepting your imperfections along the way. If there’s something about you that I can’t accept, I’ll tell you.”
“Dongzi, I’ve already come this far. What are you still hesitating about?”
Their blue eyes were just 5 centimeters apart in the next moment. They stared at each other closely, their breaths intertwining.
Lu Xuandong looked into those eyes, at the unique patterns on the irises, and his throat felt dry. “No, quite the opposite. It’s precisely because you’re so charming that I hesitate.”
“Then don’t hesitate. If you’re not good for me, I’ll leave.”
Lu Xuandong’s heart tightened at these words, but Qin Chunxiao continued, “But I’ll give you a privilege. If one day I want to leave, but the reason isn’t that one of us has made a fundamental mistake, then you can chase me back. We always have the opportunity to start a second relationship. Although I believe that with our compatibility, our love has a high probability of lasting a lifetime.”
“In that case, will your concerns be a little smaller?”
They looked at each other, the wind gently swaying the wind chimes on the balcony, stars twinkling outside the window, and the scent of the ocean seeping in through the cracks in the bed.
Although it took a long time, many things were naturally meant to be. When a relationship reached a certain stage of development, everything happened naturally.
The process was not as difficult as Lu Xuandong had imagined. In fact, it went too smoothly, to the point that when they embraced, he had an urge to cry.
His lovely partner chuckled lightly at his overflowing emotions, using his thumb to caress the corner of his eye and scolded him, “You’re such a fool. You should be holding me tightly right now.”
