Chapter 55 - Operation Cupid (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The awkwardness between them continued for another three days. And in those three days, Zhang Jun started to find that something had gone missing from his everyday routine. It made him very uncomfortable.

He would usually leave for school at 7:15 am every morning and have his breakfast on the way, because that was the time when Su Fei would be waiting for him outside his house. But, for the past three days, whenever he opened the front door, there was nobody there to greet him, except for an empty stairwell. The only other person he could see was the occasional milkman doing his rounds. The milkman would often do a double take at him, because he was standing in front of the door, staring stupidly into space with a piece of toast in mouth.

When school ended at noon, he did not see Su Fei as he took his own sweet time packing his things before leaving class. She was not outside her class with her arms behind her back, waiting for him as she usually did. Only a disgruntled Yang Pan stood there, repeating the same thing as he did every day, “Hurry up, snail!” The emptiness made Zhang Jun feel so down he could not even bring himself to argue with his best friend like he usually did. All the effort he could muster was just enough for him to put on his backpack and say, “Let’s go.”

Even on their usual route home, when the boys became too focused in a discussion, Zhang Jun would suddenly turn around out of habit and ask, “Am I right, Su Fei?” But, when he realized that the person he was talking to was not there and his question had floated off into silence, he felt his heart sinking where he stood. That’s right, she’s not here,  Zhang Jun reminded himself. As he looked up, he was greeted by a perplexed-looking Yang Pan and he felt a little awkward from that. That was when Yang Pan knew it was time he stepped in, so he called An Ke, Kaka, and Ren Yu De for a meeting.

“Sh*t!! If this goes on, Zhang Jun is finished! That little piece of sh*t is so out of himself! We have to do something.”

After hearing Yang Pan out, An Ke only shrugged. “If that’s what you called me here for, I’m out. I don’t give a f*ck if he lives or dies,” he said as he turned around to leave.

Kaka pulled him back to stop him from leaving, and said, “Hey man, come on! We’re all bros right? How can we just turn our backs on a bro?”

“Bah! Just let him go,” Ren Yu De suddenly said. “I bet he’s already thinking about how to come in between them and get to Su Fei himself.”

An Ke heard him and instantly sat back down. “Oy! Just what kind of person do you think I, the great An Ke am? Fine! I’ll stay! Let’s see what else you have to say about me!” he said in a flustered manner. Ren Yu De did not retort, instead he just smirked to himself.

Now that the whole gang was there, the “Zhang Jun and Su Fei Relationship Crisis Summit” officially began.

“If we look at the bigger picture, even if we don’t care about their love life, we also have to think about what’s best for the team! If this goes on, Zhang Jun is only going to become an empty shell of himself on the pitch!” Yang Pan said.

“Well, I don’t think we need that little piece of sh*t to win,” An Ke retorted.

“Are you forgetting about our big match against Zhongyuan?” Yang Pan asked him seriously. An Ke then remembered that Yang Pan was the captain of the team, and decided to shut up.

“As I was saying, their problem is not something that will only affect their personal lives, but the future of the whole team as well. Think about it, if Su Fei and Zhang Jun break up, the whole school is going to go crazy! The number of love letters alone will be enough to drown Su Fei! Haven’t you guys seen that over the past few days?”

The three people nodded in agreement.

“So, in order to get them together, I’ve created a plan. Code name: “Operation Cupid”. But before we proceed, I need to warn you guys first. If any of your personal feelings get in the way and jeopardize this operation, hehe…” Yang Pan gave the three of them an evil grin before continuing, “Try running 10 km every day for a month!”

“…”

…

Operation Cupid was a very well thought out and brilliant plan. At least, its creator Yang Pan thought so. Unfortunately, even before it was set in motion, the plan that Yang Pan took a lot of time and effort to devise, became useless, thanks to Zhang Jun.

When a serious-looking Zhang Jun suddenly sat down in front of Yang Pan in class and said to him, “I’ve been thinking it through for the past three days, and I’ve come to realize that I really, really like her. More than anyone else!” Yang Pan knew that the many pages of his detailed plan were going straight to the trash. He had come up with his plan over their two classes that morning. He was somewhat shocked and glad that his best friend had suddenly figured out his feelings for Su Fei, but also disappointed and frustrated at the same time for all that wasted time as well as brainpower.

“That’s great! So you finally figured it out!” Yang Pan replied while smiling. “Now, go and tell her!”

But, Zhang Jun only shook his head and pulled a long face. “I can’t do it. I can’t bring myself to tell her all that face-to-face.”

“Bro, don’t be such a wimp. All you have to do is walk up to her and tell her that you like her. It’s not like you’re going to rob a bank!”

“But that’s just it, bro! I can’t bring myself to say that to her face! Look, we’ve been hanging out for so long and I’m so used to being casual around her. It’s really awkward for me to suddenly keep up a serious and straight face while I talk to her. Especially if it’s something important like this. I just can’t do it!”

Yang Pan sighed. He never expected Zhang Jun, who was usually very quick-witted to become so useless during an important situation like this. “So, what’s your plan? How are you gonna show her how you feel about her?”

“That’s why I need your help bro! My plan is to…”

…

“What?! That little sh*t wants to score another hat-trick in our next match?” An Ke exclaimed loudly. Kaka and Ren Yu De, who were sitting next to him turned and gave him a shut-the-f*ck- up look. The both of them did not expect the news as well, but they certainly did not expect their friend to shamelessly announce it to the world like that.

“Okay, okay! We all know you have a loud voice! Don’t go shouting to remind us!” Yang Pan said as he covered his ears.

“So, he plans to use this hat-trick to show Su Fei how he feels?” Kaka asked.

Yang Pan nodded.

“But, Yingcai’s keeper isn’t your average keeper. He’s really good! In the many matches since the start of the season, he’s blocked every shot from his opponents. He never lets any ball pass,” Kaka continued. He had doubts if Zhang Jun knew who he was up against.

“That’s what I told him. But, he said that if the opponents are stronger, that just makes his hat-trick even more meaningful,” Yang Pan explained.

“He’s crazy!” An Ke retorted.

“I don’t get it. This hat-trick idea is his own way of expressing himself. How is Su Fei going to understand why it’s so special?” Ren Yu De asked.

“That’s where we come in! Operation Cupid has changed,” Yang Pan answered. “Alright, we have two new objectives now. Our first objective is to find a way to let Su Fei know that Zhang Jun’s hat-trick was meant for her. We are not allowed to tell her directly, so we have to create a situation where she’ll ‘accidentally’ find out herself. And, if she comes and ask us about it, we’re just going to say that we don’t know. That’s so Zhang Jun can keep some of his pride.

“The second objective is much more straightforward, but harder to pull off: Help Zhang Jun score that hat-trick, regardless of how strong that Yingcai keeper is!”

…

Su Fei had just finished packing up and she was rushing to the field. It was the last day of training before the team’s next match. Tomorrow, Shu Guang High was going to face off with the current season’s dark horse, Yingcai High on its own turf. However, the Shu Guang players did not really care if their opponents were dark, or white, or even horses. All they cared about was teaching them a lesson for the last time.

As she was just about to enter the locker room, Su Fei heard someone’s loud voice coming from inside.

“What?! That little sh*t wants to score another hat-trick in our next match?” An Ke exclaimed loudly. Kaka and Ren Yu De, who were sitting next to him turned and gave him a shut-the-f*ck up look. The both of them did not expect the news as well, but they certainly did not expect their friend to shamelessly announce it to the world like that.

“Okay, okay! We all know you have a loud voice! Don’t go shouting to remind us!” came Yang Pan’s voice.