Chapter 26 (2/2)

When the lens had focused on the two leading cubs, some in the audience had noticed that the Kuwei cub had to periodically looked back at the Kuhti cub who was slowly shortening the distance between them. It seemed that this action had been its downfall.

“Tiuh?”

The red fluffy cub in his arms, raised his head and gazed up at Xie Tao with an expression as if he could not believe that he had won. Then, after a pause, he hesitantly called out to him like he was asking for confirmation.

“You got first place.” Being just as shocked as the audience, it was first when Xie Tao heard the cub call out to him that he back to his sense. Xie Tao immediately answered the cub’s probing gaze, however his voice was full with disbelief and after saying this, he repeated it with more earnest tone. “Peipei, you really got first place.”

The host had already announced the top ten of the flying competition and after compiling the results, the other two fluffy cubs in his arms ranked fourth and sixth.

The rest of the results were announced and soon that only thing left was the handing out of awards.

The cubs in the top ten would be taken to the stage by an adult and they would all receive a small medal. The first place medal was gold, the second to fifth was in silver and the sixth to tenth were made out of bronze. Each medal was marked with the ranking the cub had obtained.

When the host saw that the cubs ranking first, fourth and sixth were brought up on stage by the same black haired youth, he got momently stunned and the audience as well as those who were watching the live broadcast from home could not help but be astonished.

To have three in the top ten… and one even got first place—?!

For one person to take three cubs to receive their medals, it was something that had not happened in any of the previous flying competition and was a very rare sight to behold.

Which club could they belong to?

Because the three cubs were of different races, many people assumed that the person carrying them must be a caretaker and immediately started trying to find out the club behind them. However, after a closer look, they discovered that the supposed caretaker was a human.

Humans were very unlikely work as caretakers… Not being able to think of a reasonable answer, everyone could only put their speculations aside for the time being.

The adults brought the cubs to their respective positions on the display platform. Those ranked six to ten were placed on the lowest block to the right, two to five on the left block that was a little higher, and lastly there was a middle block that towered over the others which was reserved sourly for the one ranked first.

Xie Tao observed the other adults, he then stepped forward and placed the cubs on the winners podium, one to the left, one to the right and one in the middle.

After the cubs were placed in their positions, the adults retreated to the side and the awarding ceremony officially began.

The chairman of the committee was the one who handed out the small medals and when she hung it around the cubs’ necks, the cameras would do a close-up and the cub receiving the medal would be shown on the screen.

The medals were bestowed starting from the tenth and after all of the other had received theirs, it was finally the winner’s turn and the cameras zoomed in.

The Kuhti cub was standing on the highest block and was looking at the person who was giving him the medal. His black eyes were bright and seemed full of vitality.

When the golden medal was at last around his neck, the red fluffy cub suddenly stretched his back and raised his small chest.

Seeing this scene, Xie Tao could not hold in the laughter.

It was not only the Kuthi cub either, on the side blocks two other cubs had also proudly lifted their small chests when they had gotten their medals, the three really stood out among the other cubs. [2]

Thus, during the close-ups when they bestowed the medals, the audience could not help but put extra attention on these three cubs who stuck out their little chests in an exaggerated manner. It was a really funny sight to behold and many adults watching the live broadcast could not stop a smile from surfacing when they saw this.

Their chest movements seemed to radiate confidence and pride. There was nothing wrong with this… it was much better to be confident in oneself than timid, as long as it was not blind confidence.

The teacup smashed into the ground and shattered, his clothes were soaked by the tea. But despite this, the man sitting on the sofa in the living room did not move and continued to stare at the screen showing the live broadcast.

When he later saw the red fluffy cub standing on the winners podium’s highest position, with a golden medal resting against his lifted chest…

The eyes on that stone face started to sting.

_______________

Translator’s note:

Now you finally got the whole chapter. It seems that the cut-off I chose for the teaser was not good… or maybe too good?

I especially love the conflict shown in one of the comments on wattpad that goes something like:

“That was so bad of you, how could you! Whyyyyy….. Thanks for the teaser.”

Haha, sorry for making you suffer like that, and for laughing, I guess it was a bit cruel of me to end it like that.

But I hope that the damage taken by the cut-off has now been healed by the cuteness in this chapter. ( ^ω^ )

I mean, the Kuhti cub even managed to crack that stone face!

[1] – When he is saying “you”, he is using the formal “nin” in oppose to the informal “ni”.

[2] – There was an idiom here, crane in a flock of chicken, it means way above the common or manifestly superior.