Ch72 - Competition (1/2)
Zhou Sheng got up early on the day of the finals of the National College Cycling Invitationals and bought breakfast for Yu Hao, but he didn’t wake Yu Hao up before leaving to take the urine test. It wasn’t until Chen Yekai knocked on the door that Yu Hao got up groggily.
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“Let’s go watch the competition?” Chen Yekai said.
“Crap! Where’s Zhou Sheng? Why did he leave without calling me?” Yu Hao sat up abruptly. His alarm hadn’t gone off either, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest in fright.
Chen Yekai, “It’s still early, it only starts in the afternoon. Let’s go.”
Ying City ushered in its hottest day in ten years. Intense heat emanated from the asphalt roads, yet there were large crowds of people on both sides of the race track. Contestants weren’t allowed to see the track before the race and had to stay in the rest area. Yu Hao wanted to go to the preparation area to say ‘jiayou’ to Zhou Sheng, but he couldn’t find him. He was almost about to be sunburned just looking over the racecourse.
Yu Hao nervously sent messages to Zhou Sheng to ask about his whereabouts, but Zhou Sheng only replied with a grinning emoji.
“Don’t go anywhere, just stand there!” Huang Ting was waiting in front of the race track as he talked to Yu Hao.
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Yu Hao said, “It’s so hot today, would they get a heatstroke?!”
The clamour that surrounded them was deafening. Chen Yekai handed out whistles, and people from Sports Class 1 began arriving one after another. The last people to arrive were Fu Liqun and Cen Shan. Chen Shan was wearing a red hat and the crowd roared, “Hello sis-in-law!”
“Hello——hi hi everyone.” Cen Shan said, “Yu Hao come over here.”
Fu Liqun said, “Don’t move anymore, both of you stand properly. Gege will shield you guys from the sun.”
Fu Liqun stood behind Yu Hao and Cen Shan, subtly shielding them from the sun.
Yu Hao began laughing. Cen Shan held up a small fan and turned it towards the three of them. Everyone had a whistle in their mouths as they turned around to look at the starting line.
“When Young Master rides over later.” Someone called Xia Lei from Sports Class 1 said, “Then Gege, shift to the back a little.”
Fu Liqun said, “Okay!”
“Why move?” Cen Shan asked, baffled.
“To highlight Yu Hao, so that he can be seen ah.” Fu Liqun answered.
Yu Hao, “???”
Yu Hao couldn’t listen to their idle chat any longer. He looked towards the starting line. The contestants all pushed their bikes out one after another, and they were more than thirty metres away from the starting line. Yu Hao couldn’t tell which one was Zhou Sheng.
The starting pistol fired with a “bang”, the race started!
All of the contestants raced forward on their bicycles. Yu Hao hadn’t snapped out of his daze yet, and not long after, a group of colourful guys on their bikes flew past his eyes. Yu Hao could only recognise Zhou Sheng’s bicycle helmet, yet he couldn’t tell which one was him. When he was looking towards the front, someone who had fallen behind shouted angrily, “Where the hell are you looking at?! Laozi’s here!”
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
Yu Hao, “!!!”
Zhou Sheng threw a kiss at them, and they all whistled back. This scene shook the heavens and the earth, and Yu Hao laughed. He shouted, “Jiayou!”
Zhou Sheng raised his hand again and waved, then disappeared into the large peloton. He had fallen quite far behind.
“Let’s go.” Chen Yekai said, “The next track!”
Everyone immediately moved on to the next track. In response to the 40-degree heat, the organiser distributed paper cups and medicinal concoctions to provide relief from the summer heat. Chen Yekai bought ice water for the whole class. Everyone walked through the park, and outside of it, a group of athletes swept by them again.
This time, Yu Hao exerted his utmost force to whistle — he saw Zhou Sheng! The distance between the cyclists had opened up; after he passed by, the next contestant only followed a whole 20 seconds later.
“Jiayou!” Fu Liqun shouted, “Young Master! Good luck! Let’s eat chicken tonight!”
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The crowd roared with laughter; they followed the organiser across the road and moved on to the next location to watch the race. A strong wind blew by the river. Yu Hao was the first to notice Zhou Sheng; this time, he was very much ahead! Yu Hao counted as he whistled. Huang Ting said, “14th.”
Everyone shouted “yeah” in unison. As long as he entered the top 10, he would receive a prize!
Chen Yekai shouted at the group of bicycles in the distance, “Jiayou!”
They continued to move. In the park at the foot of the mountain, the viewing platform in front of a cafe was crowded with people. The lady boss personally came forward and rebuked, “No one else get on! There’s too many people! Spectate from below! What are you guys trying to do?!”
Fu Liqun, “28 cups of coffee frappuccinos, super large, and 30 double scoops of sea salt matcha ice cream. We’ll book the entire second floor.”
Lady boss, “Ah okokok, then open up the sunshades in the corner by yourselves okay?”
Chen Yekai, “Liqun you robbed me of my lines……”
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
It was Fu Liqun’s treat. Everyone held a cup of frappuccino and an ice cream in their hands. Fu Liqun could eat three portions by himself. Yu Hao was so nervous his stomach hurt; he kept staring at the race track at the point where the contestants were expected to first come into view. They arrived!
“11th.” Huang Ting’s gaze swept over and reported calmly, “Can we get another cup of ice cream?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The sixth checkpoint was outside the amusement park that Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng had worked at before. Yu Hao got distracted and didn’t see Zhou Sheng; his eyes darted around rapidly as he searched for his figure and thought, crap, something couldn’t have happened to him right?
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Huang Ting said, “Believe me, there’s no mistake.”
At dusk, the last checkpoint. The organising staff removed the flags and changed the starting line to the finish line. Cen Shan asked, “Which places get the trip to Australia for two people?”
“Top 3.” Fu Liqun replied.
“That won’t be easy.” Huang Ting said, “There are too many professionals.”
Chen Yekai said, “As long as he gets into top 10, the college will have to give him a prize. Just getting into top 10 would already be considered pretty good.”
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“Yu Hao are you alright?” Fu Liqun said, “Don’t get heatstroke.”
Yu Hao waved his hand, “I’m still okay, do I look really nervous?”
“You barely spoke today.” Cen Shan comforted, “Don’t worry, Zhou Sheng himself isn’t worried.”
Yu Hao nodded, “He must be tired, he’s been cycling for so long.”
“Go back and massage Young Master tonight.” A guy from the sports class said, “He still needs to celebrate his birthday tomorrow.”
Everyone burst out laughing. Yu Hao thought that it seemed like there would be a course in TCM next year for those studying Psychology; it seemed to be about massage and acupuncture in TCM, and is often joked to be the “Big Health Care Major” by the sports students……he should take that, then maybe he could help massage Zhou Sheng.
The scorching sun that boiled the city finally ended its task for the day, turning into a fireball sunset that sank into the horizon and shone on the track until it turned a bloody red. Yu Hao placed one hand on his forehead, his brows were scrunched up with anxiety. He looked towards the horizon to see a figure appear, backlit by the setting sun!
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On both sides of the track, everyone — including Yu Hao and gang — shouted together!
It wasn’t Zhou Sheng, but their cheers had nothing to do with the competition or contestants — their cheers represented everyone’s praise and respect for the one in first place.
The first place cyclist rushed through the finishing line in the midst of everyone’s cheers.
Yu Hao felt like he had returned to the time when his junior high school was reciting the rankings as everyone had to take their papers, and his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He kept trying to compose himself. When he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, a whistle that shook the heavens and earth suddenly rang out!
Just ten seconds after first place rushed by the finishing line, the second place cyclist darted towards the finish — it was Zhou Sheng!
Yu Hao let out a loud shout and subconsciously reached out. Zhou Sheng wore sports glasses and an expressionless face, bent forward on his bike, and swept past like a gale — that appearance of his was so cool that it made everyone on the track shout out together. Before anyone could register it, Zhou Sheng hugged the periphery of the track, stretched his hand out and — with incredible precision — gave Yu Hao’s outstretched hand a high five.
The setting sun pooled around them like liquid gold, leaving behind only their silhouettes against a bright backdrop. Time seemed to come to a standstill at that moment,and Zhou Sheng crossed the finish line like a bolt of lightning!
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Only then did Yu Hao react. A loud “AHHH——” sounded. The result was completely unexpected for all of his classmates, and they started to shout like they had lost their minds. They all turned around and rushed towards the finish line.
“The race isn’t over yet!” One of the volunteers for the organisation shouted, “Don’t go there! Don’t crowd around!”
The third place arrived, followed by the 4th, then the grandiose army hurried over, and the scene started to descend into chaos. Chen Yekai immediately said, “Retreat! The awards will be presented later!”
Zhou Sheng sat on the grass field behind the race track. His bike was on the ground beside him, and the champion was sitting on the roadside, gasping for breath.
“You’re amazing!” Zhou Sheng said to the champion.
The champion replied, “I had the advantage since it’s my own bike.”
Zhou Sheng, “My bike belongs to the college, let’s go for a one-on-one next time.”
“Okay.” The champion came over and gave Zhou Sheng a high five, then pulled him up.
Following which, a formidable array of people rushed towards Zhou Sheng, lifted him up, and threw him into the air. Zhou Sheng immediately said, “Knock it off! Hold on……I need to go to the toilet!”
Cen Shan was at the side, taking pictures like crazy. The whole class took turns and it looked as if they were there for a group fight. The champion could only slowly walk away with his bike. Zhou Sheng struggled to break free and looked outside the crowd, and in the end, Yu Hao rushed towards him to give him a bear hug.
“Bring me my basketball pants.” After the sound of running water stopped in the bathroom, Zhou Sheng wore an expression on his face that made it seem like there wasn’t anything worth living for in this world. Yu Hao laughed and threw him his basketball pants.
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Zhou Sheng put it on over his skintight shorts and took off his skintight top. Yu Hao said, “You still need to accept your prize, don’t take it off!”
So Zhou Sheng could only take half of it off, revealing his beautiful and chiselled abs before lowering his head under the tap’s running water.