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ntranslator: baumkuchen editors: glitterypanda, serefina

nThe next day, He Changsheng’s plan to leave didn’t come to fruition.

nIn the endless stream of New Year’s visitors, was mixed in a Lou Sifan.

nHe was dressed very neatly. Only after greeting Dong Ge’s parents did he grab He Changsheng and drag him over to a secluded place by the rink to talk. “Thank goodness you’re here. I was worried all night.”

nGiven their many years of closeness, and He Changsheng not being the type to hold grudges, during his kenja time last night, he had also consciously reflected on his mistakes.

nHe said, “I lost my phone, I wasn’t intentionally ignoring your calls. Sorry.”

n“I’ll get you a new one,” Lou Sifan said, “Just take it as my apology, okay?”

nHe Changsheng said, “No need.”

nLou Sifan smiled and said, “Do the two of us still need to fuss over such things? I’ve even given you a pair of ice skates before.”

nHe Changsheng said solemnly, “You can’t mix money into friendship. At the time, I couldn’t afford it. Afterwards, didn’t I buy a pair for you in return?”

nLou Sifan said, “I still have that pair of skates.”

nHe Changsheng nodded. “So do I.”

nThis short exchange made He Changsheng think of the darkest period in his life when he was younger.

nHe had a relatively feminine appearance, with red lips and white teeth, and when he was happy, his eyes shone with a natural radiance. However, the type of appearance he had was the most looked down on by other boys.

nThe standards of the world of children were both simple and cruel. To them, not being like them was the biggest mistake one could make.

nIt was when he had almost begun to doubt the meaning of his existence that Lou Sifan appeared.

nHe rescued He Changsheng from the abyss, bought him the ice skates he couldn’t afford, and even said to him, “Why not try out pair skating? You need to learn how to put yourself out there and how to talk to people.”

nLou Sifan had saved him, so He Changsheng couldn’t bear to watch him fall into another abyss either.

nDuring yesterday’s dinner, the always gentle and kind Lou Sifan exposed the darkness in his heart to He Changsheng for the first time.

n—— He was jealous of Dong Ge, jealous to the point of madness.

nOver the past few years, compared to Dong Ge’s steady rise in skill, Lou Sifan remained stagnant, even regressing a little. His coach had already had several heart-to-heart talks with him, but it was of no use.

nHe Changsheng understood this type of dark side.

nIn this world, there were too few saints. Who hasn’t had one or two dark thoughts before?

nBut He Changsheng didn’t want to let jealousy completely erode his best friend’s heart.

nLou Sifan cautiously looked into He Changsheng’s eyes. “Changsheng, don’t go, stay to celebrate the New Year. The provincial team headquarters are too cold and cheerless, if you don’t have a happy New Year because of me, I’ll feel terribly guilty. Anyways, you’ll be going to Finland after this, and we won’t get to see each other for at least a month……”

nHe Changsheng thought it over. “En, okay.”

nIn these past few years, Lou Sifan had never gotten into an argument with He Changsheng before. He hadn’t expected that He Changsheng, who looked as noble as a Persian cat, could be so easily soothed with just one or two strokes.

nPleasantly surprised, he said, “I’ll go help you get your luggage.”

nWho knew that He Changsheng would stop him with a press to his hand, raise his voice and call out, “Dong Ge?”

nHe thought Dong Ge was in his room, but who knew that a voice coming from not far away would reach the two, “Qianbei.”

nThe two of them looked up simultaneously, spotting Dong Ge.

nHe was leaning over the railing above the stands, a steaming cloth in his hands. “My parents and my uncle went out to pay their New Year’s greetings. I was bored alone at home, so I came to clean up the ice rink.”

nUpon seeing Dong Ge’s face, He Changsheng suspected that there might be something wrong with his own body.

n……His heart was clearly thumping wildly, but he felt a little short of breath.

nHe looked up and asked, “Why didn’t you go with them?”

nDong Ge’s reply was short and to the point, “It would be too troublesome.”

nHe would have to shake a round of hands, sign a round of signatures, talk about a scandal or two in the ice skating world, and be heckled into performing with constant “do a jump”s. It was the same program every year, he’d be better off just staying at home and cleaning.

nWith that, he nodded slightly at Lou Sifan. “Lou-qianbei, Happy New Year.”

nThe corners of Lou Sifan’s mouth were slightly frozen stiff by the cold wind. “Hello.”

nHe Changsheng asked, “Could I trouble you by staying at your home for a few more days?”

nHearing this, Lou Sifan’s hands suddenly tightened into fists. A small flame ignited in the depths of his heart, slowly roasting it, making him want to shout loudly, to tell Dong Ge to ** off.

nDong Ge cocked his head slightly. “If it’s qianbei, it’s no trouble.”

nHe Changsheng, “What about Uncle and Auntie……”

nDong Ge, “I’ll let them know.”

nAfter settling the matter of where he would be lodging in short order, He Changsheng turned back to look at Lou Sifan. “Lou-ge, from now on, if you want to ask me to go out to play with you, you have to bring Dong Ge along too.”

nIn He Changsheng’s view, Lou Sifan still had too few interactions with Dong Ge.

nIf he bound Dong Ge and himself together and let Lou Sifan have more opportunities to talk to Dong Ge, he would find that Dong Ge was a very good child.

nLou Sifan blinked, then curved his eyes into an incredibly gentle smile. “Alright, it’s Lou-ge who owes you this time. I’ll listen to you.”

nFollowing that, he looked up and smiled at Dong Ge. “Are you free tomorrow? Let’s go to the billiard hall to play.”

nDong Ge nodded slightly. “En, alright.”

nAfter sending Lou Sifan off, He Changsheng walked back to Dong Ge’s side, where he was still cleaning the railings. “Is there still any work to do?”

nDong Ge looked up and didn’t try to be overly polite to He Changsheng, “Does qianbei know how to drive a Zamboni?

nHe Changsheng, “Yes.” He’d learned when he worked in the provincial team’s ice rink to earn money in the past.

nDong Ge said, “Then let’s smooth out the ice and give it a wash.”

nHe Changsheng, “Alright.”

nIn two hours, the two young men, one older and one younger, resurfaced the vast ice rink. The edges and corners the Zamboni couldn’t reach could only be dealt with manually by smoothing out the ice with a blade, and then laying down a layer of hot water.

nIt was tedious work, but the two did it with great joy.

nDong Ge shared his experience with him, “You can use warm water at about 50 degrees celsius to make the wash water. If you add a bit of milk to it, the resulting ice will be both smooth and beautiful.”

nSuch knowledge might sound utterly boring to other people, but He Changsheng asked very seriously, “With what proportion?”

nDong Ge told him.

nIn order to test it, the two, stretching their waists, ran back into the house, carried out a carton of milk, mixed it with warm water, and poured it into the water tank.

nHe Changsheng leaned against the copilot seat of the Zamboni and watched Dong Ge with his arms crossed.

nHe was wearing an absolutely ordinary black down jacket and blue jeans. Because the pouring process wasn’t going very smoothly, his eyebrows were slightly creased, looking very serious. He licked his lips, making his naturally red lips seem even more bright and glossy.

nHe Changsheng looked away, their pair skate last night subconsciously coming to mind once again. He thought about their close training sessions over the years, thought about himself waiting for him by the side of the rink, while the elf-like person in the rink danced in the breeze.

nHe thought for a while and smiled, until Dong Ge called out for him, “Qianbei.”

nHe Changsheng, “……Ah?”

nIn Dong Ge’s eyes, the corners of He Changsheng’s mouth were currently raised and his cheeks flushed a light crimson, like a delicious peach pastry.

nChi Xiaochi sat in the Zamboni and said to 061, “Liu-laoshi, next time Lou Sifan’s regret level reaches its max, let’s leave.”

n061, “……Not going to save up a little more?”

nChi Xiaochi educated 061, “Liu-laoshi, both people and systems need to learn how to be satisfied with what they have.”

n061, “…..” Then dare I ask who it was that cleaned out half the cards in the storehouse?

nAt the same time.

nIn a cafe, Lou Sifan sat face to face with a skinny, monkey-like man by the door.

nThe man lit a cigarette. “I don’t like it when Second Uncle comes. With such a big family, it makes the house so noisy.”

nThe girl watching the cafe held her nose and pointed at the sign pasted on the wall. “Dear customer, smoking is not allowed in here……”

nSkinny monkey shot the girl a sideways look and pushed open the door to the cafe.

nThe sub-zero winds rushed into the springtime warmth inside the cafe, freezing the girl and making her scrunch up her eyes. She trotted right over to close the door.

nAs Skinny monkey watched the girl shiver, his mouth split open in a wide grin.

nLou Sifan stirred milk into his coffee with one hand while his right hand was pressed against a photograph. His fingertips slowly slid across the plastic surface of the photo.

nSkinny monkey stretched out his neck. “Yi, you really brought the photo out.”

nLou Sifan said, “Weren’t you the one who wanted to see it?”

nSkinny monkey reached out a hand. “Let your cousin see, which boy is your ‘close’ friend?”

nLou Sifan passed him the photograph. “The first row from the back, the second from the left.”

nThis was a group photo taken in the spring of last year for the provincial team’s thirtieth anniversary, in which stood the twenty new elite skaters of the provincial team.

nCousin Skinny monkey smacked his lips. “This lady looks very interesting.”

nLou Sifan was a little discontent. “……He doesn’t like others saying he looks delicate.”

nHis cousin laughed loudly, then puffed a few breaths of cigarette smoke. “Got it, got it. You already have your target, so when are you going to get him, ah?”

nHe vulgarly extended his middle finger and made a penetration motion.

nLou Sifan frowned.

nUnlike him, this cousin of his had mixed in with the crowd of this little town since he was young, becoming brothers with a gang of rowdy hooligans. Today he would go to some construction site and steal some raw materials to sell; tomorrow he would deliberately drive his loud modified motorcycle past girls, making them screech or break out into rebukes.

nLou Sifan had always been a little dismissive of his cousin.

nIf not for his having a request of him this time……

nHe scrunched up his eyebrows, showing a distressed appearance.

nHis cousin, “What’s with ya? Did you eat ** or what?”

nLou Sifan let out a bitter laugh. “I fear he’s beyond my reach.”

nHis cousin’s interest was immediately piqued. “What happened? He’s not willing to be gay?”

nLou Sifan said, “He was snatched by someone else.”

n“……What the **?” His cousin let out a curse, “Didn’t you say that you and he grew up together? Who **ing stole what was yours ah, isn’t there a first come, first served? Doesn’t he know the rules?”

nLou Sifan said, “Take it as him having the skill.”

nHis cousin, “What does he do? How old is he?”

nLou Sifan pointed at the photograph.

nDong Ge stood in the middle of the first row, the place closest to the head coach.

nSkinny monkey took a look. His mouth twitched downwards. “What the **, it’s this little calf with a face asking for a thrashing?”

nLou Sifan spoke for him. “Cousin, don’t put it like that. He’s my teammate.”

nSkinny monkey astutely caught onto the key point. “He’s dug out the bottom of your wall, he’s unhitched your tire, and he still counts as your teammate? ……He also figure-skates?”

nLou Sifan smiled. “Of course, and quite well at that. He’s even from the same town as us.”

nSkinny monkey said, “Right, I got it.”

nLou Sifan acted confused. “What did you get?”

nSkinny monkey reached out his hand and picked up the picture. He looked closely at Dong Ge’s face. “Leave it, just drink your coffee.”

nLou Sifan’s expression turned heavy. “Cousin, what are you up to?”

nSkinny monkey said, “Crimes are my forte, I’m going to put him in his **ing place.”

nLou Sifan said, panicked, “No need, really no need. What are you doing? Nobody can force feelings.”

nSkinny monkey flicked the photograph with his index finger. “I already told you, leave it, ah.”

nLou Sifan was still worried. “Cousin, I don’t even care about this, don’t you……”

nSkinny monkey, “Chittering and chattering like this, are you a girl? Leave your photo here with me first, I’m taking it back to let my mother have a look at it.”

nLou Sifan watched firsthand as Skinny monkey placed the photograph into the front pocket of his backpack and pulled up the zip. He picked up his cup of coffee to hide his tiny smile.

nOver the next few days, in order to force the two’s relationship to develop, He Changsheng would take the initiative to ask Lou Sifan out to play every day, bringing Dong Ge along with him.

nThis little town had a lot of places to go to to play, such as the arcade hall, billiards hall, boardgame rooms, escape rooms; adding them all up, they were able to enjoy themselves to the fullest.

nIn the arcade hall, Dong Ge didn’t waste any time before collecting a hundred coins in a worn-out bucket and making a beeline to a claw machine containing Spongebob Squarepants soft toys for a fight to the death.

nAs Chi Xiaochi tried to pick up a Spongebob Squarepants toy, he gave the Dong Ge inside his body a lesson, “If you want to give him something, you should give him his absolute favourite thing. With presents, it’s not about the price, it’s about the intent.”

n061, “……”

nI understand the truth in your words, but as someone with handicapped hands, why are you making it hard for yourself?

nAfter watching the hundred coins decrease by a half while the Spongebob Squarepants toys in the claw machine remained as immovable as a mountain, not a single one of them having moved an inch, 061 finally couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

nChi Xiaochi inserted another coin.

nThe claw machine began to move with a loud drone. The three-pronged claw moved downwards shakily, barely missing a Spongebob’s right hand.

nChi Xiaochi sighed, “Ai, this iron claw isn’t good.”

nIn the next second, that tired, feeble iron claw unexpectedly became like steel pliers, suddenly jamming itself down onto the Spongebob’s hand, directly dragging it upwards and seamlessly and firmly sending it to the exit chute before letting go once more.

nChi Xiaochi was stunned for a long time, before exclaiming excitedly, “Liu-laoshi, Liu-laoshi, see my micromanagement!?”

n061, “……” Fine fine fine, your micromanagement, your micromanagement.

nHugging the Spongebob Squarepants toy, Dong Ge ran over to He Changsheng, who was currently watching Lou Sifan play a motorcycle game. He said with a cold face, “I captured a soft toy for qianbei.”

nThis Spongebob was truly made very shoddily, with a nose that didn’t look like a nose and eyes that didn’t look like eyes, but He Changsheng hugged it to his chest, his heart a little sweet.

n……Just now, he had actually been sneakily watching Dong Ge the entire time.

nHe clearly couldn’t use the claw.

nAs he’d taken in Dong Ge’s unresigned gaze, his heart had melted.

nOn the ice, he was also like this……

nHe said, “Thank you, I really like it.”

nHe felt like this sentence was unable to fully express his emotions, so he added another line, “……Really like it.”

nLou Sifan sat on the moving, roaring motorcycle, seeming to single-mindedly look forwards.

nMeanwhile, ten or so meters away, a group of little hooligans with multicoloured hair moved their pointed gazes away from Dong Ge and walked out of the arcade hall.

nThe author has something to say:

nThis world’s ending soon la w

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npanda: I’ll miss HCS and DG once this world ends…

nsere: i hope Fake Lou dies a little faster for my ship to sail a little smoother… midterms for me too orz and a project and 3 problem sets… dying…

nbaum: although it means I have to tl more of LSF, I kinda like that HCS isn’t going to give up on his friend of more than ten years and is still trying to help him. HCS is such a nice guy, I can’t believe LSF thinks himself worthy of him -.-

nquick reminder that since sere and I have midterms, this’ll be the only update this week. thank you all for your understanding and well-wishes from last chapter~ <3

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