The provincial competition was divided into three days. The preliminary and semi-finals of the swimming events were held on the first day, the second day was the men's individual finals.
The schedule was very tight, especially for someone like Li Cheng who had four finals to participate in a day. It was definitely going to be a challenge.
The second day happened to be a Sunday. Xiao Yiheng took his schoolbag and left home with the excuse of going to school for extra classes. However, instead of textbooks, his school bag contained other things.
The provincial stadium was located in the city center, and there happened to be a direct bus from his house.
He was lucky to get a seat when he got on the bus. Within two stops, a gray-haired granny got onto the bus with a bag of fruits and vegetables. Mindful of her old age, Xiao Yiheng gave her his seat.
In the swaying and rocking bus, Xiao Yiheng held onto the handrail with one hand and took out his phone with the other to send a message to Li Cheng.
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
Pursue Unremittingly: I'm almost there, where to gather?
Small Round Orange: [Black question mark face].jpg
Small Round Orange: What 'gather'?
Pursue Unremittingly: Gather with the families of other players in your team.
Pursue Unremittingly: [smile].jpg
Small Round Orange: …
Small Round Orange: Since you know that the other team members are all family members, don't join in the fun ok?
Small Round Orange: Can you not even be clear about your own identity?!
Pursue Unremittingly: What is my identity?
Pursue Unremittingly: Throw away when you use it up, and run away when you squeeze it dry. Not fit to be seen trash A? [Smile].jpg
Small Round Orange: …
Small Round Orange: [Tableflip].jpg
When Li Cheng received the message from Xiao Yiheng, he had just finished warming up in the swimming pool. He was sitting at the edge of the pool wearing a bath towel and tapped on his phone irritably.
Why didn't the heavens let Xiao Yiheng continue to have a fever? Why was there no extra class for the senior students today? Why didn't Xiao Yiheng lose his ticket accidentally?
Why did he impulsively decide to give the ticket to Xiao Yiheng that day?
Although Li Cheng knew Xiao Yiheng remarking that day, "last time I saw your lower body, this time I can see your upper body," was just a joke, he still couldn't stop his heartbeat from speeding up. In the swimming pool, the male and female athletes were all dressed in cool, form-fitting swimsuits that outlined their incomparably defined physiques.
Li Cheng had always been very confident about his figure. He had abdominal and pectoral muscles. He also had a tall, fit, and beautiful posture. If other people like to watch, then let them watch - but if Xiao Yiheng wants to look, then that's a different story.
Li Cheng couldn't tell where this shyness came from. He irritably threw the bath towel to the ground causing the water to drip down from his body.
Li Cheng was very thin, the lean kind of thin. Well-proportioned muscles covered his body, and every muscle was a masterpiece of nature. When he arched his back, his prominent spine formed a path, each vertebra emerging one by one from the back muscles. One end of the "path" extended under his swimming trunks, while the other end was hidden in his wet blond hair.
The strands of blond hair fell on both sides of his cheeks, some were attached to his slender neck, in sharp contrast with his wheat-colored skin.
He frowned and thought about how to make Xiao Yiheng sneak into the audience without attracting the attention of the other team members. Suddenly, a hand stretched out from behind and brushed hard against the back of Li Cheng's neck, even deliberately scratching it with fingertips.
"What the f*ck!?" Li Cheng exploded in an instant. He jumped up, clutching the back of his neck vigilantly, and stared at the ill-behaved hand.
99% of the omega glands in the world were in the back of the neck. If someone deliberately touched this area, it was no different from sexual harassment. Even if Li Cheng's glands were not on the back of his neck, he still couldn't tolerate others being so shameless.
"You surnamed Ji, did the water get logged in your head?" Li Cheng glared angrily, his eyes like sharp knives, shooting towards the wretched alpha opposite him.
"Just saying hello to an old opponent." The alpha named Ji Xun was also a freestyle short-distance swimmer. The conflict between him and Li Cheng could be traced back several years.
Ji Xun had straight A cancer through and through, and he looked down at Li Cheng, an omega, from the bottom of his heart. In the early years, the two had equal victories in the pool, but in recent years, Li Cheng had won more championships than him.
How could Ji Xun tolerate an omega with a better standing than him? His behaviour worsened. Every time they met, Ji Xun would deliberately try to take advantage of Li Cheng verbally. Today, he had gotten worse and actually touched the back of Li Cheng's neck!
Li Cheng clenched his fists so tightly they cracked: "You must not want your dog face? Since when is it ok to touch an omega's glands as a greeting? If I kick you down there, would it be regarded as returning a gift to you?"
While talking, Li Cheng's eyes squinted and examined Ji Xun's crotch, as if assessing which spot would be the best to hit.
The swimming trunks were very tight and clung to the body, so everyone's "measure" could be seen at a glance.
Ji Xun suddenly felt a chill in his lower body. He subconsciously clamped his legs together and tried to sound stern, "You…you dare not lay a hand on me! There are many cameras here, and if you dare to fight before the competition, you will be disqualified."
"Heh." Of course Li Cheng knew the rules. He sneered, "Don't worry, your place is so small, I'm afraid I can't find it."
"You…you...you…"
"You, you, you, you shit. Daddy's busy," Li Cheng lowered his voice, the mockery in his eyes overflowing, "Daddy's changing your age."
"…"
As athletes, some players deliberately falsified their age in order to get more medals. It was obviously a competition for minors, but you could see many mature faces on the field. This kind of thing was contemptuous, but everyone was tacitly aware and no one would say it out loud like Li Cheng.
Ji Xun's age had been reduced by two years. He should have been in college by now, but he hadn't been admitted to a university yet. He was still in the high school group, competing for medals with swimmers younger than him. It was truly shameless of him.
Li Cheng hated such age-falsifying cheaters the most so he shattered Ji Xun's fragile mask of pride with a single sentence. Ji Xun's eyes turned red and he rushed over with a raised fist. Li Cheng twisted his body and avoided his punch nimbly.
"What, does exposing your age-change con hurt your pride so much?" Li Cheng raised his chin high and ruthlessly attacked the alpha's ridiculous self-esteem, "I thought your pride had already been ripped to shreds by me a long time ago when I defeated you."
…………
On the bus, Xiao Yiheng looked at the now-quiet chat box, thinking that Li Cheng was angry and that's why he was ignoring him. He shook his head helplessly and put away his phone.
The granny whom he had given up the seat for asked kindly, "Young man, looking at your expression, you must be chatting with someone you like?"
Xiao Yiheng was a little surprised. He subconsciously asked, "Is it that obvious?"
"Yes," the old granny said, "Although you don't have a smile on your face, your eyes are smiling."
Xiao Yiheng glanced at the glass window upon hearing these words. In the dim reflection, the boy's eyes held a layer of warm light that melted away the ice enveloping him.
The old lady reached her destination after only two stops. Before getting off the bus, she took out a handful of oranges from her grocery bag and enthusiastically stuffed them into Xiao Yiheng's school uniform pocket: "Young man, take these. These little oranges are very sweet. The person who sold them to me said they are sweeter than first love. Try them."
Xiao Yiheng declined, but in the end, had to accept them. His coat pocket was filled with chubby little oranges with green leaves that set off the orange-red fruits, which looked very appetizing.
The provincial swimming pool was the last stop of this bus. When Xiao Yiheng arrived at the station, huge publicity panels had been set up inside and outside the stadium, with photos of star players displayed on it. Li Cheng was a popular player predicted to win the championship and also a rare omega player, which attracted a lot of attention.
Xiao Yiheng stopped in front of the display board. Li Cheng's blonde hair was particularly conspicuous among the conventional ID photos. He grinned generously at the camera, with eyes that narrowed into two beautiful arcs, and several medals were hanging on his chest - all gold - representing the glory he had won in its entirety.
Some spectators from out of town were discussing Li Cheng's photos.
"I've heard of this boy named Li Cheng. Although he's an omega, he's very capable! I've watched his previous matches, and he has no equal in his age group in our province."
"So awesome? Omegas are so rare in racing competitions."
"He's a short-range player, specializing in the 100m and 200m freestyle. You have never seen him compete, right? He enters the water like a small cannonball. The audience hasn't reacted yet and the race is over!"
"Then why doesn't he go to a sports school? He can directly get into the national team in the future!"
"I know about this! Before Li Cheng differentiated, many sports school coaches wanted to recruit him, but then he differentiated into an omega, and they hesitated. They didn't dare to accept him, worried that he wouldn't have enough stamina. As a result, this golden ticket was picked up by Huacheng No. 1 High School! Those sports school coaches must be going crazy with regret now."
Each of them had something to say and the group of spectators gathered together, sharing insider gossip about the swimming circle.
Xiao Yiheng listened with great interest. He had never known before that Li Cheng was so amazing that even audiences from other places and provinces had heard of him.
These gossipers didn't notice Xiao Yiheng standing behind them and continued to chat.
"But I can also understand the original choice of the coaches. Omegas have estrus after all. If the sports season coincides with the estrus period, it will affect their performance a lot."
"Training hard for a year, and all that work going to waste when the estrus hits."
"This is actually a kind of gamble. The sports school coaches lost the bet, but Li Cheng won it."
"I wonder what his pheromones smell like."
"Such a powerful omega, I reckon his pheromones must smell like torpedoes."
Xiao Yiheng: "……"
No, he cannot laugh.
Xiao Yiheng was the only alpha in the world who has ever tasted Li Cheng's pheromones. The sweet, spicy, sour, and bitter pheromones still lingered on the tip of Xiao Yiheng's tongue. Every night, he couldn't help but reminisce them in his dreams.
After hearing other people say that Li Cheng's pheromones were torpedo flavored, Xiao Yiheng really wanted to give these gossipers a "most rich imagination" award.
However, every time Li Cheng enters the swimming pool, it's like bombing a fishpond, blowing up all the opponents - from this point of view, Li Cheng is indeed "torpedo-flavored."
Xiao Yiheng calmly took a step closer to them, pretending to be looking away, but actually pricking his ears for more information.
"How good is Li Cheng now? Even if it's an alpha, no one is better than him, ok?"
"What about Ji Xun? He's also a short-range freestyle swimmer. Ji Xun is an alpha and has won many championships."
"Ji Xun is out of the question." The man looked around and said in a low voice, "I heard that Ji Xun changed his age. He was able to win prizes before because he bullied the younger students. He participated in the U13 at the age of 15 and participated in the U15 at the age of 17. Being a few years older than the others, how could he not win the championship?"
"I've heard about this too. Ji Xun relies on being an alpha and loves to bully his beta teammates. He doesn't take training very seriously, and his grades have dropped drastically."
"Oh, it's like that?"
"My neighbor's nephew's classmate's uncle works at the city sports school, it's true!"
It was only then Xiao Yiheng realized how little he knew about Li Cheng. He didn't know what Li Cheng's specialty was, nor who his opponents were. If he hadn't met this group of gossip-loving spectators, he probably would have been just a layman watching the game today.
He silently noted Ji Xun's name with a hunch that this alpha was definitely not a simple character.
The bunch of spectators had been gossiping for a long time. Seeing that the competition was about to begin, they hurriedly lined up to enter the stadium.
Xiao Yiheng had a complimentary VIP ticket and the entrance was in the other direction. He was about to leave when he suddenly noticed a small figure in the crowd.
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
She was a young girl - about ten years old - wearing a light yellow dress and carrying a heavy school bag. Her hair had two croissant braids with a fluffy hair ribbon on each side.
There was a children's mobile phone hanging around her neck, adorned with beautiful glass beads, looking very much in line with the aesthetics of a little girl her age.
She walked through the crowd with difficulty, arrived at the display board, raised the phone to turn on the camera mode - and with a "click" - she took a picture of Li Cheng on the display board.
She quickly set this photo as her phone wallpaper, so joyful that her braids were bouncing. When she laughed, her eyes and brows were filled with a deep sense of familiarity, bright and cheerful. Xiao Yiheng guessed her identity almost instantly.
"Are you Li Cheng's little sister?" Xiao Yiheng knelt down and greeted her.
"Huh? How did you know?" The little girl's eyes widened in surprise, her eyebrows raised high, looking exactly like a small version of Li Cheng.
She looked at the big brother in front of her curiously. He was so tall, his eyes seemed to hold stars, and he looked like the photo of a celebrity pasted on the pencil case of her deskmate. Uh… he's just a tiny bit less handsome than her brother. Just a tiny bit.
Xiao Yiheng wore his school uniform to go out today. He pointed at the school badge on his chest and said, "I'm your brother's classmate. I also came to watch his match."
He noticed that there were no adults around her and frowned, asking, "Did you come alone? Your parents didn't accompany you?"
"They don't like watching my brother's matches, so they just dropped me off here and left." The little girl shook her head and then suddenly stretched out her hand, grabbing onto Xiao Yiheng's finger. "Before, I always cheered for my brother by myself. Today, you're here with me, how nice! Let's cheer for my brother together!"
"Okay." Xiao Yiheng gently shook his arm up and down, as if shaking hands with her. "Let's cheer him on together today."
Xiao Yiheng took the little sister's hand and walked with her towards the VIP entrance.
He had never dealt with such a young child before. He was a little worried at first, but the little sister was very sensible and didn't make a fuss. She looked too much like Li Cheng. When Xiao Yiheng looked at her, it was as if he was watching a younger version of Li Cheng. This "little Li Cheng" didn't swear, didn't beat people, and didn't lose her temper proudly. She was so well-behaved that Xiao Yiheng couldn't adapt.
Love me, love my dog. Li Cheng was the person Xiao Yiheng liked, so naturally Xiao Yiheng felt the need to take good care of his little sister.
Xiao Yiheng looked at her bouncing braids and really wanted to ask her if the hair tie that Li Cheng wore on his head before the fight came from her collection.
"By the way, my name is Xiao Yiheng. The 'yiheng' in 'to pursue unremittingly.'" Xiao Yiheng asked, "What's your name?"
He only learned that Li Cheng had a younger sister, but he didn't know her name.
"My name is Youyou." The little girl also introduced herself in his style, "The 'you' in 'grapefruit' and 'Shatian pomelo.'"
"…"
How did Li Cheng's family name their kids? The older brother is named Orange, the younger sister is named Pomelo, and even the duck he raised is called Little Lemon.
Xiao Yiheng joked with Youyou: "Does your house have a tangerine?"
To his surprise, Youyou asked in delight, "How did you know?"
Xiao Yiheng: ???
Youyou brought the school bag on her back to the front, carefully opened it a little, and said softly, "I'll tell you a secret—"
Xiao Yiheng looked down and saw what Youyou had actually packed in that heavy school bag. A plump orange cat!
Xiao Yiheng: ……
The orange cat had a round face and was as fat as a bag of rice. It lay lazily in the school bag, not even bothering to meow a bit. It lazily opened its eyes and glanced at the unfamiliar two-legged creature, then closed its eyes again, going back to sleep.
Youyou reached into her school bag and petted the orange cat's shiny and smooth fur: "It's called Big Tangerine. Originally, my mom didn't want me to raise it. I begged her for a long time before she finally agreed!"
Youyou looked up at Xiao Yiheng, shaking his arm as she said, "My brother still doesn't know about me raising it. I want to give him a surprise. Can you help me keep this a secret?"
Xiao Yiheng thought for a moment and replied, "Since you've told me a secret, I'll tell you a secret too."
Then he opened his backpack and revealed a lively little duck poking its head out of the schoolbag.
"Come on, Little Lemon, get to know Big Tangerine."
…
The security check at the VIP lane wasn't strict. Xiao Yiheng smoothly took the pomelo, tangerine, and lemon into the venue to cheer for the orange.
The first event was the men's 50m freestyle final. The match had not yet started so there was chaos everywhere. Xiao Yiheng held Youyou in one hand and their tickets in the other while searching for their seats.
The VIP stand was located on the upper-middle level of the swimming pool. This area overlooked the entire swimming lane and was the best viewing area. Athletes who did not compete and family members also sat here, cheering for their teammates.
Huang Yelun hugged the schoolgirl who he had just chased after, the two whispered like a pair of lovebirds - too corny to watch.
Halfway through the sweet talk, Huang Yelun suddenly froze.
The school girl pushed him and asked: "What's wrong?"
Huang Yelun: "…" He rubbed his eyes vigorously and asked in confusion, "Is it because I have been training too hard recently and started having hallucinations? Why do I see Xiao Yiheng bringing Youyou over?"
Xiao Yiheng was Brother Li's opponent and Youyou was Brother Li's sister. How could these two possibly get together?!
And this was the VIP area. Tickets were not for sale. It was normal for Youyou to have a ticket, but how could Xiao Yiheng have tickets?
But the two figures in the aisle were extremely similar to the two people he knew.
With the familiar croissant braids, Youyou walked cautiously up the steps. She was holding a little yellow duck in one hand, while the other hand was held by the tall and handsome young man beside her. Someone who didn't know them would think they were brother and sister.
The young man who looked like Xiao Yiheng glanced down at Youyou and said, "Be careful, the stairs are steep. Do you want me to carry you?"
Huang Yelun breathed a sigh of relief. He was definitely mistaken! How could it be Xiao Yiheng? Even though he looked like Xiao Yiheng, had the same voice as Xiao Yiheng, and wore the school uniform of Huacheng No. 1 High School - everyone knew Xiao Yiheng's personality was like an unmelting iceberg. It was absolutely impossible he'd talk to others in such a gentle voice!
However, after three seconds, his thoughts were shattered.
Xiao Yiheng sat down beside him calmly, his voice was as cold as ice cubes: "Please close your mouth."
Huang Yelun held his almost dislocated jaw - Xiao Yiheng actually appeared in the audience of the swimming competition? This was even more incredible than him winning the breaststroke Olympic championship!
Not only was Huang Yelun shocked, but the faces of other team members were also full of incredulity.
They looked at Xiao Yiheng for a while and then at the constantly calling "big brother, big brother" Youyou. They really couldn't understand how the two got together.
Youyou didn't know their thoughts. She had met her brother's teammates several times before. She happily hugged the little duck and greeted them in a voice as soft as cotton candy.
Among this group of teammates, Youyou was the most familiar with Huang Yelun.
Seeing Huang Yelun staring at Xiao Yiheng without blinking, she asked curiously: "Brother Dahuang, do you know Brother Xiao too?"
Huang Yelun bit the bullet and said, "…Uh, know, know."
This was the school's most famous alpha. Who dared to say they didn't know him?
Xiao Yiheng's expression remained unchanged. He sat there calmly, not caring what the group of people thought, assumed, or viewed of his relationship with Li Cheng.
He let Youyou sit down, grabbed a handful of sugar oranges from his pocket, carefully peeled the skins for her, picked out the white pith, and put them into her little hands: "The competition will take a while. Are you hungry? Eat a few small oranges to pad your stomach."
Youyou was a little girl who liked to share. Instead of eating all the oranges by herself, she turned and distributed them to all the players present.
Sugar oranges were originally very small. The oranges were only a little bigger than a coin so they looked funny and cute when placed in the palms of the team members.
Huang Yelun received a orange from the little princess and said flattered, "Thank you, Youyou, I especially love oranges…"
Xiao Yiheng glanced at him lightly, twisting the orange peel in his hand into pieces.
Huang Yelun: "—but I'm going to compete and I can't eat right now, so I'll leave it for Youyou to eat."
The other team members were also stabbed by Xiao Yiheng's icy eyes. How dare they touch the oranges? They hurriedly returned them.
Youyou held a handful of sugar oranges, happily satisfied. She decided that she would save all these little oranges for her brother!
Huang Yelun looked worriedly at Xiao Yiheng's profile, and a bold guess emerged.
He took out his phone and clicked on Li Cheng's chat box.
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: Brother Li, are you there?
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: I have an important report to give!
Small Round Orange: ?
Small Round Orange: Spit it out! I'm going for the roll-call.
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: Guess who I saw in the audience!
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: I saw Xiao Yiheng!
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: He came with your sister!!!
Small Round Orange: ...
Small Round Orange: ......
Small Round Orange: .........cough, and then what?
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: He's really good to Youyou. He smiled at Youyou and even peeled oranges for her to eat!
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: It's really terrible!!!
Small Round Orange: [Black question mark face].jpg
Small Round Orange: What's so terrible about that?
Small Round Orange: He knows me and helped me take care of my sister. Isn't it normal?
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: Brother Li, how come you still don't understand the seriousness of the matter!
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: Why is Xiao Yiheng—this cruel and ruthless person—so good to Youyou?
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: There's only one explanation!!!
Small Round Orange: ?
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
Prodigal Froggy of the Pool: Xiao Yiheng is a big pervert who wants to be your brother-in-law!!!!
Small Round Orange: …
[Prodigal Froggy of the Pool] has been blacklisted by [Small Round Orange].
Huang Yelun: ?
Huang Yelun: aggrieved.jpg
Heh.
Today, Huang Yelun once again accurately missed the truth of the matter.
The author has something to say:
Sister-in-law(?) and sister hit it off as soon as they saw each other and liked with each other. The whole family is beautiful and harmonious!
Because a reader commented that "Li(厉) Cheng = Lili(粒粒) Cheng," I thought the name was very cute, I decided to use it as Xiao Cheng's online id!
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