Chapter 5: Autographs and Teasing

Teacher Sun helped Yun Duo by sharing the burden of the flowers.

With their arms filled with flowers, the two of them left the sight of the crowd. Teacher Sun did not plan to conduct anymore interviews — as he walked, he said to Yun Duo, "Yun Duo, it was not your place earlier to say those things. We're reporters, not advocates for the athletes. As a reporter, you only need to record the subject's replies and ask questions."

Yun Duo was still unwilling to admit any wrong嘴硬: Literally translates to 'mouth hard'. Think 'having a stubborn mouth which does not want to submit'.. "But that question was really too horrible."

Teacher Sun's eyebrows knitted together. "Well, you didn't ask the question, so you needn't feel stressed out about it."

"But that's unfair to the one being interviewed. He hasn't even answered yet and he has already had a chamber pot flipped over his head. What if the interviewee isn't good at speaking and is unable to explain things properly? Should he just accept the accusation despite being innocent?" It wasn't like such things had not happened before — some psychologically weaker people had even broken down crying due to the harsh questioning.

"Yun Duo!" Teacher Sun's tone turned hard and strict. "How can you still not understand? You're not a judge! Matters of fairness are not for you to worry about. We're reporters. We should not take any sides when looking at an issue. You're brazenly standing on Tang Yi-Bai's side ... this is not in line with the professional conduct of a reporter."

Yun Duo was unfazed. What sides? Being objective and fair was her true position. Take those people earlier for example — all of them were completely ignoring the problem with that question, all of them waiting for Tang Yi-Bai to fall for the trap. That wasn't called being unbiased — that was called hoping for a show without care for the consequences.

She still wanted to argue, but when she saw Teacher Sun's stern expression, she choked back the words on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she lowered her head and said, "Okay, I understand. I'm sorry."

Teacher Sun nodded, relieved. In his eyes, this girl Yun Duo had a lot of potential. She was smart and quick to learn, and her professional qualities were good. The only problem was that her brain would sometimes go offline, and her attitude towards work was inconsistent — she would sometimes be very hardworking, but then there were times where she seemed to rebel against the nature of her job. She was truly a mystery ...

Yun Duo was still meekly saying things that she didn't really believe in, "Thank you, Teacher Sun, for your guidance. I won't do this again."

"Alright, alright. It's not really a big deal. Besides, that fiasco just now wasn't completely fruitless. Qi Rui-Feng and Tang Yi-Bai both have a pretty good impression of you now. By building good ties with the athletes, you might just be able to get an exclusive interview in future. Who knows? Hahaha."

Teacher Sun was mostly trying to console Yun Duo when he said this. To obtain an exclusive interview, simply building good ties with the athletes was useless. It was more important to have a good relationship with the coaches ...

The two of them were walking towards the exit of the venue when Teacher Sun suddenly thought of an important question. "Say ..."

Right then, they heard sounds of a conversation coming from the other end of the passage.

A: "That girl was really bold, but it's clear to see that she's a newbie, daring to say anything. From "Sports Weekly", was it? I heard she's called Yun Duo?"

B: "You think that's bold? She's done something even more outrageous. At the beginning of Qi Rui-Feng's interview session, Qi Rui-Feng seemed to have met her before, and so he let her ask the first question. In the end, this girl immediately asked Qi Rui-Feng: 'May I know how it feels to lose twice to the same person?' Oh my!"

A: "Really? What kind of thought process is this?! And why would Qi Rui-Feng let her ask the first question just after one meeting? It makes no sense ..."

B: "Well, she's pretty! Who doesn't like a pretty girl? But this girl is so straightforward and tactless, completely fearless ... she most likely has some significant background, right? What could it be ..."

Blah blah blah ...The author actually writes 'blabla...' here in the raws. Lol.

Yun Duo was unable to continue eavesdropping on their speculations about her family background, because Teacher Sun abruptly exploded. "Yun Duo! You actually spoke like that to Qi Rui-Feng! You're going to get it from me now!"

"Ah, ah, ah, Teacher Sun, I'm sorry I didn't mean it I was also just trying to be original ..." said Yun Duo as she ran, turning around the corner. She ignored the stunned couple there, running like the wind out of the swimming hall. She was still fast and agile even with her arms full of flowers. Because she was moving so fast, at one glance, she looked like a large low-flying flower basket.

Teacher Sun was hot on her tail — at first, he was still spiritedly screaming murder at her, but as the distance between the two of them grew, Teacher Sun changed his approach. "Stop! Yun Duo, you stop right now!"

Yun Duo finally stood still. She hugged the flowers as she panted, and turning to look at Teacher Sun, she pleaded, "Teacher Sun, please don't hit me!"

Teacher Sun was so angry his eyes were rolling up into his head. "Am I so violent?!”

He finally caught up to Yun Duo. Due to the strenuous exercise, he was so tired that his tongue was hanging out of his mouth, making him look like a husky with a healthy appetite.

Yun Duo did not wait for Teacher Sun to scold her; she began apologizing repeatedly. Teacher Sun was someone more amenable to persuasion than coercion, a softie at heart — Yun Duo had realised this during her probation period.

"You- you explain things clearly to me now." Teacher Sun glared at her. "Why does Tang Yi-Bai know your name?"

"Eh? Teacher Sun, you're changing gears rather quickly ..."

"Tell me!"

Yun Duo could only answer, "That ... yesterday, we had some small misunderstanding, causing my name to be deeply imprinted in his mind." She would not tell him why even if he beat her to death.

Teacher Sun shook his head. "You're quite narcissistic."

Yun Duo had said this as a joke to liven up the mood a little — she reckoned that Tang Yi-Bai and company would forget about her after a couple of days; after all, they were just passing acquaintances whose paths would not cross much.

After some thought, Teacher Sun asked, "That ... can you get his autograph?"

"Huh?" Yun Duo considered it. Tang Yi-Bai was a very warm and friendly person — it shouldn't be a problem just to get an autograph, right? And so she nodded, saying, "Tang Yi-Bai is very nice."

Teacher Sun's gaze brightened. "Then what about Qi Rui-Feng? Can you get his too? Rumour has it that he gives out autographs based on mood."

Thinking about that quirky prodigy, Yun Duo smiled confidently. "Qi Rui-Feng's autograph is even easier to get! Teacher Sun, you can even do it yourself. When you see him, just tell him 'you're so amazing and so handsome and I really like you', and you'll definitely get one!"

Teacher Sun laboriously reached out a hand to touch his face, his expression sorrowful. "With a face like mine, if I say something like that to him, I would probably be treated as an old pervert and be beaten up!"

"Uh ..."

The two conversed as they walked, neither noticing a lanky figure in front of them who had paused when he overheard their conversation.

What finally drew Yun Duo's attention was a soft thud.

When she turned to look, she found that a gentleman two or three steps ahead of them had dropped his wallet. The gentleman was making a phone call and had not noticed. Yun Duo instantly called out, "Sir, you've dropped your wallet."

His figure was tall and slender, but he was still dressed in short sleeves in autumn — it looked like he was very resistant to the cold. Yun Duo had barely finished speaking when the man turned around. When Yun Duo saw his face, she was slightly startled. The man was very handsome!

He was very lean, and the lines of his face were clearly defined. His eyebrows were long and slender, and his thin lips were pressed into a straight line, stretched pale. Such an aloof expression paired with the paleness of his face resulted in an inexplicably cool aura. His entire being was shrouded in an aura screaming 'strangers, stay away'.

Yun Duo once again motioned to the wallet on the ground. "Sir?"

He finally bent over and picked it up. "Thank you."

His fingers were long and tapered with well-proportioned phalanges. His fingernails were trimmed neatly and well-kept, shining prettily under the sunlight with an oddly beautiful translucence.

Yun Duo looked at his hands and then considered her own hands, and she found herself a little envious ...

The man tucked his wallet away, and then his gaze swept lightly over Yun Duo and Teacher Sun. He asked, "You are reporters?"

"Yes, yes," replied Teacher Sun, "There's a competition here."

"I know. I watched the matches today." He hesitated for a moment and then looked at Yun Duo. "I heard you can get Qi Rui-Feng's and Tang Yi-Bai's autographs?"

"Huh?" Yun Duo was taken aback, but she soon realised that he must have overheard her conversation with Teacher Sun earlier.

Teacher Sun approached him and said, "As long as you tell Qi Rui-Feng that he's very amazing and handsome and that you really like him, Qi Rui-Feng will give you his autograph."

The man shook his head. "So gay."

And then, Teacher Sun and this handsome man turned in unison to look at Yun Duo. Teacher Sun even took things one step further. "Yun Duo, can you let me take a photo together with Qi Rui-Feng?"

Yun Duo was a kind and passionate young lady who took others' wants and concerns seriously. Under the ardent gazes of the two men, she nodded firmly and said, "Alright. Follow me."

The group of three first stowed the flowers in the man's car, and then Yun Duo led them to the place where she had met Qi Rui-Feng and Tang Yi-Bai yesterday, and they settled down to wait ...

Along the way, they introduced themselves to one another. The handsome man was named Lin Zi, and he claimed to be an investment consultant. Teacher Sun was troubled when he heard his name. "Your name is very familiar. I must have heard it before!"

"That's because you must have heard the phrase 'a large forest houses all kinds of birds'林子大了什么鸟都有: This phrase starts with the words 'lin zi', which sound exactly the same as Lin Zi's name but with different characters. Here, this 'lin zi' means forest.." The man with the cold disposition displayed a flash of sudden humour.

"Cough, hehe ..." Yun Duo and Teacher Sun's laughter was forced.

This swimming hall had four exits. The one the athletes took had many isolation belts hemming it at the external exit in order to prevent the athletes from being harassed. There were also staff keeping watch over the area. Yun Duo had been lucky the day before. The staff on duty had left his post unattended, which was why she had managed to remain unnoticed. Today, they were chased away twice before they finally caught sight of Qi Rui-Feng and company. The staff member was about to chase Yun Duo and her group away again when Qi Rui-Feng came over.

Lin Zi was over 1.8 metres tall, but standing before Qi Rui-Feng, his figure could still be called petite. As for Yun Duo, she could at best be considered tiny ...

Thus, Yun Duo had to tilt her neck back a considerable degree before she could see Qi Rui-Feng's face.

Right before this, Teacher Sun and Lin Zi had come to an unanimous decision that Yun Duo would be the one to spout those words. Yun Duo finally knew what it meant to lift a rock only for it to smash one's own foot搬起石头砸自己的脚: I kept the translation pretty literal here. In case the meaning is unclear though, the phrase means to end up causing trouble for oneself with one's own actions.. And so, right then, under the pressure of their gazes, Yun Duo forced herself to say to Qi Rui-Feng, "Qi Rui-Feng, you're so amazing and so handsome and we really like you!"

"I know!"

Yun Duo gaped, at a loss as to how she should reply. In contrast, Qi Rui-Feng stretched out a hand in a practised manner and asked, "Where should I sign?"

Teacher Sun handed over a notebook while Lin Zi handed over a tablet computer in a white casing. As Qi Rui-Feng signed, he said, "You threw away all the flowers we gave you?"

"No ..."

Before Yun Duo could explain, he continued, "It's fine if you threw them away. After all, I would have thrown them away myself." He returned the notebook and the tablet computer to the two men.

Yun Duo felt that she needed to explain properly. "I didn't throw them away. We've put them in the car and will bring them back to the hotel in a bit."

After Teacher Sun received an autograph, he still wanted to have a photo taken with Qi Rui-Feng. Qi Rui-Feng was a little impatient, but he still cooperated.

After the picture was taken, Teacher Sun also asked Tang Yi-Bai for his signature and a photo. Tang Yi-Bai was more patient than Qi Rui-Feng — at least he did not show any signs of impatience.

Lin Zi did not ask for a photo. After he put his tablet computer away, he stood to one side and waited quietly. Yun Duo whispered to him, "You don't want a photo with Qi Rui-Feng?"

He shook his head.

"Then ... do you want Tang Yi-Bai's autograph? He's very nice. If you want one, he'll give you one."

Lin Zi shook his head once more.

Yun Duo was puzzled. "Why do you not want it anymore?"

At this moment, Tang Yi-Bai called out to her. "Yun Duo."

"Hm?" Yun Duo turned her head to look at Tang Yi-Bai.

Tang Yi-Bai's gaze, as pure as driven snow, landed on her face, and he asked, "What about me?"

"???" Yun Duo tilted her head, unsure what he meant.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Am I not amazing and handsome and don't you like me?"

"Uh ..." Yun Duo looked into his eyes with their clearly defined blacks and whites. That sincere gaze did not seem like it was joking. She felt a headache coming on. "That's not it ..."

"That's not what?" He gazed at her steadily, pressing.

It looked like he was intent on getting an answer ... Yun Duo could only bite the bullet and say, "Tang Yi-Bai, you are, very amazing, very handsome, I ... really like ..." Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until the barest mosquito hum could be heard at the end.

It was so odd — why had it been so easy to say those words to Qi Rui-Feng, and yet be so awkward and strange saying them to Tang Yi-Bai ...? Yun Duo lowered her head in embarrassment, too shy to look at him.

And then she heard his laughter once more. It was as mellifluous as usual, like a musical movement flowing from the strings of a harp. Yun Duo subtly lifted her eyes to peek up at him, and found that his brow was smooth and at ease and his lips were curved, neat white teeth peeking out from the gap between his lips. Although his smile was still radiant enough to stall time, it was currently filled with mischief.

Teacher Sun leaned over to whisper inopportunely by Yun Duo's ear, "Yun Duo, I think you've just been teased."

Yun Duo: "..." This is the kind of thing you keep to yourself! Why did you have to voice it out?!

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Previous: Chapter 4: Stimulants and Flowers
Next: Chapter 6: Photo and Team Flower

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