Chapter 80

Tang Yi-Bai's words made Yun Duo's heart twinge. She also really wanted to stay behind to take care of Tang Yi-Bai, but she just didn't know if the centre would agree. Addressing her concerns, Tang Yi-Bai said, "Leave this sort of things for Coach Wu to worry about. You go and prepare. But..."

At the thought that Duoduo had only requested for 2 days of leave, Tang Yi-Bai was sad again. Didn't she still have to go to work after two days anyway? Meanwhile, there was no telling how long he would have to stay here.

Thinking about it, Tang Yi-Bai said to Yun Duo, "Duoduo, why don't you apply for a few more days of leave?"

"How long?"

"One month?"

A month? The entire winter vacation was about a month! Yun Duo hesitated. "I don't mind, but Director Liu will definitely never agree."

"Here, give me your phone. I'll talk to him."

With no illness or any other urgent matter, it was indeed rather too much to ask for a long leave of absence. Moreover, Yun Duo's agency was currently short-staffed — how could they permit a reporter employed full-time to leave for as long as a month? Therefore, to persuade Director Liu, some incentive must be given. Tang Yi-Bai instantly saw the key to the matter. He said to Director Liu, "Director Liu, I can discuss with the team so that while Yun Duo is on leave, she can provide current reports on my recovery. What do you think?"

This was a great temptation. Right now, the desire for news of Tang Yi-Bai's condition in the outside world had exceeded Director Liu's expectations. Leaving aside the hardcore swimming fans, there were still many people who had become swimming fans only because of Tang Yi-Bai, and also the three generations of women who did not care much for swimming but who had fallen deeply for Tang Yi-Bai's good looks... even his 15-year old niece was asking about Tang Yi-Bai.

Occasionally, Director Liu would lament that this world was too shallow, biased towards superficial beauty, but that was the reality of things, so the journalists had to accept it and work with it. Thus, if he truly could secure the rights to conduct real-time reporting on Tang Yi-Bai, the sales of their publication would definitely climb significantly. This was beyond doubt. In addition, "obtaining exclusive insider news which would then be reposted by other peers in the field" — this feeling was the pleasure of every person who worked in journalism, and Director Liu was no exception.

And so Director Liu quickly accepted Tang Yi-Bai's terms.

Yun Duo was impressed by Tang Yi-Bai. She said, "I have always found Director Liu hard to deal with. Why is he like putty before you?"

Tang Yi-Bai merely smiled in response. He returned Yun Duo's phone to her and asked, "What shall we have for lunch?"

"What do you want to eat? I took a look at the canteen earlier and they had quite a lot of dishes today. I can buy you whatever you want to eat, or we can order in. The nurse left a menu just now."

Such a thoughtful girlfriend. Tang Yi-Bai could not bear to see her running around tiring herself, so he said, "Let's order in."

The two of them ordered 4 dishes and a serving of soup, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. Tang Yi-Bai could not hold his chopsticks in his left hand, so Yun Duo gave him a small plastic spoon. But the plastic spoon was small and soft, very inconvenient to use. He did not like it, so he threw it aside and then turned to Yun Duo with an open mouth. "Feed me."

Fine. The heavens and the earth are great, but a patient is of the greatest importance.

Yun Duo used her chopsticks to bring some food right up to his lips. A piece of mushroom, and then a chunk of beef, and then some fish... Tang Yi-Bai did not even spare a glance to see what was at his lips; he ate whatever Yun Duo fed him. He kept staring at her, his gaze clinging to her like spider's silk, never once leaving her face.

Yun Duo's cheeks turned pink under his gaze and she averted her eyes and asked, "Why do you keep looking at me?"

"You're so beautiful. I can't get enough of you."

Tang Yi-Bai launched an attack on Yun Duo: Sweet Talk.

Yun Duo's health bar is depleted.

Tang Yi-Bai did not think he had said anything outrageous. He was an especially practical, down-to-earth person, and everything he said were the straight facts. All his attention was on Yun Duo as she fed him — he was not aware of what was being stuffed into his mouth, but it all tasted delicious anyway. This was an exemplar of the saying "beauty enough to feast one's eyes" — Yun Duo's looks was the ultimate condiment.

The two of them ordered a braised crucian carp. The carp's flesh was fresh and sweet, but it also had a lot of bones. Yun Duo diligently picked out the bones before placing the fish meat in Tang Yi-Bai's bowl. She was worried that she was picking out the bones too slowly to keep Tang Yi-Bai fed, so she was a little anxious. Tang Yi-Bai noticed the fine sheen of sweat at her temples, resulting in a few strands of damp hair sticking to her skin there. Her eyelids were flickering gently, like the flutter of butterfly wings, as her grape-dark eyes focused intently on the fish meat beneath her chopsticks.

His heart felt like it was filled full with some unnameable thing — so full that it was almost overflowing. He called out to her softly, "Duoduo."

"Hmm?" Yun Duo replied, her head still bent over her task.

"I want to kiss you."

Yun Duo: "..." She clenched her fists, exasperated. "Stop it, Tang Yi-Bai. Taking things so far just from one meal... you really are a natural rogue!"

Tang Yi-Bai's lips quirked up into a smile. "Okay, don't be mad. I'm just teasing you. But still," he pointed at the fish meat in his bowl. "Stop picking out the bones anymore. I don't want to eat this."

"Why? Did I not pick out the bones properly?"

"No, I don't like crucian carp."

Yun Duo groused, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Sorry, I forgot." Tang Yi-Bai scooped all the fish meat into her bowl instead. "You eat it."

Yun Duo was conflicted. "But fish is very nutritious. You should at least eat some. What fish do you like?"

Tang Yi-Bai tilted his head in thought. "Cod." That one has very few bones.

"The canteen doesn't serve cod."

"Perch?" That one also has very few bones.

"They should have that. Then, we'll eat perch next time."

"Okay."

After lunch, the two of them went out for a walk. The rehabilitation centre of the training department had been specially set up to treat injured athletes. It was located in the suburbs amidst beautiful surroundings. Outdoors, the outline of pale blue mountains could be seen in the distance, and closer was a small lake. The lake water was very clear, and there were willows by the side of the lake, whose supple green branches swayed with the breeze, looking like puffs of pale green smoke from a distance.

The two of them walked by the lake, hand in hand. Yun Duo saw a dark shadow the size of a dinner plate moving under the surface of the lake and said, "Tang Yi-Bai, look! There's a tortoise!"

"That's not a tortoise, that's a turtle."

"Uh," Yun Duo scratched her head. She never could tell the difference between a tortoise and a turtle. She asked, "Turtles are the ones which can be eaten, right? Why don't we catch one so you can have it as a supplement?"

"You rascal. Turtles are aphrodisiacs."

"..." She had been teased again! Yun Duo could only turn her face away and ignore him.

But Tang Yi-Bai looked at her in sudden surprise. "Duoduo, you aren't scared anymore?"

"Scared?" Yun Duo repeated his question reflexively. All of a sudden, she realised what he was saying. She looked at the sparkling water and touched her chest. "It's true. I'm not nervous at all right now! Oh my god!"

She was rather ecstatic, and moved even closer to the edge of the lake. Tang Yi-Bai was worried that she would fall in, so he held her hand tightly. She stood there like that, the lake right there beneath her feet when she dipped her head to look down. If she took just another step, she would be in the lake. And yet she was not afraid at all.

Yun Duo took a few steps back and then she leapt up joyfully. "Tang Yi-Bai, I'm not afraid of water anymore! I'm not afraid! Ahahaha!"

Tang Yi-Bai was also very happy. "Duoduo, I'm proud of you."

"Tang Yi-Bai, thank you!" Yun Duo stood up on her tiptoes to hook him by the neck and kissed him firmly on the cheek.

This sudden kiss sent a frisson of pleasant surprise through Tang Yi-Bai. He smiled and kissed her forehead in return.

Yun Duo stood by the lake and laughed rather wildly. She rubbed her hands together and said, "I can't wait to learn how to swim now. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Tang Yi-Bai chuckled. "I also can't wait to teach you how to swim."

In the afternoon, Yun Duo and Tang Yi-Bai had to handle some procedures — they were going to stay here for up to a month after all. She then returned home to grab some clothes, toiletries, and also some entertainment things. Before she left, Auntie Lu gave her a stack of money. Yun Duo did not want to accept, but Auntie Lu was very insistent.

Madam Lu knew Yun Duo would definitely have to spend money in the rehabilitation centre, and judging by this child's temperament, she would definitely pay out of her own pocket without asking for anything from Doudou. Madam Lu felt that since this little lady was being so earnestly good to Doudou, they could not mistreat her.

As for Tang Yi-Bai's clothes, they would have to ask Qi Rui-Feng to bring them over. Qi Rui-Feng and the others would be coming to visit Tang Yi-Bai in the evening.

Before dinner, Dr. Xu came over to check on Tang Yi-Bai. He found that Tang Yi-Bai's mental state was pretty positive — he had thought that Tang Yi-Bai had been putting up a front, but it's unlikely that he could fake it for so long... this young man was really admirable, able to keep his spirits up so well.

Dr. Xu brought some good news with him: After some research and discussion, the team had decided to invite his grand-uncle to attempt treatment. When that old man in his eighties heard that the person who had been injured was a young man who was likely to bring glory to the country, he had promised that he would do his best without any reservations. He would be bringing his own son along to provide treatment in person, and they were expected to arrive tomorrow morning.

Yun Duo's thoughts on this were along the lines of "it can't get worse, so they might as well try{死马当活马医: The original phrase here literally translates to 'apply treatment to a dead horse as if it were alive'. Basically, to hold hope in a dire situation and try anything you can.}". Bone fractures were the type of injury where as long as one did not mistake its location, it would definitely recover. Since Dr. Xu had no way to make the recovery process any faster, then they might as well try the old uncle's method.

That night, when it was almost 9pm, Qi Rui-Feng, Xiang Yang-Yang, Ming Tian, and Zheng Ling-Ye came to visit Tang Yi-Bai. Tang Yi-Bai's injury had happened at a bad time — all of them had already foreseen the serious consequences of this incident. As such, even the most carefree Qi Rui-Feng could not eke out a smile at this moment. They also were not very good at hiding their emotions. Each of them had glum faces and a cloud of gloom about them, making it seem like they were attending a funeral.

Tang Yi-Bai somehow found it a little funny, and then he felt rather moved.

Qi Rui-Feng said, "Tang Yi-Bai, take care of yourself. Don't think too much."

Tang Yi-Bai smiled and said, "You guys are the ones thinking too much. I'm doing quite well."

"The World Championships are no big deal, you know. They're not even as important as the National Games. Watch yourself properly, and you'll definitely get a gold medal at the Olympics!"

"Okay, I'll make good on our promise this time."

When Qi Rui-Feng left, he left a book for Tang Yi-Bai for him to pass the time. Yun Duo glanced at the book and saw that the title was "The Cute-Moe Wife of a Wolf-Like CEO 2".

Tang Yi-Bai flipped through the book casually, unable to read any more after just a few pages. Yun Duo said, "You should get ready for bed. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

"Okay, Duoduo. I want to take a bath."

"Alright, I'll help you fill up the tub."

After filling up the tub, Yun Duo returned to find Tang Yi-Bai day-dreaming in the living room. She said, "The water is ready. Go have your bath."

But Tang Yi-Bai did not move, just looking at her. "Duoduo, how can I take off my clothes with just one hand?"

Yun Duo slapped her forehead. "How silly of me! How could I forget about this? Wait a minute. I'll go get a nurse."

Tang Yi-Bai held her back by the arm. "Don't go."

"Why?"

"I don't want a guy to take off my clothes."

Was this an acceptable reason? Yun Duo was resigned. "Okay, I'll go find you a female nurse."

"Good. Find a prettier one."

"You!" Yun Duo clenched her teeth and glared at him.

Tang Yi-Bai smiled. "So, are you really okay with another woman helping me take off my clothes?"

She pouted. Of course she wasn't okay with it!

He grazed the tip of her nose with a finger and said softly, "Then I'll be in your care."

Yun Duo's face flushed red. Although she had once helped him with some biological problem, and their intimacy level was already up to a certain height. But, he really had not taken off his clothes in front of her before... naked and not naked were two completely different states.

Then again, hadn't she already seen his naked body a long time ago? Erm...

Tang Yi-Bai lifted his clothes a little and urged her, "Hurry, I want to be early to bed so I can be early to rise."

Heavens and Earth — the patient was the boss.

Yun Duo recited this mantra in her heart and then pulled up his T-shirt with a red face. This was the first time she could observe his muscles in such a dynamic way — from his abdomen to his chest, and then to his arms. Well-proportioned and powerful muscles were wrapped under smooth skin. Any incidental touch instantly made her heart rate pick up. Her face became even hotter, like it was being roasted over a fire, and she felt like even her breath was becoming heated. Her breath landed on his chest. His eyes narrowed and he swallowed.

Yun Duo tried to tug his t-shirt over his head, but he was just too tall. She could not do it even when she got up onto her tiptoes... She was a little frustrated. "Why don't you sit down?"

Tang Yi-Bai refused to sit. He only bent his waist slightly so she could pull his t-shirt out of the way. She had just removed his t-shirt when her lips had been captured in a swooping kiss.

Yun Duo: "..." Bro, you never miss an opportunity to tease.

She ducked her head quickly, pulling down his sports pants. As he was still stubbornly remaining on his feet, Yun Duo could only squat down to pull his pants down his legs. Thus, his long, straight legs were displayed before her, unobstructed. His muscles were firm and well-proportioned; their clean lines were reminiscent of the tail of a mermaid.

His legs were really just too long and lovely... somehow, she really wanted to touch them.

Boo hoo hoo, I'm not a pervert...

After completely taking off his pants, Yun Duo moved to stand up again but Tang Yi-Bai pressed down on her shoulders. He looked down at her and said quietly, "Duoduo, there's one more."

The last piece of clothing on his was his black boxers. Yun Duo said huffily, "Do it yourself!"

Tang Yi-Bai sighed regretfully.

After his bath, Tang Yi-Bai stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. The towel hung loose and low, looking like it would drop with just a light touch. He had not wiped off his body properly. There were still water droplets on his chest, and his hair was still damp.

Yun Duo had to admit that he looked especially sexy like this. Her eyes shied away from him, part embarrassment, part desire to look. In the end, she steadied her heart: He's my boyfriend! Why shouldn't I look?

Tang Yi-Bai saw her sneaking glances at him and found it rather strange. "What?"

"Nothing. Just... you're very sexy."

He smiled. "Thanks. Then, can you help me—"

"No!" She refused flatly. "You were just injured. Can you take it easy for a bit?!"

Tang Yi-Bai's eyes were innocent. "I was asking you to help me blow dry my hair. What were you thinking of?"

Yun Duo wanted to hide. She ran off to the restroom to grab the hair dryer and then ducked behind Tang Yi-Bai to help him blow dry his hair.

Tang Yi-Bai was not planning to let it go though. "Duoduo, you're such a tease."

Yun Duo played dead and ignored him.

Tang Yi-Bai added, "You've looked, and you've touched. Why are you so embarrassed?"

Yun Duo continued to play dead.

Tang Yi-Bai: "What's with that look? Like you want to molest me. Are you feeling like you really want to molest me, Duoduo?"

Yun Duo bit out through clenched teeth, "Tang Yi-Bai."

"Hm?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Tang Yi-Bai kept quiet, picking up his cell phone to play around on it. Yun Duo saw him open up Weibo and publish an especially provocative post:

I've been stripped naked by my wife today! ~(^_^)~

Yun Duo: !!!!!!!

She frantically said, "Tang Yi-Bai, have you forgotten that you're using my Weibo account right now?! Delete that now!"

Tang Yi-Bai replied calmly, "It's not your account. I'm using a side account of mine."

Yun Duo was discomfited. "So you have side accounts too."

Tang Yi-Bai showed her his phone, displaying his side account. Yun Duo saw that the profile picture on this account was the same as the one on his main account, and the status message read: "I am really Tang Yi-Bai".

Even though he was telling the truth, no one would actually believe it.

The ID handle of this side account was "Blossoming Waves (Lang Hua Yi Duo Duo)"{浪花一朵朵: FYI, this is also the title of the novel. It does not actually translate to 'My Mr. Mermaid' — this translation is a more accurate rendition of the meaning of the phrase. However, more explanation is needed so the next parts make sense. The characters read out 'lang hua yi duo duo', which directly breaks down to 'waves one blooms'. The 'yi/one' is contained in Tang Yi-Bai's name, while the 'duo duo/blossoms' is contained in Yun Duo's name and is also her nickname.}. Tang Yi-Bai gleefully explained, "See, this ID is a combination of your name and mine."

Yun Duo said, "Honestly, the first word is enough to describe you{The first two characters n the username Tang Yi-Bai is using is '浪花/lang hua' which translates to 'waves'. Here, Yun Duo is referring to just the first character 'lang', which on its own is often used to describe a person who is a profligate libertine with little sense of self-preservation.}."

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Next: Chapter 81

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