TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 56

“The road is tough, but the future is limitless.”

Xia Tong was stunned by those words. They echoed in his mind, like a bell reverberating in the stillness of dawn.

It was the first time a stranger had so sincerely and profoundly encouraged and blessed him.

And not just any stranger—a league official! Being acknowledged felt… incredible.

Blood surged through Xia Tong’s veins, filling him with boundless energy. He clapped his hands over his flushed cheeks, struggling to control his wildly twitching facial muscles.

“Xia Xiaotong, if you want to laugh, just laugh! This is scarier,” Shi Ya teased, giggling at his awkward antics.

Xia Tong couldn’t hold back any longer. A wide grin spread across his face.

“Someone praised me! He said I have a bright future! And—and—he won’t stop me from playing King’s Tomb, right? Right?” He was practically bouncing, his short legs stomping the floor in excitement.

“Yes, yes, he’s on our side now,” He Youjin said with a chuckle, shooting an amused glance at Lin Mingfei.

Meanwhile, Lin Mingfei casually poured himself a cup of coffee, exuding an air of nonchalance, as if the scheming and posturing from earlier had nothing to do with him.

“Zero, seriously, at first I thought you’d just lock the door on Zhou Yanjun and not let them go until they begged for forgiveness!” He Youjin said.

“Come on, I’m the team captain, not the leader of a gang!” Lin Mingfei shot him a glare, his tone full of disdain. “Besides, we’re all civilized people. Wouldn’t it be better to resolve things with reason? Look, see how well that worked.”

He Youjin sighed, “I can’t believe it. That is you reasoning with them?”

Lin Mingfei returned with his coffee mug, laughing lightly. “You were throwing a tantrum, I was reasoning.”

He Youjin grumbled, “Lin Mingfei, you’re such a jerk!”

“Well, if this had happened two years ago, Zero probably would’ve done what you said—locked the door, drawn the curtains, maybe tied them up a bit,” Shi Ya chimed in with a laugh. “Seems like people do grow up, huh?”

“So what’s the result now?” Zhou Yanjun asked, glancing around confused. “Why do they still look so grateful?”

“Probably because they were touched by the halo of forgiveness shining from me,” Lin Mingfei said, tilting his head and emphasizing, “I didn’t make any unreasonable demands. All I asked was for them to arrange a training match with Saber-Tooth Tigers. To help us.”

“A training match with Saber-Tooth Tigers??” The group exclaimed in unison.

“Definitely not anytime soon,” Lin Mingfei said lazily, taking a sip of his coffee. “But before the league matches start, it’s crucial to face the strongest opponents. Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll win every battle.” He scanned the room, squinting. “Wait, what? You guys don’t plan on having a real match with Saber-Tooth Tigers before the league starts? You’re just going to show up blind?”

Everyone quickly shook their heads.

“It’s just… we didn’t think there would even be a chance to arrange a match with Saber-Tooth Tigers,” Shi Ya murmured. “After all, even Nine-Tailed Bird didn’t want to schedule one with us!”

“Well, whether they agree or not, that’s up to their officials,” Lin Mingfei said, unfazed. “They’ll feel the pressure, so Saber-Tooth Tigers will have to show some face. I think the deal Zero made here was pretty good.”

“Good fortune from misfortune!” He Youjin remarked, hands on his hips. “Xia Xiaotong?” He gave Xia Tong a playful wink.

Xia Tong sighed deeply and chuckled, “Life really is full of ups and downs.”

–

In the afternoon, Lin Mingfei took Xia Tong to Polaris’s private gym.

The P team was just starting their rehab, focusing on morning cardio. Their visits to the gym weren’t frequent, so Lin Mingfei tidied up the equipment and cleared a small area. He brought over a whiteboard and set it up.

“What’s this for?” Xia Tong asked, hands behind his back, curiously glancing around.

“Training you, teaching you how to multitask,” Lin Mingfei said with a mischievous grin. He rummaged through the equipment and pulled out a long hemp rope. After attaching one end to a lock on the wall with a loud click, he grabbed the other end and took a few steps back.

“Do you know how to jump rope? You just pass through this segment, then come out the other side,” he said, swinging the rope. The thickest part of the rope had a white cloth tied around it, hitting the floor in regular thwack sounds.

“I’ve never jumped rope before!” Xia Tong said. “But I’ll give it a try!” He stepped toward the rope, his bangs flapping in the breeze created by the swinging rope. He first stuck his head out, then leaned back, hesitating as the rope swung toward him.

“I’m scared,” he admitted, looking at Lin Mingfei for reassurance. “That rope is probably going to hurt, right?”

“It’s not that bad,” Lin Mingfei replied. “Just follow my commands. When I say ‘go,’ you go. Don’t hesitate! Hesitation will make you fail.”

“Okay!” Xia Tong nodded firmly.

Although he was still terrified of the rope, he trusted Lin Mingfei’s instructions. When he heard “go,” he plunged headfirst into the space between the ropes.

“Jump!” Lin Mingfei called out.

Xia Tong leaped, feeling the rope swoosh under his feet and then immediately bolting out of the circle. The rope swung up behind him, and the sense of success was exhilarating and light!

“This is fun!” Xia Tong grinned, turning to Lin Mingfei. “Let’s do it again!”

“Okay,” Lin Mingfei smiled.

Xia Tong picked it up quickly, darting in and out of the rope several times. He tripped twice, got hit twice, but it was bearable, and he soon began to master the technique. After about ten minutes, he was jumping through the rope without getting hit.

“Heh, heh!” Xia Tong beamed. “I’m awesome, right, Zero?”

“Not bad,” Lin Mingfei nodded approvingly. He set down the rope and took out a marker. On the whiteboard, he wrote a series of math problems—simple two- or three-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that required a bit of thinking.

“Next, I’ll make it harder,” Lin Mingfei said to Xia Tong. “While jumping rope, you need to give me the answers to these problems.”

Xia Tong froze, “Huh?”

Lin Mingfei didn’t give him time to hesitate. He grabbed the rope and swung it again. “Let’s go! First one: 168 divided by 3, minus 15!”

Xia Tong rushed through the rope, eyes still fixed on the whiteboard. “Ugh… 41!”

Snap! The rope cracked against his bottom.

“Ow!” Xia Tong yelped, his face scrunched in pain. He dashed a few steps forward, looking back at Lin Mingfei with a defeated expression. Lin Mingfei remained unfazed, not saying much, simply swinging the rope again.

“Again!”

“292 divided by 2, plus 70.”

“Uh… 216—Ow! That hurt!”

“99 multiplied by 3, minus 3!”

“Ow, ow!”

“If you don’t jump up, you’re going to end up like bamboo shoots with braised pork!”

“QAQ!!”

…

Forty minutes later, Xia Tong was curled up on the floor, rubbing his ankles one moment, then his little bottom the next, with a face full of despair.

Lin Mingfei brought over two bottles of room-temperature mineral water, crouched down beside him, and lightly chuckled. “Does it hurt that much?”

“Mm…” Xia Tong whimpered, to be exact, his whole body ached. The rope didn’t even spare his little face, constantly slapping him with its PIAPIA sound.

Lin Mingfei unscrewed the cap of a bottle and handed it to him. Xia Tong sat up from the floor, crossed his legs, and took the bottle, drinking deeply, gulping down quite a bit. He drank so fast that water splashed on his collar, and it took him a while to catch his breath.

“The pain is secondary,” he said, lowering his hand and staring down at the bottle. His fingers clicked it repeatedly, the ka-la-ka-la sound echoing. “The main thing… is that I’m mentally exhausted. How can I be so bad at something so simple… I get hit by the rope while doing math, then forget the math as soon as I jump!”

“Mm…” Lin Mingfei pondered for a moment. “Have you ever watched those animal circus shows?”

“What?” Xia Tong asked, confused.

“They have these fluffy little dogs, and they do math, then they pick the right number of dog biscuits as the answer,” Lin Mingfei said. “Their performance is flawless.”

Xia Tong stared at him for two seconds, his lips trembling into a wave-like line. “Brother… are you saying I’m even worse than a fluffy dog?”

“Ah, no!” Lin Mingfei was taken aback by his interpretation and froze for a moment, quickly waving his hands. “What I meant was, it’s just training. You’ll get it once you practice more!”

Xia Tong sniffled, wiping his eyes. “Wuwu! You guys can multitask, even the dogs can multitask, but I can’t!”

Lin Mingfei was speechless and wanted to smack his own head. After thinking for a while, he spoke again, “Actually… you know, Xia Tong? The reason you can’t multitask is that you’re a very focused person. Teachers really like kids who are focused, like you. The worst thing is a kid who’s constantly distracted, drawing people, passing notes, and looking out the window to see if the teacher’s walking by.”

Xia Tong blinked a few times, trying to understand his words.

“So?”

“So…” Lin Mingfei smiled, lifting his eyes seriously. He patiently wiped the water stains from Xia Tong’s lips and chin with his thumb. “Focused kids usually have great grades. And kids who do well in school, learning other things is no problem.”

Xia Tong thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up as if everything clicked into place. His big eyes squinted into slits.

“Brother, does that mean you were forced to become a professional player because your grades were so bad?”

“…” Lin Mingfei’s mouth twitched. “Huh?”

Xia Tong eagerly grabbed his arm and shook it. “Mm, mm, mm??”

Lin Mingfei slowly turned his face away. “No, I just don’t like studying.”

Xia Tong sighed, “Oh…”

The Alpha stubbornly defended his dignity. “It’s not because I couldn’t learn!”

Xia Tong suddenly brightened, slapping his bottom as he stood up. “Okay!”

Lin Mingfei: “… You don’t seem to believe me.”

Xia Tong beamed, “I believe! Whatever brother says is true!”

Lin Mingfei: “…”

He felt… dismissed!

–

Author’s Note: 

Lin Mingfei: I was careless, exposed my true nature as a poor student.

Feel free to donate for earlier/bonus chapter releases! Thanks for supporting me and enjoy reading 😀