Just in Time Chapter 88
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 88 Competition
The weather was perfect on the day of the sports festival. There was a slight breeze, and the sky was as blue as if washed, without a cloud in sight.
The students of Class 4 held artificial flowers in their left hands and balloons in their right, looking enviously at the other classes where girls in cosplay costumes held umbrellas and boys wore swords. Some classes were in formal dresses, and one class even wore mascot costumes.
Zhang Haize felt the need to encourage his classmates. He loudly said, “Classmates, let’s show our spirit. We may lose the game, but we won’t lose our formation!”
The students were obviously not encouraged, but at least they kept their spirits up. They walked around the playground, waving their artificial flowers and balloons, creating a festive atmosphere.
The first event was the men’s 100 meters. Yi Chenliang and Yun Fang went to cheer for Qi Huo.
Qi Huo stood on the starting line, waving to the crowd in a very showy manner, even blowing a kiss to the referee.
Chang Ziqi, who had taken leave to be a referee, was speechless.
The starting gun sounded, and Qi Huo shot out like a bullet. His long legs ran fast, and he even looked back twice before crossing the finish line, which annoyed the runners behind him.
Yi Chenliang’s event hadn’t started yet, and Yun Fang was about to do the high jump. Wu He and Chen Qianyang stood by Yun Fang’s side to cheer him on.
Yun Fang looked at Yi Chenliang. Yi Chenliang clenched his fist at him and said seriously, “Jia You.” (TL: same as “Fighting!”)
Yun Fang reached up to remove his glasses and said, “Help me hold these.”
Yi Chenliang looked at him through the lenses, feeling a bit dizzy. He quickly took off the glasses and saw Yun Fang smiling at him.
Yun Fang was wearing a pair of sports trousers and a white short-sleeved shirt. He had been growing taller recently, and he looked a bit thin. His short black hair looked soft and refreshing, and his skin was exceptionally fair and noticeable in the crowd. After removing his glasses, he seemed a bit unaccustomed, instinctively reaching to push his glasses but finding nothing there, and then squinting slightly.
He signaled with his hand, ran up, jumped, and easily jumped over the bar. His body drew a beautiful arc in the air. The wind blew up his shirt, revealing half of his slender waist, which caused a wave of exclamations from the girls watching the competition.
Yi Chenliang clicked his tongue in annoyance.
When Yun Fang came down from the field, the scenery around him was a blur. He found Yi Chenliang and reached out to take his glasses. Just as he touched the glasses, Yi Chenliang suddenly hooked the glasses away from his hand.
Yun Fang squinted uncomfortably, “Hey, stop messing around.”
Seeing Yun Fang reaching out again, Yi Chenliang hooked his finger on the glasses and dodged, “You were pretty cool just now.”
“Hmm?” Yun Fang felt a sense of insecurity without his glasses.
Yi Chenliang didn’t know why, but seeing Yun Fang’s soft appearance, he wanted to tease him. He hooked his glasses and backed away, raising an eyebrow at Yun Fang, “If you have the ability, come and get them.”
Yun Fang laughed helplessly, “What’s wrong with you now?”
Despite saying this, he still cooperated and took two steps forward to get them. Yi Chenliang, with a mischievous heart, held the glasses high in his hand, using his slight height advantage to keep them out of Yun Fang’s reach, and said with a grin, “Call me ‘brother’, and I’ll give them to you.”
Yun Fang couldn’t help but smile, looking innocent and harmless, “Brother.”
His voice was clean and clear, with a hint of soft laughter and indulgence in it, which went straight from Yi Chenliang’s ears to his heart, making his limbs tingle.
Damn it.
Yi Chenliang cursed silently in his heart, swallowed, completely forgot what he wanted to do, and handed over the glasses in his hand in a daze.
Yun Fang hooked the glasses and put them on, and the surrounding view became clear instantly. He looked at the dazed Yi Chenliang in front of him and teased with a smile, “You’re hopeless.”
Yi Chenliang was still immersed in that ‘brother’ and couldn’t extricate himself, feeling dizzy.
Yun Fang flicked his forehead, “Snap out of it.”
Yi Chenliang jumped up, covering his forehead and glaring at him, “Sh*t!”
Yun Fang looked at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and turned around and walked away.
Yi Chenliang hurriedly chased after him, pounced on his back and hugged him, excitedly asking him, “Did you just call me ‘brother’!?”
Yun Fang laughed lazily, ignoring him.
“You did! I heard it clearly!” Yi Chenliang was like an overexcited wolf cub, wishing he could chase his own tail in circles, “You did call me!”
Yun Fang let him go crazy, dragging him forward.
Not far away, the class photographer, Shen Zhouzhou, who “happened” to pass by, raised her camera expressionlessly, took ten continuous shots, and then calmly continued forward, taking a shot at the student who was doing the high jump.
Then she casually gave an OK gesture to the sisters on the stand who were about to scream.
The 4x4 relay race was scheduled for the morning.
The relay race for Class 4 was Yi Chenliang, Qi Huo, Yun Fang, and Wu He. The four of them ran very fast, all the way into the finals, and finally got first place. Class 4, which had been immersed in the sadness of artificial flowers, suddenly boiled over.
The 3000-meter long run started in the afternoon. Yi Chenliang and Qi Huo were very close to each other among the participating athletes.
“Younger brother Liangliang, I won’t let you win.” Qi Huo teased him.
“I won’t let you win either.” Yi Chenliang said calmly, “Yun Fang is waiting for me at the finish line.”
“Damn it.” Qi Huo laughed, “That’s too much. I’m being force-fed dog food even during a competition.”
Chang Ziqi had only taken the morning off and had to go back to class in the afternoon, so he couldn’t watch his competition.
Yi Chenliang didn’t respond.
The 3000-meter long run was a very tiring event. From the start, Yi Chenliang always maintained a position in the middle, running forward at a steady pace. Yun Fang was standing at the finish line watching him. Every time he completed a lap, he could see Yun Fang’s face. Yi Chenliang took this as a reward for completing a lap, and surprisingly, he didn’t feel too tired.
In the final lap, people around him began to sprint, and cheers and shouts of encouragement were heard everywhere.
“Go Yi Chenliang!”
“Go Qi Huo!”
“Class 4 is awesome! Beat them!”
“Quick, quick! Go!”
Zhang Haize and Wu He even started to run alongside him, shouting as they ran, “Beat him! Overtake him!”
Yi Chenliang looked at the person standing at the finish line and began to speed up.
The wind howled in his ears, and the shadows of people flew past him one by one. His breath was hot in his windpipe, and he stared intently at the figure waiting at the end, constantly speeding up his running pace.
Under the intense sunlight, he ran towards that gentle and dazzling person with all his might. The blood in his body was boiling and roaring, and he felt as if he was about to fly.
There was a burst of intense cheers around him, and people were excitedly shouting his name. Those voices were noisy and distant. He didn’t slow down, broke through the crowd, and with sweat and hot breath, he threw himself into the arms of the person standing at the end.
Yun Fang was pushed back two steps by the huge force, and then he hugged the person.
“Yi Chenliang, you’re first.” Yun Fang told him.
Yi Chenliang was panting heavily, and when he heard this, he raised his head and gave him a brilliant smile. For a moment, Yun Fang felt that he was even brighter than the sun.
He was glowing warmly.
After finishing the run, he couldn’t stop immediately. Yun Fang pulled him forward for a long distance to cool down, and then let him go to the podium to receive the award.
After receiving the award, both of their events were over, so they simply went back to the stands to kill time.
On the stands, there were people who were seriously watching the competition, some were chatting in groups of three or two, some were playing cards together, and some were even holding small booklets and reciting. Everyone was doing their own thing and it was very lively.
Yun Fang and Yi Chenliang chose a position quite far back. There was nothing to do in the afternoon, so the two of them sat in their seats, drinking beverages and eating snacks. Yi Chenliang took out his phone and fiddled with it for a while, then turned his head to ask Yun Fang, “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“What movie?” Yun Fang asked.
“The Ring.” Yi Chenliang said.
“Okay.” Yun Fang nodded with a smile.
Yi Chenliang was afraid of watching horror movies, even twenty years later he still didn’t like to watch them. But now, under the bright sun and surrounded by a lively crowd, he felt full of positive energy and fearless.
So Yi Chenliang took out his earphones, and they each put one in their ears, huddled together to watch the screen of the phone.
Even though it was the afternoon, the sun was still a bit too bright, making the screen hard to see. Yi Chenliang simply took off his school uniform and draped it over their heads, blocking the dazzling sunlight, and the dark screen finally became clear.
The phone was placed on the knees of the two of them sitting close together. Under the school uniform, their heads were leaning against each other. The eerie sound effects of the horror movie started, and Yi Chenliang reached out and grabbed Yun Fang’s wrist.
Yun Fang chuckled lightly, “Are you scared?”
“Aren’t you scared?” Yi Chenliang asked him in a low voice.
“A bit.” Yun Fang turned his wrist and interlocked his fingers with his.
Around them were classmates. They were only wearing one earphone, and they could still hear the broadcast and the sound of nearby card games. Their interlocked hands were hidden under the shadow of the school uniform, secretive and unrestrained.
To alleviate the tense and terrifying atmosphere, Yi Chenliang chatted with Yun Fang in a low voice.
“Do you still remember that TV show we watched when we were kids?”
“The one where if you stick your feet out of the blanket at night, a ghost will cut open the soles of your feet with a knife, collect the blood, and then turn into a mummy?” Yun Fang asked in a low voice.
“Hiss…” Yi Chenliang tightened his grip on his hand, “Stop talking about it.”
“I only told you when you asked.” Yun Fang chuckled softly, “I remember after watching it, I couldn’t sleep well for several nights. For a long time, I didn’t dare to stick my feet out of the blanket.”
“I don’t dare to do it now either,” Yi Chenliang said, “I always feel a chill on the soles of my feet.”
“Do you know how I dared to do it later?” Yun Fang asked him.
“How did you manage it?” Yi Chenliang asked him for advice.
“I put on socks before going to bed and told myself that these socks were made of steel, and ghost nails couldn’t scratch them,” Yun Fang said seriously.
“Pfft.” Yi Chenliang couldn’t help but laugh.
Yun Fang pinched his palm, “I’m not lying to you.”
“Then I’ll try it tonight,” Yi Chenliang said.
“You don’t even cover yourself with a blanket in this hot weather, how are you going to try?” Yun Fang said.
“Oh, right.” Yi Chenliang realized belatedly, suddenly saying, “But why aren’t we afraid when our feet are exposed in the summer without a blanket?”
“…” Yun Fang was stumped by his question, “Right.”
“Maybe it’s because the TV show was set in winter,” Yi Chenliang thought and said.
“That makes sense,” Yun Fang agreed.
This kind of idealistic fear, the time period was naturally also idealistic.
The two of them were talking and watching a movie. When they saw Sadako crawling out of the TV, they were so scared that they were almost sweating, their expressions were of wanting to watch but not daring to.
“Xiao Yi.” Yun Fang moved his gaze away from the screen and turned to look at Yi Chenliang.
“Hmm?” Yi Chenliang was still immersed in the horror movie, unable to extricate himself, his voice was a bit unstable.
“Look at me,” Yun Fang said.
So Yi Chenliang looked at him. The moment he turned his head, under the darkness formed by the school uniform and the eerie sound effects of the horror, a soft and warm sensation came from his lips.
The sudden stimulation and the soothing warmth blended together, rising from the base of his spine, and a wave of numbness and tingling sensation surged into his blood. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on Yun Fang's hand.
The two red strings nestled intimately together, indistinguishable from each other.
“Still scared?”
“…Not anymore.”