Point to Point: The Fencer’s Heart | Chapter 43 | A Moment in the Dark | Novela.app

Since I couldn't accompany Ling Xiao to his match that evening, and I wasn't in the mood to hit the internet cafe with Lao Qi and Gao Dapang, I spent the entire night in the dorm playing my guitar. The stray dog downstairs howled along with me all night; it probably thought my playing was trash. If even a dog didn't like it, would Ling Xiao? That would mean his taste was worse than a dog's... Sighing, I hugged my guitar and collapsed onto the bed in defeat. I drifted off without realizing it, and by the time I woke up, Lao Qi and Gao Dapang were already back. Judging by the time, it was quite late, but my phone chose that exact moment to ring. The number looked unfamiliar. I let out a yawn and answered. "Qiao Mai, it's me." I froze for a second before recognizing Li Rui’s voice. I immediately sat up with a start. Just as I was about to ask why he was calling so late, Li Rui let out a heavy breath. "Qiao Mai, there was an accident at Ling Xiao’s match. I’m at the hospital." *** I scrambled out of bed and yanked on my pants. Lao Qi asked where I was going so late. "I can't explain now, Qi-ge! If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, help me spin a lie for Lao Hu!" When I reached the hospital, I found Li Rui leaning against a window in the emergency department, talking on the phone. "What happened? Where is he?" I asked. There was only one stranger lying on a bed in the ER, his right eye wrapped in gauze. It wasn't Ling Xiao. I was confused. Li Rui walked over and said, "This is Xiao Guan, Ling Xiao’s opponent tonight." I looked at the man’s injured right eye, feeling a wave of unease. "What exactly happened?" "Tonight was supposed to be Ling Xiao’s last match," Li Rui said. "I don't know what went wrong, but he seemed completely out of it. During a counterattack, he actually went for a head cut." I was stunned. In sabre fencing, a head cut is a legitimate move, though somewhat rare because the counterattack is usually exceptionally fierce. In a regulation match, it’s a scoring move and quite spectacular to watch, but regulation matches involve masks. Underground matches have no head protection, and the blades are sharp... Ling Xiao would never intentionally strike an opponent’s head. He was always disciplined in underground matches, aiming for areas with more clothing or thick muscle. He had never been one to lash out with such a dangerous, heavy-handed blow. "Where is he?" I asked Li Rui. *** I found Ling Xiao in the garden downstairs. He was sitting alone on a bench, hunched over and motionless, lost in thought. Before I could even get close, he spoke. "How is Xiao Guan?" "Don't worry, I asked the doctor. You nicked the corner of his eye, but the eye itself isn't damaged. His vision won't be affected. They’ve stitched up the laceration, and he’ll be fine in a few days." But it would definitely leave a scar. It was a blessing in the midst of misfortune. Ling Xiao nodded. "Is he awake?" "Not yet. The doctor said he might just be exhausted from the match." I sat down cautiously beside him. "Are you hurt?" Only then did Ling Xiao look up at me. "I'm fine." This man was always a man of few words, but in this moment, I felt like I understood him just a little bit. He said that just to comfort me, and he looked up just to let me see for myself. "President Li thinks that since you've already paid the medical bills, it's best if you come back with me," I said. "After all... the National Team wouldn't allow something like this to happen." "I hurt someone. I should at least wait until he wakes up to apologize in person." How could that work? The guy didn't even know who he was; showing up now would just be asking for trouble. "Do you not want to stay on the National Team anymore?" I didn't fail to understand his feelings, but we carried the image of the National Team on our shoulders. Sometimes, we couldn't just act on our own whims. "I have to go." "You can't." Ling Xiao simply fell silent. Here it was again—that non-violent non-cooperation! "I'm telling you, you're not allowed to go!" My voice was so loud I startled myself. I actually dared to yell at him? Ling Xiao watched me quietly. I couldn't tell what he thought of my outburst, but usually, when I was overly attentive, he was cold as ice. Now that I’d finally grown a backbone, he actually seemed to yield. In the end, he only said patiently, "If it were you, would you just walk away?" "Fine. If you're going to apologize, I'm going with you! It's my responsibility too, anyway." "How is it your responsibility?" "If I had been with you today, maybe this wouldn't have happened..." Ling Xiao pursed his lips and looked away. "It has nothing to do with you." "Of course it does. I'm your friend. I should have been there for your match, and since you hurt someone, I should be there when you apologize. If that guy wants to hit you to vent his anger, I should be there to take it with you. That’s what friends do." Saying this actually made me feel quite frustrated, but I hadn't confessed yet, and he hadn't accepted me. For now, we were just friends. Once again, he looked at me without speaking. I had no idea what he was thinking. In my anxiety, I stood up abruptly. "Do you even consider me a friend? If you do, we go apologize together. If not, then I'm leaving right now!" The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I really was trying to take a mile after being given an inch. Qiao Mai, how could you use reverse psychology on him? I turned to take a step away, thinking: *Believe it or not, he’ll just stand there and watch me walk right out the hospital gates.* I was already facing away from him, so I could only think shamelessly: *Whatever, I'll just play foul. My pride isn't as important as he is.* Just then, my wrist was suddenly grabbed. A surge of secret joy bubbled up in my heart. I turned back, pretending to be nonchalant. Ling Xiao looked up at me from the bench. "I do." Maybe he really was too exhausted, but in that single word, I thought I heard his voice tremble. Under the pale glow of the streetlights, I felt as though there were whirlpools in his eyes. If I looked a few seconds longer, they would suck away every secret in my heart. *** Because of my stubborn persistence, Ling Xiao eventually gave up on the idea of a formal apology. I breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, I felt terrible for the injured man, but Ling Xiao couldn't be kicked off the National Team. In a moment like this, I only wanted to protect him; I had no other choice. Unfortunately, our late-night excursion was caught red-handed by Lao Hu. "Where have you been?" Coach Hu was lazily blocking the entrance to our dormitory. I answered loudly, "The internet cafe! Playing LoL!" Lao Hu glanced at Ling Xiao and said with cold sarcasm, "I really didn't know our team recruited two internet addicts. If you love LoL so much, why don't you go into e-sports? Ling Xiao, don't think I don't know about you sneaking out of the base in the middle of the night. The selections are coming up. If you still want to stay on the National Team, you'd better learn some restraint!" I pushed Ling Xiao toward the stairs and turned back to laugh it off. "We will, we will!" Lao Hu pointed at me. "You too!" "Got it, got it! I'll keep my head down!" "What?!" "I'll show restraint! Restraint!" We entered the dorm building, but Lao Hu lingered outside for a long time before leaving. He really knew all the tricks. "You can't provoke Lao Hu. Just hum along with whatever he says and treat it like hot air. He really does mean well for us, though..." Before I could finish, Ling Xiao turned and headed upstairs. I followed silently. Perhaps because it was too quiet, the sound-activated light on the second floor suddenly cut out. I was plunged into darkness. Just as I was about to clap my hands to trigger the light, a hand caught mine. "The light on this floor is broken," Ling Xiao said, his voice low. "It's late. Don't wake the others." It took a long time for my eyes to adjust, but I knew he was right in front of me. In the pitch black, I took a tentative step toward the stairs. Suddenly, Ling Xiao took my hand and asked, "Are you afraid of the dark?" "What's there to be afraid of? It's just not being able to see. You adjust after a while..." He led me up the stairs. "When I was little, I was terrified of the dark. Our house was an old one with a huge courtyard, and there were woods nearby. After nightfall, there wasn't a single sound. When I went to sleep, I didn't even dare turn off the light. My father thought it was a bad habit and forced me to sleep in the dark. As a result, I couldn't sleep at all every night, but I didn't dare say anything. Even when I was in the upper grades of elementary school, I was still afraid to sleep with the lights off. It was actually quite embarrassing." We walked very slowly. The two flights of stairs felt like the corridors of a grand estate, as if we could walk forever. Ling Xiao had never proactively told me about himself. I was so surprised I didn't dare chime in, for fear of interrupting him. "Later, every night, my brother would come to stay with me. I still remember him saying the same thing you did—that I’d adjust after a while. I told him I couldn't. People are different. He said it wasn't that I couldn't adjust, but that I just needed more time than others. He wasn't wrong. Now, my night vision is better than most people's." "Your brother must be a very gentle person." Ling Xiao’s brother—from the first time I heard of him on the forums to today, when Ling Xiao finally told me himself—was slowly becoming clearer in my mind. As we climbed the stairs, with every step I took and every sentence I heard about him and his brother, I felt like I was scaling the stones of this man’s heart. Despite the cold violence he faced at school and a father who seemed strict and heartless, at least Ling Xiao had a brother who loved him. "How come I've never seen him? Is he abroad?" Ling Xiao didn't speak. After a moment, he stopped. "We're here." His voice was so soft it was almost tender, so much so that in the total darkness, when he placed his hand on my neck, I only felt a shiver, not a hint of alarm. "Thank you for staying with me lately. I don't have many friends, but I've adjusted to this friendship quite well." Hearing those words made my heart ache. "Goodnight, Qiao Mai." The voice faded as he left. My heart felt both empty and frantic. I felt like a big dog that had been gently patted by a grieving master. But a dog is always a dog; no matter how much it understands human nature, it cannot communicate with a being from another dimension. It can capture its master's emotions, but that ability is useless because it can never truly understand what it is feeling. By the time my eyes finally adjusted to the dark, Ling Xiao was gone from the hallway. Only the balcony at the end of the corridor remained, revealing a patch of starry sky as still as water. *** Back in the dorm, while I was washing up on the balcony, my phone rang again. At this hour, I thought it was Li Rui calling to check in, but to my surprise, the number was Li Xin’s. "Qiao Mai, I'm not disturbing you, am I...?" I could tell she had something on her mind. She had accompanied Ling Xiao to the match today; she might know something about his uncharacteristic behavior. "No," I said. "I just got back too." "Are you with Ling Xiao? My brother said he left the hospital with you." "Yeah. Is something wrong?" "There's something I wanted to ask you... about Ling Xiao." My heart skipped a beat. Just as I thought... "Qiao Mai, I don't know what happened. Today was his first day as my coach. I wanted to get to know him, so I kept him talking for a long time. He didn't refuse..." "What did you talk about? Did you talk about Li Rui?" "We talked about everything, including my brother..." Li Xin’s voice dropped significantly. "You know, I don't know what's going on between them. Neither of them will tell me, and I'm curious. I really hope that whatever rift there is, it can be resolved. After all, one is my brother, and the other is the person I like..." This was the first time I’d heard Li Xin say she liked Ling Xiao with my own ears. Although I’d guessed it, I was still surprised she could be so honest with me. She probably saw me as Ling Xiao’s best friend. Though it felt a bit bitter, her sincerity made it impossible for me to dislike her. "I told him about my time in the US, and I selfishly slipped in some things about my brother, thinking that if he looked unhappy, I’d just stop. But he didn't seem unusual at all; he even proactively asked me some things about my brother. We were fine while we were chatting, but later when we were fencing, he seemed really strange. I can't help but feel like his poor performance in the match today had something to do with that..." "What did he ask?" "I don't really remember. A bit of everything, the kind of things you ask in a normal conversation. Anyway, I told him everything he asked—about my brother, about myself, including how my brother met my sister-in-law, and about my brother’s fencing in the past. I even rambled on about my parents... I couldn't exactly ask him anything, so of course, I just kept talking about myself. I don't know what I said wrong..." Li Xin was clearly in a muddle right now because she really cared. I probably wouldn't get a straight answer even if I pressed her, but it was certain that it had something to do with Li Rui. I could only comfort her. "It might not be your fault. Don't overthink it. I'll ask him when I get the chance." "Will he hate me?" Li Xin, usually such a bubbly and lively girl, sounded completely dejected. "I really talk too much..." "If he really hated you, he wouldn't have agreed to be your private coach in the first place. At most, he just has some issues with your brother. Don't let your imagination run wild. Go to sleep." After hanging up, I found myself unable to sleep. I’d said I would ask Ling Xiao, but if he didn't want to talk, how could I possibly get it out of him? And even if I did, what could I do for him? I pulled the covers up, thinking that if he didn't want to say anything, then so be it. I didn't care about the past. As long as I could stay by his side and accompany him, that was enough. | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 劈头 | Head cut | A specific scoring strike in sabre fencing directed at the opponent's head. | | 小关 | Xiao Guan | Ling Xiao's opponent in the underground match. | | 佩剑 | Sabre | One of the three weapons used in fencing; allows for cutting as well as thrusting. | | 撸啊撸 | LoL | Slang for the game "League of Legends" (League of Legends -> L-o-L -> Lu-a-Lu). | | 声控灯 | Sound-activated light | Common in Chinese hallways; turns on when it hears footsteps or clapping. | | 负荆请罪 | Proffering a birch rod and asking for punishment | A Chinese idiom meaning to offer a humble and sincere apology. |