Point to Point: The Fencer’s Heart | Chapter 5 | Bedhead and Search Histories | Novela.app

The next day was Sunday, a day off for the team. Although Lao Hu was a demon, he understood the principle of "slow and steady wins the race"—you have to pace the torture if you want it to last. It was a rare chance for me to sleep in, but before I could wake up naturally, I heard Lao Qi tapping on my bedframe, seemingly asking to borrow something. "Take it, take it," I mumbled, hugging my pillow and rolling over. "You can have anything except my underwear, just don't disturb my dreams." I had just drifted back into a daze when I heard Lao Qi cry out, "Whoa, Qiao Mai, not bad! Your search bar is a literal flood of Ling Xiao. 'Ling Xiao matches,' 'Ling Xiao National Games,' 'Ling Xiao Youth Olympics'..." My eyes snapped open, all sleepiness vanishing instantly. With a silent *shit* screaming in my head, I lunged off the bed and slammed the laptop shut. "Lao Qi, do you have no shame? Snooping through my computer while I'm asleep?!" "What do you mean 'snooping'? I asked to borrow it and you said yes!" I remembered that did happen. I looked over at his desk. "Where’s your laptop?" "It’s broken. I needed to look something up, and it’s a pain on my phone, so I asked you. I just opened the browser and saw it. Tsk, tsk. Look at this drop-down menu... let’s see if you’ve searched for 'Ling Xiao's girlfriend'..." The dormitory hallway was quiet enough this early in the morning that I hissed at him, "Please, keep it down!" I looked down at the screen. Sure enough, the search bar's drop-down menu was filled with entries starting with "Ling Xiao." Who developed this search engine? What an idiot! I vowed never to use this stupid engine again, only to realize that Lao Qi and Gao Dapang had gone silent. Both were staring at me with meaningful looks. I tried to explain. "I just wanted to find videos of his matches to study. What’s the big deal? I’ve never searched for anything like 'Ling Xiao's girlfriend.' Honestly, haven't you guys ever searched for match footage of your opponents?" "The team has all the match recordings," Gao Dapang said. "They're way more complete than what's online. If you want to see someone's footage, just ask Lao Hu." Straight guys were so naive! "Can I really ask Lao Hu for something like that?" "Mai-zi, let's talk this out calmly," Lao Qi said, patting my shoulder. His eyes flickered downward, and his lips twitched as he suppressed a laugh. "First, put some pants on. Maintain the image of the National Team." I quickly pulled on a pair of trousers. While buckling my belt, I said, "I can't just go to Lao Hu and ask for Ling Xiao's match tapes. That kind of behavior is... delicate. Do you understand?" Gao Dapang replied righteously, "No." "If you don't get it, figure it out yourself!" "I can't. Why is it delicate?" "Let's put it this way," I said. "If you got second place on an exam, would you sneak off to the teacher to ask for the first-place student's paper so you could analyze it?" Gao Dapang shook his head. "No. I'd go straight to the first-place guy and ask him for it." "..." Talking to these two straight men was an uphill battle. "Forget it, I can't explain it to you. Just keep this a secret, okay?" I turned and clicked the mouse. "Hey, Dapang, how do you clear this search history?" The National Men's Fencing Team was composed of a bunch of 24K pure tech-illiterates. Only Gao Dapang knew a little bit about Photoshop, which was why he often looked down on our use of Meitu. Whenever there was a problem with our phones or computers, we habitually went to him. Gao Dapang fiddled with it for a long time but couldn't get the name "Ling Xiao" to disappear. Then, Lao Qi actually suggested, "Stupid, just search for other things. If you search enough, you'll push his name down the list." Gao Dapang was amazed. "I didn't realize you were so clever, Qi-ge!" He immediately started typing. I caught a glimpse of the keywords he was entering. "Hey! Don't search for porn!" I hurriedly stopped him, not wanting my pure Lenovo to be defiled! "Oh, sorry. I forgot you're not straight." Then the bastard started searching for "GV seeds" in the search bar... I couldn't even look. What kind of monsters were in this National Team?! It seemed my sleep-in was officially ruined. I decided to wash up and go get breakfast. Thinking back on the awkwardness just now, I felt uneasy and peeked out the door into the hallway. Ling Xiao's room was diagonally across from ours. At the moment, his door was tightly shut, and no sound came from within. Ling Xiao was a man of extreme self-discipline; the concept of "sleeping in" didn't exist in his dictionary. By this time, he was surely already running laps on the field downstairs or swimming in the pool next door. I felt that even if the entire fencing team was wiped out by Lao Hu's torture, Ling Xiao would be the one to crawl out from the pile of bones, explode with inner power, and avenge us all! But really, as a fencer, what was the point of all that long-distance running and swimming? We sabre fencers didn't need that much stamina. Was it just to maintain his physique? Well, he was the "Prince" of the fencing team, after all... I scratched my hair and yawned, about to close the door, when I heard a *click*. Ling Xiao's door actually opened! This "door-opening kill" was too sudden. I didn't have time to shut my door before I came face-to-face with Ling Xiao as he stepped out. He was wearing a white crew-neck long-sleeved tee, a black Kappa backpack slung over one shoulder, and white Converse on his feet. Even with his usual poker face, this simple, clean outfit paired with that devastatingly handsome face made him look incredibly youthful and vibrant. When he saw me, he seemed—appeared—as if he froze for a split second. Then he gave me a nod and walked away. That greeting was classic Ling Xiao. Sometimes you couldn't tell if he was greeting you or just stretching a nerve-damaged jaw. After all, he never waited for you to say "good morning" back. I carefully analyzed that poker face of his. I didn't know if it was just my guilty conscience, but I felt like today's stoicism was slightly different from usual. The corners of his mouth and eyes seemed a bit loose, like he was only half-paralyzed instead of fully. Thinking of this, I felt a surge of panic, realizing that Ling Xiao's brief freeze might have actually been a display of top-tier acting... Uneasy, I walked to the balcony and looked down. Ling Xiao was getting on a mountain bike. He adjusted his backpack to both shoulders, and his silhouette disappeared into the shade of the trees. Was there any sight in this world more beautiful or spirited than an "iceberg" beauty in white riding a bicycle? Of course there was: the moment when you finally win a faint smile from that iceberg beauty after all your antics. Right now, I felt that if I could make Ling Xiao smile, I’d be willing to pull down Gao Dapang and Lao Qi’s pants. Though, if I did that, Ling Xiao would probably just think I was a pervert. Well, if he thought I was a pervert and condemned me with a burning gaze, that would be pretty exciting too... As I rinsed my mouth, I kept wondering: at the moment the door opened, was Ling Xiao subtly mocking me? If he really laughed, that would be terrifying—it would mean he heard everything! Dammit, why was he in his room today? This guy never plays by the rules! "Mai-zi, are you posting on Weibo today?" Lao Qi suddenly gave a mysterious smile. "You can take a selfie right now and post it. Great hairstyle!" I spat out the toothpaste foam and looked up. The mirror reflected a hairstyle that looked like a Super Saiyan's. I ran my hand through my hair in disbelief. Did I really meet Ling Xiao at the door looking like this? So the loosening of his expression wasn't my imagination? ...Oh, come on, Big Brother, if you want to laugh, just laugh! I wouldn't feel offended at all! Why hold it back... For some reason, I didn't feel a shred of regret for losing face. My only regret was that even after losing face, I still hadn't managed to make the handsome guy laugh... On a perfectly good Sunday, for an otaku like me, there wasn't much entertainment besides nesting in the dorm and surfing the web. I hadn't been on Weibo for a few days, so I summoned my courage and logged in. Great. They were still asking about Ling Xiao. Would it ever end? Ling Xiao hasn't said a single word to you people. I work hard every day taking selfies and coming up with jokes to make you happy, yet all of it combined can't beat one look at Ling Xiao's "frozen wasteland" face. Lao Qi commented, "Don't be salty. Rarity gives value; that's been the rule for thousands of years. Photos of Ling Xiao are hard to come by, while your photos have already been turned into sticker packs. Besides, a smile from Ling Xiao is a rare treasure. You smile like that every day, so naturally, it's not worth as much." I get the logic, but could you be a bit more tactful? Gao Dapang countered, "Mai-zi, don't listen to Qi-ge's nonsense. I love looking at your sticker p—I mean, your smiling face. It puts people in a good mood~" I pretended not to hear his "slip of the tongue" and forced a smile. Fine. Since I couldn't get a photo of Ling Xiao anyway, I just posted a Weibo saying I had a severe cold. I claimed the doctor ordered me to stay out of training until Wednesday and that I needed to rest, so I might not be checking in for a few days. Playing the pity card worked instantly. Fans immediately replied: *Mai-zi, take care of yourself! Health comes first. We'll wait for you! Next time you're on Weibo, remember to bring Ling Xiao along!* Heh. I don't need fans like these! *** I waited for Wednesday like I was waiting for the stars and the moon. Training at the fencing camp was actually quite dull—endless repetitions of footwork, drills, and sparring. Whenever I was being tortured by Lao Hu, I’d look over at Ling Xiao on the neighboring strip. In his white fencing suit, his footwork was steady, his movements beautiful, and his gaze focused. Especially his eyes. In a formal match, you can't see the eyes through the metal mask, but training requirements weren't that strict. Perhaps because I was used to seeing Ling Xiao's cold, indifferent eyes, seeing them "heat up" when he held his sabre created a contrast like a feline's eyes between day and night. For a gay guy with a crooked heart like me, it was nuclear-level lethal. "Qiao Mai!" Lao Hu, holding his DSLR, caught me slacking off. "Yoshi! Let's go!" I gathered my strength and resumed my attack drills. Lao Hu wasn't going to catch me again! On the other side, Ling Xiao suddenly sent Zhang Ting’s sabre flying. Zhang Ting was stunned by this sudden parry-riposte because he was the one attacking, and Ling Xiao was supposed to be practicing defensive maneuvers. Theoretically, he shouldn't have riposted, yet he had inexplicably parried and delivered a cut to Zhang Ting's sword arm. Ling Xiao's parry-riposte had always been a headache for opponents; people had even started threads online to study it. Even in a real match, few could dodge it, let alone Zhang Ting, who was caught off guard. No wonder the sword left his hand. I was also puzzled and glanced at Ling Xiao. He suppressed his heavy breathing, said "sorry," and picked up the sabre to hand it back to Zhang Ting without explaining the move. During lunch, Gao Dapang brought up the incident of Ling Xiao flicking Zhang Ting's sword away, seemingly finding another reason to nitpick him. "They were just practicing defensive moves. Why did he launch a sneak attack? It's so disrespectful to his teammate." I argued back, "You don't understand. It just shows how strong Ling Xiao really is. That parry-riposte was purely instinctive; his brain didn't even have to control it! That cut was so beautiful..." Lao Qi was picking cilantro out of his food. "Are you saying Ling Xiao's hands aren't controlled by his brain? Qiao Mai, your ability to insult someone while pretending to praise them is truly something I can't hope to match..." Lao Qi stopped mid-sentence—Ling Xiao had just walked past us with his lunch tray! The three of us instantly wilted like frost-bitten plants. I watched Ling Xiao walk to his usual seat by the window and sit down. I cursed Lao Qi inwardly for his big mouth; Ling Xiao definitely heard that, and he'd surely pin the blame on me. Lao Qi, you've been professionally screwing me over for twenty years! *** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation --- | --- | --- 全运会 | National Games | The premier multi-sport event in China. 青奥会 | Youth Olympic Games | Often abbreviated as YOG. 电白 | Tech-illiterate | Slang (short for 电子白痴), someone who is bad with technology. 美图秀秀 | Meitu | A popular Chinese photo editing and selfie app. 超级赛亚人 | Super Saiyan | Reference to Dragon Ball, used here to describe wild, spiky bedhead. 防守还击 | Parry-riposte | A fencing term where one deflects an attack and immediately counters. 剑道 | Strip / Piste | The playing area in a fencing match. 佩剑 | Sabre | One of the three weapons used in fencing.