the promise sealed with our lips
With the arrival of another year’s sports meet, He Nuo who has been a spectator for many years, had gloriously participated as a player. He did not take the initiative to join, it was more like he was pushed to join if not there would be a ridiculous lottery. There’s no helping it, if the liberal arts class needed to perform something, there would be more than enough talented people ready, or just grab a handful of people. However, when the sports meet is mentioned, even if the girls were as skilled, it was impossible to produce a few Mulans to stand in for the guys to fight this half of the war. The time has come for all the guys, not one less to step forward for this class that severely lacks males. There was originally a rule that one person can only take part in two events. Taking into consideration that the liberal arts class have a lack of males, the school specially agreed for the males in the liberal arts class to take on one more event.
Under such care and favour from the school principal, the teacher was almost moved to tears. The teacher specially held a motivational meeting for the teachers and athletes, sending out a generous and humane message of “We can walk it through, climb it through, do not give up or give in, the true meaning of a sports meet is in participating”. In the heat of the moment, the students were also encouraged and were eager to get into action, getting ready to fight this war. It was like they were getting ready to take on Huashan Mountain1, largely excited to fight for the throne. The teacher took this opportunity and immediately had the class president to on the spot assign people for the events. He Nuo was exposed by don’t know which noble person that n years ago, Xiao He classmate was as fast as lightning so he was excluded from the lottery. He was directly placed into the 200 metre race, 1500 metre race and also the relay race.
When the teacher received the form which was fully filled, with a goat-like kind smile he went to the office and turned hostile – having a sinister smile. Then like a soldier who bravely shouldered thousands of metres, he gave out a shrill cry. It aroused half of the school’s attention, despairing every corner of the classroom.
The sports meet began with the sounds of gongs and drums, flags fluttering. During the entrance ceremony for all the athletes, Shi Yan really wanted to have a few more glances of He Nuo. For the first time, towards He Nuo, it felt like he was standing out from the crowd, and it is believed that others also felt the same. Because He Nuo was burned out of balance by the other competitors’ line of sight. There was only one reason: Preparing under the same environment, no difference in status, no difference in clothes’ materials, and with everyone being in their sports attire, he still shined in the crowd. He Nuo didn’t have any sportswear, it was Shi Yan who helped prepare it for him. He was afraid that his family would know about it, so he changed in the toilet after coming to school.
Although He Nuo has not worked hard on his limbs for many years and has not been specially trained, his innate motor cells were still alive. On the 200 metre race sand field, it could be considered surprising people with his success, unexpectedly passing the preliminaries. In the finals, he unequivocally got third place and it was a small surprise. The boys from the liberal arts class whose goal was to break the record of zero, finally accumulated points. Of course, what followed was people’s ardent expectations, and to double their efforts for the 1500 metre race the next day.
Both Shi Yan’s event were sprints, 100 metre and 400 metre. This person’s sprinting is ever triumphant, always being the first one to dash to the finish line. His only regret was not competing with He Nuo in the 200 metre race which was on the same field. However, there was still a chance, and competing in the relay race was it.
For He Nuo’s 200 metre race, it can be said to be Heaven’s great kindness, giving him the present of explosive power for the short distance. However it was naturally not perfect in every aspect, it was not long-term. For the 1500 metre race, it was a challenge and He Nuo had no idea on how to complete it. Originally, their plan was to follow their teacher’s slogan, if you cannot continue to run just walk. However, because of the results from yesterday the other schoolmates already placed them on a pedestal. Today that plan would go down the drain, they had no choice but to go all out. Shi Yan was asked in advance about the main points for long distance runs, and knew that at the beginning one should not exhaust all their energy, this needed longevity2 and still needed physical strength for the final sprint.
But entering the field, the theory of it and putting it to practice was not the same thing as if it was empty talk because new participants did not understand the actual process enough. He Nuo asked himself why he didn’t dash forward at the sound of the gunshot, being caught in the middle of people, not being in the front or the back. However, at the second lap he felt that the way ahead was long and had no ending. By the third lap, he realised that from the beginning to now he did not make much effort but why did the steps under his feet got smaller and smaller, why did both of his legs slowly felt as heavy as lead. After three laps, He Nuo already could not find the dawn of victory, he only knew that he was dragging two wooden stakes along.
Just when he was unable to gasp for breath anymore, a hand reached out from his side, pulling him forward, “Do you want to give up? Get off?”
“No.” Using the strength he had left to squeeze out that one-word answer.
“Then run, you’re almost there.”
He Nuo wanted to give him a smile but it would use up his fighting power, and didn’t.
At this time, the sports meet’s host standing in front of stage shouting words of righteousness through a loudspeaker, “Please don’t pace others, the students on the side of the track please return to your own class, do not accompany the runners. Students receiving the athletes please wait at the finishing line, do not enter the track.”
He Nuo was oblivious to what was happening outside of the competition, not going in his ears, he didn’t know what was said at all. Shi Yan did hear what was said clearly and understood, but what does it have to do with him? So as the loudspeaker continued to repeatedly deliver reprimands, Shi Yan continued to be indifferent to it. The moment he passed by the host on the stage, he even gave the “Angel of Justice” who shouted himself hoarse in front of the microphone a military salute – a Nazi salute.
The last 150 metres was really deduced to be the modern version of the Long March, the section that went through grasslands and swamps. He Nuo was practically dragged forward by Shi Yan, even his eyes were shut. After realising, Shi Yan really could not bear it anymore and laughed, “Lao Zi3 really is famous now, accompanying this tortoise in his race.”
“I, I really like, tortoises now, wish to be, wish to be a hibernating tortoise, not needing to run.”
“Reaching soon, you can hibernate soon.”
After Shi Yan dragged He Nuo to the finishing line and said the sentence, “We’ve reached,” He Nuo immediately softened into a pool of mud, his whole being collapsed and fell into a heap on the ground. Shi Yan hurriedly caught his waist with one hand and caught the body that was slipping down, He Nuo’s classmates were at the side helping to carry him. He Nuo’s body was unable to even exert a little strength, along with the arrival at the finish line, his bones no longer listened to him.
The voice beside his ear professionally said, “He needs to walk, do not sit. Support him and walk,” this was the physical education teacher. He Nuo opened his eyes to express that he couldn’t even stand, but the moment he opened his eyes, the earth was spinning, and he saw ripples of dark circles spread out. He Nuo groaned and retched due to the nausea. The classmates listened to the teacher’s instructions and tried to forcefully make him walk. He Nuo felt so terrible that he wanted to die in his heart, there was a wave of fishy smell rising in his throat.
Shi Yan diligently took part in all kinds of sports activities, of course he knew that it was wrong to sit down immediately after strenuous exercise. However, He Nuo had symptoms of collapsing. Large hands held onto his waist, wanting the classmates to let go. He Nuo had his eyes closed, finding support then leaning on it, hanging onto Shi Yan unable to stand and his head weakly drooped into Shi Yan’s chest. As if displaying the ‘Qian Jin Zhui’4, like a dead weight pulling down Shi Yan. Half dragging half hugging, Shi Yan got tired and started sweating as he brought him back to his class’ position, mainly because of the contribution of He Nuo’s resistance.
Back at his seat, Shi Yan sat down with He Nuo still leaning into his embrace. Looking at the blood vessels around He Nuo’s neck jump and his chest bulging, he felt as though his heart would jump out. Not only that, layers of sweat oozed out onto his forehead. Shi Yan asked Wang Feng to take the glucose drink over. In sports meets, there were always parents of students who provided glucose drinks from hospitals to give to the athletes. Their class did not have any glucose drinks anymore, Wang Feng went to the class next door to grab a bottle. Shi Yan took the bottle and fed him, Shi Yan had no accuracy and choked the weak He Nuo under him, making him cough and vomit. His complexion became paler. Shi Yan quickly poured the drink into a cup, taking a spoon and feeding him spoonful by spoonful.
After feeding around half of the 500ml glucose drink, did He Nuo stop having troubles breathing and stopped cold sweating, finally opening his eyes. Shi Yan still held the spoon near his lips, “Feeling better?”
He Nuo looked at the face in front of him with fixed eyes. In his dizziness just now, when the pit of his stomach felt suffocated and painful, this chest was sturdy and allowed him to depend on it. The world in front of him was dark and his ears filled with noise, but his heart did not feel any panic only because he was beside him.
“Confused?” Shi Yan looked at He Nuo’s expression straighten, he smiled brightly, “Drink more, the colour of your face wasn’t human just now. If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn’t have let you run, doing something stupid.”
He Nuo shook his head, the spoon Shi Yan held was still placed beside his lips, “Drink more, provide more atp5. You’re still not going to drink? You were sweating a lot just now, your shirt is already drenched.”
He Nuo was thirsty, not only was he thirsty, he was also hungry. However, he wasn’t thirsty in the sense of wanting to drink, not hungry in the sense of wanting to eat. It was a kind of skin hunger. When He Nuo was growing up, be it being embraced, kissed, getting touched on the head or being pat, there was none in his memories. Let alone mention an embrace which he can lean on. He Nuo at this time, suddenly had the urge to weep. The feeling of his own skin intimately against the other’s, taking in his body temperature felt good.
He Nuo stared intently, his eyes contained too many emotions: feeling touched, longing for something, feeling contented…… The young Shi Yan couldn’t see the emotions that contained everything, but was aware of his abnormality, “What’s wrong? Where do you still feel unwell?”
“San Ge, I think you need to change his shirt, it’s drenched with sweat.” Wang Feng said.
He Nuo only woke up from his dream after hearing an outsider’s voice. Wang Feng was sitting opposite of him on the chair which has been turned around, looking at him as he still held onto the bottle of the glucose drink. Plus, there were even more eyes gathered around here and looking at him. He Nuo then felt panicked, taking in a deep breath, unwillingly forced himself to sit up.
Shi Yan helped him up, “Can you walk? Go back to the classroom to change your clothes ba?” The running singlet which He Nuo wore looked like it was fished out of the water and the front of Shi Yan’s chest was soaked into a patch with his sweat. Going to He Nuo’s class to get his jacket and trousers, Shi Yan helped support and walked him to the classroom while Wang Feng helped take the clothes. Entering the teaching building, He Nuo then used the stair railings for support, looking up at the stairs that at the moment looked like a ladder. After climbing half a floor, he rested. “Can’t walk anymore?”
“My leg feels very sore, let’s stop for a while before continue.”
Shi Yan squat down to knead his calf, “I already massaged for you just now, I was busy feeding the glucose that I forgot the calf. Wang Feng, go to the classroom and open the door first.”
After sending Wang Feng away, Shi Yan kneaded a few more times. While crouching down, his hand reached behind He Nuo’s knee, and the other wrapped around his waist, picking him up.
“You-“
“I’ll carry you up, your legs will be sore the whole of today.”
“I’ll walk by myself, I’m heavy.”
Shi Yan laughed, “This time I’m carrying a live person, not heavy; just now when I was hauling a dead pig was it really heavy. You were shamelessly dragging me down, it took a lot of effort to pull you up. My neck felt as if there was a 200jin6 of pork hanging from it. I’ve never had such an encounter where one throw themselves into my arms like this.”
“You-“ He Nuo glared at him, unable to refute him.
Shi Yan’s footsteps were agile, as if he was not carrying someone which was tiring. “Place your hand around my neck, it’ll be easier this way.”
He Nuo submissively wrapped his hand around his neck, his face couldn’t help but snuggle into him. Shi Yan who saw this scene laughed, holding his hands tightly, and continued to climb the stairs.
When changing his clothes, He Nuo realised he had an outerwear, but he didn’t prepare clothes in advance. So Shi Yan had him wear his running singlet and shorts because Shi Yan’s events were sprints, and was all done for today. However, He Nuo was not used to wearing others’ clothes. For the opening ceremony, the school had specified uniform sportswear so he had not choice but to wear it during the ceremony and was going to take it off and return it the moment he left the track. Now he needed to wear Shi Yan’s clothes back home, although it was only on the inside and won’t be seen by his family to get scolded, he was still unwilling.
After repeating several times, He Nuo still insisted on wearing his own clothes. He decided to just cover up that shirt drenched with sweat, only changing when home. Shi Yan’s patience was exhausted, chasing Wang Feng back to the field, he grabbed onto He Nuo and took off his singlet. With all his strength, as soon as he pulled, He Nuo’s singlet came down from his head. He Nuo wrapped his hands around his chest, his slim body half naked. Yet, Shi Yan felt that the person in front of him was bright. The white and shiny smooth skin made him feel hot and uncomfortable to move his eyes away from the sight.
“Wear it yourself, otherwise I’ll take off my pants for you. Not like I didn’t take it off before.” Shi Yan’s voice suddenly turned raspy, taking off his running singlet and tossing it to him.
He Nuo was also in a state of confusion, especially when he mentioned that he had taken off his pants for him last time, all the blood rushed to his face. While changing, his hands and legs were aching and limp. Shi Yan turned around to see his slow movements, and in the end went to support him. Because of the sports meet, the chairs in the classroom were moved downstairs and He Nuo had nowhere to sit and change.
Putting on the dry singlet and shorts, then the jacket and trousers, He Nuo felt much more comfortable. Shi Yan wanted He Nuo to sit on a table which was placed against the wall, then made a request, “Don’t run in tomorrow’s relay.”
He Nuo of course did not agree to it, how could one easily go back on their promises, it’ll be too late for others to find replacements. Shi Yan didn’t argue with him, He Nuo came down today only to collapse. In the beginning when he was feeding him the glucose solution, he didn’t even open his mouth. People who ran finish were usually red-faced, but he was as pale as a ghost. Shi Yan absolutely did not allow him to exercise so vigorously like this again.
Final result: He Nuo’s legs were aching the whole night, dragging his aching and limp legs, he could not help but think that there was no general in Shuzhong7 and that the teacher would catch him as a vanguard. In the end, he found out that he has been retired from the race. Having been saved from being tortured, in his heart he secretly felt delighted.
t/n:
hi, I’m so sorry I think reading the raws there were more touching and cute parts and I tried my best to bring across the message but the feeling still feels different. This extra is before v2, sorry for not posting this earlier. Also when I was asking my friend for help, some phrases made her question whether I was translating a sex scene haha.
1 Huashan Mountain: I think a huge and tedious fight happened on this mountain, so the idea is that the students are ready to challenge this crazy task, I think.
2 longevity: I used this because long-distance running in Chinese is 长跑 and needed ”长”性 which meant something like needing perseverance, but I used longevity because of the ‘long’ in it and matches long-distance.
3 Lao Zi: Used to refer to oneself.
4 ‘Qian Jin Zhui’: 千金坠is a kind of martial art.
5 atp: adenosine triphosphate which is to help provide energy to drive many processes in living cells, e.g. muscle contraction.
6 jin: a kind of chinese measurement, 200jin=100kg.
7 no general in Shuzhong: lacking someone who is talented at something, in this case it refers to running for the relay.