Ch 34

When he talked about Coke, Lou Cheng immediately remembered that he had bought a bottle of Coke the other night in order to make it more realistic, and he took a sip of it-

Lou Cheng’s ears were red. He doesn’t know if it was because the lie was exposed or because Ding Xuerun just touched his ear. He shouted in panic: “What are you talking about, what coke! That thing kills sperm, I never drink it!”

He rarely consumes carbonated beverages. He only drinks ice water when he was tired and hot.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it.” Ding Xuerun didn’t intend to embarrass him. He smiled and said, “Let’s go, it’s PE class.”

Lou Cheng reacted slowly to catch up with him. He was thinking crazily in his heart, did he know? He knows it! Runrun knew that he had pretended to be drunk and kissed him! Will he misinterpret him and think he likes him.

Lou Cheng stared at his back and hesitated to explain: “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean anything else… I wouldn’t do such a gay thing if you didn’t kiss me first that day…”

Ding Xuerun realized that he hadn’t moved. When he turned around, he noticed Lou Cheng’s face was flushed with regret, and he said, “Why don’t you walk?”

“…oh.” Lou Cheng didn’t dare to explain at the end because he was afraid the description would become darker and darker.

Within two days, Ding Xuerun received notification that he would be joining the national training team. Following a period of training, six of the most outstanding students will be chosen from 30 students to represent the country in IMO abroad. International gold medals, international silver medals, and international bronze medals will be awarded at that time.

The school announced it three times on the radio, and the whole school knew the name.

Ding Xuerun assigned a task to Lou Cheng the day before he left for the training camp: “I could be back in ten or fifteen days. Can you take notes for me while I’m away, Lou Cheng?”

“…Huh?” Lou Cheng thought he was hearing voices.

Because he was aware that Ding Xuerun’s learning style differed from that of others. Other students were scrambling to take notes, but he rarely wrote. Lou Cheng asked him, and he replied that everything was stored in his head.

Suddenly asking him to take notes for him. He really couldn’t figure it out: “My writing is so ugly… I’ll lend you other classmates’ notes for you to copy,   such as the one from Class One, Sun something.”

“Write it down yourself. Don’t copy other people’s notes. I don’t think your writing is ugly.” Ding Xuerun gave him a new notebook. The notebook was very beautiful and had a black leather cover. He continued: “You can listen more carefully and ask me if you don’t understand.”

“Then I’m sure I don’t understand.” He hasn’t studied for a long time.

Ding Xuerun shook his head: “It’s not difficult to understand. Take good notes. I’ll make you sweet-scented osmanthus when the osmanthus blooms.”

Lou Cheng’s eyes lit up for a moment: “Sweet-scented osmanthus? Is it delicious?”

“I don’t know if you’ll like it.” Ding Xuerun said, “My father made this for my mother, and then my mother married him.”

Ding Xuerun was going to the training camp for ten days, Lou Cheng remembered what he said and really begins to take notes for him very seriously.

The teacher lectured quickly, and Lou Cheng memorized quickly as he listened, but he only remembered half of it. Furthermore, the teachers in their class would never teach the same knowledge point a second time, so Lou Cheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and rush to the office to find the teacher who was teaching the class to read the courseware again.

The teacher was taken aback and looked at Lou Cheng as if he didn’t know him: “Why? Has the sun come out from the west side? Have you started to study?”

“…I helped Ding Xuerun take notes. Didn’t he go to the training?” 

‘Your notes are messy, and students like Ding Xuerun who study ahead of time don’t need your notes at all,’ the teacher said in his heart as he glanced at his notes.

The teacher specially opened the courseware and said: “Lou Cheng, if you didn’t understand some part, I’ll explain it to you again.”

Lou Cheng sat down and listened to the small class in order to take notes, but he still only understood a little and somehow he finished the task.

For this reason, he complained to Ding Xuerun: “You wouldn’t know… In order to take notes for you, I rushed to the teacher’s office to ask questions! It’s not easy for me!”

Ding Xuerun’s training is very strict, but the mobile phone is allowed to be used after class, and he replied: “Listen well.”

“My thoughts are all over the place! I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, but that parabola thing irritates me. No, the more I think about it, the more irritated I become. Do you think a can of sweet-scented osmanthus will be enough? Ding Xuerun, you’re too stingy.”

Ding Xuerun took a long time to respond, most likely because he was in class.

“Lou Cheng, you have to study hard and take the exam with me in the future. Then I will make it for you every summer.”

Lou Cheng felt indescribable, a little excited and a little happy when he saw the message, his heart racing wildly.

He immediately listened to lectures and took notes as if he had been beaten up. Even though he still didn’t understand much after a few days of listening carefully, the teacher frequently praised him in class, saying: “Look at how serious Lou Cheng has become!”

So he seriously thinks he can be admitted to a university and even uses his mobile phone to search the universities in Beijing to see if there are any ordinary schools near Tsinghua University and Peking University that he could attend.

Everyone thought he had taken the wrong medicine at first. When Lou Cheng said that he was going to take college entrance exams very seriously, Piggy was the first to express his disbelief: “Three minutes of heat, Brother Cheng will last for a week at most.”

Sure enough, after a week, Lou Cheng became a little depressed, especially since his motorcycle race was approaching. He didn’t want to study, all he wanted to do was race well and lead his team to a good finish.

Ding Xuerun’s training camp ended on the tenth day. He stood out among the 30 students who attended the training camp and will represent the national team at IMO.

Calls from Tsinghua University and Peking University came to his house, and not just from these two schools because they heard he wanted to study law. The National People’s Congress and Southwest Politics and Law also called in, not only calling Ding Xuerun’s parent but also contacting the school.

Ding Zhaowen was overjoyed to learn about his competition results, so he called Ding Xuerun and told him to do his best in the competition.

When the news reached the school, they put up a banner and hung it on the top of the school gate the next day.

Lou Cheng went to class in the morning and saw a banner that read: “Congratulations to Ding Xuerun, a student of grade XX on behalf of our country to participate in IMO.”

Before he entered the school, he heard many students say: “Is it the first place in our school’s second year? He is in the national team? Oh, my goodness.”

The parents who sent their children are also saying, “Look at other people who are good at learning.”

Lou Cheng had a sense of honor and walking with his head held up high, hoping to run into someone and say, “I’m this guy deskmate.”

When he entered the class, no one in the whole class reading early today, and they were all discussing: “I just went to the office, do you know what I heard? Old Dou said that Tsinghua University, Peking University, the National People’s Congress, and Southwest Politics and Law. Oh, my God, they’re all robbing him!”

“We’re all learned the same, so why is he the only one who’s having a good time?”

“People like us can only learn so much, but people like that are referred to as high achievers.”

Lou Cheng had intended to skip class and go racing, but instead sat silently taking notes. He was very hardworking for a while and was touched by himself.

However, Lou Cheng is unable to accept the knowledge being taught now; even half of it is difficult to comprehend.

He called Ding Xuerun in the evening and cried: “You don’t know how serious I am to take notes for you. I can’t go to play basketball. My hands are sore! This is too hard! Fortunately, I can use two hands, and when my right hand is tired, I can use my left hand.”

Ding Xuerun said, “Hold out your hand.”

Lou Cheng subconsciously extended his hand while on the phone, and was perplexed: “What are you doing?”

“I’ll rub it for you. You’ve put in a lot of effort to take notes.”

Lou Cheng stretched out his hand in the air, but when he heard what he said, he quickly retracted it, as if someone had rubbed his hand and his arm had gone numb. His ears were red, and he shouted: “Ding Xuerun, what are you doing! Are you coaxing a child!”

“Aren’t you a child? A childish ghost.” Lou Cheng was embarrassed and ashamed when he heard Ding Xuerun’s laughter over the phone. His palms were soaked with sweat, and he said at a loss: “Don’t laugh.”

He involuntarily remembered that night when he inadvertently rolled Ding Xuerun into his quilt. Ding Xuerun also encircled him with two arms and whispered to him that he was childish.

Lou Cheng only realized afterward, when did Ding Xuerun find out about it? Did he realize he was acting at the time?

Wasn’t his acting perfect?

Lou Cheng doubted his life.

Fearing that the conversation would continue to be distorted, he abruptly changed the subject and asked him: “Tsinghua University, Peking University, the National People’s Congress, and Southwest Politics and Law all want to admit you, right? Which do you want to enter?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll talk about it after the IMO.”

“When will the competition be finished? I’m going to participate in the CRRC road motorcycle race. Would you like to come and watch it?” Lou Cheng asked.

“After the competition, I’ll be able to return to school in about ten days. How long are you going to race? I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it.”

Lou Cheng said the race date, and Ding Xuerun nodded: “I think I’ll be able to catch up. Is this a team race? Or are you on your own?”

“There are awards for both groups and individuals. After winning the ranking in CRRC, I could participate in CSBK. After that, my next goal is to participate in  ARRC and become the Asian race king.” He talked about what he likes endlessly.

Ding Xuerun has purposefully learned about this. He understands that the CRRCis a road motorcycle championship, whereas the CSBK is a heavier and larger motorcycle championship. The first two are top domestic races, while ARRC is an Asia-wide race.

Lou Cheng was surprised that Ding Xuerun understood so well. He talked to him for a long time and told him that the drivers on their team were actually very strong, but that the most powerful was, of course, himself.

Ding Xuerun listened very patiently. After that, he said: “If you can get the first place, I will buy you Coke.”

“…” Lou Cheng’s face darkened in an instant.

Just now, the enthusiasm for talking about hobbies was shattered: “Can you forget about Coke?”

“Yes,” Ding Xuerun is always in a good mood when talking to him, “Then tell me why you are pretending to be drunk?”

Lou Cheng exploded: “I didn’t! I was really drunk that day! Believe me! Otherwise, how could I kiss you!”

T/N:  International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), CRRC (Central Road Racing Club), CSBK (Chinese Superbike Championship), Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC),