Chapter 198: Celebration in Yangcheng

Tianhe Stadium.

Xie Bingran and Xu Chen hurried out from exit 3.

Xu Chen glanced back at Xie Bingran, who carried that brown leather backpack.

He suddenly remembered what Coach Cheng Hong had said that morning—that Bing Ge hugged it while sleeping every night—and found it amusing.

Xie Bingran turned to look at Xu Chen and blinked her big eyes:

“What are you laughing about?”

Xu Chen: “Nothing, just happy for you.”

Xie Bingran: “Oh.”

Xu Chen: “I’ll get you a pillow or a big plush toy later!”

Xie Bingran: “Why?”

Xu Chen: “Something you can hug while sleeping.”

Xie Bingran paused, seeming to catch his meaning, a hint of embarrassment flickering across her cool face.

Xu Chen added: “How many days off can you get?”

Xie Bingran: “I applied for a few extra—it’s up to you.”

Xu Chen: “The victory celebration in Tiancheng is all set.”

Xie Bingran: “Oh.”

Xu Chen: “I’ve got another project in Yangcheng, so I’ll need to stay a couple more days. You could head back tomorrow with my dad and Li Rui.”

Xie Bingran kept her head slightly lowered, not responding.

Xu Chen: “Or you could stick around a bit longer and leave with me.”

Xie Bingran murmured: “Oh.”

That counted as her agreement.

Xu Chen: “Alright, I’ll sort out the company admin this afternoon to book your hotel for the next couple of days and change your flight.”

Xie Bingran: “I can handle that myself!”

Xu Chen joked: “Oh right… now that Bing Ge’s rolling in prize money!”

Xie Bingran didn’t reply, just smiled.

Xu Chen: “But let’s keep things straight—you’re taking leave to help with my dad’s company, so the costs go through them!”

Xie Bingran: “Oh.”

Xu Chen: “I swear, you’ve grown a bit taller, haven’t you?”

Xie Bingran: “Huh?!”

…

…

Baifu Square, downstairs at Yangcheng Restaurant.

Zhao Feng, Fang Tao, Cheng Yong, and their buddies stood by the flower bed across the street, arms around each other, laughing and joking.

Lunch was set for Yangcheng Restaurant, arranged by Xu Zhiquan, with admin head Wu Yue already reserving two large connected private rooms.

Xu Zhiquan was up there with Director Feng Siliang, Chen Ming, and Tian Fangfang, among others…

Li Rui crossed the street, holding two packs of Five Leaves God cigarettes.

“Rui bro!” the guys called out.

Li Rui opened the packs:

“President Xu got these local smokes for us to try!”

He handed out a pack to each of them.

“Bing Ge and Xu Chen are here!” one of the guys suddenly said.

Everyone turned to see Xie Bingran and Xu Chen approaching from a distance.

…

“Bing Ge!”

“Xu Chen!”…

Xie Bingran stepped forward, but Xu Chen deliberately hung back a couple of steps, sitting on the flower bed edge.

The guys grinned and clustered around Bing Ge, arms linked…

Xu Chen sat in the shade a few steps away, where a hint of cool breeze cut through the humid air.

He glanced back.

Each of them had a cigarette in their mouth.

Bing Ge took a lighter from someone and lit them up one by one.

Then came more laughter and chatter, though he couldn’t make out the words.

…

Two girls appeared nearby, looking hesitant to approach.

Xu Chen turned and saw it was Wu Feifei and Huang Qianqian.

Huang Qianqian looked nervous, while Wu Feifei shot Xu Chen a pleading glance, as if saying, “Help introduce us!”

Xu Chen found it funny and waited a moment before standing up.

He walked over to Xie Bingran and waved at Wu Feifei and Huang Qianqian, who carefully joined them.

The guys made a bit of space, letting the two girls get close to Bing Ge.

“These two flew in just to watch your match!”

Huang Qianqian kept her eyes down in front of Bing Ge and cleared her throat:

“Hey, Bing Ge, I’m in the same class as Xu Chen—you might not remember me…”

Xie Bingran said coolly: “I remember… Huang Qianqian.”

Huang Qianqian was surprised, then lit up with joy.

“Yeah! Bing Ge actually remembers me. I came specially to cheer you on!”

Xie Bingran finally gave a cool smile: “Thanks!”

Huang Qianqian pointed to her side:

“This is my good friend Wu Feifei—she’s your fan now!”

Wu Feifei was tall for a girl, but still shorter than Xie Bingran.

She looked up at Bing Ge and said softly: “Hi, Bing Ge, I’m Wu Feifei.”

Wu Feifei couldn’t help thinking, Bing Ge was incredibly striking…

A unique kind of handsomeness, with a cold, sharp edge that carried a boyish intensity.

Ice-cold and piercing, mixed with a sense of fragility and distance.

Bing Ge smiled at Wu Feifei but didn’t say anything.

Wu Feifei thought to herself, if only Bing Ge were a guy…

Xu Chen laughed: “Alright, let’s head up for dinner!”

…

…

Yangcheng Restaurant.

Two connected large private rooms.

Xie Bingran and Xu Chen entered surrounded by the group, and everyone inside stood up, applauding.

Besides Xu Zhiquan, Feng Siliang, Fang Jun, Yang Congxin, Wu Yue, Chen Ming, and Tian Fangfang, there were even reporters and camera crew from the City TV Station.

The camera operator was filming the scene live.

Xie Bingran looked a bit awkward, but Xu Chen smiled and gently pulled her toward Feng Siliang.

“This is Director Feng from the Publicity Department—you met during the promo shoot!

He came specially to cheer you on!”

“Hello, Director Feng!” Xie Bingran said quietly.

Feng Siliang: “Just now, Secretary Xia from the Publicity Department called to have me pass on his congratulations to you, Xie Bingran!”

He turned to Xu Chen:

“Also, our ‘Tiancheng support group’ not only made it on the City TV broadcast but also the national live feed!

Secretary Xia asked me to thank you again, Teacher Xu!”

Chen Ming added:

“I just got a call from Director Gao at the City Sports Bureau—he also received congratulations from the Provincial Sports Bureau…

So, let me add my congratulations to Xie Bingran here!”

Xu Zhiquan chuckled:

“Let’s all sit and eat—everyone’s starving, especially Li Rui and the others!”

Li Rui, Zhao Feng, and the rest laughed sheepishly.

…

The two rooms had three large round tables.

Li Rui and Zhao Feng’s group filled two tables completely.

Xie Bingran stuck with Xu Chen at the main table.

Xu Chen eyed the dishes and pointed out a few:

“Skip those—they have beef and lamb. The rest are fine and healthy.”

Xie Bingran: “Oh.”

…

With Xu Zhiquan’s outgoing personality, the atmosphere stayed lively.

He laughed heartily, steering the conversations.

Considering Xie Bingran’s quiet nature, the talk didn’t focus entirely on her…

Wu Feifei and Huang Qianqian sat across, eating while sneaking glances at Xie Bingran.

Xu Chen noticed and thought, why do these two look like they’re totally smitten?

Tian Fangfang was originally next to Xie Bingran, but midway, Fang Jun nudged her arm and whispered something.

Tian Fangfang smiled and swapped seats with Fang Jun.

So Fang Jun sat beside Bing Ge, eating with a straight face while occasionally glancing at her.

Xu Chen: “…”

Chen Ming approached, holding a hardcover notebook with ‘1982 New Delhi’ on it.

He smiled at Xie Bingran: “This is from Principal Huang Hua—he asked me to pass it to you!”

This notebook was the one Chen Ming brought last time when Xu Chen invited Huang Hua to join the ‘Tiancheng support group’.

It was a memento from the 1982 Asian Games, truly precious, showing how much Huang Hua cared for Xie Bingran…

Xie Bingran took the notebook, flipped it open, and saw Huang Hua’s handwritten note on the first page.

She didn’t say a word, but looked touched.

Xu Chen whispered: “When we get back to Tiancheng, I’ll take you to see the principal.”

Xie Bingran: “Mm.”

…

Once the meal wound down, Xie Bingran stood and went over to Xu Zhiquan.

“Uncle Xu…”

Xu Zhiquan saw it was her and quickly stood with a smile.

Xie Bingran kept her head slightly down, as if she had something to say.

Xu Chen had already come over, smiling at his father Xu Zhiquan.

Xu Zhiquan: “Kid, I haven’t properly congratulated you yet!”

Xie Bingran bit her lip and said:

“For this competition, the province and city will give me a good amount in prizes, and I get a subsidy from the team every month…

So, Uncle Xu, you don’t need to send me money every month anymore…”

Xu Zhiquan paused, then laughed warmly.

Last time, after Xie Bingran helped with the mechanical factory bid, Xu Zhiquan had sent her 50,000 as labor fees.

And he’d arranged for finance to send her a few thousand regularly—she’d received it for two months now.

Having attended her grandmother’s funeral, Xu Zhiquan felt for her tough situation…

Xu Zhiquan smiled: “Child, when I was young, I always wanted a daughter, but all I got was this rascal Xu Chen.

If I had someone like you as a daughter, I’d spoil you endlessly!

I can’t stand seeing you struggle, so if you need anything…

Xu Chen mentioned you signed some ad deal and didn’t even ask him for money—that’s him getting the better end!

So, me sending you money monthly is just me making up for it on his behalf!”

Xu Chen: “…”

Xie Bingran held out a box.

Xu Zhiquan looked down—it was a box of tea.

“I heard from Xu Chen that you like tea.

This is from our training in Beijing—they said it’s top-notch jasmine tea…”

Xu Chen scratched his head, impressed at how thoughtful the usually aloof Bing Ge could be.

Xu Zhiquan took the tea, looking moved.

He glanced at Xu Chen and muttered:

“Xu Chen, if you ever bully Ranran, I’ll tan your hide!”

Xu Chen: “??!”