My Soulmate is A Libero
After the Olympic finals concluded, Qiao Mingming said, “It seems like we’re the first ones to win among the big three men’s sports, huh?”
The big three refer to basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Although the Chinese men’s volleyball team had struggled for many years, they were now the most outstanding among the big three in men’s sports.
Newton scratched his head and replied, “You guys are indeed outstanding.”
Qin Chunxiao finally emerged from the forest of massive chest muscles. Fu Biyang was busy bumping chests with everyone, and in the process, he sent Er Leng flying two meters away, causing a chaotic scene. After Qin Chunxiao relaxed following the post-match celebration, the group finally settled down.
His teammates from the Great Apes team were always so lively, but Little Qin had gotten used to it.
At this moment, Newton was occupied with answering leadership phone calls and couldn’t be seen. Kristian came over with fruits to console them and mentioned that for the Tokyo Olympics, they had invited several special guest presenters. However, they weren’t sure who would be presenting the awards for the men’s volleyball event.
“Special guest presenters? Isn’t awarding ceremonies usually done by old officials from various associations?” Qin Chunxiao was puzzled.
In previous years, officials from various associations and organizing committees had presented the awards, right? Why was it different this time? However, considering that the world hadn’t even been hit by a pandemic in this reality, if there were any butterfly effects, Qin Chunxiao could accept it.
Chang Xiaole made an “X” with his hands and explained, “Originally, they planned it that way, but the Tokyo Olympics are unique. It seems that there was an informal vote from the public, expressing their desire to see more visually appealing or popular award presenters.”
Ding Rong turned around, his mouth twitching. “They won’t invite celebrities, will they?”
Chang Xiaole said, “How is that possible? The status of Japanese entertainers isn’t high enough to be invited to present awards at the Olympics. The honors are still presented by the old officials. However, for the medal presentation, they invite special guest presenters, such as retired athletes who were legendary in their respective sports. They don’t necessarily have to be from the same sport as the award recipients, and they can be currently active or retired. It adds an element of randomness, like opening a surprise egg.”
This was something Qin Chunxiao had never experienced in his previous life, or at least until he crossed over. Athletes would usually hang the medals on themselves after winning.
He understood now, this was just a way to make the ceremony more lively and grand. Considering how the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics had turned out, the organizing committee probably wanted to make up for it from other aspects.
Everyone looked at the summaries of award presentations for various events online and found that the medal presenters were usually legends of various sports. It wasn’t limited to the same sport as the recipients, and they could be currently active or retired. It was quite random, almost like opening a surprise egg.
Qin Chunxiao felt that his shoulders were about to recover, so he removed the ice packs and opened the thermos that Lu Xuandong had brought. Inside was chicken soup cooked with bone broth. He took a sip, and the rich aroma of the meat and the delicious taste filled his mouth.
The aroma of the chicken soup was so enticing that it made many people’s stomachs growl.
Xiong Wu covered his stomach and remembered something. “Squid, didn’t you say you envied Xiao Zai for having a boyfriend who sent him food during the Olympics? There are still four years until the Paris Olympics. If you work hard, maybe you can enjoy this privilege in the next one.”
You Ziyu, who was getting acupuncture on his right wrist, rolled his eyes when he heard this. “Come on, stop it. I just mentioned it casually, and now you’re fixated on it?”
Er Leng chimed in, “Exactly! Squid was just joking. He’s so busy with his studies, and he’ll be going to the United States to play in a club league next season. He barely has time to play games, let alone think about getting into a relationship. I have to tell you guys, Squid likes those gentle and charming big sisters who are good at acting cute…”
You Ziyu coughed awkwardly.
This was where the teasing about You Ziyu’s medical studies ended.
Meanwhile, Newton, after dealing with the leadership’s phone calls, called his wife and affectionately referred to her as “dear” during the conversation. Even Kristian, who was busy peeling oranges for Chang Xiaole, didn’t escape from the teasing.
Kristian was annoyed at himself for becoming proficient in Chinese, it allowed him to understand every word of their teasing. He tried to change the subject. “Hey, have you guys seen this news? The javelin champion asked for the phone number of the gymnastics goddess who presented the award to him!”
Everyone immediately took out their phones to check for gossip.
“Wow, the javelin champion is as big as a bear from the 2000s, and the former gymnastics genius who’s less than 1.6 meters tall, isn’t the body size a bit mismatched?”
“It’s not that bad. Look at Xiao Zai and Dong Zai, they’re harmonious together.”
“They exchanged phone numbers in front of the camera, and the javelin guy turned all red.”
“The gymnastics goddess was ranked 7th in the world’s 100 most beautiful faces last year! She’s a national treasure-level beauty!”
Kristian looked at his disciple and said, “Squid, wouldn’t it be great if a stunning beauty gave you the award?”
You Ziyu replied, “Hey!”
Squid now regretted ever letting these people know that he had a tiny bit of hope for finding love. If not, he wouldn’t be in this situation of being teased by the entire team.
He stood up, assuming a Dragon Claw stance, and said, “Hey, you guys can’t keep bullying me just because I’m a cephalopod. You should know that I have martial arts skills!”
Ding Rong stood up and struck a Ba Gua stance.
You Ziyu immediately sat back down. Unless he went crazy one day, he would never fight with Ding “God of War” or Qin “God of War.” As a person with self-awareness, he had long realized that his talent in this area was at best on par with Fu Biyang.
The award ceremony soon arrived. Qin Chunxiao, wearing the Chinese team’s uniform, stood among a group of teammates over 2 meters tall. He felt joyful and made a heart sign towards the direction of Lu Xuandong. Lu Xuandong hesitated for a moment, then mimicked a grabbing motion and reciprocated with a heart sign.
On television, Wu Di smiled and said, “Oh my, this is a display of love.”
Li Laiheng added, “Little Qin has a thriving love life.”
Everyone stood on the champion’s award podium, with the Russian team receiving the silver medal and the Italian team taking the bronze. The Russian team was in good spirits, and Qin Chunxiao found out that Anton’s girlfriend had previously stated that even if he proposed with a silver medal, she would say yes. No wonder Anton was in such high spirits.
Although the Italian team was disappointed not to win gold, they were happy to have broken the curse of not making it to the top eight and standing on the award podium. As a result, they all wore smiles on their faces.
This scene was quite rare. It was well-known that in competitive sports, often only the champions were truly happy on the award podium. Silver and bronze medalists were often seen crying if they didn’t make it onto the top tier. The collective laughter depended on the circumstances.
The presenter turned out to be an old man from the International Volleyball Federation. He had a face full of wrinkles, wore a suit, and had a large build, which made everyone instinctively suppress their laughter.
After the old man completed his part of the ceremony, the announcer continued, “Next, please welcome our special guest presenter…”
Someone poked You Ziyu, and both the tall guys and the short one on the award podium burst into laughter.
The announcer’s voice continued, “Silver medalist in the men’s singles figure skating at the Sochi Winter Olympics and gold medalist in the men’s singles figure skating at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, representing China, Jue Zhang.”
The Organizing Committee had surprisingly invited a winter sports athlete to present their medals to the volleyball players! However, at this point, everyone lost their playful mood. This winter sports athlete was indeed a remarkable beauty, and he had openly stated that he had a soulmate since he was an adult. He had kept the identity of his partner a closely guarded secret, so making jokes about someone who was in a committed relationship was inappropriate.
You Ziyu breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally spared from further teasing.
As the announcer continued, this highly popular figure skater entered the venue. Considering the performance nature of figure skating, he had long hair, and his handsome face and ethereal aura made him look like a celestial being from mythology.
He hung the medals around the necks of the athletes one by one, speaking in a gentle and sincere tone. His voice was clear and pleasant. “Congratulations to all of you.”
Qin Chunxiao locked eyes with him and replied, “Thank you.”
“Your eyes are very beautiful,” the figure skater casually said before turning away and posing for a photograph with them at the photographer’s request.
After the award ceremony, Qin Chunxiao walked away while occasionally glancing back at the figure skater, who had already walked some distance away.
Er Leng gave a thumbs up to Qin Chunxiao. “Xiao Zai, even though your waist isn’t as slender as his, I still think you’re the most handsome.”
The nature of figure skating meant that the athletes were lean and had well-shaped buttocks. The visual effect was a slim waist and round buttocks, and their backsides looked even more impressive one after another. As for Qin Chunxiao, he had been sprinting on the path of muscle building, and now his waist measured 73 centimeters.
Qin Chunxiao replied, “I’m not concerned about waist measurements.”
Lu Xuandong praised Qin Chunxiao’s waist for being tight and powerful and perfect in every aspect. Little Qin was confident in his waist!
Gao Depi walked over to remind them, “He’s involved in the medical field, just like You Ziyo. I met him when I was treating my foot. He’s of mixed Chinese and Russian descent, so he probably gave you an extra look. Don’t overthink it.”
Qin Chunxiao added, “I’m not overthinking anything! It’s just that my sister loves watching figure skating competitions, so… is his official height really 1.8 meters?”
As Qin Chunxiao spoke, his expression became conflicted.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few people on the team who followed figure skating competitions, and they all nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he’s currently the tallest among the top singles figure skaters in active duty.”
Qin Chunxiao remarked, “But he definitely looks taller than 1.8 meters!”
As a true 1.8-meter-tall person, whenever Qin Chunxiao stood in front of others, he could tell whether someone else’s reported height of 1.8 meters was true or not!
The figure skater who had just presented him with the medal was definitely taller than Qin Chunxiao, and he felt that he was about the same height as Gao Depi! That would be 1.84 meters, rounding up to 1.85 meters! Well, he had seen people exaggerate their height by a few centimeters, but this was the first time he had encountered someone understating their height!
The members of the men’s volleyball national team fell into silence. So, Xiao Zai was concerned about height?
But come to think of it, a volleyball player not being as tall as a singles figure skater… poor and adorable Xiao Zai. He must be feeling a bit down about his height today.
Youth & Bittersweet Aftertaste
Link Ke Bacaan
Serina merupakan siswi SMA penyendiri dan memiliki kompleksitas karena demam panggung. Karena trauma masa lalu, Serina yang suka menari terlalu takut tampil di depan umum. Walau begitu, ia memiliki identitas lain yang tidak diketahui oleh siapa pun. Dia merupakan pemilik akun di balik sosok misterius ‘kelinci_putih’, tiktoker yang kontennya berisi video-video dance cover dengan satu juta follower. Menjadi tiktoker membuat Serina lupa dengan sosok pecundangnya di dunia nyata. Namun, demi menggaet hati cowok paling populer di sekolah, Serina memutuskan masuk ekskul dance untuk mengatasi demam panggungnya dan membangun kepercayaan diri.
Tojoillust 