Elizabeth's performance today was perfect, and even Chris's cousins couldn't hide their jealous expressions. If it wasn't for Chris, how could they have lost the opportunity to have such a diamond bride.
Elizabeth was on the verge of tears when Chris put the engagement ring on her finger.
The dinner party lasted until the wee hours of the morning.
De Niro gestured to Chris, and the two walked into the study.
Elizabeth looked at their backs, seeming a little nervous about what De Niro would say.
Chris sat at the desk with his legs spread, his hands on the armrests, and his head slightly raised. No one would believe that De Niro was sitting opposite him in such an unruly posture.
"You performed well today, no one can see what is hidden in your mind."
"But you do know that, don't you?"
"Well, how long are you going to let the Taylor family be arrogant?" De Niro asked with a smile, the amiability in his voice revealed a chill.
"That depends on how greedy they are."
When Chris got up, De Niro spoke again, "I heard that you lost the qualifying match in the junior team."
"Because the opponent is too strong."
"Well, I also watched the game video. Although you lost, you didn't release the water."
Chris slams the door and walks out.
This semester, Lin Yifei had a hard time, and he went to bed before ten o'clock every night. Every morning, his morning exercise is no longer so casual, Chelsea will pinch the stopwatch to run with him. Evening training has never stopped, and Rex is also feeling the pressure now. As if to give him something other than money, Chelsea would always give him some pointers before leaving, although brief but very specific.
During this time, Lin Yifei began to have growing pains. Occasionally it hurts so bad I can't sleep.
Ivy, who was in the same room, gradually found out. At first he thought he was injured by a sports and was nervous, so he called Catherine, and the two of them wanted to take him to the doctor. After describing the pain, the doctor told me to eat more nutritious food, get enough sleep, and not exercise too much.
After Chelsea learned of this, they reduced the time of night training. Originally from eight to ten o'clock every day, it was shortened to eight to nine o'clock.
At night, Lin Yifei would apply hot towels to his painful areas. Sometimes, that fellow Rex would bring supper.
This semester passed like this. It means that the day to start the game is not far away.
The training camp started again, and Chris came to Washington from New York again. This time it was really called a fully enclosed training camp. The juvenile fencing team was sponsored by Eun House, the largest fencing club in Washington, not only provided a first-class practice field, but also arranged accommodation in a luxury hotel near the club.
In addition to the coach, Chris was accompanied by Elizabeth. Several other team members were whispering about Elizabeth's identity.
When everyone put down their luggage and gathered in the fencing hall, Elizabeth also came to the hall.
Lippman briefly introduced the training content, and then distributed the training form to everyone. Each sword type has its own sports field.
The men's saber team has five members, among them Chris and Lin Yifei participated in the single event, and Lin Yifei also participated in the team competition. There are three other players who are members of the team competition. Round-robin training will be organized within the team.
The morning practice was over, Chelsea and Lin Yifei were analyzing this morning's practice while walking in the corridor.
Lippmann was waiting for them not far away, and gestured to Chelsea, and the two walked into the tea room as if to say something.
Lin Yifei returned to the locker room with the sword in his hand, a group of boys were laughing and joking. Some even took off their shirts and twisted together to fight. Lin Yifei also laughed and laughed, especially when his roommate was pressing on his back, and then the other two guys also came over, Lin Yifei couldn't move under their pressure, he could only beg for mercy.
Chris walked out in silence, and Lin Yifei saw his stern face through the gap between their arms.
At this time, several other talents began to discuss.
"That Chris Osborne heard that he has a lot of background. You can see that everyone is followed by a coach at most, but what about him? There is even a girl. Don't tell me that girl is his assistant coach!"
"And usually he always looks cold. It's really uncomfortable!"
"Didn't you see that after my practice with him this morning, I wanted to shake hands with him, but he still looked like he was giving me alms."
Lin Yifei just listened and didn't speak.
"According to me, only Lin can control that guy. He only lost to you!" Charles, who was in the same room, put his arms around Lin Yifei's shoulders, "Remember to practice and fix him when you meet him!"
A group of people walked out of the dressing room to eat, but Elizabeth was leaning against the wall outside the door, as if waiting for someone.
Charles has long been displeased with this proud girl, "That fellow Chris has already left."
Elizabeth smiled and looked at Lin Yifei, "I was waiting for him. Lin, maybe Chris didn't tell you that I am engaged to him."
Lin Yifei smiled slightly, "Very good."
Charles frowned, feeling that the atmosphere was a bit unpleasant, so he grabbed Lin Yifei's shoulders, "Hey, let's go and eat, I'm starving to death!"
The other two boys also shouted.
"Yes, I have to take a nap after eating. There are two hours of practice in the afternoon."
The fencing team is very humane. Although it is fully enclosed, the real practice time is only two hours in the morning and evening. The rest of the time can be arranged by yourself, such as basic practice or finding other training partners.
When being pulled away by Charles and the others, Lin Yifei took a deep breath.
He knew Chris too well, that guy was too stubborn to be with the equally proud Elizabeth. But even so, he still felt very painful. The pain spread from the depths of his nerves all the way to his fingertips. At lunch, he couldn't even hold his fork, and there was a snap, not just the sound of the fork hitting the ground, but his heart hitting his convictions.
Chris sat just two tables away from them.
"I told him we're engaged." Elizabeth raised her eyebrows with a sense of pride, because she could hurt Chris by hurting Lin Yifei.
Who knew that Chris didn't even turn sideways to look at Lin Yifei, but ate his lunch silently.
"Don't you ask his reaction? He just smiled, as if what he heard was just gossip." Elizabeth elegantly forked the salad into her mouth.
Suddenly, Chris picked up the table knife and stabbed it in front of Elizabeth with a bang.
Everyone in the restaurant looked at them.
Elizabeth looked up at Chris, his brows drooped and he didn't show any ruthless expression, but at that moment she had no doubt that Chris really wanted to kill her.
"Can you eat in peace?"
At this time, a waiter walked over quickly.
"Sir, what's the matter?"
"Yes." Chris pulled out the knife and put it on the waiter's plate, "This knife is too blunt, please change it for me."
"Oh... okay." The waiter glanced at Elizabeth's pale face, turned and left.
The restaurant seems to have regained its original peaceful dining atmosphere.
Charles and the others were terrified.
"Oh my god, I was scared to death just now!"
"I thought he was going to kill someone!"
Lin Yifei blinked, he knew that Chris must have lost control just now.
After the practice in the afternoon, Lin Yifei showered a little tired and went back to the hotel with his protective gear on his back. He has become sleepy easily recently, and his legs are also aching faintly, and he knows that it is because he is growing up during this time.
His head almost hit the glass door of the hotel, but fortunately someone put his palm against his forehead.
"Does training make you so tired?"
A gentle voice rang in Lin Yifei's ears.
"Kevin?" Lin Yifei's eyes lit up, "Why are you here?"
"Hmm..." Kevin smiled inscrutablely, and flicked his finger on Lin Yifei's forehead, "I hired a lot of money to do the commentary."
"Haha, then you must be merciful when you criticize me."
Kevin took Lin Yifei's bag and put it on his shoulders, "Let's go, I will accompany you back to the room."
"I heard from Chelsea that you've been growing up recently." Kevin stretched out his hand and gestured, "Ah, it's true. Last time it only reached a little beyond my shoulder, but now it's up to my nose."
"Well, because it grows so fast, sometimes my legs hurt."
"No way, this is the price of growth."
As soon as the elevator door opened, Chris and Elizabeth were standing outside, and they were about to go downstairs for dinner.
"Hi, long time no see." Kevin smiled politely at Chris, but the other party showed no expression.
The two walked into the elevator, just as Chris and Elizabeth walked in. Lin Yifei's fingers brushed against Chris's hand unexpectedly, and the moment of contact made one's heart ache.
After returning to the room, Kevin soaked a towel in hot water and applied it to Lin Yifei's knee, "Go to sleep for a while, I'll call you again when we have dinner at six o'clock."
Lin Yifei nodded, and soon fell asleep next to the pillow. Kevin sat on the edge of the bed, kneading his calves and knees. Massaging the palms along the line of his legs, feeling the child's body temperature and the urge to grow fast, Kevin smiled softly, lowered his head and kissed his knee.
A week later, the World Junior Fencing Championships officially kicked off. A total of more than 300 young swordsmen from all over the world participated in the single and team competitions. After the welcome dinner on Sunday, the group stage starts on Monday.
The grouping results of the individual competition came out. Lin Yifei saw his name, and then looked at Chris's name. The two were far apart, one in group B and one in group H. That means they won't meet anytime soon.
"Your first game against Germany," Chelsea told him. "In terms of quality, he is not your opponent. But don't take it lightly."
"knew… "
After being reborn, Lin Yifei was really nervous in the first game surrounded by cameras. Even when he walked out of the locker room on the day of the game, he walked out of the passage with the same hands and feet, and was laughed by the teammates of the Saber team so much that he wished he could find a crack in the ground. In front of the passage is Chris holding a sword.
He glanced at Lin Yifei, his eyes still focused.
But at that moment, all the complicated thoughts in Lin Yifei's mind were withdrawn from his mind, and his heart became quiet.
Chris turned around, and Lin Yifei followed behind him.
Although the two of them played in different venues, they were held at the same time.
As Chelsea predicted before the game, Lin Yifei won against the German boy. When the referee signaled to start, his series of attacks and his steady pace surprised many watching athletes and coaches.
Not to mention that he hired Alvin Chelsea as his personal trainer, Lin Yifei immediately became the darling of the cameras.
Lin Yifei won, without any suspense. But this first win also made him ecstatic, he took off his mask, jumped high, and then ran to the sidelines and hugged Chelsea.
In the stands, his relatives and friends Catherine and Rex all showed pride for him.
At this point, Chris' game is also over.
The venues of the two are adjacent, and they met in front of the exit channel when they left the field. Lin Yifei stopped in his tracks, but Chris brushed past Lin Yifei without a trace of nostalgia.
My heart suddenly became empty.
When Lin Yifei walked out, Catherine greeted her with a big hug, and behind her was Ai Wei. Rex held a large bouquet of perfumed lilies and sent them into Lin Yifei's arms, "Put it away, this is the first time in my life to give flowers to others."
"Really? Your Lily and Nova haven't received it either?"
"They are very sensible, and they will automatically send me flowers." Rex raised his head, with a smug smile on his mouth, and the pretended smugness made everyone laugh.
"Okay, okay, there are other contestants in the future, I want to take a good look at it!"
A group of people returned to the auditorium, and the entire fencing hall was still quiet, only the echo of fencing.
And Chris and Elizabeth were actually sitting in the back row of Lin Yifei. This made Lin Yifei suddenly nervous.
what is chris thinking what is he looking at Will you take a look at yourself once in a while
Thinking of this, Lin Yifei laughed softly.
This is the fencing gym, and of course what Chris watched was the fencing competition on the field.
The morning game ended, Lin Yifei bid farewell to Catherine and they were going back to the hotel.
When I went downstairs, the phone rang, and it was Kevin calling.
"Where are you now?"
"Go downstairs."
"Where's the stairs?"
"EASTWING."
At that moment, Lin Yifei was pushed down violently.
He collapsed in terror, reaching out to grab something, but there was nothing but air.
Suddenly, someone stretched out his arm to catch him before he fell to the ground, and he crashed into an embrace, with a refreshing scent of men's perfume in his nostrils.
The heart hanging in the air finally fell back, Lin Yifei reached out and grabbed the other's arm, "Thank you."
After standing still, I realized that the person was Kevin.
"Kevin... why are you here?"
At this moment, Lin Yifei realized that the expression on Kevin's face was extremely cold.
Lin Yifei turned his head following his gaze, and saw Elizabeth standing on the stairs. She stared at Lin Yifei, as if she would draw a knife at any moment.
"Miss Taylor, your behavior just now doesn't seem to conform to the tutor of a famous lady?" Kevin's voice was cold, and the sense of oppression suppressed the other party's ability to think along the optic nerve.
Elizabeth was stunned on the spot, and said after two or three seconds: "I didn't mean it. Isn't Mr. Phil the hero who came here in time to save the beauty?"
Kevin smiled slightly, "I should tell De Niro Osborn about this matter, let him think about it more."
"You... how do you know Grandpa De Niro?" Elizabeth's face changed.
"There are big chaebols like the Osborne family in the United States, but it doesn't mean that there are no other nobles in Europe." After Kevin finished speaking, he clasped Lin Yifei's shoulders and turned to leave.
"How...how do you know about Oz's family? What do you mean by European nobles?" Lin Yifei showed a surprised expression.
"Nothing interesting." Kevin opened the car door, pushed Lin Yifei in, then sat on the driver's seat, leaned on the steering wheel and laughed, "Those who know the Osborne Consortium of course know the Osborne Family. Listen to it after attending a few banquets Some upper-class gossip, you know De Niro of the Ozben family, I have no power or power, but I have some money."
"So... you were scaring Elizabeth just now?" Lin Yifei was stunned.
"Of course." Kevin looked at Lin Yifei, "Did you sprain anything just now?"
"No. You came so coincidentally and so quickly that I didn't even have a chance to get hurt."
"It's not a coincidence, didn't you tell me you were on the stairs in Eastwing? I came to see you and wanted to pick you up for lunch."
At this time, Elizabeth looked at the ticket in front of her and gritted her teeth.
She ran after Chris, who was carrying the gym bag, and tried to grab his arm and try to turn him around, but Chris just shook her off.
"Don't touch me. I don't want to be pushed down the stairs by you one day."
Elizabeth laughed, "Ha, you sent someone to watch your Lin? Don't you remember what you promised De Niro?"
Chris sneered, "You made a mistake, it wasn't Yifei I sent someone to watch, it was you."
"Chris!" Elizabeth raised her voice.
"George will send you to De Niro himself, and you figure out how to explain your impulse."
"So you find an excuse to drive me away so you can watch Lin without worrying, right? It's like in the audience today, you think I don't know that you didn't watch the game at all, you just watched and sat in front of you The back of that person!" Elizabeth's hysteria caused many passers-by to turn around and talk.
Chris came over step by step and pressed her against the wall, her shoulder hit her so that she was about to cry.
"Did you know the time he fell down the stairs at Ozborne's house?"
"So you put thick New Zealand wool carpets on all the stairs in the Ozborne house." Elizabeth smiled mockingly.
"He bled a lot that day. My father held his head and his hands were covered with blood. He slept for days and didn't wake up." Chris's cold breath brushed Elizabeth's skin, and the two of them were very close , but not half intimate.
"What do you want to do… "
"I want to throw you down the stairs. In order for me to hold myself back, you'd better not show up in front of me."
After speaking, Chris let go of Elizabeth.
Until Chris walked away, Elizabeth, whose legs were weak, almost sat on the ground.
The next morning's Sports Weekly, a photo of Lin Yifei having lunch with Kevin was published. In front of the dining table, Lin Yifei's napkin fell down, and Kevin was putting it on for him very patiently, as if he wanted to hug Lin Yifei into his arms. The headline is that the world champion favors Chinese teenagers. The content quoted Kevin's commentary on Lin Yifei's game, which clearly expressed Kevin Phil's appreciation for Lin Yifei.
Just like Kevin's evaluation of Lin Yifei, Lin Yifei performed well all the way and entered the quarterfinals. Everyone held a small celebration for him. At the end of the celebration, Rex asked Lin Yifei to go out for a walk.
The night outside the hotel is sultry.
Lin Yifei and Rex walked side by side.
"I remember the first time I saw you participating in the middle school student league competition. Your handsome and fierce figure made me unable to take my eyes off." Rex nodded, looking at his toes.
"Oh, you said that's why you..."
"Is it because I like you?" Rex smiled slightly, "I still like you now. Seeing you remain calm under so many cameras, I found myself liking you even more."
"Rex—" Lin Yifei frowned, looking helpless.
"What's the matter? Did I like you make you so stressed?" Rex turned around and watched Lin Yifei walking backwards.
He is a handsome boy, even the dazzling red hair has become somewhat dreamy under the rendering of the city's night lights.
"No, it's my honor to be liked by you." Lin Yifei bumped his shoulder, maybe he was once frightened by this guy's forceful kiss in the laboratory, but he will always remember that this guy insisted on being himself no matter how tired he was sparring.
"Lin, I'm going back to France." When Rex finished speaking, he stopped.
Lin Yifei looked at him, the lights of the shop beside him reflected on Rex's side face, peaceful and handsome.
"go back… "
For a moment, Lin Yifei didn't know what to say. For the first time, he realized that he had gotten used to Rex's presence unconsciously.
This person likes himself, but never puts any pressure on him. He was by his side, even after Chris left, Lin Yifei never felt lonely.
"My mother and my father are back together, so I'm going back to France. And after watching your game, I feel like I'm going back."
"Why?" Lin Yifei frowned, Rex smiled, and reached out to touch the center of his brow.
"Don't show such an expression, I will be reluctant to leave. I have reached the age to participate in the World Championships. When I go back, I will apply to the French Fencing Federation to participate in the qualifying competition. One day we will meet at the World Championships or even the Olympics. .At that time, you will look at me seriously." When Rex said this, he was full of confidence.
Suddenly the whole street was blacked out, only the faint light of the buildings in the distance.
Pedestrians on the street were discussing, only Rex and Lin Yifei were still standing there.
In Lin Yifei's eyes, Rex suddenly became extremely bright.
"So next time we meet again, we will be rivals." Lin Yifei's lips opened into a round arc.
"Yes." Rex put his hands in his pockets, leaned forward, turned his face to kiss Lin Yifei's lips.