Heart Dust - Chapter 9
He Jihong asked, "May I come in?"
Shen Wei hurriedly opened the door and said with an almost forced smile, "Come in, come in, welcome, senior sister."
He Jihong was also carrying a bag of apples and bananas, and a bag of bottles and jars whose contents were unclear. Shen Wei's eyes widened in disbelief; he thought this joke had really gone too far.
He Jihong pulled up a chair and sat down. Looking at Jiang Boyu, she said, "You have acute gastroenteritis and aren't you resting? Have you seen a doctor?"
Jiang Boyu's face flushed slightly, but he said coldly, "I didn't have time. I'll be fine after a rest."
He Jihong still had a smile on her face. "Well, I can't just stop being our coach, can I? If I'm doing a good deed, I can't just leave it at that."
Shen Wei quickly chimed in, "Senior sister, we've already been very considerate. This is due to objective reasons."
To everyone's surprise, He Jihong quickly responded, "I think this is a subjective reason!"
For a moment, all three of them fell silent.
He Jihong broke the silence first. Standing up, she said, "On behalf of all the women's football team members, I would like to express my condolences to Coach Jiang. However, Coach Jiang, you still owe me a favor, don't you?"
Jiang Boyu didn't react for a moment. "What favor?" He looked up and stared blankly at He Jihong.
He Jihong smiled but remained silent.
Shen Wei looked left and right, wondering what she was up to.
Jiang Boyu suddenly realized. He nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes...yes, yes. I should thank you!"
He Jihong sat down again and said, "Thank you? No, you have to take action. Whatever your reason for not coming today, please don't hold it against me. This is also a personal request on my behalf, is that alright?"
He Jihong spoke calmly and softly. But to Jiang Boyu and Shen Wei, every word sounded reasonable and compelling.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Shen Wei had no choice but to turn to Jiang Boyu and say, "Old Jiang, what do you think?"
Jiang Boyu looked at He Jihong expressionlessly. Then he slowly nodded: "Alright. I'll only repay this favor to you."
He Jihong immediately stood up and said, "Okay, thank you then. You should rest today. See you tomorrow. I wish you a speedy recovery. I'll take my leave now."
He Jihong left without hesitation. She paused as she opened the door, then turned around and said, "By the way, the piece you just played was very beautiful."
In the end, she left Jiang Boyu with a gentle smile.
Heart Dust, Part Three
The next day was Monday. Around 5 p.m., the women's soccer team from the Class of '97 Clinical Medicine had already assembled on the playground.
Jiang Boyu understood that He Jihong's request for him to come again today was a way to save face. Otherwise, his gastroenteritis would have healed far too quickly.
Jiang Boyu, dressed in a Manchester United football jersey, short sleeves and shorts, stood in front of the female players and gave them a speech.
He wasn't wearing any knee pads. Wang Danyang's disappointment was obvious. She had kept her head down while Jiang Boyu spoke. She only snapped out of her reverie when Jiang Boyu called her name. She replied lazily, "Hey. What is it?"
Jiang Boyu asked, "You are the starting defender. When playing a defensive style, what are the key points of a defender's movement?" Jiang Boyu's face was serious, and his tough expression was as meticulous as his short, spiky hair—this was Jiang Boyu's style of doing things, clearly distinguishing between what was happening on and off the field.
Wang Danyang glanced sideways and deliberately dragged out her words, saying, "Whatever you say is the key point. I'm listening. You're the coach, after all."
Jiang Boyu's gaze didn't linger on her face for even a second. He then picked up where he left off and began to address the question he had just asked.
Jiang Boyu's deliberate neglect was precisely what the proud Wang Danyang couldn't tolerate. To Wang Danyang, Jiang Boyu's noncommittal attitude meant something—it meant contempt for her! She couldn't even provoke him!
She didn't hear a word Jiang Boyu said after that. But she knew he hadn't even looked at her. He was doing it on purpose. He was just going through the motions. He was suppressing himself—that was Wang Danyang's final conclusion.
After the training session, another round of group competition began, with He Jihong and Wang Danyang assigned to different groups.
Faced with He Jihong's rapid offensive surge, Wang Danyang's defense crumbled layer by layer. She didn't know how they were playing today; they were just mindless and emotionless!
Jiang Boyu almost roared at the top of his lungs.
"Wang Danyang, what's wrong with your surveillance?"
"Wang Danyang, yellow card warning!"
"Wang Danyang, you can go and rest now!"
Jiang Boyu substituted Wang Danyang before the first round of scrimmage was finished, replacing her with a substitute player.
Wang Danyang didn't say anything, and walked off the field without looking back. He sat alone on the sidelines, kicking pebbles with his head down.
Until the end of training, Jiang Boyu did not arrange for Wang Danyang to play again, nor did he glance at her once more.
After the team regrouped, Jiang Boyu's first words were: "Wang Danyang, the captain's armband can be changed."
Wang Danyang was enraged. She stared directly into Jiang Boyu's eyes—each word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth—"You have no right!"
This time, Jiang Boyu didn't look away. He raised his voice and said, "But I have the right to judge whether a captain is qualified or not! She should be the soul of the team, the source of morale. As long as the armband is on, confidence is there. You! Your performance today was unqualified."
Jiang Boyu's resolute words filled the air with an increasingly tense atmosphere!
Duan Youzhi's god-sister, a girl named Qian Xiaoxia, stepped in to smooth things over. "Wang Danyang isn't feeling well today, Coach Jiang. Let it go, let it go."
"No!" Wang Danyang interrupted Qian Xiaoxia, "Then—who do you think should get this armband?"
As Wang Danyang spoke, she untied the red ribbon tied to her right arm. Her eyes held a hint of defiance.
"The vice-captain will take over!" Jiang Boyu said calmly, his expression equally calm.
All the team members' eyes immediately turned to He Jihong.
Wang Danyang didn't expect Jiang Boyu to be serious.
Her voice was clearly trembling, and her eyes were clearly filled with tears.
"Jiang Boyu, you are very responsible and capable, but you didn't need to deliberately skip yesterday! You just don't like me, right? Just say so! There's no need for this. Whether you're the team leader or not is irrelevant!"
With a "Whatever," Wang Danyang threw the red captain's armband to the ground. He then turned and ran out of the group, disappearing behind the iron fence of the playground.
"Disband!" Jiang Boyu said sternly. He picked up the red armband from the ground and handed it to He Jihong. "Please take over."
He Jihong shook her head and said with a sullen face, "Don't you have a better solution?" She took the red ribbon, pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then said, "I'll keep it for now! But you're not allowed to leave as coach!"
Jiang Boyu left without saying anything.
The other girls dispersed, whispering amongst themselves. The gist of it was that Wang Danyang and Jiang Boyu had always been quite close, so why did they suddenly break up today? And it seemed Wang Danyang had something on her mind, not to mention that the usually refined Jiang Boyu was in a terrible mood today!
Only Qian Xiaoxia caught up with Jiang Boyu and whispered, "Try to think positively. Wang Danyang didn't mean to upset you on purpose. He even treated you to dinner! You're allowed to get sick, but others aren't allowed to act cute?"
"I..." Jiang Boyu was speechless and choked with emotion.
By the time Jiang Boyu returned to his dormitory after dinner, news of his fight with Wang Danyang had already reached Shen Wei and Duan Youzhi through various channels.
"Wow, she's amazing!" Duan Youzhi waved his thumb in front of Jiang Boyu. "You know Wang Danyang's nickname is 'Unapproachable'? She's always so arrogant. I heard her parents are both high-ranking officials in Wuhan, at least bureau level. Haven't you seen her roll her eyes at everyone she looks at? None of the boys in her class are even remotely interested in her."
Duan Youzhi rattled off Wang Danyang's secrets like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, which reminded Jiang Boyu of the practiced way Wang Danyang poured wine during dinner that day—she was clearly a worldly girl.
He said irritably, "What nonsense are you talking about? She doesn't even like me. On the court, let's stick to the facts."
Duan Youzhi said, "You confessed to Miss He way too quickly! You snatched the captaincy so fast and forced it under someone else's nose!" Shen Wei, who was sitting to the side eating ham and hot and sour noodles, chimed in, "Exactly! You were too impatient. Why remove the captain? Turning a blind eye wasn't enough; we won't win the championship—the emperor isn't worried, but you, the eunuch, are!"
This pincer attack from both sides left Jiang Boyu both angry and anxious. He simply grabbed a copy of "College English" and went to study.
Jiang Boyu hadn't been sitting in the classroom for even half an hour when a classmate shouted from the doorway, "Jiang Boyu, someone's looking for you outside!"
It was He Jihong again. And Qian Xiaoxia was standing next to her.
"You two? What are you doing?" Jiang Boyu, off the court, was far from his usual composed and commanding demeanor. He seemed somewhat intimidated by the two girls, and his words came out haltingly.
Qian Xiaoxia spoke first: "Hey, I've been looking for you three times. From the dorm to the playground to the supermarket. I didn't expect you to be so diligent."
Jiang Boyu scratched his head and said, "You guys—something wrong?"
Qian Xiaoxia spoke first again: "Of course! Can a girl find a boy first? Look at you, such a chauvinist!" As she spoke, she and He Jihong laughed first.
Jiang Boyu was momentarily speechless after being sparred with by Qian Xiaoxia's quick wit.
He Jihong then said leisurely, "Coach Jiang, is this how you repay my favor?"
Jiang Boyu understood; the two of them had come to settle scores later.
Thinking about this, Jiang Boyu stiffened his neck. "One thing at a time. My decision was not wrong."
"You're not wrong, but you need to do it the right way. She's a woman, you know. You should also ask her why. Maybe it's because she's on vacation!" Qian Xiaoxia spoke quickly and rapidly, like a machine gun. She couldn't stop talking for a moment.
"What holiday? Isn't today Monday?" Jiang Boyu asked.
Qian Xiaoxia's face flushed red instantly. She waved her hand and said, "Oh, just give me an example. For instance, if she's having some trouble or is in a bad mood, you should be understanding."
Jiang Boyu's voice also rose. "But the court is like a battlefield! Without team spirit, a weak soldier is a weak individual, and a weak general leads to a weak army! Whether it's your mood or something else, you have to resolve it off the court! On the court, you can only think about two words—winning!"
"They're lecturing us again!" Qian Xiaoxia muttered, pouting.
He Jihong smiled slightly and said, "Coach Jiang, you're a good coach on the court. Shouldn't we be good friends off the court?"
Jiang Boyu was completely confused and asked, "Who... am I good friends with?"
Qian Xiaoxia retorted, "With us! Do you want to be our enemies, never to see each other again after the game?"
He Jihong chimed in, "Actually, we can understand how you handled things today. But, even a prime minister can be magnanimous—you still expect her to apologize and admit her mistake? You're a man, shouldn't you take the initiative?"
Jiang Boyu understood that the "she" He Jihong was referring to was Wang Danyang. He remained silent.
He Jihong continued, "Competition is competition, but friendship comes first. Wang Danyang has praised you a lot behind your back!" Qian Xiaoxia stood to the side, nodding vigorously in agreement.
"Because we have training tomorrow. We need the one who tied the knot to untie it. Thank you so much. Really." He Jihong's expression was quite serious at the end.
Qian Xiaoxia concluded by saying, "Just one phone call, you idiot! We're leaving now. See you tomorrow."
Watching the two walk down the stairs side by side, Jiang Boyu stood blankly in the corridor outside the classroom.
He Jihong's two consecutive appearances seemed to be for him, yet each time she was completely businesslike, without any unnecessary words. And—each time she surprised him! He couldn't help but compare Wang Danyang and He Jihong in his mind. Although Wang Danyang was no simple woman, she was just a spoiled brat, childish! He Jihong was low-key, knew her place perfectly, and possessed a more sophisticated demeanor. Wang Danyang was always self-centered and loved to show off. He Jihong always considered the bigger picture and liked to be unconventional! Without the comparison, Jiang Boyu realized that He Jihong was actually more capable, more arrogant, and more complex.
Thinking of this, he felt a sense of camaraderie among heroes. But then, remembering how He Jihong always kept a ten-centimeter distance from him and maintained an unyielding warmth, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
Jiang Boyu returned to the classroom and studied for another hour and a half. Then he left the teaching building and found an IC card phone booth to call Wang Danyang's dormitory.
Busy tone. I called again, and the girl on the phone said Wang Danyang had gone out.
Jiang Boyu thought that if He Jihong hadn't come to visit him with fruit on Saturday, and if she hadn't forbade him to retreat on the court today, he wouldn't have bothered with this mess. Had he done something wrong? Could he just let Wang Danyang throw a tantrum? That would be what they call "an official who doesn't serve the people might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes."
Besides, if He Jihong hadn't come to him earlier, would he have taken the initiative to call her to show his magnanimity? What would he have said on the phone? Apologize to her? Beg her to keep her as captain? Jiang Boyu felt that these actions were not in line with his personality.
But in order to give He Jihong an explanation and to repay He Jihong for her favor, he still had to do it.
As he walked and pondered, Jiang Boyu arrived at the boys' dormitory building.
He immediately spotted Wang Danyang, hands in his pockets, standing at the entrance of the convenience store across from the dormitory building, his eyes fixed on the people coming and going inside.