Eternal Burning

Chapter 18 – ‘Willful And Picky.’

Shang Muxiao stays in the lead, even drawing away from the second bike by more than a second in the first few laps.

“This circuit, being near the grandstands, was designed to be a series of turns when it was first built in order to increase watchability, while after the series of turns, where the audience cannot see, the road is mostly straight.” The race will stretch over forty minutes. Perhaps the racers are holding back a bit since it has just started, with more of their spots changing occurring in the race, while the top three remain largely unchanged.

The race is not so thrilling, so the commentator once again focuses his commentary on the racers, continuing his previously unfinished introduction of the racers’ bikes.

This race will run for twenty-two laps, and every two minutes, Shang Muxiao will pass underneath our box at 300 km/h, so fast that he is like a blue lightning bolt, occurring so many times that he is already far away before our eyes can even focus on him.

The gap between the Six-Eyed Demon in the second spot and Zhou Yanyi in the third is very narrow. Zhou Yanyi seems to be always looking for an opportunity to try and overtake. But the Six-Eyed Demon is a skilled and experienced driver, holding him back time and again, not allowing him to do as he wanted.

“Beautiful, very wise beyond his years of experience; the Six-Eyed Demon is holding on to the second spot with might and main and not letting the Ducati overtake him easily! The speed between him and the first bike has also shrunk to 0.6 seconds, I believe a very tight battle for victory awaits us in the last few laps.”

As the commentator has said, by the twelfth lap and halfway through the race, each and every one of the racers no longer hold their strength. The Six-Eyed Demon also gradually starts to increase his speed, shaking off the clinging Zhou Yanyi by a little bit and taking on the challenge for the first spot.

One lap, two laps pass…

The lime green Six-Eyed Demon is about to catch up with Shang Muxiao, and both are only half a bike length away.

By the sixteenth lap, as the pair once again races next to each other across the main grandstand, the thrilling chase elicits loud cheers from the audience.

“Six laps to go, the Six-Eyed Demon has further narrowed the gap to the first spot using his thorough cornering skills…”

As they cross the curve, the rider’s weight is skewed to one side and his knees are almost on the ground, looking like he’s about to tip over at any moment, and the fact that Shang Muxiao is really close to the opponent’s bike puts people on edge, fearing that they might accidentally collide.

On the nineteenth lap, the Six-Eyed Demon once again attempts to overtake as they cross a curve, only to end up in an accident when his body leans too far and his wheel fails to grip the ground, sending him skidding off the track with his bike.

This also seems to have slightly affected Shang Muxiao. When the Six-Eyed Demon skids over the curve, Shang Muxiao has already straightened up and passed the curve. I don’t know if they actually bump into each other, but his bike lurches uncontrollably.

I press my palm to the glass and my back tenses. I try to get a closer look at him, but he is too fast to be picked up by the view inside the box.

I turn back to the big screen TV and it shows the Six-Eyed Demon who has had an accident. In the slow-motion replay, his entire body rolls on the ground continuously after his hands release from the bike before finally coming to a stop at the edge of the track.

“Didn’t expect that to happen. Alas, I hope the rider is not seriously hurt…” The commentator’s originally exuberant tone falls.

“It should be fine.” Yin Nuo also turns to look at the TV. “The riders are each fitted with airbags behind them, and they have very rugged helmets. He landed on his back, so he is unlikely to be seriously hurt.”

And as if echoing what he said, the rider in the green racing suit then slowly rises from the ground and waves his hand at the audience, gesturing that he is okay.

The audience burst into cheers again and the commentator also heaves a huge sigh of relief. “Though the bike is destroyed, thankfully the rider is okay, really very impressive.”

The screen cuts back to the rider in the first spot again. Owing to the accident, Zhou Yanyi moves from third to second, from which he seizes the opportunity to reduce the speed between him and Shang Muxiao to 0.4 seconds.

In the final three laps, every curve has the possibility of being the winning spot for Zhou Yanyi. Blue and red bikes, one ahead and one behind, racing for the lead, and giving up no ground. In competitive sports, one always aims to be first.

As the final lap draws near, the commentator’s tone grows more excited.

“This is the last lap. Looks like Shang Muxiao is set to hold on to his first spot to the end! This curve will be Zhou Yanyi’s last hope to overtake… Now he’s trying to overtake, 0.2 seconds to go, can he make it? Ah, fail, Shang Muxiao speeds up and pulls away from him. The speed between them is back to 0.4 seconds again… Shang Muxiao is about to cross the finish line, and he crosses it first!! The winner of this year’s Frost Cup is born! Let’s all give it up for this young 20-year-old talent!”

That seamless bike is like a comet streaking across the sky, leaving a blue shadow on my retinas. Shang Muxiao stands up as soon as he crosses the finish line, holding the handlebar with one hand and the other fist pumping in the air, slowing down as he embraces the applause from all around him, his excitement palpable.

Young, shining, full of unlimited possibilities…

My fingertips softly glide over the vivid, striking blue hue through the glass, the sweat from my palm leaving a little mark.

Twelve years ago, of the same age, I was also just like him; full of glory, young and foolhardy, thinking I was capable of anything.

Looking at it now, his life is very much in contrast to mine.

He is healthy and handsome, I am disabled and weak; he is fearless, I am over-cautious; he exudes youthful energy, I am like… dead-alive.

“He was fourth in the first year. He had just turned eighteen at the time and his performance was already pretty good, but being fourth made him have a sombre mood for a good few days. The second time, Yanyi won first place and he came second. In any case, it was his friend who won first place, so he wasn’t that upset, but he wasn’t very happy either. This year, finally, he came first as he’d always hoped. He is happy, and we can finally move on from seeing his sombreness.” Yin Nuo’s voice brings my thoughts back to reality.

“Well, he’s very talented,” I say casually.

Shang Muxiao’s bike enters the pit stop and the following bikes have now crossed the finish line. The podium directly opposite our VIP box is already set in readiness, with champagne ready and waiting for the winner to arrive.

Pop!

Startled, I turn around to find Yin Nuo opening the sparkling wine on the bar.

The golden liquor falls into the wine glass and he holds it up and passes it in my direction, saying, “Have a glass?”

I shake my head. “I can’t, I drove here.”

Yin Nuo returns to the window again with a glass of wine and his gaze falls to the podium.

“Professor Bei, are you and A-Xiao seeing each other?”

He asks this with neither gossip nor a smile on his face, it is more like calling me to account.

This question is too personal. Not to mention that I am not in that kind of relationship with Shang Muxiao, and even if I am, what does it matter to him?

I frown as I look at his side profile for some time and then turn to look at the podium too.

Shang Muxiao takes off his helmet and he is surrounded by the crowd on the podium, with the second and third runners-up on each side.

The Frost Cup trophy looks like it has been carved from a whole block of white quartz. The crystal is naturally opaque, glowing a light blue when exposed to light, and from a distance, it looks just like real ice.

With the delay in my reply, Yin Nuo gets somewhat impatient.

“Professor Bei…”

“You like him.” I get to the precise point.

If he does not like Shang Muxiao, he cannot possibly speak to me in such an antagonistic tone, I am still his elective teacher after all.

The person next to me is quiet. Some time passes before he speaks through clenched teeth, as if he’s in his death throes, “I am merely reminding you out of kindness. It is impossible for someone to occupy his heart completely. The most important person in his heart has always been his sister, and as long as she orders something, he can leave anyone behind at any time without looking back. Professor Bei, you cannot bear that, do not let yourself fall into the pit too deeply.”

It seems that Shang Muxiao is really too attached to his sister, a fact that is known to everyone around him.

“Don’t worry.” Shang Muxiao accepts the trophy and holds it in the air, accepting the limelight, with so much confidence and so much naturalness in his expression. “I haven’t fallen into whatever pit yet. But you, why don’t you tell him?”

Twenty is the age when one speaks with great fervour about a ‘dreamy love’ kind of thing.

Over the years, if I had any regrets in life, apart from these legs, it would be that I didn’t get to have that reckless love at the time when I could still run and jump around at will.

Alas, the timing of Lu Feiheng’s confession was really poorly picked.

I focus my attention back on the podium to see that Shang Muxiao is no longer there, only the second and third runners-up are there with their arms around their shoulders as they pose for photos.

“You do not know him. He never tarries long with something or someone he does not need. If he finds out…” Yin Nuo’s voice trails off, with some resignation and in a more helpless way, “we will not even be friends.”

A flash of realisation suddenly dawns on me. It is not that Shang Muxiao has only one gem, rather, for him, those who he does not really care for are not gems even if they come to him genuinely, they are merely fake stones.

He only wants the one that shines the brightest, the one that he most cherishes, the one he has chosen as his ‘gem’. He will guard it under his wings and hide it in the deepest part of his tree hollow, where no one can touch it nor see it.

Willful and picky.

The door of our box flings open, and Yin Nuo and I look over in unison.

Shang Muxiao walks in holding the trophy, breathing a little heavily, as if he has raced all the way from the podium to here. 

“A-Xiao…” Yin Nuo welcomes him with a smile, but Shang Muxiao doesn’t even look at him and walks straight towards me.

This ‘stone’ that cannot be a gem instantly dims in colour and retreats in silence, not attempting to come forward again.

“Where are you looking?” Shang Muxiao turns my chin over in displeasure, upset that I’m not giving him my full attention.

I cock my head to get away from his hand and control the wheelchair to move back a little without being noticed.

“Congrats, it was a terrific race.”

His face initially looks a little unhappy, but when he hears me compliment him, a smile flashes up at once. He truly has the temperament of a child.

“Did you like it?”

I assume he’s asking if I like this kind of competition.

To be honest, I don’t like it, it’s too dangerous. When that Six-Eyed Demon fell off the track earlier, watching the footage of the rider continuously rolling, it was as if the pain of the bones breaking limb by limb had briefly returned to me. If the worry of another accident with Shang Muxiao hadn’t been behind me now, that feeling might have existed even longer.

“It was fun.”

However, as a prudent adult, politeness is a basic social etiquette. Even though I don’t like it, I still express my appreciation for this competition.

Shang Muxiao’s eyes narrow as he smiles. “It’s a pity you can’t sit on my bike. Many people have expressed interest in sitting on my bike’s pillion seat.” With that, he puts the heavy trophy into my arms. “Here.”

I subconsciously hug the trophy and then get very confused.

What does this mean?

Seeing my confusion, he points to a spot on the trophy and says, “Look, there’s a star here.”

I look in the area where his finger is pointing and see a shiny pentagram-shaped stone embedded in the brown base of the front of the trophy, with a long silver tail trailing behind the star, in the form of a comet.

The way Shang Muxiao speaks is like a child seeking praise, his tone rising slightly, and his face bearing an unconcealed delight.

“Don’t you like stars? I made up my mind before the race to give you this trophy, which has a star on it.”

“Will you accept it?” He asks.