Chapter 5 Why did you drag me in here...?

Peng Chengyi paused for a moment, then silently released his wrist.

Why is this dog's stomach suddenly more fragile than hers?

It must be because no one was home for the past two weeks, and he ate too much instant noodles.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but mutter, "I'll make sure you eat instant noodles every day."

Having grown accustomed to her erratic thought process, Chen Yubai instantly grasped the logic behind her sarcastic remark.

Even though it was completely wrong, he didn't want to correct her anymore.

"Then could you go and ask Chopper for me?" Peng Chengyi looked at him persistently.

Fearing she might launch another attack like before, Chen Yubai slowly nodded: "Yes."

Peng Chengyi immediately smiled sweetly and said in a high-pitched voice, "Brother, you're so kind."

"..."

Chen Yubai gave an ambiguous twitch at the corner of his mouth, then quickly strode towards the order counter.

When he returned with the tray, Peng Chengyi had already taken a seat.

"Did you get it?" she asked excitedly, glancing at his tray.

"The clerk said that too many people wanted Chopper, so they've all been given away. Now all that's left is this blond guy."

“…His name is Sanji,” Peng Chengyi corrected him with a disappointed look.

"I haven't seen it before." Chen Yubai handed the toy to her. "Do you still want it?"

"No, I don't like Sanji. You can have it; you can hang it on your backpack." Peng Chengyi shook her head, bypassed his hand, and picked up the hamburger from the tray.

Chen Yubai glanced down at the blond guy in his hand, his eyes still bulging out in heart shapes, and he just couldn't bring himself to hang it out.

"I don't need it either, you can keep it yourself."

"If I take it back, I'll just leave it at home. If my mom finds out, she'll know I went to McDonald's," Peng Chengyi mumbled, refusing as she bit into her chicken burger.

"When you asked for Chopper, why didn't you consider the possibility of your mom finding out?"

"I'll think about it. If it's Chopper, I'll leave it with you for now. I'll hang it on my backpack when I go to boarding school in high school, since my mom won't be able to see it."

"Haven't you considered that I might not be able to store it for you?" Chen Yubai asked quietly.

"I haven't considered it. I'm your boss." Peng Chengyi said casually.

After saying that, she noticed Chen Yubai's brows furrow, and then she remembered that she had already given up the position of leader to Chen Yubai.

So he immediately changed his tune, saying, "What I mean is, you're my brother, so you have to look after me, your little sister."

"..."

Chen Yubai smiled silently and picked up the McFlurry from the tray.

Peng Chengyi, noticing his movement, widened her eyes: "What are you doing? This is from my kids' meal!"

"You can't eat cold food, it'll give you diarrhea, so I ate it for you."

"I'm much stronger now than when I was a kid! I can eat it now! Give it back to me!" Peng Chengyi stood up and reached out to grab it.

Chen Yubai dodged away, scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, and put it in his mouth.

"I've already eaten, you can't eat anymore." He bit his spoon and smiled casually.

“You…” Peng Cheng stared at him defiantly, almost spitting into his McFlurry.

But then she remembered that he had accompanied her to a guitar class today, saving her 100 yuan of pocket money, so she decided not to hold it against him for the time being.

Otherwise, what if we really piss him off and he drops out of class?

After a moment of anger, she silently sat back down and muttered, "Childish."

-

After lunch, the two took a taxi back to Lanle Music Store and started choosing guitars.

Zhou Lifen's budget for her was only 500 yuan. Looking around the whole store, there wasn't a single one she could afford; the cheapest one was over 1,000 yuan.

Not to mention the guitar that "Boqi Jiang" is wearing, which costs almost 4,000 yuan.

She looked up for a long time, but finally had to look away. She nudged Chen Yubai, who had already chosen a guitar and was trying it out, and asked, "Hey, could you ask if the store has any electric guitars under 500 yuan?"

"Is this all the budget Aunt Zhou gave you?" Chen Yubai raised his eyes.

"Hmm... she said I'm not a professional, so I should buy something cheaper since I'm a beginner." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips and glanced at the dark blue electric guitar with a water ripple pattern in his hand. "Your guitar is quite nice too, how much did it cost?"

"A little over 10,000," he said casually.

"How much?" Peng Chengyi almost thought she had misheard. "How can you be so rich?"

"The lucky money my dad gave me during Chinese New Year."

"Wait, is Dad still going to give out New Year's money? Can I participate?"

"Want to switch parents with me?" Chen Yubai looked at her with amusement.

"...I don't mean it, I was just expressing my feelings." Peng Chengyi shook his head.

Although Chen Yubai's family was much better off than hers, his parents had been arguing constantly since he was in elementary school, and in the last two years they had even separated.

Moreover, his father rarely comes home throughout the year, so sending him so much money is a kind of compensation for the lack of his upbringing.

His mother was also extremely busy at the hospital every day, and couldn't give him much family care either.

She still loves her family. Although they are only comfortably well-off, her parents have a harmonious relationship and care about her life and studies.

Although sometimes this concern annoyed her.

In particular, her parents always liked to compare her to Chen Yubai.

But overall, I'm still quite happy.

"Moreover, I think that when you're just starting out, it's really unnecessary to buy such an expensive instrument. There's a saying that goes something like that," Peng Chengyi said.

"What proverb?" Chen Yubai raised an eyebrow.

"Students with poor grades have too many stationery items."

"..."

"So I'm going to use the worst equipment to become a true guitar hero."

Peng Chengyi proudly put her hands on her hips, having almost successfully brainwashed herself, and the sour feeling in her heart dissipated.

Chen Yubai smiled speechlessly: "Then, hero, go and find out for yourself if there are any electric guitars under 500 yuan."

Peng Chengyi immediately backed down, saying, "...I haven't become a hero yet, so you should go and ask for me."

Seeing that he didn't move, she added, "Brother?"

"Could you get me the guitar?" Chen Yubai finally stood up.

"Okay!" Peng Chengyi carefully picked up his precious guitar and sat down in the chair he had just been sitting in.

This expensive instrument even smells different.

It smells so good!

However, she still likes the black guitar that "Boqi-chan" has the same one the most.

I hope to save up some money during my three years of high school so that I can buy it when I go to college.

While he was staring intently at the guitar, Chen Yubai walked back and said, "We don't have guitars that cheap in the store. You might have to look online. There are some counterfeit guitars that are just imitations of the real ones, and you can buy them for three or four hundred."

"Oh, okay." Peng Chengyi nodded, snapping out of her reverie. "Have you paid?"

"Hmm." Chen Yubai bent down, put the guitar into its case, and fastened the latch.

"Shall we go home?" She stood up.

"Aren't you going to buy a speaker?" Chen Yubai picked up the violin case.

"What speaker?" Peng Chengyi was taken aback.

"An electric guitar needs to be connected to an amplifier to produce sound; otherwise, you can't hear anything."

"Ah!" Peng Chengyi reacted after two seconds, "The speakers won't cost one or two thousand, will they?"

"Almost, I'll take it."

"Oh no, my mom will definitely say, 'You're a beginner, learn to play it properly before connecting the amplifier,'" Peng Chengyi said in despair.

"If you don't like it, come to my house and use my speakers. I'm thinking of buying a Marshall." Chen Yubai pointed to the black and white speaker at her feet.

"Brother! You're my brother!"

Peng Chengyi clasped his hands together and finally called out "brother" from the bottom of his heart, acknowledging his status and position as the boss.

Chen Yubai smiled helplessly and said, "I have too much stuff. I'm going to take a taxi back later. You can ride your bike first."

"Okay, bro."

Peng Chengyi quickly slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and happily disappeared from his sight.

Chen Yubai stared at her retreating figure through the glass for a while before looking away.

It seems that this time she really doesn't just have a fleeting enthusiasm; she genuinely wants to learn guitar well.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been completely won over by a single speaker.

-

Peng Chengyi eventually bought a Lu-made Gibson, or Lugi for short, online for 400 yuan.

When I first got it, it looked alright on its own, but when I put it next to Chen Yubai's genuine Gibson, it looked a bit plasticky.

The sound was a bit hiss after plugging it into the speakers.

But the guitar teacher said it was fine; a true guitar master can play even a fire stick.

The guitar teacher's surname is Qi and his given name is Tianliang. Peng Chengyi privately gave him the nickname Qitian Dasheng, or Dasheng for short.

Da Sheng's teaching style is very casual. He didn't ask them to buy any textbooks. In the first lesson, he taught them some guitar music theory and the basics of scales, and then told them to go home and practice.

There's no need to connect speakers for practicing calligraphy; Peng Chengyi practiced alone in her room from the very beginning.

But the practice was so tedious and boring that she knocked on Chen Yubai's door in less than a day.

"Why doesn't the Great Sage teach us to play chords? I see other people learn a few chords and can start playing simple songs."

Chen Yubai leaned against the door frame and said calmly, "Because when he asked you what your goal was in learning guitar, you said you wanted to become a guitar hero like Boqi-chan, so the basics are very important."

Peng Chengyi pouted: "But this is too boring! Besides, I think I've already mastered it."

Chen Yubai was skeptical: "You mastered it in just one day?"

“Yeah, I can play those syllables perfectly now.” Peng Chengyi nodded, then asked him, “You haven’t mastered them yet, have you?”

"……No."

Peng Chengyi's eyes lit up immediately, and he exclaimed, "Wow, could I be some kind of guitar prodigy?!"

Chen Yubai frowned, reached out and pulled her into the house, then closed the door.

"Why did you suddenly drag me in here? You're not jealous of my talent, so you're going to lock me up and cripple my fingers, are you?" Peng Chengyi looked at him warily.

"...You're crazy. Stop reading those toxic comics." Chen Yubai glanced at her speechlessly and explained calmly, "Come in and do some writing to see if you're really a guitar genius."

"Oh." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips, followed him into the room, and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Use my guitar then." Chen Yubai turned on the amplifier, plugged in the cable, and handed the guitar to her.

Peng Chengyi got into position, ready to play, when Chen Yubai stopped her, saying, "Wait, I haven't turned on the metronome yet."

"Uh... whether the metronome is on or not isn't that important, is it?" Peng Chengyi said a little guiltyly.

When she practiced at home, she couldn't keep up with the metronome's beat and got really annoyed by the "da da da" sound, so she eventually just turned it off.

“Didn’t the Great Sage say that you have to use a metronome when practicing the piano in order to develop a stable sense of rhythm?” Chen Yubai said, adjusting the metronome to the speed of 80 that the Great Sage required them to reach.

"You usually don't pay much attention in class, so why are you listening so attentively in guitar class...?"

"Who said I don't pay attention in class?" Chen Yubai turned his head.

“You don’t sleep often, yet you ask me to cover for you,” Peng Chengyi said.

"When the teacher is explaining problems that are meaningless to me, isn't it reasonable for me to use that time to catch up on sleep?"

"..."

That's utterly unreasonable!

Peng Chengyi stared at him speechlessly for two seconds. Chen Yubai gestured with his chin at her and said, "What are you spacing out for? You can start playing now."

"Wait, I'm looking for the right time to enter." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips nervously.

Chen Yubai shrugged noncommittally, spread his long legs, and sat down next to her.

The mattress sank in slightly, and the refreshing scent of soap wafted from the boy's body into her nostrils.

The ticking of the metronome echoed in the quiet room.

Peng Chengyi's fingers, hovering over the strings, hesitated to fall.

As the cicadas outside the window began their new round of chirping, Chen Yubai glanced down at his watch and casually lifted his eyelids: "Little genius, three minutes have passed, and you still haven't found the right time to enter?"

"...Genius or something, maybe it's just my imagination." Peng Chengyi gave an awkward laugh and met his gaze.

"Go back and practice your piano properly." Chen Yubai reached for the metronome on the desk next to him and pressed pause.

"But it's so boring, I almost fell asleep playing it, and I can't keep up with the 80 beats at all," Peng Cheng muttered reluctantly.

"As the Great Sage said, if you can't keep up with 80, start with 60. No one can become fat in one bite."

"Can you keep up with the beat of 60 now?" Peng Chengyi asked curiously.

“Okay.” Chen Yubai nodded lightly. “So hurry up and don’t make me wait half the summer vacation to schedule the next class.”

Upon hearing this, Peng Chengyi's fighting spirit was immediately ignited: "What a joke, who's waiting for whom is still uncertain! I'm going back."

She shoved the guitar into his arms and got up to go home.

Over the next few days, she put in a lot of effort, spending her time studying high school textbooks and practicing calligraphy.

By the time her fingertips were almost blistered, she could keep up with the metronome at 80 bpm.

At the same time, the scores for the high school entrance exam were also released.

The math, physics, and chemistry questions in this year's high school entrance exam were more difficult than in previous years, so Peng Chengyi, who performed only moderately well, was not particularly confident about whether she could get into the top high school.

The moment she saw her results, she thought she was going to fail.

Unexpectedly, when I checked the cutoff score for the No. 1 High School again, I found that she had exceeded it by 10 points, which is considered a good score.

Peng Chengyi immediately jumped up from in front of the computer excitedly: "Dad! Mom! I passed the exam! And I even exceeded the passing score by 10 points!"

"You did well on the exam! Don't let your guard down now that you're in high school, keep up the good work!" Peng Weiguo patted her on the shoulder.

Zhou Lifen was overjoyed and said she would throw her a celebration banquet to mark her graduation.

"I'll go check if Chen Yubai passed the exam."

As Peng Chengyi spoke, she hurriedly ran across the street in her slippers.

After knocking for a while, Chen Yubai finally opened the door for her, holding his phone.

He was wearing a loose-fitting pajama set, his hair was messy, and his tired eyes and brows drooped, as if he had just gotten up.

"Have you checked your high school entrance exam results yet? You didn't just wake up, did you?" Peng Chengyi looked at him incredulously.

I don't understand how he can still sleep in on such an important day.

After all, she opened her eyes anxiously at 6 a.m.

"Yeah, I just got woken up," Chen Yubai replied casually.

"Then hurry up and check, I'll help you check! I've already passed the exam." Peng Chengyi couldn't wait to squeeze in beside him.

But before he could take two steps, he grabbed him by the back of his neck by the collar.

"No need to check anymore, I passed the exam too," Chen Yubai said calmly.

Peng Chengyi was taken aback and turned her face away: "How did you know?"

"Because I was just woken up by a phone call from the No. 4 High School's admissions office."

"...Why did No. 4 Middle School call you?" Peng Chengyi stopped in her tracks, still a little puzzled, and asked.

Chen Yubai loosened her collar, lowered his eyelids, and said lazily, "Maybe it's because I'm number one in the city."

A note from the author:

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Peng Chengyi: ? ? ? !!!