Chapter 40 How lucky we are that we walked hand in hand on the road, under the tree...
At the beginning of the year, the boy group that Li Xi was originally going to join was planning to debut, but his sudden "death" left the team without the most important promoter, causing the debut time to be postponed again, which was also full of twists and turns. The company focused on training another member of the team and signed a newcomer who was selected through a talent show. They are finally going to make their official debut under the name of the group.
"Eight people?" Li Wei asked in surprise when he first heard about it. "Wasn't it originally planned to be seven?"
In order to highlight the changing center position during performance, the team members are usually in odd numbers and rarely in even numbers, otherwise one person will often be blocked during rehearsal.
"They found two people to fill your position." Tang Ruining whispered in Li Wei's ear, "But the two of them combined are not as good as you."
Li Xi raised her hand and touched his nose, saying, "Take off your filter."
"I'm telling the truth."
The new person was called Su Wen Ze. Li Xi thought he sounded familiar. After a while, she suddenly remembered him and asked Tang Rui Ning, "Is he the champion of the show you were a mentor for?"
"Yeah." Tang Ruining responded indifferently.
Li Xi watched some clips of the show, which was Su Wen Ze's solo dance in the finals. He had a very personal style and was also very pleasing to the eye. He has also accumulated a lot of popularity through the competition, so signing him is a good choice.
"That's not bad. He dances well."
"That's it." Tang Ruining said.
Li Wei sensed a hint of annoyance in Tang Ruining's expression. Combined with his sudden strike at that time, Li Wei guessed and asked, "Did he offend you?"
Tang Ruining was silent for a few seconds, then said, "His character is a bit problematic, so stay away from him."
Li Xi smiled and said "OK".
But Su Wen Ze found Li Xi the day after he arrived, and deliberately avoided Tang Ruining.
"Do you have something to talk to me about?" Li Wei asked him. Su Wen Ze lowered his head slightly, crossed his hands in front of him, and said modestly, "I want to apologize."
Li Xi didn't understand, "Why?"
Su Wen Ze looked up at him, as if analyzing his expression.
After a brief hesitation, he said respectfully, "I said something disrespectful to you and Teacher Tang. I was too immature and acted on impulse. I'm really sorry."
Li Xi suddenly realized why Tang Ruining suddenly withdrew and never explained it.
His expression made Su Wen Ze feel uneasy. He thought Tang Ruining would definitely tell Jiang Yilan what he had done, but now seeing Jiang Yilan's expression, it seemed like he just knew the truth and it didn't seem like he was pretending to be mean to him.
But I've already said half of the words, so I can only continue.
"If I go to see Mr. Tang, he might not want to see me, so I came to apologize to you first. I was young and hot-headed, and I didn't know how high the heavens were. It was my fault. I won't do it again. I'm sorry."
Because he had never heard his words in person and didn't know exactly what he said, Li Xi didn't have much feeling. However, the way the man in front of him bowed and apologized made him feel uncomfortable. He stopped Su Wenzhe and said, "I understand. I will tell Tang Ruining if necessary, but it's his business what he thinks."
Su Wen Ze bowed again, "Thank you."
When Li Wei told Tang Ruining about this, Tang Ruining's reaction was indeed very disdainful.
"He's smart. He came to you alone, knowing that I wouldn't pay attention to him." Tang Ruining sneered, "Now that he's here as your junior brother, he knows how to admit defeat. This is not the time for him to be so arrogant. How can he pretend to be good in front of you?"
"We have to maintain superficial harmony. We won't have much interaction anyway." Li Wei smiled and touched his chin. "Don't be angry. It's not worth it."
Thinking of what Su Wen Ze said behind his back, Tang Ruining still felt sick.
"What did he say?" Seeing that he still had an ugly expression, Li Xi asked curiously.
"I don't want to tell you." Tang Ruining grabbed his hand on his chin, pulled it to his mouth and kissed it, "Dirty ears."
"Okay, then I won't say any more."
In fact, Li Xi had seen a lot of bad reviews, and even if he didn't go out of his way to read them, he couldn't avoid accidentally seeing them. Of course Tang Ruining is the same. They can only think of those unpleasant words, but there is nothing that people can't say. Normally, the members don't discuss this because it affects their mentality too much. But Tang Ruining would care about the rumors spread about Li Xi. Since he heard it with his own ears, he couldn't pretend not to care.
But things went against their wishes. The company wanted to promote them and planned to let them make a guest appearance in one of To5's concerts.
When To5 debuted, it could be said that they had nothing and their network resources were very scarce. Now that the company is developing better and better, they have nothing to say about supporting new groups and letting them guide their juniors.
This tour happened to reach Tang Ruining's hometown, but he had no intention of going home.
"Will your family come to see you?" Li Wei asked him.
"My mom might come over."
He rarely mentioned his family. Li Xi remembered that last time he mentioned that he had a quarrel with his family and their relationship didn't seem to be very good.
Tang Ruining told him: "I don't really want to see her."
He took the initiative to bring it up, which means he is willing to reveal his true feelings. Li Xi leaned over to him and asked, "Why?"
"I have no conscience." Tang Ruining said calmly, "She worked hard to raise me, but I don't have deep feelings for her."
"I have no conscience." Tang Ruining repeated.
Li Xi thought for a moment and said, "Last time you said that you didn't like the amusement park because you got lost there once, right?"
Tang Ruining didn't say anything very specific last time. He glanced at Li Xi and nodded, "Yeah."
"Then there must be more than one thing that makes you feel uncomfortable." Personality is largely innate, but the influence of childhood is crucial. Li Xi held his hand and said, "If you really had no conscience, you wouldn't feel conflicted about her, and you would feel at ease."
"But it's okay if you don't want to see her. Don't blame yourself."
"I don't... blame myself." Tang Ruining subconsciously denied it, but he was stunned for a while, not knowing what he was thinking.
Li Xi did not continue to delve into the topic, and said, "After the concert, take me for a walk, to a place you are familiar with."
"Okay." Although it's not a good idea to stay outside for too long, it's still okay to take a short stroll at night.
During the intermission when they were changing clothes, they came out to dance to some music. All eight of them performed very hard and the fans in the audience also gave them face and applauded and cheered for them. When they met backstage, Tang Ruining was still indifferent and didn't even glance at me. He was already in a bad mood, and returning to his hometown made him even more irritable.
It was already late when the performance ended. The two came out of the hotel and Tang Ruining took him to the street behind his elementary school.
Late at night, the streets are sparsely populated and most shops are closed. There are only a few street lamps, and some of the lights are very dim, as if they will go out at any time.
But they feel free.
Tang Ruining hugged Li Xi from behind and pointed to a closed shop on the roadside. "The starch sausage sold here used to be delicious, and the spicy sauce tasted better than other shops. I always came here to buy it after school."
"You eat this too." Li Xi teased him, "I thought cool kids didn't eat street food."
"Cool kids are still kids, and no kid can resist starchy intestines." Tang Ruining said, and kissed him on the side of his face, "What about you?"
"Me? I used to sell starch sausage." Although they were the only two people on the road, Li Xi was still a little worried. After he kissed her, she let him go and they walked side by side.
"Have you ever sold starch sausage?" Tang Ruining asked in surprise.
"Well, there was a period of time when I helped people make fried rice and fried noodles at the night market, and I also sold starch sausages at my stall." It hasn't been long, but when I recall it, it seems like a lifetime ago.
"In fact, the profit margin of starch sausage is very low, far less than fried rice, fried noodles and so on." Li Xi said, "By the way, you haven't tasted my fried rice yet, right? I will go back and fry it for you, and no one will say it's not delicious. The stall owner wanted to ask me to go back, saying that the business was especially good when I was there. Later, a customer asked her, 'Where is the handsome guy who made fried rice?'"
Li Xi said with some pride, turned around to look at Tang Ruining, saw that he didn't say anything, but there was heartache in his eyes.
"It was indeed very hard at that time, but it was also a very interesting experience." Li Xi turned around to hold his hand, facing him, and walked backwards. "The stall owner was an older sister. She took good care of me and paid me a lot more."
"At that time, I also thought, if I can't make it, would it be a good idea for me to open a restaurant?"
"Well, this restaurant can become an Internet celebrity. The boss is the signature restaurant, with an idol face and a cooking skill." Tang Ruining supported him with both hands, fearing that he would lose stability while walking backwards.
Li Xi smiled and said, "That's not bad either."
"My school is just ahead." Tang Ruining pointed to him.
His elementary school was very small, and the teaching building was also very old. The two of them looked inside from the doorway, and Tang Ruining said, "It hasn't changed much, it's still the same."
"My home when I was a child was also nearby, just a few minutes away, and I walked to and from school every day." It was a boring childhood. The atmosphere at home was very depressing every day when I returned home, and I was not happy at school. Later, I left this city to become a trainee, and only then did I feel like I could catch my breath.
The two of them walked around to the corner of the side wall, which was blocked by tall trees. Between the two trees, Tang Ruining hugged him and kissed him.
There are residential buildings nearby, and in the dead of night, you can hear the sound of people pushing and pulling windows.
"I'm not happy today. I don't like going home." After the kiss, Tang Ruining said against his forehead. Li Xi's eyelashes seemed to be wet with moisture, and she raised her eyes to look at him.
Before and after today's concert, Tang Ruining received several calls from his mother in a row.
"But now I am very happy. When I think of this place in the future, I will only think of you and me, the two of us walking hand in hand on the road and kissing under the tree."
"Just like because of you, I no longer hate the amusement park." Tang Ruining said. Li Xi raised her hand to ruffle his bangs and smiled softly, "Then just think of me. Whenever you feel unhappy in the future, just think of me, okay?"
"I only think of you... I only have you." Tang Ruining closed her eyes and kissed him again.
How lucky I am to have you.
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