Chapter 22 Why worry so much? ...
Upon hearing this, Peng Chengyi instantly came back to life.
She didn't even bother to rub her forehead, but immediately took his hand in hers, praising him without reservation: "Brother, you are my best brother! My gratitude towards you is like a surging river, and from now on, as long as..."
"You'd go through fire and water for me with just a word, right?" Chen Yubai scoffed. "Can't you come up with something a little more original?"
“Uh…” Peng Chengyi paused for a few seconds, then switched to English, “Thank you very much, my good brother. As long as you need me, I will definitely climb the knife mount and swim through the sea of fire…”
Chen Yubai chuckled and curled his lips: "Stop it, or Shakespeare will be driven mad by your coined words."
Peng Chengyi: "..."
Although I really want to say that your English isn't much better than mine, if I can anger Shakespeare, then you can pry open Dickens's coffin lid.
But when she needed his help, she had to hold back.
She could only loosen her grip on his hand, forcing a smile as she said, "Okay, bro, I'm counting on you for this afternoon's rehearsal."
-
With the arts festival approaching, the music classrooms that are usually used by art students to practice their instruments have suddenly become extremely popular.
Zheng Xinyue somehow managed to secure a rehearsal room equipped with a drum set, keyboard, and guitar amplifier, while many others were forced to rehearse on the playground.
Peng Chengyi couldn't help but exclaim, "Our manager is so capable!"
“Absolutely. I applied for four days in a row, so I can use it until the performance.” Zheng Xinyue smiled proudly, dragged a chair over, and sat back down. “You guys line up, and I’ll record you so we can review the performance.”
"Um...we might need to have Chen Yubai audition first before we can start," Peng Chengyi said apologetically.
"Huh? Aren't you the lead singer?"
Zheng Xinyue was stunned for a moment, and the other two looked over curiously as well.
"I can't sing when I play the piano, so I just changed the lead singer to Chen Yubai..." Peng Chengyi explained awkwardly.
"It's difficult to be a bassist and lead singer, isn't it? Besides, he's a beginner too. Why not have Zhang Yang sing it instead?" Chen Wei asked, her brows furrowed slightly.
Peng Chengyi: "Because, it is said that he sings very badly."
Zhang Yang: "...Hey! I'm still here."
Peng Chengyi quickly shifted the blame: "It was Chen Yubai who said it; I just relayed it."
"Brother Yu, how can you say that! I'm a music student, after all." Zhang Yang pouted in dissatisfaction.
Chen Yubai: "Then you sing first."
"Fine, I'll sing then." Zhang Yang cleared his throat, picked up the microphone, and said, "On a naturally sunny day, I want to take you to the beach..."
He had only sung two lines when the microphone in his hand suddenly went silent.
Turning his head, he saw that Chen Wei had already unplugged his microphone cord expressionlessly: "Let's try Chen Yubai instead."
“I think so too.” Zheng Xinyue covered her ears and nodded in agreement.
Zhang Yang: "..."
Chen Yubai slung his bass over his shoulder, lowered his head slightly, and leaned close to the microphone standing in the middle: "Then I'll try a couple of lines first."
He paused slightly, his long, slender fingers resting on the bass strings, his eyes lowered as he softly sang: "Waiting for a naturally sunny day, I want to take you to the beach..."
The boy's clear voice was clean yet not thin, with a faint breathy sound at the end, like a feather gently brushing against the eardrum.
The high frequencies are clear and bright, while the low frequencies are full of texture.
The lyrics and melody were exactly the same as Zhang Yang's, but when he sang them, they sounded so good it was like a completely different song.
Seeing that no one unplugged the microphone or interrupted, Chen Yubai finished singing the first chorus before pressing the strings, lifting his eyelids, and looking at the four people who were frozen in place: "Is this alright?"
"That's amazing!!!" Peng Chengyi, who had just come back to her senses from his beautiful singing, was the first to applaud and then flattered him, saying, "I didn't expect you to sing so well."
"Didn't you hear me sing before?" Chen Yubai glanced at her speechlessly.
Peng Chengyi: "That was so many years ago. Back then, your voice hadn't changed yet, and you sang like a kitten with its tail caught in a door."
Chen Yubai: "..."
Zhang Yang: "So, Brother Yu, you have such a dark past too! Hahahaha!"
Chen Yubai paused, glancing at him sideways.
Zhang Yang immediately stopped laughing and steered the conversation back on track: "Since Brother Yu can sing, let's officially start rehearsing!"
It was Peng Chengyi's first time playing with everyone, and she was a little nervous. She couldn't keep up with the rhythm at the beginning, which made things more and more chaotic and she couldn't keep up at all.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't keep up. Can we start over?" she said awkwardly, pressing the strings.
Chen Wei squeezed the trembling cymbals and then stopped the drumming: "It's okay. If you're afraid of not being able to keep up, you can start a little earlier."
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Peng Chengyi nodded.
The next time, she was too impatient and entered too early.
"Feel sorry……"
"It's okay, beginners often have trouble finding the right angle. You'll get used to it after a few more rehearsals," Zhang Yang comforted her.
"Hmm..." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips awkwardly and subconsciously glanced at Chen Yubai.
He's a newbie too, but he doesn't have this problem.
When Chen Yubai met her gaze, it was as if he could see right through her thoughts. He said calmly, "All the instruments find their rhythm by following my singing. My bass will naturally be the easiest to play. If you can't, just watch my finger movements and play along."
Peng Chengyi was taken aback, then suddenly realized and said, "That makes sense, let's try it again."
“No problem.” Chen Wei tapped her drumsticks and gave everyone a new 3-2-1 rhythm.
Peng Chengyi took a deep breath, gripped the neck of the violin, and stared intently at Chen Yubai's slender fingers hovering over the strings.
The moment he began to fall, she pressed the chord as well.
This time, she finally managed to keep up with everyone's pace, and her tense nerves gradually relaxed.
Although the band was able to play the song without major mistakes after today's rehearsal, there are still many areas that need further refinement.
So for the next three days, during lunch and evening breaks, none of them went to the cafeteria for a proper meal. Instead, they would grab a piece of bread or a sandwich and rush to the music room to rehearse.
Until school ends on Friday.
There's no evening self-study today, and tomorrow is the arts festival.
So Zhang Yang suggested that instead of wasting time buying bread to eat, they should just finish the rehearsal in one go, and then go to the cafeteria together to order some stir-fries and have a good meal to recharge for tomorrow's performance.
“I think it’s fine. Anyway, we’ve made a lot of progress these past two days. Let’s go through it two or three more times, and it should be about right.” Peng Chengyi nodded.
Chen Yubai: "Okay."
Chen Wei: "I'm OK too."
When Peng Chengyi finally got to the music classroom, she realized that the more she fell short in the last little bit, the harder it was to improve.
The band rehearsed repeatedly no less than ten times before finally meeting the standards for performing on stage.
When the event ended, there was no way to get a decent meal; all the cafeteria windows were closed, and there wasn't even a scrap of food left.
"Damn it, we're going to have to eat bread and sandwiches again." Zhang Yang sighed heavily.
“If you go to a convenience store now, they might not even have sandwiches left, and all they'll have is some unappetizing toast,” Chen Wei said.
"If only I had Yueyue bring us some food halfway through," Peng Chengyi said regretfully.
Zheng Xinyue helplessly shrugged: "I knew it, it's because all of you said you weren't hungry."
"I was probably too focused during rehearsals and didn't really feel hungry. I only suddenly felt really hungry after it was over," Zhang Yang explained.
"It's no use saying anything now. Let's hurry to the convenience store, or there won't be any toast left." Chen Yubai said, turning around and walking down the steps at the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Waaaaah, I don't want to eat toast..." Peng Chengyi cried, unwilling to move her heavy, hungry feet. "Why don't convenience stores sell barbecue skewers? I really want to eat barbecue, grilled chicken wings, grilled shrimp, grilled lamb skewers, grilled chicken gizzards, grilled oysters..."
"Chengcheng, stop reading, it's making my mouth water," Zheng Xinyue couldn't help but interrupt her.
Zhang Yang looked at her with a resentful expression: "Seriously, I suddenly really want to eat barbecue too."
Chen Wei: "Me too."
Chen Yubai paused, glancing down at the sports watch on his wrist: "In that case, there's a barbecue restaurant near the school. If we go now, we should be able to get back before the dorms close. Shall we go?"
Peng Chengyi's eyes lit up, and she immediately strode over to his side with renewed vigor: "Let's go!"
Zheng Xinyue glanced at her phone uncertainly: "But it's already past the time when we can freely leave the school. How are we going to get out?"
"No problem, just follow Brother Yu, he's an expert." Zhang Yang shrugged and walked down the steps.
Zheng Xinyue and Chen Wei exchanged glances before following the three with some skepticism.
When we arrived at the school gate, the main gate was indeed completely closed, leaving only a small gate for pedestrians to pass through.
But this door is next to the guardhouse, where the lights are on and the old guard is eating sunflower seeds and watching TV.
He would occasionally turn his head to check if any students were coming or going.
"How are we going to get out? We'll definitely be stopped by the security guards, won't we?" Zheng Xinyue looked at Chen Yubai.
"I'll distract the security guard, and you guys keep your heads down and slip out along the window," Chen Yubai said casually.
"..."
Unexpectedly, his method was so simple and crude. Zheng Xinyue was stunned for a moment before asking again, "Then how will you get out after we've all left?"
"I have my own way." Chen Yubai said casually, then casually put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the guardhouse.
"Let's go, let's lie in ambush behind the flower bed." Peng Chengyi pulled Zheng Xinyue and Chen Wei's hands.
"How come you're so skilled at this too?" Zheng Xinyue looked at her incredulously.
Peng Chengyi chuckled and said, "I loved playing stealth games in junior high, like Assassin's Creed."
Zheng Xinyue: "..."
However, theory is one thing, but when it comes to actually doing it, Peng Chengyi is still a little hesitant.
After all, she had never sneaked out of school before, so she had to let Zhang Yang take the lead.
After seeing him slip away safely, she crouched down, pressed her pounding heart, and quickly followed him.
The school is located in the old town of Linbin, which is not in a remote location. So once you slip out of the school gate, even if you are wearing a school uniform, you will not be conspicuous in the bustling streets.
Unsure how Chen Yubai would get out, Peng Chengyi leaned closer to the school gate. Before she could even see his movements, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Chen Yubai: Sharing the location of a barbecue restaurant
Chen Yubai: "See you at the store later."
Peng Chengyi paused for a moment, then quickly typed: "Aren't you coming out from the main gate?"
Chen Yubai: "I'll take another route, you guys go first."
Peng Chengyi: "Then be careful."
Chen Yubai: "Don't worry."
It's only the beginning of November, and the weather isn't too cold yet, so barbecue restaurants naturally attract a lot of people in the evenings.
Seeing that all the seats inside were full, the four of them chose a table outside and sat down on small stools.
Zhang Yang scanned the QR code on the table and said, "Let's have ten skewers of lamb to fill our stomachs first, and then we'll get more formal when Brother Yu arrives, okay?"
"Okay." Everyone nodded without any objection.
Peng Chengyi took a sip of tea to suppress her rumbling stomach, then couldn't help but glance at her phone screen.
Almost ten minutes have passed, and Chen Yubai still hasn't made a move.
What method is he planning to use to get out?
Is it a VPN?
Although he often skipped classes in junior high school and climbed over walls.
However, the walls surrounding No. 1 Middle School are much higher than those surrounding No. 16 Middle School.
Can he really find it?
Peng Chengyi became increasingly worried and was about to send him another WeChat message to ask what was going on.
Her familiar, lazy voice sounded from behind: "Who are you chatting with?"
Peng Chengyi paused, speechless, and turned her face away: "Who else can I talk to? Why didn't you say a word when you came out? I almost thought you had made a mistake."
Chen Yubai smiled casually, grabbed a small stool, and sat down next to her: "When have I ever made a mistake? Why are you so worried?"
"..." Peng Chengyi choked for two seconds, then chuckled and said, "Who's worried about you? I'm just afraid you won't be able to get out, and we won't know how to get back later."
Chen Yubai glanced at her with amusement: "Why don't you just walk in openly and honestly? The school only said that students are not allowed to go out after 8 o'clock, it didn't say that they can't come in."
Peng Chengyi was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was indeed true.
Feeling a little embarrassed, she lowered her head and said while scrolling through the menu on her phone, "I don't want to talk to you anymore, hurry up and scan the code to order."
Chen Yubai stared at her sullen face for a moment, then nudged her arm with his elbow: "Squeak."
Peng Chengyi inexplicably raised her eyes.
Chen Yubai explained casually, "Just let me know if you owe me anything from before."
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Author's Note: Thanks to Soleil, I'm Really Not a Picky Eater, and GF for the nutrient solution! [dog head with rose emoji][dog head with rose emoji][dog head with rose emoji]
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