Chapter 34 I'm afraid you'll make the wrong friends...
Originally, Peng Chengyi wanted to explain to him that Ke Xingjian was not her friend; she had only exchanged a few words with him by chance at the entrance of the livehouse last week, and that was all.
But when she heard the hint of sarcasm in his words, she immediately decided she didn't want to explain anymore.
Could he be the only one with a bunch of friends she doesn't know?
Who do you think you are?
"What? You have a problem with that?" Peng Chengyi withdrew her gaze and looked at Chen Yubai across the table.
He tightened his grip on the glass, and scoffed, "What opinion could I possibly have? I'm just worried that some idiot might make the wrong friends and get scammed again."
Hearing this, Peng Chengyi became even more unhappy and said, "You're the idiot! He's a student at a top high school too, what could he possibly be lying to me about?"
Chen Yubai frowned: "You believed him when he said he was from No. 4 Middle School?"
Peng Chengyi pursed her lips and retorted, "But he really is the bassist for Black Sugar! I saw the girl who called him upstairs just now on the poster; she's Black Sugar's guitarist. He has no reason to lie to me half-truths."
Chen Yubai paused for two seconds, then his expression turned even colder: "You're really something, Peng Chengyi."
“I’ve always been great!” Peng Chengyi retorted defiantly.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, then Chen Yubai suddenly stood up: "Then you can watch the show by yourself. I have no interest in supporting him."
Peng Chengyi was taken aback, only then realizing that he seemed to be angry.
Although the two often argued in the past, he rarely got truly angry with her.
The last time was probably during the summer vacation after my first year of junior high school.
At that time, she met a fellow enthusiast on an anime forum. The other person was also from Linbin, attended No. 15 Middle School, and was a year ahead of her.
Because they got along quite well online, the other party asked her to meet up before the start of the semester.
Not feeling comfortable meeting her male online friend alone, Peng Chengyi told Chen Yubai about it and asked him to go with her.
As a result, Chen Yubai not only refused to go with her, but also disagreed with her going to meet her online friend.
She's brainless; she believes everything the other person says. Who knows what might happen if she goes there?
She couldn't help but say unhappily that she had been talking to him all summer and that she could still tell the difference between a good person and a bad person.
And looking at his QQ space, the daily posts he makes, he's just a student.
But Chen Yubai completely ignored her analysis and said with an unusually cold expression, "Then go find him and don't come looking for me again."
When she first heard him say that, she thought it was just his usual angry outburst.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yubai stopped paying attention to her after that.
He remained unmoved no matter what she said.
Until she said, "Then I won't meet the people I met online, okay?"
He finally raised his droopy eyelids and gave a faint "hmm".
After school started, her studies became busier, and she didn't chat with that online friend much anymore; he gradually stopped responding.
Later, after the high school entrance exam, she remembered to browse through this person's QQ space.
I saw that he failed his high school entrance exam last year and went to a vocational high school instead. There was also a girl on his social media post who was calling him a scumbag and accusing him of playing with her feelings.
Feeling guilty and fearful, she quickly deleted him from her friend list.
Thinking of this, Peng Chengyi reached out and tugged at Chen Yubai's departing clothes, saying awkwardly, "Why are you angry? Can I take back what I said about you being an idiot?"
Chen Yubai paused, turned around, and asked, "Anything else?"
"What else?" Peng Chengyi blinked, puzzled.
Didn't she just say that to him?
Chen Yubai stared at her bewildered little face and her hand tightly clutching his clothes for a moment, then sighed almost imperceptibly and sat back down in his high chair: "It's nothing."
Seeing that his anger had subsided, Peng Chengyi silently breathed a sigh of relief and, wanting to further ease the tension, said, "How about I give you the glass of fruit wine that Ke Jianxing said he would treat me to earlier?"
Chen Yubai paused, and his lips tightened instantly.
"You're really planning to drink the drinks he's treating you to?" He slowly lifted his eyelids, his gaze dark and unfathomable as he looked at her.
"I wasn't planning on this, but since you're inexplicably angry, I thought I'd take this opportunity to do something about it," Peng Chengyi said with an awkward smile.
"..." Chen Yubai paused for a moment, then turned his face away and chuckled, "I'm getting angry for no reason?"
Seeing that he seemed to be getting angry again, Peng Chengyi quickly said, "Okay, it's not that strange, I can barely understand it."
"Tell me, how do you interpret this?" He turned to her again with a stern face.
Peng Chengyi: "You were just being kind and worried that I would be scammed, but I didn't appreciate it and even called you an idiot."
Chen Yubai lowered his eyes, chuckled cryptically, and then looked up and said, "With your comprehension ability, it's a miracle you got over 130 in Chinese."
"...Then what exactly are you angry about!" Peng Chengyi said, pursing her lips speechlessly.
"Never mind if I can't think of anything." Chen Yubai shrugged and drank his cola.
"..."
nerve.
Peng Chengyi mentally scoffed, but seeing that he had returned to normal, she didn't bother to investigate further.
As the performance time drew closer, the livehouse filled up with more and more people, gradually filling the space around them.
Although a few heads blocked her view, she could still see the whole stage by simply turning her body slightly.
Soon, the lights came on, and the Black Sugar Band took to the stage.
Peng Chengyi immediately patted Chen Yubai's arm, which was lazily resting on the table: "It's about to start! Can you record this for me?"
"Can't you record it yourself?" Chen Yubai glanced at her without moving.
“My phone’s camera isn’t as good as yours, so the picture isn’t clear. Besides, I have to hold it above my head to get the whole thing in the picture.” Peng Chengyi’s thick, long eyelashes fluttered.
"..." Chen Yubai stared at her blinking eyes for a moment, then slowly sat up and took out his phone.
"Focus on recording the guitarist on the right for me," Peng Chengyi instructed him again.
Chen Yubai paused, then turned his face: "Aren't you going to support your friend?"
Since things had come to this, Peng Chengyi had no point in arguing with him anymore, and said directly, "Actually, Ke Xingjian and I aren't really friends. We just bumped into each other at the entrance last week. He saw that I was interested in the Black Sugar Band's poster, so he told me how to buy tickets."
Chen Yubai was slightly taken aback: "So you came here for their guitarist?"
"Yeah! Don't you think that girl playing guitar on stage is super cool? She's exactly my ideal type," Peng Chengyi said, her eyes shining.
"..."
Chen Yubai gazed at her quietly for a moment, then lowered his eyes and chuckled.
"What are you laughing at again?" Peng Chengyi frowned slightly, feeling that he was mocking her for her unrealistic ideas.
"It's nothing." Chen Yubai raised his phone with a smile and started recording.
"..."
Well, he's already complied with her request anyway, so let him laugh if he wants to. Besides, she also felt that her ideal was a bit unrealistic.
Peng Chengyi pondered silently, then turned his attention back to the stage.
A real live band performance is indeed completely different from a campus show.
The electric guitar's sharp tone, like a cold light being drawn from its sheath, tears through the dull air, while the drumbeats strike the chest like heavy hammer blows, and the floor beneath your feet vibrates incessantly with the bass's low frequencies.
The surrounding audience seemed to be set ablaze, swaying wildly to the rhythm.
At first, Peng Chengyi was a little reserved, but after two songs, she couldn't help but raise her arms and join in the boiling sea of energy.
When a thrilling guitar solo came to an end, the guitarist casually raised his hand, and the pick drew a silver parabola in the air, flying straight towards her.
Peng Chengyi's heart skipped a beat, and he forgot that he was standing on the footrest of the bar stool. He subconsciously got up to take it.
Chen Yubai, who caught a glimpse of her dangerous movement out of the corner of his eye, immediately stretched out his long arm and quickly pressed down on her tilted chair.
The pick grazed her fingertips and fell to the ground somewhere.
Peng Chengyi reluctantly lowered his hand, and was about to look down again when Chen Yubai reminded him, "Right now, you're standing on the chair crossbar, not the ground."
"Ah! I forgot." Peng Chengyi hurriedly sat back down in her chair.
Chen Yubai's lips twitched again: "You're sitting on my hand."
"I was wondering why it was a bit uncomfortable." Peng Chengyi quickly shifted her position. "Why are you resting your hands on my chair for no reason?"
"I'm not going to hold on. With your weight of 100 pounds, you'd be lying on the ground right now." Chen Yubai glanced at her speechlessly.
"..." Peng Chengyi choked, then belatedly realized the danger and muttered in a low voice, "I'm not even 100 pounds yet."
Chen Yubai chuckled and reached back into his pocket.
Peng Chengyi looked down and surveyed the area. The light was too dim, and she could only see the space beneath her feet.
Finding no trace of the guitar pick, she looked up and patted Chen Yubai: "See if you have that guitar pick around you."
Chen Yubai lazily glanced down and said, "No."
"..."
Seeing his uncooperative attitude, Peng Chengyi knew that she would probably have a hard time getting him to do anything more, since he was already recording for her.
So she gave up the search and continued watching the performance.
Fearing that Zhou Lifen would become suspicious if they went back too late, Peng Chengyi patted Chen Yubai around 9 p.m. and said, "Let me go to the restroom first, then we'll go home."
"Okay." Chen Yubai responded casually, turning off the recording on his phone. "Then I'll wait for you at the entrance, so you don't have to squeeze back."
“Okay.” Peng Chengyi nodded and jumped off the bar stool.
When she came out of the restroom, she didn't see Chen Yubai at the door.
That's strange, did he leave first?
Peng Chengyi glanced at the tree in the distance and saw that his bicycle was still there. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, took out her phone from her pocket, and opened the chat window with him.
I just typed three words: "Where are you?"
A familiar, lazy voice came from behind: "Here."
"Ah!" Peng Chengyi's hand trembled in fright, and she turned around speechlessly. "What are you doing, appearing and disappearing like a ghost!"
Chen Yubai shrugged innocently: "You were so busy looking at your phone that you didn't notice I was here."
"I only got my phone ready to call you because you weren't at the door!" Peng Chengyi pouted and asked him with dissatisfaction, "Why did it take you so long to come out?"
"I picked something up." He casually opened his clenched palm.
"What is that?" Peng Chengyi frowned, and when she saw the silver pick in his palm, her expression froze for a moment, then she raised her eyes in disbelief. "Where did you find that!"
"Near the table," he replied casually, urging her, "Hurry up and put it away, or Aunt Zhou will call you again."
“Oh…” Peng Chengyi picked up the pick that still carried his body heat, and gently brushed his palm with her fingertips, as if a feather had tickled his heart.
Chen Yubai pursed his lips slightly and casually put his hands back in his pockets.
Peng Chengyi gently stroked the pick that symbolized her unattainable ideals again, and carefully tucked it into the safest inner pocket of her down jacket.
"Thank you." The corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, and her eyes curved into crescents as she looked up at him.
"I'm leaving." Chen Yubai casually ruffled her hair and lazily strode away.
"..." Peng Chengyi hurriedly raised her hand to tidy her hair that he had ruffled, and chased after him to protest, "Don't you dare touch my head again because of your height!"
"Then try harder and grow another 20 centimeters." He tugged at the corner of his lips, a mischievous smile appearing in his eyes.
"Chen Yubai!" Peng Chengyi clenched her fist. "Don't force me to beat you up during this happiest moment!"
“Then you’ll have to be able to keep up with me,” Chen Yubai said, straddling his mountain bike with a flourish.
The night breeze ruffled the boy's hair, making his smile appear even more flamboyant and unrestrained.
Peng Chengyi's fists hardened even more. He quickly jumped onto his bicycle and chased after the other man, cursing as he did so: "You just wait!"
Chen Yubai turned around and deliberately slowed down the car, letting the night wind carry his laughter to her ears.
"Yes, I've been waiting."
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Author's Note: Someone used a double entendre, but unfortunately Chengcheng didn't understand. [Facepalm and peeking]
Thank you 75981039, uoow, and arun for the nutrient solution!
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