Chapter 50 Poaching
Peng Chengyi was pulled by Zheng Xinyue all the way to the corridor outside the music classroom. From a distance, she could see that a lot of girls had gathered at the door of the rehearsal room. They were chatting and laughing in twos and threes, but their eyes were all looking into the glass window.
"...Why are there so many people spying on us today? Did a lot of bands suddenly appear at this year's arts festival?" Peng Chengyi asked Zheng Xinyue in a low voice, completely bewildered.
"What spying?" Zheng Xinyue chuckled, leaning close to her ear and saying, "They're all here to see Song Xingran! Someone secretly took photos of their band rehearsing a couple of days ago and posted them on the campus forum, and they went viral instantly! He's a rising star now, with tons of female fans!"
“Song Xingran?” Peng Chengyi repeated the name, somewhat bewildered.
"He's Chen Wei's cousin's younger brother, the one who's super cool at playing the drums!" Zheng Xinyue explained.
“Oh…I see,” Peng Chengyi suddenly realized, patting her chest lightly. “You scared me. I thought there were suddenly so many competitors.”
"How come you only have the competition on your mind and don't have an appreciative eye for handsome guys at all!" Zheng Xinyue said with amusement.
As the two were talking, they suddenly noticed that the group of girls at the classroom door all turned their gazes in their direction, accompanied by a series of suppressed, excited whispers.
Peng Chengyi subconsciously pursed her lips, her pace slowed involuntarily, and she nervously tugged at Zheng Xinyue's sleeve: "Why are they all suddenly looking this way?"
"Maybe it's because we're wearing our high school uniforms, which makes us stand out here?" Zheng Xinyue guessed uncertainly.
"Then, shall we go?" Peng Chengyi felt uncomfortable under his gaze and began to back out.
"No way! You're the senior, show some spirit!" Zheng Xinyue encouraged her.
Peng Chengyi opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, someone patted her head from behind: "Walking so slowly, are you blocking the road like a gatekeeper?"
Upon hearing that familiar yet lazy young voice, Peng Chengyi was startled and turned around abruptly.
Suddenly, Chen Yubai appeared behind them, his eyelids drooping, looking at her with a leisurely gaze.
In that instant, she finally understood why all the girls were looking this way.
It turned out that their focus wasn't on the high school uniform at all, but on Chen Yubai behind her.
"..." Peng Chengyi slapped away the hand that was still pressing on her head, speechless, and asked in a surprised tone, "Why are you in the music room too? Aren't you not interested in spying on military intelligence?"
"I left something in the rehearsal room yesterday," Chen Yubai said casually, rubbing the back of his neck.
Seeing his expression, Peng Chengyi couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "What did you leave behind?"
Chen Yubai's raised hand paused subtly in mid-air for two seconds before casually lowering it: "...picker."
"What pick do you use to play bass?" Peng Chengyi immediately seized on the loophole.
"Don't I have to play the guitar when I'm composing? Is it weird to carry a guitar pick around?" Chen Yubai chuckled, then subtly changed the subject. "But you, you seem to love joining in the fun these days. So many people are squeezing in to see handsome guys."
Peng Chengyi's ears burned, and she turned around stiffly, saying, "...Mind your own business! Go find your guitar pick!"
Chen Yubai frowned almost imperceptibly before walking past her and heading straight to the rehearsal room door, where he raised his hand and knocked.
The music inside stopped abruptly, and a moment later, the door was opened, and Song Xingran appeared in the doorway.
He glanced at Chen Yubai outside the door, with whom he had never interacted before, and raised an eyebrow in slight surprise: "Something wrong?"
Chen Yubai slowly sized him up before speaking calmly, "We were rehearsing in this classroom yesterday, and I lost my pick. Did any of you see it?"
"Oh, let me ask," Song Xingran said, turning back to ask inside, "Has anyone seen a pick?"
"No."
"I didn't notice."
"I don't think I saw it..."
The people inside responded in a cacophony of voices.
"It might have fallen somewhere else. Sorry to bother you." Chen Yubai smiled politely.
"It's nothing, no big deal." Song Xingran shrugged nonchalantly and gave a bright smile to the girls watching them outside.
A suppressed whisper of excitement suddenly filled the corridor—
Wow! Song Xingran is so handsome! His smile is so beautiful!
"And she seems to have a really good temper!"
"But that senior in the second year of high school next to him is also so eye-catching! His aura is amazing... Does anyone know his name?"
"You don't know that? Chen Yubai! He's the undisputed school heartthrob of our No. 1 High School!"
Wow! Today was totally worth it! Two handsome guys in the same frame!
Peng Chengyi huddled silently against the wall, wishing she could embed herself into a crack in the wall to minimize her presence.
She had just breathed a sigh of relief when the rehearsal room door finally closed, only to see Chen Yubai not only not leave, but instead stroll back to her side and ask lazily, "You've seen the handsome guy, aren't you going to eat? Let's go together."
"..." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips and subconsciously looked at Zheng Xinyue beside her.
She was already feeling very uncomfortable from the subtle, pervasive stares from all around her, and all she wanted to do was escape the scene as quickly as possible.
"Come on, let's go eat! We really got a good look at this handsome guy today." Zheng Xinyue smiled knowingly and happily took her arm.
Upon arriving at the cafeteria, while Chen Yubai was queuing at the stir-fry window, Zheng Xinyue immediately leaned close to Peng Chengyi's ear, lowered her voice, and excitedly said, "I think Chen Yubai still has some other feelings for you!"
"Why are you bringing this up again?" Peng Chengyi turned her face, both amused and exasperated. "Didn't I already prove it to you during the last agricultural study trip?"
“Look at the way he was just now, he didn’t seem like he really came to look for the pick. He was clearly jealous and came to steal your view of the handsome guy! Once you go with him, he won’t continue looking for the pick.” Zheng Xinyue analyzed logically and with certainty in her eyes.
“Hey, you don’t know unless you play guitar,” Peng Chengyi explained helplessly. “Once you lose that guitar pick, it’s like falling into an alternate dimension. It’s basically impossible to find it again. He just gave up. Don’t overthink it.”
"Is that really true?" Zheng Xinyue hesitated after hearing what she said.
“That’s really true.” Peng Chengyi nodded firmly, his expression resolute.
“Okay.” Zheng Xinyue shrugged in disappointment, then added, “But that Song Xingran, he seems to know how to attract attention. No wonder Weiwei doesn’t like to have anything to do with him.”
"Does he have one?" Peng Chengyi asked, bewildered.
"Of course he did!" Zheng Xinyue gave him a look that said, "You didn't even notice? Look at how he was smiling at the girls outside just now! Compare that to when Chen Yubai has ever flirted with other girls like that?"
After she said that, Peng Chengyi thought about it carefully.
From childhood to adulthood, he has indeed always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor towards other girls, keeping them at a distance.
Forget about that sunny smile; they rarely even give me a second glance.
I don't even know what they're pulling at.
Perhaps, they're afraid of trouble?
After all, it seems he wasn't really interested in dating early in life.
-
Under the dual pressure of rehearsals and studies, time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time for the arts festival performance.
Although Peng Chengyi and his band presented a more mature and infectious performance on stage than last year, they still seemed a bit immature compared to the technically skilled and elaborately arranged Daydream Band, and ultimately won third place.
Stepping out of the auditorium, the evening breeze carried a slight chill. Peng Chengyi looked at the band members beside her, and a sense of resentment and guilt quietly resurfaced in her heart: "I'm sorry... I'm not good enough, and I've dragged everyone down."
"It's okay, we're about the same level, I don't feel guilty, why should you feel guilty?" Chen Yubai paused slightly, then chuckled lazily while holding his bass guitar. "Besides, we both won first place last year, we have to give others a chance this year."
"..." Peng Chengyi was stunned for a moment, and for a moment she didn't know whether to thank him for his comfort or to criticize his overly Versailles-like remarks.
“Exactly!” Zheng Xinyue chimed in to comfort her, “And I think Chengcheng, you play just as well as that daydreaming guitarist! He’s all flashy with technique, but he’s cold and impersonal. He doesn’t play with the same emotion and feeling as you do!”
“I think so too,” Chen Wei nodded calmly in agreement. “We left no regrets on stage, and that’s enough.”
"Besides, it's not like we didn't win an award. Shouldn't third place be a reason to go to the barbecue stand and celebrate right away?!" Zhang Yang clapped his hands, warming up the slightly somber atmosphere.
"Sure! Let's have a barbecue!" Zheng Xinyue excitedly raised her hand.
"Let's go," Chen Wei said succinctly, indicating her agreement.
Upon hearing that everyone was going to have barbecue together again, Peng Chengyi's gloom vanished, and she excitedly agreed, "Great! Let's go have barbecue!"
It happened to be Saturday, which was also the arts festival, so the school gates were less guarded, and students flocked out of the school in small groups.
The nearby streets were brightly lit and bustling with people, exuding the relaxed and lively atmosphere unique to a weekend night. The barbecue restaurant they had visited before was especially lively, with hardly any empty tables left inside or outside.
The five of them had just sat down near the door when the plastic curtain behind them rustled, followed by a clear, cheerful voice: "Sis, you guys are here for barbecue too?"
Chen Wei paused as she scanned the QR code to place her order. Turning around, she saw Song Xingran and his band members lift the curtain and walk in. He wore his signature hearty smile and his gaze fell directly on their table.
"Hmm." Chen Wei responded indifferently, her gaze returning to the menu, clearly not intending to chat any further.
"How about we share a table?" Song Xingran suggested with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the coldness in her tone. "I just watched your performance, it was quite excellent, we can chat about it together."
Before Chen Wei could speak, Chen Yubai, who was sitting diagonally opposite her, raised his eyes first.
"Forget it." He leaned back lazily, his gaze sweeping meaningfully across the already crowded aisle, and said in a flat but uncompromising tone, "There's no room here either."
So Chen Wei nodded in agreement: "Yeah, there's not enough room."
"Fine." Song Xingran shrugged awkwardly and took a long stride, but paused again as she passed Peng Chengyi. "Senior, you play the guitar pretty well. Can I add you on WeChat? We're actually missing a melodic guitarist. We can play together sometime."
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere at the table momentarily froze.
Zheng Xinyue and Zhang Yang exchanged a knowing glance. Chen Wei frowned slightly, while Chen Yubai, who had been leaning back lazily in his chair, sat up almost imperceptibly and glanced at Song Xingran with a somewhat serious look.
Peng Chengyi was completely taken aback when the topic suddenly turned to her, especially with this direct invitation to "poach" her. She was momentarily stunned and instinctively uttered, "Huh?"
Before she could even gather her thoughts, Chen Yubai's voice, devoid of any discernible emotion, came from beside her and answered for her, "She's busy."
The response was quick and direct, giving Peng Chengyi no time to react.
Song Xingran seemed surprised to be rejected so decisively. She paused for a moment, then chuckled, her gaze shifting between him and Peng Chengyi. As if she understood something, her smile deepened, tinged with amusement: "Oh? Senior can make decisions for senior sister?"
The words were full of teasing, and Peng Chengyi's face inexplicably flushed. She quickly cleared her throat, preparing to explain and refuse.
Chen Yubai spoke again, his tone still calm, yet carrying an undeniable air: "Yes, I can."
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Author's Note: Some people are getting restless! [Eating melon emoji] Commenting will get you a red envelope!
Thanks to SaltyFishDoesn'tWantToTurnOver and uoow for the nutrient solution!
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