Chapter 21 Intimacy +1
It was late at night.
The silence at this moment was made all the more vivid.
Peng Chengyi could almost sense that something seemed off about Chen Yubai.
But before she could pinpoint the source of that strangeness, she heard him speak lazily:
"Be the older brother."
Peng Chengyi pursed her lips speechlessly: "...What's the difference?"
“The difference is, you’re lower in status than me, so you have to listen to me.” Chen Yubai said, picking up her violin case with one hand and pressing her shoulder with the other without saying a word, half-pushing and half-leading her to the door. “I’m sleepy, I don’t have the energy to play pajama party with you. Go home and sleep, little brother.”
"Huh?" Before Peng Chengyi could fully react, the person was already standing outside the door with the violin case in hand.
"Goodnight." He waved goodbye to her one last time and closed the door without a second thought.
"..."
Goodnight, you big dummy!
Coming to her senses, Peng Chengyi couldn't help but give the middle finger to the closed door before turning around and reluctantly returning to her home across the street.
Lying in bed after her shower, she felt increasingly aggrieved. She couldn't help but open WeChat, tap his profile picture, and try to salvage the situation.
"Do you think I want to have a pajama party with you?"
"It's because, besides you, there's no one else who's more convenient for the time being."
"Chen Wei and Zheng Xinyue, their homes are both too far away."
"If it were just a few bus stops away, I wouldn't even consider you."
After sending the message, she finally let out a long sigh, set the device to Do Not Disturb mode, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.
The next day, as soon as Peng Chengyi woke up, she grabbed her phone and checked WeChat.
As a result, Chen Yubai didn't reply to her at all.
She couldn't help but angrily slap his profile picture a few more times.
But then they discovered that he had changed the tapping status, and a string of messages popped up on the screen:
I patted the "silly dog," and our intimacy level increased by 1.
I patted the "silly dog," and our intimacy level increased by 1.
I patted the "silly dog," and our intimacy level increased by 1.
? ? ?
Did he anticipate that if he didn't reply, she would frantically pat him when she woke up in the morning, so he deliberately changed it to this kind of reminder that would prevent her from patting him anymore?
She was truly exasperated by this dog.
Isn't he afraid that someone other than her will take pictures of him?
After she raised this question, Chen Yubai finally replied, "No one but you would take my picture."
Peng Chengyi: "What if, in case, one of the girls' hands shakes?"
Chen Yubai: "I don't have other girls' WeChat accounts, so even if they shook like crazy, they still wouldn't be able to take pictures of me."
Peng Chengyi: "..."
-
The National Day holiday has just ended, and the November arts festival is quietly approaching.
Unlike the military training performance, this arts festival does not differentiate between grades and classes; awards are based solely on individual or team performances. However, to ensure sufficient performance time, each class must still have someone sign up to participate.
Classes with art students naturally have it easy, and the arts and culture representative hardly needs to mobilize anyone. But in Peng Chengyi's class, there wasn't a single art student, so the burden of recruiting fell entirely on the arts and culture representative.
"Hey, you said you were practicing guitar to help me with my work?" Chen Yubai finally cornered Peng Chengyi, who had been avoiding him for the past two days, at the bathroom door during a break between classes.
“But our band is still missing a bassist… We can’t just let me go on stage/play a solo, can we? I’ll be so nervous.” Peng Chengyi shrank her neck, turned around, and put on a weak, pitiful, and helpless expression.
Chen Yubai smiled slightly, his tone gentle but ruthless: "It's alright, just hold on until the end of the performance, and I'll collect your body."
Peng Chengyi's eyelashes trembled, and her voice was tinged with grievance: "...How could you be so cruel?"
"Please, you stood me up first." Chen Yubai chuckled and shoved the registration form into her hand, saying, "If you want me to continue carrying your guitar in the future, then you'd better fill out this form for me."
"..."
Having exhausted all other excuses, Peng Chengyi could only clutch the thin registration form and walk back to the classroom, tears welling up in her eyes.
Seeing her dejected appearance, Zheng Xinyue immediately asked, "Were you captured by Chen Yubai?"
“Hmm…” Peng Chengyi nodded solemnly.
"Actually, I think this is a pretty good opportunity. If I could play the guitar, I would go for you. Maybe I could even get noticed by the handsome guy in the second year of high school and start a sweet romance." Zheng Xinyue rested her chin on her hands, her eyes sparkling with longing.
"Wake up, the school doesn't allow early relationships," Chen Wei couldn't help but interject.
Zheng Xinyue: "Oh, it's not like no one has a secret relationship. I heard there's a couple in the next class."
Chen Wei: "You've heard about it all, how can you still call it a secret relationship?"
“Anything that the teacher can’t find evidence for can be considered valid,” Zheng Xinyue said confidently.
Peng Chengyi's eyes lit up, and she took Zheng Xinyue's hand in hers: "Then I'll start teaching you to play the guitar now. Go and sign up."
"Huh? Is that realistic? I have absolutely no musical background." Zheng Xinyue looked at her uncertainly.
“To be honest,” Chen Wei interrupted, “it would be more realistic to have Chengcheng switch to bass now.”
"That's it." Peng Chengyi sighed, then realized something a second later and said, "Wait, you mean, I still have time to switch to bass?"
“Yes, there are many similarities between guitar and bass. If you can play guitar, you can basically play simple bass rhythms after practicing for a day or two,” Chen Wei explained to her.
"Then our band is officially formed!" Peng Chengyi stood up excitedly.
Chen Wei: "Do you have a bass guitar at home?"
"Uh...no."
The hope that had just been ignited was extinguished by a single sentence, and Peng Chengyi silently sat back down.
Her monthly allowance was barely enough to eat in the cafeteria and maybe buy one or two comic books.
Where can I scrape together the money for a bass guitar?
Unless… she turned her head and glanced at Chen Yubai, who walked in through the back door of the classroom.
He definitely has the financial means.
However, if she begged him to switch to bass now, he might kill her before she even got to perform at the cultural festival.
She might have to test the waters indirectly first.
As she was pondering this, Chen Yubai, perhaps sensing her gaze, suddenly lifted his eyelids.
Their eyes met briefly across the air, and Peng Chengyi quickly turned her head to the right.
Chen Yubai paused, walked straight past his seat towards her, and asked, "What are you up to now? Have you filled out the application form?"
"..."
Damn! How did he figure out she was after him?
Peng Chengyi's heart skipped a beat. She quickly racked her brains and awkwardly raised her face: "I'm about to fill it out, but I need to think of a name first."
"Why would you need a name if you're all alone?" He narrowed his long, narrow eyes.
“Not alone, I still think we should go on as a band.” Peng Chengyi blinked.
"...You found a bassist in just a few minutes?" Chen Yubai looked at her suspiciously.
"Found it."
Where?
“Far away, yet right before my eyes.” Peng Chengyi raised his hand and pointed to himself.
Chen Yubai: "..."
Seeing his utterly speechless expression, Peng Chengyi quickly pulled Chen Wei beside her: "Weiwei, come and explain this to him."
"..." Chen Wei glanced at her helplessly before simply repeating what she had said before.
"So now, you're not only abandoning your ambition to be a guitar hero, but you're even giving up your identity as a guitarist?" Chen Yubai asked slowly.
"For the future of our band, someone always has to make a sacrifice." Peng Chengyi put on a heroic expression.
Chen Yubai frowned: "...So you still want to buy a bass? Do you have enough pocket money?"
Peng Chengyi: "I plan to sell my Ruji."
Chen Yubai: "Do you think these firewood sticks will sell?"
Peng Chengyi: "Don't you dare call my Xiao Ji a fire poker!"
Chen Yubai: "...You even gave it a name?"
"Even the worst piano will develop feelings after being played for a long time."
Peng Chengyi pretended to wipe away tears and continued in a mournful tone:
"But for the sake of our band, I decided to reluctantly give it up."
"I will try my best to find it a new owner that it can trust."
"I'm handing over the spotlight as the band's guitarist to you. I'll just go back and quietly play bass."
Chen Yubai, with his hands in his pockets, watched quietly for a while before speaking calmly, "Is the performance over? Class is about to start."
"..."
Peng Chengyi's lips twitched slightly, and she almost couldn't control the sad expression on her face.
How did this dog see through her sob story right away?
How could she then gain his sympathy and get him to offer to play bass?
"Who performed this? I was just expressing my true feelings. I'm sad."
Peng Chengyi sniffed, wanting to say a few more words, when the class bell rang.
Chen Yubai smiled noncommittally and turned back to his seat in the back row.
Peng Chengyi could only quickly sit up straight and watch as the physics teacher, carrying his lesson plan, walked up to the podium.
It seems that trying to persuade Chen Yubai to play bass is not going to work, so she can only think of another way to raise the money to buy a bass.
What if she took a risky path and used all her living expenses for the month to buy a bass guitar, and then followed Chen Yu to freeload off him?
Even if he's a scoundrel, he probably wouldn't just stand by and watch her starve to death.
Peng Chengyi was listening to the lesson absentmindedly until the physics teacher suddenly called on her: "Peng Chengyi, you tell me how to solve this problem."
"...?"
Peng Chengyi suddenly snapped out of her daze, glanced at the exam paper in a panic, and then at the blackboard.
Oh no, she had no idea which question he was asking.
Peng Chengyi pursed her lips, slowly stood up, and, clinging to her last glimmer of hope, glanced at Chen Wei beside her.
Fortunately, Chen Wei was very perceptive and tapped the pen tip on the third multiple-choice question on the test paper.
Peng Chengyi breathed a slight sigh of relief and stammered out the solution to the problem.
After successfully passing the checkpoint, she sat down and couldn't help but glance back at the culprit that had distracted her.
Sensing her resentful gaze, Chen Yubai moved his lips and mouthed two words: "Listen to the lesson."
"..."
Peng Chengyi silently withdrew his gaze, suddenly realizing that there was a possibility he might watch her starve to death.
-
After physics class, it was lunchtime.
As Peng Chengyi walked towards the cafeteria with Zheng Xinyue and Chen Wei, she opened a second-hand trading app on her phone and searched for bass guitars made in Shandong, with prices similar to her Luji.
I just don't know if we can complete the swap and sale within the next two days.
Although she cried terribly with Chen Yubai just now, it was mostly acting.
But the thought of giving up the guitar and becoming a bassist still left her with a little sadness.
After all, the bassist is like an invisible man in the band; the average audience member can't tell what the bassist is playing.
As Peng Chengyi was scrolling down her phone screen, someone suddenly patted her head.
"Stop playing bass, I'll play the bass."
"Huh?" Peng Chengyi was taken aback and raised his head in disbelief.
Chen Yubai appeared beside her at some point, with Zhang Yang by her side.
"How come you suddenly had a change of heart..." She opened her mouth, still a little incredulous.
Chen Yubai chuckled lazily: "Since there's only one guitarist left, I'll have to be the lead singer too, right? That's too high-profile, I don't like it."
"……oh."
It wasn't out of pity for her.
He just wanted to keep a low profile.
However, the bassist issue was finally resolved, and her band was officially formed at that moment.
Peng Chengyi immediately became excited again and said, "Then let's think of a band name first! All the members are here."
Zhang Yang: "Hey, who's the drummer?"
Chen Wei raised her hand casually.
"Oh, so you're Chen Wei! I've heard so much about you. Peng Chengyi always told me you're really good at the drums." Zhang Yang greeted her warmly, then added with a smile, "You probably know me too, right?"
Chen Wei: "I don't know."
"..."
Zhang Yang choked, speechless as he looked at Peng Chengyi.
Peng Chengyi chuckled awkwardly twice, then quickly added, "Zhang Yang, from Class 9, can play the saxophone and keyboard; he's very skilled."
"Oh." Chen Wei nodded lightly, and seeing that Zhang Yang's expression was still quite tense, she added, "It's nice to meet you."
“…It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” Zhang Yang forced a smile.
"Why do you two sound like you're talking in the jargon of an English textbook translation?" Zheng Xinyue couldn't help but complain.
Chen Wei: "Maybe it's because my mom is an English teacher."
Having found a common topic, Zhang Yang immediately added, "What a coincidence, my dad is a chemistry teacher."
Chen Wei replied casually, "English and chemistry are completely unrelated, what's the coincidence?"
Zhang Yang: "..."
Seeing that the band's drummer and keyboardist weren't quite in sync from the start, Peng Chengyi, worried that the band would break up, quickly jumped in to smooth things over: "Let's think of a band name first, and fill out the registration forms this afternoon!"
However, when it came to the band name, the disagreements were even greater.
Chen Wei wanted something cool, Zhang Yang wanted something artistic, Chen Yubai wanted something simple, and Peng Chengyi wanted something passionate.
They discussed it back and forth, but it was almost time for afternoon classes to start, and they still hadn't reached a conclusion.
As an outsider, Zheng Xinyue timidly raised her hand and said, "How about we name it After School, taking into account your student status?"
The four of them were taken aback and all turned to look at her.
Zheng Xinyue quickly said, "I just want to offer a small suggestion."
“I think this is great! It’s similar to the after-school teatime in K-On! I’m all for it!” Peng Chengyi was the first to react.
Chen Wei: "I think it's pretty good too. The English sounds cool."
Chen Yubai: "Two words, that's concise enough."
Seeing that three people had voted in favor, Zhang Yang, who had initially hesitated, thought the name was indeed quite good the more he thought about it, so he nodded and said, "I think it's good too."
Peng Chengyi said happily, "Then it's settled! Thanks to Yueyue, you'll be our band's... mascot!"
Zheng Xinyue: "...Aren't there any other roles?"
Chen Yubai: "Band Manager".
Zheng Xinyue's eyes lit up: "This sounds amazing, what are we going to do?"
Chen Yubai: "Helping the band find rehearsal rooms and other coordination work."
Zheng Xinyue: "That's what I'm good at! I want to be a manager!"
However, this so-called band manager was clearly someone Chen Yubai was lazy about, who had nominally shirked his role as the arts and culture committee member.
But Zheng Xinyue accepted it so happily.
Peng Chengyi, who had originally wanted to expose him, silently shut his mouth again.
I thought that once the band name was decided, choosing songs would be another challenge.
However, since Peng Chengyi and Chen Yubai are both beginners, the chords cannot be too difficult, the solo parts must be replaceable by the keyboard, the rhythm must be led by the drums, the lyrics cannot contain too much love and romance, the rhythm must be cheerful and able to liven up the atmosphere, which greatly narrowed down the range of choices.
Soon, the summer invasion project, "I Want to Go to the Beach," was finalized.
-
After submitting the registration form, there were less than two weeks left until the cultural festival.
Taking advantage of the weekend break, Chen Yubai went to the music store and bought a Fender classic sunset gradient maple bass, and also learned some bass playing fingering from Dasheng.
Peng Chengyi stayed at home and practiced the strumming score that Zhang Yang had transcribed for her.
Their plan is to first master the sheet music individually, and then get together to rehearse next week.
Although Peng Chengyi was able to quickly strum the chords, she encountered another unexpected problem—
Once she starts singing, she forgets how to change chords with her hands.
It seems that not only are her hands and feet uncoordinated, but her mouth and hands are also poorly coordinated.
As time passed day by day, Peng Chengyi, still unable to overcome the problem, sought out Chen Yubai in despair.
"I have something to tell you." She gently tugged at his school uniform sleeve.
“…Speak.” Chen Yubai, who had been sleeping with his head on the table, raised his tired eyes.
"I don't think I'm cut out to be the lead singer," she said, pursing her lips slightly nervously.
"..."
Chen Yubai frowned, slowly sat up, stared at her, and asked, word by word, "The band is going to rehearse this afternoon during activity class, and you're telling me you can't be the lead singer?"
Peng Chengyi gave an awkward laugh and carefully explained, "When I sing, my hands just don't know what to play... If there were more time, I could practice more, but there are only four days left. I'm afraid I won't be able to practice properly and will hold everyone back."
"You can't learn it in four days, but I can? Don't you know that bass singing is even harder?" Chen Yubai glanced at her with amusement.
Peng Chengyi quickly said, "I didn't mean for you to go on stage. I wanted you to ask Zhang Yang if a keyboardist could be the lead singer."
Chen Yubai: "He can play the keyboard, but he can't sing."
Peng Chengyi: "Why?"
Chen Yubai: "Because he has a very plain voice, his singing is very unpleasant."
Peng Chengyi: "..."
It's over.
Everything is over.
She estimated that she would either forget to play the instrument or forget to sing the lyrics on stage.
In the end, he became the laughingstock of the entire school and could never hold his head up again.
Seeing the look of utter despair on her face, Chen Yubai remained silent for a moment before gently flicking her forehead.
"Alright, stop overthinking. I might as well try singing during rehearsal this afternoon."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Where are all the comments, my darlings? [Facepalm peeking][Facepalm peeking][Facepalm peeking]
Thanks to the following for feeding me: Irritable Ah Huo, Soleil, I'm Really Not a Picky Eater, Yuzu, and the nutrient solution that I thought about for a long time before giving you a bad name!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com