His voice was light and low, but when it reached Xia Zhixu’s heart, it turned into an extremely sharp alarm bell, awakening the cold cicada in his chest that had stopped making noise.
Xia Zhixu immediately released Xu Qichen and reached out stiffly to grasp a pole hastily.
“Sorry.”
Xu Qichen didn’t speak, only shook his head gently and tucked his face into the collar of his cotton jacket.
A thin layer of white mist accumulated on the bus window, while the heating inside the bus baked their cheeks red hot.
Striving to conceal their abnormality in front of the each other, they hastily bid farewell and returned home. During lunch, Xu Qichen received a WeChat message from Xia Zhixu.
[Will you really write for her?]
He had already said, he was not writing it for her! Xu Qichen bit the chopstick and replied, [I didn’t agree. Then she said that she will write a draft and asked me to edit it, so I said yes.]
Xia Zhixu’s reply came instantly, [That’s fine.]
Xu Qichen could almost imagine his barely satisfied expression when he wrote this sentence.
In the following days, whenever Cen Xi had time, she went to Xu Qichen’s seat to ask him for help. In fact, for Xu Qichen, writing poetry for the school anniversary itself was not an attractive prospect, as it had to be written with a clear theme and purpose, losing the meaning of writing poetry itself. But he was still very serious and patient in helping Cen Xi’s, from choosing words and sentences to metaphorical ideas.
Just because of this arrangement, Xia Zhixu had not been able to add anything to the conversation. He could only sit quietly in the back and watch the two of them write poetry together, while also listening to his desk mate happily gossiping.
He was suffering in silence.
After Cen Xi signed up for the performance and passed the school’s review smoothly, there was nothing left but to wait for the school anniversary performance. After helping her write the poem, Xu Qichen also believed that the task was completed and he did not have to care about the program anymore. However, that was not to be.
Unexpectedly, on the day before the school anniversary, Cen Xi fell ill.
During the evening self-study, the class monitor stood on the podium and said, “Cen Xi is sick, and her program will definitely not be able to proceed as planned tomorrow. Does anyone have any talents to perform in her place? Especially the kind you can perform straight away without rehearsal.”
The class began to murmur amongst themselves. The situation was urgent, but no one dared to step forward to take over this hot potato.
His desk mate spoke in a low voice, “I heard that she has pneumonia and is in the hospital.”
Xu Qichen didn’t speak, just lowered his head and silently looked at the book. His desk mate saw him like this and didn’t speak anymore.
“No one? Well, if you have any idea, you can also let me know in private so I can sign you up. Time is tight, so please let me know as soon as possible, otherwise our class won’t have any programs for this school anniversary.”
No programs…
Xu Qichen’s pen pointed at the bottom of the page, there was a strange feeling in his chest.
He did not know that Xia Zhixu had been staring at his back since the class monitor went up to speak.
Xu Qichen felt his chair being kicked and a post-it stuck to his neck.
[Don’t you think it’s a pity? Your poem won’t be read.]
Xu Qichen sighed and wrote a line below. He reached behind his back and put the note on Xia Zhixu’s desk.
[It’s a pity, but not because of that. It’s a rare opportunity to perform at the school’s anniversary. We might be the only class without a program. I think that’s a pity.]
Xia Zhixu held the note and stared at the answer written by Xu Qichen. After a while, he stuffed the paper into his Olympiad math book.
“Monitor!”
Just as the class monitor was about to step down from the podium, he suddenly heard someone calling out to him. Looking up, he saw Xia Zhixu in the back row of the fourth column raise his hand, revealing two small tiger teeth.
“I want to represent our class.”
Everyone in the class turned their heads to look at Xia Zhixu. Xia Zhixu leaned back on the chair, and the smile that had been disguised as calm became a bit sheepish when he saw Xu Qichen turn around.
Xu Qichen did not speak, just looked at him with a slight frown, which was the expression he made when he was confused.
“Really? That’s great!” The monitor grabbed onto this lifeline and quickly came to Xia Zhixu’s side, “What wil you perform? I’ll sign you up right away.”
“Uhm…” Xia Zhixu laughed nervously, “I haven’t decided.”
That was the truth. Before he could think through it, his hand had shot up by itself.
“Yo, who said before that he would never perform?” Chen Fang watched the excitement and said, “Class monitor, Xia Zhixu sings very well and can also play the guitar.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xia Zhixu rolled his eyes at him and said, “Class monitor, Chen Fang can play the drum.”
Ktf mijrr wbclabg ofia gfilfnfv jcv rwlifv, “Ktfc sbe mjc obgw j yjcv! Pr atfgf jcsbcf firf ktb xcbkr batfg lcragewfcar?”
Snfgsbcf fcaterljralmjiis vlrmerrfv jcv qjgalmlqjafv lc atf abqlm bo ‘Jijrr 13 Vmtbbi Jfifygjalbc Ufgobgwjcmf Efrmef’. We Hlmtfc ibbxfv ja atf jmalnf mijrrwjafr jcv aegcfv jgbecv jcv rwlifv ja Wlj Itlze.
Xia Zhixu asked, “Is it still a pity?”
Xu Qichen smiled and shook his head, his smiling eyes masking the indifference in his amber pupils, leaving only a warm light.
Looking at the slightly raised corners of his mouth, Xia Zhixu felt that there was nothing more worthwhile than this.
He was not a natural performer. But for Xi Qichen, he would try.
A keyboard player joined them as well, and the class monitor was very excited. However, an important thing came to mind, “By the way, the review for this school anniversary is still very strict, and we cannot sing songs about love.”
The whole class let out a hiss.
“That’s so old-fashioned.”
“As if everyone will start dating just because we sing a love song.”
“That’s so lame~”
The class monitor clapped his hands and said, “In order for our class to have a smooth performance, let’s be patient. Otherwise, we’ll have nothing to do but watch all the other classes perform tomorrow.”
The complaining students quietened down.
The class monitor asked, “Zhixu, have you decided on a song?”
“I definitely won’t sing a love song. Don’t worry.”
Chen Fang laughed and said, “I can’t trust you when you say ‘definitely’ anymore.”
It’s not easy to improvise with a program, but fortunately, the last class the next morning was physical education followed by lunch break, so they had a few hours to practice.
“You should go back alone later,” Xia Zhixu said, his black guitar bag slung across his back.
Xu Qichen nodded, and then regretted it the next second.
Actually, he could stay for practice.
But who was he to stay?
A good friend?
A good friend who went home together every day?
No matter how fancy and lengthy the attributive may be, the essence of the noun it modifies remains unchanged.
“Then, I’ll get going.”
He had barely taken two steps when he heard him call out, “Watch me perform later!”
The last two lessons of the afternoon were politics and the class meeting. Xia Zhixu and the others did not attend. The pressure to perform on such short notice was very high. Moreover, it was a band that came together only yesterday, so Xu Qichen was a bit worried.
The class meetings have always been self-study, but this time noone in the class was interested in learning. After all, the school anniversary celebration was to start half an hour after the class meeting, which was a rare leisure activity in Jingjian High School, which was known for its rigorous academic style.
Xu Qichen absentmindedly finished the small paper assigned by the politics teacher, thinking that he could finally go for the function without any burden. This was the first time that he looked forward to a school performance so much since the International Children’s Day in the first grade of primary school.
What song will they perform?
Xu Qichen spent a lot of time thinking about it.
Xia Zhixu’s voice is very pleasant, filled with both clarity and magnetism. When he spoke, it always made others feel comfortable. Even the most boring math problems, when explained by him, could sink deep into others’ minds and be understood.
His ears were filled with the commotion in the classroom, and he slowly leaned down to lie on the table. The books piled up on the left side of the table rubbed against his cheek, making it itch.
Suddenly, his mind was filled with the scene from the bus from the other day.
A match suddenly appeared in his heart, and without any warning, it struck and ignited. Its uncontrolled flame spread quickly from his chest to his cheeks, from his cheeks to his earlobes.
Xu Qichen panicked and buried his head in his elbow.
“Are you alright?” his desk mate asked in concern.
“I’m fine, just a little dizzy because of the heater.”
The lie did not alleviate his symptoms.
Finally, it was time for the class to end. Xu Qichen was swamped by a cheerful crowd, surrounded by a group of excited people, successfully hiding his strangeness. As soon as he walked out of the classroom, he saw Director Wang. Surprisingly, Director Wang had a smile on his face.
However, Xu Qichen didn’t expect Director Wang to call out to him.
“Xu Qichen, come here for a moment.”
Xu Qichen walked over, having an ominous premonition.
Instead of the corridor-side talk he was expecting, Director Wang led him to his office, still smiling. The smile made Xu Qichen even more worried.
“Take a seat.”
He hesitantly took a seat.
“I heard from your Teacher Zhang that you won the first prize in the ‘Jinyan Cup’ this time. I saw your composition and it was so beautiful that it was obvious why you won the prize.” Director Wang chuckled and gave Xu Qichen a cup of hot water, “A child like you is exactly the kind of talent we hope to nurture in the humanities class.”
Xu Qichen took the water and whispered thank you to the director, then glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
Director Wang exchanged a few pleasantries before finally getting to the point, “It’s like this. My son is currently in junior high school, and he’s at our affliated school. They have a composition competition recently, which is quite important. I just want you to help my son look at his composition. I think his writing is too airheaded, but as a physics teacher myself, I can’t help much. It’s almost time for the exam, and our Chinese teachers are also busy setting papers
Watching Director Wang take out a piece of writing paper from his desk drawer, Xu Qichen’s heart sank completely. After the director’s speech, how could he possibly refuse?
He glanced at the clock again.
By his estimation, the celebration should have already started by now.
Their class’s performance was arranged to be the seventh one. So there should be about an hour before they performed.
Hesitating would only waste more time.
“I’ll take a look at it now.
Watching Xu Qichen take over the manuscript without hesitation, Director Wang was extremely happy. “Come on, come on, sit at my desk. There is a pen on the table, you can use it to write remarks.”
Xu Qichen nodded and sat down to carefully read the composition of the director’s son.
Time passed by minute by second. Perhaps the office heating was turned on too much, causing sweat to seep out of Xu Qichen’s forehead. He lowered his head and carefully considered and edited word by word.
The first paragraph.
The second one.
The third.
Every paragraph was read and revised with great concentration until he felt satisfied.
Finally, Xu Qichen revised the last paragraph. Looking up, it had been fifty minutes. He snapped on the pen cover and quickly stood up, “Director, I’ve looked through it.”
“Aiya, thank you so much.” Director Wang got up from the sofa. “Come, I’ll treat you to dinner. What would you like to eat?”
“No need, director. I have to go now.” Xu Qichen hastily bowed and ran out of the office in panic.
The venue of the celebration was the auditorium, with Xia Zhixu standing backstage. The makeup artist specially invited by the class leader iwas helping him with the final preparation before going on stage.
“Is Xu Qichen here yet?”
Chen Fang shook his head, “I don’t see him.”
“No way…” Xia Zhixu’s words denied it, but there was no conviction in his tone.
“Chen Fang, your drumset has been set up. Get ready to go on stage.”
“Okay! Let’s go!”
Chen Fang grabbed Xia Zhixu, who was in a daze, and another keyboard player. The three of them appeared on stage when the lights went dark.
Xia Zhixu stood in front of the mic and adjusted the position of the guitar he was carrying.
The moment the stage lights lit up, he tried hard to find the figure of Xu Qichen from among the vast audience below.
But he was not there.
He couldn’t articulate his current emotions. Perhaps, it was a desperate need.
If that need could not be satisfied, he would rather tear off the hypocritical yet appropriate smile on his face right now and leave this stage.
Chen Fang raised his drumsticks and rhythmically tapped them three times in mid air.
The performance began officially.
Xia Zhixu ultimately failed to leave as he had imagined, but instead compromised under the weight of everyone’s expectant gaze. His right hand swept over the strings, while he lowered his head slightly, and focused on the microphone.
“I timidly asked myself, Is this it?
I’m the sun in your eyes, yet also the sadness in your shadow
I asked myself, Is the world, as usual
Letting me shine on your peaceful moments?”
Suddenly, the closed door of the auditorium was opened, and a hurried figure appeared at the entrance.
Xia Zhixu’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Watching him panting against the door from a distance, waving at him.
The person on the stage finally let out a genuine smile.
“You are, the dream I protect most carefully
The ray of light I enjoy, the one no one can replace
You are, my most fragile sun
I fervently hope
To gain faith before disappearing.”
Standing at the highest point amidst numerous figures, Xu Qichen looked at the dazzling Xia Zhixu on stage and suddenly spaced out.
He really looked just like the sun.
Towards the end of the song, one of the girls boldly ran up the stage with a bouquet of flowers and stuffed them into Xia Zhixu’s arms, causing him to be embarrassed and miss a word.
The performance ended smoothly. Xu Qichen circled from the side of the audience to reach the backstage.
When Xia Zhixu saw him, he was so happy that he wanted to rush up and hug him, but thankfully his brain caught up with him and he stopped himself.
It was Xu Qichen who walked up first. He did not apologise although he was initially prepared to do so. Instead, the first thing he did when he saw Xia Zhixu with a restrained expression was to pick a daisy from the bouquet of flowers in his arms and examine it closely.
Then he tucked it behind Xia Zhixu’s ear.
Xu Qichen grinned like a child, “Borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha.”
Xia Zhixu was stunned, hesitated for a moment, and asked, “Did you hear me earlier? How… how was it?”
“Good,” Xu Qichen nodded sincerely, his eyes turned, and he extended his index finger to poke Xia Zhixu’s shoulder.
Xia Zhixu didn’t understand the meaning of his action, and his looked at him with confusion.
“I wanted to see if you’re as fragile as you said, little sun,” Xu Qichen grinned again.
[You are, the dream I protect most carefully]
[You are, my most fragile sun]
Watching Xu Qichen’s innocent and slightly teasing smile, Xia Zhixu also raised a corner of his mouth.
The makeup artist had gelled his hair back, revealing his heroic eyebrows and eyes, with a aura between youth and adulthood.
He suddenly grabbed the finger extended by Xu Qichen and firmly grasped it in his palm.
“What?” Xu Qichen’s smile froze, revealing a hint of confusion.
Xia Zhixu answered with a faint smile, his voice low but full of magical charm, “Confiscating the tool of crime.”
So cuute 😍
they were made for each other 🥺💖 thank you for the translation!
A missed love is so heartbreaking ahhhh
Just kiss already!!
Kiss kiss fall in love!
….this is so damn adorable ..im sooo happy ….ahhhhh