Chapter Forty-Four

  As soon as the passengers got on the bus, Yu Zai thoroughly woke up and asked with a refreshed expression, "Are we going back?"

  "What's wrong with you? Yucai, did you make a mistake or something? You fell asleep from the beginning to the end of the movie and now you're in such a hurry to leave, aren't you ruining the mood?"

  Yu Cai had already forgotten that she was supposed to be at odds with He Qi, and weakly replied, "I'm just asking, I didn't say I must go back."

  He let out a cold snort and ignored her, "A Shi, Mo Fei, where are you two thinking of going now?"

  Perhaps seeing that Qi Shi hadn't responded, he could only continue by saying, "Whatever is fine, I have no opinion."

  Yu Cai looked at the sun that was about to set behind the mountains, "Actually, we can go fly a kite this afternoon, the weather is just right now."

  "Why don't we go sing instead?"

  "Are you saying so?"

  "That's okay" or "It's alright".

  Yu Cai, how about you?

  "I have no opinion."

  And so, the group arrived at a certain KTV hall. Yucai couldn't help but admit that Xia Yunyun's voice was very pleasant to listen to, especially when singing school songs, it was extremely sweet and lovely, no wonder she liked singing.

  Mo Fei's voice is also good, a nice male low-pitched sound. Qi Shu Fan was excited and sang two songs, which were not inferior to Qi Shi Zhi. I guess Qi Shi Zhi's voice was inherited from him.

  Only one Yu Cai was left, who had been tone deaf since childhood and sang off-key. Although she always felt good about herself, Yu Pei had always criticized her for never singing a complete song correctly.

  After being forced to sing two songs, Yu Cai comfortably sat down on the side to eat fruit. Just as she was enjoying herself, He Qi ran over and said, "Yu Cai, let's go sing another one."

  Yu Cai glanced at him, "Has your awkwardness passed yet?"

  He naturally knew what Yu Cai meant by "awkward strength", and with a huff, he glared at her and turned to leave.

  "What's so funny about that?" asked Xiashu Fan.

  "Dear uncle, I have to admit that your ears are really sharp, comparable to some canine animals."

  Qishu just shook his head and smiled, then turned to look at the screen.

  After a while, Xia Yunyun came over and said, "Yucai, accompany me in singing a song."

  Yu Cai looked at her and said: "Miss Xia Yunyun, do you know what it's like when fresh flowers are paired with green leaves? It's just like us!"

  Yu Cai took a bite of watermelon, "Go find Qi Shu Fan to sing with you, hey, Qi Shu Fan!"

  Qishu patted her head, "Don't be naughty, Yunyun, Xiaocai is drooling, I'll accompany you".

  Xia Yunyun was even more willing to ask Fan to accompany her, and he happily agreed.

  "Hey Yucai, come and sing a song with me for a bit."

  Yu Cai gave him a puzzled look, "Is my social relationship so good that it's disgusting? Why don't you go find Xia Yunyun, why come to me, someone who can't even sing?"

  "Looking for her might cause misunderstandings, looking for you—" Mo Fei's voice trailed off.

  Yu Cai bit into the melon in her mouth with a crunching sound, "Alright, I'll take that as a compliment".

  "How about singing one?"

  "If you're willing to tell me why you broke up with Qiao Jia —"

  "It's simple, I don't like her looking at me with that kind of envious eyes."

  "Uh—is that it?"

  "What else do you want?"

  Yu Cai thought for a moment and said, "I don't think we can blame her for this".

  "Perhaps shrugging her shoulders, 'I don't blame her, I just don't like it'."

  Yu Cai was defeated, "Well, it's none of my business anyway".

  "But I feel like after I changed girlfriends, your attitude towards me became a bit more intimate."

  "Is there?"

  He nodded in affirmation.

  "Maybe, Qiao Jia, I'm a little afraid of her."

  "Impossible," Mo Fei said with a smile, "I think it's probably her who's afraid of you."

  Yu Cai shrugged, "She was the one who provoked me that time. Normally I would avoid her as much as possible, and even with you, I didn't dare to have too much contact. And Li Miao, if I could help it, I wouldn't say a word more than necessary."

  "Do you have a deep understanding of Qiao Jia Cheng?"

  Yu Cai stared at him tightly, "Could it be that I remember you weren't someone who valued lust over friendship?"

  "Really? When?"

  Yu Cai smiled softly, "It's also true that boys always like to prioritize physical appearance over friendship. Maybe when you grow up a bit more, you'll be slightly more considerate. You should know that people like Qiao Jia and your current girlfriend will only accompany you for one or two years, but I can at least stay with you for ten years, or even longer."

  "Didn't you carelessly glance at her?" "Is that so?"

  "Yes, I will wait until the day you regret valuing colors over friendship, and then break off our relationship."

  "Isn't it too poisonous for you?"

  "Women's hearts are the most poisonous."

  "You should still be a little girl."

  "The little girl will become a woman by the time she waits for you to take her seriously."

  Mo Fei burst out laughing, "Yu Cai, I think we might be the same kind of people".

  Yu Cai picked up a glass of wine from the table and handed it to him, taking another one for herself. She clinked her glass against his and said, "Well, fellow kind, let's have a drink?"

  Perhaps in the morning she raised her wine glass and drank it all at once. Yu Cai also drank a mouthful without hesitation.

  "Which song would you like to sing?"

  "Let's have a good time, I like that sentence 'beautiful woman becomes an old lady, and I become an old man'".

  He put down his wine glass and said, "As it happens, I like it too."

  "So, same kind, bother you to find a song".

  Yu Cai rarely sang songs that were off-key, but this one was lively and festive, even if she sang it wrong, no one would notice, so Yu Cai smoothly and tacitly finished the whole song with Mo Fei.

  Just finished singing, Mo Fei handed over a glass of wine, clinking his own cup, "This is our first duet, leave a souvenir".

  Yu Cai bumped into him on his way back, "Fellow!"

  "Same here!"

  "What's wrong with you, Yu Cai?"

  Yu Cai shrugged her shoulders, "A Fei, it's up to you now," and turned around to find Qi Shu Fan as a firewall.

  "Are you happy?"

  Yu Cai Duan held up her wine glass and nodded, "It's been a long time since I've come to this place where the wine is intoxicating and the lights are dizzying, where the petty bourgeoisie gather".

  "Have you been here before?"

  "Uh—maybe it's a recurring dream," Yu Cai was afraid that Ji Xianshu would continue to ask, stood up, "Ji Xi seems to have never sung, I'll go and join in the fun."

  Ji Shi Zheng stared at the screen with a serious expression, spacing out, Yu Cai didn't know how this guy managed to perfect the skill of staring blankly into space. He looked like he was contemplating life, and she couldn't help but feel envious. It would be so convenient if he could use this skill to deal with boring meetings!

  "Let's have a drink and sing a song, shall we?"

  Qī shì zhī máng rán yáo tóu, "Yù cǎi, shì bu shì wǒ yī zhěng xiàng xiànzài yíyàng, suǒyǒu rén dōu bú huì xǐhuān wǒ?"

  Translation:

  Qishan shook his head in dismay, "Yucui, is it that I will always be like this and no one will ever like me?"

  Yu Cai was stunned and for a moment did not know how to respond.

  Qī shì zhī màn màn zhuǎn guò tóu, mù guāng píng jìng de kàn zhe tā, "qí shí nǐ yě bú shì zhēn de xǐ huān wǒ, zhǐ jiù yīn wèi tā duì nǐ hǎo, suǒ yǐ nǐ yào huí bào gěi wǒ".

  English Translation:

  Ji Shi slowly turned his head, calmly looking at her, "Actually you don't really like me, it's just because he is good to you, so you want to repay me".

  Yu Cai hastily leaned forward, "A Shi, no, don't get any wrong ideas."

  She looked at him, slowly lowering her eyelashes, like a butterfly folding its wings, falling among the flowers. For a moment, she felt a heart full of sorrow and pity. Her eyes and nose were sour, and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her face against his shoulder. "Ashi, no, really, believe me."

  The feeling of relief washed over him as warm tears trickled down his neck, and his body stiffened slightly. "You cried."

  Yu Cai listened to his still calm and peaceful voice, her heart ached even more, tears streaming down like broken pearls that couldn't be stopped.

  Xia Yunyun, who was not far away, heard the noise and asked in surprise, "Yu Cai, why are you crying?"

  Qishu Fan had always been paying attention to Qishu Zhe and Yu Cai, when he suddenly saw Yu Cai hugging Qishu Zhe tightly. He was shocked in his heart and didn't know whether to go over or not. Just as he was hesitating, he heard Yu Cai crying and couldn't sit still anymore. He hastily ran over and asked, "Xiao Cai, what's wrong?"

  Yu Cai shook her head and didn't say anything.

  Qibook saw her tears streaming out, but she didn't make a sound, which made him even more heartbroken. He reached out to wipe away the tears on her face, "Shi, why are you bullying Xiao Cai?"

  He Qi rushed over and said with a big smile, "A Shi, you're indeed the most ruthless. No matter how I bully her, she'll only fiercely retaliate."

  Xia Yun handed over a tissue, "Yu Cai, don't cry, Ji Shi is not intentional."

  He looked at Yu Cai with a puzzled expression, he didn't mean to bully her, why was she crying like that?

  Yu Cai was already crying for no reason, and now being surrounded by so many people, all her sadness turned into shame and anger, she wished she could find a hole in the ground to jump into.

  At this time, He Qi curiously walked over and said, "Yu Cai, you're crying without making a sound?"

  Yu Cai was in a state of shame and anger, how could she stand his teasing, immediately threw the handkerchief in her hand at his face, "Mind your own business! What are you looking at, haven't you seen a beauty cry before?"

  He Qiyuan clicked his tongue in amazement, "I've never seen anyone cry so fiercely before."

  Qibook saw Yucai again with a sulky expression and signs of impending tantrum, laughed and scolded, "He Qi, say less, Xiao Cai, go wash your face, such a big person, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed?"

  Yu Cai's face lit up as if she had been granted a great pardon, and with her head hung low, she pushed through the crowd and rushed into the restroom.

  Yu Cai was doing ostrich in the bathroom, He Qi was questioning Ji Shi, "A Shi, you must tell the truth today about how you made Yu Cai cry, so I can learn from it later."

  Gazing at him with a puzzled expression, he really didn't bully her!

  Qishu thought that asking Yucai privately would be clearer, so he said in a gentle voice, "He Qi, Xiaocai is particular about her reputation, don't mention this matter again, or she'll get annoyed and definitely won't agree to come out next time."

  It's indeed one of the options, so I can only nod in agreement.

  So, when Yu Cai finally adjusted her mood and tidied up her appearance, she slowly came out of the bathroom. Outside, some people were singing, others were chatting, and those who were eating continued to eat. Nobody paid attention to her, as if what had just happened never occurred. Yu Cai secretly let out a sigh of relief and snuggled up close to Qi Shu Fan.

  She handed over a plate of ham melon, "Want some?"

  Yucai silently took over, eating one piece at a time, and Qi Shu Fan seemed to have forgotten her, still turning his head to watch the big screen.

  Yu Cai felt a surge of gratitude for his thoughtfulness, and the awkwardness that had just arisen slowly dissipated. By the time He Qi and the others said they wanted to leave, Yu Cai had already returned to normal.

  Qishu Fan asked a few people if they wanted to have some midnight snacks before heading back, but Xia Yunyun said it was too late and that they had classes the next day, so they should head back early. Everyone agreed, and Qishu Fan sent each of the high school students home one by one without another word.