After Being Reborn, He Became An Ace In A Boy Band Chapter 17
byChapter 17 The Moonlight is Beautiful Tonight “Falling for you is beyond my control…”
Li Xun had a selfish reason for making this cake.
Tomorrow was his birthday—his birthday as Li Xun. But he couldn’t celebrate it, and Li Mo couldn’t come to celebrate with him either. For his current self, tomorrow would just be an ordinary day, so he could only make a cake today and treat it as a small celebration for himself.
He still remembered that last year, besides his sister, his best friend among the Trainees and his roommate, Fang Chenyu, also prepared a cake and a gift for him. Li Xun really wanted to know how Fang Chenyu was doing now, but he no longer had the standing to care. Two months before his accident, Fang Chenyu had told him that he was preparing to leave the agency soon.
“Leaving? Going to another agency? Or…”
Fang Chenyu shook his head, offering a wry smile, yet speaking with a sense of relief: “This industry isn’t suitable for me. I knew it early on—I won’t get a chance to debut.”
“I’m going home to inherit the family business,” Fang Chenyu joked. His family had never supported this dream, which his parents considered utterly fantastical. His family owned a restaurant and had been calling him back to help for a long time, but Fang Chenyu had been unwilling.
“I really don’t have the talent, so I can’t say I have any regrets. But you…” Fang Chenyu looked at him and said firmly, “Xun, you will debut, and you will definitely become hugely popular. I believe that.”
At that time, Fang Chenyu had missed his last chance to participate in a survival show and gain exposure, and the spots for the agency’s new Boy Group debut were certainly not going to him. Every year, large numbers of Trainees gave up; only a few managed to succeed. Li Xun pursed his lips, feeling reluctant but helpless. He patted his shoulder, “Keep in touch later.”
“Definitely!” Fang Chenyu hugged him, smiling, “Absolutely! When you become famous, I’ll be the former roommate of a big star. Don’t forget me.”
Perhaps Fang Chenyu had already gone home, helping out at the family restaurant or finding other work.
Li Xun placed the final strawberry on top, smiled at the camera, and said, “It’s done. This is very simple; you can make it at home too, whatever flavor you like.”
He had some strawberries left over, which Li Xun shared with the others. Of course, the first person was Tang Ruining, since he bought them.
Tang Ruining’s steak was also done. He had watched instructional videos on how to perfectly sear a steak, but lacking experience, he knew he hadn’t quite mastered the heat control. Li Xun brought the strawberries over to him, looked at the steak, and said, “It smells great.”
Tang Ruining popped a strawberry into his mouth, feeling a bit disappointed about the steak. “Yeah, but it’s not seared very well.”
After everyone finished, the ultimate winner was Wu Xingye, who won the most votes with a perfect-looking and tasting omurice.
“The bad student has too many tools,” Yuan Zhiyan summarized self-deprecatingly, looking at the simple omurice dish and then at his own concoction—a chaotic stew that was neither Chinese nor Western, which he had spent ages messing with.
They were staying here for the night. The house had three floors and plenty of rooms. It was far from the city, with a quiet environment and fresh air. They planned to have a barbecue in the yard that evening.
There were still some leftover ingredients from Yuan Zhiyan’s chaotic shopping spree, and the production team bought some more meat. The grill was set up and lit. The beef and pork belly sizzled, and the aroma filled the air. Everyone, having not eaten a proper meal all day, was hungry and eagerly devoured the first round.
While the others were still eating, Li Xun went back to the grill to start the second round. He put a pot of water on the grill, intending to boil some noodles as a staple, and chopped some vegetables to add in.
“Are there any eggs?” he asked.
Tang Ruining fetched a few eggs from the fridge and brought them over. “Making noodles?”
“Yes, I need to cook two pots, there are too many people.” Li Xun took the eggs and cracked two into the pot.
Tang Ruining didn’t leave after handing him the items; he stood right behind him, looking for anything he could help with.
Li Xun turned around to look for a bowl and bumped right into Tang Ruining, even stepping on his foot.
“Sorry…” Li Xun said, trying to step back, but Tang Ruining stopped him, afraid he would hit the grill behind him.
“Careful.” Tang Ruining wrapped an arm around his waist. The apron was tied tightly, and Tang Ruining’s hand rested on his lower back, then moved up a little.
Li Xun looked up and smiled at him: “I didn’t know you hadn’t left.”
“…Mm.” Being too close, Tang Ruining released him and stepped back a few paces to give him space.
The two of them served the noodles. Li Xun was preparing the second pot when Rong Xiao came over. “I’ll cook this one. You guys go eat first.”
Li Xun carried the bowl of noodles and belatedly realized that he now had both cake and longevity noodles. He picked up the egg with his chopsticks and couldn’t help but smile.
When Rong Xiao’s noodles were served, Yuan Zhiyan took a bite. “Hey, the noodles Jiang Yilan cooked tasted better.”
“What, are you looking down on me?”
“I’m not looking down on you, I’m just being honest. Look at this egg. Jiang Yilan cooked it perfectly soft-boiled, tender and delicious. Rong Xiao, look at your egg—it’s overcooked, and the noodles are a bit too soft.” Yuan Zhiyan used his chopsticks to break open the egg and show Rong Xiao.
Li Xun laughed: “You’re complaining when you have food to eat.”
Rong Xiao refused to look at the egg Yuan Zhiyan had broken open. “Exactly. Cook it yourself next time.”
“Pointing out flaws is to help you improve!” Yuan Zhiyan argued self-righteously. “I can’t improve, I’m too terrible.”
Tang Ruining didn’t say anything, nor did he eat the new batch Rong Xiao cooked; he quietly ate the noodles Li Xun had prepared.
Yuan Zhiyan pointed at Tang Ruining and told Rong Xiao, “Look at Tang Ruining. He’s so picky, he won’t even eat a bite of yours.”
“Yuan Zhiyan, I never noticed before, but you really like stirring up trouble!” Rong Xiao joked. “Do you have someone backing you up now?”
“I do.” Yuan Zhiyan tilted his neck, leaned against Li Xun’s shoulder, and smiled cheekily.
“Do you want more? I’ll go cook some,” Li Xun asked.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Li Xun got up to cook more noodles. Tang Ruining put down his bowl. “Don’t get into the habit of bossing people around.”
Yuan Zhiyan sat up straight, muttering quietly and feeling wronged: “I wasn’t bossing anyone around…”
After dinner, Li Xun, Tang Ruining, and Rong Xiao sat in the yard chatting. There was still some red wine left from what Tang Ruining bought, and the three of them split it.
Rong Xiao took a sip, frowned, and swallowed. “I still haven’t gotten used to red wine.”
“I agree, beer tastes better,” Li Xun said. “Especially with barbecue.”
“Hey, don’t you remember? When we had barbecue before and invited you, you always complained that barbecue wasn’t clean,” Rong Xiao laughed, sinking into memory. “It hasn’t been that long, but thinking about it now, it feels like ages ago.”
“Is that so.” Li Xun swirled the wine glass in his hand, thinking that indeed, the not-so-distant past felt like a previous lifetime.
Rong Xiao asked him, “Have you still not remembered anything from before?”
Li Xun shook his head. “No.”
“I’m not afraid to be frank with the current you—it’s probably better if you don’t remember,” Rong Xiao smiled. “I’m getting to know you as a new person now. I can’t connect you with the Jiang Yilan from before at all.”
“Right, Ruining?” Rong Xiao looked at the person who hadn’t spoken.
Tang Ruining swallowed the wine in his mouth and responded with a low, “Mm.”
Singing drifted from the living room—it was the voices of Wu Xingye and Yuan Zhiyan. The TV in the living room was connected to a microphone for home karaoke. Yuan Zhiyan first sang two of To5’s own songs with great enthusiasm, then found a male-female duet song to sing with Wu Xingye.
The door was open, and the people in the yard could clearly hear their singing. Yuan Zhiyan didn’t mind that he couldn’t hit the high notes; he insisted on finishing the song even if his voice cracked. Li Xun had just taken a sip of red wine and nearly spat it out from Yuan Zhiyan’s desperate wail. He covered his mouth, swallowed the wine, and couldn’t help but laugh: “Wu Xingye is amazing, he wasn’t thrown off at all.”
After a difficult male-female duet love song ended, Yuan Zhiyan was finally tired and collapsed onto the sofa, listening to Wu Xingye sing.
“The stars are so clear tonight,” Rong Xiao looked up at the sky and said.
“They are.” Li Xun leaned back in the lounge chair. The sight of the scattered, bright stars brought a sense of calm to his heart. He murmured, “Tomorrow will be a beautiful clear day.”
Wu Xingye chose several songs by veteran singers. The first was Faye Wong’s “Wish.”
“And I will love the world you love / Wish for the smile you wish for / My hand, I stumble and hold yours / Please lead me to tomorrow…”
“Beautiful. Wu Xingye is so suited to singing songs like this.” Li Xun closed his eyes and hummed along softly for a few lines.
“You sing very well too.”
Opening his eyes, Li Xun turned his head and smiled at Tang Ruining: “Thank you.”
His cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol, but his eyes were bright, even a little moist. Tang Ruining turned his head back, raised his glass to his mouth, only to realize it was already empty.
His throat still involuntarily swallowed, despite the lack of wine.
When the song ended, Yuan Zhiyan cheered loudly inside and clapped vigorously. Li Xun also raised his hands and clapped, shouting, “Encore!”
“Thank you, audience members outside!” Yuan Zhiyan yelled.
Immediately following, the familiar intro of the next song began, and Li Xun closed his eyes again to enjoy it.
With a style completely different from the previous song, Wu Xingye switched his vocal delivery, sounding completely at ease.
“I’m only afraid that I will fall for you / I dare not get too close to myself”
Tang Ruining tilted his head. Jiang Yilan was lying back with his eyes closed, his expression relaxed. He crossed his arms, his fingers tapping his arm in time with the rhythm.
“Afraid that I have nothing to give you / Loving you also requires great courage”
Jiang Yilan moved his lips, silently mouthing the words. At the final word, “courage” (qi), the corner of his mouth curved up, forming a smile.
“I’m only afraid that I will fall for you / Maybe one day it will be beyond my control”
Jiang Yilan maintained the relaxed smile of someone enjoying a good song, tilted his head slightly, and his bangs brushed his eyelids. He raised his hand to adjust them, then stared blankly at the starry sky for a moment.
“Falling for you is beyond my control / Falling for you is beyond my control”
As the song concluded, Jiang Yilan turned his neck to look at the person beside him. Their eyes met. Tang Ruining stared back at him, momentarily stunned, wanting to look away but feeling as if his gaze was snagged, unable to move even an inch.
Yuan Zhiyan’s exceptionally loud voice drowned out Wu Xingye’s final line: “Falling for you is beyond my control-ol-ol-ol~~”