TSIBAMS Chapter 52

Chapter 52

“I seriously thought about the path I should take in the future last night,” Ye Xing said, munching on a chicken wing, “I suddenly feel like I’ve been a waste for the past eighteen years.”

“So where are you going?” Qi Guang still held onto this question.

Ye Xing glanced at him, smiled, and said, “To shine and give off heat!”

“…”

“Just kidding,” Ye Xing said, “I’m planning to go to a drawing studio for intensive training and take the joint college entrance exam this year.”

Qi Guang was a little surprised. He had never mentioned that he wanted to go in the direction of an art student. He wanted to ask if he had discussed it with his family, but changed his words and said, “Are you really decided?”

“Yeah.”

“Just in one night?”

“Not only have I decided, but I’ve also contacted the studio. I’ll go there directly next week. The person in charge there helped me make a plan. I took a look, and with my current terrible grades, if I work a little harder, plus the results of the art joint exam, maybe…”

Maybe I can go to the same university as you.

But it felt like something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t say it.

“Are you in such a hurry?” Qi Guang asked, “With your artistic skills, you don’t need to start intensive training so early, do you?”

It was the first time Ye Xing had made a major decision about his life without Fang Rong and without her consent, so he was a little unsure. Even now, saying these things in front of Qi Guang made him a little nervous, afraid that a single opinion from the other party would easily make him change his mind.

The past eighteen years have been like that of a waste.

The sentence appeared in his heart again.

He hated having the power to make decisions so much. In the past, the light in his bedroom could be adjusted by remote control, adjusting the brightness and color temperature bit by bit. Every time he held the remote control, he felt that the light he adjusted wasn’t right. It wasn’t until he switched to a simple light with the “bright, dim, and night light” modes directly marked that he felt he had been saved.

He took a deep breath and replied, “The people there want me to try it out for half a month first. I think it’s okay. If it’s not suitable, it’s not too late to look for another one.”

Qi Guang didn’t say anything else and buried his head to eat.

Ye Xing also didn’t know what to say, nor did he know what kind of reaction to expect from Qi Guang.

After a while, Qi Guang went into the kitchen and took out two more bowls, ladling a bowl of chicken soup and sending it to him, “Where is it? I’ll take you there when the time comes.”

“Ah?” Ye Xing didn’t react for a moment. When he did, he didn’t know how to speak.

“I’m asking where the studio is?” Qi Guang repeated.

Ye Xing touched the edge of the bowl, hesitated, and began to speak, “I contacted Shanshan yesterday. The studio she’s at is very good. It has a high undergraduate admission rate, not to mention many of their students go to key universities. Anyway, it’s very famous locally.”

Ye Xing saw that his gaze suddenly paused for a moment.

Another sudden silence.

That was the city that Qi Guang had tried his best to escape from time and time again. He knew how resistant Qi Guang was to that place.

When he contacted Huang Shanshan yesterday, although it had nothing to do with Qi Guang, he was still wary, afraid that Qi Guang would feel unhappy if he knew he was going to that city. However, he didn’t have anyone else he could ask about it. Especially after understanding the various hardcore conditions of that studio, he was too lazy to compare with other places and directly contacted the person in charge.

But in front of Qi Guang, he inexplicably felt like a child who had made a mistake, even though he knew that Qi Guang wouldn’t be angry.

Because Qi Guang had never seriously been angry with him.

He had no expression on his face at the moment either.

But silence for too long was awkward, so Ye Xing spoke again, “It’s okay, I can go by myself, I don’t have much stuff.”

“Okay.” Qi Guang’s voice was very soft. Ye Xing deliberately slowed down the chewing motions in his mouth to hear his fleeting response.

Later, when they chatted about random things, Ye Xing didn’t pay much attention. Ever since Qi Guang heard that he was leaving, he had been absent-minded, and Ye Xing was always feeling uneasy.

What a pity for this lunch that they had been looking forward to for a week, costing a thousand per person.

It had to be said that Qi Guang’s cooking skills were really worth praising. Ye Xing only realized that his pants were a bit tight when he was getting his third bowl of rice. In the end, he naturally took over the task of washing the dishes. He didn’t know if the specific rules of being a guest included proactively washing the dishes, but he couldn’t feel at ease after getting a free meal and then watching the host tidy the kitchen alone.

Moreover, when washing the dishes, it was easy to feel like he wasn’t a guest.

But rather, that their relationship was that of you cooking and me washing, which was not normal.

After tidying up the kitchen, he took out the bright red and festive fruits and washed them. Strawberries and cherries, after being washed, looked sparkling, cute, and full of charm.

When he brought the fruit to the living room, Qi Guang had just hung up the phone, turned his head, and looked at him, “Do you have anything to do this afternoon?”

Was he trying to get rid of him?

“No,” Ye Xing placed the fruit plate on the coffee table, “If you have something to do, I’ll go first…”

“If you have nothing to do, let’s go to 1984 together.” Qi Guang picked a string of cherries from the festive fruit plate and put them in his mouth.

“Ah?” Ye Xing was stunned, “Is the bar open so early?”

“No, usually they’ll be huddled up in the closed bar watching movies at this time.” Qi Guang took a tissue and placed it on the table, spitting the cherry pits on it, “I didn’t plan to go over now either, but Brother Xu just said he bought some new stuff and wanted me to come play with it.”

“What stuff?” Ye Xing looked at him.

“I don’t know, it’s all mysterious.” Qi Guang smiled, eating a strawberry in one bite.

“Okay, let’s go together.”

Although it should have been a leisurely afternoon dessert time, Ye Xing was always distracted. In the end, he couldn’t help but ask, “If Brother Xu hadn’t called you, what would you have done this afternoon?”

“We could have found a movie to watch at home,” Qi Guang said casually while eating, not looking up. The festive fruit plate was almost empty in a short while, “Or you can listen to music too.”

Ye Xing’s doubts were swept away, and while he was very satisfied with this answer, he also regretted the loss of this exclusive afternoon opportunity. After the mixture of joy and sorrow, he let out a light sigh, “Sigh.”

“What are you sighing about?” Qi Guang stuffed a strawberry into his slightly open mouth, “Or do you want Brother Qi to tutor you in your studies?”

Ye Xing smiled after finishing the strawberry in one bite, “Brother Qi, please spare me.”

When they arrived at 1984, Brother Xu and Bai Shu were huddled on the sofa watching a movie. The light brought in by opening the door made the two of them turn their heads at the same time.

“Five bucks!” Bai Shu reached out to Brother Xu, “Support WeChat transfer.”

“You two!” Brother Xu pointed at Qi Guang, helplessly taking out his phone.

Qi Guang laughed at them acting like they were in a play, walked to the sofa, squeezed in between them, and also squeezed out a space for Ye Xing. He said to Brother Xu, “How come you charged me money for just looking at me? Do I get a cut?”

“You’ve got a big face, not looking at you,” Brother Xu glanced at Ye Xing, “Bai Shu bet with me that you would bring Ye Xing, you owe me five bucks!”

Ye Xing pursed his lips and smiled. After sitting down, he moved back, trying to hide.

Bai Shu turned off the projector, brought two glasses of water to them, “Thank you, Wealth God Ye, please come visit often.”

“How boring are you guys?” Qi Guang took the water and went next to Brother Xu, “Didn’t you say you bought some new stuff? Where is it?”

“It should be arriving soon.” Brother Xu looked at his watch. At this time, there was the sound of a car horn outside the door. He stood up and patted his pants, “Yo! Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

The three people sat there, looking at each other. Bai Shu had an expression of “Don’t look at me, I don’t know what the stuff is either,” responding to the question marks on their faces.

After the door was knocked a few times, it was pushed open. The first thing that came into view were two butts… ah, no, it was two people carrying something inside with their backs facing them. Although the object was covered, it could be seen that it was not small and had a certain weight. Outside the door, there were two more people supporting the other side of the object as they carried it in.

Qi Guang frowned as he watched. He wanted to lend a hand but it seemed like there wasn’t anything he could help with. After the entire object was carried in, he finally recognized what was under the cover, widened his eyes, and looked at Brother Xu in disbelief, “Did you buy this?”

“Yeah, I knew you’d react like this.” Brother Xu smiled smugly and walked over to direct the staff to place the object next to the stage.

Qi Guang went over and lifted the cover. It was a black upright piano.

Sure enough.

The surprise and unexpected joy that flashed through his mind when he guessed it turned into a sense of loss when he saw the actual object. He hadn’t touched a piano since he left that home. The familiar yet unfamiliar feeling was strange. The last time he felt like this was when he watched Huang Shanshan play “Romeo and Juliet”, but the situation was urgent then and he didn’t have time to feel sentimental.

Now, facing this behemoth, facing the people waiting for him to react, he inevitably became the protagonist of these emotions again.

He moved his mouth, “How did you know…”

How did you know I could play the piano?

“Guess!” Before he finished speaking, Brother Xu interrupted him, “Last time you talked about Ye Xing rescuing you, you mentioned that there was a piano at your house. That’s how I figured you could play!”

“Thank you.” Although Brother Xu always hated it when he said thank you, he didn’t know what else to say besides those two words.

“Thank you, my ass! It’s not like I bought it specifically for you. We would’ve bought one sooner or later anyway. Even if it wasn’t this one, we would’ve bought an electric one. I just happened to see that someone was selling a second-hand one for cheap, it would be my loss if I didn’t take it!” As he spoke, he pretended to kick Qi Guang’s butt and raised his foot, “Go on, play us a song! Let the neighbors hear that 1984 has something new to be cultured about!”

Bai Shu took off the cover, folded it up, and put it away in the storage room. When he came out, he had a rag in his hand and wiped off the dust that had fallen on the piano’s seat and exterior. Ye Xing didn’t say anything the whole time. Although most of his attention was on Qi Guang, when he glanced at Bai Shu’s face, he saw a trace of an imperceptible emotion.

He couldn’t describe what kind of emotion it was, but in between the elated Brother Xu and the excited Qi Guang, it seemed a bit lonely.

Qi Guang opened the piano lid. Although it was second-hand, it was hard to tell the age of a piano at a glance, especially with the black and white keys being so distinct, which made it appear even more rigorous and inviolable. He randomly pressed a few keys in the high-pitched area. Sure enough, each one was out of tune to the point of being in the Pacific Ocean. It was not hard to guess that the previous owner of this piano had abandoned it for many years.

“Brother Qi, what was that song that Huang Shanshan played that day? It was pretty good.” Ye Xing said.

Hearing him call him “Brother Qi” so skillfully and smoothly, without any hint of being forced, Qi Guang’s heart inexplicably blossomed. He smiled and looked at Ye Xing, “Romeo and Juliet, that one’s easy, but I don’t have the sheet music so I can’t play it.”

“Then you should play one you know!” Brother Xu said.

Qi Guang sat in front of the piano, “Then, let me present to everyone a out-of-tune version of Bach’s G Minor!”