Chapter 6: Welcome Party
“Xixi, do you have anything going on at the welcome party later?”
“Nope. I was planning to sneak back home.” Xu Xiaoxi looked up from her book at Chu Shishi, whose face was giving everything away. “What’s wrong? You look weirdly guilty.”
“One of our publicity team members suddenly took leave, and we’re one photographer short. Come help me?” Chu Shishi leaned closer and whispered, “And I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Fine, fine.”
The backstage area was even noisier than the auditorium.
Chu Shishi shoved the camera into Xu Xiaoxi’s hands, but her mind was elsewhere, her eyes flicking to one side every few seconds.
“What’s with you? Eye infection?” Xu Xiaoxi laughed.
“No...” Chu Shishi wasn’t as brash as usual, her face a little red. “That’s Li Xuewen from Freshman Class 1. We went to school together.”
“You...” Xu Xiaoxi started to say something, then stopped.
“Mm...” Chu Shishi nodded and said softly, “I like him.”
At that moment the host announced, “Please welcome the group dance performance from Freshman Class 1...”
Chu Shishi immediately pulled Xu Xiaoxi to the rear side of the stage, where they could take photos without getting in anyone’s way.
As the people from Class 1 went onstage, Chu Shishi’s gaze stayed glued to a guy wearing glasses. “I’ve liked him since back then. We were in the same class, and we weren’t really close. Then once I did badly on an exam and was crying alone in the classroom. He suddenly walked in...” Chu Shishi’s voice was very soft as she adjusted the focus on the camera.
“He always had great grades and didn’t talk much. I was startled and cried even harder.” Chu Shishi suddenly smiled as she said that. “Li Xuewen was startled too, but he still tried to comfort me, stumbling over his words and saying that he could tutor me after that.”
“That’s how I got into the academy,” she added.
Xu Xiaoxi noticed that Chu Shishi’s camera had been pointed almost entirely at Li Xuewen, and silently adjusted the framing, taking pictures of the entire stage.
“I can still remember the scene from that day,” Chu Shishi smiled at Xu Xiaoxi. “Xizi, do you understand? Two parallel lines suddenly had a point of intersection. I don’t know how much longer I can keep watching him like this without saying anything...”
“Then why don’t you tell him?” Xu Xiaoxi asked.
“I don’t want to affect him. His grades are so good. And I don’t have the courage either. I’m afraid that if I really say it, we won’t even be able to stay friends.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Only the sound of shutter clicks remained.
“Have you ever liked someone, Xizi?” Chu Shishi asked suddenly.
“Huh?” Xu Xiaoxi froze.
“Probably not... what does liking someone feel like?”
“It’s... I’m not really sure either, but for me it means wanting to see him all the time, getting happy whenever I hear news about him, hoping he keeps getting better and better...” Chu Shishi’s voice got softer and softer, until Xu Xiaoxi could barely hear her.
So that’s what liking someone is like... Xu Xiaoxi was still thinking about it when her shoulder was lightly tapped twice.
“What?” Xu Xiaoxi turned her head, frowning on instinct, and ran straight into a pair of deep eyes.
Lin Xuan was standing behind her, looking very casual, completely out of place amid the noisy backstage.
“Yo... I’m waiting for my cue.” He smiled lazily. “Did I scare you?” He raised a hand, as if to help Xu Xiaoxi fix her hair, but she ducked away.
“You two... know each other...?” Chu Shishi’s eyes flicked back and forth between them.
“Not really.”
“We do.”
The two of them spoke at the same time.
Lin Xuan laughed, sounding a little absentminded, as if he already knew what her reaction would be.
“I’m going onstage. You two talk.” He patted Xu Xiaoxi and nodded at Chu Shishi, straightened his clothes, and walked out.
“How do you know Lin Xuan?” Now it was Chu Shishi’s turn to be stunned.
“Come on, we really aren’t close.”
Only then did Xu Xiaoxi really see what he was wearing today... a perfectly tailored black tailcoat, short in front and long in back, with straight shoulders and a sharply fitted waist that made him look even taller and leaner.
The gray vest hugged his body, and the cravat was understated yet refined.
She rarely saw him dressed this formally. It was nothing like his usual casual look.
The auditorium almost exploded with applause.
So proper and righteous, Xu Xiaoxi thought. Was it really that intense? She knew girls liked him, but this was way over the top.
Lin Xuan gave a slight bow and sat down. His coat was flicked lightly over the back of the chair, and the lines of his arms beneath the suit were clean and crisp.
His long fingers danced lightly over the piano keys without the slightest hesitation. His eyes were half-lidded, his expression relaxed.
As he played, Xu Xiaoxi heard a familiar melody: See You Again. Her thoughts drifted back to that afternoon once more: the summer music room, the golden sunset, cicadas chirping outside the glass window, and a kiss carrying the faint mint scent of a young man.
Unlike that summer, Lin Xuan had played the melody then; this time, he was playing the vocal line.
She lifted the camera, and the figure in the viewfinder overlapped with the young man in her memory. Xu Xiaoxi blinked and pressed the shutter.
When the performance ended, the screams nearly drowned out the applause. A guy ran onto the stage and handed Lin Xuan a bouquet of sunflowers. Lin Xuan held the flowers and gave a slight bow; when he turned around, he glanced toward Xu Xiaoxi in the wings.
“How was it? Did you get a good shot of me?” He walked over to her with a smile. “If you didn’t, you’re finished.” Saying that, he handed the sunflowers in his arms to Xu Xiaoxi.
Xu Xiaoxi didn’t take them.
Lin Xuan wasn’t in a hurry either. He just looked down at her with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
The backstage area was packed, and she unconsciously took a step back. If she hadn’t been standing in the corner, Xu Xiaoxi probably would have already run.
Chu Shishi’s mouth had been hanging open from the start, let alone now, seeing the so-called golden boy, the untouchable heartthrob, looking so clingy while handing flowers to her best friend.
Lin Xuan tilted his head toward Chu Shishi and said, “Keep this between us,” then left.
“What is going on with you two!!” As soon as he was gone, Chu Shishi grabbed Xu Xiaoxi by the shoulders.
“It’s exactly what you’re seeing now...” Xu Xiaoxi sighed, but there was nothing she could do.
“He likes you?”
“How would I know...”
“How is that not liking you?”
“Enough. Stop worrying about it and take photos.” She shoved Chu Shishi’s face back with a slap of her hand.
“I played this just for you alone.” As soon as Xu Xiaoxi got home, Lin Xuan’s text came through.
She didn’t reply. Leaning back on the sofa, she didn’t know what she was thinking.
“You definitely know.”
“I’m waiting for my birthday present.”
Ping. Two more messages.
She stared at her phone, the melody still echoing in her ears.
Thinking of Lin Xuan at the piano, she drew a quick sketch based on memory: the young man in a short-sleeved shirt and lounge pants, playing the piano, while the background was the academy’s grand auditorium.
Two different scenes were forcibly layered over one another by her.
She held her breath, turned the page back, and then couldn’t resist opening it again. Her fingertips paused for a moment, but she still didn’t tear it out.