CH 11

Chapter 11: A little interested in it.

“Xu Sui, what you said is as unbelievable as Da Liu wearing women’s clothing,” Sheng Nanzhou said.

“It’s true. I learned it for a while from elementary school to junior high school and stopped afterward,” Xu Sui explained while closing her phone screen.

No one knew about Xu Sui knowing how to play the drums. When she was a child, her father brought her to learn. After his death, Xu Sui’s mother wouldn’t let her learn such things, and Xu Sui ended up focusing on trying her best to be a good daughter.

Xu Sui’s face was still flustered after announcing the news.

“That’s ok. There’s one month left, and we can rehearse together on weekends or whenever we all have time,” Sheng Nanzhou said. He raised his hand, signaling the waiter to come over with the check. The waiter walked over and reported a number.

Zhou Jingze raised his eyebrows, “Did you miscalculate it? We ordered a lot of food.”

“I gave you a half discount, and the drinks are free,” a strong voice suddenly spoke.

The boss came over and patted Zhou Jingze on the shoulder, “Thank you for what happened last time.”

The boss is a tall, big man with a tattoo on his back.

He thanked Zhou Jingze and exchanged a few words with him, and then left. Zhou Jingze smiled and turned around. He raised his eyes and looked at the faces filled with curiosity.

“Last time something happened to his son, and I helped him settle the issue,” Zhou Jingze explained briefly.

Sheng Nanzhou nodded, still thinking about the band, “Hey, we haven’t given our band a name yet. On TV shows, they name it things like Night of Youth or Night of the Championships. Since our band was formed while having a barbecue, let’s call it Night of Barbecue.”

Hu Xixi: ???

Da Liu: ??????

Xu Sui:

“Stupid,” Zhou Jingze replied without hesitation.

*

On Tuesday, Xu Sui was sitting in her English classroom. While she was sitting and organizing her notes during the break, a female student at the door winked at her, “Xu Sui, Shi Yuejie is looking for you.”

The girl said aloud that the chattering female voices around her immediately stopped. They all glanced at the door in unison.

Who is Shi Yuejie? A student in the medical university and the president of the student union. He has a good family background and has won the school scholarship for three consecutive years. None of his classmates who interacted with him ever complained about him.

Xu Sui walked out calmly. Shi Yuejie, wearing a white sweater, stood in front of her and said, “An announcement will be made this afternoon. The university will clarify the incident and implement a punishment for Bai Yuyue.”

“Thank you,” Xu Sui replied.

Shi Yuejie nodded, remembering something, and smiled, “Congratulations, you also won first place in the competition.”

“I got lucky,” Xu Sui smiled, revealing her dimples.

“I’ll go now since you’re in class. If there is anything you need help with, feel free to ask me,” Shi Yuejie said mildly.

Xu Sui nodded, “Thanks.”

When Xu Sui entered the door, the chatter increased, but who could blame them. Shi Yuejie is an outstanding student, and he took the initiative to look for Xu Sui. It’s hard to show that nothing is going on between them.

Xu Sui returned to her seat calmly. Then, a girl in the front row walked up to her and asked Xu Sui if she could borrow a pencil lead. Xu Sui looked through her pencil case and found it, handing it to her.

The girl in the front row asked her, “Aren’t you excited when he comes to see you?”

“No,” Xu Sui shook her head.

Hu Xixi was also in this class. She was a student of animal medicine who came to this class because of how good-looking Xu Sui’s English teacher was.

Hu Xixi lifted her head from the book she was reading when she heard this. She glanced at Xu Sui as if she had found something interesting.

Most people see Xu Sui as someone who is good-tempered, well-behaved, and capable. However, in front of Zhou Jingze, Xu Sui becomes nervous and shy quickly.

Liang Shuang, who sat next to Xu Sui, gently squeezed her face, “Our Sui Sui is welcomed by many.”

“It was nothing. He just came to me to talk about Bai Yuyue,” Xu Sui patted her hand.

“Damn, why do I feel angry whenever she’s mentioned. Ever since she broke up with Zhou Jingze, I feel like she’s been off,” Liang Shuang frowned, “Fortunately, she took the initiative to change dorms.”

Although public opinion was critical of her, Bai Yuyue didn’t seem to be affected. Instead, she accepted the punishment calmly, and the next day, she applied for a dormitory change.

It wasn’t this that surprised Xu Sui the most, but the fact that Bai Yuyue actually apologized to her in a sincere tone.

Speaking of this, Xu Sui took out her phone and looked at Bai Yuyue’s apology message again. Why did she apologize? The last time Shi Yuejie asked her to, she refused to apologize.

Bai Yuyue apologizing was something she didn’t expect.

After returning to the dormitory at night, Xu Sui found that she had been added to a group chat. Both Zhou Jingze and Hu Xixi were also in it, so she guessed it was a group chat for the band competition.

Sheng Nanzhou texted the group: 【Everyone should have time this weekend. The location is our university’s C rehearsal hall at 5 PM.】

No one texted back.

Sheng Nanzhou then sent out several red envelopes, and they were all received in seconds. A group of people then began to respond: 【Got it, Captain Sheng. 】

Da Liu: 【Captain Sheng is so polite. I’ll definitely have time on Sunday. 】

Hu Xixi: 【Me too. 】

Zhou Jingze messaged: 【Thanks.】

Sheng Nanzhou sent a middle finger expression. Xu Sui looked at the conversation and smiled: 【 I’m fine with the weekends too. I’ll head over after I tutor.】

Sheng Nanzhou complained to the group: 【Our band doesn’t have a name yet. I welcome you all to share any ideas.】

Everyone ignored him. Then, Sheng Nanzhou sent a 500 dollar red envelope. After accepting the red envelope, the group started to talk, like a clock ticking away.

Da Liu Who Can’t Sing Isn’t Impressive: 【How about calling it Beauty and the Beast? 】

I Am the Captain So Listen to Me: 【 You’re the only beast here.】

Princess Xixi: 【No way, naming it Explosion Palace is even better than that.】

【Or Thirty-six Love Letters? 】

I’m the Captain So Listen to Me: 【I thought about a few. What do you guys think of Green Leather Train, Coffee of Cat Feces, Night of Barbecue?】

Everyone rushed to discuss what they thought. Xu thought for a moment and expressed her opinions, but they quickly brushed past it.

She sighed and was about to put away her phone when she saw that Zhou Jingze texted in the chat:

【What Xu Sui said just now is ok. It’ll be Tansuan Xinqing1.】

*

Xu Sui took the initiative to join their band in such a hurry that she didn’t really look into what kind of competition it was.

It was not until in the afternoon when Xu Sui came down from the Sizheng Building to see the bulletin board that she realized the two universities jointly organized this competition to promote friendship and cooperation between the two schools. Students from both universities can form a band and perform on stage.

There was a lot of excitement and discussion about this activity. Xu Sui was standing in front of the bulletin board, looking at the rules for the competition. A figure emerged beside her, and in a gentle voice:

“Are you interested?”

Xu Sui turned her head to look at who it was. After arriving, she politely greeted, “Hello.”

“A little interested in it,” Xu Sui answered.

His mouth curved into a smile, and he pushed up his glasses, “Everyone likes to persuade people to study medicine, but it requires a lot of work. The school probably gave us this opportunity to relax.”

“I’m planning to sign up for it. Do you want to join me?” Shi Yuejie’s tone was relaxed and calm. However, he seemed a bit nervous.

Xu Sui had already joined Sheng Nanzhou’s team. When she was about to refuse, a female voice interrupted, “Yuejie, you came one step too late. Xu Sui has already formed a band with people from the flight academy to participate in the competition. Isn’t that right?”

“How do you know?” Xu Sui frowned.

The girl standing beside them pointed at her phone, with a touch of sarcasm in her tone, “It’s posted on the online discussion forum of both universities. Of course, the other party is Zhou Jingze, who can’t even play a musical instrument but still wants to compete.”

“Yuejie, don’t bother with it. Some people have already transferred sides,” someone added.

Xu Sui is reluctant to get involved in disputes and arguments. When she was about to clarify the situation, Shi Yuejie spoke, “It’s Xu Sui’s own choice if she wants to participate in the competition and with whom. Besides, I heard that even on top of the high academic pressure, she still got an A+ for all her credits. Why would she transfer sides? What do you guys think?”

Shi Yuejie’s tone was like a spring breeze— without haste, always gentle, but with a kind of blow. A few girls didn’t expect him to be so direct that they left with an embarrassed face after being humiliated.

After the crowd dispersed, Shi Yuejie and Xu Sui walked side by side down the campus. While walking, one or two students rode their bicycles and rang the bike bell. Shi Yuejie decided to walk on the curbside while Xu Sui walked on the inside track.

“Don’t take what they said to heart,” Shi Yuejie comforted.

Xu Sui shook her head. A gust of wind blew by, and a yellowed leaf slowly fell. She reached out her hand to catch it, and there was a sense of maturity in her eyes that didn’t match her age. “It’s ok. Everyone has their own opinions. I’ve endured situations way worse than this. Like before, I’ll still protect myself.”

“That’s good.” Shi Yuejie nodded.

Shi Yuejie was walking side by side with Xu Sui for a while, and when they were approaching the intersection, he suddenly questioned: “Xu Sui, are you well acquainted with Zhou Jingze?”

Although Shi Yuejie asked the question casually, he was curious. Xu Sui shook her head and replied, “I don’t know.”

Zhou Jingze probably regarded her as a good friend of his niece.

Tansuan Xinqing(碳酸心情): A direct translation of this would be “carbonic mood,” but the pinyin sounds better.