CH 91

Chapter 91 -Daytime Sleepwalking

You are my daydream

Fang Juexia suddenly froze.

Heartbeat.

That afternoon when he had been pulled into the workshop, he had taken a very careful look at the sampler on Pei Tingsong’s desk. Unexpectedly, it had actually been used on himself.

The background music of “Night Trip” was still ringing in his ears. Every “drumbeat” that had been arranged by Pei Tingsong corresponded to the restless heart in his chest beat by beat; it was amazing. This was his melody, the rhythm of his heart, and line after line of hidden meaning being narrated by Pei Tingsong’s lyrics.

His heart beat and the drum beat synchronized, both beating with full vitality.

Their song was alive, as was their love.

This was the first time Fang Juexia found himself at a loss on what was best to do because of having been taken too seriously, and he did not know what his next course of action should be.  

At the end of the song, the fans gathered around and started clapping, thus awakening Fang Juexia from his indulgence.

Ling Yi took the microphone and asked, “Sounds nice ba? You guys all chase the show?”

“We chase it!”

“Our members have begun to try the drama route.” Lu Yuan took over the conversation and said, “Both Miao Ge and Fire Ge are starting to step into new fields.”

Jiang Miao smiled and waved his hand. He Ziyan said straightforwardly, “Not quite worthy of that yet.”

“Worthy!” the fans yelled.

Pei Tingsong picked up the microphone. “How can it sound so much like you’re cursing someone out?”

“Hahaha!”

Fang Juexia also picked up the microphone, but he was talking to everyone seriously, “This is the first time Miao Ge is participating in a film shoot. I heard that there was a lot asked of him during the audition, but he managed to pass it smoothly. Let’s give Miao Ge a little applause.”

The fans applauded with great cooperation.

Jiang Miao immediately explained, “Actually, there wasn’t. Because the theme of the film is about music, they needed someone who could play the guzheng.”

Lu Yuan added, “Didn’t they also need someone with a good appearance and clean temperament? Three Water is especially suitable to play that kind of male college student, the pure male college student.”

“Hahahaha!”

Fang Juexia said very seriously, “Ziyan will join the drama group the day after tomorrow, so let’s give Ziyan a little applause too.”

He Ziyan laughed. “Juexia is a ruthless applause cueing machine today.”

“Hahahahaha!”

But Fang Juexia still remained very serious. “It’s your first time, so we have to encourage you well. Your very first acting role is in a big urban drama production.”

Pei Tingsong was amused by the way Fang Juexia was cheering on his teammates wholeheartedly, so he picked up the microphone and asked him, “Why doesn’t Juexia Ge go act, with him being so attractive, it’s a bit of a waste for him not to act.”

The fans’ wishes were even stronger than his, and they agreed excitedly, “Yes ah!”

“We want to see Juexia Ge act!”

“It’s too wasteful not to show this face in an idol drama!”

Fang Juexia had never been very good at facing sudden enthusiasm. “En… I feel like I may not be very good at it, and on my face…”

“Stop it.” Pei Tingsong directly cut off his words. He asked first, “Do you guys think the birthmark on Juexia’s face looks good?”

After that, he stretched the microphone out towards the audience, and the fans close by yelled in unison, “Looks good—”

The other members also joined in, “It looks so good ah.”

“Like a flower petal.”

“It’s the finishing touch to a painting, okay?”

Ling Yi nodded. “Yes ah, when I saw Juexia for the first time, holy shit ya, I was so shocked at that time. How could there be such a beautiful boy ah?”

Jiang Miao said with a smile, “So that’s why you proposed to live in the same room as Juexia.”

“Yes.” Ling Yi didn’t hide it. “I’m just such an appearance dog. When I came to know about the dormitory arrangements, I immediately told Qiang Ge that my first choice was Juexia, followed by Jiang Miao.”

Lu Yuan first deliberately let out a “ohho” sound, and He Ziyan soon followed his example, “Ohho!”

Fang Juexia, who didn’t know the inside story behind the dormitory room arrangements, was a little surprised. “You took the initiative? I thought rooms were randomly assigned.”

Pei Tingsong suddenly reached out and pulled him. “Hey, that’s not fair, someone walked through different channels ah. I’m applying for redistribution of the dorm rooms, and we’re drawing lots.”

“Come on ba, you.” He Ziyan mercilessly complained, “Don’t you remember how unlucky your hands are? Go along obediently with Ge ba, Gege won’t treat you unfairly.”

“Tch.”

Fang Juexia suddenly remembered the topic of acting they were discussing just now, so he flipped the question onto Pei Tingsong. “Why don’t you go act?”

“Don’t want to.” Pei Tingsong simply refused. This reminded He Ziyan of a particularly funny past event, and he said, “I’m going to start digging through old accounts ah.”

Ling Yi, who had just taken a mouthful of ice mocha, realized what He Ziyan wanted to do, so he rushed to add on, “I know! Xiao Pei’s dark history!”

How does everyone know? Fang Juexia still found it a bit inexplicable.

However, that he didn’t know things about Pei Tingsong was true, for in the past, he had avoided him, so naturally, he wouldn’t know his dark history.

Pei Tingsong quickly realized what was going on. “Hey, don’t be like that, you can’t say nonsense about that!”

“It’s okay. Anyway, our group has lost its image long ago.” He Ziyan began to tell the fans, “You guys may not know that Xiao Pei has already made his debut on screen a while back.”

The fans were really very surprised. “Really?”

“In what?”

Ling Yi scrambled to say, “Last year, an idol drama crew came to find Qiang Ge and said that they wanted Xiao Pei to act in their show.”

Pei Tingsong didn’t want Ling Yi to talk any further, so he tried to go around Fang Juexia in order to cover up Ling Yi’s mouth. However, Fang Juexia wanted to listen, so he caught Pei Tingsong’s hand and didn’t let him do anything to stop Ling Yi from talking.

Ling Yi went over to the captain’s side and hid behind him as he continued, “It seemed that back then, Xiao Pei had just fought with the anti-fans online for 300 rounds. He was in a bad mood, and it seemed that something else had also happened. Anyway, he was in a flammable and explosive state, and as soon as he received Qiang Ge’s message, he directly refused. No, that’s too abstract,” Saying that, he signalled He Ziyan, “Let’s act it out. I’m Qiang Ge, and you’re Xiao Pei. “

Pei Tingsong still persistently tried to stop them. “I’m going to start cursing people out ah.”

Ling Yi wiped his face, and in a moment, he had become Cheng Qiang. He further lowered his voice as he imitated, “Xiao Pei, go act.”

He Ziyan pulled a long face. “Act like hell, you horse.” Then he immediately explained it. “It was using the little horse in the emojis.”

Fans below the stage burst out laughing. “Grumpy Pinot Tree Supreme!”

Fang Juexia was very surprised by this reply. He grasped Pei Tingsong with both hands, while staring at him with a very shocked expression.

“They already said it all. I was really mad at the time.” Pei Tingsong didn’t have a microphone, so he just explained to him in a low voice.

“This wasn’t the most urgent thing, friends, the key was—” Lu Yuan also added, “Qiang Ge finally actually managed to fulfill Xiao Pei’s wish.”

Jiang Miao narrated the end of the story, “He escorted Xiao Pei to dub an animated film called ‘The Kingdom of Fantasy Animals,’ and he voiced a horse.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

“Going to watch it tonight!”

Fang Juexia chuckled and started laughing to the point where he let go of the person he had grasped in his hands. His whole person bent over, and he just couldn’t sit still.

Pei Tingsong was helpless as his dark history was being revealed, but his hands still instinctively protected Fang Juexia out of fear that his family’s little white flower would fall off his seat from laughing so hard.

He Ziyan summed it all up. “So, in fact, in terms of acting, Xiao Pei is our senior.”

Pei Tingsong copied Fang Juexia’s catchphrase, which he frequently used when he was with him, “Shut up.”

Under this sort of relaxed atmosphere, they cooperated with the music conductor to sing “Swim Across the Sea”, then interacted with the fans in the livestream, and also chatted about things that had happened during the creation and song-writing process. 

Pei Tingsong, who was holding a grudge against He Ziyan for exposing his dark history, turned on his tip-off mode and said that He Ziyan, his roommate, would get inspired while taking a bath, and would then come running out wrapped in just a bath towel. He Ziyan also retaliated by saying that he had complained that Pei Tingsong’s initial version of ‘Night Trip’ was completely incomprehensible.

“Hahahaha, hurting each other!”

“Ling Yi luckily managed to dodge the crisis.”

Time passed quickly. After drawing a round of prizes, they watched the previously recorded behind-the-scenes gag clips that took place while making the summer album with their fans, and with this, the activities for the meet-up were almost over. 

Jiang Miao picked up the microphone and said, “Time really does fly ah, there are still ten minutes to go before  we’re done. We’re going to sing the last song from ‘Last Summer’ for you guys.”

“So fast ah, I can’t bear it.”

“The last one?”

“This song is one that I wrote, and it’s very suitable to listen to on such a summer afternoon.” Out of habit, he cued Fang Juexia, who usually spoke less on such occasions, “Juexia, what’s this song called?”

Fang Juexia was a little bit slow, and it was only after he looked at the small card in his hand that he faced the audience and straightened his arms out like a host as he announced, “Daydream!”

The fans cheered, “It’s my daydreaming treasure!”

Lu Yuan turned in his chair and said briskly, “We hope everyone’s daydreams can all be realized!”

The conductor behind them started to play the background music, and everyone started singing into their microphones while still seated on the stools. With no electronic music present, the song sounded less psychedelic, and appeared more gentle and fresh.

“The first time I kissed you, all day my head was faint and unscrewed, and the whole universe sleepwalked with me askew.” After the second part of the song was sung, Fang Juexia’s microphone suddenly seemed to have a problem, it had stopped emitting sound. He lowered his head and slapped it a few times with his hand before he turned to look at Cheng Qiang, who was standing not far behind them.

It was originally Pei Tingsong’s turn to rap next, yet, his attention was attracted by Fang Juexia, who was slapping at his microphone. He didn’t think much about it before stuffing his microphone into Fang Juexia’s hands and taking the broken microphone from his hands to examine it. 

Fang Juexia was startled by his action and glanced at him. He stuffed the mic back into his hands and whispered, “You’re about to sing.”

Only after realizing that he had already missed a beat did Pei Tingsong react. He quickly picked up the microphone, and the other members around him started choking with laughter, which was how the fans came to realize  that Pei Tingsong was entering the song at the wrong spot.

Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong directly started rapping with a more laid back flow, but the lyrics he was rapping were different from the CD version, it was like he was rapping freestyle.

Because he had forgotten the original lyrics. 

“Almost the whole world knows my regard, why haven’t you responded because you think I have no temper to guard. A heart of forgetting words and getting stuck, the wrong beat and a mess of plans, dreamy dreamy baby, why you make me crazy.”

Fang Juexia’s heart had just been dangling there, but after hearing Pei Tingsong quickly save the scene without leaving behind any trace, he let out a breath of relief. He had to admire the strength of Pei Tingsong’s improvisation in his heart; even the flow was different from the original.

He felt a pat on his back, and when Fang Juexia turned around, he saw Cheng Qiang, who then handed him a new microphone. He nodded and took hold of the microphone, then harmonized with Pei Tingsong’s rap. “You are my daydream, daydream.”

The combination of this cold and clear humming and Pei Tingsong’s low-pitched rap made it feel like the sound had gained multiple layers, and Pei Tingsong grew smoother and smoother.

“Promise to make my bad habits far and few, all in exchange for the unique you. The sun is dense during summer’s afternoon, and the cafes are busy like a monsoon. Want to take you, change you into a star true, and then hide you in my palm to accrue. When it’s sunny or rainy through, Bailey’s cream will always bring a good mood too. Don’t listen to all the hearsay, just 3, 2, 1, come into my arms, bae.”

“You are my daydream, daydream.”

As he sang on, Pei Tingsong heard a nearly imperceptible smile in Fang Juexia’s voice. The corners of his mouth drew up slightly, and he sang the last sentence.

“You are the secret in my dreams, you know, that I have publicly announced millions of times long ago.”