CH 3

3. Cat? En, he's a cat.

The misconception most people have about people who play classical music is that we are all gentle, quiet, and elegant.

Nonsense! Where does elegance come from?!

Five of us sat around a table, noisily laughing and talking about boring things. When we were talking about the mobile games we've been playing recently, we will occasionally swear and complain about who was so lucky to get good things.

Dinner with friends is so lively without realizing it, it's almost time to go back to rehearsals.

I waved goodbye to the group of idiots, sent a text message to the piano accompanist I was working with, and set off back to practice room 1314.

The face that always looked at the sea suddenly appeared in my mind when I was passing by a convenience store.

He... hasn't eaten dinner yet. Does he hungry? Well, it's better to buy him some bread or something.

As a result, I carried a whole bag of bread, cakes, snacks, and several different drinks. When I returned to practice room No. 1314,  I found him sitting on the ground, watching the sea and eating what looked like a bento.

"Huh?..." I closed the door behind me and stood there stunned. Ben... Bento? Where did the bento come from?! Did he carry a bento with him all day?! Did he heat it up? ! Had it gone bad?!

"Hi..." He said timidly with that nice foreign accent again.

"Huh?!... So you already have something to eat!... I'm afraid you're hungry, so I've bought a lot of things on my way!" I didn't think too much about it, so I walked, sat down next to him, began to take out the things in the plastic bag one by one, and put them in the space between me and him.

He moved and avoid me with a look of "I want to protect my bento". I couldn't help but smile when I saw it.

"I don't know what you like to drink, so I bought all these. Take as many as you like, don't be polite to me." Looking at his suspicious face, I thought he was cute.

What......? Cute?! Hmm... there are such boys too. I think it's normal for boys to be cute. It doesn't mean anything special, just I think that person is cute.

"...Thank you." He nodded slightly, but his eyes never left my body. "The money...I will pay it back..."

"No need!" I wanted to show my heroic side, "Besides, I'm the one who wants to buy this for you!"

Then I watched him stare at the drink with a troubled look, before finally choosing the honey green tea.

En, it turns out that he likes honey green tea.

Before I knew it, I remembered his preference for the rest of my life...

He was eating and didn't take my stares seriously. When I saw he didn't want to talk to me anymore, I went to the door and took out the violin that had been there for a long time to warm up and play. Besides my string quartet, I will play my own violin piece at next week's recital.

I kept practicing the songs I wrote and didn't pay attention to the passage of time. When I came back to my senses, I realized that my piano accompaniment hadn't come yet. I looked through my phone, and the other party hadn't replied to my text messages, so I decided to call him. But I still couldn't get through to him when I called him multiple times. I become worried.

I don't have accompanist, what should I do?! Come to think of it, there has been no news about that accompanist since yesterday, did something happen?

When I was pacing back and forth in the room,  I suddenly saw the boy sitting at the piano listening to music with his earphones on.

How strange! To think I forgot his existence when I was just practicing! I thought I was a very alert person, but I didn't even notice he was in the room! Is his sense of presence really that low?! Or is his existence just so natural to me? En, like a cat. Prideful, on its own, and alone. A cat, um, this boy does look like a cat.

Probably because he noticed that I was looking at him, he suddenly turned his face to look at me timidly, and took off the earphones in embarrassment, "... What's the matter?"

"Huh?! Uh... It's nothing. I'm waiting for my accompanist but he hasn't arrived yet even though it's been almost an hour!" I complained to him naturally.

Then I put down the violin, and took out a cigarette from my pocket, "I'm going outside for a breath of fresh air. If he comes, tell him to wait for me." Then 'Bang', I closed the door and left.

Fuck! Promising to be someone else's accompanist, but can't even show up to practice! I hate this kind of irresponsible person the most! My recital is only a week away...

I sucked all the cigarettes in one puff and ended up smoking two cigarettes in a row before going back to No. 1314.

When I was still outside the room, I heard a piano sound coming from the practice room. Listening carefully, that's my song! Humph! Has that accompanist finally arrived?!

"Fuck you!..." The piano sound stopped, and the person in front of the piano was stunned for a moment.

Eh? ! It turns out that the kitten can play the piano! Moreover, he plays it awesomely!!

The violin pieces I composed are a combination of modern and Chinese music. Even for those who are studying piano, it would take at least a week to play them. But did he just play like that?! And without serious mistakes, very close to perfection!

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to play your pieces..."

"Huh?!" Seeing him on the verge of crying, I felt troubled and flustered, "No, no! I thought my accompanist finally arrived, so I just planned to scold him..." I explained immediately.

Slowly, a shy smile appeared on his face.

I was frozen.

His smiling face is so pretty! Much better than the expressionless look before! Looking at the face that no longer wanted to cry, I couldn't help but sigh with relief.

I picked up the violin and walked behind him, "I don't think that brat will come today, can you be my accompanist today?"

He looked at me with astonishment, as if I had made some amazing request.

I hurriedly continued, "Uh! That... you don't have to do it if it's too much trouble. I'll just go home like this. That accompanist shouldn't be coming today anyway."

I saw him staring at me blankly for a second, and then looked at the piano score again. His long slender fingers moved, and the prelude fell like a fine drizzle.

I stood behind him and secretly smiled. This kitty is so cool! I got the violin ready and started playing.

That night, we were practicing until very late and couldn't even catch the bus.

We were standing in the middle of the empty music building square, looking at such a dangerous night, I was actually worried about him, "Where do you live? Do you want to take a taxi together?"

He said with his expressionless face, "I can go back by myself... Thank you."

I hesitated for a while and finally pulled out my phone, "Please write down my phone number. You can call me if you need anything."

".. ...." He held the diagonal bag in both hands and looked at me in astonishment.

I ignored it, "Give me your number too. Seriously, you are really good at playing the piano!" I admired him earnestly.

"...You are also very good at playing the violin..." His shy voice didn't seem much louder in the quiet night.

"Hahaha!" I couldn't help laughing after hearing that, "You must have never thought I could play the violin!"

His expression of "How did you know!" made me laugh again.

"You're really easy to understand!" I said with a smile before realizing that I said something very rude, "Ai! Sorry!... I didn't mean it like that! It's just..."

"12345678" Suddenly he said a series of numbers that made me didn't have a chance to explain, and I immediately pressed the said number on my phone.

Then I told him my cell phone number, and he awkwardly typed it on his phone.

"Remember to text me when you get home," I said.

"Why?..."

"For safety reasons ah. Report ~Peace~ Safety."

"... But I'm a man..."

Uh... Yeah... Why am I worried about a boy?! But I still said, "Don't you know there are a lot of perverts who will attack boys these days?!"

"..."

"Remember to report your safety!"

I watched him leave. It wasn't until he disappeared into the night that I was willing to turn around and go home.

Then I told myself that the next time I had the chance to stay this late with him, I would definitely take him straight home