Chapter 180: Enjoying Youth! |
The Autumn Sports Festival at Jiangcheng NOHS came to an end amidst various commotions. Thanks to the heroic performance of Xiang Bingbing, Class 3 ranked third in the total points among the 20 first-year classes.
As a result, Xiang Bingbing received a small desk lamp, some stationery notebooks, a basketball, a badminton racket, and a total of 300 yuan in meal card recharge funds. She even received so many certificates that her hands were sore from holding them.
Xiang Bingbing returned with a bunch of prizes in a very amusing manner. She jokingly claimed to be a saleswoman from Shennongjia, imitating the style of vendors from her hometown, and shouted in a vendor-like manner, making everyone burst into laughter.
Xiang Bingbing was a funny and quirky girl, and she was actually quite cute in appearance as well.
If she were a bit shorter, she would not only be popular in the class but throughout the entire school as well. However, most boys were concerned about being shorter than girls. In reality, there weren’t many boys who had romantic feelings towards her. Everyone saw her as a fun-loving person and a good classmate, teasing and playing around with each other. Xiang Bingbing treated most boys equally.
Here, it’s worth mentioning the word “most” because there was still one exception, and that exception was Mei Fang.
Xiang Bingbing voluntarily gave the cute little desk lamp she won as a prize to Mei Fang, saying it was compensation for almost sending him flying earlier. After some hesitation, Mei Fang finally accepted it.
Anyway, I should remember to report it to Yuan Yuan and Youxi when we go home after school. The two of them aren’t that petty, they probably won’t make a fuss over this.
In conclusion, this school’s sports festival was a very memorable experience for Mei Fang.
This should be considered as truly enjoying youth…
It was only after getting home that Mei Fang realized his sentiment about youth had come a bit too early, because he completely forgot about the promise he made earlier with Xia Yuan.
Of course, Xia Yuan has a very good memory. She had been subtly hinting at Mei Fang, and finally, when Lin Youxi was busy washing up, she got an opportunity to lick Mei Fang’s cheek in his room. Only after that did she slip away feeling satisfied.
Before the New Year’s Eve Gala arrived at the end of 2011, there were no other particularly interesting events. Although the academic pressure in the first year of high school wasn’t too great, the curriculum was still packed.
While everyone was busy studying while also participating in some school-organized activities, Mei Fang and Lin Youxi had been working on a game, while Xia Yuan had songs to write, so their level of active participation was not very high.
The New Year’s Eve Gala was the school’s last big event before the end of 2011. Xia Yuan finally got her wish to be on stage for this event, ready to perform their latest work, Bare Face, together with Mei Fang.
The preparation for the performance was similar to that of the Autumn Art Festival. The two even wore the same outfits they had used for their previous performance, and were already prepared to take the stage and perform.
Xia Yuan and Mei Fang were waiting behind the stage for the end of the previous performance when Xia Yuan suddenly turned around and asked Mei Fang with a smile, “Are you nervous?”
Mei Fang shook his head and patted his chest, saying: “It’s not my first time, so I’m good. But what about you, Yuan Yuan? Don’t you need my super energy boost this time?”
“I’m not alone this time, you’re going on stage with me.”
Xia Yuan patted Mei Fang’s shoulder. “In any case, we both need to perform well and not let Youxi down.”
“Mhm.”
With the announcement from the host, Xia Yuan and Mei Fang entered the stage together, holding their guitars under the spotlight. The first-year students who had seen their faces before erupted into thunderous applause.
Among the cheers, Xiang Bingbing’s voice was missing this time. She had learned many photography techniques in the club and had become quite professional, which made her senior, Wan Chaoxiong, very pleased.
The musical accompaniment for this performance was independently produced by Liu Xiaoyu. As the synthesized vocals mixed with the accompaniment began, Xia Yuan played the guitar gently with her head down, while Mei Fang adjusted his earpiece and started singing softly:
【It’s another quiet evening】
Since Xia Yuan usually provided Mei Fang with vocal guidance, Mei Fang’s voice now had characteristics that better suited the style of the song. For the song Bare Face, his style would appear somewhat flirty and unrestrained.
When Mei Fang’s part came to an end, he turned to look at Xia Yuan, who gradually raised her head and took over Mei Fang’s part to continue singing.
Xia Yuan’s original voice was very cute and sweet. She could sing melodies that would melt people’s hearts without needing any techniques. Mei Fang played along cooperatively, but he didn’t lower his head like Xia Yuan did. Instead, he kept his eyes on her throughout the performance.
When Xia Yuan’s solo part was about to finish, she finally noticed Mei Fang’s affectionate gaze fixed on her. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, she almost laughed out loud. But Mei Fang quickly joined her for the climax of the song.
【If I look at you again】
【Will I still feel something?】
【Back then, with your bare face, you were as pure as pure could be】
Can Bare Face be considered a sweet love song? Absolutely not, judging from the lyrics alone.
The boy likes the pure and naive girl, but the girl becomes increasingly obsessed with dressing up, and they eventually break up for various reasons. Yet when they meet again, they nostalgically reminisce about the good old times.
With such a song, however, Mei Fang and Xia Yuan’s performance made it sound like a sweet love song. During the climactic bridge section, as they played their guitars and gazed passionately into each other’s eyes, there was no hint of any regret to be seen.
Of course, such an interpretation would only add bonus points during a live performance, as the students were moved by Mei Fang and Xia Yuan’s intimate musical chemistry.
After the performance ended, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, with some mischief-makers even shouting “Be together!” Xia Yuan and Mei Fang, of course, just smiled it off.
They have been together for more than ten years. They don’t need anyone’s urging them at all.
Compared to Mei Fang’s previous copied songs, Bare Face can be said to be one of Xu Song’s most popular early works. Its popularity could very well surpass all the previously copied songs. Mei Fang was naturally aware of this.
With the flow of traffic from C site, their names would be spread even more. And once Xia Yuan’s song recordings were finished, their album would move from the campus-level scene to an online platform.
The 2012 Lunar New Year fell on January 23rd. After the New Year’s Eve Gala, there were less than 20 days left until Lunar New Year. During this time, everyone was busy with exam-related matters.
And after two weeks of hard work in the cold winter, the trio finally finished their final exams and were about to embark on their journey back home.
It was only after Mei Fang finished talking to his parents on the phone that Xia Yuan finally realized, “Oh… Ah Fang is going to Baizhou for the Lunar New Year.”
The fact that Mei Fang had moved out from their hometown didn’t really sink in for Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi. After all, even if he moved, the trio were always together.
“Ah Fang, are you not coming back to Baimei County for the entire winter vacation?” Lin Youxi reminded Mei Fang, “Didn’t you say you would come back for the Lunar New Year before?”
“We didn’t discuss that on the phone just now, but I should come back before New Year’s Eve, shouldn’t I? I want to have a New Year’s Eve dinner with my grandma and the others. Baizhou and Baimei County are so close, I can go back to my hometown in a snap.”
“It’s better if you can go back, otherwise I’ll have to go to Baizhou City and drag you back there with Youxi.”
“You can come over, both of you haven’t seen our new house yet, right? To be honest, I haven’t seen it many times either. It’s a single-family house like Yuan Yuan’s, much bigger than where we are now.”
“Well… we’ll see when the time comes. By the way… I think our family will be moving soon too.” Xia Yuan grumbled. “My dad bought a new house near the Imperial Garden. We should be able to move in by March this year. It won’t be so convenient to come back here anymore.”
“We used to live so close to each other, but now suddenly everyone is moving away.”
Mei Fang couldn’t help but sigh after hearing that. “It seems like only Youxi can often come to our neighborhood to reminisce about our childhood.”
“There’s no need to deliberately reminisce about our childhood. Just come back for the Lunar New Year soon.”
Lin Youxi gently held Mei Fang’s hand and said, “We have many things to do together in the future. There’s no need to dwell on the past memories.”
“True…”
“So, Ah Fang, bring Xiaoya too. I haven’t seen her in almost half a year!”
“I don’t know if she’s adapting well to her new school, or if she’s doing well with her homework… If she comes back to Baimei one day earlier, I can help her with her assignments,” Lin Youxi said.
“That won’t be necessary!”
Mei Fang and Xia Yuan almost simultaneously voiced their opposition because neither of them wanted Youxi to be disliked by Mei Ya.