Chapter 16

Today's rehearsal ended, and with the lead actor leaving, the crowd naturally dispersed. However, everyone was still eager for more, and some even asked if they would come again tomorrow. After receiving a positive response, the elderly people left happily.

In the dispersing crowd, Liu Yan noticed her father, the head of the teaching department, "Liu Dapao," mixed in among them. She nudged Jin Xiaoli, who was standing beside her, and said, "My dad came to watch the commotion too."

"That's completely normal. With everything happening right under his nose, it would be strange if Mr. Liu didn't come to keep an eye on things."

Liu Yan glanced at Wang Bai, who was walking behind them with his guzheng, and then leaned close to her friend's ear, "Do you think my dad might suspect something between me and him?"

"How would I know? Go ask your dad," Jin Xiaoli said, pursing her lips. "But if I were in your shoes, I'd definitely be suspicious if I helped someone play the guzheng for no reason."

Liu Yan's heart skipped a beat, thinking she should find an excuse to explain to her dad, so he wouldn't suspect anything unusual between her and Wang Bai.

At the intersection, the three of them said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Wang Bai carried his guzheng and accompanied Jin Xiaoli to the entrance of her neighborhood. They tried to hail a taxi on the roadside but didn't succeed immediately, so they started chatting.

"President Jin, if you're going to help, help all the way. On Sunday, do me a favor and come on stage. Don't just play the recording; that would be too impersonal."

Jin Xiaoli knew Liu Yan would eventually reveal her thoughts, so she wasn't surprised by Wang Bai's persuasion. She said, "I'm not familiar with this piece yet. I'm afraid I might mess it up on stage. You haven't practiced it, so you don't know how difficult it is to play live. Using a recording is more reliable and responsible."

"It doesn't matter how it turns out. Today, when you said you made a mistake, I didn't even notice. Not many people in the school can tell the difference. Don't worry about me."

"It's not just about you. There are still quite a few people in the school who can tell. This piece has been modified. If I play it correctly and coordinate well with Yanzi, people can tell it's been rearranged. If I make a mistake, they won't know if it's me or Yanzi who messed up. It would be embarrassing."

Wang Bai realized there was more to it than that and said, "Then, could you find some time to practice more? I'm mainly concerned about the stage effect. If you and Yanzi aren't on stage to support me, I'll just be up there punching and kicking, which would look silly."

At that moment, a taxi arrived, and Jin Xiaoli flagged it down. "It's easy for you to say 'find some time,' but it's not easy for me. The mid-term exams are coming up, and I don't have much time to practice. Let's see. If it's still not good by Friday, we'll record it on Saturday."

With that, Wang Bai couldn't insist further. He helped her put the guzheng in the car, thanked her, and watched the taxi drive away.

That day, he got home around 9 PM. Since he had informed his parents about the rehearsal for the cultural festival, they didn't ask many questions. He quickly took a shower and then went back to his room to do his homework. The math homework for the evening was particularly heavy, making his head ache. He kept writing until 10:30 PM when he suddenly remembered he had something else to do. He quickly took out his phone, found the recent call log, and dialed the most recent number.

After two beeps, a recorded message said, "The user you are calling is currently on another call..." Wang Bai wondered if Huang Daxian was being moody or had already gone to sleep. He sent a text message: "Sorry, I was in rehearsal until 9 PM and then got busy with homework. I forgot to call you. Are you already asleep?"

The reply came quickly: "Sleep you a big head ghost. You're so forgetful, did you forget what happened just now?"

Wang Bai, while doing his homework, replied: "You told me never to mention it again. How could I remember? Can you remind me?"

This message seemed to infuriate Huang Wen, and she didn't reply for a while. After a bit, she called him. Wang Bai, with one hand writing, answered the phone with the other.

The phone immediately rang with Huang Wen's angry voice: "Wang Dali! I told you not to mention it to others, but why did you forget it yourself! I haven't even settled the score with you yet, you shameless wet kiss monster!"

The sound in the phone made Wang Bai's ears ring. He had to move the phone away from his ear and said, "It's late, keep it down. Don't disturb your family."

"Hmph, I'm alone at home. What's the big deal?"

"Your parents aren't home so late? Did they go to play mahjong?" Wang Bai asked curiously.

"None of your business. They're always busy," Huang Wen's voice softened, seemingly not wanting to discuss the topic.

"Why aren't you asleep? Were you waiting for my call?"

Huang Wen immediately raised her voice, "Who was waiting for your call! I, I, I was studying. Besides, it's not that late."

"Oh, I'm still doing homework. I got back at 9 PM and don't know when I'll finish," Wang Bai said while continuing to write.

They both fell silent for a while. Then Wang Bai suddenly said, "Are you still there? I thought you had left. Why aren't you talking?"

Huang Wen, after her initial outburst, didn't know what to say. They were still strangers, and they didn't know each other's interests. Although they were pretending to be a couple and had already had a close encounter, they weren't real lovers and lacked the kind of rapport.

"What did you want to say when you called me?" Huang Wen decided to throw the question back at him.

Wang Bai, focused on his homework, replied casually, "You didn't answer my call, so now you're calling me. What do you want to say?"

"..." The phone was silent for a moment, then Huang Wen's voice became calm, "If there's nothing, I'll hang up. You can continue your homework."

Click, the call ended. Wang Bai was taken aback, looked at his phone, and then at his remaining homework. He sighed, thinking he had wronged her, and called back.

This time, the call was answered, and Huang Wen calmly asked what he wanted.

"Liáng Jìngrú is having a concert at the city stadium next week," Wang Bai recalled her phone ringtone, which was a Liáng Jìngrú song, and asked, "Do you want to go?"

As a fan of Liáng Jìngrú, Huang Wen had known about the concert for a while, but she was unsure of Wang Bai's intentions. Her heart raced uncontrollably as she said, "I want to go. Why are you asking?"

Wang Bai took a deep breath and said, "I can get tickets. Let's go to the concert together next week."

"Really? You're not joking, right?" Huang Wen's heart was pounding, and she didn't know why she was so excited.

"Really. My cousin works at the stadium, and getting tickets is easy. We might even get front-row seats. Do you want to go? If you do, I'll take you."

"Okay," Huang Wen smiled on the phone but tried to sound reserved, "Since you're being so sincere, I'll make time to go with you. Is there anything else?"

"No, nothing else. Continue your studies. I'll keep doing my homework."

After the call ended, Huang Wen jumped up from her bed, her previous gloom gone. She bounced a few times with her phone, then lay back on the bed, spreading out in a star shape.

She smiled, feeling happier than she had in a long time. Although she always appeared cheerful at school, she wasn't truly happy, as life's troubles often weighed on her.

But today was different. When she was with Wang Bai, she usually took the lead, but he had kissed her passionately, which still made her blush when she thought about it. At the time, she was furious and wanted to kill him. But after calming down at home, she couldn't help but speculate about why he had kissed her—was it a prank or genuine?

The more she thought, the more confused she became. She decided to wait for his call to ask him, but he didn't call, which made her angry again. When he finally called, he only added to her frustration. It seemed that whenever he treated her poorly, she became especially upset, feeling a tightness in her chest.

Then, with his invitation, all her gloom vanished, and her mood instantly improved. Her resentment towards him turned into deep affection. She had never experienced such a roller coaster of emotions before and was startled by her own reaction. Lying on the bed, she looked at the ceiling and murmured to herself, "Could this be... falling in love?"

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