Chapter 47

Wei Feng is a second-year chemistry student at Fudan University. The day of the first performance of Sinister Crown at the Lantern Forest was his birthday. He invited a few close classmates to the Lantern Forest for a few drinks. At that time, he was sitting at the table closest to the stage.

Wei Feng is a typical science student. He usually doesn't enjoy listening to pop music, thinking it's too childish. He grew up listening to Peking Opera with his father, believing that this is what true art is. On his birthday, his father gave him some activity funds, and he invited his classmates for dinner. Afterward, they wanted to find a place to have some drinks. While looking for a place on the bar street, one of his classmates saw Xia Shamo's poster and said, "Isn't this the girl who performed at the New Year's concert in the Great Hall? She's the super cool and awesome junior from Fudan High School."

Wei Feng's classmate is his roommate and also a member of the Fudan Student Union. So, he managed to sneak into the New Year's concert of the four schools. After returning to the dorm, he started recommending to his roommate how amazing the band was and how beautiful the lead singer was. He was so captivated by the music that he forgot to record it on his phone. For this, his roommate searched online for videos, but the ones he found were taken from a distance, with very blurry sound and images.

Later, he searched for the songs on China's three major music websites. He still remembered the names, but he couldn't find "Sword Pulling Song." He did find many versions of "Huangpu River," but none of them were the one he heard at the New Year's concert. He had to give up with regret but couldn't forget it.

Today, he unexpectedly saw the poster on the bar street and immediately insisted on changing their destination to the Lantern Forest. They originally planned to go to "Listen to the Wind" at the street corner, where the resident singer is Liu Huaming, a literature major at Fudan, who usually sings some campus folk songs and is very popular among Fudan and Jiaotong University students. "Listen to the Wind" is also the best business on the bar street.

Under his roommate's strong insistence, Wei Feng entered the Lantern Forest. The male resident singer before Xia Shamo disappointed him, so he didn't have high hopes for the "awesome" Sinister Crown, thinking how great could high school students be? However, the girl in the photo was very beautiful, and he wondered what she would look like in person.

When Xia Shamo took the stage at nine o'clock, Wei Feng was immediately captivated. Wei Feng isn't good at literature and doesn't know how to describe it, but he felt that Xia Shamo, holding the microphone stand with her smoky makeup, looked like a world-class swordsman with a cold and fierce aura. She was so beautiful that she seemed unapproachable, majestic, and solitary. Wei Feng immediately felt that seeing such a beautiful girl made the trip worthwhile, and it was worth the ticket price.

When Xia Shamo started singing, the atmosphere changed dramatically. Her singing, like a clear spring flowing through a ravine and snow entering the forest, combined with the rhythmic drumbeats and the cold guitar strings, created a beautiful scene of a vast, snowy forest with a slowly flowing hot spring.

This made him lose himself in the infinitely beautiful melody.

When Xia Shamo's "la la la" at the end of the song started, his goosebumps rose, and he felt all his pores open. His mind was blank, and the simple "la la la" made his soul fly away.

From that moment on, he embarked on a long journey of being a "Unique" fan. In the future, Sinister Crown's fans would be called "Uniques," meaning Sinister Crown is unique and their only. Of course, this was all in the future, and Wei Feng didn't know that Sinister Crown's songs would accompany him through many years of his life.

When he heard the fourth song, "Summer Light Year," Wei Feng couldn't help but think of his high school days. He was the only one from his county to be admitted to Fudan University. He liked the class president, and in his sophomore year, when he learned that the class president wanted to go to Fudan, he started studying hard. Looking back, it was a crazy and youthful time. He got in, but she didn't.

Wei Feng borrowed money from his roommates and sent 299 roses to Sinister Crown.

He vaguely remembered the hot summer after high school graduation. One afternoon, he held 299 roses and waited downstairs at the class president's house to confess. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, and the muggy air made his hands sweat. That day, he wore his father's suit pants and shirt, looking like a fool as he watched the class president walk home with someone else. Although it was foolish, he never regretted it. He still likes her and hasn't changed.

Back in the dorm, the first thing Wei Feng's roommate did was upload the video they recorded at the bar to the Fudan BBS. Since they were sitting close, the recording quality was quite good. Later, it was reposted to Miaopu Forum, the most popular university forum at the time.

The post was titled "The Coolest Band Ever, If the Girl Isn't Pretty and the Music Isn't Good, Please Roast Me." This post set a record for the most clicks on Miaopu and was pinned to the top for a month. It eventually sank because more videos of Sinister Crown were uploaded.

The Lantern Forest became popular on the bar street. Usually, all the seats were taken by eight o'clock, and the reservation phone was always ringing. Many people came specifically to the Lantern Forest to hear Sinister Crown sing after watching the videos.

The bar's business was booming, and Chen Jinglong was smiling from ear to ear. Cheng Xiaoyu and the others didn't feel much different; they still performed as usual. Of course, they added a few new songs, all composed by Cheng Xiaoyu.

It was a weekend, and although Fudan and Jiaotong University were on break, it didn't affect the popularity of the Lantern Forest.

It wasn't even eight o'clock yet, and Xia Shamo hadn't arrived. Cheng Xiaoyu was teaching Wang Ou to play the guitar in the basement.

Suddenly, he received a text message from Tang Wenqian.

"Girl, I'm coming over today. I'm on my way."

Cheng Xiaoyu then remembered the bet with Tang Wenqian. Thinking about it, he felt a bit of a headache. The bar was always full, and it was uncertain if there would be a seat. He could only reply, "Girl, you should have told me earlier! I don't know if there will be a seat now!"

"Wow, really? I'm bringing a friend. You're not trying to back out, are you?"

"Damn, I, Cheng Xiaoyu, may have a girl's heart, but I keep my word. Besides, if I arrange a table for you, wouldn't that be like admitting defeat?"

"Oh, you're right! No problem, I'll find a table myself. I'll text you when I arrive. There's a time limit, though. I'll start the timer when I text you, and you have to send a rose to the girl you think is me within one and a half hours. If I don't see you send the rose, you lose two requests!"

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled bitterly, not expecting her to really come and to be so serious. The bar was always packed, and it was almost impossible to identify someone he didn't know. However, he never went back on his word, and besides, the other party was just a girl. He couldn't bring himself to cheat, and he thought this girl wasn't familiar, so she probably wouldn't make unreasonable requests.

He could only reply, "Okay, if you can't find a seat, you lose."

Tang Wenqian replied, "OK."

Xu Qinling was rubbing her hands in her Rolls-Royce, and Su Yuxi was dragged along. She was now picking up the real Tang Wenqian and another friend named Li Ling'er.

When Xu Qinling picked up Tang Wenqian and Li Ling'er and arrived at the Fudan bar street, Cheng Xiaoyu's performance was still half an hour away. Since it was a weekend, the band would sing two more songs. The Lantern Forest was already packed at 8:30, and Cheng Xiaoyu wondered how Tang Wenqian would find a seat. He thought, "Hopefully, she can't find a seat and will admit defeat."

Xu Qinling arrived at the Lantern Forest and asked Li Ling'er to check inside the bar. Li Ling'er is Tang Wenqian's classmate and also a good friend of Xu Qinling. Tang Wenqian and Xu Qinling have a bit of a family connection, and Tang Wenqian calls Xu Qinling "Sister Ning." Her father is a business partner of Xu Jiacheng, though on a much smaller scale, essentially relying on the Xu family. So, Xu Qinling's requests are never refused by Tang Wenqian, and Xu Qinling is also quite good to Tang Wenqian, though not as good as to Su Yuxi. Tang Wenqian's genuine and obedient personality is very appealing to Xu Qinling, making them good friends.

Li Ling'er walked around the bar and came out, saying, "How can this lousy bar be so popular?" Li Ling'er has a fiery personality, her father is a high-ranking official, and her family is wealthy. She and the neurotic Xu Qinling are a perfect match.

Xu Qinling frowned and said, "I'm not familiar with this area. I don't go to bars much. Ling'er, you go to bars often. Do you have any friends who know this place?"

Li Ling'er, with her hands in the pockets of her yellow down jacket, wearing black jeans and short hair, has a somewhat masculine look. She isn't very beautiful but has a wild charm. She took out her phone and looked through her contacts, saying, "I'll ask, but the rich kids I know probably won't come to this small bar."

Xu Qinling wasn't in a hurry. She was wearing dark blue jeans with boots, a short leather jacket, and a baseball cap. She wore sunglasses to avoid being recognized by Cheng Xiaoyu.

The bar street was crowded at this hour. Su Yuxi, Xu Qinling, Tang Wenqian, and Li Ling'er, each with their unique beauty, standing by the roadside, attracted countless gazes.

Especially Su Yuxi, wearing a long, fitted military green coat with a fur-trimmed hood, a black cotton embroidered sequin dress, black wool tights, and saddle-brown long boots, with a black wool hat and long hair flowing down her sides, even without seeing her face, she looked like a beauty. Nine out of ten people, regardless of gender, couldn't resist looking back at her. Su Yuxi's beauty is universally appealing, fitting everyone's aesthetic without controversy.

Xu Qinling, hugging Su Yuxi, said with a sly smile, "Xixi, why don't you use your beauty to trick a table?"

The two perfect but distinctly different faces close together caused even more commotion. Xu Qinling, a typical model with a nine-head body, is 175 cm tall, with a large chest and long legs, exuding a queenly aura. Su Yuxi, slightly shorter at 171 cm, has a well-proportioned figure, a pure and cold demeanor, and a presence that matches Xu Qinling's. Tang Wenqian, who is also considered beautiful, stood beside them but seemed less outstanding.

Su Yuxi, ignoring Xu Qinling, said coldly, "You dragged me out, just to make me stand in the cold with you? I would have rather practiced the piano at home."

Xu Qinling laughed and said, "Oh, Miss Su, don't you want to see your brother's performance at the bar? Last time, who told me his music surprised you?"

Su Yuxi clearly wasn't buying it, "Then take me in to see. If we both go in, won't he be suspicious?"

Xu Qinling said, "No problem, your brother is a big target. We'll avoid him. Just watch the show."

"Why do you keep messing around with my brother? Didn't you say you wouldn't care anymore?" Su Yuxi frowned.

Xu Qinling laughed, "Your brother is quite interesting. I like his personality. What? Are you worried about him, Su Yuxi?"

Su Yuxi shook off Xu Qinling's arm, "Our family must have owed you in a past life."

At this moment, Li Ling'er pulled Tang Wenqian's hand and said, "What a coincidence, Huang Xiaqi is here! They say this bar has a very famous band online. Now, it's hard to find a seat. I called Huang Xiaqi to come out and meet us." Li Ling'er didn't go to the New Year's concert and went to the best H-bar in Shanghai, Nirvana Bar, with some friends. So, she didn't know about the band Sinister Crown.

Xu Qinling asked, "Oh, Huang Xiaqi is the short kid who used to follow Su Yuxi around and cry?"

Li Ling'er laughed, "Yes, Sister Ning, you remember? He's much taller and handsomer now, not the same as in elementary school. I remember you bullied him so much that he didn't dare to go to the same middle school as you."

"Who cares about bullying him? If he hadn't drawn a line with Xixi and pulled her pigtails all the time, I wouldn't have bothered with him," Xu Qinling said with a frown.

Li Ling'er said slyly, "Huang Xiaqi's crush on Xixi isn't a secret. They say he's even visited Fudan High School a few times this semester to sneak a peek. I wonder if Xixi has seen him."

Before Su Yuxi could respond, a tall, slender, fair-skinned, and quite handsome boy pushed the door open.