Chapter 19 Part 1

The final rehearsal before the orientation performance was on Saturday morning. The show itself would take place Sunday evening in the main campus auditorium.

Though called a club activity, the Drama Club’s influence was extraordinary. They had fixed distribution points on campus giving out free tickets, welcoming students to come and watch.

He Yuxuan, mindful of that young couple Meng Jingshu and her boyfriend, used his insider privilege to reserve two tickets for them.

“Senior brothers and sisters are all watching from below. Partner, are you nervous?” Bo Yuanyuan, dressed in an elegant white off-the-shoulder gown, chatted idly with He Yuxuan backstage before the rehearsal.

Bo Yuanyuan’s gown was one she’d purchased herself for previous performances. Because the club’s clothing allowance wasn’t enough, she’d simply prepared her own.

She looked noble and saintly.

The two standing together drew considerable attention, especially the man.

He Yuxuan, holding his cello, wore a black Zhongshan suit. Tall and strikingly handsome, he projected an aura of noble integrity, like a gentleman of bamboo. His proportions were perfect, making him uniquely stand out among the other dressed-up male performers backstage.

“Not really nervous,” He Yuxuan shook his head, even taking out his small daily planner from his pocket to glance at it.

Rehearsal from 8 AM to 11 AM, then a four-hour shift at the milk tea shop from 6 PM to 10 PM. For the afternoon, He Yuxuan planned to nap and then study a bit.

His schedule was incredibly tight. Without carrying his little notebook, he’d forget things. He even carried a pen everywhere, ticking off each completed task – a habit that satisfied his OCD tendencies.

For this reason, He Yuxuan was recently considering buying a nicer fountain pen, something more comfortable to use. But first, he needed to save up money.

“You have such a great mindset. I’ve competed so many times, and I still get a little nervous.” Bo Yuanyuan smiled.

What she didn’t know was that He Yuxuan, whose resume was utterly plain, had performed practically to the point of numbness in his past life.

“It’s our turn.” Hearing the MC’s cue, He Yuxuan shifted his demeanor, immediately escorting Bo Yuanyuan onto the stage.

Their performance was the finale. There was certainly supposed to be pressure.

The audience below consisted of just two rows of senior members from the club, but standing on this stage, that sense of pressure would surge into anyone’s heart.

A few of the preceding acts had bombed, making fatal mistakes, and the club president’s expression had gradually darkened.

After all, if things went like this tomorrow, it would disgrace the entire club, and school leaders might even come to watch.

So those who performed poorly during the rehearsal would have to practice again.

He Yuxuan settled into his designated spot, gazing towards the piano and sinking into silence. Bo Yuanyuan watched his figure, and her previously unsettled heart suddenly calmed. The nervousness slowly dissipated.

They entered the zone simultaneously.

As the music began, the collaboration was flawless. Bo Yuanyuan forgot she was performing, completely immersed in the music. She almost forgot their interaction was just a performance, her emotions becoming fuller, more invested, because of the look in He Yuxuan’s eyes.

After the piece concluded, they remained silent for a moment, and the audience below was silent as well.

It wasn’t until He Yuxuan stood first and took a bow with Bo Yuanyuan that everyone snapped back to reality.

“As expected of our finale piece. That level is unmatched.” The club president finally cracked a smile, speaking to the person beside him.

Their duet was utterly flawless, even surpassing the music itself, making the emotions palpable.

Meanwhile, after exiting the stage, the first thing He Yuxuan did was put a checkmark next to his morning schedule.

“You two played so beautifully. Even listening from backstage, I was moved,” a club member came up enviously.

Bo Yuanyuan also felt she’d performed beyond her usual level, but looking at her partner, his expression was quite nonchalant, as if it were a piece of cake for him.

Having He Yuxuan as a partner, she wasn’t worried about tomorrow’s formal performance at all. Bo Yuanyuan felt she could maintain this level.

They’d been partners for this long, but their interactions never extended beyond the rehearsal relationship. They basically only contacted each other during those two hours and rarely otherwise.

Today, after thinking it over, Bo Yuanyuan took the initiative to ask, “To celebrate our successful rehearsal, how about we grab a meal together?” It was perfectly reasonable.

He Yuxuan’s first thought wasn’t to refuse. He was used to celebrating things like wrapping up filming. But his first concrete thought was: he had no money. That was the main issue.

It wasn’t that He Yuxuan hadn’t saved anything at all. He had at least saved up enough for Chu Ci’s gift. But he hadn’t saved up for a belt yet.

Eating out with a girl and letting her pay wasn’t the proper way. Although He Yuxuan had never dated, he understood this principle.

So his situation was somewhat awkward.

Just when he was wondering how to decline, thankfully, a phone call came through. He Yuxuan had never picked up a call so fast.

“Let me take this,” he gestured, stepping slightly aside.

It was Zhang Xiangdong. In He Yuxuan’s eyes, the two of them were genuine friends now.

“Bro, you free this afternoon?”

“First tell me what’s up?” He Yuxuan asked.

“Hehe, good stuff, of course. A few days ago, Fantawild had a buy-one-get-one-free deal. I originally wanted to go with her, but she had something come up last minute today. I figured—can’t let it go to waste—so I thought I’d call you.”

“Amusement park?” He Yuxuan asked, confused.

“Yeah. You in or not? After that, we’ll go hit up a BBQ joint and I’ll grab a case of beer. It’ll be awesome.” Zhang Xiangdong was a Northerner, his personality blunt and generous.

In his previous life, He Yuxuan had never been to a commoner place like an amusement park. As for drinking beer and eating BBQ with a brother? Naturally, never done that either. So he felt an itch of curiosity.

He often heard the guys in the neighboring dorm talking about hitting up the night market for BBQ. It wasn’t that he wasn’t curious. Though a bit greasy, eating it once in a while should be fine.

“Sure thing. Just so happens I’m free. But I have my part-time job at 6 PM, so we gotta make it quick.” Between these two options, He Yuxuan naturally chose the free amusement park ticket.

“I almost forgot you still have that part-time job. Forget it, this meal’s on me, bro. You’ve been strapped for cash lately.”

So He Yuxuan agreed even more readily.

“Alright, see you at the school gate.”

After hanging up, He Yuxuan put on an apologetic face and told Bo Yuanyuan, “Sorry, Yuanyuan. I just remembered I made plans with a friend this afternoon.” It wasn’t that he was deliberately avoiding her. He should treat her to a meal, but alas, he could only use poverty as his escape.

“Oh well, alright. Next time then. Looking forward to tomorrow’s performance.” Bo Yuanyuan felt a twinge of disappointment, but smiled again.

“Bye-bye~” He Yuxuan saw Bo Yuanyuan off, then returned to the dorm to change into clothes suitable for large movements, a little excitement bubbling in his heart. He didn’t know if it was really that thrilling.

But in any case, it was another experience he, as a celebrity, had never had.

~

He Yuxuan casually snapped a photo of the two tickets as a memento of his first time.

“Let’s go. This is my first time here,” He Yuxuan patted Zhang Xiangdong’s shoulder, his beautiful eyes full of novelty.

He Yuxuan was taller than Zhang Xiangdong. No longer looking sickly, he was now clearly a very healthy, handsome guy.

“Bro, you’ve gotten so much livelier since leaving the hospital,” Zhang Xiangdong remarked.

But then again, if he were the one beaten badly enough to lie in a hospital for a month, his own state wouldn’t be great either, so his mood would naturally be poor.

“Really?” He Yuxuan asked incredulously.

Was his change this obvious and outwardly visible? He thought he’d been carrying himself with quite a bit of style.

Ah well, whatever. The male celebrity worn down by life thought: he was definitely more interested in free tickets right now. A bargain ignored is a bargain wasted.

“Totally. Much easier to get close to!” Back in the very beginning, Zhang Xiangdong could never have imagined He Yuxuan one day slinging an arm around his shoulder like a bro. But he was pretty happy about it. Having a super handsome guy as a bro was a massive ego boost, okay?

Like right now, this was the first time Zhang Xiangdong had attracted so many stares when out in public.

Although he knew most were because of the handsome guy beside him, and a small portion were probably wondering why the handsome guy’s friend wasn’t handsome, his vanity was still mightily satisfied.

See? He had the skills to be friends with a handsome guy! Meanwhile, other people found it incredibly difficult to even get the handsome guy’s WeChat.

“Which ride is the most thrilling?” He Yuxuan’s terrible sense of direction fully acted up in the amusement park. He simply couldn’t read the map and had to let Zhang Xiangdong guide him.

“Definitely the Polar Express and the Giant Swing. That’s my personal ranking, of course.”

After all, time was limited. Though it wasn’t a holiday, Saturday still had plenty of people, so they had to maximize their time.

“Then let’s hit those two first.” He Yuxuan decided definitively.

He rarely did thrilling things, so living life over again, he’d become interested. Anything he hadn’t done before was interesting.

“Alright.” Zhang Xiangdong was very easygoing.

All afternoon, the two of them queued up at different rides.

“! So fast!”

“I want to get off…”

“Holy crap, that weightlessness is terrifying!”

“Old Zhang, I can’t take it anymore, aaaaaaaah!”

“Bro, if you’re scared, just stare at your toes. Your face has gone completely white.”

By 5 PM, if they continued, they wouldn’t make it to BBQ in time, so the two gave it a rest.

They hadn’t just ridden those two; they’d also done the Drop Tower and the Pirate Ship. They’d gotten quite a lot in.

“Right now, I want to throw up so badly I can’t even think about eating anything.” He Yuxuan, legs trembling as he walked out, scrunched up his face and said slowly.

He felt everything was way too thrilling for him. After riding the Polar Express, each subsequent ride had him terrified from the moment he got on, wanting to get off. He Yuxuan truly just couldn’t handle it.

But the feeling of forcing himself onto each ride was also novel. Although He Yuxuan wasn’t sure he’d ever come a second time, the experience of this first time felt genuinely joyful.

It was a completely different feeling from sitting in an auditorium immersed in playing the cello.

“Eat at least a little. The nausea goes away once you walk around. A rare treat—my treat! This opportunity knocks but once,” Zhang Xiangdong joked.

He’d seen He Yuxuan so full of enthusiasm and thought the handsome guy must be quite brave. Who knew that once actually on the rides, he’d be so scared he started cursing later on.

“Let’s go.” He Yuxuan tried his best to swallow the nausea. He had to fleece this sheep.

The two straight men randomly snapped a few group photos from whatever random angles they could find. In the carelessly taken photos, He Yuxuan, even with messy hair, was still devastatingly handsome, while Zhang Xiangdong was at a level where people would ask: “Did you save his life or something?”

“Damn, I’m so ugly.” Zhang Xiangdong casually grumbled without really caring, even sending the photo to his girlfriend.

“Since you’re not free today, I went out with a handsome guy instead (Grinning emoji.jpg)”

“Damn you, fatty! If you’d told me earlier, I would’ve pushed my stuff back even more to go with a hottie~~~”

“There will be plenty more chances to meet handsome guys in the future, but you have to butter me up first! Ha ha ha ha!”

“Get lost!”