Translated by: Queen Dei Mos
Under the scorching midday sun, the clear Chenghu Lake reflected shimmering ripples, resembling the flickering belly of a fish.
Xie Sui rolled up the legs of his narrow black trousers, and dragged the red cello ashore from the shallows.
The cello had a dark red color and a glossy finish that created a transparent texture, indicating that it was likely to be expensive.
Cong Yuzhou and Jiang Zhongning squatted on the overgrown grassy slope, watching as Xie Sui took off his T-shirt and carefully wiped every corner of the cello.
The body of the cello was already submerged in water, and the strings were broken into an awful mess, making it obvious to the naked eye that it couldn’t be used anymore.
Cong Yuzhou shouted, “Brother Sui, don’t bother wiping it, this cello is ruined.”
Xie Sui tried to pluck the strings, and the cello gave a dull whine, as if to accuse the thief for the atrocities it had suffered.
“It can still make a sound.”
Xie Sui, with his upper body bare, continued wiping the cello.
“Ai yo,1(哎哟) – āi yō – hey, ow, ouch, interjection of pain or surprise Brother Sui, just because it can make a sound doesn’t mean it’s not broken. This kind of high-end instrument is very precious, and it can’t even withstand any normal bumps and knocks. It has been soaked in this water for several hours, it would be a miracle if it could still be used!”
Xie Sui turned a deaf ear to this.
Cong Yuzhou stood with his hands on his hips, furrowing his eyebrows and looking at him helplessly. “As soon as this accident happened, you rushed to find the cello for that pretty girl in Class 1. Even though you found it, you didn’t take credit immediately.2(找到了不在第一时间表功) – Zhǎo dào liǎo bùzài dì yī shíjiān biǎo gōng – phrase that means “finding something but not immediately taking credit for it.” It implies that the person who found the thing did not boast about it or seek recognition for it right away. You always bully her like this. Tell us, what are you thinking? Is it so cool to be the bad guy?”
Xie Sui gave him a cold look, “Shut up.”
Cong Yuzhou immediately made a gesture of sealing his mouth and said, “Okay, I won’t say anything.”
After Xie Sui wiped the cello clean, he told Cong Yuzhou, “Take off your clothes and lend them to Laozi.”
“What are you going to do with my clothes?”
“To take credit.”
**
Ji Feifei dragged Tang Xuanqi into the Academic Affairs Office for two hours, but it was in vain because there were no surveillance cameras in the rehearsal room. The dean of Academic Affairs said they would need to check all of the surveillance videos in the school, but this would take some time.
With only three hours left until the talent competition, Tang Xuanqi left first and went to practice alone.
After causing a scene, Ji Feifei was also a bit tired. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said to Ji Bai, “Bai Bai, the cello is lost, there’s nothing we can do about it. But the competition can’t be delayed, so I’ll just have to practice with the piece. You won’t be able to participate in the competition.”
Yes, she won’t be able to participate in the competition.
Ji Bai realized that in the end, this incident had no impact on Ji Feifei and Tang Xuanqi, and the real victim was only herself.
Ji Feifei patted Ji Bai on the shoulder and comforted her, “Bai Bai, don’t be sad. Older sister will definitely help you win the championship”
“I believe you can do it.”
The smile that Ji Bai barely managed to squeeze out disappeared after Ji Feifei left.
She let out a soft sigh and was about to leave when, at that moment, a young man appeared at the end of the corridor, carrying a cello.
The midday sun casted a slanting beam of light with tiny particles of dust floating in the air.
He was wearing a red round-neck cartoon T-shirt, standing by the side of the building, looking at Ji Bai from afar.
Ji Feifei stopped in her tracks, startled.
Some people can always appear at the most desperate moments of your life, turning your life around.3(峰回路转) – fēng huí lù zhuǎn – winding path amidst high peaks; summit amidst surrounding elevations and winding paths — an unexpected turn in the situation or one’s fate
Many students poked their heads out of the window to see what was going on, and when they saw the cello being held in Xie Sui’s hand, they whispered, “Did Xie Sui steal the cello?”
“To be like this, he’s going too far..”
“He always couldn’t stand Ji Bai and has caused her trouble time and time again, but stealing things…that’s just going too far.”
……
Only Ji Bai knew that Xie Sui would absolutely never do such an underhanded thing.
Although he had a bad temper, he was open and honest.
He helped her get the cello back.
Xie Sui walked towards Ji Bai with the cello in his hand, Ji Feifei immediately blocked him and furiously exclaimed, “Xie Sui! You stole my younger sister’s cello! You’ve gone too far!”
Xie Sui didn’t even look at her and coldly muttered, “Get out of my way.”
He emitted a certain kind of cold aura that was full of pressure. Ji Feifei didn’t dare to confront him and reluctantly stepped aside.
Ji Bai didn’t feel how fierce Xie Sui was, she kept looking at the cartoon T-shirt he was wearing.
On the chest of the cartoon T-shirt, was a mechanically large and beautiful girl, which was very inconsistent with his cold temperament.
Such indecent clothes obviously didn’t belong to him.
Ji Bai pursed her lips and suppressed her smile.
Xie Sui walked over to her and handed her the cello.
Ji Bai accepted the cello with great care and gently plucked the strings, the look of surprise on her face faded a bit.
She glanced around at her puzzled classmates and exclaimed with a clear voice, “Thank you for helping me get my cello back.”
She didn’t want others to misunderstand Xie Sui, so she deliberately said this out loud to dispel their doubts.
Xie Sui didn’t seem to care about the gossip of people around him, he raised his eyebrows and asked her, “Is it broken?”
“Yes, it’s broken.”
“Can it be fixed?”
“It can be fixed, but…I might not make it to the competition tonight.”
“Then don’t delay.” Xie Sui grabbed Ji Bai’s sleeve and pulled her out of the school building.
He didn’t understand how to be gentle with women, let alone how to hold a girl’s hand. Therefore, his actions were a bit rough, dragging and pulling her along.
Ji Bai’s wrist turned red from his hold.
“Xie Sui, where are we going ah!”
Xie Sui took the heavy cello in her hand and said in a casual manner, “To fix the cello.”
“It’s not a bike, it’s not something that can be fixed right away.”
“How will we know if we don’t try?”
Xie Sui had never resigned himself to his fate4(听天由命) – tīngtiān-yóumìng – submit to the will of Heaven； be reconciled to one’s lot； be left at the mercy of fate; resign/reconcile oneself to one’s fate; trust to luck; come to terms with one’s fate； meet one’s fate with resignation;bow to the inevitable;leave things to chance, he only believed in himself. Once he made up his mind, he never wavered.
At the school gate, the security guard stopped them, “You can’t go out during class hours.”
“Open the gate.” Xie Sui said coldly.
“The school has rules. You can’t go out,” the security guard replied.
“Laozi told you to open the gate.”
Ji Bai quickly pulled him back and kindly explained to the security guard, “Uncle, there’s a competition tonight, and my cello is broken. We’re going out to get it fixed, you can call my teacher, he agreed.”
The security guard made a call and eventually opened the gate and let them pass.
“So you see, in fact, in many cases, things can be resolved without using force.” Ji Bai said to Xie Sui, “You should also control your temper in the future.”
Xie Sui turned his head slightly to look at the girl beside him. Her hair was tied behind her ears, and the sunlight fell on her ear, revealing fine and fluffy white hair.5 She has black hair but I think because of the sunlight to him it looked white
His mood suddenly became very soft.
He didn’t refute which was rare, just happily responded with a “Yeah.”
He didn’t like to listen to anyone lecturing him, but every word this girl said with her soft tone…he loved to listen to it all.
There were many high-end musical instrument shops just outside the school. The master of the musical instrument shop put on his gloves, tuned Ji Bai’s cello, and said, “How did it end up broken like this?”
“Uncle, can it still be fixed?”
“The damage here is too serious. I can fix it, but…”
Xie Sui interrupted his nonsense and went straight to the point6(开门见山) – kāi mén jiàn shān – come straight to the point； without preamble; speak/write on a subject directly without beating about the bush, “How much does it cost?”
“Ai ya, it’s not about the money. It takes time to fix it. I’m still handling two violins and a guzheng.”
“Uncle, I really need it urgently, can you fix it by this evening?”
“This… it’s impossible, definitely not tonight, I have to teach piano lessons this afternoon.”
Xie Sui directly took out his wallet, “How much money does it cost for you to fix it?”
“I said it wasn’t about money.”
He smiled faintly and said, “All problems are about money. Is 3,000 yuan enough?”
“Ai ya, you, this student, what do you mean? I have class this afternoon……”
“Then five thousand yuan.”
Ji Bai quickly pulled Xie Sui and winked at him desperately, indicating that it was too expensive!
“In that case, I’ll try.” the man said hypocritically. “The main reason is that you are in such a hurry, and I don’t have the heart to delay your work. Only five thousand yuan, and I’ll help you fix it.”
Xie Sui said, “Before six o’clock, I will pick up the cello. If you delay for even a minute, you won’t get a single yuan.”
“No, no problem, just come and pick it up at six.”
Ji Bai still remained a bit hesitant, but Xie Sui directly pulled her out of the musical instrument shop.
Ji Bai felt distressed and reprimanded him, “With five thousand yuan, you can buy another musical instrument.”
Xie Sui put his hands in his pockets and nonchalantly said, “I’ll take care of the money. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Ji Bai immediately said, “You don’t have to help me. This was my own problem to begin with, and I have already troubled you enough.”
Her own problem…
Xie Sui was in a good mood, but for some reason, these few words made him angry again.
This girl always had the power to affect his mood, which made him very unhappy.
“Since I have taken on this matter, I will see it through to the end. Whether it is the cost of fixing the cello or the person who stole it, I will figure it out.”
“Xie Sui, can’t you stop being so stubborn? You’ll…”
You’ll get yourself killed.
This sentence got stuck in Ji Bai’s throat. She couldn’t say it no matter how hard she tried.
“Are you lecturing me?” he asked her coldly.
一A gust of wind passed by, lifting the strands of hair by her ears, tickling her.
Ji Bai lowered her head, pursed her lips, and stopped talking.
“Speak, are you trying to lecture me?”
Ji Bai still didn’t say anything, facing the angry young man, all she could do was remain silent.
I don’t want to provoke him.
Xie Sui couldn’t wait any longer for her answer. The muscles around his eyes twitched slightly, growing wild with hostility.
He stopped waiting for her and quickened his pace towards the school.
Ji Bai knew that he had a stubborn personality and it was difficult for anyone to truly get into his heart. She failed to save him in the previous life, but in this life…….
Could she do it?
At six o’clock, Ji Bai went to pick up her cello. As expected, the master had fixed it on time, replaced it with the best strings, and even tuned it for her.
Ji Bai thanked the master and was prepared to pay, but was told that it had already been paid.
She didn’t have to think to know who it was.
Ji Bai walked out of the musical instrument shop with her cello on her back and transferred 5,000 yuan to Xie Sui through her phone, but Xie Sui didn’t accept it.
Although this incident was full of twists and turns, it also coincidentally led to the separation of Ji Bai and Ji Feifei’s performance.
Ji Feifei had never expected that her cello, which was in such a bad state, could still be fixed. So when she filled out and submitted the form to the program and saw Ji Bai coming back with her fixed cello, she regretted it so much that she wanted to strangle herself.
At the beginning of the talent competition, the students walked into the rehearsal classroom one by one to begin their performances. Then Teacher Luo Qing scored and selected the top five to participate in the city-wide performance competition.
Ji Bai was just behind Ji Feifei, and when she saw Ji Feifei walk out triumphantly, she knew that Ji Feifei must have succeeded.
Teacher Luo Qing sympathized with Ji Feifei’s situation and gave her a “high score” for her unrelenting spirit, which was both expected and unreasonable.
Ji Bai walked into the rehearsal room and looked back at the hallway.
There were many students watching the performance in the hallway, and it suddenly occurred to her that she shouldn’t have quarreled with Xie Sui moments ago.
She was quite grateful to him, at least for this piece, it should be heard by him.
After all, if it wasn’t for him helping her to find the cello in time, and then promptly taking her to get it fixed, using intimidation and bribery, she would not have been able to get her cello in good condition in time.
Without him, perhaps Ji Bai would have really given up this opportunity.
……
In a small garden on the other side of the classroom, Xie Sui leaned against the wall, holding a slender cigarette between his fingers.
He raised his head slightly and looked into the rehearsal room’s square glass window.
The cello’s low and hoarse tune was weeping and complaining, as it told a story about the cyclical nature of past and present lives.
Abandoned by parents and schemed against by friends. No one understands you, nor loves you.
But I know that you are lonely.
T/N: Sorry for being extremely late! Still busy with school work – using half my braincells for this so there might be some mistakes. Ji Feifei is a scheming and selfish B. I am not impressed ￣Д￣＝3
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