Chapter 22
The rehearsal room was still empty, and Bai Sinian took the initiative to clean and tidy up the equipment.
Around 9 o’clock, the rest of the members gradually arrived, yawning and greeting Bai Sinian, then picking up their respective instruments to start practicing.
Bai Sinian continued to organize things nearby, and also took photos and videos.
They kept getting stuck on the first section, not even reaching the climax before being forced to start over.
Suddenly, Bian Guang, who had been standing at the door, appeared. He was still wearing the black vest from yesterday, with a bag slung over his shoulder.
He walked in and interrupted their practice. “With this level, you’re only fit to perform for kindergarten kids.”
Bian Rui looked up and found that it was his father, and a fleeting look of panic flashed in his usually calm and composed eyes, but he didn’t call out “Dad.”
Bian Guang directly took the guitar from Shen Bei, plucking a few strings, and said, “For chords, you can let the bass guitar play the root, and you can use other chord tones as the lowest note, as long as this lowest note is higher than the root note of the bass guitar.”
He then demonstrated it.
He explained and demonstrated one by one, then turned to Fan Hongyi and pointed out his problems. The bass player can read the number notation, and can simplify the chord changes, it’s very simple.
Finally, he began to instruct Bian Rui, “Your Cantonese pronunciation is not standard, you need to practice more.”
Finally, someone could put Bian Rui in his place, and Cui Yeyi gloated, “Uncle, you’re so great! Can you guide us to practice this song well?”
Bai Sinian was just frantically taking photos of the father-son duo, completely forgetting to ask Bian Guang the purpose of his visit.
Bian Guang also forgot, he stood at the door and heard the ear-piercing music, almost breaking down, and just wanted to come in and give guidance.
Speaking of which, Bian Rui and his dad are really quite similar, especially in the way they instruct others one by one. It turns out that Bian Rui’s talent is mostly inherited from his dad, and in the future he will surely surpass him.
The whole morning, Bian Guang forgot his original purpose, just focused on guiding these kids over and over again, even forgetting that Bian Rui was his son, criticizing him when necessary.
It was almost noon when the food delivery arrived, finally bringing them back to their senses.
Bai Sinian called everyone to eat, and also enthusiastically invited Bian Guang to join them for the meal.
Bian Guang pulled Bian Rui to sit a few meters away from the other students.
“Bian Rui, is your mom dating a boyfriend?” Bian Guang asked as he unpacked the lunch box.
Bian Rui paused for a moment, “I don’t know, I’m rarely home.”
Bian Guang sighed, “Although I’m divorced from your mom, I give you two thousand yuan in living expenses every month. You should remember to ask your mom for it, so she doesn’t spend it all on dating.”
Bian Rui was a bit impatient, “She makes more money than you anyway, what are you still interfering with her affairs for after the divorce?”
Bian Guang, “I’m worried about you, that money is for you.”
Bian Rui, “My mom won’t take a single cent from the money I should be using.”
“I sent you messages. Why don’t you respond, is that how you treat your elders?”
Bian Rui, “You sent so many and I didn’t respond, obviously I don’t want to respond, why are you still looking for me?”
The two of them gradually raised their voices and got into an argument.
Bai Sinian immediately put down his meal and went to pull Bian Rui back to the group, letting him eat with the band, then went to chat with Bian Guang to comfort him, and thanked him.
The few young guys were whispering, just saying if the two were father and son, when they heard them arguing, and then Bian Rui came over.
Fan Hongyi chewed on the white rice and asked, “Bian Rui, is that your dad? Why didn’t you introduce him properly?”
Cui Yeyi, “Your dad is so amazing, is he involved in music? Is that why you understand music so well, did your dad teach you?”
Bian Rui didn’t respond to the two, eating silently, and the two had to change the subject tactfully.
Fan Hongyi, “Bai Sinian is our versatile guy, he plays a lubricating role.”
“What the hell! What lubricating role!” Cui Yeyi suddenly got a little excited. Ever since he found out that a guy liked him, he had even specifically looked up how two guys do it, and the image of lubricating oil just wouldn’t leave his mind.
Fan Hongyi gave him a blank look, “Why are you so excited? It’s true, right? Whenever we have any conflicts, it’s Bai Sinian in the middle adjusting things, without him, this family would fall apart!”
Fan Hongyi noticed that Cui Yeyi was acting strange and asked, “You don’t happen to like him, do you?”
“Bullshit!” Cui Yeyi almost spat out a mouthful of food, “I avoid him like the plague!”
The quietly eating Shen Bei felt a bit wronged for Bai Sinian, “Sinian ge hasn’t done anything wrong, why are you treating him like that?”
Cui Yeyi, “What do you know, you little brat, how am I treating him?”
Shen Bei, “You, you don’t even talk to him… he, he doesn’t even like you.”
Cui Yeyi, “Who said that? He just likes me, okay? Now I’m notorious, no girls dare to approach this ‘gay’ guy, tch, I’m not even gay, just thinking about it makes me angry.”
The topic of whether Cui Yeyi is gay or not has already spread among the girls. Whether he is or not, no one is willing to take the risk anymore. Early romance is already rare, and seeing Cui Yeyi so handsome, the chances of suspecting him to be gay are very high.
So gradually, few girls are willing to chat with him, even if Cui Yeyi is like a devoted follower, those girls won’t be moved, for fear that if they end up dating him and find out he’s really gay, they’ll be mocked by others.
While the small group was chatting about this and that, Bai Sinian had already pacified Uncle Bian.
Bian Guang even promised to come and give them free guidance from now on, until they had practiced the song “Red Sun” well.
In the days that followed, they became exceptionally busy, going to class during the day, supplementary lessons in the evenings, and coming to the music rehearsal room to practice on weekends.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the New Year’s gala.
Bai Sinian had prepared a giant two-meter-tall poster for them, and custom-tailored four suits that fit them well. Of course, the money was pooled by a few of them. Cui Yeyi’s dad specially provided free drinks and desserts for the event, sending delicacies to all the students and teachers, the effect was impressive.
When it was the “Dazzling Star” band’s turn to perform, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause.
The stage lights focused on them, casting a golden halo around them, making them look even more dazzling.
As the musical introduction slowly sounded, the lead vocalist Bian Rui took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and then opened his mouth to sing the first line of “Red Sun.”
“Even if fate is tumultuous and winding,
Even if fate is twisted and bizarre,
Fate can’t scare you into being joyless,
Don’t shed tears, don’t abandon it,
I wish I can accompany you for life.”
Bai Sinian in the back row of the audience watched them with tears in his eyes, every Cantonese syllable was clearly articulated, he could see how hard Bian Rui had practiced these days.
Guitarist Shen Bei lightly plucked the strings in rhythm with the song, standing in the back left of the stage, head down, very focused on his fingers jumping on the strings.
Cui Yeyi and Fan Hongyi were the rhythm section of the band, they were in close coordination, using the drums and bass to create an inspiring atmosphere for the entire song.
The audience was infected by their performance, swaying their bodies to the rhythm, cheering for their performance.
Bai Sinian saw the fledgling band take shape, saw them perform so brilliantly on stage for the first time, and couldn’t help but sway along with the rhythm.
At the climax of the performance, Bian Rui’s voice became more inspiring, Shen Bei’s playing also became more crazy, and Cui Yeyi and Fan Hongyi pushed the rhythm to the peak.
Bai Sinian followed the rhythm and did an impromptu Breaking dance, adding a “scorpion tail” move, cheering for them.
It must be said that Bai Sinian was still part of the dance club when he was in college, and now he still remembers so many moves, which evoked his memories of passionate youth.
Standing on the stage, Bian Rui’s face had little expression, giving an aura of cold handsomeness.
His gaze was far away, steadily fixed on Bai Sinian. The auditorium was relatively warm, and Bai Sinian had taken off his thick jacket, wearing a bright purple sweater, swaying to the music in the back.
Until Bian Rui saw the usually mature and steady Bai Sinian suddenly start breaking, he couldn’t hold it in and curled the corner of his mouth, then quickly lowered his eyes.
This expression looked gentle and shy, immediately making all the girls in the audience scream.
Cui Yeyi in the back also saw Bai Sinian dancing.
Cui Yeyi was like a peacock spreading its feathers, drumming the drums while exchanging gazes with the audience, forming a sharp contrast with the other side’s Shen Bei.
When his gaze swept over to the back row where Bai Sinian was, he averted his eyes.
He was a little afraid of being misunderstood again about his relationship with Bai Sinian, but he couldn’t help but look that way, until he saw Bai Sinian dancing.
His heart seemed to skip a beat, that sunny and energetic teenager was so cute… Cui Yeyi almost hit the wrong rhythm.
Bai Sinian was happier than any audience member, every move exuding handsome coolness and his excited mood.
Cui Yeyi’s heart was pounding, why, why did Bai Sinian have such a cute side!
When the last note faded, the entire stage fell into a brief silence. Then the audience burst into enthusiastic applause and cheers.
“Dazzling Star! Dazzling Star! Dazzling Star!” The audience spontaneously formed a chant, like the encore at a concert, that lingering and reluctant emotion permeated the entire auditorium.
The four on stage, for the first time, felt the joy of performing, and enjoyed the true charm of music. They stood in a straight line and bowed 90 degrees to the audience below.
Bai Sinian jumped up and waved to them, even more excited than the four of them.
It was like watching his own child grow up, what was this feeling, Bai Sinian was so excited he almost cried.
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