Part 2
Even without events, they needed to keep practicing. Musical skills would deteriorate without regular practice, and picking them up again would be much harder.
 âOf course weâll practice. Just wait for my updates. For now, we focus on studying. We must aim to get into S City.â
Fan Hongyi groaned. âWhy? My parents teach in S City. I donât want to go there!â
âS City is a first-tier city, with rich musical resources. Itâll be great for our development.â
Bian Rui agreed and began explaining the significance of S City, from its concert halls to the frequent performances by international music groups. Overall, it was an ideal city for music lovers.
Bai Sinian started mentally mapping out their future goals.
Before they knew it, the first weekend of the semester had arrived. The gang met at their usual spot.
Bai Sinian arrived late, carrying a folder.
He took out several stickers from the folder, which he had gotten from a photo-printing shop on Taobao.
The stickers were of a cartoon orange cat, with the words âOppose Cat Abuseâ written underneath.
Bai Sinian distributed the stickers to everyone. âPut these on your instruments.â
Fan Hongyi was confused. âWhy not put âDazzling Starâ on the stickers? Why this?â
Cui Yeyi smacked him on the head. âJust stick it. Why ask so many questions?â
âI believe that every time we speak out against injustice, it should come from a place of sincerity, not just for attention. Plus, promoting this causeâopposing cat abuseâis something we can continue for five, ten years, or even longer.â
Bian Rui examined the sticker, then peeled it off and stuck it on the handle of his microphone.
âI like it. Itâs forward-thinking.â
Shen Bei quietly placed his sticker on the blank spot at the bottom of his guitar, making sure it was prominent. Afterward, he carefully inspected his guitar from all angles to ensure it was visible.
âWhere should I put mine? Iâve got so many drums.â Cui Yeyi held his drumsticks and the sticker, unsure of where to place it.
Bai Sinian walked over and helped him stick the sticker on the rim of the snare drum, where it would be easy for fans to see and also visible in future recordings.
Bian Rui stood off to the side, quietly observing Bai Sinian and Cui Yeyi. Ever since he had learned Bai Sinianâs âsecret,â he found himself paying extra attention to the two of them.
But so far, Bai Sinian seemed completely at ease, never sparing a glance at Cui Yeyi. On the contrary, Cui Yeyi was the one constantly watching Bai Sinian.
âAlright, letâs use these instruments for future performances,â Bai Sinian clapped his hands and said with his hands on his hips.
Cui Yeyi sat down and tested the drums. âNo problem. My dad said we could rent this set long-term, and eventually buy it at a 20% discount.â
âHmm, this brand is solid. It should last us until college.â
âFor sure! Once you get used to it, you wonât want to switch.â
Next, Bai Sinian pulled out a schedule he had been working on for the past few days and handed a copy to each person.
As he distributed them, he explained, âThe practice schedule is written here. I worked it out with Bian Rui. Weâll start with the basics and gradually work our way up. Every two months, Bian Rui will compose a new song, and weâll practice it based on the sheet music.â
âEven though we donât have a professional company to release our albums yet, we have our video account. We can make full use of that. When we finish composing a song, we can edit the video and release it through our account. The copyright will still be ours.â
âWhen we eventually sign with a company, we can take these songs with us. When we release an album, they can be included.â
That sounded incredibly tempting.
Apart from not having a signed contract, everything they were doing felt like a legitimate band. The sense of purpose suddenly surged, and the group was filled with motivation.
âEnough talk, letâs get to practicing!â
Their music was full of youthful energy and passion, making Bai Sinian involuntarily sway along with the rhythm.
Before long, Bai Sinian was tapping along with their beat, his body subtly moving to the rhythm.
Cui Yeyi stared at Bai Sinian, mesmerized. This scene reminded him of that night at the New Yearâs Eve party when he had watched Bai Sinian doing an adorable breakdance on stage.
The more he looked, the more he realized how handsome Bai Sinian wasâhandsome in a gentlemanly, refined way. Cui Yeyi was starting to lose focus.
Suddenly, Bian Rui stopped and turned to glare at Cui Yeyi. âYouâre off-beat.â
Bian Rui had noticed that Cui Yeyi had been staring at Bai Sinian the entire time and had only just snapped out of it. Bian Rui glanced at Bai Sinian, who hadnât noticed any of this.
âWhatâs wrong? Whyâd you stop?â Bai Sinian asked, a bit surprised.
Cui Yeyi awkwardly laughed. âLetâs start over.â
And so, without saying a word, they resumed their practice.
After a semester of working together, everyoneâs teamwork had improved significantly. Bai Sinian felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he frantically recorded everything on his phone.
“More material to work with when I get home, hehe,” he thought.
The academic workload was heavy, and as soon as they returned to school, everyone quickly immersed themselves in campus life.
It was then that Bai Sinian realized he hadnât asked about their final exam results yet. So, he took a picture of the grade ranking sheet from the teacher’s office. What he saw shocked him.
Out of over 400 students in the entire grade, Shen Bei ranked 387th, Cui Yeyi was 320th, and Fan Hongyi was 231st.
Based on the schoolâs annual undergraduate admission rate, Shen Bei and Cui Yeyiâs grades might not even be sufficient for vocational schools. This was worrying!
Bai Sinian didnât dare bring up the topic of grades with Shen Bei directly. Shen Beiâs academic performance was always a sore spot for him. Although Shen Beiâs family could ensure he would want for nothing in the future, from a band perspective, Bai Sinian still hoped Shen Bei could attend a respectable school.
He had to think of a solution.
That afternoon, after class, Bai Sinian didnât go to the cafeteria. Instead, he asked a classmate to bring him two mantou and buns, and he stayed in the classroom studying.
The other members of the band noticed his absence and asked in the group chat why he hadnât joined them for dinner. Bai Sinian simply replied, “Studying.”
For three consecutive days, Bai Sinian skipped dinner at the cafeteria. Each time, when asked, he said it was because he was studying.
This created the impression that he was a diligent “top student,” working hard in every spare moment. When they returned to the dorms in the evening, Bian Rui couldnât help but ask, “Is there a monthly exam coming up? Why are you suddenly working so hard?”
“I just want to make the most of every minute to study! You should join me! This crazy, intense study mode feels great. At night, I fall asleep the moment I hit the pillow,” Bai Sinian replied enthusiastically.
Bian Rui asked, “Did you have trouble falling asleep before?”
Bai Sinian grinned, “Now I can sleep like a log.”
Bian Rui: âŚ
It sounded somewhat tempting. Bian Ruiâs sleep quality hadnât been great lately, and the idea of sleeping soundly was appealing. He decided to give it a try.
So, Bian Rui also stopped going to the cafeteria for dinner.
The remaining three members gathered at their usual spot in the cafeteria, exchanging puzzled looks.
Cui Yeyi suspiciously said, “Those two are definitely hiding something. What do you think theyâre up to?”
Fan Hongyi, not particularly concerned, continued eating and mumbled, “Didnât they say they were studying?”
âAre you kidding? Skipping meals to study? What, are they gonna stop sleeping in senior year, too?â Cui Yeyi scoffed.
âMaybe,â Fan Hongyi replied nonchalantly.
Shen Bei, looking a bit guilty, said quietly, “Those two are both in the top five of the grade, and theyâre still working so hard. Meanwhile, our scores are so bad⌔
âSo what if theyâre bad?â Cui Yeyi slapped Shen Beiâs shoulder hard. Shen Bei clenched his teeth, enduring the pain.
“Donât beat yourself up. So what if our grades suck? Who cares? Deal with it!” Cui Yeyi declared boldly.
After finishing dinner, Fan Hongyi wiped his mouth and said, “Honestly, we should just do what we did last semester and use evening study time to catch up. My mom even said we could use my New Yearâs money to hire a tutor.”
“Thatâs not a bad idea,” Cui Yeyi nodded. “But did you hear about our biology teacher? He was late to evening study because he was buying a lottery ticket and almost won. He said if he hadnât rushed to class, he wouldâve bought the winning ticket and missed out on 5 million yuan. He spent the entire evening study session ranting at us.”
“Pfft⌠a legend!” Fan Hongyi burst into laughter.
Cui Yeyi grinned, “Honestly, evening study is such a waste of time. Weâd be better off studying at home.”
At that moment, Shen Bei quietly raised his hand, “Um, can I invite you guys to study at my house?”
Cui Yeyi pulled down Shen Beiâs hand. “Do you really need to raise your hand before speaking? You mean like last semester, when your brother hired tutors for us?”
“Yeah,” Shen Bei nodded obediently.
“Perfect!” Fan Hongyi raised both hands in agreement. “Your brother pays for the tutor, and Iâll get my mom to give me money, pretend itâs for the tutor, and pocket it. Genius!”
Cui Yeyi rolled his eyes. “Youâre hopeless.”
“Should we invite Bai Sinian and Bian Rui too?” Cui Yeyi asked Shen Bei.
“Letâs ask them first.”
“Alright.”
Bai Sinianâs plan had succeeded. Without him even bringing up studying, these guys had realized on their own that they needed to buckle down and study!
So, for the next several nights, after class, the group would be picked up by Shen Beiâs family driver, have dinner at Shen Beiâs home, and then head to the study room for tutoring. At 9:30 PM, the driver would take them back to school.
The tutors tailored individualized study plans based on each personâs academic foundation, providing one-on-one guidance. The results were excellentâShen Bei even understood the material!
Before they knew it, the midterm exams were fast approaching.
Though Bai Sinian and Bian Rui shared the same dorm room, they barely exchanged a few words each day.
They woke up at 6:30 AM, quickly got ready, and headed to the cafeteria before diving into a busy day of studying. By the time they returned to the dorm at night, it was time to quickly shower and sleep.
On Friday night, after returning from tutoring at Shen Beiâs house, Bai Sinian collapsed onto his bed, exhausted but grateful for a chance to finally rest.
Bian Rui stood at the foot of his bed, holding his phone. “I sent you a song. Take a look.”
Bian Rui didnât leave after speaking, clearly waiting for Bai Sinianâs feedback. Bai Sinian quickly opened WeChat and found that it was a rap song meant to encourage senior students before their exams.
The lyrics were:
“Keep calm, carry on Â
Don’t be silly Â
Poor and young Â
For yourself, and for Â
Your family who can rely on your shoulders. Â
Instead of envying the fish in the deep, why not retreat and weave a net? Â
You canât always hide in Murmansk Harbor. Â
Put on your headphones, and you can hear the cry in your heart. Â
Under the dirtiest toilet in Scotland lies a clear sea…”
Bai Sinianâs eyes lit up. “Not bad, Bian Rui! These lyrics are a big improvement from before. Adding English makes it feel more like pure rap.”
“Yeah,” Bian Ruiâs lips curled into a small smile after Bai Sinianâs approval. “Before, everything was just rap, so it was easier to keep the beat. Now, Iâve added a few sung parts. In the future, Iâm thinking of incorporating traditional Chinese musical elements.”
“Thatâs fantastic!” Bai Sinian was so excited that he sat up in bed. “Bian Rui, youâre really talented!”
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Bai Sinian continued, “Combining Western and Chinese music is innovative. The music industry will need this kind of talent in the future. Your ideas are ahead of their time. If we explore and innovate in this direction, weâre bound to succeed!”
Bian Rui finally smiled softly. He had always felt that Bai Sinian understood him the most, and it was true.
If he had shared these thoughts with their other bandmates, they wouldnât have grasped the depth of his ideas like Bai Sinian did.
This increased Bian Ruiâs trust in Bai Sinian. Perhaps in the future, he could discuss all his music-related thoughts with him.
“Letâs record this song over the next few days!” Bai Sinian suggested. After all, in two months, it would be time for the college entrance exams. They could use the song to cheer on their seniors!
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