Chapter 5
Shen Bei sensed that Bai Sinian was truly angry this time, so he immediately stood on Bai Sinian’s side, no longer following Cui Yeyi to wander around aimlessly.
The three walked out of the mall, and Cui Yeyi, belatedly realizing it, finally responded that Bai Sinian had scolded him for having a messed-up brain.
“Hey, did you just scold me?!”
Bai Sinian looked at him as if he were an idiot, “Now, let’s go buy the drum set, then look at the bass, try to get it all from one store, see if they can give us a discount or two free microphones.”
“Get the drum set from the Grelun brand, the domestic Wuling Hongguang, you can upgrade to a better one when you go to college.”
Cui Yeyi was successfully diverted, following behind Bai Sinian, “So it should be pretty cheap, right?”
“Yeah, 5,000-ish can get it done. We’re still in high school, not putting out albums, just need it for regular practice, this one will do.”
Shen Bei softly asked, “Sinian ge, do you really think we’ll make it big in the future?”
“That’s inevitable, you guys will become famous nationwide one day.” Bai Sinian was very certain.
This trust suddenly moved Cui Yeyi, and he decided not to dwell on Bai Sinian scolding his brain anymore. Now he would just follow Bai Sinian’s arrangements and carefully select the appropriate instruments.
On this street, after Bai Sinian’s skillful bargaining, they finally got all the equipment for under 20,000 yuan, and the merchants agreed to pack and deliver them to the school at night.
Since the school security would check the items brought in by the students, they found several different drivers to pretend to be their family members delivering snacks and clothes.
The boxes were hidden in the trunks, the security guards wouldn’t check that thoroughly.
After a night of anxiety, they finally smuggled all the equipment into the school.
Under the moonlight, they unpacked and assembled everything, busy until 10 p.m. before finally finishing the setup of the empty warehouse.
“Whew~~ So cool, can’t believe we actually pulled this off.” Fan Hongyi lay on the floor, exclaiming.
Bian Rui, panting from exhaustion, sat leaning against the wall, one leg bent, silently appreciating the result.
Cui Yeyi came back after washing his hair, taking off his wet T-shirt and walking into the new activity room with his eight-pack abs exposed. Bai Sinian, who was installing soundproof foam with Shen Bei, glanced back at Cui Yeyi.
Damn, Cui Yeyi’s physique is even better now than ten years later!Â
No wonder he has a constant stream of admirers, anyone would get dizzy looking at a body like that!
This casual glance was caught by Bian Rui, who looked at Cui Yeyi, then at Bai Sinian’s puppy-like gaze, as if gradually confirming his own suspicions.
Bai Sinian stuffed the soundproof foam around the door frames, then checked the wiring to avoid another overload incident, prioritizing safety.
“Alright! Mission accomplished!” Bai Sinian, hands on his hips, looked proudly at their hard work.
“Woohoo~~!!” Fan Hongyi jumped up from the floor, rushing to the center stage, grabbing the bass to do a sound check.
The others quickly picked up their instruments and joined in.
“Let’s do ‘Counterattack’?” Bian Rui, holding the microphone, turned and asked them.
‘Counterattack’ was an entry-level drum song, this was obviously catering to Cui Yeyi. The others had no objections, and Fan Hongyi adjusted the sound and started playing.
“No, you came in wrong, Cui Yeyi!” Fan Hongyi stopped and shouted.
Cui Yeyi: “I didn’t come in wrong!”
“You just played that part four times.”
“Yeah, I played it four times.”
Bai Sinian quickly pulled up the song on his phone, “It’s okay, it’s okay, let’s listen through it once, then we’ll see.”
Smoothing over the conflict, they played through it again, much better than before, but still something felt off.
After the song ended, Bian Rui put down the microphone and walked towards Cui Yeyi, sounding very impatient, “Do you even know how many times you played that part! If you forgot, can’t you even follow where I’m singing?”
He then turned to Shen Bei, “And you, can’t you properly memorize the riffs, you don’t even know how many times?”
“Don’t get angry, don’t get angry,” Bai Sinian immediately unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it over, “It’s normal to have mistakes on the first practice session! Probably just unfamiliar with the song, more practice will fix it.”
The initially enthusiastic group was now disappointed with their own performance.
After drinking water and listening to the song a few more times, they tried practicing again.
Bai Sinian wasn’t particularly proficient with instruments, but he could listen, and he heard at least five very obvious problems in the song.
With this kind of level, he had also made a bit of a splash in college back then.
The world is indeed a huge amateur operation…
But he just loved it, even if “Dazzling Star” was trash, they had accompanied him through several ups and downs, that sentiment was still deeply rooted in his heart.
His determination to turn “Dazzling Star” into a truly excellent band was even stronger.
“Great! Absolutely wonderful!” Bai Sinian clapped excitedly, fully expressing his emotion, “After just a few tries, you’ve already reached this level! You guys are truly the chosen ones!”
No matter what, he would praise them first, and then when he could properly train them, he would push them to their limits!
Shen Bei smiled sweetly, this praise was very effective for him.
Bian Rui still had a cold expression, he was well aware of their actual level, useless praise was just like the wind blowing past his ears, it wouldn’t reach his heart.
“With this level, we can’t even perform at the school’s entertainment night.” Bian Rui sneered.
As he was putting away the stand microphone, planning to leave the activity room, suddenly Cui Yeyi rushed up from behind, grabbing his collar, glaring angrily, “What are you acting high and mighty for? Showing off? Is singing a song that impressive? Who can’t sing? Stop acting!”
“Don’t fight, don’t fight!” Bai Sinian hurried to pull them apart.
Bian Rui let Cui Yeyi grab his collar, looking at him disdainfully, “What? You want to be the lead singer? Okay, let’s switch.”
“Switch then!” Cui Yeyi pushed Bian Rui away, returning to the stage and grabbing the microphone.
Bian Rui stumbled backwards two steps from the push, being caught by Bai Sinian.
Bai Sinian was really troubled, Cui Yeyi would soon know what it meant to be beaten.
“‘Counterattack’ again, start.” Cui Yeyi nodded to Fan Hongyi, signaling him to get ready. Shen Bei stood to the side holding the guitar, extremely nervous, afraid of making the slightest mistake that would escalate their conflict.
As soon as the bass started, the drums launched into the lead, directly driving the direction of the entire song. Bian Rui’s skills were refined, the rhythm precise and accurate, each strike filled with power that struck the soul, completely different from Cui Yeyi’s approach.
This threw Cui Yeyi off, and he came in half a beat late when he started singing.
Bian Rui sat at the drum set, brow furrowed, his body moving with the rhythm of the music, his movements cool and charming. Bai Sinian couldn’t help but take out his phone and start snapping photos.
Not just photos, he also recorded videos, after all, this was a rare sight of Bian Rui playing the drums, the most precious visual resource, unparalleled.
By the end of the song, everyone present was impressed. They didn’t expect Bian Rui to sing well and play the drums well too, single-handedly dominating the entire performance.
Cui Yeyi didn’t speak, but he was still a bit resentful, feeling that Bian Rui had really shown off against him, and he was truly unhappy about it.
“Our band is truly a gathering of dragon-phoenix prodigies, hidden tigers and crouching dragons! We’ll soon become a mega star group!” Bai Sinian’s words were even more awkward than the tense atmosphere.
The cute Shen Bei followed up on Bai Sinian’s words, “Yes, Bian Rui ge is an all-around talent, we should learn more from him in the future.”
Bian Rui ignored their praise, picked up his things and left.
The remaining few looked at each other, Bai Sinian tried to smooth things over, “That’s just Bian Rui’s personality, he’s harsh on the matter but not the person. After a good night’s sleep, everything will be fine, don’t take it to heart!”
Fan Hongyi also started packing up his things, putting the cleaning supplies he had brought from the dorm into a bag, unhappily, “We all came together because of our love for music, there’s no reason for anyone to be catered to.”
Bai Sinian helped him pack up, “Of course, no need to cater to him, he’s not some deity, he’s doing it for the good of our band. Just needs more practice on the areas that are lacking.”
“I’m leaving, I’m going home tomorrow.” Fan Hongyi picked up his gear and left.
Right, tomorrow is Sunday, normally everyone could go home on Friday nights to rest, but they stayed so late for the whole band.
Cui Yeyi was left sitting on a rest chair, pouting, “I think he’s just targeting me! Not to mention, who doesn’t make mistakes, but he just has to single me out!”
Shen Bei crossed and uncrossed his fingers nervously, “Yeyi ge, he probably wasn’t just targeting you, he also mentioned me.”
“Then why does he only switch with me, just to show off how awesome his drumming is!”Â
Bai Sinian sighed, rubbing his forehead, “It’s because you were the one who grabbed his collar and provoked him first. Don’t tell me you selectively forgot, okay?”
Cui Yeyi looked at Bai Sinian guiltily, lacking confidence, “He’s just jealous that I’m more handsome than him!”
“Yes, yes,” Bai Sinian could only coax the young master, “You’re the most handsome man in the team, the hope of the future. Go on, take a good rest tomorrow, then we’ll schedule another practice session.”
Finally, Bai Sinian turned off the lights in the activity room and locked the door to leave.
The first practice session had all kinds of conflicts, is the behind-the-scenes discord among teammates true, as reported ten years later? Bai Sinian had a mixed feelings.
On Sunday morning, Bai Sinian took a car back home early.
Bai Sinian’s family lived in an upscale community in the city center. His parents were busy at work and had no time to look after him, but they would always make time on Sundays to spend with their child.
“Darling, why are you back so early?” Bai Sinian’s mother had just opened the door and saw her son standing there, surprised, “I was just about to go pick you up from school!”
Bai Sinian, who had formed the habit of waking up before 6 a.m., was up even on weekends.
“Mom, my biological clock is just this early, is there anything to eat?” Bai Sinian headed straight for the kitchen.
Bai Sinian’s father came out of the bedroom, dressed, “Son, it’s a bit early, what would you like to eat? I’ll go buy it for you now.”
It seemed they hadn’t made breakfast yet, Bai Sinian could only head to his own bedroom, “Steamed buns, soy milk, and youtiao.”
“Okay, okay.”
Bai Sinian’s mother went out to buy the ingredients to make a delicious meal for her son.
After his parents left, Bai Sinian lay on his bed, zoning out for a while, then took out his phone and started browsing the photos he had taken of the band in the past few days.
Hehe, an idea was brewing in his mind.
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