CH 77.1

Blowing Up The Stage (1)

At the end of the auditorium, where the light was dim, one young man quietly entered and found a vacant seat in the corner, quietly sitting down.

The seats in front were completely packed with students. A dozen girls were doing an aerobic dance onstage, youthful and lively, causing a lot of people to rush to take out their phones in order to take pictures, accompanied by some loud cheers.

The show passed one by one and Gong Sinian sat at the back. Suddenly, his phone rang and he stood up, walked outside the door, and answered in a whisper.

“Gong Sinian, I’m telling you, I’m going to be angry!” On the other side of the call, the background noises were noisier than in the big auditorium and Li Yuan’s slightly annoyed tone came through. “Tonight is New Year’s Eve! We’ve fucking agreed to spend it together. You stood me up again!”

Gong Sinian’s tone was lazy. “Your song won’t be performed until midnight. I will certainly be there on time.”

A faint shout came from Li Yuan’s side. “Li-ge, Li-ge, come here for a moment. There’s a little problem with the reverberator!”

Li Yuan turned his head and scolded toward that side. “Tune it yourself. You look for me for every goddamn problem. Am I your nanny?”

Gong Sinian listened to him scolding people and a smile formed at the corner of his mouth. “Enough. Don’t be grumpy.”

“Bullshit. How can I not be angry? My lover won’t be accompanying me on New Year’s Eve and he won’t tell me why when I ask him. Hey, I’m telling you, Gong Sinian. Don’t play something like hugging soulmate in the right hand and left hand*. If I find out about it, I…”

*T/N: Two-timings; or having affairs.

Gong Sinian let out a “pah!” sound. “Fuck off! I’m watching the New Year’s Eve show at the school.”

“Are you absolutely crazy? You’re watching the little brats perform instead of your handsome rock star husband?

Gong Sinian let out an “mm.” “I can’t help it. I need to keep an eye on the kid. I’m afraid he still can’t think straight.”

Li Yuan hesitatingly asked from the other line, “The student from your school last time?”

“Mm. I’ve been slightly concerned about his mental state.” Gong Sinian softly let out a sigh. “It’s better to save one if I can. If nobody goes out of their way to ask about these kids, some are prone to be lead astray.”

Li Yuan was silent for a short while. “Fine. It’s not easy at that age.”

He was the same as them, who had experienced such things before. Self-doubting, feeling isolated and without anyone to help him, thinking about all the things he was different from others and how in the world he could develop feelings for a man?

The entire world was wrong and full of sinister appearances and everywhere was filled with loneliness and threats.

He paused for a while before sending out another warning, “Be careful. Don’t put yourself into a tight spot again. A place like a school is slightly more susceptible to people like us.”

Gong Sinian burst out laughing. “Understood. I’ll make sure that won’t happen again.”

He turned around, looked at the distant stage, and quietly lowered his voice. “I was wrong today. After the matter is finished, I will make it up to you.”

He had never admitted defeat before and Li Yuan had always carefully spoiled and indulged him. When he suddenly became submissive and spoke gently like this, Li Yuan’s body immediately went soft. “Then, you should listen to me in bed tonight!”

Gong Sinian lowered his eyelids and let out a reckless, soft laugh in the shadows. “Okay. If you still have energy after performing, I’ll join you for a full set.”

***

The New Year’s Eve party almost came to an end. After the previous show finished, a pair of boy and girl host students came up onstage and began to talk to the audience.

“Dear teachers and students, good times are always brief and make people reluctant to part from it. The shows tonight will be coming to an end soon. Is everyone satisfied?” Li Si smiled and naturally asked.

“Satisfied!” The boys below crazily shouted.

Several girls in front of Gong Sinian muttered in whispers, “Her family is really rich, ah. She has changed into three evening gowns for this evening’s show and they’re all from famous brands.”

“Yes, ah. Her life is really good.” Another girl felt slightly jealous. “Alas. She’s beautiful, good at school, and her family is prosperous. She has everything!”

“Hey, I heard her relationship with Qin Yuan is quite good. Someone saw them meeting outside the school grounds. Do you know if they’re dating?”

Gong Sinian listened casually and heard the boy host onstage speaking. “Anyway, I’m still not satisfied. There’s still a highlight coming up, right?”

Below, the audience instantly exploded, boys and girls roaring with laughter. “Yes!”

“Then, let’s welcome the last act next. A joined dedication from sophomore Classes 1 and 9: Girl group dance <<YES! OK!>>! Performers: Qin Yuan, Fu Songhua, Ruan Qingmu, and Fang Li.”

Gong Sinian abruptly raised his head and looked at the stage with a slight shock. The several girls in front of him already shrieked in unison. “What? Girl group dance? Ahhhh!”

<<YES! OK!>> was the theme song that was a recent hit from a girl group at a talent show with an upbeat rhythm and lovely, sweet movements that had gone viral on the Internet. Many students followed the talent show, so how could they not know about this dance? For a while, everyone was dumbfounded.