Chapter 4 – Troubling Event

Dreams are the sort of things that can't be divided into high or low

--

After all, they were people who had worked together for two years, so Fang Juexia had long gotten used to Pei Tingsong's banter. Without showing even a flicker on his face, he picked up his coat off the ground, shrouded himself with it, and prepared to leave the training room.

However, Pei Tingsong still hadn't gotten used to his blatant disregard and pulled back on his arm. "Hey, is that how you treat a benefactor?"

Fang Juexia paused in his steps and glanced at him, his words cool as he retorted, "I also don't want to do so, but with the way you take liberties with me, you don't seem to regard yourself as my benefactor." He pulled his arm away from Pei Tingsong's hand, and his coat fell to the floor.

"Then what do I regard myself as?"

Fang Juexia's eyes were indifferent as he said curtly, "A patron."

Having said that, he was ready to leave the room, but Pei Tingsong didn't intend to let him go so easily. This time, he didn't try to grab him anymore; he directly stepped forward and blocked Fang Juexia from moving forward, and did it so abruptly that Fang Juexia almost ran into him.

"About that, you really reminded me of something."

Pei Tingsong's eyes drooped, while the corners of his mouth seemed to carry a trace of perverseness as he spoke—

"I also can't help you for nothing ah."

Fang Juexia silently raised his eyes and looked directly at the teammate who had never stopped trying to trip him up.

"As a patron, I'm bound to take something from your body, right?" Pei Tingsong laughed. "Isn't that how it is?"

He originally thought that he had become immune towards such banter and would not react to it at all, but whenever the initiator was Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia's mood would begin to creep beyond the bounds of calmness.

"I don't have time to play this kind of boring game with you." He moved away in preparation to leave, but who would have known that Pei Tingsong would calmly block him again.

"Don't worry, I don't desire your body." Pei Tingsong looked him up and down, not bothering to cover up the profane expression on his face while doing so. "But since we're going to be selling fanservice from now on, one side will have to cooperate with the other side ba. Looking at your expression…" He bent down, picked up the coat that had fallen on the ground, and placed it on Fang Juexia's shoulders. "It's a bit too fake."

Fang Juexia stared at him and didn't speak. He was always like this; those eyes of his were cold and direct, as if he was never afraid nor did he care about anything.

—This reminded Pei Tingsong of winter.

He liked the smell of winter, the cold air mixed with the faint scent of withering plants. Although it had hardly ever snowed in Atherton, he still liked winter.

Pei Tingsong had a strange hobby since childhood.

In the winter, the gardener would cut off half of the withered branches and leaves that had lost the vitality of summer in the garden. This was the happiest time of the year for him. He would squat on the ground, carefully select the straightest of these branches, then grasp its two ends and break it in half.

These cut-off branches were beautiful, straight, and inflexible, and looked as if they would never yield. At the moment it snapped in half, you could feel the power of its obstinate resistance beneath its hard surface. But this power was of no use; all the branches would eventually snap in two with a crisp cracking sound. The broken sections then revealed the last green bits of the tree's vitality, and the complex scent of plants and decayed dead branches would waft out, which Pei Tingsong found very bewitching.

That moment when the branch broke was the moment he experienced immense psychological satisfaction.

And at this current moment, he could feel that very familiar satisfaction nearing him.

It felt as if he had once again found his favoured type of withered branch.

"Don't make it seem as if we're as incompatible as fire and water. I'm really not interested in you that way. However, since we've already agreed to sell fanservice, we have to at least make it look fanservice-y. If you don't know what to do…" Pei Tingsong's smile at the end of this trailing sentence looked very pure.

He stretched out his hand and pushed away the sweaty hair across Fang Juexia's forehead. His voice was very low as he said, "It'll be okay if you just obediently listen to me, Juexia Gege."

This was the first time that Fang Juexia heard this guy, who was three years younger than him, actually call him 'Gege.'

In these two years, their lives appeared to have converged many times, but in fact, they had completely existed as two straight lines positioned at different coordinates on the same plane, without any intersections at all. Fang Juexia's temperament was always very placid, treating and regarding whatever kind of difficult person he ran into rather coolly. He did so because he believed that people always followed the basic rules of the animal kingdom, which were just projections of the laws laid down by nature for all living creatures.

But Pei Tingsong was an exception.

He was an incendiary, explosive, and completely uncertain factor.

Fang Juexia maintained his habitual silence, while his eyes still openly and directly looked at Pei Tingsong. After a few seconds, he reached out to Pei Tingsong and neatened up his carelessly rumpled collar, just like a good Gege would do. That beautiful mouth didn't utter any words in the end; the corners of his mouth simply drew up, and he left.

The group spent the next few days in planning meetings and in practice rooms, with the concept of their comeback still being a bit fuzzy. That lasted until Cheng Qiang made a joke in the middle of a meeting.

"It's really difficult. If worst comes to worst, let's let Jiang Miao play the guzheng, Ziyan can DJ, and after they're done, Yiyi can wail a bit, and then Juexia and Lu Yuan can come dance while Xiao Pei raps."

Originally, it was just a joke, and everyone was busy laughing. They never thought that this 'joke' would be taken seriously by two of the people at the table.

"Wait a minute." / "I have an idea."

Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong spoke simultaneously in one voice, and the meeting room went silent for a moment. Everyone was shocked speechless by this unprecedented tacit understanding between these two people, and the atmosphere in the room turned awkward for a bit.

Just as everyone was waiting for them to explain further, the two of them once again fell silent, as though they were waging a contest against each other.

Cheng Qiang knocked on the table with his knuckles. "You two are too funny. Alright ba, Lao Si, you talk first."

"Based on what criteria?"

Knowing that Pei Tingsong would definitely not be satisfied by this, Cheng Qiang just went along with him and said, "Then you talk first."

"…if I'm going to talk, then I'm going to talk." Pei Tingsong cleared his throat, and as he twirled the pen in his hand around and around, he said, "For the comeback, let us personally produce it."

It wasn't so much his idea, but his tone and the way he expressed it made it seem as if he were making an official announcement.

Cheng Qiang rolled his sleeve and said, "Hey, you little punk…"

"I also approve of his idea."

Everyone's heads turned together as they looked in the opposite direction at Fang Juexia.

Ling Yi tilted his chair back and said to Lu Yuan in a small voice, "Do you think it's strange…"

"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded his head seriously, and his eyes kept flickering back and forth between the two people. "Why do I feel like the two of them make a good pair right now, what's going on with me?"

Ling Yi rolled his eyes and quipped, "You've eaten a poisonous Gu."

Fang Juexia didn't hear these comments his group members were making. He said, "In fact, the concept of the previous two albums also took a lot of thought, but their ultimate effect was rather tepid. Of course, it may be that we didn't properly digest and implement the concepts. So I thought," he looked at the boss with a sincere attitude and continued, "that instead of creating a new concept for us to adapt and digest, we should assume…"

As this math major graduate's aphorisms appeared again, all of his group members couldn't help laughing. Ling Yi directly went along with him and teased, "We should assume X, and obviously…"

As everyone laughed, Pei Tingsong took a sideways glance at him and saw that his pale neck had begun to grow red.

Fang Juexia coughed and tried to drag the topic back to its original point. "I meant to say, we should just cleanly throw out the past model and get everyone to participate in the creation process of this album. As Qiang Ge said, everyone has something they are good at. Although it can't be guaranteed that the effect will be a simple summing up of all our abilities, some sparks will definitely get kicked up during the fusion process, won't they?"

He very seldom spoke this much, so he seemed even more serious while saying this.

Chen Zhengyun was a little surprised but still nodded. "Give me a clear-cut idea."

"Chinese classical folk music with electronic music." Pei Tingsong stopped twirling the pen in his hand and explained, "This isn't something new, but you won't find it flooded with many boy-bands either. Miao Ge's guzheng can be used as the pluck or lead. Take trap music as an example, the low pitch of the bass with the clear sounds of the guzheng should create a very good sense of space. Add in some catchy drum sets, and I think it would make for some great dance music."

(These are all popularized terms)

His idea quickly won the approval of electronic music producer He Ziyan. "I've thought about this problem before. To tell you the truth, I still have several demos in my hand that I created based on this idea, with trap and future bass. Being non-mainstream and using the guzheng as the foundation of a vaporwave track will definitely be amazing. And since you can change the plucking of the guzheng, the rhythm can become very fast, which is very suitable for the buildup before the drop." He then looked at Jiang Miao. "What do you say?"

Jiang Miao smiled. "It's very interesting. If you guys really want to try, I'll give you another suggestion." He looked at Ling Yi and said, "Yiyi can try singing opera. You have a high voice, so if you hold it up there to go with both the folk music and the electronic music, it should make people break out in goosebumps."

"With the captain saying that, I have a little to do now too, huh." Ling Yi rubbed his own arm. "But I have never tried that before. What about Juexia? Why don't you also try it?"

Before Fang Juexia could even open his mouth, he heard Pei Tingsong say, "His voice has a more mixed feel, it's more suitable for the hook."

Ling Yi immediately naughtily teased, "Tch, tch, tch, finding yourself a hook so fast."

He Ziyan looked completely serious as he stated, "The hook is the soul of hip hop ah."

"Wow…. Soul~" Lu Yuan also joined in. "Watching those CP videos for the past two days has kind of gone to my head."

"Gone to what head." Cheng Qiang knocked on Lu Yuan's head as he asked, "What about the choreography?"

Ling Yi immediately started imitating an artificial Northeastern accent, "Don't strike his weirdo head."

"Scram, you keep trying to learn it, but you still don't sound right. What weirdo head, it's the crown of my head." Lu Yuan rolled his eyes, then became serious and said, "You guys have finally come to my home court. Choreography for a boyband needs to be both memorable and have dramatic tension. Since everyone has set the theme, I don't think we should try to insert too much traditional choreography into the performance. There are two kinds of live-styles we can use: one is the band version, where we play the guzheng live on the spot, while the other is singing and dancing live."

"This is a good idea." Looking at the rush of inspiration everyone was experiencing, a smile appeared on Chen Zhengyun's face. "Anything more?"

"I have a suggestion ha." Lu Yuan grinned and looked at Juexia as he proposed, "The part about making it memorable, we should let our Juexia take the reins for that."

Fang Juexia didn't understand his reasoning. "Me?"

"Since tradition and modernity are colliding together musically, some traditional elements to the choreography also have to be included ah. A scene just flashed through my mind, in which Juexia was dancing classical Chinese dance. We only need a short solo dance to accompany the bridge in the middle, and if we can get that dance sequence captured in a long shot there, it will definitely be really amazing…"

Listening up to here, Pei Tingsong's mind unexpectedly and automatically proffered up an image. During the solo performance of the guzheng, a single beam of light was projected down onto the completely dark stage, only illuminating Fang Juexia. His waist bent down, his sleeves flicked up, and with a folding fan in his hands, his slender body stretched out, before twirling around. Through the silk fabric of his clothes, the light caressed the flexible lines of his muscles, just like the way moonlight skims over water.

At the last pluck of the guzheng, his pointed toes landed on the ground, his fan unfolding in an instant, a touch of red extending beyond his eyes and brow.

"Xiao Pei? Pei Tingsong—"

Cheng Qiang's voice pulled him out of his imagination. Pei Tingsong returned to his senses, looked up, and found that everyone was looking at him. "What are you guys looking at me for?"

"What were you thinking about that you got so engrossed into it?" He Ziyan was already standing up and said, "Let's go ah, the meeting is over."

So fast.

It was over in the duration of just one dance.

"How about it? The idea I just suggested." Lu Yuan held Fang Juexia's shoulder and said, "I remember you said that you had learned both classical dance and modern dance as a child."

Fang Juexia nodded and replied, "I danced both as a child."

"As a child?" Ling Yi could always manage to insert himself into any conversation. "Juexia, you've also been trained in dance since you were a child? You've never even mentioned that to us before."

Pei Tingsong walked behind them with his hands stuck in his pockets, and thought— let alone his childhood, when has this guy ever shared anything about his own experiences?

"En." Fang Juexia's eyes drifted down unconsciously. The white floor tiles in the corridor were glared under the reflected light, and one such bright tile reflected a stage. The man on the stage danced unhurriedly, with both ease and grace. Walking further, he saw his immature self standing beneath the stage, holding his mother's hand and looking up.

[Mama, I'm going to be like dad when I grow up!]

[Okay ah, our baby will definitely be the best dancer, even better than your dad~]

"I learned it for a few years, and then I stopped." Fang Juexia raised his head, looked straight ahead, and walked to the elevator with everyone. His tone was calm, but he quickly continued speaking, seemingly in an effort to prevent anyone from asking any further questions, "The foundations should still be there, I can try."

Jiang Miao looked down to scrutinize his own hand. "Aiya, I also have to go back to my old career." Just as he said that, his right hand was seized by He Ziyan.

He Ziyan made the motion of laying down beats and laughed as he said, "Going back to our old careers 2.0."

Lu Yuan said, "Then you guys quickly make a demo ah, I want to start choreographing now!"

Ling Yi started fawning upon him, "Yuan Ge! Dalian hunk! I want a super handsome part!"

Seeing everyone get caught up in this bustle, Fang Juexia's heart filled with a warmth that he hadn't experienced in a long time. It was as if they had gone back to the time of their debut, the time when everyone had been working hard to advance towards their dreams and had been putting in their full effort to try and present the best stage they could— all except for one person.

Glancing away from these people, he saw the metal wall of the elevator reflect Pei Tingsong's figure. His head was half-lowered, and looked as if he was lost in thought.

In Fang Juexia's memory, Pei Tingsong had still been a 17-year-old child when he had arrived. In fact, he didn't have too many opinions on airbornes; in the end, he was a group member, so he would also get along with him normally.

However, at that time, Pei Tingsong had really been too rebellious. Just because he had had a bad attitude one time during dance practice, Fang Juexia, who had never lost his temper before, came into conflict with him. That was the first time they had had a fight. When the two youths had started fighting, the people to the side couldn't even stop the fight.

[Did you think I just wanted to come here to be some kind of idol? Practice, what practice?! I don't have anything to say to someone like you who spends all their effort into climbing higher and will do anything to get promoted!]

Only after hearing this did Fang Juxia realize why the initially friendly Pei Tingsong had changed his attitude towards him.

But he hadn't gotten angry at that moment, and had instead gone completely icy cool.

[I hear you want to be a hip-hop singer.]

As early as the day after Pei Tingsong had entered the company, everyone had heard that he had been forcibly sent back to China from the United States by his parents when he was just a teenager. Everyone had also heard that he had been carted off into a small company like Star Chart by his Jie probably because his family wanted to let him experience the muddy waters of the entertainment circle.

Whether it was his original intentions or even the way he arrived here, all of it was totally different from the way the rest of them had bitterly worked to get here.

[Dreams are the sort of things that can't be divided into high or low, but only realized or unrealized.]

Fang Juexia had then loosened the hand that held him by his collar—

[I also have nothing to say to a childish and prejudiced person like you.]

The trajectories of the lives of a paranoid person burdened with rumors and an arrogant and unbridled rebel should have run opposite to each other. However, under the influence of a strange series of events, they just happened to run into each other, and this encounter had turned into a troubling event that still hadn't been repaired even after two years.

Neither one of them condescended to go and understand the other. Both were of the opinion that as long as they could keep a safe distance between them, they could always maintain a superficial peace.

"Oh right, Miao Ge," Pei Tingsong said as they got out of the elevator, "You guys go practice first, I have to move."

"You're moving?" Ling Yi's eyes lit up. "You're moving back to the dorms, right?! Today?"

Pei Tingsong nodded. "Tomorrow, Strong Ge has been urging me to do so for a long time. After all, we're going to be recording the group documentary soon."

Fang Juexia stared at Pei Tingsong's side profile. Coincidentally, he turned back and met his gaze at the same time. It was just like what had happened the second time they had formally met and again like that time when dealing with the "hidden rules". As soon as Pei Tingsong had found out about it, he had taken action. If it hadn't been for this, they would have probably continued to avoid one another, perhaps even until the day the group disbanded.

Pei Tingsong laughed, gratuitously giving off a bratty feel. "It seems that not every Gege is welcoming me home ah."

It was said that many killers liked to return to the scene of a crime in search of some kind of pleasurable sensation. Strangely, he had always thought that Pei Tingsong was such a person, but at this moment, his own simple and ordinary body seemed to be secreting some kind of pleasure-promoting neurotransmitters, making it seem as if he was looking forward to something.

Now that the safe distance had been breached—

Those troubling matters were going to be tragically acted out again ba.

"Welcome back." Fang Juexia smiled.