Chapter 74

The sky was already dark by the time Edward returned to his flat and upon entering, the usual clicking sounds of the computer and the odd tik-tac from the clock greeted him.

After removing his shoes, he went to the kitchen to drink a refreshing cold water, and A few moments later, as he entered the music room... he found Patricia deeply engrossed in operating the computer, completely oblivious to his arrival.

With a mischievous smile on his lips, Edward approached her from behind and gently wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Y-you!" Patricia exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide and her shoulders briefly tensed at his sudden action, but seeing it was him, her face turned red with a mix of embarrassment and a hint of irritation. "Don't startle me like that!"

"Ehh, I just missed you... Is it wrong for me to hug you?" Edward teased, playfully nibbling her ear.

"Um, n-no~ we can't~!"

"Hehe okay," Edward chuckled, and he stopped teasing her. "By the way, have you finish creating the draft?"

""Y-Yeah, I've finished it an hour ago; I am just reviewing it," Patricia said, regaining her calm and replying to his question.

"That's faster than I expected..." Edward nodded at her, his eyes filled with appreciation.

"T-thanks?"

"No thansk, anyway, what song did you pick?"

"Martyr Nyebera by Kamikazee."

"Oh, that song is indeed good." Edward's eyes brightened at her song choice, and then went to ask her a few more questions about the draft and in the end he finally nodded his head in agreement.

"Next time, making a song cover draft will be left to you to handle, what do you think?" Edward asked after a few periods of thought... In his opinion, making a song cover draft isn't that hard, the main problem was the time it took for him to finish it.

Instead of spending so much time on this miscellaneous task, why not pass it on to her, freeing up his time to focus on more productive activities such as practicing bass, making scripts, and others?

"That's fine with me... but are you sure I can do it?" Patricia asked hesitantly, her fingers tracing delicate patterns on the table, showcasing her uncertainty.

"Of course, it's not that hard anyway... Although your music sense is average, your analytical and researching abilities are better than mine. As for the song choices, well, you could inform me first before deciding... After all, I don't want to sing some kind of old song that you think is good."

"H-hey, I never pick an old song for you to cover! Also, isn't the current one also good?"

"Yeah, the current one is good because I told you not to choose Air Supply songs in advance."

"Hey! Air supply songs are great!"

"Yeah, they are good, but mainstream viewers don't listen to that type of music nowadays."

"..."

...

The Next Day...

The sun cast a gentle glow through the windows, painting the room with a serene morning light. Birds chirped softly outside, adding to the peaceful ambiance.

At eight in the morning, Edward and Patricia were the first to arrive at the classroom.

Not in the mood to open his Facebook, Edward leaned back in his chair, feeling a tinge of boredom amidst the quiet anticipation of the day ahead.

Turning his head to the girl beside him, Patricia, who giggled from time to time as she watched Vines on her phone, Edward couldn't help but ask, "Don't you find it boring?"

"E-eh?" Patricia, with a confused expression, asked, sounding puzzled. "It's boring?"

"Yeah, don't you think it's bland and so fake?"

"Ehh... but it's funny."

"Yeah, I know, but why? I mean, it's obviously fake, and the humor is corny; why do people like it?"

"Well... because it's funny."

"... You know what, never mind..." With a bored expression, Edward shook his head, feeling a bit disheartened... However, before he could finish the second half of his sentence, his eyes brightened, and he realized that what she said made sense.

That's right. In people's perception at this time, vines are definitely considered funny!

Now that he thought about it, Vine isn't even a thing right now? As far as he knew, the term "vine" only gained popularity after the Vine app was launched in 2013.

It was a short video hosting service platform that quickly became a sensation due to its various innovative functions... kind of like TikTok but simpler, featuring videos that were only around six seconds.

As far as the Vine app was concerned, it was the pioneer of real short video platforms... Well, it wasn't the first to introduce short videos, but technically, it was the first platform to emphasize and focus on short video content—ushering in a new era of bite-sized entertainment.

Honestly, it could've been bigger than TikTok if they had executed it correctly... What a pity...

But anyway, the term "vine" wasn't a thing yet at this point in time; it only gained popularity after the Vine app was launched in 2013. However, even before that, vine-like videos existed, albeit under different names such as sketches, clips, gags, and so on.

The point is, such content was quite popular... well, at least at that time. People were aware that it was fake and scripted, yet they still bought it.

The reason behind this was that the level of entertainment during that time wasn't as high as in later generations, and people weren't as demanding as in the later years.

The concept of short, funny videos was fresh, offering a form of entertainment that was humorous and relatable, which piqued people's curiosity.

"Perhaps the group can also do vines.. or sketches, as 'Vine' isn't a term right now?" Edward muttered amusedly and felt that it was feasible.

After all, sketches and short videos would certainly become mainstream in the future short video market... Although most people would find them boring and bland in the following years, this change would come after TikTok's innovative contents truly became popular.

Maybe they could really do it... However, if the group went in that direction, they would need to create another channel for their group.

After all, NG's primary focus centered on skits, and veering into a different theme could potentially ruin the foundation they had worked so hard to establish.

...

At lunched.

In the corner of the bustling classroom, Edward, Patricia, James, and B—Patricia's girl best friend—arranged their chairs in a circle formation as they engaged in a discussion while enjoying their lunch.

"By the way, why does James not look as usual?" Patricia asked as she noticed James wasn't acting as he usually does..

"Hehe, should I?" Edward teased, a smirk playing on his lips as he turned his eyes to James, whose expression dimmed upon hearing Patricia's inquiry.

"I-I'm just not in the mood today..." James snorted in annoyance at Edward's teasing expression and went on to explain simply.

"Oh..." Patricia nodded in understanding. Sensing James's reluctance to elaborate, she decided not to press any further.

However, being a good friend to him, how could Edward miss the opportunity to tease him?

"He's not in the mood because G broke up with him," Edward said bluntly, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"... y-you, how could you!" James exclaimed, looking utterly dumbfounded. He comically pointed at Edward, a betrayed expression painting his face as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Who's G?"

"Gisselle."

"No way, he's dating her?" B, Patricia's girlfriend, asked in disbelief. She then turned to look at James from head to toe, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! As if dating G was a big deal!" James snorted annoyedly. Yet, if one were to look closely at his face, a hint of pride could be seen.

"Who's G? Is she famous?" Patricia, with a confused expression, couldn't help but ask, and to answer her question, the three of Edward, James, and B turned to look at her strangely.

"You don't know G?" B exclaimed in surprise. Looking at the girl in front of him, she hesitated for a moment... thinking that she's a nerd and only cares about studies and books, she found it reasonable. 

"Y-yeah.. is she really that famous?"

"Yeah, I've heard about her plenty of times; she's a varsity player on the valleyball team, and she's kind of popular with both men and women... not as famous as me, of course." Edward simply explained, however, the last part was only said in his thoughts.

"So... James really dated a popular girl?"

"Hey, why are you doubting me? Am I really that bad?"

"No, you're not bad; she's just way out of your league, so people find it hard to accept." Edward comforted him with a matter-of-fact tone..

"Fuck you! Is that supposed to make me feel good?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"... whatever, we've broken up already anyway."

"Why did the two of you even break?"

"We broke up peacefully."

"She broke up with him because she found a much more handsome and popular guy on the basketball team."

"..."