Chapter 8: Elegance

After driving a moderate distance, the business car stopped at the gate of Beiying School.

By then the sky was completely dark, and the area around the school was silent.

Ceng Jia, Yaoyao, I'm leaving first.

Yang Tongxue hurried out of the car; any later and the dorm would have its lights out and doors locked.

She opened the car door, but then turned back again.

"Today I've got quite a bit of good news, but Yang Tongxue is still basically sensible: 'I'm dating; is Ceng Jia really not angry?'"

Ceng Jia gave a light smile: "At your age, dating is only natural; why would I be angry?"

"Well..."

Yang Tongxue wanted to speak but hesitated; Ceng Jia asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing, thank you, Ceng Jia, Yaoyao, be careful on the road..."

Yang Tongxue gave them a sweet smile, then jumped out of the car and jogged away into the night.

Only after she could no longer see her figure did Ceng Jia close the window and say, "Xiao Yao, drive."

Xiao Zhao obeyed, starting the car, and casually asked, "Has Mi Mi found a partner? Have you seen Ceng Jia at the bar?"

Ceng Jia leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, and hummed a reply: "Mm."

Assistant Xiao Zhao's curiosity flared: "Who is it? Do I know them? What are they like?"

After three questions in a row, Ceng Jia lifted her eyelids, sighed wearily, and said, "A playboy, and Yang Xiaoni got hurt."

"Ah?"

Hearing that, Xiao Zhao almost floored the accelerator, but his quick reaction kept him in control.

He lifted his gaze to the rearview mirror where Ceng Jia was and asked, "Why?"

"What why?"

"Ceng Jia, why didn't you warn Mi Mi?"

Ceng Jia chuckled: "Why should I warn her? Xiao Yao, you're not even two years older than her. Do you think young people in the throes of romance would listen?"

"But..."

Xiao Zhao still didn't get it; knowing it's a fire pit, would he just watch her jump in?

"Besides, she's an actress; a little heartbreak now isn't bad for her future. In this line of work, being pure-hearted won't get you far."

"But..."

Seeing Xiao Zhao still wanting to speak, Ceng Jia closed her eyes again.

She must have been really tired today, speaking weakly: "If merchants want to sell well, they need to improve product quality. As agents, we treat artists as our products..."

"..."

"Mm~hum..."

In front of the dormitory building at night, Yang Tongxue hummed a little tune and slipped in just as the dorm auntie was about to lock the door—everything worked out perfectly.

She hurried upstairs to the dorm, pushed the door open—bang—suddenly everything went dark; at 11:30 p. m. the lights were cut on schedule.

But it didn't matter; the next second, a light appeared in the corner of the dorm.

Two charging night-lights flickered on; at 11:30 p. m., the night life was just beginning.

Suddenly a beam of light dazzled Yang Tongxue so she couldn't open her eyes; someone shone a flashlight on her: "Mi Mi? Where have you been, coming back so late?"

Yang Tongxue didn't mind, casually shutting the dorm door: "Just hanging out with a few friends, helping me get some lights."

No sooner had she spoken than she dashed to the bedside cabinet and rummaged through the drawer.

The roommate across from her, holding the light, asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"

Before she could finish, she pulled out a tangled bunch of black wire—she was looking for her earphones.

"You want to listen to music in the middle of the night?"

"Not exactly listening to music, uh, how to put it..."

Yang Tongxue seemed a bit excited; given her personality, when she has good news she naturally wants to share it right away.

"Xiaofei, come over and look."

Zhang Xiaofei, already in bed, looked doubtful but sat up: "Look at what..."

"Youth is like a rushing river..."

Yang Tongxue and her roommate Zhang Xiaofei each put on one earphone; the phone was playing a video of Broken Guitar Band performing "Old Boy."

Yang Tongxue filmed it on the spot with her phone; the picture and sound quality are both problematic.

But Zhang Xiaofei quickly recognized it anyway, whispering, "Is this Chen Ci?"

In the faint glow of the phone screen, Yang Tongxue's mouth twitched with uncontainable joy: "It's him; today is the day Broken Guitar Band reunited."

"Broken Guitar?"

No wonder—the background was filled with noisy, enthusiastic shouts, as if they were chanting those three words.

"'Look up at the starry sky—does you still remember that star that once accompanied me, and the story here?'"

"This song..."

Although the video's audio is poor, thanks to Chen Ci's clear enunciation, the lyrics are understandable.

Moreover, Yang Tongxue recorded from the latter half's climax, which was also when Broken Guitar's performance was most intense.

"'Sounds good, right? Chen Ci said this is a song he just wrote; the band members didn't know about it—it was completely improvised.'"

Zhang Xiaofei nodded: "Pretty good, impressive."

"Mm-hmm, hehe."

"Broken Guitar! Broken Guitar! Broken Guitar!"

The video is over two minutes long; the last half minute shows Chen Ci and the others finishing their performance and leaving the stage amid enthusiastic applause and cheers.

A sound wave like mountains and seas crashing forced Yang Tongxue to lower the phone volume.

Finally, Zhang Xiaofei accompanied Yang Tongxue to watch the video through to the end.

Zhang Xiaofei took off the earphones and returned them to Yang Tongxue.

"Broken Guitar, what an interesting name."

"Right, I also think it's interesting."

Zhang Xiaofei suddenly paused, curious, and asked: "Hey? How did you know about Chen Ci's band gathering? Did Chen Ci invite you over?"

Hearing her question, Yang Tongxue gave a hehe smile, his face full of delight: "Secret~"

"You're Mi Mi, aren't you?"

"Oh no, I'm not that Mi Mi, come here..."

Yang Tongxue curled his finger, and Zhang Xiaofei leaned in, whispering something softly beside her.

During this time, neither of them noticed that, at the same moment on the bed behind them, their roommate Yuan Shanshan's facial mask twitched unnaturally twice……

……

Meanwhile, at almost the same time, in a big house far across the Pacific, the sunlight here was just right.

The garden's layout and the trimming of the ornaments were extremely neat.

At noon, the intense light shone on the lush green grass, a vibrant spring scene glowing brightly.

And on the lawn, a middle-aged man in white clothing, obviously somewhat aged, sat upright at the dining table.

The pure white tablecloth, gently brushed by a fine breeze, intertwined with the man's plain white attire.

The man, however, seemed oblivious; all that could be seen was his left hand holding a silver fork, leisurely delivering a small piece of steak to his mouth.

Then he closed his eyes, savoring carefully; every gesture was full of ceremony, each frown and smile exuding elegance.

Just then, the telephone rang inopportunely.

The man's brow furrowed, he disappointedly shook his head, picked up the napkin on the table, and wiped the nonexistent food residue from the corner of his mouth.

After the ring sounded three times, only before the fourth did he leisurely pick up the phone, speaking in a low voice: "Hello. ThisistheChenMansion……"