Mei Fang ordered a glass of Alexander for Peng Xue. When she came back, Xia Yuan was no longer crying. Instead, she listened attentively to Peng Xue's story about her experiences over the past six months.
Chengdu is a place known as the hometown of folk songs. Many famous folk singers who later became famous in the country were born in this place. In particular, the song named after Chengdu has been sung in the streets and alleys across the country.
Of course, although this well-known song would not be born for another two years, folk culture had already taken root in this western provincial capital, and Peng Xue and her group were one of the thousands of folk bands that headed all the way to Chengdu.
Peng Xue told Xia Yuan and Mei Fang about the stories and people that happened to him in Chengdu, the sweet girl from Xiangcheng who told the saddest story with the sweetest voice, the young man from the north and the girl from the south whom he missed day and night, and the uncle who was over 30 years old but was still wandering around with a guitar after the band broke up.
Under the intoxicating neon lights of the city, Peng Xue witnessed many stories and pasts of small people chasing their dreams. She also had her own feelings during her wandering and created many folk songs of her own with the help of her cousin Yan Zi.
"It's really amazing... You can still wander around by yourself at your age. Now I need Ah Fang to accompany me when I go out..."
"Oh my god... do you have to show off like this in front of me? It really hurts me."
Xia Yuan touched his nose a little embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I don't mean to show off, I just... I think you are amazing... I definitely can't do that."
"This is the lifestyle I choose, and I quite like it."
Peng Xue smiled and took a sip of the Alexander that Mei Fang ordered for her. "However, this wonderful journey of wandering in Chengdu will end here."
"What are your plans for the future? Your cousin's band should be quite famous now."
Peng Xue shook her head. "Although that's the case... But everyone is about to enter a new stage of life. My cousin is tired of the wandering life and has saved enough money. She wants to open a bar with her friends in Jiangcheng."
"Your cousin sings beautifully, why didn't she continue... What a pity."
Peng Xue glanced at her red-haired cousin Yan Zi, who was chatting with her friends not far away, and then complained in a low voice:
"In fact, the band member I replaced was my cousin's boyfriend. My cousin and him had a very good relationship. But last year, he was dragged back by his family for a blind date, and then they got engaged and married at lightning speed. At that time, my cousin actually didn't plan to do it anymore."
Xia Yuan was very angry after hearing this: "How can this be possible?"
Mei Fang was also somewhat interested in this topic. "Then she persisted for half a year. Was it for you?"
"Not really... Because my cousin had always said that she wanted to go to Rongcheng for pilgrimage, so we went there together in the end. It was like we made up for all the regrets before our youth ended."
Peng Xue raised her glass to Mei Fang again, "Although I personally don't like being helped by you all the time, the traffic from C Station has really made our experience in the last six months very good. Many of them are young people who came here because of C Station's reputation. Thank you, Boss Mei! And of course Yuanyuan, I'll toast to you all."
Mei Fang raised her glass, and Xia Yuan clinked his glasses with hers, "I wish you happiness every day in the future, Xiaoxue."
The three of them took a sip together, and then Peng Xue suddenly smiled and shook her head:
"I can't just be happy and cheerful. Then I won't have any creative inspiration."
Peng Xue patted Xia Yuan on the shoulder and said, "Come to think of it, Yuanyuan, what happened between you and Boss Mei? I was really shocked when I heard the news of your breakup. I even wanted to come over and beat up Boss Mei."
"What was the result? Why didn't you come in the end?" Xia Yuan asked curiously, holding his cheek.
"Well..."
Peng Xue looked at Xia Yuan's cocktail glass and said, "What are you drinking? It looks like juice."
"I forgot what it's called... Anyway, it's a non-alcoholic drink, and it tastes pretty good."
"Why, we're already at the bar, why don't you have some wine or juice? You're always acting like a child, no wonder Youxi kicked you out in the end."
Mei Fang's campus apology letter has now become the treasure of Station C. Although it has been several months since this incident, countless people still bring it up to make fun of it, so even if Peng Xue didn't ask, she knew that Lin Youxi and Mei Fang were together.
"No, no, I'm not being cheated on!"
Xia Yuan muttered, "The three of us are very good friends, otherwise Ah Fang wouldn't have come with me..."
"Okay, okay... It's rare for us to meet, so it's okay to drink a little."
"How dare you say that to me? Wasn't it cocoa you were drinking?"
"Haha, Yuanyuan, you country dog, you actually said I drank cocoa, why don't you try it yourself?"
"Try it if you want."
Xia Yuan took Peng Xue's cocktail. Mei Fang gently advised, "Just drink a little. You have never drunk alcohol before, so I guess you can't drink much."
"I'm not even 18 yet, so I definitely can't drink."
Mei Fang's words were somewhat teasing, "I am a public figure now, I cannot lead children astray. Yuanyuan is an adult now, but I can."
"Alright, alright... You still like to pretend to be young. You don't look like a minor at all. I think you are almost 28."
Peng Xue looked like she had no interest in Mei Fang, and then looked at Xia Yuan who was taking a small sip.
As expected, Xia Yuan did not inherit his father's drinking capacity. He looked tipsy after just a small sip. Peng Xue quickly took the wine glass from Xia Yuan. Xia Yuan even burped shamefully, then quickly took back his non-alcoholic drink and took a sip.
"Can you do it, dear sister?" Peng Xue smiled and shook her head, "You really can't do it."
"It looks like some kind of dessert drink, but I didn't expect it to be so intoxicating."
"It is indeed a dessert drink, since it contains coffee liqueur and fresh cream. It tastes pretty good, right?"
"It's not bad... but... burp!"
Xia Yuan covered his face and muttered, "My cup is still the best..."
"Peng Xue, you were just talking about the plans of the other members of your band, what about your own plans?"
Mei Fang asked softly, "Since we started chatting, you don't seem to have said much about yourself."
"I—"
Peng Xue smiled and shook her head. "Actually, I don't really know... I don't hate the life I've had in the past six months, but I haven't decided whether to continue. I've heard a lot of people, including my cousin, talk about this in the past six months. I've thought about it and decided that maybe I should go to college and study music theory seriously to accumulate some knowledge. But saying this now sounds like I'm regretting it..."
She held her chin and sighed, "But I've already dropped out of school, so it's a bit ridiculous to talk about this now—"
"Go back to school, Xiaoxue!"
Xia Yuan, with a slightly red face, grabbed Peng Xue's hand and said, "We asked your parents to process your leave of absence. If you go back for a year or start working hard now, you will definitely be able to get into university!"
"Suspending school? When did that happen?"
Peng Xue was a little surprised after hearing this, "How come... I don't even know it myself?"
"Then you should be very grateful to Afang! It was Afang who reminded your parents, and it was also he who contacted the school to handle it... In short, there is still an option to turn back now, so consider it!"
"Yuanyuan, ah Yuanyuan, you idiot... You are such a big idiot!"
Peng Xue suddenly hugged Xia Yuan and pinched her cheek. Xia Yuan was a little annoyed: "Why are you scolding me all of a sudden?"
She held her chin with her hand and admired Xia Yuan's red and angry expression, shaking her wine glass as she spoke.
"You could have just left me, a stubborn ass, alone, but you still secretly did so much for me..."
She took a sip of wine and said, "I've been hanging out outside for half a year. Now I can only bite the bullet and apologize to my family and the school. After all, it was my own choice, haha."
"If you're unhappy with your family, you can come to Jiangcheng! I'll find you a place nearby to review for the exam!"
"We'll see when the time comes... Although my mother is a snobbish person who favors boys over girls, but..."
The three of them drank for a while, and Peng Xue said quietly, "Now that I've talked about my story, it's time to talk about yours, right? What's going on with you two? You broke up but are still fooling around together. Youxi-chan won't tell me anything about you?"
"Well... I wanted to tell you right away, but I was worried that you were busy. After all, you don't usually reply to my messages."
Xia Yuan rubbed his face and stood up, then sat down next to Mei Fang, holding Mei Fang's arm, looking like a little bird.
"Actually, we didn't break up, huh?"
(End of this chapter)