When Shen Xingxia sent Jiang Jingxun back to the coffee shop, it was just about closing time.
Only a few lights were on in the store, making it look a bit cold and empty at the moment.
At the bar, Ling Xi and another staff member were cleaning the coffee machine and the counter.
There were no customers in the shop at this point.
Shen Xingxia sat briefly at the bar, chatted casually for a few moments, and then said goodbye.
As soon as Jiang Jingxun returned, he helped Ling Xi tidy up the store.
The entire place was quiet, and he didn’t say much.
Ling Xi glanced at him, not sure what was on her mind.
After a moment, she said half in complaint and half in jest,
“You came back and didn’t say anything?”
Jiang Jingxun gave a faint smile.
His tone wasn’t as polite and formal as when speaking to outsiders.
it carried some casualness and helplessness.
“Mom, would you have listened if I did?”
Ling Xi paused and asked, “Did you have a good time at dinner today?”
Jiang Jingxun gave a soft smile and replied with a quiet “Mm.”
Ling Xi was used to his reserved nature,
but she could tell from his tone and expression that he wasn’t brushing her off.
After a while, she gently said, “Your classmates are all very nice.
If they invite you to hang out, you should go.
Don’t always stay cooped up in the shop.”
Jiang Jingxun responded warmly, “Got it, Mom.”
Jiang Jingxun knew that ever since the last parent-teacher meeting,
his mother had been worried he wasn’t fitting in well at school.
She worried that he wouldn’t be able to integrate into the environment or group.
Because many things at school were very different from their everyday life.
Even at the parents’ banquets, there was an air of extravagance and indulgence.
P.E. classes could include electives like horseback riding, golf, kendo, or tennis.
Art courses even offered less common subjects like drama.
What classmates talked about among themselves,
even if it was just trivial matters about their families,
might sound like scandalous secrets to the average person.
The kind of stuff gossip magazines or paparazzi would chase after.
Compared to regular high schools, the culture of comparison was even more intense.
Because students no longer compete over limited-edition sneakers or luxury brand clothes.
They talked about watches, diamonds, and yachts.
Even topics like inheritance, company shares, or family business strategies,
things you’d only hear in financial news,
were spoken of casually, as if they were everyday conversation.
Even so, for Jiang Jingxun, it didn’t matter much where he studied.
Whether he could make true friends was something that would happen naturally.
If he had friends, he would cherish them; if not, it wasn’t a big deal.
He wasn’t the type to actively reach out to make friends.
In the past, he hadn’t had bad luck with relationships,
and perhaps half of that was thanks to his academic performance.
In fact, his mother’s concerns were a bit excessive.
At the new school, although he hadn’t made any particularly close friends, he wasn’t isolated either.
Everyone maintained normal classmate relationships, neither particularly good nor bad.
In this, academic performance likely played a big role as well.
As long as you stood out in a certain area, people around you would find it hard to look down on you.
Even though he switched to a completely different school with classmates who were completely different from the ones before, Jiang Jingxun was still the same as before.
His school, his major, his goals hadn’t changed.
Besides the scholarship, there was nothing else he felt the need to gain.
Whether it was the new school or the old one, there wasn’t much of a difference.
Jiang Jingxun knew that his mother had always been worried, but she never asked too many questions or put any pressure on him.
She had a sense of boundaries, and Ling Xi didn’t keep bringing up these matters.
When she brought up the sports event mentioned by Ji Zhuoran in the afternoon,
she asked about the normal school life, “The school sports event we talked about today,
is it going to be a big event?”
Jiang Jingxun answered warmly, “Yes, there will be a large opening ceremony.
If you want to go, I can sign up for it.”
The opening ceremony event…
That was the performance event that his classmates had suggested he participate in.
Ling Xi hesitated for a moment and then didn’t say anything further.
She just smiled and said, “Okay, if I have time, I’ll go.”
After everything that had happened that day, it seemed like Ji Zhuoran and Jiang Jingxun had become familiar with each other.
Every time they met, Ji Zhuoran would enthusiastically greet him.
Although Jiang Jingxun was also friendly with other friends,
it was important to note that they weren’t familiar with each other at all before.
Because Jiang Jingxun was a bit special, the classmates couldn’t help but pay more attention to him.
This attention revealed that the relationship between Meng Xici and Jiang Jingxun also seemed to have gotten closer.
Although it was still limited to just a greeting when they met, it wasn’t like that before. Before, it seemed like the two didn’t even know each other.
Sometimes, even if classmates were in the same class, they could be like strangers.
Being in the same class didn’t necessarily mean they had any interaction.
Classmates who had no connection with each other were not much different from strangers, at most knowing each other’s names and faces.
Secondly, their appearances and temperaments were quite different.
One came from a wealthy family, and the other came from an ordinary background…
No matter how you looked at it, they didn’t seem like a pair who would get along well.
If it weren’t for the fact that both of them had cold personalities, the observing classmates would have already been gossiping.
Recently, there was a lot of speculation among the classmates.
School life could be quite boring, but any small change made everyone curious.
…
The school cafeteria at Yuli had three different dining areas, each offering distinctive dishes. The quality was also supervised by the parents.
Meng Xici and Ji Zhuoran walked toward the cafeteria together.
Sometimes, when they were tired of the usual food, they wouldn’t go to the school cafeteria,
especially since Ji Zhuoran had very particular tastes, while Meng Xici didn’t mind much.
Today, one of the cafeterias had a dish that Ji Zhuoran liked, so they decided to go there.
After getting their meals, while looking for a seat,
they happened to spot Jiang Jingxun sitting by himself.
Ji Zhuoran, feeling that the timing was just right, asked Meng Xici, “Shall we sit with him?”
Meng Xici looked at the seat next to Jiang Jingxun, paused for a moment, and then didn’t refuse.
Jiang Jingxun was very good at adapting to different environments.
When faced with Ji Zhuoran’s enthusiasm, he had already become accustomed to it by now.
He didn’t seem surprised at all when they suddenly sat down together.
As soon as Ji Zhuoran sat down, before he could even start eating,
he was worried that Jiang Jingxun might be scared off by them, so he said,
“You don’t have to worry, I’m not here to persuade you to join the opening ceremony…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Meng Xici.
Meng Xici calmly said, “As for the performance at the opening ceremony,
we really hope you’ll consider joining. Have you thought about it again?”
Ji Zhuoran was stunned, “???”
Isn’t this supposed to be Jiang Jingxun’s line… Wait, since when did Meng Xici want this?
Wasn’t he indifferent about it before?
Ji Zhuoran was speechless, thinking, “He just A-ed up so casually?”
Although he hadn’t known Meng Xici for long, they had been classmates for over a semester,
and they were almost inseparable at school.
But now Ji Zhuoran suddenly felt like he didn’t understand Meng Xici at all.
No wonder people say he’s the son of Uncle Meng. Despite his usual indifferent and aloof attitude towards many things, when it’s time to act,
he’s steady, precise, and decisive.
Jiang Jingxun across from them also paused for a few seconds.
This situation was really unexpected.
Jiang Jingxun’s initial impression of Meng Xici was indeed better than that of some of the arrogant rich kids. However, there were many rumors about Meng Xici’s family circulating at school.
Jiang Jingxun had also heard of the Meng family’s wealth,
and combined with Meng Xici’s own personality, it was hard not to get the impression that he was proud and unapproachable.
But after spending some time together,
although they hadn’t talked much, Jiang Jingxun had realized that he wasn’t cold and distant all the time.
Jiang Jingxun could somewhat relate to him,
because he knew that in some people’s eyes, he might also appear proud and hard to approach.
But they simply liked peace and quiet, didn’t like to talk much, and were not good at expressing themselves.
It wasn’t that they were being arrogant towards others.
Seeing his mother’s expectations and concerns,
and then hearing Meng Xici’s straightforward and sincere invitation,
Jiang Jingxun habitually wanted to decline,
but for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.
After thinking seriously for a while, Ji Zhuoran noticed that he was hesitating and felt hopeful,
waiting eagerly for his answer.
Since visiting his family’s coffee shop last time, Ji Zhuoran really hadn’t pestered him about this again.
Could this be a turning point?
If it was, then his plan would be perfect!
After a while, under Ji Zhuoran’s expectant gaze, Jiang Jingxun said somewhat uncertainly,
“I can really only play something simple.”
Ji Zhuoran responded excitedly, “It won’t be hard at all, I promise, hahaha.”
He burst out laughing.
Meng Xici paused slightly, a little surprised that it hadn’t taken much persuasion to change his mind this time.
Now that things had gone well, even his eyes showed a faint smile.
After laughing, Ji Zhuoran suddenly turned to Meng Xici,
“If I had known you asking would work, I would’ve had you speak up earlier!
All that effort for nothing…”
“Look at you, you clearly care a lot about this too.”
Meng Xici found him noisy: “…Eat. Don’t talk nonsense.”
He simply believed that once you chose to do something,
you should do it as well as you can and not disappoint others.
Ji Zhuoran, suddenly being treated without the usual indifference, pouted.
Seeing Jiang Jingxun with a slight smile in his eyes, he said dramatically,
“Classmate Jiang, I’m starting to think you’re not as cold as you seem.”
Jiang Jingxun reined in his expression: “…Better not talk while eating.”
Ji Zhuoran: “Seriously, do you two have to be so in sync this quickly…”
“Can we save this kind of chemistry for rehearsal?”
…
Now that the most important member had agreed to join, things became a lot easier for Ji Zhuoran.
Most students at school had at least some musical skills.
From the list of volunteers, Ji Zhuoran chose a guy who could sing well,
play guitar, and had a decent appearance.
In his opinion, the vocals didn’t need to be perfect, but the looks had to be at least presentable.
otherwise, it would ruin the band’s whole image.
Another student flatly refused to cooperate with him.
Once the members were decided, the first task for the four of them was to choose a song.
This wasn’t particularly difficult, considering the performance occasion, the song choice was quickly narrowed down.
Since most of their time would still be focused on academics and rehearsals wouldn’t be too frequent,
they settled on a youthful, upbeat song that wasn’t too challenging.
“I’ll take care of the instruments and venue.”
Since it was initiated by Ji Zhuoran, he also naturally took on the role of team leader.
Although he declared himself the captain, the others didn’t raise any objections.
Meng Xici said, “I already have instruments.
No need to prepare them for me.”
Ji Zhuoran was a bit surprised , wasn’t he unwilling at first?
How come he’s already got instruments ready…
He nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright then, I’ll send the sheet music to you guys when I get back.
We’ll set the practice time later.”
Although Jiang Jingxun didn’t come from a prominent family,
he had the aura of a top student, an outstanding appearance,
and a clean and calm demeanor, which made him very popular among the girls.
Once the girls found out the few of them were going to perform together,
the group chats became especially lively.
Have you heard?
Meng Xici and the others are doing a band performance for the opening ceremony,
and Jiang Jingxun is joining too.
???!!! These words together make no sense to me.
Whoa, the most handsome guys in school teaming up , real-life F4?!.
Can you guys not get so excited every time someone mentions good-looking guys…
F4? Seriously? That’s so outdated,
can’t stand your fangirl vibes…
Alright alright, miss high-and-mighty.
All guys are just pigs, right?
So what if we like to look at handsome guys?
A girl’s gotta have motivation to survive!
I always thought young master Meng would be the type to play the piano or violin,
you know, the elegant type?
Yeah! Imagine him in a suit, how handsome would that be!
Wait, how did they suddenly become close?
Didn’t seem like they’d even talked before.
They’re guys. Maybe played basketball or some game and became bros?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jiang Jingxun play basketball, though…
I heard Meng Xici never plays games…
…Who knows.
…