After Simba took the medicine and fell asleep, it was already close to ten o’clock.
Sang Miao brought Youyou and Meng Xici back to the villa, planning to visit him again the next day.
Meng Xici took another day off the next day.
At the hospital, the nurse would send updates on the dog’s condition from time to time,
And Sang Miao and he decided to visit after lunch once the dog had rested.
When they arrived at the hospital, the dog still didn’t have much appetite.
Symptoms like coughing and fever were more noticeable than the day before.
While they were accompanying it during the IV drip, Meng Peisheng returned.
Hearing they were at the hospital, he got off the plane and came straight there.
The dog had just gotten an injection.
When it saw him, it whimpered like it had suffered a great injustice, completely lacking its usual energy.
Sang Miao sighed silently.
The border collie used to pretend to be pitiful in front of him to gain sympathy, but now it was truly pitiful.
It had always been energetic, and now it had to get injections every day.
As soon as it saw the needle, it got scared.
Its originally handsome gray and white fur and bright eyes now looked dull and lifeless.
At that moment, Simba pitifully lifted its front leg with the needle still in it toward Meng Peisheng.
It looked a bit miserable and a bit funny.
Meng Peisheng helplessly pressed the little leg back down, gently holding the other uninjured front leg.
He petted it twice and looked at it with a half-smile.
“Don’t want the injection?”
Sang Miao laughed quietly: …Alright then, even now it doesn’t forget to act pitiful.
It knows who its real dad is.
The doctors and assistant physicians nearby also tried to hold back their laughter.
Luckily, Simba had a good constitution to begin with.
After a week of treatment, it was finally able to go home.
Although it didn’t need any more IV drips or injections at the hospital,
it still had to keep taking medicine.
Its body hadn’t fully recovered yet and needed more rest to avoid a relapse.
Youyou hadn’t seen him for several days but didn’t dare to disturb him.
While Sang Miao was working, Youyou would sometimes carry a toy over to Simba to play,
And when he didn’t get a response, he would slowly circle the dog a few times.
Eventually, he’d lie down next to it, clearly feeling a bit bored.
After school on Friday, several people followed behind Meng Xici again.
Ji Zhuo came in carrying several bags, followed by Xu Songyue and Shen Yu.
Sang Miao heard the noise and came downstairs from the second floor.
She was still on the staircase when she saw Ji Zhuo run up to the dog house and shout,
“Simba, we came to see you~!”
Meng Xici reminded him helplessly from behind, “…Don’t wake him.”
Ji Zhuo obediently responded, “Oh, shh.”
He put his index finger to his lips in a hush gesture, then softly greeted Sang Miao, “Auntiehello.”
Sang Miao was amused by him and, seeing the two girls beside him, smiled kindly.
“Shen Yu came too? You all came to visit Simba together?”
The two girls nodded and greeted her.
Shen Yu had run into them on the way home from school.
She had already heard that Simba was sick, and when Xu Songyue mentioned they were going to the Mengs’ to see the dog, she asked if she wanted to come along.
She had played with Simba once before at the Meng house and really liked the handsome and smart border collie.
Although she felt it might be a bit forward, she still came along.
The dog wasn’t shy with strangers and had played with all of them before.
But today, still not fully recovered, he didn’t seem very energetic.
A few of them showed him some new toys, but didn’t dare to disturb him too much.
They just gently petted him and offered a few words of comfort before stopping.
The girls then turned their attention to the Maine Coon, wanting to get close to it instead.
But with too many people around, Youyou sensed the danger and quickly ran to hide by Sang Miao’s side.
Sang Miao had someone bring out some fruits and snacks to the living room to entertain them.
She sat on the sofa holding Youyou, letting him play with Shen Yu and the others for a bit.
Xu Songyue and Shen Yu each held a little snack and sat beside him, trying to coax him out.
“You all got out of school pretty late today.
Want to stay for dinner?” Sang Miao casually asked.
“Is Uncle Meng coming home for dinner today?”
Ji Zhuo immediately asked.
Sang Miao smiled. Was he really that scary?
“He’s not coming back for dinner.”
Come to think of it, in the past, when Meng Peisheng wasn’t coming home for dinner, he would usually have his assistant inform Shao Ying or the person in charge of the kitchen.
But recently, his assistant had been reporting directly to her.
Just half an hour ago, Yan Heng had messaged her to say that Mr. Meng had a meeting outside and wouldn’t make it back for dinner today.
Sang Miao thought to herself.
Since when did he have to rush back to eat dinner?
Hearing he wouldn’t be back, Ji Zhuo readily replied, “Then I’ll stay for dinner.”
Xu Songyue was more than happy to stay a little longer, and Shen Yu decided to stay too.
Lately, with the weather getting warmer,
Sang Miao liked to eat meals in the garden-facing dining area when she was alone.
At dinnertime, the sky wasn’t completely dark yet,
And once the lights were on, it created a lovely atmosphere.
So she had them set the table outside again.
Xu Songyue looked around at the lush greenery and the garden,
which was filled with wild charm amidst its delicate design.
It was indeed beautiful and atmospheric, but…
“Is it okay to eat out here?”
She asked, a little curious and a bit concerned.
“Well, as long as the food goes in, it counts as getting some protein in too.”
Xu Songyue: “……”
Ji Zhuo chimed in.
During dinner, the group chatted about things that had happened at school today.
School ended a bit later today because there was an announcement at the end about the school sports day happening in a few months.
As a member of the student council’s arts department, Ji Zhuo said,
“Do you guys have any performances planned?
Hurry and sign up, don’t keep it to yourselves.”
Back during the last parent-teacher conference,
Sang Miao had learned that Meng Xici was the class monitor and also a member of the student council leadership.
But she was genuinely surprised about Ji Zhuo,
he turned out to be the arts rep? That caught her off guard.
Also a key member of the arts department, Xu Songyue said,
“There are too many programs.
Do you think I should sign up for piano or dancing?”
“Meng Xici, what about you?”
She asked, turning to the quiet and handsome boy across the table.
Before Meng Xici could answer, Ji Zhuo cut in with a dramatic sigh:
“Don’t tell me you’re not signing up.
If you don’t join a performance, the opening ceremony is going to take a huge hit.
Nobody is going to allow that to happen.”
Meng Xici: “……”
From their conversation, Sang Miao gathered the general idea.
The Yuli Middle School sports day was held once every two years, scheduled for early July.
Aside from a few sports events that were different from other schools, the biggest highlight was the opening ceremony.
Since the school’s founding, every opening ceremony had been especially lively,
it wasn’t just a simple school talent show.
The school didn’t have many classes.
By tradition, every class in both the first and second year of high school had to register for one fixed performance.
Besides that, the rest of the performances were open for free combination by anyone in the school.
Even faculty members could participate.
Participants weren’t limited to people within the school,
They could even invite outside performers.
Additionally, the school would invite well-known singers and bands as guest performers,
which was another major highlight of the opening ceremony.
The event was held in the school’s gymnasium, which could accommodate thousands of people.
Opening several thousand seats was no issue at all.
Rather than calling it an “opening ceremony,”
It was more like a grand evening gala.
Not only that, but the audience included not only students and their parents,
But a portion of the seats was also open to the public.
The tickets were free, but for outsiders to attend, they had to either be invited by a student or snag a ticket through the school’s official website.
After that, their identity would be verified to ensure security.
According to past experiences, the audience always filled the venue.
Tickets were extremely hard to get.
Just the reputation of a “prestigious private school” was enough to attract many outsiders who wanted to join the excitement.
Sang Miao had only one takeaway from all of this.
This school was really rich.
They didn’t even charge for tickets??
Well then, it would be a grand event.
Early July wasn’t yet unbearably hot.
It was also a convenient time for the third-year students.
If any of them wanted to participate, they would still have time to prepare and rehearse after the college entrance exams.
Xu Songyue enthusiastically invited Meng Xici, “Don’t you play piano and violin?
Why don’t we sign up for a duet performance?
We could do a piano and violin ensemble!”
Ji Zhuo cut in, “Stop right there. That’s way too boring.”
The two of them loved to bicker.
Xu Songyue immediately argued back, refusing to back down.
Sang Miao looked over at Meng Xici, he knew how to do a lot.
No wonder he was the male lead in a school drama.
Ji Zhuo wasn’t wrong.
If he didn’t participate, wouldn’t that be a huge loss for the opening ceremony?
How could the male lead of a school story not take part in such an important event?
Now she was a bit curious about what he’d end up performing.
Meng Xici seemed to sense her gaze and immediately grew a little uneasy.
His tone was slightly stiff: “Why are you looking at me… I don’t plan on participating.”
Ji Zhuo and Xu Songyue instantly stopped arguing and turned to look at him in unison.
Ji Zhuo’s attempt to recruit him failed right out of the gate.
He hadn’t even gotten to pitch his idea before he was flatly rejected.
That wouldn’t do.
“If you don’t participate, then what will Uncle Meng and Auntie watch if they go?”
Ji Zhuo said it casually, but somehow it hit a nerve.
Meng Xici’s reason for not participating was partly because he wasn’t interested.
And partly because…
His dad probably wouldn’t have time to come.
As for her, he didn’t even know if she’d show up.
She didn’t seem to care much about school events.
After Ji Zhuo said that, he turned to Sang Miao.
“Auntie, don’t you think so?”
Sang Miao hadn’t planned to go see any kind of opening ceremony.
But…
After Ji Zhuo said that, Meng Xici also looked up at her.
If she wasn’t mistaken, there seemed to be a faint, hard-to-spot hint of hope in his gaze.
So… he did want someone close to him to come watch?
Sang Miao was briefly stunned.
A few seconds later, before she knew it, she replied: “Mm… I suppose so.”
Hearing her answer gave Ji Zhuo even more confidence.
“Then, hey, piano and whatnot can be played at home too—”
He leaned in a bit mysteriously.
“How about we start a band for fun?
I can play the drum kit, you can try bass or guitar, or keyboard.
With your foundation, you’d probably pick it up quick.”
Meng Xici looked at him, baffled: “?”
What was this about a band?
Why was he making it sound so casual…?
Sang Miao perked up with interest: “You can play drums?”
Ji Zhuo nodded proudly.
“Yeah!”
Sang Miao complimented, “Oh, that’s pretty cool.”
Meng Xici: “……”
He had mostly been trained in classical music.
When he heard things like band, drums, bass,
Meng Xici immediately associated it with that head-banging rock music.
He frowned slightly.
“I don’t know how to play rock…”
Noticing he didn’t reject it outright this time, Ji Zhuo pressed on, “Who said being in a band has to mean rock?
We can do something more youthful,
If you like light and lyrical styles, that’s fine too.
It doesn’t have to be anything too difficult.”
Hearing him seriously talk about being
“youthful” and “lighthearted,” Sang Miao found it funny.
Honestly, doing something like this once in high school would be a pretty special memory.
She looked at Meng Xici just like Ji Zhuo did, and unknowingly, her eyes also carried a bit of anticipation,
curious to see whether this aloof male lead would agree.
Seeing that he didn’t immediately refuse like before, Ji Zhuo grinned and said,
“If you don’t say no, I’m taking it as a yes.
Bass okay for you, young master?”
Meng Xici gave him a helpless look, but in the end, he didn’t refuse.
“Then… what about the others?”
Everyone was more or less a beginner.
Ji Zhuo wasn’t aiming for anything too professional,
School events were about having fun, after all.
He counted on his fingers and said,
“One person who can sing and play a bit of guitar, and one person who can play keyboard,
That’s enough!”
The requirements weren’t high, and it was fairly easy to put together.
Though in his mind, he already had one or two preferred candidates.
Meng Xici wasn’t sure how reliable Ji Zhuo was, but somehow, he had already agreed.
He glanced at Sang Miao.
If she was going to be watching, then he ought to put in some real effort…
Xu Songyue, who had been listening from the side, was dumbfounded.
What was going on?
How had this suddenly turned into forming a band?
What’s wrong with the piano and the violin…?
But seeing that Meng Xici was unlikely to team up with her now, she shot Ji Zhuo a resentful glare.
Snatching people like that was not okay!
She then turned to Shen Yu and took her arm, saying, “Shen Yu, you do classical dance, right?
Want to sign up together?”
Sang Miao was eating when she overheard them chatting and looked over.
They were all just teenagers, yet somehow so good at so many different things…
Shen Yu had competed in dance contests before,
But she had never performed in such a public school event.
Upon hearing how many people would attend the opening ceremony,
She instinctively hesitated.
But when she noticed Sang Miao looking her way,
she gave it some serious thought and finally said, “Okay.”
Ji Zhuo clapped lightly and said, “Nice!
Didn’t Shen Yu win an award before?”
Xu Songyue was puzzled.
“How do you know everything?”
Having secured Meng Xici’s participation, Ji Zhuo was in such a good mood that he didn’t bother arguing with her.
The group continued eating while chatting about what other classes might do this year, who had been invited as performers in previous years,
and who the school might bring in this year to really wow the audience…
The conversation made one truly nostalgic for youthful high school days.
While they were chatting, Ji Zhuo suddenly thought of something.
He looked at the only person at the table who wasn’t from the school.
Although he usually called her “Auntie,”
Sang Miao didn’t look old at all, and she didn’t act like a typical adult either.
Lately, he’d stopped thinking of her as Meng Xici’s stepmother altogether.
The Arts Club was the main organizer for this year’s opening ceremony,
and that was also why Ji Zhuo, as one of the members, was especially enthusiastic this time.
He suddenly leaned in with a mysteriously eager tone and said to Sang Miao,
“Parents can participate in performances too, Auntie.
Are you interested?”
Sang Miao picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks, looked at him blankly, and thought.
What would she perform?
Break-a-stone-on-the-chest or something??