Chapter 16 Laozi Admits His Mistake (Part 2)

Cen Ye originally thought that a mature, calm, gracious, and slightly silly woman like Xu Xunsheng would get over being mad at him after a little while, but several days passed and she still ignored him. It turned out that when a woman like her got petty, it was quite unbearable—Cen Ye thought.

For example, every time the band reported to the practice room, Xu Xunsheng would still chat with everyone, but her gaze would very accurately skip over just him. If he tried to join in the conversation, she would remain as steady as Mount Tai, acting as if she hadn't heard a thing, giving him the cold shoulder.

She would still often prepare snacks and drinks for the band. Sometimes Cen Ye could scavenge some leftover snacks, but the drinks would only amount to four cups—by the time it was his turn, forget about coffee, not even strawberry-flavored children's milk was left!

Furthermore, these past few days when the band asked Xu Xunsheng to join them for a meal, she never went. Zhang Tianyao gave her tickets to their playoff round, and she returned them unopened, gently saying she didn't have time to watch live but would support them in spirit. This left Zhang Tianyao frustrated and filled with sorrow.

Gradually everyone noticed that Xu Xunsheng's anger was directed at one particular person. One day, while they were drinking beer and eating barbecue, Zhao Tan kicked Cen Ye, "Hey, what exactly did you do to offend Teacher Xu? I can see it now, her face turns into a block of ice the moment she sees you."

The others looked at Cen Ye, and with a sip of his drink, Zhang Tianyao smiled, waiting.

Cen Ye said, "How should I know?"

"Pfft…" Everyone was skeptical, saying Teacher Xu was not the type to hate without cause. She only hated those deserving of disdain. If Xiaoye didn't speak up, they wouldn't bring him to the practice room anymore, lest he affect the group's perks from Teacher Xu.

With a laugh, Cen Ye finally confessed, "She said on the day I was drunk… I went to her practice room to cause a ruckus, I might have puked a bit, threw some things around, so what? I must've been too excited, just ran to the practice room out of habit…"

Before he could finish, everyone pinned him down and beat him up.

"Damn, no wonder Teacher Xu is so angry, she's such a clean freak!"

"You even puked, you actually puked in her place, damn it, how could you?! Even if you had to, you should have held it in! Her bathroom is cleaner than your bed!"

Everyone seemed to understand, and Zhang Tianyao burst into laughter as well, giving Cen Ye's shoulder a shove, "Man, if I'd known you'd hurl in my girl's place, I would've sorted you out on her behalf a long time ago!"

Cen Ye let himself be jostled about, slouching lazily in his chair, looking quite content. However, thinking that it had been so many days and Xu Xunsheng still didn't care for him, despite finding her cold indifference amusing, deeper contemplation revealed a hint of irritation and disquiet at the bottom of his heart.

"Forget it!" Huizi said, "You must apologize to Teacher Xu."

Zhao Tan also said, "Yeah, she's a girl who takes such good care of us, and you dare to offend her like that. You need to own up to it, Xiaoye."

Cen Ye picked up his beer and downed it in one gulp, "I'll own up."

But as for how exactly he was going to own up, Cen Ye had no clear idea. None of the suggestions from the group seemed reliable to him, like taking her out for a meal. Cen Ye could easily predict that Xu Xunsheng would, as usual, handle the invitation with politeness, quite possibly paying the bill in advance, but still ignoring him; or suggesting Cen Ye to go apologize again. But Cen Ye had his pride to consider, thinking that his face wasn't there for a woman to slap repeatedly, so he refused.

After a long discussion, no viable solution was found, and later as they drank, the issue was forgotten.

But Cen Ye hadn't forgotten. That night, after drinking and arriving home, he lay in bed, still thinking—how should he cheer up a woman like Xu Xunsheng?

——

Xu Xunsheng's life was very regimented: waking up at 6 am, washing up, eating some breakfast, then cleaning the house and going out for a walk. In the morning, she'd either teach or do her own thing.

That day, just before 7 in the morning, she opened her door to find that dawn was just breaking, the sky a pale grey. She was surprised to discover that the porch light had been turned on by someone, illuminating the yard. Looking more closely, she noticed all the fallen leaves in the yard had been swept clean, the wooden walkway appeared to have been mopped or wiped with water, leaving it damp and chilly in the early morning. Although the work wasn't done neatly, with uneven water stains, it was clearly just finished. Even her wooden fence was adorned with a row of festive lights, twinkling brightly, making her wonder for a moment if she had walked into the wrong yard.

Someone emerged from the corner of the courtyard, dusting off their hands. It was early in the morning, startling Xu Xunsheng and making her tremble. He, however, stood under the lamp with a wide grin. "I've swept the courtyard, mopped it, even wiped down the fence for you. The goldfish in the pond, I've fed them too."

Xu Xunsheng didn't know what time Cen Ye had come over in the morning, but his black hair was frosted with a layer of cold dew. He was smiling lightly, as if to show off his achievements to her, yet his eyes were clear. Xu Xunsheng's cold heart was bound to melt because of him. In fact, she hadn't been angry with him these past few days, it was just a matter of pride. Who would have thought he would actually set aside his pride and come to work in the bitter cold to redeem himself?

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and replied a bit pitifully, "Yeah! Cold!"

Xu Xunsheng turned and entered the house without speaking, leaving the door open for him. He, of course, followed her in very sensibly. Xu Xunsheng turned on the heater and went to boil water. The house was silent while he automatically stood in front of the radiator to warm his hands.

Xu Xunsheng watched the iron kettle on the gas stove burbling and asked, "You don't need to do this."

Cen Ye replied, "If I don't do this, I'll always be a second-class citizen around here. Damn, how frustrating! Where else am I not the life of the party, beloved by all?"

Xu Xunsheng couldn't help but laugh. She didn't turn around, but she could feel Cen Ye saw her smile. Then even his voice seemed to soar a bit, "There, Teacher Xu laughed, so she's not angry anymore. I promise I won't come here drunk and bother you again. Deal?"

Xu Xunsheng nodded. Just as she was about to take the kettle off the stove, a figure flashed by and grabbed it first, asking her, "Does it go in here?"

"Mhm."

He poured the water for her, and then, imitating how she usually did it, brewed a pot of tea. He served two cups, holding one himself, and actually managed to do so quite elegantly. Xu Xunsheng let him do it, and then both of them held their tea, leaning on the table, quietly sipping.

"The semi-finals are on Sunday night, come listen to me sing," he said.

Before Xu Xunsheng could reply, he added, "Don't decline. Since you've forgiven me, you should show some gesture."

Xu Xunsheng: "One has to make a gesture when forgiving someone?"

He laughed, "Of course. Otherwise, those guys will push me in front of you again to apologize in abasement. I'm the lead singer, the soul of the band, give me some face."

His words warmed Xu Xunsheng's heart, and she eventually laughed, nodding her head.

The room fell silent for a moment, and as they caught each other's gaze, each could see the soft glow of the lamp light reflected in the other's eyes. Both quickly looked away. Holding the warm cup in her hands, Xu Xunsheng saw that it was completely bright outside, the decorative lights had gone off at some point, and the buildings stood in clear, tranquil outlines. When Cen Ye looked down, he saw their shadows on the floor. Everything was rather quiet, quite ordinary. Yet for some reason, he became lost in thought.

"Why did you set up those lights?" Xu Xunsheng asked.

Cen Ye answered nonchalantly, "It's almost New Year's, isn't it? Putting up some lights, don't your kids like them?"

It occurred to Xu Xunsheng that they probably did like them.

Suddenly, Cen Ye asked again, "Do you think we can win the Xiangcheng championship?"

His question was abrupt, and Xu Xunsheng went silent for a moment, making the room feel especially quiet.

She answered, "Yes."

Cen Ye laughed instantly, looked into her eyes again, put down his cup, and declared, "I'm off. Xu Xunsheng, just wait for Sunday. I'm going to be ruthless just for you."