Groupmates

"When did I get spoiled by Yichen?" Xie Mingze nearly slammed the table, but he managed to stop himself from doing so, afraid of being hit again. 

Inside his mind, he wanted to avoid being hit and turning stupid. 

"Don't worry, Auntie; I said I would take responsibility for Mingze, so I would."

His words sound weird, but at the same time they aren't. Mingze couldn't help but wonder where the mistake occurred. Mama Xie turned to look at her son and Yichen.

"I don't know what you youngsters are up to; you are of legal age. You know what's wrong and right."

***

"My brain is heating up!" Zheyan slumped on the table. 

He was also a music major, but unlike his friends, the only reason he took up this course was because of rebellion. He chose to enroll in this course instead of participating in the family's business dispute.

"The professor keeps talking about things I can't understand. I much prefer making a business proposal than continuing to listen to him."

"Then you shouldn't have taken this class. What are you going to do about the group project? The professor said to form a group, but we can't be from the same major; since we both major both in music and vocal, we can't be groupmates."

Mingze was also worried about finding someone; more specifically, the professor said that if they specialize in vocals, then they should find someone who specializes in other instruments. Just by his luck, he would be forced to socialize.

"Lucky for you, Mingze; you could just ask Fen Yichen to group with you and look for two more members."

"When did I say I would group with him?"

When did he say he would form a group with Yichen? Zheyan made hasty assumptions that weren't warranted. Anyway, he was busy taking classes in his own department; for sure, he would be asked to be exempted for this again. 

Mingze can't discredit his music skills, especially his piano skills. His piano skills are good enough to have a world tour. "Yet, you're the only person I've seen conversing with Yichen, aside from myself." The only reason the bro bothers talking to me is because I'm your friend."

It was a surprise for Mingze; he knows a lot of people talk with Yichen. "Isn't he popular? How could he have no friends?"

Completely unaware of how Yichen acts towards other people, he isn't really sure if he should believe Zheyan or not. "Yichen sticks to you like glue; his only friend would be Qian Yue, since their friends are friends too."

Qian Yue was one of the few people who was equal with the Fen Heir, Fen Yichen. 

"It's not surprising; he is the only one who could tolerate his attitude."

While the two of them were chatting, the groups were already forming; by the time the two of them finished, almost everyone was grouped up. Zheyan was friendly and had lots of friends, so one of his friends let him join, while Mingze was stuck looking for an available slot.

The professor started to list the group members. Xie Mingze, without any choice, left gritting his teeth and approached the professor for help.

"Sir, there's no one available to form a group with me."

The choice should have been obvious. It was to be added to someone else's group, making one group in the class made up of five members instead of four, but luck wasn't really on his side.

"Last time I checked, the whole class was perfectly divisible by 4. Let me check." The professor casually checked his class list before exclaiming, Aha!

"It looked like one of them dropped out; now you can work with Mr. Fen Yichen and your senior taking up this class, Mu Bai."

Mu Bai and Hao Muyang were of the same age. Mu Bai started his military service late, so he is now taking the same subjects with them and was one year late. He didn't expect him to be his groupmate. Mingze remembered how much he suffered from that senior in his first year. 

They were forced to always clean the theatre and the classrooms. Basically, they were treated like servants; the majority of them get major ptsd just hearing his name. 

"Sir, Mu Bai and me both focus on vocalization."

What he really wanted was for his professor to not group him with Mu Bai. However, his attempt was bound to fail.

"You have no choice. You can't exactly do it with just you and Mr. Fen, am I right? Since you are short of one member, you can be the last presenter. We would be doing the presentation for two days, and your group would automatically be the last one, the second day."

The extra time didn't give Mizheng relief; how could he work properly when he is being treated like a slave every time? 

***

Inside a cafe near school.

Fen Yichen, Mu Bai, and Xie Mingze were having a meeting. Due to their absence during the project discussion, Mingze took on the responsibility of providing a detailed explanation.

"We are tasked with watching a movie, and based on our interpretation, we were tasked with making an alternative OST for it. So first, we decide what movie to watch, document it, and then compose something. The professor also mentioned making documentation about the movie and its composition. How the composition is made, what techniques were used, and how we came up with the final product. Is everyone clear with the instructions?"

The explanation was a bit long, so Mingze asked for confirmation from the two of them. Fen Yichen grabbed some fries and carried them towards Mingze's lips. Mingze mechanically bit them before flipping through the papers once again.

"How about deciding what movies to watch first? Mingze, you go and buy the tickets for us."

"Give me the money." Yichen said this while pulling the drink near Xie Mingze for easy access, not forgetting to place napkins on the side.

"You're rich; why are you asking me for money?" Mu Bai inquired, but Yichen silently rolled his eyes.

"I'll pay the bill for today. Senior, could just wire me the money for your ticket. We could decide what we want to watch in the group chat. Let's go, Mingze. My car is parked outside. I don't want to pay extra for parking too long."

Mingze's eyes landed on the food left, but when he saw Mu Bai's face, the regret he felt instantly vanished. He doesn't want to stay with the dude any longer. 

"Goodbye."

"Oi wait! This kid, seriously. They don't know how to respect their seniors."