Ning Xiao was as expressionless and cold as before, as if no one was worthy enough to deserve a second look from him. Shen Shu lazily kicked his little brother, “Go ahead. Remember what I said, be fierce.”
Baby Face hesitated. He held the mirror nervously, not daring to go forward. Shen Shu impatiently looked on. Seeing that Ning Xiao was about to walk pass, he pushed his little brother over towards him.
Ning Xiao's path was suddenly blocked. He looked coldly at Baby Face as his footsteps came to an abrupt stop.
“Xiao, Lao… Laozi has something to say to you.” Baby Face looked at him, took a deep breath and pretended to be calm. “Who… who do you think you are?! If Laozi ever takes your dick again, Lao… Laozi will write my name backwards!”
Ning Xiao didn't even bat an eyelid. He walked past him and went on his way.
Baby Face froze at once, tears streaming down his face. “Gē… you lied. It doesn't work at all…"
“Why the fuck are you crying?!” Shen Shu pulled him over. “As you are now, you don’t have any momentum at all. Keep practicing for Laozi!”
Baby Face looked at Ning Xiao with teary eyes, then turned to his mirror. He looked up weakly and asked, “Is your method really useful?”
“Anyway, he’s tired of playing and he’s ignoring you now,” Shen Shu cut him off and lifted his glass, drinking as he patiently explained. “If you practice, maybe he might still spare you a glance. If you don’t, he definitely won’t look at you anymore. Make your choice then.”
Baby Face thought that it sounded reasonable. He firmly wiped away his tears and continued to practice while holding the mirror.
Shen Shu reached out a finger and said, “Take a look at your Xiaoyuan gēand learn from him.”
“…” Qi Le’s face was filled with black lines. “Don't put everything on me, ok? Those messy things in the past is history and has nothing to do with me, thank you very much!”
Baby Face also looked at Shen Shu, sobbing as he reminded him, “Gē, Xiao didn’t pay any attention to Xiaoyuan either.”
“That’s because you didn’t notice that Ning Xiao was looking at him the whole time, but your Xiaoyuan gē was far more interested in you and didn’t so much as spare him a glance, so the man felt that he was ignored and didn’t come up to speak to him.” Shen Shu said with his head propped up on one hand. “Why didn't I notice before that he was such a ridiculous person?"
Qi Le felt that he was indeed more interested in this nutjob's reaction so he hadn't paid attention to anyone else. Besides, Ning Xiao had always been like that so there was nothing worth noting about him.
Baby Face looked at them and then at Ning Xiao, who had found a place to sit down. He nodded, “Mmm, I'll practice harder.”
Shen Shu replied lazily, “Go on then.”
“Mmm!”
Qi Le pursed his lips, too lazy to bother about them. He went on stage, walked to the piano and sat down, stretched his fingers and started to play. The tune was simple and melodious. Listening to it unconsciously made the heart calm.
Ning Xiao was sitting at the left side of the stage, which happened to be on the opposite side of the piano. He ordered a glass of wine and sat in silence. It had been some time since he came to the bar. Firstly, it was because he was bored and wasn't interested at all. Secondly, he was trying to get more information on Gu Bai. Third, he was trying to calm himself down.
He looked at the person who was focused on playing the piano and knew clearly that he wasn't in love with that person at all. He also knew that he wasn't uncomfortable with the fact that this person's world no longer revolved around him because he had so many other admirers and it wasn't a big deal to have one less. Moreover, he still felt a disgust when he remembered the former Zheng Xiaoyuan. He wished that that person would stay away from him. Therefore, the only explanation that remained was what Gu Bai proposed – he was a little interested in the person before him.
Qi Le's concentration was completely fixed on playing the piano so he didn't pay attention to the looks from below. Over the past two days, there were always people looking at him. Some of them came up to talk to him but most of them were curious to find out if he remembered Ning Xiao. A few of them had wanted to invite him for a drink. However, Ye Shuichuan and his boss always guarded him. He was in a safe environment and had gotten used to those stares. He played several tunes, staying on stage until 8 o’clock. After that, he sat at the bar again and occasionally looked at the door, expecting to see Gu Bai anytime now.
“Hey,” Shen Shu perceived someone's gaze on him and nudged him, “Ning Xiao asked me to call you.”
Qi Le looked back in surprise. He saw Ning Xiao sitting there waving at him. His face looked calm and lacked the usual dominance. He thought about it and remembered Ye Shuichuan had said that this man and he were college mates and would often bump into each other. He reluctantly walked over and stood in front of him. "What's up?”
Ning Xiao ordered him a glass of wine. “Nothing. I’m just bored sitting here alone.”
Qi Le’s lips twitched in annoyance, “Don't you have a lot of admirers? Just simply get anyone. I’m waiting for someone.”
Ning Xiao's face darkened, “…Waiting for Gu Bai?”
“Mmm.”
Ning Xiao looked at the door and unexpectedly didn't mention about Gu Bai fooling around like he did before. After several experiences, he knew that no matter how he tried to reason with this person, it was useless. The more he badmouthed Gu Bai, the less it worked. He pointed at the chair opposite of him, “He's not here yet. You can sit here and wait. I want to talk to someone.”
Qi Le glanced at him and sat down. “What are we talking about?”
“How come I've never heard that you could play the piano?”
“I suddenly remembered that I learned it before.” Qi Le said, “Even if I told you before, I doubt you were in the mood to listen, right?”
Ning Xiao kept quiet, thinking to himself that it was true. Zheng Xiaoyuan used to annoy him no matter what he said. He quickly changed the subject, “How have you been recently?”
“Fine.”
The two were silent again. Ning Xiao asked, “Has your wound healed?”
“Mmm, it's healed."
The two were silent again. Ning Xiao asked, “Do you remember anything?”
“No.”
The two continue to stay silent – Qi Le didn't have anything to say to him and Ning Xiao wasn't a talker either, so the two of them could only sit together in silence.
Qi Le was happy that he had finally stopped speaking. He looked at the door and at the other people in the bar. Ning Xiao thought for a moment, then thought again, but still didn’t know what to say. Right when he was starting to get flustered, he saw Baby Face come up to him with a blank expression on his face. His cold eyes swept over him, “Get out!”
Baby Face’s eyes instantly turned red, but he still remained expressionless. Remembering his older brother’s words, he calmly said, “Laozi is looking for Xiaoyuan gē, not you…”
Qi Le looked at him, “Is there anything?”
Baby Face said, “Mmm, I just want to chat.”
Qi Le pursed his lips and pointed to the seat beside him. “Sit down.” These two – one, a walking freezer and the other, a nutjob, can do whatever they like. After all, he had nothing to do with them.
Baby Face immediately sat down with a deadpan expression, not saying a word.
When Gu Bai entered the bar, he saw the three men sitting together, giving off a really strange vibe. He glanced at Ning Xiao and walked over with the Scottish fold cat in his arms. The cat in his arms reacted upon seeing Qi Le, jumping towards him, “Meow, meow, meow!“
Qi Le happily caught it and kissed it on the head, “Good boy.”
Gu Bai sat down. The reason why he didn’t come during this man’s work hours was that he was afraid that the cat would disturb him. This was why he came later.
“Meow, meow, meow—!” The Scottish fold cat in Qi Le's arms rubbed against his neck, deciding that it would never let go. The other human had gone mad. Its feeding time was erratic, the amount of food it got was inconsistent, and whether or not its small bowl would be taken away in the middle of its meal was also uncertain. It couldn't live like this anymore!
Gu Bai stroked it, his gaze turning gentle, “It's more energetic when it sees you.”
Of course, its my son! Qi Le smiled triumphantly, “Mmm.”
Baby Face felt his cellphone vibrate and looked down only to see a text from his older brother. With the same expressionless look on his face, he said, “You three look like a family ah."
Gu Bai's expression remained the same but Qi Le pursed his lips, feeling somewhat uncomfortable at that. Ning Xiao was rather displeased at the moment. His face suddenly sank as he coldly glared at him.