Chapter 45: Summer Season (Part 3)
The crowd was packed. When Xu Lang finally found their seats and set down his belongings, he turned around to find that the two who were supposed to be behind him were nowhere to be seen.
He turned and searched through the crowd, spotting them as they emerged from the crowd; He waved them over, and when they noticed him, they sat down, with Xu Lang giving a friendly pat on the seat beside him.
He successfully got ‘Er Bai’ to sit next to him. As soon as Chen Bai sat down, Xu Lang felt his hard work over the summer had been worthwhile, grateful that his studies had earned him the approval of Ms. Jiang and Mr. Xu, allowing him to enjoy this moment.
With three seats in a row, Chen Bai sat in the middle and slouched back in his chair, lifting the brim of his hat to look at the stage.
He hadn’t watched many matches from the audience before, so this was a new perspective for him.
The high schooler next to him glanced at his phone, then looked up and whispered, “It seems like Qingzhou is already here. Do you want to go check?”
Chen Bai sat up slightly and asked, “Where?”
Xu Lang checked his phone again and looked around the venue before pointing in a direction, “Over there.”
The seating was polygonal, and they were on the side, near the front of the stage. The seats reserved for Fruit Livestream streamers were on the opposite side, blocked by a protruding part of the stage.
From their position, they couldn’t see the people seated there, but they could spot a crowd of people standing at the seats with phones in hand, taking pictures, along with the cameras aimed at the section.
Chen Bai “…”
Chen Bai lowered his hat brim and decided to wait until later.
A sensible decision. The audience section had become the liveliest part of the venue, with even security stepping in later to manage the crowd.
While it was bustling over there, things were much quieter on their side.
The high schooler, who rarely took photos, snapped a few shots for his friends back home who were studying foreign languages. Meanwhile, Chen Bai was explaining the competition rules to his good neighbor.
His voice was quiet, muffled by the mask, but in the less rowdy section, people nearby could still hear him if they listened closely. They couldn’t help but glance over, impressed by how accurate and professional his explanation sounded.
Then they watched as this knowledgeable, professional-sounding person took out his phone to look up which teams were competing.
He reassured his neighbor, “It’s okay if you don’t know them. I don’t either.”
People around them: “…?”
As time reached a nice round number, the rest of the audience took their seats, and the lights in the arena dimmed, leaving only the stage illuminated.
The host took the stage.
The host was very professional, immediately hyping up the crowd. Though Chen Bai, as a seasoned “hype leader,” didn’t know the host, he clapped politely.
After the host’s introduction, it was time for the players to enter. This time, the hype leader didn’t clap. Instead, he pulled out his phone to search for the team names announced by the host, keeping himself busy.
His sharp memory came in handy in unexpected ways. Chen Bai quickly memorized the teams and their names.
While Chen Bai was busy memorizing, his good neighbor was politely asked by a man behind them to lower his height a little, as he was blocking the view.
Chen Bai “……”
Chen Bai’s naturally smiling lips appeared again for a moment.
The music was deafening, and after all the players entered, the match began.
The players were tense, and so was the audience. The high schooler, though, was just an ordinary spectator, not a fan of any particular team, so he wasn’t nervous—just focused on watching attentively.
Chen Bai didn’t disturb him, instead turning to provide commentary for his good neighbor.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t understand; former professional commentator Chen Bai could effortlessly summarize the situation and predict the game’s direction in just a few words.
With the surrounding noise constantly buzzing, Chen Bai’s voice was drowned out, but his neighbor, sitting close, could hear him clearly.
They were so close that Xu Sunian tilted his head to listen. His dark eyes lowered as he shifted his gaze from the screen to Chen Bai’s side profile.
From this angle, Xu Sinian could see the messy strands of hair beneath Chen Bai’s hat and the eyes partly hidden in the light.
Chen Bai, still focused on the screen, was dutifully explaining the match so even someone who had never played the game could understand.
“……”
Xu Sunian withdrew his gaze and returned to watching the screen.
By the time the afternoon was halfway through, the match had reached its halftime break.
The players were adjusting, while the audience either headed to the restroom, bought drinks, or took to their phones to post online.
Though it was a break, the arena remained unchanged—the audience lights were still off, leaving only the dim stage lights.
Using the faint light from the stage, the high schooler got up to go to the restroom, and Chen Bai slouched back into his seat.
His good neighbor turned to ask, “Do you want some water?”
Having worked hard for nearly two hours, Chen Bai indeed felt a bit thirsty.
So, his neighbor stood up and went to buy some water. It was crowded, and Chen Bai was left behind this time.
Around him, there were faint voices, the lighting was dim, and the air conditioning was just right. Chen Bai sat there, debating between chatting with friends or playing on his phone, but instead, he peacefully closed his eyes.
Being able to sleep anywhere, he pulled down his hat brim and drifted off, isolating himself from the world.
He slept like a rock and was eventually woken by the sound of a chair moving behind him.
When he opened his eyes and his vision was still blurry, he looked around and realized that not only had his brother gone to the restroom and his neighbor left to buy water, but the people who had been sitting around him before had all disappeared. The nearby area was now empty, except for the person who had accidentally bumped into the chair standing behind him.
It was the same man who had asked Xu Sunian to lower his height earlier. When Chen Bai looked up, the man apologized and then asked, “Hey, could you help me take a picture?”
Still a bit fuzzy, Chen Bai glanced around again and realized the man was talking to him.
The man had crossed the seating area to the aisle to take a picture with someone. The lighting was dim, so it wasn’t clear, but Chen Bai could tell the other person was quite tall.
Always willing to help, Chen Bai took the phone and gave a small warning, “I’m not very good at taking pictures.”
Since it was just a phone camera, the man didn’t think it could be that bad and waved it off, saying it was fine.
Since the man said it was fine, Chen Bai got to work, lifting the already-open camera and aiming at the man and his companion. He pressed the shutter with a click and, thoughtfully considering that one photo might not be enough, took two more shots.
The phone’s light flashed, briefly illuminating the dim space. Chen Bai squinted, having been used to the darkness, and caught a glimpse of the tall person standing beside the man. The sudden light made it hard to see clearly, but Chen Bai registered that the person was quite tall.
After taking the pictures, he handed the phone back to the man.
“Mr. Li, we need you over here…”
A voice called from the dark aisle, and the tall person nodded to the man before walking away.
The man hadn’t planned to sit down again, and after thanking Chen Bai for taking the picture, he also left.
With the last person nearby now gone, and still no sign of his brother or neighbor, Chen Bai gave up on sleeping and pulled out his phone.
He had received a message from his study buddy, who asked, with concern, whether he was having fun during what should have been working hours.
The message was simple, but Chen Bai could sense deep emotion in those plain words, almost as if everything had been said without saying much.
Chen Bai guessed his study buddy probably had a lot of scenes with the female lead today and that progress wasn’t going well.
He sent a comforting pat-on-the-back meme as a cyber hug and took a quick picture of the stage, reassuring his friend that he was having a great time and there was no need to worry.
After a moment of silence, his study buddy sent back a small smiling bean emoji.
Satisfied, Chen Bai put away his phone and quietly waited for his neighbor and brother to return.
The two came back, one after the other, just before the second half of the match started.
His neighbor didn’t just bring back regular water; Chen Bai was treated to a nice cold soy milk. His brother, being picky, didn’t like soy milk, especially not the flavored kind, so he had been given orange juice instead. The neighbor, who had no strong preferences, had bought himself a bottle of mineral water.
Receiving the cold soy milk, Chen Bai lowered the brim of his hat a little more and took advantage of the dim lighting to pull down his mask and take a sip.
For a moment, Xu Sunian thought it seemed like flowers were blooming around Chen Bai, as if he were basking in a warm spring breeze.
The spring-breeze-basking Chen Bai slouched back in his seat and gave a big thumbs up, “Comrade Little Xu, you’re the best!”
After drinking his cold soy milk, “Old Xu” became “Little Xu” again.
Little Xu chuckled and unscrewed his bottle of water.
Just as he opened the bottle, he noticed Chen Bai’s cold soy milk appearing in his line of sight.
The soy milk had claimed the spot where the water bottle should be. Xu Sunian turned his head and saw that after taking two quick sips of the soy milk, Chen Bai had already put his mask back on and was mumbling through it, “It’s good. No one’s around right now, hurry up and take a sip.”
Xu Sunian glanced down at the person still holding up the iced soy milk, remained silent for a moment, then screwed the cap back on his water bottle, removed his mask, and took a sip.
The soy milk had jasmine added to it, cold and fragrant.
Chen Bai smiled and said, “Tasty, right?”
Comrade little Xu gave a brief reply.
The last to return from the restroom was Xu Lang, who arrived just in time and immediately started downing the wild orange juice that had appeared in his seat.
Brother Bai, always considerate, asked with concern, “Is your stomach bothering you?”
Xu Lang “……”
Xu Lang used all his strength to swallow the orange juice, patted his chest, and took a couple of breaths before finally recovering. He said, “No, it’s just that there were too many people.”
He explained that a celebrity had been recognized near the restroom, apparently quite famous, and fans along with curious onlookers crowded the area, all asking for autographs. This caused such a jam that even going in and out of the restroom was difficult. It wasn’t until the security came to restore order that the crowd dispersed.
Chen Bai, listening, quickly took off his mask, drank a sip of iced soy milk, and just as quickly put his mask back on, casually commenting, “That’s rough.”
Then, in his most straightforward manner, he expressed a sincere wish, saying, “I hope they got to use the restroom.”
If the celebrity had been stopped mid-bathroom trip, it must’ve been a truly uncomfortable experience.
Xu Lang: “……”
Xu Lang had to admit, it made sense.
Even though the angle of thought was odd, it was undeniably logical.
After expressing his good wishes, Chen Bai casually pressed down on his good neighbor’s hat brim, whispering, “Comrade Old Xu, be careful.”
As for himself, he wasn’t too worried. After all, he’d only acted in two dramas so far, one of which was still in post-production. From any perspective, he was just a regular newcomer. Wearing a hat and mask was more about reassuring his financial backers that he wouldn’t cause any drama with his face.
The high schooler sitting next to him, watching how carefree and relaxed he seemed, felt that this guy might not have the clearest understanding of his own situation.
As the only one not needing to wear a hat and mask, the high schooler decided to keep quiet.
The second half of the match continued the intensity of the first. Neither team gained a clear advantage, and the scores remained tight. The players were highly focused, and the audience, too, stayed silent, not daring to speak, leaving only the commentator’s voice filling the air.
Professional commentator Chen, clutching his cup of iced soy milk, was temporarily offline, slouching in his seat.
In some sense, the second half was worth the ticket price. In the final two rounds, a dark horse team surged ahead, their points skyrocketing as they swiftly climbed the ranks, temporarily taking first place on the leaderboard. If they maintained their performance in tomorrow’s match, the championship could be within reach.
The venue’s air conditioning was on, but after several rounds of intense gameplay, the players were drenched in sweat, and the audience couldn’t help but feel nervous, some even sweating as the final, thunderous beats of the music echoed, sending their adrenaline surging.
Chen Bai, having witnessed the rise of several champions over the years and been present for big events, remained as dry as ever, still playing the role of mood setter, joining the others in applause as the players exited.
At the very least, he provided emotional support.
As the audience began to leave, having learned from the near-miss with his hat earlier, Chen Bai and his merry little group decided to sit in their seats a while longer, waiting for the crowd to thin before departing.
By the time they left the stadium, the sky was already turning to dusk, with a blanket of red clouds stretching to the horizon and disappearing over the ocean.
There were few people left around, and Chen Bai guessed many had likely gone to wait for the players exiting from the back door. With the crowds gone, it made things easier for them. They crossed the sky bridge, and on the other side of the stadium was their hotel.
After having dinner back at the hotel, the high schooler, still full of energy after an afternoon of fun, suggested a walk by the beach.
He had already done his research with friends beforehand, knowing that there would be a night market at the beach during tourist season. Not being as fond of browsing as his friends, he was fine staying in the hotel with his phone.
But as the saying goes, “Since we’re here…” And with brother Bai around, it made sense to go out.
Since they were already there, a stroll was fine, and Chen Bai, always up for some excitement, didn’t mind.
The hotel was in an ideal location, perfect for a post-dinner walk. The beach was just down the road, and following the path, they soon reached the brightly lit sandy shores.
Though called a night market, it had everything: snacks, quirky little trinkets, and even team merchandise being sold by vendors—whether genuine or fake was anyone’s guess, but the stock seemed comprehensive enough to draw in buyers.
The night market stretched down a long street. Midway, their good neighbor received a work-related call and had to step away temporarily.
The dependable high schooler naturally took on the responsibility of accompanying brother Bai, and the two of them played together, almost forgetting that he had an older brother.
The night market had snacks, strange trinkets, and various games. Previously, he hadn’t been interested in these things, finding them childish. But with a “mood setter” always at his side, encouraging him, he decided to give it a try.
One game led to another. For his first time playing, he thought he wasn’t doing too well, but the mood setter beside him clapped enthusiastically, as if he were some pro gamer, making it hard to distinguish the reality of the situation.
Whether his older brother, still off somewhere talking about work, was happy or not remained unknown, but Xu Lang had certainly enjoyed himself. He played these games, which he once thought were childish, and even won several small prizes.
But as they say, “happiness brings sadness.” Just as Xu Lang was having a great time, walking through the crowd with his spoils, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He glanced at it briefly.
In that single glance, the smile on his face fell, and the excitement in his heart plunged.
Chen Bai, lifting the brim of his hat slightly, asked, “What’s wrong?”
The good younger brother turned to look at him and wiped his face.
Xu Lang “……”
In short, Xu Lang needed to find a place to print out his homework, and once the printing was done, it was time to enter full-on cramming mode.
In the second half of the semester, his grades had improved significantly. Having grown accustomed to doing well, he had forgotten that at the beginning of the semester, he was still someone whose physics performance was like a fast-moving wooden block, speeding toward a disaster. He’d also forgotten that people who fail physics exams should do more practice problems.
He completely forgot about his homework. It wasn’t until his deskmate poked him in a private message, asking to borrow his homework to copy, that he remembered.
There were only two days left before the start of school, and tomorrow, he was going to spend nearly the entire day watching matches. After much deliberation, he had no choice but to finish his homework tonight.
Xu Lang “……”
The twists and turns of life—such a tearjerker.
Brother Bai, unable to offer any help, patted him on the shoulder and asked, “I’m waiting here for your brother to finish his call. Once he’s done, we’ll head back together. Are you okay on your own?”
The high schooler said it was fine, adding that he could ask the hotel staff to help print the homework and then head straight back to his room afterward.
And so, the high schooler with unfinished summer homework left.
Watching him go, Chen Bai figured that his good neighbor might need more time. Glancing at the time on his phone, he debated between waiting on the spot or finding a quieter place. Ultimately, he decided to keep walking forward.
Bad news: The night market was packed, just as crowded as the time he almost lost his hat at the stadium.
Good news: This time, he remembered to hold onto his hat, ensuring no one could take it off his head.
Walking forward with his hand on his hat proved to be the right move.
Further ahead, the night market turned into a regular street. It happened to be prime time for evening strolls, and the street was lively. In one section, a crowd had gathered, seemingly watching something unfold.
Always one to join in the excitement, Chen Bai hesitated for less than half a second before stepping forward to try and see what the fuss was about. Depending on how interesting it was, he figured he might go back and share the story with his good neighbor and Xu Lang.
He joined the crowd and randomly picked a bystander to ask what was going on. He was told that someone was confessing their love— a girl confessing to a boy.
Chen Bai immediately decided to stay and watch the scene, even though he couldn’t see the protagonists, only the heads of the people in front of him.
If his good neighbor were here, maybe he could’ve helped lift him up or, with his height advantage, provided a live commentary.
Seeing nothing was a bit disappointing, and Chen Bai sighed regretfully, wishing he had grown another ten centimeters.
But—he couldn’t leave.
Turning his head, he realized that in the time he’d been there, another few layers of people had gathered behind him, trapping him in the middle. Layer upon layer, all craning their necks to see what was happening inside.
The instinct to watch the excitement seemed deeply embedded in the genes of his fellow countrymen.
Those inside couldn’t get out, and those outside wanted in. Pulled forward by the crowd behind him, Chen Bai was inexplicably pushed into the inner circle.
Once in the inner circle, he finally saw the protagonists of this heartfelt confession.
To his surprise, the atmosphere wasn’t as lively as he expected. The person being confessed to was frowning slightly, looking a bit troubled.
The girl was a stranger, but the boy looked familiar. He had seen him twice before—once on a set, a guy from a flower shop.
It turns out this world is really small.
His brain was still processing the information when the crowd behind him surged forward again. Feeling something brush past the top of his head, Chen Bai instinctively covered his hat, only to realize that when he reached up, all he felt was his messy hair.
Chen Bai “……”
Something wasn’t right. He patted his head again. Still fluffy, still soft—his own hair.
It seemed his hat was gone.
—
Author’s note:
— So tragic.
— Comrade Xu, be careful.
