Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 1

The cool breeze from the air conditioner blew softly; in a daze, I turned over and opened my eyes as they met a tiny, dazzling yet warm ray of light.

Is it morning… already? Pouting, I grabbed my phone to check the time: 7:30.

My first class wasn’t until nine, so I could still sleep a little longer.

I turned around, and my left hand, which had expected to find a solid body, grasped only air; he was gone? The bathroom light was off, and the studio apartment was so small I could see every corner with just one sweep of my eyes.

I was the only one in the entire room—the warmth and closeness of last night felt like a dream. Apart from the red guitar resting in the corner, perhaps only the necklace around my neck and the prickle of stubble on my skin proved that he had indeed spent the night here.

A feeling of satisfaction, yet emptiness.

How contradictory! We’re already dating, yet I’m still feeling anxious about the relationship… I decided to get up, and after washing my face and brushing my teeth, I drifted back to my desk. A small pink plastic bag, typical of local breakfast shops, was nestled in a pile of notes.

A sandwich and soy milk. I took the items out of the bag, and tucked inside was a small, hastily written note.

I glanced at it and couldn’t help but laugh aloud. It only had three words: “Remember to eat.” Oh, why did you put it in such a hidden place? What if I hadn’t seen it?

If I said that the thing I remembered most from our first night together was this bag of breakfast, would that sound strange?

However, my empty feeling was instantly filled by those three words. I inserted the straw, took a sip of the soy milk… It was so sweet!

It was the taste of sweetness in my heart.

＊

“Hey! Xiao Ning, Xiao Ning!” It was my best friend in class, Ke Yiting, calling me. “Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

Classes were over, and we were planning to eat at a new, popular Japanese ramen shop. What big news could make Yiting call out to me so eagerly?

“Seaman (The band’s name, 人面魚) is doing a flash mob concert in the lobby of the Engineering Building today!”

I stopped walking. “Oh! Really?” I tried my best to act casual, but I still couldn’t hide the upturn of my lips.

“How can you be so calm? It’s Seaman!”

“I know! It’s not like I’m not a fan.”

Yiting pulled my hand, weaving past two guys in front of us. It was lunchtime, and the shopping street beside us was packed with students lining up for food. Were those two guys taking it easy?

“So you already knew?” Her eyes were wide, and I just smiled mysteriously.

Seaman is a band formed by students at our university. I heard their name came from a video game—but that’s not the point. The point is they are quickly rising to fame. They’ve performed as the resident band at a famous pub in Taipei City and were even invited to perform during halftime at a professional men’s basketball league game. Rumor has it that they’ve even received invitations to appear on TV shows. Now, it’s not just fans from school; people from outside the campus come to see them perform!

They’re a band I’ve been following for a long time… Not for any particular reason, except that I’ve known one of them for a long time, having intermittent contact since freshman year. I’ve witnessed their entire struggle and growth.

“Haha, you could say that!”

“Your smile is so weird!”

Hmph! You saw through me again? I didn’t reply, just pushed forward hard, trying to look like a starving ghost desperate for lunch.

Good thing we came early! The ramen shop had the last two seats left. We sat facing each other, quickly placed our orders, and continued our conversation. “So, are you going?”

I pouted. Did she even need to ask? “Of course!”

“Then let’s go together! I heard Sister Saya is back. That soft, rainbow-like voice is absolutely mesmerizing… Brother Jack, the leader, can finally concentrate on drumming, and the keyboardist…”

Look at her listing them off as treasures! I didn’t interrupt, letting her talk.

“Oh! Speaking of which, Ah Jun, the sub-vocalist and guitarist, is the hottest! He’s your favorite, right?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like him?”

“He’s handsome, of course, but I prefer Brother Jack’s gentle smile… Xiao Ning!”

She suddenly yelled, startling me just as I was about to open my phone. “What are you doing?”

Fortunately, the ramen hadn’t arrived yet, or this scatterbrain would have surely knocked it over!

“Your necklace…” Yiting was like a tiger spotting its prey, hooking her index finger across the table. “It’s beautiful! A red guitar? How come I’ve never seen it?”

She finally noticed! The pendant on my necklace today was a metal red guitar. “Of course you haven’t seen it, I just got it yesterday.”

“How did you get such a delicate necklace? Who gave it to you?”

Even with so many people around, Yiting’s slightly loud voice wouldn’t draw much attention, but I still felt a little shy because of her excited tone.

I bit my lip, feeling sweetness in my heart. “Well, my boyfriend…”

Her eyes widened. “When did you get a boyfriend? How did I not know?”

“We just started dating, of course you wouldn’t know!”

“Ugh! But you must have known him for a while, right? Tell me! Who is it?”

“Why are you acting like you need to know every single detail… Look, the ramen’s here!” I pointed at the waiter to distract her.

“Tonkotsu… Yes, here you go!” As soon as the ramen was put down, she quickly asked again, “Seriously, who is it?”

“Just a guy from the guitar club, you don’t know him…” I rolled my eyes internally.

“The guitar club? There are so many handsome guys there! You managed to snag one from the guitar club, good for you! Introduce one to me next time…”

My vegetable ramen arrived while she was still talking and eating. Hearing her request, I just rubbed my chopsticks together and coolly replied, “We’ll see about that! Let’s eat!”

＊＊＊

Seaman’s flash mob concert was only five minutes long, but it was enough to mesmerize the nearly one hundred fans surrounding them. After the performance, they ignored the crowd of student fans chasing them and quickly hopped into the SUV that was already waiting at the entrance. I watched them drive away, unconsciously gripping the necklace around my neck.

Yiting was buried in the crowd, trying to chase the stars. I didn’t follow—even if I had chased the car’s tail, I wouldn’t have seen anything. I ducked into the nearest empty classroom, pulled out my phone, and found a new message had arrived just seconds ago!

My heart sped up as I slid the screen open, because the sender’s nickname in the group chat was Saya—the band’s female lead singer who had just captivated a massive crowd with her light, rainbow-like, versatile voice.

Saya: ‘Little One, I just saw you!’

“Little One” (小小, Xiaoxiao) was my nickname in the group chat; they especially liked calling me Yu Xiaoxiao. Wait a minute! She saw me? How is that possible? ‘Sister, your eyesight is too good, right?’ I was hiding behind two guys!

Sister Saya replied with a “Ya” sticker, and then Brother Jack sent a message: ‘Little One, are you coming over tonight? Plato.’

I smiled, and just before I could send the word “Of course,” someone else answered for me.

It was Ah Jun—‘Of course, she’s coming.’

Ugh! Why, why… you’re obviously in the same car, yet you’re deliberately using messages! That’s just showing off your love!

I pouted and replied with a blushing emoji.

Immediately following that, the other four members, excluding Ah Jun, all sent “big laugh” emojis.

Ugh! I’m so embarrassed!

＊

“Plato” is the pub where they currently have their residency. As the headlining act, they had been quiet for a while because their lead singer, Sister Saya, had vocal cord issues. Now that the official lead singer was finally back, besides holding a meaningful flash mob concert at the school where they got their start, the real main event was, of course, tonight’s performance at “Plato.”

As someone who was lucky enough to be added to the band members’ group chat, I went straight into the backstage lounge when I arrived.

The person who greeted me was Monk—the cool keyboardist, Brother Monk, who always sported a shaved head… “Ah Jun has been waiting for you for a long time.”

I said with a wry smile, “You haven’t finished performing already, have you?”

“We’re still eating dinner, so you’re not really late.”

Was that supposed to be comforting…?

As soon as I walked in, I smelled a strong scent of smoke. I frowned, and the person smoking immediately flicked the ash. “Ah! Little One is here!” It was Sister Saya. She quickly extinguished the cigarette in her hand and gave me a big, solid hug with open arms!

“S-Sister…”

“You’ll scare Little One like that!” Brother Jack quickly pulled her away. “Sorry! This one hasn’t been on stage for too long, plus she just downed a can of beer, so she might be a little tipsy!”

“Are you sure it’s just ‘a little’?” Ru She (The other guitarist), the band’s fifth member, chimed in from the corner with a smile. Besides him and Ah Jun, who are in the same year as me, the other three are all at least a year ahead of me; Sister Saya has even graduated.

But they all got along extremely well and treated me like family, even though I’ve only recently had a more direct relationship with them.

I scanned the lounge. “Ah…”

“Ah Jun is outside talking to the boss… Why is it taking so long?” Sister Saya murmured.

“I’ll go find him.”

The backstage area of Plato wasn’t unfamiliar to me; I had been there once or twice when I was just a die-hard fan of “Seaman.”

I found Ah Jun in the corridor leading to the stage.

He was standing sideways to me. The lighting was dim here, but I still saw a business card in his hand.

The boss saw me first and smiled distractedly. “Ah! Let’s stop here for now, your girlfriend is here! Go grab some food… As for my proposal, just think about it.” He waved to me before leaving, and I smiled back.

Ah Jun turned around, looking a little gloomy. “Ah, you’re here… Did you catch our performance?”

I shook my head with a slight apology. “I stayed late today to discuss a report, so I was half an hour late. You know how congested the traffic is during the rush hour after school.”

“What a shame! Sister was giving it her all today!” I felt relieved when he smiled. He subtly slipped the business card in his hand into his pants pocket, then wrapped his arms around me. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I just smelled the pizza in the lounge.”

He made a face. “Brother Monk isn’t vegetarian; he’s more like a Ninja Turtle!” Pizza was Brother Monk’s favorite!

I was amused by his comparison! It was spot-on, but harsh! “Be careful not to let him hear you!” I poked his nose, which made him open his mouth as if to bite. I quickly pulled back, and he leaned in closer—

And just like that, we kissed. For a moment, my nostrils were filled with the scent of him…

Just like last night.

“Punishment for not coming to our concert!” he smiled naughtily.

I punched his arm. “Alright, alright! Sister Saya was just wondering why you took so long to come in… Let’s go in!”

“Okay! I’m starving.”

He was the one who gave me the necklace and bought me breakfast. His name is Lu Hanjun (Ah Jun), and he’s Seaman’s substitute lead vocalist and first guitarist.

But for me, those titles don’t matter; he’s my boyfriend, and we are deeply in love.