She Adopted Me After My Biological Mother Passed Away - Chapter 32

The band had a new drummer.

Shi Shuxue flipped the camera view toward herself, held it for a second, then quickly switched it back. “Alright, you’ve seen enough,” she said distantly. “Go back to whatever you were doing.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I didn’t get a clear look…” Chi Yeyu’s voice was cut off by a long “beep.” Shuxue had already hung up.

Silence returned to the car, save for the soothing music playing through the speakers.

Yu Xiu was surprised by the abrupt hang-up. “Is that okay?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Shuxue’s expression was flat, her lips showing no curve. She pointedly locked her phone screen and turned her gaze toward the window.

They had been stuck in traffic for over ten minutes. The cars moved at a snail’s pace. There wasn’t much to see outside, yet her eyes remained fixed on a bouquet of flowers held by a high school student in a uniform.

The atmosphere in the car felt frozen. Li Lingling, hoping to break the awkward tension, tried to think of a topic other than Chi Yeyu.

Suddenly, Shuxue spoke. “Chi Yeyu once told me that when I finished my last exam, she would be waiting outside the testing center in the most prominent spot, holding a bouquet of flowers.”

No one expected her to bring up Chi Yeyu again. Speaking these words was like voluntarily tearing open a wound for others to see. For a moment, the three of them couldn’t find the right words to respond, and the silence became even heavier.

“…That sounds quite romantic,” Li Lingling said eventually. It was just a pity the promise was never kept. Chi Yeyu hadn’t bought flowers, hadn’t waited outside the exam hall, and was now on the other side of the planet.

Shuxue continued to stare out the window, her face hidden from the others. They only heard her let out a soft, mocking scoff. “Romantic? She’s just a liar who doesn’t keep her promises.”

“She probably didn’t consider that things would turn out this way,” Tiangua added. “She was originally determined to break away from the Chi family and start her own life. Who knows why she changed her mind last year? She didn’t tell anyone, she just left the country.”

“Isn’t that just her personality? Acting on a whim,” Li Lingling grumbled.

Shuxue, perhaps triggered by a memory, began rhythmically pinching her fingertips. Her chest felt tight, and she took a long, shaky breath, drawing the cold air from the car’s AC into her lungs.

Yu Xiu suddenly asked, “Do you want flowers, then?”

Li Lingling cried out, “Right! How did we forget to buy flowers? Seriously, of the three of us, not one had a brain today.”

Tiangua checked her phone. “Let’s find a florist. It’s too late to pre-order, though.”

As they quickly began planning to find a bouquet with sunflowers, Shuxue interrupted them gloomily. “Don’t bother. I don’t like flowers.”

“Hmm? Is it because fresh flowers wither too fast? We could get preserved flowers,” Tiangua suggested.

Shuxue shook her head. “No. It’s just a personal thing. I don’t have any special feelings toward flowers.”

To her, a flower was merely a decoration, an object packaged to carry emotion. If the emotion was gone, the object lost its meaning.

“She cares more about the person giving them,” Yu Xiu said, seeing right through her. “Tiangua, there’s a mint inhaler in your backpack’s side pocket. Give it to the kid and make her a ‘lollipop bouquet.'”

Tiangua was startled. “Why is your mint inhaler in my bag? Wait, you want to give her smoking-cessation candy?”

“It’s fine. I’m saving room for dinner,” Shuxue declined politely.

“But Xiaoxue,” Li Lingling teased, “if you have a boyfriend in the future and he gives you flowers, are you going to hold them with that same cold face.” She mimicked Shuxue’s steady, doll-like voice, ” and tell him, ‘I don’t have any special feelings toward flowers’?”

“There won’t be a boyfriend,” Shuxue said.

“Don’t be so certain! Once you’re in university and join different clubs, you’ll be surrounded by couples. Influenced by the environment, you might just meet someone you like.”

Li Lingling, having had several relationships, considered herself experienced. she winked at her, but Shuxue simply looked away without expression.

Yu Xiu interjected, “I know someone who’s been in university for almost eight years and has never dated once.”

Tiangua, who had just logged into a game to clear her stamina, rolled her eyes. “Would you die if you didn’t mention me? I’ve told you, I hate three dimensional humans.”

“That’s actually quite nice. Sister Tiangua has a kind of indescribable purity,” Shuxue said, defending her.

Truthfully, that had been Shuxue’s intuition since she first met Tiangua. She was different from the rest of the band, she wasn’t as “socialized.” Her first impression was gentle and introverted, and once you got to know her, you realized she simply preferred living in her own little world. She possessed a natural purity that hadn’t been worn down by the world’s trivialities.

The others never used her real name, always calling her Tiangua. Even Baidu Wiki couldn’t find her actual name; for a while, Shuxue actually thought her surname was “Tian” (Sweet).

“Oh my god, Tiangua, she called you pure~” Yu Xiu’s tone was exaggerated, her voice spiraling upward.

Tiangua gave a “tch” of pride. “Look at her. Only Shuxue knows how to talk to me properly.”

They entered the hot pot restaurant. After ordering, Yu Xiu stepped outside to smoke. When Shuxue followed her out, she saw Yu Xiu crouching by the steps, her back slightly arched. She practiced a familiar motion: pulling a cigarette from the pack and flicking a lighter.

The cigarette hung between her fingers as ash fell away. She tilted her head, her gaze vacant as she stared at the streetlights across the road. The dim yellow glow cast a shadow over her face. She didn’t even notice Shuxue approaching.

Shuxue crouched down beside her on the steps and whispered, “Sister Yu Xiu.”

Yu Xiu snapped back to reality and instinctively tilted the cigarette away to keep the smoke from drifting toward the younger girl. “Why are you out here? Is it too loud inside?”

Shuxue shook her head, her eyes lingering on the cigarette. “Sister Tiangua sent me to get you. She said the beef tripe will get tough if it’s cooked too long.” She paused, then added, “But you can answer a question for me before we go back.”

The sparks of the cigarette glowed in the evening breeze. Yu Xiu smirked and pressed the cigarette out against the steps. “Ask away.”

“Did Chi Yeyu ever date anyone before?” Shuxue asked.

Hearing this, Yu Xiu blinked in surprise, then let out a low laugh. “You’re asking me? I’ve never cared about Chi Yeyu’s love life. But in the years I’ve known her, there’s never been anyone else by her side.”

“She probably hasn’t. With her personality, her heart was entirely on her career and hobbies. Later, she had you to worry about, where would she find the time for anyone else? If you’re worried, you can ask Tiangua. She’s closer to Chi Yeyu, they were high school classmates and even went to the same university campus.”

Shuxue’s fingers secretly tugged at the hem of her shirt. She kept her eyes down and didn’t speak. Yu Xiu glanced at her. “Really concerned? Why don’t you just ask her directly? She definitely wouldn’t lie to you.”

Shuxue said, “I’m not concerned. I was just asking randomly.”

By the time they returned to the table, Li Lingling and Tiangua were already half-full. Tiangua was sipping a fruit tea she got for free by leaving a review. “What took you so long? I asked Shuxue to bring you back, did you take her to smoke instead?”

“I wouldn’t dare. I didn’t even get more than a few puffs myself.” Yu Xiu pulled out a chair for Shuxue and sat to her left. She looked at the two across from her. “Next gig, should we bring her along for fun?”

Tiangua nodded. “Sure. If she doesn’t find it a hassle, she can come with us. We’ll buy her a ticket; she can hear us live.”

“I don’t mind the hassle,” Shuxue said.

On the eve of summer break, the “Jingcui Li” commercial district in H City invited the Screaming Goldfish band for a stage performance. On the first day, the streets were packed, and the roads near the pedestrian area were gridlocked.

The four band members plus Shuxue hopped out of the car. Li Lingling was still talking about the new bass hand-gestures she had practiced in the mirror the night before, determined to make every passing tourist stop in their tracks.

They were only scheduled for three hit songs today. They treated it like a cross-city trip and were already debating where to eat after the show.

“There’s a new hot pot place here,” the drummer said excitedly.

Li Lingling waved her hand. “Nah, you weren’t with us last time, so you wouldn’t know, we just had hot pot recently. Let’s try something else.”

Song Liulan was the drummer who joined shortly after Chi Yeyu left. Finding a drummer for a band is hard enough, but finding one with great skill who can integrate quickly is a monumental task. Fortunately, not long after Chi Yeyu’s departure, someone introduced this student from the percussion department of the conservatory.

Supposedly, her father was a drum teacher, so she had been playing since she was a child. She had worked part time at a piano gallery during university, so her fundamentals were solid, and her chemistry with the band was surprisingly good.

She was naturally beautiful, with a striking and bright face. More importantly, she knew how to use her looks. On stage, she was full of expressive energy and explosive power, knowing exactly how to capture the camera and the audience’s attention, something drummers often struggle with. Thus, despite being a late addition, she had already attracted a considerable following of band fans.

Tiangua asked her, “Do you really want hot pot?”

“No, no, it’s fine! I’ll eat anything, whatever you guys want. I just want to get over there quickly.” Song Liulan was huffing as she gathered the luggage. A drummer’s travel is never easy, she dragged a suitcase with a drum bag stacked on top, another bag over her shoulder, and Shuxue was carrying one for her as well.

“Nothing we can do, it’s too congested around here,” Yu Xiu said helplessly.

Song Liulan joked, “Once we become big stars, won’t we have a dedicated VIP entrance?”