Chapter 166

Chapter 166 Drinking Chicken Soup

The rehearsals for the show and the arrangement of the song’s accompaniment were carried out almost simultaneously.

Mei Fang had also made some progress in his fingerstyle guitar technique. For a melody like “I Know,” which could be found everywhere, he only needed to practice for an hour or so to play it smoothly.

On weekends, he practiced the guitar accompaniment for “I Know” with Lin You Xi at home, while Xia Yuan took her computer to school to work on the arrangement with Liu Xiaoyu. Both teams worked together for about two weeks, and the arrangements and rehearsals were finally nearing completion.

Liang Meijuan knew that the children wanted to perform on stage. Unlike other parents, she wasn’t worried about them being distracted from their studies. She always silently supported and encouraged Mei Fang and the others.

“Come… Afang, You Xi, I’ve made chicken soup for you. Stop what you’re doing and come drink it while it’s still hot.”

“I’m coming, Aunt Liang.”

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi obediently went to the dining table to drink the soup. Lin You Xi carefully ladled the soup into Mei Fang’s bowl, adding quite a bit of chicken gizzards.

“I don’t eat chicken gizzards, don’t put so much…”

“Don’t be picky.”

Lin You Xi emphasized this as usual, then ladled another spoonful and offered it to Mei Fang.

“If you don’t drink your soup properly, I’ll have to feed you.”

Liang Meijuan was in the kitchen cleaning up dishes. This action by Lin You Xi really startled Mei Fang. He quickly took the spoon from her and drank the soup obediently.

Lin You Xi knew that Mei Fang was afraid of others seeing them being affectionate, so she often teased him about it.

Of course, teasing aside, she certainly didn’t have any ill intentions.

“Afang, be careful, it’s hot.”

“Ah… ah… ah…”

“So I said…”

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were happily drinking their soup when Liang Meijuan brought a stainless steel thermos of soup to Mei Fang.

“Afang, Yuan Yuan is still busy at school, right? After you finish your soup, could you please bring some to her? Soup should be drunk while it’s hot.”

“I understand, Aunt Liang. I’ll take it over shortly.”

Mei Fang thought for a moment, then said to Liang Meijuan, “Aunt Liang, could you prepare an extra bowl? Yuan Yuan’s friend is helping her too.”

“Oh, oh, I see… Then we should prepare one for her as well.”

Lin You Xi did not go with Mei Fang. Instead, she patted his shoulder. “Yuan Yuan has been working too hard lately. Spend more time with her after you get there. Bring her back with you, I’m afraid she might forget to eat dinner again.”

“Mm-hmm… Alright.”

The clubroom at Ximilu Studio was no bigger than a six-person dormitory. Before entering, Mei Fang saw Xia Yuan sleeping at her desk due to exhaustion, while Liu Xiaoyu was wearing headphones, testing audio tracks.

At the same time, Liu Xiaoyu was slowly eating a pineapple bun, seemingly not wanting to disturb Xia Yuan.

When Mei Fang knocked and entered, Liu Xiaoyu saw him, put down the bread immediately, smiled and waved at him, asking softly:

“Did you come to check on Yuan Yuan?”

“Yeah… She’s still working so hard.”

Mei Fang gently closed the door and sat next to Xia Yuan. It was already officially autumn, the weather was a little cool, but Xia Yuan was still wearing Liu Xiaoyu’s jacket, showing how considerate Liu Xiaoyu was.

“We’ve finished arranging the accompaniments for three songs. Xia Yuan asked me to wake her up around five. Do you want to listen to the effect and see if we need to make any adjustments?”

Liu Xiaoyu handed Mei Fang the headphones, but Mei Fang just shook his head with a smile. “No, if Yuan Yuan and you decide it’s fine, that’s good enough.”

“Okay…”

Seeing the thermos on the table, Liu Xiaoyu stood up immediately. “Then… I won’t disturb you anymore. I’ll return to the dormitory first.”

“Wait, wait… Don’t leave yet.”

Mei Fang stopped Liu Xiaoyu. “You Xi’s family sent some chicken soup over. Would you like to have some?”

“How can I… I don’t need it.” Liu Xiaoyu waved her hands hastily. “Is it for Xia Yuan?”

“Yuan Yuan can’t drink all of it, and you haven’t eaten dinner yet. Or are you planning to fill your stomach with just that bread?”

Liu Xiaoyu quickly waved her hands again. “This… is just to tide me over. I was a bit hungry after working all afternoon, and it’s still early for dinner.”

“It’s okay… Don’t be polite. Try some.”

Mei Fang opened the thermos, placed a small bowl and chopsticks in front of Liu Xiaoyu, and handed her a small spoon.

“I don’t know how much you can eat, serve yourself. This is the old way of making chicken soup in Bai Mei County. It’s very fresh.”

“Okay… Thank you.”

Liu Xiaoyu only scooped a small bowl, took a small sip, and then thanked Mei Fang gratefully.

“Thank You Xi’s family for the chicken soup. The taste is very fresh, just like my mother’s cooking.”

“If you like it, have more. You’ve worked hard too.”

“Haha… This is enough. If Yuan Yuan doesn’t have enough later, it would be bad.”

Mei Fang didn’t continue that line of thought, but instead watched Xia Yuan sleeping beside him.

“How long has Yuan Yuan been sleeping?”

“We just finished adjusting everything a short while ago, you arrived less than half an hour after that.”

“Got it.”

Mei Fang gently removed Liu Xiaoyu’s jacket from Xia Yuan’s body and handed it back to her. “Thank you for taking care of Yuan Yuan. Don’t catch a cold.”

“Hehe… No problem.”

Liu Xiaoyu quietly drank the soup, watching as Mei Fang took off his own jacket and carefully draped it over Xia Yuan.

Perhaps because of the aroma of the soup, Xia Yuan smacked her lips in her sleep.

Liu Xiaoyu wanted to tease Xia Yuan’s cute expression, but seeing Mei Fang looking at Xia Yuan with such tenderness, now clearly wasn’t the right time. She lowered her head and continued drinking the soup.

After finishing the soup, she didn’t add another bowl, but instead cleaned up the bowl and chopsticks and put them away, then covered the thermos again.

She’d open it again once Xia Yuan woke up…

Liu Xiaoyu handed the thermos to Mei Fang, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and got up to say goodbye to Mei Fang.

“Since you’re here, I’ll go back to the dormitory to rest.”

Mei Fang nodded and softly said, “Mm-hmm, you’ve been working hard these days.”

“It’s what I’m paid for.”

Mei Fang watched silently as Liu Xiaoyu gently closed the door and left, feeling a sense of relief.

Had he managed the boundaries well?

At least, he wasn’t as reserved or uneasy as before…

Being too enthusiastic might make her think he had ulterior motives, while being too cold would seem fake and deepen his guilt.

In this life, Liu Xiaoyu was first and foremost Xia Yuan’s good friend, then the person he knew, a fellow townsman from Bai Mei County.

Remembering this would help him maintain the right balance…

Mei Fang forgot about Liu Xiaoyu for a second, then leaned in to give Xia Yuan a hug.

Not long after, Xia Yuan was warmed awake by Mei Fang’s warm body.

“What a nice smell, Afang.”

“It really is Afang…”

She wiped her mouth and then rubbed her red cheek against Mei Fang’s.

“Afang, what time is it?”

Mei Fang was almost asleep too. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. “It’s quarter past five. By the way, Aunt Liang brought some chicken soup for you. Drink it while it’s still hot.”

“There’s chicken soup! Great!”

Xia Yuan happily let Mei Fang bring the soup up.

“Serve it for me.”

“Why are you acting so spoiled today?”

Mei Fang grumbled but still served Xia Yuan well, carefully ladling the soup and blowing on it before giving it to her.

“Hmm… Of course, because Xiaoyu and I have already finished the accompaniment! Oh, and let Xiaoyu try the soup too?”

“I’ve already given it to her. She returned to the dormitory to rest, you were already asleep then.”

“Oh… I see.”

Xia Yuan gulped down a few sips of the soup Mei Fang fed her.

“This feels a bit awkward…”

Xia Yuan seemed still a bit drowsy. She patted the chair, looking like someone who had drunk fake wine, and said happily, “Afang! Let me sit on you, you feed me soup.”

“Alright, alright…”

Mei Fang gently hugged Xia Yuan like he would a child.

“The weather is getting colder.”

“Yes.”

“But Afang’s body is warmer.”

Xia Yuan shifted closer to Mei Fang.

After drinking only a few sips of the soup, Xia Yuan suddenly turned to look at Mei Fang.

“Afang, are you standing up?”

“You always suspected I wasn’t normal before. Now I’m showing you that I am.”

“Mm…”

Xia Yuan was drinking the soup, then suddenly blushed and turned to ask Mei Fang,

“Do you want me to help—”

“Drink your soup, then go back to eat.”

“Okay.”

It was clear that Xia Yuan had exerted a lot of effort in the arrangement. In no time, she obediently finished all the soup.

I really did great, really.

(End of Chapter 166)