Chapter 21:  He seems a bit GAY

Title: Baby’s Breath

Translator: System Yaoi

Note: Kindly read this novel at https://secondlifetranslations.com/novel/babys-breath/

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Chapter 21: He seems a bit GAY¹GAY originally written in English

Just a couple of days after that meal, as Sun Wenhao had initially mentioned, Coser²originally in English Kaka’s account had gained nearly 50000 followers. Sun Wenhao said, “Your account lacks content. Just those two cosplay photos aren’t enough. You need some daily life photos.”

“Like this?” Xue Youka sent him a selfie of himself in the dormitory making a silly face.

“…What kind of strange angle is this? You can’t just rely on your looks to be willful! I mean something like this.” Sun Wenhao sent him over a dozen handsome photos, all of them looking casual yet meticulously crafted, showing a lot of effort put into them.

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Okvbla kd y qkhl-pvya bsvlz, vyjkdt y plzqkl okvb y okdl tzypp kd qasdv sq y qzssa-vs-nlkzkdt okdeso, sa tlvvkdt nzspl vs dyvwal, rzyukdt okvb pxyzz ydkxyzp – rbsvsp okvb y pvasdt pldpl sq pvsau.

“Ps usw vbkdj vblpl yal aydesxzu vyjld? Mblal’p y obszl vlyx clbkde vblx — rbsvstayrblap, rasrla zktbvkdt, yde rasqlppksdyz lekvsap…Gd yhlaytl rlapsd nswzed’v dsvknl kv yv yzz.”

“Xb… R’zz ypj obld R ts qsa vbl rbsvstayrbu nzwc kdvlahklo yv dssd.”

Ebld bl oyp kd xkeezl pnbssz, Dwl Zswjy oyp pszlzu qsnwple sd pvweukdt yde pvsnjp, kdekqqlaldv vs svbla xyvvlap. Tl lhld altkpvlale sd ElUbyv yqvla vbl nszzltl ldvaydnl lmyxkdyvksd.

Tl eked’v wdelapvyde vblpl vbkdtp; obyvlhla bkp tsse qakldep pyke, kq kv xyel pldpl vs bkx, bl oswze fwpv ts yzsdt okvb kv.

Rd vbl nzwc nzyppassx, vblal olal esgldp sq rlsrzl, fwpv zkjl Dwl Zswjy, obs nyxl qsa vbl kdvlahklo. Gnnsaekdt vs y vlmv xlppytl pldv cu vbl nzwc y qlo eyup yts, Dwl Zswjy rakdvle swv bkp “rbsvstayrbkn osajp.”

Flhlayz pldksa pvweldvp obs olal kdvlahklokdt bkx zssjle yv bkp rbsvstayrbkn osajp okvb rwggzle lmralppksdp. Mblu yzz pllxle zkjl nypwyz pdyrpbsvp, zynjkdt ydu dsvyczl nsxrspkvksd.

“Fvweldv, olal vblpl vyjld okvb y rbsdl?” sdl pldksa ypjle.

“Yes, I haven’t bought a DSLR yet,” he replied somewhat embarrassedly. “But I’ve always loved photography, really want to join your club, and aspire to become a skilled photographer like you all. I want to do my part for the Photography Club!”

The senior students were somewhat in a dilemma. Who wouldn’t like such a polite junior? However, their usual club activities mostly involved outdoor shoots, going to the countryside to take photos, capturing the starry sky, and even organising short trips overseas during winter and summer vacations. Last year, their club collectively went to Iceland to chase the Northern Lights.

For their club, having a Leica camera³Leica is a German company, and their cameras are appreciated professionally per person was a must.

They had never recruited new members who hadn’t even touched a DSLR before.

But the several female club members and the vice president sitting beside him seemed to really like this junior. One female club member even said, “I have an old Canon camera that I can lend to new members who don’t have a DSLR!”

“Yeah, I have spare lenses that classmates can borrow, and we usually do portrait photography, so the junior could totally be a model.”

Upon hearing the keyword “portrait photography,” Xue Youka immediately perked up.

The so-called “portrait photography” referred to photographers practising by taking fresh shots. That’s exactly what Xue Youka came for. Sun Wenhao mentioned his lack of content to attract followers, but now he had it, and without spending money.

“Yes, President. And we’re currently collaborating with T Publishing House for interviews with the top ten influential men. There are still several people whose high-definition photos we haven’t obtained. The junior can definitely handle it!”

Xue Youka quickly chimed in, “Yes! I can do the interviews! I’ll take care of all the dirty work, no problem!”

Who wouldn’t like a newcomer who is cute, polite, and enthusiastic?

Soon, the outcome was settled: “Junior, make sure to come to the photography class in the evening.”

“I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Tian Ai, the vice president of the club.” On WeChat, the vice president sent over the club’s admission documents and followed up with another message.

“Hello, senior sister. I’m Xue Youka, a freshman in the Department of Finance of the School of Management and Economics. ” He replied with a handshake.

The unforgettable name sparked Tian Ai’s intense curiosity. However, since they had just met not long ago, it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask such a question. So, she decided to use the other person’s profile picture as a topic.

“Is your profile picture from the anime ‘Yuri on Ice’?”

“Yes, yes! Senior, you know it too! Do you also like it?”

“Haha, just a little. Plus, when I saw your pink hair, I thought you might be into anime. Turns out, I didn’t expect it to really turn out right.”

Senior sister: “That pink hair of yours, not everyone can pull it off.” Pink hair, especially on someone with not very fair skin, can make them look sickly and lacking vitality.

Senior asked, “Why did you decide to dye it pink?”

“It’s a long story…”

Under the supervision of He Xiaoyou, Xue Youka had never done anything out of line. He didn’t know what got into him, but after military training, he secretly dyed his hair pink, thinking He Xiaoyou wouldn’t notice anyway.

He explained, “Actually, I’m an amateur cosplayer, and I also take photos of cosplay in my free time…”

“Oh, so you’re a cosplayer, that’s impressive! Have you posted pictures online? I’m sure I’ve seen them!”

Xue Youka said he had just started and wasn’t popular.

Tian Ai: “Hobbies are important, and being able to stick with them is great. Can I ask you to be a model for my next creative project?”

Here it is!

Xue Youka suppressed his excitement, “Of course! I’m available anytime. Senior, you can ask me for anything, even for running errands!”

Little did he know, shortly after saying this, he would indeed be asked to run an errand two days later.

In the evening photography class.

“You mentioned Mew Bar? I was just there last Monday,” Xue Youka remembered.

Tian Ai said, “I’ve been busy with that lately. Once it’s done, I’ll have time for creative photography.”

What she mentioned was the collaboration with T Publishing House on the school magazine project. This season’s magazine theme closely followed the trend, focusing on the top ten campus heartthrobs, and the selection criteria for these heartthrobs were very strict. It was not just about being handsome; it was about being publicly recognized as attractive and talented.

Throughout the 100 year history of T University, it has produced numerous influential figures from various fields, including poets, singers, writers, chess champions, entrepreneurs, architects, and even Nobel Prize winners… So, as early as the military training in August, the selection activity kicked off with gongs and drums on the campus forum, with rounds of competitions, voting, and finally, confirmation of the top ten.

“Eight out of the ten are current students, one is a senior this year who is currently in Silicon Valley, and the other is a senior brother who is now an exchange student in the United States. But we have contacted both of them. We conducted remote interviews and obtained high-quality life photos. The remaining few are a bit challenging, especially Turbo, the drummer of the Scorpio Band.”

“I know him! I have a friend who is their fan.”

A few days ago, Xiaoqiu told him about this band, and yesterday she even shared a link to Scorpio’s song on her Moments, but Xue Youka didn’t click on it.

He hadn’t realised that the Scorpio Band was so famous. He had thought it was some kind of underground band.

“The day after tomorrow, they will have a performance at Mew. I got two tickets. Junior, do you have time to go with me?”

If Xue Youka had more experience with relationships, he would have realised that this senior sister wanted to soak him⁴Tian Ai is interested in him. Unfortunately, all he cared about was photography; he just wanted to seize the opportunity to take free photos for her projects. So, he thought it was only right for him to be a coolie and run errands.

On Saturday afternoon, at 6:30, Xue Youka was already waiting at the northeast gate for Senior Tian Ai, and they went to Mew together.

Tian Ai asked him if he had eaten, and Xue Youka said he cooked noodles in the dorm.

“Instant noodles?”

“No, just somen noodles⁵A type of Japanese noodles. I cooked them with an induction cooker.”

Tian Ai chuckled, “Be careful not to get caught by the dorm supervisor.”

Tonight at Mew Livehouse⁶Originally in English, due to the performance, it was different from last week when Xue Youka came. Although there were many people that day, it wasn’t as horribly crowded as it was tonight. Each square metre was packed with at least seven people, and there weren’t even any seats! All three floors, including the boxes on the second floor, were filled with the audience.

“Senior sister… Are we going to stand to watch the show?”

On the stage directly in front, the instruments had already been set up, but the musicians hadn’t come on stage yet.

“You haven’t been to this kind of place before, have you? It’s different from a concert. You just stand, but you can sit on the second floor, although the tickets are a bit expensive, and they’re hard to come by. Don’t worry, their performance is very short, less than forty minutes. You won’t have to stand for long.”

Xue Youka looked around, and most of the people were young, probably students from nearby universities. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and Xue Youka didn’t react, but he felt a stir around him, with everyone screaming, “Scorpio!! Scorpio!! Ahh!”

The entire venue went dark for at least ten seconds, then a cluster of spotlights lit up on the stage, shining on the lead singer carrying a guitar on his back.

The lead singer looked very young, around twenty years old, and he was a handsome guy with single eyelids.

“Is that Turbo?” Amidst the screams, Xue Youka asked the equally excited senior beside him.

“No—it’s Turbo at the back. He’s the drummer!! The lead singer is Lin Shimao.”

“Oh, I see.” Xue Youka looked towards the position of the drum set, but it wasn’t well-lit enough, and he couldn’t see what the drummer behind the drum set looked like.

The intro started, and the crowd swayed along. The lead singer leaned close to the microphone, his voice suggestive as he said, ” ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be’⁷Originally in English by Scorpio, dedicated to everyone.”

Screams filled the livehouse again, then after a few seconds, it went quiet—everyone was waiting for him to sing.

“The future teaches you to be alone, the present to be afraid and cold…”⁸Originally in English

As soon as he started singing, even Xue Youka, who only listened to J-rock, was amazed. The rhythm and arrangement were so beautiful. His gaze shifted from the lead singer to the drummer. Although the lighting wasn’t very bright where the drummer was, every drumbeat carried a strong explosiveness. After they finished a song, Xue Youka asked.

“Is this song original? I’ve never heard it before. It’s really good.”

“Yes, it’s original. Turbo wrote it. Aren’t the lyrics great? He also composed the music.”

“The drummer?” Xue Youka looked up again, and the light happened to fall on the drummer. He finally saw the drummer’s face.

Standing at the back of the band, the drummer was drinking water with his head tilted. Normally, the drummer might have been the least conspicuous member of the band, but Turbo’s appearance was just too eye-catching. No one could ignore him in the crowd. However, his expression was filled with indifference and arrogance, the attitude that only exceptionally talented individuals could possess, as if he were indifferent to everyone around him.

The crowd below was cheering wildly: “Turbo! Solo! Turbo! Turbo!”⁹Originally in English

“Everyone wants to hear him solo, they want him to play a drum solo,” the senior explained.

But Turbo paid no attention. He raised his hand, and the lead singer took over the microphone. “The second song of the day…”

After a few consecutive songs, the fans asked Turbo to stage dive, but in the end, it was Old K who did it. He was lifted with both by the crowd as if he were a God while everyone kept shouting Turbo’s name. Turbo completely ignored them, simply walking offstage from the side.

“He never stage dives,” the senior said. “Probably because he’s a bit of a clean freak.”

Amidst the noise, Xue Youka exclaimed, “I think he’s so cool.”

“He is cool, but I think he seems a bit gay,” Tian Ai remarked.

Tian Ai glanced at his Moments, all neat and clean, with no traces of a girlfriend. But she couldn’t be sure if Xue Youka was gay, so she intentionally brought up the topic to see his reaction.

To her surprise, Xue Youka nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think so too.”

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