Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Guitar Incident

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Guitar Incident

As the song ended, the entire hall was filled with astonishment; none of the audience had expected Shi Bai to be capable of singing such a song.

Zhang Tongtong and Liu Feifei stared in disbelief, as if they’d seen a ghost.

Especially Liu Feifei—her heart was overwhelmed by shock. She had always thought it impossible for her to ever be interested in Shi Bai, yet after hearing him sing today, it was as if a switch inside her had suddenly been flipped.

"I never thought… he could be this charming!"

Even the boys who envied Shi Bai were left speechless. They used to think Liu Feifei must be out of her mind to like Shi Bai, but after hearing his performance, they all found themselves convinced.

"He really does have talent!"

Zhang Shuyi's gaze toward Shi Bai changed as well. She had always believed that appearance was the most important quality for a boy—so long as he was good-looking, even if he was a fool, he would still be a charming fool.

But after witnessing Shi Bai's performance today, she suddenly realized she’d been wrong.

A man's temperament and talent were just as vital. So long as he was confident enough, strong enough, he would radiate a brilliance that no one could match.

"This guy..." Zhang Shuyi’s heart gave a sudden jolt. "Damn it! Am I falling for him too?"

Only Ye Ying’er, Shangguan Yunfei, and a few others remained unfazed. In their eyes, nothing Shi Bai did could be considered surprising.

Li Xiujie looked as pale as ash. At first, he’d thought his basketball skills were unbeatable, only to be bested by Shi Bai; then he considered himself unmatched in singing, and still, Shi Bai had outshone him.

What did he have left that surpassed Shi Bai?

He clenched his fists. Was he better looking? Taller? Richer?

Having grown up showered with praise, Li Xiujie could not bear to see anyone outdo him. Whenever he did, he wished that person would disappear at once.

"Damn it!" He gritted his teeth. "I swear I won’t let you off!"

At that moment, his eyes landed on his guitar—now nothing more than a pile of broken wooden shards.

"That’s it!" A malicious smile curled on his lips. Swinging his bag over his shoulder, he strode onto the stage.

"Shi Bai, I have to admit you sing well. But singing is one thing—smashing my guitar is another."

The whole audience was startled. What Li Xiujie said was not wrong; Shi Bai should never have tried to show off by smashing someone else’s guitar. That was, after all, another person’s property.

Li Xiujie smirked arrogantly. "If it were just an ordinary guitar, I wouldn’t say much. After all, we’re classmates, and if you broke it for your performance, so be it. But that guitar happened to be a limited edition Yamaha from 2005, serial number NX223—only a hundred of them exist in the world, and it cost one hundred thousand yuan."

A gasp swept through the hall.

Dongke High was just an average second-tier school; the students came from ordinary families. Forget a hundred thousand, even ten thousand was more than most could afford.

"Shi Bai is in real trouble now."

"Yeah, his family just sells fruit. A hundred thousand? They don’t even make that much in a year."

Gao Yang covered his eyes, unable to watch any longer.

"Shi Bai, Shi Bai, why did you have to show off? Why smash someone else’s guitar? Are you tired of having too much family money?"

He let out a sigh. "Your father is going to kill you for this."

Liu Feifei and Zhang Tongtong were also deeply conflicted. Just moments ago, they were happy for Shi Bai, and now, in a blink, he’d sunk to rock bottom.

"Truly, joy can turn to sorrow in an instant!"

The teachers wore awkward expressions. They wanted to say something but dared not, fearing they’d be dragged into the matter. After all, they’d been cheering just as enthusiastically moments ago.

Only Gao Wenqiang, sitting in the corner, was quietly snickering to himself. "Serves you right! You show-off! You’re no genius—ha!"

Li Xiujie folded his arms, snorting coldly. "So, how are you going to pay for this?"

His friends lined up behind him, all fixing Shi Bai with icy stares.

"Yeah, how will you pay?"

"What’s there to say? He obviously can’t afford it. Everyone knows his family’s situation—they just sell fruit."

"That’s no excuse. So what if they sell fruit? Does selling fruit give you the right to smash someone’s guitar? Does selling fruit mean you don’t have to pay compensation?"

"Then how will he pay? Sell everything they own?"

"Well, even if he has to sell everything, he must pay—that’s the law!"

They looked at Shi Bai with mocking grins. "Let’s see how you get out of this one."

The teachers exchanged helpless glances, unsure what to do. Suddenly, the music teacher spoke up, "Call his parents! This is serious—his parents need to be involved."

The other two teachers nodded hastily, "Exactly! His parents must be called!"

All three turned cold, expectant eyes on Shi Bai. "Call your parents."

The hall erupted in a flurry. "Now he’s really finished."

One hundred thousand yuan was no small sum. Forget Shi Bai—his entire family would be deeply affected by this.

"I can only imagine what his parents will feel when they arrive."

A wave of sorrow swept through the hall. This was the pain of the poor. No matter how proud or talented you were, in the face of overwhelming wealth, everything you took pride in could become meaningless.

Such is the helplessness of life.

Li Xiujie sneered at Shi Bai. "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and call your rich parents!"

His friends burst into raucous laughter.

"I’ll pay!"

But just then, a clear voice rang out. Everyone turned to see Ye Ying’er step forward from the crowd, a blue bank card in her hand.

Clad in a silver short dress, tall and elegant, she looked every bit a noble princess.

Compared to her, everyone else in the hall seemed to fade into the background.

"I’ll pay for your guitar."

She handed the blue card to Li Xiujie. "Here’s my card—swipe it as you please. If the school doesn’t have a POS machine, you can take it and swipe it elsewhere."

The crowd was stunned. No one could fathom the relationship between Shi Bai and her—why would she willingly pay such a large sum for him?

"Use mine instead!"

Before they could figure it out, Shangguan Yunfei also rushed forward with a bank card.

"Shi... Shi Bai, I haven’t even thanked you for last time. This time, please use my card."

"Use mine!" Wang Zhongtian hurried up as well.

"Use mine instead!" Li Mubai joined the fray.

The entire hall was in an uproar.

"Is this a joke? What on earth is going on?"

"Just who is this Shi Bai, that so many people are fighting to pay his debt?"

"This is just too much!"

Li Xiujie and his friends were dumbfounded. Of all their calculations, they’d never anticipated Ye Ying’er and the others.

Zhang Tongtong, Liu Feifei, Gao Yang, Gao Wenqiang, even the teachers were left in a daze.

"Who exactly is this Shi Bai?"

At that moment, Shi Bai clasped his hands behind his back, striking a masterful pose as he regarded Ye Ying’er and the others.

"Split it evenly among yourselves," he said.

"Alright!" They responded eagerly, faces filled with proud delight.

Everyone else was left utterly bewildered.