The Daily Life Of Being The Campus Idol's Fake Boyfriend Chapter 1

Hey, do you want to try being my boyfriend?”

Ling Ke could hardly believe his ears. The person in front of him was asking him this question in a deep and husky voice.

That person was someone whom he had secretly liked for many years. The person’s lips curved upwards as his gaze fall upon him, piercing through his soul. His eyes were clouded with uncertainty and ambiguity.

The first time Ling Ke met Qi Feng was during the summer holiday in his last year of elementary school.

He remembered the temperature that day was higher than usual; the sun stood high ablaze in the sky. Ling Ke was taking the train to a music school for his Grade 8 piano examination. By the time he had reached the place, he was already sweating profusely from the heat.

Once Ling Ke entered the waiting hall, he quickly found a seat at the side and started perusing his music sheet; his mind completely absorbed in recalling some of the important techniques, especially from Cramer’s .

The beat of this piece was very fast. The piece had many instances where one is required to use multiple fingers simultaneously and Ling Ke’s biggest problem was using his third finger to play the piano. This caused him to frequently make mistakes when he had to use a few fingers to press on multiple keys to produce a single chord. Ling Ke tried to practise by gently tapping his fingers on the table, pretending that the table was the piano.

Just at this moment, he heard a faint sound towards his right. A boy about the same age as him had sat down beside him.

The boy was wearing an exquisite black performance outfit, with a vest adorning the outer layer of his shirt. The boy’s hair was neatly combed and his skin was white and smooth. Even though the boy was young and his facial features had not fully matured, his attractive features already seemed to foreshadow the handsome young man the boy would grow up to become. With eyes that were naturally smiley, it was not surprising to expect that the young boy would become someone popular among both men and women in the future.

Ling Ke stared at him blankly for two seconds. He had never seen someone so pretty before and hence he was nervous.

“Hey.” The boy smiled at him and asked, “What’s your name?”

A pleasant scent wrapped around the boy. That faint scent appeared to be coming from the boy’s shirt or hair.

Ling Ke remembered that his T-shirt was drenched in sweat. Not wanting to make the boy uncomfortable, Ling Ke instinctively turned away.

However, this only caused the boy to inch closer and take the initiative to introduce himself: “I am Qi Feng.”

“My name is Ling Ke.”

A radiant smile spread across Qi Feng’s face. He leaned forward and asked, “How old are you this year?”

His gaze swept across the other people in the waiting hall, before lingering at Ling Ke’s face. “I think you are the only person here that is of the same age as me. Have you graduated from elementary school?”

Ling Ke was a bit of an introvert, especially in front of new people. He did not expect Qi Feng to actively strike a conversation with him. Even his tone sported a sense of familiarity as if they were old friends. This caught Ling Ke off guard.

“I have just graduated…this year.”

Qi Feng continued to gush enthusiastically “Wow, me too! Which elementary school were you from? Which middle school are you attending? How long have you been learning the piano?”

The rapid torrent of questions caused Ling Ke to be momentarily at a loss of words. After organising his thoughts, Ling Ke told Qi Feng the name of his elementary school and the middle school he would be attending. “I started learning piano when I was Primary 2. It has been five years since I started.”

Learning piano from Primary 2 was not considered early. Many people had started learning the piano since they were in kindergarten, such that by the time they graduated elementary school, they had already finished Grade 10.

Qi Feng also took the initiative to tell Ling Ke his school. Ling Ke had never heard of the school before. “What school is that? Is it good?”

Qi Feng shrugged and replied, “It is a private school, with quite little people attending. Whether it is good or not, I am not sure since I have never attended another school before. But my mother said it is the best school in town. She does not want to let me study overseas so early.”

Ling Ke was shocked upon hearing that. “Studying abroad” was something that had never occurred to him at this age. He suddenly felt the distance between him and Qi Feng increasing drastically.

Qi Feng then proceeded to tell Ling Ke about some of the interesting happenings in his school: Stuck-up teachers who were always boasting; the wide variety of extra-curricular activities as well as the many outdoor learning lessons that took place in his school.

Ling Ke listened on enviously. This school seemed a lot more interesting than his elementary school!

After talking for a while, Ling Ke’s music sheets caught Qi Feng’s attention. He reached out for the music sheets. “Wow, your sheets are so worn out. You must be very good at the piano since you practise so much!”

Ling Ke shook his head, “It is just pretty average.”

Qi Feng raised one of his eyebrows. “Tsk, don’t be so modest.”

Ling Ke was not being modest. His piano skills were without a doubt ordinary. Even his piano teacher often said that his skills were quite average. However, as the piano teacher knew the reason why Ling Ke was learning the piano, he did not comment much on Ling Ke’s piano abilities.

“Which piece did you choose?” Qi Feng asked as he flipped through the piano sheets. He quickly came to a conclusion. The most torn and tattered page was obviously the piece that had been played the most. “I have also chosen the same piece as you – that piece from Schubert’s collection.”

When Qi Feng was looking at his piano sheets, Ling Ke was looking at Qi Feng’s hands.

People who play the piano would often find themselves unconsciously looking at the hands of others who also play the piano, especially someone like Ling Ke whose pinky finger was evidently shorter than that of normal people. His inborn disadvantage made him more aware of the difference between him and others.

Qi Feng’s hands were beautiful. Even though he was young, he had long and slender fingers that were suitable for playing the piano. If Ling Ke’s piano teacher had seen Qi Feng’s hands, he would definitely praise Qi Feng’s hands as hands that were born to play the piano.

“Hey, do you want to go to a music school in the future?” Qi Feng asked.

Ling Ke’s thoughts were interrupted. He unhesitatingly said, “No.” Attend a music school? You might as well kill him!

Since he was Primary 2, Ling Ke had never gotten to spend a peaceful and relaxing summer holiday. Every July and August, he would stay at home playing the same monotonous examination tune over and over again. His pa.s.sion for the piano had died down in these five years of immense practising and now the only thing he want to do is to quickly finish all the piano examinations so that he never needed to touch the piano again!

Qi Feng was slightly astonished. “Then, why are you learning the piano?” Without waiting for Ling Ke to reply, he said to himself, “Oh, you are playing it as a hobby…Then why do you bother to take examinations? The examination tunes are all so boring.”

Ling Ke had no choice but to confess. “No, it is to enhance my portfolio for middle school.”

Qi Feng was bemused. “Portfolio?”

Ling Ke briefly explained what he meant. Qi Feng said, “Huh? So what is the purpose of it?”

“There is no special meaning behind it…” Ling Ke did not want pretend to like the piano. Yet, seeing that Qi Feng had carefully dressed up for this examination, he felt that Qi Feng may be someone who is genuinely pa.s.sionate about the piano. This made Ling Ke ashamed about his practical reason of learning the piano.

Ling Ke examined Qi Feng’s outfit again and said hesitatingly, “Aren’t you hot from dressing like that?”

Qi Feng lowered his head and loosened his tie, before smiling awkwardly. “I also did not want to wear this, but my teacher said that I should treat every performance as an actual one and should give it my all…Even if it is hot, I can’t help it.”

Although Qi Feng admitted that it was hot, there was no sign of sweat on his face.

“Candidate Number Seven, Li Xu.” A staff called out. “Candidate Number Eight, Ling Ke can start preparing.”

Ling Ke immediately became nervous. “It is going to be my turn soon.” He had no mood to continue his conversation with Qi Feng.

Qi Feng rested his chin on his hand, his expression indifferent. “You are already going to enter the examination hall, so don’t stress out too much. It is not like the teacher will eat you up.”

Ling Ke did not hear Qi Feng’s light-hearted teasing. He was too stressed-out. After waiting for a while, he felt an urgent need to visit the restroom. He quickly went to the restroom, leaving Qi Feng to look after his belongings.

Ten minutes pa.s.sed in a blink of an eye. After Ling Ke returned, Qi Feng handed Ling Ke his music sheets and grinned. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Ling Ke played Cramer’s wrongly twice, but the two pieces he played after that went quite well, especially Schubert’s .

He should be able to pa.s.s….right?

Ling Ke heaved a sigh of relief as he exited the examination hall. He deliberated on whether he should return to the waiting hall to wait with Qi Feng for his turn.

However, as Ling Ke was making his way to the waiting hall, he was stopped by one of the staff. “Student, have you finished your examination?”

Ling Ke pointed towards the waiting hall. “I am…waiting for someone.”

The staff shook his head. “If you are waiting for someone, please wait outside.”

Ling Ke could only give up and leave the examination hall.

The sun outside was very glaring. Ling Ke found a shady spot to wait for Qi Feng. However, there was no sign of Qi Feng even after half an hour had pa.s.sed.

Ling Ke’s gaze unintentionally stopped at the sleek black car that was parked in front of him.

He thought about what happened two hours ago.  When he had reached the music school, he saw a black car stopping at the entrance of the school. He remembered seeing a formally dressed boy stepping out of the car. Since there were many people at the entrance hall, he had only shot a quick glance at the boy before making his way to the waiting hall.

There was hardly anyone who would dress in such formal clothing for a piano examination, especially in such a warm and humid weather. Upon seeing the black car now, Ling Ke finally realised that the boy he had seen earlier was actually Qi Feng.

“Wow, it’s a Bentley!”

A few parents who had been waiting for their children at the entrance were pointing at the black car. “Is that car from someone sending their child to the examination hall?” Another parent sighed and said, “I saw the car just now. All those rich people are already focusing so much on developing their children into all-rounders. Our children definitely cannot lose out!”

A child raised his head and said innocently, “Mummy, are we poor?” The parent replied, “Even if we have no money, we will do everything in our power to send you to school. So you should focus on studying well and repaying us in the future, okay?”

The child gave an affirmative reply before turning to look enviously at the black car.

The heat had already worn off Ling Ke’s patience, leaving him somewhat downcasted.

So what if he managed to see Qi Feng? The only thing he could do was to ask him how his examination was. Qi Feng was a rich second generation. Perhaps after today, they would never see each other again.

As he thought of this, Ling Ke shook his head and turned around to leave.

When he was eating dinner, Ling Ke told his parents about his performance during the examination. He then curiously asked, “What is ‘Bentley’?”

His mother was in the midst of pa.s.sing him a piece of meat. “It is a branded car…Where did you hear it from?”

Ling Ke gulped down one spoonful of rice. “Today, there was a boy around the same age as me who arrived in a Bentley car.”

Ling Ke’s father pushed up his spectacle. “His family must be rich. An ordinary person wouldn’t be able to afford a Bentley car.”

Lin Ke replied with an “Okay”, before asking again, “That person says he is studying in De Yin National School. Do you know that school?”

Ling Ke’s parents glanced at each other. De Yin National School is a very prestigious private school. Because every year there would be news articles on students from that school getting accepted into prestigious overseas universities, Ling Ke’s parents had naturally heard of the school before.

Ling Ke’s mother gazed at Ling Ke questioningly, “I heard that the school fees required is more than 100 000 yuan a year. That is around half a year of our family’s income. Even if you want to go to that school, the burden on us is too much.”

 “…” Ling Ke was at a loss of words. He had not said that he wanted to enter that school.

Ling Ke’s father continued, “My dear son, the world is unfair. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth while others have to struggle just to make ends meet. Even though we are not rich, we are also not poor. Your results are outstanding and you are even accomplished in the piano. You are already better off than many other people, so you do not have to feel inferior to others.”

“…” Who is feeling inferior…

Ling Ke could no longer tolerate his father’s nagging. He quickly finished his meal. “I am returning to my room.”

After he closed his room’s door, Ling Ke lay on his bed. His heart has calmed down and he thought of Qi Feng’s face.

He remembered Qi Feng’s mischievous grin as he leaned forward and told him not to be modest; the fluttering of his long eyelashes as he earnestly flipped through his piano sheets, and lastly that pair of beautiful hands.

He also remembered that faint sweet scent emanating from Qi Feng, as well as the air of dignity surrounding him. Despite that, Qi Feng’s cheerful disposition was able to quickly bridge the distance between them.

He had never met someone like Qi Feng, someone so…

His dictionary did not have a more fancy word to describe Qi Feng, so he settled on the word: “cool”.

Compared to Qi Feng, Ling Ke felt that he and his friends were insignificant.

He knew where that feeling of distance came from.

It was from the att.i.tude of the people at the music school entrance; from his parents’ admonishments.

He was only thirteen years old. He originally did not have to think of stuff like social status and cla.s.s difference, but it was the adults who made him understand the actual difference between him and Qi Feng.

Ling Ke blinked his eyes. He was unhappy and a little dissatisfied.

Was it because his family did not have a branded car nor could they afford a private school, that him and Qi Feng could not be friends?

Does that even make sense?

The cool air from the air conditioner gently caressed Ling Ke’s face. Ling Ke sighed in frustration.

Just then, his mother entered his room with a plate of fruits. Upon seeing her son lying stone-faced on the bed, she thought that he was still feeling gloomy.

She hastily put down the plate of fruit before saying gently, “My darling son, don’t be troubled by all these pointless thinking. You should rest for a few days before reading the new textbooks, so that you can continue getting good results in middle school. Believe yourself, you are not any worse off than those rich people’s children.”

Ling Ke felt that his mum words were both right and wrong. He nodded his head before standing up and carefully placing his music sheets in his piano stool.

To be honest, he was still feeling a bit regretful for not waiting for Qi Feng and not having the chance to bid him goodbye.

However, now that he thought about it, there was no need to feel remorseful. In fact, leaving first was the right decision.

He did not know that he had gradually started to think of Qi Feng as more of a compet.i.tor than a friend.

After a few months, Ling Ke received his Grade 8 piano certificate. He never touched his Grade 8 music sheets again.

After a year, he had successfully gotten his Grade 10 piano certificate. As he was sorting through his piano sheets, he causally flipped through his torn and tattered Grade 8 piano sheets. Upon reaching the last page, he was surprised to find a faint and neat handwriting at the top of the page.

 “My Q number is 6868x.x.x, add me as friend when you get back – Qi Feng”