Chapter Text
Xiao can hear the song he set as his ringtone playing. He grunts and pretends he doesn’t hear it. He hopes that his phone will shut up at some point, but unfortunately, it doesn’t.
Who the hell is calling him at seven in the morning?
Actually, he has an idea who’s calling. He only has one friend who frequently calls him, after all. Slowly, he turns his body around and eyes the caller. Yes, of course the name Hu Tao displays brightly on the screen. Who else is close enough with him to call this early in the morning?
He’s reluctant to answer the phone, but he relents in the end. This better be something good. He swears to god, if Hu Tao decides to disturb him on his first day of semester break, he will—
“Xiao!” she exclaims, her tone almost reprimanding. His eye twitches. How dare she have the audacity to sound irritated when she’s the one interfering with his rest? “Took you long enough. Look, today–”
“Hu Tao,” he cuts off, his voice grim. “This better be important.”
“It is!” she quickly says, and he hears something clanking. “You know Venti? That musician I’ve always–”
“Goodbye, Hu Tao.”
“No, Xiao– wait—!”
He pulls the phone away from his ear, his finger hovering over the end call button.
But then he hears Hu Tao shrieking into the phone; so loud that he can hear her without turning on his speaker. “Please, please, please, please, please, please—”
“What?” he grumbles. He brings the phone back to his ear. She better not be shrieking again or he’s really going to end the call this time.
“Okay, you know how much I love Venti, right? That musician I’ve always shown you?”
He knows. She always squeals whenever Venti posts something on Instagram. “Get to the point.”
“Okay! So, today, it’s announced that he’ll have his first performance. Like, his own, official performance. Usually he just goes to random places and plays,” her voice fades at the end, and he assumes she’s grabbing something in the distance. She sounds normal again when she returns to her phone. “Tickets are selling today in the evening, and I know it’s going to be sold out if we don’t move now.”
“We?” he asks, frowning.
“Yeah—‘we’! You promised me you’ll accompany me to buy tickets,” she reminds, before she quickly adds, “Plus, you owe me.”
Xiao slaps his forehead. Why did he decide to promise her with this performance ticket thing again? Maybe it’s because he thought Venti would never make an official concert, so he wouldn’t have to ever line up for tickets.
Well, he can’t back out now. He did promise Hu Tao—and owed her after the last time he asked for a favour. He is never the type to break promises, and he always pays his debts.
“Fine,” he mumbles, pushing himself off the bed. “We better get those tickets, or I will murder you.”
“Don’t worry, I promise I will!” she chirps, obviously happy to know that he’s going. “Because if I don’t get the tickets,” her voice turns dangerously low, “I will commit murder myself.”
➳
Xiao is a little late. He may have accidentally dozed off while getting ready—Hu Tao has no right to blame him after he stayed up two nights trying to finish his assignment—and today is his first day of break. So she should really cut him some slack. (She didn’t, she scolded him for not being there after twenty minutes had passed.)
It’s a good thing the place he’s going is within walking distance. That saves him from any traffic-suffering. He tries to look at the location that Hu Tao has shared on his phone—when he accidentally bumps into someone. Or they bump into him, he isn’t too sure.
“Sorry,” he instantly says. He notices the other clutching his own arm with a visible wince. “Hey, are you okay?”
“No—I’m okay. Are you okay?” the other quickly asks, his arms falling limp at his sides. The person has his face obscured by the hood of his blue hoodie, but Xiao can see the twin braids that dangle above his shoulders. The tips of it are tinted in blue. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t looking.”
“No, I should apologise too,” he says, giving a small nod. He sees a text message from Hu Tao, and he knows he better start moving again, or he’ll never hear the end of it. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll... see you around?”
He can feel the other bobbing his head. “Alright! Have a nice day.”
Xiao looks up from his phone to respond again, but the other has disappeared. He looks around for the sight of the blue hoodie, and he simply shrugs when he can’t find it. Oh well. Maybe the other person has something urgent to do too. It seems he’s not the only one who has to rush somewhere today.
He hears his phone ring, and a vein pops through his temple as he answers it.
“I’m getting there!” he snaps, before Hu Tao can even say anything.
➳
Hu Tao is a beast when it comes to her favourite musician. Xiao has no idea why she’s so obsessed with this Venti, but he guesses she likes him more because of his looks rather than his music. Xiao has seen a picture of him—or many, many pictures of him, thanks to Hu Tao. He has to admit, the guy has the looks. Teal eyes, dark hair, and a tint of blue at the tips of his–
Wait. Blue at the end of his braids? The guy he bumped into just now seemed to have a similar hairstyle too. He thinks about it for a while, but he shakes his head. Probably a fashion thing, he concludes.
Anyway, back to Hu Tao, she is now kissing her tickets after she has paid a large sum for them, and Xiao is glad that the whole buying-ticket thing is a success. Things were about to get ugly just now—someone actually thought they could cut the line, moreover, right in front of Hu Tao—and Xiao could’ve sworn Hu Tao almost turned into a demon when she called that person out. (Push her a little bit more, and maybe the medics might get involved.)
“Thanks Xiao, for spending hours standing with me!” Hu Tao grins.
Xiao only lets out an annoyed grunt.
“Here, as a sign of gratitude,” Hu Tao says, giving him a pair of tickets.
He immediately freezes. “What. Is this.”
“Tickets,” she replies, even though she knows that he wasn’t really asking a question. “You’re coming to the concert with me.”
“Hu Tao, no.”
“Oh, but Hu Tao, yes.” She wiggles an index finger right in front of him, nodding her head approvingly. The smile on her face becomes devil-like. “You owe me, remember?”
“Why would you–” He rubs his face with his hand in frustration. He knew he shouldn’t have asked her for a favour back then. “How is this making things even? You just spent a lot more money on tickets. For me. Someone who isn’t even a fan of Venti.”
“Come on, you know I can afford it,” Hu Tao says, smiling. To others, it may sound like she’s bragging about her wealthy status, but she’s not. The way she says it is full of affection, like she really wants him to go and enjoy himself. Have fun with a friend. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll like Venti’s music after he plays live.”
He doesn’t actually mind. Frankly, he hasn’t really paid attention to Venti’s songs whenever Hu Tao plays them, so it’s hard for him to judge whether or not he likes his music. But still. “Don’t you want to invite your other friends? The ones from your course?”
Hu Tao shakes her head. “It won’t be the same. I can get along with them, but it’s not as good as with you.” He can feel the rising warmth at his cheeks, and he’s startled when she suddenly grabs his hand. She looks at him innocently—or attempting to look... cute? She’s currently batting her eyelashes. Wildly. “Please, Xiao? As your childhood friend, don’t you want to accompany me to Venti’s performance?”
Xiao secretly doesn’t decline the invite, but he’s not giving Hu Tao an instant approval either. He uses his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “When is the performance?”
“Tomorrow!”
“Great. I’m losing my sleep for tomorrow too.”
“Oh, come on! You have days, no—weeks of sleeping. Just sacrifice one more day for me, and I promise I’ll leave you alone,” Hu Tao says, clasping her hands together in front of her as a pleading manner.
“Fine.” He keeps the tickets carefully in the pocket of his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“See you, Xiao!” Hu Tao says, waving her hand. Unlike him, she had to use her car to get here. Her apartment isn’t in this area. “Thanks for today—and tomorrow!”
He nods his head, waiting for her to get into the car and start the engine. Once she’s all set, they both send each other a wave, and he watches as she drives into the distance.
➳
There’s a lot of people.
Hu Tao manages to get seats near the middle when she bought the tickets, so they can at least see Venti up close. She’s excited, and Xiao can tell by the way her hands are shaking as she holds her phone. How long has it been since she first started talking about Venti? He knows it has been months, which explains why she’s so eager to watch his performance.
He expects a lot of screaming and noise when he first arrives. Instead, everyone seems to be well-mannered, whispering amongst each other. He’s taken aback by that fact, and it takes away half of his regret for being here.
“Venti’s fans are pretty chill,” Hu Tao explains, probably noticing his reaction. She checks her phone, making sure her phone is silent and her battery percentage is sufficient. “He’s a really nice guy, so the least we can do is behave ourselves.”
He lets out a noncommittal hum and sends her a side-eye glare. “Says the one who looked like they were trying to kill someone yesterday—for tickets.”
Hu Tao makes an affronted gasp, before she places her hands over her hips. “That asshole had it coming. You’d think I’m just going to stand there and watch after waiting for more than five hours?”
Xiao snorts. He notices how the lights are starting to dim, and he quickly adjusts himself so that he’s leaning against his seat. Hu Tao is also preparing her phone, her foot tapping impatiently as she waits for Venti to appear.
The crowd cheers when Venti shows up. Not as loud as a normal concert, but loud enough to be welcoming. There’s a wide smile on his face as he carries a lyre in one hand, his other hand waving at the crowd. He walks over to the centre of the stage, and Xiao spots the harp waiting at the centre. He furrows his brows in confusion. Why is Venti bringing a lyre when they’ve already prepared a harp for him?
“He plays both,” Hu Tao whispers, leaning closer to him. He blinks at her. This isn’t the first time she answered his non-verbal question. He wonders if she sold some of her soul to the devil for some mind reading today.
“Helloooo!” Venti greets, and the crowd cheers again. He grins, his face seemingly illuminating under the stage light. “I hope everyone is well. Thank you for coming to my first performance!” He bows with elegance, before he straightens his back again. “If I do something wrong, don’t mind me. Just close your eyes, and enjoy my melody!”
There’s light-hearted laughter and another cheer, but it all fades when Venti sits down, his fingers strumming the strings to play. The first instrument he plays is his lyre, and Xiao closes his eyes to listen to the song. He has never been that interested in music, but that doesn’t mean he dislikes it when it plays.
The tune starts out soft and melodious. But something about it pokes at Xiao’s insides, and it makes him uncomfortable. Slowly, he opens his eyes, and he finds Hu Tao with her eyes closed right beside him—along with everyone else. They all seem to be enjoying the music, except him.
Hu Tao is holding up her phone to record Venti despite not looking at it. Xiao glances at her screen, and he notices how a sorrowful look has taken over the musician. The expression is subtle, but he can tell with the way the boy has his head tilted to the side, his braids shielding his eyes. Since Hu Tao has zoomed into Venti’s face, Xiao decides to move his face closer to the screen. The sight is faint, but he can confirm that there’s a slight frown on the musician’s lips.
Weird. The song sounds like a happy tune, but there’s this hidden, miserable tone in it. Even Venti doesn’t seem too happy playing. But then again, musicians can get emotional with the music they play. So maybe Venti’s just emotionally connected to this song or something.
Several songs are played, and Xiao finds himself serene while hearing all of them. Unlike the first song, the rest sounds either happy or peaceful. Now, he’s sure that the first song has some kind of deeper meaning to it and an attachment. Maybe it’s personally written to grieve a loss of a friend—or a family member?
“So... how was it?” Hu Tao asks, once the concert is over. She looks at him with an anticipated look, her eyebrows waggling playfully.
“It’s good. The songs are nice,” Xiao admits, checking his stuff. His phone, wallet, earphones, and tickets are with him. Nothing is missing.
“Hah, I knew you’d like it!” Hu Tao says, making a fist bump in the air. He rolls his eyes at her and turns around to leave the concert hall. She grabs his arm to stop him. “Hey, wait—where are you going? We haven’t met Venti yet.”
Xiao halts. “What do you mean we’re meeting Venti?”
“Xiao... you silly, little man.” Hu Tao giggles, showing him her tickets. He realises that there’s two, and one writes meet-and-greet. “We’re going to see him!”
“No.” His eyes widen in disbelief as he searches inside the pocket of his pants. He can’t believe it. Hu Tao gave him two tickets too? “Hu Tao, how much did you spend for me? This is unnecessary.”
“Aw, come on, Xiao! Money is nothing when it comes to a friend.” She interlocks her arm with his, her face beaming. “Just a little bit more before I leave you alone. It’s tempting, right?”
Xiao shakes his head, but she takes it as a sign that he agrees with her and starts dragging him. He has never admitted this, but even if Hu Tao doesn’t promise to leave him alone, he’ll still follow her to whatever concert she wants to see. They’ve been friends for so long, and he feels the need to watch over her (and make sure she doesn’t do something stupid in the process). He thinks it’s the same for her, but it’s more like she’s accompanying him because he doesn’t have many friends. Or any friends.
If only he doesn’t get annoyed easily with people.
➳
“Ventiiiii!” Hu Tao squeals, very shamelessly. She’s still holding onto Xiao, so that means everyone knows that they’re here together. Even though there’s not many people left since they’re the last ones in line, that still doesn’t mean they’re alone.
Xiao wants to crawl into a corner and die. He doesn’t need so much attention on himself. Especially not from the musician they’re going to see. Can Hu Tao be a bit less embarrassing?
“Yahoo!” Venti greets, waving a hand in the air. He has a friendly smile on him, but the expression falters for a brief second when his eyes land onto Xiao. Xiao catches it as a look of recognition, and seeing the exact same braids as he did yesterday, he believes that he actually bumped into Venti. However, since Venti isn’t bringing it up, he doesn’t bring it up either. “Hello, you two. Thank you for coming to my first performance!”
“And thank you too for hosting it. Your music is pleasing to the ears, as always,” Hu Tao says, almost dreamily. She nudges Xiao in the ribs when she realises that he’s not saying anything, and he quickly snaps out of his stupor to nod his head. “Sorry, my friend here can be a little quiet. I actually dragged him here against his will, but he said he likes your music, so it’s a win for me!”
“A win for me too then,” Venti says, giving her a wink. He looks at Xiao, his expression softening. “Thank you for coming, even if it’s by force. It means a lot to me to know that you’ve listened.”
Xiao doesn’t expect the sudden attention towards him, so he reacts a little slowly when he nods. “You deserve the praise. Your music is good.”
It’s possible that there’s more Venti has wanted to say, but with time running out, Hu Tao is now bombarding the poor musician with questions and autographs. Xiao only observes and lets Hu Tao take most of the attention, since this is what she has wanted all this time. He doesn’t want to disturb this rare, precious moment for her.
While observing, he can’t help but notice how weary Venti looks. The musician tries to hide it with smiles, laughs and jokes, but he doesn’t miss the tremors coming from his hand as he continues to sign Hu Tao’s stuff. Honestly, he looks like he’s on the verge of passing out, and Hu Tao is way too busy with her chatter and excitement to even realise it.
Not until Xiao blurts out, “Are you okay?”
Hu Tao immediately stops talking and darts her gaze towards Venti. Venti, on the other hand, looks like a deer caught in the headlights when he flinches.
“I—yes, I’m okay, ehe!” There’s a waver in his voice. He grabs the bottle of water next to him and undoes the cap. “Sorry, just... give me a second.”
Hu Tao nods and gestures to the bottle. “Please, go ahead.” She then glances at Xiao, and he gives one single nod. A sign that maybe they should get going already. “I guess I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for having me. It’s really nice talking to you!”
Venti’s eyes widen, and he covers his mouth when he coughs after pulling the bottle away. “N-no, wait! You have a few minutes left. I would love to keep talking with you.”
“No, no, it’s fine, really!” Hu Tao says, waving her hands around. She sends the musician a reassuring smile as she stands up. “Get some rest. I’ll find another opportunity to meet you. And I’ll definitely bring my grumpy friend around with me the next time too!”
Xiao wrinkles his nose in irritation. “I am not grumpy.”
“That’s what all grumpy people say,” Hu Tao whispers to Venti, but loud enough for Xiao to hear. Xiao bites back a snarky response.
Venti lets out a small chuckle. “I’ll definitely be waiting for you, Hu Tao, and your friend.” He smiles at the two of them, and he carefully stands up to give them a bow. His body is still trembling, Xiao mentally notes. “Thank you again, and I’m sorry for... the inconvenience.”
“Nooooo there’s no inconvenience at all!” Hu Tao says, now flailing her hands frantically. “Your health is the most important. So please... take care of yourself, alright?”
Venti looks flustered with her words, but he nods his head nonetheless. There’s a guilty look on his face, and his eyes are downcast when he says, “I promise I will.”