Help Me, Help Me, Help Me

Lu Bairan stared at the noble-looking man in front of him, resembling a young master, before finally speaking uncertainly, “…Nan Pei?”

Nan Pei, too shocked, was snapped back to reality by those words, almost dropping his phone. 

Confused, he asked the system, “Why is Lu Bairan here?”

The system replied, “I don’t know either… but Lu Bairan is an artsy type, so it’s not impossible for him to attend a concert.”

Nan Pei felt like this wasn’t a concert but a disaster meeting. In less than an hour, three male leads had shown up, as if afraid they wouldn’t all gather.

Seeing Lu Bairan’s shocked expression, Nan Pei remembered his outfit and said, “Uh, you might have… cough, mistaken me for someone else.”

Lu Bairan’s face showed skepticism. This person looked exactly like the nouveau riche Nan Pei, but the aura was completely different.

Thinking for a moment, Lu Bairan took out his phone and dialed Nan Pei’s number. The next second, Nan Pei’s phone rang, vibrating intensely.

Lu Bairan hung up, and the ringing stopped. He looked at Nan Pei’s phone, then back at his face, “Did I mistake you?”

Lu Bairan frowned, confused—why did Nan Pei, who dressed so nicely today, look like he was afraid of being seen?

Nan Pei awkwardly smiled and said, “I… I was just joking, testing if you could recognize the different me. Seems like you do care about me.”

Lu Bairan looked at Nan Pei expressionlessly, then suddenly asked, “Are you here for Alvin’s concert?”

Internally, Nan Pei thought, what else would I be here for? But he maintained a smile and said in a nouveau riche tone, “I heard rich people buy tickets for this, so I wanted to join the fun. Concerts are great for networking too.”

His tone was so ignorant and tacky that Lu Bairan couldn’t help but frown—how could someone change their outfit but not their mindset?

“By the way, I heard people dress up for concerts,” Nan Pei straightened his clothes and looked at Lu Bairan, “A friend got a stylist for me, but I think my leopard print was better. What do you think?”

Lu Bairan was incredulous—better than the leopard print? Seriously?

Disappointed, Lu Bairan thought Nan Pei finally had taste, but it seemed like a fluke.

Nan Pei was worried Song Jingchen might suddenly appear, glancing towards the hall entrance now and then.

For some reason, Lu Bairan recalled the director’s words—Nan Pei would eventually fancy someone else.

He pressed his lips, looking at Nan Pei, and slowly asked, “Did you come alone?”

Suppressing his nervousness, Nan Pei nodded, “Yeah, of course. If I knew you liked this musician, I would’ve asked you to join.”

He lied flawlessly.

Lu Bairan didn’t think further.

Just then, the system’s warning rang in Nan Pei’s mind: “Song Jingchen is at the hall entrance.”

Nan Pei’s eyes widened in shock. But he knew he couldn’t look towards Song Jingchen, or Lu Bairan would notice. He also couldn’t interact with Lu Bairan anymore, or Song Jingchen would see.

So, pretending not to see either of them, Nan Pei looked at the concert hall door and said in a low voice, “The concert is starting,” then walked straight in.

At that moment, Nan Pei seemed like a blind man, ignoring both Lu Bairan and Song Jingchen.

Lu Bairan frowned, suspicious, then followed Nan Pei inside.

Meanwhile, Song Jingchen entered the hall, instinctively looking for Nan Pei, spotting him by the concert hall.

Just as Song Jingchen stepped towards Nan Pei, the latter walked into the concert hall without looking back.

With people coming and going, Song Jingchen didn’t notice Lu Bairan following Nan Pei.

Song Jingchen was puzzled. Didn’t Nan Pei say he’d wait at the entrance? Why go in alone?

Frowning, Song Jingchen strode towards the concert hall.

Inside, staff checked Nan Pei’s ticket and registered his name, kindly directing him to his seat: “Hello, Mr. Nan, your seat is 0312…”

His seat was in the third row, a prime spot. Lu Bairan’s was in the last row, a remote corner.

“Xiao Ran, I’ll find my seat first,” Nan Pei whispered to Lu Bairan, then quickly moved away, heading to the third row, not wanting to stay near Lu Bairan for a second longer.

Lu Bairan found Nan Pei’s behavior odd, watching his back for a moment.

Just then, a tall figure approached Lu Bairan. 

A moment later, the staff’s voice sounded: “Hello, Mr. Song, your seat is 0225…”

After checking the ticket, Song Jingchen stood beside Lu Bairan. Both looked at Nan Pei’s back.

Nan Pei was moving through the crowd to his seat.

Three seconds later, Song Jingchen tightened his grip on his ticket, frowned, and walked straight to Nan Pei.

He wanted to know why Nan Pei went in alone, breaking their agreement.

Five seconds later, Lu Bairan looked away, unable to see anything unusual about Nan Pei, and turned to find his seat.

Ten seconds later, as Nan Pei sat in seat 0312, a tall figure appeared before him, blocking his view.

Startled, Nan Pei looked up to see Song Jingchen’s stern face. In a low voice, he asked, “Weren’t you supposed to wait for me at the entrance?”

Though a small matter, Song Jingchen couldn’t help but care.

“Ah, I saw the concert was starting, so I went in,” Nan Pei swallowed, trying to stay calm, “Jingchen Gege, you should sit down, you’re blocking people’s view.”

Nearby audience members urged Song Jingchen to move.

Nan Pei lowered his voice, apologetically saying, “Sorry, Jingchen Gege, I’ll be more careful next time.”

Hearing this, Song Jingchen’s annoyance lessened, though he still felt uneasy. He grunted and went to his seat.

Twenty seconds later, in the back row, Lu Bairan found his corner seat. 

Sitting down, he couldn’t help but glance towards Nan Pei. A tall figure passed by Nan Pei, so Lu Bairan missed their interaction.

Even seeing only Nan Pei’s back, Lu Bairan felt something was different about him today. 

Not just his appearance. 

Nan Pei seemed to be hiding something from him.

The host appeared on stage, addressing the audience, “Dear friends, the concert is about to begin. Please set your phones to silent…”

Song Jingchen’s seat was quite far from Nan Pei’s. Though he had reassured Nan Pei they wouldn’t sit together to avoid misunderstandings, he subconsciously thought Nan Pei might switch seats to be near him.

But as the concert was about to start, Nan Pei hadn’t done so.

Nan Pei sat focused on the stage, not glancing at Song Jingchen.

Song Jingchen’s fingers tightened, losing interest in the concert.

Lu Bairan felt the same. He thought Nan Pei might bribe someone to switch seats and sit beside him, given his nouveau riche nature.

But after waiting, Nan Pei didn’t even look back at him.

Not once.

Lu Bairan’s mood soured, even Alvin’s appearance didn’t lift his spirits.

Sitting in the center, Nan Pei felt two gazes on him. He dared not move or make eye contact with either, or the other would notice something was off.

Though he was already acting strange.

Nan Pei sat upright, pretending to be engrossed in the concert.

The concert was brilliant, but for Nan Pei, it was torture. 

He kept thinking about what to do after the concert ended. 

If Song Jingchen and Lu Bairan both approached him… 

Even if they didn’t, according to the original character, he’d have to approach them…

Nan Pei felt suffocated.

After pondering for a while, as the first movement ended with a rapid tempo, an idea struck Nan Pei.

He discreetly took out his phone, opened the chat with Huo Yao, swallowed, and quickly typed a message:

[President Huo, can you help me with something?]

Huo Yao, thinking Nan Pei was in trouble, replied quickly: [What’s up? Need anything?]

Nan Pei typed frantically: 

[It’s complicated… Basically, I ran into two people I shouldn’t have at a concert. I want to avoid them afterward. Can you pick me up at the performance hall?]

Huo Yao: […]

The ellipsis seemed to say: That’s it?

After a while, Huo Yao replied:

[After standing me up so many times, now you remember me?]

Nan Pei could imagine Huo Yao’s calm face, waiting for a good show.

Nan Pei: [I’m sorry! President Huo! I promise I won’t leave you alone in the kitchen next time!]

Huo Yao replied nonchalantly: [Next time, huh?]

Nan Pei: [No next time! I swear!]

Huo Yao didn’t reply.

Nan Pei: [Help me, help me, help me…]

Two minutes passed.

Huo Yao still hadn’t replied.

Nan Pei stared at the screen, feeling hopeless.

Was Huo Yao really not going to help him??

Time ticked by.

The final movement ended, and the concert concluded.

Thunderous applause filled the hall as the audience paid tribute to Alvin.

People began to rise, preparing to leave.

Nan Pei had to stand, heart in his throat.

Lu Bairan and Song Jingchen’s gazes both landed on Nan Pei.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Bairan pressed his lips and walked towards Nan Pei.

Almost simultaneously, Song Jingchen also strode towards Nan Pei.

Author’s Note:

Nan Pei: Help!