Take a Step Forward

“Actually, you don’t need to get tangled up with those people,” Anshi Yi said, waving her phone. “Why not leave it to the wonders of the internet?”

“The internet? The forums?” Tang Keke’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! We can make a post online. Wouldn’t that make things easier?”

Tang Keke eagerly opened the campus forum. Yinshan College was huge, after all, with a very substantial user base. For many freshmen who didn’t yet know much about the school, forums and online message boards were among the best ways to learn about it.

The moment Keke opened the forum, she spotted a post made by a freshman. It had been posted recently and already had quite a few replies.

[Yinshan College—why is this school’s admission score so high? Is there anything good about it?]

The replies were all more or less the same:

“There’s nothing good about it. Aside from the pretty upperclassmen, cute underclassmen, handsome teachers, brand-new facilities, hotel-like dorms, convenient transportation, and all the fun activities, there’s really nothing worth mentioning.”

“Don’t come. That’s all there is to it. There are too many people at this school—you can’t even find a seat when you eat.”

“I suggest you don’t come. This school is too big. Sometimes you have to take a bus just to get to class. Other times, you’re packed in with crowds and accidentally brush against a pretty girl.”

“Don’t come! I got into a relationship during my first year here, and now my wallet is flat every day. I’m about to starve to death.”

“If you ask, the answer is always ‘don’t come.’ Then, by the time graduation rolls around, everyone’s asking how they can stay and work for the school.”

“Yinshan Resort. Once you come, you won’t want to leave.”

“Absolutely do not come. I gained twenty pounds in my first year because the food here is too delicious!”

…

There were countless replies. Although every single one said not to come, they all had the unmistakable air of humblebragging. The students of Yinshan College clearly thought very highly of their school. It had its flaws, of course, but its strengths far outweighed them.

“This post has seven or eight hundred replies!” Tang Keke immediately told Bai Yuyou. “It’s so lively! Yu You, Yu You, let’s recruit people online! We can do it both online and offline—two fronts at once!”

“Okay.” Bai Yuyou nodded.

After looking over everyone’s poster designs, the girls returned to the classroom and began drawing. Since they were recruiting new club members, they naturally needed to set out a few requirements. They also had to showcase what made their club special; otherwise, it would be difficult to stand out among all the other music clubs.

“Let’s start by writing down our club benefits,” Tang Keke said. “Oh—yes! Unlimited snacks!”

“We can drink tea every day!”

“We can slack off!”

Tang Keke listed off one benefit after another before suddenly scratching her head and asking a question that struck at the very soul of the matter.

“Um… are we really a light music club?”

“…” Bai Yuyou fell silent for a moment before answering, “Yes. We’re a light music club.”

“We’re so lazy normally that we really don’t look like musicians,” Peach added from the side.

Anshi Yi stared at them with a pair of beady eyes. “We could just rename ourselves the Tea-Drinking Club. Our primary job would be drinking tea and eating desserts, while our secondary job would be playing music. Our musical ability would vary depending on the day.”

“You know, that actually sounds…” Tang Keke began, then pointed a finger. “No, wait! We can’t be that lazy! We have to hold up the sky of the Light Music Club!”

“Doesn’t it bother you to call other people lazy when you’re the laziest one here?” Anshi Yi scoffed.

Having been struck right where it hurt, Tang Keke felt as though she had taken an arrow to the heart. She silently crouched down in the corner and began drawing circles on the floor.

[Skill: Xiaoyi’s icy sneer is super effective. Tang Keke has fainted.]

“Let’s write that, in addition to our regular musical activities, we also offer leisure activities such as desserts, snacks, and tea,” Peach suggested. “And perhaps occasional outings and group activities?”

Bai Yuyou wrote that down, but once she did, the problem became even more obvious.

“Our club has no advantages,” Bai Yuyou said.

Compared to the other music clubs, the Light Music Club had nothing but food, drinks, and fun.

“Just keep writing,” Anshi Yi said. “Write down whatever comes to mind. Isn’t having food, drinks, and fun the biggest attraction of all?”

Bai Yuyou nodded. Then, as if she had suddenly thought of something, she said, “Ah… I’ve got it.”

“What good idea did you come up with, Yu You?” Tang Keke poked her head up from beneath the desk. Yu You was usually the one who offered the fewest opinions or suggestions.

“Anyone who joins the club can receive a salary,” Bai Yuyou said.

Keke and the others: “…”

“Yu You, are you recruiting clubmates or employees?” Tang Keke was speechless. Anyone who heard that would think she was planning to raise a whole team of employees in the club.

“Is that not allowed?”

“Of course it’s not allowed!!!” Tang Keke exclaimed.

“Ye Shuang said that when you can’t solve a problem, you should try solving it with money.” Bai Yuyou thought about it. She was only offering one possible solution.

“But if we’re going to do that, we might as well use your photos instead of money,” Tang Keke said. “But then, what kind of normal people would we recruit that way?”

That was absolutely out of the question. Clubs were for socializing, not for running a company.

Still, this meant that there was almost nothing left to write on the poster.

“Hmm.” The girls began to think.

Would anyone really join them?

“Why don’t we ask the amazing Ye?” Anshi Yi suddenly suggested.

“Big Brother already asked,” Tang Keke said. “He told us to recruit people, but there’s nothing Ye Shuang can do to help with this kind of thing.”

“Let’s keep working on the poster for now?”

…

Time flew by, and Registration Day was already over.

During dinner, Ye Shuang learned that the two girls had failed to recruit anyone. When Bai Yuyou handed him their adorable poster, he couldn’t help smiling.

Bai Yuyou had drawn all the club members as cute chibi characters. Their adorable appearance was certainly eye-catching.

“This poster is actually pretty good, isn’t it? Why haven’t you put it up?” Ye Shuang asked. There was no reason they couldn’t show it to people.

“Really? Other people’s posters are probably better, right?”

“We don’t have any advantages,” Bai Yuyou said. The display board was full of works by talented artists, and her own drawing seemed to have no chance of standing out.

“Instead of worrying about that, why not put the poster up and see what happens?” Ye Shuang said. “No matter what you want to do, you have to take the first step.”

“Besides, do you really have no advantages? Think about the performances you’ve given over the past two years. They must have touched the hearts of some people. Maybe they’ve been waiting for the Light Music Club to recruit new members this semester.”

After hearing that, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke exchanged a glance.

Ye Shuang’s gaze lingered on Bai Yuyou. He remembered the day she had stood there, singing as she shone brightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face.