Barbecue

By the time the handshake event ended, it was already dark.

Xia Mo stood under the streetlight in front of her house and waited for about half an hour.

The March night breeze was still cool. He zipped his jacket all the way up, put his hands in his pockets, and placed his bulging backpack at his feet.

The streetlights cast his long shadow across the concrete pavement, like a quiet river.

Footsteps approached from afar; it wasn't one person, it was two.

He looked up and saw two figures turning in from the alleyway—one wearing a white hoodie and the other a pink jacket.

The one in the white hoodie walked faster, while the one in the pink jacket followed behind, looking back as if to check if anyone was following.

"How long have you been waiting?" Asuka walked up to him, panting.

"Not long after."

"You're lying. Your hands are all red from the cold." Asuka glanced at his hands in his pockets, neither calling him out nor asking any further questions.

Hua Hua caught up from behind, bent over and panting for a few breaths, then straightened up and slapped Xia Mo on the shoulder.

"I'm exhausted! You have no idea how we got out of here! Reika said she wanted to have a get-together, Asuka said she wasn't going, and I said I wasn't going either. They were all giving us weird looks!"

"So what did you say?"

"I told her I was tired and wanted to go home, but Hua Hua said she had something to do." Fei Biao's tone was indifferent, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

"Anyway, they won't ask any more questions."

Hana pouted: "Mai-sama even asked, and Sayuri said, 'Ikuta didn't go to the party, was he possessed by something?' Possessed? Listen to that, is that something a human would say?"

Xia Mo's lips twitched slightly.

Why do these members sound so unreliable?

"So how did you get here?"

"Let's take a taxi," Feiniao said. "Huahua called it."

"Of course I called it! Asuka-chan doesn't even dare to call a taxi by herself, she insists that I accompany her—mmm—" Hana's mouth was covered by Asuka.

"You talk too much." Asuka let go of his hand, turned her face away, and her ears turned red.

Xia Mo looked at the two of them and picked up her backpack from the ground.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Barbecue!" Hana's eyes lit up. "I've been starving all day. My stomach was growling the whole time we were shaking hands. Iwase-nee heard it."

Feiniao wanted to say something, but seeing Huahua's high spirits, she thought for a moment and didn't object. The three of them walked along the street, the streetlights passing overhead one by one, stretching their shadows longer and shorter.

Hua Hua walked in front, her steps light and quick as if springs were in her feet. Xia Mo walked in the middle, and Fei Niao walked at the very back, keeping a half-step distance.

It seems that everything is still the same as before, without any change.

"Is your dad home?" Asuka suddenly asked.

"He's not here, he's on a business trip."

"So you live alone?"

"Um."

The bird didn't ask any more questions.

Halfway there, Hua Hua suddenly stopped, turned around and asked Fei Niao for help.

"Asuka-chan".

"Um?"

"Can I stay at your place tonight? My house is too far away, and it will be too late to get back after dinner."

Feiniao paused, sighed, and was about to refuse when she looked at Huahua's face, which seemed to say, "If you don't agree, I'll cry."

"...I'm going to make a phone call to my mom."

She took her phone out of her pocket, walked to the side, turned her back to the two people, and whispered a few words. About a minute later, she came back, her phone back in her pocket.

"Mom agreed."

Hua Hua's cheers erupted on the quiet street. The clerk of the convenience store next door peeked out at her, then withdrew.

"But—" Asuka stopped, turned around, and looked at Hana with a very serious expression.

"You're not allowed to tell the other members. Not my home address, or that you stayed at my house today—not a single word. Do you understand?"

Hua Hua paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

"I won't tell! Absolutely not!"

"If you tell me, I'll—" Asuka thought for a moment, realizing she didn't have anything to threaten her with, "Anyway, you can forget about ever coming back."

"I won't tell! I swear! I'd rather die than tell!" Hua Hua raised three fingers, her expression as serious as if she were participating in a swearing-in ceremony.

The bird glanced at her, said nothing more, and turned to continue walking forward.

It was very cold, but her ears were still red.

Seeing this, Hua Hua also picked up her phone and called her mother to report the situation. Only after receiving permission did she feel relieved.

Xia Mo walked ahead, leading them into an alley. The barbecue restaurant was in the middle of the alley, with a small storefront. Orange lights shone through the glass windows, illuminating the damp stone pavement.

The sign read "Charcoal Grilled Meat Yakiniku," the characters yellowed from the smoke, but the queue outside was quite long. The three of them waited at the door for almost twenty minutes before being led to a four-person table in a corner.

Hua Hua picked up the menu, turned to the first page, and her eyes lit up.

"Beef tongue! Pork belly! Diaphragm! Calvi!" She pointed to each dish on the table as she read it out, her fingers moving so fast it was like she was playing the piano.

"You ordered so much, can you finish it all?" Asuka flipped through the menu, her brows furrowing slightly, her gaze lingering on the price list.

"Today's a celebration! A celebration that the three of us are sitting together again!" Hua Hua handed the menu to the waiter, then rested her hands on the table, chin in her palms, looking at Xia Mo. "Xia Jun, what happened to your senior?"

Xia Mo was pouring water when she paused. "What? How is it?"

"It's that senior student, the one who taught you—" Hua Hua laughed at herself, "No, the one you taught. Doesn't she have a crush on you?"

"no."

"Yes. As you mentioned before."

"She has given up, and we are just friends now."

Feiniao remained silent, looking down at the water in the glass, and tapped the glass gently twice with her fingers.

"Does your senior classmate still come to your classes?" she asked casually.

"Mm," Xia Mo said.

"I see." Asuka rolled her eyes, lowered her head, and stirred the straw in her cup, seemingly lost in thought.

"She even told me last time that she wanted me to participate in a talent show." Xia Mo took a sip of water and leaned back in her chair.

Hua Hua had just picked up her chopsticks when she heard this and put them down again. "A talent show? What talent show?"

She said it was a singing competition in Taiwan. She said I play the piano well, can compose songs, and would definitely have no problem performing on stage.

"Do you want to participate?" Asuka asked.

Xia Mo shook her head. "I'm not a good singer. People say I sing unclearly, like chanting scriptures."

Hua Hua smiled, but quickly stopped.

"She said if I didn't go, she would sign up herself." Xia Mo's tone was tinged with helplessness. "I thought she was joking. A few days ago, she messaged me saying that she had already signed me up."

The bird placed the cup on the table, and the bottom of the cup made a soft "thump" sound as it touched the surface.

She didn't say anything, but her expression turned pale.

What an unbridled senior!

"I rejected her." Seeing Asuka's face darken, Xia Mo quickly added.

"So what did you say?" Hua Hua asked.

"I told her I wasn't going. She said, 'Then just cancel, it's not like she's participating.' And then she just ignored me."

"Is she angry?" Hua Hua asked, tilting her head.

"I don't know. Maybe." Xia Mo picked up a piece of grilled beef tongue, put it on her plate, but didn't eat it. "Anyway, I wasn't planning on going."

Feiniao's complexion improved. She picked up a piece of pork belly, put it in her mouth, and chewed for a long time.

"Your singing," she finally spoke, her voice not loud, "isn't that bad."

Xia Mo glanced at her.

"It's just that the pronunciation isn't very clear," Asuka added. "Actually, it sounds quite unique."

Hana couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Asuka-chan, are you praising him or insulting him?"

"State the facts."

The three of them ate and chatted. The meat on the grill sizzled and released oil, white smoke rising up and being sucked away by the exhaust fan.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened, and the number of pedestrians on the street had gradually decreased, with only the lights of the convenience store at the alley entrance still on.

"Are you tired from training right now?" Xia Mo asked.

"I'm tired," said Asuka. "Every day from morning till night, I have dance classes, vocal classes, and etiquette classes. I'm learning how to walk, how to talk, and how to smile at people."

"Didn't you learn this before? When you were filming GG?" Xia Mo asked curiously.

"It's different. When I was filming GG, I was myself. Now I'm 'Saito Asuka,' I'm Saito Asuka of Nogizaka46. It's different."

The bird paused, poking at the now-cold beef tongue in the plate with its chopsticks. "Smiling at people every day, sometimes I can't even tell which one is the real me."

Hua Hua's chopsticks also stopped moving.

"Asuka-chan, don't say such scary things."

"I was just saying."

Xia Mo flipped the meat on the grill and placed a new piece of beef tongue on top. He didn't look at the birds, but his voice was steady.

"Whether in the past or now, you are always Saito Asuka."

Asuka glanced at him but didn't reply.

The three ate in silence for a while. The noise from inside the barbecue restaurant came from the doorway; some people were toasting, some were laughing, and some were arguing with the waiter that their food hadn't arrived yet.

These sounds blended together, becoming a vague, warm hum.

"Xia Jun, that senior of yours," Hua Hua brought the topic back, "is she really just making you attend classes?"

"...Just attending class."

"So, are you two together—"

"Hana," Asuka finally spoke, "Could you please stop asking about my senior?"

Hana paused for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore. Asuka-chan, you can't be angry."

"I'm not angry."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?" Hua Hua blinked and looked at Fei Niao.

Feiniao put down her chopsticks and stood up. "I'll go get a drink."

Hua Hua watched her figure disappear around the corner of the drink bar, then turned around and whispered to Xia Mo, "She's just being stubborn."

Xia Mo didn't reply. He picked up his cup, took a sip of water, and looked out the window, as if he were looking at something, but then again, he wasn't looking at anything.

Feiniao returned with three drinks, placing a cola in front of Huahua, a cup of oolong tea in front of Xiamo, and keeping a glass of lemonade for herself.

"Alright, let's not talk about this gossip anymore." Hua Hua put down her chopsticks, her tone more serious than before. "Seriously, Fei Biao, have you been under a lot of pressure lately?"

Asuka's finger paused on the rim of the glass. "It's alright."

"You're lying. I heard from Mai Mai that your smile when you shook hands today didn't seem quite right."

Asuka was silent for a few seconds. "I was just thinking, what else do I have besides being young?"

Her voice was muffled. "I can't compare to Minami (Hoshino Minami, a first-generation member of the younger sister group) in terms of cuteness, I can't compare to you in terms of singing ability, and no one can compare to me in terms of variety show skills. I might even drop out of the selection process with the next order."

"How could that be?" Hua Hua quickly comforted her.

How did you know?

"Because...because the management isn't stupid. You're the youngest in the group, and that alone is enough to generate buzz. Besides, you haven't fully matured yet, wait another two years—"

"What if, in two more years, I'm still only good at being young?" Asuka interrupted her.

Hua Hua opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Xia Mo put down his chopsticks. He didn't say, "You can definitely do it," nor did he say, "You're better than all of them." He simply picked up a piece of grilled diaphragm and placed it on Fei Niao's plate.

"Eat first," he said. "The meat won't taste good if it gets cold."

Feiniao looked at the piece of meat on the plate, picked it up, and put it in her mouth. As she chewed, her eyes reddened. She didn't cry, but tears welled up in her eyes before she blinked them back.

She had never said these words to anyone before, and now that she had said them, she felt much better.

Hua Hua reached out from the side and shook her hand.

"Asuka-chan, don't overthink it. Nobody can predict the selection process. Maybe I'll end up dropping under the same tube as you?"

"How is that possible? You're so popular right now, the management team isn't stupid." Asuka's voice was muffled.

"Really. I'm telling you, if you fail to make the cut, I'll—"

"Don't talk nonsense." Asuka looked up and glared at her. "You're in the front row now, so stand properly. If you dare to fall, I won't let you off the hook."

Hua Hua looked at her, half touched and half helpless, and patted Fei Niao's head.

"Okay, okay, I promise I won't fall."

The meat on the baking tray was almost cooked, so Xia Mo flipped it over and put in some more.

The streetlights outside the window were on, casting long shadows of pedestrians.