I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

I still don't want to argue with her.

"Thanks anyway," she said, finishing the rest in a few gulps. Then she tossed the empty bottle back to me. "You're free anyway, so just find a trash can and throw it away for me."

"..."

However, my gaze only lingered on the tips of her hair, which were slightly stained with sweat. If I really had to judge her by the standards of women I had in mind, she didn't look like a girl of her age.

"What are you looking at? You're always in a daze."

It seemed that because I didn't react at all, she noticed my dullness and waved her hands in front of my eyes.

“..Ah, nothing.”

. . .

She is not a bad person.

I can say for sure that... If that's the reason, it's because her actions didn't disgust me. Even when she used small denominations to ask me to cover the shortfall, it didn't make me give her the "change."

It might sound a bit strange, but I'm incredibly familiar with the actions and tactics of delinquent teenagers. She can't even handle the simplest rudeness... To me, she's just a rebellious girl.

"Why refuse? Aren't they your friends?"

I asked knowingly after she refused to go to the party with those bad guys.

"Well, of course I don't have time." She was clearly embarrassed when she said this. "And it's none of your business, right?!"

“..Well…”

I didn't want to get involved in this anymore. Since she had ended the topic, there was no need for me to continue, so I took out the recorder I used to listen to vocabulary words, but now used to play songs, and connected it to headphones.

"..Wait, how do you have this!?"

When she saw what I was holding, her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had seen some treasure.

“..I found it.”

Because of the emergence of more lightweight playback tools, this relatively bulky machine has naturally been eliminated. However, it still cost me three weeks of breakfast and the money I saved on a regular basis.

"Oh, it's really good... really good." She kept praising it and wanted to touch it with her hand, but after a few hesitations, she finally gave up, as if she was afraid of damaging it. Then she suddenly changed the subject, "Don't tell me you use this thing to listen to English tapes."

"...the range of English tapes is a bit too broad..." I responded helplessly, "But it's probably not what you think."

I said as I handed her the other end of the headphones.

"There's nothing else to do anyway, so why not listen together?"

Although I prefer to listen alone, if I can spread the gospel through this method, I can make some sacrifices. After all, there is always time to listen to music.

"Oh, Sheji, you are such a good person." She happily took the headphones I handed to her.

".."

Is my value in her eyes only placed in this kind of idle place?

"Oh...this must be a song by David Bob." She came to the conclusion as soon as she put the earphones on her ears.

“..! You actually knew that.”

I wanted to wait until she liked the person before recommending him to her.

"Of course, he's a famous British rock singer. Anyone who likes foreign music must know him."

She once again showed a side of herself that was completely different from that group of bad guys.

"Well, this is an out-and-out English tape, and you don't seem to mind it at all."

"Of course this is different... It's completely different from those English listening lessons. It's fascinating."

"I feel the same way~"

Although we had no common topics regarding academics, our love for music instantly brought us closer.

"What's the name of this album?" she asked excitedly.

"Space Oddity, released in 1969...but this tape is of course a bootleg, so the sound may differ from the original."

In addition to the songs from the ten albums, there are even works from other bands...and you can get them for only a few dollars, which is a real bargain.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, if I really get the record, it will be troublesome to play it, right?"

"...That's true." I thought about it. "And thanks to the popularity of Chinese songs among them now, these foreign songs that few people listen to are basically worthless. The money I spent on those pop song tapes can basically buy three boxes of this..."

For me, who puts profit first, now is not the time to worry about genuine and pirated products.

"Great, where did you get that?"

"Of course it's in the video store. Isn't that a matter of course?"

Is it really necessary to raise this question?

"Besides this, whose songs do you like?"

"Well... there are tons of British ones, like The Beatles, Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath, and so on. Even though my English isn't very good, the less I understand, the more I can appreciate the melody."

"Oh. I feel the same way." A smile of recognition appeared on her face.

"I also like the Japanese singer Yamaguchi Momoe. Not only does she sing well, but the TV dramas she starred in are also very good. By the way, I also like the Chinese songs of Teresa Teng and Wong Ka Kui."

"No need to say more." She suddenly took off the headphones from her ears and said to me without any worries, "Take me to your house after school. You must have a lot of collections. Show them all to me."

"..."

Although he was a little surprised by her action, after thinking about it, it seemed that there was nothing to worry about, so he agreed, "Okay, no problem."

. . .

After learning I was walking to school, she led me out from the shed where many other bicycles were stacked crookedly. It didn't look like a modern model, and the paint was quite old... probably a leftover from someone in the family.

"Don't these guys know how to park their car properly?"

She complained quite unhappily and kicked the bicycle that was pressing on her car.

"...Well, that's why I don't want to ride a bike because it's so troublesome."

"It doesn't matter," she said, patting the back seat. "Just sit here and show me the way."

"Eh? Isn't this bad?"

"Oh...yes, it's still dangerous to ride a bike within the school grounds."

"No no no..."

This guy thinks in completely different ways than I do.

"What? Are you questioning my leadership skills?" She smiled confidently, "Don't worry, it's quite easy for me to lead someone like you."

"...don't you mind anything?" Seeing that she was completely oblivious, I couldn't help but remind her, "For example, necessary physical contact."

"Oh, you can put your arms around my waist, it's okay."

“..!”

Calm down, calm down Yisheji. Now is not the time to have any fantasies.

"No, I'd better walk home by myself."

"That's going to take a long time. Why do you think I'm pushing this bike? Isn't it just to get to your house earlier?" She really didn't seem to care about the relationship between boys and girls. "Don't waste time, just get on."

"...Hmm."

After much hesitation, I finally followed her advice.

...

I never thought that I would hug a girl's waist from behind.

There were potholes along the way, and I accidentally brushed my face against hers. She didn't react, though, and I blushed from guilt and a variety of emotions. It wasn't until we got home that I felt better.

"..Your house is so big..." she exclaimed as soon as she entered the door, "You look very rich... No wonder you can save money to buy a tape recorder."

"It's just an ordinary family."

We took over the house from a relative, so we spent a little less than usual. Plus, the house had already been renovated, so we didn't spend any money on renovations when we took it over.

"This place... feels much better than my home."

"..."

"Well, let's not talk about that." She seemed not to want to talk about what happened at home, so she turned her attention to what she had been concerned about at the beginning. "Where is your room? Take me there quickly."

"It's upstairs." I walked to the kitchen, took out two cans of drinks, and handed one to her. "There's also a speaker in the room. You can play any song you like."

"Wonderful."

Her eyes revealed deep envy, but I felt that there was nothing worth envying about me.

"Nothing, just something my dad gave me." I said, leading her upstairs. "He also liked buying tapes and CDs when he was younger, but he mostly listened to popular songs back then. Like Little Tigers and Cui Jian."

"I know these two."

"Ahaha, and he also bought a set of VHS tapes. That show stars Yamaguchi Momoe, and my parents both loved it... but after the VHS player broke down, the tapes got put away somewhere. Now I watch Kamen Rider and Ultraman on disc."

Once the topic starts, I can't help but want to talk about something off topic.

"...What is that?" She seemed unable to understand.

It seems that she knows very little about things other than music.

"If you want to watch it... I have a TV in my room. It's not connected to any channels, but for me, being able to connect my VCD player and my Famicom to watch and play games is enough."

"..VCD? I remember there are DVDs, right?" She also asked a question she had only a vague idea of.

"Ah, about that..." I said as I opened the door to my room, "Of course I'm using the outdated version. High-end DVDs are for my parents."

"Oh..."

Although she sounded like she understood, she probably wasn't quite sure about the difference between the two. Actually, I didn't really understand it either before; the difference was explained to me by the old man in the music store.

"Anyway, you're welcome to come to my house and play... that..."

It was then that I suddenly realized that I didn't remember her name.

"Oh, my name is Jiayin. It means good, and the sound is like music."

"Jiayin, Jiayin... Yeah, I remember that." After a brief pause, "Anyway, you're welcome to come to my house, Jiayin."

"Oh~~~"

. . . .

Her obsession with music far exceeded my expectations.

Although my hobbies cover many areas, it is impossible for me to listen to music all day long, let alone play a song dozens of times in a row.

But she would listen to her favorite songs and parts over and over again, and then memorize the source of the songs. Compared to me, who just focuses on appreciating the melody and rhythm, she seems to be trying to explore the hidden meaning in the songs.

"You like music very much..."

I couldn't help but sigh. Because she was always playing tapes that seemed interesting to her, I couldn't turn on the TV to watch my favorite Ultraman and Kamen Rider, let alone play games.

"Well, I do like it."

She made no secret of this and was even willing to admit it.

"Then pick one you like and take it back."

Besides the cassettes that fill up the bookshelf, there are still so many tapes that I can't even finish listening to them. I bought them just for the purpose of collecting them.

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"Oh, of course." I nodded. "Although we've only known each other for less than a day, I think you and I get along pretty well."

"Then..." She was excited, but suddenly hesitated, and her excitement suddenly decreased by half. "No... But I still don't think I can take it away."

"You're welcome. I can always buy more anyway..."

"No, no, no, I'm not being polite." She said a little embarrassedly, "Even if I take it home, there's no way I can release it."

"...You don't have a machine at home that can play tapes?"

Logically speaking, this is unlikely. After all, everyone's parents would have thought of getting a music player when they were little.

"Well, my family doesn't like this."

She just gave this answer.

"Well... in that case. From now on, if you want to hear anything, just come to my house." I didn't want to delve into her family background, although I had a vague feeling that her rebellious behavior might stem from her family.