Chapter 24

1:00 PM (2)

Deng Yun was not in the common area on the first floor, appearing and disappearing mysteriously, leaving people unable to track his whereabouts.

Xu Muzi went upstairs and knocked on the door but couldn’t find him.

In the dampness of the rainy day, the joints on her injured hand ached faintly. Xu Muzi returned to her room and took out some ointment to apply to the uncomfortable spots.

She skillfully massaged the affected areas for a while, then turned around her room several times, finally finding the metal ring she had removed in the bathroom.

When she checked in at midnight, Xia Xia had complimented the unique design of her ring.

In fact, this metal ring, resembling a spring, was a massager for her fingers.

It was recommended by one of Deng Yun’s friends.

It was cost-effective; she could buy five for ten yuan on a shopping app, and later, her college classmates also bought it.

When she had nothing to do, she would roll it back and forth on her fingers to relieve discomfort from finger strain or arthritis, which was suitable for people like them who practiced daily.

Xu Muzi wore the ring as she headed out, massaging her fingers while walking upstairs.

After thinking it over, she decided she should mention the dress she received to Deng Yun.

At first, she thought too much time had passed, and bringing it up might make them both feel awkward.

Perhaps they both had such concerns, which was why they hadn’t talked about any nostalgic topics. But this “nostalgia,” even if she deliberately avoided discussing or mentioning it, still felt very present.

So much so that Xu Muzi ignored the time that had passed and felt a surge of courage and impulsiveness.

There was some noise coming from the screening room. She raised her hand to knock on the door, pushed it open a crack, and peeked inside, only to see five or six residents all turn to stare at her, their expressions exchanging glances…

The lighting presented a strange bluish-green tone, and the screen displayed a stormy scene with flashes of lightning, which coincidentally matched the weather outside her window.

One of the residents was a member of the mushroom-picking team from earlier that day. Spotting Xu Muzi, he paused for two seconds before excitedly asking, “Did the rain stop outside? Are we going mushroom picking again?”

Xu Muzi opened the door wider and pointed to the heavy rain outside. “It hasn’t stopped; it’s coming down really hard.”

The person looked disappointed but immediately invited Xu Muzi, asking if she wanted to watch a movie together.

Xu Muzi glanced at the screen again, where the protagonist was frantically running through a corridor amid flashes of lightning and thunder, large windows fluttering with ghostly white curtains in the background, and the music was quite oppressive…

This was obviously a horror movie, no wonder they had been so quiet when she opened the door.

Old childhood fears surfaced again.

Xu Muzi quickly shook her head to decline, saying she was looking for someone, and closed the door to the screening room.

Deng Yun wasn’t downstairs, in his room, or in the screening room.

When she reached the game room, Xu Muzi peeked in and saw only a middle-aged couple who hadn’t interacted much, playing against each other on a foosball machine. They kindly asked, “Do you want to play?”

Xu Muzi shook her head.

Her first experience with such entertainment facilities was with Deng Yun.

It was probably before they went hiking that winter vacation.

At that time, the area where her wisdom teeth had been removed was still swollen, and she had followed him to a bar that served non-alcoholic cocktails, drinking fruity beverages through a straw.

The bar had a complex industrial style, with tables placed closely together, creating a warm atmosphere on a winter night.

They had watched a performance by the bar’s resident band and unexpectedly ran into Deng Yun’s friend.

Deng Yun’s friend pulled up a chair and teased, “Didn’t you say you should go to bed early to give your brain a break from overthinking? Why are you out so late?”

Xu Muzi’s inner thoughts at that moment were:

How could he even trick his friends? He was obviously a rebellious night owl.

When had he ever gone to bed early during this time?

The night owl leaned toward Xu Muzi and said, “I’m just out here looking for excitement with her.”

Xu Muzi’s head was filled with a thousand question marks.

Weren’t they supposed to be accomplices in this? Was she the only one unable to sleep?

Was she the only one seeking thrills? Tch!

Tonight, Deng Yun’s name must be prominently featured in her grudge book, bolded and italicized.

Deng Yun’s friend laughed, “Long time no see, sis! You’re still so cool. Don’t remember me? We rode the same car back in Moge Luo Si.”

With a thousand questions in her head, Xu Muzi turned to look at him.

Deng Yun’s friend was momentarily stunned, then suddenly laughed, “Why is your face all puffy again? Have you been playing with real guns?”

Xu Muzi replied expressionlessly, “No, I had my wisdom teeth removed.”

She added another prominent name to her grudge book, bolded and underlined.

Turning back, she noticed the smile that flashed in Deng Yun’s eyes and decided to underline his name as well.

After leaving the bar, Xu Muzi followed Deng Yun and his friend to a nearby arcade.

Thanks to her years of practicing piano, her hand speed and reflexes were particularly quick, and that night she avenged the “grudge” against the two of them.

Whatever it was—foosball, air hockey, whack-a-mole—Deng Yun’s friend never won.

Deng Yun managed to beat her a few times, but they were close calls.

In the end, when they tallied the scores, Xu Muzi emerged victorious.

But she had just come from practicing piano for nearly eight hours, and after getting too absorbed in the games, her hands felt tired, so she unconsciously started rubbing her wrists and fingers.

Xu Muzi didn’t pay much attention to it.

It was Deng Yun, who, while slinging his arm over his friend’s shoulder, nudged him with his shoulder and asked, “Aren’t you from a medical family? Is there any way to relieve her situation?”

Deng Yun’s friend looked a bit speechless. “I study software. But if she wants, I can get her my contact info, and if I find something, I can pass it on.”

Xu Muzi looked at Deng Yun and realized they weren’t joking; they were seriously discussing it, so she gave them her phone number.

Deng Yun’s friend saved it seriously and said, “Since it’s already bright out, let’s go grab some Shengjianbao from that place by our high school. It’s on me.”

Deng Yun stood beside Xu Muzi, helping her take off the down jacket and scarf that were hanging on the rack. “Don’t tempt her; she can only eat liquids for the next few days.”

“Look at my memory, I forgot. I’ll owe you this meal for now, and I’ll treat you some other time.”

But Xu Muzi didn’t get that chance.

His friend did send over some ways to care for her hands, including the finger massager, which was also recommended by that friend.

But later, Xu Muzi and Deng Yun lost contact, so how could she go find his friend to redeem that meal?

As Xu Muzi walked slowly downstairs, the more she couldn’t find Deng Yun, the more memories from the past emerged in her mind.

Before they cut off contact, it was actually the period when they communicated the most frequently—

During that time, Xu Muzi had gone back to school, occasionally calling Deng Yun at night, which was daytime for him, and the person she referred to as a night owl would always pick up.

Xu Muzi remembered one time she had a little friction with a classmate.

In fact, it wasn’t a big deal.

While chatting with her classmates, Xu Muzi shared a variation of a piece she liked.

One classmate, who was quite sharp-tongued, said, “Shirley, I like the piece you shared, but your musical expression, hmm… doesn’t really convey that hazy beauty you mentioned.”

“That basically means I played it poorly.”

Xu Muzi vented to Deng Yun over the phone, saying, “I’m really angry about it.”

Deng Yun laughed on the other end, “You didn’t argue back?”

“I wanted to, but after thinking about it, I really can’t play better than her. Ah, the more I think about it, the angrier I get! If only you were here, I’d practice for ten hours and then come find you.”

“What do you want to do when you find me?”

“Of course…”

Xu Muzi wanted to say, “Of course I want to do something exciting,” but during their last meeting in the country, the most thrilling thing had been kissing Deng Yun, and saying that could lead to misunderstandings, so she swallowed her words.

Deng Yun probably understood her intentions; he didn’t press for details but instead said, “When I’m not around, what do you want to do?”

Not much to do.

As Xu Muzi walked to school, she unconsciously came up with some schemes.

She said, “There’s so much I want to do. I heard there’s a street nearby where people race cars at night; who knows, I might just go racing one day.”

“Be sensible; you don’t have a driver’s license.”

A week after this phone call, Xu Muzi received a call from Deng Yun while she was in the practice room.

He mentioned a familiar intersection and asked her how to get to her practice room from there.

The paper butterfly she had been carrying with her seemed to come alive, fluttering its wings inside her chest.

It felt both swollen and itchy.

The distance from the practice room to the intersection where Deng Yun was was nearly three kilometers, and Xu Muzi practically ran the entire way.

There was a bakery nearby, and the air was filled with the scent of wheat and milk, with many alumni carrying instruments passing back and forth at the intersection. Xu Muzi spotted Deng Yun on the street at a glance.

He was wearing a long coat and was on the phone with someone.

Having been sitting for so long and lacking exercise, Xu Muzi was nearly exhausted by the time she reached him, so she threw her arms around Deng Yun.

Deng Yun, with a smile in his eyes, steadied her with one arm and told the person on the phone, “I’ll call you back later.”

“You came!”

“I came to see if you got arrested for street racing.”

“I was just joking! Who has the time for that? I’m so busy practicing piano!”

Xu Muzi counted on her fingers, saying that she had a solo performance this week and competitions in May and June. But once the competition in early June was over, she could go back home for a while.

The weather that day was great. After she finished counting, she asked Deng Yun what he was doing there.

She knew he was researching some projects with his friends and occasionally traveled to other countries. Just like their chance encounter in Moge Luo Si, she thought he had come to a nearby city and just dropped by.

Deng Yun said, “I came to see you.”

With ticket prices skyrocketing lately, Xu Muzi was skeptical. “Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t possibly have taken my joke about racing seriously, can you?”

“A little bit.”

Feeling a bit guilty for luring him all this way, Xu Muzi was nonetheless excited that Deng Yun had actually come.

However, he mentioned that he would only stay until the evening, catching the last flight back home.

“Then let me treat you to dinner. There’s a great restaurant in the city.”

“Weren’t you just saying you were busy practicing?”

“First, let’s have lunch, and then… you can help me practice!”

That day, Xu Muzi was unusually talkative, as if she had been drinking, chatting away with Deng Yun all the way.

She asked, “Do you want to see the cherry blossoms? I heard from my teacher that there’s a beautiful old cherry tree in the park that’s in full bloom. If you’re interested, I can take you to see it; it’s pretty much on the way and should only take about half an hour.”

They went to the restaurant Xu Muzi mentioned, and when it was time to pay, it turned into Deng Yun treating her;

They went to see the old cherry tree in full bloom;

And they strolled leisurely down the street in the comfortable spring weather, listening to Deng Yun recount how last weekend he went home and how Xu Muzi’s parents and his parents had drinks, leading to some petty comparisons and arguments, which were loud enough for him to hear while smoking on the terrace of the third floor.

After wandering around the park, they returned to the piano room where Xu Muzi often practiced. Deng Yun stayed with her, helping her practice the piano for a few hours.

By evening, Xu Muzi had reached her practice limit, finally standing up from the piano, rubbing her fingers.

She asked what he was doing with his phone, and he replied he was discussing a startup with friends.

Deng Yun rarely talked about his own matters, and this time he just casually mentioned that his grandmother always said it was tough for his parents to make money, so he wanted to give it a try.

To see just how hard it was to make money, and to see if he could earn it without boasting about fake family backgrounds or constantly networking over drinks.

“Are you not going to pursue a master’s degree?”

“I am, doing both at the same time.”

As time passed, it was time for Deng Yun to leave; he had a few important major classes to attend on Monday.

Xu Muzi’s hair had grown a bit longer since the New Year, and it got in the way while practicing, so she casually tied it back with a floral silk scarf.

When playing, she got so into it that her movements were big, causing her hair to scatter, with many strands falling around her ears and neck.

Xu Muzi tilted her head back and shook it a bit to prevent stray hairs from covering her face; this was a habitual action when her hands were busy at the piano.

She picked up her coat and said, “Let me take you to the airport.”

Deng Yun did not agree.

The airport was too far, and it was too late; he was worried it wouldn’t be safe for her to come back alone.

Before leaving, Deng Yun said, “You seem to be in good shape.”

“You taught me to learn to block out the noise of the outside world and enjoy the moment.”

After saying this, Xu Muzi felt something was off. It seemed that if she said it like that, Deng Yun wouldn’t come back again.

They were originally accomplices in rebellion; if she no longer needed to rebel, could they still stay in touch?

Her eyes darted away, and she hesitantly changed her tune: “But what if there’s some noise that can’t be blocked out? What if I want to find some excitement, but you aren’t around? What should I do, go street racing?”

Deng Yun raised his hand and tapped her forehead lightly.

It actually hurt a bit.

Xu Muzi covered her forehead, looking at Deng Yun in a fluster, unsure if he had seen through her cleverness.

Xu Muzi’s major was in the old campus of the academy, where the piano room had very outdated facilities, giving off a medieval vibe.

Many classmates had complained that the lighting was insufficient, making it really hard on the eyes to practice at night.

Deng Yun stood there in the dim light, reaching out slowly to brush aside the stray hair at Xu Muzi’s neck.

He leaned down and kissed her ear, eventually moving to the nape of her neck.

“Is this exciting enough?”