Chapter 30

3:00 PM (2)

How have the past few years been?

Actually, not very good.

Transitioning from luxury to frugality is a difficult process. The small villa and the car need not be mentioned; other valuable items at home have been sold off one by one.

This includes furniture, electronics, the red wine and watches collected by Xu Muzi’s father, and the bags and jewelry bought by her mother.

It also includes Xu Muzi’s two pianos.

They accompanied Xu Muzi from kindergarten through university, supporting her during the longest and most challenging hours of practice.

Yet, she had to part with them.

Her parents aged significantly overnight, their hair turning gray.

They couldn’t sleep, sighing all night, pacing back and forth in the small living room of their rental.

For a while, Xu Muzi was very worried that they might fall ill from the stress or develop thoughts of self-harm.

“Being poor in a bustling city goes unnoticed.”

In their attempts to borrow money to make ends meet, Xu Muzi and her parents were repeatedly turned away by several trusted relatives and friends.

They heard some harsh words and faced impatient glares.

Xu Muzi’s parents love to brag, but they are also kind-hearted and soft-hearted.

When their family business was doing well, they tried their best to help others. However, after going bankrupt, they faced disappointment when seeking assistance.

Some were hesitant;

Some refused to see them;

Some offered to help but ended up giving only a few hundred yuan;

And some even blocked their contact information.

During that difficult time, Xu Muzi once broke down and cried after her lunch was accidentally spilled on the floor.

She also suffered from hand pain due to working long hours.

If Xu Muzi from her freshman year had been there, she would have poured out all her hardships and sorrows to Deng Yun, recounting everything one by one.

But the Xu Muzi of now has grown up.

She smiled faintly, downplaying her experiences: “At first, I was quite unaccustomed, but it got better later, and I’m doing pretty well now.”

Outside, dark clouds rolled in, turning daylight into night.

Twelve hours after their reunion, they began to sit down and catch up.

Xu Muzi told Deng Yun that it was thanks to him for helping her send out that resume.

She took all her trophies, certificates, and awards to the hotel for the interview, shoving them into her nearly bursting zipper backpack to show the recruitment staff.

The staff was left speechless.

Not becoming a pianist was due to Xu Muzi’s lack of talent, but she could still handle the job of a pianist at the hotel with her skills.

The probation period lasted only two days before the manager approached Xu Muzi to discuss a long-term collaboration.

Working part-time has its advantages.

Since she needed to practice every day anyway, during slow hours, she could choose her own pieces to play.

Being able to practice and earn money, without mentioning the hard work, was quite nice.

From five in the afternoon until ten-thirty at night, with possible overtime on holidays until midnight.

There would be an additional fee for overtime.

Deng Yun quietly listened to Xu Muzi recounting her experiences, amused by her ability to find joy in hardship.

Once a sheltered girl who had never touched a drop of sweat, she had developed some resilience, and when she recalled pleasant memories during their conversation, her eyes sparkled a bit more.

She mentioned that there was a time when an elderly man stayed at the hotel where she worked. Every afternoon, he would sit in a nearby chair and listen to a few pieces.

The old man was generous, and she received many tips from him; upon checking out, he left her a note at the front desk:

“Your zest for life is contagious.”

Xu Muzi sat on the couch in Deng Yun’s room, absently fiddling with a massager on her fingers, the spring-like metal ring rolling back and forth over her knuckles.

Deng Yun kept his gaze on Xu Muzi, his eyes bright as he followed her small movements down to her hands.

After a moment, he asked her with concern, “Is your hand serious?”

Xu Muzi’s heart skipped a beat, and she shook her head, “Not serious, just a minor issue that many of my classmates have.”

“Is it still strain?”

“Yeah, strain and tendonitis.”

Usually, it’s fine; practicing under six hours only results in soreness.

Over six hours, especially above eight, or during rainy days, it gets worse.

Xu Muzi thought to herself that she didn’t need to tell Deng Yun all of this.

Deng Yun looked to his right, a moment of contemplation, as if he were asking a question he already knew the answer to: “How are your parents doing?”

Xu Muzi pondered Deng Yun’s expression for a moment, then responded optimistically after a brief silence.

In the past, she always felt her parents drank and stayed up late too often and exercised too little, which couldn’t be good for their health.

After losing their money, the drinking and socializing stopped, and her parents had to do the housework themselves.

They walked to the local market to buy groceries and scanned QR codes for bikes to run errands…

“It feels like their health has improved a lot with this new lifestyle.”

She said the situation at home has gotten better, and her parents have been in decent spirits lately.

Xu Muzi always believed that her parents bore greater responsibility for their investment failure.

She felt guilty bringing it up, but she still asked, “Deng Yun, how are your parents doing now?”

Deng Yun replied, “Not bad, similar to your family’s situation.”

In terms of clothing, Deng Yun was like before, without any particularly noticeable logos.

Xu Muzi could only judge from the type of room he lived in and items like his phone and computer. She had previously thought that he shouldn’t be in too much trouble now.

But hearing that Deng Yun’s family business was also turning around, she genuinely felt happy for him.

However, while they were discussing life and serious matters regarding their elders, there was an underlying emotion in their glances that was hard to articulate.

When they fell into a mutual silence, the ambiguous tension was especially pronounced.

It was as if the air was tangled with fine strands of a web, ensnaring their hearts and making them lose focus.

Xu Muzi’s chest rose and fell: “So… how about you?”

Deng Yun stared at her intently: “What aspect do you mean?”

“… Just, how are you doing now?”

“My career is fine, health is good, but my romantic life is not going well.”

What did he mean?

What does “not going well” in romance mean?

Was Deng Yun implying that this was the best time for her to take advantage of his vulnerability?

Wait…

Xu Muzi, wake up! What are you thinking about taking advantage of someone!

So, Deng Yun has a “relationship.”

Xu Muzi felt a sense of loss, awkwardly cleared her throat, and pretended not to care: “Why is your love life not going well?”

“What do you think?”

“Are you… about to be dumped?”

Deng Yun suddenly laughed, as if he found her amusing: “This is the second time you’ve asked me that.”

Xu Muzi, in a daze, remembered that before she took the fridge magnet souvenir from Dong Yun’s house, she had indeed asked him a similar question.

Why does she always seem to catch him at times when his love life is going poorly?

However, bringing up old matters always felt a bit intimate between them.

A sudden thunderclap sounded outside, shaking the ground, and they both glanced out the window.

The torrential rain poured down, hammering against the glass, blurring everything.

The weather was terrible, with the strong winds howling past, and the thick tree trunks swayed wildly, clinging to their messy canopies.

At that moment, the inn lost power, and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

Xu Muzi had been sitting close to the light of the floor lamp, and the abrupt darkness made her anxious; her eyes couldn’t adjust, and she could see nothing.

Instinctively, she stood up and reached out toward Dong Yun.

As her hand touched the air for the second time, Dong Yun grasped her wrist.

He asked, “Are you scared?”

She wasn’t scared; the tension from the darkness was fleeting and was overshadowed by the strength of Dong Yun holding her wrist.

Dong Yun not only held Xu Muzi’s wrist but let his fingers slide across her palm, intertwining with her index finger, shifting to hold hands.

He led her toward the storage cabinet in the room.

After about ten seconds of adjustment, Xu Muzi began to make out the outlines of the surrounding items and could clearly see Dong Yun’s tall figure in front of her.

His shoulders were broad, giving her a strong sense of security.

He walked to the cabinet, pulled open a drawer, and took out a few items, placing them on the table.

Whether it was unboxing or flicking a lighter’s wheel, he accomplished it all with one hand.

A flame flickered to life, and Dong Yun lit the wick of the aromatic candle.

Throughout, he never released Xu Muzi’s hand.

Her heart raced as Dong Yun held her.

Her attention was solely on their hands, completely forgetting to question why this seemingly ordinary guest, who planned to stay at the inn for over a week, had brought along such a complete set of items, including an aromatic candle.

Xu Muzi thought she hadn’t been mistaken in her earlier question.

It must be true; if Dong Yun wasn’t about to be dumped, why would he bother to provoke her?

Dong Yun snapped the metal cover of the lighter closed, extinguishing the faint flame in his hand, then held the black glass box containing the aromatic candle, turning to look at Xu Muzi.

The candlelight danced lightly, shimmering in his pupils.

He returned to the previous topic: “I’m not about to be dumped.”

Xu Muzi froze for a moment, then quickly heard Dong Yun add, “Because I don’t have a girlfriend.”

The warm air from the air conditioner gently stirred the candlelight, making it flicker, mirroring Xu Muzi’s racing heart.

She looked at him, almost in a trance, “When was the last time you had a girlfriend?”

Suddenly, there was a hurried knock at the door.

Dong Yun handed the candle to Xu Muzi, still holding her hand as he went to open the door.

When the door opened, Xia Xia stood outside, urgently calling out, “Old…”

Upon seeing Xu Muzi, Xia Xia almost bit her tongue and, under Xu Muzi’s puzzled gaze, changed her words: “Old Dong!”

The previous question was interrupted. Xu Muzi thought to herself that over the years, Dong Yun must have had some romantic experiences.

This person has double standards.

He seems unfamiliar with boys and doesn’t like to interact; every time he sees Xing Pengjie, he maintains a blank expression.

But he gets along well with girls.

The beautiful woman in the suit was like this.

With Xia Xia, just a week in, they had already become close, and the young girl even called him “Old Dong.”

Xia Xia held an emergency lighting lamp in her hand: “I don’t know what’s wrong, the inn has lost power. I’ve already called the relevant department, but because of the heavy wind and rain outside, the staff said they can’t come to check right now…”

The situation was somewhat urgent, and some guests at the inn had come to the front desk to ask Xia Xia for tape.

They probably wanted to learn how to prepare for the southern typhoon by taping the large windows into a “米” shape.

However, it was already quite windy outside, and being too close to the windows was risky.

Xia Xia was responsible for the safety of all the guests in the inn and was stretched thin, so she came to ask Dong Yun for help.

As Xia Xia explained the situation, Xu Muzi pulled her hand out from Dong Yun’s grip.

She said, “Then I’ll go help too.”

Xia Xia hesitated, glancing at Dong Yun before speaking, “Could you please help guard the landline at the front desk? If any guests call, just tell them to lock their doors and windows and not to go outside.”

The three of them hurriedly walked through the corridor, and Dong Yun asked, “Are you sure all the guests are in the inn? Is anyone still outside?”

“Not sure yet…”

They needed to ensure that all guests were inside. Since some of the rooms were occupied by male guests, Xia Xia felt it was inconvenient, so Dong Yun followed her upstairs to knock on doors and inquire.

Before parting ways, he grasped her hand again and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

“There’s no last time.”

No last time?

Dong Yun has never had a girlfriend?

Xu Muzi stood alone in the public area on the first floor, shrouded in wind and rain, guarding the flickering aromatic candle.

She stared blankly at the palm of her right hand.

As Xia Xia had said, some guests were indeed panicking in this extreme weather and called to inquire.

The ringing interrupted Xu Muzi’s daze.

She picked up the landline, imitating Xia Xia’s tone, carefully advising the guests with safety tips and informing them that staff would soon come upstairs to knock on doors. If they needed anything, they could communicate with the staff.

Before she could finish the call, her phone on the front desk began to ring in connection.

The screen lit up in the dim environment with a message from an unknown number—

“Thanks for saying it early.”

“I’m not that kind-hearted; everything I did before had a purpose.”

“Xu Muzi, I’m trying to seduce you.”