Chapter 17: A Sense of Crisis

“I’m right behind you.”

Hearing these words, Liang Zhirou froze in place, unsure what to think.

Her eyes welled up instantly, and she squeezed the corner of her clothes tightly, feeling anxious about her inability to respond.

She was willing to believe Chen Lu’s words, and suddenly started to believe in the future.

Seeing the girl trying hard to hold back her tears, Chen Lu panicked.

“Hey, don’t cry! Is my singing that bad?”

Now it was Chen Lu’s turn to be confused. He thought his singing wasn’t that bad, and he had been playing the guitar for several years.

Touched?

Not likely…

If that was enough to make someone emotional, he would have already won over Mo Yuqing.

After all, Mo Yuqing always had no reaction when she listened to him play and sing.

He couldn’t imagine what kind of ripples his actions had caused in the girl’s heart.

“Really?” Liang Zhirou asked with a sob in her voice.

She didn’t even realize she had already asked this question once.

“Of course.” He slowly extended his pinky finger and hooked it with hers. “I’ll always be watching over you. So you can’t disappoint my expectations.”

Chen Lu glanced at the time and asked, “Are you going to work at the hotpot restaurant?”

Liang Zhirou nodded, her eyes seemed to hold a hint of lingering emotion, but it disappeared in an instant.

“Let’s play one last song, then I’ll take you there.”

“I can go myself…”

“Shhh… listen carefully.”

……

Mo Yuqing and the members of the dance club were walking side by side towards the playground.

They had just finished rehearsal and were planning to take a stroll before going out for hotpot.

These girls with their slender figures and long legs walking together became a beautiful sight on the evening playground.

“Sister Yuqing, did the guy who confessed to you like you for a long time? It doesn’t seem like this was his first time confessing.” A girl from the dance club leaned close to Mo Yuqing, full of gossip.

The guy seemed handsome and would be considered a class heartthrob in high school. They couldn’t believe that Mo Yuqing rejected him so cleanly and decisively, without even changing her expression.

“I don’t know, I don’t remember.” Mo Yuqing said truthfully. She thought for a long time but couldn’t recall who this guy was.

She only learned his name from the WeChat message she received when she looked at the note.

“……It seems like you have a lot of admirers. I envy you. I also want to experience being pursued by so many people.”

“Speaking of which, I saw a video of your performance on our school’s website! Your dancing is so amazing! Are you really not joining us?

The dance club junior beside her was chattering non-stop, then suddenly realized that Mo Yuqing, who had been walking next to her, was gone.

Turning around, she saw Mo Yuqing standing motionless in place.

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

Seeing that Mo Yuqing didn’t respond, the girl followed her gaze and saw Chen Lu playing the guitar for a girl who looked ordinary.

Her evaluation of this senior went up another notch, but now everyone’s curiosity was focused on Mo Yuqing.

Could there be some untold story between them?

No way, right?

Didn’t they barely speak a word back then?

Mo Yuqing’s long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, her eyes blinking rapidly.

She didn’t notice her clenched fists.

She immediately recognized the girl beside Chen Lu, the same one who had eaten with Chen Lu before.

Chen Lu was still playing and singing earnestly, occasionally glancing at the girl beside him, his gaze never turning towards her.

Mo Yuqing felt uncomfortable, a strange feeling like her exclusive treasure was being taken away by someone else.

He clearly learned the guitar for me…

He learned it because I liked it…

It should be me sitting next to him, why are you listening?

Past scenes kept flashing before Mo Yuqing’s eyes. Back then, she had simply said that guys who could play the guitar were cool while scrolling through videos, and Chen Lu started learning the next day.

It seemed like he had trouble getting used to the pick, and she often saw bandages on his fingers during that time.

Later, during a self-study class when the high school head teacher wasn’t around, Chen Lu took out a guitar from somewhere, went up to the podium, and shouted loudly for Mo Yuqing to listen, amidst everyone’s encouragement…

From then on, whenever she discovered a song she liked, she would directly forward it to Chen Lu, and Chen Lu would usually learn it the next day.

But now, he was starting to play for another girl…

If the encounter in the cafeteria had only made her feel uncomfortable, this time it truly gave her a sense of Chen Lu being taken away by someone else.

In all her years, she had never experienced this feeling before, and this was the first time she felt this way from Chen Lu.

It was a word that had never appeared in her heart before –

A sense of crisis.

Chen Lu was more resolute than she thought. After she rejected his confession for the second time that day, she never received another message from him.

He didn’t apologize and take the initiative like he always did whenever she threw a tantrum.

Could Chen Lu, who had always been by her side, almost inseparable, really leave her?

“Sister Yuqing, are you okay?” A girl waved her hand in front of Mo Yuqing’s eyes, confused.

Mo Yuqing finally regained her composure, “… I’m fine, let’s go.”

Seeing Mo Yuqing’s pale complexion, the girls didn’t ask further and changed the topic. “What should we eat tonight? There’s a new Haidilao near here, should we try it?”

“Isn’t Haidilao just a tax on intelligence?” Another girl couldn’t help but complain.

“You guys go ahead, I need to go home.” Mo Yuqing turned her head and walked towards the school gate at a fast pace. She didn’t want to be seen by Chen Lu.

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

“Next time, my mom is coming back from abroad today. I was just planning to hang out with you for a bit and then go home.”

Looking at Mo Yuqing’s figure, the girls looked at each other in confusion.

……

Mo Yuqing returned to her doorstep and, after composing herself, knocked on the door.

She wasn’t lying. Her mother had indeed told her she would be returning from abroad today.

After a year.

Ever since her parents divorced when she was young, her mother had been traveling abroad.

She wanted to experience the feeling of coming home and having her mom open the door for her.

It was something she hadn’t really experienced since she was a child.

Knock knock knock.

No response.

Her already low spirits plummeted to freezing point.

After knocking several more times, she could only enter with her password.

The house wasn’t as she imagined, with lights on and someone waiting for her.

As usual, the light from the motion-activated lights outside was the first to sneak in.

Mo Yuqing bit her lower lip, ignoring her shoes and flopped onto the sofa, like a deflated balloon.

After a long time, she seemed to finally regain some strength, took out her phone, and called her mother.