Chapter 52: Ah Xiao

The buddy was stunned by Chi Xiao’s question. “You’re asking me? How would I know?”

He turned around and got a copy of the performance program from the class’s cultural committee member, handing it to Chi Xiao. “This has the names of all the performers. Take a look.”

Chi Xiao took the program and found the section for the orchestral performance. Dozens of unfamiliar names were crammed together, but fortunately, they were labeled by class. Chi Xiao had never seen that girl at school before, so he guessed she must be a freshman. Not many freshmen participated in the welcome performance, so he scanned the list, his gaze stopping at a striking two-character name.

Class 3, Grade 10: Ming Can.

He looked up at the stage.

It had to be her.

Near the end of the lunar year, he had once seen this girl in an alley near the school.

Through the smoke of firecrackers and the fluttering snow, he had struggled to open his eyes and caught a glimpse of her face.

Now, more than half a year later, she had entered this high school and become his junior.

“Wow, even our Academic God Xiao is distracted enough to stop solving problems,” the buddy said, leaning over to sling an arm around Chi Xiao’s shoulder. “But this year’s freshmen are really something. There’s one named Ming Can—she’s only been here a few days, but she’s already being called the next school beauty… Hey, her name’s right here too.”

Chi Xiao didn’t respond. He folded the program and tucked it into his English workbook.

As the final note faded, the girl slowly lowered her bow and lifted her face. Her dark, clear eyes swept over the sea of audience members below. Applause echoed through the venue, and she curved her lips into a smile, gracefully bowing in thanks.

Chi Xiao was just one of the countless audience members gazing up at her.

His face showed no emotion.

Originally, he had only wanted to leave early and get back to solving problems. But at this moment, he inexplicably wished the performance could have lasted a little longer.

After the welcome performance, Chi Xiao’s life returned to normal, with no significant changes.

He followed his daily routine of studying, playing basketball in his free time, and doing some hands-on projects. The only difference was that after each basketball game, he would take a few extra steps, passing by the music classroom where the orchestra practiced.

Back then, he was sixteen years old. Nine years had passed, and he had long forgotten the appearance of the little girl he had met at Teacher Leting’s studio when he was seven.

He only remembered her English name.

And that childish promise, which had gradually lost its original meaning, becoming nothing more than a habit for Chi Xiao to pass the time day after day. That was all.

Over the years, he had become more and more skilled at making violins, averaging one per year. Since he had no intention of letting anyone else use them, he engraved that English name on each one. That string of letters, rather than being the girl’s name, had become a special symbol of his own.

Until the late summer of his sixteenth year.

On the violin of the girl named Ming Can, he once again saw that familiar string of letters.

…

Many more years passed in the blink of an eye.

The music swelled, and the past and present seemed to overlap.

As the piece ended, thunderous applause erupted, and the musicians on stage bowed in thanks.

Ming Can straightened up and instinctively glanced at the audience below.

As if guided by some invisible force, her eyes immediately found Chi Xiao in the sea of people, along with the little squirming figure beside him.

At this moment, her emotions felt particularly strange.

The thousands of people in the audience were no longer just a faceless crowd to her. Among them, there was now someone special.

A warm little hand suddenly pressed against the back of Chi Xiao’s hand, grasping a few of his fingers.

He looked down and met a pair of dark, bright eyes.

“Dad. I’m whispering, so no one can hear me,” Miaomiao said, his mouth opening and closing as he pointed a chubby, white finger toward the stage. “That’s my mom up there. She’s amazing!”

Actually, Miaomiao wanted to say this to everyone in the audience, but in front of others, he had to call Ming Can “sister,” so he could only say it to his dad.

Chi Xiao nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. “I think so too.”

He held Miaomiao’s chubby little hand, leisurely playing with his fingers.

Miaomiao glanced up at Chi Xiao.

Dad seemed to be in a really good mood right now.

The concert lasted two and a half hours, and by the time it ended, it was already dark.

The place was crowded and chaotic, making it inconvenient for them to meet up with Ming Can. Besides, Miaomiao was hungry, so Chi Xiao decided to leave quickly and find a place to eat.

Thousands of audience members filed out slowly.

As Chi Xiao and Miaomiao left their seats and walked into the aisle, they noticed a side door opening in the concert hall, with staff directing the crowd to split into different exits.

While holding Miaomiao’s hand, Chi Xiao walked toward the side door, pulling the brim of his baseball cap lower and adjusting his mask.

As they stepped through the side door, coincidentally, they ran into a group of musicians from University A.

Seeing so many older brothers and sisters carrying instruments, Miaomiao curiously looked around. Chi Xiao tapped his head twice and quickly led him out of the aisle.

They arrived in a spacious lobby.

“Chi Xiao?” Someone suddenly called his name from behind, followed by hurried footsteps. The person caught up to him. “It really is you!”

Chi Xiao frowned helplessly and turned to see Chu Zhiyu.

She was carrying a violin case, her face still adorned with the elaborate stage makeup. Since her performance had ended earlier, she had already packed up and was ready to leave.

They had known each other since childhood. Though they weren’t particularly close, they had grown up together. Chu Zhiyu was very familiar with Chi Xiao’s figure, and even though he had almost completely covered his face, she had recognized him from afar.

Chu Zhiyu wasn’t foolish. Seeing Chi Xiao’s disguise, she knew he didn’t want to be recognized by anyone familiar today. But she couldn’t help herself. She had a few questions she wanted to ask him in person, and the urge was overwhelming.

They walked to a less crowded area.

Chi Xiao tightened his grip on Miaomiao’s hand.

He could tell that Miaomiao also recognized Chu Zhiyu, so he gave him a look, signaling him to stay quiet for now.

The three of them stopped in front of a glass wall, outside of which was a bustling street filled with neon lights that lit up the night sky.

“Is there something you need?” Chi Xiao got straight to the point.

Chu Zhiyu glanced at the little boy Chi Xiao was holding, then looked up at him. “And who is this little one?”

Chi Xiao replied, “He’s my friend’s younger brother.”

When he spoke to Chu Zhiyu, he only slightly raised the brim of his cap, revealing a small strip of pale skin above his mask. His gaze was indifferent, clearly not wanting to linger here for long.

Chi Xiao, helping a friend take care of a child?

Chu Zhiyu found it hard to believe. She stared at Miaomiao for a while, her mind involuntarily wondering what kind of friend could possibly convince someone like Chi Xiao to babysit.

In her memory, Chi Xiao had always been annoyed by children, going out of his way to avoid them whenever he saw them.

Chu Zhiyu didn’t pry further, suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, and asked quietly, “Uncle Chi mentioned that you don’t want to go abroad anymore?”

Chi Xiao nodded. “Yeah.”

“Why?” Chu Zhiyu was puzzled. “Didn’t you always want to study in the U.S.?”

Chu Zhiyu had asked Chi Xiao about his future plans before, and he had casually mentioned wanting to study in the U.S. She had remembered that.

Chi Xiao’s voice was calm. “I think staying for a master’s program here is better now.”

“Oh,” Chu Zhiyu nodded. “Your computer science department has strong faculty, and your grades are excellent. The professors must be fighting to have you. It’s definitely more convenient and less hassle than studying abroad.”

She lowered her head, lost in thought.

Chi Xiao said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

Chu Zhiyu was startled. “Are you in a hurry?”

“The little one’s hungry,” Chi Xiao said calmly, his eyes showing a hint of softness. “If I don’t take good care of him, I won’t be able to explain it to his sister when we get back.”

As he spoke, he glanced down at Miaomiao, and the two shared a knowing look.

Chu Zhiyu’s face turned pale, her heavy makeup unable to hide her shock. “Who’s his sister?”

Chi Xiao replied, “She’s one of the performers from today’s concert.”

Chu Zhiyu tightened her grip on the strap of her violin case.

So that was why he had brought this little boy to the concert today—to support that girl.

Between smart people, some things didn’t need to be said outright. Chi Xiao and Chu Zhiyu had known each other for so many years, and he didn’t want to make the situation too awkward.

A hint was enough. Following the flow of the conversation, it was impossible for Chu Zhiyu not to understand. The reason he didn’t want to go abroad with her wasn’t just because he “didn’t want to go abroad,” but also because he “didn’t want to go with her.”

There was someone else in his heart.

The three of them parted ways.

As they walked, Miaomiao kept looking back at Chu Zhiyu, whispering, “Dad, Auntie Zhiyu seems really sad.”

It was only then that Chi Xiao asked the question that had been on his mind. “Do you know her well?”

Miaomiao shook his head. “I’ve only seen her a few times. But I heard someone say that Auntie Zhiyu is your good friend.”

Chi Xiao suddenly stopped walking. “Who told you that?”

Miaomiao struggled to recall. “I think it was Mom? Or maybe another adult? I can’t remember.”

“That’s not true,” Chi Xiao explained seriously to Miaomiao. “Only very close friends can be called good friends. Like the brothers who played with you at the villa in the snow that day—they’re more or less my good friends. Do you think Auntie Zhiyu and I are that close?”

Miaomiao thought about it. That day in the villa’s yard, playing in the snow, those brothers had made several snowballs and thrown them at Dad’s head. Dad had retaliated, and they had almost ended up wrestling. So that’s what Dad’s good friends were like! Then Dad and Auntie Zhiyu definitely weren’t good friends!

After explaining this to Miaomiao, Chi Xiao still felt a bit unsettled for some reason.

By now, most of the audience had left, and the lobby was gradually becoming empty and quiet.

Suddenly, Chi Xiao thought of something and asked Miaomiao, “Before you traveled back in time, did you know which school Dad graduated from?”

“Of course,” Miaomiao said. “Didn’t Dad graduate from University A?”

Chi Xiao asked, “And after graduating from University A? Did I go to another school?”

Miaomiao quickly remembered. “MIT! Dad graduated from MIT, I remember.”

MIT.

Chi Xiao straightened up, his breathing growing heavier.

In another timeline.

After graduating from university, he had indeed gone abroad to study.

And, unsurprisingly, Chu Zhiyu had gone with him.

Why?

Chi Xiao didn’t understand.

Even in another timeline, if Miaomiao hadn’t arrived early, given his personality, it was unlikely he would have obediently followed his family’s arrangements and gone abroad to study with his arranged marriage partner.

Moreover, by the time he graduated, he would have already known that Chi Yao was to be engaged to Ming Can. As they grew older, the engagement would have been brought into the open, and the two parties would have started formally interacting. Under such circumstances, how could he have calmly gone abroad to study?

Chi Xiao couldn’t comprehend why his future self would have made such a decision.

Unless something else had happened before he went abroad, something he couldn’t foresee now.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Miaomiao tugged at his hand and asked. “Why did you stop walking?”

Chi Xiao replied, “It’s nothing.”

Through the mask, Miaomiao couldn’t see his dad’s expression, but with his superpower, he could hear that Dad was questioning his future self while also worrying that something might happen to disrupt their current peaceful life.

Miaomiao could sense that the younger version of his dad in this world cherished their current life deeply.

Miaomiao also found their current life incredible. In the past, he could never have imagined that Mom and Dad could get along so well.

In the timeline he originally came from.

Although Mom had never explicitly said it, children’s instincts were very sharp.

Everything Mom did told him that Dad and Mom would always love Miaomiao, but Dad and Mom didn’t need to love each other.

Miaomiao knew very clearly that they didn’t love each other. A couple who only saw each other a few times a year, who were practically strangers to each other—how could they love each other?

It was only after coming here that Miaomiao realized that Dad and Mom could actually spend long periods of time together. They could eat together, ski together, watch TV together, and even help him with his homework together…

If he could return to his original world, he would definitely tell them all about this.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor connected to the lobby, and a large group of musicians walked out, chatting and laughing.

It was the University B orchestra.

Ming Can was surrounded by the crowd, her exquisite makeup accentuating her striking features. Every smile and glance sparkled like a star.

Chi Xiao placed his hand on Miaomiao’s head, keeping him firmly in place.

Ming Can was accompanied by a few close friends, and Chen Yixiao was among them.

They walked side by side into the lobby. The lighting here was bright, and many people noticed Chi Xiao and Miaomiao.

Their appearances were too striking to ignore.

Chi Xiao, with Miaomiao in tow, subtly turned to the side.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ming Can walking past them without a glance, like an elegant and noble swan.

Chen Yixiao was leaning down to speak to her, a smile on his face. As they passed, he glanced up at Chi Xiao, feeling a sense of familiarity but not paying it much attention.

Just like that, they passed each other by.