Chapter 45

00:00 AM (1)

There were water marks from melting ice cubes on the bed sheets. Deng Yun quickly removed the entire set of bedding and replaced it with a new one.

Xu Muzi didn’t go back to her room to get clothes. While Deng Yun changed the sheets, she put on a dress.

The dress was summer wear, made of breathable cream-colored cotton-linen fabric, with two thin straps hanging off her slender shoulders. It probably wouldn’t keep her warm at night.

However, after a night of commotion, she had already forgotten where she had put the thick bathrobe Xia Xia had given her.

Xu Muzi had a solution, though; she unceremoniously picked a jacket from Deng Yun’s wardrobe and threw it on.

The Band-Aid that had been on her ankle wound got wet while she was cleaning up in the bathroom.

She was careless and didn’t notice the wound was exposed. It was Deng Yun who adjusted the lighting and got a new Band-Aid from the first aid kit.

Xu Muzi sat on the edge of the bed while Deng Yun sat in the computer chair, holding her ankle. Seeing the dark jacket she was wearing, he teased, “Aren’t we not that familiar?”

“…Did you hear me talking to Xia Xia?”

“Mm.”

Xu Muzi shook her leg and said, “Your kissing skills are decent; I suppose that counts as being a little familiar.”

Deng Yun tore open the Band-Aid package and lazily responded, “Just decent?”

A bunch of images flashed through his mind.

Xu Muzi pressed her lips together, feeling shy. She tried to pull her foot back but was tightly held by Deng Yun.

He positioned the sponge in the middle of the Band-Aid over her wound, his finger lingering ambiguously on the fabric as he gently pressed it down. After applying it, he stood up and said, “Let’s go.”

When they left the room, it was midnight.

The light rain had almost stopped, and a bit of mist rose in the dark night. The hallway was silent, and it was likely that the group downstairs playing Werewolf had dispersed.

Several windows were slightly ajar, allowing the fresh, humid breeze to drift through the dim space.

The inn was completely silent, and Xu Muzi casually remarked, “At this time, I wonder if Xia Xia is still waiting downstairs.”

She received a reply: “She’s off work.”

Almost forgot that the person beside her was the boss, who knew everything.

The long sleeves of the jacket piled at her wrists, and Xu Muzi’s hand reached out from inside, held by Deng Yun as she followed him upstairs.

They walked through the circular corridor and entered the screening room on the third floor.

The screening room had already been cleaned.

The snacks and drinks from the small gathering were gone, and the mushroom-shaped cushions were neatly arranged on the sofa, while light green mineral aroma stones emitted the scent of lemongrass.

It was just as tidy and cozy as when she had first walked in at four in the morning.

“Is the screening room the old piano room?”

“No.”

“Then we…”

Xu Muzi was just about to ask when she saw Deng Yun walk around the coffee table and press a code on the wall.

During the small gathering here before, someone had drunk alcohol and mistakenly pressed the code lock on the wall as if it were a light switch.

Back then, they had thought the code lock led to a regular storage space or something similar.

An eight-digit password.

Xu Muzi saw Deng Yun inputting her birth year, followed by the month of her birthday, 06.

Then, she was able to guess the last two digits: 08.

June 8th.

She had once told him over the phone that she shared her birthday with the famous German composer Robert Schumann.

After entering the password, Deng Yun turned to her, smiling.

It was a smile very similar to the one he had when he was considering how to use his spare money, full of vigor.

It couldn’t be that simple…

He seemed unlikely to bring her to see a piano room that had already been sold off in the middle of the night.

Xu Muzi’s chest heaved, and ridiculous guesses began to surface in her mind as she nervously glanced at Deng Yun.

He understood the questions in her eyes, took her hand, and placed her palm against the hidden door.

The door was smooth and slightly cool.

She sensed a surprise coming, so nervous she could hardly breathe, and tightly closed her eyes, trying to calm her emotions.

With her visual channel closed, Xu Muzi felt Deng Yun’s body warmth behind her.

He rested his hand on her shoulder; probably with his head down, his breathing brushed against her ear, guiding her to push open the hidden door beneath her palm.

He said that to avoid her disappointment, he needed to tell her in advance that the piano in the photo had, under certain circumstances, already been sold by him.

“The piano inside now isn’t as expensive as that one.”

But Xu Muzi’s heart was still racing.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on the reason, but it felt like things weren’t as simple as he said.

The piano room seemed to have been untouched for a long time; when she pushed open the door, a faint scent of wood filled the mysterious, enclosed space.

The hidden door quietly closed behind them—

Deng Yun’s hand briefly left her shoulder. With a soft click, Xu Muzi sensed the lights turning on and slowly opened her eyes.

What a beautiful piano room.

Even without the flowers from the photo, it was still lovely.

The piano room was spacious and quiet.

The waxed hardwood floor reflected a soft glow, and the bright windows were adorned with dozens of tall and short bucket-shaped crystal vases, all sparkling…

But it still didn’t outshine the dazzling black polished body of a grand piano.

Xu Muzi recognized it almost immediately, turning to look at Deng Yun in disbelief.

She rushed over, reaching out her hand.

Her fingertips trembled slightly, and after hesitating for over ten seconds, she took a deep breath and lifted the keyboard cover, letting her fingertips rest on the keys.

It was it.

Xu Muzi had owned two pianos before.

The first piano was when she was just over three years old. She saw someone playing at the mall and was so captivated that she insisted on learning. Her parents bought her one.

At first, they didn’t know anything, and their family business hadn’t improved to the point of becoming wealthy.

A family of three, novices in this field, listened to a few introductions from the piano store and picked out a reasonably priced upright piano to take home.

By the time Xu Muzi entered elementary school, her hard work on the piano had allowed her to show good results, gaining the recognition of her piano teacher and the attention of her parents.

The piano teacher said Xu Muzi’s old piano had a muffled sound, and if possible, she should consider getting a new one.

At that time, her family’s business had improved, and the piano teacher, appreciating her talent, offered to sell her a spare grand piano at a very reasonable price.

The grand piano was truly beautiful.

Its curves were elegant, and the surface gleamed. When Xu Muzi first saw that piano after school, she was so happy she jumped up, threw her backpack aside, and rushed to touch the keys.

Now, Xu Muzi also sat down and caressed the keys.

The first time she encountered it, she played a segment of Chopin’s “Fantaisie Impromptu.”

At that time, she couldn’t play the piece fluidly, and when she reached the D-flat major section in the middle, she turned her head, grinning at her parents.

A long-awaited reunion.

Xu Muzi still played that piece.

She let her left hand gently fall on the keys, feeling the keys activate the delicate hammers and strings inside, also sensing its timbre, her nose tinged with a hint of acidity.

With her eyes closed, she immersed herself in playing the low notes at the end of the piece, tears welling up as she turned to look.

Deng Yun was still dressed in dark colors, wearing a black short-sleeve shirt, leaning against the soundproofed hidden door with his arms crossed.

The second joint of his index finger rested against his nose, his eyes filled with light, smiling as he asked, “Are you happy?”

Xu Muzi nodded emphatically.

This piano had accompanied her the longest.

It had been with her through over a decade of daily practice, witnessing her journey from unfamiliarity to proficiency in every piece she played, witnessing her progress and her moments of frustration and breakdown…

She had once practiced until her nails were injured, leaving traces of blood on the keys;

She had also cried silently while leaning on the piano cover.

It had accompanied Xu Muzi through so much.

On the day she decided to sell it, she could only suppress her reluctance and numbly tell her parents:

“It’s fine. If I want to practice piano in the future, I can go to find a rental studio that charges by the hour.”

The person who bought Xu Muzi’s piano was a new student that her piano teacher was currently teaching.

It was a girl, much younger than her, probably around the age when Xu Muzi got her new piano, just beginning to shine and in need of a good piano to play.

The girl’s family didn’t run a business and didn’t care if the Xu family went bankrupt.

Hearing that Xu Muzi successfully got into a prestigious music academy and that her well-maintained piano was a renowned brand, they were very willing to buy it.

Later, Xu Muzi heard her teacher say that the girl had achieved good results in competitions, feeling that the piano brought her good luck and cherished it greatly.

People who learn musical instruments tend to be sentimental. Unless absolutely necessary or if they could afford a higher-grade instrument, they wouldn’t part with their most cherished partner.

All of this happened after they lost contact.

How did Deng Yun know?

Perhaps it was because his mother had bought him a piano, which she later sold as a second-hand item after falling into debt. Being clever, he could easily deduce her family’s situation and understand that she couldn’t hold on to her cherished possessions.

But…

How did he convince that family to sell the piano back to him?

She had never thought there would be a day when she would regain something she had lost.

Xu Muzi’s eyes were red: “How did you find it? They wouldn’t be willing to sell it…”

Deng Yun offered a higher price, enough for them to buy a better, brand-new piano.

After several negotiations, the girl’s parents ultimately agreed to let him have the piano.

Deng Yun didn’t elaborate on how he negotiated.

The piano room was so quiet that there was not a hint of noise. He simply said, “Everything is possible if you’re sincere.”

“Did you sell the piano you had here because of it?”

“Pretty much.”

Xu Muzi wasn’t foolish; she knew Deng Yun was withholding some information and shook her head disapprovingly.

Tears shimmered in her eyes as she complained, saying he must have spent a lot of unnecessary money on this matter and surely went through a lot of trouble.

Deng Yun asked again, “Seeing it makes you happy?”

The piano stood quietly in the center of the room.

Xu Muzi glanced at it, caressed the keys, and sincerely replied, “Yes, I’m happy.”

He smiled lightly: “Then it’s worth it.”

The tears Xu Muzi had been trying hard to hold back spilled over, cascading down onto Deng Yun’s jacket.

She tried to wipe them away with her sleeve, but the more she wiped, the more there were, so she simply covered her face.

Deng Yun walked over and pulled her hands away from her eyes: “Don’t cry.”

He teased her, asking how many times she had cried in just a few hours. Why was she so emotional?

She answered honestly, saying the last time in bed didn’t count.

That time was just physiological tears, not real crying.

As she said this, Xu Muzi’s eyelashes were still glistening with tears, making her look pitiful yet excessively adorable.

Deng Yun swallowed hard, his gaze slightly softened, but he didn’t take advantage of the moment.

He wiped away her teetering tear and asked her if she cried a little longer, her eyes would surely swell. After a few hours, how would she explain her puffy eyes when she got home?

Xu Muzi didn’t know exactly how her parents’ relationship with his had returned to what degree, and she certainly couldn’t mention Deng Yun casually.

If she revealed everything they had done, it would probably give her mother a heart attack…

Thinking about going home made her think of that “great news.”

Xu Muzi sniffled and secretly thought:

Maybe it was good to cry a little more before going home; by then, her eyelids would be swollen, her looks diminished, and her parents might think she was unpresentable, which could prevent them from introducing her to new blind dates.

Deng Yun tapped the tip of Xu Muzi’s red nose and asked what she was thinking while blinking her eyes.

She replied, “Maybe my fourth blind date of the year is sitting at home waiting for me.”

Deng Yun chuckled softly, intending to help wipe her tears, but his finger changed direction, curling into a fist, and gently tapped her forehead: “Still thinking about that blind date, huh?”