Chapter 54: Not You

“Oh, you’ve grown up and gotten shy?” Xia Wanwan teased. “You’re just like when you were little—one minute all confident, the next completely bashful. I’ve called you that since you were a kid, so why can’t I now? Tell me, who exactly is that little girl to you?”

Xia Wanwan was relentless. She was still surprised by Jun Nanye’s sudden request to hold a concert in Hai City. She had considered it before, but her schedule had been packed lately. In the end, Jun Nanye had persuaded her by saying there was a little girl who was a huge fan of her singing.

Despite her curiosity, Jun Nanye never revealed the girl’s identity—not even a name. Eventually, Xia Wanwan gave in and agreed to the concert.

“You don’t even know her name?” she asked in disbelief.

“No,” Jun Nanye sighed. He’d been sure she would show up for the dinner. Even if she didn’t join them, she’d at least sneak a peek.

But Tao An had waited outside for over an hour, and no one ever came.

“Seriously?” Xia Wanwan stared at him in shock. “Little Pumpkin, you asked me to perform a concert for someone you don’t even know? And you can’t even find a person you’ve actually met?”

If I told Sister Xia I don’t even remember what she looks like, would she think I’ve gone mad? Jun Nanye thought silently. Better to say nothing at all.

Xia Wanwan rested her chin on one hand and gave him a curious look. “So, what kind of celestial beauty could possibly capture the heart of a confirmed bachelor like you?”

Jun Nanye: “……”

He was only twenty-five! Twenty-five! How did that make him a “confirmed bachelor”?

“Little Pumpkin, your sister’s rooting for you,” Xia Wanwan grinned. “With that face of yours, she won’t stand a chance.”

Jun Nanye had been surrounded by admirers since childhood. If he hadn’t been so ruthlessly unapproachable, he would’ve spent his days fending off confessions.

“My brother’s thirty this year. He’s the real old bachelor,” he countered.

Xia Wanwan chuckled and smoothly changed the subject.

That night, Cheng Yuan slept fitfully. Used to her cold bed in a pitch-dark room, she could only fall asleep while clutching a piece of jade. In the unfamiliar hotel bed, she woke up several times throughout the night. Around two in the morning, a nightmare jolted her fully awake.

Sitting up abruptly, she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to recall the dream. Her gaze drifted to Bei Xiaolin, sound asleep beside her. In the dream, something terrible had happened to Xiaolin. She vaguely remembered that after New Year’s, Xiaolin had fallen seriously ill and didn’t return to school until spring.

Back then, Cheng Yuan had been too caught up in her own troubles to ask what had happened. Now, the guilt weighed on her.

How can I help her this time?

Unable to sleep, she slipped into the bathroom, locked the door, and eventually drifted off clutching her jade pendant.

Jun Nanye couldn’t sleep either. He flipped through the photos Tao An had taken, confirming that neither girl was Classmate Cheng. The names they’d gotten were Song Yu and Yuan Lili—both beautiful, but not her.

He worked until two in the morning, then finally surrendered to exhaustion. Returning to his room, he locked the door and fell into a deep sleep.

“Why didn’t you come?” he murmured upon waking, reaching into his pocket to touch the photo. He had waited for her.

“I did! I saw the concert,” Cheng Yuan replied, her voice hoarse and completely unlike her usual soft tone.

“Where were you sitting?” he asked immediately.

“In the seat on my ticket, of course,” she said lazily, feigning ignorance. “It’s late. I need to sleep.”

“Which one is you?” Jun Nanye pulled out the photo.

Cheng Yuan recognized Song Yu at a glance. She pointed without hesitation. “The one in the red padded jacket.”

“That’s not you,” Jun Nanye said firmly.

“Then that is me! This young lady is just that gorgeous,” Cheng Yuan replied with a smirk. Song Yu had sharp, eye-catching beauty. Cheng Yuan’s own features leaned more toward classical elegance—quiet, not striking at first glance.

“That’s not you,” Jun Nanye repeated.

Cheng Yuan glared at him. “What makes you so sure?”

“Intuition,” he replied without hesitation. Even though they had never met face to face, he felt he knew her well enough by now to be sure. That girl wasn’t her.

Cheng Yuan nearly laughed aloud. Since when is a man’s intuition sharper than a woman’s?

“Your intuition’s wrong,” she insisted stubbornly.

“One of them is Song Yu. The other is Yuan Lili,” Jun Nanye said, watching her closely. “So? Is your surname Song or Yuan?”

Cheng Yuan: “……”

How did he figure out both of their identities so fast?

Thank goodness I switched spots. If I’d gone to that ‘old place,’ I’d probably still be stuck there right now!

Determined not to slip up, she kept her eyes closed and breathing steady, pretending to be fast asleep.

Forget it. Let me rest first.

“Yuanyuan.”

Bei Xiaolin, who’d eaten and drunk a lot, woke up needing to pee. Seeing the bathroom door locked, she knocked. “Yuanyuan, are you done yet? I really can’t hold it!”

Cheng Yuan opened her eyes, startled. Hearing Xiaolin’s voice and realizing where she was, she sat up in a panic and urgently nudged Jun Nanye.

“Wake up! If you don’t open your eyes, we’re going to get caught!”

“I’m not the one about to get exposed,” Jun Nanye said calmly. Then, hearing Bei Xiaolin call her name, he turned to Cheng Yuan. “So your name is Cheng Yuanyuan?”

Cheng Yuan: “……” Why did I sneak in here to sleep? Was one night of insomnia really worth it?

“Are you in there?” Bei Xiaolin yelled again.

Jun Nanye remained motionless. Growing desperate, Cheng Yuan grabbed his hand and bit him hard.

It was the third time she’d bitten him. This time, she really caught him off guard.

Jun Nanye snapped his eyes open, furious. But by then, the room was already empty. He picked up his pillow and threw it in frustration.

“That girl bites like a dog!” he muttered through gritted teeth.

Fueled by determination, Jun Nanye pulled up the school database and searched every female student in Hai City High with the surname Cheng and the character “Yuan” in their name. To his surprise, there were quite a few—Cheng Yuan, Cheng Yuanyuan, Cheng Yuyuan, and so on.

Without knowing which “Yuan” she used, he had at least a dozen names.

“I refuse to believe I can’t find you,” he said, staring down at the list like he could summon her from the page.

Kept waking me up and wouldn’t let me sleep. Just wait—I’m going to make you pay for this.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yuan exited the bathroom looking utterly defeated. Bei Xiaolin rushed in behind her, gasping, “Yuanyuan, were you seriously sleeping in there?”

Cheng Yuan collapsed on the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

Her cover was seconds away from being blown.

“How could I be so stupid!” she groaned, pounding her pillow in frustration—completely unaware that her sleep-talking had already sent Jun Nanye down a very different path.