Chapter 12: It’s You

Her room was spacious.

There was even a dedicated walk-in closet, filled with a dazzling array of clothes, most of which were bought by Jiang Meilin for her, along with quite a few handbags worth over ten thousand yuan each.

But Chen Qingqing had hardly used any of those bags. After buying them, they were mostly left as decorations inside the cabinet.

Chen Qingqing came from a well-off family.

Her Father, Chen Hansong, was the branch manager at a local joint-stock bank, with a starting annual salary in the seven figures.

Her Mother, Jiang Meilin, earned even more than Chen Hansong.

Both were workaholics, which had become the main reason for their divorce.

Chen Qingqing had always been a quiet girl since childhood, and after Chen Hansong and Jiang Meilin divorced, she became even more silent. She often stayed home alone, disliked going out, and as a result, had no friends at all.

However, Chen Qingqing had long since gotten used to living alone.

She lay on her soft, large bed, listening to music as she drifted off to sleep. The light in her room stayed on all night—she never turned it off when she slept, feeling that the light gave her a sense of security.

When she woke up, the vast villa was once again empty, with only her inside.

On the dining table downstairs, there was a cooked steak and a glass of milk, next to which was a sticky note:

“Sorry, Qingqing. Mommy has to go on a business trip. I’ve already messaged Ru Xue—she’ll come by later. If you need anything, just tell her.”

Wang Ruxue was the personal assistant Jiang Meilin had arranged for Chen Qingqing. Aside from Jiang Meilin and Chen Qingqing, she was one of the very few people allowed into their home.

Usually, whenever Jiang Meilin went on a business trip, she would inform Wang Ruxue in advance.

After reading the note, Chen Qingqing crumpled the sticky note into a ball and tossed it into the nearby trash bin. She then sat at the dining table, eating her breakfast in small bites.

Just after nine in the morning, Wang Ruxue arrived at the house. Seeing Chen Qingqing sitting on the sofa, holding a guitar and practicing, Wang Ruxue didn’t disturb her but instead went to the kitchen to tidy up.

“Qingqing, what do you want for lunch?”

“Anything is fine.”

Wang Ruxue was used to it by now. Every time she asked Chen Qingqing questions like this, the answer was always some variation of “whatever” or “anything is fine.”

Time at home always seemed to pass quickly.

The sun was setting.

Another day seemed to have slipped by in a blur.

Chen Qingqing stared for a long time at the fiery clouds in the west from the second floor. Only when the sun had completely set did she come downstairs.

At the dining table, Wang Ruxue took a bank card out of her bag and placed it in front of Chen Qingqing. “Qingqing, your Mother asked me to give this to you. There’s some money on it—you can buy whatever you want for your birthday.”

Chen Qingqing didn’t even glance at the card; she simply ate her meal quietly. After a long pause, she suddenly said, “Aunt Wang, I want to go out tonight.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“To the lakeside.”

Wang Ruxue suddenly recalled what had happened last night.

When Chen Qingqing was practicing guitar by the lake yesterday, Wang Ruxue had been waiting in the car. Xu Ye’s appearance made her want several times to call out to Chen Qingqing, but in the end, she held back.

Still, it had been her who honked the horn in the end.

“All right,” Wang Ruxue said without asking further, though she felt a bit surprised.

…

Half an hour later.

A smooth-running Alphard business van was cruising along the national highway.

After pulling over to the roadside, Chen Qingqing got out and headed to the lakeside. She quietly sat on the same stone bench from last night, listening to music.

Many people passed by—mostly locals from nearby taking an evening stroll.

After a long while,

Chen Qingqing took off her headphones, stood up, and walked along the steps to the roadside. When the car door opened, she got back inside.

Wang Ruxue turned her head and asked, “Going back now?”

Chen Qingqing hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and asked back, “Aunt Wang, is the beer good?”

“Beer?”

“Yes.”

“How come you’re asking this?”

“I want to taste what beer actually tastes like.”

“But…”

Chen Qingqing said, “If you want to ask my Mother, you can call her right now.”

In the end, Wang Ruxue didn’t make the call. She felt Chen Qingqing was already an adult and should be able to make some decisions on her own.

“I know a bar where not many people go, and I know their landlady.”

“Then let’s go.”

…

At the Encounter Music Bar.

“Landlady, Guo Hai is late again.”

“He just messaged me, said he can’t make it tonight because of something urgent.”

Zhang Xiaonuan pouted, “He’s always late, and takes so many days off every month, I don’t even know how many. What’s wrong with him?”

Pei Youwei reached out to ruffle Zhang Xiaonuan’s hair and smiled, “It’s fine. If he doesn’t come, he doesn’t come. We still have our little singing god here.”

As soon as Pei Youwei finished speaking, Zhang Xiaonuan and Zhou Ying both turned their attention to Xu Ye.

Xu Ye crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to look scared. “Don’t look at me with those lecherous eyes. I’m still a kid.”

“Hahaha.”

Though Xu Ye was only eighteen, he had the experience of ten more years, so whether it was with Zhang Xiaonuan, Zhou Ying, or the slightly older Pei Youwei, there was no generation gap. After just two nights working at the bar, he had already blended in with them.

“Xu, tonight we’re counting on you.”

Xu Ye shrugged, “I don’t mind, but without a guitar, it feels like something’s missing.”

“We’ll find some backing tracks for you. You can just sing along with the music from the speakers.”

“That works.”

Xu Ye agreed, thinking about which songs he would sing tonight.

Just then—

“Youwei, long time no see.”

At the door, Wang Ruxue walked in and greeted Pei Youwei directly.

Pei Youwei smiled when she saw Wang Ruxue arrive. “Ruxue, it really is you. It’s been a while since you last came.”

“No choice, work’s been busy.”

“Come on, have a seat.”

Xu Ye heard their conversation and glanced behind him. Just as he was about to look away, another person walked in.

Xu Ye was startled, rubbed his eyes, and exclaimed, “It’s you!”

Chen Qingqing was also surprised, though her expression wasn’t as exaggerated as Xu Ye’s. She hadn’t expected to see him here.

Her frozen heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Pei Youwei heard the voices and turned her gaze toward Chen Qingqing. She asked meaningfully, “Xu Ye, you two know each other?”

“Uh…”

Xu Ye scratched his head. “How to put it… we kinda know each other, but not really. We just met for the first time last night.”

“Then you really have fate,” Pei Youwei said with a smile.

Pei Youwei waved Chen Qingqing over to sit inside the bar. Wang Ruxue hadn’t really gotten a good look at Xu Ye last night; it was only when Xu Ye mentioned it that she realized he was the guy by the lake.

To run into him here again felt like quite a coincidence to Wang Ruxue.

“Youwei, can you get me a bottle of beer?”

“Cold?”

“Room temperature is fine.”

Pei Youwei gave Xu Ye a knowing look, and Xu Ye quickly went to grab a bottle of beer, also bringing two cups along.

He set the beer down on the table and casually asked, “You didn’t bring your guitar today?”

Chen Qingqing looked up and nodded.

“No worries, just asking.”

Xu Ye smiled and then said to Pei Youwei, “Boss, I’m going to sing now. There’ll be red envelopes tonight too, right?”

“Don’t worry, you won’t miss out.”