Chapter 30- Don’t worry about Song Shiyue

It was such a coincidence that there was exactly one empty table in the shop — the same one the four of them had sat at before.

Song Shiyue held the menu and recommended several items to him, all of which she had eaten before and knew tasted particularly good.

Once the dishes were served, Zhu Xingyan picked up a spoon. The sweet sugar water tasted strangely sour the moment it entered his mouth.

The person in front of him kept her eyes wide open, looking at him expectantly. “How does it taste?”

“Sour,” he said without changing his expression.

“Ah? No way.” Song Shiyue was surprised. She widened her eyes in disbelief, immediately took a spoon and scooped some osmanthus wine-fermented rice balls from his bowl. “Could it have gone bad?”

She frowned as she brought the food to her mouth. The next second, she turned her head and looked at him in confusion.

“It’s very sweet.” Song Shiyue put down the spoon, her cheeks moving slightly, her expression puzzled.

“Then maybe I tasted it wrong.” Zhu Xingyan ate from the exact spot she had scooped from earlier and took another taste. The osmanthus wine-fermented rice balls released their original flavor — rich wine aroma and gentle sweetness.

“Sweet.”

This strange, puzzling, and contradictory exchange did not trouble Song Shiyue for long. She had already experienced too many shocks today. Such a small interlude could not draw her attention at all. Instead, it dispelled the discomfort she had felt earlier while being swept along in the congested flow of people.

Time passed quickly, almost impossible to grasp. When the temple fair performances were nearing their end, the two of them also returned to the car.

The sidewalk was crowded with tourists. The car moved forward slowly. As they drove out and passed the previous entrance again, the staff distributing masks were slowly packing up their stall, counting their items and preparing to finish work.

Something suddenly flashed through Song Shiyue’s mind. She turned her head to look at him.

“Was today’s performance something you arranged?”

“It was me. I asked the staff to help coordinate it a little.” Zhu Xingyan admitted frankly.

“You… In these past few years you haven’t been able to visit the temple fair. Did you feel a bit regretful?” She recalled the incident when he was photographed back then and asked hesitantly.

“There was one year that was particularly regretful,” he answered.

Song Shiyue’s eyes widened slightly, filled with confusion. Zhu Xingyan looked at her and smiled, the curve of his lips gentle and soft.

“Now I no longer feel regretful.”

After the Spring Festival ended.

Zhu Xingyan became busy again.

He had accepted a movie role before the New Year and was about to officially join the film crew.

On the day his flight was taking off, Song Shiyue was out shopping with Dali. During these New Year days, she had stood her up several times — not only had she not gone to the temple fair with her, she had also missed the New Year’s Eve activities. Today she came out specifically to make up for it.

The young lady was shopping while Song Shiyue carried her bags for her. Dali held a cup of milk tea in her right hand and pointed at Song Shiyue with her left, looking particularly dissatisfied.

“Song Moon, what have you been busy with recently?! I feel like you’re being all mysterious, as if you’re hiding something from me?!”

“I have some private matters,” Song Shiyue knew she was in the wrong and disliked lying, so she could only respond vaguely.

“You have private matters that even I don’t know about?” Dali looked suspicious as she leaned closer, staring at her with wide eyes. Song Shiyue leaned her body back slightly to avoid her bright gaze.

“It involves someone else’s private matters.” Song Shiyue hesitated, but ultimately decided to keep this secret.

“I’ll tell you when it becomes convenient later.”

She felt that Zhu Xingyan’s behavior recently had been very unusual — so unusual that it had already crossed the boundaries of friendship in her heart.

Song Shiyue didn’t know how to define their relationship, but everything that had happened between them lately, if any of it got out, seemed like it would affect him.

He was not only Zhu Xingyan, but also a well-known superstar.

Song Shiyue instinctively wanted to protect him.

“Alright then.” Upon hearing this, Dali stopped pressing the issue and pulled her to continue browsing the shops ahead. Halfway through, it suddenly started raining. They had no choice but to temporarily abandon their shopping plans and take shelter in a dessert shop.

When they left the house earlier, the weather had been clear and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. There had been no sign of rain at all. This shower came without warning. Neither of them had brought an umbrella, and they had gotten quite wet on the way here. They could only warm up by the shop’s heater.

“I wonder when this rain will stop.” Dali rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window wistfully. Song Shiyue followed her gaze. The shop was located in a street-side alley, and there was still a short distance to walk outside. Cars could not drive in.

“It shouldn’t take too long. If it doesn’t stop, we can order an umbrella through delivery,” Song Shiyue said.

“That works too. Luckily we’re not in a hurry to go back.”

While they were chatting casually, a new message came into Song Shiyue’s phone. She instinctively tilted the screen slightly toward herself and looked down to open it.

Zhu Xingyan was asking where she was.

She checked the time. There were still two hours until his flight.

「Moon」: 【What’s wrong?】

Song Shiyue replied in confusion.

Her palm buzzed with a vibration, and a reply came from the other side very quickly.

「Star」: 【It’s raining. You’re outside — did you not bring an umbrella?】

「Star」: 【I’m just about to head out. Send me your location and I’ll have the driver come over.】

Song Shiyue felt he was being a little too considerate.

Under her refusal, the other party directly made a voice call. She glanced at Dali sitting opposite her, so startled that her hand trembled, and instinctively pressed the hang-up button.

Zhu Xingyan sent a question mark.

She nervously pressed her lips together and helplessly sent him the location of the shop.

「Moon」: 【My friend is here, it’s not convenient for me to answer.】

Song Shiyue thought he would simply have the driver drop off the umbrella on the way. After sending the location, she sat quietly inside the shop waiting.

The two desserts in front of them were gradually eaten until almost gone. Dali, who had been bored scrolling on her phone, suddenly looked up toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Her eyes widened in disbelief and her entire body froze.

Song Shiyue looked over in surprise as well. At the street intersection ahead, a figure holding an umbrella was walking toward them. The person wore a black windbreaker, standing tall and straight. He held a black umbrella in one hand while the other was tucked casually in his pocket, heading directly for the shop.

It was a misty rainy day with very few people on the street. He wasn’t even wearing a mask. Relying on the umbrella for cover, he occasionally raised his hand, revealing a section of his fair and refined jawline. His steps were steady and unhurried.

Dali had gone to the same school as Zhu Xingyan and had seen him several times before, so she was somewhat familiar with his figure and appearance. With just one glance, she recognized him.

“Zhu… Zhu Xingyan…?” She was so shocked she couldn’t even speak a complete sentence, but she still managed to lower her voice in astonishment.

Song Shiyue was already on pins and needles. Staring at the approaching figure, she suddenly stood up.

At the same time, her phone vibrated in her hand.

Fortunately, he still had some sense left and did not walk straight in. Instead, he stood under the eaves not far away and called her.

Through the glass, that tall figure stood quietly waiting. A warm voice came through on the phone.

“I’m here.”

Song Shiyue didn’t dare look at Dali’s expression. She mumbled “I’ll go out for a bit,” hung up the phone, and practically fled in panic.

Under the eaves on this rainy day, the wind chimes hanging in the corner tinkled crisply.

Song Shiyue was brought under the umbrella. He slightly tilted his wrist to block the view from outside.

In the dim light, it felt as though only their breaths remained.

“You said you’d have the driver bring it over. Why did you come yourself?” Before he could speak, Song Shiyue anxiously asked first, her voice carrying unconscious worry.

“The driver wasn’t convenient.” A steady voice sounded from above her head. Song Shiyue looked up and met Zhu Xingyan’s serious face. Her expression turned helpless.

“Aren’t you being more convenient than him?”

“Yes.” He actually answered without any shame. Song Shiyue could not help glaring at him. The person before her smiled inexplicably. Zhu Xingyan placed the umbrella handle he was holding into her palm.

“You hold it and go back with your friend later.”

“What about you?” Song Shiyue looked him up and down. The boy was wearing a neat and loose coat, with only a thin sweater underneath that outlined his refined and upright figure. It didn’t look like he had another umbrella hidden on him.

“I naturally came prepared.” As he spoke, he took out a hat and mask from his coat pocket, put them on unhurriedly, and in the blink of an eye, that face was completely covered.

“I’m leaving.”

“Mm.” She responded in a muffled voice. Under the brim of his hat, Zhu Xingyan’s eyelashes blinked helplessly. His long, thick lashes lowered gently as he looked at her and asked softly, “Is there really nothing else you want to say to me?”

Song Shiyue raised her eyes. Under the cramped and dim umbrella, she gazed into his still pitch-black and bright pupils.

She thought for a moment and said softly, “Have a safe journey.”

“And?” The man persistently pressed for more.

She hesitated, then said uncertainly, “See you in Jing City?”

“Good.” A crisp and decisive answer came from the other side. As if afraid she would take it back, before turning to leave, Zhu Xingyan solemnly repeated once more.

“See you in Jing City.”

After he finished speaking, he glanced behind her and said in his usual polite tone.

“Say hello to your friend for me.”

___

The boy’s tall, black figure disappeared into the rain curtain.

Song Shiyue turned around and immediately met a gaze as substantial as reality coming from behind the glass not far away.

She put away the umbrella, steadied her mind, and went to face the upcoming storm.

Unexpectedly, Dali remained unusually calm and composed, sitting in her original seat. She first took a sip of her coffee, then lowered her voice and asked through gritted teeth.

“Speak.”

Song Shiyue explained everything that had happened recently in a relatively normal tone, concisely and clearly. As soon as her last word fell, Dali let out a cold snort, her voice sour.

“I knew it.”

“From the moment you went through so much trouble to recover that QQ account that had been stolen for two years, I already guessed there was something going on between you two!”

“Right after Zhu Xingyan made a big show in a media interview about losing contact with the only female class monitor he remembers from high school, you went looking for your QQ account. Anyone with eyes could see there was something fishy — let alone me, the Gossip Queen Jiang Dali! Nothing can escape my eyes!”

“It wasn’t right after — there was a one-year gap between them,” Song Shiyue couldn’t help defending herself.

Dali waved her hand grandly: “Not important.”

“What’s important is that Zhu Xingyan still wants to continue things with you after so long. This big star is way too pure in love, isn’t he? And he’s so proactive. The moment he learned your QQ had been stolen, which caused you to lose contact, he flew straight back to Fan City the very next day to find you.”

“I feel like I could go online and write a post titled ‘Help! My best friend is actually dating a big star!’”

The more Dali spoke, the more excited she became. She sat up straight, rubbing her hands together eagerly, itching to grab a keyboard and start writing right then and there.

Song Shiyue had to correct her again, helplessly pressing her forehead: “We’re not dating.”

“Come on! Is there any difference between what you two are doing and actually dating?!?!” She finally could no longer suppress her true nature. In the end she revealed her original form, excitedly pounding her fist on the table, nearly knocking over a bowl in the dessert shop.

Dali took a few deep breaths, her face flushed red as she sat properly. She grabbed Song Shiyue’s hand with a sincere look: “Moon, when you become rich and noble, don’t forget your friends. My latest obsession is Zhou Bingtian, the creamy boy from his company. Can I ask Zhu Xingyan to help me get ten signed photos? Oh no, five is fine too. Three! Two! At least one — I really can’t back down anymore!—”

_____

Dali’s words were deafening.

They uncontrollably echoed in Song Shiyue’s mind for many days.

After Zhu Xingyan joined the film crew, he became very busy. The two of them did not contact each other frequently, but every day they would share a little of their daily lives with each other.

Unknowingly, the holiday came to an end.

The night before Song Shiyue packed her luggage to return to Jing City, she received a message from Zhu Xingyan.

「Star」: 【Going back to school tomorrow?】

「Moon」: 【Mm】

For some reason, she became reserved. She found his attitude during this period a little hard to handle.

She seemed to have some difficulty coping with it.

Fortunately, Zhu Xingyan had already grown used to her cautiousness.

「Star」: 【Have you booked your flight?】

「Moon」: 【Yes, it’s booked】

「Star」: 【Send it to me to see】

When Song Shiyue saw the message, she hesitated. The input box remained still for a long time. Seeming to sense what she was thinking, Zhu Xingyan sent another message.

「Star」: 【Don’t worry, I just want to confirm your safety. I won’t do anything】

There was a trace of helplessness in his words.

Song Shiyue realized she might have overreacted. She pressed her lips together and typed.

「Moon」: 【Sorry】

She sent him a screenshot of her flight information.

「Star」: 【You don’t need to apologize to me】

「Moon」: 【Okay】

After sending it, she couldn’t help asking worriedly.

「Moon」: 【Are you angry?】

「Star」: 【No】

After a few seconds, another message came through.

「Star」: 【Don’t worry, Song Shiyue】

「Star」: 【We’ll take it slow】