Chapter 39: Do you want to be with me?

As midsummer arrived, the summer vacation began.

Song Shiyue completed her visa documents, went home to visit Zhao Siqian and Song Qing, and then set off on the academic exchange visit together with her teachers and classmates.

The first stop of the study tour was the United Kingdom. They would spend two weeks living and studying as visiting students at a renowned century old prestigious school.

Every day, in addition to attending classes at the school, the foreign teachers also took them for various extracurricular expansion trainings, participating in activities and interviews, communicating with passers by on the street, and holding group discussion sessions… Their lives were fully packed with these activities. During their free time, the students who came for the exchange tour would explore and travel to nearby places together.

Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had ended.

On their last day in the United Kingdom, they held a farewell party at a bar restaurant outside the school. Before departure, everyone seemed to have many feelings of reluctance — the friendship formed from spending day and night together during this period, as well as their attachment to this place.

Many people had drunk alcohol. Sitting next to Song Shiyue was a male student, also an award winner from the same competition. During this period of overseas study, he had temporarily become her classmate.

He had an outgoing and enthusiastic personality. From the first day they met, he affectionately used nicknames for everyone. There was a girl named Qin Yang, whom he called Little Qin. He did the same with the boys and almost never called anyone by their full name. The only exception was Song Shiyue. He singled her out and always called her Little Yue, using it every time he spoke.

She felt a bit embarrassed and had brought it up twice, suggesting he call her Little Song or just Shiyue. The boy laughed brightly and openly, saying without any guile: “I think Little Yue sounds cuter!”

Outside the window the night was deep and dark, while the restaurant was brightly lit. The boy, who had been drinking, had a light flush on his face as he attentively poured juice into her glass.

“Do not drink too much. You will feel uncomfortable tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you.” Song Shiyue politely accepted and said courteously, “You should drink less too.”

“It is fine. I have a good alcohol tolerance.” The crowd was noisy, so the two of them naturally leaned their heads closer while talking. From outside the floor to ceiling glass windows, they looked as if they were whispering intimately to each other.

The gathering did not end until ten o’clock at night. Since they had to catch a flight the next day, they did not stay out too late.

The group walked toward the entrance, preparing to return to school. Everyone chatted and laughed as they moved forward. Song Shiyue was checking her phone messages and fell a few steps behind.

Half an hour ago, Zhu Xingyan had sent her: 【Where are you?】

She had been listening to her classmates chat at the time and did not see it. Now that the party was over, she finally replied a bit late.

【I was at a gathering near the school. I did not see my phone earlier. Sorry.】

【Is it over?】

【Yes, I am about to head back.】

Song Shiyue had just finished replying when she heard someone calling her from ahead. She lifted her head and looked forward.

The enthusiastic male classmate from the gathering, whose name was Liu Xian, was standing at the doorway calling her: “Little Yue, walk a bit faster, do not fall behind.”

“Oh, okay, coming.” Zhu Xingyan had not replied yet. Song Shiyue put away her phone, quickened her pace, and caught up in a few steps.

“Are we all going straight back to school later?” Liu Xian asked the surrounding classmates, but his eyes were fixed solely on Song Shiyue. Under the dim lights outside the door, it looked as if the two of them were talking alone amid the crowd.

Song Shiyue was still thinking about the earlier message. Her phone had remained silent for a long time, and Zhu Xingyan had not replied. She did not know if he was angry.

She was slightly distracted and did not respond. Instead, the classmates beside her chimed in one after another.

“Let us go straight back. Do you guys still want to stroll around?”

“It is so late already, and we have to catch a flight tomorrow.”

“Let us all go back together.”

“Go, back to school.”

The group prepared to leave and had only walked a few steps when a homeless person holding a wine bottle suddenly came from the street side. Song Shiyue was looking down at her phone and did not notice. She almost bumped into the swaying person opposite her.

Liu Xian was quick with his eyes and hands. He pulled her back, his voice tense: “Little Yue, do not keep looking at your phone. Watch the road.”

“Oh yo, our Chairman Liu is very concerned about Little Yue~~”

Liu Xian was the student union president of their school. Over this period, thanks to his enthusiastic and familiar personality, everyone easily joked with him.

“Little Yue, Little Yue~”

“Why is it Little Qin for me!”

“Exactly, call me Little Zhu!”

On the nighttime street the laughter and noise were loud and piercing. A group of Chinese faces was very easy to spot on a foreign street. Song Shiyue could not stop their joking. The warm phone body in her hand vibrated. She lowered her eyes to look and, just at that moment, Zhu Xingyan’s message came in.

【I see you.】

She was startled and lifted her head. Not far away, under a street lamp at the corner, stood a familiar figure. In this distant foreign country, as if relying on the fact that no one knew him, his face was uncovered and unobstructed as he stood there.

On a midsummer night in Britain the temperature was actually quite low. He was wearing a black windbreaker and long pants. His brows and eyes were clear, the evening breeze lightly sweeping past, and his dark hair brushed across his forehead.

It was like a big star from the screen had stepped out of a movie.

At the same time low exclamations came from beside her. She was not the only one who saw it. The surrounding classmates had also noticed the person ahead, and suppressed surprised gasps began to spread.

“Is that Zhu Xingyan?”

“How can we run into him here?!”

“Is he here in Britain for travel?”

“Can we go up and ask for an autograph??”

…

The whispered discussions continued nonstop. As they spoke, Zhu Xingyan had already started walking straight toward them. The voices around gradually stopped. Everyone unconsciously halted their words, and even their footsteps forgot to move, remaining in place.

Song Shiyue felt as if her entire body was frozen in place. In her eyes only the figure walking toward her remained. Zhu Xingyan’s outline became clearer and clearer in her vision until the beam of light from the nearby street lamp fully illuminated his face.

“Why did it just end?” The boy stood in front of her. The light fell on the side of his face, casting shadows between his brows and eyes. He spoke in a low voice, “I have been waiting for you for a long time.”

By now waves of gasps had risen around them. No one dared to speak loudly. Song Shiyue’s mind went blank for a brief moment. She tried hard to gather her thoughts and replied woodenly: “Have you been waiting for long?”

“Yes. I have been waiting since I sent you the message.”

“Then why did not you tell me earlier? I could have come out to find you sooner.” She responded instinctively.

“You replied saying it was almost over.”

Song Shiyue suddenly remembered that she had only seen the phone message when the party was about to end. Guilt flashed in her eyes, and she immediately apologized: “I am sorry. I did not check my phone earlier.”

“It is fine.”

The two of them continued talking as if no one else was around for a while until the classmates beside them could no longer hold back. Liu Xian, who was closest to her, had a gaze full of surprise and uncertainty as it lingered on Zhu Xingyan’s face. He tentatively spoke first: “Little Yue… who is this…?”

The voice woke her up. Song Shiyue’s rationality returned. She assessed the situation around her, and her mind became even more chaotic. She looked at Zhu Xingyan standing openly and without any concealment in front of her, wanting to speak but hesitating, unsure how to introduce him.

“Hello everyone, I am Shiyue’s friend Zhu Xingyan. Sorry for disturbing you all.” Zhu Xingyan introduced himself first, openly and honestly revealing his identity. Yet his tone and demeanor were completely normal, not at all like the big star on the screen. He spoke lightly as if he were just an ordinary friend of one of their classmates, whom they had happened to meet on this night.

Whether it was being intimidated by his presence or sensing that the two of them needed privacy, the surrounding classmates did not come forward tactlessly. They simply greeted him with slight restraint one after another, then looked tentatively at Song Shiyue.

“Then we will head back first…?” They gestured toward Zhu Xingyan beside her and pointed carefully with their hands.

“You and your big star friend can take a stroll…?”

“Good.” Song Shiyue nodded hurriedly, her eyes showing gratitude. “You all go back first.”

The group waved goodbye to them. Their gazes lingered reluctantly on Zhu Xingyan’s face, wanting to seize this last chance to look a few more times. Only Liu Xian kept his eyes on her, his expression carrying hidden concern as he reminded her.

“Little Yue, do not stay out too late. Come back early.”

Before he could even finish speaking, the people beside him pulled him away into the distance. Faintly, it seemed one could still hear a low warning from afar: “Still calling her Little Yue… can you not see anything at all?”

The street became empty and quiet once more. Occasional foreign faces passed by in twos and threes, drawing a few glances.

Zhu Xingyan’s figure did not move. He lowered his eyes and spoke to her in a low voice: “…Little Yue?”

Song Shiyue did not dare to answer. Her lips moved hesitantly a couple of times. She lowered her head, her voice weak: “I have corrected him several times, but there is still no way…”

“No way?” He repeated these three words lightly between his teeth. His eyelashes cast a shadow downward, making his expression hard to read.

Song Shiyue suddenly felt uneasy in her heart. She gathered her courage, raised her eyes to meet his gaze, took a light breath, and asked directly: “Do you mind it very much?”

“Do you mind other people calling me that way, Zhu Xingyan?”

She felt as if she was personally breaking something — the invisible tacit understanding the two of them had built over a long time. Something she had always avoided and pretended not to see.

“Yes.” In the next moment, the boy admitted it openly and candidly, his pronunciation clear and emphatic.

“I mind it very much, Song Shiyue. I do not like other boys getting so close to you. I do not like him leaning in to talk to you. I do not like him pulling your arm. And I hate even more how intimately he calls your name.”

“I do not want to see any other member of the opposite sex around you.”

“I only want you to look at me. Only me.”

The evening wind was cold. When the moisture landed on her face, Song Shiyue realized that rain had begun to fall from the sky at some point.

Britain’s summer weather is changeable. One moment it is warm and comfortable, the next a fine misty rain falls, and a cool wind suddenly rises.

Song Shiyue stared at him attentively and only then noticed that the corners of the person in front of her eyes were slightly red. His dark eyes seemed soaked with moisture as he stared at her without moving.

Her eyes flickered slightly. She instinctively dodged and looked away, as if scalded by such burning gaze.

“Why, Zhu Xingyan?” Her voice was very soft. As she asked the question, her heart trembled with an inexplicable shiver, as if both of them had long anticipated this answer.

Sure enough, as soon as her words fell, she heard the boy’s bitter and helpless soft laugh beside her ear. His voice was low and heavy, carrying the weight of a thousand pounds.

“Because I like you, Song Shiyue.”

“From the first moment I saw you, from the second year of high school until now, I have liked you for a full four years.”

Word by word, he poured out the surging emotions he had suppressed and restrained in his heart. Like misty rain, they dampened his brows and eyes, dark and deep.

“I kept thinking, slower, even slower. Let you get to know me properly — not just the glamorous appearance of a big star, but also the many troubles that come with this identity when being with me.”

“Your life has just begun. In the future you will meet more and better people. They can accompany you and do many things openly that I cannot do with you in broad daylight.”

“I hoped you would consider it carefully and not regret being with me at some point in the future.”

“But now — I have changed my mind.” Through the fine rain falling from the sky, just like that evening when they first met, he gazed at her and reached out his hand, carefully wiping away the water mist between her brows and eyes.

“Song Shiyue, do you want to be with me?”