Chapter 21: Silence is Tonight's California Sunshine

"Is there something wrong with my voice?"

Liu Miaomiao asked with confusion.

"Also, what's this about 'shady' or not..."

"No, nothing, just pretend I was hearing things."

Lu Mingfei waved his hands with a mournful face.

How could it be nothing!

Originally, Lu Mingfei had been looking forward to the day he finished the one-month Schedule, thinking he could finally escape this sea of misery.

Of course, there was no need to throw away such a miraculous Schedule Plan.

By then, he could formulate a new Schedule, just "appropriately" adding some relaxation and entertainment segments, like Literature Club activities!

Lu Mingfei felt that he still liked Chen Wenwen, but under the "tyranny" of the Schedule Plan, he had no choice but to submit... He belonged to the type who had been captured by the enemy, superficially surrendering for the time being, but still resisting in his heart.

But now...

Become the most awesome and strongest man in the whole world?

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt his future was pitch black.

Heaven knows what the standard for "the most awesome and strongest man in the whole world" is according to this Schedule Plan; the only thing he knew was that this goal would definitely have to be measured in "years"!

With this kind of intensity, using "years" as the basic unit... he would die, right? Either worked to death or electrocuted to death, and it was highly likely he wouldn't even achieve it by the time he died!

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, filled with despair.

"Your goal..."

Liu Miaomiao smiled and said, "is quite ambitious."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingfei was stunned.

Because just now, during the exchange between the two of them, 【Emotion Perception】 had triggered.

He clearly perceived the emotions Liu Miaomiao felt when she said those words—surprise, deep feeling, and also... sincerity?

The only thing missing was even a shred of doubt.

But how could this be!

Actually, when these words were spoken, even Lu Mingfei himself didn't believe them.

He had never been an ambitious striver who held the belief that "kings and nobles, are they born with more noble blood?"

Before he possessed the Schedule Plan, he was just a slacker who "rang the bell as long as he was a monk."

To him, the future should be getting into an unremarkable university, falling in love in college, finding a 996 job after graduation, renting an apartment, and perhaps marrying a girl he didn't know yet.

As for being "the strongest and most awesome man in the world"? It was just a casual, shitty remark; he hadn't expected to fall into the trap of the Schedule Plan and now be forced to implement it!

But even with the "supernatural" Schedule Plan assisting him, Lu Mingfei's confidence in his own success hadn't increased much.

Yet now... he had received "trust" from Liu Miaomiao?

"You believe it?"

Lu Mingfei asked for confirmation again, somewhat unable to believe it.

"I believe it, why wouldn't I?"

Liu Miaomiao asked back in a soft voice, her tone still sincere, without the slightest hint of joking.

The reason Liu Miaomiao believed Lu Mingfei's words was actually very simple—he had been able to reject Chen Wenwen in public! What else was there that he couldn't do?

Such frank confirmation instead left Lu Mingfei at a loss.

"Do you think it's possible for me?" He couldn't help but ask again.

"Everything is possible!"

Liu Miaomiao was wearing a very delicate horse-face skirt today, quite in the style of an artist; as she said this, she was taking light steps, slightly skipping, and her eyes seemed to be shining.

"Besides, success and failure are things for the future. At least for now, you are working hard!"

They finally walked out of the piano shop; the night sky was uncharacteristically cloudless, the stars hidden among the city's neon lights, and the bright white moonlight spilled down, draping a layer of silver gauze over the boy and girl standing on the red carpet.

Lu Mingfei looked at Liu Miaomiao in a daze, only to feel his heartbeat inexplicably accelerating.

At the very beginning, his impression of Liu Miaomiao was "little brat," then a little beauty he acknowledged in his heart, and now...

She was actually a master of chicken soup for the soul!

But what Lu Mingfei had to admit was—he really was somewhat influenced by this chicken soup.

If it were just pure chicken soup, it naturally wouldn't have this effect, and having it come from the mouth of a little beauty wouldn't work either.

Lu Mingfei had consumed too much chicken soup for the soul; if it were that easy to be effective, he would have long since escaped his status as a loser.

But if one added a portion of 【Emotion Perception】 to it, everything would undergo a qualitative change.

Because all verbal deception would vanish under the feedback of true emotion!

She truly believed, and truly thought, that it was possible for Lu Mingfei to do it, rather than listening to Lu Mingfei's words as a joke.

"Is there something dirty on my face?" Liu Miaomiao tilted her head.

"Uh... no, there is, there are dark circles!"

Lu Mingfei came back to his senses and threw out a shitty remark, secretly wondering to himself what was wrong with him.

As a general under Chen Wenwen's banner, secretly changing "little brat" to "little beauty" in his heart was already a transgression, and now he even felt... it was practically like apostasy!

Lu Mingfei, oh Lu Mingfei, are you really a person of such weak will?

"Ah? Dark circles? God, I knew I didn't sleep well yesterday. These past few days, running back and forth between school remedial classes and piano lessons, and having to do homework and memorize piano scores when I get home, there's no free time at all..."

Liu Miaomiao touched her face in a flurry, then took a small mirror out of her schoolbag to look left and right, as if she had really found dark circles on her face, which one couldn't find any faults with, and pouted.

"No more chatting, no more chatting, I'm going home to finish my homework early and get some rest!"

With a few "thump-thump-thump" little hops, she went down the steps toward the black BMW with "angel eye" headlights waiting in front of the steps. Her family's driver was standing respectfully to the side, opening the car door for her.

Liu Miaomiao didn't rush to get into the car; her figure paused, suddenly remembering something, and she turned back to ask, "Lu Mingfei, are you going home too? I'll give you a lift!"

"No, no need, my home isn't in the same direction as yours, you should head back early to rest!"

Lu Mingfei waved his hand with a guilty conscience, walked down the steps, and pointed at the Mercedes-Benz following closely behind the black BMW, "Besides, my friend arranged for me to be picked up."

"Wow..."

Liu Miaomiao exclaimed in surprise; she had actually noticed that Mercedes-Benz and the waiting driver, Chen Shu, a long time ago, but she had assumed they were there to pick up Shanshan Ayi.

But this way, the only illogical part finally made sense. No wonder Lu Mingfei could come to Shanshan Ayi's place to Learn Piano and use that kind of address; it turned out he had gotten to know a very wealthy friend?

"Alright, see you tomorrow then!" Liu Miaomiao snapped out of it, though she didn't ask for details, and waved her hand before getting into the car.

"See you tomorrow!"

Lu Mingfei also waved his hand, busily declining Chen Shu, who wanted to open the car door for him, and insisted on opening the door and getting in himself.

The vehicle slowly started, and Lu Mingfei slumped into the seat, letting out a long sigh.

This was his rare time for rest—even though playing the Piano wasn't as physically exhausting as Fitness, after three hours, the coordination of brainpower, eyesight, and fingers was still very mentally draining.

"Thanks for coming to pick me up, Chen Shu!"

Lu Mingfei thanked him listlessly; the mere thought that he still had to do Self-study later, and that the next few years or even decades might continue like this... made it hard for him to muster any spirit.

"It's my duty, it's my duty!"

Chen Shu said cheerfully, "Young Master Lu, did you run into someone you know?"

"Yeah, a classmate, just a coincidence."

Lu Mingfei muttered, "I feel like our city isn't exactly small, how could it be such a coincidence? Yesterday at Fitness I ran into Su Xiaoqiang, today at Learn Piano I ran into Liu Miaomiao..."

"There might be an even bigger coincidence." Chen Shu suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?"

Lu Mingfei was stunned, "What could be a bigger coincidence than that?"

"Allow me to keep you in suspense."

Chen Shu smiled slightly and glanced at the dashboard, "You should know in a moment, hmm... about twenty minutes."

"Okay."

Lu Mingfei scratched his hair, feeling inexplicably expectant in his heart.

And so, twenty minutes later.

California Sunshine villa district, driveway.

It was still that same BMW and that same Mercedes-Benz.

They pulled up one after the other and slowly came to a stop.

The young girl and the young boy got out of their respective cars, subconsciously locked eyes, and then both froze simultaneously.

A moment later, they exclaimed almost at the same time.

"Lu Mingfei???"

"Liu Miaomiao???"

Lu Mingfei understood what Chen Shu meant by "an even bigger coincidence," and exactly how coincidental it was.

He also finally knew why the villa district name "California Sunshine" had sounded familiar to him.

Because this was where Liu Miaomiao's home was!

"You... your friend lives here?"

Liu Miaomiao asked.

"No, my friend's house is here, he's lending it to me to stay in for the time being..." Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and looked at Chen Shu.

"California Sunshine, Street One, Number Two."

Chen Shu, who had anticipated this, smiled and pointed to the detached villa on the left that already had its lights on.

"Young Master Lu, this is it, no problem."

While he was waiting to pick up Lu Mingfei, the driver for Liu Miaomiao's family had also been waiting; they were both in the same line of work, so they naturally started chatting.

As a talent who had retired from the military and transitioned to civilian life, Chen Shu had mastered a few extra "chatting techniques." After fishing out the information, he hadn't said a word, just marveled at how the world was neither big nor small, and that such a coincidental thing could actually happen.

There was only one problem—he had originally thought there was something going on between Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang, but now seeing that Lu Mingfei and Liu Miaomiao also got along quite well, and both girls were beauties...

This kid wouldn't be trying to play both sides, would he!

But what did that have to do with a driver like him? Just watching the show!

"Then Liu Miaomiao, you..." Lu Mingfei turned his neck back stiffly and looked at Liu Miaomiao.

"Street One, Number One." Liu Miaomiao pointed to the right side.

Right! Across! The! Door!

Silence was the California Sunshine of this evening.

"Then... see you?"

Lu Mingfei was sweating buckets, wanting nothing more than to run away in a panic.

"See... see you."

The little beauty Liu Miaomiao also nodded blankly.

"This villa hasn't been occupied since the renovation was finished; it's been vacant, but I've always hired people to clean it. All kinds of daily necessities are also being maintained, so you can use them directly."

Chen Shu led Lu Mingfei through the handover process.

"The first floor is the kitchen, living room, and studio; the second to third floors each have master and guest bedrooms; the fourth floor is the utility room and balcony, where you can dry your clothes..."

"Young Master Lu, you can choose whichever room you want to live in. These two boxes contain your personal items, all packed up. Oh right, this is the key ring, there are labels on them to distinguish them..."

"Water, electricity, and gas are all connected and will be paid automatically. The money inside should be enough to last until a year from now, so you don't need to worry about it in the short term..."

Lu Mingfei was dazzled, going "wow" non-stop along the way.

The villa's interior design was a minimalist, modern European style with a touch of understated luxury; to Lu Mingfei, it was quite "high-end," the kind of level he couldn't even dream of.

In fact, even just a shell of a villa would have been beyond his imagination, let alone one that was luxuriously fully furnished!

"And this."

Chen Shu brought over an unopened packaging box.

"A phone?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback.

"The young master said that having this will make it more convenient to contact you in the future."

Chen Shu explained, "The SIM card is already set up; you can use it once you insert it."

"Senior brother is truly thoughtful..."

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but exclaim.

In fact, this could no longer be considered just thoughtful; it should be called "meticulous."

Is this the gold content of becoming one of senior brother's "own people"? It's a bit too high, isn't it!

After giving his instructions, Chen Shu took his leave without the slightest delay.

Lu Mingfei likewise did not waste time wandering or resting, because it was time for 【Wash and Gargle】, followed immediately by 【Self-study】.

He randomly picked the secondary bedroom on the second floor as the room he would live in for the future.

Every room in this villa had an independent bathroom and was very spacious.

Compared to the master bedroom, the secondary bedroom was only a few square meters smaller, with no major difference; both had floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies, and the glass was double-layered for soundproofing.

Lu Mingfei was more used to living in a smaller room. If it were too big, it would inevitably feel empty... For Lu Mingfei, who was used to living at his aunt's house, he still couldn't quite adapt to that feeling.

After hurriedly grabbing his change of clothes and completing his 【Wash and Gargle】 plan, under the prompt of 【Warning, the time for the 【Self-study】 plan has arrived】 which never arrived a second late, Lu Mingfei sat down at the desk in his room, turned on the desk lamp, and began Learning.

The night outside was already deep, and he quickly entered a "Flow State," forgetting the world around him.

He forgot to untie the curtains gathered on both sides of the floor-to-ceiling window and close them.

Living at his aunt's house, there was no need to worry about such things; the narrow windows were enough to block most of the view, but now, in front of this villa's large floor-to-ceiling window...

Friends who often live in villa areas know that villa areas naturally have streetlights, but the brightness is deliberately controlled to be very dim, only enough for pedestrians to barely see the road, so as to reduce light pollution and not affect the residents' sleep.

It was dark outside and bright inside, and with such a wide view, it was truly unobstructed!

Thus, when Liu Miaomiao finished her shower, put on her pajamas, and came to her room with her hair loose—

She saw Lu Mingfei sitting upright at his desk more than ten meters away, focused on his "Self-study."

Liu Miaomiao was startled.

She hadn't expected that not only were they across from each other, but they were also facing windows, both in secondary bedrooms on the second floor!

It was a detached villa, so there was still some distance between the two; if it were that kind of old-fashioned residential building where they were right next to each other, one could probably touch the other by reaching out a hand.

"Is he... Learning?"

Liu Miaomiao thought for a moment and pulled down the curtains to block the view.

She began to do her homework, and after finishing her homework, she still had to memorize piano scores... Only, for some reason, she felt restless tonight.

It is normal to be distracted and pay attention when an acquaintance suddenly moves in across the way, even if the relationship isn't very close.

Right?

Thus, after more than ten minutes, the thick blackout curtains were slightly parted to reveal a small slit.

A very well-behaved eye quietly looked through the gap toward the opposite side.

Lu Mingfei was still at the desk, his posture unchanged; if it weren't for the pen in his hand constantly moving, one would almost suspect he was a statue.

"So serious?"

Liu Miaomiao blinked, curiosity inevitably arising in her heart.

She wanted to see if Lu Mingfei ever got distracted!

Although Lu Mingfei's changes were so great they could be called "earth-shattering," he couldn't possibly not be distracted at all during self-study, right?

Thus, the interval of observation gradually became shorter, from the initial ten-plus minutes to ten minutes, then five minutes, two minutes...

Later on, the ripples from the thick blackout curtains being lifted hadn't even completely stopped before they were moved again.

Finally, Liu Miaomiao simply pulled open the curtains, sat on her chair, and looked toward Lu Mingfei with the piano score in her hand... She didn't believe it!

Time passed second by second.

Finally, Lu Mingfei moved.

"Yay! I knew it!"

Liu Miaomiao was almost happy enough to jump up.

Lu Mingfei, who had stood up, was taken aback; he saw Liu Miaomiao at the opposite window looking at him... Was she looking at him or the piano score on her lap?

It must be the piano score; how could she be looking at him!

The moment their gazes intertwined in the night sky, Liu Miaomiao finally reacted; she "swished" the curtains shut, jumped onto her bed, and buried her head in the quilt.

"What am I doing, ahhh!"

Lu Mingfei blinked; he didn't feel like it was anything, only that things were so coincidental that adding the coincidence of facing windows was no problem at all.

【Warning, the time for the 【Sleep】 plan has arrived...】

Sleepiness welled up in his heart; he turned off the lights, got into bed, and fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.

Another ten minutes passed.

The blackout curtains were once again carefully parted to reveal a slit.

The well-behaved eye blinked, confirming that the light opposite was off, and only then did she lie back in bed with some unknown emotion.

After a long while, she sighed softly.

"Now I'll really have dark circles tomorrow."

Two-in-one! Adjusting my schedule today, trying to update during the day tomorrow! Please vote for monthly tickets~

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(End of chapter)