Chapter 344

You always feel lonely and discouraged~

You always feel disappointed~

You always have too much~ confusion~ about your future in life~

After a captivating chorus abruptly kicked in, Li Luo shifted his tone, and the low, slow verses began to unfold.

Those present had grown accustomed to Li Luo writing songs, so they were not particularly shocked.

They simply listened to Li Luo's voice, quietly enjoying and appreciating his performance.

Look into my eyes~ remember my voice~

Fear no storm or rain~ don't forget I'm standing~ here~

As Li Luo sang these lines, Ying Chanxi met his gaze—just as he looked at her—and his soft voice stirred her heartbeat.

Though this song was Li Luo's birthday gift to Yan Zhusheng, Ying Chanxi pressed her lips together, pretending it was meant for her, and thus deceived herself into fully immersing in the melody and lyrics.

After all, during the darkest time of her childhood, wasn't it Li Luo who stayed by her side, helping her slowly walk out of that shadow?

I only want to be your sun~ your sun~

In your heart~ deep within your soul~

No matter how far away~

Don't fear—I'll be right beside you~

Yes… Li Luo truly was like her sun.

Whenever he was near, Ying Chanxi's world felt as if it had gained a tiny, energy-filled sun—she never needed to worry about wind or rain.

But now… this little sun seemed, like the real sun, no longer shining only on her.

She pressed her lips and glanced at Yan Zhusheng beside her; though Yan Zhusheng still wore her eye patch, Ying Chanxi could clearly imagine the expression in Zhusheng's eyes.

Just thinking of it made Ying Chanxi feel deflated.

…

Li Luo didn't sing long; after a brief two-minute performance, he stepped forward and removed Yan Zhusheng's eye patch by hand.

The moment Yan Zhusheng opened her eyes and saw him, she couldn't help rising and launching herself into Li Luo's arms.

At once, Ying Chanxi's pupils dilated in shock.

Xu Youyu also gasped slightly, mouth agape.

Xu Yinghuan's eyes sparkled; Qiao Xinyan covered her mouth in surprise, then cast a worried glance toward Ying Chanxi.

As for Zhao Rongjun, he looked from Ying Chanxi to Yan Zhusheng, then settled on Li Luo's startled face, silently sighing for his brother.

"Cough…" Amid so many people, Li Luo cleared his throat and immediately pushed Yan Zhusheng away. "You haven't blown out the candles yet."

"Oh…" Yan Zhusheng blinked, cheeks flushed, and sat back down. "You sang so beautifully—I got too excited."

Yes, she'd just hugged him out of sheer excitement.

After saying that, Yan Zhusheng lowered her head and blew out the candles on the cake, which had burned down significantly—she extinguished them all in one breath.

Everyone helped remove the extinguished candles, as if they had all forgotten the earlier incident, silently choosing not to mention it again.

Yan Zhusheng picked up a plastic knife and began serving the cake to everyone.

As they ate cake, they started requesting songs, and the birthday party continued happily.

Tonight's Birthday Person turned into a singing machine, performing several songs in a row.

Li Luo also sang two more.

Even Xu Youyu and others, who rarely sang, picked up microphones one by one.

Only Zhao Rongjun sat quietly in the corner, eating cake without a word; if the lights were any dimmer, he might as well have vanished.

Zhao Rongjun could sing—he wasn't as professional as Li Luo, but his voice was perfectly listenable.

He just didn't sing because he was socially anxious in crowds.

Li Luo vaguely remembered that in his past life, the two of them had occasionally gone to KTV alone, just the two of them, and Zhao Rongjun had sung with pure abandon.

Though his singing was a howling mess—shattering high notes—it was all about catharsis, and he sang with tremendous joy.

But this lifetime, Zhao Rongjun hadn't opened up that way yet; Li Luo had only urged him twice, and seeing him shake his head repeatedly, he didn't insist further.

Such things required gradual progress and slow adaptation.

Besides, Zhao Rongjun wasn't completely uninvolved.

Besides eating cake, he clapped along to the rhythm of songs, and when he heard familiar tunes, he quietly hummed under his breath.

But since he didn't take the microphone, no one heard how he sang.

Then Xu Yinghuan requested "Little Dimples" and pulled Qiao Xinyan into a heartfelt duet.

Perhaps noticing Zhao Rongjun humming along during the chorus, Xu Yinghuan seized the moment and quietly pressed her microphone toward his lips.

Finally found~ the beauty of soulmates in sync~

As Qiao Xinyan sang these lines, she suddenly felt something odd about Xu Yinghuan's voice.

She turned her head—and saw Zhao Rongjun had already retreated into the corner, frantically waving his hands in surrender.

Seeing this, Qiao Xinyan understood instantly and burst into a quiet laugh.

"Brother Zhao, you can sing after all!" Xu Yinghuan grinned, pushing the mic closer to Zhao Rongjun's mouth. "If you can sing, just sing! Sitting alone in the corner is so boring."

Zhao Rongjun waved his hands rapidly: "You two sing—I'll just clap for you."

"Alright," Qiao Xinyan walked over, pulled Xu Yinghuan away, and laughed. "If he doesn't want to sing, don't force him."

"Fine," Xu Yinghuan sighed in disappointment. Seeing Qiao Xinyan's stance, she reluctantly let Zhao Rongjun off the hook.

But as the music re-entered the chorus, Qiao Xinyan, sitting beside Zhao Rongjun, clearly heard his quiet humming.

She turned to Zhao Rongjun, thought for a moment, continued singing, gently tugged his arm, pointed to her microphone, and gave him a look of encouragement.

Zhao Rongjun hesitated slightly, then shook his head again.

Qiao Xinyan didn't make things difficult for him; she just smiled and continued singing.

This relieved Zhao Rongjun, whose previously tense body finally relaxed.

Soon, as everyone kept singing, it reached past eight o'clock at night.

Seeing the time was right, Li Luo packed up the birthday cake, wrapping up the uneaten portions to take home.

The seven of them walked out the KTV's front door and parted ways at the intersection.

Xu Yinghuan got into the car sent by her family and left first.

Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan walked side by side toward home.

As they walked, Zhao Rongjun kept glancing at Qiao Xinyan, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to.

After noticing, Qiao Xinyan asked curiously, "Is there something you want to say?"

"N-No, nothing."

"Just say it outright," Qiao Xinyan smiled. "Didn't Zhusheng say just now, when he made his birthday wish? He hoped you'd stop stuttering when talking to girls—you've got to work hard to fulfill the Birthday Person's wish."

"Uh… yeah…" Zhao Rongjun scratched his head, embarrassed. "Actually, there's nothing to say—I just wanted to thank you."

"Huh?" Qiao Xinyan blinked. "Thank me for what?"

"Thanks for not forcing me to sing," Zhao Rongjun said awkwardly. "In that setting, I really couldn't bring myself to sing… I feel my hands shake the moment I touch the microphone."

"Oh, you mean that? There's no need to thank me," Qiao Xinyan covered her mouth and chuckled softly, then added, "But Yinghuan didn't mean to bully you—she's just like that, lively and energetic, maybe didn't fully consider your feelings."

"Yeah, I know. I don't blame her," Zhao Rongjun nodded quickly. "It's my own fault—we all went to the KTV, and me not singing really wasn't right."

"What's wrong with that?" Qiao Xinyan comforted him. "Look at Zhusheng and Li Luo—they never said anything. Everyone has different personalities; you can't expect everyone to act the same way."

Hearing how understanding Qiao Xinyan was, Zhao Rongjun found himself talking more, chatting with her all the way to the third intersection.

Here, they were due to part ways.

"Well, see you then," Qiao Xinyan waved, smiling. "We won't study together this week—probably won't see each other until school starts again."

"Mm, see you at school."

"Li Luo said we're both in Class Eight now—so we'll be seeing each other every day."

"Y-Yeah…"

"Alright, no more chatting. Bye."

"Bye."

…

Back home, Yan Zhusheng had no intention of starting a second battle of the night; after politely declining Xu Youyu's invitation to play Monopoly, he pulled Li Luo into the piano room.

Ying Chanxi went to the kitchen to cut some fruit, using the excuse of bringing it to knock and peek inside.

She found Yan Zhusheng merely having Li Luo play "The Sun" on guitar several more times, trying to transcribe the sheet music.

Seeing Yan Zhusheng's serious expression, Ying Chanxi realized she'd overthought things; she set down the fruit, reminded them to eat it, then quietly slipped out to take a shower.

Inside the piano room, Yan Zhusheng listened patiently as Li Luo played "The Sun" over and over, roughly sketching out the sheet music before immediately sending it to Luo Fei.

【Luo Fei】: This isn't that kid Li Luo's work again, is it?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Yes, it's him.

【Luo Fei】: Sounds pretty good? The chorus is nice—planning to arrange it?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mm, sorry for the trouble, Auntie.

【Luo Fei】: No problem, no problem. But why didn't he write this song earlier? It feels even more suitable for the competition than "Light."

【Yan Zhusheng】: Today's my birthday—he wrote this as a special gift for me.

【Luo Fei】: Okay, okay, got it. By the way, today's your birthday? I nearly forgot—then I'll do the arrangement for free. When it's done, send me a physical CD to collect.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Okay, thank you, Auntie.

【Luo Fei】: You're welcome.

After finishing the chat with Luo Fei, Yan Zhusheng turned to Li Luo and asked, "Come to my place tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Record the song?" Li Luo laughed. "Will Auntie Luo Fei have time? It's just one night."

"I'll ask again."

【Yan Zhusheng】: Can you make it tomorrow? Arrangement.

【Luo Fei】: When? Afternoon?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mm, about then.

【Luo Fei】: A simple version won't be hard, but if you want it polished and stylistically matched, it'll take some time.

【Luo Fei】: But I'm free tomorrow—why don't you come to my place to record?

【Yan Zhusheng】: The city center is too far.

【Luo Fei】: Then I'll come to you. You're recording at home, right?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Mm, but won't that be too much trouble?

【Luo Fei】: Why would it be trouble?

【Luo Fei】: Just this album Li Luo made for your mom—nine songs arranged by me? I'll make a name for myself in the industry.

【Yan Zhusheng】: Then see you tomorrow afternoon?

【Luo Fei】: OK, I'll make a rough draft tonight, then tweak it tomorrow morning.

【Yan Zhusheng】: How about tomorrow morning? You can listen to us sing first, then decide how to adjust.

【Luo Fei】: Fine. How about eight-thirty tomorrow?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Okay.

"Auntie said yes," Yan Zhusheng put away his phone and told Li Luo. "But a polished version will take time, so she'll come over tomorrow to record with us—she can make adjustments on the spot."

"So you'll sing this song?" Li Luo asked.

Yan Zhusheng shook his head, then pointed at Li Luo and then at himself: "You sing one version, I sing another, and maybe we can do a duet too—how about that? Let's finish recording before school starts."

"The Birthday Person is the greatest, so we'll do as you say." Li Luo smiled and nodded. "So we're not doing anything else today? Still playing cards?"

Yan Zhusheng shook his head: "Let's get an early rest tonight. Build up our energy—we'll record properly tomorrow."

"Alright."

"But we can't leave yet." Yan Zhusheng grabbed him and pointed to the fruit on the nearby table. "The fruit Xi Xi cut hasn't been finished yet."

"Then let's eat some first."

"Feed me."

"So you're really acting like a three-year-old now?"

"The Birthday Person is the greatest—you said so yourself."

"Fine, fine, fine. Open your mouth."

"Ahh~"

…

By the time Ying Chanxi finished her bath and returned to the piano room, the fruit on the plate was all gone.

Yan Zhusheng played the piano while Li Luo stood beside him, accompanying on guitar; the two sang together the song "Sun" from that night.

When the song ended, Ying Chanxi pressed her lips together, watching their seamless harmony, then simply said: "Zhusheng, I'm done washing. You go now."

"Oh, okay."

Yan Zhusheng obediently stood up and went to bathe.

Li Luo put down his guitar and took Ying Chanxi to his bedroom to dry her hair.

When Yan Zhusheng returned from her bath and asked him to dry her hair, Ying Chanxi smiled, stood up, pulled Yan Zhusheng to sit on the bed, took the hairdryer from Li Luo's hand, and said gently:

"Li Luo still has to write. Let me dry your hair tonight, Zhusheng—sit still."

Pushed down onto the bed by Ying Chanxi, Yan Zhusheng blinked in surprise, glanced at Li Luo, who was shaking his head with a smile, and puffed out her cheeks.

But Ying Chanxi was already kneeling behind her, turning on the hairdryer to dry her hair; Yan Zhusheng could no longer refuse, and quietly enjoyed Ying Chanxi's service.

Meanwhile, Li Luo, seated before his computer, opened his writing software, typed while saying to Ying Chanxi: "Tomorrow I'm going with Zhusheng to her place to record. Just letting you know."

Ying Chanxi's hairdryer paused for a moment, then she asked: "When exactly?"

"Tomorrow morning," Yan Zhusheng said, still enjoying the blow-dry.

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi's eyes flickered slightly, and she asked: "Can I come too?"

"But don't you have class in the afternoon?" Yan Zhusheng couldn't help saying. "My place is a bit far from school."

"No problem—we can leave early for school at noon," Ying Chanxi smiled. "Don't you want me to come to your house, Zhusheng?"

"No," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "Then come with us, Xi Xi."

After drying her hair, Yan Zhusheng stood up to leave: "I need to wake up early tomorrow—I'm going to bed now."

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi felt awkward staying longer, especially remembering how she'd overslept this morning and missed morning jogging, leaving Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng alone on their outing. She immediately followed suit, rushing back to her room to prepare for an early sleep.

But just as Li Luo thought nothing else would happen tonight, the door opened again shortly after.

Just from the footsteps, Li Luo could now tell who it was. As the sound drew near and the back of his head sank into softness, he sighed: "Senior, what do you want?"

"Can't I come find you if I have nothing to say?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "I wrote ahead of time to celebrate Zhusheng's birthday—I cleared tonight to play cards, and now you're not playing."

"We're going to Zhusheng's place to record tomorrow morning, so we need to sleep early," Li Luo closed his eyes, enjoying Xu Youyu's head massage. "Are you coming with us tomorrow?"

"Why would I go with you two to record?" Xu Youyu immediately shook her head. "I'm sleeping in. Don't bother me."

"You really need to take care of your health," Li Luo laughed. "Today you played badminton with Xu Yinghuan—I saw you couldn't even last five minutes, then just chatted the whole time."

"You're too controlling," Xu Youyu huffed. "Asking me to exercise is like asking me to die."

She pressed down hard on Li Luo's head twice, nearly crushing him, making him gasp and groan.

"By the way," Xu Youyu said after venting, "you wrote 'Wait for You After Class' and made an MV with Xi Xi. For Zhusheng's birthday, you wrote 'Sun' again."

Here, Xu Youyu paused, leaned close to Li Luo's ear, blew warm air, and asked with a hint of pout: "So… when will it be my turn?"

"Cough… the gifts I gave were all customized for you," Li Luo coughed. "Xi Xi loves photography, so I made an MV with her. Zhusheng loves singing, so I gave her a song. As for you, Senior…"

"You gave me a wine glass because I like drinking?" Xu Youyu huffed. "But I like listening to songs too—why didn't you write one for me?"

"But your birthday this year's already passed."

"Who says you can only give gifts on birthdays?" Xu Youyu smiled sweetly. "School's starting—we can celebrate then. One song for National Day, one for New Year's, one for Spring Festival…"

"Hey hey! Do you think I'm a wholesaler?"

"Why not?" Xu Youyu sighed. "Before this, who would've believed you could handle Yuan Auntie's entire new album?"

Honestly, even after hearing about it at the parent meeting dinner, and even after Yuan Wanqing appeared on stage a few days ago singing the first single from her new album—and it went viral—

Even now, when Xu Youyu looked at this boy before her, she still struggled to connect him with the brilliant teenage genius everyone imagined.

But it was precisely this Li Luo who always drew her in.

"Wait a minute," Li Luo, still under her massage, rummaged through his memories of time spent with Senior, then suddenly remembered: "Didn't I already sing you a song when I bought you that cocktail? You've already forgotten?"

"Huh? Did I?" Xu Youyu blinked. With his reminder, it all came back. "Hmm… yeah… maybe I did?"

"Please bring my lover a Mojito~"

"I love watching her eyes when she's tipsy~"

Li Luo softly hummed two lines, instantly pulling Xu Youyu back to that hazy night.

"Hehe~" Xu Youyu laughed shyly at the familiar melody. "So I misjudged you? Must've been too drunk that night—I barely remembered anything."

Mostly because the most thrilling moment that night had been kissing Li Luo's cheek—her mind had fixated on that alone.

Now, over two months later, the details of that night had grown hazy.

But as soon as Li Luo sang the song, Xu Youyu felt herself transported back to that night. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her cheek against his, and whispered playfully: "Wanna do it again?"

"Don't mess around," Li Luo sighed. "I told you—I need to wake up early tomorrow. Don't bother me. Can't you wait until another day?"

"Just one cup." Xu Youyu raised one finger, swearing solemnly.

Li Luo heard this and immediately felt a headache: "I don't believe your ghost!"

…

The next morning.

Ying Chanxi woke up early, turned off her phone alarm, and immediately got out of bed, slipping on slippers and heading straight for Li Luo's room.

As she pushed open the door, she collided face-to-face with Yan Zhusheng in the hallway.

The two stood frozen at the entrance to Li Luo's bedroom, staring at each other—until Yan Zhusheng hugged Ying Chanxi: "Good morning, Xixi."

"Oh… good morning, Zhusheng…" Ying Chanxi blinked, then asked in confusion, "Why aren't you in the bathroom? What are you doing here?"

"I came to wake up Li Luo."

"Then I'll do it—you go freshen up first."

"I left my toothbrush in his bathroom yesterday—I'll wake him."

"I still need to get clothes from his closet—I have to go in too."

"Then let's go together."

"Alright."

The two briefly formed an alliance, pushed open Li Luo's door together, and arrived at his bedside.

One on each side, whether competing or not, they remained silent, only tugging at Li Luo and shaking his body.

Li Luo, half-asleep and half-awake, groggily opened his eyes, rubbing them as he muttered: "Zhusheng? What time is it?"

Hearing Li Luo's words, Ying Chanxi angrily flung her hand away, feeling as if she'd lost.

Only then did Li Luo realize there were two people beside his bed.

"Wake up, Li Luo." Yan Zhusheng was in good spirits, a faint smile on her lips.

Li Luo glanced at Yan Zhusheng, then at Ying Chanxi on the other side, cleared his throat twice, and whispered to Ying Chanxi: "She's always the one who comes early to wake me up—I assumed it was her."

"Oh." Ying Chanxi pouted, but then forced herself to rally, rising and walking toward Li Luo's closet: "Then hurry up—after you freshen up, we're going for a morning run."

Saying this, Ying Chanxi opened the closet, picked out a shirt and pants, and tossed them onto the bed: "Wear this today."

"Got it."

The three freshened up, changed clothes, and prepared to leave.

Yan Zhusheng glanced at Li Luo's blue T-shirt with white letters, then at Ying Chanxi's white T-shirt with blue letters, and fell silent.

But remembering that the clothes she wore were a gift from Li Luo, her mood lifted again.

As they left, Yan Zhusheng fetched Li Luo's shoes and helped him put them on.

Seeing Yan Zhusheng pull out the shoes Li Luo had given him on his birthday—avoiding the pair Ying Chanxi had brought back from her return to China—Ying Chanxi blinked.

But Yan Zhusheng moved faster; Ying Chanxi could say nothing, only pouted and walked out, pressing the elevator button first.

After the morning run, the three went to a breakfast shop to eat.

A middle-aged man was buried in his breakfast, wolfing it down as he rushed to work.

Seeing the familiar trio—one man and two women at the next table—he fell into deep thought again.

Especially when the two girls occasionally fed food to the man, the middle-aged man found his breakfast tasteless, grew angry, slammed down his chopsticks, and left.

Meanwhile, after Li Luo finished breakfast, Yan Zhusheng received a call from Luo Fei, and the three immediately took a taxi to the residential complex where Yan Zhusheng lived.

At 8:30 a. m., the three arrived precisely at the complex gate, just as Luo Fei arrived from the city.

Luo Fei pulled up in her car, rolled down her window, and smiled: "Get in—I'll take you straight to the underground garage."

Her car was clearly registered in the complex; they drove through without obstruction and entered the garage smoothly.

After parking in a spot, the four took the elevator to Yan Zhusheng's door.

But—

Just as Yan Zhusheng was about to pull out her key and open the door, the door suddenly swung open from inside.

Ying Zhicheng stepped out, dressed in a sharp suit.

Behind him, Yuan Wanqing wore a dress, following closely.

Both appeared ready to leave, and they collided directly with the four at the door.

Seeing his own daughter, Ying Chanxi, there, Ying Zhicheng froze completely, standing stunned in place.

Ying Chanxi, equally stunned, stared at her father, never expecting to meet him here, and blurted out in surprise: "Dad… how… why are you at Aunt Yuan's house?"