Chapter 60

Chen Qinglin only sent a short message, asking: "At the Jixia Music Festival in Qingyan Town?"

Yin Mu hesitated for a long time and replied with one word: "Yeah."

Zhong Mengyuan noticed her change in demeanor and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Chen Qinglin, he asked me if I was in Qingyan Town. Maybe he saw the trending search."

"Oh—" Zhong Mengyuan nodded, turned sideways to face her, pressed her palm under her face, and asked, "And then? Did you say anything else? What was your reply?"

"I don't know what to say." Yin Mu lay down, facing Zhong Mengyuan, and said, "Tell me, what does Chen Qinglin mean? He didn't contact me after he came back, and now he comes asking me all sorts of questions."

"Maybe he was scared after seeing the trending searches, afraid that you were really with someone else." Zhong Mengyuan said, "But I guess I can't blame him. After all, no one would be so shameless as to cling to you again after being rejected, let alone someone with Chen Qinglin's personality."

Yin Mu muttered softly: "You make it sound like I'm guilty."

Zhong Mengyuan said nothing and said, "I'm thinking about a question."

"Hmm?" Yin Mu asked listlessly, "What's the problem?"

“I wonder, is this world really going to collapse?”

Yin Mu was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhong Mengyuan frowned and said slowly, "Think about it, this lousy system doesn't even follow the basic laws when assigning tasks. You and Chen Qinglin just had an emotional connection, and now it's brought in Zhou Jingyu without even considering how likely Zhou Jingyu is to complete the task. Is that right?"

Yin Mu guessed randomly: "Maybe he just wants to kill us all."

Zhong Mengyuan shook his head, thoughtfully saying, "Maybe it's just trying to scare us so we don't do anything that might cause trouble for it."

Yin Mu didn't understand. He looked at her in confusion for a few seconds and said, "You're not going to... do something extraordinary, are you?"

"Why not give it a try?" Zhong Mengyuan asked, even though he was a little unsure, "But I haven't decided what to do yet."

Yin Mu was worried and said, "Don't take such a risk. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"But the current situation is really upsetting, and I have no idea what to do." Zhong Mengyuan frowned, and even traveling couldn't let her relax for a while.

Yin Mu was helpless and had to say, "Then you can think about it slowly and see what we can do. Don't think about it today and take a good rest."

Zhong Mengyuan forced a smile and said, "Yeah."

Chen Qinglin also replied at this time: "Are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together?"

While eating together, Yin Mu sighed silently and replied: "We won't go back tonight."

Chen Qinglin replied calmly: "I know, I'll go to Qingyan Town this afternoon."

Yin Mu's eyes widened and he sat up suddenly. The sudden movement startled Zhong Mengyuan, who asked dissatisfiedly, "What are you doing?"

Yin Mu turned to look at her: "Chen, Chen Qinglin has also come to Qingyan Town."

Zhong Mengyuan blinked, as if this was hard news to understand: "Huh?"

Yin Mu simply held the phone in front of her: "Look."

"Hmm..." Zhong Mengyuan took a long while to say after seeing the message on the screen, "Since they're here, just go."

"Will you come with me?"

"Me?" Zhong Mengyuan pointed at herself and waved her hands hurriedly, "No, no, no, I won't be a light bulb. With me here, there are probably many things you can't say directly."

"But--"

"No buts, I'm not going anyway. I want to go sit in the bar next door."

Yin Mu slumped his shoulders in disappointment: "Well, then we can only act separately."

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to carry out any difficult mission." Zhong Mengyuan stretched out his arm and slapped her on the back, "Cheer up and don't be so dejected."

"……oh."

Encouraged by Zhong Mengyuan, Yin Mu accepted Chen Qinglin's invitation and set out for the appointment in the evening. Zhong Mengyuan stayed alone in the B&B, planning to go to a small restaurant nearby to find food after a while.

Before leaving, Zhong Mengyuan reminded Yin Mu: "Don't forget to ask about Zhou Jingyu."

Yin Mu nodded in agreement and went out. Chen Qinglin made an appointment at a restaurant near her. When she arrived on time, Chen Qinglin was already waiting at the door.

When he saw her walking towards him, Chen Qinglin showed an obvious smile on his face and waved at her.

It had only been a few days since they last met, but Yin Mu had the illusion that they hadn't seen each other for a long time. He paused unconsciously, then quickened his pace and walked forward, asking nonchalantly, "Why don't you go in and wait? It's very hot outside."

Chen Qinglin said: "I'm worried you won't be able to find it."

"How could that be? You're not a child anymore." Yin Mu raised his lips and smiled, "Let's go in."

"good."

The two of them sat down at a table in the corner. The waiter brought two menus and a pitcher of lemonade. Chen Qinglin took the cup and poured most of it for Yin Mu, pushing it to her: "Drink some water first."

"Thanks."

The light outside was not good just now, but now with the light on, Yin Mu could see clearly that Chen Qinglin's face was a little pale, and even his cheeks seemed a little thinner. He frowned worriedly and said, "You look so bad, are you sick?"

Chen Qinglin was looking at the menu. He looked up at the sound and said, "I'm not sick. I've been dealing with some work these past two days and I might be too tired."

His words were not very clear. Yin Mu did not know the details, but asking in detail felt too unreasonable, so he only asked vaguely: "Is it troublesome?"

"A little." When Chen Qinglin mentioned work, a hint of disgust unconsciously flashed in his eyes, and he said, "But it doesn't matter, it will be solved soon. - Let's not talk about this for now, let's see if there is anything you want to eat."

"Oh." Yin Mu hated ordering food the most. He ordered two dishes without even reading the whole menu and closed it. "Order more if you're not full."

"Yeah, okay." Chen Qinglin agreed and waved to the waiter to come over to take the order.

Yin Mu folded his hands, rested his chin on his hands, and stared at Chen Qinglin intently, feeling more and more strange and distant.

After taking the order, the waiter bowed slightly and turned to leave. Chen Qinglin turned around and saw Yin Mu staring at him. He asked, "What's wrong?" He looked calm, as if there was nothing unusual.

Yin Mu looked away in frustration and put down his hand: "It's okay."

Chen Qinglin didn't ask any more questions and said, "I thought you would come with Zhong Mengyuan."

"Hey..." Yin Mu replied absentmindedly, "Do you want her to come? I can just give her a call."

"That's not what I meant." Chen Qinglin smiled. "It may not be nice to say that, but I'm very happy to see you come here alone."

Yin Mu was stunned for a moment, then replied hesitantly, "Oh."

“Was the music festival fun?”

"Yeah, it's not bad, it's quite lively." Yin Mu said, "You came to have dinner with me tonight, are you planning to go tomorrow?"

Chen Qinglin shook his head: "No, I just want to come and see you."

Yin Mu felt a surge of heat in his heart, and he lowered his eyelids uncomfortably: "There's no need to come all the way to Qingyan Town. It's the same if we go back and see each other."

"Not quite the same." Chen Qinglin thought for a moment and described his thoughts, "Meeting far away from home makes people feel more closely connected to each other."

Yin Muben didn't have this feeling, but when he thought about being in Qingyan Town, meeting Jiang Nanyu, and having dinner with Chen Qinglin, it was indeed very subtle.

As she was thinking about this, the waiter came over and served the food. In addition to the dishes they ordered, there was also a small plate of dessert.

"This is our new gift: taro cheese balls. Please try them."

Yin Mu hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The waiter smiled sweetly and lowered his voice, "I want to confirm, are you Yin Mu, the one from 'Summer Sonata'?"

Yin Mu had never expected to run into an audience here, and he had no experience in dealing with such situations. His smile was a little stiff: "Uh, it's me."

The waiter smiled even brighter: "My colleague told me that there was a guest who looked very similar, but I didn't quite believe it. -

When I was watching the live broadcast, I liked you and Chen Qinglin the most. Can we take a photo together? "

Yin Mu was flattered and looked at Chen Qinglin, asking for his opinion with his eyes.

Chen Qinglin did not refuse: "Sure."

The waiter happily took photos with them individually, and then took a photo of the three of them together. Satisfiedly, he put away his phone and said, "I wish you two a pleasant meal and hope we can cultivate our relationship!"

Yin Mu was very embarrassed. He didn't dare to look at Chen Qinglin's expression. He coughed lightly and said in a natural way: "She may not be very satisfied with the ending."

Chen Qinglin hummed softly, and no emotion could be heard from his voice, but it was obvious that the emotion was not a happy one in any way.

Yin Mu pursed his lips, thinking of Zhong Mengyuan's advice to him, and as if giving up on himself, he asked directly, "Are you still in touch with Zhou Jingyu?"

Chen Qinglin raised his eyes: "Why ask her alone?"

Yin Mu hesitated, his eyes wandering: "Just asking casually, I want to ask others too."

"Yeah." Chen Qinglin responded and picked up a piece of lotus root from the plate in front of him.

"Hmm" is not a perfunctory answer at all, Yin Mu complained in his heart, and asked again with a stiff upper lip: "So?"

Chen Qinglin quietly ate the lotus root and said, "Yes, there is a connection."

Yin Mu's heart skipped a beat, and she forced herself to remain calm. "Really?" She wanted to ask more about what they'd talked about, but the words were stuck in her throat. She lowered her head gloomily, poking at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. Yes, even though Zhong Mengyuan had instructed her, who was she to ask in detail? Chen Qinglin had no obligation to answer her every question.

Just when Yin Mu was feeling depressed and lonely, Chen Qinglin said, "She asked me out twice, and I turned her down both times."

Upon hearing this, Yin Mu looked up in surprise, but did not ask.

Chen Qinglin looked at her quietly: "I don't want to give her unnecessary hope. You know, the person I like is you."

He spoke frankly, his expression and tone were extremely serious. Yin Mu felt mixed emotions and hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Even if I disappoint you?"