46 Chapter 46

◎The girl's curves resemble the graceful spring mountains◎

Before the afternoon activity class, Zhan Xinyue was about to walk out the door when Xie Wanzhi stopped her.

Although group rehearsals have been suspended for the past few days, Zhan Xinyue still went to the back playground and found a quiet corner where she would practice dancing alone for a while every afternoon.

"New Moon, remember to make time for yourself this weekend," Xie Wanzhi reminded her.

Zhan Xinyue looked at her: "What is it?"

"Why are you asking me what's wrong?" Xie Wanzhi sat up straight, huffing. "Did you forget my birthday? I'll invite a few people this week so we can go out and have fun together."

Zhan Xinyue immediately realized what was going on; she had a pretty strong memory of Xie Wanzhi's birthday party from her past life. After standing there for a few seconds and thinking, she smiled slightly: "Unfortunately, I have something to do this week, so I won't be able to go. You guys have fun. I'm going to practice my dance now."

"Hey! It's my birthday, what's important to you..." Before she could finish her sentence, Zhan Xinyue had already disappeared from sight.

After Zhan Xinyue left, Xie Wanzhi sulked for half a day before finally lying down to work on the lesson plan she was to teach the next morning.

After most of the class had passed, she had finally finished writing and noticed that there were hardly any people in the front rows. She stood up, intending to go for a walk as well.

Before they even left the classroom, someone poked their head in through the door. The person had light-colored hair and exuded a vibrant energy that didn't belong to Class 10. The person looked around the classroom, then suddenly spotted Xie Wanzhi and immediately waved to her.

"Looking for the new moon?" Xie Wanzhi squinted.

Xu Shen laughed frankly, "Yeah, do you know where she went? I've passed by your classroom door several times and haven't seen her. Aren't you two inseparable? How come I only saw you in the classroom?"

Xie Wanzhi spread her hands: "She has to go to dance practice recently, and I'm all alone in every activity class. I'm so miserable."

Xu Shen said, "It sounds like they're elderly people left behind in rural areas; it's really quite tragic."

“What do you mean by ‘left-behind elderly’!” Xie Wanzhi protested. “You could have just said ‘left-behind children’.”

Hsu Shen: "It would be really difficult for me to call you a child at your age."

"No? You think it's easier for you to say I'm old?" Xie Wanzhi asked, her face full of heartache. "Brother Shen, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Xu Shen laughed heartily for a while before getting back to the main topic: "Xinyue said she went to dance practice? But the art building is closed right now..."

Xie Wanzhi interrupted, "What do you want with Xinyue? Brother Shen, tell me honestly, do you have some ulterior motives towards Xinyue? I always feel like something's off between you two."

Xu Shen raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Alright, enough of this nonsense. I have important business with her, so just tell me where she went."

Xie Wanzhi: "Do you think I would easily tell you such a secret? I would never reveal it unless you bribe me properly..."

Just then, Shi Ziqian returned from outside and walked towards the door.

Xu Shen was leaning against the door of Class 10 with his arms crossed, talking to Xie Wanzhi. He didn't notice Xie Wanzhi passing by. As they brushed past each other, Xie Wanzhi's shoulder was lightly bumped by Shi Ziqian.

Xu Shen subconsciously looked over, just as Shi Ziqian turned around as well. Shi Ziqian was slightly taller than him, looking down at him with a cold gaze. He glanced at his smiling face and said indifferently, "Station over there, you're blocking the way."

Xu Shen was taken aback, but Shi Ziqian had already gone straight into the classroom.

Xu Shen stared at his back in the classroom for a few seconds, then suddenly called out, "I'm sorry, classmate, I didn't see you leaning here and accidentally bumped into you. I'm really sorry."

Shi Ziqian sat down in the back row and looked at him expressionlessly.

Xu Shen's smile hadn't faded, but he raised his voice slightly and drawled, "It's alright—"

Xie Wanzhi tugged at Xu Shen's sleeve from behind, pulling him out, and whispered, "What are you doing? Why are you arguing with him?"

"What's this all about?" Xu Shen finally looked away, leaning lazily back against the wall, and said nonchalantly, "Isn't this just normal, harmonious communication between classmates?"

"This is Ziqian, don't you recognize him?"

Xu Shen looked puzzled: "I know him. What's wrong with Shi Ziqian?"

“Okay, it’s nothing,” Xie Wanzhi said. “Weren’t you looking for Xinyue? She’s been rehearsing dances at the art building lately.”

Xu Shen's attention was immediately diverted: "I know that, but there are events in the art building these days, so the dance studio is closed. That's why I came to your classroom to find her."

Xie Wanzhi thought for a while and then suddenly remembered: "Oh right, it seems like there was such a thing. She mentioned it before, but I forgot about it. Go find her at the flower corridor in the back playground. She said she wanted to go there to practice by herself."

"Oh, I see. I'll go take a look." Xu Shen started walking, but after a few steps he remembered to thank him. "Thanks, I'll treat you to water next time."

Almost every school has a long pergola covered with wisteria. In spring, the heavy purple flower spikes hang down, looking like a purple mist from afar. This isn't the flowering season, the flower spikes have long since faded, and only the lush green leaves can be seen entwined on the pergola, which is quite charming in its own way.

Zhan Xinyue danced casually with her eyes closed, her arms outstretched with ease. Sunlight fell on her eyelids, and the whole world was a bright orange.

In her previous life, she put a lot of effort into this dance. It was the first time she had been invited to perform on stage. Although it was just a group dance, she took it very seriously. In addition to the time for intensive practice, she would practice on her own after class and search for many instructional videos online to study them carefully, striving for perfection in every movement.

Because the memories of her past life were so vivid, her current physical movements were entirely subconscious. The same was true for the various memories of the art festival in her previous life. She didn't try to recall them, but those memories uncontrollably swept over her heart once again.

She wasn't the only one who participated in the festival's performances; Xu Shen did too. Unlike her group dance, Xu Shen's program was a solo performance, where he sang a Cantonese song.

Zhan Xinyue had already seen his name on the program list, but didn't think much of it until Xu Shen came to her class for evening class the day before the art festival started.

Xu Shen had been pursuing her for some time by then, and almost everyone in the class knew about it.

Because the arts festival was going to start the next day, everyone was excited and their minds weren't on studying. When they saw Xu Shen appear at the door and heard him call out to Zhan Xinyue through the window, many people came out to watch the excitement.

Seeing this, Zhan Xinyue turned to go back to the classroom, but Xie Wanzhi grabbed her arm.

"Why are you running away, Xinyue?" Xie Wanzhi chuckled and put her arm around Xinyue's waist, not letting her slip away. "Xu Shen, what do you want with Xinyue? Tell me, and I'll help you catch her."

"That's right, Xu Shen, what do you want from our Crescent Moon? Tell us quickly!" Everyone, always eager for a good show, joined in the commotion.

Helpless, Zhan Xinyue had no choice but to stop where she was and look at Xu Shen.

Xu Shen felt unusually uncomfortable being stared at by so many eyes, but he looked into her eyes earnestly and said, "Xinyue, I want to sing a song for you tomorrow."

"Huh—!"

"What? Publicly declaring your love?"

The jeers were so loud they almost lifted the roof off. Amidst the commotion, Xu Shen lowered his head and handed over a folded piece of paper.

"A love letter? It's a love letter!" Xie Wanzhi cupped her face with a maternal smile, snatched the letter first, and stuffed it into Jin Xinyue's hands. "Xinyue, quickly open it and take a look!"

Zhan Xinyue felt extremely uncomfortable. She glanced at the blush on Xu Shen's ears across from her, hesitated for a long time, and then slowly opened her eyes.

Contrary to everyone's guess, the card didn't contain a love letter, but rather lyrics handwritten by the boy, written with restrained yet flowing strokes.

"What's this?" Xie Wanzhi leaned closer to look and asked.

The students around him also craned their necks to look, and for a moment they all looked puzzled.

Zhan Xinyue was also having some difficulty, and looked at him.

Xu Shen kept his eyes on her and said softly, "These are the lyrics to the song I'm going to sing tomorrow."

"Cantonese?" Xie Wanzhi asked.

"Hmm." Xu Shen nodded. "Can you sing Cantonese songs?"

Everyone shook their heads. Xu Shen then feigned relief, patting his chest, "That's great! Now if my pronunciation isn't standard, no one can call me out."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd realized: "What does that mean? Did they send the lyrics because they were worried the new moon wouldn't understand?"

"Ah, what does the lyrics say?" This guess sparked everyone's curiosity about the lyrics, and they all crowded around to take a look.

Someone snatched the card from her hand, and everyone noisily passed it around, pushing Zhan Xinyue to the side of the crowd.

Zhan Xinyue was at a loss. After finally regaining her balance, she looked up and saw the boy's eyes focused on her and the smile on his lips.

She lowered her eyes and whispered, "But, it seems like this wasn't the song we originally planned to sing..."

Hsu Shen said, "Well, but I'd like to sing this song more tomorrow."

The next day, the boy's clear and tender voice gently drifted through the auditorium. Everyone listened attentively, except for Class 10, which showed an unusual restlessness. Because of what happened yesterday, the students in the front row turned around and winked at Zhan Xinyue, while Xie Wanzhi nudged her with his elbow with a teasing expression.

"Xu Shen sang this especially for you, how romantic..."

With her eyes lowered, Zhan Xinyue heard the boy's singing clearly through the expensive sound system in the auditorium, a bold and passionate declaration.

That seemed to be the first time that the name Xu Shen began to leave an imprint on her mind.

...

In the flower-lined corridor, Zhan Xinyue finally regained her senses.

Now that the ending is known, recalling their past together only brings a sense of desolation.

On the other side, Xu Shen was walking through the crowd on the playground, all the way to the flower corridor.

The flower corridor was deserted and quiet, a world apart from the bustling playground.

The corridor twisted and turned, and he slowly stepped in, but still didn't see a single person.

Perhaps the new moon isn't here.

A long vine hung down, its leaves brushing against his forehead. He raised his hand to wave it away, his gaze sweeping casually forward, but he couldn't look away again.

At the end of the corridor, a girl was dancing casually, facing the sunlight outside.

She stood with her back to the light, so her face was obscured; only a silhouette could be seen.

However—

The early autumn sun was still intense, its blazing rays filtering through the loose school uniforms of the girls, highlighting their slender, graceful figures.

In the interplay of light and shadow, the ambiguous lines of her slender figure beneath the school uniform stretched out, swaying softly and gently.

Xu Shen practically escaped from the flower corridor.

When he bumped into a familiar classmate, he was so flustered that his ears looked like they were about to bleed.

The other person looked him up and down suspiciously for a while, then teased, "What mischief have you been up to? Why are you so red?"

"Nothing much," Xu Shen replied dismissively, hurriedly turning to leave, but casually added, "Where are you going?" as a cover-up.

"I'm exhausted from playing football, I'm going to sit in the flower corridor for a while," the other person replied casually. But almost as soon as he finished speaking, Xu Shen grabbed his arm.

Xu Shen stepped back, asking warily, "What are you doing in the flower corridor?"

"I'm tired, go sit down for a while. What's wrong?"

"If you're tired, have some water. I'm going to Xiao Chao anyway, come with me." Xu Shente affectionately put his arm around his neck.

"But I don't want to right now..." Before he could say anything, Xu Shen had already half-carried him towards Xiao Chao.

"It's my treat," Xu Shen said with a smile.

“Hmm, that’s fine.” The other party immediately stopped struggling and readily agreed, “The boss is very generous.”

Xu Shen pulled him a long way before quietly exhaling, but the heat on his cheeks continued to rise.

He felt his face should be ripe by now.