Chapter 954 (End of Main Text)

This was an exciting night for everyone.

People lingered, reluctant to leave.

When Chen Siqi and her group arrived backstage, Lu Yanhe and his group were already backstage, taking a group photo with all the backstage staff of the concert.

The atmosphere backstage was filled with a sense of reluctance to leave.

Many staff members said, "This is the best concert I've ever been to."

Lu Yanhe's gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Chen Siqi and the others.

His eyes lit up, and he waved.

Chen Siqi came over.

"You all moved everyone to tears tonight," she said with a smile.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Let alone them, I couldn't control myself. Although I thought that something like this might happen, I still couldn't help it."

"I guess they couldn't resist either," Chen Siqi shook her head.

Lu Yanhe said, "Wait for me a moment. We'll tidy up a bit and then head over."

“Yes.” Chen Siqi nodded. “I just saw that the people from ‘The Days of Youth’ have already set off.”

“They should go somewhere else first,” Lu Yanhe said. “They’ll come backstage to meet us later.”

“Okay.” Chen Siqi nodded. “Then you guys go ahead and get busy. I’ll go and greet the group over there. I’ve arranged a dinner for them, so I need to show up.”

"Okay." Lu Yanhe asked, "How about I come pick you up when I'm done here? Send me your location."

"OK."

-

After Li Zhibai and Yan Liang removed their makeup, they came over and asked, "Shall we set off now?"

"You guys go ahead first, Sister Ziyan and Zou Dong are already over there," Lu Yanhe said. "I'll come over after I pick up Siqi."

“Okay.” Li Zhibai nodded. “Your engagement ring is with Yan Liang. I’ll find a chance to give it to you secretly when you arrive.”

"Okay, once we arrive, we'll go inside the school and take a look around. After we go in, you guys quickly set things up outside," Lu Yanhe said.

"I know, don't worry," Li Zhibai said. "Everything is ready. I'll get everything done for you in ten minutes. You just need to stay on campus with Chen Siqi for ten minutes."

"Okay." Lu Yanhe nodded. "I've already found some help. Teacher Liu will be waiting for me at school."

"Can."

Have all the others been notified?

"We're only informing them now to prevent them from being exposed," Wang Biao said in a low voice. "But we haven't told Lin Yu and Xu Zijun yet because they'll be going to school with you."

“OK.” Lu Yanhe nodded.

Everyone was stunned.

“Especially Li Yuefeng,” Yan Liang said. “I just told him about Li Yuefeng, and he said he wants to beat you up.”

Lu Yanhe smiled so hard his eyes curved into crescent moons.

"I also have to thank him for covering for me."

-

"Ha, my social media feed is completely flooded with this tonight." Zhang Yuezhen sneered at Chen Pinhe. "Your good son has completely ignored you and mocked you, do you see?"

Chen Pinhe ignored it.

"I'm going to England to see the deer tomorrow. You can come with me, or you can stay with me. It's up to you."

Zhang Yuezhen looked at Chen Pinhe in silence for a long time before laughing again.

"You're really something, Chen Pinhe, you're really something." Zhang Yuezhen nodded and pointed at him, "You're ruthless."

Chen Pinhe looked at Zhang Yuezhen with a blank expression, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

Zhang Yuezhen: "Don't worry, no matter what, you are Lulu's father. For Lulu's sake, I will not let your ugly face be exposed."

Chen Pinhe said, "After saying so much, you still haven't answered me. Are you coming with me to England to see the deer tomorrow?"

Zhang Yuezhen looked at him coldly and said, "Go by yourself."

After saying that, she went upstairs without looking back.

Zhang Yuezhen dialed a number, and after the other party answered, she asked, "Have you found them?"

“Found it, miss,” the other person asked. “What’s the next step?”

Zhang Yuezhen asked, "Are there other people watching them?"

"Yes, whenever they go out, someone follows them, seemingly to monitor them, and they don't seem unaware of it."

"Then you stay over there and keep an eye on things. Let me think about what to do next," Zhang Yuezhen said coldly.

“Okay.” The other party responded, paused, and then said, “Miss, this is America, and they are Chinese. To do something here… there are actually many ways to do it without anyone noticing.”

"Then do you have a way to do it without anyone noticing, right under the nose of the person being watched?" Zhang Yuezhen asked back.

The other party was taken aback.

“Chen Pinhe already knows that I know about his past and his true relationship with Lu Yanhe. He will be wary of me.”

The other party remained silent.

"You need to keep a close eye on things, but also be careful not to be watched by others."

"Miss, please don't worry."

-

"There are two groups of people watching them," the person on the phone reported to Chen Ziyan. "They are all Chinese, so they are relatively easy to spot. One group is in the open, and the other is in the shadows. It seems that the group in the open hasn't noticed the group in the shadows yet."

"You didn't show up, did you?" Chen Ziyan asked.

“I stayed in the surveillance vehicle the whole time. The people who showed up were all people I hired on my side in the United States. They were all unfamiliar faces, so they wouldn’t arouse their suspicion.”

“Okay,” Chen Ziyan said. “We need to dig as much as possible out of them. What I want is evidence that can convict the people behind them.”

"Sister Ziyan, this is quite difficult. To be honest, people in our line of work are generally very careful, so as not to leave any evidence pointing to our employer."

“The group operating in the shadows is different from the group operating in the open, and it’s also different from you,” Chen Ziyan said. “In that group, there’s someone who, perhaps under orders, almost killed someone in China. They even took action. That kind of relationship is definitely not an ordinary cooperative one. If I asked you to kill someone, would you dare to do it?”

"Sis, don't joke with me. I still want to save enough money to find a quiet place to retire."

“Well, so you understand what I mean? That guy does a lot of dirty work, he won’t let himself be without something in his hands,” Chen Ziyan said. “Besides, if he’s going to do something, there will definitely be traces left behind. Is he going to take the blame himself? Murder? I don’t believe that anyone would be so loyal these days.”

"I understand, sis."

...

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief.

The car had already turned past the intersection.

She pulled over and walked towards the entrance of No. 13 Middle School.

Lu Yanhe and the others have not arrived yet.

Li Zhenzhen, an extra, is already on set.

The film crew of "The Days of Youth" also started setting up equipment and lights at the school gate, making a show of it.

Chen Ziyan said with a smile, "Thank you all for your hard work today."

"I was temporarily conscripted." Although Li Zhenzhen looked helpless, she was actually very happy in her eyes. What more could one ask for than witnessing such a scene?

Chen Ziyan: "He thought that bringing Siqi over under the pretext of recording 'The Days of Youth' would not arouse her suspicion, and that was indeed the case."

“Hmm,” Li Zhenzhen said, “Apart from me, no one else knows the real situation. After Yan He and the others enter the school, I will have everyone remove them.”

"Thank you all for your hard work tonight. It's such a joyous occasion, so I've prepared a small red envelope for everyone. It's in my car, and I'll have someone bring it to you later. Could you please give it to everyone for me?"

Li Zhenzhen didn't stand on ceremony and nodded, "I won't be polite with this auspicious red envelope. I'll convey their thanks to you."

"I should thank them on behalf of Yan He," Chen Ziyan said with a smile. "This child insists on creating some surprises and romance. I'm an old man and I'm desensitized to these things, but this is the most important event of his life, and it's a once-in-a-lifetime event, so I can only fulfill his wish and help him realize all of this."

Li Zhenzhen: "That's great."

Just then, Zou Dong arrived.

"Wang Biao said they would arrive in ten minutes."

Where are the others?

"They're all on that bus," Zou Dong said, pointing to the bus parked diagonally across the street.

The bus had its curtains drawn, and only a faint sliver of light could be seen peeking through.

"The car will be turned off when they get close."

Chen Ziyan nodded.

Li Zhenzhen, holding her phone, said, "Right now, fifteen out of the top twenty trending topics on Weibo are related to tonight's concert."

"Director Hou Jun posted on Weibo—" someone next to me suddenly said, "Wow—"

Chen Ziyan opened her phone and searched.

Hou Jun's Weibo posts are almost like short essays:

The concert, which cost tens of millions of yuan, has come to a successful conclusion. In accordance with the wishes of Lu Yanhe, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang, the cost of the concert will be borne by them, and all ticket sales and other proceeds will be donated to children in mountainous areas. The use of the funds will be publicly disclosed through relevant organizations afterward.

When I asked why, the answer was that they wanted it to be a truly pure concert. In fact, if it weren't for concerns about scalpers, their initial plan was to even give away tickets for free. I've practically watched these three boys, especially Lu Yanhe, grow up. I'm honored to have overseen tonight's concert for them, contributing their designs and ideas, as well as some surprises prepared by our entire directing team. This is a concert to give back to all the fans, and throughout the entire preparation process, I could feel their sincerity and dedication. I believe everyone can feel it without me saying more.

The concert featured 12 new songs, nearly a third of the entire program, all written and composed by Lu Yanhe and prepared by the three of them over the past two months. Not a single song was a cover; all were original recordings—they are not professional singers, but they contributed even more sincerity than professional singers.

I hope everyone will always remember this night, and I hope that nights like this will continue to come.

-

The topic has been sparked again.

More than 40,000 tickets were sold to the public, with an average price of 500 yuan, generating a total sales of over 20 million yuan. They were donated as promised.

This concert even cost tens of millions of yuan—

Of course, everyone could see how much effort was put into this concert.

The best venue, the best stage design, the top-notch directing team, and the top-notch dance troupe.

Such a cost was borne by the three of them alone?!

(This is what Lu Yanhe instructed Hou Jun. This concert is a concert for the three of them, and there's no need to say at this time that he's the only one responsible. The reason he's taking on this responsibility alone isn't because Li Zhibai and Yan Liang are unwilling, but because of his own stubbornness.)

Someone immediately said: "The Northern Lights video and the ice field video were both broadcast live, so they must have paid a high broadcasting fee, right?"

The official Weibo accounts of Aurora Borealis and Icefield Video personally stepped in to say: No, we obtained free authorization. In accordance with their wishes, this broadcast, whether it is a live stream or future videos, will not have any advertisements and will be completely free for everyone to watch.

At this moment, someone came forward and said that Lu Yanhe and his team did not lack this money at all, and that many platforms wanted to buy the broadcasting rights, but Lu Yanhe and his team had rejected them all.

Many fans instinctively wanted to refute those who refused to believe that Lu Yanhe and his group were so "unconcerned about interests".

But a long-time fan said: Tonight, the three of them have been expressing love, friendship, and beautiful things. We shouldn't argue with them or become hateful because of some people who are deliberately looking for trouble.

This sentence received many likes and shares, and even made it to the homepage trending list.

Many people stopped refuting it and simply copied and pasted this sentence under every Weibo post by a skeptic.

Those who want to cause trouble dare not show any temper when faced with thousands of copy-pasted posts.

-

Lu Yanhe then took Chen Siqi to No. 13 Middle School.

If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way.

“They’ve arrived,” Lu Yanhe said to Chen Siqi.

Looking at the film crew at the entrance of No. 13 Middle School, and the usual filming equipment and lights, Chen Siqi asked curiously, "What are they filming at this hour?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Who knows? Sister Zhenzhen always has some strange ideas."

Chen Siqi nodded, "Okay."

Lu Yanhe said, "Let's go."

After Wang Biao parked the car, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi got out together.

"Sister Zhenzhen," Lu Yanhe called out.

Li Zhenzhen turned to Lu Yanhe and smiled.

"Where are they?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Li Zhenzhen said, "They're recording another part at another location. They'll be here in about twenty minutes. Please wait a moment."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Siqi greeted Li Zhenzhen.

Lin Yu and Xu Zijun also came over.

"It's been so long since we've been back to school," they said, looking at the school with emotion.

"Should we go in and take a look?" Lu Yanhe asked. "Anyway, they've booked the whole place tonight, so we should be able to go into the school, right?"

“Sure, we’ve already spoken to the school,” Li Zhenzhen said. “Go on in and take a look around, reminisce about your high school days. I’ll call you when they arrive.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Lu Yanhe looked at Chen Siqi and said, "Let's go."

Chen Siqi nodded.

“What’s wrong with Li Pengfei? He’s not answering his phone,” Xu Zijun said. “You guys go in first. He drove himself. He clearly came with us, but he hasn’t shown up yet. I’ll wait for him.”

Chen Siqi nodded.

Just then, Chen Qin suddenly ran over, panting.

"Linyu!"

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised and turned to look at him.

Chen Qin scratched his head and said, "The Paris Review has been trying to contact you, but they couldn't, so they called me instead."

"Huh?" Lin Yu was taken aback, then said to Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi, "I'll go make a call first, and then I'll come find you later."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Siqi gave her a strange look and said, "Okay."

In the end, only the two of them went to school.

-

"I haven't been back for several years."

"Um."

Lu Yanhe held Chen Siqi's hand as they walked on campus.

"I have never seen the No. 13 Middle School so quiet before."

Chen Siqi smiled.

"When you first met me, you thought I was bullying Zijun."

"The way you were behaving really looked like you were bullying someone."

"It's clearly Ziju who looks like she's been bullied," Chen Siqi glared at him.

Lu Yanhe laughed.

Chen Siqi: "In the blink of an eye, so much time has passed."

“My first pot of gold… my first pot of gold in my senior year of high school was earned from you.” Lu Yanhe laughed. “Do you remember? Playing your friend and attending your birthday party.”

“I remember, you guys really helped me get revenge back then,” Chen Siqi said. “I was very grateful to you at that time.”

"Did you start liking me from that time on?" Lu Yanhe raised an eyebrow at Chen Siqi.

Chen Siqi immediately laughed, but didn't say anything, neither admitting nor denying.

She countered with, "When did you start liking me?"

"Really, I don't remember." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "By the time I realized it, I had already fallen for you."

"As expected of a screenwriter, this answer is flawless."

“It’s true,” Lu Yanhe said.

Chen Siqi: "I really didn't expect you to say that 'Simple Love' is a song for the two of us."

"I just hope our love can be simple."

"So many interests are clearly involved, aren't they?"

"You said you'd just kick me out of the editorship of 'Jump Up' without any regard for personal gain."

"I'd like to."

“Yes, I’m happy to do it, and so are you,” Lu Yanhe said. “That’s fine.”

Chen Siqi threatened, "Aren't you afraid that one day I'll abscond with all your money?"

You don't need it.

"Um?"

“My money was originally yours, why did you have to take it away?” Lu Yanhe said with a smile.

"hehe."

Yes, it's still Chen Siqi, the familiar, slightly arrogant Chen Siqi.

Lu Yanhe suddenly remembered.

It was a place that had once caught his eye, captivated him, and drawn his attention.

A girl like a hedgehog.

Always say the opposite of what you mean, always use thorns to cover up your softness.

"I promised you something before, do you remember?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi: "What is it?"

"You said you wanted me to put the band-aid back on for you, that you wanted to relive that feeling from back then." Lu Yanhe took a band-aid out of his pocket. "Sister Zhenzhen told me we were recording a show here today, and I remembered this promise. How about it?"

Chen Siqi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, so that's what it is."

"What do you think it is?"

"To be honest, when Ziju and Linyu suddenly stopped coming in with us, I thought you were going to propose to me here," Chen Siqi said.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

"Even though I didn't, why did you seem relieved when you knew I wasn't planning to propose? Don't you want me to propose to you?"

“No, that’s not it.” Chen Siqi shook her head. “I’m just… a little nervous. I’ve prepared myself mentally for this day.”

Do I need to be mentally prepared for a marriage proposal?

You don't understand.

"So, do you want a surprise when you propose?" Lu Yanhe asked.

"want."

"Then you need to be mentally prepared." Lu Yanhe looked troubled.

Chen Siqi glared at him, "I want both fish and bear's paw."

Lu Yanhe: "..."

Chen Siqi asked, "Are we going out? Is your show about to be filmed?"

"It seems so, but Sister Zhenzhen hasn't called me yet. She's probably been delaying it again," Lu Yanhe said. "Let's go back and check."

"Um."

The two people were still holding hands.

Suddenly, Liu Qin came over from the front.

"Yan He? Si Qi?" Liu Qin looked at the two of them in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Lu Yanhe also looked at Liu Qin with a look of "surprise".

"Teacher Liu, didn't you go to our concert?" he asked. "Why are you at school at this hour?"

"I just dropped two students off at school. I had promised their parents I'd take them home after the concert, but I realized I'd left my house keys in the office, so I came to get them."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe said, "Then we'll go with you to get it, it's so late at night."

Chen Siqi nodded as well.

Liu Qin did not refuse.

"Oh, so those people at the school gate came with you, right?" Liu Qin asked.

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Let's record 'The Days of Youth'."

"I knew it."

Liu Qin led them up to the teaching building, into the office, and took the key from the table.

"Okay, found it." Liu Qin said with a smile, "Thank you all for coming with me to find the key, otherwise I would have been a little scared to be here all alone."

Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi laughed.

"Let's go."

The three of them walked together to the school gate.

"Hey? Where are those people?"

Suddenly, everyone disappeared from the school gate.

"What's going on?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Liu Qin: "Have they left?"

"No way?" Chen Siqi was taken aback.

Lu Yanhe said, "I'll call them and ask. I guess they went to record another part and forgot about me here. Teacher Liu, you can go back first and don't worry about us."

Liu Qin: Are you guys okay? Or should I drive you home?

"No need," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "I'll give them a call, and someone will come to pick us up soon."

"Okay," Liu Qin nodded. "Then I'll be going now."

She suddenly smiled and said, "I was very moved by tonight's concert. Yan He, well done."

She gave Lu Yanhe a thumbs up.

Lu Yanhe was taken aback by the unexpected praise.

Liu Qin smiled, turned around, and left.

For some inexplicable reason, Lu Yanhe's eyes reddened again.

"Did you lose control of your tears tonight?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi took his hand.

“You’ve cried so many times tonight, one more time won’t make a difference.”

Lu Yanhe suddenly remembered something.

"There's no one here right now." He turned to look at the step where Chen Siqi had sat after scraping her leg years ago. "Want to sit over there?"

Chen Siqi was taken aback. "Now?"

"Are you going to wait until they come back so I can relive it for you in front of everyone?"

Chen Siqi: "..."

She went over somewhat embarrassed and sat down.

Lu Yanhe laughed.

Chen Siqi looked at him, her head raised.

"What are you doing? Come here."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "I'm here."

He walked over, squatted down in front of Chen Siqi, and took out the band-aid.

"I didn't buy iodine, I only have band-aids. Where should I put them?" he asked.

Chen Siqi said, "You can put it wherever you want."

Chen Siqi is wearing a long dress today. She can easily lift the dress to one side, revealing the spot from back then.

Lu Yanhe peeled off the band-aid and carefully applied it to Chen Siqi's lower knee.

"I think that's how it was back then."

As Lu Yanhe spoke, he raised his head and looked at Chen Siqi.

Chen Siqi's eyes were very close.

They could almost feel each other's breath.

Chen Siqi was stunned for a moment.

Lu Yanhe: "You asked me before when I fell in love with you."

Chen Siqi nodded: "Mm."

Lu Yanhe: "I really don't remember when I fell in love with you, but I do remember the first time I wanted to hug you."

When was it?

“It was when I was here back then, helping you apply iodine and put on a band-aid,” Lu Yanhe said with a gentle smile. “At that time, I thought, even if a person is covered in thorns, it doesn’t affect the softness and justice beneath their disguise.”

Chen Siqi's eyes widened in surprise, and then her eyes reddened slightly.

“I like you,” Lu Yanhe said.

He took a step back and knelt on one knee.

Chen Siqi's eyes widened in disbelief, her gaze filled with tears.

Lu Yanhe took out a ring from another pocket.

He held it up in front of Chen Siqi.

"Will you marry me?" His voice even trembled slightly.

He was more certain than ever before that there could only be one answer to this question.

However, at this moment, he was still nervous and uneasy.

Chen Siqi burst into tears instantly.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you enough time to prepare," Lu Yanhe said with a smile, his eyes reddening as he spoke. "But I am fully prepared. We can grow old together happily, so marry me."

Chen Siqi nodded.

Suddenly, it seemed as if the stars were twinkling all around.

Countless LED strips lit up in an instant.

Chen Siqi looked up in surprise and looked around.

Trees, buildings, school gates... all are covered with warm yellow light strips. When they light up, the surroundings feel like the colors of a fairy tale, full of warmth.

Liu Qin returned with a large bunch of balloons, beaming with joy.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang each held a sign that read "Marry" and "Me," respectively.

Xu Zijun, Lin Yu, Chen Qin, Li Pengfei, and Bai Yu are holding a digital model of "5201314".

People from Friends, people from Days of Youth, people from Chinese Paladin, people from Jump Up, people from Linghe...

Lu Yanhe put the ring on Chen Siqi's finger.

Then, he took Chen Siqi's hand and stood up.

He raised Chen Siqi's hand, the one with the ring, high in the air.

The entire audience erupted in applause and cheers.

Chen Siqi even spotted her maternal grandparents, her uncle, and her nephew in the crowd…

Her family members all came over under Lu Yanhe's arrangement.

They stood with Luo Yuzhong, Wen Shengming, and Chen Ziyan.

Everyone was watching them.

Chen Siqi's tears kept falling.

However, she didn't mind at all.

She used to hide in her room and cry all by herself, feeling wronged.

But today, she openly shed tears in front of everyone.

Lu Yanhe understood, so he didn't tell him not to cry.

He looked at her with a smile in his eyes, bathed in warm, hazy light.

"What should we do? It seems like we're both prone to tearing up today."

"How come we're such a perfect match?"

"It seems that fate has brought us together."

As Lu Yanhe continued speaking, Chen Siqi burst into laughter through her tears.

She stood on tiptoe and kissed Lu Yanhe on the lips.

Lu Yanhe put his arm around Chen Siqi's waist, lowered his head and returned the kiss.

Lu Qingzhen covered Huang Feng's eyes and said with a smile, "This is not suitable for children, close your eyes quickly."

The whole audience burst into laughter.

[End of text]

(End of this chapter)