Chapter 59 Sunglasses

There was silence on both ends of the phone for a long time.

Finally, someone broke the silence.

"Don't misunderstand, what I just said wasn't meant to ask for your response."

Ling Zhao's calm voice came from the other side: "During the program, I will still keep my original promise and maintain the relationship we agreed on."

"So, is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"oh……"

Mu Jiu responded vaguely, "Not for now."

After she said those words, a very soft and faint sigh came from the other end of the line.

Ling Zhao: "...Shall we go to sleep?"

Mu Jiu: "I don't know."

Ling Zhao: "Should we hang up?"

Mu Jiu: "Hmm... Oh."

Actually, her mind was completely blank.

While it's partly because she just received information she couldn't process, it's also perhaps because it's too late at this moment.

After hearing that sentence, her brain completely gave up thinking, and all her answers were purely based on instinct.

She didn't hang up, and neither did the person on the other end.

The air seemed to be filled with silence, yet one could hear faint breathing sounds.

It made her ears itchy and her scalp tingle.

It's unclear how much time passed, or whether her initial enthusiasm finally subsided, or whether her rationality finally returned.

Mu Jiucai forced his eyelids open and hung up the phone.

She belatedly looked up at the ceiling, feeling as if what had just happened was a dream.

But no matter what, she is a mentally sound adult.

The other party has gone to such lengths that there is absolutely no room for misunderstanding.

Even if she has no dating experience, she has had some experience of being pursued by one party.

Aside from those who didn't speak properly and got beaten up by her for making a fuss, those who pursued her always seemed to have boundless energy and eyes that sparkled whenever they saw her.

As for Ling Zhao...

He couldn't compare her to the guys she'd met in the past.

It seems that from the very first time she met him, he was the kind of person who was unapproachable yet easy to talk to.

Does he really like her? When did this happen? Why?

Whether it was an actor's instinct or something else, every possible idea naturally came to mind, only to be overturned during the thought process.

For the first time, Mu Jiu realized that whether it was Ling Zhao in the novel or the Ling Zhao she saw in real life...

She didn't even think she knew him that well.

But if that's the case, why would Ling Zhao fall for someone who doesn't really understand him?

Night heavily pressed down on dawn, but it could not withstand the passage of time, and little by little, the veil was lifted.

As dawn broke and the alarm clock rang, Mu Jiu suddenly sat up in bed.

Years of habit led her to get up and go straight to the washbasin.

Having groggily completed the steps of brushing his teeth and washing his face, Mu Jiugang, who had finally regained a sliver of consciousness, opened his eyes and gasped sharply when he saw the dark circles under his eyes.

Another half hour passed amidst the chaos.

The door was tapped three times with light, rhythmic knocks, "knock knock—knock," which were particularly clear in the quiet room in the early morning.

"who?"

"……I."

Inside the room, Mu Jiu, who had just finished applying makeup, instinctively stiffened upon hearing the familiar voice and silently quickened her pace.

They didn't bring much luggage, and everything was quickly packed. But when Mu Jiu placed his hand on the doorknob, he didn't pull it open without hesitation as usual.

An inexplicable sense of unease crept up her spine, making her feel inexplicably uncomfortable, and she even consciously softened her breathing.

With a click, the door was pulled open.

Ling Zhao, standing outside the door, was looking down at his phone: "The hotel still has breakfast. Let's eat some first before heading to the airport..."

His words abruptly stopped, and his gaze hesitantly fell on Mu Jiu's face: "Why are you wearing sunglasses?"

Mu Jiu: "The weather forecast says it will be very sunny today."

"..."

Ling Zhao stood in the corridor where there were no windows to be seen from any side and where lights were needed to illuminate the space, and fell silent.

Why does Jiu Jiu seem a little strange today?

Mu Jiu definitely cried, otherwise why would she deliberately wear sunglasses to cover her eyes?

[I think you're right about the first one. Otherwise, why would Mu Jiu suddenly wear sunglasses and do something abstract indoors? It must be because yesterday's dance performance brought back a lot of wonderful memories.]

[Don't even mention it, after Chaomu's live stream yesterday, Bilibili was flooded with mashups from various talented creators. I can't listen to that song anymore; I cry every time I hear it.]

...

Her dark circles were barely covered with foundation, and although she had insomnia in the middle of the night, her eyes weren't actually very swollen.

Mu Jiu took a vicious bite of the bread.

But the reason she wore sunglasses was that she found her attention to a certain person was affecting her acting performance.

Even without being face-to-face, just through a door, she could feel her gaze wandering. If such a scene were to appear in a live stream, it would soon be widely disseminated in various forms.

She doesn't have the extra energy right now to think about how to deal with this outcome.

"...With dipping sauce?"

Hearing Ling Zhao's voice suddenly ring out from across the room, Mu Jiu snapped out of her reverie, pausing in her bite of bread. She reached out and haphazardly dipped the torn bread crust into the custard sauce in the small dish.

Although her body instincts made her want to distance herself from the current interaction, reason told her that acting too aggressively at this moment would definitely be over-interpreted...

Ling Zhao: "Your hair is stained."

Mu Jiu subconsciously looked up and saw Ling Zhao's shoulder slightly closer to hers, his fingertips about to touch her hair.

With a "whoosh," Mu Jiu leaned back sharply, the movement so forceful that it almost knocked over the milk cup beside him.

Ling Zhao's outstretched hand froze in place.

Mu Jiu realized something was wrong, and after a quick brainstorming session, he almost blurted out a universal explanation: "Sorry, I was just spacing out and got a fright. Did I get it on me?"

Ling Zhao glanced at her and naturally withdrew his hand: "Then you can do it yourself, right here."

As he spoke, he pointed to his sideburn with his fingertip, indicating where her hair had been touched.

Is it because the trip is almost over that you want to detach yourself from all of this? It feels like you're creating distance in advance to accept reality.

[But Mu Jiu's reaction was too much. Did something happen between the two of them after the live stream ended?]

The atmosphere between the two of them changed a bit after Ling Zhao's remark yesterday afternoon.

Are you guys overreacting? Didn't Mu Jiu say he was startled while spacing out?

I also like to zone out when I eat, so I react very strongly if someone suddenly gets close to me.

Regardless of the discussions in the comments, the interaction between the two gradually returned to its usual pattern after that.

Even after boarding and taking her seat, probably because she was in a closed, safe space, Mu Jiu had just fastened her seatbelt when drowsiness overwhelmed her as soon as she closed her eyes.

Before she had even regained consciousness for two seconds, she drifted off to sleep.

Ling Zhao had just put down his backpack and sat down when he saw Mu Jiu fall into a deep sleep with his head tilted to the side.

He reached out and pulled down the partition by the window.

The breathing beside him gradually stabilized, but Ling Zhao, who had originally planned to catch up on sleep on the plane, became increasingly conscious.

He didn't initially intend to say that.

He wasn't going to speak until the show ended, or rather, until a certain point in time.

But when he heard Mu Jiu call last night, he suddenly had a premonition.

If I don't speak up now, I might never be able to have any contact with the other person again after the show ends.

It's hard to say whether it was the allure of the night, or the unconscious sense of relaxation and intimacy in the voice on the other end of the phone.

Naturally, the words that had been lingering in my mind for so long came out.

Now, the people who like him are starting to realize it.

But from the morning onwards, the awkward and distant feeling surrounding her made Ling Zhao doubt herself.

Their relationship has always been maintained by a written agreement, but is he really ready to break the balance?

Saying those words at such a time is also irresponsible...

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted.

My shoulder was pressed against something, followed by the warmth transmitted through my hair and a faint fragrance.

So unexpectedly, Ling Zhao didn't dare to turn her head too much and could only carefully shift the angle.

His peripheral vision caught sight of Mu Jiu's sunglasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose.

Ling Zhao hesitated for a few seconds, ultimately worried that the sunglasses might make her uncomfortable while sleeping. He raised his hand, carefully hooked the temple of the sunglasses, and slowly pulled them away.

Just as he was about to get his hands on the sunglasses, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.

Mu Jiu's eyelashes trembled, her voice hoarse and confused, as if she were half asleep: "What are you doing?"

Ling Zhao paused, looking at her half-open eyes, and lowered his voice: "I'll take off your sunglasses, otherwise your eyes will get deformed if you sleep like this."

"oh……"

Mu Jiu mumbled something, the grip on his wrist gradually loosened, his eyelids drooped, and he fell asleep again without any warning.

Her breath fell evenly on his hands.

Ling Zhao lowered his eyes and gently pulled out his sunglasses.

[As expected, staking out live streams of airplanes without believing in bad luck pays off! Look what I caught!]

[This is so sweet! People really do show their true feelings when they're completely off guard. I'm smitten!]

[Will they reunite at dawn and dusk? They definitely will, right? It's so sweet, it's bound to have a happy ending, right?]

[Aaaaaaah, please keep this sweetness going, even if it's fake, just promise me you'll act like this for the rest of your life, okay?]

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Author's Note: You might not believe it, but the main story is almost finished, hehe.