Chapter 57: It seems he doesn't care much about his presence.
"Happy birthday." Liang Yizhi's voice was barely audible, barely audible, as she mumbled something so fast it was impossible to tell what language it was.
Gu Yinyan looked at her leisurely and touched his ear: "I can't hear."
Liang Yizhi pursed her lips and said again, "Happy birthday—"
I've said these things hundreds of times before without ever getting tired of them, but saying them out loud like this feels a little embarrassing.
Gu Yinyan chuckled lightly: "Perfunctory."
"Take it or leave it."
Knowing that he still wanted to mess with her, Liang Yizhi ignored him and strode out.
The next day, everyone had to go to work, so they didn't dare stay at Liang Yizhi's house for too long and went home when it was time to leave.
Liang Yizhi has been very busy with her work in the orchestra lately, not only having to ensure daily rehearsals but also preparing for her upcoming concert with Hoss.
Liang Yizhi doesn't mind being busy. Being busy is good; it makes you feel fulfilled. When you're fulfilled, you don't have time to multitask.
Before Hoss arrived, they held several meetings with the orchestra staff. Through these meetings, she and Shi Ruocheng began to have more contact.
After practice that day, Liang Yizhi rubbed her shoulders, but seeing Shi Ruocheng, whose feet barely touched the ground, his back remained as straight as a poplar tree even after a whole day of practice.
Liang Yizhi lowered her head to apply rosin to the violin bow. Just then, a hand clutching a mineral water bottle entered her field of vision.
Shi Ruocheng: "Have a drink."
"Thanks."
"You've been practicing very hard lately."
It's unclear whether this statement is a compliment or an attempt to find a topic of conversation.
"Thank you, Brother Shi," she replied politely. "Are you going to give me some feedback? Is there something I didn't do well in my practice?"
After spending some time together, Liang Yizhi had become quite familiar with Shi Ruocheng's personality. She could tell that he had something he wanted to say to her.
Shi Ruocheng shook his head: "I just sensed that you had something on your mind."
"How...how did you figure that out?"
Liang Yizhi was surprised that even the slow-witted Shi Ruocheng could see that she had been preoccupied lately. No wonder Gu Yinyan said that she wore her heart on her sleeve.
Shi Ruocheng explained, "You seemed much more immersed in your violin playing than usual. And you were playing very intensely."
Liang Yizhi herself didn't realize that in order to concentrate, she repeatedly reminded herself to focus on the music and get rid of those unpleasant thoughts and emotions during practice.
She practiced with undivided attention, becoming more and more absorbed as if she were trying to transform all the frustration she had accumulated over the past few days into motivation for practice.
Liang Yizhi said, "I'm sorry, did I bother you?"
"No, that's a good thing. Keep it up, it's just a bit fast. Don't get too carried away when you're playing, just pay attention to the conductor's gestures."
"Okay, I've got it."
"I'm not saying all this out of work, but also out of concern as a colleague and friend." Shi Ruocheng pushed up his glasses. "You've been busy lately, so take care of yourself and your health. If you need to rest, don't push yourself too hard."
Although Shi Ruocheng and Liang Yizhi are not much different in age, Shi Ruocheng spoke as if he were an elder, expressing his concern with great seriousness.
He was as meticulous as an official document issued by a government agency, specifying the font and size, and being very bureaucratic.
Liang Yizhi smiled and said, "I understand, thank you, Brother Shi."
After saying all this, Shi Ruocheng hesitated and didn't leave, pacing around in the rehearsal room.
Liang Yizhi then asked, "Brother Shi, just say what else you want to say."
“…I have something I’d like to ask you,” Shi Ruocheng said.
"It's okay if you can't answer. I just wanted to ask, does Wu You... dislike me?"
"Of course not, why do you think that?"
Shi Ruocheng's eyebrows drooped slightly: "Sometimes she avoids me. I wonder if I did something to make things difficult for her? She always says something like, 'This is the first time I've met someone like me.' Wu You seems to always treat me like a superior. I can hardly tell if she's just being polite or if she really dislikes me."
Am I too stupid?
Although Shi Ruocheng may appear dull and slow-witted on the surface, this is actually a unique way of socializing that is characteristic of him. It is his trait, not a flaw.
She secretly asked Wu You for his opinion, and Wu You didn't dislike him either, but he just needed to get to know him better.
Liang Yizhi advised, "Brother Shi, you don't need to worry too much. Wu You doesn't dislike you; she's just afraid that if she accepts your kindness but can't reciprocate, you'll end up disappointed. Besides, you're all in the same circle, so she has her concerns. She's worried that if you get together and then have disagreements in the future, it will negatively impact both of you."
"I think she'll give you an answer once she's thought it through."
Hearing her words, Shi Ruocheng felt much relieved: "Thank you."
"Not really."
"I will explain my concerns to her. Even if things don't work out in the end, we can still be friends."
Liang Yizhi smiled and said, "It's good that you've thought it through."
Although she said it like that, Liang Yizhi was thinking to herself:
If things don't work out, can we still be friends?
But no matter what, their situation is much more optimistic than hers and Gu Yinyan's.
After leaving the concert hall and saying goodbye to Shi Ruocheng, Liang Yizhi went to a nearby coffee shop. It was getting late, and she hadn't decided on dinner yet, so she decided to just grab a drink to tide her over.
The coffee shop was about to close, and there weren't many people. After ordering, Liang Yizhi, carrying her violin, stood at the counter waiting for her number to be called.
A new message came in on my phone.
This is a congratulatory picture:
What are you doing?
Liang Yizhi replied: [Just got off work.]
The person on the other end asked politely, "Did I disturb your rest time?"
It's just chatting, it's not like I'm bothering you.
Liang Yizhi was quite surprised that He Xintu came to find her, after all, she hadn't figured out how to explain the interrupted date to him.
He Xintu didn't dwell on it, but simply asked, "Getting off work so late, you seem to have been very busy lately?"
[There's one thing, but it'll be fine once this phase passes.]
He Xintu: [It feels like years have passed since we last contacted each other a few days ago.]
I'm still wondering if I can still ask you to meet up?
Liang Yizhi gently scratched the edge of her phone case with her fingers and retyped the text:
Why would you say that?
Did I... scare you before?
The ripple effects of that chaotic night are still ongoing.
Liang Yizhi explained again: "I'm sorry I left without telling you last time. I should have been the one to make plans with you first."
He Xintu: [The Lunar New Year is almost here, what are your plans? How about we meet up?]
Liang Yizhi had performances during the New Year's holiday, but she wasn't exactly busy.
She replied: "I'm not sure yet, but I'll definitely have time."
Okay. Let's make it up then!
Liang Yizhi had just sent the other party an "OK" when a deep voice suddenly came from behind her:
"Aren't you taking the coffee?"
A chill ran down her spine.
Turning around, it was indeed Gu Yinyan.
She instinctively covered her chest with her phone screen and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Gu Yinyan: "I've come to pick you up from get off work."
"...You didn't say you were coming to pick me up."
"Okay, I'll let you know next time."
As Gu Yinyan spoke, he glanced at the row of drinks in front of the food counter and precisely picked up Liang Yizhi's drink.
Liang Yizhi took it and glanced at the label on the cup with a puzzled look; her name wasn't written on it.
How did you know this cup was mine? Were you spying on me?
Gu Yinyan found it funny; she thought he was some kind of stalker.
"There's no need for that. If you hadn't ordered an iced drink on such a cold day, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell."
Liang Yizhi looked up at the stage and saw a row of paper cups filled with hot drinks, but hers was a transparent cup filled with ice.
She usually drinks more ice water, except for the first few days of her period. Even in winter, she prefers to drink ice water, since she spends most of her time in air-conditioned rooms.
Winter makes people more perceptive.
The same applies to ice water.
Liang Yizhi followed Gu Yinyan into the car. The car's heater was set to a comfortable temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, and while the warmth enveloped her, it also swallowed up her keen senses.
The moment she sat in the passenger seat, Liang Yizhi felt a pang of nostalgia for this feeling.
It was as if nothing had ever happened between them.
It seems like everything is the same as it was at the beginning.
The car starts.
Liang Yizhi ordered a fruit tea. After taking a few sips, she tried to appear calm and asked through the straw, "You didn't have a performance today, so why did you come to pick me up? Or did you just happen to be passing by?"
"Neither," Gu Yinyan said, gripping the steering wheel. "I came here specifically to pick you up."
Liang Yizhi asked, "What...are you going to do?"
Gu Yinyan turned his head to the side, whether to look at the rearview mirror on the right or to observe her expression, it was unclear.
Liang Yizhi stared straight ahead at the flat road, her gaze as fleeting as a yellow shadow passing in front of the car.
"You'd better get used to it," he said casually, giving her a heads-up.
"I will pick you up and drop you off frequently from now on. For the foreseeable future, I will appear in front of you like this often."
Liang Yizhi loosened her jaw, and the slightly bent straw sprang out with a "pop".
His "frequent appearances" were clearly different from his previous casual meetings. It was tantamount to a declaration of his presence.
“…You don’t need to do these things,” Liang Yizhi said.
She couldn't fathom Gu Yinyan's thoughts at all. She had tried her best to convince herself that Gu Yinyan's actions that night were just a momentary impulse, that he had lost control and kissed her because of her angry words.
She didn't deny that she still wanted to be friends with him; she was waiting for him to come to his senses after that night. However, Gu Yinyan had no intention of letting the matter rest.
She was well aware of how stubborn Gu Yinyan was.
...
Just as he said, he picked her up and dropped her off from work for several days in a row. No matter how unwilling Liang Yizhi was, she couldn't refuse him when he was standing in front of her, so she had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.
She would occasionally ask him, "As the company's CEO, is it really okay for you to skip work every day like this?"
Gu Yinyan said, "If such a big company still requires me to keep an eye on it 24 hours a day, then this company should be dissolved."
In the morning, Gu Yinyan would pick her up and bring her an iced latte, with double the espresso as she usually did, plus a sandwich.
When she gets off work, she plays soft, soothing music in her car—not classical music that strains her ears, but gentle, lively R&B. Sometimes, when she's too tired, she uses her usual neck pillow, and her eyelids droop with sleepiness until she drifts off.
Gu Yinyan parked his car downstairs at her house and waited until she woke up.
—Liang Yizhi never expected that he would have to do more than just that.
After the performance on Thursday night, Liang Yizhi returned to the dressing room to pack her things, and someone handed her a bouquet of flowers.
A colleague from the orchestra said, "Someone was at the door just now, saying they were giving you flowers."
Liang Yizhi: "Given to me? Who gave it to me?"
"I'm not sure, the delivery person was a rider. See if there's a signature on it?"
Liang Yizhi accepted the bouquet amidst envious glances from a group of people, but after looking around, she couldn't find a card or signature.
The flowers were very fresh, carrying a rich fragrance and the scent of dew. Large clusters of blossoms were tightly packed together, vibrant and lively.
A strong premonition pointed in a certain direction, but Liang Yizhi didn't want to admit it.
We arrived outside the concert hall.
The night was cold and still, and Liang Yizhi could spot the figure immersed in the darkness at a glance.
She approached with the flowers: "Is this also your masterpiece?"
Gu Yinyan casually asked, his hands in his pockets, "Why do you think it was me? Didn't you ever think it might have been He Xintu who sent it?"
Liang Yizhi was taken aback. She really hadn't thought of that. Could it be... that she was just imagining things?
However, after hesitating for a few seconds, her face displayed a variety of expressions, which Gu Yinyan noticed.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you." He stepped forward, lowered his head, and sniffed the bouquet gently.
"This is my first time ordering flowers here, and their quality is pretty good."
"..."
Liang Yizhi felt a mix of emotions.
Gu Yinyan: "He Xintu hasn't contacted you recently."
—This is an affirmative statement.
Liang Yizhi honestly replied, "No."
"It seems he's not very interested."
The fragrance of flowers wafted up with the gentle breeze, and the scent mixed with the coolness was enough for her to clearly perceive the night.
Gu Yinyan raised his hand and gently touched the flower holder with his fingers: "The probability of succeeding in pursuing someone through hard work is ninety-five percent. When you see this bouquet and the first person you think of is me, he's already out of the running."
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