45/Piano
Zhao Lili was somewhat stunned.
The Shen Yu she knew wasn't someone who knew how to charm girls. It was probably a common problem for all good-looking guys. The idea of being handsome without realizing it simply didn't exist. Handsome guys attract all sorts of attention wherever they go, are fawned over, and habitually accept others' advances. As long as they abide by basic morals and don't break the law or commit crimes, they have no trouble finding a girlfriend.
Since entering high school, Shen Yu has always been incredibly popular, as if he were born with the male protagonist setting of a shoujo manga. He is handsome, academically excellent, from a wealthy family, and is always surrounded by admirers wherever he goes. He has seen too many people run into obstacles with him. Forget about coaxing people, even a simple "sorry" is considered a polite response. He doesn't care about those broken girl hearts. The idea of unrequited love coming true in novels doesn't seem to work at all for him.
There have always been beautiful girls interested in Shen Yu, but he has never stopped for any of them.
It might sound like someone who walks through a field of flowers without getting entangled, but in other words, he's a high-level player.
At least in Zhao Lili's long-standing impression, he was a top-notch playboy.
When Chen Mian and Shen Yu got involved, Zhao Lili's first reaction was to advise them against it.
She subconsciously felt that Chen Mian couldn't outmaneuver Shen Yu. Chen Mian was naive, had never experienced love, and had very few men around her. Meeting Shen Yu was like an ant encountering an elephant.
But as time went on, I found that it wasn't quite what I had imagined.
Chen Mian remained calm and clear-headed throughout, never uttering Shen Yu's name. Occasionally, when someone in the class mentioned him, it never drew her attention, as if Shen Yu was no different from anyone else.
Zhao Lili always felt that this was fine, at least Chen Mian wouldn't get hurt.
It wasn't until just now, when she heard Shen Yu say on the podium that Chen Mian was happy every day, that she realized that the relationship between Chen Mian and Shen Yu wasn't what she had thought—not a limited, ambiguous relationship that would end with the ringing of the bell for the last class of senior year and the end of the last exam, a relationship that would fade away along with their youth.
—It seems that Shen Yu really does like Chen Mian.
It wasn't until Shen Yu returned to his class that the truth-telling session, which had been temporarily organized and caused a huge uproar, came to an end. New review materials were then distributed, and Zhao Lili couldn't help but look at Chen Mian's reaction, hoping to glean some information from her, but in the end, she came up empty-handed.
Chen Mian was too calm, as if she wasn't the one who had just been named.
Despite having already received an answer, Zhao Lili couldn't help but ask again, "Mianmian, don't you like Shen Yu at all?"
Then she saw Chen Mian stop writing words in her mind, her gaze lingering on the draft paper for a long time. She neither looked up at her nor moved an inch. Only after a long, long time did she softly say to her, "Lily, this is not important."
At this moment, Chen Mian still felt that she was able to remain calm and clear-headed.
Then the bell rang to signal the end of evening self-study. As usual, Shen Yu waited at the back door. As she walked toward him, he took the backpack from her shoulder, walked beside her, looked down at his phone which was always receiving messages, but always managed to stop her from going astray at the first moment, and asked her in a joking tone if she was planning to go to Antarctica.
The poplar trees on both sides of the school road rustled in the wind at night. The teaching buildings, which were still lit up, were filled with laughter and noise. Girls carrying bags chatted in groups of three or five, laughing and talking about gossip. Boys raised their voices to talk about which star player was more consistent and which game was the most exciting.
Everything I saw was a scene that repeated itself repeatedly during my high school years.
Chen Mian told herself that today was no different from yesterday.
There was nothing unusual. The rapid beating of my heart was not because of the boy's gaze, the gradually warming palms were not a chain reaction caused by tension, and even the inexplicable soreness in my nose and eyes had nothing to do with anything that happened tonight.
June 1st is the most ordinary and uneventful day; no matter what happens, it is no different from any other day.
Shen Yu had no idea what Chen Mian was thinking. His phone screen was on a sheet of music. Chen Mian was walking to his left, with her earphones plugged into her right ear, playing a song on repeat.
He learned about the plans he had made through WeChat and kept asking him where he was, whether he had arrived home, whether Chen Mian had any reaction, whether he needed any help, and whether there was anything he could learn from later.
Despite being incredibly annoying, normally Chen Yu would have simply blocked him.
But today, he replied to each one individually.
—We're almost at the school gate.
—Not home yet.
—He doesn't seem to react much; he's probably just pretending to be calm.
—You can't help at all.
Don't copy.
You Huai had a keen sense of smell and immediately noticed Shen Yu's unusual behavior. He said to him, "A Yu, don't be nervous. Really, I think what you prepared is really good. If someone celebrated my birthday like this, I would definitely be so moved that I would kowtow to them a few times."
Shen Yu didn't reply to You Huai anymore because he realized the situation was really bad, and he was genuinely a little nervous.
He has been learning piano since he was a child, but he has practiced very little since his senior year of high school. I don't know if he has become rusty. Although he has read the sheet music many times, he has never practiced it. Who knows if he will make mistakes when he actually plays it? Also, he has not sung for a long time. What if he cracks his voice?
What's most annoying is that he's the only one who's so nervous.
Is this really normal?
When Mingming returned from Class 3 of the Literature Department, several friends who were watching outside the door said that Brother Chen was amazing. From today onwards, he was the number one romantic in Suizhong. They even exaggeratedly said that no one could resist him.
Everyone reacted enthusiastically, except for Chen Mian, who seemed to have had his emotional ties severed and was forced to cultivate the path of ruthlessness, showing absolutely no reaction.
Even a glance or a word from Chen Mian would make Shen Yu think, "Hmm, not bad, I did alright," but Chen Mian didn't.
This silent exchange, each person harboring their own thoughts, continued until they entered the Grand Mansion.
The door opened, and Chen Mian put down her schoolbag and was about to enter her room as usual, but Shen Yu called her name, breaking the almost eerie atmosphere.
Chen Mian looked at him and saw that the boy, who had been silent all night, had unbuttoned his shirt at some point. He was rubbing his nose with his index finger, a subconscious reaction of nervousness. He said to her, "Don't rush in, wait a moment."
Chen Mian looked away and down at her shoes. "I still have a lot of questions to look at."
Shen Yu stared at her, "There's no rush."
"Chen Yu." Chen Mian called out his name, sighed softly, and asked, "Are you here to celebrate my birthday?"
Shen Yu immediately laughed. He reached out and turned off the living room light. The moment the light went out, he resumed his usual casual tone and said to her, "Chen Mian, has no one ever told you that you should pretend not to understand at times like this?"
In the darkness, Chen Mian's wrist was grabbed, and her attempts to struggle were all stopped by the boy's soft sigh.
The surprise of being revealed is like a countdown clock unveiling the darkness.
The sound of footsteps was like the second hand striking the ground, swallowing up the words that were meant to be spoken: "I don't want to celebrate my birthday," "It means nothing to me," and "It's unnecessary." They were all swallowed up in the cracks of time.
The creaking sound of the door being pushed open was like the first shards of ice breaking in early spring. The moment the light came on, Chen Mian saw the piano in the corner.
Shen Yu released her wrist, and then, as if afraid she would run away, locked the door from the inside.
The warm light of the room fell on him, and he pressed Chen Mian against the wall, leaving her with no way to escape. Only then did he say to her in a somewhat helpless tone, "Chen Mian, do you remember how I spent my eighteenth birthday?"
It was a grand and solemn occasion, with countless people wishing him a happy birthday and all eyes on him.
And the countless moments of entanglement in the bathroom as dawn approached.
Chen Mian remembers everything.
Shen Yu's breath fell right next to her ear; the distance was so close that she could easily feel the vibrations in his chest.
It wasn't as if she heard his voice, but rather felt it speaking to her.
"It's just you and me here, and I just want to celebrate your birthday, so can you cooperate a little?"
Chen Mian loosened her clenched hands. Countless voices in her mind told her it wasn't necessary, but her emotions temporarily prevailed. She controlled her body, nodded to him, and said okay.
Eighteen years old.
The age at which one enters a new stage of life.
The age at which one must take responsibility for all their actions.
An age that is of paramount importance to countless people.
Perhaps other people's eighteenth birthdays are just like Chen Yu's, with many friends wishing them a happy birthday, blowing out candles in a lively space and being sung the happy birthday song.
But Chen Mian had never experienced it.
The sound of a piano filled the quiet room.
The light was like a flickering candle.
The people sitting there were singing Happy Birthday.
If Shen Yu were to be a little more romantic, he should have covered her eyes the moment they entered the elevator and, in a commanding tone, told her not to say anything and just to follow him.
If Shen Yu were a little smarter, she wouldn't need to bother preparing for a birthday she herself doesn't even care about; a bank transfer or cash would suffice to replace a simple "Happy Birthday."
If Shen Yu were a little more rational, he should have done nothing, just like her, treating today as any other day and letting time pass quietly.
Ke Chenyu is an idiot.
He deliberately acted so clumsy, yet thought he was incredibly cool. He played the piano while glancing at her, and after singing the birthday song, he switched to some obscure English song he'd found somewhere.
Use song lyrics as a substitute and say to her, "I wish you all the best and may you be blessed with love."
Just before midnight, I walked up to her, blocked all the light behind me, and looked into her eyes.
It was as if her arrival was the best thing ever to happen in the world.
Tell her.
—"Happy birthday, Chen Mian. Welcome to your eighteenth birthday."
Chen Mian felt a sour taste in his throat.
At that moment, I heard the sound of countless butterflies fluttering inside my body.
Every sound seemed to say, "Chen Mian, it's not important," which also meant that you like it, but you don't want to admit it.
Countless times afterward, when Chen Mian recalled that night, the first thing that came to mind was not Shen Yu's birthday wishes to her, nor the way he played the piano, but his smiling eyes as he looked at her.
It was as if he saw through all her timidity and avoidance.
He remained focused and attentive, looking only at her.
/
Shen Yu's song: Window / Galdive
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