Blazing Sun~Chapter 15

 

Chapter 15

I didn't have to go to a lecture early in the morning, so I slept until noon on Saturday. I had plenty of time in the afternoon, but I ended up just messing around and almost missed Siliang's birthday party that evening.

The birthday party was quite lively; most of my classmates from Shanghai came, and the food was delicious. After dinner, we all went to a karaoke bar.

Just as we entered the karaoke bar, Siliang's phone rang. She glanced at it and answered, her expression a little strange. "Hello, Rongrong… thank you, haha… we just finished eating and are now at the karaoke bar… you have to come…"

She looked at me and said, "Of course you're welcome, Xiguang is here too… okay."

She gave me the karaoke bar's address.

After hanging up the phone, she pulled me aside. "Xiguang, Rongrong's coming, you saw it yourself. I had no idea she was coming. You don't mind, do you?"

"It's okay, it's okay, she'll come." Thinking about what Xiaofeng had told me yesterday, I was actually a little excited. "But..."

I suddenly realized something. Would Zhuang Xu come with Rongrong?

My expression faltered slightly, and Siliang immediately noticed, abruptly but perfectly timed, saying, "Speaking of which, I don't know what's going on between Zhuang Xu and Rongrong. Lately, when Rongrong eats with us, she hasn't mentioned him once."

"Huh?" I chuckled, offering no comment.

After singing in the private room for about half an hour, Rongrong arrived as promised. She wore a white suit dress with a brown trench coat, elegant and radiant, her presence immediately catching everyone's eye.

The male singer stopped singing and, microphone in hand, gave a welcoming speech: "Look who's here! Welcome Ye Rong, the most beautiful girl from the Business School of A University!"

Rongrong waved to him, went straight to the girls' group, and handed something to Siliang. "A gift, happy birthday."

Siliang's face lit up at the sight of it: "You didn't even come for dinner, and you brought such an expensive gift!"

Rongrong: "I bought it for you because it looked nice."

Then her gaze shifted to me, and she greeted me casually: "Xiguang, you're here too."

"Just happened to be in Shanghai on business."

Siliang put away the gift and complained, "She came on Friday, contacted Xiaofeng, and didn't even ask us to hang out."

The eldest sister's eyes immediately swept over me, and I quickly retorted, "You said it was Friday, you guys must be working."

The eldest sister and Siliang weren't buying it, so I could only surrender, "I think I have work to do at the end of the month, how about I treat everyone to dinner then?"

Everyone was finally satisfied: "That's more like it."

As soon as Rongrong arrived, no one sang anymore. The boys all crowded around, exchanging pleasantries and gossiping.

"Is Sheng Yuan's salary that high? Ye Rong, your outfit doesn't look cheap."

"Is your company still hiring? Ye Rong, can you get a referral?"

"Why isn't Zhuang Xu here?"

"Why are you all so gossipy?" Siliang shooed them away. "Girls chatting, can you please not come over here? Go play pool next door."

The boys were reluctantly chased away.

As soon as they left, the eldest sister asked curiously, "Rongrong, you got a new bag? I've never seen you carry one before. You just got a new phone and now you have a new bag? This brand must be expensive, right?"

Rongrong laughed, "It's not expensive, just a few thousand yuan. It's not even noticeable in our company. I just like its small size."

Siliang teased, "Several thousand yuan and you think it's not expensive? You're really generous. Did you buy it yourself? Or..."

She probed, and Rongrong said, "Just ask what you want to ask. Why beat around the bush? I bought it myself. My year-end bonus was pretty good last year, and my boyfriend wanted to buy it for me, but I wouldn't let him."

Everyone was stunned.

Siliang: "You have a boyfriend? Could it be..."

Rongrong interrupted her: "I mentioned him to you guys last time, my boss, Sheng Xingjie."

Siliang paused for a few seconds, then exclaimed "Wow!" in an exaggerated way, "Wow! Are you marrying into a wealthy family? When did this happen?"

"We only got together after the New Year, I haven't told you guys yet. But he's been pursuing me for a long time."

Siliang clicked her tongue in amazement, "The feng shui in our dorm is so good, two of us are marrying into wealthy families."

Xiaofeng said, "Not really, Xiguang's family is already rich."

"I suddenly thought of something funny," Siliang joked, "Xiguang, Rongrong, won't you two be relatives in the future?"

Me: "..."

That's definitely not a funny thing.

"Yeah, we're quite destined for each other. But Xiguang and President Lin will probably be living in Suzhou from now on, so we won't be able to hang out often." Rongrong's gaze fell on me again, her tone unexpectedly gentle.

Siliang: "No way, Xiguang's boyfriend is the grandson of Chairman Shengyuan, he wouldn't be away all the time, would he?"

Rongrong said: "I heard it from Xingjie, he said his grandfather gave the Suzhou company to President Lin, Xiguang, is it true?"

"It's true." I had just recovered from the shock of Rongrong and Sheng Xingjie being together, and said with a worried look, "We're struggling to start our business in Suzhou, working overtime every day."

The eldest sister reached out and pinched my ear through Xiaofeng, "Alright, Miss, you're such a sad character."

I slapped her hand away, "Eldest sister, why haven't you gotten rid of this habit yet? Your future baby's earlobes will definitely be extra long."

Everyone burst into laughter, and the eldest sister punched me: "All you do is talk nonsense all day."

Amid the laughter, I whispered to Xiaofeng: "It really does seem different than before."

Xiaofeng said: "Case solved, it turns out she is in a relationship."

I agreed, that must be the reason. Being in a relationship makes you feel good and happy, even if you're not together, receiving a text message will make you beam with joy.

So, how long has it been since Lin Yusen last messaged me?

I took my phone out of my bag and checked my messages. Sure enough, no new messages; the last one was two and a half hours ago.

Didn't we agree to check in every two hours? He doesn't keep his promise at all!

I messaged him: "Have you eaten? Where are the photos? We agreed on two hours! You're overtime."

I was intently typing, head down, when Siliang stood up and picked up the microphone. "Let's sing while they're playing ball, or we won't be able to get a turn when they get back. They're all karaoke hogs!"

The eldest quickly said, "You guys sing, you guys sing, I'm not good at singing."

However, before we could even start choosing songs, Zhuo Hui, who was playing pool in the outer room, excitedly rushed in. "Siliang, look who's here!"

"Who?"

"Zhuang Xu!"

Zhuang Xu?

Everyone fell silent. I looked up from my text message and saw Zhuo Hui step aside, revealing the person behind him.

After a brief silence, Siliang glanced at Zhuang Xu, then turned to Rongrong. "You two arrived so close together, did you plan this?"

"No."

They both answered simultaneously.

Zhuang Xu, without looking at Siliang, explained, "I had work nearby today. Zhuo Hui just called to ask if I was free, saying… everyone's here."

"So, I came too." He handed Siliang the paper bag he was carrying. "It was a rushed preparation. Happy birthday."

Siliang accepted it with a smile. "It's good that everyone came; they're all so kind."

It would be a lie to say she didn't feel anything. For a fleeting moment when her gaze fell on him, a slight tremor ran through her, but it was quickly forgotten.

Besides, my text message alert rang.

I immediately opened the text message. Lin Yusen's mournful expression was palpable in the text: "Eating now, at XXXX restaurant on Huaihai Road. It wasn't good, so I didn't take a picture. Where did you go over time? You replied to my last message more than half an hour later, so I reasonably extended the time."

I was in such a rush that I hadn't noticed. Knowing I was in the wrong, I changed the subject: "When will you finish?"

"I don't know, the experts are passionately sharing their opinions, the atmosphere is quite heated, and no one is giving in."

I was filled with respect. "Are they discussing something very professional? Then listen carefully and don't reply to me."

"Professional. Which winery's red wine is more collectible?"

I... replied with six points.

I was engrossed in typing on my phone, but inexplicably felt something was off. I looked up; everyone was happily requesting songs, nothing seemed amiss.

Xiao Feng peeked over, "What are you doing? You've been texting for so long."

I pushed her head away, "It's been a long time, okay?"

Xiao Feng pouted, then enthusiastically recommended, "The duck tongues here are delicious, want some?"

The karaoke room became lively again, everyone taking turns singing, but the seating arrangement was still the same as in college: boys on one side, girls on the other, each chatting.

Xiao Feng and I were engrossed in the braised food platter, not singing a single song—after all, we're a trio of tone-deaf. Rongrong and Siliang sang well, each performing two songs, drawing applause.

Then the boys took over the main battleground, while the girls chatted on the sidelines. When the accompaniment faded, I vaguely heard a few fragmented words, seemingly about Sheng Xingjie.

I couldn't help but glance over; Rongrong was smiling contentedly.

As the intro to another song began, Zhuo Hui shouted, "Faith, Zhang Xinzhe's Faith, who requested it?"

The boss's husband, while eating, yelled, "I requested it! Cut it, cut it! I'm too drunk to sing something this difficult."

The boss glanced at their table, surprised: "How much did you guys drink? Like water?"

Si Liang said, "Let's have some fun, forget about them. Cut to the next song."

I really liked this song and felt a little disappointed; the boss's husband's voice was actually quite good. Just as I was about to suggest playing the original version, a slender hand picked up the microphone from the table.

"I'll do it."

A clear, cold voice rang out, and the room fell silent.

Si Liang paused for a moment, then immediately clapped. "Amazing! Amazing! Our handsome Zhuang is going to sing too! A once-in-a-lifetime sight!"

Zhuo Hui said, "He sang this song before, once at a karaoke bar before graduation."

Si Liang said, "Wasn't the karaoke bar full that time?"

Zhuo Hui said, "Oh, I misremembered. It was later, with some classmates."

Zhuang Xu completely ignored their conversation, his gaze fixed intently on the screen.

The music grew louder, drowning out their conversation.

"Whenever I hear a melancholy melody

It stirs up painful memories

Whenever I see the white moonlight

It reminds me of your face

Knowing I shouldn't think about it, shouldn't think about it, yet I still feel lost

..."

I had never heard Zhuang Xu sing before. It turns out he sings...quite well.

I've forgotten which day it was, but I remember it was night, in the dorm, everyone was lying in bed, and a song was softly playing from a small speaker.

One of the songs was "Faith."

Around that time, someone was holding a candlelight reciprocation ceremony and singing a love song outside the girls' dormitory. Listening to it, I blurted out, without thinking, "That junior confessed the other day, but he didn't choose the right song. Maybe he would have succeeded if he sang this song. If someone sang this song to me outside the dormitory, I would definitely say yes."

My roommates laughed at me.

But I was serious. As a young girl, I thought, if someone said to me so earnestly, "I love you, that's my faith,"

what could be more moving than that?

I already knew Zhuang Xu then, and even moved back to dormitory for him.

But when I said those words, I didn't think of him at all, because he would never do that.

My thoughts drifted away with the song, but then, the singer stopped singing just before the climax.

The boys teased, "What's going on? Why did he stop singing at the climax?"

"I won't," Zhuang Xu said, putting down the microphone and returning to his seat.

Siliang shouted during the accompaniment, "I've heard of people who only sing the climax, but who only sings the beginning?"

Xiaofeng commented, "That's more like it. I really can't imagine Zhuang Xu singing a love song like this."

I completely pulled myself out of my reverie; I knew I should leave.

But not now. I had to wait until someone else sang two more songs, so it wouldn't seem so forced.

So, after two more songs, I got up to leave.

The KTV was in a shopping mall. After leaving, I went to the restroom first. When I came out, I was surprised to see Zhuang Xu waiting for the elevator.

I slowed my pace, thinking about how to avoid him, when he looked over.

"Nie Xiguang."

He called my name from afar.

I didn't expect him to greet me and stopped.

"Can we not sing downstairs in the dorm?"

For a moment, I stared at him in shock and blurted out, "How did you know?"

Zhuang Xu didn't answer me; he just stood there. The elevator doors beside him slowly opened. He didn't move until the doors were about to close, then he reached out to stop them.

"Sorry, I drank too much."

"It was just a song." He gave a self-deprecating laugh and stepped into the elevator.

I ran to where Lin Yusen was eating to wait for him.

Without telling him I was coming, I sat on a bench by the restaurant entrance, intently watching the people coming and going, but gradually I drifted off into a daze. After what seemed like an eternity, a pair of long legs appeared before me, and someone bent down, smiling, and struck up a conversation.

"Miss, you look like you're lost."

I looked up and immediately put my arms around his neck.

Lin Yusen was a little surprised and picked me up. "Why did you come all the way here to find me? Were you unhappy at the birthday party today?"

"No," I buried my face in his neck, "I just forgot your house code and was afraid I wouldn't be able to get in. Take me home quickly."