The familiar voice sounded beside her ear, and Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t dare to move. She took advantage of the time she was coughing to quickly process everything in her mind.

She was very sure that just now, Lin Yan had called her "Jiaoyang".

If that"s the case, then Lin Yan must have heard her conversation with Mei Niu. It"s just that she didn"t know how much he"d heard.

“Feeling better now?”

Sheng Jiaoyang raised her head and her eyes were teary as a result of coughing too hard. She turned to face Lin Yan, looking him straight in the eye.

She moved slightly towards the side. “I"m better now, thank you for your concern!”

“Did you come here especially for me?” Lin Yan looked at her deeply, an unknown emotion swirling in the recesses of his eyes.

“Ah? No, Mei Niu said that she was looking for me to discuss something, so I came.” Sheng Jiaoyang squeezed out a smile and added, “I"m going to sleep now.”

She pretended to be calm and turned around, preparing to leave.

How could Lin Yan just let her go like that? He grabbed Sheng Jiaoyang"s hand and pulled her in front of him. Then, he took a step forward, trapping her between himself and the kitchen"s marble tabletop.

“W-what are you doing?” Sheng Jiaoyang was slightly anxious.

“Were you planning to keep me in the dark forever?” Lin Yan"s tone had a trace of disappointment in it.

Sheng Jiaoyang pursed her lips. Her heart was disturbed, but she knew that she had to act rationally and not let her emotions dictate her actions. She feigned ignorance and said, “What did I hide from you? I don"t have anything to hide from you!”

Lin Yan stared at her profoundly as if he wanted to carve her present appearance deeply in his mind.

In this silent atmosphere, the distance between the two was so close that they could hear each other breathing. Sheng Jiaoyang took the initiative to break the silence. “If there"s nothing else, then let"s go back to our respective rooms and rest.”

Lin Yan suddenly raised his hands and held her cheeks. His sudden movement made Sheng Jiaoyang freeze. Creases formed between his eyebrows, and his voice was soft as he asked, “Are you blaming me for not recognising you?”

“The familiarity I sensed around you, the way you called me, the way you looked at me… You gave me so many indications, but I didn"t recognise you. Or, more truthfully, I didn"t dare to believe it. It"s all because your current appearance deceived me.” He cast a scrutinising look at her face, his gaze serious as if he was admiring a rare treasure. His facial features were deeply fascinating at a close distance. Even if she looked at them a hundred times, she wouldn"t be tired.

As a veteran with an appearance complex, Sheng Jiaoyang had grieved when she realised that she couldn"t shake off the effect Lin Yan"s beautiful face had on her. Even if she repeatedly told herself that she must bear with it in a calm and collected manner, her heartbeat still increased by the minute because of his close proximity.

That year, she was also immersed in his beauty like this and found it hard to free herself from it.

“Jiaoyang,” Lin Yan whispered. “When I heard that something had happened to you, my heart was in a lot of pain.”

It felt like an arrow abruptly pierced Sheng Jiaoyang"s heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.

“Follow me.” Lin Yan pulled her hand, bringing her to the piano room.

The piano room was built with soundproof walls. Thus, as long as they closed the windows, people outside the room couldn"t hear any sounds.

Lin Yan pulled Sheng Jiaoyang in front of the piano, then he sat down before he turned his head towards her and smiled lightly. “Listen to this song and let me know what you think of it.”

The piano"s cover was lifted, and his fair and slender fingers danced across the black and white piano keys. Each and every one of them produced different pitches that continuously linked together, converging into a sweet-sounding melody.

This was…

This was the first song that he"d taught her.

Sheng Jiaoyang bit her lip, her expression complicated.

Once the song had ended, Lin Yan asked her, “Was there anything wrong with the song I played?”

“No.” Sheng Jiaoyang shook her head. His piano skills are amazing, so how could there be anything wrong with his playing?

“After your accident, I"ve never played this song again.”

After your accident, I"ve never played this song again… Sheng Jiaoyang was baffled by his words and didn"t know what to say.

Lin Yan stood up and walked until he was in front of her before he unhurriedly said, “I unintentionally heard the conversation between you and Nana. When I discovered that you were beside me all this time, I initially wanted to act like I didn"t know anything. I wanted to continue being a familiar stranger to you, but—”

“I"m incapable of ignoring what my heart feels. Knowing that you"re still here, I"m filled with joy. Even though you look completely different now, as long as you are you, I"ll be at ease.”

Sheng Jiaoyang could hear her powerful, vigorous, and hurried heartbeat. However, when her gaze accidentally caught sight of the ring on his left hand, she instantly felt as if she was splashed with cold water and became clear-headed.

“I"m also very happy to be able to hear you say that as there are words which I"ve held within my heart for quite a few years.” Sheng Jiaoyang sucked in a deep breath and stared at him attentively as she slowly said, “I like you from the moment we met.”

The ripples in Lin Yan"s eyes undulated as he also thought about the things that had happened in the past.

She was resting in front of the window as she smiled to greet him. Her appearance, which glowed with pride and happiness from six years ago, still appeared the same in his memory.

She cast an infatuated and pleasant look at him, saying that she wanted to learn the piano. He could have clearly asked her to hire a piano teacher, but he chose to teach her personally. The reason he promised her that was due to the loneliness he felt. If a likeable girl like her accompanied him when he was idle, he felt that it would add a measure of pleasure to his life.

Her memory was extraordinary, so she remembered the placing of each key and the techniques that he taught her were quickly understood. However, something that made him unable to cry nor laugh was…she was tone-deaf, an idiot amongst idiots. She couldn"t find the tempo or feeling for the music at all. It was him who held her hand and taught her when to pause and where to quicken the tempo. Even a primary level song was repeatedly played until he was humming that tune in his dreams.

He was aware that she liked him. Even though she didn"t say it out loud, her feelings plainly showed on her face.

“Remember the last time we were on the balcony and I asked you if you liked Sheng Jiaoyang? I still want to know; do you like me? Have you ever liked me?” Sheng Jiaoyang was very persistent with her questions.

However, Lin Yan decided to remain silent.

The rims of Sheng Jiaoyang"s eyes were slightly damp as she nodded and said, “I understand, I wish you happiness.”

She turned around and never looked back as she left the piano room.

Even though feelings were involuntary, she could still choose whether or not she wanted to continue like this.

Lin Yan stood frozen in place as he stared at the door. Afterwards, he slowly blinked. Why didn"t he answer her question? It was because he was still thinking about the aftermath of his answer.

Sheng Jiaoyang couldn"t fall asleep for the latter half of the night.

When Lina woke up in the morning and saw Sheng Jiaoyang"s haggard expression, she was shocked.

“What"s wrong with you? You didn"t sleep last night?”

“Mei Niu, your brother heard our conversation last night.” Sheng Jiaoyang then told Lina about her encounter with Lin Yan last night.

Once Sheng Jiaoyang had finished talking, Lina was quiet for a while before she said, “His heart holds too many things. Even if he likes you, he won"t show it.”

Sheng Jiaoyang exhaled deeply. “Mei Niu, I"m going back today.”

“Because of him?”

“No. Remember how I was shooting a drama before I came here? I have to rush back to retake a few shots.”

“Okay then, our film will also enter its promotional period soon, and I heard that they"ll publicise it in your country. When the time comes, we can meet again.”

Lina drove her to the airport. This time, however, it was in another car.

Sheng Jiaoyang sat in the front pa.s.senger seat, and she couldn"t help but stare in the rearview mirror as it reflected a person standing on the balcony of the villa behind her. It was Lin Yan. He was so far away that she couldn"t clearly see the expression on his face.

She silently said in her heart, “Goodbye.”

Once she reached the airport, Sheng Jiaoyang was awoken by Lina. She"d only slept a few hours at dawn, so she fell asleep not long after boarding the car.

“Remember, there are things that you can"t do after you go back, but you must constantly think of me!” Lina commented as she bid her farewell to Sheng Jiaoyang.

Sheng Jiaoyang was amused by Lina"s words, and she kept nodding her head as she said, “Be at ease, I"ll think of you every day.” After saying this, she suddenly found her words cringy and slightly s.h.i.+vered.

Both of them locked eyes and smiled.

While she was waiting to board the plane, Sheng Jiaoyang decided to scroll through her Weibo account. When she was finally about to board the plane, she posted her mood on her account:

[After saying goodbye to the person I love and the person who loves me, I"m flying towards a new place and I"ll strive to become a better person.]

When Sheng Jiaoyang boarded the plane, she unexpectedly saw Lin Yu.

“We met again!” Lin Yu greeted her first.

“Why didn"t you stay at your aunt"s house yesterday?”

“It"s not proper to keep bothering them, and it"s too troublesome to send me to the airport in the morning.”

Sheng Jiaoyang who kept on bothering Lina: …

This kind of thing couldn"t be considered as bothering or not bothering. It actually depended on how close one was with the other party. If it were between close friends, even the most bothersome things wouldn"t be seen as troublesome. However, if the relations.h.i.+p was superficial, even the easiest things would be considered bothersome.

She could see that Lin Yu was a person who valued etiquette.

Speaking about this, she suddenly thought of something weird. Lin Yu"s friends were mostly second-generation nouveau riche who liked to make trouble and play around. This, however, didn"t affect Lin Yu one bit. He was basically the clear stream within his group. He was like a lotus which took root in sludge, cleansed from evil, pure and unsullied. This probably was all thanks to the teachings of the Lin Family. One would know by simply looking at Aunt Lin"s educated, well-mannered, tender, and virtuous character.

“Is Sheng s.h.i.+yun still sticking to you?” Sheng Jiaoyang asked a question she was more interested in knowing the answer to.

Lin Yu was speechless as he glanced at her. He never thought that there would be a time where she was gossipy. He thought for a while and replied, “Actually, Sheng s.h.i.+yun isn"t a bad person.”

“Yeah, Sheng Jiaoyang is the bad one,” Sheng Jiaoyang responded with a "knowing" tone.

“Are you really Sheng Jiaoyang"s friend? How can you talk about her like that?” Lin Yu stared at her suspiciously.

“All your friends say this about her, so why are you still treating them as your friends?” Sheng Jiaoyang retorted.

Lin Yu was momentarily silenced by her words.

Sheng Jiaoyang snorted while she laughed before sitting on her own seat.

When Sheng Jiaoyang got off the plane, she was once again spirited as she"d slept in her seat for a while.

“Where are you going?” Lin Yu asked her.

“Why, do you want to give me a lift?” Above the mask, Sheng Jiaoyang"s exposed eyes faintly arched, containing a smiling expression.

Lin Yu felt an indescribably uneasy feeling wash over him. He coughed and said, “My family"s driver is waiting outside right now, I can send you back on the way.”

“There"s no need, I"ve already asked someone to come and fetch me.” Sheng Jiaoyang smiled faintly as she waved her hand, pulling her luggage behind her as she headed outside.

Lin Yu walked behind her as he pulled his suitcase. Once she stepped out, he was shocked to see her surrounded by a crowd of youngsters holding signs. Initially, he thought that she met with trouble, but soon after he saw her name written on the signboards. Only then did he feel at ease. The moment he walked closer he could hear her crystal clear voice amidst the noise.

“Everyone, please don"t block the road. Let"s go out.”

“Right, right, right. Pay attention when you"re walking and don"t step on Jiaojiao!” another voice called out.

Afterwards, Lin Yu saw Sheng Jiaoyang being escorted by the crowd towards the exit.

“Was that Xu Jiaojiao?” Two people were chatting as they walked past him.

“Yes! That girl was so tall and slender, it must definitely be her.”

“Just now, I was already thinking that she was a celebrity when I saw her from the back. Although I couldn"t see her face, I could still sense a strong aura from her.”

“Xu Jiaojiao has a supermodel background and she"s a born model.”

The two people walked further and further away.

Lin Yu suddenly understood everything even though he was still feeling a bit astounded. It turned out that she was considerably famous at such a young age.Previous ChapterNext Chapter