Chapter 339: Chapter 339: 225: Lin's Pink Hair Clip

Pei Muchan did not expect him to speak of leaving as soon as he opened his mouth, and she was momentarily stunned.

“Where to?”

“Uh… Chang’an.” Xu Qingyan wasn’t sure how to explain and hesitated before standing up and saying, “This matter isn’t set in stone yet, um… you remember that MV, right?”

“Mm.” Pei Muchan naturally remembered.

“Heard it caught the eye of a leader, I’m not actually very clear on the details,” he explained. “Lin Chuan’s side was very vague, they contacted me today.”

“Guess what it’s for?”

She furrowed her brows slightly, her thoughts still lingering on his words “going on a trip,” feeling a vague emptiness inside. She looked up to see him brimming with excitement and couldn’t resist teasing him.

“What?”@@novelbin@@

“A Spring Festival Gala branch venue, going to give it a try.” Xu Qingyan stretched and struck a cocky pose, “It might not pan out, just going to have a look.”

He dared not make any guarantees; if the opportunity fell through, or if he ended up just being a gopher. If he boasted ahead of time and came back with his tail between his legs, wouldn’t that be embarrassing.

Being a gopher… he absolutely wouldn’t do that, ah, but if he didn’t, plenty of others would.

I’m dying.

Xu Qingyan felt his state of mind was even more anxious than his college roommates when they were in love. When his roommate was strung along by a woman, that was exactly how he felt now.

“Oh.” Pei Muchan seemed somewhat downcast. She looked up and asked, “When are you leaving, and for how many days?”

Now it was Xu Qingyan’s turn to be baffled. They had spent these past few days together, and he hadn’t sensed any change in Pei Muchan.

But the last time he went on a business trip to Yangcheng, Pei Muchan seemed to react the same way. It seemed that as soon as they parted, she became softer.

The thing is, if they were dating, even just in the early stages, her reaction would be perfectly normal.

But they weren’t.

Did she simply not want to be alone, or was it… these thoughts flashed through Xu Qingyan’s mind.

Seeing as he’d already spoken his piece, there was no need for further thought. Besides, his situation with Lin Wanzhou was unclear; many decisions were not his to make.

He even felt like a good-for-nothing for adopting a defensive strategy by being vague.

But to be honest, he wasn’t ready himself. He had promised to promote the two of them, but to rely solely on the reputation of a songwriter and composer would be utterly foolish.

He at least needed to make something of himself; at the very least, he should have some ability to clear some obstacles for them. He couldn’t just stand by and resort to petty schemes if they were bullied in the future.

“I’ll be gone for two or three days, it shouldn’t be too long,” Xu Qingyan continued, “Do you want to come with me? If you’re not busy, you could join me.”

Pei Muchan looked down, “No thanks.”

Xu: “…..”

He thought she would agree, but she rejected the idea so decisively. Women…

The next day.

Xu Qingyan got up early in the morning and saw an investigative notice regarding Ji Chen. It had been almost a week since the last time he was exposed on the trending search.

After thorough investigation and evidence gathering by the police, all the evidence conclusively showed that Ji Chen had relations with a minor. This alone was enough for a three-year sentence.

Not only that, the police found some other interesting stuff on his hard drive too. He had used other methods, like drugging… and other illegal tactics.

Well… in other words, his fans had already moved on. But this guy, seeking thrills, drugged his female fans. Wasn’t this purely asking for trouble?

With multiple charges to answer for, the prosecutor’s office would select a date to prosecute Ji Chen and ban him permanently.

CCTV’s website responded to this incident immediately.

[Heard someone wants to break out of prison?]

The accompanying image was a video montage of a prison and footage of armed police training. It seemed like nothing was said, but everything was expressed, and a familiar account even appeared in the footage.

“Little Dove Does Not Eat Cilantro (Postgraduate Victory Edition).”

Xu Qingyan laughed as he watched; he had long stopped using that account. He had only wanted to stir the pot, never expecting CCTV’s website to actually respond from afar.

As he thought, that account wasn’t registered under his name. There was no crime committed, just some over-the-top statements, so there was no need to track IP addresses.

Ji Chen was truly finished now. No more need to think about it.

He glanced at the time; today he would not go to the studio. He had promised Lin Wanzhou he’d accompany her to the recording studio to record a song, as it was meant to be a gift.

Truth be told, “Clouds Turn to Rain” was nowhere near “Fragrance of Rice,” but Lin Wanzhou said she wanted to hear him sing, so…

He talked of doing a cover but ultimately didn’t do one.

For singers of her stature, the same went for Pei Muchan. They hardly ever did covers, unless it was a song they particularly loved.

He arrived at Lin Wanzhou’s studio as promised, and she seemed like she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep.

“What time did you get up this morning?”

“Six o’clock.” Lin Wanzhou appeared somewhat listless, speaking feebly.

“Why are you up so early?” Xu Qingyan noticed the pink hair clip on her head and couldn’t help but chuckle silently; it seemed that young girls all liked these little trinkets.

“Nothing… nothing much.” Lin Wanzhou didn’t want him to know she had gotten up at half-past five to pick out clothes.

In front of the mirror, she changed clothes for nearly two hours, got so tired that she took a bath afterward. Then, she was so sleepy that she almost went back to bed to catch some more sleep.

But thinking she had to go out at nine, she forced herself not to fall asleep.

She deflected the conversation, “Did Moon really go back to school? She hasn’t been chatting with me much these days, I wonder what she’s been up to.”

“Yes, I introduced her to a friend.” Xu Qingyan found a chair and sat down, “Do you remember Zhou Mian from the post-production team of ‘Love Variety Show’?”

“I remember, he brought me cold medicine.” Lin Wanzhou nodded softly.

At the mention of this, she felt her face flush and a bitter taste on her tongue.

Xu Qingyan had made her cold medicine, and after she took a sip, she shared some with Xu Qingyan. Thinking back, she felt she was quite bold at that time.

It was like an indirect… imported medicine, right?

“Zhou Mian has a sister who is studying at Xinghai University as well, and she has a quite outgoing personality.” Xu Qingyan, unaware of her thoughts, continued to explain.

“I introduced her to Moon, so she could help out a bit, and make university life not so tough.”

“Oh, no wonder she hasn’t been messaging me.” Lin Wanzhou’s tone carried a hint of melancholy, she took out her phone and began typing rapidly, probably reprimanding the dazed Mu Chan.

Hah, sweating buckets, silly goose.

“Right, don’t you have a… sister?” Lin Wanzhou sent the message and suddenly looked up, “I remember you mentioned last time that she seems to be at Xinghai University too?”

“Yes, but you probably don’t know her.” He waved his hand dismissively, “She’s not exactly a sister, just an old family friend fallen on hard times; just lending a hand, helping out.”

“Oh.” Lin Wanzhou nodded.

Having grown up in Qinghe too, she understood the clannish culture of southern Hakka communities. Any promising student looking to attend Xinghai University was sure to be supported.

To lend a hand could vary in effort; sometimes it led to becoming in-laws.

“I forgot to ask your last time, what’s her name?” Lin Wanzhou glanced at her phone messages, “Why don’t you introduce me to her, and next time I visit Moon, I can see her as well?”

“Sure.” Xu Qingyan agreed without overthinking it.

Even though Li Yang didn’t grow up in the rural town of Qinghe and was considered a city kid, Ping Sha was still a small county town not very impressive, after all, they were both from Ping Sha County.

Being from the same place has its benefits.

While the conversation about Li Yang was still fresh, Lin Wanzhou chatted with Xu Qingyan about her in more detail. Realizing that Li Yang was only eighteen, she let out a sigh of relief.

She was indeed quite young, really just a little sister.

“Have you had breakfast?” he asked.

“No.”

The two then left together for breakfast. The diner was crowded, but Xu Qingyan was bolder. After all, no one recognized him, so he simply chose to sit openly in the main dining area, with Lin Wanzhou sitting alongside him.

Staying closer to the inside reduced the chance of being spotted by anyone.

The diner was a bit cramped, and Lin Wanzhou was shielded securely by Xu Qingyan. Occasionally, as people passed by in the aisle, they would accidentally bump into Xu Qingyan.

Who would then, under the external pressure, lean toward Lin Wanzhou.

“Sorry.” The passing customer apologized.

“It’s okay.”

The breakfast shop was unusually busy, with a constant influx of patrons. Most people were taking their food to go, or simply squatting outside the shop to eat.

The waves of customers meant that Xu Qingyan and Lin Wanzhou made physical contact now and then.

Lin Wanzhou, with her eyes cast down, sipped her soup in small mouthfuls, her cheeks tinted with a delicate blush.

Maybe it was because she’d been a celebrity for so long, almost always wearing a mask wherever she went. She had never imagined she’d be sitting in a bustling market, sharing a morning meal with him.

It was like… like many years ago, when they ate two-yuan bowls of wonton together on the old streets of Qinghe.

The thrill of being in such a public space mixed with the strong presence of Xu Qingyan beside her. Her heart fluttered erratically, and even her taste buds turned sour.

She looked up, sneaking a peek at Xu Qingyan, perhaps with too much force when retracting her gaze. Whether it was during their entrance or some other time, the pink hair clip suddenly came loose.

“Oops.” Lin Wanzhou noticed and let out a soft exclamation.

Xu Qingyan, quick to react, caught it and didn’t bother to give it back to her. Instead, he effortlessly adjusted the clip, reached out to Lin Wanzhou’s hair, lifted it, and secured the clip in place.

The whole process was so smooth that Lin Wanzhou just felt her body stiffening. A cool sensation brushed through her hair, and the next second the pink hair clip was neatly in place.

She turned to look at Xu Qingyan, her eyes blinking rapidly.

“What’s the matter?” He looked puzzled.

“Nothing… nothing much.” Lin Wanzhou turned away, a small smile playing on her lips, when she suddenly heard him speak again.

“I have to take a trip to Chang’an in a few days.”

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