Chapter 81: How About... You Sing a Love Song?

“Tell me, is there anything about me that bothers you, something that might gradually build up in your heart, like this…” Su Zitan spent a long time editing her message before finally sending this one.

She felt this was important; after all, twenty years had passed with them together like this. What if one day Lin Ze couldn’t bear it anymore?

Yet, after sending it, she couldn’t help but wonder if such a direct question was a bit too much…

Lin Ze looked at the message, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint smile.

Su Zitan had always been a good girl, always so considerate. During her rebellious phase, Lin Ze had been at his wit’s end. Though she treated Lin’s father and Wang’s mother as her own parents, they weren’t her birth parents. Even during her rebellious years, she never took it out on them—instead, all her rebellion was aimed at Lin Ze.

She managed this delicate balance perfectly, which is why Lin’s father and Wang’s mother were so fond of her. After her rebellious phase passed, all the old problems disappeared.

She was a thoughtful girl. When she was with Lin Ze, she would always think of him first, just as he would for her. Even if there was a disagreement, Su Zitan was easy to appease.

“How could I? If I had any complaints, I would’ve had them long ago. If I had to say anything at all, maybe it’s just that during your rebellious phase, you annoyed me a tiny bit.”

Suddenly, Lin Ze turned and saw Zhao Funing craning his neck, peeking at Lin Ze’s phone.

“Whoa!” Lin Ze jumped in surprise.

“Shouldn’t you have just said no? She’s asking if there’s anything wrong with her, and you actually give her something?” Zhao Funing asked in confusion.

“That’s not how it works,” Lin Ze scratched his head. “Usually, when talking to girls, if you just flat-out say ‘no’ or ‘it’s nothing’ when they ask this kind of question, they’ll never believe you. So you actually need to mention a small flaw, preferably one she knows about herself. That way, it’s easier to deal with.”

Oh…

Zhao Funing suddenly understood.

He had learned something new… but why was he learning this from someone more than twenty years younger than himself?

“Hey, stop talking! Look at me!”

Ji Chen, now a bit drunk, was getting annoyed.

“All right, all right, we’re looking at you.”

…

“During the confession?” Lin Chunshui recalled the distant past, when only the two of them filled each other’s hearts, their relationship slowly warming until Ji Chen finally spoke up first.

“I remember he ran downstairs to my place, clutching his guitar, singing his corny love songs.”

“That’s easy then! If you’re too embarrassed to say it outright, just do what he did that day—find an instrument and go downstairs to sing a love song.”

“Me? Sing a love song? I don’t know how,” Lin Chunshui scratched her head, looking troubled. “Love songs need a gentle, tender voice, but I can’t control my volume anymore when I sing…”

“Just sing it,” Bai Qiong, sitting elegantly on the chair by the bed, looked every bit the matron of a grand old household.

“They’re not judges; it’s not about how well you sing, but whether you’re genuine.”

“Then… when should I sing?”

After all those arguments, this was the first time Lin Chunshui truly felt she might lose Ji Chen.

No one was more eager than she was now.

“It’s already past eleven, nearly midnight. Singing now would disturb the guests; do it tomorrow.”

“But…”

Bai Qiong patted Lin Chunshui’s hand. “It’s fine. You two are the ones who quarreled, not us. We’ll ask around. As for Ji Chen, let the others keep him busy. Tomorrow morning, you go sing.”

“The song he sang when he confessed—sing that one tomorrow. Listen to it now, get a feel for it. We’ll handle everything else.”

Pei Xue stood up, all action and determination.

“All right, Lin, tell us how he set up the scene back then…”

In just a few words, they got all the details they needed. Luckily, none of it was hard to find.

At midnight, Lin Chunshui was herded off to bed by the others.

Ji Chen was desperately drinking, his mind already muddled. He wouldn’t be sober until morning at this rate.

Once Ji Chen was asleep, Lin Ze and the others stepped out.

After exchanging goodnights with the rest, Lin Ze returned to his room. The moment he closed the door, Su Zitan wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips.

Holding Su Zitan close, Lin Ze carried her to the bed.

A long while passed before they parted.

“So, whenever we’re together, whatever it is, you must tell me,” Su Zitan said softly, slightly out of breath. “Small disagreements need to be resolved early. Let’s always be like this—I don’t want to be apart from you.”

Lin Ze held Su Zitan in his arms, breathing in her scent.

“Neither do I. Never again.”

…

That night, Lin Chunshui tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Recalling her own tone of voice earlier, she wanted nothing more than to give herself a good slap.

She didn’t doze off until the latter half of the night.

Early the next morning, the other three woke her up, having somehow found her a beautiful dress. Then the show’s makeup artist gave her a proper makeover.

In her best state, she headed downstairs.

Soon it was time for the live broadcast. Viewers flooded into the stream, and the first thing they saw was everyone gathered around a heart made of roses.

[What’s going on? Is someone confessing today?]

[Hey, did you see? That’s Lin Chunshui! Teacher Lin looks absolutely stunning today!]

[That dress is so beautiful—nothing like what she’s worn the past few days. Didn’t Teacher Lin and Big Silly Ji have a fight yesterday? Is she confessing to someone else today?]

Under the viewers’ gaze, Lin Chunshui took her guitar and stood in the middle of the roses.

As a musician, Lin Chunshui knew a bit of guitar, at least.

The crowd outside the Red Leaf Inn grew, forming a tight circle.

Lin Chunshui, who’d never suffered stage fright in years of performing, now felt nervous.

The speakers were hooked up. She shook out her stiff hands, then strummed the strings.

“If, on that pink afternoon…”

“If I hadn’t met that little cat…”

Inside the room, listening to the lively noise outside, Ji Chen slowly sat up in bed, his head throbbing dully.

“Wife, now…”

He reached out to the empty spot beside him, head clearing a little, but his heart filling with quiet loss…