The dinner gathering went smoothly, and everyone enjoyed the conversation. However, just before leaving, Lu Qing received a message from Lin Mu—
【Qing Sang, I’m feeling a bit down, and I don’t know what to do. Are you free? Can you help me figure something out?】
"Huh?"
Lu Qing furrowed his brows, wondering what was going on with the girl.
After all, it was only a couple of days until their next scheduled meeting at her shop. How could she already be in need of life advice after such a short time apart?
"Come to think of it, she hasn’t been sending me her daily journals or piano practice videos lately…"
Lu Qing pondered and felt that this matter deserved attention.
He turned to his friends and said, "You guys go ahead. I have something to take care of later, so I won’t be heading back to the dorm with you."
"Alright, take care of your business, Qing. Just make sure to visit us when you have time," Li Mingshi said, waving his hand as he hailed a taxi.
"Sure, see you later."
Lu Qing watched as the three friends got into the taxi, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, and then turned to walk in a familiar direction. He replied to Lin Mu’s message:
【What’s going on? Tell me more.】
Lin Mu: 【Well… I promised my sister a while ago that I’d go back to school, but I’ve been putting it off, thinking I’d deal with it by the end of the semester… But recently, she contacted me again, and after finding out I hadn’t been attending classes, she gave me an ultimatum… She said I must start attending by next Monday, or she’ll come over to 「check on me」… Ah, that’s terrifying. I’m scared! If I really go back… that means I only have two days left before I have to return to school! I’m… not really keen on going out.】
Lu Qing: "…"
So, it was just a case of a young girl’s avoidance mentality.
His mind conjured up an image of Mu Xia delivering a stern ultimatum to the mischievous girl.
If what Lin Mu said was true, and she had to pick up her backpack and return to school by next Monday, then from her perspective, the challenge wasn’t the difficulty of her studies or anything like that. Instead, it was whether she could naturally face the shadows of her past with her "old teammates," keeping her emotions in check and putting on a calm, expressionless face to embrace her new life.
As everyone knows, for a student, school is their entire society.
Falling out with certain people at school, once word gets out, is akin to a kind of 「social death.」
The gossip, rumors, pointing fingers, and slander from classmates… For a freshman like her, this kind of experience is far too sharp and could easily wound her already fragile heart.
Lu Qing didn’t know that the three girls who had ostracized the mischievous girl had already been 「dealt with」 by Mu Xia, and Lin Mu was equally unaware of the reason behind their sudden withdrawal from school.
After all, Mu Xia’s commands were always carried out in the shadows, and GaoBan Weihua’s execution was as elusive as mist, leaving no trace to be found.
Therefore, Lu Qing thought that since Lin Mu was resisting and afraid of going back to school, the best approach was to figure out the root cause of her resistance and help her address it before she could face her studies again.
Otherwise, going against the all-powerful and resourceful Mu Xia usually didn’t end well.
【Lin-chan, you still have some time. Why not use these next few days to relax and adjust your mindset? Do everything you want to do, finish what you need to, and then think about school. That way, you won’t be overwhelmed by anxiety.】
Drawing from his experience in dealing with struggles, Lu Qing offered his advice.
However, Lin Mu took her time typing before replying: 【Actually, there’s one more thing I’m really worried about…】
"What is it?"
【Remember that Ah Hai I mentioned to you before? He lost a bet and promised to bring his sister to my shop every week for coffee. But, but if I go back to school, I’ll have to deal with living on campus during the week… Then, when I come back on weekends, I’ll be too busy with homework and won’t have time to make pastries or drinks to serve them properly…】
"…"
This was not the kind of worry Lu Qing had expected from Lin Mu.
Wow, she’s actually troubled about 「not being able to fully entertain the playboy」??
This reasoning piqued the curiosity of the very person who had set this situation in motion. He probed further: "Well, if you’re really that busy, it’s fine to close the shop for a while, right? It’s just one or two customers. If you keep the shop open regularly in the future, you’ll meet plenty of new customers."
Lin Mu: 【No! It’s not the same! Qing Sang, you know what? Ah Hai isn’t like ordinary customers!】
"How so?"
【He can understand my music, and he can even point out mistakes in my performance! It feels a bit like nitpicking, but I suspect his ear for music isn’t far off from yours. Some parts I only notice after watching the video replay, but he just casually points them out! It’s so strange!】
Lu Qing: "…"
This is bad.
It seems the mischievous girl has already noticed the cracks in her identity. But there’s no helping it—to push her forward, some necessary flaws had to be revealed. Otherwise, she wouldn’t feel the sense of urgency.
"So, what are you planning to do?" Lu Qing asked, switching to a voice message.
"I, I was thinking! Lately, I feel like he’s hiding a lot from me!"
Lin Mu was so anxious that she switched to voice messages as well. "For example, most people wouldn’t be able to notice a wrong note in a bass cover, but he can. Not only that, but he can also spot tiny flaws in the guitar parts!"
"So, so I think he might actually know a lot about instruments, maybe even play them himself! He’s just not telling me, and he’s deliberately trying to mess with me! He’s hiding something, trying to harm me!"
"???"
Lu Qing broke into a cold sweat and immediately pressed further: "Why do you think he wants to harm you? What reason would he have to do that?"
"Because! Because once, I ruined his homework! He’s a bit weird, you know, always so obsessed with his homework! I think he might’ve been upset because that assignment had a chance to get him in front of my sister, and I ruined it for him!
But it’s fine, I’ve already come up with a solution to make up for it! Not only will it fix my mistake, but it’ll also give me a chance to expose him and force him to show his true abilities!"
"Wh-what’s the plan??"
"Simple!"
Lin Mu declared triumphantly, "Since my sister mentioned on the phone that she misses me and wants to visit, why not arrange for her to come on a weekend when I’m back at the shop? When she arrives, I’ll make sure she runs into Ah Hai! Then, I’ll tell him that my sister is a piano master, unrivaled in her skills. He’ll definitely challenge me out of spite! And then! I’ll have my sister play a piece for him! Let’s see if he can find any flaws in her performance!"
…
…