Lin Mu felt that her recent days had been passing in a haze.
It was a strange feeling—
Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, yet there was always this nagging sense that something was off, something didn’t quite fit.
This unease had taken root in her mind, like water splashing into her eyes while washing her face, and then immediately checking herself in the mirror.
The mirror reflected her, but the reflection wasn’t a perfect one-to-one match.
“What exactly is wrong?”
Standing in front of the marble sink in the bathroom, in the same spot as always.
Her pajamas were already tossed into the laundry basket, and there was nothing else obstructing her. She should have turned on the hot water right away and taken a comfortable shower, but once again, she was held back by a strange question.
—【Something feels off about Ah Hai.】
This wasn’t the first time.
The first time was in front of the “Mosse” music studio, when she had the illusion that his figure resembled Yin Qing’s.
The second time was when he came to “challenge” her at the studio, confidently stating that “Flipping the Rock” was an original composition by Asia, and he was right.
The third time was after he left, when she reviewed the video recordings and realized that the “three minor flaws” he mentioned could indeed exist, sending a chill down her spine.
This time—
It was a voice message from Yin Qing, which, for some reason, sounded eerily similar to Ah Hai’s tone. Moreover, the timbre of Ah Hai’s voice when he spoke in the shop bore some resemblance to Yin Qing’s singing voice in his usual performance videos.
Although, some people’s singing voices are completely different from their speaking voices,
after all, singing requires “breath support,” and once the breath supports the natural voice, the vocal tone changes, becoming more powerful.
This “breath” isn’t just any breath, but what we commonly refer to as “core strength.”
Having strong core strength is also applicable in the field of vocal music, often referring to diaphragmatic breathing—chest resonance and abdominal breathing.
“Yin Qing’s voice sounds a bit distorted. He wasn’t using his natural voice just now.”
Lin Mu’s keen sense of hearing immediately picked up on this suspicion.
However, having learned from past mistakes, she didn’t voice her doubts right away. “Low emotional intelligence, always upsetting people” had become her top priority, one of the key areas she needed to improve in her interpersonal skills.
After the last incident where she drove away Ah Hai, she had decided to keep any suspicions and speculations to herself until she had concrete evidence, or simply let them fade away forever.
Today, Yin Qing’s voice and Ah Hai’s, though slightly different, shared many similarities in frequency.
Just like that time when she had a visual illusion, this time it felt like she was experiencing an “auditory illusion.”
“That’s right, I’ve always thought that since Ah Hai doesn’t have calluses on his hands, he couldn’t possibly be a musician.”
“But if you think about it carefully… someone who hasn’t played a string instrument for a long time would indeed have smoother fingertips.”
“So, what if Ah Hai was once a skilled musician but hasn’t played for a very long time, focusing on other things instead, temporarily setting music aside? Wouldn’t that make sense…?”
At this thought, Lin Mu’s heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly recalled that the last time Lu Qing came over, he was upstairs writing.
“He was writing something.”
“He was busy writing something!”
“Right, he knows music, but he’s writing.”
In an instant, her eyes narrowed, and she instinctively wanted to reach for a cigarette to speed up her thinking.
But then she frowned again, deciding that unnecessary smoking could be avoided.
“No, I need to go upstairs and check, compare that photo again.”
Some truth was about to reveal itself, making Lin Mu’s heart race.
She didn’t dare to think about what would happen if her suspicions were true. All the things she had said, the actions she had taken, the mockery and expressions she had directed at Ah Hai—what kind of storm would that bring?
She felt an overwhelming fear and was entirely unwilling to entertain such thoughts.
But curiosity, as they say, kills the cat.
Whether it’s a Ragdoll or an Egyptian Mau.
“Alright.”
“You better not be.”
“…”
“Please, don’t be!”
Without bothering to put on a dress or grab a towel, she dashed out of the luxurious bathroom, her bare feet slapping against the redwood floor as she ran up the stairs.
The rhythmic thuds were pleasing to the ear, a testament to the solid craftsmanship of the floor.
A few dozen seconds later, Lin Mu stood in front of the whiteboard, staring at the photo of Ah Hai held up by a black magnet. She leaned in close, her small face inches from the image.
Her left hand rested on her chin, her head tilted, lips pursed as she scrutinized the photo.
No matter how she looked at it, it felt familiar.
“No. No, no.”
She still refused to entertain the wrong assumption, trying to rationalize it to herself—
“Is it possible for someone to maintain the same figure for two or three years?”
“Yin Qing hasn’t posted any videos in a while, so I don’t know what he looks like now.
But Ah Hai’s figure is identical to Yin Qing’s from a few years ago. That could be a coincidence, but the probability is low.”
“Even if we ignore the issue of calluses on his hands, it’s still too far-fetched. Yin Qing’s personality is gentle, nothing like Ah Hai, who always seems to enjoy arguing with me.”
“Besides, Ah Hai always seems to have it out for me, with that perpetually gloomy expression, clearly not an easy person to get along with.”
“And Yin Qing…”
Suddenly.
Lin Mu seemed to realize—
“Yin Qing is also a bit of a gloomy guy… not exactly easy to get along with either…”
All the songs he plays… they’re all about healing himself!
They’re all melancholic tunes!
The last time I just mentioned wanting to meet him in person, he disappeared for three years!
He’s incredibly hard to approach…
“!?”
Huh?
No way.
The little girl’s face instantly fell as she stared at the photo in front of her, as if it had started to blur—
The two figures seemed to overlap, with no sense of incongruity.
“Ah…”
Her small brain was on the verge of short-circuiting, her delicate face scrunched up in confusion,
her neck twisted to the side, stretched to its limit, as she looked left and right, feeling increasingly suspicious!
“No, no no. I’m not the same as before. I need to stay calm, think rationally, analyze carefully.”
She took a deep breath, reached out, and took the photo off the whiteboard, holding it in her hands.
She knew full well:
Directly asking Yin Qing would be absolutely foolish, completely out of the question.
And if she asked Ah Hai, and it turned out he wasn’t Yin Qing, he would undoubtedly mock her, saying she must be desperate for male attention or something… leading to social suicide in front of Ling… not ideal either…
So, if she wanted to satisfy her curiosity, there was one surefire way to verify.
Lin Mu sniffled, walked over to the computer desk, and slapped the photo down on the table, narrowing her cat-like eyes:
“My sister has agreed to come visit me this Saturday.
I’ll wait for Ah Hai to show up. If he doesn’t come, it means he knows something’s up and is avoiding the situation.
That would pretty much confirm he’s Yin Qing, using the information I just gave him to dodge the impending threat.
If he does come, he’ll have to face my sister’s scrutiny.
My sister is notoriously harsh on outsiders. If she gets a bad impression of Ah Hai, she might ask Sister Gao Ban to bring in a couple of security guards to teach him a lesson…”
“There’s also the possibility that if Ah Hai doesn’t say anything out of line and passes the test without revealing any flaws, then his suspicion can be temporarily dismissed, and I can treat him as the real Ah Hai.”
Though it sounded a bit abstract, for some reason, Lin Mu still felt the need to have a backup plan, a final move to confirm Ah Hai’s identity.
“That’s right, I have a Plan B—”
Lin Mu’s face turned serious as she muttered to herself:
“Yin Qing promised he’d visit the café. But if he’s Ah Hai, then that was just lip service, and he wouldn’t actually show up to risk being exposed. In other words, he wouldn’t come on his own. So, if that’s the case—
I’ll just make sure Yin Qing and Ah Hai cross paths.”
“I’ll challenge Yin Qing and Ah Hai to a musical duel, online vs. offline. As long as Ah Hai can’t split himself in two to challenge himself, he’ll be exposed. And even if Yin Qing avoids the challenge, I can still execute Plan C—
【Play Yin Qing’s videos in front of Su Ling and observe her reaction.】
Haha! If she slips up, it means she’s sold out her brother. Ah Hai is Qing Sang, and Qing Sang is Ah Hai. Then I can easily nail him down..."
"Wait."
Suddenly.
Lin Mu, who had thought of something,
recalled a certain bratty girl who mocked, taunted, insulted, disdained, disturbed, disrespected, snarked, clung, smashed plates, violated his image rights, wrote endless essays, secretly confessed her love, penned original works to express her feelings, begged for his forgiveness, eagerly invited him, and overdosed him on coffee...
The little girl suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore.
……
……