The warmth through the blanket does not reach the heart.
But for her, it is enough.
Lu Qing does not know what Su Ling truly wants, nor does he believe that such actions would help her condition.
But none of that matters. Since his sister needs it, he must provide it.
After an unknown amount of time—
"Do you feel better?"
"Mm, just a little longer." The girl murmured softly.
"Okay."
The warmth and sweetness of her breath near his face was dangerous, yet he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone.
Yes, Su Ling... Even in such a dark night, did she never have a comforting hug to rely on?
Family that never returns, few friends, the pressure of an elite school, and himself, a brother she's never met.
In such a state, what happens when she falls ill?
What happens when she's sad?
What happens when she has something important to say?
Such a life without care, without someone to confide in, a life shrouded in gray, was it the last straw that crushed his sister?
At this moment, Lu Qing set aside his tension and everything else. In this quiet, dimly lit room, he tried hard to feel his sister's past.
A hug was a luxury.
It would accelerate time, lulled by the even rhythm of breaths, interrupted by the faint blue outside the window.
Through the curtains, the sun rose.
The wall clock pointed to six.
"Brother, I feel very at ease. I don't want to take medicine today."
Su Ling's words pulled him back from his daze.
He turned to look at her uncertainly, asking, "Is it really okay?"
"Mm, I can feel that this is effective. The unease in my heart seems to be dissipating. If it can continue... I can get through the whole day without relying on medicine."
Su Ling smiled sweetly.
Her close-up smile was rare, making everything else pale in comparison.
Lu Qing's heart tightened, vaguely feeling a sense of "gain."
This gain came from the girl in front of him. She made him understand that his hug seemed more effective than Western medicine.
But why was that?
Lu Qing couldn't explain the principle, but he could determine that if he pulled any random patient from the psychiatric ward and gave them the same hug, it would definitely have the opposite effect.
"Will you be okay going out to shop later?" he asked.
"Mm, as long as Brother is by my side, it's fine."
"Got it."
He let her go and turned to prepare, giving his sister time to dress and wash up.
But just as he stood up, his sleeve was pulled again—
"What's wrong?"
He instinctively turned back.
Unexpectedly, this time, it went beyond expectations.
Since the girl hadn't worn any pajamas to bed the previous night, sitting up and reaching out to grab her brother naturally caused the blanket wrapped around her to open by inertia.
The room was dimly lit, and the curtains were not drawn.
However, this dim and obscure feeling was more intense than a straightforward meeting in broad daylight.
"Ah... nothing, nothing."
Realizing her action was inappropriate, the girl retracted her fingers like a bolt of lightning, shrinking back under the small blanket and lowering her head in silence.
Seeing his sister's hesitant and embarrassed appearance, Lu Qing's heart was in turmoil.
Honestly, he had never accidentally seen anyone's body so closely before.
Although he knew she had something to say, he just wanted to leave the room quickly to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"I'll go out first. You don't need to rush. Just let me know when you're done."
"Mm-hm." Su Ling replied softly, blushing.
A moment later.
Until the room door closed again—
The girl finally smiled lightly, carefully folding the blanket that smelled of Lu Qing and getting up to the desk, quietly reviewing the steps from the night until now.
...
At 8:30 in the morning.
Lu Qing, sitting on the sofa, had finished his preparations and was ready to leave at any time.
However, his sister was still in the room, probably dressing up.
Taking advantage of this time, he picked up the tablet and decided to plan the weekend schedule.
"Saturday's day is reserved for Su Ling, and there's nothing to do in the evening, so I can think about the outline."
"On Sunday, I need to prepare for the homework topic. After all, I have an out-of-school class next Friday. If I go empty-handed, my promise to take Bai Xing to the sky will become a joke."
"Hmm... I also need to choose a company worth interviewing in advance."
Thinking about it, he opened the WeChat app.
After browsing, his gaze finally fell on a flashy man with a luxury car as his avatar.
"Lao Li, are you free? I have a market research assignment next week for a class. I'm hesitating where to do it. Do you have any recommendations for companies open to the public?"
After sending it, about ten minutes later, Li Mingshi directly called with a video invite...
"?"
Lu Qing looked around the room to confirm it wouldn't disturb his sister, then hesitantly clicked "Accept."
"Qing Zai! What kind of interesting homework is this, and you get to go out for class?"
As a thorough extrovert, Li Mingshi never liked slow communication; he would directly call if he could.
Before this, Lu Qing had never formally asked him a question, so experiencing the feeling of being needed by a roommate for the first time, Li Mingshi didn't even sleep, immediately coming to build a good relationship with the "smartest guy in the dorm."
"Wait, where are you? Why are you in tatters? And what's that behind you... a mural or something?"
Lu Qing frowned, feeling that the other party was in a mysterious place.
Curious, he brought the phone screen closer to himself.
"Haha, isn't it? It's a hotel mural, your eyes are really sharp! Nothing escapes you."
Li Mingshi laughed wildly, "As you can see, brother went out for a big drink last night, and after a bath, I couldn't return to the dorm, so I slept in the bathhouse."
"……"
Lu Qing understood.
The "bathhouse" in the other's mouth was probably not a place for bathing but rather a place for adult entertainment minus gambling and drugs.
Considering the possibility of a woman beside him, Lu Qing asked tactfully, "Did I disturb you? You can reply when you're free; it's not an urgent matter."
"Ah, no problem! It's rare for you to ask me about company-related stuff. I just happen to have a recommendation, so I have to take care of you."
Li Mingshi seemed quite excited, his voice loud, possibly waking someone beside him.
"Li Zong, who is it? So early in the morning..."
"Scram, I'm talking to my brother, shut up, or don't expect me to call you next time."
Li Mingshi pushed the woman outside the screen and then, with a smile, turned to recommend to Lu Qing, "Qing Zai, do you remember the senior from the adjacent performing arts department I mentioned last time?"
"...Ah?"
Overwhelmed by the information, Lu Qing didn't react immediately.
"Hey, Mu Xia, the senior from the performing arts department, specializing in music performance." Li Mingshi reminded.
"Oh, right, your dream girl."
Lu Qing had never met her, so his impression of Mu Xia remained at the level of "unrealistic school flower and student council president," without much feeling.
"Haha, let me tell you, I recently discovered a big scoop, and the source of information is very secretive. Don't leak it after I share it."
"Alright, go ahead."
Although unsure how this related to his question, Lu Qing still chose to listen attentively.
"Mosse, the brand, have you heard of it?" Li Mingshi said mysteriously.
"Mosse?"
Lu Qing thought for a moment and shook his head.
This brand naming seemed high-end, giving him the impression that it was far removed from his life.
"I haven't heard of it. Tell me."
"Ah, it's normal for my brother not to know, after all, we're not that highbrow." Li Mingshi laughed, directly revealing the answer, "It's a piano, a piano brand."
"Piano?"
Lu Qing was baffled.
However, he quickly remembered that he had indeed seen a store with this brand name while shopping in the most bustling part of the mall.
"Right! You just need to do a little research to know that Mosse is a top brand in the piano world, with a starting price of 200,000 for upright pianos, and grand pianos often selling for 1.2 million to several million, only provided to professional pianists. Even world-class masters might not be worthy of owning one."
Li Mingshi exclaimed with admiration, "And according to my absolutely reliable information, Mu Xia's grandfather, Mr. Mu Zhicheng, is the founder of this brand."
"Ah??"
Lu Qing was a bit confused.
Moreover, he still didn't understand what Li Mingshi was getting at. After all, he wasn't a stalker, and he wasn't particularly interested in a rich and beautiful senior sister.
Besides, no matter how wealthy or perfect the senior sister was, what did it have to do with him?
Two people from different classes with no intersection in their lives, it was better to ignore them than to look up to them.
"..."
Seeing his indifferent expression, Li Mingshi grew anxious and blurted out quickly,
"Qing, you don't get it. What I mean is, aren't you supposed to interview a company? Aren't you doing research? I want to recommend to you a branch of the company called 'Muse Destiny Piano Corporation,' located in the Chengkai Center near our campus.
Listen, they just moved here recently, not only do they accept visitors, but their products are also very high-end, perfectly suitable for your research assignment."
"Wow..." Lu Qing finally understood, "You want me to scout for you, don't you..."
"Hahaha, no, no. I'm recommending a good place to you. You can not only complete your task but also bring back some information for me. Isn't that a win-win situation?"
Li Mingshi didn't pretend anymore and said directly,
"Look, Qing, I don't ask for much. As far as I know, Senior Sister Mu Xia goes home early every Friday afternoon to practice the piano.
After all, she's a debut singer, so she can't fully focus on her studies at school. If you see her during the interview, don't do anything else, just take a photo for me and bring it back. Then I'll take care of contacting the company and scheduling the interview for you, absolutely no trouble. Okay?"
"No way, you want me to sneak a photo of her??"
"This isn't sneaking! It's taking a photo! You need to record the interview, right? You need to take some photos, right?? Otherwise, how do you complete your assignment?"
"..."
Lu Qing thought about it and it seemed to make sense.
But the interviewee might not be Senior Sister Mu Xia, how coincidental would it have to be to get the photo?
He felt a bit hesitant.
"Good buddy, if you help me with this, whether it's climbing a mountain of swords or descending into a sea of fire, whenever you need help, I'll be the first to come up with a plan for you." Li Mingshi vowed.
"..."
Lu Qing sighed, "You always come up with new tricks."
He sighed and fell into thought.
Although Li Mingshi was always unruly and a bit wild, to be fair, he did make a reasonable suggestion.
Interviewing a piano company not only fit his research interests but was also more elegant compared to other industries. It was also relevant to his art school.
If Li Mingshi could handle the interview scheduling, it would save him a lot of trouble, as contacting the company himself would take a lot of effort. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
"Brother, I don't ask for much, and if you don't meet Senior Sister, that's fine, no pressure. I just want to keep a souvenir. After all, the unattainable always makes you want to see it occasionally, even if it's just a dream, right?"
"..."
The flamboyant young master on the video call actually said such a dejected thing, which Lu Qing hadn't expected.
Li Mingshi had always been confident and arrogant, but when it came to Senior Sister Mu Xia, he revealed a deep-seated inferiority complex.
It was hard for Lu Qing to understand this kind of self-abasement in a rich second-generation.
"Is this Mu Xia really that exaggerated?" Lu Qing wondered, "Just a rich girl, what makes my philandering roommate so humble?"
Unconsciously, his curiosity was piqued.
Well, there weren't many other options anyway. Since he asked, he might as well accept his roommate's suggestion. Maybe he could fulfill his wish along the way?
With that thought, Lu Qing reluctantly nodded, "Li Mingshi, I'll choose the one you mentioned. But don't get your hopes up too much. It's a sneaky photo, against moral ethics, and not necessarily an opportunity. If I really meet her, I'll try to get a back view for you, but don't think about the front. I don't want to embarrass myself."
He gave a warning in advance, so Li Mingshi wouldn't deny it later.
"Haha! Alright, alright! Qing, I knew you were reliable. You're the most trustworthy person in our dorm! I'll remember that. If it really works out, I'll treat you to a big meal! Waiting for your good news."
After saying that, Li Mingshi happily ended the video call.
"..."
Lu Qing closed his tablet and sighed, "Really, all the trouble falls on me."
"But speaking of it, Mu Xia... Mosse... Mu Zhi..."
"Hmm, I remember Yiyun Music recommended a female singer's work with the ID 'Mose' to me before, and the IP address was also in Tianhai City. Could it be her?"
He thought about it and, on a whim, put on his Bluetooth headphones and opened the popular app with a red cloud icon on his phone—Yiyun Music.
"Anyway, let's listen to her songs first?"
...
...