The phone slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.
She couldn’t steady herself either,
collapsing into a sitting position amidst overwhelming emotional turmoil.
“……Ah.”
Lin Mu took a deep breath.
It seems.
It really is him.
“……”
Crouched in the corner of the kitchen, she picked up her phone, still protected by its tempered glass screen.
Thankfully, the screen wasn’t cracked.
But she no longer had the strength to reply to any messages.
“Ha…”
“Haha.”
—Yinqing P, is a real person.
Alive, a real person.
The person on the other side of the internet isn’t some scammer.
He gave me his real account.
His private contact information.
A connection that elevates me from a “fan” to a “netizen,” or even potentially a “friend.”
“Ah…”
After two years, he finally replied to me.
He didn’t blame me for my past rudeness but explained that he had put music aside due to health reasons.
Is that really it?
Is that really all there is to it?
Health reasons… I had speculated about that before.
If that’s the case, it means he’s suffering from a severe illness, one so serious that he can’t focus on music or continue practicing the piano.
But…
“……”
Lin Mu pulled out her third cigarette, lit it, and held it between her fingers.
Her thoughts were a mess.
A complete mess.
But it didn’t matter; she could still be more meticulous.
“Just physical pain wouldn’t break him.”
—His obsession with music is itself a kind of “illness.”
How could physical pain ever rival the chaos of the mind?
Unless he could no longer bend his fingers, unless he was bedridden.
Otherwise, there must be some other reason he couldn’t tell me, right?
It doesn’t matter anymore.
As long as he’s still here.
As long as he’s still alive.
…
She lit her fourth cigarette.
Watching the smoke swirl in the kitchen.
Lin Mu had a unique way of smoking—
She didn’t inhale into her lungs.
Instead, she only drew the smoke into her mouth, held it for a moment, and then exhaled.
A fleeting indulgence.
This way, she could enjoy the experience of smoking while minimizing the damage to her lungs.
To seasoned smokers, such behavior might seem like a “waste” or “pointless affectation.”
Something that would invite condescending criticism or even sarcastic remarks.
But Lin Mu and her small circle understood that what she sought was the hazy, dreamlike sensation that came with the swirling smoke;
That indescribable, almost spiritual moment that could spark musical inspiration;
A way to see a glimmer of light in the darkness, to drive away the fog of loneliness.
【What I want isn’t the tobacco in my lungs, nor am I more addicted than anyone else.】
Moreover, this indirect way of smoking had an absolute advantage:
If she ever decided to quit, she could stop cold turkey without any withdrawal symptoms.
She was just a young girl who had recently come of age, and even smoking had to be done cautiously, with precision.
So precise that she would rinse her mouth after every cigarette.
And while rinsing, she would also clear her throat.
The various brands of mouthwash in the kitchen were there for this very purpose.
I need cigarettes for comfort,
To soothe my wounds,
【To see that last flicker of red light that dispels the fog on nights without Yinqing P.】
—「Smoke」.
…
…
【You have received a friend request】
In the apartment.
Lu Qing picked up his phone.
On the screen, it displayed:
「Lin Mu」 has added you as a friend.
“……”
Wow, using her real name as her WeChat ID.
Is this little girl really that bold?
Probably because she doesn’t use WeChat much, right?
Lu Qing muttered to himself.
Then it hit him,
“Right, at her age, WeChat is often used as a communication tool for family and close friends, not really a ‘social platform’ in the broader sense.
So, after she ran away from home, her family and relatives disappeared from her life. WeChat lost its purpose, and since she didn’t need to contact her family, she probably rarely even logs on.”
Hmm.
Lu Qing’s guess was spot-on. Compared to her empty WeChat friend circle, Lin Mu’s QQ status updates were much more active, often featuring clips of her making small cakes and hand-ground coffee.
And under those posts,
No one ever commented.
“……”
Lu Qing felt a pang of discomfort.
It felt like,
This kid.
Is just too pitiful.
“No, I need to gather some essential information first.”
Lu Qing’s thoughts were clear.
He had to set aside his personal feelings and not be swayed by the girl’s seemingly helpless state. After all, in her eyes, he was now a “playboy,” an undeniable “villain.”
He had to stay in character, to figure out how to make her feel warmth and motivation during their next meeting, all while maintaining his role as the big bad guy.
“Right. My goal is to subtly help while appearing indifferent, to leave without a trace after the deed is done.”
“It’s best not to reveal myself.”
His thoughts were crystal clear.
With that in mind, Lu Qing quickly typed out a message:
【Lin-chan, I noticed that all the videos you’ve sent me recently have a small stage and curtains in the background. Where is that place? The lighting and equipment seem pretty good.】
He activated his first skill: 「Cutting to the Chase」.
Paired with the rare engraving: "Pretending Not to Know".
Soon, Lin Mu’s WeChat showed 【The other party is typing…】.
Since she wasn’t used to communicating with others, her typing was slow, even stiff. It took her a long time to type out a short sentence,
A far cry from Bai Xing’s lightning-fast replies and lengthy essays. It was like comparing night and day…
After much fumbling, she finally replied:
“It’s my little place… it’s a coffee shop.”
This made Lu Qing suddenly realize—
“Those hundreds of words she’s been sending me every day… could it be that she spends an hour or two just typing them out before sending them???”
Huh?
“……”
His heart skipped a beat.
—He felt a slight pang in his chest.
Alright.
She’s got some patience.
Lu Qing acknowledged Lin Mu’s 「Patience」.
He continued to probe:
【Oh, so you’ve been living in the coffee shop? Is it owned by your family?】
Lin Mu: “No, it’s mine. I run it, although… I’m not doing a great job.”
Yinqing P: “I see, so Lin-chan is a coffee shop owner. But aren’t you still in school? Do you have time to run it?”
Lin Mu: “…I’ve taken a leave of absence, but I’m thinking about returning to school soon.”
She answered honestly:
“The coffee shop doesn’t have fixed hours; it depends on my mood. Next time… I think I’ll open for a bit on Saturday afternoon. Sigh. Just the thought of possibly meeting strangers makes me uneasy.”
“……”
He got the information he needed.
【That sounds nice.】
Lu Qing replied.
He could clearly sense that,
After two years, there was a subtle “distance” in Lin Mu’s communication with him.
This “distance” manifested in her cautious choice of words, no longer as free-spirited as before, always holding back and suppressing something.
It wasn’t as natural anymore.
Now, she was like a startled bird,
A lonely kitten wandering in an endless desert, its wounds still unhealed.
She had so much to say,
But so much she didn’t dare to say.
She wanted to convey her feelings,
But feared another 「Farewell」 might happen again.
【There’s a sense of estrangement.】
“Ah.”
A sense of guilt weighed on him again.
Really, was I too harsh on her?
Even if I was hurt back then, shouldn’t I have reached out to her one last time, right?
Lin Mu didn’t do anything wrong; it was just that her actions reminded me of—
Zazaki’s shadow.
Sigh.
“The fault lies with me, not her.”
“I shouldn’t have been so naive, chasing after an unrealistic memory.”
It’s unfair to her, isn’t it?
“Forget it.”
At this moment,
Lu Qing’s mind suddenly heated up.
He secretly decided:
“Next time we meet, I’ll let her taste a bit of sweetness.”
…
…