Chapter 3.1 - 3rd Stop: The Campus Storm Arrives (1)
She never expected she would have the chance to play the piano again.
While cleaning the restaurant, Mu Cheng hummed a song softly. Thinking about the recent strange events, she couldn’t help but feel excited.
She had wanted to escape reality, and that night, she had snuck into the St. Deo Hall, touched a piano she shouldn’t have, and was discovered by an arrogant and unreasonable prince. She had thought she would be scolded, but in the end, he gave her permission.
He said she could come play the piano every day and play whatever pieces she wanted. Play for him to listen.
To her, it felt like a dream. She could play the piano again, and whenever she did, it was like she could return to the joyful days of her childhood and temporarily forget the harsh reality.
She could dream again. It had been so long since she had felt what it was like to dream…
Mu Cheng paused in her task of cleaning the windows, staring blankly at her hands. These hands, compared to other girls her age, were excessively rough and salty. It was obvious they were hands that had suffered.
How she wished her hands were as delicate as the other girls! How she wished she could be like those carefree college students outside the window, happily attending classes, goofing off, joining clubs… How she wished…
“What are you daydreaming about?” A coarse, harsh voice interrupted her thoughts.
Startled, she turned her gaze to meet the dark face of Uncle Cai, who was glaring at her with his murky little eyes.
“Uncle Cai, you’re here,” she wanted to avoid his unpleasant gaze. “I’m almost done with the windows, I’ll go wash the vegetables in the kitchen in a minute.”
“No need to rush. While your aunt is out shopping, let’s have a proper talk,” Uncle Cai stretched his hand toward her. She instinctively took a step back, and his expression darkened. “You’ve been busy these days. After work, I never see you. Where have you been?”
“Nowhere, I was just... preparing for the civil service exam, so I found a quiet place to study.”
“Isn’t the house quiet enough for you? Why do you need to go outside every day?”
“I…” Mu Cheng didn’t know how to explain. She couldn’t exactly tell Uncle Cai that she had been sneaking off to play the piano for Ren Guangxi, could she?
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been sneaking around doing!” Uncle Cai snorted. “You’re a girl, you should leave something for people to inquire about.”
What did he mean by that? Mu Cheng froze, recalling the voice she had vaguely heard that night outside St. Deo Hall. Could it have been him who was spying through the window?
At the thought of it, she couldn’t help but shiver. With her aunt not around, she was left alone with Uncle Cai in the restaurant, which wasn’t open yet. She quickly found an excuse to escape.
“By the way, Uncle Cai, the screwdriver we borrowed from the school yesterday is still not returned. I’ll go return it.” She quickly grabbed the screwdriver and, before Uncle Cai could react, hurried out of the restaurant.
Passing by the playground, she saw a crowd of students gathered in a circle, chattering excitedly. In the center, standing out among the crowd, was Guangxi.
What’s going on? Mu Cheng couldn’t help but be curious and hid behind the crowd to take a look.
A gorgeous girl was talking to him, and Mu Cheng recognized her as Zhang Aili, Guangxi’s ex-girlfriend, the one who had been abandoned by him in the sports car that day.
“Ren Guangxi, I heard you took on a challenge the other day to beat that clueless bento girl in the school restaurant, but you actually failed! Is that true?”
“You seem to be very well-informed,” Guangxi didn’t answer directly.
“This school doesn’t have anything I, Zhang Aili, don’t know,” she proudly declared, then paused, adding, “Honestly, I can’t believe you couldn’t even handle a bento girl.”
“Believe it or not, it’s the truth.”
“What?!” The crowd erupted in surprise.
Mu Cheng was also stunned. This arrogant prince had taken her first kiss without her noticing, so why was he claiming his mission had failed?
Confused, her gaze shifted, and she happened to make eye contact with Jacko, who was standing nearby. Jacko saw her and came over, lowering his voice.
“That bento girl sure has some skills.”
“What do you mean?” She didn’t understand.
“Didn’t you see? Guangxi pretended to fail his mission to protect you. Even though I took a photo as evidence, he wouldn’t let me show it,” Jacko clicked his tongue. “You know what? He’s going to be in big trouble now.”
Mu Cheng’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at Guangxi, who had just accepted a pair of red high heels from Zhang Aili.
“Since I, Ren Guangxi, couldn’t beat that bento girl, I’ll admit defeat.” He said with a dramatic flair as he put on the high heels and started running around the track.
The crowd screamed and laughed at his clumsy antics.
“Ren Guangxi…” Mu Cheng watched from a distance as he struggled to run, his steps faltering in pain. Her heart tightened, and she couldn’t help but worry about him.
Suddenly, his foot twisted, and he almost fell. Her heart jumped to her throat, but he managed to continue running, though at a much slower pace. He seemed to be in pain. Just as he was nearing the finish line, he missed a step and fell to the ground.
Seeing him collapse, Mu Cheng immediately rushed toward him, but another girl got there first.
“Ren Guangxi, are you okay? Is your foot alright?”
He looked up and squinted at her. “It’s you!”
“Yeah, it’s me, He Yiqian,” she smiled sweetly. “It looks like you’ve sprained your ankle. Let me take a look.”
“You think you’re a doctor? Why should I let you help me?” Guangxi snapped.
“I’m going to be a doctor in the future,” He Yiqian was unbothered by his cold attitude, winking at him. “By the way, I’m transferring to St. Deo’s medical department. I’ll need your guidance from now on.”
Who is she? Is she close to Guangxi?
The students around them began to whisper, and Mu Cheng’s heart sank. Seeing how confident He Yiqian was, Mu Cheng suddenly felt very small.
“That girl is the daughter of the chairman of Huanyu Construction,” Jacko came up again, seemingly out of nowhere. “I heard Guangxi’s mom wants them to date.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Mu Cheng pretended to be indifferent.
Jacko smiled. “Nothing much. Just thought you should know.”
Mu Cheng bit her lip, fully aware of the underlying message in Jacko’s words. Was he warning her not to dream too big about the prince? Don’t worry, she understood that.
She turned to leave, but Guangxi spotted her and called out, “Liang Mu Cheng!”
She froze and slowly turned around, with the curious eyes of the students all on her.
Guangxi struggled to get up, ignoring the concerned He Yiqian. He walked over to her and threw his arm around her shoulders, commanding, “Take me to the nurse’s office.”
The situation was getting more and more complicated. The crowd was eagerly watching the drama unfold, while He Yiqian frowned and Zhang Aili looked furious.
“Come on! Why are you standing there?!” Guangxi yelled at her impatiently.
