novelraw Chapter 34 After the first twinkling sound...they leave!
Chapter 34 After the first twinkling sound...they leave!
Li Shuo arrived at the location Sun Yanzi had just whispered in his ear, as promised.
It was that piano practice room that had been reborn and awakened.
A pair of women's sandals were casually placed at the entrance.
Li Shuo also took off his shoes and went inside.
She was already inside, standing with her back to the door in front of the floor-to-ceiling curtains.
The afternoon sunlight was filtered through the curtains, creating a play of light and shadow in the music room.
Her neat short hair and slender shoulders, along with the lines from her neck to her shoulders, revealed a youthful and vibrant beauty in the hazy light and shadow.
This scene subtly overlapped with what he saw when he woke up after his rebirth and looked at the girl lying in his arms.
"Are you bored waiting? You're just sitting here spacing out."
Sun Yanzi turned around when she heard this, a smile on her face, but the smile was somewhat lacking.
"No. I was just thinking about how you woke up from a nightmare behind these curtains that day, it scared me... It feels like only a few days have passed, but it feels like we've known each other for a long time and are very close, and now you're leaving again."
"What do you mean by leaving? It's not like I'm going to die." Li Shuo walked to the piano, his tone relaxed. "Let's finish what we agreed on with Sister Yan Zi first, and go through those songs together?"
As he spoke, he sat down on the piano bench, opened the piano lid, and naturally looked up at Sun Yanzi, who was still standing by the window.
The angle and posture of her head tilting back made Sun Yanzi's heart skip a beat.
In an instant, the scene flashed back to the day I fell into his arms, and the line of his chin then almost overlapped with this moment.
Suddenly snapping out of her daze, she realized that Li Shuo was looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Oh... okay, sure."
She looked away somewhat flusteredly, quickly walked to the piano, took out a pen and notebook, and assumed a note-taking posture to cover up her brief moment of distraction.
"Let's begin, I'm ready."
The familiar notes of "Darkness Falls" flowed from Li Shuo's fingertips once again.
Sun Yanzi sang along with the melody. She sang very "seriously" while looking at the notes she made in her notebook, marking the breathing points and emotional moments.
But Li Shuo could tell that she was somewhat distracted.
One pass is complete.
As the last note faded, Li Shuo did not continue with the next song.
He gently placed his hands on the piano keys and turned his head.
"What's wrong?"
He continued asking, his voice very soft.
"Do I seem...out of sorts today?"
Sun Yanzi put down her pen and closed her notebook, staring quietly at the black and white piano keys for a while.
"Li Shuo".
She suddenly spoke up: "I suddenly realized... I don't have that much confidence."
Li Shuo's hands stopped on the piano keys, and he looked up at her.
"To be valued by Warner Music so much, and to have invested in me and built a team in advance... especially to have given me such a good song... it feels like a dream."
Her brows furrowed slightly, and a visible worry appeared on her face.
"But what if I don't sing well? What if my debut is unsuccessful? All these expectations... I'm afraid I can't handle them."
Li Shuo lightly tapped the piano keys... producing faint, almost imperceptible notes.
A moment later…
"Sister Yan Zi, you will definitely become very popular, and many people will genuinely like you and have many, many fans. This is not just comforting words, this is... the future I can see in you."
"Really?" Sun Yanzi looked at him, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Even though they only spent a short time together... she believed Li Shuo because he said it!
"real!"
Li Shuo smiled, a smile that conveyed a reassuring understanding.
"I'll give you a red envelope. And I'll give you lots and lots of songs in the future, so many that you won't be able to choose."
"I don't believe you." Sun Yanzi retorted subconsciously, her tone carrying a hint of coquettishness that she herself was unaware of, as if she wanted to get a more solid guarantee from him.
"Then what should we do?" Li Shuo raised an eyebrow, his fingers casually pressing down a string of clear notes. "Then I'll just have to borrow a little bit of 'future' from you in advance."
He didn't give her time to react; a melody, like a starry river slowly unfolding in the still night, flowed from his fingertips.
This melody is different from any of the previous ones; it is more tranquil, more expansive, and carries a gentle sense of waiting.
Sun Yanzi saw, unsurprisingly, the same light that had been emanating from Li Shuo lately.
And the boy in the light began to sing, his voice clear and gentle, as if telling a secret about a distant place:
"I can't wait for you to become my brightest star."
I am still willing to lend you my light...
Projected upon you, until your radiant light,
Silently, hanging in the distant sky…
Sun Yanzi was stunned.
She leaned against the piano, looking at Li Shuo's profile, watching his Adam's apple move slightly as he sang with focused concentration, and listening to the image he described to her of "becoming light."
My heart started racing involuntarily.
The tolerance and expectation in that song struck her more deeply than any direct encouragement.
"...When you are immersed in it, the cold Milky Way in the sky..."
Is the shimmering light warm enough for you?
When you recall that light that originated from me,
I am still willing to sing for you…
This wasn't a love song. She understood that perfectly. But it made her heart ache and throb even more than a love song.
He was telling her that even if she shines alone in the distant sky in the future, she will still have this initial connection of "borrowing light" and "singing".
This connection is not a constraint, but a blessing.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are like, just like your body."
Even hidden among countless lonely stars, I can still find you…
Li Shuo turned his face and met her gaze.
So, don't be afraid of being alone, and don't be afraid of not being seen. You will be that unique star that can be found at a glance.
Sun Yanzi's vision blurred.
His words, his singing, and the way he seemed to be glowing at that moment blended into a surging warm current that broke down the last dam of self-doubt in her heart.
A sudden realization dawned on her: what she feared was never the stage, but rather that she wasn't good enough and didn't deserve to stand where he could see her.
"Hanging in the sky to shine brightly, reflecting my past."
It reminds me that I am no longer a lonely star…
The last line lingers in the air.
The practice room fell into a warm silence, with only dust slowly rising and falling in the beam of light.
Li Shuo stopped pointing, but before he could speak, he suddenly felt a tightness all over his body.
Without warning, Sun Yanzi leaned over, stretched out her arms, and hugged him tightly.
Those arms were slender yet powerful, carrying a resolute determination to go all out.
Her short hair brushed against his chin, and on the way home that night, that familiar complex fruity scent wafted over again.
She simply hugged him tightly, as if trying to convey all her gratitude, unease, budding courage, and indescribable feelings to him through this gesture.
And then, we just held each other quietly.
"...What's the name of this song?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
"Kepler," Li Shuo said softly, his heart seemingly skipping a beat.
"It's the name of an astronomer. He discovered the laws governing the movement of stars. This song is for you, and also for all those who will love your voice in the future. It's a distant resonance, like stars that, though separated by light-years, can still illuminate each other."
Sun Yanzi didn't ask any more questions...
Anyway, this song is hers... um... it must be hers!
She took a deep breath.
Li Shuo felt the embrace tighten even more...
With a soft click, a small head peeked in…
"What are you doing? Can I come in?"
As she asked, Xiao Wei, still wearing her court costume, took off her shoes and walked in.
Startled, Sun Yanzi quickly released her arms from around her…!
Li Shuo looked over helplessly.
"Why aren't you home doing your homework? What are you doing loitering around here?"
Xiao Wei smiled slyly.
"Brother Shuo, I knew something was wrong with Sister Zheng just by touching her foot... You're amazing! Can you touch mine too... I feel really uncomfortable whenever I do my homework lately!"
She then ran over and lay down next to Li Shuo, lifting her little feet up...
Sun Yanzi was also thinking... How could you do this to me!
How dare you steal my lines!
Suddenly, Xiao Qiangwei, who was lying down, said something.
"Were you arguing inside with the door closed just now?!"
Li Shuo didn't react much, but he remembered Xiao Wei's understanding of "arguing" that day!
Sun Yanzi blushed instantly with embarrassment.
Just like last time... he hurriedly ran to the door, slipped on his sandals, closed the door, and disappeared.
Li Shuo sat alone on the piano bench, the unique blend of fruity scents in the air still lingering... He gently closed the piano lid.
"Xiaowei, come on! Brother will take you shopping for some nice things!"
"Really! Hehehe! Shuo-ge, you're the best!"
After half an hour,
A little girl, sniffling and crying, sat at a small wooden table, while her mother watched from the side with a wooden ruler.
…On the table was a stack of brand-new exercise books for all subjects from Singapore Primary School!
Two days later…
A plane carrying Li Shuo took off from Changi Airport in Singapore and flew towards Hong Kong Island…!