Chapter 18.1
Editor: Jodi
Contrary to what Bai Wenyan had expected, Mu Nan didn’t show any obvious signs of surprise when he saw him. Instead, there was a trace of confusion in his expression as he asked, “Wenyan Ge? What brings you here?”
“Xiao Nan, I’ve been back in the country for a few days now and really wanted to see you, so when I found out you had a performance here today, I decided to come by and watch.” Bai Wenyan handed him the bouquet of flowers. “Your singing just now was really beautiful.”
However Mu Nan didn’t accept the flowers. Instead, a slightly troubled expression appeared on his face. Then he looked around then said, “Wenyan Ge, it’s not convenient to talk here. Let’s find somewhere else to chat.”
Hearing this, a hint of hurt flashed across Bai Wenyan’s face. “Xiao Nan…”
However before he could fully express his emotions, an impatient cough interrupted him. “Are we leaving or not?”
Mu Nan turned towards the voice and saw Cheng Han leaning against the wall with an annoyed look on his face, as if he had been waiting for him.
“Let’s go!” Mu Nan seized the opportunity immediately, “We’re leaving now.”
However just as Mu Nan was about to leave, Bai Wenyan grabbed his arm. “Xiao Nan, where are you going?”
“He’s going home.” Cheng Han replied coldly, his attitude just as unyielding as it had been back in high school.
Bai Wenyan scratched his nose awkwardly. Back in their school days, Cheng Han had always disliked him, and yet, he was the one who remained close to Xiao Nan.
He had once thought that Mu Nan also hated Cheng Han. He didn’t expect that even after all these years, Cheng Han was actually still by his side.
Hence the expression on his face was a little unnatural as he asked Mu Nan, “Xiao Nan, why are you leaving with him?”
“Uh…” Mu Nan hesitated for a moment, then decided it was time to clear things up with him.
He turned to Cheng Han and said, “You go back first. I’ll talk to Wenyan Ge for a bit.”
Cheng Han didn’t say anything, as if he didn’t care as he turned to leave, making it so that it was left with just Mu Nan, his team, and Bai Wenyan.
“Xiao Nan.” Bai Wenyan started, “I’ve tried to meet with you several times since I got back, but you’ve turned me down every time. Do you really not want to see me that much? Are you still holding a grudge over what happened back then?”
Mu Nan was a little confused as he looked at Bai Wenyan’s sincere expression. He had thought that Bai Wenyan just wanted to catch up after returning to the country, but now, seeing the flowers in his hand and hearing his words, it seemed like…
Mu Nan hoped he was overthinking it.
“Wenyan Ge, you’re overthinking this. What happened back then was so long ago—— I stopped caring about it a long time ago. It’s just that I’m an idol now, with a lot of work, and my private life is heavily scrutinized, so I can’t just meet people whenever I want.”
“It turns out it’s like this.” However there was still a hint of hurt in Bai Wenyan’s expression. “But I noticed that you and Cheng Han seem really close. Don’t celebrities like you need to avoid suspicion?”
“We…” Mu Nan stammered for a moment, but then finally decided to tell the truth. “We live together.”
A noticeable crack appeared in Bai Wenyan’s expression immediately. “What did you say?” His voice trembled. “You live together? Do you mean the kind of ‘living together’ I’m thinking of?”
Mu Nan wasn’t sure what to say. “I don’t know what kind you’re thinking, and I don’t even know what kind we are.” He babbled, and then, throwing caution to the wind, he confessed, “We’re married.”
**
When Bai Wenyan left, he was in a bit of a daze, and Mu Nan himself wasn’t feeling much better.
Even though it was true that he and Cheng Han were legally married, he had always refused to confront this reality, as if pretending it never happened could somehow make it so.
Mu Nan returned home, feeling restless.
Seeing Bai Wenyan had stirred up memories from long ago that he had buried deep inside.
Back in school, Bai Wenyan had been the epitome of a campus idol—not only was he good-looking and academically outstanding, he also played basketball.
And with his gentle and polite demeanor, and the fact that there were never any scandalous rumors about him, he had been the dream crush of many, both boys and girls.
Mu Nan, of course, had not been immune to his charm.
However for the current Mu Nan, all those past feelings could be summed up in one sentence—who didn’t have a past?
“You’re back?”
When Mu Nan arrived home, Cheng Han was in the living room, playing “Fate’s Symphony” on the piano.
The keys were being struck so forcefully that it felt like the entire floor was vibrating along with the music.
“What are you doing?” Mu Nan asked him.
Cheng Han stopped mid-piece and slammed the piano lid shut. “I could ask you the same thing.”
The same thing? What was he talking about? Mu Nan stood there, baffled.
It wasn’t until Cheng Han had already gone back to his room that he suddenly realized what he meant.
During that dinner with Cheng Han and Yang Yuzhu, he had said, “You guys can meet up as much as you want, it has nothing to do with me, I don’t care.”
Damn, it turns out he was waiting for him here.
He stared at the tightly closed piano lid, thinking to himself, nothing had happened, what’s more he hadn’t done anything wrong, so what was there to feel guilty about?
However reality always had a way of hitting back fast, like a sudden tornado.
Because right before bed, he suddenly received a friend request from Bai Wenyan.
And considering their history, he didn’t see a reason to refuse, so he accepted.
What he didn’t expect was for Bai Wenyan to immediately send a message.
[Xiao Nan, I’m really sorry about what happened back then. I’m sorry I hurt you. These years in the U.S., I’ve always felt guilty about it, which is why I sought you out as soon as I returned to the country.]
Mu Nan typed his response out slowly: [It’s okay, I’ve long forgotten about it.]
However before he could send the message, another one from Bai Wenyan popped up.
[I hope you can give me another chance, okay?]
Seeing these words, Mu Nan was so shocked that his hand slipped, and his phone fell, smacking him squarely in the face.
In that moment, the downside of having a prominent nose became painfully clear—his vision went dark from the impact, and he lay there for a while, clutching his nose, before he could even think straight again.
Then when he picked his phone up again, he was horrified to find that, his fingers had accidentally sent a “1” at some point.
It was common knowledge that, sending “1” either meant agreeing or confirming something.
Panicked, he retracted the message immediately then followed up with, “That was an accident.”
However he didn’t know whether Bai Wenyan had seen it or not.
Then not daring to continue lying down while using his phone, he sat up straight quickly and typed out a proper message.
[Wenyan Ge, I’ve already made things clear to you. I don’t think I’m in the right state of mind to accept anyone’s advances right now, so please respect yourself.]
Then after sending this, he didn’t even bother waiting for his response.
He just turned his phone off and went to sleep.
*
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