CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 016 NOT WHAT YOU DESIRE

By the time she arrived at school, the rain had gradually lessened. With a violin strapped on her back, Su Wan found it inconvenient to hold up an umbrella, so she simply folded it and hurried toward the dormitory building.

Unexpectedly, Gu Ming, whom she hadn’t seen for quite some time, was waiting in front of the dormitory building, pacing back and forth with an umbrella in hand.

Su Wan felt a bit awkward, not wanting to greet him. Just as she planned to pretend not to see him and walk straight in, Gu Ming caught sight of her first.

He quickly ran to her and brought her under his black umbrella.

Without hesitation, Su Wan took a step back out from under the umbrella. She slowly opened her own floral umbrella, maintaining a distance: "Senior Brother Gu."

Her aloofness was like a bucket of cold water, dousing Gu Ming’s enthusiasm. Yet, he could only smile faintly and ask, "Have you started your internship?"

Su Wan nodded.

Gu Ming said, "I went to London recently to visit my former piano teacher. I just got back yesterday."

Su Wan didn’t lift her eyelids, responding politely, "Oh, I hope you had a pleasant journey, Senior Brother Gu."

Gu Ming continued, "My former piano teacher is going to hold a concert in Yanchuan early January next year." As he spoke, he took out two tickets from behind and held them out to her, inviting, "Shall we go together then?"

Su Wan didn’t take them, glancing indifferently at the tickets in his hand. The next second, she was dumbfounded by the name clearly printed on them.

Jiang Yun.

A world-renowned pianist.

For a moment, the rain suddenly intensified, pitter-pattering loudly on the umbrella, creating an annoying noise.

Su Wan bit her lower lip, her fingers gripping the umbrella handle involuntarily tight. Memories from that year surged unexpectedly, her heart being mercilessly squeezed, making it hard to breathe.

Gu Ming didn’t notice her discomfort. Seeing her speechless, he mistook it for excitement and continued, "I can introduce you to each other then..."

"Sorry, I’m not interested."

A cold, gloomy voice abruptly cut Gu Ming off.

Su Wan wasted no time, stepping aside and brushing past him.

Gu Ming was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly turned to catch up, grabbing her arm with a sense of panic, "What’s wrong?"

Su Wan kept silent, suppressing her inner annoyance as she closed her eyes, twisting her arm to try to break free.

Gu Ming tightened his grip, a bitter smile tugging at his lips, "Why are you always like this? No matter what I say or do, you never seem to notice. Su Wan, you’re so smart, how could you not know my feelings?"

Su Wan stood with her back to him, unmoving and silent, gradually losing patience.

People came and went in front of the dormitory, watching the two in stalemate. Curiosity piqued, they frequently paused and looked back.

She was eager to leave, yet Gu Ming wanted nothing more than to reveal all his feelings at once: "For you, I gave up studying abroad and chose to attend graduate school here just so I could see you often. Even if you’re always this indifferent, it doesn’t matter, because I believe one day I’ll touch your heart. Su Wan, I really lo..."

"Senior Brother Gu!" She suddenly raised her voice, interrupting his words, then calmed down, "You really don’t need to waste your time on me."

She took a deep breath and forcefully pushed his restraint away with her other hand, "After all, a forced melon is not sweet."

With that, she ran into the dormitory building without looking back.

A gust of wind suddenly arose, snatching the black umbrella from Gu Ming’s hand, causing it to twirl a few times on the wet ground. He stood in the rain, watching her retreating figure, feeling his heart being torn apart.

For a moment, he couldn’t distinguish whether it was rain or tears that gradually blurred his vision.

...

Inside the dormitory, Xu Chengyang was not around. Su Wan leaned against the door, gasping for breath.

A hush filled the room, accompanied by the pattering rain outside the window. Suddenly, the name on the ticket surfaced in her mind again, bringing heat to her eyes. She squatted down, and a few silent tears fell. She brushed a hand across her face, dampening her sleeve, and buried her head between her legs, weeping in anguish.

This cold, drizzling autumn rain had been falling for a week, with the humid climate making even the violin sound a bit dull.

Fu Weiheng sat in the orchestra’s practice room, checking the rehearsal results.

However, his gaze inadvertently fell on the conspicuously empty cello section, and once again, his mind wandered.

The fourth day—the fourth day since that day she’d stopped coming to the orchestra for practice, with no messages on WeChat either.

This left him feeling uneasy and lost.

Frowning deeply, Fu Weiheng stood up from his chair. The ongoing performance abruptly ceased, and everyone collectively raised their heads, holding their breath and watching closely.