Troublesome – Chapter 34

Good Impression

You deleted him?

Lunch was quite pleasant. Zhou Yuan’s younger sister was a chatterbox and naturally friendly; she could pull Lu Zhenqiu into a conversation and could also strike one up with Jin Shuilan. Lu Zhenqiu felt her social skills must be amazing. Zhou Yuan found his sister noisy and, after the meal, had her and her classmate head back first.

They finished eating around one o’clock. Jin Shuilan asked Lu Zhenqiu if she wanted to go home. Zhou Yuan was a bit reluctant. “Leaving already? I was going to take you two for a look around the gymnasium this afternoon.”

Jin Shuilan looked at him. “What’s there to see?”

Zhou Yuan smiled. “You only went to the stadium just now. There’s a large convention hall in the back.”

It wasn’t as if Jin Shuilan had never been to the convention hall. There was nothing much to see, unless—”Who’s holding a concert?”

Zhou Yuan looked at her, stunned. “How did you guess?”

The news hadn’t even been released yet; not even the fans knew. They were just setting up the venue first. He had originally wanted to take Lu Zhenqiu to see the stage area, but he never expected Jin Shuilan would actually know.

Good grief, this person is sharper than the paparazzi, huh?

Jin Shuilan shot him an annoyed glance. “Besides a concert, what else could it be?”

Basically, anyone holding a concert in the city would do it at this gymnasium. The place was big, and the convention hall in the back could be directly set up as a concert venue, which was quite convenient. Back when she was in university, four or five celebrities would hold concerts there, without fail every year. She hadn’t paid attention after graduating, but she could still guess.

Zhou Yuan said, “There is one, someone who’s been popular for quite a while.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s curiosity was piqued. “Who is it?”

Zhou Yuan turned his head. “Zhang Xin¹.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s eyes suddenly lit up. Upon hearing the name, the corners of her mouth subconsciously turned up, her expression joyful. Jin Shuilan remembered that the most numerous songs in her playlist were by Zhang Xin.

There hadn’t been much news about Zhang Xin in the past few years; everyone said she had retired from the music scene. She made a comeback last year, but her popularity and fanbase weren’t what they used to be. In the era of traffic², the turnover is too fast. However, she still had quite a lot of her old fans. Jin Shuilan hadn’t expected Lu Zhenqiu to be her fan too.

Zhou Yuan said, “It’s next month. Are you two coming? I can help you get tickets.”

As he spoke, his gaze kept drifting toward Lu Zhenqiu. Jin Shuilan spoke up, “We’ll see.”

Lu Zhenqiu pursed her lips.

Zhou Yuan nodded. “Alright, we’ll see then. Anyway, contact me if you need anything.”

Jin Shuilan hummed in acknowledgment and drove Lu Zhenqiu away from the gymnasium. On the road, she asked, “Do you like Zhang Xin a lot?”

Lu Zhenqiu glanced sideways and smiled. “I like her a lot. In the past, when my mom wasn’t home and I was too scared to sleep alone, I liked to listen to her songs.”

It was a kind of youthful reliance.

Jin Shuilan said, “Many of my former classmates liked her.”

“Yeah.” Lu Zhenqiu spoke as if counting her family treasures³, “Her songs were widely sung. I remember back in school, the school broadcast would always play her songs.”

Back in high school, she was in the student council and would be a little selfish, always switching the music to Zhang Xin’s songs whenever she changed tracks.

Thinking about it now, so many years have passed.

As Lu Zhenqiu spoke, she sounded a little regretful. “For her last concert, I had even bought a ticket.”

Jin Shuilan was curious. “Why didn’t you go?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “It was winter, the roads were closed, and I couldn’t get out.”

After that, Zhang Xin went into seclusion for several years. Every time she thought about it, she felt it was a great pity. Now, hearing news of a Zhang Xin concert again, she was subconsciously thrilled.

Jin Shuilan said, “I also had a singer I really liked when I was in school. And then I skipped class to go to the concert.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned to look at her, a hint of envy in her eyes. She said, “That’s really nice.”

Jin Shuilan laughed. “Yeah, and afterward I got a co-ed beating from my parents⁴.”

Lu Zhenqiu let out a soft laugh. “Why?”

“I was too young.” Jin Shuilan said, “I was only in junior high back then.”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “That is too young.”

Jin Shuilan nodded. But that time, standing at the concert venue, she finally understood what it meant to be in the midst of a grand feast. The tidal wave stirred up by the live music was so powerful that the memory of it could still shake her every time she recalled it.

If there was such an opportunity, she also hoped Lu Zhenqiu could experience it live.

Lu Zhenqiu was already on her phone, looking up the latest news about Zhang Xin. As expected, it hadn’t been publicly announced yet; the fans didn’t know about it. She set a reminder for herself. Beside her, Jin Shuilan started telling her more about her past.

“Teacher Jin, you were really naughty in the past,” Lu Zhenqiu said. “I can’t imagine it at all.”

Before she got to know Jin Shuilan.

A flower on a high peak⁵, aloof, cold, distant—like a rose blooming on the highest summit. Countless people trod on thorns wanting to get close, yet not a single person could pluck this flower.

After getting to know her, she felt Jin Shuilan was gentle and polite, with a great sense of propriety, and even spoke amusingly. It was just that she occasionally had a bit of a temper and could leave you speechless.

Now, the deeper her understanding, the more clearly she could see Jin Shuilan’s many facets. It turned out she had also been so mischievous in the past. Her life wasn’t just filled with novels and studying; her world was even more exciting than those in novels.

Jin Shuilan said, “What about you? Weren’t you naughty in the past?”

“Me?” Lu Zhenqiu smiled sheepishly, as if praising herself was an embarrassing thing to do. She said, “Not naughty. My mom said I’ve been very well-behaved since I was little.”

And it was true. Since she was young, she had always been what others would call a “good kid.” She learned to cook for herself at a very young age, would wait for her mom to get off work, help her mom set up her street stall, and would massage her mom’s back.

Jin Shuilan nodded.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t naughty, just that she never had the right to be. Thinking of this, a pang of pain shot through Jin Shuilan’s heart. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, her body tensing up.

As they were nearing home, Lu Zhenqiu’s phone buzzed—dudu. Someone had sent her a message. She took her phone out of her bag and saw it was a message from Zhou Yuan, asking if she was free on the weekend.

Lu Zhenqiu pondered for a few seconds, then replied to him: “Sorry, I’m not.”

Zhou Yuan: “It’s fine if you’re not free on the weekend. Any other time works. The stage is almost set up, I’d like to show you.”

Lu Zhenqiu stared at the screen for a few seconds. Zhang Xin’s concert… it would be a lie to say she didn’t want a sneak peek. But the meaning expressed between the lines when Zhou Yuan was speaking just now… she probably hadn’t misinterpreted it.

After thinking for a few seconds, she still turned Zhou Yuan down.

Zhou Yuan didn’t give up and sent several more messages in a row. Lu Zhenqiu was looking down, typing, and didn’t even notice when the car stopped. Jin Shuilan called out, “Zhenqiu, we’re here.”

Lu Zhenqiu looked up, the car’s interior light illuminating the corner of her eye, her pupils bright. Jin Shuilan asked, “Who are you chatting with?”

“It’s—” Lu Zhenqiu hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s your classmate.”

“Who?” Jin Shuilan frowned. “Zhou Yuan?”

“He added you on WeChat⁶?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “Mhm, he added me during the meal.”

Jin Shuilan said, “Oh.”

The two of them got on the elevator together. Lu Zhenqiu’s phone buzzed—dudu—again. Clearly, someone was continuously messaging her. A subtle restlessness surfaced in Jin Shuilan’s heart. When getting off the elevator, she was so lost in thought that she only snapped out of it when Lu Zhenqiu called her.

“We’re home.” After Lu Zhenqiu spoke, her phone buzzed again. She looked down at it, her eyes slightly lowered.

Jin Shuilan suddenly called out, “Zhenqiu.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned her head. “Ah?”

“What’s wrong, Teacher Jin?”

Jin Shuilan pursed her lips. “Did you bring your keys? I think I forgot mine.”

Lu Zhenqiu took the keys out of her small bag and handed them to Jin Shuilan. As their hands brushed past, she touched the back of Lu Zhenqiu’s hand—a warm sensation. Jin Shuilan opened the door and went in.

The two entered. Maomao squeezed over, its tail sweeping against their legs, whining—wuwuwu—as it looked up, seemingly complaining that they had gone out to have fun without it. Lu Zhenqiu beamed at the sight of it, bending down to hug Maomao and letting it lick her face. Lu Zhenqiu laughed, “I’ll go feed you.”

Maomao wagged its tail and walked toward the balcony, with Lu Zhenqiu following close behind. She placed her phone on the coffee table and scooped out dog food for Maomao. Jin Shuilan sat on the sofa and saw Lu Zhenqiu’s phone screen light up with a WeChat message.

She glanced at the phone, then walked over to the balcony. Sunlight fell upon the two of them. Lu Zhenqiu said, “Teacher Jin, are you going to shower?”

Jin Shuilan paused. “You first.”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “Okay, I’ll go take a quick shower then.”

As she spoke, she went back to the coffee table, picked up her phone, and typed with her head down. A moment later, she placed the phone face down on the table, grabbed her pajamas, and went into the bathroom. Jin Shuilan listened to the pitter-patter of the water as she sat quietly on the sofa. Maomao was eating its dog food, the chewing sounds loud. Jin Shuilan’s thoughts grew even more chaotic. She turned her head to look at her bag, reached a hand inside, and took out a phone box. She opened it; inside was a new phone, the model the store clerk had just recommended. Jin Shuilan fiddled with it for a moment, then quickly stuffed it back into her bag when she heard a noise from the bathroom.

Lu Zhenqiu was dressed in cotton pajamas. The late-October weather wasn’t too cold yet. She used a dry towel to tie up her damp, beautiful hair, wringing it out before wrapping it around her head. Her face was fair and clean with a faint blush, steamed by the warm air. Seeing this, Jin Shuilan asked, “Why didn’t you blow-dry it?”

“I’ll blow-dry it in a bit.” Lu Zhenqiu sat on the sofa. She was wearing a nightdress; her calves were slender and straight, her skin as fair as jade, and even her ankles looked cute. Jin Shuilan studied her for a few seconds and said, “That phone of yours, has it been a few years?”

Hearing this, Lu Zhenqiu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Mhm, it’s been a few years.”

Jin Shuilan said, “Oh,” then asked awkwardly, “Why haven’t you replaced it?”

Lu Zhenqiu smiled. “I’ve been wanting to. It’s a bit laggy now. But my salary hasn’t come in recently, so I wanted to wait until after I get paid to replace it.”

Jin Shuilan nodded. Her hand fumbled in her bag, her fingertips resting near the phone box. She pulled it halfway out. The phone on the coffee table lit up—it was a friend request.

She glanced at Lu Zhenqiu, picked up the phone, and saw it was from Zhou Yuan.

Why is he adding me?

Jin Shuilan accepted the friend request and sent a question mark.

Zhou Yuan sent: 【Um, are you still with your friend?】

Jin Shuilan: 【Something the matter?】

Zhou Yuan: 【It’s nothing, I think I said the wrong thing. She deleted me.】

Jin Shuilan: 【What did you say?】

Zhou Yuan: 【Nothing much, just chatting.】

Jin Shuilan: 【?】

Zhou Yuan: 【Alright, I feel like I quite like her, so I asked if she had a partner and if she could consider me. I think I was a bit too hasty.】

Jin Shuilan’s gaze darkened, emotions churning in her heart. She gripped her phone tightly: 【And then she deleted you?】

Zhou Yuan: 【Yeah. She said she has no plans for that at the moment and didn’t want to hold me back. I just thought about it, and I was a bit too eager. I might have scared her. Can you help me explain?】

Jin Shuilan stared at this message and called out, “Zhenqiu.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned her head. Sunlight fell on her shoulder, scattering into a halo. Jin Shuilan asked, “Did you delete Zhou Yuan?”

The person before her pursed her lips and said, “I did. Did he contact you?”

Jin Shuilan said, “He asked me to help explain, that he was too abrupt just now.”

Lu Zhenqiu was a little embarrassed.

Jin Shuilan glanced at her side profile, put down her phone, and pushed the phone box that was halfway out of her bag back inside.

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, muah.

Update times are usually around 7-8 PM. The timing for extra chapters is not fixed and is generally random, please understand.

Jin Shuilan: Don’t want to be in a relationship, huh?

Lu Zhenqiu: Don’t want to. Let’s just get married.

Jin Shuilan: ……

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