Their eyes met, familiar faces and gazes met, and through each other's eyes, time seemed to have traveled back over the past few years, returning to the very beginning.
The two of them turned their faces away simultaneously.
"Never mind," Jiang Jianhuan heard him say in a low voice.
The night returned to silence, and she thought it was over, when Su Mo's mocking voice pierced the air.
"You used to be quite capable, how come you were chased like this by them?"
Chapter 3
Memories flooded back in an instant, and all the strength in her body seemed to vanish in an instant. Jiang Jianhuan lowered her head, like a stranded fish struggling to survive.
She stammered in defense.
"They outnumber me... I can't beat them."
As soon as the words were spoken, the silent night was tinged with an unusual radiance, and fragments from the depths of memory appeared in my mind with remarkable naturalness.
Jiang Jianhuan first met Su Mo when he was eighteen, on an ordinary yet special summer day.
She had just finished her college entrance exams and was dragged to a bar by her friends, supposedly to exercise her rights as an adult.
Actually, they were both timid. They were so nervous the first time they went to a place like that. When they ordered drinks at the bar, they were trying too hard to be mature and experienced. Others could see their awkwardness and unnaturalness at a glance.
Surrounded by incongruous music and men and women, with bodies swaying freely on the dance floor, Jiang Jianhuan sat on a high stool, feeling somewhat uneasy.
She didn't really like this feeling; just sitting there was a kind of inexplicable torment.
Su Mo appeared at this time.
First, the place gradually quieted down. Then, the boy on stage, who was fiddling with his guitar, played the first note. He sang softly, and the moment his voice came out, the entire bar erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.
The boy's eyes were slightly closed, and his face was dazzlingly unreal under the light. Jiang Jianhuan only remembered his angular chin and the voice that reached straight to his heart when his lips opened and closed.
She just stared blankly, forgetting to move, forgetting to look away, even forgetting to blink.
She couldn't quite make out Su Mo's appearance that day, but his singing voice and the way his slender fingers danced on the guitar were deeply etched in her mind, and she couldn't forget him until she went to sleep.
From then on, Jiang Jianhuan became a regular at that bar. She was timid and cowardly, and never dared to do anything. Even asking about him felt like a terrifying thing. She would just sit quietly in the corner and listen to him sing.
After visiting many times, Jiang Jianhuan discovered that Su Mo, just like his appearance, was aloof and unapproachable. Each time, he would silently go on stage, finish singing, and then leave with his guitar, regardless of the shouts from the audience or the attempts by others to strike up a conversation.
Jiang Jianhuan also discovered that Su Mo's appearance was just as stunning as his singing voice, still exuding a captivating power under the flickering lights.
When the boy goes on stage, he always wears a baseball cap with the brim pulled down very low, covering most of his eyebrows and eyes, leaving only his chin and thin lips visible. Occasionally, when he tilts his head back, his profile is revealed, with a cold and handsome curve that looks like a line drawn with fine brushstrokes.
Jiang Jianhuan had never met anyone like him before; everything about him captivated her.
Mysterious, aloof, reserved, and exceptionally talented.
Su Mo possesses a unique and captivating soul.
Jiang Jianhuan wasn't the only one who noticed his good qualities. Sometime later, a girl suddenly appeared at the bar and always liked to talk to him.
During Su Mo's intermission, she would shout loudly for him from below. When Su Mo finished and went back to the backstage, she would follow him closely. She would even pester him and follow him relentlessly when he changed his clothes and left the bar!
Don't ask Jiang Jianhuan how she knew; she just couldn't stand it and followed her all the way up.
Under the moonlight, in the alley behind the bar, a heavily made-up girl with long curly hair cascading down her back, a sleeveless tank top revealing a slender waist, and a pair of dazzlingly white legs beneath her super short shorts.
She was acting coquettishly towards Su Mo.
"Su Mo, I want to go home with you."
The boy pursed his lips, looked impatient, and walked past her. The girl looked angry, frowned, bit her lip, stomped her foot, and reached out to pull him back.
"Su Mo, I really like you so much, I'm going crazy with it."
Seeing that the boy was unmoved, she finally couldn't hold back anymore. She opened her arms and tried to hug him tightly. Jiang Jianhuan, who was not far away, couldn't hold back either.
What are you doing!
A righteous shout rang out from the quiet alley, followed by a figure rushing up. The girl who had just tried to hug Su Mo was thrown to the ground with a clean over-the-shoulder throw.
"Auntie, you're already this old, stop bothering that boy. Besides, with your looks, you should just give up! Su Mo won't like you!"
Jiang Jianhuan rebuked her righteously. The girl lying on the ground was so angry that her expression twisted. Her heavy makeup made her look even older and more frightening. She stood up, rubbing her waist, and looked at Jiang Jianhuan with a cold smile.
"Little sister, do you know how to talk? If not, let me teach you." She reached out to Jiang Jianhuan, using the typical girl's moves of pulling hair and slapping, but Jiang Jianhuan easily blocked her. She grabbed the girl's wrist and twisted it, pushing the girl's body far away.
"Fine, you just wait." Unable to beat her and having lost face in front of her crush, the girl pointed at Jiang Jianhuan with resentment and gritted teeth, threatening her with wide eyes as if she wanted to etch her face into her mind and settle the score later.
After uttering those harsh words, she dusted herself off, glanced at Su Mo with resentment, rubbed her aching back, and left the place.
The girl's resentful figure disappeared into the alley. In an instant, the air became eerily quiet. Jiang Jianhuan sensed the undeniable presence of the person behind her. She realized what was happening, her eyes widened, and she swallowed nervously before turning around hesitantly.
Su Mo was standing there looking at him, the bright moonlight shining on him, making his expressionless face appear even colder.
Jiang Jianhuan raised his lips and chuckled twice, then slowly raised his hands to his cheeks, his tone innocent and pure.
"Hehe, I didn't mean to."
No one answered. Su Mo continued to gaze at her calmly. Jiang Jianhuan spoke anxiously and helplessly.
"Let me explain..."
She tried to explain herself, making a last-ditch effort to justify her behavior, but the boy simply glanced at her and turned away.