Chapter 48
Because of Xi Rong's announcement, the amount of training increased dramatically that day. Even after dinner, they trained for an extra half hour before returning to their rooms to rest.
Everyone had left. Jiang Shuiyun was the last to sit in her seat, looking at the music room where the light was still on. Yi Jinbai hadn't come out all day except when he was eating.
After glancing at the time, Jiang Shuiyun still walked towards the music room, stood in front of the door, and pushed it open.
The melodious sound of a piano drifted out, causing Jiang Shuiyun to stop in her tracks as she entered the room. She stood at the doorway, listening to Yi Jinbai play the entire piece.
Yi Jinbai had already noticed Jiang Shuiyun standing at the door, and only turned around after the music ended, asking, "Is there something you need?"
"Where did you get this piece of music from?"
Jiang Shuiyun then came to her senses, went inside, and looked at the empty music stand on Yi Jinbai's piano.
"This one?" Yi Jinbai played a short section of the piece he had just played.
"Yes, where is the sheet music?"
Jiang Shuiyun nodded and looked at Yi Jinbai intently.
"This is the first piece the dean taught me. I've never seen the sheet music before. What's wrong?"
Yi Jinbai was also a little nervous when Jiang Shuiyun asked him questions.
"Besides you and the dean, does anyone else know this piece of music? Do you know where this piece of music comes from? Who composed it?" Jiang Shuiyun continued to ask, her pace even becoming somewhat urgent.
"No, the dean said it was composed by a friend of hers. I have never met that person, and I have never heard anyone else play this piece, nor have I been able to find any related information."
Seeing that Jiang Shuiyun seemed anxious, Yi Jinbai also became nervous and truthfully answered the series of questions Jiang Shuiyun had just asked.
Jiang Shuiyun frowned slightly. "This piece was my teacher's favorite. She often played it for me when I was little. She said it was about a couple, but unfortunately, one of them passed away right after the music was finished, before the lyrics were written. So there was only the music. I thought this piece only existed in my world..."
Before Jiang Shuiyun could finish speaking, a severe headache struck again, causing her to lose her balance and slam her hand heavily onto the piano keys, producing a loud, muffled sound.
Yi Jinbai had already seen it once, so he quickly stood up, helped Jiang Shuiyun to a chair, and hugged her tense body. "It's alright, it's alright, let's not talk about it anymore..."
The intense pain lasted longer than last time. When the pain subsided, Jiang Shuiyun was completely exhausted, as if she had been pulled out of the water. She could only lean against Yi Jinbai's chest, unable to utter a single word.
Yi Jinbai held Jiang Shuiyun in his arms, wiping the sweat from her forehead, his eyes filled with heartache, but he dared not mention it again, "Let's not talk about it."
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Shuiyun felt a chill and regained some strength. She reached out and grabbed Yi Jinbai's hand. "I'm fine. Play this piece for me again."
Jiang Shuiyun knew that if she talked about her past life, she would be forced to interrupt. But that had nothing to do with the music. Hearing a familiar voice again in this strange world was a rare comfort, but she didn't believe that what was hidden behind it was more important. She didn't believe it was just a coincidence.
Yi Jinbai hesitated slightly, "You won't have a headache again, will you?"
"Won't."
Jiang Shuiyun tried to get up so that Yi Jinbai could concentrate on playing, but unfortunately, the pain from before had drained all her strength.
Yi Jinbai sat down next to Jiang Shuiyun on the piano bench, placing Jiang Shuiyun's hand on his waist so that she could lean on his shoulder without tilting to one side. Once ready, Yi Jinbai's fingers lightly swept across the piano keys, and a melodious and gentle tune slowly flowed out.
With a familiar melody playing in her ears, Jiang Shuiyun leaned on Yi Jinbai's shoulder and slowly closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about anything else now. The restlessness and anxiety of the whole day and the memory of the pain from earlier were gently soothed. The rare ease and relaxation made her want to sleep forever and never wake up, to be immersed in this gentleness.
When the music ended, Jiang Shuiyun opened her eyes again, feeling a surge in her heart, as if something was trying to break free of its cage. This feeling made her unconsciously tighten her grip on Yi Jinbai's waist. "We must have known each other for a long time, it can't be such a coincidence."
"Maybe?" Yi Jinbai stroked Jiang Shuiyun's hair, pursed his lips slightly, and finally asked the question that had been on his mind all day, "Why did you suddenly ask me to leave? Did I do something wrong?"
Jiang Shuiyun didn't expect Yi Jinbai to think that way. She looked up at Yi Jinbai's eyes and quickly denied it, "No, you're not wrong. I don't want you to leave. I just can't let you waste your time in this small music room and kitchen."
"Will I come back?" Yi Jinbai's eyes regained a glimmer of hope. She knew that with Gao Zhouzhou's status, this was a great opportunity, but she thought that Jiang Shuiyun arranged for her to go to City B so quickly so that she could leave and be handed over to someone else.
“Of course you will come back,” Jiang Shuiyun answered without hesitation. “Jinbai, I will come to B City to pick you up after you release your single.”
"It's a deal then."
"It's a deal."
Jiang Shuiyun grasped Yi Jinbai's hand and made a serious promise.
Yi Jinbai finally felt relieved and hugged Jiang Shuiyun back, saying, "Then you must come to pick me up."
"Well, it's not like I can't come see you. I've looked at the matches that Brother Xi has arranged, and a few of them are in City B. We'll meet soon."
Jiang Shuiyun had recovered somewhat and lifted her head from Yi Jinbai's shoulder. She herself was unaware of how much expectation was in her tone when she said those words.
Yi Jinbai's face relaxed, and she nodded with a smile. She trusted the person in front of her.
After agreeing on the terms, it was getting late, so Yi Jinbai helped Jiang Shuiyun upstairs. Fortunately, there was an elevator, and they went from the first floor to the third floor.
After helping Jiang Shuiyun into her room, Yi Jinbai returned to his own room. Only after he finished washing up did he realize that Jiang Shuiyun hadn't washed up yet and hadn't even dried her hair. So Yi Jinbai ran to Jiang Shuiyun's room door again.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, he thought about the time and realized that everyone was already asleep, so Yi Jinbai withdrew his hand and gently opened the door to Jiang Shuiyun's room.
There was no one in bed. Yi Jinbai turned around and closed the door. "Are you in the bathroom?"
Yi Jinbai was startled by a loud thud from the direction of the bathroom. Without thinking, she assumed Jiang Shuiyun had fallen and rushed to the bathroom.
Jiang Shuiyun, who was taking a bath in the bathtub, heard Yi Jinbai's voice. She wanted to go out wrapped in her bathrobe, but she accidentally knocked over the basket containing bottles and jars next to the bathtub. The more she tried to get out of the bath, the more chaotic things became, and her bathrobe fell directly into the bathtub and got completely soaked.
When Yi Jinbai hurriedly pushed open the bathroom door, he saw Jiang Shuiyun sitting in the bathtub, frantically grabbing her bathrobe to cover her chest, and bottles and jars scattered all over the floor.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment, and Yi Jinbai raised his hand to cover his eyes, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"It's alright..." Luckily, Yi Jinbai didn't open her eyes, otherwise she would have seen Jiang Shuiyun looking like a boiled shrimp.
Jiang Shuiyun watched as Yi Jinbai left the bathroom and closed the door. She felt completely drained and slid into the bathtub. She was too ashamed to face anyone.
When Jiang Shuiyun finally finished showering, she was still wrapped in a dripping bathrobe. She wanted to ask Yi Jinbai to hand her a dry bathrobe, but she just couldn't bring herself to ask, so she had to do it this way.
"Your bathrobe is wet..."
Yi Jinbai looked at the watermarks under Jiang Shuiyun's feet and was a little worried that she might slip and fall on the slippery ground.
"It's okay, I'll go change."
Jiang Shuiyun didn't dare to look at Yi Jinbai. She slowly moved and grabbed a set of pajamas, then slipped back to the bathroom.
Yi Jinbai watched Jiang Shuiyun's retreating figure, which seemed to have fled in panic and even staggered a bit towards the bathroom. His heart skipped a beat and he felt a little nervous, but then he also wanted to laugh. He wondered if Jiang Shuiyun knew that her face and neck were still completely red, and with the moisture, her whole body had turned a pinkish color, making her look exceptionally soft, cute, and innocent.
After Jiang Shuiyun changed into a pure white nightgown, she finally felt a little more comfortable. Looking at Yi Jinbai, who was still in her room, she tried her best to be calm and asked, "Jinbai, what brings you here?"
"No, I just came to check if you've washed up. As for what happened earlier... I'm sorry, I thought you fell. Don't worry, I didn't see anything."
Although Yi Jinbai felt a little embarrassed to bring it up now, he couldn't let Jiang Shuiyun think that he was deliberately taking advantage of her.
"It's okay, it doesn't matter if we see each other, we're no different," Jiang Shuiyun tried her best to appear indifferent, convincing herself that apart from the difference in pheromones, female Alphas and female Omegas were really no different.
Jiang Shuiyun spoke casually, but her face turned two shades red, completely betraying her. Yi Jinbai saw it clearly and had to nod in agreement very seriously.
"Let me blow-dry your hair."
Seeing Jiang Shuiyun standing there in a daze, Yi Jinbai took a hair dryer and a towel from the side.
Jiang Shuiyun's brain had already partially lost its ability to think. She nodded obediently and sat on the edge of the bed while Yi Jinbai dried her hair.
Jiang Shuiyun clasped her hands together, glancing at Yi Jinbai behind her from time to time. She wanted to say something to ease the awkwardness, but she didn't know what to say. She felt as if her brain was completely sealed.
Yi Jinbai also noticed Jiang Shuiyun's occasional glances, which he found both amusing and a little dazed. Suppressing his laughter, Yi Jinbai blew on the soft hair in his hand and said, "If you really feel that this matter cannot be resolved, I can take responsibility for you."
"Huh?" Jiang Shuiyun was startled by Yi Jinbai's words and looked up sharply, only to be burned by the hairdryer. She covered her head and fell back down, startling Yi Jinbai, who quickly turned off the hairdryer. "I was just kidding. Let me see where you burned yourself."
Hearing Yi Jinbai's anxious voice, Jiang Shuiyun tightened her grip on her head. For some reason, she felt that she had completely lost her dignity as an A tonight. Faced with such a trivial matter, she was not as calm as Jinbai and even needed Jinbai to comfort her. She thought to herself, "I'm doomed. I might as well find a noodle and hang myself."
"Put your hand down, let me see where you've been burned and whether you need to apply medicine."
Yi Jinbai thought Jiang Shuiyun had burned her head, so he gently coaxed her to take her hand away.
Jiang Shuiyun felt like she had been hit again. She buried her face in the blanket and mumbled, "It's okay, I wasn't burned."
"Really?" Yi Jinbai asked again, still doubtful.
"Um."
Jiang Shuiyun refused to look up. Although she felt that this didn't improve her image much, she was too ashamed to face anyone.
"I'll leave the hairdryer here for you, and I'll head back now?"
Jiang Shuiyun heard Yi Jinbai's voice again, opened her eyes and peeked out through the crack. Yi Jinbai was already standing by the bed, ready to leave.
“You…” Jiang Shuiyun hesitated before speaking, but when she saw Yi Jinbai turn around, she changed her mind and said, “You should get some rest.”
"Okay, you too."
Jiang Shuiyun noticed Yi Jinbai leaving. She lay on the bed and looked up at Yi Jinbai's back as he walked to the door. Thinking that Yi Jinbai would be leaving tomorrow, she felt that there was something she hadn't said, but after thinking about it, she didn't know what to say.
In Jiang Shuiyun's view, Yi Jinbai's hand was already on the doorknob, but Yi Jinbai seemed to remember something, turned back, stood by the bed and looked at Jiang Shuiyun, "I'm leaving tomorrow."
Speaking of this, Jiang Shuiyun temporarily suppressed her embarrassment and awkwardness, looked up at Yi Jinbai and instructed, "Take good care of yourself in City B. Come if you need anything."
“Well, there’s one more thing,” Yi Jinbai stared intently at Jiang Shuiyun, “I need to tell you that I’ve thought things through about what happened last time.”
"Huh?" Jiang Shuiyun was stunned for a moment, not realizing what was going on.
But before Jiang Shuiyun could react, Yi Jinbai bent down, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her while she looked on in confusion. "Goodnight."
After saying that, Yi Jinbai's face turned red, and he quickly left Jiang Shuiyun's room.
Jiang Shuiyun was slow to react for a while before her mind exploded like fireworks. She belatedly touched her lips, and the sensation from before seemed to still be there, clearly reminding her that they had kissed!
How could this be?! Jiang Shuiyun buried herself in the blankets, and it took her a long time to finally accept the fact that she had lost her first kiss in both her past and present lives. But now the question is... why?
Jiang Shuiyun tried to find a reason for the kiss, but her mind was still racing and she had completely lost the ability to think. She could only bury her head in the soft pillow and try to sort things out once she calmed down a bit.
Yi Jinbai said she had thought it through, but what was she thinking about?
Jiang Shuiyun racked her brains to recall the things she had asked Yi Jinbai to consider. Apart from today's matter, it was the last one, about choosing a house. But what did choosing a house have to do with today's matter?
Jiang Shuiyun, who has never had any sleep problems, thought about it all night but couldn't come up with a solution. Finally, looking at the bright daylight, she could only resign herself to getting up and going for a run to clear her head.
After changing into her sportswear, Jiang Shuiyun didn't run far. She jogged around the villa, taking walks every now and then. Just as Jiang Shuiyun was walking and getting lost in thought, a figure suddenly jumped out and startled her. Upon closer inspection, the face under the baseball cap, large sunglasses, and black mask was none other than Gao Zhouzhou.
Jiang Shuiyun glanced at the time in disbelief, then looked the person in front of her up and down again. "Why are you here so early?"
"I'm exhausted from the overnight flight. I'll just borrow your place to sleep for a while. Are you sleepwalking this early in the morning? I thought I had mistaken you for someone else."
Gao Zhouzhou, supporting Jiang Shuiyun's shoulder, pulled down her mask to catch her breath, then took off her sunglasses and showed Jiang Shuiyun her dark circles, which were almost as prominent as a panda's. But when she saw Jiang Shuiyun, she was also startled. "Oh my god! Did someone punch you in the eye?"
"Did someone punch your eye?"
Jiang Shuiyun asked Gao Zhouzhou a question in return, put the sunglasses back on for her, and yawned.
"You didn't sleep all night either? What's wrong? Were you too excited to sleep because you knew I was coming today?"
Gao Zhouzhou casually draped her arm over Jiang Shuiyun's shoulder, only to have Jiang Shuiyun throw it off again. "You scared me so much I had nightmares all night. Don't you have other plans?"
"Damn it, don't even mention this to me. I flew here overnight, and when I got here, that bastard of the organizers told me the venue collapsed and the event was canceled. Can you believe it? It's four in the morning! How infuriating!"