CH 5

After hastily ending the conversation with Huo Annong, Yu Le was still in shock.

In the next few days, Zhu Luo didn’t contact him again.

This only served to increase his uneasiness.

He seemed to have really messed up the first meeting between the gong and shou in the plot.

He had to fix it.

Only when Huo Annong and Zhu Luo reach the end can he get rid of the tragic fate of the original owner. His top priority was seeing their ship to the finish line!

However, he frowned as he thought, but even after half an hour, he couldn’t think of anything.

The only idea that seemed plausible was searching online.

Thinking in this way, he turned on his computer and began to enter questions like, “how to match people around me,” but the results were either not very informative or not pertaining to what he wanted.

Why would he need the search history of his neighbour?!

Who would want the search history of their neighbour?!

Of the somewhat related answers, people were saying many things. Some thought it was best to praise the other in front of them. Others said it was better to invite them both to dinner and have a ‘family emergency’ at home. A rarer answer, though it must be said he did find it repeatedly, was to lock them in a room, and the deed would be done sooner or later.

Thinking back to the curses Huo Annong flung at him earlier and remembering how Zhu Luo could not seem to let go of his anger as of recently, Yu Le crossed these methods out one by one.

Flipping through various similar responses in boredom, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

He could just make it up! So what if Huo Annong never expresses any affection for Zhu Luo? So long as everyone thinks that he has, wouldn’t it be fine?

Just as he was getting excited, the profile picture of a seven-petaled sunflower suddenly began pulsing on his WeChat account. 

[the finest old lady in the world: Manman, what have you been doing lately? You aren’t replying to any of my messages…]

Yu Le hesitated and clicked into the WeChat account before doing anything else. The username was Yu Beiman, and the avatar was actually a picture of Yu Youzhi!

After checking some of the chat history, he discovered this was the account the third personality used.

He had planned to check the accounts left by the original owner the first night he came, but after wearing himself out reorganising the room, he had pushed it to the back of his mind and forgot about it.

The last chat record between the third personality sister and the seven-petal sunflower was a month ago.

Chat history:

[Yu Beiman: Ahh, I was caught by my elder brother last time I chased with you! I don’t think I’ll be able to come out until winter! Help! Help!!]

[the finest old lady in the world: What are you afraid of? Do you want me to help you convince your big brother?]

[Yu Beiman: Forget it; there are actually some other things as well…In short, I may not be able to come online for a while, so don’t miss me!]

[Yu Beiman: Life is impermanent-light a cigarette.jpg]

[Yu Beiman: What a pity, I really wanted to go with you again and see my brother sing.]

[the finest old lady in the world: Why are you so sad all of a sudden?]

[the finest old lady in the world: We can still go out together next time, don’t worry!]

[Yu Beiman: Dreams will come true one day.jpg]

Yu Le frowned after reading these chat records.

Yu Beiman had realised what was going to happen to her…this was her way of saying goodbye.

After that last sentence, she never replied to another message from the seven-petal sunflower.

Two months ago, the original owner had started taking small white pills, and Yu Beiman was on the verge of disappearing.

He remembered that Yu Beiman in the book was a lively, kind girl who loved to chase stars. She did nothing to deserve this fate.

Looking at the messages sent by the other party, Yu Le hesitated for a while and finally reached out to type.

[Yu Beiman: My family restricted me before, so I couldn’t come out.]

It was stressful to chat as someone so different from himself. He thought about adding some emojis and exclamation marks, but nothing he did seemed to look right, and he ended up just writing normally.

[the finest old lady in the world: Manman! You’re alive! If you’d stayed silent for a little longer, I would’ve thought you’d been abducted by human traffickers!]

Thinking about how Yu Beiman had used an older brother as an excuse before, Yu Le was sure that she had been referring to the original owner.

[Yu Beiman: …My brother’s not that bad.]

He couldn’t help but say a few words for the original owner.

[the finest old lady in the world: Forget it, forget it, don’t keep talking about him! I have good news for you!]

[Yu Beiman: What?]

[the finest old lady in the world: Brother’s fan meeting this time is in Z City!!!]

[the finest old lady in the world: Manman, are you dating?]

In the plot, Yu Beiman had been completely obsessed with chasing stars, and the video camera that Yu Le had scavenged from the room was hers.

And her idol was Yu Youzhi.

She was nothing like his cousin, who could keep so many concubines at once; she was completely devoted to Yu Youzhi.

“Chasing stars…”

He’d heard Yu Youzhi’s name from Wang Furui not that long ago, and today someone else was asking if he would go to the fan meeting.

Yu Le had to sigh at the coincidence.

In the novel, this star was an incredible character.

He was originally a rich second-generation young master who entered the entertainment industry on a whim. His TV dramas were all for his own fun and self-interest, but then he accidentally became popular. Popular enough that his name was known throughout every household.

When he became famous, he began playing music and singing; acting was no longer his only devotion. With his looks, talent, and a personality that could woo a rock, he quickly became the unattainable dream of thousands of girls.

However, none of what he showed to the public was the truth. He was a green tea through and through.

He and Huo Annong were childhood friends. When they first appeared together in front of Zhu Luo, they had been surrounded by a glamorous aura. 

With their relationship full of misunderstandings and references to stories only they knew, discord was successfully strewn, and Zhu Luo almost broke up with Huo Annong.

After learning the truth, Huo Annong had beaten Yu Youzhi mercilessly until his nose was bruised and his face swollen.

In the end, Yu Youzhi was still laughing, “Why are you so angry? Is there really a point to this? With my assistance your relationship has improved more than what you could have achieved in years, you should thank me!”

Huo Annong gave his thanks sincerely with his fist.

It was not until months after that Yu Youzhi could step back into the light without his face covered.

A deserved ending.

When Yu Le read this passage, he had felt incredibly refreshed, even thinking that this ending was not enough for such a twisted character.

In short, Yu Youzhi was such a person.

Thinking that he would be shamelessly intervening in the protagonist’s feelings in the future, Yu Le immediately decided to go to the fan meeting and investigate the enemy’s situation early.

If possible, it would be best to turn him into an ally. After all, they are the second and third male leads. Neither better than the other; they would both be mere stepping stones on the protagonist’s road to love.

[Yu Beiman: I’m going to the concert.]

The reply was a bit too indifferent, so he added another line.

[Yu Beiman: Go!! Of course, I’m going to see my brother!]

[the finest old lady in the world: Okay, then I will call you to grab tickets together later!]

At this time, he happened to remember the thing that had bothered him just now—how could he bring together Zhu Luo and Huo Annong as soon as possible?

Although he could get along well with other girls, he still was not one. Perhaps it would be best to ask for help from the master?

[Yu Beiman: An An… Tell me, how should I pursue someone? Well, more specifically, how should I chase a man.]

[the finest old lady in the world: Manman, you have someone you like?!]

[Yu Beiman: How could I?! I belong to my big brother; my whole heart is brother’s!]

[the finest old lady in the world: When did you become a girlfriend fan?!]

Yu Le was trying to imitate the Yu Beiman in his memory as much as possible, but what is a girlfriend fan? Are fans divided into categories?

[Yu Beiman: That, actually, I’m asking for a friend of mine…He wants to chase after a male god, that kind of domineering president character. An An, what do you think he should do?]

[the finest old lady in the world: You should…oh no, your friend should…]

The girl on the other side of the screen had obviously misunderstood something, but Yu Le didn’t correct her as he waited for her next words.

[the finest old lady in the world: Manman, do you know what he likes?]

What did Huo Annong like in the original book?

Famous watches and wines, he doesn’t lack any collections of the rich, but that doesn’t mean that he likes them either. The only thing he knows for sure that he loves is his career and…Zhu Luo.

[Yu Beiman: …I don’t know.]

[the finest old lady in the world: Then do you know what he hates?]

[Yu Beiman: Ah! I know this! He hates liars!]

[the finest old lady in the world: This doesn’t count! You have absolutely no idea what he likes?! Really??]

[Yu Beiman: He is rich; anything that he likes, he can get himself. There’s nothing that he lacks.]

[the finest old lady in the world: Manman, why are you so careless? If you really don’t know what to do for the other party, then you can pester him all day and send small gifts from time to time. As the saying goes, as long as you express your heart, it will eventually be felt.]

[Yu Beiman: So simple?]

[the finest old lady in the world: I want to teach you advanced tactics too, but I’m afraid you can’t learn them!]

[Yu Beiman: …]

He was actually being despised by such a young girl.

Yu Le frowned as he retorted.

[Yu Beiman: It’s not me who wants to chase him; it’s my friend!]

[the finest old lady in the world: Okay, okay, I understand, you are your friend.]

[Yu Beiman: …]

Afterwards, An An gave him many more so-called “low-level chasing suggestions”.

He decided on the most traditional way, with a little twist, of course. He would pretend to be Huo Annong and send flowers to Zhu Luo.

Making his decision, his eyes passed over the camera lying idle on the desk, and an impulse surged in his heart.

When he was still in college, he had participated in a photography hobby group for a year. Although he just wandered around with everyone and took pictures casually, people around him always praised them for being scenic and calming.

An An had said that giving gifts should be heartfelt; you had to pour your thoughts into them, an idea that made sense to him. So, let’s take some pictures of the scenery to include with the flowers.

The room the original owner had rented was located on the fifth floor, and the orientation was perfect for landscape photos.

There is a window near the desk in the room through which the setting sun shines in every evening, leaving drops of gold scattered throughout the room as it cut through oily green ginkgo leaves from outside.

At fixed times of the day, this room would be bathed in a golden river.

It’s evening now.

He looked at the sunset through his window and picked up the camera carefully.

The day after the photo was printed, he went out to take some pictures of cold, tall buildings and clear, blue skies.

Then, randomly copying some loving sentences from the internet that made his teeth hurt to even look at, he carefully put Huo Annong’s initials on the envelope and ordered some coloured roses online.

Packing it all up with a bow and setting the card inside, it may seem simple, but it was undoubtedly handmade.

Although none of it was heartfelt, combined with the card and pictures, the flowers seemed to give it a new life.

Recently Zhu Luo was busy with concerts, so Yu Le was assured that he would be home late.

Checking the time before he left, he wore a hat and mask as he wrapped himself up tightly to deliver the flowers to the small villa where Zhu Luo lived.

Zhu Luo has received roses for a continuous week now.

They were hung on his iron fence each time, very conspicuous.

Seven different colours, too; not one day did the sender repeat.

The first time he saw the bouquet with slightly rough packaging, he picked it up to look at. There was a landscape photo of the sky with a single line saying, “Seeing this sky, I think of you.”

Following was the inscription, “HAN”.

“HAN? Whose initials?” The thought flashed through his mind quickly before he landed on a more important matter, “How did they find my house?”

He looked once more at the photo and the cheesy line attached as he felt a little ridiculous, “How could they write something so stupid?”

Looking at the clearly self-done packaging and the halfhearted lines copied on the card, it didn’t seem like something a fan would send.

Could it be someone from the music circle?

He went through a list quickly, but there seemed to be no one with the abbreviation HAN around.

Moreover, even if it was one of them, most people in the music circle were indulgent in their desires, and Zhu Luo usually kept his distance from them.

However, no matter who it was, they had chased him back to his house and made him feel more than a little uncomfortable.

With his most recent concert, he had been too busy to get much rest, and Yu Le’s affairs were only adding to his worries. Seeing these roses delivered every day, he was even more irritable.

Scowling at the roses, he decided, “Let’s get rid of them first.”

Hopefully, this would make the other party understand his attitude.

Yu Le had sent roses to Zhu Luo for a solid week now.

But the strange thing was, there was no movement from the other party at all. Since they had said goodbye at the concert that night, Zhu Luo had not contacted him again.

Was he still angry?

Yu Le was already having a hard time getting along with Zhu Luo; this silence only made him feel more uneasy.

He wanted to know Zhu Luo’s thoughts on Huo Annong.

Hesitating a bit, he logged onto the original owner’s WeChat account and opened the friend list.

The person on the top of the list is Zhu Luo.

The note is [Azhu].

The original owner had been silently in love with Zhu Luo for twenty years but always thoroughly restrained himself. Even the notes he left himself on WeChat were only slightly intimate.

He deliberately picked a time when the other party was busy and sent his message.

[Yu: Zhu Luo, how was your latest concert?]

[Azhu: It was ok; we all put a lot of effort into it.]

He replied within seconds!

Yu Le hadn’t thought this far into the conversation and could only bite the bullet as he continued.

[Yu: Ah…that must have been a lot of work.]

[Azhu: Not really, I like music.]

Zhu Luo’s attitude was indifferent; he seemed to be waiting for him to ask what he really wanted to say.

He decided to get straight to the point.

[Yu: Do you still remember Mr. Huo Annong? You met him at that concert a while ago with me.]

[Azhu: What are you asking about him for?]

[Yu: What was your impression of him?]

[Azhu: I don’t have any impression. I haven’t even thought of him since that night.]

[Azhu: Why do you care about him so much?]

It felt like a normal flow of dialogue on the surface. Still, Yu Le was all too aware that Zhu Luo grew more aggravated each time he mentioned Huo Annong.

[Yu: Do you…not like Huo Annong?]

[Azhu: Why should I like him?]

Zhu Luo really didn’t like him!

Although he had seemed indifferent at the concert, he had never expected there hadn’t been even the slightest spark. Did the roses really not mean anything to him?

As Yu Le sat stuck in silence, a response from Zhu Luo’s side popped up again.

[Azhu: I still have some things to take care of; I’ll message you some more once I’m done.]

[Yu: …Ok.]

In front of Zhu Luo, he always felt a bit reserved.

He didn’t know how to get along with him and could only selectively escape through the gaps that were left open to him.

In the end, he never got to ask about the roses, and their chat ended like this.

For a week, he had bought roses, printed postcards, and wrapped bouquets for this man. The numbers in his bank card were consistently decreasing.

And to learn that all of that effort meant nothing?

Yu Le worriedly calculated his expenses again as he thought with distress, maybe if he continued to send roses, Zhu Luo would be moved? It just wasn’t enough yet, that was all!

Huo Annong should really thank him!

He secretly delivered flowers for another week.

On this day, he was wearing a long windbreaker and a mask. He had just put down a bundle of yellow roses and was about to leave via a side path when a chubby little boy sudden;y rushed out from the opposite direction.

Little Fatty was leading a large brown dog even fatter than him as he ran over. Standing in front of Yu Le, two pairs of sly eyes looked him up and down as the boy asked, “Uncle, what are you doing?”

Yu Le swept the little boy a glance.

He eyed the dog.

He frowned.

He didn’t like cats, dogs, or children and could not muster the will to acknowledge either of the two unpleasant creatures who stood before him.

Without saying a word, he lifted his feet to leave.

Little Fatty blinked his big dark eyes and pointed at Yu Le as he proudly opened his mouth for the world to hear, “Uncle, you’re a pervert! You look just like the bad people my grandma says to stay away from!”

In order to prevent others from recognizing him, Yu Le had wrapped himself up heavily.

He frowned as this kid became more and more of a bother.

Taking a step away, he wanted to leave before things became even more bothersome. But unfortunately, the boy took this as a hint to look behind him and realised what he had come here for.

“Uncle, were you the one sending these flowers every day? Come with me!” Little Fatty grabbed Yu Le by the wrist and dragged him over down another path, where he pointed at the trash can in front of them, “Look, all the roses you sent are there!”

“…”

The Little Fatty looked proud of himself, “I just wondered why they were being thrown away like this, it turned out it was because you are so perverted, Uncle!”

Yu Le’s face turned green. No wonder Zhu Luo and Huo Annong hadn’t been making any progress recently; all the flowers had been thrown away! Did Zhu Luo really hate Huo Annong that much?

As he stared at the roses sitting sadly in the trash bin, Yu Le’s veins twitched as his anger began to rise. Those flowers had cost him a lot of money! 

Zhu Luo had been receiving these same flowers for two consecutive weeks, and he was beginning to get tired of throwing them out. Today was the same as usual, but just when he picked up the bouquet to throw out, a message popped up on his phone. 

It was from Yu Le.

Zhu Luo didn’t realise that as he saw the sender, he frowned unconsciously. He was nervous.

[Yu Le: I happened to pass by your house today, so I stopped by to see you; it was a pity you weren’t home.]

[Zhu Luo: ?]

[Yu Le: I saw a bunch of roses thrown away, though; are you being pursued by someone?]

[Yu Le: Why did you throw them all away? I thought they were beautiful.]

Really, just what did Yu Le want from him? Such a random, not to mention unlucky, subject; there was no reason to be interested in it.

Taking a deep breath, he thought carefully about his relationship with Yu Le as he started to phrase his words, but as his mind flitted over the collection of music boxes and photos he had at home, he suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Exhaling slowly, Zhu Luo was about to explain his reason for throwing away the roses when a postcard fell out of the yellow bunch of roses he hadn’t yet had time to deal with.

Except for the first day, he had not bothered to look at the postcards he had received in any of the bouquets.

Zhu Luo bent down to pick up the card.

It was a landscape photo of the sunset near dusk.

Yellow beams of light were formed by the warm golden sunset as it shone through fresh ginkgo leaves.

As soon as the wind blows, leaves will float down, and the sunlight will dance along the ground beneath it.

Like a musical performed by nature and all its followers.

This was obviously a scene that Zhu Luo was seeing for the first time, but the ginkgo tree and half-divided sky seemed familiar.

Isn’t this the view outside the window of Yu Le’s rental apartment?!

And that first day, the card had the line, “Seeing this sky, I think of you,” written on it.

When he had seen them before, the words had been ugly enough for him to flinch back in disgust, but Zhu Luo was looking at them now with a completely different perspective.

Some more details came to mind.

The initials signed on both the cards were the same HAN as well.

These past weeks he had been struggling to think of all the people around him and match a name to the abbreviation, but not a single person fit. Now that Yu Le mentioned Huo Annong, he even wondered for a moment whether the roses had been sent by that person.

HAN.

Zhu Luo understood, though, there was only one person who would do this for him. He read aloud in a low voice the lines gifted to him today, “I love you so much….”

These roses had been sent by Yu Le.

He had signed a different name to confuse him and even went so far as to change his manner of writing so as to not be recognized by him. 

Thinking of the bag of memories that had been thrown away, Zhu Luo felt very complicated.

A Yu, what are you thinking?

Do you really…like me?

He picked up his phone slowly as he carefully typed out his reply for Yu Le’s message letter by letter.

[Zhu Luo: The roses are very beautiful; I just don’t like the feeling of someone sending them to me secretly. That’s why I threw them away; if the person sending them did it openly, I think I would keep them.]

[Yu Le: …So that’s how it is.]

His clear eyes were reflected on the screen of the phone.

[Zhu Luo: A Yu, I’ve been busy with my music lately, so we haven’t had as much time to talk.]

[Zhu Luo: After my next concert, should we have dinner together and catch up?]

The author has something to say:

Yu Le: This is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, I say!