CH 14

Can I be Forgiven?

The next day was Christmas Day.

Ying Ruoyun slept until sunrise. When he checked his phone, there was a missed call from the faculty supervisor in charge of the competition.

The teacher had left a message on WeChat asking Ying Ruoyun to take the trophy to the college so that it could be registered.

Like a pot of cold water pouring over his head in the cold winter, Ying Ruoyun suddenly remembered that he had, in a fit of anger, thrown the trophy into the lotus pond next to the library in the early hours of the morning.

He replied: [Teacher, I had too much to drink last night and accidentally lost the trophy.]

[How can you lose the trophy for first place in the country? Where did you lose it? Do you remember?]

[In the pond by the library.]

There was silence for about ten minutes: [Ruoyun, this is a major disciplinary offence and you will be disciplined.]

[I'm sorry.] Ying Ruoyun thought, it's true that I was at fault, so I should be punished.

[This is a very important national event and the school takes it very seriously. If this is reported, everyone on our team will be held accountable.]

Ying Ruoyun instantly became nervous. If it was only himself that was being disciplined, then it wouldn't matter. But when it comes to the rest of the team, making others pay for his own mistakes? There was no way he would allow that to happen.

[Give me two hours, three at most, and I will personally deliver the trophy to your office!]

After sending this message, and without taking the time to put on his jacket, Ying Ruoyun rushed straight out of the dormitory.

When he arrived at the lotus pond, it was snowing lightly.

Following the vague memory of last night, Ying Ruoyun climbed over the white marble fence and jumped into the pond.

Winter was a dry season, and the water was very shallow, just above the waist, with only dead branches and leaves of the lotus remaining and deep mud underfoot.

In the southern winter, the lake did not freeze over, but it was still bitingly cold.

Ying Ruoyun was wearing only a light sweater, and before long he was numb from the cold.

The students passing by gave sideways glances, but when they recognised that it was Ying Ruoyun, they expressed sympathy. In their opinion, Ying Ruoyun was yet another musical genius after Shu Jingzhi, but also an idealistic fool.

He was a fool who had pursued Shu Jingzhi despite his own abilities.

A fool who had no fear about confessing at a national event.

A fool who persisted despite being repeatedly rejected.

A fool who jumped into a pond in the middle of winter and did performance art for no reason.

Fortunately, God was kind enough to let him feel the trophy in the mud after about ten minutes.

It was because the trophy was so heavy that it didn't get thrown too far.

When Ying Ruoyun emerged from the pond, he had the trophy in his arms. There were already quite a few people around the shore, and some were even live streaming it...

Ying Ruoyun pushed his way through the crowd and was about to leave when he caught sight of Shu Jingzhi.

He was wearing a white trench coat with brown lining and a bow tie, as if he had just finished some kind of recital.

His own hair was a mess and he was covered in mud, dishevelled and downcast, the difference between clouds and mud.

It didn't matter, Ying Ruoyun thought, he had already lost face in front of him more than a couple of times anyway, and he was no longer associated with him.

As he brushed past him, Shu Jingzhi grabbed his wrist.

Ying Ruoyun stopped and looked at him in bewilderment.

Shu Jingzhi took off his own trench coat and covered his body with it. Then he took out a beautifully embroidered soft silk cloth from his shirt pocket and wiped away the mud and water on his face.

Ying Ruoyun's brain stopped thinking.

Didn't Shu Jingzhi have a cleanliness problem? What was he doing?

But because it was so cold, Ying Ruoyun unconsciously wrapped this warm trench coat around himself, leaving dirty marks on Shu Jingzhi's white trench coat.

Very naturally, Shu Jingzhi took his hand, as if this was how their relationship should be.

The onlookers were so shocked that they lost their words and automatically made way for them.

In this manner, Ying Ruoyun was led all the way until he got into Shu Jingzhi's low-key and luxurious private business car.

The heating in the car was on and Richard Clayderman's piano music was playing.

When he arrived at the School of Music, Shu Jingzhi picked up the trophy Ying Ruoyun had placed on the seat: "Wait for me in the car."

Not a moment later, Shu Jingzhi returned: "Take a hot shower first, so you don't catch a cold, come to my place."

"Shu Jingzhi." Ying Ruoyun finally couldn't help asking, "Have you forgotten what happened last night?"

Shu Jingzhi said, "We'll discuss this later."

Back at the residence, Shu Jingzhi ran the hot water and prepared clean clothes for Ying Ruoyun: "Will you do it yourself, or should I help you?"

"What?"

"Bathing."

Ying Ruoyun immediately blushed red: "I can do it myself!"

After showering and blow-drying his hair, Ying Ruoyun found that Shu Jingzhi had actually made dinner and warmed up some milk.

Ying Ruoyun consciously sat down at the table, and Shu Jingzhi handed him the dinner plate.

"Aren't you eating?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh, then you can watch me eat."

"Ruoyun, I want to apologise to you for what happened yesterday." Shu Jingzhi said, "It was out of rational consideration that I said that."

"What rational consideration?"

"If we are together, it would be an extremely unwise choice for you. You are very talented and will have a bright future ahead of you, you shouldn't like me."

"Why?"

"Even in today's society, even in the music industry, the acceptance of homosexual love in mainstream society is still not very high."

"Noble Senior Shu, you're actually afraid of this?"

"I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

"Don't look down on people!" Ying Ruoyun cut the omelette with a silver knife: "I won't!"

"Love is irrational, so I've changed my mind." Shu Jingzhi gazed into his eyes, "Can you forgive me?"

"No!" Ying Ruoyun took a sip of milk, which stained his lips, and he licked it with his tongue, "If you say you can, you can, and if you say you can't, you can't? Your words last night were simply too much."

"I'm sorry."

"Very bad." Ying Ruoyun poked him in the face, "Shu Jingzhi, are you aware of this?"

"No."

"Then you're quite thick-skinned, no wonder my punch last night didn't leave any marks."

"It did."

"Then how come I didn't see any?"

"You need to come closer."

Ying Ruoyun moved closer to him, and Shu Jingzhi lowered his head slightly and kissed him on the forehead.

"I haven't forgiven you yet!"

Shu Jingzhi took a silver bracelet out of his pocket and fastened it around his wrist, "I'm going to London tomorrow for a recital, the whole trip will take about a week. When I come back, tell me what you've decided."

Ying Ruoyun put down his fork and knife, "You're going to London? A week? I'll have a girlfriend by the time you get back."

Shu Jingzhi smiled, "You don't want me to go?"

"Then can I interfere with your schedule?"

"Of course you can." Shu Jingzhi woke up his phone and dialled a series of numbers, "Cancel the London recital and change the address to A City. The repertoire may also have to be changed, I'll let you know later."

Hanging up the phone, Shu Jingzhi asked, "Now, can you forgive me? Hmm?"