Chapter 109: Almost Caught in the Act

Liu Ruotong pushed open the door and saw Ji Jingxian sitting upright on the sofa, her posture rigid and proper.

After all these years together, how could she possibly fail to notice the unrest in Ji Jingxian’s heart now?

Though Ji Jingxian was trying to appear calm and composed, the faint tremor in her body betrayed her.

At the sight, Liu Ruotong could not help feeling a sharp pang of sorrow.

Then she remembered what Su Bai had said: “Have a proper talk with your mother. She’s really doing this for your own good.”

At last, Liu Ruotong could hold herself back no longer.

Tears fell at once. “Mom!”

At that single word, Ji Jingxian, who had been forcing herself to remain calm, could no longer suppress her emotions.

She rose abruptly from the sofa.

Then she looked at Liu Ruotong.

Liu Ruotong ran to her and buried herself in her mother’s arms.

“Mom, I’m sorry!”

The tears in Ji Jingxian’s eyes could no longer be restrained, streaming down without end.

She held her daughter tightly, as though afraid that in the very next moment her child would slip away from her forever.

“Mom, what I said before was too harsh. Please don’t take it to heart!”

Ji Jingxian kept shaking her head, wanting to speak, but each time she choked up and no words came out.

Liu Ruotong kept apologizing again and again.

“Mom, I’ll listen to you. I won’t study music during high school. I’ll learn it after I get to college!”

Ji Jingxian shook her head, voice breaking. “No... no!”

“I never blamed you.”

“It was my fault. All of it was my fault!”

“I was too overbearing and never thought about how you felt!”

“I won’t stop you anymore. If you want to learn it, then learn it!”

“As long as you can stay with me, as long as you don’t leave my side, you can study anything you like! Anything!”

Ji Jingxian kept repeating herself over and over.

Hearing this, Liu Ruotong could no longer control her emotions and once again threw herself into Ji Jingxian’s arms.

She sobbed uncontrollably.

It was a very long time before the two of them finally gradually quieted their tears.

They sat silently by the sofa, staring blankly at the television before them.

“Mom.”

“Ruotong.”

The two spoke almost at the same time.

“You go first!”

“You go first!”

...

In the night sky, a bright moon slowly rose and poured its light into the room, falling upon the mother and daughter as they spoke their hearts to one another.

The scene grew even warmer and more tender.

Back home, Su Bai could not help but feel a little emotional.

This house had once been where he came to live for Yang Mengke.

Yet Yang Mengke had stayed only a few days before going off to CCTV.

Now he was alone in this empty room, and it felt especially cold and lonely.

A message came through on his phone from Yang Xiaomi: “Are you asleep?”

At once, Su Bai’s mind involuntarily replayed that sultry scene in the car. If not for the man who had knocked on the car window, what would have happened between the two of them by now?

A faint smile rose on Su Bai’s lips. “Not yet. Can’t sleep.”

“Why? Thinking of me again?”

Su Bai could almost picture the teasing smile on Yang Xiaomi’s lips.

“What do you mean, again? How do you know I ever thought of you at all?”

Even Su Bai himself did not notice the smile in his voice, a kind of indescribable warmth in it...

In the hotel, Yang Xiaomi looked at Su Bai’s message, then lightly drew the silk quilt over herself, revealing a pair of long, slender legs. Half-hidden beneath the covers, they looked especially alluring and seductive.

She took out her phone, aimed it at her beautiful legs, and snapped a sexy photo.

Then she sent it to Su Bai and replied, “Are you sure you’ve never thought about me?”

The moment Su Bai saw the photo Yang Xiaomi had sent, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his phone.

His heartbeat once again accelerated beyond control.

Even his hands could not help trembling slightly.

He wanted to reply, “Yes, I have,” but that felt a little too frivolous.

Yet if he answered, “No, I haven’t,” would he be missing something?

“Room 7601. Until 11 p.m. only. After that, don’t bother.”

When Su Bai suddenly saw this message from Yang Xiaomi, he sprang straight out of bed.

Then he stood frozen in place for a long time, unable to settle his racing heart.

He paced back and forth in the room.

In the end, he slapped his thigh hard, quickly tidied himself up, got in the car, and drove straight for the hotel.

The car tore down the road like a gale, overtaking one vehicle after another.

He kept glancing at the time on the dashboard: 10:30. Only half an hour left!

At last, at 10:51, Su Bai reached the hotel entrance.

He hurried into the lobby, but the moment he stepped inside, he hesitated.

“Go in?”

“Go in?”

“Go in?”

He kept questioning himself inwardly.

Only when a hotel staff member asked, “Sir, are you coming in?” did Su Bai come to himself and realize he had been standing at the entrance for a full five minutes.

He looked at the time. It was already 10:56. Only four minutes remained before the time Yang Xiaomi had given him.

Su Bai rushed inside immediately.

Breathless, he reached Room 7601 and looked at the time: 10:59.

Huff... huff... huff...

He drew a long breath.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heart began beating faster and faster.

Su Bai knew that when two armies face off, the battle often comes down to a single burst of courage; if one hesitates even slightly, one may retreat in defeat.

So he no longer hesitated and knocked directly on Yang Xiaomi’s door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He seemed to hear footsteps approaching from inside to open the door.

Nervously, he closed his eyes.

His fists clenched tightly.

With a click, the door opened.

“Xiaomi, I came to... gah!!!”

The instant Su Bai opened his eyes, he saw Tang Yuyan leaning against the doorframe, smiling at him.

His brain seemed unable to process what he was seeing.

Wasn’t this Yang Xiaomi’s room?

Why was Tang Yuyan here?

“Are you here to see Xiaomi? She’s on the bed. Come in.”

Stunned, Su Bai stared at Tang Yuyan in silence.

“Ah, um... how are you... Xiaomi, she... I...”

Pfft.

Pfft.

Two bursts of laughter rang out.

Covering her mouth, Tang Yuyan laughed, “What happened to our great Su Bai?”

“Not even one sentence comes out clearly anymore?”

“Oh, I forgot to ask.”

“What brings you to our Xiaomi’s room so late at night?”

“I saw you running over here all out of breath. You must be exhausted. Come in, come in, sit down and rest for a while.”

Su Bai did not even know how he stepped into the room.

Once inside, he saw Yang Xiaomi still posed exactly as she had been when she sent him the photo.

Still wrapped in the same silk quilt, still with those tempting long legs.

Yet the atmosphere felt so awkward that he wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.

What exactly was he here for?

Yang Xiaomi blinked at him.

Su Bai felt he would rather disappear on the spot.

So why, exactly, was Tang Yuyan in Yang Xiaomi’s room in the middle of the night?

That question, naturally, was not one he would ask now...

“Um, Xiaomi, you said you were scared, and I got worried, so I rushed over right away!”

“But since Yuyan got here before I did, I’m relieved. If nothing’s wrong, I’ll head off now. You two get some rest.”

Tang Yuyan asked in surprise, “You’re leaving already, Su Bai? Nothing else?”

“Actually, I’m quite busy too. Since you’re here, why don’t I go back and you stay?”

“Xiaomi already disturbed my sweet dream, and I was quite unhappy about that.”

“Just take you, the willing laborer, and keep Xiaomi company here.”

Su Bai hurriedly waved his hands, sweat already beginning to bead on his forehead.

“No, no, that won’t do. The two of us alone here in the middle of the night isn’t really appropriate.”

With that, Su Bai fled as if escaping for his life.

After he left, Tang Yuyan looked at Yang Xiaomi with a teasing grin.

“My dear Xiaomi, tell me, what’s going on?”

“If I’d been ten minutes later, would I have caught you red-handed in bed? Come clean...”