When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 234: Don’t Tell Him I’m Here

Two days before school started, Jiang Shuyao still sneaked off to the Zhongyuan Band’s studio without telling Pei Yan.

The studio was located on the second floor of a commercial street, almost entirely surrounded by internet cafes, KTVs, and other entertainment venues. This was actually a blessing; since those were nighttime businesses, the band could practice without disturbing the adjacent stores.

Upon entering, the first person Jiang Shuyao saw was Wen Lin.

Over the past year, they hadn’t seen each other much. Perhaps due to the connection with Chen Jin, his look wasn’t as distant as she had imagined.

The studio itself was quite spacious, about two hundred square meters, with a separate layer partitioned off near the left wall for a recording booth. With a single about to be released, Zhong Yuan had been practically living there for the past few months.

"Please, have a seat. I’ll go call Zhong Yuan down." Wen Lin was very hospitable, arranging for her to sit in the adjacent lounge. Before leaving, he asked, "Would you like something to drink? Lemon water or soda?"

Jiang Shuyao looked pensive for a few seconds, "Do you have beer?"

Unquestionably, Zhong Yuan couldn’t live without that stuff.

Wen Lin looked slightly surprised but remained silent as he observed her for a moment.

Maybe it was the angle, but Jiang Shuyao thought she saw him smile faintly as he left the room.

Before she could fully recover from Wen Lin’s subtle expression, Zhong Yuan entered, his eyes looking as puffy as a panda’s.

She scrutinized him thoroughly; had she not been sure she was in the right place, she might not have recognized him on the street.

Zhong Yuan slouched down lazily on the couch, sinking deeply into it as he pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette, taking a couple of drags.

"What, do you think I look ugly now?" Her eyelids were drooping, her voice sounding almost sleepy.

"Not ugly." Jiang Shuyao leaned closer, "A woman working hard is the most beautiful."

Tsk.

Zhong Yuan scoffed mercilessly.

She stubbed out the cigarette before it was even finished, seemingly just to satisfy a craving.

"All these years, you might be the only one who sees me as a woman," Zhong Yuan said as she stood up, stretching her back slightly and wincing with pain.

Seeing her like that, it likely wasn’t uncommon for her to sleep in the recording booth.

For a moment, or rather right then, Jiang Shuyao could see a trace of Pei Yan in her.

Almost instinctively, Jiang Shuyao moved closer and began to skillfully massage Zhong Yuan’s back with her hands.

The moment her fingers touched her skin, clothed as it was, Zhong Yuan shivered.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Jiang Shuyao quickly lessened the pressure.

"No."

Zhong Yuan exhaled a heavy breath and asked, "Do you often massage others?"

Clearly, she was referring to Pei Yan.

After the incident at the hospital last time, Jiang Shuyao was actually quite hesitant to mention him in front of others.

But since Zhong Yuan had brought it up, she simply nodded, "Pei Yan is just like you, reckless in his efforts. When the base was first established, he’d only sleep three or four hours a day, had darker circles than yours. When his back pain became chronic, he would never listen, and I couldn’t stand it, so I ended up being his personal masseur."

The name of a loved one vocalized by an enamored girl, the uncontrollable spark in her eyes, is something some people in this world will never comprehend.

Zhong Yuan listened quietly, without giving her opinion.

Only when the lounge door was pushed open did she coldly say, "I’m not his shadow, don’t compare me to him."

Jiang Shuyao’s breath hitched.

In a daze, Wen Lin brought a few cans of beer inside, bent down to place them on the coffee table before the sofa, and glanced at Zhong Yuan before instructing him, "Why don’t you rest for the morning, and later we can call Mu and everyone to go have hotpot next door."

Hotpot, beer.

As the band’s lead singer, Zhong Yuan never seemed particularly careful about protecting his voice.

Soon, Chen Jin’s voice came from outside the door.

Every time the investor came around, it was with great fanfare, short of having a major-domo to announce ’The master arrives’ at the doorway.

Chen Jin wandered around a bit and, seeing that no one paid him any mind, headed straight for the lounge.

Pushing the door open, he saw several pairs of eyes staring straight at him, especially catching that extra crisp glance, which instantaneously energized him.

"Hello, Sister Yao, long time no see." He looked around, "Is Brother Yan here? It’s such a great day; later on, let’s all go to Jinggang for a stroll."

Speaking of Jinggang, Jiang Shuyao belatedly realized that she really hadn’t seen Pei Yan touch a motorcycle in a long time.

At first, she just thought he was too busy at the base to find any free time.

But the full half a month he had been back from the Capital, he had either holed up at home coding or was unlocking new positions, turning down many invitations from friends, making her hazyly think whether he was considering cutting off relations with people.

Seeing Jiang Shuyao silent, Chen Jin more or less guessed what was happening.

Just said the boss was unreliable; he used to love playing around and always took Sister Yao with him everywhere, but now he dives into that inscrutable coding, only focusing on his own involvement, leaving his girlfriend out in the cold.

Tsk tsk, not knowing the blessings within one’s grasp, there might be regrets from Brother Yan if Sister Yao shifts her affections one day.

Chen Jin grumbled to himself while opening WeChat in front of everyone and sent a voice message to Pei Yan.

Jiang Shuyao’s eyes widened as she stood up from the sofa: "Don’t tell him I’m here!"

Uh.

Her reaction was too big, nervous look contrasting heavily with her demeanor a moment before.

Chen Jin shivered and quickly pressed to recall the voice message.

With a puzzled look at her: "What’s wrong, had a fight with Brother Yan?"

"No." Jiang Shuyao cleared her throat subtly and glanced in Zhong Yuan’s direction: "I just came to see how things were, nothing else. I won’t join you all for dinner later."

As her words ended, Chen Jin’s phone buzzed twice.

He looked down and suddenly choked.

Must say, sometimes, it really seems like fate is messing with people.

Chen Jin weakly held up the phone, handing it to Jiang Shuyao, innocently saying, "Sister Yao, look at this..."

Today’s hotpot gathering made everyone present feel an unprecedented level of oppressiveness.

When the band usually went out for meals, it was always full of laughter and joy; even if the lead singer didn’t like to talk much, he would occasionally show a smile.

But today, ever since the man who was like an investor’s lapdog appeared, calling him ’the boss’, the atmosphere at the table had almost instantly dropped to zero.

Zhong Yuan and Pei Yan sat opposite each other, both emitting chilliness.

Jiang Shuyao and Chen Jin were caught between the two, tormented.

Fresh kelp buds were dumped into the pot, several pairs of eyes fixedly watching them, as if trying to see flowers sprout from them.

Anyone who has eaten hotpot with Jiang Shuyao knew it was her favorite dish.

When Chen Jin was choosing dishes, he subconsciously grabbed several plates, and when Zhong Yuan was selecting, he subconsciously did the same; when it was Pei Yan’s turn, only the last two plates were left, which he ruthlessly snatched away.

Thus, a whole table faced the monumental task of finishing off a full ten plates of kelp buds.