Chapter 22: Solitude

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“Chu Nan, come on, let’s go home for dinner!”

About ten minutes after Zhou Xiaonan left on her motorcycle, Huang Qi arrived at the Hatsune Music Store with Huang Jingjing.

At that moment, Huang Jingjing was still sitting in the car. Hearing this, Chu Nan suddenly felt a bit nervous. “Um... the motorcycle is too small; I can’t really fit on it. I’ll just take a taxi.”

Huang Qi looked exasperated. “Hurry up and get on. I often give my mom and sister rides—what’s the big deal?”

“Your sister...”

Huang Qi was confused. “Why are you cursing me?”

“No, I’m not cursing you.”

Huang Qi smiled meaningfully and even winked at Chu Nan. “Then what are you afraid of? Afraid my sister will eat you up?”

Chu Nan thought to himself, “Actually, I’m more afraid that I’ll eat your sister up.”

For some reason, these past few days, whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he couldn’t help but have a physiological reaction. Sitting behind Huang Jingjing, who knew if something like that might happen? If it did, how embarrassing would that be?

But he knew he had desire without the courage—basically a shy, brooding type. Still, that didn’t stop his body from responding.

Huang Jingjing blushed and said, “Um... Chu Nan, how about I sit behind you instead?”

“That’s fine.”

If that were the case, he was sure he wouldn’t have any reaction. Chu Nan breathed a sigh of relief—it was good to have such an understanding girl.

“Then can you carry my guitar for me?”

Huang Jingjing responded with a soft “Hmm.” “You can play guitar?”

“A little,” Chu Nan replied. “Huang, isn’t this overloading your motorcycle? It’s not very big.”

“Obviously. Have you seen any motorcycles on the street that don’t carry two or three, sometimes even four people? We’re actually on the lighter side.”

Only then did Chu Nan realize that nowadays, motorcycle passenger limits were far less strict than in later eras.

After speaking, Huang Qi suddenly sped up. The two behind him were jolted sharply. In an instant, Chu Nan felt something soft press against his back, and a small hand instinctively grabbed his arm. Though it quickly let go, the sensation was incredibly strange, something he had rarely experienced even in his previous life.

Chu Nan’s face flushed red.

Huang Jingjing blushed as well. “Brother, slow down a bit.”

“I’m already going slow,” Huang Qi said, shaking his head. “By the way, Chu Nan, how much did you say that guitar cost? It can’t really be tens of thousands, right?”

Chu Nan answered truthfully, “28,000.”

Huang Jingjing instinctively squeezed the guitar in her hand, suddenly paying much more attention to it.

That’s 28,000! What if she accidentally dropped and broke it?

At this moment, Huang Jingjing realized that although she seemed physically close to Chu Nan, in reality, there was a vast distance between them.

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This is what it means to be a child from a wealthy family—casually pulling out millions to buy a house, spending tens of thousands just for a guitar...

Thinking this, Huang Jingjing suddenly felt very insecure. She placed her left hand on the seat and carefully moved away from Chu Nan’s back.

In an instant, Chu Nan felt the emptiness behind him and couldn’t help but feel a bit lost.

“Does she dislike me? That must be it. Even in this situation on the motorcycle, she’s on guard against me, afraid I’ll take advantage...”

Alongside the disappointment was a sense of inferiority.

Chu Nan smiled bitterly to himself. “So this inferiority has existed from my past life until now, never disappearing...”

While Chu Nan was lost in thought, Huang Qi spoke again, “Damn, that expensive? Little sister, you better watch out. If you break it, you won’t even be able to afford to sell yourself.”

“Brother, I’m being careful.”

Hearing this, Chu Nan quickly said, “Huang, don’t say that. No matter the cost, a guitar can’t compare to your sister.”

Huang Qi suddenly laughed. “Chu Nan, so you like my sister?”

Huang Jingjing was both shy and flustered. “Brother, what nonsense are you talking about? If you keep this up, I’m getting off!”

Her brother was so unreliable—what was he saying? Didn’t he realize how embarrassing this was for her?

“I’m asking him, not you. Why are you so worked up?”

“You!”

Hearing Huang Jingjing’s flustered words, Chu Nan’s earlier guess was further confirmed, so he smiled and said, “Huang, I see Huang Jingjing as a little sister.”

Huang Qi sighed. “Looks like it’s fate without fortune.”

Huang Jingjing lowered her head slightly, looking dazed. “Right... he’s handsome, talented, and comes from a rich family. How could he ever like a Cinderella like me?”

Perhaps because of this topic, the three of them hardly spoke on the way back. After dinner, Huang Qi planned to take Aunt Yang to the hospital to see their father.

“How about I go see Uncle Huang too?” Chu Nan offered, feeling a bit awkward being alone with Huang Jingjing.

“I... I’ll go too,” Huang Jingjing raised her hand.

“No need. You two should stay home,” Aunt Yang said. “Don’t you have class tomorrow? Get some rest.”

“Exactly, Chu Nan, leave the house matters to me.”

“All right.”

Only after the two had disappeared did Chu Nan glance at Huang Jingjing.

“I... I’m going to take a shower,” Huang Jingjing hurried away.

“Does she really dislike me that much?” Chu Nan sighed. He suspected Huang Jingjing had noticed he had feelings for her earlier and was deliberately avoiding him. Otherwise, how else to explain her behavior?

He had wanted to discuss math problems with her, but that now seemed impossible.

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Sighing, Chu Nan returned to his room and decided to study the problems on his own.

After half an hour, there was a knock on his door.

“Chu... Chu Nan, it’s me. I warmed up some water for you. Do you want to take a shower?”

“Oh, okay, thanks!” Chu Nan felt a bit grateful. She really was a kind-hearted girl—even if she didn’t like him, she still helped by heating water.

Chu Nan had just finished washing up when, half an hour later, there was another knock on the door.

“Is something the matter?”

“I... I just wanted to ask if you want to discuss math problems together?”

“Sure!”

Chu Nan stood to open the door. The girl wore a white nightgown, modest but subtly fragrant. While her figure didn’t quite match Zhou Xiaonan’s, her ample curves and well-proportioned legs caught his eye for a moment longer than he intended.

“Then... let’s get started.”

Seeing Chu Nan staring, Huang Jingjing felt her cheeks warm. Inside, she experienced a strange yet pleasant feeling—not repelled, but rather a hint of joy.

“Oh, okay.”

Soon, they sat together at a table, beginning their discussion on math topics.

Huang Jingjing found that Chu Nan had a solid foundation in math. He could quickly solve simple and medium-level problems. As for the difficult ones, once she taught him how to solve one, he could handle similar problems thereafter.

This meant Chu Nan’s math wasn’t bad. However, the liberal arts and science classes differed. In science math, he might score around 110 to 120 points, while in liberal arts math, that would roughly translate to 120 to 130 points. Clearly, he still had room to improve.

To repay his kindness, Huang Jingjing planned to work extra hard to boost his math scores during this period. This was also why she had mustered the courage to come to his room.

By 11:30 p.m., both were feeling sleepy.

Chu Nan said, “How about we rest? We have class tomorrow.”

“Actually... when I’m alone, I study until after 1 a.m.,” Huang Jingjing said. “But if you’re tired, you can sleep first. I’ll keep reviewing.”

Chu Nan suddenly remembered his identity—a senior high school student with less than a month until the college entrance exam. Previously, his grades had been mediocre, so he had given up and never thought about trying hard before the exam.

He recalled that in his past life, as the exam approached, many dormmates would read under their blankets with flashlights until one or two in the morning. Everyone seemed to have an unspoken agreement—their beds glowing with little points of light.

Only he was different—always on his phone, playing more and more as the exam neared. By then, he had already chosen to give up on himself...

“Alright then, let’s keep going!”

Chu Nan thought, if others could persist, why couldn’t he?

Huang Jingjing’s science scores placed her in the top five of the grade, and she still worked so hard. With his extraordinary memory, why should he give up?

If he didn’t try, he’d never know his true potential...