139. Song on Repeat

Seeing Guo Jingyuan’s surprised expression, Lu Xiu couldn't help but laugh again.

"We met in Nancheng. Do you remember?"

The sudden shift in conversation left Guo Jingyuan looking blank.

Lu Xiu whispered a reminder: "It was at Qingshui Bie'an. That morning, I asked you for directions."

Guo Jingyuan remained blank.

Had she met this person? At Qingshui Bie'an? Why did she have absolutely no memory of it?

Lu Xiu felt a bit discouraged. He had been so deeply impressed by the young woman before him that he could never forget her, yet she didn't remember him at all.

Perhaps sensing the disappointment behind him, Guo Jingyuan quickly snapped back to reality.

This man was her boss! She had to handle this carefully no matter what! If he were in a bad mood and fired her, wouldn't she be out of a job again?

Guo Jingyuan sidled to the side, cautiously observing the young boss's expression.

"I'm sorry, Young Master Lu, I..." Guo Jingyuan stumbled over her words before finally blurting out an excuse she had once heard from Chen Ruowen. "I’m a bit face-blind. Sometimes I have trouble distinguishing people..."

"..."

You would have been better off not explaining at all!

Lu Xiu’s expression was quite vivid.

That evening, Guo Jingyuan called Chen Ruowen, but she didn't mention anything about Lu Xiu. Her young boss was forgotten the moment she clocked out; now, her heart and mind were occupied by only one thing.

Chen Ruowen’s birthday was approaching.

Their birthdays were only ten days apart, and Guo Jingyuan remembered the date clearly. Since this year marked Chen Ruowen’s coming-of-age ceremony and was the first birthday they would spend together since becoming friends, Guo Jingyuan felt she had to make a good impression.

Guo Jingyuan still had over three thousand yuan from her internship salary in her account. Counting the August paycheck she hadn't received yet, and after setting aside five thousand yuan for tuition, she had a budget of over a thousand yuan.

"What a huge sum of money!"

After making the phone call and beating around the bush to ask if Chen Ruowen wanted anything special, Guo Jingyuan hung up, looked up at the starry sky with a sorrowful face, and rubbed her brow.

She couldn't help but feel sad.

Chen Ruowen had actually replied, "Lately, I really want to learn the true Great Prophecy Art."

Who could hear that and not feel discouraged?

Even Bai Jinyan was left speechless by the answer and could only pretend he had never asked the question.

What else could he do? Bash his head against a wall to see if he could travel to another world, find this technique, and then travel back?

That was simply too unreliable...

On August 6th, before dawn, Bai Jinyan snuck out of Rainbow Village and didn't sneak back until Chen Ruowen was in class that afternoon. No matter how harshly Chen Ruowen interrogated him afterward, he refused to confess where he had gone. Angry, Chen Ruowen stopped talking to him.

Bai Jinyan didn't offer many explanations; he simply took advantage of her silence to quietly ask Ma Yunan and the others to cover their classes for two days.

On the morning of August 7th, Bai Jinyan covered Chen Ruowen’s eyes and good-naturedly coaxed her to the back mountain.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Chen Ruowen navigated around tree branches and loose gravel under Bai Jinyan’s direction. "Bai Jinyan, you aren't trying to trick me and sell me, are you?"

Though she asked if he was selling her, there was no worry on her face—in fact, she seemed quite excited.

"Why would I sell you?" Bai Jinyan shook his head, walking a bit further before letting her go.

The moment Chen Ruowen opened her eyes, she saw a horse tied in the woods.

The black horse’s coat was soft and glossy, its tail hanging low and lazily flicking in circles, and its head was bowed obediently, munching on hay from a wooden trough.

"A horse?" Chen Ruowen’s eyes lit up, and she strode over.

Horses weren't a rarity to her—her family’s stables had over a dozen—but in this tiny, dilapidated mountain village where they couldn't even afford to keep a donkey, a horse was an incredible sight.

"Where did you get a horse?" Chen Ruowen happily stroked the horse’s back.

Getting in and out of this broken mountain village was extremely difficult. On the very first day, Chen Ruowen had thought about how great it would be to have a horse; at least climbing the mountains would be less exhausting!

"So, you went missing yesterday morning just to go fetch a horse?"

Bai Jinyan nodded, stepped forward, grabbed a handful of hay, and fed it to the horse.

"This is a three-year-old colt. It’s yours now. Give it a name."

Naming something again?

Chen Ruowen remembered the little pony named "Little Red" that Bai Jinyan had brought on their first day in Rainbow City, then looked at the colt's pitch-black, gleaming coat, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Then let’s call it Little White!"

Bai Jinyan: "(ˉ▽ˉ；)..."

Is there a single patch of white on this horse?

Chen Ruowen continued, "My 'White' (Bai) gave me this horse, so it has to be called Little White."

Bai Jinyan was speechless.

He untied the reins and led the newly christened Little White out.

"Get on. I’ll take you for a ride."

Chen Ruowen cheered and hopped onto the horse without hesitation. Bai Jinyan followed right behind, and the two rode together, kicking up clouds of yellow dust as they galloped fiercely toward the outskirts of the village.

The desert, the high mountains, the yellow earth, the rising sun.

Chen Ruowen suddenly had the urge to sing at the top of her lungs.

"Bai Jinyan," Chen Ruowen called out.

"I’m here."

"I want to hear you sing."

Bai Jinyan’s hand trembled, almost dropping the reins.

What on earth? Why did she suddenly want him to sing? What was this all about?

"Maybe not... You know I’m not very good at singing."

"I want to! I really want to hear you sing!"

Bai Jinyan had no choice. He lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and began to sing an old song in a low voice.

"My sword, where should it go, love and hate, the heart cannot choose alone,

My blade, piercing the sky, right and wrong, I do not understand,

I am drunk, in a haze, grace and resentment, is it illusion or void,

I wake, a spring dream, life and death, everything becomes empty..."

Unlike the "Happy Birthday" song at the class party where he had only been goaded into starting the first line, Bai Jinyan fulfilled Chen Ruowen’s request seriously and completely.

Chen Ruowen had heard the song before but didn't know it well. She hummed along to Bai Jinyan’s singing, joining in for a duet during the chorus, looking incredibly happy.

After finally finishing the song, Chen Ruowen happily proposed a new request.

"More! I want more!"

Bai Jinyan didn't know many songs; he had to rack his brain to dig another old one from his repertoire.

"...Let us accompany each other through the red dust, living carefree and dashing, galloping on horseback to share the prosperity of the world..."

"I know this one!" Chen Ruowen cheered and sang along with Bai Jinyan. Once finished, she raised the bar even higher. "Change to an English one!"

"..."

Bai Jinyan looked deeply at Chen Ruowen and spoke softly.

"...I’m right here for you there’s nothing more to say,

I'm just happy you are mine you've stayed.

I love you,

The way that you turn me round,

And chase away my blues.

I love you,

The way that you change my world,

When I’m with you..."

This time, Chen Ruowen didn't sing along. Instead, she leaned quietly in Bai Jinyan’s arms, smiling as she listened to him finish.

"I want to hear it again," Chen Ruowen said, blushing slightly.

"Again?"

Chen Ruowen nodded frantically: "The one from just now, sing it again."

Bai Jinyan sang it again.

"I want to hear it one more time!"

Bai Jinyan patiently sang it a third time.

"More! Put this song on repeat!"

Bai Jinyan said, his throat feeling a little dry: "I have this song on my phone. If you like it, should I play it for you?"

"No! I want to hear you sing it!"

Chen Ruowen huffed. Was it that she liked the song? No, she liked hearing Bai Jinyan say "I love you!"

Even if it was just the lyrics...

But... at least it was Bai Jinyan saying it to her!

Bai Jinyan didn't understand the true meaning behind her request, but he still followed her wishes, singing softly over and over again, his gentle voice drifting alongside them throughout the rolling valley.

Over and over again.