Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 44

“It’s rare to have such a loyal fan who is mobility-impaired yet stays faithful! And he’s a friend of Xiao Xiao, so we should take care of him a little.” She glanced at Tao Yi’an and handed the umbrella to him. He looked back at his senior, nodding silently in thanks.

The crowd finally dispersed, and Yi Ting also came to my side. The rain got heavier. Senior Jack suggested we get in the car first; of course, the only person allowed in the car was me. “Xiao xiao, tell your friend briefly, and…” His eyes swept towards Tao Yi’an. The senior female student (Saya) was still standing next to him, talking to him.

I was a bit confused. Senior Saya seemed particularly concerned about him. Through the sound of the rain, I only vaguely heard him say the words “I can,” before he left the concert venue alone, holding the umbrella.

He didn’t even make eye contact with me. I could understand his mood, but we had been talking and laughing before, and now we didn’t even have a chance to meet eyes… I couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

Yi Ting cheerfully announced she was rushing to catch her ride and quickly ran toward Tao Yi’an. At least the two of them would have company.

“Xiao Xiao! Long time no… Wow, is that a ukulele!” The senior (Saya) moved closer to me when I wasn’t paying attention. “Are you learning?”

I nodded, “I’ve learned a little bit.”

After getting in the car, Senior Saya insisted on sitting with me, banishing Senior Jack, “Loser,” and the junior student to the back row. Senior Monk was too big for the back, so he sat in the front passenger seat. We drove away from the campus like this. They decided to go to an all-you-can-eat restaurant near the school, and naturally, I was happy to go along with my hosts’ plans.

“It’s more fun to eat here, just grab whatever you want… Loser! Why are you trying to squeeze in here?” The senior glared at Loser, who was planning to sit next to me.

“It’s fine with me…” They’re all good friends. But the senior shook her head, hands on her hips.

“We are going to have a ladies’ meeting, okay? Why are you trying to join in on the fun?”

“Uh! But Xiao Xiao asked me about the ukulele before…”

“You play the guitar! Since when did you become a ukulele expert? Go, go, go! Go keep the junior student company!” Loser looked dejected but couldn’t withstand the senior’s intimidating manner! “Don’t randomly wander over here!” she added at the end. That action would naturally make people think of a “shrew shouting”… No! The senior is not a shrew, I didn’t say anything!

She smiled at me, “This guy has ulterior motives!”

“Does he? Loser and I have known each other for three years. I’ve known him almost since I started pursuing you guys. And because of him and… that person, the three of us were first-year students, so we were especially close at first.”

She pouted, “Yes, I have news about ‘that person’ to tell you! But first, let’s talk about Loser…” The senior suddenly lowered her voice, “Silly Xiao Xiao! Can’t you tell? Loser has a thing for you!”

I was stunned. The senior pursed her lips and smiled. “Didn’t realize it?”

“No… No wonder I thought he was chatting with me privately from time to time after I asked him about playing techniques.” Don’t blame me for being too slow, but Loser is usually very casual and seems generally indifferent to everything, so it was hard to connect the dots.

“This guy, he knows how to use an opportunity!” She looked back, probably meeting Loser’s eyes, and made a gesture of elbowing, which actually caused fear in him across the table! I burst out laughing! “Peeking! He’s really asking for it…”

“Don’t be so fierce to him.” I couldn’t help but plead for him.

“How can I not be fierce? He’s Loser!” The first sentence still had a hint of a joking tone, but in the next, Senior Saya suddenly said with a slightly serious tone, “To put it harshly, you deserve much better than him, that’s a shame.”

I flinched. They still didn’t know about me and Siqibeing together. “Hey! Seriously, did something good happen to you over the New Year?” She blinked, smiling playfully.

“Why are you asking that, Senior?” I tilted my head, pretending to be clueless, and took a sip of the seafood chowder.

“Your entire complexion has improved, and the confidence and smile on your face are a world away from the end of last semester, okay? It’s only the first day of the new semester! I naturally assumed right away that something incredible happened to you this winter break!”

I didn’t expect the senior to be so good at reading people! I pouted and continued to play dumb. “Hmm! Maybe it’s just that I ate well and slept well at home during the New Year, with my parents taking care of me. I’m generally ‘in high spirits.'”

“Xiao Xiao, you can’t keep pretending anymore, okay?” She chewed on a fried item. Her unrestrained way of eating impressed me greatly.

“I know some things, you know. About your business.”

“Which aspect?”

“The relationship aspect!” She tapped her fork. “Because for seven full days last week, the young master surnamed Tao came to Plato every day.”

Tao Yi’an?

“He came to watch our performances every day and stayed until we were almost closing. It’s also because of this that I had more opportunities to interact with him.”

So the senior and he getting closer suddenly wasn’t an accident?

“His personality is a bit melancholic… that’s his aura! You know this, but it’s been even more exaggerated this past week. He wouldn’t tell me when I first asked him!” The senior spat out a mild curse and took a big gulp of iced tea. “Later I found out, he was heartbroken.”

When the senior’s bright eyes stared straight at me, I had the illusion of being seen right through.

“You rejected his pursuit, didn’t you?”

I gave a wry smile. My plate happened to be empty, so I excused myself to get more food, and the senior didn’t follow, just waiting there for me to “walk into the trap.”

Returning to my seat, I sighed softly. “Senior, do you know already?”

“I only know that young master Tao is heartbroken. He didn’t mention anything private about you.”

I poked at the bean sprouts, knowing the senior was tight-lipped. Finally, I confessed. “You’re right, I’m dating someone else.”

“Who?” She immediately pressed, not giving me any chance to breathe.

I moistened my lips. “My neighbor.”

Senior Saya’s eyes bulged. “You mean, your neighbor? Is it that tall, thin, and classy, handsome girl?”

“She’s twenty-eight, so she’s a handsome older sister,” I corrected with a smile.

“Okay, handsome older sister! You and… she’s a woman!”

“She is indeed a woman.” We haven’t… uh! “done it” yet. But we have seen each other naked, I’m very certain.

The senior looked like she had something she wanted to say but held back. “Are you… a lesbian?”

“I don’t think I am.” I poked the beef short ribs. To be honest, the senior’s look made me feel a little uncomfortable for a moment. “I fell in love with Tao Siqithe person, and she just happens to be a woman. If it were other lesbian girls pursuing me, I don’t think I would accept.”

The senior listened intently and nodded very slowly. “Oh… No wonder young master Tao took the blow so hard. You just broke up with the guy surnamed Lu, and in the blink of an eye, you were snatched away by a handsome older sister!”

I pursed my lips and whispered, “Actually, there’s an even more critical reason.”

“What reason?”

“They are siblings.” The senior’s eyes bulged again! It was incredible to see that expression twice in such a short time! “It’s true, Siqi and Tao Yi’an are brother and sister.”

She nodded vigorously, “I believe it, I believe it! That handsome older sister is very good-looking, and the young master’s appearance is also top-notch… No wonder I thought they looked a bit alike! And they both have the surname Tao!”

I smiled. The senior clearly hadn’t recovered from the shock. “Oh my god… Young master Tao is really pitiful. The girl he was pursuing was actually taken by his own sister.” She shook her head, a bittersweet smile appearing on her lips with a hint of regret. “What a pity! I originally thought he might be able to win your heart.”

“He’s a good person, but perhaps we only have a friendship connection?” What I hadn’t said was that after the relationship with Lu Hanjun, I had become a little afraid of being with a man again. Perhaps it was out of attachment to Si Qi, or perhaps it was the different kind of meaning she brought to me beyond a mere lover, helping me find my own passion for life. In any case, unless there was some special accident, I didn’t want to easily leave this person.

The senior’s plate was empty, but she didn’t go for another serving. The gentlemen next door were chatting happily, even Loser. I quietly ate my food. Finally, I just heard her say, “Well, it’s fine! Finding someone who genuinely cherishes you is far more important than gender.” The senior’s eyes changed, becoming as sincere and gentle as before.

I nodded in agreement, but then heard the senior say, “Oh! I almost forgot, I need to tell you about the guy surnamed Lu.” She wrinkled her nose, her words full of disdain. What trouble had he caused now?

“That guy! He really can’t change his ways… Anyway, he showed up again!”

I wasn’t happy about it. “Oh, then what did his girlfriend say?” I forgot to ask if his “girlfriend” was still the same person.

The senior smiled gleefully, “What could Ivy say? That little girl who can’t hold her temper… She broke up with him right then and there!”

“At Plato?”

“Yep! Where else would it be? You didn’t see that scene, it was super explosive…” The senior felt her pocket, probably looking for a cigarette case. “Can’t smoke here!” She looked a bit defeated and, at my urging, went to get another plate of pasta.

“And, do you know how the incident was exposed?”

I shook my head. The senior covered her mouth and chuckled, “It was caught by a paparazzi; you know… oh, no, you probably don’t know, but that guy Lu Hanjun is about to release an album, and it’s under his own name.”

“Release an album? A record?” I didn’t expect him to have a day like this.

“Sounds glorious, right? But then he ran into this scandal! It caused many promotional activities to be canceled last minute! This time, he really fell hard, and he brought it on himself!”

Compared to the senior’s look of utter satisfaction when she said this, I just smiled faintly. “What’s wrong? Not happy?”

“No, I’m just… a little concerned about what Ivy said?”

Senior Saya snorted coldly, “That arrogant and condescending little girl is completely spoiled! She thought she could control everything because she had the boss backing her. Apart from Lu Hanjun, the other members of ‘Benilla’ had been silently angry for a long time. This time, they finally got a chance to enjoy the show… She deserved a lesson, too, didn’t she? Why did she fall for that kind of man?”

“Is that so?” Recalling Ivy’s arrogant expression, somehow, I felt a slight sympathy for her. “She must also be sad, right? I can understand the feeling of being cheated on.”

“Hey! Are you worrying about Ivy?”

“It’s not exactly worry, but… we are both women, so it’s inevitable that I think about it from the same standpoint, right?”

She paused, then smiled faintly. “I thought you would be like everyone else, waiting to mock both of them, which would make the rest of us seem like we were rejoicing at their misfortune! Alas! I really admire you. After all the callous things he did to you…”

“I’m not saying this out of kindness or face; it’s over. I just purely feel that Ivy must not be having an easy time either.”

“Xiao Xiao.” This time, she genuinely showed an admiring look. “You’ve really grown a lot! Not only has your self-confidence grown, but this kind of tolerance is really… Unbelievable! I can’t do it!”

I gave a wry smile. “Actually, it’s just because it has nothing to do with me anymore! It’s not really tolerance… I’m going to get another bowl of soup.”