Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 50

“Xiaoning!”

Who is calling me?

My senior tapped me and pointed ahead.

Miraculously, the spotlight above my head moved away, allowing me to see the faces closer to me; the light extended towards the audience, finally settling on the spot where the call had originated—

That tall, stunning figure, I would never mistake her.

Siqi !

Why is she here? It’s clearly not the time we agreed upon yet…

But she is truly here. She came.

Because of the spotlight, almost every fan in the venue had their eyes fixed on her. She was smiling, perhaps completely unaware that she had become the center of attention, or perhaps she knew but didn’t care?

Then, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to me— “Sing it for me!”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Wiping away my tears, my gaze locked onto the direction she stood, I took a deep breath, and decided not to use a pick, but to pluck the first note directly with my finger—

“Hiroi uchū no kazu aru hitotsu aoi chikyū no hiroi sekai de (The one existence in the vast universe, in this wide world on the blue earth)”

“Chiisana koi no omoi wa todoku chīsana shima no anata no moto e (Conveying the feelings of a small love song, reaching the small island where you are)”

The lyrics suddenly became clear again; my breathing was labored, and my heart was still pounding fast, but as the rest of Man Mian Yucompletely followed my rhythm, the entire song started smoothly, and the feeling from the rehearsal room instantly returned.

My voice echoed through the space of Plato; a sound that Man Mian Yuhad never produced before.

“Anata to deai toki wa nagareru omoi o kometa tegami mo fueru (Time flies after meeting you, and the letters filled with longing increase)”

“Itsushika futari tagai ni hibiku toki ni hageshiku toki ni setsunaku (Before long, the two of us resonate with each other. Sometimes intense, sometimes sorrowful)”

“Hibiku wa tōku haruka kanata e yasashī uta wa sekai o kaeru (This gentle melody echoes far away, a warm song changes the whole world)”

I looked at her, kept looking at her, even without the spotlight, just her presence made me feel completely secure.

My body seemed to relax, and my thoughts became clear. My voice, transmitted through the microphone, was clearly delivered to everyone present.

“Hora anata ni totte daiji na hito hodo sugu soba ni iru no (Look! The person who means the most to you is right by your side)”

“Tada anata ni dake todoite hoshī hibike koi no uta (It’s just that, what I want to send to you now, is this echoing love song)”

“Hora hora hora hibike koi no uta (Listen, listen, listen! This echoing love song)”

Singing for her, just for her alone… I poured this feeling into my music and conveyed it to her.

“Anata wa kizuku futari wa aruku kurai michi demo hibi terasu tsuki (You suddenly realize, if two people walk side by side, even a dark street is bathed in moonlight)”

“Nigirishimeta te hanasu koto naku omoi wa tsuyoku eien chikau (The clasped hands will never separate, the feeling is a strong, eternal vow)”

“Eien no fuchi kitto boku wa iu omoikawarazu onaji kotoba o (In the abyss of eternity, I will surely say the same unchanging words of devotion)”

Even with so many people listening, watching.

Even though I am standing on stage now.

Even with the companionship of Man Mian Yubeside me.

“Sore demo tarizu namida ni kawari yorokobi ni nari (Even so, it’s not enough, it must turn your tears into joy)”

“Kotoba ni dekizu tada dakishimeru tada dakishimeru (If words are not enough, then just hold them tightly, just hold them like this)”

I closed my eyes.

“Hora anata ni totte daiji na hito hodo sugu soba ni iru no… (Look! The person who means the most to you is right by your side…)

“Tada anata ni dake todoite hoshī hibike koi no uta (It’s just that, what I want to send to you now, is this echoing love song)”

I poured all my love for Siqicompletely into this song.

She is listening.

She is focused on listening— “Hora hora hora hibike koi no uta (Listen, listen, listen! This echoing love song)”

In Plato, this song, which I sang only for her, resonated.

Our own, Chiisana Koi no Uta (A Small Love Song).

The song ended, followed by complete silence.

When I opened my eyes, my senior was already next to me, offering me a tissue.

It turned out I was crying; I had sung the entire song while shedding tears.

“You sang so well! Xiao Xiao, you sang so well!” She hugged me rapturously, completely forgetting we were on stage.

Just as the lingering sound was broken by her words, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

Demands for an “Encore” rose and fell. I was stunned, staring at this sudden development; the previously silent crowd was now raising their hands high and shouting. I… they liked my song? Tears welled up in my eyes, and for a moment I couldn’t find the spot where Siqi had been standing.

Did you hear it? This is the cheers for me. I completed a performance, in front of so many people!

My senior grabbed the microphone and thanked the fans on my behalf, “Time’s up! What a pity! Xiao Xiao was a special guest. Next time you come, you’ll only hear my version!”

We left the stage amidst the audience’s cheers of “Man mian yu.” Just as when we went up, my senior led me off the stage.

“You were amazing!”

“Xiao Xiao, you really have talent! Why don’t you consider becoming an official member of our band?” The others clamored around me, but I paid them no mind.

The members of our two bands met head-on in the small room.

Lu Hanjunwas, of course, there. Probably having witnessed my performance, his expression was one of shock and disbelief.

Truthfully, even I couldn’t believe I managed to do it.

“You…”

His expression was so comical that I couldn’t help but smile. My eyes swept past the woman in the performance outfit standing beside him—that was Ivy. I had never seen her look so hateful and defeated. What a shame for her beautiful face.

I tilted my head back, unable to hide the upward curve of my lips.

“Surprised?”

“When did you learn the ukulele?”

“I’ve always known how. You didn’t know?” I didn’t want to reveal that secret. “Thanks to you, picking it up again after we broke up, I realized how much I love music… Maybe the thing I was obsessed with was never you.” I smiled at him, intentionally pausing as I walked past him.

“I will keep singing, even if it’s not on a stage…” I hugged the ukulele tightly, and said firmly to the person beside me, “No one can stop me from continuing to sing!”

Under his shocked and astonished gaze, I left him behind and was the first to walk out the preparation room door.

I admit, seeing his expression did stir up a feeling of triumphant pleasure deep inside, but that feeling quickly vanished after I left the room.

“Well said,” my senior, who was the first to catch up, told me; the others also silently supported me.

Shaking my head, I no longer longed for the taste of victory or the applause.

I just wanted to see her quickly.

By the time I left through the back door, Siqi was just about to leave Plato.

When we met in the parking lot, despite the presence of so many people, we hugged tightly; I buried my face in her embrace, freely inhaling her scent.

“I’m so proud of you.”

This compliment was worth a thousand words.

My senior and Jack took this rare opportunity to speak with Siqi , and I learned that they would only be performing at Plato until the end of this month; only a few days left. When they move to a new pub, I will find another chance to visit.

In any case, with Tao Yi’an around, I won’t be absent!

Speaking of Táo Yi’an … when I came off the stage earlier, he was no longer in the preparation room. I could understand that he didn’t want to be in the same room as Lu Hàanjun, but…

“How did the spotlight land on you?” After getting into the car with Siqia nd calming my turbulent emotions, I thought of this questionable point.

Why did the person controlling the lights know she had entered, and that she was my girlfriend?

And why did the spotlight, originally aimed at the lead singer’s position, move over to her?

Tao Yi’an had clearly never been to the backstage of Plato before; where did he go after I went on stage?

“We don’t need to look into it, do we! Let’s just consider it a beautiful coincidence?” She raised an eyebrow at me. Although I didn’t believe it was any “coincidence,” I agreed with her that we “didn’t need to look into it”!

We chatted casually the whole way, the topic not returning to everything on stage, until she parked the car. As we walked back to our apartment together, I suddenly remembered— “You arrived pretty early today, huh!”

She had her hands in her pockets, and I linked my arm with hers, my right arm holding the ukulele. As I looked up at her clear profile, my heart suddenly warmed.

Only this person could easily make my heart flutter.

“Ah, ah! That’s right.”

“Why? I specifically arranged to meet you at nine-thirty.”

“I’m used to arriving earlier than the agreed time; and I thought since you recommended their songs so much, why not just go in and find a seat to listen?”

“Then when did you actually arrive?” Her seat was very close to the front! You probably couldn’t get that spot without arriving before 7:30.

If that’s the case… she listened for almost the whole night!

She narrowed her eyes, her smile mixed with a hint of mystery. “Is that important?”

“Just tell me!”

“I only arrived at nine!”

“Liar!” Arriving at nine would only let you squeeze into the aisle by the main entrance, you couldn’t possibly be so close to the stage! “I only found out today that Tao Yi’an originally planned for me to go on stage… Hmph! Is that why you agreed so readily? Could it be that you already knew…”

She suddenly bent down and perfectly locked onto my lips!

“Oh… there are people around!” I playfully slapped her arm, she was so reckless!

“Some things are no fun when you spell them out! You, why do you have to get to the bottom of everything?” She puffed out her cheeks, her expression somehow very amusing.

The corner of my lips turned up, and I intentionally looked away. “Hmph! If you won’t tell me, then I won’t ask. Anyway, you gained both face and substance. I sang a love song for you in front of one or two hundred people!”

“Thank you! That was the best one I’ve ever heard.”

This woman… she’s such a sweet talker! I nudged her in the ribs with my elbow, and returned to our little love nest with a feeling of exuberant joy.

Later, Saya  told me that Banilla’s performance that night was a bit “sloppy.” Lu Hanjun and Ivy’s synergy on stage was completely disingenuous; compared to the thunderous applause we received in the set before, their subsequent slot during the peak hours actually drew boos.

I don’t know if my words affected his mood, but in any case, that slap was loud and clear.

And he has since stopped actively appearing in front of me.

As for Siqi , for the on-site book signing this Sunday, she finally announced the news on her fan page and used “a chance to witness Chu’s true face” as a selling point. That post quickly garnered nearly two thousand likes!

“You’re definitely going to charm a lot of book fans!”

“Really? Then to prevent that from happening, should I get a mask made? Like the one Lanling King wore?”

“If you show up and cover your face, watch out for fans getting angry and burning their books in protest.”

She laughed heartily, “No way! Of course I won’t cover my face; but Mr. Lin also said that my exposure now might even positively impact book sales.”

That’s not hard to understand. “Because the publisher can finally market the ‘beautiful travel writer’ label?”

“Actually, I’d rather not have that.” She pouted, and I saw a hint of subtle aversion in her slightly furrowed brows.

“I know, otherwise you would have openly shown your face in the book, right!” I circled her from behind, “This is business. Just bear with it!”

“When did you become the one giving me advice?” She chuckled, turning her face to ask for a kiss.

“Just think of me as an objective bystander!”

She pouted and gently pinched my nose. “A good ‘bystander’ indeed!”

From the beginning of the semester until the eve of the book fair opening, I moved my personal belongings bag by bag from my room, determined to turn this place into our small space; she even cleared out some of her notes for this, just the day before the signing event was about to take place.

“What are these notes?” There were hardcover, as well as softcover striped notebooks, all sorts of notebooks.

“Some are my notes from club classes before, and some are my travel journals from the past two years; except for a few photo albums I couldn’t bear to throw away, the rest can be cleared out.”

“Hey! Travel journals?” I immediately squatted down and casually flipped through one. “Aren’t those very precious? You wrote them by hand!”

“That’s true! But I’ve categorized them all into electronic files.” She also came closer. “What’s wrong? Are you reluctant to part with them for me?”

“Handwritten stuff is rare in this digital age.” I tried to read one page. “Siqi … that…” I covered my mouth with the book page, and she took a sip of beer and said, “Mm.” “Your handwriting.”

“What about it?”

“It’s so messy…” I could barely read it!

“That’s why I need to categorize them into electronic files. Sometimes I even use drawings to record things.”

“Speaking of which, I still haven’t seen your actual signature?”

“You’ll see it tomorrow!” She winked, seeming determined to keep the mystery alive; hmph! No special privileges for the girlfriend? “You can bring the sample book tomorrow and line up for me to sign it?”

“I sleep with Chu every day now! Why should I have to line up like a regular fan!” I protested! “Hey! As your girlfriend, shouldn’t I have some special privileges?”

She blinked and lightly laughed, “Isn’t kissing and hugging me every day special enough?”

My face suddenly flushed. “Aren’t you doing the same to me… kissing and hugging?”

“Then I guess we’re even? Alright! I actually prepared for you. You can go directly to Mr. Lin tomorrow. That way, you can enter the backstage of the publisher’s booth and even watch me sign every book beside me! Is that special privilege enough?”

“You should have said so earlier! You love to tease me so much…” I put down the notebook, leaped into her arms, and said sweetly with a twinkle in my eyes— “I love you.”

She gave a knowing smile and rubbed my hair. “You only love me when I do this?”

“Okay!” I corrected myself. “I love you even more!”