Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 51

The International Book Exhibition is considered the main event after the Lunar New Year every year. When I first came up north for university in my first and second years, I “teamed up” with classmates to visit it the first two years. I actually bought quite a few books the first year, but I became a little apathetic by the second. I was determined to skip it this time, but I unexpectedly got to know Siqi, so I came after all.

However, I didn’t set any goals this time; I came purely for my girlfriend.

Instead of bringing my ukulele, I brought my camera. I went with Yiting and a few other classmates to buy tickets to enter—even though Siqi said she could ask Brother Lin to give me a complimentary pass or a staff pass or something, I decided to buy a ticket anyway, especially since I didn’t plan on buying anything.

The book signing was scheduled for 1:00 PM. Besides Yiting, one or two of the four or five classmates who came also knew Chu. I even heard one of them say, “He’s never posted his own photos on his fan page, so I don’t know if they’re a boy or a girl.” That sounded pretty awesome!

Yiting and I exchanged a knowing smile. “I’m going to the second hall with them first. What about you?”

“I… I’ll sneak into the publishing house while you guys are at the second hall. She’ll be over before twelve.” I could even tell you that she’ll be showing up today wearing a long military-green overcoat and her signature tight bell-bottom pants—a look that’s completely and utterly captivating!

“Ugh! That’s so great…” Yiting couldn’t hide her envy. “We’re going to line up to buy other stuff first. See you later!”

I waved goodbye to them and headed to the publisher’s booth with anticipation. I wandered around and didn’t see Brother Lin, but I wasn’t anxious. I used the D90 camera Siqi gave me to play with to take photos around the area.

It wasn’t until around 11:30 AM that I saw Brother Lin. When he saw me, he was beaming. “Came to visit, did you? Come here! Let me give you a disguise!” He handed me a staff ID and a vest to pass myself off as a staff member.

The staff ID even had my photo and a number! It looked completely genuine! “How is she going to get in later?”

“I’ll go get her. Have you eaten?” If he meant lunch, of course not yet! “Go rest by the side for a bit. I prepared lunchboxes. Let me know if you want one.”

“I’m fine with anything.”

By the time she appeared at the publisher’s booth at exactly 12:00 PM, wearing sunglasses and a hat, I had already eaten my fill.

I took several profile shots while she talked to Brother Lin. When she finally turned to me, I gave her a close-up, half-body snapshot!

She pursed her lips and showed an annoyed yet amused expression as she took off her glasses. “You’ll just take candid shots now that you have a camera! It looks like you have more potential as a gossip reporter than I do.”

“With the equipment in hand, it’d be a waste not to use it!” I leaned in, barely restraining the impulse to hug her. “You are truly charming today; beautiful and handsome, absolutely stunning.” Even though I saw her try it on last night, the complete outfit today, along with the short boots, was enough to electrify anyone.

Don’t let her neutral style fool you; for important occasions, she still habitually puts on at least eyeliner. So, even though her appearance is a bit masculine, she never comes across as a “tomboy.”

Furthermore, besides eyeliner and foundation, she actually put on lip gloss today! She really used all her weapons!

She smiled slightly, bent down, and whispered, “My Xiaoning is also very beautiful today.”

My heart skipped a beat because of that sentence. I stepped forward to take her hand— “Ahem!” Unfortunately, Brother Lin was lurking nearby and quickly pulled us to rest inside the booth so we wouldn’t block the aisle and dazzle everyone.

After noon, the book exhibition crowd noticeably increased. By the time Brother Lin and his team had arranged the signing venue, and some book fans had already begun queuing up for spots at the signing table, it was already approaching 45 minutes before the event started.

“Are you going to speak later?” She took off her hat. The chic look of her short hair drew glances from many book fans. I even felt that some sharp-eyed people were already starting to guess her identity.

“Probably not?” She bit the arm of her glasses and put them back on. “I’m just signing for everyone as requested. Brother Lin will host for me later.”

As soon as the time came, the line had already exceeded the designated area. I estimated the long queue and figured at least two to three hundred fans had come to catch a glimpse of Chu.

And when she officially appeared in front of the crowd, introduced by Brother Lin holding a microphone, almost everyone was frantically snapping photos with their phones. When she removed her sunglasses again, I even heard screams like those of a fangirl!

“Chu is actually a girl!” “A great beauty!” “The new-generation handsome beauty travel writer!” These voices and titles were instantly bestowed upon her. She waved back gracefully, and Brother Lin handed her the microphone. She spoke after all!

“Thank you all for coming! As someone who started online and went through a difficult process to finally publish my first book, I feel extremely honored and happy.”

Even her voice was lovely. She is an out-and-out star who belongs in the spotlight… If her personality were a little more high-profile, she might genuinely become that kind of person.

However, old fans who know Chu understand that she only wants to bring a sequence of beautiful scenery to her followers through her lens and write one touching story after another in her words, rather than relying on her naturally gifted beauty to steal the crowd’s attention.

This is the Chu we love.

Brother Lin took the opportunity to ask her a few questions, including where she planned to travel. She still answered quite a few planned details to satisfy everyone’s curiosity, simultaneously making the fans eager and desperate to see the next book released immediately.

After a short interview of about five minutes, the signing session finally began. The first fan was a boy with a dull exterior. When he handed over his book and was met with Chu’s close-up smile, my god… his face instantly turned red! I couldn’t help but press the shutter.

I peeked over her shoulder and noticed she signs both the Chinese jiū and the English “Chu.” Her large hand holding the pen gracefully swept across the book cover; the motion looked cool every time I watched it.

When some fans personally handed over small cards or letters, in addition to “Thank you,” she would also chat with them openly, fully showing her approachable attitude.

“The inventory is sold out,” Brother Lin whispered as he came up beside me.

“Sold out?”

“Yep. We should have prepared a thousand copies. All five hundred copies on site are sold out.”

That means she has to sign at least five hundred names!

“She really has the star quality. If I didn’t know her persistence, I might recommend she switch to the entertainment industry!” Brother Lin made a face. I agreed with this half-true, half-joking remark.

The signing session proceeded smoothly. Some fans were reluctant to leave even after getting their signatures. I began to worry that it would be difficult to leave inconspicuously later.

However, with her quick signing speed, the queue kept shrinking. The signing session was originally scheduled for one hour, but it predictably took nearly double the time! After signing for the last little fan, who looked to be of primary school age, she stood up, waved to all the fans again, and put her sunglasses back on.

Escorted by the staff, we first retreated inside the booth to hide a bit and wait for the crowd to dissipate slightly before leaving.

“Phew! I’m never doing something this silly again!” She drank mineral water, constantly shaking her right hand. I first gave her a shoulder massage, using the cold mineral water bottle as an ice pack pressed against her wrist. “Thank you. It’s so good to have you here.” She leaned in and smiled at me, her lips seemingly about to touch mine at any moment.

I stared at her moist lips, then stepped back, signaling her not to mess around. “I didn’t help at all…”

She took off her military-green overcoat, revealing a black turtleneck underneath. “How many did I sign? More than I imagined!”

“Brother Lin said all five hundred copies on site were cleared out.”

She crossed her legs, a slightly willful tone in her voice. “Tell him that if there’s a next time, three hundred is the maximum! I won’t do more than that!”

I secretly smiled, refraining from telling her that Brother Lin really wanted to increase the amount! Her wearing green today was perfect—a literal “money tree”!

We waited for about twenty minutes. The staff came to inform us that the crowd had dispersed, and only then did she put her hat and coat back on. “Do you still want to look around?”

“After witnessing the whirlwind you just caused, how dare I let a big star accompany me to stroll around the book exhibition?” I pouted. I honestly didn’t have the mood to shop for books. I removed my staff ID and vest, said goodbye to Brother Lin, and planned to leave quickly with her.

Even though the crowd had scattered, her striking figure and appearance at the booth were still noticeable. Some fans who had attended the signing just moments ago recognized her as Chu, so the staff came up again, intending to escort us directly out of the venue.

The crowd thickened in the afternoon. I followed behind her, and the chasing fans noticeably decreased after we left the booth. Just as I was feeling relieved, a person wearing a hat, holding Siqi’s book, accurately maneuvered around to intercept us!

That person’s hat was pulled very low, and they were heading straight for Siqi! The staff quickly tried to stop them, and the person looked up—it was a girl with a very delicate appearance…

And she inexplicably gave me a strange sense of familiarity?

“Miss, please don’t do that!”

“Please! Just let me say a few words to her… Siqi!”

She called Chu by her given name. The person next to me immediately froze and finally noticed the commotion on the other side.

The girl smiled and kept waving at Siqi. “Siqi! Do you still remember me?”

I looked at Siqi’s profile. She showed an expression of disbelief and reached out to grab the girl before the staff could forcibly remove her!

“You…” Siqi took off her sunglasses. “Hai, Haiping?”

The girl immediately burst into tears, nodding fiercely at her, and just like that, threw herself into Siqi’s embrace.

Aside from them, the staff and the surrounding crowd were all stunned, myself included.

A stinging pain quietly pricked the depths of my heart.

My exclusive embrace… was just taken over by another woman.

Another woman who looked similar to me.

Clearly, she was that person, Siqi’s first love.

Her ex-girlfriend.