Hints at GL - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Proms in the Park is the most high-profile annual program organized by the BBC. For over a hundred years, it has been dedicated to blending the popular with the classical, holding a month or two of musical events at the Royal Albert Hall and various open-air venues.

This year’s closing performance was held in the famous Hyde Park. Because of its proximity to Buckingham Palace and its massive appeal, tens of thousands of people had gathered early before the temporarily constructed stage.

The entire park had transformed into a carnival for music lovers.

Toward the back of the lawn stood two figures. One was a girl in an over-the-knee skirt, holding a program brochure and flipping through it while shielding her eyes from the uncharacteristically piercing sunlight. The other was a slightly taller woman, squinting as she watched her.

Suddenly, the girl looking at the brochure looked up, her voice rising with pleasant surprise. “Anna, did you see this? Simple Minds is playing today!”

Hearing this, Su Yuan glanced at her, her thin lips curving into a smile. “I thought we came here today to see Hurts. It turns out you like punk too?”

“Heavens, look at this!”

Zhong Ning naturally heard the teasing remark, but she was so immersed in her delight that she impulsively grabbed Su Yuan’s slender arm. “They even have ELO and Jools Holland?”

The distance between them vanished with that touch. As their eyes met, Zhong Ning suddenly felt a surge of self-consciousness.

Although last night’s kiss had been more or less consensual, she had, after all, experienced that incident. Since things didn’t seem entirely certain yet, she wasn’t ready to fully commit herself.

Zhong Ning stared at Su Yuan for a moment before finally remembering to change the subject. “What about you? Don’t you like New Order too?”

Su Yuan’s gaze swept across her cheek with a hint of hidden meaning, her lips curling. “Yes, yes. So, in our ‘compatibility chart’ for tastes, besides post-rock, indie, and electronic…” She paused, adding with a laugh, “We have to add punk today.”

Seeing Zhong Ning grow increasingly bashful, Su Yuan suddenly asked with a smile, “By the way, do you like Pet Shop Boys?”

Pet Shop Boys is a famous British electronic duo known for their consistent synth-pop and retro style. If one liked Hurts, it was hard to imagine they wouldn’t also enjoy Pet Shop Boys.

Sure enough.

Zhong Ning’s eyes widened with joy; the coincidence made her voice turn cheerful. “Do you know how much I love the Leaving album? I had that on loop all day for an entire week during that period.”

This inexpressible chemistry made both of them feel a stir in their hearts.

Su Yuan looked at her with a faint smile, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I suddenly feel like I should have asked you out much sooner.”

This overt hint made Zhong Ning’s heart race, but she suppressed it on the surface. “Mhm, you can call me whenever you go to see a live show.” she hung a somewhat awkward smile on her face, wondering inwardly if she would actually dare to accept Su Yuan’s invitations in the future.

“Watch out.”

A couple almost bumped into Zhong Ning. Su Yuan, quick-witted, wrapped an arm around her waist. She then gave a meaningful smile. “Of course. I’ll definitely call you for live shows.”

Actually, the reason they were here today wasn’t as simple as it appeared—it wasn’t just a date at Hyde Park. They were here to see someone: the man from the dream a few days ago.

H-Craft—Theo Hutchcraft, is a member of the Manchester electronic duo, Hurts. Although this discovery was quite unexpected for both of them, whether it was the right lead or not, they had to try.

Looking at the time, the annual Proms in the Park was about to begin; there was likely no better opportunity than this.

The sun began to set, and the performance was about to start.

“I came to the Proms last year too,” Su Yuan said, chatting casually as they sat on the lawn toward the back. “But it was at a different venue. They had a Pet Shop Boys special at the Royal Albert Hall, and they even brought in an orchestra to accompany them.”

Su Yuan narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly reminiscing about the scene. “You know, that feeling is really hard to describe… the combination of electronic and classical gave me literal goosebumps.”

“It’s a pity they aren’t performing today.”

Zhong Ning bit her lip; hearing this made her feel incredibly envious.

That “unreconciled” look on her face clearly pleased Su Yuan. She laughed and said, “You look like I’ve bullied you.” She paused, chuckling softly. “Don’t be like that. I just promised to take you along in the future; I won’t break my word.”

In Zhong Ning’s eyes, the credibility of this sudden promise wasn’t very high.

Her face flushed, and she blurted out without thinking, “Can the words of someone from the BBC be trusted?”

Su Yuan narrowed her eyes. “And why shouldn’t they be?”

Zhong Ning felt a bit awkward, but she couldn’t exactly say out loud that she was intimidated by the woman’s daily flirtatiousness. She thought for a moment and scrambled for an excuse. “Well… you know I used to have a language partner, a girl from Sheffield.”

“She told me a while ago, ‘You absolutely must come to my house for dinner’… I was polite and said I’d find her after I finished my thesis. But when I finished and told her, she never mentioned it again.”

Su Yuan believed her, as expected. “If it was an invitation like that, she was obviously just being polite.”

This made Zhong Ning unhappy instead; the matter had always bothered her. “But she said her parents had already agreed!”

Su Yuan burst out laughing. “Mhm. Did she also tell you she was straight?”

Zhong Ning’s face turned beet red, and she stared at her for a long time, speechless. “You…”

A smile played on Su Yuan’s lips as she joked, “Right, I know you aren’t used to it at first. Someone once told me what that kind of politeness is called.” She thought for a moment. “Full of ‘middle-class hypocrisy.’ Yeah, I think that’s quite fitting.”

“But don’t worry, I’m not that kind of person.”

She propped her hand behind Zhong Ning, leaning in close and whispering, “Deciding to make a move and then breaking my word… I could never do that.”

Zhong Ning’s cheeks grew even redder, and she turned her eyes away uncomfortably. How can Su Yuan be so thick-skinned?

Just then, she felt her phone vibrate.

“Jing Yang?” The caller ID surprised Zhong Ning, instantly snapping her out of the flirtatious atmosphere. “Wait a second…” She apologized to Su Yuan and hurried to answer the call.

“My dear, are you in Hyde Park today?” Jing Yang asked directly.

“How did you know…” Zhong Ning looked back in surprise, but because she was sitting on the grass, her field of vision wasn’t great. She gently brushed off Su Yuan’s hand, stood up, and looked behind her. “Are you here too? But why can’t I see you?”

She heard the noisy background on Jing Yang’s end, confirming her suspicion.

“I was right behind you just now, but you were so immersed in your ‘gentle land’ that you ignored me when I called.” Jing Yang replied with a hint of sarcasm in her raised voice.

Zhong Ning’s face flushed, and she instinctively glanced at Su Yuan. Fortunately, the latter couldn’t hear the conversation.

“I thought… didn’t you say you were going to Cardiff with your sister?”

Zhong Ning hurriedly changed the subject. She chatted with Jing Yang while scanning the area. Suddenly, a familiar figure caught her eye. She knew that silhouette she saw every day all too well—Jing Yang was wearing high-heeled ankle boots, a thin sweater draped over her thin frame, with sunglasses hooked onto the collar of her light-colored shirt.

At the same moment their eyes met, Zhong Ning saw two other people.

Standing beside Jing Yang was a tall woman in a wrap dress, her exquisite face remaining entirely expressionless. On closer inspection, she bore some resemblance to Jing Yang.

And standing next to Jing Han was a woman with a voluptuous figure, slightly curly brown hair cascading over her shoulders, and striking crimson lips. This woman… was clearly Ruan Mu?!

The moment she saw Ruan Mu, Zhong Ning’s entire body froze. “…How can this be?”

But in the next second, she saw Jing Yang say something to Ruan Mu, looking as if they already knew each other.

“Why are you with them?” Zhong Ning found it hard to believe.

Jing Yang said something to the person beside her and responded with a frown, “I couldn’t hear what you said. I see you guys, I’m coming over now. Hanging up.”

In this situation, there was no stopping it.

They finally walked over to join Su Yuan and the others. With their uniform tall stature and exquisite looks, the group quickly drew stares from those around them; someone even whistled at Ruan Mu.

But among themselves, their expressions varied.

“…” Jing Han greeted the two with a detached expression, her attitude neither hot nor cold. Ruan Mu, on the other hand, was playfully sizing up Su Yuan and Zhong Ning. She pursed her red lips. “What a coincidence. Meeting again.”

Jing Yang approached and naturally linked her arm with Zhong Ning’s, teasing, “Hey, aren’t we just meant to be? To even run into each other here.”

Zhong Ning suppressed the emotions in her heart and put on a forced smile. “So… how did you all end up together?”

Even with her prophetic abilities, she hadn’t expected to run into Ruan Mu in such an upsetting way. From her chat with Jing Han that night, it was obvious Jing Han wasn’t very fond of Ruan Mu either. Who knew these three would appear here at the same time?

Jing Yang thought it was perfectly normal. “Oh, you know her? She’s my sister’s colleague. We ran into each other by chance.”

Ran into each other by chance? Do you think you’re writing a novel?

Zhong Ning looked directly at Jing Yang, not believing that nonsense for a second.