My Clingy Fiancée Is Forcing Me to Marry Her Again - Chapter 45.1

As Long As It’s You”

Strictly speaking, “As Long As It’s You” is a new song, one that has never been released. Guan Xiaoyu is its first audience—

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this song was written by Li Fangge specifically for her.

After leaving Hong Kong following her concert, Li Fangge would occasionally think of the fortune-teller fan who had rashly burst into her backstage studio to leak a secret to her, recalling the fan’s slightly tear-filled, hazy eyes and sorrowful expression.

Today, that fragile fan, who was genuinely worried about her, has almost completely merged with the image of Guan Xiaoyu.

Whenever Li Fangge recalls that small incident after the Hong Kong concert, she subconsciously believes that the fortune-teller was Guan Xiaoyu from another timeline.

Although she has never confirmed with her whether she has any memory of that scene, or if she’d had such a dream, it no longer matters. What matters is that Guan Xiaoyu is with her now.

What also matters is that during the subsequent global concert tour, because she frequently thought of the delicate yet adorable fortune-teller, Li Fangge had a moment of inspiration after the Paris concert. A complete melody appeared in her mind. Back at the hotel, she wrote the lyrics for “As Long As It’s You” in one sitting.

Li Fangge had originally planned to perform “As Long As It’s You” at the final concert. Unexpectedly, the repeated fortune-telling predictions from the fan months earlier came true; she completely lost the chance to sing this song to her and lost the opportunity to tell her she hoped they could meet again—

Now, in a different timeline, Li Fangge plays and sings this song.

Though uncertain of the precise connection between Guan Xiaoyu and the fortune-teller fan, as she plays and sings, Li Fangge genuinely feels the good fortune of meeting her again in another timeline and the joy of singing this song exclusively for her.

The song title sounds like a solemn vow, but it is actually a song of longing and secret crush: Trekking across mountains and rivers, yet unable to forget that fleeting glance; having sung about the world’s splendor, in the end, I only want to lightly play and sing for you by your side…

Guan Xiaoyu stands silently at the door of the music room, not too far and not too close, just as she did that May day evening when she first encountered Li Fangge in high school.

This song is like a bittersweet story.

Unlike Li Fangge’s usual broad and ethereal voice that seems to offer salvation to all, her voice tonight sounds very private.

Guan Xiaoyu can’t help but feel that she is the first person—besides Li Fangge—to hear this song. While thousands of people admire Li Fangge’s unparalleled beauty, it feels as though she has reserved an aspect more precious than her peerless appearance, exclusively for her.

The song ends.

Guan Xiaoyu is still lost in the lingering melody, staring blankly at Li Fangge at the piano.

Li Fangge’s slender fingers lift from the keys. She slowly turns to look at Guan Xiaoyu, a smile floating at the corner of her lips. “Come here.”

Her voice carries an irresistible power, as if even the most disciplined master could not help but obey.

Guan Xiaoyu’s cheeks puff slightly, and her bright eyes sparkle with a joyful smile. She scurries over to Li Fangge’s side.

Usually so talkative, she is incredibly quiet tonight.

“Do you want to hear it again?” Li Fangge asks.

Her voice holds a hint of indulgence, giving Guan Xiaoyu the feeling that she would be willing to sing it for her a thousand times more.

“Yes, please.” Guan Xiaoyu nods.

Li Fangge turns back. Her hands, as white as a clear-day cloud, gently land on the keys and begin to dance naturally. Each of her fingers seems to be an independent life form with its own will and style.

When the singing starts, the bittersweet story suddenly gains a clear visualization in Guan Xiaoyu’s mind:

It’s about two women. Their first meeting was a bit rushed, and the opening words could hardly be called romantic. They spoke about a topic unrelated to affection. One was full of worry, and the other couldn’t accept her warning.

They met quickly and separated quickly. The women, in two different locations with no way to contact each other, began a long period of longing, anticipating their next meeting…

Guan Xiaoyu is completely unaware of when the song ends.

“Sit here,” Li Fangge pats the piano bench on her right.

Guan Xiaoyu seems a bit lost in thought. Li Fangge asks, “Did your Jie Jie sing poorly?”

“Oh! Ah?!—” Guan Xiaoyu snaps back to reality, realizing Li Fangge has finished the second rendition. “How could Jie Jie’s songs ever be bad!”

“If it was so good, why were you zoning out?” Li Fangge moves to the left, signaling Guan Xiaoyu to sit.

Guan Xiaoyu sits down with her back to the piano, just like last time. “It’s because your song pulled me into the story in the lyrics. I saw two women briefly encounter each other and then quickly part. They… Li Jie Jie, did they never meet again in the end?”

“They did meet again.”

Li Fangge’s gaze falls on Guan Xiaoyu’s right earlobe.

Tonight, she is wearing tiny, light pink diamond studs. Under the light, they look like small, delicate buds that have just sprouted from her soft, pristine earlobe.

“Is that so?”

“Mhm.”

Not only did they meet again,

They also got engaged. They held hands, hugged, kissed, and slept together—

Now, they are sitting together on one piano bench, their shoulders about to touch.

She can feel the slight warmth of her arm, see the fine, soft down around the pink earring on her earlobe. She wants to kiss her ear—

Li Fangge watches as Guan Xiaoyu tucks her soft hair away, exposing her lovely ear. Every time she sees her adorable ear, she can’t help but feel an urge to kiss or touch it—

“Li Jie Jie, this couldn’t be your own story, could it?”

Is the delicate flower this perceptive? Her sensitivity is much stronger than Li Fangge imagined.

—She had indeed vaguely sensed that the melody and lyrics were expressing their first meeting in the other timeline.

Li Fangge is flustered for a few seconds, her reply coming a half-beat slower than usual. “A friend’s story.”

“I see. So, you wrote this song yourself, Li Jie Jie?”

“Yes, your Jie Jie wrote both the lyrics and music.”

“Li Jie Jie, when will you write a song for us?”

“Okay.”

“Our own song. I want to be the first to hear it.”

“Actually, you are the second audience for this song.”

“I don’t want to be the second. I want to be the first.”

“That’s too hard on your Jie Jie! Songs your Jie Jie writes must be test-sung, practiced, and modified first—they aren’t divinely created.”

“Can’t Li Jie Jie think of another way?”

Guan Xiaoyu feels as though she must be possessed by a drama queen.

Her premonition was correct; she is the first listener of this song besides Li Fangge.

“Why don’t you teach your Jie Jie how to achieve that?”

“Pfft—” Guan Xiaoyu is amused by Li Fangge’s deliberately aggrieved and comical expression. “After this song was finished, did you not even sing it to your friend?”

I did. Right here, right now.

Li Fangge answers her in her mind.

Looking at Guan Xiaoyu’s blooming smile, a tenderness she’s never felt before wells up in her heart. She desperately wants time to freeze at this moment so they can sit here, shoulder-to-shoulder, forever.

Before today, she had imagined the scene of singing this song a thousand times: It would surely be on a stage, with an announcement. The announcement would mention her encounter with the fortune-teller fan in Hong Kong, and how she would occasionally think of her for no reason…

However, reality often differs greatly from imagination.

Yet, even with the vast differences, Li Fangge still feels that today’s scene is a thousand times better than what she had envisioned.

Although they are in a different timeline, the protagonists are still her and the delicate flower. The fact that this hasn’t changed is enough. Moreover, she is singing it exclusively for her.

She never knew that singing for the person she loves could be such a joyful experience. This joy easily surpasses the happiness brought by her most successful concert.

“They don’t… like listening to songs.” Li Fangge chooses to lie.

“That’s a sin! People who don’t like listening to songs certainly exist, but I absolutely do not believe there is anyone in this world who doesn’t like listening to Li Jie Jie sing.”

“How can everyone like listening to music? Some people never actively listen to songs their whole lives.”

“Oh my goodness, what’s the difference between that and living in a desert! Li Jie Jie, it’s time for you to debut and save those who don’t actively listen to music.”

Li Fangge is amused by Guan Xiaoyu’s earnestness.

While she doesn’t agree that not listening to music is equivalent to living in a desert, she doesn’t want to ruin the current atmosphere. So she refrains from arguing that people’s preferences vary greatly, the ways people nourish their souls are not all the same, and she doesn’t believe she can save anyone—

“Oh right, Li Jie Jie, what is the name of this song?”

“Guess.”

“I don’t want to guess. I want Li Jie Jie to tell me personally.”

“Is that so?”

Listening to Guan Xiaoyu’s sweet voice, Li Fangge feels as if she is bathing in the warm sun of early spring. Flower-scented breezes come in waves, making her feel lazy and unable to refuse.

“Mhm. Because it’s someone else’s song, I don’t want to guess.”

Someone else’s?

Li Fangge’s expression falters for a moment. Despite this, she still cannot separate the girl in front of her from the fortune-teller delicate flower she met in Hong Kong. She never had the opportunity to know that fan, and has already superimposed Guan Xiaoyu’s personality and life onto her. They have long become the same person.

“As Long As It’s You.”

“Why give a story that sounds a little sour and not without regret such a deep, affectionate, and perfect name?”