The Devoted Female Supporting Lead and the White Moonlight’s Sister Got a Happy Ending (GL) - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Meet Again If Destined

Bright daylight crossed the window lattices, shining upon He Baizhou’s face as she lay on her side. Her eyes were stimulated by the light; her eyeballs moved beneath her lids, and she slowly forced them open.

The moment she woke up, He Baizhou was still a bit dazed.

But she cleared her head instantly, jumped off the bed, walked over quickly, and opened the door to the inner room.

All night, Shao Peiran had been tormented by stomach pain and slept fitfully, causing He Baizhou to be startled awake several times as well. Thus, upon waking, her first instinct was to check on her.

However, when the door opened, the room was silent.

The bed was empty.

He Baizhou froze, instinctively looking back at the outer room. The suitcase she had placed next to the small sofa last night was also gone.

Her heart felt as if it were falling rapidly from a great height, giving her a momentary, dizzying sense of weightlessness. A moment later, He Baizhou finally acknowledged the truth: Shao Peiran had left at some unknown time.

They were originally just strangers meeting by chance; neither side knew the other well. Even if the other party wanted to leave, there was no necessity to wake her up just to say goodbye. — Despite thinking this, He Baizhou couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

She stood at the doorway for a while before walking in.

The bedding on the bed had been tidied, spread out flat and neat. Other than that, it seemed the other woman hadn’t touched anything. Everything was as it was, as if that person had left no trace of her presence here.

He Baizhou sat down on the bed. As she turned her head, a flash of white caught the corner of her eye. She quickly focused her gaze and saw a note left on the nightstand. Her heart skipped a beat as she reached out to grab it, looking down to read closely.

Thanks for the care. Meet again if destined.

— Shao Peiran

Including punctuation, it was thirteen words (in Chinese). He Baizhou read it repeatedly; she felt a bit comforted, yet there was an unspeakable sense of dissatisfaction.

She sat there pondering for a good while before she finally understood exactly where the problem lay.

Shao Peiran said “meet again if destined,” not “let’s keep in touch.”

He Baizhou finally realized, with hindsight, that despite acting so solicitously yesterday, she had never once thought to ask for the other woman’s contact information. And when Shao Peiran left, she seemingly hadn’t thought of leaving any contact info either.

The so-called “meet again if destined” was perhaps just a polite phrase.

He Baizhou tucked the note away, changed her clothes, and went downstairs. Her mood was low; she didn’t want to meet anyone for the time being, so she planned to leave directly.

But upon reaching the first floor, just as she was heading to the parking lot, she suddenly heard a familiar piano melody.

Her footsteps paused. He Baizhou turned and walked toward the banquet hall.

Reaching the door, she saw the person playing: it was indeed Shao Qingran. — Speaking of which, this piano had been specially prepared by her so that Shao Qingran could play whenever she occasionally came to stay. However, Shao Qingran was always in a hurry, and her actual time spent touching the keys was rare.

Unexpectedly, on the second day of her marriage, she heard this piece again.

He Baizhou did not enter to disturb her; she just leaned against the doorway and listened for a while, her heart slowly quieting down.

She closed her eyes, seemingly returning to her youth through the music. Back then, she was willful, flamboyant, and lawless, yet free as the wind.

That had once been the deepest regret in He Baizhou’s heart. Later, she had reminisced countless times, regretted countless times, and wished countless times that she could return to that moment to change things. When she reunited with Shao Qingran and heard this melody again, she had once lost her composure to the point of tears.

But those surging emotions had gradually calmed over time, leaving no more ripples.

He Baizhou opened her eyes and spaced out for a bit. Her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to Shao Peiran. Actually, there was nothing wrong with the other woman’s actions; the adult world was like this—those who could truly share their hearts were the minority. The reason He Baizhou felt bad was simply because Shao Peiran didn’t value her as much as she valued Shao Peiran.

It felt like her sincere intentions were being treated lightly.

But even she herself felt that such intentions came abruptly and suddenly; how could she demand others treat them with gravity?

However, being able to hear Shao Qingran play this piece—the one she heard during their very first meeting—at this specific moment allowed He Baizhou to realize at least one thing.

After encountering Shao Peiran yesterday, most of her attention had been focused on her, with almost no distraction to notice Shao Qingran. At that time, it was hard for He Baizhou to sort out her own thoughts; she had even once worried that her excessive focus on Shao Peiran was perhaps just a form of emotional displacement.

But now, she could finally be sure: she still enjoyed hearing Shao Qingran play, but that faint, nebulous affection for the person was now so thin it was almost non-existent.

Regardless of what was going on with Shao Peiran, regarding Shao Qingran, she seemed to have truly let go.

Even He Baizhou herself found it hard to understand how this feeling could vanish so quickly.

When she first heard the news that Shao Qingran and Xu Chengyue were getting married, He Baizhou had thought about retreating to the position of a friend, distancing herself and letting the feelings cool down on their own. She just hadn’t expected them to turn cold so fast.

Could she actually be a “scumbag” at heart, only she hadn’t shown it before?

But regardless, this result wasn’t bad. Shao Qingran and Xu Chengyue were both her friends; being able to clarify her own feelings was a good thing for all three of them.

The piece ended. Shao Qingran turned her head and saw her, a look of surprise appearing on her face. “Baizhou?”

He Baizhou nodded and stepped inside. She walked right up to the piano and came to a stop a few paces away from the seated Shao Qingran. “I haven’t heard you play in a long time.”

A look of apology appeared on Shao Qingran’s face. “I’ve been too busy lately.”

She smiled again and said, “What else do you want to hear? I have time now; I can play anything for you.”

He Baizhou simply shook her head. “In the future, I’m afraid there won’t be time to hear you play.”

In fact, at this moment, what she really wanted to say was “don’t play this piece anymore in the future,” but the words never left her mouth. This piece belonged to Shao Qingran after all; although it held a very special meaning for He Baizhou, she had no right to forbid others from playing it.

But even the words she did speak sounded like a clap of thunder in Shao Qingran’s ears, leaving her stunned. “What did you say?”

He Baizhou didn’t explain. She just looked at her and said softly, “I forgot to say Happy Wedding to you yesterday. You and Chengyue will surely be happy and fulfilled together.”

Thinking about it now, He Baizhou realized in a daze that from beginning to end, she had never actually fought for Shao Qingran.

Xu Chengyue was indeed more suited for Shao Qingran because she was the one who seriously kept Shao Qingran in her heart and cherished her beyond measure.

And herself… even He Baizhou couldn’t say what she amounted to anymore.

Looking at the indifferent expression on He Baizhou’s face, Shao Qingran couldn’t help but bite her lip. If she had heard such a blessing yesterday, she would have been very satisfied. But dragging it out until now—especially after seeing Shao Peiran yesterday—made it sound to her ears like He Baizhou was being perfunctory and intentionally trying to create distance between them.

This made the anxiety in her heart even heavier.

Particularly because, after the wedding ended last night, Shao Qingran had taken the time to find out from the staff that He Baizhou had left together with Shao Peiran. Not only that, they had gone to the reserved suite He Baizhou kept on the top floor of this hotel and… they hadn’t come out all night.

What happens when two adults spend a night together? It goes without saying.

Just thinking about this filled Shao Qingran’s heart with unease.

Actually, after being busy all day yesterday, she was exhausted and had originally wanted to sleep in. But once she remembered He Baizhou and Shao Peiran were together, she felt uneasy, so she struggled to get up. Hearing that Shao Peiran had already left alone didn’t set her mind at ease, which is why she ran here to play the piano.

She even intentionally chose this piece that was so meaningful to He Baizhou, hoping she would hear it.

She didn’t expect He Baizhou to have such a reaction.

She actually said she wouldn’t listen to her play ever again! How was that possible?

Outsiders thought He Baizhou liked Shao Qingran very much; Shao Qingran herself actually felt a bit guilty about it. But she also had points of confidence, because she was very certain that He Baizhou loved hearing her play. In fact, most of the time they spent together consisted of her playing while He Baizhou listened quietly by her side.

During those times, He Baizhou’s expression was always very soft, and she could even be described as granting Shao Qingran’s every whim, never hesitating to give her the best of everything.

This was something only Shao Qingran could achieve; even in front of Shao Peiran, Shao Qingran had this kind of confidence.

But… but… He Baizhou had only met Shao Peiran once; why was everything different now?

A loud thump sounded—it was a discordant note from Shao Qingran accidentally hitting a key. She was startled awake by the sound. Snapping back to her senses, she forced a smile at He Baizhou. “Even though Chengyue and I are married, we are still friends, aren’t we? I’ll still play for you when I have time…”

“Thank you.” He Baizhou did not refuse again. In reality, she knew herself that such opportunities would almost never occur again, but there was no need to say more now.

The more she acted like this, the more Shao Qingran felt a panic that she couldn’t hold onto her.

She stood up and looked at He Baizhou. Just as she was about to speak, Xu Chengyue’s voice came from behind her: “You guys really are here. I knew it as soon as I heard the piano.”

The words Shao Qingran was about to say were swallowed back down; she just looked at He Baizhou.

He Baizhou nodded to her, turned, and left. As she passed by Xu Chengyue, she lightly patted her shoulder.

Actually, she had originally wanted to ask Shao Qingran about Shao Peiran’s situation, but after hesitating for a bit, she felt it wasn’t quite appropriate. Although Shao Qingran didn’t know about her change of heart yet, doing so felt a bit cruel.

Fortunately, she already knew Shao Peiran’s identity. Investigating news about her shouldn’t be too difficult.

Back in the banquet hall, Xu Chengyue walked to Shao Qingran’s side, reached out to tidy the hair by her temple, and asked softly, “Why are you up so early playing the piano?”

“Baizhou seems a bit off.” Shao Qingran frowned slightly, speaking with some worry.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Chengyue asked.

Shao Qingran sighed. “She just said she won’t listen to me play anymore in the future. What do you think that means?”

Xu Chengyue was silent for a moment. He Baizhou’s meaning was simple: she wanted to draw a line and keep her distance, which fully complied with the gentleman’s agreement between them. Seeing her be so decisive, Xu Chengyue, as the winner, couldn’t help but feel a bit of apology. But since it wasn’t easy to say this to Shao Qingran, she only said, “I think Baizhou probably has her own thoughts.”

“She might be speaking out of anger.” Shao Qingran thought to herself for a while, then suddenly laughed again. “Maybe she feels that since we’re married, she’s the only one left all alone, and she’s unhappy.”

As she spoke, she looked at Xu Chengyue and took her arm coquettishly. “Baizhou is our friend too. I don’t want to lose this friend, which is why I care more. Are you going to be jealous?”

Xu Chengyue chuckled. “Of course not.”

Shao Qingran nodded. “You’re the best! I promise, I’m only giving her a little bit of time; the most important one is still you.”

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