73. A Strange Sensation

In the early hours of the morning, Li An put down his phone and set his alarm for 6 a.m.

When the alarm rang, he felt as though he hadn’t slept at all before daylight crept in. Last night, he and Chen Xuan had started off discussing what time to leave in the morning, and somehow, the conversation had wandered all the way to what they’d have for breakfast. By the time he finally put down his phone, it was already three in the morning.

There were so many topics that it seemed impossible to run out of things to say.

If they hadn’t had work the next day, they’d probably have chatted all night.

“Morning.”

Yawning, Li An climbed out of bed, greeted Ba Wan, and made his way to the bathroom.

After showering and blow-drying his hair, Li An changed into something a little more formal. He left the house at exactly the time they’d agreed upon—6:30.

At the same moment, the door of 2502 opened.

Today, Chen Xuan wore her hair down, her jet-black, thick hair cascading casually over her shoulders. She wore a fitted, pale beige pair of high-waisted trousers with a soft, well-tailored light shirt tucked in, and brown leather flats, her slender, fair ankles exposed to the air.

She looked both elegant and relaxed.

Li An politely gave her a once-over, his gaze finally settling on her face.

He offered a compliment: “Looks like you slept well last night, Ms. Chen. You look radiant this morning.”

Chen Xuan yawned as she locked the door. “Not at all.”

Li An had no idea how much concealer she’d used to hide those dark circles.

In the elevator, the two of them started discussing the matter again.

“You really can’t tell you’ve put anything on your face,” Li An said.

Chen Xuan replied with calm curiosity, “You’ve dated so many girlfriends and still don’t understand how women do their makeup?”

Her bluntness made Li An nervous. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue about these things.”

His only impression from living with the violinist was the bathroom cluttered with—large bottles, small bottles, clear bottles, colored bottles, tall bottles, short bottles, fat bottles, cleaning bottles. Besides all those bottles, there were eyebrow pencils, brushes, and all kinds of lipsticks.

Seeing that Chen Xuan showed no discomfort, Li An breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Seems you don’t care about your girlfriend at all,” Chen Xuan quipped as she stepped out of the elevator ahead of him.

“Well...” Li An was left with a strange feeling.

How was he supposed to take that?

“Hurry up, or we’ll be late.”

At her words, Li An quickened his pace to catch up. A woman’s heart, he thought, is unfathomable.

They boarded the number 101 bus along with a crowd of elderly men and women.

“Careful there, sir.”

Li An hadn’t expected the buses in Yudong District to be even busier in the early morning. He shielded Chen Xuan as they squeezed inside, fending off a large vegetable basket wielded by an old lady ahead.

If that got squashed...

After some effort, he found a spot by the window.

He gestured for Chen Xuan to take the seat, and just then, the bus lurched forward. Luckily, Li An managed to grab the overhead handrail in time, averting what could have been a minor mishap.

He repositioned himself to protect Chen Xuan, but the space was so cramped that he had to arch his lower body backward, bumping into an elderly gentleman behind him.

Even so, they were still so close they could feel each other’s breath.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew awkward. “Should’ve taken a cab,” Li An muttered.

He was about to suggest she turn around when Chen Xuan had already done so.

Now Li An felt even more uncomfortable...

He’d imagined their morning would be spent side by side, windows down, a gentle breeze blowing, picking up where last night’s conversation had left off.

Instead, things had turned out like this.

But, he supposed, this wasn’t so bad either.

The scent of Chen Xuan’s hair was different today—a trace of lavender drifted before his eyes.

But still, she had turned her back to him.

Li An felt a little disappointed. He understood, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating.

After Chen Xuan turned around, her elegant eyebrows finally relaxed after a while, and she let out a quiet sigh.

When Li An’s breath had brushed her forehead just now, it had given her an intensely uncomfortable feeling.

In that instant... she’d felt an overwhelming urge to pee... and nearly couldn’t hold it...

Her legs had almost given out.

Thank goodness she turned around in time, or she’d have died of embarrassment.

Her heart was still pounding.

It was the first time since leaving home that she’d been so close, face to face, with a man.

Had she known, she would have chosen a cab before getting on the bus—even if it was Li An standing so close, she couldn’t take it.

But through the whole process, she realized she didn’t actually mind as much as she’d thought.

It was a new discovery. She’d only thought she liked sitting beside Li An before.

Now... it seemed being even closer wasn’t so bad...

Except for the sudden urge to pee.

She wasn’t sure what was happening to her.

It was as if wild grass were growing in her heart in that moment.

Feeling a bit better in her lower abdomen, Chen Xuan took out her earphones and was about to listen to music and watch the scenery.

After a moment’s hesitation, she took one earbud and hooked it over Li An’s left ear.

Li An was still lost in thought; by the time he came to, Chen Xuan had already turned back.

Music was already playing in his ear—

“I don’t care who else is in your heart...”

Li An: ...Why is it Jacky Cheung?

“Let me comfort you...”

“No matter if the ending is joy...”

Suddenly, the song switched.

It was Kit Chan’s “Liking You.”

Switched again.

He didn’t recognize the next tune.

Switched again.

“Just now was Shaobing Cao Heyang, also a disciple of ours, since they were kids...”

And so, listening to Master Guo’s crosstalk, the two of them made their way to Guangyuan campus.

Occasionally, the bus would brake. Occasionally, they’d brush against each other.

Later, when it was clear more people were boarding than getting off, Li An simply turned his back as well.

Was Li An the sort to take advantage of such situations?

Of course not.

...

After getting off the bus, both breathed in the fresh air at the same time.

Chen Xuan glanced around. “Which way?”

She’d been in Rong City for three months and had only been to Yudong and Shinan.

Li An was familiar with the area—after all, he’d spent four years of college in this part of town.

He checked the time—just seven ten. Guangyuan Yuan was only five minutes away. He told her there was a place nearby with excellent fried dough sticks.

But Chen Xuan said she wasn’t hungry.

Well then.

They arrived at the entrance of Guangyuan campus.

A massive three-story facade loomed ahead, with “Blue Sky Elegant Arts Training Institute” emblazoned in gilded letters—impressively grand.

Several young teachers stood at the entrance.

All eyes fell upon Chen Xuan at once.

Li An stepped forward to introduce himself. Upon hearing they were colleagues from Yudong, one of the young female teachers warmly led them inside.

He’d thought Yudong’s facilities were impressive, but stepping into Guangyuan’s marble-floored lobby, opulence hit him in the face.

Was it really necessary to spend so much on a training institute?

Clearly, they had money to burn. Suddenly, Li An was curious to see what kind of pianos the Guangyuan music room used.

The female teacher led them to the second-floor conference room door. “Please wait here, teachers.”

Chen Xuan leaned in and whispered something to the teacher, then turned to Li An. “You go in first.”

Li An nodded, and Chen Xuan left with the female teacher.

In the first-floor restroom, Chen Xuan pulled down...

And discovered...

Her face flushed bright red.

She tossed the damp...

Took a fresh pad from her bag.

Lastly, she checked her trousers.

Whew.

At least they weren’t wet.

She pulled up...

Checked her makeup in the mirror.

All good.

Stepping out of the restroom, Chen Xuan felt a few degrees fresher.

Back on the second floor, she found Li An waiting by the stairs. “You waited for me?”

Li An replied lazily, “Teachers from other campuses all go in together with their team leaders. If I walk in alone, it’ll look like Yudong can’t get along with itself.”

Chen Xuan laughed. “Then when we go in, shouldn’t you take the lead?”

Li An agreed, “I quite appreciate that suggestion.”

“Come on, let’s meet the other three campuses.”