Chapter 14 The Great Romantic

March 21, Jiang Li's birthday.

Strangely enough, Liang Zhouyue actually remembered it.

Her fingers tapped on the keyboard, surprisingly patient at this moment.

Moon doesn't talk: "What's your zodiac sign?"

March 21: "Aries."

Liang Zhouyue's brows slightly furrowed; it seemed he was talking about the solar calendar. Her thumb lifted, but suddenly she didn't know what to reply.

But having initiated the conversation and then not replying, she felt it would be impolite.

Just as she hesitated, Jiang Li's messages pushed upwards by two:

"Don't talk about useless things, let's talk about my clothes, what should we do?"

"I just got back, and they all laughed at me for being indecent, a clean person being slandered by them…"

The last sentence seemed to be full of grievances.

Liang Zhouyue gasped, as if she could already imagine Jiang Li's tone through these Chinese characters, a pure-hearted young man with innocent eyes, whose smile would be enough to tug at heartstrings, let alone his look of feeling wronged.

A sense of apology slowly filled her heart, and she cautiously replied, "Sorry… Should I wash it for you?"

March 21: "Will you come to pick it up?"

Liang Zhouyue's frown deepened; "Where are you?"

March 21: "Bo Yang."

Too far away…

She worried that she might get carsick again.

But a white shirt stained should be washed quickly. Moreover, Jiang Li's clothes were definitely not cheap, he wasn't really troubling her.

Moon doesn't talk: "Or I could compensate you with money?"

Although the shirt might be expensive, requiring her to grit her teeth and pay up, compared to going to Bo Yang and back, she'd rather choose the former.

March 21: "Didn't sister say that we shouldn't engage in financial transactions between teacher and student? If you transfer three or four thousand to me, and if people find out, they'll think you're playing with me."

"..."

Liang Zhouyue really couldn't think of a better solution: "But I get carsick, could you come back again?"

March 21: "The shirt is not important, our relationship is so pure, yet they talk nonsense."

Moon doesn't talk: "It's okay, I won't go anymore, they won't comment on you again."

At this moment, as Jiang Li watched the race at the race track, his eyelid twitched and he immediately retracted the last WeChat message.

He re-sent: "I've never cared about what others think, let them say whatever they like."

"..."

Liang Zhouyue felt like she was on a roller coaster, her heart rolling and tumbling, a tumult every moment.

Moon doesn't talk: "So… what do we do?"

March 21: "After the race is over, Dan has organized a round-up, you come pick me up tonight and we'll call it even for the shirt."

Moon doesn't talk: "Where should I pick you up?"

Moon doesn't talk: "Besides, you're an adult, why do I need to pick you up?"

March 21: "They'll definitely make me drink, and I'm afraid of cheap girls coveting me."

Liang Zhouyue: "..."

She fell silent, truly at a loss for what to say.

March 21: "Sister~ You're the only good person I know."

Liang Zhouyue: "..."

Biting her lip lightly, she began to seriously consider.

Today was Monday, if Jiang Li got drunk tonight and couldn't make it back to the school, the dormitory supervisor would notice his absence. Consequently, his academic advisor would find out, and Jiang Li would be disciplined. Through such procedures, he indeed could cause himself a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Given that, it shouldn't be a big issue for her to pick him up once. After all, she was one of his current teachers.

Moon doesn't talk: "Then don't drink too much tonight, I'm alone and can't support you."

March 21: "Come at eight, we'll go back early."

Liang Zhouyue paused, then slowly replied with a hmm.

Afterward, Jiang Li sent her the name and address of a bar, and they didn't continue chatting.

The sound of the door opening echoed, and Liang Zhouyue subconsciously turned her phone screen off, looking towards the sound.

Fang Zirui didn't have classes in the afternoon, so after removing her makeup, she washed her face.

She wanted to take a nap but as she walked to her bed, she inadvertently noticed something unusual about Liang Zhouyue's lower lip, there was a scab with a deep red mark.

"Your lip… You guys kissed! It's even bitten and bleeding!"

Fang Zirui let out a shout, her eyes widened, as if she'd seen a ghost.

Liang Zhouyue touched her wounded lip with her hand, gently rubbing with the soft tip of her fingers, her eyes innocent and pure, she spoke slowly and without confidence, "He was riding his bike with me, and I didn't wear a helmet. I bumped it…"

"That's what killed me!"

Fang Zirui didn't believe her explanation.

Liang Zhouyue immediately felt awkward, stood up from the bed, and faced Fang Zirui very formally with a serious expression, "I'm not lying, it's true. Look, there's a cut inside my lip too."

With that, she carefully turned her lip for Fang Zirui to see the first wound.

Seeing the hard evidence, Fang Zirui finally believed Liang Zhouyue's words, and she sighed, her tone full of regret.

Liang Zhouyue couldn't quite grasp her attitude and looked at her in surprise.

Fang Zirui sat back on her own bed, patting her face with skincare products while she mused, "You usually don't get caught up in CP (Celebrities Pairing), you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

It wasn't just random shipping; it mainly was because she didn't approve of He Jinseng, that old-fashioned, hypocritical man.

Liang Zhouyue didn't continue on this topic, after all, she had explained herself clearly and wouldn't leave any opportunity for misunderstandings.

*

At seven o'clock in the evening, under Fang Zirui's shocked and puzzled gaze, Liang Zhouyue mustered up her courage and left the dorm.

She took a cab at the school gate and was lucky today – she didn't experience motion sickness for the entire ride. The taxi stopped in front of the address Jiang Li had given her, and Liang Zhouyue got out after paying the fare.

The bar was decorated with great elegance and luxury, lacking the traditional colorful lighting, it was hard to associate the subdued exterior with the passionate and chaotic music inside.

Liang Zhouyue covered her ears with one hand and made her way through the sexy, fiery dance floor until she finally found the staircase and went up to the third floor as Jiang Li had told her.

At the entrance of the private room 3188, a row of uniformed, impeccably dressed service staff stood, their professionalism clear at a glance.

Suddenly feeling socially anxious, Liang Zhouyue lingered uncertainly at the door, not sure whether to speak to them or just walk in.

The floor manager sized up Liang Zhouyue's attire and quickly gave a professional smile, "Miss, are you looking for someone?"

Liang Zhouyue nodded as if she had been spared from a disaster, seizing the rare chance, "I'm here to pick up Jiang Li."

"Are you President Li's girlfriend?" The manager's smile suddenly became a bit ingratiating.

But Liang Zhouyue shook her head, "No."

Getting this answer, the manager didn't show disappointment and naturally classified Liang Zhouyue as one of the young masters' mistresses, opening the door to let her in.

The private room wasn't as noisy and smoky as Liang Zhouyue had imagined; instead, it was very quiet, a leisurely and serene kind of quiet.

Different people sat all around on the sofas, and Liang Zhouyue's gaze was drawn to a tall silhouette next to the KTV machine.

The man was very tall, perhaps a bit drunk, and was slightly bowing his head at the moment, holding the microphone in one hand, with a detached and faint smile on his lips.

At this moment, the prelude gently started, and Jiang Li sang on cue, humming faintly—

"A black sweater,

Two people's memories,

Harder to forget after the rain,

Forget that I still love you,

You don't have to care,

Crying is also just as fitting,

I've long been buried in the valley's depths."

…

It was Zhou Jielun's "Black Sweater".

His deep, magnetic voice was full of emotion, with a storytelling vibe, and Liang Zhouyue felt rooted to the spot, unable to move.

At that second, she was an audience member at his performance.

The clear and refreshing voice hit her heart, word by word.

Zhou Jielun was her favorite, and Jiang Li sang her favorite song.