Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 76 - 75 "Love Confession Balloon," Xia Hua, requesting to meet in person
Singing to me over the phone?
Li Yuan chuckled. This was certainly a novel experience. He had sent the lyrics of a well-known song from his previous life to Jiang Zhiyu just yesterday. As for composing the music, he was naturally incapable, but he had managed to hum the rough melody to her over the phone.
Full of anticipation, Li Yuan smiled and said, "Little Fish, go ahead and sing. I’m really looking forward to it. This song is perfect for a girl’s voice."
"Xia Hua, wait just a few seconds while I get ready. Don’t hang up, okay?" Jiang Zhiyu instructed, then her voice faded as she apparently moved away from the phone.
A moment later, a familiar melody started playing from the other end of the line. It was clearly Jiang Zhiyu on the piano. As the rhythm began, a melodious intro drifted into his ear. The tune had been altered slightly from the one in his past life, sounding more lighthearted and even better suited for a female voice.
Li Yuan listened, utterly entranced. It was auditory bliss. It had to be said, Jiang Zhiyu’s voice was light and her pitch high, far more pleasant than those of the heavily auto-tuned singers of the future.
In the blink of an eye, the song was over. Li Yuan was still lost in the music when he heard Jiang Zhiyu’s slightly nervous voice.
"Xia Hua, how did I do? I tweaked the tune you hummed a little."
Li Yuan gave a thumbs-up, not hesitating to shower her with praise. "Little Fish, you sang beautifully. Your voice is even more exquisite than I had imagined."
"If you were to officially debut and release an album, you would definitely be a huge hit and become a superstar."
Thrilled by Li Yuan’s praise, Jiang Zhiyu’s voice became much more cheerful.
"It’s all thanks to the wonderful lyrics you wrote, Xia Hua, and the rhythmic tune you hummed. You’re truly amazing, the most talented person I’ve ever met."
Li Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. What talent do I have? At best, I’m just a thief.
"Little Fish, are you planning to sing this song at the Welcome Party?"
"Yes!" she replied happily. "I’m sure it will cause a sensation."
After speaking, Jiang Zhiyu paused, then pleaded in a pitiable tone, "Xia Hua, can I ask you for a favor?"
"Of course, Little Fish. What is it?" Li Yuan asked, his curiosity piqued.
Jiang Zhiyu began somewhat shyly, "Xia Hua, on the day of the Welcome Party, can you come to our school and watch my performance?"
"I want to sing this song for you, right there in front of all the teachers and students."
As she finished, her voice grew timid. After all, this song was perfect for a confession.
Li Yuan was stunned. A campus belle is inviting me to her school’s Welcome Party, and she wants to sing the song I wrote for her, to me, in person? Now that I think about it, that does sound pretty thrilling.
It wasn’t entirely out of the question.
Just imagine it: in front of thousands of people, a divine beauty like Jiang Zhiyu passionately singing this song to me. That feeling... Damn, my heart is actually starting to race.
In his previous life, he had accompanied Bai Weixi to live concerts. That loud, bustling atmosphere was genuinely fun, but it always had a way of emptying one’s wallet. Once, just to afford a ticket, God knows how many months he had survived on steamed buns and chili sauce. It was a tale of bitterness and tears.
Recalling that difficult past, Li Yuan coughed lightly. Hearing the undisguised hope in Jiang Zhiyu’s voice, he gave her a positive response.
"If nothing urgent comes up that day, I’ll definitely be there to watch."
Jiang Zhiyu was overjoyed. "You’re the best, Xia Hua! I’ll be waiting for you. Be there or be square."
"Oh, by the way, Xia Hua, I also have a surprise for you. I hope you like it."
Li Yuan was taken aback. Another surprise? He asked directly, "Little Fish, what surprise have you prepared for me?"
"Hmph, I’m not telling you now," she said with a cute, coquettish tone, like a girlfriend in the throes of new love. "It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you."
Li Yuan chuckled, his own anticipation growing. "Can you at least give me a hint, so I can mentally prepare?"
Jiang Zhiyu’s voice turned extremely shy. "Okay, Xia Hua, I’ll give you a simple hint. It’s something you don’t have right now."
Something I don’t have right now? Li Yuan’s mind raced. What was he lacking? Well, he was missing a girlfriend. Could it be? Is such a fortunate and pleasurable thing about to happen? Probably not. Although Little Fish is playful and has shown affection for me, our relationship surely hasn’t progressed to that stage so quickly, right?
Li Yuan didn’t press the matter further.
"In that case, I’ll look forward to it."
"Xia Hua, you won’t believe it, but my roommates were praising you to the skies today. They all want to meet you..."
"What? Little Fish, you told your roommates about me?"
Thinking Li Yuan was angry, Jiang Zhiyu hurriedly explained, "No, Xia Hua, I didn’t give them any of your personal information! I just said a good friend wrote the song for me. I even recommended your book to them."
Li Yuan asked curiously, "Little Fish, don’t most girls prefer romance novels aimed at a female audience? You know, books like ’My Psycho Girlfriend,’ ’The Overbearing CEO Fell for Me,’ or ’The Campus Belle’s Personal Bodyguard’..."
Jiang Zhiyu giggled. "Xia Hua, not all girls are the same. I, for one, prefer fantasy novels. Your character Xiao Xun’er is really interesting."
Li Yuan had an epiphany. "I see. So, Little Fish, you got the idea to call me Xia Hua from how Xiao Xun’er calls out to Xiao Yan in the novel, right?"
"Hehe, you’re so smart, Xia Hua."
"Xia Hua, several die-hard readers in the fan group have been tagging you. They’ve noticed you haven’t been active lately. Have you been busy?"
"You know how it is. We just started the semester, so things are a bit hectic. I haven’t been paying much attention to the group chat," Li Yuan said with a smile. He wasn’t actually that busy. Since starting university, his new roommates often invited him to play basketball whenever he was free. Humans are social animals, and he couldn’t be too aloof; he still had four years of college ahead of him.
"Are they looking for me for anything important?"
"Nothing major. They’re just saying you’ve been updating less frequently and were wondering why."
Li Yuan nodded. "I’ll check the group messages when I have a moment. Military training is starting soon, so I’ll probably have even less time to write. I’m currently running on my stockpiled Chapters."
"Xia Hua, you have to take care of yourself! You don’t need to push yourself so hard. Other Great Writers don’t even update half as much as you do daily. You’re already working so hard and doing an amazing job. In my heart, you’re the absolute best."
Being praised like this by a beautiful rich girl made Li Yuan feel quite pleased. This heavily modified Fight Break fanfiction seemed to have some value after all.
"Little Fish, could you sing that song again for me?"
Jiang Zhiyu was secretly delighted. "Xia Hua, do you really like listening to it that much?"
Li Yuan gave a firm reply. "You sing it with a unique flair, a special feeling. It’s even better than the version sung by the person I heard in my dream."
Jiang Zhiyu shyly asked, "Really? Well, Xia Hua, have you ever dreamed about me?"
"Do you want me to dream about you?"
"Xia Hua, I really want to see you..."
...
After the phone call with Little Fish, which had lasted nearly half an hour, Li Yuan sighed. He felt a strange, sudden gloominess settle over him.
He knew exactly why.
He was unconsciously doing the same thing Bai Weixi had done in his previous life: building his own fish pond. And now, it was highly likely that two mermaids were already swimming happily in it, completely unaware.
In his past life, after discovering that his first love, Bai Weixi, had just been stringing him along, he had been unable to let go of the resentment and indignation, even after being reborn.
He could already foresee the kind of scene that would unfold if he managed to win the hearts of Xia Zhijin, Jiang Zhiyu, and perhaps even Zhong Tingyue or other girls in the future.
It would definitely be a battleground.
With his current skills, it would be easy to be a scumbag, and even simpler to be a playboy, but the prerequisite was getting past his own conscience. And if he were to invest sincere feelings, more than one person would inevitably end up hurt. Being a master of time management wasn’t so simple. It could also easily lead to a battleground scenario.
...
"Why am I overthinking this? Who cares who she is? So what if I get torn to pieces? In this new life, I should live freely and to the fullest." Li Yuan shook his head, scattering the chaotic thoughts.
He opened the QQ app on his phone and went into the reader group. As expected, there were many messages tagging him.
Desperate for Book Recommendations: "Great Writer Xia Hua, why have the updates slowed down? I donated an Alliance Hierarch tier, hurry up with the bonus Chapters!"
Warm Sun After the Storm: "@Life Like Summer Flowers, I’ve donated for a Golden Alliance! What happened to the promised ’1 bonus Chapter per Alliance Hierarch, 10 for a Silver League, and 100 for a Golden Alliance’?"
Love Eating Cilantro: "Um, Xia Hua has probably been busy recently and hasn’t had time to write. It’s already amazing that he can update ten thousand words a day."
I Love White Stories: "Damn, something’s up! Cilantro Bigshot, how do you know Great Writer Xia Hua has been busy? Do you two know each other offline?"
Warm Sun After the Storm: "@Love Eating Cilantro, there’s definitely a story here! Spill! We’re all here for the tea."
Love Eating Cilantro: "(shy emoji) Xia Hua is incredibly handsome, very gentle, and super talented. He’s every girl’s ideal type."
Warm Sun After the Storm: "Holy crap, so there *is* something going on! Looks like Cilantro Bigshot has met Great Writer Xia Hua offline... @Life Like Summer Flowers, Great Writer Xia Hua, drop the address. Requesting a meet-up!"
Desperate for Book Recommendations: "@Life Like Summer Flowers, requesting a meet-up +1."
Craving Your Update: "@Life Like Summer Flowers, requesting a meet-up +1."
Love to Show Off: "@Life Like Summer Flowers, requesting a meet-up +1."
...
