Chapter 121: A Heart-to-Heart Talk

Hao Yingjun turned and bolted out the door. Back in bed, Wang Zixuan remained in a state of long, restless agitation, her mind a complete blank. What on earth was going on?

After heading downstairs, Hao Yingjun followed behind Hu Xiaoxiao. She hummed a tune as she walked, seemingly unaware of his presence. At a street corner, Hao Yingjun paused as he watched her stop at a roadside stall, purchase some food, and sit down to eat slowly. He then walked over, feigning a chance encounter.

Hu Xiaoxiao was startled, her hands and her eating momentarily frozen.

Hao Yingjun sat down and called out, "Boss, one beer, please."

After the proprietor opened the bottle and brought it over, he added a polite, "Thank you."

Hu Xiaoxiao appeared quite shy now, keeping her head bowed over her food and refusing to look at him.

Hao Yingjun rubbed his hands together. "I... I mistook you for someone else tonight. I am truly sorry."

Seeing that Hu Xiaoxiao ignored him, he felt a flicker of embarrassment and took a large gulp of his beer. He set the bottle down, glanced at her, and took another long drink. He repeated this several times, unsure of how to bridge the gap. After finishing several bottles, he could no longer hold back.

"Eating this kind of food... it’s not very healthy," Hao Yingjun said. "Living on your own, you really need to take better care of yourself."

Hu Xiaoxiao gave a bitter smile. "As long as it fills my stomach, that’s enough."

"Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival," Hao Yingjun noted. "Did you not go home for the holiday?"

Hu Xiaoxiao twirled the wooden skewer in her hand and said, "I don't have a home."

Hao Yingjun laughed. "Well, isn't that a coincidence? Neither do I. Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

The air grew quiet again. One continued to eat while the other pondered what to say next.

Suddenly, Hao Yingjun began to sing: "One stick hits so lightly, two pairs of chopsticks pry inside and out, a group of three loves to talk, four little soldiers are never afraid, five friends possess great strength."

Halfway through the song, Hu Xiaoxiao joined in. Hearing her voice, Hao Yingjun stopped and listened quietly, his eyes welling up with tears as memories of his childhood flooded back. When the song ended, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I am truly sorry," Hao Yingjun said, gesturing toward her but struggling to find the right words. "You... you really look like a friend of mine."

"A lot of people know how to sing that song," Hu Xiaoxiao replied.

"My friend," Hao Yingjun continued, "she loved to sing, too. But a few days ago, I heard she had passed away. When I first saw you, I was so happy, thinking the news must have been false. But now, it seems it might be true after all."

Hu Xiaoxiao studied him for a long time before asking, "Was that friend really so important to you?"

"I hadn't seen her in many years," he confessed. "She was my most important companion when I was a child. She traded her freedom for mine. I’ve always wanted to know if she was living well all these years."

The two sat and chatted for a long time, laughing and talking. Back in the room, Wang Zixuan had fallen asleep and woken up, only to turn and find that Hao Yingjun still hadn't returned. She was stunned and a little bewildered.

"Why isn't he back yet?"

She reached for her phone to call him, only to hear his ringtone sounding right beside her. Annoyed, she set the phone down and walked over to the telescope, peering toward Hu Xiaoxiao’s room. She saw the lights were on, but the room was empty.