Am I Someone Cheap?

The music academy at night always had a mysterious and melancholic atmosphere.

Perhaps it was due to the legend of someone having jumped off a building there.

Or maybe it was the inherent ambiance of the music academy itself. In any case, this place didn’t seem suitable for evening strolls.

Therefore, Chu Xinran didn’t take Fang Zhou outside to talk but instead found a music classroom and pushed the door open.

This music classroom was often used by students to practice piano.

It was filled with electronic pianos as far as the eye could see, and the walls were covered with dense musical notes left by students.

After entering, Chu Xinran naturally found a spot to sit.

She lightly touched the black and white keys, producing a melodious piano sound.

As if suddenly inspired, she placed both hands on the keys and began to play.

The beautiful melody had a soothing power, much like the feeling Chu Xinran gave to others.

Listening to the melody, Fang Zhou felt a mix of emotions.

She was playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” a piece expressing Beethoven’s longing and pursuit of Julietta.

He deeply loved her but couldn’t be with her.

Thus, the melody was gentle yet sorrowful, elegant yet deeply melancholic.

Fang Zhou wondered if Chu Xinran had a deeper meaning in playing this piece.

Before he could figure it out, Chu Xinran had already stopped playing.

The final notes lingered in the piano classroom, twisting and turning like a hook scratching at one’s heart before quickly fading away.

The woman sitting on the bench lifted her hands from the piano keys and started tugging at the red cover cloth beside her.

Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke.

“Why did you interfere?”

Fang Zhou was momentarily stunned before realizing what she meant. He quickly explained, “I wasn’t interfering.”

“I just can’t stand seeing someone take advantage of a girl. His dirty hands are a symbol of evil.”

Fang Zhou’s words were filled with passion and righteousness, making Chu Xinran almost want to applaud.

Following her impulse, Chu Xinran did indeed clap her hands together.

“A true embodiment of justice. With so many people present, you’re the only one who stepped in. You must be a very enthusiastic citizen.”

A short sentence made Fang Zhou’s face turn red instantly. He understood what Chu Xinran meant.

The subtext was, “You’re the only one with a good heart and a sense of justice.”

“Xinran, don’t degrade yourself…”

In his eyes, seeing Chu Xinran mingling with those people felt like a beautiful flower falling into a pile of trash.

When he saw Chu Xinran drinking with those people, a sense of absurdity overwhelmed him.

How could this be?

Chu Xinran had never been much of a drinker, and even a little alcohol would make her blush.

She had already had several drinks and was starting to show it.

Even now, her face was flushed, looking as if she had applied too much blush.

But in reality, it was due to her own physical constitution.

With such a constitution, how could she dare to drink outside?

So, Fang Zhou couldn’t bear it any longer and stepped in.

He knew his actions might seem clownish.

In Chu Xinran’s eyes, it was meddling.

Despite having said they should cut ties and even blocking her, he couldn’t help himself when they met.

Fang Zhou hated himself for it.

Whenever he tried to leave the banquet hall, his mind would conjure up scenarios of Chu Xinran being forced to drink, taken advantage of, and subjected to unspeakable things.

On one hand, it was the damned possessiveness of a man.

Even though he had no claim over Chu Xinran.

He didn’t even have the right to be openly with her.

But men often have a ridiculous sense of possessiveness over things they once had, people they once liked, and things they can’t have.

On the other hand, he genuinely couldn’t stand by and watch the girl he once deeply loved (and still had feelings for) fall into the wrong hands.

“Hah. Degrade myself? Is that how you see me?”

Chu Xinran let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with coldness.

It was like the water in the pond at the center of the music academy, turning cold in winter. Even walking by the lake, one could feel the chill.

“I don’t mean to belittle you. I’m just afraid you’ll suffer at their hands.”

Chu Xinran stood up abruptly, staring directly into Fang Zhou’s eyes.

At 165 cm, she was relatively petite compared to Fang Zhou.

But at this moment, she exuded an aura of a lady of stature, emanating from within.

“What business is it of yours, F A N G  Z H O U?

Didn’t you block me?

Didn’t you say we should never see each other again?

Didn’t you say we shouldn’t contact each other anymore?”

Chu Xinran took a step closer, closing the distance between them, creating a sense of pressure for Fang Zhou.

Her large eyes were filled with confusion as she asked, word by word, “So, today, you stepped in to play the clown?”

“Who I drink with, who I date, even who I sleep with, what does it have to do with you?”

“Even if I get drunk and they take me home, what right do you have to interfere?”

Chu Xinran’s barrage of questions left Fang Zhou speechless, his mind buzzing.

She wasn’t wrong at all.

Chu Xinran looked Fang Zhou up and down, a cold smile appearing on her lips.

“Don’t tell me you want to keep in touch with your ex.

Forget whether your girlfriend would allow it. Do you think I’m someone cheap enough to be your mistress?”

The more Chu Xinran smiled, the more her heart ached.

She was cutting off all paths between herself and Fang Zhou, forcing him to make a choice.

If she succeeded, it would be a happy ending.

If she failed, there would be no possibility left.

Chu Xinran hadn’t originally planned to take such a drastic step. Her gentle nature wasn’t suited for such decisive actions.

But thinking about the arranged blind dates and future marriage plans set by her mother, Chu Xinran felt a chill in her heart.

If she hadn’t invested such deep feelings in Fang Zhou and hadn’t met someone as warm as him, she might have agreed to an arranged marriage.

Or listened to her mother’s arrangements, marrying someone her mother approved of, and living a stable life.

But as the saying goes, “Once you’ve seen the ocean, no other water will do; except for Mount Wu, no other clouds will do.”

Before coming here, Chu Xinran had decided to fight for her happiness.

With courage and strategy, not just tears and pleas for sympathy.

Because she had already tried that, and while it had some effect, it couldn’t guarantee success a second time.