Chapter 49: Stirring Up Buried Memories

Lady Nangong’s words left Lady Xi at a loss for a response.

The truth was, Xi Junle truly was in a unique situation.

Even if someone wanted to curry favor with him, they would be too afraid of being caught by the ever-present cameras. The moment one appeared in the entertainment news, they would instantly become the target of his female fans’ relentless attacks, leaving nothing of their reputation behind.

Who could blame them? He possessed both talent and looks, and hailed from an exceptional family. Whether they were young girls or doting mothers, his fans adored him all the same. Should any woman so much as appear near him, she would inevitably become the subject of their collective onslaught.

Yet, Lady Xi would not give up so easily.

With a show of feigned annoyance, she waved her silk handkerchief. “Ah, it’s those nosy entertainment reporters who have left our Junle with so few friends to this day.”

Then, patting Xianyu Zhen’s hand where it rested on the table, she beamed, “It’s rare for Zhenzhen to get along so well with our Junle. You must come visit often! Your Junle brother isn’t on tour at the moment. When you have time off on weekends, come by and let him tell you about his school days. He has so many amusing stories!”

Just outside the pavilion, Xi Junle was passing by and overheard the conversation, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

When had the two of them ever gotten along so well? And what school anecdotes? Back in school, he’d kept to himself precisely to avoid the entanglements of his female classmates!

Before his mother could say anything even more awkward, Xi Junle hurried into the pavilion and offered his apologies to Lady Nangong. “I’m sorry, grandaunt, I’m late.”

Lady Nangong’s husband was an old friend and sworn brother to the Xi family patriarch, so Xi Junle had always addressed her affectionately as grandaunt.

Today, Xi Junle had just come from a music competition awards ceremony and was dressed especially formally. Clad in a black suit and tie, his hair slicked back, his tall, upright figure and strikingly chiseled, mixed-race features lent him an air of unmatched elegance.

Lady Xi could not have been prouder at her son’s entrance.

Yet Lady Nangong felt a twinge of discomfort. Had she known what Lady Xi was plotting, she would never have brought Xianyu Zhen along today.

Nevertheless, she maintained her composure. “It’s been over half a year, Junle. You’ve become even more mature and steady.”

Lady Xi’s smile grew even more radiant at that. “Haha, I’m not bragging, but Junle is likely to be nominated as one of the ten most outstanding young talents in Emperor City this year!”

Xi Junle could only sweat with embarrassment. “Mother, if that’s not bragging, what is…”

“Tsk, what are you shy about?” Lady Xi chided him. “I just wanted your grandaunt and Zhenzhen to know in advance, so they could be happy for you too!”

Zhenzhen? Was his mother being a little too obvious? He hoped she wouldn’t frighten the young lady.

Fortunately, Xianyu Zhen maintained her polite and composed smile, as though she hadn’t caught on to Lady Xi’s intent.

Xi Junle let out a small sigh of relief.

But Lady Xi was not done yet. “Junle, since it’s Zhenzhen’s first time visiting our home, as the host, why don’t you show her around?”

Lady Nangong’s eyes flickered. “Junle just got back. Let him sit and rest for a while first.”

“There’s no need to worry about him; it’s not as though he’s doing anything strenuous,” Lady Xi replied, instructing a servant to help with Xianyu Zhen’s bag.

But Xianyu Zhen, unused to such attention, took her own purse and rose to her feet.

Left with no other choice, Xi Junle led her away from the pavilion, down the winding garden path, beginning a quiet stroll together.

It was only their second meeting, and neither was fond of small talk, so they walked side by side in silence.

Though the atmosphere was rather chilly, the absence of forced courtesy was, in a way, a relief for Xi Junle. He found it more comfortable than most social encounters.

The Xi family’s garden was a labyrinth of covered walkways, adorned with numerous wind chimes. Whenever the autumn breeze stirred, the air filled with the pleasant tinkling of their music.

Back in her rural home, Xianyu Zhen had hung a set of wooden wind chimes beneath the banyan tree.

So now, whenever she heard the chimes ringing in the wind, she would feel as though she’d returned home. A gentle, contented smile appeared on her face.

Xi Junle remembered how, as a child, Nangong Xin had always leapt joyfully at the sound of the chimes whenever she visited.

He recalled her boldly saying, “Junle, your house is so beautiful! When I grow up, can I come live with you?”

But as she got older, Nangong Xin became immersed in endless gatherings. When she did visit, she was no longer that exuberant child. Like all the other girls, she would simply gaze at him shyly, her eyes no longer fixed on the wind chimes.

“These wind chimes… Did you make them?” Xianyu Zhen suddenly stopped and asked.

Xi Junle paused, then nodded gently. “How did you know?”

Many guests to the Xi home would praise the family’s deep cultural roots, assuming even the wind chimes to be the handiwork of a master artist. None realized that they were actually the works of Xi Junle’s childhood.

He was not only musically gifted, but also skilled at woodcarving. But because the Xi patriarch worried he might injure his hands, he was eventually made to give up the hobby.

The earliest, roughest pieces hung in his own courtyard; those in the outer garden were crafted when his skills had matured.

He hadn’t expected that, while no one else had noticed, this young lady would discern the truth.

“The plaques on the chimes are all engraved with the notes you play most often,” Xianyu Zhen replied simply.

Her casual tone sent ripples through Xi Junle’s heart.

He had a habit: after finishing a piece on the piano, he would always press an extra ‘do’ note at the end. He developed this habit after a trip to the southern city at age six.

That day, he had gone with his cousins to a music shop, where he saw a little boy who loved the piano but could only play the note ‘do’. He’d thought the boy was rather foolish.

But later, it was that same foolish little boy who, when Xi Junle fell into the water and was left alone, had jumped in to save him without hesitation.

Even in the south, the river was freezing cold in winter, and the banks were steep. Xi Junle, unable to swim, repeatedly lost his grip in panic as he tried to climb out.

The frail little boy, shivering violently from the cold, still held him up with gritted teeth, stubbornly telling him, “Don’t let go!”

In the end, Xi Junle held on until his family saved him, but the little boy had to be pulled from the water himself…

Since then, he had always pressed an extra ‘do’ at the end of every piece he played. Everyone thought it was just a quirk—no one knew the story behind it.

No one knew, either, that the reason he made wind chimes was because that boy was the son of the wind chime shop owner next to the music store. That boy had a hearing impairment.

These memories had long been buried deep in his heart, but today, with just a few words from Xianyu Zhen, they resurfaced.

Looking into her clear, limpid eyes, Xi Junle understood why, that night, he had been compelled to draw near her. It was the stubborn light in her gaze—it reminded him so much of that little boy.

Perhaps it was only a faint resemblance, but it was enough to bring the past rushing back.

Xi Junle reached out, brushing his hand over the top of Xianyu Zhen’s hair, and grasped the longest wind chime’s wooden plaque. He sighed softly.

“You’re the first person, aside from my family, to discover this secret.”