Chapter 61: Fallen Leaves

Chapter 61: Fallen Leaves

When Xu Zhou got home, the clock hands already pointed to midnight.

The villa was quiet and dark, its silence unsettling. He opened the door, took out his phone, and after seemingly confirming something, let out a sigh of relief. He then turned to the island counter, poured a glass of cold water, and gulped it down.

The cold water rushed down his throat, stimulating his limbs and bones. Xu Zhou shook his head, finally looking a bit more refreshed.

He put the glass back, but then noticed an untouched glass of milk on the other side.

Xu Zhou frowned.

From a very early age, Xu Xingli had developed the habit of drinking a glass of hot milk before bed; otherwise, he couldn't sleep. The boy often complained to him, blaming him for cultivating such a troublesome habit.

Knowing this habit, Xu Zhou had asked Aunt Chen to prepare the milk every evening before she left, so Xu Xingli would heat it himself when it was time, and then go to wash up and sleep after drinking it.

Why hadn't he drunk it today?

Was Xu Xingli still awake?

Thinking this, Xu Zhou put the milk into hot water to heat it, then walked upstairs.

However, before he reached the stairs, as he passed through the living room, Calico appeared from somewhere.

The little cat was batting a small object, making a "clack-clack" sound on the floor.

Xu Zhou's heart skipped a beat. Why was Calico alone downstairs? And where was Xu Xingli?

The next moment, the little cat flicked its paw, and the small object in front of it was sent flying, rolling to Xu Zhou's feet and bumping into his slipper.

This bump created a hole in Xu Zhou's mind.

Under the faint moonlight, he clearly saw what it was—

A hearing aid. The hearing aid he had given to Xu Xingli.

Xu Zhou's internal alarm bells immediately went off.

"Xu Xingli!" he shouted upstairs, and then ran up the steps.

He rushed into Xu Xingli's room first, but it was empty.

Not only was it empty, but all of Xu Xingli's daily necessities and his frequently worn clothes were gone from the room.

Xu Zhou felt a tightness in his chest, finding it difficult to breathe for a moment.

He then immediately turned and ran towards the music room.

Pushing open the attic door with force, he completely lost his strength when he saw the black piano, brightly illuminated by the moonlight.

He felt as if his neck was being tightly squeezed, unable to breathe normally. His chest rose and fell violently, his knees buckled, and he slowly knelt down by the doorframe.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally raised his head again, supporting himself on the doorframe to stand up with difficulty. After going downstairs, he opened room after room, checking all of them.

He didn't hold much hope. After searching the last room, he collapsed heavily onto the sofa like a lost soul, raising his hand to cover his eyes.

The moonlight was pale and ghostly, spilling onto the floor. Tree shadows swayed and danced, creating an eerie atmosphere in the silent house.

Calico was still fiddling with the hearing aid, its paws and the hearing aid occasionally hitting the floor, making dull thuds.

Calico only knew that this was left for it by its young master, and it was full of its young master's scent.

But it didn't know that its doting young master wouldn't be back for a long time. Nor did it know that the man slumped on the sofa, covering his eyes, shed a tear without disturbing anything around him.

*

"Your complexion doesn't look too good. Haven't you been resting well these past few days? The makeup might be a bit heavier, is that acceptable?"

Backstage, the makeup artist, vigorously patting the powder puff, held Xu Xingli's face and asked politely.

Xu Xingli nodded slightly: "It's acceptable."

The makeup artist then unceremoniously patted the powder puff on his face, saying boldly, "Alright, just wait!"

Ten minutes later, Xu Xingli, ready to go, sat in the waiting area, patiently waiting for the host to call his name.

He had a low fever two days ago, and now he felt a bit listless. Thanks to the makeup, his complexion looked better.

His phone vibrated wildly again. He frowned slightly, but fearing he might smudge his makeup, he quickly regained his composure. Picking up his phone, he didn't even need to unlock the screen to know who was bothering him.

As expected, Duan Yi's chat window showed twelve unread messages, topping Xu Xingli's chat interface.

They were nothing more than "Don't be nervous, you can do it!" and "Go for it! We all believe in you!"

As for how many of those messages were actually sent by Duan Yi himself, Xu Xingli had no way of knowing.

Ever since he discovered that the hearing aid could be located, Xu Xingli had blacklisted Xu Zhou on all social media platforms and moved out of the villa.

He had been staying in a hotel these past few days, and Zhou's savings had come in handy.

He knew that if Xu Zhou wanted to track his movements, he only needed to lift a finger, but he guessed that Xu Zhou wouldn't disturb him. At least not before the finals.

Facts proved his guess was correct; Xu Zhou indeed hadn't come looking for him.

Xu Xingli pursed his lips, but still politely replied with a thank you, then set his phone to do not disturb.

The next second, he heard the host on stage call his name. He put down his phone and stood up unhurriedly.

He ascended the stage to a burst of warm applause, bowed deeply to the judges and the audience, and sat down on the piano stool.

This time, the audience consisted of the contestants' friends and family, who could only enter with an invitation. Xu Xingli had sent invitations to everyone around him except Xu Zhou, and his friends were very supportive. Except for Lin Xie, who was temporarily bedridden, everyone else came to the venue.

He took a deep breath, slowly raised his hands, and paused above the piano keys. The next moment, clear and smooth melodies flowed out with an unhurried rhythm.

He had been practicing the piano at school these past few days, so his hands weren't rusty, and his ears had grown accustomed to not wearing the hearing aid. His hearing had largely recovered now. Although his cold and fever had made his ears less sensitive, it didn't affect the competition. All his movements were still fluid and ingrained in his bones.

As the piece ended, the stage was silent for a second, then erupted in thunderous applause. Xu Xingli, by the piano, let out a deep breath, slowly bent down, and bowed deeply to the audience and judges.

After leaving the stage, he went to the audience, and when he found his friends, he saw countless thumbs-up.

Jian Ran looked surprised: "Li, you really outdid yourself! I think you're OK!"

Duan Yi also held up his camera, full of admiration: "That was stunning, Xingxing, I'll be rewatching the VCR repeatedly."

Xu Xingli smiled: "Thank you, now we just wait for the results to be announced."

Song Yijin also smiled: "I think it's not a big deal." Then she thought of something and asked, "But have you already bought your plane ticket for tomorrow, Xingxing? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Xu Xingli nodded and said, "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Professor Wu wrote a recommendation letter to the school, and classes are about to start, so they hope I can go early. The timing is indeed a bit tight, so I'll treat everyone to a farewell dinner tonight."

Duan Yi slapped his head, correcting him: "Farewell? This is a celebration party!"

Xu Xingli raised his hand to rub the spot that had been hit, and smiled with a curl of his lips: "Just kidding."

When the results were announced, these few people almost prayed to every deity they knew. Tense and dramatic music played on stage, while below, everyone prayed for blessings.

Just as Xu Xingli listened to Jian Ran's eighth repetition of "sincerity brings results," the host announced Xu Xingli's score.

It was the highest score of the entire competition so far. Everyone froze for a moment, then cheered and jumped up.

Jian Ran hugged Xu Xingli, burying his face and crying bitterly: "Li! You're really leaving! Waaah! Wait for me! I'll come find you next year!"

Xu Xingli was almost out of breath from the hug. He pushed Jian Ran, signaling him to be gentler: "I'm just going abroad. We'll have plenty of chances to meet in the future, but if you keep hugging me like this, I'm really going to die."

Jian Ran finally regained his senses and reluctantly let go.

Duan Yi, watching from the side, found it amusing. He put his arm around Jian Ran's shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's go, let's find a place to have fun. The private room for tonight is also booked, my treat."

Xu Xingli, in a rush of excitement, followed along, but forgot that if Duan Yi was treating, Xu Zhou would definitely be there too.

Duan Yi found a party venue. When they arrived, Xu Zhou was already sitting on the sofa.

Xu Xingli's eyes met his immediately. Both of them, as if by tacit agreement, looked away the next second.

For the rest of the time, Xu Zhou didn't actively seek out Xu Xingli. He just sat on the sofa, drinking cocktail after cocktail, his gaze occasionally falling on the boy in the light blue hoodie.

Xu Xingli stood by the pool table, holding a cue stick, learning techniques from Jian Ran.

Because of his hearing, every time Jian Ran spoke, Xu Xingli had to tilt his head and stare intently at his lips to understand what he was saying.

It was unclear how many times Jian Ran had directly manipulated Xu Xingli's fingers to demonstrate a move.

Just as Jian Ran reached out again to try and correct Xu Xingli's stiff posture, Xu Zhou finally couldn't hold back. He suddenly stood up and stepped forward, adjusting Xu Xingli's movements first.

"Don't grip your fingers so tightly, lean forward slightly, and put your weight on the balls of your feet," he said emotionlessly.

Xu Xingli's body stiffened even more.

The air was silent for a few seconds. Xu Zhou thought he hadn't heard clearly and was about to speak again, but Xu Xingli seemed to realize something. He suddenly turned his head, and upon seeing it was Xu Zhou, he immediately retreated several steps, his lower back hitting the pool table with a thud.

But he seemed to feel no pain, only staring at Xu Zhou warily.

Xu Zhou looked back at him, his mouth opening and closing: "I'll teach you how to play pool."

Xu Xingli clearly understood, because the next second, he threw down the cue stick and walked away.

Xu Zhou stood in place for a few seconds, then finally lifted his foot and chased after him.

"Xu Xingli! You listen to me." He rushed up, and just as he grabbed Xu Xingli's wrist, he was met with frantic resistance.

Xu Xingli desperately shook his hand, as if touched by something particularly repulsive, his eyes filled with impatience: "Let go of me! Xu Zhou! I won't forgive you!"

But Xu Zhou tightened his grip, his tone somewhat urgent: "It does have a positioning function, but I can only receive your Bluetooth signal. Simply put, I only receive information when you are within one kilometer of me, and it's not precise positioning, it just tells me that you are near me."

Xu Xingli breathed slightly, finally willing to look at him, only asking, his voice a little nasal: "This is meaningless, Xu Zhou. You just need to tell me if you ever turned on its positioning." He paused, then added, "Or, if you ever thought about turning it on."

Xu Zhou opened his mouth, but said nothing, finally dropping his eyes in defeat.

Seeing this, Xu Xingli chuckled lightly: "Xu Zhou, is this interesting?"

He turned to leave, and a "I'm sorry" came from behind him.

Xu Xingli immediately darkened his face. He really, really hated that word.

Who on earth thought that word could erase all harm?

He suddenly turned around, staring directly at the person in front of him, his voice icy cold: "Xu Zhou, let's not be like this anymore. It's better for both of us to separate. Maybe one day you'll find your current actions utterly childish, and maybe one day I'll come to my senses and be willing to forgive you. But for now, let's not torment each other."