Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Chapter 95 The Blank Decade

The gray sky was flooded with torrential rain.

As Lin Wanzhou stepped out onto the rooftop, she tucked her cell phone into her pocket, her whole demeanor slightly tense.

She saw the rain being smashed against the glass canopy overhead, exploding into a series of wet splashes. She couldn't help but shrink her neck as if the rain had already penetrated the glass and was cascading onto her collar.

"This way," Xu Qingyan called out to her.

"You..." her voice was fine and distinguishable even in the stormy weather, "Have you been here all this time?"

"Yes, suddenly wanted to come up and have a look," Xu Qingyan watched her slowly approaching, her small hands behind her back, inching closer, and he found himself even more at a loss for words.

The two stood some distance apart, her sneakers firmly planted on the edge of the wooden board gaps, the sound of the rain loud and clear.

"Do you still return to Qing River now?" she asked.

At her words, he hesitated for a few seconds.

"Qing River?"

Qing River was a poor, backward village, grey and dusty, hidden in the mountains and hard to leave. The people there lived off the land and the fields, earning money by venturing out year after year.

The only things left in that barren land were the big river by the village entrance and the clan's bloodline.

"I go back every year, but I don't stay long," he said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to remember Qing River. We can't keep the girls there; most of them have left."

"How could I forget after having stayed there?" Lin Wanzhou's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"It's mainly because the village is too small and too poor," Xu Qingyan explained, "Who would have thought that such a village once hosted a big star."

"If my mom hadn't come to find me back then... perhaps we would have gone to the same high school," she turned her head slightly, as if pouting, "I remember a lot of things."

He didn't remember, his memories of middle school were mostly blurred, only recalling a few small things about Lin Wanzhou. Not just middle school, even high school and college memories were scarce. Find adventures on m_v l|-NovelBin.net

He had few friends and was mostly quiet; Qingyan's entire youth was almost entirely grey. He never dated; just studying and caring for his sick mother was taxing enough.

Suffering is just suffering and not something to glorify or consider as precious wealth. Suffering only drains one's vitality, making one become extreme and sensitive.

"How has your mother been lately?" he asked.

"She passed away."

"What?" Xu Qingyan froze, stunned for several seconds before turning his head, "How could that be... she was in good spirits back then, when did it happen?"

"Two years ago." Lin Wanzhou spoke calmly, concisely summarizing the events of the past few years.

At that moment, thunder roared on the island, and it was nearing noon. The sky above was growing darker, with lightning streaking across the black clouds, and the cold wind hooted.

The cool rain lashed against Xu Qingyan's face as he listened with growing shock.

Lin Wanzhou spoke without any emotion, as if telling someone else's story, from transferring schools to studying vocal music. Bit by bit, she entered the music industry from an ordinary person, struggling and competing.

Like a puppet manipulated by strings, she fulfilled dreams that were not her own.

Guan Jin had died, the reprimands of the past largely forgotten; Xu Qingyan only remembered a sentence, "My daughter is going to be a big star," the rest blurred in the passage of time.

"What about you?"

"Me?" Xu Qingyan had yet to fully come to his senses.

"Yes, what happened to you after all that...?" Lin Wanzhou glanced at him, from her point of view, the wind and rain, dark clouds, all obscured behind his straight nose, with lightning slashing the gloomy sky.

The torrential rain was like a large, smeared landscape painting, with vast strokes of ink and reserved whites blurring into a gloomy background—cold, uneasy, ready to collapse at any moment.

Gazing for too long, breathing involuntarily slowed down.

Lin Wanzhou realized her heartbeat was a bit fast, the thunderstorm she feared most, somehow didn't seem so frightening because of someone's presence beside her. It was as if an invisible hand were shielding her, and a sense of safety gradually returned to her heart with the blood flow.

She wanted to know the story that followed, about Xu Qingyan's life during the ten years of blank space after she left.

Only someone who had experienced an unforgettable love could have written lyrics like that.

"You should know about the things from junior high. Honestly, I don't remember much after that period, just went through the motions to study and advance to high school," he said.

Xu Qingyan's brows slightly furrowed, reflecting for a moment before narrating bit by bit.

"Later on, my mom got sick. High school came with its own set of issues, so I had to shuttle between the hospital and school. Initially, we asked relatives for help, but you can't always keep troubling them."

"Sick?" Lin Wanzhou interrupted, "Aunt Zhang's health has always been good, hasn't it? How did she get ill?"

"It's unclear. Illness strikes like a collapsing mountain—who can predict these things?" He shook his head.

"The illness came on so suddenly that we were caught off guard. Fortunately, my father had some prestige before he passed. Quite a few people from the village helped, and some even gave money directly. We managed to get by during that time."

"I took the money, but my mom had me write IOUs for every cent. I've kept track of it all these years, actually not much else happened, just running between the hospital and school."

"After I graduated, things got a lot better, and the money was gradually paid back."

"How's Aunt Zhang's health now?" Lin Wanzhou asked, suddenly understanding the reason Qi Ting had said he was always borrowing money—she looked down, contemplative.

"Not bad, she needs to have a surgery." Xu Qingyan felt he couldn't say any more. Fortunately, they hadn't stayed too long on this rainy rooftop; there wasn't a need to be constantly filmed.

One simply had to notify the crew if they didn't want to be shot, and they were quite accommodating. Ten minutes, twenty minutes could be negotiated, to adjust one's state or such.

Although no one heard, if he continued, even a fool could guess he had taken money from the production crew.

"Do you have enough money?" Lin Wanzhou immediately asked, "If not, I can..."

"It's enough, no need to borrow anymore," Xu Qingyan was still somewhat moved, as finding a willing lender, even among old classmates, wasn't easy.

Lin Wanzhou's unspoken "I'll give it to you, no need to repay" was blocked by his "It's enough, no need to borrow anymore," so she said no more about it.

"Hmm..." She initially wanted to ask Xu Qingyan if he had ever had a passion-filled romance, but now the mood was such that she couldn't bring herself to ask.

The two of them chatted about other things for a while, figuring it was time to head downstairs.

"By the way, is that song you sold to Pei Muchan any good?" Lin Wanzhou asked.

"It's okay."

"What's it about?"

"Youth, I guess..." Xu Qingyan was a bit embarrassed; the song was copied, it described someone else's youth—an epitome of everyone's youth, perhaps.

"Oh, and how about my song? You haven't told me the title yet," Lin Wanzhou said, walking downstairs step by step with him.

"The One I Miss."

"That's a nice title. I like it," she said, trailing behind as if mentioning it offhandedly, "Have you written the letter for this afternoon?"

At her words, Xu Qingyan suddenly realized he had almost forgotten the main task and stopped on the stairs to look up at her.

"I..."