Chapter 80: Loving You Across Time

Suddenly, Lu Yuanqiu turned his head and looked over. The girl's expression froze instantly; she hurriedly wiped the smile from her face and tightened her grip on her pen.

Lu Yuanqiu called out, "Come on, join us!"

Bai Qingxia shook her head vigorously, like a rattling drum.

Absolutely not, she thought. He's out of his mind.

Just then, Lu Yuanqiu caught sight of a cute, short-haired little head peeking in at the doorway.

Lu Yidong crept in furtively, her small face serious as she surveyed the scene inside the hospital room.

Lu Yuanqiu asked, "What are you doing?"

"Mom's not here, right?" Lu Yidong asked cautiously, slowly stepping inside. When she saw for certain that Su Xiaoya was nowhere in sight, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"You scared me! I thought I'd run into her today for sure."

Lu Yidong’s last-place ranking was already out in the open, but Su Xiaoya had been too busy these past two days to scold her, and Lu Tian would never lay a hand on her.

"Sister Bai!"

Lu Yidong bounced over, adorably planting herself in front of Bai Qingxia.

Ever since she’d heard that the man in the overalls had saved her brother, Lu Yidong had been walking around with her head held high, as if the idol she’d championed had finally proved himself. The man in overalls she’d admired had at last demonstrated his kindness.

Moreover, after learning about the backgrounds of the man in overalls and Sister Bai from her father that day, Lu Yidong had cried. Yesterday, she'd rushed to the supermarket, eager to meet Bai Qingxia in person.

Today, her main purpose in coming was to find the man in overalls and play with him—and she’d even brought him some treats.

"Hello, Dongdong..."

Bai Qingxia stood up at once, her hands awkwardly folded in front of her as she nodded and smiled gently at the little girl.

Lu Yidong stepped forward, grabbing her hand and swinging it back and forth with familiar ease. "Sister, you’re way too shy. My brother loves picking on people like you. He’s so shameless."

Bai Qingxia forced a laugh, unsure how to respond.

Compared to being teased by Lu Yuanqiu, she found it even harder to interact with Lu Yidong, whom she'd only met once—and this little one was so enthusiastic...

"Hey, Mom, why are you here?!" Lu Yuanqiu suddenly called out toward the door.

The little girl’s face changed dramatically; she shot behind Lu Yuanqiu like a startled kitten. "Brother! Save me!"

But when she peeked out to look, the doorway was empty. Realizing she’d been tricked, Lu Yidong bristled with rage, raining a flurry of indignant little fists on Lu Yuanqiu’s backside. She turned indignantly to Bai Qingxia, exclaiming, "Sister Bai, did you see that? Lu Yuanqiu is such a jerk! The worst! The absolute king of all jerks!"

Bai Qingxia couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Lu Yuanqiu reached back, grabbed his sister by the nape, and set her in front of him. "What are you really here for?"

"To play with Uncle Bai!"

"Then hurry up and take him out to play! Otherwise, if Mom really shows up..."

Apparently convinced by her brother’s argument, Lu Yidong immediately went over and tugged on Bai Songzhe. "Uncle, let’s go! I’ll buy you something tasty."

"Something tasty! Something tasty!" Bai Songzhe echoed, beaming at his daughter. Bai Qingxia smiled, stepped forward, and waved a small hand, watching them leave the hospital room.

Now the room was empty except for two people. Lu Yuanqiu glanced at the girl's delicate profile, half-hidden by her hair. He knew Bai Qingxia wasn't close with Lu Yidong and would feel uneasy sharing the same space.

Usually, Bai Qingxia responded to strangers with a cool, distant manner, but she couldn’t act that way with Lu Yuanqiu’s family—so she was left feeling awkward.

A trip out during the National Day holiday might help, he thought. Bai Qingxia needs to gradually get used to interacting with people besides me...

The girl lowered her hands, glanced at Lu Yuanqiu, then dropped her gaze and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, restoring quiet to the room.

Lu Yuanqiu moved to the desk and sat down, eyeing the notebook filled with neat, print-like handwriting in surprise. "Wow, you’ve copied so much already?"

"Yes, just three books left," Bai Qingxia replied as she walked over, glancing down at the chair Lu Yuanqiu had claimed. Sensing her gaze, Lu Yuanqiu shifted to the side. "There aren’t any other chairs. Let’s sit together. Don’t you like the song ‘Maple’? I downloaded it especially for you last night. Want to listen? Together."

He dangled the headphones in front of her, looking rather pleased with himself.

Bai Qingxia’s eyes lit up. She rarely got the chance to listen to music, and she did love Jay Chou’s ‘Maple.’

She hesitated for a moment, glanced at the stool, then sat down, squeezing in beside Lu Yuanqiu, her hands resting primly on her tightly pressed knees.

She seemed soft and delicate everywhere... Lu Yuanqiu breathed in the faint fragrance that lingered near her and smiled as he handed her the right earbud.

Then he put the left earbud in for himself.

Bai Qingxia tilted her head slightly to the left, her hair falling away to reveal her right ear. Lu Yuanqiu glanced at the pale curve of her neck and her exquisite profile. When she had the earbud in place, he lowered his head and focused on the phone, pressing play.

The familiar melody threaded its way through the Y-shaped headphone cable, reaching both of them at once.

At the first note, Bai Qingxia’s eyelashes fluttered gently.

Lu Yuanqiu rested one hand on the table, drumming his fingers lightly as he listened, completely at ease.

In the quiet hospital room, the sound of youth resonated through their shared headphones.

One chair bore the weight of two young people; one song, ‘Maple,’ carried their bright hopes for the future.

If youth had a color, for Bai Qingxia, it would surely be the red of autumn leaves.

"Gently falling maple leaves, like longing—"

"I light a candle, warming the end of autumn—"

"The aurora sweeps across the horizon—"

"The north wind brushes past your remembered face—"

As the chorus rose, Bai Qingxia quietly lifted her eyes, studying the boy's profile. Her beautiful gaze was earnest and tender; Lu Yuanqiu looked back at her, and she quickly turned away, her eyes landing on the window. The corners of Lu Yuanqiu’s mouth curled upward; he swayed his head to the music, still at ease.

"Loving you across time—"

"Two lines of tears from the end of autumn—"

"Let love seep deep into the earth—"

"All I want is you by my side—"

Somewhere along the song, Lu Yuanqiu’s gaze had also become fixed on the girl's profile.

"Lu Yuanqiu! Your grandfather’s here to see you!!"

Zhong Jincheng’s voice suddenly rang out.

Both of them jumped to their feet in alarm.

Bai Qingxia scrambled to close the notebook and books on the desk, clutching them to her chest.

With her back to the door, she had no idea where to go—she only knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. If there were a crack in the floor, she’d have crawled right in.

Lu Yuanqiu had panicked only for a split second when he stood up; now he calmly wound up the earphone cord, then looked up at the three men frozen in the doorway.

Zheng Yifeng, Zhong Jincheng, and Gao Qiang stood rooted to the spot.

It was as if, after Zhong Jincheng’s shout, the three of them had turned to stone.

Their gazes shifted from Lu Yuanqiu to the back of Bai Qingxia, all drawing a breath, the room suddenly hushed.

"What are you two up to?" someone asked.

(End of chapter)