IKUN Music Group

"Tomorrow evening, Yu You will have a stage performance. It's for the Light Music Club, a new club she just joined."

After returning from Alice's place, the atmosphere at the dinner table remained relatively relaxed. Bai Yuyou sat beside Ye Shuang, eating quietly in small bites. At this moment, Ye Shuang brought up the music performance, extending an invitation.

"Tomorrow evening?"

"Yeah." Ye Shuang nodded.

"Tomorrow evening…" Zhou's Mother said, "I should be free."

Since Ye Shuang had invited her to watch the performance, Zhou's Mother was determined to go—even if she had to make time for it. Coincidentally, she had an engagement scheduled for tomorrow, but she decided to find an excuse to cancel it.

"Alice, are you going?" Ye Shuang turned to the little girl.

"Mmm." Alice looked away, seemingly lost in thought and unwilling to meet Ye Shuang's gaze.

The girl was still pondering what Ye Shuang might ask of her, given that she had said he could make her do anything.

"Would he try to make me do something weird?" Alice thought, glancing at Ye Shuang with a strange expression.

Ye Shuang had no idea what was going through the girl's mind. Seeing that Alice remained silent, he didn’t press further.

Unexpectedly, Alice suddenly spoke up, "Fine, as part of the bet, I’ll go."

"Bet?" Ye Shuang quickly caught onto Alice’s little game. He merely smiled, choosing not to call her out—after all, it wasn’t worth making a fuss over.

She was just a grade-schooler. What could she possibly do for him?

The dinner conversation shifted to Bai Yuyou’s recent life and whether she would return to the harbor district with Zhou's Mother and the others. Unsurprisingly, Bai Yuyou refused every suggestion.

But this time, she didn’t shake her head with tears in her eyes or bury her face in Ye Shuang’s chest like before. Instead, she calmly and expressionlessly declined Zhou's Mother’s offers.

Zhou's Mother sighed inwardly, though she noticed that Bai Yuyou’s resistance toward her had lessened. If that was the case, all that remained was to let time do its work.

Meanwhile, Bai Yuyou’s two uncles adored her dearly. Back when she was little, they had loved carrying her around to show off the exquisitely beautiful child to their friends.

Though this wasn’t their first reunion, they still gave her a generous welcome gift—each presenting her with a red envelope containing a bank card loaded with a million yuan.

"I don’t need this…" Bai Yuyou initially refused, but seeing the warmth in her uncles’ eyes, she eventually accepted.

The girl had no extravagant expenses. To her, whether it was a million or ten million made no difference.

She’d just give it to Ye Shuang when they got home.

Time flew by, and it was almost nine o’clock. No matter what, it was time to head back and rest.

Zhou's Mother briefly considered asking Bai Yuyou to stay with her at a hotel for the night but ultimately dropped the idea.

"Be careful on your way back. I’ll come watch the performance tomorrow," Zhou's Mother said as she and the others stood by the car, bidding farewell to Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou.

"Mm." Ye Shuang nodded, then gently patted Bai Yuyou’s head. The girl softly added,

"Goodbye… Good night…"

Zhou's Mother smiled. "Rest well, Sister Rou."

Ye Shuang also raised a hand toward Alice, who had been staring at him. "See ya."

Alice turned her head away but stuck out her tongue playfully.

"Pakeda."

"It means ‘goodbye,’" one of the uncles explained with a laugh.

Ye Shuang chuckled as well before leaving with Bai Yuyou.

Zhou's Mother watched their figures until they got into their car, then reluctantly returned to her own vehicle.

Just then, her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Zhou's Father calling.

"Hello?"

"A-Xian, you took Alice with you?" Zhou's Father’s voice sounded strained, as if holding back some emotion.

"Yeah, what’s up?"

"…" The line fell silent for a moment.

For some reason, he suddenly hung up. Zhou's Mother looked at her phone but didn’t dwell on it.

……

"What did Aunt Xian talk to you about?" Ye Shuang asked the girl in the passenger seat as he drove.

Bai Yuyou replied, "She asked… about how I’ve been."

"And… wanted me to go back."

Ye Shuang kept his eyes on the road and didn’t press further. But then, he felt a weight against his arm—Bai Yuyou had rested her cheek against him.

"I won’t leave Ye Shuang…"

"I only want Ye Shuang…" The words seemed more like a reassurance to herself.

Ye Shuang reached over and gently patted her head.

……

The next day.

Yinshan Academy was as lively as ever. After selling some lemon tea in the morning, the rest of the day was spent rehearsing and preparing for the Light Music Club’s performance.

Since everyone was practicing in the gym’s backstage area, they didn’t run into members of other clubs.

After finishing a piece, Zhixia called for a break. "Alright, let’s rest for a bit."

During the break, they had some unexpected "guests."

Two students with middle-parted hair walked over and grinned at Zhixia. "Hey, working hard, huh?"

"What do you two want?" Zhixia didn’t seem thrilled by their presence, but she kept her annoyance in check. "Don’t you guys from the LoveKun Music Club have anything better to do than bother us?"

One of the students shrugged. "Just heard the Light Music Club was about to disband, and now you’re putting on a show. Had to come check it out."

"Huang Zhao, if you’ve got nothing important to say, please leave. Don’t disrupt our rehearsal," Linlin interjected.

Huang Zhao smirked. "Linlin, no need to be so cold. We used to be in the same club, remember?"

"Once you left the Light Music Club, you stopped being one of us."

"Ouch, that’s harsh. I didn’t do anything wrong. Music is more fun with more people. If the club keeps ranking last every year and can’t even recruit new members, what’s the point?"

"Mind your own business." Zhixia tugged Linlin’s sleeve. "Ignore him."

Linlin added, "Just go away. You’re bothering us."

"Such a buzzkill." Before Huang Zhao could finish, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Ye Shuang appeared between Huang Zhao and the other boy, grinning as he slung an arm around each of their necks. "What’s the fun discussion about?"

Huang Zhao stiffened, quickly stepping back. The other boy was equally startled.

"W-Who are you?"

"Me? Just the Light Music Club’s supervising teacher. Are you two here to help move equipment?" Ye Shuang pointed at an electronic keyboard nearby. "That thing’s pretty heavy. We could use some extra hands."