The Girl with the Black Hair

Again?

Wu Di was confused, wondering when he had ever left her alone.

But now she was clinging to him insistently, and especially so close.

Although they had always been inseparable, they had never been this intimate before.

Come to think of it, it had been just the two of them together for a very, very long time.

If it weren't for Wu Di being injured and needing care, he wouldn't have moved in with Ji Mengyao at all.

"I... I just went outside... to smoke a cigarette..."

"You stole sister's cigarettes again!"

Ji Mengyao forcefully turned Wu Di's face, which he dared not turn back, and looked at him with reproachful eyes.

Their eyes met, the distance between them very close. Ji Mengyao didn't seem uncomfortable at all, but Wu Di's body became even more rigid.

Suddenly, like a little cat, she began sniffing around him.

"Mengyao, you're... too close..."

Wu Di spoke slowly, seemingly unaccustomed to their proximity.

Ji Mengyao completely ignored his words and patted his shoulder:

"You're lying! There's no smell of smoke on you at all!"

"I..."

Wu Di was completely stuck for words.

He remembered Shen Yiyue's instructions and knew he couldn't tell her about consulting with Ning Yu and the others about birthday gifts.

They suddenly found themselves at an impasse.

Ji Mengyao looked at him, and he woodenly stared back at her.

"Hmph! Fine, don't tell me then."

She seemed to suddenly give up, releasing Wu Di and falling back onto the sofa carelessly, looking like a drunk girl.

Wu Di finally breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to dodge the situation.

"Remember to cover yourself with the blanket, it's a bit cold at night."

He said softly to Ji Mengyao.

"Mind your own business! Go to sleep!"

Ji Mengyao turned her back to him with a 'not listening' attitude, facing the sofa backrest.

After a few seconds, she grudgingly pulled up the blanket Wu Di had given her.

Wu Di seemed to want to say something more but couldn't find the words, so he gave up and returned to his room to sleep.

After Wu Di's door closed, Ji Mengyao turned her head back.

The drunken appearance was completely gone, replaced by a somewhat downcast expression, but she was clearly sober.

She sat back against the sofa, staring thoughtfully at the thin moonlight streaming through the window.

Lost in her thoughts about something.

......

In another apartment.

Shen Qianqian was already asleep in her room.

In the living room, Ning Yu had turned the digital piano's volume very low and was quietly playing a piece.

Shen Yiyue was listening beside her.

They both probably remembered what was about to happen before Wu Di arrived earlier, but after being interrupted by him.

Neither mentioned it, sharing an unspoken understanding.

"Little Yu, what's this piece called?"

"It's called 'Clair de Lune.'"

Ning Yu was playing Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune," not Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

"The name suits it perfectly, I feel like moonlight is filling the entire room."

Shen Yiyue rested her chin in her hand, listening intently, though it wasn't clear if she was appreciating Ning Yu's playing or her beautiful figure.

Her silver hair in the ambiguous dim light seemed like the moonlight in Shen Yiyue's heart.

Shen Yiyue couldn't help but smile contentedly, feeling completely satisfied because at this moment, there was no one else in the world to disturb them.

Just her and Ning Yu.

One playing, one listening.

As the piece slowly reached its end and finished, the room returned to a watery silence.

"Ready to sleep, Little Yu?"

It was very late now, but perhaps due to the small amount of alcohol they'd had, neither seemed particularly sleepy.

"How about I play one more piece for you?"

Ning Yu seemed to think of something, tucking her silver hair behind her ear as she turned to smile at Shen Yiyue.

"Alright."

Shen Yiyue had no reason to refuse; she would listen to anything Ning Yu played, especially something specifically for her.

Ning Yu elegantly placed her fingers on the piano's black keys, and a profound sound slowly filled the room.

Then came a series of gentle and delicate movements, weaving a gracefully beautiful melody between the black and white keys.

Clear, soft, as if it could soothe one's soul.

It was Debussy's "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair."

These pieces had never appeared in the Blue Star.

If the apocalypse hadn't happened after crossing over, perhaps she really could have been a content copycat, maybe even entering the entertainment industry.

Just like those web novels described.

Shen Yiyue listened intently to this piece dedicated to her, becoming almost entranced.

Her heart felt warmed by the notes, extremely comfortable.

It was as if she was communicating with Ning Yu through the notes, listening to her wordless expression.

Not words, but better than words.

"So what's this piece called, the one you played for me?"

Only after Ning Yu had finished playing for quite a while did Shen Yiyue ask, wanting to know the name of this piece specially played for her.

"The Girl with the Black Hair"

Ning Yu said without batting an eye, changing the original title, mentally apologizing a thousand times to Debussy.

Hoping he wouldn't rise from his grave to beat her up.

"Naughty Yu... you made that up, didn't you?"

When Shen Yiyue heard the title, she suddenly became shy, verbally scolding but blushing.

Fortunately, the room's lighting wasn't very good, so it wasn't very noticeable.

"Did you like it?"

Ning Yu ignored Shen Yiyue's comment and asked directly.

"Mm... I liked it..."

Shen Yiyue answered honestly, lowering her head slightly, barely able to look at Ning Yu.

"This was for you, because it's beautiful just like you."

Ning Yu said with a smile.

"Ah..."

Shen Yiyue's eyes widened, her mouth slightly open, not expecting Ning Yu to be so direct.

Even the words she was about to say got stuck, as if she'd lost all resistance.

But it felt somewhat sweet, like receiving something she had wanted.

Ning Yu remained silent, while Shen Yiyue kept her head down shyly, unable to look at her.

After quite a while, she finally looked up, and Ning Yu was still quietly watching her, her amber eyes as pure and clear as ever.

"Thank you... I really liked it... and I'm very happy..."

Ning Yu turned off the digital piano and slowly stood up.

"You can hear it as many times as you want in the future."

"Okay."

"It's late, let's get some rest. Good night."

"Good night."

......

A few days later.

Lin Hao suddenly contacted Ning Yu through special means.

They met again in an empty apartment.

This time Lin Hao brought a laptop, seemingly wanting to show something to Ning Yu.

"Looks like you've made some new discoveries?"

Ning Yu sat in the chair, looking at the illuminated laptop screen.

"That's right, I've decoded part of it now."

Lin Hao opened the command line tool on the laptop and began typing a series of commands.

Then a long string of incomprehensible characters began flowing, apparently parsing something.

Soon, the character flow stopped, and an executable program seemed to start running.

An audio player popped up, and a male voice spoke:

"Lacy, look, this is my Utopia Plan."

......