After their confessions were rejected, they regretted it for the rest of their lives.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Xia Weichan went to Tsinghua University to pick up Zhou Juzi, as usual.

However, this time the girl was also pulling her guitar case behind her, and carrying two breakfasts in her other hand.

Her peach blossom eyes, with their slightly upturned corners, stared at him silently for a few seconds before glancing away. Her lips trembled, but she didn't speak.

He was just gesturing for Xia Weichan to open the car's trunk.

After putting the guitar case she had brought from the dormitory inside, Zhou Juzi opened the passenger door without saying a word.

He sat down, closed the door, and handed Xia Weichan a breakfast bun.

It seems she wants to prove that throwing away breakfast yesterday was just a mistake.

Just like yesterday, Zhou Juzi threw the packaging bag away.

I didn't throw away the breakfast I was holding.

Then he lowered his head and silently ate the steamed bun in his hand.

Xia Weichan kept staring at the girl sitting in the passenger seat, who looked sullen.

To ease the tension, he joked:

"You've matured; this time you didn't throw away the breakfast."

"..."

Why aren't you saying anything?

"..."

"Are you grumpy when you wake up?"

Xia Weichan asked in confusion.

This morning, it seems like Zhou Juzi was giving him the silent treatment?

The whole way, I kept glancing out the window, not even once looking at him...

It's most likely a combination of morning grumpiness and menstruation.

Girls' moods are most unpredictable during this period.

This is really difficult...

Xia Weichan didn't have the energy to comfort her, after all, she hadn't slept well all night.

He attributed this to the fact that he almost completed the game on his second playthrough, but ended up focusing only on the ring and not paying attention to the gift itself, which represented the feelings of a young girl.

Who would have thought that besides the note inside the diamond ring box, there were also small words engraved on the base?

depressed…

Even before Xia Weichan had come to a complete stop, Zhou Juzi opened the car door and got out of the car at the entrance of the artist's company.

Without turning her head, the girl uttered her first words to Xia Weichan that day.

"Open the trunk."

"Azusa Tachibana...are you in a bad mood today?"

"..."

Zhou Juzi, carrying the guitar case, simply gave Xia Weichan a pretty yet slightly reproachful look.

The resentful look on her face is as if to say, "Did you just realize that?"

I had insomnia again yesterday because of this guy…

Zhou Juzi doesn't even know if she slept yesterday.

After talking with Liang Na, I lay in bed tossing and turning, feeling like something was pressing on my chest, my mind filled with Xia Weichan's nonchalant words from yesterday noon...

Did he ever consider her feelings when he said those things and did those things?

Zhou Juzi thought about it all night, and the answer was probably no.

This made her very upset and angry.

But because of the agreement they had signed beforehand, she had no choice but to accept it.

The supplementary contract, originally intended to bind Xia Weichan personally and reassure Zhou Juzi, has now become a frozen block of ice in the young girl's heart.

Feeling resentful, Zhou Juzi began using the same "silent treatment" that Xia Weichan had used the previous night.

But Xia Weichan ignored her on the way.

The two have unequal perceptions of their relationship...

Faced with this situation, Zhou Juzi, who started with the silent treatment this morning, became somewhat flustered.

They were also afraid that this action would cause their friendship to completely turn back into that of strangers.

Then I felt a bit down.

Xia Weichan deliberately waited in the same spot for a while before getting off the car. Only after seeing her take a step did the girl turn around and continue walking forward.

There was a distance between the two people.

Xia Weichan hurried forward, and Zhou Juzi quickened her pace slightly as well.

If Xia Weichan slows down, the girl will also slow down her pace...

"You've gone the wrong way. The rehearsal room is that way."

Hearing the reminder, Zhou Juzi, who had been looking down and not paying attention to where she was going, finally came to her senses.

Standing there, his little tiger tooth lightly grazed his lower lip, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face.

But his gaze never went toward Xia Weichan.

"..."

"They didn't know the way, so they just kept walking forward with their heads down..."

Xia Weichan slowly walked to the girl's side and asked softly:

"What's wrong with you? You've been acting strange since this morning?"

Having found a way out, Zhou Juzi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and finally stopped forcing herself to remain indifferent. She looked up, her eyes flickering with unease.

She quickly replied:

Did I offend you yesterday?

"?"

baffling…

Xia Weichan looked puzzled, staring at the girl's clearly serious expression.

"You make me very happy."

"Why did you have such a long face after training yesterday and this morning?"

Only then did Zhou Juzi voice the question that had been troubling her.

So that's what this mess was all about...

Xia Weichan sighed helplessly. He wanted to pinch the girl's cheek, but Zhou Juzi frowned and turned her head away.

So he had no choice but to explain:

"Last night I kept thinking about the Northern Long-tailed Tit, the bird you saw on your phone. I didn't expect that this bird actually has a habitat in Qingcheng, so I left a message under the video asking where it is and to go and see it when I have time."

"Huh?"

Zhou Juzi was stunned upon hearing this, but then she saw Xia Weichan behind her genuinely interested in explaining this kind of bird to her.

seemingly…

Xia Weichan was telling the truth…

Just because of a bird?

The girl's beautiful eyes widened slightly, and the corner of her eye twitched involuntarily.

"..."

As if she had heard the most absurd thing in the world, Zhou Juzi's expression was complicated for a moment.

Is she less appealing to Xia Weichan than a bird?

The girl, unwilling to give up, asked again:

"This morning..."

"That's because you kept a long face the whole time, and you wouldn't respond no matter how I talked to you, right?"

"..."

"Okay, any more questions?"

Xia Weichan looked at her, and at that moment, Zhou Juzi really emerged from her sullen mood.

Then it turned into anger.

His fingers, gripping the guitar case handle, turned white. He gritted his teeth like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on, and muttered in a low, angry voice:

"Why don't you just go find your bird!"

After saying that, Zhou Juzi turned and left decisively.

Her long, orange-yellow hair, whipped around as she turned quickly, nearly brushed against Xia Weichan's arm.

After taking only a few steps, Zhou Juzi turned back, pouting and glaring angrily at Xia Weichan, her face still showing some resentment.

This time, the girl's tone was much softer:

"I don't know where the training room is..."

"..."

.........

A few minutes later, as the door to the instrument trainee practice room closed, Zhou Juzi's beautiful oval face disappeared from Xia Weichan's sight.

He recalled the girl's deliberate eye roll before she closed the door.

Xia Weichan slowly left the women's training area.

He sighed helplessly, having to admit that he was indeed not good at guessing what girls were thinking.

I found a spot to sit and rest not far from the training area.

Just then, Leyi, who was about to come over and take a look, also saw him.

"Hey, boss, even you can't go into the women's training area, right? Hahaha."

"morning."

Xia Weichan replied that he had not only gone in, but had even been standing at the entrance of the main training room.

Pulled along by Zhou Juzi…

But he wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud.

"Boss, you seem a little listless this morning?"

Now, when Leyi meets someone, she usually greets them as "boss" or "leader".

After taking over the company, he did not cut employee benefits. The same way he treated Xia Weiyu and Xia Weichan did.

As time went on, his original employees gradually came to accept him.

He waved his hand, refusing the cigarette that Leyi offered him.

Xia Weichan spoke:

"Tsuruo Kurimaki came to see me yesterday and said she wanted to finish singing the rest of the songs."

"Hmm, she told me this morning," Le Yi nodded.

"She's already here?"

Xia Weichan was somewhat surprised that Kurimaki Tsuruo arrived so early, considering Kurimaki Tsuruo's condition.

He did not assign any work to the girl who had just returned.

"I arrived at 6:30 this morning." Le Yi paused and then continued:

"She came straight to me as soon as she arrived, saying she wanted to arrange a new album for her as soon as possible. Xiao Hexu plans to finish singing the songs left by the former boss."

"I see..."

Xia Weichan was somewhat surprised by the girl's behavior, but he could understand it.

Aside from Xia Weiyu, the only person Kurijuku Tsuruo is familiar with in this talent agency is Le Yi, since they often cross paths at work.

"Is she rehearsing?"

"Um."

Le Yi didn't say much about that, then she changed the subject and said:

"Oh, right, she also asked me which training room Tachibana Azusa trains in."

Faced with Le Yi's questioning gaze, Xia Weichan explained:

"I asked Tsuruo yesterday to train Azusa Funagi's stage presence."

"You're really something."

Xia Weichan understood many meanings in what Le Yi said, but he didn't pay much attention to it, only staring at the door of the training room.

He is now more concerned about Zhou Juzi.

.........

In the debut group's training room

As a trainee who suddenly joined the group, Zhou Juzi was inevitably a little flustered during her self-introduction.

This place is bigger than the single training room I was in before, and one wall is full of mirrors, so I can see my somewhat awkward expression.

And unfamiliar gazes…

But no matter what, it's still much better than being on stage.

"Hello everyone, my name is... Zhou Juzi. I'm a temporary addition to next week's debut group... Please take good care of me."

Perhaps it was because Gao Jingshu had given prior notice,

The arrival of Zhou Juzi did not surprise the dozen or so trainees who were training too much.

But after all, these girls all worked their way up from pre-school students to debut members through sheer hard work.

The way he looked at Zhou Juzi

Besides scrutinizing her appearance, there were several extra gazes that made Zhou Juzi feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Because before she arrived, the members of the debut group had been training and spending a long time together.

As a newcomer who was seen by others as having "gotten in through connections," she seemed somewhat out of place standing there.

After Zhou Juzi finished her self-introduction, the head instructor, Gao Jingshu, didn't pay her much attention.

It's okay if she doesn't train, just observe and get used to it today.

Zhou Juzi, holding her guitar, sat down in a corner seat, watching the students training in the center of the field. Occasionally, her gaze would meet that of a girl who was curiously observing her.

Because the debut auditions are approaching, some of these dozen or so girls will be eliminated, leaving only a handful in the end.

The competition among trainees is fierce, a fact that Zhou Juzi, who was once a preparatory student, knows all too well.

The tense atmosphere, along with the mixed sounds of musical instruments,

This completely dissipated the anger she had felt that morning because of the cicadas.

Zhou Juzi was starting to miss Xia Weichan again, instinctively hoping that this person who made her feel at ease would be by her side.

With familiar faces around, at least she wouldn't feel so out of place...