Don't call me a singing god, I just want to go back to doing scientific research.

Back at the hotel, the puppy he had just picked up heard the noise, waddled over, and rubbed its little head against his trouser leg.

Ling Luo bent down and picked it up, glancing at the food bowl, which still contained food.

He casually placed the puppy on the sofa, and then he himself got stuck on it.

My mind is a complete mess, more exhausting than solving a world-class problem.

The phone rang abruptly, breaking the silence of the room.

Ling Luo answered the call, her voice hoarse without her even realizing it: "Mom."

A gentle female voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with concern: "Xiao Luo? What's wrong with your voice? Are you sick?"

"No." Ling Luo cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound normal. "I was busy and didn't notice. Why are you calling at this hour?"

"Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong? I just wanted to see if this number would go through." Ling's mother didn't hide her meaning at all: "Son, are you tired from work?"

"I'm not tired, it's great, they all take good care of me."

"Oh, that's good, that's good. You need to learn to talk more, otherwise people will think you're hard to get along with. Don't be like your dad, who's always so quiet and reserved."

Listening to her mother's words of advice, Ling Luo's nose suddenly felt a little sore.

"Mom," his voice was soft, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor, "Do you...regret marrying Dad?"

Ling's mother was taken aback, then her smile widened: "My dear child, are you in love?"

"without......"

"Oh dear, I'm so shy. Mom understands, Mom understands everything."

Ling Luo: ...No, you don't understand.

Ling Luo remained silent, unsure how to explain, but her mother said softly, "Xiao Luo, when it comes to feelings, how can you talk about whether you'll regret it later?"

"Living life is like drinking water; only the person drinking it knows whether it's hot or cold. The same water can taste sweet to some and bitter to others. But as long as both parties feel that the other is worth it, that's enough."

does it worth?

Ling Luo's brain buzzed.

All his thoughts revolved around "should he or shouldn't he?", "can he or she can?", and "will it cause him or she?"

He was like a sophisticated instrument, repeatedly calculating the risks and weighing the gains and losses, but he forgot to ask one question: was Gu Yang willing?

"Alright, I'm not talking to you anymore." Ling's mother's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Take good care of yourself while you're out there all by yourself."

"...Okay." Ling Luo's throat tightened slightly.

After hanging up the phone, he slumped against the back of the sofa, feeling utterly exhausted, and covered his face with his hand.

Just then—

The door was pushed open, and Li Mingjun strode in, phone in hand.

  

"Mr. Ling, Mr. Gu is injured!"

Ling Luo's heart skipped a beat. He jumped to his feet, as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his head: "What happened?!"

"They didn't explain clearly over the phone, only saying that she was hit by a prop during rehearsal and has been taken to the hospital!"

Ling Luo's mind went blank. She grabbed her coat from the back of the chair and rushed out.

……

Haicheng First People's Hospital.

Gu Yang looked at the three-finger-long cut on his arm and stared speechlessly at the ceiling.

He felt that this injury would have healed on its own if he had arrived two minutes later. It would have been just a matter of putting on two band-aids. Was it really necessary to make such a fuss?

Just as he was grumbling to himself, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

Ling Luo rushed over, her breathing still a little unsteady from running so fast.

"Gu Yang, how are you? Where are you hurt?" As soon as he spoke, his gaze anxiously swept back and forth over Gu Yang's body.

"Oh, so the coward has finally come out?" Gu Yang curled his lip, turned his head away, and didn't even bother to give him a proper look.

What's the use of getting anxious now that the person who ran away without a word is acting up?

Ling Luo frowned: "Stop fooling around, let me check the wound."

"What?!" Gu Yang got angry as soon as he heard this. He tried to stand up, but the movement was too big and he accidentally aggravated his wound.

"Hiss—" A searing pain shot through his body in an instant, causing him to gasp for breath and swallow the rest of his words.

Ling Luo's heart tightened, and she quickly grabbed his shoulder, her gaze falling on his arm.

The wound wasn't deep, but it was quite long, and the skin and flesh had turned outwards, making it look rather frightening.

"Don't move, let the doctor handle it first."

Soon, the doctor came to treat the wound and applied anesthesia, and the stinging sensation gradually disappeared.

The physical pain subsided, but a surge of grievances welled up inside me.

God knows how panicked he felt when he returned to the dressing room after rehearsals and found it empty.

That feeling was exactly the same as it was four years ago.

The day before, they had solemnly agreed to apply to the same university, or at least to the same city.

But the next day, the person who made the promise vanished without a trace.

As Gu Yang thought about it, he lowered his head, and tears fell without warning, one drop, two drops, landing right on Ling Luo's arm.

The scalding temperature made Ling Luo stiffen.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt a lot?" He instinctively looked at the doctor. "Doctor, is the anesthesia not working?"

The doctor holding the needle stopped and glanced up at Gu Yang, who was silently shedding tears.

"It wasn't from pain that I cried."

When someone is really in pain and cries, their muscles will subconsciously tense up. This person, on the other hand, is so relaxed that you could pinch a dimple out of their cheeks.

Ling Luo instantly understood something.

He silently reached out and gently stroked the back of Gu Yang's head, finally letting out a sigh: "I'm here. From now on, I'll tell you in advance where I'm going, so don't cry."

"You never keep your word," Gu Yang said, his voice muffled and heavy with nasal resonance.

"I promise."

"Your promises have never been kept."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Waaah... I don't know." Gu Yang cried even harder.

Ling Luo felt a headache coming on. After a moment of silence, he suddenly turned his head and said, "Brother Mingjun, could you please provide paper and a pen?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yang looked up with teary eyes, staring at him in confusion.

Although Li Mingjun was completely confused, he quickly found paper and pen.

Ling Luo took the paper and, without saying a word, wrote a full page of scribbling on it, then signed her name at the end.

Then, he did something that left everyone present speechless.

He took some of the bloodstains from Gu Yang's clothes and pressed a bloody fingerprint heavily onto his own name.

To add a sense of ceremony, he solemnly pulled Li Mingjun over and said, "Brother Mingjun, please be a witness and sign your name."

Li Mingjun: "..."

He felt he might be hallucinating today.

Ling Luo handed the newly printed "guarantee" to Gu Yang with a serious expression.

"Keep it safe."

Gu Yang took it blankly and read it word by word. When he saw the last blood-red fingerprint, his cheeks flushed slightly.

"Is this okay?" Ling Luo asked.

Gu Yang carefully folded the paper, put it in his pocket, and nodded slightly, feeling a little embarrassed.

Ling Luo breathed a sigh of relief, finally having time to understand what had happened.

The reason was that when Gu Yang was preparing to leave, he was scratched by a protruding piece of metal from a decorative light next to the messy stage.

The staff member went to get some pliers for repairing sheet metal, and when he came back, he found that Gu Yang was already injured.

Upon hearing this, Ling Luo calmly nodded and then glanced at Li Mingjun.

After that, she quietly waited for Gu Yang to finish treating her wound.