They are in the music show, but I am a stranger to them

However, the reply from Chen Qi soon dampened Miao Meng's enthusiasm.

Chen Qi: [Um, I am very grateful to Miao Mengqin for paying attention to me, but, can you allow me to ask, why is Miao Mengqin willing to help me? ]

[Miao Mengqin has already swallowed up the loss of 300,000 yuan, but now he is willing to help me attract traffic. Why is that? Is he thanking me for my comfort at that time? ]

——Yes, although I was very angry at that time, but now that I have calmed down, I find that you seem to be the first person who really cares about me since I came to this city... No, you may be the first person I have met in my twenty years of life.

I don't want to see you living such a hard life, so I want to help you in my own way. This way, I can feel more at ease and won't feel like I owe you anything.

However, after Miao Meng typed out such a long first paragraph unknowingly, she deleted it immediately after she realized what was going on.

What was I thinking just now? Why does this sentence feel so ambiguous?! I am not interested in that older boy!

Miao Meng doesn't like boys younger than her. Although many of her classmates in high school like to stand on the strong side and control their boyfriends who are weaker than themselves, Miao Meng, who has borne enough burdens since childhood, doesn't like that at all.

Although she has no plans to have a boyfriend yet, Miao Meng's requirement for her boyfriend is that he should be able to bear enough pressure for her and make it convenient for her to do her own things. To put it bluntly, a tolerant, mature, and secure boy is Miao Meng's standard for choosing a partner.

Therefore, Miao Meng doesn't like boys who are weaker than herself, let alone Chen Qi's self-sacrificing personality... She doesn't want this little brother to misunderstand anything, and then she won't have the heart to hurt his feelings, which will only cause more trouble.

So, in response to Chen Qi's question, Miao Meng thought about it and gave what he thought was the best answer that would be least likely to be misunderstood by Chen Qi. He said:

[Because, Miao Mengqin, I changed my mind and realized that the debt of 300,000 is still too large, so Miao Mengqin, I regret it. I want Xiao Chen to ask you to repay the debt. ]

[Of course, I don’t want you to pay me back with money, but with actions. Miao Mengqin, I also want to learn electronic drums, and I’m in need of a partner to play with. I think Xiao Chenqi is a good choice~]

[How about we share the money earned from the joint contribution on our accounts? If Miao Mengqin succeeds in my transformation, I will treat it as Xiao Chenqi paying off your debt. What do you think? ]

...What a lame excuse. At this moment, even Miao Meng herself couldn't help but laugh at what she had said, but this was indeed the best reason she could come up with.

In this way, I can use my fan base to help Xiao Chenqi increase the number of fans, and increase Xiao Chenqi's income. I have helped him. After that, I don't have to feel indebted and can sleep well with peace of mind, right?

Really, I’ve gone through so much trouble...what am I doing?

Miao Meng didn't understand, and she didn't really want to figure it out... She only knew that what she had just done gave her an inexplicable sense of satisfaction...

Is this the feeling of trusting someone wholeheartedly, not having to worry about what he or she will take from you, and being able to get along with him or her completely at ease?

...Well, it's not bad.

Chapter 74: Chen Qi's personality changes? Ruoye Mu is under house arrest

"Woo..."

The next day, Miao Meng woke up in a daze with sleepy eyes. However, when she turned around subconsciously and suddenly found herself lying on the bed, she subconsciously climbed up from the bed in surprise.

After all, Miao Meng clearly remembered that it was the kind-hearted taxi driver who carried Chen Qi all the way to the bed in her apartment last night, and then she struggled to lay Chen Qi on the bed and covered him with a quilt before she lay down on the sofa and went to sleep alone.

But now, my body actually appeared on the bed... Was it Xiaoqi who woke up and quietly carried her from deep sleep... carried her here?

For a moment, Miao Meng could only think of this possibility. After all, apart from hugging her, the other movements were too large and she would definitely be awakened. Holding her was the only way to transfer her to the bed with the least noise.

So, where did Xiaoqi go?

Miao Meng subconsciously sat up from the bed. The space of the house she rented was not big, and basically everything except the bathroom could be seen at a glance. After looking around, she did not find Chen Qi in her room.

Even Chen Qi's coat that was hanging on the hanger next to her had disappeared.

"...What a heartless junior! Meow Mengqin, I kindly let you stay at my house for one night, but you just left without saying a word?"

"I took such good care of him last night and hoped to provide him with a shelter temporarily, but he ended up jumping into the fire pit himself."

Miao Mengqin was also quite helpless. She didn't need to think too much to know that Chen Qi would definitely return to his original residence as soon as possible to find his sister Gao Songdeng and those girls.

After all, when he was half asleep, he was still mumbling about going back, probably because he was afraid that they would worry about him? So now that he has woken up, the first thing he plans to do is go back and make peace with them, right?

...It seems like something Xiao Qi would do. Come to think of it, this performance was indeed the only time that Xiao Qi lost control of his emotions. Now that he has calmed down, he has habitually put his feelings aside, right?

"Really? Miao Meng kissed me and told me to at least let him get out of the spotlight and rest up. If he runs back like this now, there will only be more trouble, right?"

"Especially the song his sister sang on stage... Even though they are brother and sister, the relationship is too heavy, isn't it? This is simply brother complex, right?"

"But if that's the case, Xiao Qi wouldn't be so emotionally broken, right? Or did that song trigger some emotional pain in his heart? But who could Xiao Qi have dated? It couldn't be that Toyokawa Shoko, right?"

Miao Meng, who was puzzled, was trying hard to recall what she saw and heard yesterday. Although she seemed to be recording a video, in the darkness, she was actually paying attention to all the changes around her.

Therefore, Chuhua and Hailing might not be able to notice the intimate little movements between Chen Qi and Xiangzi in the dark, but Miao Meng saw it clearly.

But even so, Miao Meng didn't think that Xiangzi had really dated Xiaoqi.

After all, if the two really have that kind of relationship, why is it that when they meet now, Xiangzi always stays by Xiaoqi's side with a restrained attitude, as if he wants to get close but dares not touch her? Even if you are her ex-girlfriend, you should be more open than you are now, right?

Could it be that the problem was not with Xiangzi, but with the girls on the stage? But apart from the girl named Gao Songdeng, who else could make Xiao Qi lose control of her emotions?

Gao Songdeng is just a sister. If Xiao Qi really ran away because of her, then is the relationship between this brother and sister...

"Click."

However, just when Miao Meng suddenly thought of an extremely terrifying possibility in her mind, the door of her small apartment was slowly pushed open. Before Miao Meng could suspect whether there was a thief in her house, a familiar figure appeared in front of her.

"Xiao, Xiao Qi?" Miao Meng couldn't help but blink her eyes, feeling a little bit unbelievable about the figure that appeared in front of her.

"… Meow Dream Kiss."

At this moment, Chen Qi's expression made Miao Meng realize that something was wrong. She saw that the big boy who had always been cheerful and gentle in her impression actually had no smile on his face. It was not until he greeted her that he forced a smile and said softly:

"My dear Miao Meng, you don't have a kitchen here, so I brought you some breakfast from downstairs. I took the key from your pocket, I'm sorry, I'm giving it back to you now."

"Breakfast is still hot, Meow Meng dear. If you want to eat, you can go wash up first. I can help you arrange the breakfast."

"Oh……"

However, for some reason, even though Chen Qi's voice was so gentle, Miao Mengqin felt depressed and uncomfortable when he looked at Chen Qi, whose smile was different from before. Therefore, he did not cause any more trouble to Chen Qi and stood up without lying in bed.

After a simple wash, when Miao Mengqin walked out of the bathroom, Chen Qi had already prepared breakfast. He even placed the bowls, chopsticks, knives and forks on the dining table for Miao Meng, and even poured the milk.

"I don't have time to heat up the milk, sorry." As he said that, Chen Qi placed the plates with fried eggs, sandwiches and steaks on the table mat. It was obviously just a simple breakfast, but Chen Qi arranged it as if it was a ritual like a butler serving a young lady at meal.

Miao Meng also sat down at the dining table in a daze under Chen Qi's instructions. However, Miao Meng, who had received more polite service before, felt a little bit unable to adapt to the simple breakfast in front of her...

And the source of all this came from the big boy who was sitting in front of her and smiling at her...

For some reason, Miao Meng suddenly felt that the Chen Qi in front of her had changed... and seemed a little strange to her.

Ever since Miao Meng started cooperating with Chen Qi as her creditor, she has had frequent contact with Chen Qi. Therefore, Miao Meng knows very well how Chen Qi got along with her in the past.

Although Xiao Qi is very polite, he is not the kind of superficial politeness that is unsatisfactory and keeps people away. Only when you are thoroughly familiar with him, can you feel his true enthusiasm and kindness beneath his polite appearance, as well as his consideration and care for you.

The kind that never makes people feel uncomfortable, and is very close to familiar people, but will never cross the line, and will not make fun of your pain points - although Miao Meng and Chen Qi have already regarded the debt issue as a joke that only they can understand.

But now... Miao Meng suddenly felt that Xiao Qi had become much more reserved, or he had become more cautious than before. He treated her with utmost tenderness, as if he was really afraid of getting some bad feedback from her.

"…What's wrong? Meow Meng dear, isn't this to your liking?"

While Miao Meng was stunned, Chen Qi seemed to have misunderstood what he meant. After a flash of nervousness on his face, he quickly calmed down and said to Miao Meng as gently as possible:

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you like, Meow Meng Kiss, but at least, I think it's better to eat a little. At this time, many breakfast shops are closed, so we can only wait for lunch later."

"Still no appetite? I didn't bring any condiments, so, how about just making do with this?"

As Chen Qi was speaking, he noticed that Miao Meng in front of him still didn't respond, so he grabbed the fork next to Miao Meng's hand, slowly picked up a piece of steak that had already been cut on the plate, and put it towards the dazed Miao Meng's mouth.

"Ah~"

"what……"

Following Chen Qi's voice, Miao Meng almost instinctively opened her mouth, and soon, the aroma of meat with a hint of residual warmth filled Miao Meng's mouth, allowing her to successfully come back to her senses.

However, the moment she ate the food, the big boy's face showed a hint of relief and satisfaction, which made Miao Meng lose herself in thought again.

"Pfft."

Almost for a moment, Miao Meng felt that she heard her own heartbeat that was about to jump out.

But, it wasn't the amplitude of a heartbeat...it was an intense tingling sensation.

Looking at Chen Qi in front of her, who was so cautious in his movements, flattering and reserved in every way, Miao Meng's eyes were dazed. In front of her, the gentle face of Chen Qi suddenly became the face of a naive and immature girl.

It was her own cheek from childhood.

The timid Yutenji Wakamugi in his childhood was an ordinary and unconfident self who made great efforts to respond to everyone's expectations just to retain the interpersonal relationships in front of him.

At the moment when Miao Meng saw her past self, she didn't want to recall the past at all. She almost immediately put down her chopsticks, snatched the knife and fork from Chen Qi's hand, and then used her own hands to pinch the cheeks of Chen Qi, who looked a little confused.

"What are you doing? Why are you so cautious with Meow Meng Qin Me! Is Meow Meng Qin Me a devil? Am I the kind of unkind and mean woman? Why are you so flattering to Meow Meng Qin Me?"

"Will Meow Meng abandon you if she kisses me? Will Meow Meng hurt you if she kisses me? Hurry up and turn back into the Xiao Qi you used to be, you bastard!"

For a moment, Miao Meng, whose unbearable childhood memories were awakened by Chen Qi, continued to rub Chen Qi's cheeks with her hands to vent her emotions. Until Miao Meng's emotions were almost vented, she turned her gaze to Chen Qi's face, who was being ravaged by her.

However, when she saw the big boy's bitter face, her heart trembled unconsciously.

"…Are you telling the truth? Meow Meng dear, I am really a little scared right now. I think I will be abandoned."

Chen Qi was obviously well aware that he had used too much force just now, which caused Miao Meng to be so uncomfortable with his behavior. However, this was probably the first reaction that Chen Qi could make after experiencing yesterday's emotional breakdown.

When Chen Qi woke up today, the first thing he did was to check the message on his phone. When he was watching the live broadcast of the light, in order to avoid the ringing of his phone affecting the status of the light, he muted his phone on purpose, and it remained muted until he woke up.

As soon as Chen Qi opened his phone, he was overwhelmed by all kinds of LINE messages from everyone. The red unread messages showed how anxious and helpless these girls were last night.

Aiyin, unread messages, 99+.

Xiangzi, unread messages, 99+.

Su Shi, unread messages, 99+.

There were also quite a few messages from Li Xi, Chu Hua and Hai Ling, all of them asking about his condition. Then, after receiving no reply for a long time, they began to worry if something had happened to Chen Qi and started to send him messages anxiously.

Among them, there were many messages like Li Xi's, who were so anxious that they almost vented their anger by cursing. There were also messages like Aiyin and Su Shi's, who were almost begging, and their attitudes were so humble that Chen Qi couldn't help but feel sad.

What made Chen Qi even more worried was his sister Gao Songdeng. She had not sent him even a single message from yesterday until now.

Then there is Mu. After being taken home by Mr. Ruoye yesterday, she hasn't sent me a single message since... Even when I took the initiative to ask about her situation, Mu just read the message without replying.

What's more important is that Chen Qi couldn't convince himself to meet them. The most he could do was to send each of them a message to express his safety and reassure them.

Although when he was not in a clear mind, Chen Qi's first reaction was to ask everyone not to worry about him and go back, but now that he had rested and his mind was not so impulsive, Chen Qi began to become afraid.

He was very scared. If he went back like this, and Aine and Shoko asked him again why he ran away, how would he answer them?

Especially this time when he escaped, he was simply pointing the finger at Deng. Xiangzi and the others must have felt to some extent that their emotional breakdown was directly related to Deng.

Judging from the messages they sent him, Deng probably didn’t tell them anything yesterday... But Chen Qi was more afraid that if he showed up again, he would no longer be able to avoid this problem.

How should I tell them what happened between me and Deng?

Chen Qi was not afraid to take on this responsibility, or rather, from the moment Deng's feelings towards him became distorted, Chen Qi had already made a certain preparation, that is, if the matter was really exposed one day, he would take on all the responsibilities for Deng.

He would say that the deterioration of Deng's affection for him was caused by him alone. He could even say that he was the first one to experience a qualitative change in his affection for Deng. Putting Deng on the victim's side would reduce some external pressure on Deng.

But, what happens after that? Chen Qi thought, when he told the "truth", how would Aiyin, Xiangzi... these girls who once trusted him so much look at him in the future?

Although Chen Qi himself has made up his mind to bear all of this for Deng, every time he thinks that everyone will leave him because of this... he can't help but feel a dull pain in his heart.

In particular, how would his uncle and aunt view the matter between him and Deng? He was adopted by his uncle and aunt to relieve Deng's psychological problems. If they found out that their daughter was led astray by this adopted son, how would they feel?

Probably, he would be extremely angry, right? He might be kicked out of the house, and by then, he would not only fail to bring happiness to Deng, but he might never see Deng again.

Therefore, Chen Qi didn't dare to go back, let alone meet everyone. He was afraid that once he went back, the chain reaction that followed might make him lose everything.

Therefore, he was here facing it alone... no, he could even be said to be trying to please Miao Mengqin. He really didn't want to lose anything anymore, so much so that even Miao Mengqin, a "creditor" who was not that close to him strictly speaking, became so important in his now fragile heart.

After all, no matter what, Miao Meng is the only place where Chen Qi can stay with peace of mind now, and Miao Meng is also the one he can keep, one of the few people who will not hate him because of his escape.

"I must be a loser now, right, Meow Mengqin? I'm afraid of losing, afraid that my friends will leave me, so I choose to escape from the past."

"I am probably begging for the feeling of being loved right now. I don't know myself. At this point, who else can stay by my side?"

"…What nonsense are you talking about?"

However, looking at Chen Qi, who had never shown such a vulnerable expression, Miao Meng couldn't help but feel a slight tremor in her heart. She finally let go of the hand that was holding Chen Qi's cheek, sat back in her seat, and said with a distressed look:

"Although, I don't know what happened to you, Xiaoqi... But I know very well that love can't be obtained by begging. You have to fight for it yourself and keep it yourself."

"To be honest, Xiaoqi, I myself didn't expect that you would choose to run away this time. If you had your previous personality, you would have run away by now, no matter what, and would have run back to explain everything to them."

As she spoke, Miao Meng unconsciously crossed her long and beautiful legs, looked at the silent Chen Qi in front of her, and asked curiously:

"Is this matter... so difficult to talk about? Xiaoqi?"

"...If possible, I really want to keep this secret secret for the rest of my life." Chen Qi smiled bitterly, shook his head and said to Miao Meng in front of him: "Once I say this, I may lose the trust of everyone close to me."

"But, Xiaoqi, if you continue to escape like this, sooner or later you will lose everyone's trust, okay?"

Miao Meng also smiled helplessly. Facing Chen Qi's bitter smile, she couldn't help but reach out her hand, poked his cheek with her finger, and said softly:

"Instead of doing nothing, why not try and salvage something?"