November.

Osaka, Japan.

There had just been a light rain, and even though the indoor temperature was still in double digits, the damp air and ground still made it feel somewhat cold.

Overlooking the city from a high place, the dense vegetation coverage makes the city's charm even more outstanding with the red leaves as far as the eye can see. Tourists flock to many scenic spots in the city, and occasionally, pedestrians walk across the water bridge, often serving as background subjects captured in tourists' cameras.

In a natural and simple building somewhere in the suburbs, the short-haired hostess wearing a knee-length skirt plucked the most beautiful cluster of cherry blossoms in the courtyard. She holds the cherry blossoms in her hands and places them in a white porcelain vase.

Her hands are very fair, with smooth and delicate skin that can be compared to porcelain. However, if you look closely at her wrist, you'll notice a very faint scar.

She took the porcelain bottle back to her room and placed it on the piano near the bamboo and rattan window.

Someone knocked on the wooden door outside the courtyard, and the hostess went to open the door. She was wearing a rich and full-color suit that made her back look refreshing and elegant yet steady. As she walked away, the previously serene and beautiful room lost its most vivid touch.

The people who came in were a little girl about seven or eight years old and a Japanese man. Because it was raining on the road just now, the man was holding a black long-handled gentleman's umbrella. After entering the door, the man put the umbrella in the bamboo-woven umbrella basket and led the little girl into the room.

After entering the house, the man glanced at the piano and quickly came to the rattan window. The little girl went straight to the solid wood snack cabinet, opened the cabinet in a few seconds, and took out a few bags of her favorite snacks.

The short-haired woman brought the freshly brewed tea to the piano. She wanted to talk to the man, but she glanced sideways and saw the young girl stuffing snacks into her mouth while looking at her with a proud smile and squinting her eyes. She glared at her with a feigned ferocious look, which obviously meant "That's enough for you".

Seeing that she had been holding the tea for a long time but not giving it to him, the man followed her gaze and quickly said in fluent Chinese but with a different accent, "Liang Ying, I will tell your mother if you eat randomly."

The little girl named Liang Ying made an unhappy snort when she heard this and walked up to the two of them holding snacks, "Why can my Xiao Jing eat everything, but I can't do this or that?" As she spoke, she freed up a hand to grab the short-haired woman's arm, obviously trying to pull her into the water*.

*dragging into the situation/trouble 

Gu Xizhi glanced at the girl, Liang Ying, who was just about as tall as her waist but was trying hard to hold onto her arm. Considering her chilly tone earlier, she calmly removed her arm from her grip.

Liang Ying pulled her arm halfway and looked up at her with a "How dare you?" look.

Gu Xizhi looked away from her and seemed to be too lazy to pay attention to her.

At this time, the man said, "You have a bad stomach and you can't eat randomly. Didn't your mother warn you before leaving?"

Liang Ying pursed her lips, her shoulders slumping in an obvious display of unhappiness. "She's your wife, not mine. Why should I listen to her about everything like you do?" The man was clearly infuriated, his brow furrowing slightly as he said, "Liang Ying."

"Okay." Seeing that he was angry, Liang Ying quickly behaved and said with a naughty smile, "I'll eat less and feed the rest to Xuxu. You two talk about things."

Gu Xizhi was now completely unwilling to go along with this. "Liang Ying, the dog's name is Qiqi, not Xuxu, and you're not allowed to give it these things to eat."

Liang Ying just patted her arm, and with a sly wink, she said, "Don't worry, a little won't kill the dog." Then she turned and ran off.

The man watched her skipping away for a moment, then looked up at Gu Xizhi. "I'm sorry; she's always..."

"It's okay, Mr. Anda." Gu Xizhi put the tea in front of him. When she smiled, her eyes were full of luster. Her short black hair made her look very elegant. "I am already familiar with the song. I'll sing it for you again."

"Wait." Anda motioned her not to rush, "Although this song has a high pitch, I have full confidence in you. But right now, I need you to sing it one octave lower. Get ready, I'll provide accompaniment."

Gu Xizhi paused for a moment, then nodded quickly, "Okay."

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=1849307

This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

In the late autumn season, red leaves are in full swing all over the mountains. Golden chrysanthemums are blooming in the wind. Boundless fallen leaves are piled up on the streets and courtyards. Pedestrians are constantly coming and going on the wide roads in the city. The red fallen leaves didn't make the city look untidy; instead, they added a romantic touch, just like Anda's melody—always elegant, soft, and enchanting.

Green plants covered the bamboo and rattan windows, and the emerald green color became more vibrant after a baptism of rain. A few raindrops seemed to be drunk in the music, slowly sliding down the vines, separated by a curtain of rattan windows. The passing birds seemed to be attracted by the music, lying on the telephone poles unwilling to leave.

Gu Xizhi sang the song an octave lower and repeated several verses according to Anda's wishes. Finally, Anda nodded in approval.

"I have already said that your voice is very transparent and has a wide range, but the tension is not enough. But I am quite satisfied with your performance just now. Originally, I had prepared this song as a gift for Liang Huan, but she no longer sings. Now, I'd like to give it to you as your third piece."

Gu Xizhi seemed a little unconvinced and looked at him for a moment before saying, "I thought you just asked me to practice with it." 

"This song has many Chinese elements, including traditional Chinese culture and classical Eastern beauty. It reflects my understanding of this country during the many years I spent in China. Originally, I didn't plan to give it to you. However, now it seems that you can master it. Besides Liang Huan, I won't compose for anyone else in China. Now, with you, I hope you can interpret each song like Liang Huan did, bringing out something beyond just popularity, something that people will always remember."

Gu Xizhi looked very grateful and immediately said, "If you're willing to entrust it to me, I'll do my best to give you the song you want."

"I have always believed in you." Anda smiled, "By the way, I have one more thing to discuss with you this time. The director team of this year's festival party wants to invite Liang Huan back to sing "Premonition", but she no longer sings. I think that even though your duets with Liang Huan received a good response in China, you've been in Japan all this time and have never returned to China. So, Liang Huan has received all the recognition that should have been yours. If you could go back this time to sing 'Premonition' for everyone instead of Liang Huan, it would make a profound impression on everyone." He paused, staring into her eyes earnestly. "It's been two and a half years. You've worked so hard. Don't you want to reap the deserved rewards?"

Gu Xizhi seemed to be thinking, and after a long silence she said, "Mr. Anda, as you know, I've never wanted to go back to China. Let me reconsider this matter, okay?"

"I understand what you mean. Feel free to call me anytime when you've made up your mind. Regardless, as long as you have any needs in your music development, both Liang Huan and I will do our best to help you."

"I don't even know how to thank you." Gu Xizhi looked at him quietly, her dark eyes sparkling under the black hair, "If it weren't for your willingness to listen to me sing two years ago, maybe I wouldn't have been able to overcome the shadows of that time."

"What you should be grateful for is the good voice God gave you." Anda did not take any credit, "Actually, your agency had been negotiating with me about your record release when you were still at Huayu International, and I already listened to your demo at that time. I liked it very much. Later, it was a coincidence that I sent you to the airport, but I always felt that something was missing from you. However, two and a half years ago, when Mr. Tang Yu brought you to me, I felt that I had found what was missing before, so I composed for you so quickly. I've always believed that music can make people stronger and soften the hearts of the strong. Now you have the power to change hearts and you are still glorious."

Gu Xizhi responded with a knowing smile, "Of course, I am lucky that God has not completely given up on me. But I've always been curious, why did you agree to compose for me when Huayu International approached you? You didn't seem to like composing for anyone other than Sister Liang."

"I won't tell you that," Anda's smile was gentlemanly. "There are some other matters I need to attend to during this trip back to Japan. Please take care of Liang Ying for now, and I'll come to pick her up tomorrow."

"Okay." After finishing the snacks, Liang Ying stood outside the door holding her little teddy bear ​​and a newspaper and blinked at the two people at the piano, "Dad, you can just go ahead and do your own thing, come back whenever you want, as long as you don't look for women. Don't worry about me, I won't cause any trouble to my Xiao Jing."

Gu Xizhi, "..."

Anda, "..."

After sending Anda away, Gu Xizhi immediately went to find her dog and opened its mouth to see if it had eaten anything it shouldn't. Liang Ying didn't seem to care about what was happening, she just held the newspaper in her hand and read it carefully.

After going back and forth, it was impossible to tell if the dog had eaten anything. Gu Xizhi held the dog, walked up to Liang Ying, and asked, "Liang Ying, tell me honestly, did you give it anything to eat?"

Liang Ying continued to focus on her newspaper and ignored her.

Seeing that she was silent, Gu Xizhi quickly put down the dog, grabbed the newspaper in her hand threw it aside, pinched her ears, and said, "Are you going to tell me or not, huh?"

Liang Ying seemed unhappy to be treated like this, snorted and ignored her.

"Okay." Gu Xizhi nodded, picked her up, and walked all the way to the rattan window, threatening, "If you don't tell me, I will throw you out. Do you want to tell me or not?"

"You!" Although she is on the first floor and the outside is full of greenery, she is so small. If she were to be thrown out, she would definitely not roll around without being hurt. If this was her first time doing this, she wouldn't believe she would be so cruel, but having been treated like this once, Liang Ying was willing to believe she would do it a second time, the thought of being thrown out just because she mentioned a few Chinese celebrities last time made her furious. She immediately said, "Gu Xizhi, if you dare to throw me out, I'll make you regret it!"

"Really?" Unmoved, Gu Xizhi stuck her head out of the window.

The autumn wind tousled her hair, and Liang Ying dared not challenge her anymore. She immediately held onto Gu Xizhi's clothes and whined, "Wuwuwu, Gu Xizhi, you're a jerk. I'm your brain-dead fan. If you treat me like this, your fans will be heartbroken. Wuwuwu."

"Tsk." The crying with no tears and only sound made Gu Xizhi dislike her so much. She simply put her down and gave her a contemptuous look.

Liang Ying didn't feel despised at all. As soon as she was put down, she felt good about herself and walked to the side to pick up the newspaper that Gu Xizhi had just put down and said, "That's why I said, my Xiao Jing, you need to learn to use your brain. Look, I haven't had snacks for half a year. Do you think I would willingly share my things with it?" She glanced at the dog and said, disdainfully, "I was just trying to please my dad. I don't actually like it that much."

Gu Xizhi raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. "Your parents are both very sensible. Who did you learn to be so good at scheming from?"

Liang Ying was furious again. She put down the newspaper and got up from her chair. She jumped up and down, "This is called smart, do you understand?" After finishing her words, she looked at her meaningfully several times, "Speaking of schemes, isn't what you do scheming?"

Gu Xizhi slapped her head with one hand. "Don't play these games with me."

"Hmph." Liang Ying picked up the newspaper again and walked away from her, with her hands behind her back like an old man, "I originally wanted to have a few words with you, but since you are so disrespectful to me, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

When Gu Xizhi turned to look at her, she noticed a huge headline on the newspaper, and it reminded her that she hadn't picked up the newspaper that the mailman had left at the door earlier. Without saying a word, Gu Xizhi went up and snatched the newspaper from Liang Ying's hand. "What's a kid like you reading the newspaper for?"

"You!" Liang Ying looked back at the domineering woman, wrinkled her nose, and snorted heavily, saying unhappily, "I really won't pay attention to you anymore."

Gu Xizhi looked at her back as she turned away, and then looked at the newspaper in her hand. After thinking about it, she decided to take the newspaper to the desk.

Liang Ying was so angry when she didn't see Gu Xizhi come back to coax her after waiting for a long time. She returned to Gu Xizhi angrily, wanting to settle accounts with her.

"Hey, I'm angry. If you do this again, I won't be your crazy fan."

Gu Xizhi looked up at her in the mirror, then folded a corner of the newspaper and tossed it aside into a bamboo basket for old newspapers. "Okay, what do you want to eat? I'll make lunch for you."

“Ginseng, Lotus Fragrance, Bamboo Shredded Chicken, Crispy Silver Cod, Stir-fried Eel Fillet!"

"I'll call to check if we have the ingredients first."

"Hurry up." Liang Ying looked at Gu Xizhi's back, her eyes darting around like a fox.

Picking up the newspaper that Gu Xizhi had left in the bamboo basket, Liang Ying flipped through it, only to find that Gu Xizhi had marked a spot on page A of the newspaper. She then looked at the content of the page.

There was no gossip about a male star as she thought. Page A used the entire page to report that director Scarlett Li was going to film a new movie.  Liang Ying flipped through it for a long time and found it boring, so she threw the newspaper on the wooden table, not caring that the newspaper was scattered in a mess.

Probably because she felt a little guilty when she saw Gu Xizhi carefully flipping through numbers and making phone calls to prepare food, Liang Ying walked a few steps and then turned back to carefully sort out the newspapers she had thrown away, and put them into the bamboo basket just now. 

Children are more curious after all. Seeing the thick old newspapers in the bamboo basket, Liang Ying flipped through them and saw that most of them were domestic financial and social newspapers, with only a small amount of entertainment newspapers, which was a bit inexplicable. 

Perhaps because the last newspaper had yellowed pages that were completely different from the earlier ones, Liang Ying couldn't resist opening it to take a look.

The date displayed on the newspaper was over two years ago, but the headline was so eye-catching that even though Liang Ying didn't want to read it, she couldn't help but see it.

That’s news about Qu Xizhi, a star who doesn’t act anymore but only does charity and is still an A-list star. The news had several large headlines:

Qu Xizhi Admitted to City Hospital This Morning - Manager Responds: Just Exhausted?

Author's Note:

In the first chapter of the next volume, the past events will be slowly explained.

Chu.

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