A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 15
Chapter 15
True to her word, Sister Qun did inform Leng Ying that Director Pan had approached her, inviting her to participate in Our Life: Friends Season.
But just as Qun had predicted, Leng Ying declined.
An entirely unsurprising answer.
“I knew you’d say no,” said Qun. “But it wouldn’t have been right to reject it on your behalf without telling you. I still needed to let you know.”
“I understand,” Leng Ying chuckled. “I wouldn’t hold it against you just for asking.”
“Exactly.” Qun was speaking to Leng Ying on the phone. “How have you been the past couple of days?”
“Pretty good.” Leng Ying replied. “Got some inspiration… no rush.”
“No rush, take your time polishing it.” Qun then asked, “What about Ji Yu? Is she still staying at your place?”
“I didn’t ask.” Leng Ying twirled a strand of hair absentmindedly. “She’s going to the company tomorrow, and she hasn’t said anything about moving out. So I’m assuming she’s still staying here.”
Qun said nothing for a moment.
Leng Ying noticed her silence. “Qun Jie, what do you think?”
“Me?” Qun was a little surprised, but then remembered that when it came to things like this, there really weren’t many people who could offer Leng Ying guidance. “Just follow your heart. People often regret the choices they made in the past, but if you truly follow your heart, even if you had to make the same choice again, you still wouldn’t regret it.”
She added, “Like, if you don’t want her to move out. It’s nice to have some extra life in the house.”
“…” Leng Ying let out a soft laugh, her voice drifting, “It is.”
Qun wasn’t sure which part exactly she was agreeing with, but she could sense that this wasn’t the moment to keep chatting. “You’re busy the next few days—if you need anything, call me or Xiao Ye. She keeps saying you never give her anything to do.”
Leng Ying smiled lightly. “I’m cultivating her initiative. Got it—I’ll hang up now.”
She ended the call, just as Ji Yu’s smiling face appeared behind the glass, waving enthusiastically.
Leng Ying pushed open the glass door.
“Was that a call?” Ji Yu asked.
“From Sister Qun,” Leng Ying replied, eyeing the object in Ji Yu’s hand. “What’s that…?”
“Guess.” Ji Yu didn’t answer directly.
Leng Ying frowned slightly, then said with 90% certainty, “…a guitar pick?”
“Bingo.” Ji Yu nodded. “I was tidying up your music room, couldn’t find any picks, so I went downstairs and picked up a twig.”
She held up the tiny makeshift pick she’d whittled from a twig. “Still a bit rough around the edges… but it works.”
Leng Ying chuckled.
Ji Yu’s heart fluttered.
“You remembered,” said Leng Ying.
“Of course~” Ji Yu put her hands on her hips proudly. “I remember it all very clearly.”
Leng Ying took the pick from her and started walking toward the music room. “But I’m not sure if the guitar even works. After all, it’s the old guy Cold Xingming smashed.”
“Wanna try?” Ji Yu asked. “I strummed the strings a little earlier—it still made sound.”
She laid out her movements honestly, hiding nothing. Leng Ying gently tapped the pick against the top of Ji Yu’s head, barely exerting any pressure.
But Ji Yu felt it. She raised her hand to protect her head. “My hair can’t play music.”
“Says who?” Leng Ying countered. “It sounds beautiful.”
Ji Yu looked doubtful. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Leng Ying replied, “That’s because only I can hear it.”
The banter came unexpectedly, and Ji Yu felt her impromptu pick-making effort had been totally worth it! She eagerly pushed Leng Ying into the music room, bypassed the piano that got far more attention from its owner, and took down the long-unplayed guitar from the wall—freshly wiped down and gleaming. Her eyes sparkled: “Try it!”
The guitar was clearly an old companion, its age easy to see in the marks it carried. Leng Ying took it from her, sat on the single-legged stool nearby, and gave the strings a gentle strum with the pick.
The strings rang out once. Leng Ying paused. “You tuned it.”
“Just a tiny bit of amateur meddling.” Ji Yu pinched her fingers together to show a tiny space—at a distance, it almost looked like she was making a small heart. “I think… I did okay?”
“Mm,” Leng Ying acknowledged softly.
It had been a long time since she played.
At first, she was a bit rusty, but within a minute or two, it all came back.
She connected stray notes into a cohesive line. Ji Yu sat nearby, propping her chin up to watch her play. A beam of sunlight slanted in through the window, falling across Leng Ying’s hand as it moved with the pick, dancing over the strings.
Ji Yu watched silently for a while.
Then she couldn’t resist pulling out her phone to record.
A small piece was coming to an end, but when Leng Ying noticed the phone, she started up a new melody—only playing for about thirty or forty seconds before stopping again.
Ji Yu ended the recording, curious: “I’ve never heard that song before.”
Leng Ying smiled. “It’s something new I just improvised—nothing solid yet, just a spark of inspiration.”
“It’s really nice,” Ji Yu praised earnestly. “Sounds really happy.”
The pick skimmed the strings, drawing out a lingering note. Leng Ying said softly, “This guitar had been left untouched for so long—it was lonely. You brought it back to life. It’s happy now.”
“I was going to buy you a new one,” Ji Yu stood up, “but after thinking it over, it felt like something was missing. Looks like I was right.”
She stood beside Leng Ying, both of them looking at the marks time had left on the guitar. “I hope it can keep you company for a long time.”
“It will,” Leng Ying whispered. “It definitely will.”
As the last notes faded, the golden sunlight returned to a single, long slant across the floor—stretching out the two shadows, pressed close together.