ECG -Chapter 119 Severing the Threads of Affection

“Ah—!”

Bai Zhitao, Jiang Rong, and Xia Yumeng all let out cries of surprise.

Many of the customers around them turned to look over.

Xia Yumeng tugged on Lin Hao’s arm. “The Miss Qin from just now… was that Qin Ruoyun?”

Lin Hao felt a little amused and helpless. Were these people really that excited?

But thinking about it, it wasn’t strange. After all, they were still college students, and they rarely had the chance to see celebrities like this with their own eyes. It was only natural that they would be excited.

Unlike himself. Back then, although he didn’t have much status, his professional skills were excellent, so he often helped those big-name celebrities record CDs and accompany their performances. After seeing them so often, he naturally stopped feeling anything special.

It was just that his personality back then had been awful—he was cynical and looked down on ordinary people, which was why he ended up living such a miserable life.

Cui Gang sat next to Jiang Rong, occasionally helping her pour water. His gaze toward her was filled with tenderness.

Fatty Meng and Big Brother Gao were also full of excitement. Qin Ruoyun was a famous singer, and she was beautiful too. Although in recent years, as she got older, she had become increasingly lazy and released fewer and fewer songs, it didn’t affect her popularity in the slightest.

Xia Yumeng said, “I heard she was invited to this year’s Spring Festival Gala, but she refused to go!”

Jiang Rong also said, “Yeah, she’s amazing!”

But Lin Hao’s heart stirred.

Could it be that the reason Qin Ruoyun didn’t attend the Spring Festival Gala was because Zhao Ni had taken her place and brought the song Wishing You Peace onto the stage?

If that was the case, then it would actually make sense. After all, Qin Ruoyun appeared on the Spring Festival Gala every year, and she was also the behind-the-scenes owner of Meiying. If Zhao Ni also went on stage at the same time, there would be two Meiying artists appearing in the same gala, which would be a little difficult to explain.

Yan Xiaoqi said to Lin Hao, “If she comes, it won’t be appropriate for her to sit in the main dining hall!”

Lin Hao thought about it and agreed. But since the restaurant had already said there were no private rooms available, this was a difficult problem.

So he waved over a waitress.

“Could you help me make a reservation? If later there are any customers who don’t show up after their time or cancel their booking, could you give the private room to us? Because we’ll have another guest arriving soon.”

The waitress agreed very readily. She said she would make a note at the front desk and notify them immediately if a room became available.

While they were talking, the hot pot was brought out, followed by plates of lamb and vegetables placed on the table.

“Come on! Let’s just eat ours!” Lin Hao said as he picked up his chopsticks.

The airport was very far from Jiangbei. Lin Hao estimated that even if Qin Ruoyun rushed over, it would take at least an hour. They couldn’t just sit there waiting for her, so they might as well start eating and talk when she arrived.

Only he didn’t treat the famous singer like a big deal. Everyone else kept thinking about it, so they ate somewhat absentmindedly.

Chu Xiaomei looked across the table through the steam rising from the hot pot. Seeing Lin Hao put a shrimp paste ball into Xia Yumeng’s bowl, her heart felt painfully sour.

Last summer, she had already hinted so clearly, but Lin Hao had just pretended not to understand.

So it turned out that the person he liked was Xia Yumeng.

So that was how it was.

Lin Hao lowered his head and chatted with Xia Yumeng.

When Xia Yumeng heard that he had sold a song to Qin Ruoyun, she was even more shocked, her mouth falling open in surprise. Her pretty and adorable expression made Lin Hao unable to help smiling.

He reached out and lightly tapped her small nose.

This tiny gesture was seen clearly by Chu Xiaomei.

“You guys eat. I’m feeling a little uncomfortable, so I’ll go back first.”

Chu Xiaomei stood up.

Bai Zhitao reached out to pull her back, but missed. Chu Xiaomei didn’t say a word and walked straight outside.

Bai Zhitao had no choice but to tell everyone, “I’ll go check on her.”

Then she followed her out.

Yan Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment before standing up. “It’s dark already. I’ll take Xiaomei back.”

Lin Hao sighed inwardly.

Although he hadn’t intentionally done those things just now, deep down he also wanted Chu Xiaomei to see things clearly.

He didn’t want to reject her face-to-face. After all, Chu Xiaomei had never openly confessed her feelings to him, so saying something directly would only make things awkward.

Although what he had done now would still hurt her, it was better than letting her remain unaware.

Cutting through the mess quickly and severing the threads of affection might seem cruel, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Among everyone at the table, only Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong didn’t know what was going on. After all, everyone had only gathered together a few times.

Xia Yumeng asked Lin Hao with concern, “What happened to Little Sister?”

Lin Hao smiled. “It’s nothing. Her school is nearby, and Xiao Qi went to see her off too.”

Xia Yumeng’s first thought was that Chu Xiaomei’s period might have come this month and her stomach was feeling uncomfortable, so she didn’t take it seriously.

Not long after, Bai Zhitao returned. Wu Xiaozhou glanced at her, and Bai Zhitao slightly shook her head.

Wu Xiaozhou also let out a sigh in his heart. Chu Xiaomei was actually quite good. She was pretty too, but she had always been too carefree. No matter who she spent a long time with, she would end up treating them like a buddy.

Gao Boss and Fatty Meng glanced at Xia Yumeng, who was currently putting pieces of lamb into Lin Hao’s bowl, and they both understood.

It seemed that Lin Hao liked mature and generous girls like this. She really was different from the tomboy-like Chu Xiaomei.

Sigh…

For some reason, they all let out a deep sigh in their hearts.

Chu Xiaomei was their classmate and also a member of the same band. They had always been close, so naturally they felt more attached to her. Although Xia Yumeng’s personality and appearance were both excellent, there was still a layer of distance between them.

This feeling was like some precious treasure from their own home being taken away by an outsider. Naturally, they all felt a little uncomfortable.

Yan Xiaoqi took a long time before returning. After he came back, he didn’t say anything.

Lin Hao glanced at him, and he only nodded with a gloomy expression.

Chu Xiaomei and Yan Xiaoqi were good buddies, and she also got along well with his girlfriend from the dance department, so she didn’t hide anything from him. While the two of them walked back toward the school, Chu Xiaomei kept crying the whole way.

Yan Xiaoqi didn’t know how he should comfort her either. He could only silently follow behind her, watching until she entered the dormitory before turning back.

More than forty minutes later, the waitress from earlier came over and told Lin Hao that the customer in one of the private rooms had been gone for more than an hour and a half, and they could move there.

If Qin Ruoyun wasn’t coming, they would have almost finished eating anyway. At most, they would need another half an hour before they were done.

But he had already told Qin Ruoyun on the phone that they were eating hot pot, and he had even invited her. Leaving now would be rather impolite.

Lin Hao agreed and explained the situation to everyone.

Wu Xiaozhou and the others had already been eating absentmindedly, all of them waiting to meet the big star. Hearing that they could move to a private room, they naturally had no objections.

The nine people packed up their things and went upstairs.

The private room was quite spacious, and the decoration was also in an antique style. Everyone took their seats, leaving the main seat empty.

The waitress asked whether she should bring up the hot pot broth and the leftover dishes.

Lin Hao quickly waved his hands.

No way. These guys were like a pack of wolves. Even though they had been eating absentmindedly, they had still finished fifteen plates of lamb. There were some vegetables and mushrooms left, but there was no need to bring them up again.

He said to the waitress, “Bring another mandarin duck hot pot base. We’ll order the rest after the guest arrives.”

Everyone started smoking and chatting casually.

Lin Hao called Qin Ruoyun. Qin Ruoyun said she had already crossed Jiang Bridge and would arrive soon.

Lin Hao gave her the private room number.

Wu Xiaozhou was rubbing Bai Zhitao’s little hand.

Cui Gang was pouring a drink for Jiang Rong. Jiang Rong said, “I heard you became the lead singer?”

Cui Gang’s face turned slightly red.

“Mm!”

“What are you singing?”

“Rock!”

Jiang Rong smiled. “I think it suits you. It matches your voice!”

Cui Gang became even more embarrassed and said with a smile, “We’re rehearsing tonight too. You two should come listen?”

Wu Xiaozhou wanted to take Bai Zhitao out for a walk after dinner. For the past half month, besides classes and rehearsals every day, he barely even had a chance to hold her little hand.

“No, tonight we absolutely have to take a day off. I have to—”

Wu Xiaozhou had only said half a sentence when—

“Bang!”

The door of the private room was suddenly kicked open.