Chapter 52: Lipstick

As the festival drew near, the entire school was enveloped in a cheerful atmosphere.

The vast majority of students caught the excitement like wildfire, all buzzing eagerly about the upcoming grand event.

Of course, there were always those who slipped away from the crowd to steal a moment of leisure.

In the dimly lit girls’ restroom, three girls were preparing to smoke.

But one of them was immediately choked by the first drag, shaking her hand and dropping the cigarette onto the floor.

The girl beside her frowned and said,

“Lame~”

“Wasteful and shameful. If you can’t smoke, don’t force it.”

Hearing this from both sides, the girl’s face flushed with embarrassment.

The sharp intake of smoke had stung her throat, and blinking away tears, she wiped them off with her hand.

Once she recovered, she pouted and stuck her tongue out disdainfully at the other two.

Fortunately, it was too dark to clearly see her expression; if they had, those two besties would have surely given her a hard time.

The other two each lit a cigarette, and with a soft click, a warm orange flame flickered to life, illuminating their faces closely huddled together.

After exchanging glances, a smile involuntarily appeared on both of them.

They both took a deep drag, and once the flame died out, only two pairs of red glowing embers remained.

Before they could exhale, the girl who had choked earlier spoke up,

“Did you hear something just now?”

“?”

“?”

The three looked at each other.

The silence made their heartbeats sound loud and clear.

It had been fine before since they hadn’t brought it up, but now all three noticed a faint melody.

Judging from the tone, it sounded like… a piano?

At that thought, their hearts tightened and beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.

They had once heard a ghost story during a late-night dorm chat, about a classroom that shouldn’t exist hidden in a secluded activity building.

In that room stood an old piano that no one ever played, yet it would still produce sound.

One girl, while cleaning, heard faint piano music.

At first, she paid it no mind, but the sound seemed to grow closer and closer…

As if she were inside that very room, watching the piano.

Slowly, she sat down, extended her hands, gently caressed the keys, and played the melody she heard.

From chaotic notes to skilled playing, until her tune perfectly matched the phantom piano music.

From that moment on, she was trapped—never to leave that nonexistent piano classroom.

Two cigarettes dropped to the floor.

People?

There was no one.

Only the wind blowing the restroom door, slowly turning it with a soft creak—like the giggle of a girl…

Su Yao’s hands rested atop Mu Nanqiu’s as Mu Nanqiu repeatedly pressed the piano keys.

She felt the warmth, the softness and smoothness beneath her fingers, and the weight and breath of Mu Nanqiu behind her.

Her thoughts drifted far from learning the piano.

Mu Nanqiu deliberately leaned in, her lips just three centimeters from Su Yao’s ear, teasing softly.

“Yao Yao~ If your senior is serious about teaching you, you have to focus, or else I’ll get mad.”

That one sentence, laced with a celestial aura, sent a shiver deep down Su Yao’s spine.

She thought, Senior is so serious, and here I am daydreaming and running off track—how could I disappoint her kindness like this?

Ashamed of her own disgraceful behavior, she lowered her head sincerely and apologized to Mu Nanqiu.

“I’m sorry, Senior. I will study hard. Please continue teaching me!”

“…Good girl. Then I’ll take you through it once more.”

Mu Nanqiu nearly laughed but held it back.

This time, Su Yao really got serious, determined to study piano properly and not embarrass her senior!

After half an hour of effort, there was finally some progress, but Mu Nanqiu’s verdict remained—

“You’re used to typing on a keyboard. Your left hand is a bit nimble, but your right hand is stiff—only your index and middle fingers move.”

“Are those three fingers just for decoration?”

“Ugh… Sorry, Senior…”

“Practice more.”

“Yes!”

It didn’t bother her to be teased by her senior, but more practice was a bit torturous.

What she played could almost be called noise, tormenting not only others but herself.

Yet she had to keep practicing.

Seeing Su Yao’s effort, Mu Nanqiu nodded with approval.

Spoiling is one thing, but criticism is necessary.

You can’t spoil a child.

Mu Nanqiu had been through this herself; this was just to let Su Yao experience it as well.

Tired and done playing, Su Yao and Mu Nanqiu sat beneath the stage, using a laptop to play last year’s arts festival video.

Su Yao stole a glance at Mu Nanqiu beside her.

No matter how good the program was, none could compare to her senior’s appearance.

She especially liked the serious look on Mu Nanqiu’s face and couldn’t help but admire her again.

As Su Yao watched, her gaze involuntarily drifted to Mu Nanqiu’s lips for a moment.

A blush flickered across her face before she quickly averted her eyes back to the screen.

Mu Nanqiu noticed every little gesture and thought.

She had known from the start, but had been pretending not to notice.

Suddenly, Mu Nanqiu leaned closer.

When she noticed Su Yao’s subtle movements, Su Yao continued to pretend to focus on the screen.

But Mu Nanqiu reached out, gently turned Su Yao’s face so they could look at each other.

She tapped the spacebar once, silencing everything.

Only the laptop’s glow illuminated their faces, revealing each other’s expressions clearly.

Su Yao stared at that beautiful face so close she could almost feel the breath—carrying a gentle, sweet fragrance that made her dizzy.

She called out softly, delicate and shy,

“Senior?”

“Yao Yao likes calling me ‘Senior’?”

Mu Nanqiu parted her thin lips, whispering gently.

Su Yao thought she was being scolded and hurried to explain,

“No, it’s just a habit…”

“Alright, calling me Senior is fine, but sometimes, I hope Yao Yao can use a more intimate name for me.”

Mu Nanqiu winked and smiled.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

“Uh, no! Nothing at all!”

Su Yao insisted there was nothing, begging her senior not to ask.

Mu Nanqiu didn’t press the matter and instead pointed to her own lips, asking Su Yao,

“Pretty, right?”

Su Yao’s mouth rounded, words failing her.

In the end, she nodded and shyly looked away, unable to meet Mu Nanqiu’s warm, burning gaze.

Su Yao thought it was pretty, which made Mu Nanqiu very happy.

Mu Nanqiu took a lipstick from her pocket and waved it in front of Su Yao’s eyes.

Su Yao looked up, puzzled.

“Want to try?”

Mu Nanqiu’s lips curved, her breath quickening with excitement.

“Yao Yao won’t mind if I’ve used it once, right?”

“Huh? Not at all!”

Su Yao quickly shook her head, meaning she didn’t mind at all—in fact, it was better that way.

She didn’t know why, but when she was with Mu Nanqiu, she always felt shy and warm, yet completely at ease.

Perhaps it was the foundation they had built over the past two years; she slipped right into that state.

As Mu Nanqiu removed the cap from the luxurious lipstick, Su Yao chose to close her eyes.