Chapter 116: Have Mercy on Me
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“Um... Although I look like Zhong Huayan, I’m Li Yanyan.”
She had only a sliver of patience left with which to reason with him.
Deep down, she even took the time to condemn her younger self. Had she been too warmhearted back then, leaving behind all these debts of affection?
“That doesn’t matter.”
The young man climbed down from the chair. His face was pale and languid, with a faint, almost illusory resemblance to the male version of the ghostly beauty from *A Chinese Ghost Story*. His brows and eyes held an understated allure, yet there was something pallid and fated about him.
He stood well over six feet tall, and yet there was something almost androgynous about him. The smile curling at the corners of his lips was not handsome so much as bewitching. She found herself staring despite herself. His features were merely above average, but his bearing and expression elevated him to an extraordinary level.
He passed by her, carrying the faint, secluded fragrance of winter snow.
“Who you are doesn’t matter. What matters is that you remind me of her.”
In other words, the person inside this body no longer mattered. The body itself was what mattered.
Because simply standing before him in this form could bring him a certain measure of happiness.
She had no idea how to respond. All she could do was rub her forehead and think that leaving would be best.
“Then... I still have to attend the lecture. See you later.”
“Perfect. I was waiting here for you. Let’s go together.”
Zhong Huayan watched as the young man slowly crouched down and picked up the paper from the floor. With his pale, slender hand, he carefully wiped away the dust, then unhurriedly placed it beneath the statue of Buddha.
Only then did she realize that he had been hinting at his feelings all along.
And she had ignored him time and again...
Zhong Huayan did not want to reject him too cruelly, so she answered with polite restraint.
“Classmate Fang Wenjin, the dead are gone. You shouldn’t continue dwelling on them. Besides, I’m Li Yanyan. The way you feel about me is because you see me as her replacement. That is disrespectful to me.”
He stepped forward. Though gaunt to the point of looking skeletal, he possessed an imposing presence, as if every word he spoke were meant to awaken her.
“I once refused to believe in gods, Buddhas, ghosts, or the supernatural because none of them had ever saved me. Instead, they bound and imprisoned me from within. But after I saw you and heard you sing Kunqu, I began to believe in all those things.
“Huayan, you were obviously frightened just now. You were caught off guard by what happened. You have never been good at pretending. You always put the greater picture first, always place your career and dreams above everything else. Even if you were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize you.”
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She was utterly stunned...
If she had not died, she truly would never have realized that the youngest son of the Fang family was so familiar with all these things.
Even more unimaginable was that those insignificant lessons she had given him years ago had become something he cherished so deeply.
“What is it? Are you regretting it... regretting that you shouldn’t have stepped forward to help me back then, or that you shouldn’t have taught me Kunqu? An ordinary person would never have noticed the subtle turns in your teacher’s voice. But do you know that I have pondered those few lines of Kunqu day and night? Your unusual vocal inflections, the techniques you used when playing the pipa and the guzheng—I know them by heart. All it takes is careful dissection, and everything becomes perfectly clear.
“It is all thanks to you, Teacher. With such a distinctive way of singing, you surely did not perform that song for many people back then, especially when you were so busy with work...”
The more Zhong Huayan thought about it, the more she felt that the young man was a genius.
Back then, she really had been too busy with work to display those artistic talents.
She had never imagined that, after all these years, someone would still hum that Kunqu piece over and over, even analyzing it thread by thread.
“Teacher... what are you thinking about?”
Fang Wenjin stood only a few centimeters away from her, yet Zhong Huayan felt a chill creep layer by layer down her back.
He deliberately placed heavy emphasis on the word “Teacher.” The way his voice curved around it sounded almost flirtatious.
The first time they had met, snow had been falling through the winter sky. He had been a nervous boy of barely fourteen, while she had just been confirmed as the heir to the Zhong conglomerate, at the height of her prominence.
Still green and eager to express his gratitude, he had deliberately refrained from calling her “Miss” and instead called her “Teacher.”
“Give up on this. Do not cast your moonlight into a worthless ravine. Your talent is extraordinary, and you will have a brighter future.”
She was ruthless indeed. Facing that melancholy, pitiful face, she made herself perfectly clear and cut things off without leaving any room for misunderstanding.
But Fang Wenjin was no pushover. Tears slipped from his eyes, making him look even more helpless and heartbreaking. Cradling the guqin in his arms, he resembled a wronged consort from an ancient imperial harem.
Yet everything about his clothes and the way he traveled marked him unmistakably as a young master. He was a musical prodigy praised by the media and society, a boy covered in honors. To hear such words from him now made her eyelid twitch, while a dull throb began at her temples.
“I cannot forget this melody. I hope Huayan will show me mercy. I will do whatever you say—please, do not come to hate me because of this.”
Show him mercy?
She let out a cold laugh and avoided his gaze entirely. Her voice was detached, calm, and flat.
“I admire your artistic talent, but there is no possibility between us.”
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She had fought and clawed her way through the abyss of society for so many years that her heart had become as hard and unyielding as a blade.
If those words had come from Fu Yanyan, perhaps she might have indulged him, even felt a secret thrill.
“All right. I’m sorry. Just consider it a case of mistaken identity. I’ll try not to disturb you again.”
Zhong Huayan preferred people who knew where to draw the line, so she nodded.
“I’ll treat this as a one-time accident—as nothing more than your mistaking me for someone else. Do not let it happen again.”
She hurriedly avoided that pitiful yet fervent gaze. A room with one man and one woman alone was no place to remain.
She had originally thought that the boy’s feelings were merely the sudden pounding of adolescent hormones. She had never expected them to be deliberate and long-nurtured—a fixation he had guarded obsessively, an illness of the heart that had never healed.
This was not something that could be dismissed with a sentence or two.
Only after Zhong Huayan walked out of the room did she finally feel able to breathe. From the sound of his footsteps, she could tell that Fang Wenjin was still following behind her.
She entered the art lecture hall as discreetly as possible, without making a sound.
But everyone still noticed her—and Fang Wenjin.
The entire hall erupted.
“Holy crap, are they together? Our Li-jie is incredible! Is there any man in the world she can’t win over?”
“I’m sick of saying I’m jealous. If only I could be that amazing someday!”
“How could our Li-jie ever be unworthy of Fang Wenjin? Her Kunqu performances and dancing are at a genius level. Besides, I heard Fang Wenjin was the one who applied to transfer here. Obviously, he has ulterior motives!”
“Could the dark horse from Aomeng this time be Li Yanyan? I think I saw her in the photos!”
“You still don’t know? Li Yanyan also has a livestream account. She’s incredibly knowledgeable and can authenticate antiques from virtually any era. She’s amazing! Science is the only subject she’s not very good at—when it comes to the humanities and the arts, she’s first in everything!”
“Holy crap, Li Yanyan is practically the Queen of Discussion at Capital University right now—a true celebrity on campus!”
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