Chapter 80: I Have Never Held Anything, So What Is There for Me to Let Go?

Lu Xiang'er walked out of the classroom, still a little dazed. Ning Xiaoyun was waiting by the door, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. "So? Was that guy handsome or not? You look like you’ve been completely swept off your feet."

Lu Xiang'er frowned and twisted shyly. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Miss Xiangxiang, just grab yourself a hunk already and put an end to your single life. If you don’t fall in love in college, what’s the point of even going?" Ning Xiaoyun coaxed with a mischievous grin.

"You talk as though you’re any different," Lu Xiang'er retorted, tickling her friend.

The two of them teased each other as they walked down the corridor.

"Seriously though, was he handsome? Did he write you a love letter, or was it a dramatic wall slam confession?" Ning Xiaoyun joked.

"What on earth goes on in your head all day? He came to talk business with me—and you’ve seen him before," Lu Xiang'er explained, unable to escape her friend’s interrogation.

"I’ve seen him? Who is it? I don’t remember," Ning Xiaoyun tried to recall the face she had just glimpsed, searching her mental database, but nothing matched.

"It’s Fang Xing," Lu Xiang'er finally admitted.

"Fang Xing? Who’s that?"

Ning Xiaoyun didn’t make the connection at first. Three seconds passed before it clicked, and her eyes widened. "You mean the one from ‘Tomorrow’s Star’?"

Lu Xiang'er nodded, confirming her guess.

Ning Xiaoyun’s eyes grew even wider. "No wonder he said he’s a vocal major and plays piano so well. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it."

"Lu Xiangxiang, I can’t believe you’ve been secretly flirting with Fang Xing behind my back."

"Out with it! How did you two get together? Tell the truth or I’ll tell your mom," she threatened playfully.

Lu Xiang'er pinched her arm in exasperation. "Stop making things up, will you? I barely even know him."

"Then why did he come to your classroom looking for you?" Ning Xiaoyun was skeptical.

"It’s about that incident on Weibo, the rumor that he hit someone—but he was actually catching a thief. My violin got broken during the scuffle. Today he brought me a business card for a luthier who can repair it," Lu Xiang'er explained at last.

"So did you ask him for a signed photo?" Ning Xiaoyun’s mind jumped tracks entirely, never lingering on the broken violin.

"What are you talking about? We’re not even friends. Why would I ask for his autograph?" Lu Xiang'er gave her a helpless look.

"To show off to our roommates, of course! Don’t you know? Several girls in our class have already switched from being Wu Junchen fans to Fang Xing stans, and they’re always hating on him online," Ning Xiaoyun chattered on.

Lu Xiang'er wasn’t really listening. Her mind kept replaying what Fang Xing had said earlier.

She truly cherished her violin, so much so that she hadn’t dared open its case to look at the damage. If she could, she would dearly love to have it repaired, but she worried that after the repair, it might not be the same as before.

So she kept the violin hidden in her room, never taking it out to find someone to fix it.

Seeing her friend lost in thought, Ning Xiaoyun nudged her. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? I heard you," Lu Xiang'er replied absentmindedly.

"You’re spacing out all the time. Did Fang Xing charm you senseless?" Ning Xiaoyun looked her up and down, suspicious.

"No, stop it. I was just thinking about the violin," Lu Xiang'er shot her a look full of grievance.

Ning Xiaoyun tapped Lu Xiang'er’s nose and teased, "Sounds more like you’ve got your first crush—he’s bewitched your soul."

"Absolutely not!"

Lu Xiang'er puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes.

"It’s so obvious—you’re blushing," Ning Xiaoyun continued to tease.

"Ning Xiaoyun, seriously, we need to have a fight," Lu Xiang'er huffed, rolling up her sleeves as if ready for a brawl.

"Not in front of everyone—let’s wait till we’re home and settle it behind closed doors."

Bickering, the two of them headed toward the cafeteria, planning to practice together after dinner.

…

As night fell and the lights came on, rows of plane trees lined the road on both sides of the Dongyin Conservatory’s student dormitories, standing in harmony with the streetlights.

Fang Xing walked along the tree-lined avenue, feeling the evening breeze and sifting through the memories of this life—at once familiar and strange.

Lost in thought, he was startled when someone ahead called his name.

"Fang Xing."

He looked up to see Chen Shirong, the white moonlight of his former self’s youth.

This was the student dormitory area; Chen Shirong’s dorm was here too. Fang Xing had only intended to return to his room, never expecting to run into her.

Chen Shirong hurried over and stood under the streetlight. "You’re back? How did the competition go?"

"It was fine," Fang Xing replied offhandedly.

"I watched all your performances. You sang beautifully," Chen Shirong praised.

"Thank you. I have something to do, so I’ll be going." Fang Xing responded casually, then stepped around her and continued on.

Chen Shirong was left standing there, dumbstruck—she had seen a trace of coldness on his face. In the past, Fang Xing would never have been the first to say goodbye so long as she hadn’t spoken the words herself.

She quickly turned after him. "Wait, you seem different—like you’re a whole new person. You never used to be like this."

Fang Xing glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I don’t owe you anything, and I have no obligation to treat you as I did before."

Hearing this, Chen Shirong’s suspicions were finally confirmed. Just like the lyrics of "Lovers Under Heaven": no regrets for loving you, but we’ll never say goodbye again.

Regret gnawed at her heart. If only she had realized her feelings sooner.

Yet she clung to a sliver of hope. "Can you really let go of everything that happened between us?"

Fang Xing smiled coolly. "I never picked anything up—what is there for me to let go of?"

With that, he strode away, vanishing down the avenue, swallowed by the golden haze of the streetlights.

The truth was, one reason Fang Xing had stayed away from campus was to avoid seeing Chen Shirong. After all, his former self had been infatuated with her—unrequited, yes, but it had left a mark in his memory.

Meeting her tonight was his farewell—not only to her, but to his past self.

Everything that had been would end here, a final cadence. Love, hate, passion, and resentment—all concluded before this rest, like a movement in music coming to its close, never to repeat.

And so Chen Shirong stood alone under the streetlight, dazed, his words echoing in her ears: "I never picked anything up—what is there for me to let go of?"

"Yes… never picked anything up…" she murmured, recalling two years in which she had never really let this man into her heart, never even so much as held his hand.

This chapter of the past seemed to have ended before it ever truly began.