After Losing My Memory, I Was Targeted by the Obsessive Movie Queen [gl] - Chapter 41

Yan He’s movements froze. She turned to look at her, eyes widening slightly. “Really? We can go to the school?”

Lu Youqing was amused by her reaction and reached out to tap Yan He’s nose. “Of course. Our high school is right here in Wucheng.” As she spoke, her eyes shimmered as if a thousand stars had fallen into them—like an immortal being descending into the mortal world.

She spoke so effortlessly, yet the hand she had hidden beneath the chair gripped the edge tighter and tighter, her nails on the verge of cracking.

Yan He was a bird with clipped wings; the tether was in Lu Youqing’s hand. She wanted the bird to stay by her side forever, but she also knew that if a string is kept too taut, it will eventually snap.

Even if she hadn’t brought up the school herself, Yan He would have surely wanted to visit it now that she was in Wucheng. It was far better to offer it herself than to wait for Yan He to ask.

Thinking this, Lu Youqing let out a soft breath and smiled again. “I just don’t know when I’ll have the free time.”

“There will be time.” Yan He turned the hairdryer back on, her fingers weaving gently through the strands of hair, soothing the panic and unease deep in Lu Youqing’s heart. Lu Youqing closed her eyes and slowly let go of the chair.

No one expected Lu Youqing’s words to be a prophecy. For a long while afterward, her filming schedule became increasingly intense. Several days of heavy shooting became a common occurrence. Consequently, the first thing she did after finishing work was collapse and sleep; she had no mental energy for anything else.

As her nominal assistant, Yan He saw all of this. Heartache washed over her like a tide. She stopped mentioning the school and simply stayed by her side to make things a little easier.

Occasionally, the director would grant a single day of rest. Lu Youqing would remember her promise and suggest going, but Yan He would refuse, firmly insisting that she stay in the hotel to rest.

During these times, Lu Youqing would tell her stories about their high school days—mostly mundane bits of their daily life. Yan He loved listening to them. She could sense the youthful innocence and shyness of the two girls’ love, a feeling she couldn’t quite grasp as a socialized adult.

She grew more and more curious about what their school looked like.

The busy work eventually came to an end. After finishing the most grueling scenes, more than a month had passed. Winter was well underway. On the day before Christmas, the director finally showed some mercy and gave Lu Youqing three days off. The two prepared to visit their alma mater the following day.

Yan He originally wanted Lu Youqing to rest for a day first, but Lu Youqing only smiled and said that Christmas held a special meaning for her.

The next day at noon, it was surprisingly less cold than usual. Although the sky was still overcast, Yan He’s excitement didn’t dim in the slightest.

They took a car to their old high school. As the school came into view, Yan He’s heart beat faster with excitement. Lu Youqing held her hand, meticulously describing the shops along the road.

“That’s a stationery store; it was open back when we were students. Over there is a breakfast stall; you used to love the small noodles from that shop most.” She spoke with a smile, recounting everything that had happened years ago in a sweet, clear voice.

Yan He tilted her head, her gaze shifting from the window to Lu Youqing. Truthfully, she didn’t recognize any of these shops or roads; she was simply immersed in Lu Youqing’s gentle voice, watching her features as love overflowed in her heart.

The shops by the road looked older than they did in memory, but they were still crowded with students in blue-and-white uniforms, bustling about in groups and chatting about the day’s events.

The car stopped outside the school. Yan He leaned her head against the window, watching the people outside as her heart grew calm. With winter approaching, colorful lights were strung up in shop doorways, and vendors were selling apples by the school gate.

They waited outside until all the students had entered and the bell rang before getting out of the car. The sky remained gray, and as a gust of wind blew past, Yan He pulled her coat tight.

The driver said something to the security guard at the gate. The guard glanced at the two of them and opened the gate, allowing them to enter.

The school was empty, the crowds having thinned out. The occasional student passing by only gave them a fleeting glance before quickening their pace. It seemed as though they were the only two people left in the world. Lu Youqing scanned the scenery and then looked at Yan He.

“It’s been seven years, yet the school still looks the same. It’s like it never changed.”

Yan He smiled softly and looked around. “Is that so?” Lacking memory, she felt no grand surge of emotion looking at the campus.

Lu Youqing reached forward to take Yan He’s hand, her gaze burning. “Does A-He remember anything?”

Yan He looked at their joined hands. Lu Youqing’s fair hand was reddening from the cold. She gripped it tight and familiarly tucked it into her own coat pocket, shaking her head.

“No, I haven’t remembered a thing.” Her voice was low and apologetic—sorry that Lu Youqing had brought her here only for her to remain blank.

Lu Youqing gave her a comforting smile. She used her free hand to stroke Yan He’s hair. “It’s okay. I’ll always be by your side. It doesn’t matter if you remember or not. There’s no rush.”

Yan He’s brows drooped, making her look like a piteous little animal. Hearing Lu Youqing say this, she couldn’t help but nod.

They walked around the campus once. By the time they reached the sports field, Lu Youqing was a bit tired, so Yan He had her sit on a bench while she walked a few laps around the track.

Sitting on the bench, Lu Youqing watched Yan He’s back. Sensing her gaze, Yan He turned to look at her. Their eyes met across the distance, and even from far away, she could feel Yan He smiling at her.

Yan He raised her hand and waved. Lu Youqing, heart fluttering, was about to wave back when she felt a tiny, cool touch. She froze. A second later, a crystalline white flake landed on her eyelash and quickly melted.

It was snowing.

Lu Youqing looked up. In the dim light, snowflakes were fluttering down from the sky, landing on her brows, her eyes, and her lips. Feeling the cool touch against her skin, she reached out in disbelief to touch the flakes. Her memory suddenly flashed back seven years—to a Christmas day when it had also snowed.

The sky then had been exactly like this—dim, heavy, and suffocating.

The students had long since left the school. Lu Youqing stayed in the classroom alone, waiting for the noise outside to vanish before packing her things and leaving the building.

Holidays were no different from any other day to her, but she loathed the festive noise, so she loathed the holidays by extension. After her sister passed away, that hatred only intensified.

By the time she stepped out of the building, it was dark. The white snow in the air merged the sky and earth into one. She walked alone, the streetlamps stretching her shadow across the snow. The cold wind whipped at her uniform. She kept her head down, walking step by step.

The snow grew heavier, piling on her. She had to stop to brush it off, and in that moment of stillness, she saw a figure in the snow.

Under a streetlamp ahead, a tall girl stood watching her. Seeing Lu Youqing look over, she shook the snow from her clothes and ran to her. The lamplight reflected in her clear eyes, making her look like the most beautiful pearl in the snow.

“Lu Youqing.” The girl called her name solemnly for the first time, checking her watch as if waiting for something. Snow fell on her, frost forming on her lashes, and her breath no longer produced white mist.

Yan He took a slow step forward, closing the distance. Lu Youqing could finally see what was in her hands.

It was a music box.

Yan He finally smiled. She took Lu Youqing’s hand with her frozen, stiff fingers and led her to turn the key on top of the music box together. Melodious music rang out, breaking the cold of the dark night, as if playing a beautiful tune upon the snowflakes in the air.

“In the final minute of Christmas, if you turn a music box, the music can freeze time. Those who listen to it will remember everything that happened on Christmas,” she heard Yan He say amidst the music.

“Classmate Lu… will you remember me too?”

In such cold weather, Lu Youqing didn’t know how Yan He knew she was there, or how long she had stood there stubbornly holding that music box just for a sliver of a chance to meet at midnight. But Yan He had succeeded. Her eyes were bright, her body shivering, and her words were trembling with the cold, yet she still looked at Lu Youqing with a smile, nervously awaiting her answer.

She had thought no one would remember her holiday, yet someone had crashed in, willfully stirring up the depths of her heart like a beam of light illuminating her dusty, broken soul.

In that instant, Lu Youqing was no longer afraid of the cold or the distant noise. She had found a presence that brought her peace—a presence that would stay with her forever.

Lu Youqing looked down at the rotating music box. She reached out to take it without a word. Under Yan He’s nervous gaze, she took a step forward and cupped her face. Her slender body drew close in the cold wind; soft lips met, and warmth flowed between them.

That was her answer.

Memories fluttered like the snowflakes in the sky, settling in the deepest part of her mind. Lu Youqing retracted her gaze, her consciousness pulling back from the past, a faint smile still on her lips.

From then on, that music box—the symbol of her promise with Yan He—had been cherished as a treasure she never dared to take out.

But the only time she took it out of the house, it broke.

Thinking of this, Lu Youqing’s eyes darkened, and a bitter smile crossed her lips. It wasn’t just the music box; the consequences of that incident had far exceeded her expectations.

The music box was ruined, and Yan He had been seriously injured while trying to protect her.

Turbid emotions swirled in Lu Youqing’s eyes. She pulled back her gaze and suppressed the memory, unwilling to think further. She turned to find Yan He’s figure on the sports field.

The snow was getting heavier. She stood up to brush it off, but her movements suddenly halted.

The field was a vast expanse of white. Between heaven and earth, aside from herself, there was no sign of anyone else.