Chapter 46: Music Class (Part 3)

After listening to Li Nuo's painful story from his middle school years, An Ran'er was silent for a long time.

Seeing her standing there with her head lowered and saying nothing, Li Nuo had no idea what she was thinking.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and spoke first.

"If it really comes to it... I-I'll just leave The Girls."

The moment she heard that, An Ran'er immediately raised her head and said firmly,

"No!"

"But I..."

Li Nuo wanted to say that he simply was not suited to be a band's lead singer.

Yet the words would not come out.

"Don't say it."

An Ran'er's voice was unwavering.

"No matter what you say, I'm not letting you leave the band."

Then she smiled and continued,

"Besides, don't you still have your dream of becoming a musician?"

"When you become a musician in the future and look back on the time you spent in this band, you'll definitely be glad you stayed."

"W-What?"

Li Nuo never expected her to say something like that.

In a weak voice, he said,

"But... becoming a musician... someone as cowardly as me could never achieve that."

His voice grew quieter and quieter. But An Ran'er did not agree.

"Who says you can't?" she replied loudly. "And since you know you're weak, why not try to change?"

Li Nuo looked down at a blade of grass trapped beneath a rock and said softly:

"I... I can't do it..."

"You can."

An Ran'er answered without hesitation.

"And I can help you."

"You can help me?"

Li Nuo looked at her strangely.

"Yes, I can."

After organizing her thoughts, she continued:

"Do you want to know my first impression of you?"

"What was it?"

"When I first transferred to this school, I didn't want to interact with anyone except [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold]. So I chose you as my desk mate. Do you know why?"

"Uh... why?"

"Because I could tell right away that you were a timid person. And I knew you wouldn't dare start a conversation with me."

"So that's why..."

Li Nuo had always wondered why she chose to sit with him. Now he finally knew. It was because he looked weak and easy to deal with.

"Later, when I found out that you were [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold], I was honestly shocked."

"Before that, judging only from your videos online, I always thought [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold] was a straightforward and cheerful girl with an amazing voice."

"Uh... really..."

Li Nuo knew very well that the reason he sounded so bold online was because nobody there knew who he really was.

That gave him the courage to say whatever he wanted.

An Ran'er continued,

"At first, I always wondered why such a talented girl never did face-cam streams and never posted selfies. But after finding out you were [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold], everything made sense. Then, after getting to know you in real life, I realized something."

"You always choose to hide from a world that has left you covered in dust. But running away is never the answer. In my opinion, you should give it a try. Try facing the real world. Try facing the people and things you're afraid of. And use your unique voice to shatter all of it."

After saying so much at once, An Ran'er felt a little tired. She swallowed and continued,

"You have to believe that one day you'll be able to take root somewhere, grow, and bear fruit of your own. And you'll become the musician you've always wanted to be."

"Take root... grow... become a musician..."

A faint light appeared in Li Nuo's eyes.

He stood there blankly, thinking about her words.

Seeing that she had finally touched his heart, An Ran'er pressed forward.

"The thing you're really afraid of is becoming a target for bullying again. That's why you're afraid to sing in front of a crowd. But don't worry. Things like that won't happen again."

"Will they really not happen again...?"

Li Nuo lowered his head and murmured quietly.

An Ran'er stepped forward and hugged him.

She gently rested his head on her shoulder and softly stroked his back.

Then she whispered,

"I promise they won't. Because from now on… I'll protect you."

Feeling the warmth from her embrace, Li Nuo did not feel embarrassed this time like he usually would.

Instead, he felt an indescribable sense of comfort and safety.

The confusion in his eyes slowly disappeared.

In its place came determination.

On the lawn nearby, a small blade of grass finally pushed away the stone that had been pressing it down.

…………………………

Meanwhile, back inside the music classroom, nearly all the students had crowded around the windows, trying to hear what the two of them were talking about outside.

When they saw the two hugging each other, the classroom instantly exploded with noise.

There were girls screaming excitedly and boys crying in despair.

"Ahhh! They really are together! Look, they're hugging!" a freckled girl shouted excitedly.

"No—! I refuse to believe it!" the chubby boy cried while pulling at his hair.

"A story about a strong and dominant girl and a timid boy..."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

A thin boy wearing glasses clicked his tongue while writing something into a notebook he carried everywhere.

Watching the students react like this, Xiao Ying could not help laughing.

She turned toward the pair outside and sighed.

"Ah, youth. It's such a wonderful thing. Too bad I already missed my chance."

……………………

When Li Nuo and An Ran'er finally returned to the classroom, Xiao Ying greeted them with a mischievous smile.

"The school doesn't allow students to date, you know."

That single sentence instantly made both of them blush.

Xiao Ying finally felt a little better.

After all, these two young people had been acting sweet and affectionate right outside, completely ignoring the feelings of an older single woman like her.

Once everything was ready again, Li Nuo finally gathered his courage.

He carefully glanced at An Ran'er.

She was looking back at him and gave him an "OK" hand sign.

The noisy classroom gradually became quieter.

Eventually, it fell completely silent.

Looking at all his classmates below the stage, Li Nuo still felt nervous.

Then he remembered something An Ran'er had told him before they came back inside.

"If you're still nervous, just imagine everyone down there is a bunch of cabbages and radishes."

Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried, he could not see them as vegetables.

But this time...

He was not going to run away.

He did not want to become that weak version of himself again.