Chapter 58: Blossoms of Courage

Early Sunday morning, Lily arrived at the door of the practice room at Child Star Studio.

Though the studio’s singing equipment was professional, Lily rarely came here to sing. She usually practiced at home or had Lin Zheng Ran teach her.

Yet, even after just a few visits, she had hit it off with that other girl with double ponytails—Liu Xin Yue, the blonde little one.

Liu Xin Yue was a mixed-race kid, looking different from everyone else with her blue-tinged eyes, and she was a bit older than Lily.

But the moment they first locked eyes, they knew they were kindred spirits.

When Lily reached the practice room and met her, she found Liu Xin Yue already waiting. The blonde girl in her floral dress stood at the door, her high ponytails contrasting Lily’s low one.

“Lily, you’re here?” Liu Xin Yue said, hurrying over as soon as she saw her.

Lily met her with a smile: “Yeah, Xin Yue, why did you suddenly hang up last night?”

Liu Xin Yue blushed and replied, “My big brother came over yesterday, so I hung up. Come on, I’ll tell you all about it. I need your help today, or I’ll never pull this off on my own.”

Lily agreed, and the two left the practice room, heading toward the mall.

She began to explain the whole story.

The girl named Liu Xin Yue said:

“I’m going back abroad next week, so I want to confess to my neighbor’s college big brother before I leave. If he says yes, I’ll come back in six months, but if not, I probably won’t return.”

Lily already knew about her trip abroad.

Liu Xin Yue hesitated and added, “But I’m so nervous because that big brother has had a childhood sweetheart who’s always liked him. Her name is Heqing Qing!”

Heqing Qing… Lily felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

As they walked, Liu Xin Yue continued:

“I didn’t even know about his childhood sweetheart until I was in junior high. That girl has freckles all over her face, which makes her kind of cute, and she’s always had a crush on him. Lately, I’ve seen her and her best friend plotting something big—I suspect she’s planning to confess!”

Lily blinked, suddenly thinking that Heqing and Han Wenwen had been acting a bit odd lately, like they were up to something.

Liu Xin Yue went on:

“I think he likes her a little; he makes time for her now and then. So if she’s confessing, he might say yes, and then I’d be out of luck!”

She hung her head, troubled: “I’ve been hesitating all along. I know I’m tsundere, so I never dare say anything directly,

but after hearing about how you boldly asked that guy to go to the movies, I realized I need to take the initiative too—only then will I get results!”

Lily had shared her one glorious moment to encourage Liu Xin Yue, who was always frustrated about romance, and now Liu Xin Yue was using it as her inspiration.

Lily said a bit awkwardly, “I get it, Xin Yue. I’m fully supporting you! So, when are you planning to confess?”

“Tonight!”

“Tonight? That soon?”

“Yeah, it’s his birthday today, so I thought I’d ask for your help to buy flowers, candles, and balloons to set everything up. Then, we can witness how even a tsundere can find happiness—mark this historic moment!”

She was fired up now.

Lily nodded without hesitation; it was her first time helping set up a confession scene. “Sure, let’s go now!”

The two friends headed to the mall and bought a bunch of confession supplies. Along the way, Liu Xin Yue kept saying she’d never done anything like this before.

Because of her tsundere personality, she’d let opportunities slip to Heqing Qing many times.

Lily felt that odd sense of déjà vu again.

They carried their purchases and picked a spot, finally choosing a quiet park flower bed to arrange everything neatly.

They blew up balloons, tied strings, and weighted them with stones, then arranged the candles into a heart shape.

They scattered rose petals in the middle.

By the time they finished, it was already late afternoon, and with winter’s short days, night fell quickly.

Liu Xin Yue held a big bouquet, taking deep breaths.

Under the candlelight, she mustered her courage and said to Lily, “Okay, I’m calling him now. I’ll succeed, right?”

Lily nodded: “Yes, you can do it.”

Liu Xin Yue excitedly pulled out her phone, found his number, but as she was about to hit call, her face grew redder with shyness.

“Can I really do this? I’ve never taken the initiative before.”

Lily was getting nervous too: “You can, go for it, Xin Yue!”

Liu Xin Yue’s hand hovered over the button, then she waved her little fist: “No, no, I’m not ready yet! Can I really do this? How should I ask him to come out?”

Lily knew her tsundere nature, so she stayed patient and encouraged her: “Just say it straight! You got this!”

“Can I really?”

“You can!”

Liu Xin Yue looked at her best friend, clenched her fist, shut her eyes, and shouted to psych herself up: “You’re right, I can!”

“You can!” Lily cheered her on.

Liu Xin Yue shouted again: “I can!”

Lily kept cheering: “You can!”

“I can!”

“You can!”

After what felt like forever of hesitation, a passerby suddenly appeared, making them both embarrassed.

The passerby said, “Hmm? You two confessing too? What a coincidence— this park is usually empty, but today there are two confessions going on.”

Lily and Liu Xin Yue exchanged glances and asked curiously, “Another confession?”

The passerby nodded and pointed: “Over there. A little girl is confessing to her childhood sweetheart brother, and he said yes. I’d have stuck around longer if I wasn’t heading home for dinner.”

Liu Xin Yue said curiously, “Really?” She hesitated, looking at Lily with a grin: “Lily, want to go watch how others do it? Maybe we can learn something—so I won’t be so indecisive.”

Lily thought it was a good idea, so they walked over.

At the other confession scene, a crowd had already gathered, and the setup was simple—just one candle on the ground and a bouquet in hand.

The girl confessing wore a white dress and had freckles all over her face; she wasn’t stunning, but she was cute. The guy was tall.

As for his looks and vibe, Lily thought he didn’t hold a candle to that big idiot she knew.

The cute girl held her flowers excitedly: “You really agreed to be with me?!”

The guy nodded gently, a bit shy: “Of course, how could I say no when a girl confesses?”

The cute girl said word by word: “I like you!”

He replied the same: “I like you too.”

The scattered onlookers started clapping and teasing: “Kiss! Kiss!”

The two leaned in shyly and shared a kiss.

Lily felt too embarrassed to watch and smiled at Liu Xin Yue: “See, Xin Yue? It’s that simple—just say you like him and… wait, why are you crying?!”

She hadn’t noticed that Liu Xin Yue had been frozen since they arrived, her eyes trembling as she stared at the couple, the flowers slipping from her hand.

Her heart shattered into pieces.

“Big brother… my big brother.” She watched her crush kiss his childhood sweetheart, tears streaming down: “No, no!”

Power’s out today, so this is a scheduled post—I’ll update early this afternoon at two.