Chapter 137: Hidden Easter Egg

Bai Chenxi looked back and forth, not entirely following the latter part of their conversation. However, this didn't stop her from noticing the easing atmosphere between the two men.

See? Talking about music actually works! Why am I so smart?

"I'll drive you home!"

"Let's go together!"

Looking at the two men once again secretly competing, Bai Chenxi felt helpless: Dear gentlemen, could you please channel your tacit understanding into something else?

"I'm the one who asked Chenxi out, so naturally I should be the one to drive her back." Even though you just helped me, I won't compromise on matters of principle.

"You weren't even the one who picked her up, why should you drop her off? Besides, we're heading in the same direction, right, Chenxi?" Do I need you to yield?

Bai Chenxi nodded and said, "Yes! Brother Chu and I happen to be heading the same way, so we can go back together. There's no need to trouble you with the drive back. Also, thank you for the movie, it was great."

"Fine! Be careful on your way back, then." After saying this, Xia Yan cast a disdainful glance at Chu Muyun. Such an eyesore!

Sitting in Chu Muyun's car, Bai Chenxi finally let out a sigh of relief. What kind of ancestors were these? She must have lost her mind to have ever brought them together.

Regardless of whether they got along or not, what did it have to do with her anyway? Still, seeing that their relationship seemed to have eased a bit today, Bai Chenxi was quite pleased.

Chu Muyun watched Bai Chenxi's little face, which shifted from troubled to beaming in mere moments. What a little fool, she actually thought he and Xia Yan had some kind of misunderstanding!

Watching the two of them leave, Xia Yan picked up his phone and called his manager.

"What? You want to change the songs on your entire album, every single one of them? Have you lost your mind?" Hearing Xia Yan's words, the manager shouted in exasperation over the phone.

Xia Yan replied with absolute determination, "Yes, change all of them. No, keep 'Waiting', but replace everything else."

"You're leaving one song behind, should I be grateful for that? I gave you a day off so you could rest, did resting break your brain?"

"Bro, trust me. Give me one week, and I'll give you something much better."

There was a conviction in Xia Yan's voice that had never been there before. Reluctantly, the manager relented, "Just get to the company first. We'll talk in person."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Yan suddenly felt as though everything before his eyes had come alive. He finally felt he knew which path he was supposed to take.

Until one day, when he happened to find an obscure little corner of the internet featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Chu Muyun practicing in a dance studio during his early years.

Although it was very short and didn't clearly show his face, Xia Yan recognized Chu Muyun purely from his physique. Back then, Chu Muyun must have been even younger than him, yet every beat and step was executed with absolute precision.

Xia Yan muttered to himself: Can't dance? Ha! He must have lost his mind to have believed that nonsense!

"Aren't we going home?" Bai Chenxi looked out at the place where Chu Muyun had parked; it wasn't her residential complex at all!

"Not going back yet. I'm taking you somewhere."

"Where?" Bai Chenxi's interest was instantly piqued.

Uncharacteristically, Chu Muyun kept her in suspense: "You'll know when we get there."

Chu Muyun led Bai Chenxi through a maze of small alleys. If he hadn't been the one guiding her, she would have suspected she was being abducted.

Stopping in his tracks, Chu Muyun announced, "Here we are!"

Bai Chenxi looked at the rustic and simple pottery workshop before her, harboring the fleeting illusion that some martial arts master must be living in seclusion here. She must have watched too many historical dramas.

Following Chu Muyun inside, she found a small courtyard planted with vegetables and fruits, with grapevines sprawling all over the trellis. It didn't feel like a pottery shop at all; it felt more like a rural agritainment resort. An elderly man was lying on a rocking chair under the tree, lazily waving a cattail leaf fan.

Chu Muyun greeted the old man, "Uncle Li!"

The man addressed as Uncle Li used his fan to block the glare of the sun, squinted at them for a moment, and then smiled. "So it's you, kid! Did you bring your girlfriend to visit me today?"

Chu Muyun responded with a smile, "Mm! Brought her to have a look."

Chu Muyun's calm and straightforward response caused Bai Chenxi to instantly blush a bright crimson.

"Good, good, good! I won't meddle in you young folks' affairs, go on inside yourselves!"

Uncle Li repeated the word 'good' several times. He knew nothing of the rumors online, but he thought the young woman was delightful—Muyun had a good eye.

Chu Muyun pulled Bai Chenxi along as he said, "Then you get some rest, Uncle Li. We'll head inside on our own."

Once inside, Bai Chenxi finally realized this was indeed a pottery shop. The room was densely packed with various ceramic art pieces. Unlike other pottery shops where everything on display was exquisitely gorgeous, this place featured many defective and imperfect pieces. Yet, all of them were placed here and cared for with utmost tenderness.

Chu Muyun encouraged Bai Chenxi, "Go take a look closer!"

As Bai Chenxi walked up to them, she discovered that beneath every piece of pottery, there was a message written by its creator.

Some sealed away their lost romances alongside shattered pottery.

Some carried the joy of making their very first piece of pottery.

Others harbored countless worldly worries, finding a sliver of tranquility only here.

Calling this place a pottery shop didn't quite fit; it was more like a memorial hall of ceramics, commemorating the myriad tastes of human life.

"How did you find such a wonderful place?" Bai Chenxi noticed that Chu Muyun always seemed to unearth hidden easter eggs in life.

"As long as you like it. I stumbled upon it by accident, too."

Bai Chenxi tilted her head and asked, "Do you come here often?" He seemed quite familiar with Uncle Li.

"Not often. Occasionally, when I'm in a bad mood or troubled by something I can't figure out, I come here to spend some time."

"So, are you in a bad mood today, or do you have an unsolved problem?"

Chu Muyun beamed with a smile, "Neither. Today I brought you here on purpose. I thought you would like this place."

Smiling from the bottom of her heart, Bai Chenxi said, "Thank you, I really do love this place."

Looking at Chu Muyun with anticipation, she asked, "Do you have any pottery kept here?"

Refusing to reveal whether he did or not, Chu Muyun simply said, "Go find it yourself."

Bai Chenxi silently muttered to herself: Stingy! I'll find it myself, then.

She searched through many pieces, but Chu Muyun just kept shaking his head. Seeing that Bai Chenxi looked determined not to stop until she found it, Chu Muyun called out to her, "Alright, stop looking. Let me teach you how to make one!"

Bai Chenxi turned her head back and said, "Okay! Then you have to teach me to make the one you made!"

With a helpless shake of his head, Chu Muyun gently pushed her further inside. Looking back as she walked, Bai Chenxi pressed on, "Just tell me, won't you? Please?"

Chu Muyun's answer was resolute, "No. Hurry up and walk."

Of course, Chu Muyun wasn't about to tell her what he had made. Left with no choice, Bai Chenxi conceded, "Then just teach me to make a cup! If it turns out successful, I'll be able to drink several more cups of water whenever I use it!"

After enduring numerous failures, Bai Chenxi only wanted to say: I give up on drinking water, okay?!

Watching people on television shape pottery with effortless ease, why was it so hard when it came to her turn? Her hands felt as though they didn't belong to her—she could manage one side only to completely lose control of the other.

Pondering the situation seriously, Bai Chenxi concluded that what she really lacked was a leading man to teach her hands-on.