Chapter 8: The heroine of the lyrics

Hearing Chen Xinya’s name from Feng Xiyao’s lips caught Meng Zhi off guard.

How did she know Chen Xinya?

No… how did she know her now?

And how did she know where I was last night?

A flurry of thoughts flooded his mind. Meng Zhi closed his eyes briefly, sorting through them.

Is she… reborn too?

Yes. Almost certainly.

The life where he tried to save Feng Xiyao came after Chen Xinya’s suicide.

In that life, still reeling from Chen Xinya’s death, Meng Zhi avoided her from the start of his rebirth.

Her death had hit him hard, and being his first failed mission, he wasn’t used to it.

So, in his second life, he was a mess, even murmuring Chen Xinya’s name in his sleep while with Feng Xiyao.

That was when Feng Xiyao first asked who Chen Xinya was—three months after they ran away together.

Meng Zhi told her she was his childhood friend and first love, someone he’d lost contact with, and not to worry.

But that one sentence might’ve been the final straw that broke her.

‘…Brother Meng Zhi, I love the lyrics you wrote for me. I really want you to be my exclusive lyricist.’

‘…But how nice would it be if the heroine in those lyrics was me?’

Feng Xiyao always felt his lyrics weren’t about her but were love letters to Chen Xinya. No matter how he explained, she spiraled into pain, obsession, and endless self-doubt.

Gradually, she stopped writing songs, couldn’t play her guitar, and couldn’t sleep.

Meng Zhi could only watch it all unfold.

Watch it all slide toward an irreparable end.

Now, Feng Xiyao’s goal was clear. From the moment of her rebirth, she came straight for him, even speeding up their parents’ meeting. She might’ve been watching him since yesterday.

In her eyes, Chen Xinya was probably the culprit who ruined their relationship.

But she was wrong.

Even without Chen Xinya, Meng Zhi had no confidence he could save her.

Maybe he wasn’t cut out for this. The system picked a talentless guy by mistake.

“How do you know Chen Xinya? And how do you know where I was last night?”

Feng Xiyao kept her eyes on him. They widened briefly, as if brimming with words she wanted to pour out, then softened.

“If I told you… you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“Do you believe in rebirth?” Her tone softened, emotions in check. “If I said I’m reborn, that we were a loving couple in my last life, would you believe me?”

Meng Zhi thought for a moment, then shook his head regretfully. “As pickup lines go, that’s even worse than ‘known you forever.’”

“Then I guess there’s no helping it.”

Feng Xiyao laughed lightly, her arched brows and dimples making her face radiant. “Truth is, you’re cute, and I want to get closer to you.”

“Besides, you’re technically my brother now.”

“…I never agreed to that,” Meng Zhi said coldly, turning away. “He can build his family. It’s got nothing to do with me. Never will.”

“Oh, fair enough.”

Feng Xiyao tilted her head cutely, her eyes sparkling. “Then forget those annoying adults. I just want to be your friend, on my own terms. Is that okay?”

“Sure, but… isn’t that a bit hasty?”

“Not at all. People with shared interests can be friends.”

She stood, grabbed an album from his desk’s display case, and grinned. “You listen to Liu Sen too. That’s a shared interest.”

Meng Zhi sighed, looking at the album.

…Of course.

She knew he listened to rock, to Liu Sen and North China Waves.

No other excuse, then.

“Deal, then.”

Feng Xiyao grabbed his phone to add her contact but gasped at its shattered screen. “What happened to your phone?”

“Dropped it.”

“You getting a new one?”

“Yeah… tomorrow.”

“Can I come with you?” Her eyes lit up like a puppy smelling food. “I’ve been wanting to go shopping but had no one to go with!”

“Uh, I’m just getting a phone, not shopping—”

“Same thing! It’s on the way.”

After swapping contacts, Feng Xiyao put her earphones back on, waving as she left. “Tomorrow, 9 a.m., downstairs. See you!”

Meng Zhi watched her go, scratching his head, unsure about the meetup.

But even if he refused… she’d probably follow him anyway. If he went to get a phone, she’d “accidentally” bump into him.

No point overthinking. Let her do what she wants.

He’d just focus on himself.

*

“That’s settled, then.”

In the living room, Meng Zhi’s parents and Feng Xiyao’s mother wrapped up their talk. His father forced a smile. “Xiao Yao, how’d it go with Brother Meng Zhi?”

Feng Xiyao gave him a fleeting glance, then acted like she didn’t hear through her earphones and walked out.

…If not for Meng Zhi.

She wouldn’t bother speaking a word to her mother or this so-called stepfather.

She hated them.

Hated her mother for breaking her heart. Hated the man who hurt Meng Zhi.

Hated his fake smiles and concern when their families merged. Hated the suffocating air when they were together.

Back then, only hiding in her room or Meng Zhi’s felt like she could breathe.

In that small room, just the two of them, the world was quiet, every sound tuned to what she wanted.

Meng Zhi would listen to her play guitar, sing.

Sit beside her, sharing earphones, listening to the same song.

Leaning on his shoulder, Feng Xiyao could forget all her troubles.

Forget the adults she despised.

Forget the isolation at school and the teachers’ cold stares.

Forget this lonely world.

Just two warm, interdependent flames and the music flowing through her earphones kept her alive.

That flame was her lifeline. Her everything.

“I won’t lose him.” As she stepped out of the building, Feng Xiyao glanced toward Chen Xinya’s house.