Be My Strength 187 I just want to hear you play, miss...

Meanwhile, back at the office, Kai Xin felt so tired after two rounds that she fell asleep right on top of him.

When he saw how tired she was, he cannot bear to wake her up. Instead, he carried her to the couch and sat next to her while she slept.

"She got tired so easily lately..." chuckled DX. He wondered if he got better at tiring her out or if there was something else. Placing a palm on her stomach, even though it was negligible, he realized that it was somewhat rounder than before.

"Could it be?" DX smiled when he thought about the possibility of her being pregnant. However, he remembered watching her taking those birth control pills. Furthermore, she had been eating a lot more so that might be a reason why. Rather than being pregnant, she was probably gaining a little weight.

Shaking his head, he thought, "This kid would never miss a pill..."

By the time she woke up, it was almost 7 p.m. By then everyone had left the office. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she checked her phone and saw a message from Jane.

[ Sleepover tonight? ]

Knowing that Jane was going through a hard time, Kai Xin replied without any hesitation.

[ Ya, sure. Sorry, I was asleep ]

"Everything alright?" asked DX when he came back with her bag. Since she was still sleeping, he went out and packed up her stuff for her.

"Jane...I'm staying over tonight."

He gave her a light kiss on the forehead before saying, "Callum is here. We are going somewhere after this but I'll drop you off first."

In the car, he told her that he would be busy tonight and that he might be unable to answer his phone.

When she did not ask any follow-up questions, DX added, "In case you are wondering, I'm meeting a woman later."

Her head whipped over so fast that DX was worried she might hurt herself. With a brow raised, Kai Xin looked at him curiously, "You know. If you are going to cheat on me, you shouldn't declare it."

Disappointed at her lack of concern, he complained, "I was hoping for a better reaction. How could you be so calm about your man meeting another woman?"

She shrugged and decided to give him what he wants. In a deadpan manner, she asked half-heartedly, "So, who is the woman?"

He tutted, "It's a secret. Since you don't seem to be interested, I don't feel like telling you."

Triggered, she glared at him, "If you are not driving, I would have punched you for that reply."

His lips twitched at the threat. Without taking his eyes off the road, he took her hand and kissed it before saying, "You love me too much to do so…"

An unhappy voice came from the back, "Can you two please stop with your disgusting PDA?"

The two glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that Callum was glaring at them. It was bad enough that he had to sit at the back and now those two decided to flirt in front of him.

"Is this how Han Ye felt whenever he was in the car with you guys?" mumbled Callum as he glared at those two.

Kai Xin laughed, "Go get a girlfriend, Callum."

With his arms folded, he told her proudly, "I'm waiting for my goddess to return!"

Without holding back, DX said, "That goddess of yours would never come…"

"What goddess?" Kai Xin asked curiously as she looked at the two of them. She had never heard of any goddesses in Callum's life before.

"Apparently he met a beautiful girl when he was young. I'm pretty sure the non-existent girl was a ghost or a figment of his overactive imagination fueled by teenage hormones," answered DX while he gave Callum a smirk through the rearview mirror.

Hearing his sworn brother's response, Callum growled, "She's real! I'm sure I would find her one day!"

He would never forget about the pianist that he met when he was fourteen.

.....

When Young Callum got into the attic, the bright evening lights that shone in from the small windows perched high on the walls nearly blinded him.

Once his eyes adjusted to the difference in brightness, he saw that the attic was filled with old desks and chairs, and there were boxes of various sizes stacked up all around the place.

In the middle of the attic, hidden among the boxes, was an abandoned studio piano.

'TING'

Young Callum slowly walked around the boxes until he saw the pianist.

'TING'

The music stopped but every now and then, the pianist would press a key.

'TING'

From where he was standing, he could not see the face of that person. However, based on the uniform, he could deduce that the pianist was a girl. Just like the music she played earlier, she exuded some sort of melancholy feeling.

Young Callum stared at her back and somehow, he felt as if she was carrying a heavy burden on her shoulders. A burden that threatened to crush her to death.

"Is she a cosplayer?" thought Young Callum as he stared at her short grey wig. He had never seen such a realistic wig before and he thought that she must be a professional cosplayer.

As curiosity got to him, he slowly edged towards her. When he finally saw her side profile, he felt that his breath was taken away from him. She was beautiful in a fragile kind of manner. In fact, she felt as if she was about to disappear.

Afraid that she might vanish, Young Callum called out softly, "Hey…"

When the pianist heard him, she backed away and turned to hide behind a stack of boxes.

"Hey! I'm sorry if I scared you! I just...I heard your music…" said Young Callum as he tried to reassure her. Scratching the back of his head, he grinned foolishly, "It's beautiful. I have never heard it before."

"I...I composed it…" said a small and soft voice. It was so faint that he thought he misheard it.

"Really? You are so talented!"

He tried to take a step forward but the girl snapped, "Don't come near me."

Young Callum stopped and raised both his hands up, "Ok! Ok!..."

Touching his bruised cheek, he thought wryly, "I must look hideous now…"

In a shy voice, he said, "I won't hurt you, but if you are scared, I won't get near you either. Don't worry."

"What do you want?"

"I just want to hear you play, miss…"

"Miss?" asked the girl as she glanced down at her uniform.

Chapter end

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