After the car accident, my boyfriend got straight

When Li Muzi found Jiang Shiyu, he was crouched by the roadside, staring vacantly at the passing vehicles. He called out to him several times from a distance with no response. It wasn’t until she got closer that she noticed his eyes were red.

“Shiyu, what’s wrong? Why are you out here?”

Jiang Shiyu, in a daze, took a few seconds to react and answered, “It’s nothing. There were too many people inside, so I came out for some fresh air.”

The explanation was clearly unconvincing, but with the competition about to start, Li Muzi didn’t press further and handed him the clothes.

“Quickly change into your outfit. The competition is about to begin.”

Jiang Shiyu took the clothes, stood up, and took a deep breath, following him back to the venue. As they walked, he suddenly looked back.

“What are you looking at?”

The street was filled with foreigners, and the crowd moved about.

Jiang Shiyu shook his head and followed him into the building.

He was the eighth performer. By the time he had changed into his outfit and prepared, it was almost his turn. He stood in the waiting area, took out his phone, and saw that the pinned chat still had no new messages.

Shen Li, where are you now? What are you doing?

He thought silently.

He looked at the bright sunflower in his hand, lost in thought, until the host on stage announced the next performer. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his back and collected his emotions.

Step by step, he walked through the curtain to the stage, greeted by the audience’s attention.

Some people noticed that he was different from the other contestants, holding a bright golden sunflower in his left hand. The murmurs of the audience reached him, but Jiang Shiyu ignored them. After a polite nod, he placed the flower on the piano.

The sunflower added a splash of color to the plain black piano, brightening its simple surface.

Everything was ready. He placed his fingers lightly on the piano keys. The two injured fingers on his right hand had their cartoon bandages removed before he went on stage. The swollen fingers touched the cold keys, and he felt pain before he even played.

As the music began to play softly, his delicate fingers danced across the keys, smoothly conveying the melody throughout the hall. Under the spotlight, the Chinese boy in a black suit looked like a young prince. The rich and melodious piano music conveyed deep emotions, moving the audience.

In an instant, the hall fell silent, and all eyes were on the stage. Some people even closed their eyes, quietly enjoying the auditory feast.

At first, he struggled with the pain from his injured fingers, but as he became more immersed in the music, he began to forget the pain and swelling. The music soared and dipped, his fingertips lightly and heavily grazing the keys.

In the music, he gradually forgot the pain, the disappointment by the roadside, and the loneliness of being in a foreign land, completely absorbed in the performance.

Suddenly, the passionate piano music stopped abruptly, causing puzzled looks from the audience.

But the next moment, an even more intense and uplifting melody followed, bringing the audience’s emotions to a new peak.

Jiang Shiyu’s French teacher, standing by the curtain, listened to his performance with a pleased and admiring smile.

As expected of a student he was proud of.

The French teacher nodded and left through the passage.

Meanwhile, a foreign boy with a dark expression was glaring at Jiang Shiyu on stage with intense resentment.

After the performance ended, when Jiang Shiyu came off stage, Li Muzi rushed over and hugged him. He was pushed back a couple of steps but still managed to catch him.

“Oh my god, Shiyu, you played so well! You didn’t see how the audience was mesmerized.”

“It was amazing, amazing! You’re definitely going to win first place.”

Li Muzi, excited and incoherent, hugged him in the backstage corridor and kept chattering.

Jiang Shiyu finally felt the weight lift off his shoulders after finishing the performance. Embracing his best friend made him feel incredibly secure.

Backstage, many contestants gave him admiring and surprised glances. Perhaps they hadn’t expected this Chinese boy, who had seemed inconspicuous before, to display such impressive skill on stage, making him stand out.

With the performance over, all that remained was to wait—for everyone to finish their performances and for the judges to score.

He returned to his previous corner, and as soon as he sat down, his phone buzzed.

He picked it up and was startled.

It was Shen Li.

He stared wide-eyed, looked around, and then answered the call, putting it to his ear.

The other side was very quiet, with only the faint sound of breathing.

He stayed silent, and so did the other side.

After a tense silence of ten seconds, the other side finally spoke, “Little treasure, congratulations on your successful performance.”

Jiang Shiyu blinked, feeling a bit of an emotional lump in his throat. Many questions swirled in his mind, but he couldn’t bring them to the surface.

Sensing the sudden change in the other side’s breathing, Shen Li’s tone turned urgent, “What’s wrong, Little treasure? Did something happen?”

“Shen Li, where are you right now?”

Shen Li was caught off guard by the sudden question and chuckled, “Where else would I be? At home during the break, studying hard. You won’t let me come to France to see you, so here I am, just a boyfriend separated by an ocean, expressing my longing through the phone.”

Jiang Shiyu frowned, “You’re really at home?”

Shen Li seemed to pause for a second, “Why? Doubting that I’m out fooling around?”

“Then video call me now.”

“Do you really doubt me?”

“You disappeared after posting that photo yesterday afternoon. Where did you go?”

Sure enough, the person on the other end seemed at a loss and didn’t answer immediately.

Jiang Shiyu felt anxious and kept pressing for an answer.

Finally, the person on the other end sighed in resignation, “Alright, I’ll be honest. Yesterday, Chen Xu dragged me to the opening of a new lounge he and others invested in. I was only planning to stay for a bit, but then something unexpected happened. My phone got smashed. Since it had a lot of stuff on it, I had to get it repaired. Right now, it’s only capable of turning on and transferring data; the camera and other functions are broken.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. I called you as soon as I got my phone back.”

Jiang Shiyu still felt something was off and pressed his lips without replying.

“Sweetheart, do you still not believe me? Wait a moment, I’ll have Chen Xu send you some messages.”

Before long, he received several photos and a video from Chen Xu.

The photos showed Chen Xu and others at the lounge’s entrance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, with Shen Li standing off to the side, appearing disinterested and aloof. There were also photos of the lounge’s interior, all showing lively scenes, but Shen Li was always seated in the periphery or a corner, holding his phone and seemingly idle.

The video further proved the truth of his story, showing surveillance footage with a timestamp. It displayed Shen Li preparing to leave less than an hour after arriving at the lounge. When he was leaving, his phone was knocked off the bar counter by someone, flying several meters. When he picked it up, he looked very upset. He lingered in the store for a while before hurrying away with his phone.

“Sweetheart, did you get the photos and video?”

After viewing them, Jiang Shiyu felt a mix of emotions—knowing the answer but finding it different from what he expected made it harder to let go.

“Shen Li,” Jiang Shiyu said, his voice heavy.

Shen Li responded, waiting for the next sentence but heard nothing for a while.

“Little treasure, even though I wasn’t there, I watched your performance live. You played so well. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you for your first competition abroad.”

Jiang Shiyu sniffed, “It’s because I didn’t want you to come.”

“Little treasure, promise me you’ll take good care of yourself and let me know immediately if anything happens, okay?”

Jiang Shiyu, immersed in his own feelings, responded quietly.

At that moment, Li Muzi called out to him, “Shiyu, the results of the competition are being announced.”

Jiang Shiyu was stunned for a moment. Another voice on the phone said, “Go ahead. My Little treasure is definitely the best.”

Jiang Shiyu ended the call, composed himself, and went to the waiting area, where the host’s voice was heard. He held the list of results from the judges, which tugged at everyone’s nerves.

Both the people on stage and the audience were intensely focused on the final results of the competition.

After the host built up suspense with several announcements, it was finally time to reveal the champion.

Li Muzi, standing next to him, looked even more nervous than he did.

“What should we do? I’m more nervous than I was during my first competition.”

Jiang Shiyu, on the other hand, appeared calm, as if the competition had ended the moment he finished his performance.

“And now, let’s congratulate the champion of this competition—”

“Jiang Shiyu.”

The venue fell silent for a second before erupting into cheers. He heard his name called out and then Li Muzi’s uncontrollable scream.

The people around him began to cast admiring glances, and he felt as if he were floating, lost in a daze, before suddenly being pulled back to reality.

“Shiyu, Shiyu, the host is calling you to the stage to receive your award.”

Li Muzi tugged at his sleeve, shaking him to bring him back to the competition scene.

The lights were brighter than ever, converging into a beam that illuminated Jiang Shiyu’s path to the stage.

He took the trophy from the judge and the microphone from the host.

The audience was a sea of foreign faces with blonde hair and blue eyes. It’s incredibly difficult for a Chinese student to gain recognition in a foreign land, but the audience’s unreserved admiration for this cool and handsome Chinese boy showed their approval.

The host asked if he had any words for the award.

Jiang Shiyu, holding the trophy and standing on the stage under countless gazes, had many thoughts racing through his mind.

Finally, he slowly raised the microphone, standing straight with his large, bright eyes shining. He spoke with determination and confidence from his awarded stage.

“Seize the moment.”

This was the phrase Shen Li had used during his last competition on the podium. Today, he echoed those same words at his first international competition.

At that time, Shen Li on the podium had been proud and sincere, carefree and passionate, telling everyone that as long as he wanted and did something, he was capable of anything.

Now, Jiang Shiyu stood on the podium, having left the warm, comfortable nest and the secure glass dome. He shone brightly in his own way, wanting to say that the present was the best, that he hadn’t let down those who loved him, and that his choices had finally borne fruit.