Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me

After school, Alice temporarily abandoned her usual routine and deviated from her usual path, heading toward a piano shop.

"Well, if it isn't Ally? You've been away from piano practice for quite a while," Leslie remarked, wiping the piano keys with a clean cloth. He looked up at Alice and smiled while squinting.

The owner of the piano shop was an old acquaintance of Alice's. The story dated back to two years ago when Alice, feeling down due to some things involving Damian, strangely developed an interest in playing the piano.

Naturally, her house had a very expensive grand piano, which was imported from abroad, but Alice preferred sneaking out to the piano shop to play.

Alice was naturally attractive with an air of elegance. When she sat at the piano with her fingers dancing across the keys, she immediately caught the attention of many.

That day, the shop's business boomed, and the owner, Leslie, even took Alice out for dinner.

Since then, they had an agreement—Alice would occasionally come by to play so that it would attract customers, and in return, she could use any piano in the shop for free.

However, after starting high school, she hardly had any time to visit the piano shop.

Most of the time, after finishing homework at home, she would just play a few short tunes on the piano.

Alice offered a genuine smile. "I'm here to practice because I need to prepare for a performance."

Leslie immediately caught on and casually waved his hand. "Feel free to choose any piano here and play whatever you like. Oh, by the way, do you need me to send over the best piano on the day of the performance?"

Alice knew Leslie meant well, but that seemed a bit over the top.

"It's okay; the piano at school is good enough."

With a bright smile, Leslie turned back to his piano and continued to clean its keys. "Alright then, practice as you like. Let me know if you need anything."

Alice walked over to a piano near the window that she often used. She gently touched the keys, feeling her soul resonate with the instrument. She sat down and started playing the melody that had been in her heart.

The beautiful and melodious sound drifted out of the window, capturing the attention of passersby. They were drawn to the enchanting piano music and the serene girl in the white dress.

The piece ended quickly. Lost in her playing, Alice had almost reached a dreamlike state. When she glanced outside and saw the gathering crowd, she was taken aback.

She turned to Leslie, whose smile was practically uncontainable.

"Thanks. Looks like today's business is going to reach new heights."

While his words were somewhat teasing, there indeed was a continuous stream of people entering the shop, likely due to the captivating music.

Leslie became busy attending to customers, leaving Alice to her practice.

She intended to continue playing another piece, but when she looked at her watch, she realized it was almost 7.00PM already. She was running out of time to get home.

Alice grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and prepared to leave.

"Hey there, little one, what are you doing here?"

A familiar bold voice rang in her ears.

To her surprise, in this place, she encountered Liam, the troublemaker. Annoyed, she raised her head and noticed that Liam was actually embracing a girl.

He wore an overly flashy floral shirt, and his hair was oddly styled into curls.

The petite girl in his arms was cute, but her makeup was so heavy that it made Alice involuntarily take a step back.

"What does me being here have to do with you?"

Although he was only a year older, their personalities and mannerisms were worlds apart.

Alice didn't exactly dislike him, but his behavior was often incomprehensible to her, causing an instinctive rise of repulsion within her.

The girl in Liam's arms rarely saw him being so attentive to a girl before. She pouted unhappily.

"Liam, who's this girl? Why are you treating her so nicely?"

Alice furrowed her brows, feeling a bit uncomfortable hearing that sweet, coquettish tone.

"Alice, are we not related in any way? I'd be really sad if you said that." Liam ignored the girl in his arms and continued to talk to Alice.

"Liam!" The girl, irritated by his lack of attention, broke free from his embrace. "What do you mean by this? Didn't you say I'm your favorite? What's your relationship with her?"

Encountering a rare situation of witnessing a young couple's argument, Alice was taken aback, especially since she was involved.

"I don't have any relationship with him. You two talk, I'm leaving."

Liam reached out, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving.