Chapter 12

Standing outside the bar, Qin Qingzhu’s anger had not yet subsided. How could he suddenly become so charitable and attempt to help a small-time hoodlum clear his debts?

What’s ridiculous is that this hoodlum didn’t appreciate it at all… He should have seen through his true colors the moment he received that photo and threat, handed the matter over to Zhou Song to deal with. How did he end up soft-hearted all the way to this point?

His finger got burnt slightly, Qin Qingzhuo looked down to see. The half-smoked cigarette he had just taken from Jiang Ji’s fingers had burned down to the end, and a long ash fell to the ground, instantly shattering into pieces.

Qin Qingzhuo walked over to the trash can, forcefully extinguished the cigarette, and threw away the butt.

He walked to his car, opened the door, and got in.

Once in the car, Qin Qingzhuo leaned back in the rear seat, somewhat tired. “Home.”

As the car sped away, the phone in his hand vibrated, likely a message from Ji Chi.

Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes without checking the message. He planned to wait until he got home, then call Ji Chi and discuss with Zhou Song how to handle this matter.

The car stopped in front of the standalone villa, Qin Qingzhuo pushed the door open, got out of the car, and when closing the door, dialed Ji Chi’s number.

“Qingzhuo,” Ji Chi quickly answered the phone, “Is the recording over?”

“Yeah,” Qin Qingzhuo said, “You don’t have any night scenes tonight?”

“They didn’t schedule me for night scenes today. How did it go? Was the program recording smooth?”

“It was alright,” climbing the steps to the front of the villa, Qin Qingzhuo brushed his fingerprint, “There were no major hiccups, but it wasn’t exceptionally smooth either.”

“Because of that musician?” Ji Chi asked, “Did you choose him?”

“No,” pushing the door open, the ceiling light in the living room lit up, Qin Qingzhuo changed his shoes in the entrance, “I couldn’t pass my own test.”

Ji Chi was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone. “That photo…”

“I talked to him tonight,” Qin Qingzhuo walked into the living room, poured himself a glass of water, intending to tell Ji Chi to have Zhou Song intervene in the matter, the doorbell rang, “I’ll go open the door first. I’ll tell you the details later.”

Ji Chi responded with an acknowledgment, Qin Qingzhuo placed his phone on the coffee table and walked towards the front door.

The electronic screen displayed the driver standing outside, Qin Qingzhuo pushed open the door, and the driver handed over two pieces of paper, “Mr. Qin, you left something in the passenger seat. I’m afraid you might need it, so I brought it over.”

Qin Qingzhuo took the white paper handed over by the driver, which were the two music scores he had picked up in front of Jiang Ji’s door earlier. Originally, he had planned to return them to Jiang Ji after going to the hospital, but later he forgot about it.

“Thank you.” Closing the door, Qin Qingzhuo flipped through the two music scores.

There were many marks of repeated crossings-out, revisions, and additions on the music scores, showing that this was a piece of work that was taken seriously.

Underneath the musical notes were corresponding lyrics, written in elegant handwriting with a slight hint of haste, yet the font was quite pleasing and easy to recognize.

Originally, Qin Qingzhuo had just casually glanced at the two music scores, but as he walked towards the coffee table, his expression became increasingly serious. Eventually, he sat down on the sofa, and his gaze slowly moved along with those notes and lyrics—

“At two in the morning, standing on this old street
Watching the lights in front gradually extinguish
I step into the long night
Embarking on a rendezvous with no time or place

The wind howls on the seventeenth-floor high-rise
The endless night seems boundless
You take a leap down
Making the most resolute farewell of your life

Do the rustling leaves
Know the feeling of the cold wind piercing through the body?
Does the sun and moon hiding behind the clouds
Remember bidding farewell to you?

Why does fate in this world always vary?
Some live passionately
Some live despicably
Some lives are filled with thrilling details
While some lives end in the cold December

I pray for this beautiful world
To collapse in this silent long night
Let those decaying lives
Be covered in the snowy white

I pray for this splendid world
To perish in these decaying years
Let all traces of existence be destroyed
Leaving only pale writings”

If the song “Train Platform” sung by Asperatus in the first round of the competition could evoke a faint sense of melancholy, then “Endless Night,” the song sung now, conveys a thick, intense, and unabashed sorrow.

What has a person gone through to write such a straightforward, almost desperate song?

Moreover, this song, both in terms of melody and lyrics, is much better than the dry and emotionless pop song that Asperatus sang in today’s competition.

Qin Qingzhuo looked at the upper right corner of the first score sheet, where the creation date of this score was written—August 9th, shortly after the recording of the first round of the competition.

In other words, Jiang Ji had already written this song early on. Why didn’t he rehearse with the band in the days that followed? Was it really because he didn’t value this competition?

His phone, placed on the coffee table, vibrated. Qin Qingzhuo snapped out of his thoughts from the score. Perhaps because he had spent a long time looking at the score, Ji Chi had hung up at some point and called again.

Qin Qingzhuo answered the phone, and Ji Chi said, “I heard no sound on your end. What happened?”

“Nothing,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “Something was left in the car, and the driver sent it over.”

“You said you talked to that musician just now. What happened? How was the conversation?”

Looking at the music score in his hand, Qin Qingzhuo fell into silence. Although he had already thought about how to discuss this matter with Ji Chi on the car, now facing this score, it seemed that those ideas were no longer valid.

Not hearing Qin Qingzhuo’s response, Ji Chi continued, “Did the communication not go smoothly? Qingzhuo, how about we start a voice call with Zhou Song? You can tell him all the details of this matter and see how he handles it.”

Although he had already decided to leave this matter to Zhou Song in front of the bar, perhaps because the dose of sorrow mixed in this score was too large, Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but be moved. Another brief moment of silence, and he spoke, “For now, let’s not involve Zhou Song. I’ll handle it myself.”

“Okay,” Ji Chi’s voice still carried concern. After a pause, he added, “Are you sure? It might be better to involve him sooner rather than later. If you drag it out, there may be variables. After all, Zhou Song is a professional agent and has more experience dealing with these things.”

“Yep,” Qin Qingzhuo replied, “I understand.”

After hanging up the phone, Qin Qingzhuo sat on the sofa, flipping through the two sheets of music scores several times.

A few minutes later, he took out his phone and dialed Xia Qi’s number from his contacts.

When the call connected, Qin Qingzhuo stood up from the sofa and walked to the window. “Hey, Xia Qi, are you home? If you have time now, I’d like to talk to you about Jiang Ji.”

As Jiang Ji walked upstairs, Jiang Bei lay on the sofa, playing Snake on her old-fashioned phone that looked like it came from the last century.

Seeing Jiang Ji return, Jiang Bei’s gaze briefly left the phone screen, looking at him curiously. “Is that person really a star? How do you know a celebrity?”

Ignoring her, Jiang Ji sat on the other side of the sofa, tossing his phone to her. “Order takeout.”

Jiang Bei immediately tossed her old phone aside. Two seconds later, the snake on the screen crashed straight into the game frame, and the “game over” that appeared on the screen blinked exaggeratedly and rapidly.

Sitting up, she took Jiang Ji’s phone and adeptly unlocked it, opening the food delivery app. While swiftly swiping the screen with her fingers, she asked, “Why didn’t you let him treat us to dinner just now?”

Without getting Jiang Ji’s response, she continued, “He looks rich; he would definitely take us to a nice meal.”

Jiang Ji took a cigarette from the pack, lit it with a lighter, and then spoke with irritation, “Are you a beggar asking for a meal?”

As the cigarette touched his lips, the image of Qin Qingzhuo pulling the half-smoked cigarette from between his fingers flashed in his mind. Qin Qingzhuo’s brows were furrowed, appearing angry at first glance, but because they were so close, Jiang Ji could clearly see a fleeting pity in his eyes.

Feeling even more annoyed, Jiang Ji almost fiercely took a drag of the cigarette.

“If it’s free, why not take it?” Jiang Bei curled her lips. “Besides, he wanted to treat you.”

Jiang Ji continued to ignore her. Jiang Bei, not getting an answer, completed the food order. After taking Jiang Ji’s phone, she started playing Honor of Kings.

Jiang Ji’s elbow rested on his thigh, leaning forward, silently smoking one puff after another. The vexation in his heart remained unresolved.

—Yes, just a meal. Why not accept it for free? And that photo, initially intended to extort a sum from Qin Qingzhuo, why did he refuse when Qin Qingzhuo suggested increasing the stakes?

Jiang Ji dragged the ashtray from the coffee table to him, tapped the cigarette ash, and even he himself wasn’t sure of the answers to these questions.

Leaning back against the sofa, closing his eyes to calm down for a moment, those eyes still managed to reappear in his mind at the opportune moment.

What was stored in them seemed to be described as “pity,” but it was a somewhat close yet unfamiliar emotion, making him extremely resistant to it in the brief moment he saw it clearly.

What kind of emotion was that exactly? And why did it make him so averse? For a moment, many pairs of eyes suddenly appeared in the depths of his mind.

How long ago was that? The chaotic house resembled a battlefield after a plunder, and the neighbors who had just tightly shut their doors were now gathered outside, forming a circle.

“Such a pity.”

“Orphaned and widowed, and the child is still so young…”

“These bastards, heartless…”
As Jiang Ji stood up, supporting himself on the ground, and limped over to close the door, he saw the emotions reflected in the eyes of those people. He always knew that was called pity.

But when Qin Qingzhuo looked at him just now, the emotion in his eyes seemed different. It wasn’t a detached and condescending pity unrelated to himself; it was—

Compassion… perhaps?

As the word flashed in his mind, Jiang Ji opened his eyes almost dazedly, staring at the ceiling, where a piece of peeling wallpaper threatened to fall.

After a few seconds, he felt somewhat ridiculous—was he an elementary school student? It took him so long just to find a synonym for “pity”? Is he crazy, or just bored?

He finished smoking a cigarette, but the inner turmoil did not diminish. Jiang Ji extinguished the cigarette, took the last one from the pack, and this time, not only did Qin Qingzhuo’s eyes appear in his mind, but even his voice echoed in his ears.

“Didn’t anyone tell you that these low-quality cigarettes will only ruin your throat?”

Damn, is he cursed? Jiang Ji flicked the lighter, lit the cigarette, and took a fierce drag.

Jiang Bei’s phone suddenly vibrated. She hated interruptions to her gaming and immediately hung up the call.

Jiang Ji glanced at her. Because he had a cigarette in his mouth, his voice was somewhat unclear. “Whose call?”

“Don’t know.” Jiang Bei stared at her phone, her brows furrowed, fingers moving quickly.

After a while, the phone vibrated again. This time, without waiting for Jiang Bei to hang up, Jiang Ji raised his hand and took his own phone.

“Hey!” Jiang Bei was still in high spirits, glaring at him in frustration.

Jiang Ji looked at the incoming call display—It was a call from Glasses. Probably about that photo.

He hung up the call. Jiang Bei reached out to get her phone back to continue the game, but Jiang Ji put away his phone, ignoring her.

Glasses persistently called for the third time. The phone kept vibrating incessantly, making Jiang Ji answer the call with some annoyance. “Hello?”

“Brother, it’s me, Lao Huang,” Glasses spoke warmly, “How are you thinking about the photo? Any ideas?”

“Haven’t thought about it,” Jiang Ji replied in a cold tone.

“Are you thinking my offer is too low? How about you give me an expected price, and we can discuss it?”

Listening to Glasses’ obvious change in attitude compared to the last call, Jiang Ji couldn’t help but mock, “You have plenty of such photos, don’t you? What’s the difference with this one?”

“Ah, to be honest with you, I do have quite a few similar photos, it’s just the angle. It’s indeed not as good as yours. From a friend’s perspective, I really think it’s a pity if you just casually sell it.”

From a friend’s perspective? Jiang Ji couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. The hypocritical and greasy tone of Glasses made him feel a bit nauseous.

“And, although your photo has a good angle, the pixels are a bit blurry. If we take our photos together and go to talk to Ji Chi’s people, we could easily negotiate for tens of thousands. But if we take these photos together to talk to Ji Chi, it’s guaranteed to nail down the matter of Ji Chi and his assistant dating. Bringing these photos together to negotiate with Ji Chi can definitely result in a big deal. I assure you, you won’t lose out in the end. So, what do you say? Shall we meet up?”

“I’m busy,” Jiang Ji said, intending to hang up the phone.

“Hey, I asked the bartender at your bar, aren’t you on the second floor? I’m at the bar on the first floor. Why don’t you come down and talk? If you don’t come down, I’ll come up to find you, okay?”

“No,” Jiang Ji frowned. “Just wait downstairs.”

He hung up the phone, continuing to smoke in annoyance.

From the start, he had no intention of cooperating with Glasses, and now, he didn’t want to sell the photo to him either.

The photo of Ji Chi and his assistant could easily secure Glasses’ fantasy of “making a big deal.” If he found out that the photo in his hand was of Ji Chi and Qin Qingzhuo, wouldn’t he be overjoyed?

After finishing the cigarette, Jiang Ji put away his phone, extinguished the spark in the ashtray, and stood up, heading downstairs.