Light In The Deep Alley
Light In The Deep Alley: Chapter 32

Chapter 32

That night, after dropping Jiang Ji off at the bar, Qin Qingzhuo handed the guitar to him.

Perhaps not expecting that he would forget about the guitar, Jiang Ji looked a bit dazed before accepting it.

“If there’s anything, contact me anytime,” Qin Qingzhuo said while looking at him.

Jiang Ji’s eyes were bloodshot, probably from not sleeping the entire night. He added, “Jiang Ji, do what you can, and leave the rest to time. Everything will pass.”

Jiang Ji nodded silently.

Watching this young man who usually seemed confident and always had a plan, suddenly appearing so helpless, Qin Qingzhuo sighed inwardly, “He’s still just a child after all.” He raised his hand and gently patted Jiang Ji’s hair.

This time, Jiang Ji didn’t dodge.

The texture of the teenager’s hair matched his personality, a bit rough and uncomfortable to the touch. Qin Qingzhuo withdrew his hand. “Well… see you on the day of the competition.”

“Okay.”

Although it was said, “see you on the day of the competition,” in the following three days, after Qin Qingzhuo finished his work at the studio, he always had the driver bring the car to Honglu Slope Street.

The driver found it a bit strange because every time the car stopped at the entrance of the Honglu Bar, Qin Qingzhuo didn’t show any intention of getting out. He just rolled down the window, sat in the car for a while, then let the driver leave.

In fact, when Qin Qingzhuo rolled down the window, he was listening to the rehearsal sounds coming from the second floor. The band had started rehearsing, indicating that Jiang Ji had probably taken to heart what he had said that day. Qin Qingzhuo saw no need to disturb their rehearsal.

However, the band’s rehearsal did not seem to be going smoothly. Qin Qingzhuo came three times and listened three times, and each time, the band played a different song.

Qin Qingzhuo had already revised the other bands’ songs twice according to his suggestions, but the Asperatus hadn’t sent a demo yet, and he hadn’t urged them. In his opinion, Jiang Ji was always very decisive in terms of music and didn’t need too much supervision.

The new episode of “Restless Band” was scheduled to air at 8 p.m. on Friday. Early the next morning, Jiang Ji was awakened by a call from Zhong Yang.

“Have you checked the music charts? Our song made it to the charts!” Zhong Yang’s tone was excited. “The key is, after playing so many songs last night, only ours made it to the charts. We’re really awesome!”

Jiang Ji had been having severe insomnia for the past few nights. After finally getting a good night’s sleep, he was woken up by Zhong Yang. He paused for a few seconds before asking hoarsely, “What chart?”

“Several charts. I’ve sent you screenshots. Don’t you think the production team should sign us now?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think, even if they come looking for us, we shouldn’t sign. I heard the conditions are really bad, almost like signing a slave contract.”

“Let’s talk about it later.” Jiang Ji replied half-heartedly.

“Oh, by the way,” Zhong Yang reminded, “the production team notified us that they want to record the pre-match segment for choosing opponents this afternoon. Be there at two o’clock, don’t forget.”

Jiang Ji responded with a sound.

Meanwhile, the recording building was filled with an exhilarating atmosphere. “Restless Band” broke through last night, and the song “Daytime Roar” by Asperatus, after a night of word-of-mouth fermentation, unexpectedly climbed the charts on major music platforms early in the morning. The “Asperatus Band” also appeared in the trending searches.

“This song is amazing, and Jiang Ji looks so cool!”

“The female bassist of the band is actually a top student from the Yanda University’s Department of Chemical Engineering. She has a unique style in composition… impressive.”

“Midnight Temperature is already a somewhat famous band, but being beaten down by a relatively unknown band makes this show interesting.”

“Jiang Ji’s voice is amazing, wide range, powerful, especially the low tones… the texture is outstanding.”

“I didn’t expect Jiang Ji not only to have a way with girls but also to have some real talent, provided this song hasn’t been auto-tuned.”

“Did you guys notice that the drummer is pretty cute! Looks so obedient, but plays the drums quite energetically.”

“The band’s previous songs, ‘Train Platform’ and ‘The Empty Easy-Open Can on the Street Corner,’ are quite good, but the skill level seems a bit inconsistent. The second round’s song was terrible.”

The recording venue was on the second floor. After parking his motorcycle, Jiang Ji didn’t take the elevator but walked up the stairs.

There was a light drizzle on the way, slightly dampening his clothes.

The bustling sounds of people on the second floor echoed down the corridor. He raised his hand and put on his earphones.

Playing in his earphones was Qin Qingzhuo’s debut album, titled “Cocoon.” The melody was ethereal, but the voice still sounded somewhat immature.

Jiang Ji discovered yesterday that Qin Qingzhuo’s voice strangely possessed the power to soothe one’s heart.

The sudden suicide of Jiang Keyuan had made his emotions extremely unstable, irritable, and easily angered. During rehearsals with Zhong Yang and Peng Keshi in the past, he had been patient no matter how many mistakes occurred. However, perhaps due to his terrible mood lately, every error during rehearsals in the last few days felt like a fuse that could ignite explosives, pushing him closer to the point of eruption.

“Don’t even know where the second chorus is? Can the drummer read sheet music? Start over.”

“The bassist played the wrong notes. Start over.”

“The drummer’s timing is off. Start over.”

“The bassist’s rhythm is too fast. Start over.”

“Start over.”

“Start over.”

“Start over.”

Suppressing his anger, he had the band rehearse from the beginning repeatedly. Zhong Yang and Peng Keshi could sense something was wrong with his mood and learned from Jiang Bei what had happened. They didn’t dare to speak much to him during rehearsals, making the atmosphere extremely tense.

Jiang Ji was even tougher on himself. In three days, he wrote three songs, each of which was revised dozens of times at least. Although Peng Keshi and Zhong Yang thought the songs were already great, Jiang Ji was still unsatisfied. He felt something was off, or rather, not powerful enough.

The second floor of the bar was like a dangerous pressure cooker at times, where no one could predict when a small spark would ignite an explosion. Zhong Yang even suggested to Peng Keshi that they should try to deliberately provoke Jiang Ji. He was fed up with the oppressive atmosphere and thought it might be better to let Jiang Ji explode in a big way.

But Peng Keshi stopped him, reasoning that given Jiang Ji’s personality, displaying such obvious agitation was already his limit. Jiang Ji wasn’t the type to explode easily; he was good at restraint and forcing himself to hold back.

Zhong Yang and Peng Keshi initially thought this state would only improve after the next competition, but yesterday afternoon, they found that the atmosphere had suddenly eased considerably. The high-pressure cooker on the second floor seemed to have been deflated from the outside, becoming less oppressive, and Jiang Ji didn’t seem as irritated.

The two exchanged a glance, although they both sensed this subtle change, they couldn’t quite explain why.

As for the reason behind it all, only Jiang Ji knew.

— During a break in rehearsals, when he went to the window to light a cigarette, he saw the Maybach turning out of Honglu Slope Street.

He didn’t know how long Qin Qingzhuo had been sitting in the car downstairs or what he had been thinking about while sitting there. He didn’t understand why he didn’t come upstairs to take a look. All he knew was that the moment he saw the car, some of his pent-up frustration seemed to dissipate along with the exhaust fumes as the car drove away, dissipating into the air.

Before going to bed that night, he opened Qin Qingzhuo’s album. The sound of Qin Qingzhuo’s voice in his earphones was like a gentle hand, smoothing out his frayed nerve endings, and it felt like there was a piece of wrinkled paper in his heart that slowly unfolded with this sound.

For the first time in days, he felt a sense of inner peace.

So last night, he slept well for once.

As he approached the second floor with Qin Qingzhuo’s song still playing in his earphones, Jiang Ji looked up and saw Qin Qingzhuo standing in the stairwell.

Because most people chose to take the elevator in the opposite direction, there weren’t many people in the stairwell at the moment. Qin Qingzhuo stood by the window, facing away from Jiang Ji, talking to the producer Xia Qi.

The sound of Xia Qi’s voice came through Jiang Ji’s poor-quality earphones: “… What’s wrong with your hand? Are you injured?”

“I accidentally scratched it a few days ago,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “Just a minor injury, nothing serious.”

It was the wound he had received when Jiang Ji had angrily shoved him against the wall that evening. Jiang Ji thought to himself.

“Wow, is that a minor injury? Didn’t you get into a fight with someone?”

“How could that be,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled. “I’ve long passed the age of impulsively fighting with people.”

“Qingzhuo, you really should be more careful. Considering your…” Xia Qi stopped herself halfway, as if remembering something, sighed, and said with a mix of concern and seriousness, “If something happens to your hand again…”

Xia Qi hesitated twice, appearing somewhat annoyed: “Anyway, be careful, okay?”

Someone behind him hurried up the stairs and accidentally bumped into Jiang Ji, who was standing in front.

Jiang Ji turned his face slightly, and saw a young girl holding a dozen Starbucks cups seeming to be in a hurry to deliver them to the second-floor director’s team.

The girl also looked up at him, obviously recognizing him. Her face immediately turned red, and she apologized repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was in a hurry and didn’t see you standing here…”

“Splashed on your clothes?” Jiang Ji asked.

“A little bit splashed out,” the girl looked back at him.

Jiang Ji usually wore black clothes, but today he happened to be wearing a deep blue hoodie. The cotton fabric quickly absorbed the splashed coffee, leaving a palm-sized stain.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll go get some water to help you clean it up…” The girl said, feeling a bit embarrassed, then bit her lip and added, “But I’m in a hurry to deliver these coffees. Can you wait for me for a moment?”

“No need, I’ll handle it myself.” Jiang Ji said, then walked towards the nearby bathroom.

Perhaps hearing the movement in the staircase, Xia Qi and Qin Qingzhuo on the other side also fell silent.

Jiang Ji didn’t look over there, turned a corner, and went straight to the bathroom.

Coffee splattered behind him, not easy to deal with. Jiang Ji walked to the sink, raised his hand to the back of his neck, intending to pull off his shirt, when someone walked into the bathroom behind him.

Glancing at the mirror, Jiang Ji saw that the person who walked in was Qin Qingzhuo, and his movements paused.

“Got your clothes dirty?” Qin Qingzhuo walked over.

“Mmh,” Jiang Ji responded.

“It’s not convenient to clean up behind you, let me do it.” Qin Qingzhuo pulled two pieces of paper from the wall on one side, wet them slightly under the sensor faucet.

Although Qin Qingzhuo said it was behind him, it was more accurate to say it was on his left rear side. Qin Qingzhuo, holding the damp paper towels, leaned down to deal with the coffee stains on Jiang Ji’s clothes, and Jiang Ji smelled that woody fragrance mixed with osmanthus again.

However, this time, the cold woody fragrance prevailed, so the slightly ambiguous osmanthus fragrance appeared elusive, requiring concentration to catch with the sense of smell.

Jiang Ji looked down and noticed Qin Qingzhuo’s hands.

They were very beautiful hands, with long, slender bones and distinct joints. The neatly trimmed nails were round and translucent, making the scar that ran across the oblique face even more conspicuous.

“What song are you listening to?” Qin Qingzhuo threw away the soiled paper, took out another one, and wet it again, chatting with him naturally.

Jiang Ji didn’t answer. After a few seconds, he reached up and took off one side of his earphones, stuffing it into Qin Qingzhuo’s ear.

The cold fingertips brushed against Qin Qingzhuo’s earlobe, and Jiang Ji withdrew his hand into his pocket, flicking his fingertips. They were warm and smooth.

He noticed that Qin Qingzhuo had ear piercings, not only on his earlobes but also two on his ear cartilage.

“It’s my song,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled.

“Yeah, how old were you when you sang this song?”

“Let me think, it’s a song from my first album, so I should have been the same age as you are now, nineteen.” Qin Qingzhuo straightened up, threw the wet paper towels into the trash can, and said, “It’s almost done, I wonder if there will still be coffee stains after the watermarks dry.”

He took off his jacket and handed it to Jiang Ji. “Wear it on the outside for now.”

Jiang Ji didn’t take it. “No need.”

“Put it on. Your clothes are damp from the rain and easy to catch a cold,” Qin Qingzhuo said, then half-jokingly added, “And, it’s always better to look good on camera, after all, You’re the face of my team.”

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ji took the jacket and put it on himself. The scent on Qin Qingzhuo became a bit more noticeable, but it still remained light, as if it enveloped him in a subtle yet unmistakable manner.

“Just the face of your team?” Jiang Ji looked at him after putting on the jacket.

At his words, Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but chuckle. Jiang Ji, occasionally showing a bit of competitiveness, actually made him feel a bit adorable.

“Of all the teams, okay?” Qin Qingzhuo said, eyeing Jiang Ji who was wearing his jacket.

The jacket, worn by Qin Qingzhuo, exuded a slightly loose and lazy style, while on Jiang Ji, it fit just right, and he wore it in a completely different way.

Jiang Ji usually dressed simply, mostly in black T-shirts and pants, but this jacket leaned more towards a sense of design, exuding a refined coolness that sharpened his aura, even adding a touch of elegance.

Almost like a model. Qin Qingzhuo thought. Both wild and mixed with a fragility that could easily be broken, the boy’s upbringing had forged a rare temperament.

“It suits you quite well, with a slightly mature touch,” Qin Qingzhuo gave a fairly objective evaluation, then reached up to take off his earphones and handed them back to Jiang Ji. “Let’s go, don’t delay the recording.”

As they walked out, Qin Qingzhuo added, “By the way, as soon as I came in today, someone from the production team told me that your song made it onto the new song charts of major music apps. Do you know about this?”

“Zhong Yang told me.”

“It’s impressive. Once you’re on the charts, many people will recognize your value,” Qin Qingzhuo stopped at the door, his eyes gleaming with a smile as he looked at Jiang Ji, “Jiang Ji, good things are going to happen next.”

Jiang Ji looked at him without saying a word.

“Have you decided which band to choose after thinking for a while?” Qin Qingzhuo asked again.

“I’ll check them out,” Jiang Ji replied.

“You’ll win. Go ahead,” Qin Brother Qingzhuostured to the side. “I also have something to do, so I’ll head over first.”

Jiang Ji responded with a simple “Hmm” but didn’t immediately head to the recording studio. Instead, he stood in place, watching Qin Qingzhuo’s departing figure.

So, is he always this kind to everyone? This thought crossed his mind.

He recalled the day on the basketball court when Qin Qingzhuo showed that helpless and tolerant expression toward Zhong Yang, who was insisting on getting him into the game. So, if similar things happened to him, Zhong Yang, Peng Keshi, or even any member of his team, would Qin Qingzhuo react in the same way?

Jiang Ji stood there, staring at the distance where Qin Qingzhuo had gone. The initially emotionless eyes subtly darkened.

It wasn’t until Qin Qingzhuo entered the elevator that Jiang Ji turned around, lowered his head slightly, and walked towards the recording venue.

TN

Is he already starting to feel possessive?

EuphoriaT[Translator]

Certified member of the IIO(International Introverts Organization), PhD holder in Overthinking and Ghosting, Spokesperson for BOBAH(Benefits of Being a Homebody), Founder of SFA(Salted Fish Association), Brand Ambassador for Couch Potato fall line Pajama set.

2 Comments
  1. Drulais has spoken 2 months ago

    I love the translator notes lol

    Reply
  2. xiao has spoken 4 months ago

    our wolf cub feeling possessive hehe

    Reply

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