Chapter 38

Getting out of the car, Jiang Ji held Qin Qingzhuo’s uninjured arm and led him through the emergency department, consulting with doctors, paying fees, and taking X-rays. They didn’t talk much during the process, but their steps were brisk.

After taking the X-rays, the two sat on chairs in the hospital corridor. Perhaps because the initial intense pain had passed, or maybe their bodies had slightly adjusted to the pain, Qin Qingzhuo finally felt that time was not so difficult to endure.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Ji beside him. Jiang Ji’s bent arm rested on his thigh, leaning forward, staring blankly at the ground ahead. His brows were furrowed, his jawline tense, and his two slender hands were twisted together, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, indicating that he was burdened with worries.

Recalling Jiang Ji sitting confidently on a bar stool, singing “Entrapped in My Dream” effortlessly, Qin Qingzhuo let out a soft sigh and asked, “What are you thinking?”

Jiang Ji’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He turned his head to look at Qin Qingzhuo and then straightened up, leaning back against the chair back, averting his gaze. “I’m thinking, why did you help me block that blow? If it were me who got injured now, maybe I wouldn’t be so agonized.”

“Are you blaming yourself, Jiang Ji? Whether to block or not is my business, and you don’t need to shoulder the responsibility. But…” Qin Qingzhuo paused and asked, “Why didn’t you dodge?”

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ji whispered, “I didn’t have a reason to dodge.”

Qin Qingzhuo sighed, not knowing what to say.

There weren’t many patients in the hospital in the early hours. The X-ray results came out quickly, and a staff member leaned out and said, “The report and results have been sent to the doctor. You can go over now.”

Qin Qingzhuo acknowledged and thanked them before standing up and walking with Jiang Ji towards the consultation room.

In the consultation room, the doctor sitting behind the computer was a middle-aged man in his forties. Upon hearing footsteps, he glanced at the two people who entered through the door.

Qin Qingzhuo walked over and sat opposite the doctor, while Jiang Ji stood by his side.

“Your arm,” the doctor said after examining the X-ray results on the screen, then looked up at Qin Qingzhuo, “Have you been injured before?”

Qin Qingzhuo grunted in affirmation.

“From the X-rays, this time there’s no bone injury,” the doctor said. Qin Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief.

“Please expose your arm, and let me take a closer look at the wound,” the doctor said.

Jiang Ji bent down beside him, helping Qin Qingzhuo roll up his sleeve.

The area hit by the iron pipe was already swollen and bruised, some areas even turning black, looking terrifying at first glance.

The doctor came around from behind the desk and carefully examined the wound on Qin Qingzhuo’s arm. Then, he asked him to move his wrist and elbow to assess, “It’s quite swollen. Although there’s no bone injury, it’s still quite painful. I’ll prescribe some blood-activating and stasis-dissolving medicine for you. However, with this level of swelling, it may take one or two weeks to fully recover. Remember to apply hot compresses more often and rest.”

“Okay, thank you,” Qin Qingzhuo said.

The doctor sat back at his desk, jotting down something on the medical record. Jiang Ji, who had been silent behind Qin Qingzhuo all this time, spoke up, “Will it affect the flexibility of the fingers?”

“The flexibility of the fingers?” The doctor looked up at Jiang Ji.

“Like playing the piano.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I just checked, and there’s no nerve damage,” the doctor continued writing in the medical record, “But you should be more careful when playing musical instruments. Was it mentioned earlier that this was done with a hollow iron pipe? If it were solid, your arm would have definitely fractured. Once the nerves are injured, it’s too late for regrets. Young people should not act recklessly.”

Jiang Ji breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Qingzhuo looked towards him.

The tension in Jiang Ji’s jawline visibly eased, and he didn’t seem as tense as he was when waiting for the X-ray results.

Qin Qingzhuo raised his hand, patting his arm in a comforting manner. “It’s okay.” Jiang Ji lowered his eyes and gently held Qin Qingzhuo’s hand.

The hand that came over was cold and firm, bearing calluses formed from playing the guitar for years. Qin Qingzhuo was momentarily stunned by the grasp.

But before he could react, Jiang Ji had already released his hand and took the medical record handed over by the doctor.

Exiting the emergency department, Qin Qingzhuo looked at Jiang Ji. “Jiang Ji, you should also get a checkup. Let the doctor take a look at the injuries on your body.”

“I don’t need to,” Jiang Ji walked ahead with the medical record, “It’s too late; let’s go back.”

His steps were fast, showing a determination that no one could persuade. Qin Qingzhuo sighed and didn’t say anything more.

As the two walked out of the hospital, the driver opened the car door for Qin Qingzhuo. “How are you, Mr. Qin? Is your arm okay?”

“No big deal,” Qin Qingzhuo got into the car, “First, send Jiang Ji back to Honglu Slope.”

Jiang Ji entered from the other side. “Let’s drop you off first.”

“I remember when you left the bar, the security door wasn’t closed yet. Your sister living alone on the second floor isn’t very safe. It’s better to go back and check on her.”

“She can handle it herself,” Jiang Ji said.

But Qin Qingzhuo insisted, “Uncle Zhao, go to Honglu Slope.”

“Okay,” the driver acknowledged.

On the way back, Qin Qingzhuo clearly felt that Jiang Ji’s state had relaxed slightly compared to when they arrived. At least he wasn’t sitting upright, staring at the road in front of him with his upper body tense. Instead, he leaned against the back seat, gazing slightly out of the window, lost in thought.

Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but speculate about Jiang Ji’s past. Was the person from earlier the actual creditor? But hearing Jiang Ji call him “Uncle Sui,” the relationship between the two families seemed to be more complicated than just owing and repaying debts.

At this moment, Jiang Ji turned his face towards Qin Qingzhuo, interrupting his thoughts. “Coming to find me so late, is there something on your mind?”

“Mmm,” Qin Qingzhuo snapped out of his thoughts. “It’s about choosing the songs for our next competition.”

“You decide; we’ve rehearsed all three, so any of them will do,” Jiang Ji said.

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Qingzhuo said, “What about songs other than these three?”

“What?” Jiang Ji was momentarily startled. “I only wrote down these three.”

“There’s one more,” Qin Qingzhuo paused before uttering the title, “Endless Night.”

Jiang Ji remained silent upon hearing this. After a while, he looked out the window again.

Qin Qingzhuo sighed silently; he knew this silence represented Jiang Ji silently refusing. He wasn’t surprised by Jiang Ji’s reaction.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure if the decision to have Jiang Ji sing “Endless Night” was correct. There was indeed something heart-wrenching in that song that could help Jiang Ji vent some emotions, but Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help feeling guilty about forcing Jiang Ji to do something he didn’t want to.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the journey until the car stopped at the entrance of the Honglu Bar. Jiang Ji then turned to Qin Qingzhuo. “I’m getting off here.”

“Mmm,” Qin Qingzhuo reached for the car door handle. “I’ll come up with you.”

Jiang Ji was somewhat surprised and turned to him. “Your arm is injured; you should go home and rest.”

“Let’s go; we’ll talk,” Qin Qingzhuo said, already opening the car door and getting out.

It was that almost commanding tone again. Jiang Ji sat in the car in silence for a few seconds, then said nothing more and got out of the car.

Qin Qingzhuo went to the passenger seat to get the music sheets, and when he closed the car door, he saw that the bar’s security door was securely closed. It seemed there was really no need to worry Jiang Bei.

Jiang Ji pressed the button to lift the rolling shutter, and the glass door locked from the inside began to rise slowly. He took out his phone to call Jiang Bei, and after a while, the call was finally answered.

“Come down and open the door,” Jiang Ji said.

After a while, Jiang Bei impatiently ran downstairs, unlocked the door from the inside, then turned around and hurried back without looking at the two outside.

Jiang Ji pressed his palm against the glass door, pushing it open to let Qin Qingzhuo in first, then locked the door behind him.

Once the door was locked, Qin Qingzhuo followed Jiang Ji upstairs. The second floor was pitch black, and Jiang Bei’s door was ajar, with the light from a fluorescent lamp leaking through the gap, and the sound effects of a game emanating from the room.

“Isn’t your sister sleeping yet?” Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help asking as they passed by that door.

“Don’t worry about her,” Jiang Ji walked past to his own room.

Opening the door, he went to the table, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, twisted the cap open, and handed it to Qin Qingzhuo.

Qin Qingzhuo took the water but didn’t drink immediately. Instead, he handed the music sheets to Jiang Ji. “These are the music sheets for ‘Endless Night.’ I wrote them down from memory while waiting for you in the car. They may not be accurate. I made a preliminary arrangement. Take a look first.”

Jiang Ji took them, stood by the window, leaned against the windowsill, and looked down at the sheets.

Qin Qingzhuo drank a few sips of water and stood there watching him. Jiang Ji flipped through the sheets with no expression on his face, leaving Qin Qingzhuo unable to judge his thoughts.

After a while, when Jiang Ji reached the last page of the music sheets, he closed them and looked up at Qin Qingzhuo. “Why do you insist on having me sing this song?”

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t answer his question but instead repeated the question he had asked in the hospital, “Why didn’t you dodge just now?”

Ignoring his question, Jiang Ji continued in a calm tone, “With Urban Collapse as the default champion,even using this song may not guarantee a win.”

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t take his bait but looked into his eyes and asked, “Are you still blaming yourself?”

Jiang Ji furrowed his brow, unsure why Qin Qingzhuo suddenly became so insistent. The more he didn’t want to talk about it, the more Qin Qingzhuo pressed. Raising his voice and adopting a slightly stern tone, he said, “I told you, I had no reason to dodge!”

Qin Qingzhuo remained calm. “Jiang Ji, there’s no need for a reason to protect yourself. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Hearing him say this, Jiang Ji was momentarily stunned.

“Do you know, Jiang Ji, your kindness has trapped you. Because you’ve always forced yourself to take responsibility for things that weren’t your fault, it’s made you sacrifice yourself to help others vent their frustrations,” Qin Qingzhuo said, his emotions becoming somewhat heated. “Why must you force yourself to live under the shadow of your father? You have your own life.”

“My own life?” Jiang Ji’s brow furrowed even tighter, his inner agitation not lessened but rather intensified. “Since my mother died, my life ceased to exist!”

Qin Qingzhuo fell silent for a moment before speaking again. “The song ‘Endless Night,’ it’s about your mother, isn’t it?” His tone softened slightly. “She must have loved you very much.”

Jiang Ji didn’t speak at first. After a while, he softly uttered, “Mmm.”

After a pause, Qin Qingzhuo said, “Could you tell me about her?”

Jiang Ji fell into silence again.

After a long while, just when Qin Qingzhuo thought he wouldn’t speak again, he suddenly heard Jiang Ji let out a long sigh. Then Jiang Ji spoke, his voice barely audible, “Can I turn off the lights?”

Qin Qingzhuo was taken aback for a moment, then said, “Mmm.”

Jiang Ji walked to the door, pressed the switch, and the main light went out.

Then he returned to the window, leaned against it, and remained silent for a while.

He was contemplating where to start. He had never talked to anyone about his own affairs for so many years. He had always forced himself to forget, thinking he had forgotten everything. But now he found that he remembered everything.

He remembered standing behind that sturdy willow tree by the roadside, looking through the shattered French window glass at several uniformed individuals stepping on the shattered glass and torn-up documents, constantly coming in and out, calculating and counting the items in the house.

There were also a few people bending down to carry out a several-meter-long fish tank. The fish inside hadn’t been fed for a long time and were starving, their rotting corpses emitting a foul stench, all piled up inside. After the fish tank was carried out, they successively carried out the piano, the liquor cabinet, the furniture, the decorations… until they had completely emptied the villa where his family of three had lived.

He had also secretly gone to the nearby horse farm to take one last look at the little horse that had been his companion for two years. It was a gift from abroad that Jiang Keyuan had specially bought for him when he was in the first grade, saying that he wanted the little horse to grow up with him. But Jiang Ji knew that it would soon face the same fate as everything else in the house, destined to be auctioned off.