Chapter 50

For a moment, Qin Qingzhuo didn’t know how to respond.

The gaze from Jiang Ji was so serious that it seemed devoid of any impurities.

So serious that Qin Qingzhuo felt explaining now that he had just casually asked would seem… cruel.

So he fell into silence.

He did have his own music studio, and he could sign Jiang Ji. However, this studio was established after he withdrew from the spotlight, and the projects he had taken in the past two years were more inclined towards behind-the-scenes production. He couldn’t say he was particularly skilled in artist management.

Jiang Ji was the lead singer of a band, and whether it was the band’s development or his personal growth, it all required a lot of publicity and management work. Qin Qingzhuo, having walked away from the path of being a singer, understood this better than anyone else.

Jiang Ji was more suitable for signing with a record company, and Qin Qingzhuo had the ability to help him sign with a powerful record company. But from what Jiang Ji seemed to imply, he didn’t seem interested in signing… What was this kid thinking?

Overthinking, his dizziness worsening, Qin Qingzhuo rubbed his temples.

Jiang Ji, who had been watching him all this time, spoke up at this moment, “Or is it that you were just asking casually and didn’t actually want to sign me?”

“How could it be,” Qin Qingzhuo immediately denied, “I was just thinking about which path would be more suitable for you… By the way, do you know about Huan Yang Music? It’s my former signing company, sort of my old stomping ground. They have good resources and musical aesthetics, and they respect the artist’s personal opinions. If you’re interested, I can help you get in touch with them.”

“Not interested,” Jiang Ji said.

After a moment of silence, Qin Qingzhuo asked, “So you’re only interested in my studio?”

Jiang Ji responded with a simple “Hmm.”

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, almost unsure of what to say.

How could this seemingly indifferent teenager be like a stray dog, following along without any guard once he’s given some food?

“Alright,” he smiled, “let’s do it tomorrow then. You can ask Zhong Yang and Peng Keshi if they want to come along. I’ll take you guys to see my studio first, and then we can make a decision.”

“Okay,” Jiang Ji replied.

After a pause, Qin Qingzhuo added, “But let’s make it clear, if you really sign with my studio, you’ll have to listen to me.”

“Other than not smoking,” Jiang Ji asked, “anything else?”

“Also, about my studio,” Qin Qingzhuo tapped lightly on the table with his fingers, speaking slowly, “although it’s not large in scale, we have quite high educational requirements. At the very least, you should have graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music. Can you meet that requirement?”

After a brief silence, Jiang Ji said, “Yes.”

“You’re quite confident,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled again, then lowered his head, using his fingers to massage his temples. “Let’s leave it at that for now. My head is too dizzy, and the wine from Shi Yao tonight is quite potent…”

“I’ll take you back,” Jiang Ji stood up.

“Has Jiang Bei not returned your phone yet? You should go find her first to get it back, I’ll wait here for a while,” Qin Qingzhuo said.

Jiang Ji looked at Qin Qingzhuo’s lowered head and agreed with a “Sure,” heading upstairs.

Qin Qingzhuo sat on the high stool, his fingers supporting his temples. After a while, he stood up and slowly walked around the bar.

It was originally Shi Yao who wanted Jiang Ji to sign, so how did it end up with Jiang Ji signing with his studio? Qingzhuo could barely remember how they got to this point.

But he felt unexpectedly good, in a relaxed state. It was much more relaxed than when he was dining with Shi Yao.

The song in the audio system changed, playing “Dying in the Sun” by The Cranberries. It’s an old song; Qin Qingzhuo remembered hearing it for the first time when he was in elementary school. Back then, the song hadn’t gained popularity in China yet, but he instantly liked it.

Over the years, this song, like himself, went from being widely popular to gradually being forgotten.

Now, although it might sound outdated to many, Qin Qingzhuo still liked it.

He didn’t expect to find this old song in Jiang Ji’s playlist… It should be even older than Jiang Ji.

Qin Qingzhuo stopped walking, leaned against the edge of the stage, closed his eyes, and quietly listened to the soothing and gentle melody.

It seemed like it had been a long time since he experienced such a pleasant and peaceful moment. The slightly uncomfortable drunken state from earlier suddenly turned into a light, pleasant, and slightly tipsy feeling. Unable to resist, he softly hummed along with the melody:

“Will you hold on to me

I am feeling frail

Will you hold on to me

We will never fail
…”

When Jiang Ji walked up to the second floor, Jiang Bei was sitting on the pool table, fully engaged in a video game.

“Not done yet?” Jiang Ji walked over. “The half-hour is up.”

“Shut up,” Jiang Bei stared intently at the screen, manipulating the controls skillfully. “I’m about to win.”

“Is three minutes enough?”

Jiang Bei replied with a perfunctory “Hmm.”

Leaning against the pool table, Jiang Ji waited for her to finish this game.

When the three minutes were up, and seeing Jiang Bei unleash two powerful moves in succession on the screen, Jiang Ji, feeling a bit impatient, said, “Is it not over yet?”

“Almost, almost,” Jiang Bei was still perfunctory, “Don’t rush me.”

Jiang Ji, lacking patience to watch her play, stood up straight and said, “I’ll go downstairs first. Finish this game and give it to me.”

Jiang Bei didn’t pay attention to him and remained fully immersed in the game.

Without saying anything more, Jiang Ji turned and went downstairs. He knew that Jiang Bei would listen.

As he reached the corner of the stairs, Jiang Ji saw that Qin Qingzhuo was not sitting on the high stool from before but leaning against the edge of the stage, with his head slightly tilted, resting against a stone pillar.

The dim light from the bar area spilled over, making Qin Qingzhuo look like he was enveloped in a thin, warm afternoon sunlight.

Qin Qingzhuo looked extremely relaxed, in a way that Jiang Ji had never seen before, displaying a somewhat lazy and completely defenseless state of relaxation.

Was he asleep? Jiang Ji walked over to him, involuntarily taking lighter steps.

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t notice him approaching.

As Jiang Ji got closer, he noticed Qin Qingzhuo’s lips moving slightly—Qin Qingzhuo wasn’t asleep; he was softly humming along with the melody.

Jiang Ji had listened to all the songs on Qin Qingzhuo’s albums, and even some live versions, but he had never heard him sing in person.

After staring at Qin Qingzhuo for a few seconds, Jiang Ji half-crouched down, lowering his head slightly and bringing his right ear closer to Qin Qingzhuo’s lips.

He heard Qin Qingzhuo singing the line “like dying in the sun,” his voice as light as a whisper.

Qin Qingzhuo’s tone was casual and lazy, with a hint of imperceptible hoarseness in the trailing notes, reminding Jiang Ji of the live version he had listened to that night, which had a… sexy quality to it.

Then, the voice in his ear suddenly stopped. Jiang Ji turned his head and saw that Qin Qingzhuo had opened his eyes at some point, looking at him with a slightly drunken gaze, mixed with a noticeable hint of bewilderment.

In that moment of eye contact, Qin Qingzhuo did indeed seem momentarily stunned. He hadn’t noticed when Jiang Ji had come downstairs or when he had crouched down to get closer.

When he became aware of someone in front of him, Qin Qingzhuo suddenly felt like his ears were flooded with water, distorting the sound from the speakers, making it unclear.

Then he saw Jiang Ji’s lips move, and his gaze shifted downward, trying to read what Jiang Ji was saying.

He could read lips, but perhaps due to the alcohol, there was a slight delay between seeing and interpreting what was being said.

So when he read Jiang Ji’s lips saying “Is it okay,” those few moments of delay were taken as consent.

Jiang Ji leaned down to kiss him.

As the warm lips pressed against his, Qin Qingzhuo’s heart skipped a beat heavily.

This unexpected flutter almost startled him.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, brief yet intense, with the incoming breath carrying a cool minty freshness.

When they parted, Jiang Ji raised his hand to ruffle his hair, the gesture almost gentle.

The kiss had come so suddenly that Qin Qingzhuo was dazed for a few seconds.

The dizziness from the alcohol intensified, along with the ringing in his ears from the sound of water, giving him a sense of illusion—that he was in a weightless dream.

The footsteps thudded down the stairs, and Jiang Bei hurriedly ran down. “Game over.”

Jiang Ji stood up straight, took the phone from her hand, and put it in his pocket. “Quickly go to bed.”

The ringing in his ears gradually faded, and the sound from the speakers finally flowed smoothly into his ears. Qin Qingzhuo heard that the song “Dying in the Sun” had finished playing, replaced by another old song, “The Sound of Silence.”

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home,” Jiang Ji said, looking down at him.

As Qin Qingzhuo stood up, he almost thought he had just had a dream. Otherwise, he couldn’t believe he had been stunned for a few seconds by a boy ten years younger than him kissing him.

And this boy stood in front of him, looking naturally as if nothing had happened.

As he walked outside, he felt a somewhat absurd feeling. The strong dizziness made him feel like he was walking in a shaky dream. The sound system was playing the line “In restless dreams I walked alone,” and he wondered how these songs could be so fitting if this wasn’t a dream.

Pushing open the door, he glanced at Jiang Ji. The teenager raised his hand, lightly touching his lower lip.

For some reason, the sensation of being kissed flooded back into his mind.

The warm, pressing touch, the cool, minty breath.

And the moment his heart skipped a beat, the drowning sensation.

He thought, just a brief kiss, how could it feel so heart-pounding?

Qin Qingzhuo’s car was parked on the street, and the two walked under the streetlights without saying a word.

With his hands in his pockets and his head slightly lowered, Jiang Ji silently matched Qin Qingzhuo’s pace.

He looked extremely calm, as if the kiss just now was just an unexpected accident that no one needed to take seriously.

Qin Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief inexplicably.

Sitting in the car, he put the car key under the center console and fastened his seatbelt.

Jiang Ji sat in the driver’s seat and started the car. He had driven Qin Qingzhuo’s car when they went to the music festival last time, so he was more familiar with the route this time.

Leaning back in his seat, Qin Qingzhuo was about to close his eyes when the engine suddenly roared loudly, but the car didn’t move.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the gear lever. Actually, just by the sound, he knew that the engine only made such a sound when the accelerator was pressed with the gear in neutral.

This wrong gear made Qin Qingzhuo conclude that Jiang Ji was definitely not as calm as he seemed on the surface.

But Jiang Ji quickly shifted gears, and he pretended not to hear anything, closing his eyes again.

As the car started moving, the cool breeze outside gradually dispelled the dizziness in his mind. Qin Qingzhuo became acutely aware that Jiang Ji liked him.

And it seemed to be a very serious kind of liking.

When did it start? Qin Qingzhuo had no way of knowing. If it weren’t for the wrong gear just now, he wouldn’t be able to judge whether that kiss was just a momentary impulse or not.

To be honest, the feeling of that kiss just now was very pleasant. If it weren’t for the wrong gear, Qin Qingzhuo would probably be indulging in the ambiguity of the moment right now.

But now… Qin Qingzhuo sighed softly. Despite having quit smoking for many years, he suddenly felt like smoking.

He quite liked Jiang Ji, but this liking leaned more towards appreciation. He had no intention of entering into a romantic relationship with a boy ten years younger than himself.

Not long ago, he had just experienced betrayal from his lover, and he was not prepared to enter into another intimate relationship at the moment.

Moreover, Jiang Ji was only nineteen years old, not to mention the generation gap of three rounds. How could a nineteen-year-old boy be mature? Who hasn’t come from being nineteen?

Perhaps he should have stopped that kiss from happening. Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes and thought, why couldn’t he read the three words Jiang Ji said before the kiss happened?

If he didn’t want this relationship to deteriorate, that was originally a good time to stop everything.

Was it because he didn’t anticipate the kiss? Or was it because he didn’t anticipate that Jiang Ji would like him?

Did he really not anticipate it? Such thoughts emerged in Qin Qingzhuo’s mind.

Did he not notice at all when he knew that Jiang Ji could remember the navigation route with just one glance but insisted on him(QQ) sitting behind him(JJ) to guide him(JJ)?

Did he have no emotional reaction when Jiang Ji deliberately took a detour and bluntly said, “I want to spend more time with you”?

Did he really ignore it when he noticed that Jiang Ji’s gaze at the music festival was mostly on his face?

And Qin Qingzhuo, oh Qin Qingzhuo… Even if his ears couldn’t hear those three words clearly, with that kind of gaze, with so many years of experience, couldn’t he guess what those three words were by intuition?

A thought suddenly flashed through Qin Qingzhuo’s mind—perhaps in that moment, he simply didn’t want to stop Jiang Ji.

Or perhaps…

He indulged in that kiss.