Chapter 104

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled and glanced around the room. “Why is it just you here? Where are Peng Keshi and Zhong Yang?”

“Peng Keshi has classes in the afternoon, so they left after rehearsal at three,” Jiang Ji said. “They’ll come back later in the evening to continue.”

Nodding, Qin Qingzhuo asked again, “Have you discussed it with Lin Qi?”

“We discussed it a bit this morning. Brother Qi said that if he can’t persuade you, he’ll step in.”

“I ran into him when I came back,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled. “I gave him a talking-to. He’s genuinely willing to help you with the backup vocals, so you can rest assured. Tomorrow, have a good chat with him about it.”

“But I still want to ask you to do the backup vocals,” Jiang Ji looked at him, and when he saw him shaking his head again, he continued, “Qin Qingzhuo, tell me your concerns. Are you afraid of having another sudden onset of tinnitus like last time on stage? But now the director is Xia Qi…”

“Alright, alright, alright” Qin Qingzhuo reached out his arms and hugged Jiang Ji’s waist, resting his face on his shoulder. Without letting him finish, he interrupted, “Let’s not talk about work anymore, okay? We’ve been discussing work all afternoon, and I’m really exhausted…”

His tone was soft, with a hint of coquettishness, an uncommon, slightly vulnerable tone.

Jiang Ji had never seen him like this before, and a corner of his heart immediately softened with his tone, unable to continue the previous topic.

Placing his palm on the back of Qin Qingzhuo’s neck, Jiang Ji gently massaged it a few times. “The people you met in the afternoon were difficult?”

“Not really difficult, it’s just this band, everyone has very active thoughts, and it’s a bit exhausting to discuss with everyone talking at once. I’m so tired that I don’t even want to talk…” Qin Qingzhuo’s slightly longer hair brushed against Jiang Ji’s neck. “So let’s not talk, just hug for a while, alright?”

Jiang Ji murmured in agreement, one arm wrapped around him while the other went to close the door.

“After a while, sing for me,” Qin Qingzhuo said after a moment.

“What do you want to hear?”

“‘Light Peck’,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “I want to hear that.”

Jiang Ji smiled and replied, “Okay,” then softly sang “Light Peck” in his ear.

Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes, listening to Jiang Ji’s deep and clean voice singing this song written for him.

The room gradually grew darker with no lights turned on. They remained embraced in silence, one quietly listening while the other sang.

It wasn’t until Zhong Yang and Peng Keshi arrived that they separated, and Qin Qingzhuo returned to his own workspace.

Jiang Ji sighed inwardly as he picked up his guitar to continue rehearsing — another missed opportunity to discuss.

But when Qin Qingzhuo mentioned being tired, Jiang Ji couldn’t bear to continue the conversation.

“Let’s wait until tonight,” Jiang Ji thought to himself. “We’ll have a good chat then.”

Yet, they couldn’t talk that night either.

As soon as Jiang Ji mentioned “backup vocals” and before he could continue, Qin Qingzhuo leaned in, his fingers touching Jiang Ji’s waist.

At first, Jiang Ji tried to hold onto his shoulders, attempting to make him sit still. But Qin Qingzhuo insisted on leaning closer, whispering temptingly in his ear, “Lie down. Tonight, I’ll take the lead.”

And so, rationality quickly succumbed to desire, with desire winning out in the end.

There was no room for discussing business during, and after, Qin Qingzhuo would quickly fall asleep.

“Qin Qingzhuo, you did it on purpose,” after it was over, Jiang Ji couldn’t help but give his waist a pinch. “You’re absolutely shameless.”

“Go to sleep, go to sleep,” Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes, with a hint of laughter in his voice as he reached to hold him, “We have rehearsal early tomorrow.”

After pinching his waist, Jiang Ji then moved to pinch his face. “Then you’ll come help us with the backup vocals.”

As soon as the backup vocals were mentioned, Qin Qingzhuo fell silent, closing his eyes without a sound. His breathing gradually deepened, and Jiang Ji couldn’t tell if he was really asleep or just pretending. Either way, he didn’t respond to anything Jiang Ji said.

Unable to do anything about it, Jiang Ji would normally have scolded Jiang Bei for not listening, but he couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with Qin Qingzhuo. He couldn’t bring himself to speak too harshly, let alone resort to physical force. Even a pinch had to be held back with restraint — any marks left on Qin Qingzhuo’s body from a pinch would take a while to fade.

So, until the next morning, when Jiang Ji went to the rehearsal room, there was no progress on the matter of “asking Qin Qingzhuo for backup vocals”.

During rehearsal, he took a break to go to the bathroom, and on his way out, he ran into Lin Qi.

“How did it go?” Lin Qi walked alongside him. “Did it work out?”

“Not yet,” Jiang Ji said.

“How did Qin Qingzhuo respond?”

“He just…” The phrase “seduce” popped into Jiang Ji’s mind, but he remained composed. “He kept changing the subject.”

“He changes the subject, and you just go along with it?” Lin Qi continued to ask.

Jiang Ji nodded, thinking to himself that Lin Qi had no idea how he changed the subject.

“Young man, you won’t be able to get your teacher Qin like this,” Lin Qi draped his arm over Jiang Ji’s shoulder, speaking earnestly. “Qin Qingzhuo is from Huanyang, he’s dealt with more media than you’ve listened to albums. Changing the subject is his specialty, you know? If you keep going along with him and changing the topic, by the time the finals are over, you’ll still be going in circles with him.”

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ji continued walking.

Lin Qi’s last words had enlightened him.

“Saying ‘*anoint your head with fairest cream’ isn’t quite accurate; deep down, he’s always known that Qin Qingzhuo might just need a little push.”

*enlighten people with flawless wisdom

Otherwise, things would keep spinning in circles — he’d bring it up, Qin Qingzhuo would sidestep it, and it would keep going until the finals, until Lin Qi had to step in as the backup vocalist.

It’s not like he couldn’t resist the temptation every time; he could resist if he wanted to. But just the thought of pushing further would bring that look of resistance and evasion back into Qin Qingzhuo’s eyes, visibly making him unhappy, and Jiang Ji would back off first.

After all, instead of forcing Qin Qingzhuo to do something he didn’t want to, Jiang Ji would rather see Qin Qingzhuo happy, immersed, and out of control.

As they reached the stairs, Lin Qi was about to head downstairs when Jiang Ji spoke up, “Brother Qi, can we talk for a bit?”

“Sure,” Lin Qi said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s talk about Qin Qingzhuo,” Jiang Ji said.

“I figured,” Lin Qi chuckled, nodding towards the adjacent conference room. “Let’s go, we can talk in there.”

The two entered the conference room and took seats at the table.

Both of them were not ones to beat around the bush. Jiang Ji continued from before, saying straightforwardly, “I think what you said earlier was right. Qin Qingzhuo might just need someone to push him, but I’m not sure I can bring myself to do it.”

“I understand,” Lin Qi said with a smile. “That’s why I suggested being a backup plan. I figured you wouldn’t be able to bring yourself to do it.”

“Not being able to do it is one thing, but also,” Jiang Ji paused, “I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do, or if it might make his symptoms worse.”

Lin Qi nodded thoughtfully, his smile fading as he rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment before asking, “How much do you know about Qingzhuo’s condition?”

“Not much,” Jiang Ji said. “I just know it’s Eustachian tube dysfunction. I’ve read some papers and checked some related information, but I’m still clueless. I tried talking to him about it, but he always changes the subject. He seems really reluctant to bring it up, so I didn’t push further.”

“That’s normal. He doesn’t like talking about it with anyone, not even with Jichi…” Lin Qi paused. “Sorry, is it okay to mention Jichi in front of you?”

“It’s fine,” Jiang Ji said. “Go ahead.”

“Alright,” Lin Qi continued, “Even Jichi, who used to accompany him to see the doctor, doesn’t dare to talk to him about it normally because whenever they do, Qingzhuo’s mood worsens. Honestly, he’s much better now than before. He used to be completely unable to talk about it, but now, even though he still avoids the topic, at least his emotions are more stable when you bring it up.”

“Do you think I should push him?” Jiang Ji asked, seeing Lin Qi’s silence. “I’m not asking you to make the decision for me, but since you’ve known him longer, you might understand him better than I do.”

“I can’t make that decision for you either,” Lin Qi chuckled. “Because I don’t know if we should push him either. But over the years, we’ve tried a lot of things. Like last time at the music festival, you were there too. I brought him onstage, hoping he would sing again, but as you saw, he didn’t sing, just played the guitar. And there’s Xia Qi. Before, when I invited him to be a mentor on the show, it was also hoping to give him a chance to return to the stage, but after a long time of persuasion, he only agreed to be the music director. If it wasn’t for the accident before the recording of the first episode, he wouldn’t even agree to be a mentor.”

Jiang Ji fell silent for a moment, then asked, “So, during the last music festival, when you brought him onstage to sing, weren’t you worried his condition might flare up on the spot?”

“I was worried, which is why it was a test. But since we’re all so familiar with each other and in such a relaxed atmosphere, it should be okay.” Lin Qi said. “Plus, Chengyun… Dr. Xie also said that for Qingzhuo’s condition to be completely cured, overcoming the psychological barrier is a necessary step.”

“Dr. Xie said that?” Jiang Ji looked at Lin Qi.

“Yeah,” Lin Qi nodded. “Actually, with this condition, many people can be cured through surgery, but there’s also a portion of people who, even after surgery, can’t fully recover. Qingzhuo belongs to the latter group. He had surgery a few years ago, and his condition improved somewhat, but he still experiences flare-ups when his condition isn’t good. Cheng Yun helped him adjust for a long time, but couldn’t completely cure him, so he thought about trying a different approach to treatment. In the past, everyone thought that if they could just fix his ears, Qingzhuo would naturally be able to sing again. But Cheng Yun believes that if he can start singing first, overcome this psychological barrier, it might also be quite helpful for organic treatment.”

After Lin Qi finished speaking, he shrugged. “That’s about all I know. As for what to do specifically, you’ll have to make that decision yourself.”

“Thanks, Brother Qi,” Jiang Ji said. “Thanks for telling me all this.”

“Hey, we’re friends. I also hope to see him singing again,” Lin Qi stood up, patting his shoulder. “Take care.”

After Lin Qi left, Jiang Ji sat in the conference room lost in thought.

Should he push Qin Qingzhuo? But can four years of psychological shadow really be forced out?

But if he doesn’t push, Qin Qingzhuo will keep avoiding the issue, and he just can’t give up on the idea of ​​”asking Qin Qingzhuo to be the backup vocalist.”

In the past, Jiang Ji would do whatever came to mind, but this matter left him somewhat undecided.

Lin Qi mentioned that they had tried over the years, but to Jiang Ji, those attempts seemed insufficient.

Qin Qingzhuo went onstage, played the guitar, and even acted as a mentor… but what then? He still resisted singing.

The incident with Shi Yao did touch on the essence, forcing Qin Qingzhuo to sing onstage, but his intentions were too malicious, giving Qin Qingzhuo no psychological preparation. Instead of being helpful, it became a trigger for his illness to flare up…

Regardless, he needed to talk to Qin Qingzhuo. Jiang Ji thought, continuing like this wasn’t a solution.

Qin Qingzhuo can sing, and he also misses the stage.

That night when he mentioned those past stages, Qin Qingzhuo seemed to be glowing…

That joy was light, indulgent, and heartfelt. Jiang Ji wanted it to linger on Qin Qingzhuo for a long time.

A few minutes later, he made up his mind, standing up and heading towards Qin Qingzhuo’s workspace.

In the workspace, Qin Qingzhuo was holding a bass guitar, concentrating on plucking the strings.

Seeing Jiang Ji walk in, his hands stopped moving, and he looked up at Jiang Ji. “Why are you here at this hour?”

“Just taking a break in between,” Jiang Ji approached him. “Are you arranging the bass for the song written for Shen Cha?”

“Yeah, it’s the arrangement for the song you wrote for Shen Cha,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled. “Do you want to listen?”

“Let’s listen later,” Jiang Ji said. “I still want to talk to you about the backup vocals.”

“Let’s listen now, it sounds especially good,” Qin Qingzhuo lowered his head to play the bass, but Jiang Ji held his hand, stopping him from plucking the strings.

“After we finish talking, then I’ll listen,” Jiang Ji insisted, helping him take off the bass from his body and then kneeling down to lean the bass against the wall.

“Don’t talk about meaningless things,” Qin Qingzhuo reached out to hug Jiang Ji, his hand patting his back. “We could do something else with this time…”

As he spoke, his fingers were about to explore under Jiang Ji’s clothes.

“Qin Qingzhuo,” Jiang Ji grabbed his wrist with one hand. “Don’t distract.”

Jiang Ji looked at him and said, “I really want to talk to you properly, in a very serious way.”