Like a proposal on bended knee, Liang Zhen draped the championship necklace around Shao Mingyin’s neck.

With no reaction from anyone, including Shao Mingyin, Liang Zhen supported the stage with one hand and then jumped down steadily, immediately embracing Shao Mingyin. Holding him close, one arm around his waist and the other threading through his hair, their actions were intimate, resembling that of lovers. Amidst the deafening noise like a landslide or a tsunami, their chests pressed together, reminiscent of a memory where fingers intertwined, the pulses of their fingertips now transformed into the collision of two hearts.

Liang Zhen then held Shao Mingyin’s hand, ignoring the audience and the MC on stage, and led him backstage. The conclusion of the competition came to an abrupt halt with the departure of the champion. Finally having a moment to catch his breath, Liang Zhen boldly touched Shao Mingyin’s face. Shao Mingyin didn’t refuse, which made Liang Zhen unable to contain his grin. Within moments, he embraced him tightly again, as if wanting to embed him into his flesh.

Shao Mingyin didn’t resist the hug. He also wrapped his arms around Liang Zhen’s neck. He usually tried to avoid close physical contact with Liang Zhen as much as possible, but now, he couldn’t care less.

Only when someone walked toward the stage did he pat Liang Zhen’s back, signaling him to let go. Liang Zhen didn’t comply. Taking advantage of his height, he playfully hugged him again, straightening up, and Shao Mingyin’s feet left the ground.

“Liang Zhen!” Shao Mingyin should have been annoyed, but he was smiling. “Stop fooling around.”

Liang Zhen spun Shao Mingyin around, their positions perfectly reversed, and saw the staff and other rappers coming back. Reluctantly, he let go of him, knowing that the childishness and tiger teeth only belonged to Shao Mingyin. Turning his back to him, Liang Zhen walked forward, instantly reverting to the cool demeanor he should have on stage.

“Bro, you’re really awesome,” Jewish bumped shoulders with him. “I truly admire you.”

“I’m just strong against the strong,” Liang Zhen replied sincerely. “We should collaborate on a song sometime.”

“Sure, it’s a deal,” Jewish pointed behind him. “Everyone’s suggesting we go for a drink. You’re the champion; you can’t refuse.”

“I…” Liang Zhen looked a bit hesitant, then glanced at Shao Mingyin. He shook his head.

Not only Jewish but also the other rappers couldn’t understand what Liang Zhen’s headshake meant. They couldn’t quite figure out Shao Mingyin’s relationship with him either. Several eliminated rappers were sitting around the stage watching the final match, so they definitely noticed Shao Mingyin cheering for Liang Zhen.

“Your friend is from outside the circle,” Jewish looked toward Shao Mingyin. “It’s okay; come celebrate with us.”

“Not tonight, I have other things to do,” Shao Mingyin declined.

“What could be more important?” Jewish Guy teased Liang Zhen. “Going out with a girl? Where’s the girl?”

“I don’t have a girl!” Liang Zhen denied, though his face betrayed him, blushing. He stepped back, pushing Shao Mingyin toward the door. “I’ll explain next time, and next time, I’ll treat you guys!”

Although Liang Zhen declined, Jewish and the other rappers still intended to have a drink. So, they left together. Jewish asked Liang Zhen how he was going back, and Liang Zhen looked at Shao Mingyin. Shao Mingyin said he came by car.

“Hey Liang Zhen, can your friend give us a ride?” asked a rapper with a tattoo on his neck. “It’s hard to get a cab at this hour.”

Liang Zhen couldn’t agree without Shao Mingyin’s consent, so he looked at him. Shao Mingyin nodded, agreeing. Soon, they all walked to where Shao Mingyin had parked his car. Shao Mingyin got in first, and Liang Zhen opened the passenger door. To his surprise, everyone stood about five or six steps away, not coming closer.

Jewish stared at Shao Mingyin’s white police car and grinned. “Liang Zhen, you’re quite daring.”

“Huh?” Liang Zhen leaned against the doorframe, waving at them. “I said I’d give you a ride; come on, get in.”

Everyone shivered in the cold wind, shaking their heads and waving their hands. “We dare not, we dare not.”

“In that case, we’ll be off.” Liang Zhen couldn’t wait any longer. With a swift movement, he got into the car. From Jewish’s perspective, Liang Zhen could be seen grinning as he peeked into the driver’s seat without even looking at his hands, but adjusting the seat was done skillfully. Soon, the old Santana with the white license plate drove straight ahead and disappeared from the sight of the others.

Liang Zhen rolled down all the windows. He was still immersed in the atmosphere of the competition, feeling hot and restless, unable to cool down, so he could only enjoy the cold breeze. After a while, he heard Shao Mingyin sniffle. Although he was still hot, he was afraid Shao Mingyin would catch a cold, so he closed the windows.

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became quieter after the windows were closed. Liang Zhen still couldn’t shake off the resonance of the stage, feeling as if he could still hear the DJ’s rhythm, and his heart was beating abnormally fast. So, he leaned against the angle formed by the door and the seat, not hiding his gaze fixed on Shao Mingyin.

Shao Mingyin was driving, his hands on the steering wheel, his fingers slightly indented on the inside of his wrist when he exerted force. He must have felt Liang Zhen’s gaze, but he pretended not to and kept his eyes on the road and the left side mirror, occasionally glancing to the right. After a while, Liang Zhen couldn’t hold back anymore. He lay on the passenger seat’s storage compartment, blocking the right side mirror.

There happened to be a traffic light ahead. Shao Mingyin tapped Liang Zhen’s forehead lightly to make him sit up. Liang Zhen responded with a “Hmm~” from his nose, but he didn’t sit up.

“Don’t be silly,” Shao Mingyin tugged at Liang Zhen’s hoodie, forcing him to sit up straight, then let go. “I can’t see the rearview mirror.”

“Don’t look at the rearview mirror,” Liang Zhen lay back down. “Look at me!”

“Fine,” since there were still over forty seconds until the light turned green, Shao Mingyin simply turned off the engine, leaning on the steering wheel with his elbow, and turned to look at Liang Zhen. “Then I’ll look at you.”

It was late at night, they were going straight ahead, but there were no other vehicles in the lanes on either side. Outside, only the traffic light was flashing, while inside the car, Liang Zhen and Shao Mingyin silently locked eyes.

It was Liang Zhen who wanted Shao Mingyin to look at him. After about seven or eight seconds, he shyly buried his head again and chuckled secretly. Shao Mingyin restarted the engine, waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and Liang Zhen obediently stopped blocking the rearview mirror. But he kept smiling, his face almost stiff from smiling. He rubbed his face, and with a slight glance, he could see Shao Mingyin’s profile, which made him unable to resist smiling again.

“What’s so funny?” Shao Mingyin couldn’t help but be infected by the laughter. The atmosphere in the car was both cheerful and ambiguous for a moment.

Still, it was hot.

When they stopped at the next traffic light, Shao Mingyin took out the medal he had put in his pocket earlier and handed it to Liang Zhen. “Here, take it back.”

Liang Zhen didn’t take it. He leaned towards the car door and shook his head. “I don’t want it. I’m giving it to you.”

“Why don’t you want it?” Shao Mingyin tossed it, and the necklace fell into Liang Zhen’s lap. “It’s a championship necklace. You’d better keep it for yourself than give it to me.”

“But I’ve already given it to you. There’s no reason to return something you’ve been given,” Liang Zhen insisted, “But you can reciprocate. You can give me something too.”

Shao Mingyin was almost swayed by Liang Zhen’s logic and agreed, but Liang Zhen put the necklace back in Shao Mingyin’s pocket. He didn’t refuse, just sighed, “You’re really generous.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Liang Zhen stopped smiling and looked serious. “Without you, I couldn’t have won this championship.”

“Is that so?” Shao Mingyin turned his face slightly to the left, indicating a change of direction. “I thought you were competing so hard because of your ‘Sasha’.”

At first, Liang Zhen didn’t realize that Shao Mingyin was speaking in the dialect of Lanzhou. When he understood that he was referring to the “Sasha,” he quickly denied it with an official statement, “I don’t have a girlfriend, I’m single!”

Shao Mingyin rarely continued to ask, “Then during your last performance, when you said someone came just for you and mentioned treasure, if those cheesy words weren’t for her, then who is your treasure?”

“It’s…” Liang Zhen suddenly paused, then showed a mischievous smile, “As you said, I write anything to rhyme. There you go, that freestyle line is just a classic example.”

“I see,” Shao Mingyin nodded. “I understand now.”

And that was the end of that. Shao Mingyin continued driving, while Liang Zhen couldn’t contain his curiosity, leaning towards Shao Mingyin and asking, “What do you understand?”

“I understand that you’ll write anything for the rhyme,” Shao Mingyin replied.

“Why are you so easily convinced!” Liang Zhen became anxious, squirming in his seat, ” Let’s try again, ask me again!”

Shao Mingyin was amused by Liang Zhen’s frantic behavior but didn’t ask again. Liang Zhen was getting anxious, and as he became more anxious, questions started popping up in his mind.

“Why, why did you take a day off today? How did you manage to get a day off?”

“I didn’t take a day off, I swapped shifts with Zhao Jie.”

“Wow, Zhao Jie is so nice,” Liang Zhen clapped. “How did you talk to Zhao Jie about it?”

“I told her…” Shao Mingyin didn’t say it directly but licked his lower lip first, his red tongue lingering there for an extremely brief moment.

There was another red light ahead, and Shao Mingyin stopped the car. Whether it was shyness or something else, he twisted his neck awkwardly to the left, not realizing that this angle made the lines connecting to his collarbone protrude noticeably. In Liang Zhen’s eyes, it looked fragile and beautiful.

This time, they stopped in the leftmost lane, and there were street lights outside. Through the glass, the golden light cast a hazy glow, which, when shining on Shao Mingyin’s face, was as warm and gentle as a rendered painting, both tangible and tenderly unreal. Liang Zhen looked at Shao Mingyin bathed in such soft golden light and became infatuated.

Like being intoxicated.

And when Shao Mingyin looked at him determinedly, there was no flaw in that face, not “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, it was genuinely beautiful. Liang Zhen couldn’t look too much; this kind of gaze lasted only a few seconds, and he couldn’t resist the urge to get closer.

But this time, Shao Mingyin’s voice was faster than Liang Zhen’s movements.

“I told Zhao Jie that my Lanzhou partner who studies music in Shijiazhuang came to Wenzhou to see me,” Shao Mingyin said. “I told her my partner needed me.”