Chapter 114

They continued until they were exhausted, their sweaty bodies pressed together, nestled on the soft sofa.

After resting for a while, Jiang Ji took Qin Qingzhuo to the bathroom for a shower. He leaned against the tiles behind him and applied shower gel to Qin Qingzhuo’s body.

He liked this step; every time after doing it, looking at the marks he had made all over Qin Qingzhuo’s body, there was a subtle, satisfying feeling of possessiveness filling his heart.

This feeling reached its peak this time because he hadn’t held back much during the process, and almost all the marks on Qin Qingzhuo’s body were made by him.

He proceeded to apply shower gel to Qin Qingzhuo’s body as if admiring his own artwork, slowly caressing Qin Qingzhuo’s body at the same time.

Qin Qingzhuo also enjoyed the feeling of being gently touched by Jiang Ji after they were done, making him feel that he was being passionately loved.

He hugged Jiang Ji, resting his chin on his shoulder, and reached out to touch Jiang Ji’s Adam’s apple. “Is your throat still hurting?”

“It’s smoking from the pain,” Jiang Ji said. Actually, it wasn’t that painful, but he exaggerated to make Qin Qingzhuo feel sorry for him.

As expected, Qin Qingzhuo leaned over to kiss his Adam’s apple and asked, “When is your rehearsal today?”

“After four in the afternoon,” Jiang Ji said, his Adam’s apple moving as he spoke, touching Qin Qingzhuo’s lips. “After Sister Shi finishes her class.”

“Then be quiet during rehearsal, and take good care of yourself these days.”

Jiang Ji squeezed some shower gel into his palm and applied it to Qin Qingzhuo’s thin but strong abdominal muscles, recalling the undulations that had occurred here not long ago because of him. He absentmindedly hummed in response.

“If I didn’t come to find you, when would we be able to meet?” Qin Qingzhuo naturally didn’t know what was on his mind. Seeing Jiang Ji’s silence, he continued, “Can you finish recording the song before the finals and come to find me?”

“I won’t come to find you,” Jiang Ji lied without batting an eye. “I’ll have someone deliver the recorded song to you. You can come find me when you’ve figured things out yourself.”

“Really?” He sounded convincing, and Qin Qingzhuo bought it.

“Yeah, after saying all that, you still expect me to come find you,” Jiang Ji glanced at him. “Qin Qingzhuo, do you have a conscience?”

Qin Qingzhuo knew he was in the wrong. “What if I never figure it out?”

“If you can’t figure it out, then you’ll lose me. Do you know what that means?” Jiang Ji reached to pinch his face, not using much force, and because his hand was covered in shower gel, it quickly slipped away. “It means you’ll lose the person who likes you the most in the world. Even if you find another boyfriend, you’ll only find the second person who likes you the most. You’ll be at a loss, you know.”

Fierce and somewhat like a fierce yet soft young animal, Qin Qingzhuo had this association. Even if it reached out to attack, it was still hiding its sharp fingertips.

Thinking that if it were true, he probably wouldn’t enter another relationship again. However, he asked, “What about you?”

“I’ll lose someone who doesn’t particularly like me,” Jiang Ji helped rinse the foam off him with the showerhead and resumed his casual demeanor. “It’s not as much of a loss as yours.”

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t speak at first. Despite reconciling, both of them were discussing hypothetical situations. However, thinking about the possibility of losing each other, he suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

He hugged Jiang Ji, and after a while, he whispered, “But I really like you.”

Jiang Ji chuckled, “Tsk, don’t believe it.”

Actually, he believed it. But after this experience, he found that Qin Qingzhuo needed to be provoked and strung along to reveal more sincerity. For example, now he could feel that Qin Qingzhuo was trying his best to make him believe the statement, “I really like you.”

He waited for Qin Qingzhuo to continue coaxing him, but Qin Qingzhuo released his grip on him.

Then Qin Qingzhuo half-squatted in front of him, looking up at him.

Sensing what Qin Qingzhuo was about to do, Jiang Ji’s hand holding the showerhead paused, and his throat suddenly tightened.

He turned off the showerhead, one hand fell down, and he combed Qin Qingzhuo’s wet hair back, gathering it in his hand, revealing Qin Qingzhuo’s entire face—he wanted to see Qin Qingzhuo more clearly.

Qin Qingzhuo had long eyelashes that partially covered his deep black eyes. Looking up like this, there was a seductive charm about him.

Earlier, his lips had a slightly pale color, but now, after several kisses, they showed a crimson hue.

As Qin Qingzhuo’s lips slightly parted, Jiang Ji saw a small section of a tongue that was even more crimson than his lips.

The fingers combing Qin Qingzhuo’s hair suddenly tightened, and the back of his hand, along with his arm, suddenly revealed a patch of blue veins. Jiang Ji’s Adam’s apple also slid slightly, and his breathing suddenly became heavy.

—It was actually not a very successful attempt.

Qin Qingzhuo had only some theoretical experience “seen in videos” about this. He didn’t even know why he did this on impulse, especially when he had resisted the idea before.

Perhaps it was because he desperately wanted to prove the statement, “But I really like you.”

However, the facts proved that the logic of “never having eaten pork, but always seen pigs run” did not apply to this matter.

During the process, Jiang Ji was hurt several times and almost injured due to Qin Qingzhuo’s attempts. Even Qin Qingzhuo, with a shallow throat, didn’t feel very comfortable.

Nevertheless, when Jiang Ji pulled him up, Qin Qingzhuo still sensed Jiang Ji’s loss of control.

Especially after he said, “This time, my throat hurts too,” Jiang Ji’s loss of control became even more apparent.

It was like a young animal suddenly showing aggressiveness and dominance. This time, Qin Qingzhuo almost felt powerless to resist.

After their second time in the bathroom, when Jiang Ji hugged him and went upstairs, Qin Qingzhuo was almost lying on him, half asleep.

With a hazy consciousness, he could only feel Jiang Ji kissing him repeatedly, from pecks on the eyes to deep kisses on the lips, and then to licking and sucking on the ears and Adam’s apple. Until the moment before Qin Qingzhuo fell into a deep sleep, he could still feel Jiang Ji kissing him.

When Qin Qingzhuo woke up, several hours had passed.

Jiang Ji wasn’t sleeping beside him, but the imprints on the pillow and bedsheet indicated that someone had been lying there not long ago.

Qin Qingzhuo grabbed his phone from the bedside table and glanced at it. It was already one o’clock in the afternoon, and he had only slept for about four or five hours at most.

It wasn’t enough to make up for three days of missed sleep, but his body felt surprisingly relaxed.

Thinking back to the torment he had endured in the underground music room just a day ago, he found it almost unbelievable.

Feeling oddly cheerful and light-hearted, he even felt a sense of anticipation about collaborating with Jiang Ji on the final stage. It was hard to imagine that he would ever look forward to being on stage again.

However, amidst the anticipation, there was also a hint of nervousness—fear of messing up and worrying about not being able to produce any sound on stage.

After some contemplation, Qin Qingzhuo sat up in bed and leaned against the headboard. He sent a message to Xie Chengyun: “Chengyun, I want to go for another check-up. When are you available?”

After sending the message, Xie Chengyun didn’t immediately reply, probably busy.

Getting out of bed, Qin Qingzhuo put on his robe and walked out of the bedroom. Faintly, he could hear the sound of a guitar coming from downstairs, intermittent and unfamiliar melodies that Qin Qingzhuo hadn’t heard before. He walked downstairs, approaching the study, where Jiang Ji sat holding a guitar at the workbench, jotting something down on a music sheet.

He didn’t say anything, just walked over quietly and stood behind Jiang Ji, watching him write.

After finishing a line, Jiang Ji put down his pen and reached behind to touch Qin Qingzhuo’s face. “Awake now?”

Qin Qingzhuo grunted in affirmation and leaned against the edge of the workbench. “Hope I’m not disturbing your inspiration?”

“No,” Jiang Ji glanced up at him. “You are my inspiration.”

“Smooth talker, Jiang Ji,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, then asked, “Why are you writing a song now?”

“Just woke up, saw you lying next to me, and suddenly had a few melodies in my head,” Jiang Ji explained. “Thought of writing a song for the two of us.”

“You’re not planning to sing this at the finals, are you?” Qin Qingzhuo raised an eyebrow slightly. “It’s only three days left until the finals. Wouldn’t it be risky to change the song now?”

“Let’s write it first,” Jiang Ji replied casually. “We can ask Sister Shi and Zhong Yang for their opinions later. If it works, great. If not, we can sing it on other occasions.”

“Fair enough.” Qin Qingzhuo nodded. “Can I take a look?”

“Sure, it’s meant for both of us anyway,” Jiang Ji handed him the music sheet. “But I’ve only just started, so there are only a few lines written.”

Qin Qingzhuo took it and looked at the lyrics Jiang Ji had just written. Then, he picked up a nearby guitar and began to strum the strings according to the music sheet, softly singing the lines written above: “I’ve wandered through nineteen years of drifting, carrying heavy burdens, wading through turbidity, evading the flicker of light in the darkness…”

The direction of these lyrics was clear, depicting Jiang Ji’s own experiences. Strangely, after singing these lines, Qin Qingzhuo suddenly felt inspired himself. His fingers continued to strum the strings, and the next few lines of melody seemed to flow naturally from his fingertips.

Jiang Ji handed him the pen without saying a word. Qin Qingzhuo took it and wrote down the melody he had just played below Jiang Ji’s lyrics. Then, after a moment of thought, he wrote the corresponding lyrics underneath the music sheet.

After he finished, Jiang Ji softly sang the newly written lines: “I’ve witnessed the grandest downfall, the bustle engulfed by darkness, standing alone in the corner, numbly allowing time to erode…”

The feeling of creating together was somewhat miraculous, and at this moment, both of them felt a certain emotional resonance.

“Next verse…” they almost simultaneously spoke out.

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled. “What are you thinking?”

Jiang Ji didn’t refuse either and shared his thoughts: “The first two sections are for each of us to sing separately. The third section should ideally merge together. In this first convergence, I think there should be a contrast with the previous parts, a kind of…”

There was a slight pause, and Qin Qingzhuo took over: “A feeling of light coming in.”

Jiang Ji hummed in agreement.

Both fell silent, pondering how to achieve the desired effect in the upcoming duet section.

“What was your first impression when you saw me?” Jiang Ji leaned back in his chair, suddenly curious about this question. “It should have been on stage, right? Did you think I was quite difficult to deal with?”

Qin Qingzhuo recalled the image of the young man bathed in bright light by the window, and the almost overexposed scene.

“It was when you were negotiating the appearance fee with Chen Jia. I remember thinking, are all kids like this nowadays, so punk, daring to bargain with the production team,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, then asked Jiang Ji, “What about you? Do you remember seeing me back then?”

“No, I only heard Xia Qi asking you to be a judge, but I didn’t look in your direction,” Jiang Ji said. At that time, he wasn’t interested in anyone and didn’t even think of looking towards Qin Qingzhuo’s direction.

“When did you start remembering me then?” Qin Qingzhuo continued with interest. “When I selected you for my team?”

“The spotlight was too bright at the time, and I couldn’t see clearly,” Jiang Ji recalled that night, amidst the crowd and cars, seeing Qin Qingzhuo standing by the roadside with a slightly anxious expression. “It was the night of the show recording, when you were waiting for a ride by the roadside. I remember thinking, I’ve never seen anyone so good-looking before.”

Qin Qingzhuo smiled with lowered eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he played the melody of the third section on the guitar.

The gradually intensifying melody on top of the first two sections seemed to suddenly dispel the oppressive atmosphere, letting in a ray of light in the darkness.

He took the music sheet and wrote down the notes he had just played. As he contemplated how to fill in the lyrics, Jiang Ji handed him the pen. Qin Qingzhuo slightly turned his head and watched Jiang Ji write word by word below the notes.

“Until I saw your silhouette in the crowd,

Like a momentary break of dawn.

That penetrating light,

Suddenly made me want to hold on tightly.”

After writing down these lyrics, he looked up at Qin Qingzhuo, seeking his opinion with his eyes.

Without saying a word, Qin Qingzhuo’s lips curved into a smile, and he leaned down to kiss Jiang Ji.