Chapter 69

In the past two days, discussions about “Qin Qingzhuo ceasing to sing” on the internet have only intensified, carrying a strong sense of condemnation.

However, no one can clearly state the ultimate goal of this condemnation.

The sound of “The number you dialed is switched off” came through the phone receiver. Standing at the doorstep of Qin Qingzhuo’s house, Jiang Ji ended the call.

He raised his hand and pressed Qin Qingzhuo’s doorbell again, but there was complete silence inside, no response whatsoever.

Where did Qin Qingzhuo go? Jiang Ji had no clue.

He had come to see Qin Qingzhuo several times in the past two days, but the results were all the same.

This morning, he even met the cleaning auntie who mentioned that Qin Qingzhuo hadn’t been home these past two days.

He had also visited the hospital, found the doctor, Xie Chengyun, who had treated Qin Qingzhuo when he had a fever last time, hoping to get information about Qin Qingzhuo’s condition.

However, Dr. Xie showed no intention of disclosing information, stating it was patient privacy, and he had no authority to reveal it.

Jiang Ji realized how little he knew about Qin Qingzhuo. Despite listening to all of Qin Qingzhuo’s songs and remembering the sheet music for each one, when it came to Qin Qingzhuo’s past, he could only piece together some speculative information from bits and pieces on the internet.

It seemed that Qin Qingzhuo had no intention of telling him about these things. Two days ago, he had tried to gently inquire, but Qin Qingzhuo was evidently resistant.

Jiang Ji could understand Qin Qingzhuo’s state because he had been like that before, resisting anyone trying to understand his life. If he didn’t want to talk, no one could get any information out of him.

In some sense, their personalities were quite similar.

Jiang Ji remembered a month ago when Qin Qingzhuo asked him why he didn’t avoid Uncle Sui. At that time, he was also extremely irritable, just wanting Qin Qingzhuo to shut up and not meddle in his business.

Now, the roles were reversed. The one persistently asking questions was him, and the one not willing to speak was Qin Qingzhuo.

How should he put it… it was like a tit for tat? Jiang Ji thought with a touch of self-mockery.

Regardless, he needed to find Qin Qingzhuo, understand what happened in the past, and then think about whether there was any way he could help. Keeping everything bottled up inside oneself wasn’t good.

As night fell, the streetlights around lit up.

Having taken leave specifically for tonight, Jiang Ji planned to visit Qin Qingzhuo’s studio first. He remembered the address of Qin Qingzhuo’s studio from the contract he had signed before.

Putting away his phone, he turned and walked down a few steps.

As he lifted his eyes, he saw a black sedan approaching not far away.

The car stopped below the steps, the door opened, and a person walked down—it was Ji Chi.

Jiang Ji frowned at the sight of him.

Ji Chi got out of the car, looked up, also froze upon seeing Jiang Ji, but quickly regained his composure. A look of disgust appeared on his face.

The two glanced at each other without saying a word. Both found each other displeasing.

They brushed past each other, Ji Chi walked towards the steps, while Jiang Ji straddled the motorcycle.

Riding the motorcycle out of the villa area, at the intersection where the traffic flowed endlessly, waiting to cross the road, Jiang Ji turned his head to glance in the direction of Qin Qingzhuo’s house. Ji Chi was descending the steps at this moment, probably realizing that Qin Qingzhuo was not at home after ringing the doorbell.

Then he turned his head, no longer looking at Ji Chi, and visually headed towards the road opposite.

Qin Qingzhuo’s studio was actually not easy to find, located on a quiet old street far from the bustling downtown area.

The road was flanked by dense trees, concealing a row of low-rise buildings behind them. As the evening wind picked up, the willow branches by the roadside rustled, adding a serene touch to the old street, somewhat reminiscent of Honglu Slope Street when it was deserted, but with a bit more charm.

Qin Qingzhuo’s studio was located in one of the whitewashed small buildings that resembled buildings from the Republican era.

Sitting on a wooden bench by the street was a man, his hair slightly tousled by the wind, listening to music with headphones on.

—It was Lin Qi, the lead singer of the Nesting Tree band, whom he had seen at the music festival last time.

Lin Qi also recognized him and waved at him proactively, “Hey, here to see Qingzhuo?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Ji took off his helmet, “Is he here?”

“Not here,” the other shrugged.

“Has he been here these past two days?”

“I’ll ask for you,” Lin Qi said, then turned his neck and shouted towards the white building, “Li Zi—Li Zi!”

His voice was quite loud, and after a couple of calls, a female voice came from the building, “What is it?”

“Has Qingzhuo been here these past two days?” Lin Qi shouted.

“No, he hasn’t.”

“Your boss’s student is here to see him, aren’t you coming out to greet him?”

“What student?” A few seconds later, a girl with short hair walked out of the building and looked at Jiang Ji in surprise, “Jiang Ji?”

Jiang Ji made a sound of agreement, not saying much, and got straight to the point, “I’m here to see Qin Qingzhuo. Do you know where he went?”

“I don’t know… Isn’t it a coincidence,” the girl named “Li Zi” said, “I was just looking for your number in the contract, wanting to ask about Qingzhuo’s current situation. So you don’t know either?”

“I just went to see him, but he wasn’t home.” After a moment’s thought, Jiang Ji asked again, “After that live broadcast, has he appeared again?”

“Yeah, I last saw him last week. He told me he had signed your band and asked me to find time to contact you and show you around here. Oh, and,” Li Zi remembered something, “he seems to have another rehearsal room…”

“Where is it?” Jiang Ji asked.

Li Zi shook her head, “I don’t know the specifics, I’ve never been there.”

“Are you worried about him?” Lin Qi turned to look at Jiang Ji at this point, his voice lazy, “Don’t worry, your teacher Qin won’t get into any big trouble, at most, he’s just hiding away. It’s so noisy outside now.”

“Brother Lin is right.” Li Zi echoed, “Qingzhuo used to disappear occasionally, but he would reappear after a while. Jiang Ji, you don’t need to worry too much.”

Jiang Ji nodded, not saying much.

Although both Lin Qi and Li Zi said so, he couldn’t help but worry about Qin Qingzhuo. These past two days, scenes of Qin Qingzhuo standing on stage, pale-faced and almost fainting, kept flashing through his mind, even appearing in his dreams.

After thanking the two, Jiang Ji put on his helmet, restarted the motorcycle, and drove out of the old street.

Since Qin Qingzhuo wasn’t at the studio, he planned to go to Puji Hospital again. Even if Dr. Xie refused to disclose Qin Qingzhuo’s condition, he could at least find out if Qin Qingzhuo had been to the hospital these past two days.

Qin Qingzhuo put down the guitar in his hand and stood up from the computer.

In a state where he couldn’t concentrate on making music, he deleted and created repeatedly, back and forth dozens of times, but the track on the screen remained short.

Indeed, it was hard to find inspiration when one’s mind was not at peace.

Although this principle was clear, whenever he felt upset, besides making music, there seemed to be no other way to alleviate his mood.

From childhood to adulthood, he had always grown up in an environment filled with music.

His father was a band conductor, and his mother was an opera singer. Even when he couldn’t speak clearly as a child, he would practice singing alongside the uncles and aunts backstage at the theater.

At the age of four or five, when he was not much taller than a cello, he would hold a bow and imitate the orchestra’s movements to practice the cello.

Later on, feeling that practicing the cello alone was too monotonous, he started learning the piano, accordion, classical guitar, electric guitar…

Perhaps even the heavens felt that they had been too indulgent before the age of twenty-five, so they chose to suddenly take away some things one day.

Qin Qingzhuo raised his hand and rubbed his ears. His left ear still had a buzzing sound, but fortunately, the ringing in his right ear had subsided.

When he was in a bad mood, he was used to staying in this underground rehearsal room. There were no clocks or signals here, only various musical instruments. Being here made him feel calm, with a sense of isolation from the world.

• As long as he didn’t know what was happening outside, he could pretend that nothing had happened.

When he had spent enough time inside, he would feel much lighter when he went out again. After all, most people in the world were forgetful.

He felt a bit hungry, but had no appetite. There was a night market in a nearby urban village. He decided to go out for a stroll.

With this in mind, he reached up and took his coat from the hanger.

Afterward, he decided to go to the hospital, although he resisted the idea, he knew he had to go.

As he walked towards the door, a thought flashed through his mind. Why not… have grilled cold noodles?

Then he thought of Jiang Ji standing in front of the grilled cold noodles stand, leaning against his motorcycle and smoking.

Before coming to the rehearsal room, he glanced at his phone. Jiang Ji had called and sent a message asking where he was. But Qin Qingzhuo didn’t reply.

It wasn’t intentional not to reply; he just didn’t know how to reply, and he didn’t know what to say if he met Jiang Ji now.

Jiang Ji probably wanted to talk about the concert four years ago, but what Qin Qingzhuo least wanted to mention now was this.

It wasn’t just about Jiang Ji; he didn’t want to bring it up with anyone.

Even when he was with Ji Chi before, Ji Chi tried to avoid talking about it as much as possible. He knew that bringing up this matter would definitely affect Qin Qingzhuo’s mood.

Thinking about these things in his mind, Qin Qingzhuo pushed open the door of the rehearsal room. When he saw the person standing at the door, he froze for a moment, “Ji Chi?”

“You are indeed here,” Ji Chi seemed relieved, looking at him with concern, “Are you okay, Qingzhuo? Can you hear clearly now?”

“I’m fine,” Qin Qingzhuo’s tone was flat, but his face was still somewhat pale.

Seeing Ji Chi at this moment, he was actually a bit annoyed. He didn’t want to see anyone at this time, especially since he could guess Ji Chi’s purpose for coming.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to the hospital,” Ji Chi reached out and grasped his arm, wanting to pull him out.

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t move, quietly extricating himself from Ji Chi’s grip, and somewhat wearily said, “No need, I’ll go by myself later.”

Ji Chi knew Qin Qingzhuo’s temperament well. He appeared gentle, but in reality, once he made up his mind, he wouldn’t easily be persuaded.

He sighed and gestured behind him, “If you won’t come with me, then at least give Dr. Xie some face. He specially adjusted his schedule to come and pick you up.”

At his words, Qin Qingzhuo looked somewhat surprised in the direction he indicated. Just now, he was preoccupied with dealing with Ji Chi and hadn’t noticed the person standing by Ji Chi’s car.

At this moment, Xie Chengyun leaned against the car door, waving his hand somewhat helplessly at him.

Ji Chi understood Qin Qingzhuo after all. Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t possibly refuse Dr. Xie’s request.

Qin Qingzhuo walked over to Xie Chengyun, looking somewhat troubled as he asked, “Chengyun, why are you here too?”

“Sorry, Qingzhuo,” Xie Chengyun’s face showed some apology, “I really didn’t want to get involved in this matter, but you really need to come with me to the hospital.”

After he finished speaking, he opened the rear door for Qin Qingzhuo.

Qin Qingzhuo remained silent for a moment, not saying anything more, and got into the car.

He could be willful when alone, but he couldn’t act that way in front of others, even if he was close with Xie Chengyun.

After closing the door, Xie Chengyun walked around to the other side and also got into the back seat.

Ji Chi approached and sat in the front driver’s seat.

He handed Qin Qingzhuo a thermal bag with the Su San logo on it. “Qingzhuo, have something to eat on the way.”

Qin Qingzhuo shook his head and didn’t take it.

Ji Chi’s hand hesitated in mid-air for a moment. Seeing Qin Qingzhuo turning his head to look out the window, he reluctantly put the food back to the side.

The car started, and no one spoke along the way.

Xie Chengyun felt awkward, trying to reduce his presence with silence.

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t want to say anything at all.

As for Ji Chi, he didn’t feel comfortable saying anything in front of Xie Chengyun.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Xie Chengyun led the two of them to the third floor using the internal elevator. Exiting the elevator, he gestured to the other side with his chin, “You two wait for me in the treatment room. I’ll go to the office to change clothes.”

“I can go by myself,” Qin Qingzhuo looked at Ji Chi, “You can go back, Ji Chi.”

“I’ll accompany you,” Ji Chi insisted, “Qingzhuo, after all, I understand your situation.”

An approaching nurse greeted Xie Chengyun and curiously glanced back and forth between Qin Qingzhuo and Ji Chi.

Even though they were both wearing masks, the two of them standing together drew attention.

“Go ahead first,” Xie Chengyun patted Qin Qingzhuo’s shoulder and whispered, “We’ll talk once we’re in the treatment room.”

Qin Qingzhuo nodded and didn’t say anything more, lowering his head slightly as he walked towards the treatment room. Seeing this, Ji Chi quickened his pace to catch up with him.

In the hospital parking lot, Jiang Ji locked his motorcycle and walked into the outpatient building.

Taking the elevator to the third floor, he walked towards the ENT(Ear, Nose, Throat) department, intending to ask if Dr. Xie was available tonight. However, he caught sight of two figures walking towards the B area.

With a glance, he recognized the figure on the left—Qin Qingzhuo.

But the slightly taller person who was walking beside Qin Qingzhuo… Jiang Ji frowned. Wasn’t that Ji Chi?