Chapter 92

The next afternoon, Lin Qi gathered everyone from the studio into the recording studio to preview their band’s new album.

The album “Tree of Rest” had been in preparation for almost a year, and now it was finally nearing completion. Lin Qi excitedly howled in the studio.

After playing the entire new album from start to finish, Lin Qi first looked towards Jiang Ji and said, “Jiang Ji, share your thoughts. You should be the only one hearing it for the first time.”

Jiang Ji sat with Qin Qingzhuo and, in response to Lin Qi’s words, looked up at him and asked, “Is this a conceptual album?”

“Ah?” Lin Qi’s eyes flickered with surprise, “Can you tell?”

“It’s quite obvious. Each song has thematic relevance, and there’s even an intro at the beginning.”

“That was Qingzhuo’s suggestion. How do you feel about it?”

“I quite like it.”

“Shouldn’t have asked you, huh,” Lin Qi laughed, “You two are definitely in sync.”

Laughter erupted in the studio.

“Don’t make a fuss,” Qin Qingzhuo also chuckled, “Do you still want to hear suggestions?”

“I do, I do,” Lin Qi said seriously, “Jiang Ji, continue. Feel free to give any suggestions.”

“From my personal feeling, the intro part seems not ethereal enough, but it’s not a problem with the vocals; it’s more about the spatial quality of the sound…”

At this moment, Li Zi, who was sitting by the window, stood up and walked softly to Qin Qingzhuo, handing him her phone.

Qin Qingzhuo took the phone, glanced at the screen’s content, and immediately furrowed his brow.

He turned his face to Li Zi and whispered, “Let’s discuss outside.” Then, he stood up from the sofa, walked out of the recording studio with Li Zi, and closed the door behind them.

Qin Qingzhuo, with his backhand, closed the door, and Li Zi followed behind him, saying, “This post seems to be monitored in real-time. In just a short time, many marketing accounts have already reposted the content.”

“Perhaps it’s not real-time monitoring,” Qin Qingzhuo continued browsing the content on the screen, “Maybe the person posting is simultaneously leaking information to these marketing accounts.”

Li Zi nodded, “That’s also possible.”

The door of the recording studio behind them was pushed open, and Jiang Ji walked out, asking, “What’s going on?”

At this point, there was no need to keep it from Jiang Ji. Qin Qingzhuo handed Li Zi’s phone to him.

Jiang Ji took it, and like Qin Qingzhuo’s earlier reaction, as soon as he saw the content on the screen, he frowned—

“Let’s reveal another piece of information. Fans who have been to the Honglu Bar should know that Jiang Ji has a sister. However, probably no one knows that his sister is actually a habitual thief, right? If you don’t believe it, just ask around the shops near Honglu Slope. I dare say there’s no shop that hasn’t been stolen by his sister. To tolerate his sister stealing everywhere, what kind of person is Jiang Ji, I don’t need to explicitly state, right?”

Below, there is a picture showing Jiang Ji and Jiang Bei walking together on Honglu Slope.

While Jiang Ji was browsing the post, Qin Qingzhuo looked at Lizi and said, “Immediately contact the forum moderator. It doesn’t matter if they delete the rest, but anything related to Jiang Bei must be taken down.”

“It might not be easy to delete,” Lizi wore a concerned expression, “Last night, I contacted the moderator, asking what conditions were needed to delete the post. However, he’s been evasive, not giving a straightforward answer or mentioning any specific conditions. It feels like he doesn’t need any favors from our side. So, I guess he might have already been fed by someone else…”

“It’s probably Shiyao,” Jiang Ji’s gaze lifted from the screen, “Ordinary people wouldn’t dig this deep, and using Jiang Bei to threaten me, he’s not the first to attempt such a thing.”

After saying that, he handed the phone back to Lizi and turned to leave, “I’m going to find him now and make him delete the post.”

“Don’t act impulsively.” Qin Qingzhuo raised his hand and grasped Jiang Ji’s wrist, “Shiyao will never admit to doing this. He’s too sophisticated; he’ll clean his hands of any responsibility.”

“I have a way to make him delete the post,” Jiang Ji said, frowning, “At least, to remove the one about Jiang Bei.”

After contemplating for a few seconds, Qin Qingzhuo shook his head, “Let’s not go to Shiyao for now. The post has already been widely circulated by marketing accounts. Even if we delete it, it won’t have much effect. Let’s first protect Jiang Bei. Once this is exposed, there’s no guarantee that more paparazzi won’t try to catch her. I’ll ask Cai Heng to help with the post. He has more experience dealing with these matters, and deleting a post is a simple task for him.”

Initially, Jiang Ji planned to ask Zhong Yang to go to the rehearsal studio, but since Qin Qingzhuo said so, he temporarily suppressed the urge to find Shiyao, “Alright, then I’ll go back and pick up Jiang Bei.”

“I’ll accompany you.” Qin Qingzhuo said.

Jiang Ji bent down to unlock the motorcycle, while Qin Qingzhuo stood aside, making a call to Cai Heng.

Cai Heng, a longtime friend and collaborator of Qin Qingzhuo, readily agreed after listening to Qin Qingzhuo’s words.

After hanging up the phone, Qin Qingzhuo put on his helmet and sat behind Jiang Ji, “Don’t worry. Cai Heng will help contact the post deletion. At least, the post and photos about Jiang Bei will be removed first.”

Jiang Ji nodded and revved the engine, heading towards the road.

Twenty minutes later, the motorcycle passed by the entrance of the rehearsal studio. However, Jiang Ji didn’t stop; instead, he continued riding ahead.

During the daytime, Jiang Bei usually wouldn’t stay in the rehearsal room. She liked to come out and play games with the local kids. Being sharp-minded and good at games, no matter where she stayed, she could quickly gain respect among the elementary school students in the vicinity.

Today was the weekend, and a group of children from the nearby urban village gathered together. Jiang Ji stopped the motorcycle, scanning the group to search for Jiang Bei but didn’t see her.

He lifted the visor of his helmet and asked the group of children, “Has Jiang Bei been with you guys?”

All the children turned their heads to look at him, but no one spoke. Several of them exchanged glances.

“The little girl who always plays games with you guys,” Qin Qingzhuo added.

Still, no one spoke. After a while, a boy sitting nearby finally said, “She just left.”

“Where did she go?” Jiang Ji asked.

“I don’t know.”

“She went to steal stuff, didn’t she?” Another boy who seemed a bit older spoke quickly and quietly.

Immediately, the people around laughed, but not too loudly.

Jiang Ji frowned, realizing that something was amiss, and turned off the engine.

Qin Qingzhuo dismounted from the motorcycle and asked the group of children, “Why would you say that?”

Again, no one spoke.

Qin Qingzhuo looked at the boy who had just said that Jiang Bei had left, squatting down to be at eye level with him, speaking in a gentle voice, “Did you guys see something?”

But the boy remained silent, just shaking his head.

Jiang Ji, however, wasn’t as patient. He got off the motorcycle and walked over to the boy who had just accused Jiang Bei of stealing.

“Be clear,” Jiang Ji grabbed his wrist and pulled him up from the ground, “What did she steal? Did she steal something from your house?”

The boy seemed scared of him, trying to pull his wrist away, but to no avail.

“Spit it out,” Jiang Ji urged again.

“Everyone online is saying so, it’s not me,” the boy panicked, trying to retreat backward, “You should go ask those people online…”

“How do you know the person mentioned online is her?”

“She always boasts to us that her brother is a star and often shows us videos. Who wouldn’t know…” The boy seemed to recognize Jiang Ji, his voice becoming somewhat timid.

At this point, Jiang Ji could roughly guess what had happened.

He didn’t press on with further questions, releasing the boy’s wrist and saying to Qin Qingzhuo, “Let’s go back and take a look first.”

Qin Qingzhuo hmm-ed.

The two returned to the rehearsal room, and the rolling shutter was tightly closed. Jiang Ji unlocked it with a key and walked in with Qin Qingzhuo.

There was no one in the rehearsal area, and Jiang Bei’s room was also empty.

Jiang Ji took out his phone and dialed Jiang Bei’s number, but it kept ringing for a while without anyone answering.

He tried again, still no answer, and his brow furrowed even tighter.

A familiar sense of annoyance surged from his chest.

“No answer?” Qin Qingzhuo noticed the frustration in his expression and walked up to comfort him. “Maybe she’s playing around nearby and didn’t hear it. Let’s go out and look for her.”

“I’ll go look for her.” Jiang Ji put away his phone and looked at Qin Qingzhuo. “You stay here; let the driver come to pick you up.”

“I’m coming with you,” Qin Qingzhuo insisted firmly. “It’s more efficient with two people searching than just one.”

“I can handle it by myself…” Jiang Ji didn’t finish his sentence as Qin Qingzhuo already grabbed his hand and pulled him out. “Let’s go, don’t be stubborn.”

The rest of his words were suppressed by Jiang Ji. He took a deep breath and walked out of the rehearsal room with Qin Qingzhuo.

In truth, he didn’t want Qin Qingzhuo to accompany him. Only he knew how anxious the process of finding Jiang Bei could be, and he didn’t want to expose that state to Qin Qingzhuo.

However, Qin Qingzhuo seemed determined, difficult to persuade, so he didn’t say anything more.

Mounting the motorcycle, Jiang Ji pondered where to search for Jiang Bei.

In the past, when Jiang Bei disappeared, Jiang Ji would usually start searching from the alleys around Honglu Slope Street. However, this time was a bit different. Since moving to the rehearsal room, it was Jiang Bei’s first disappearance.

He decided to take a quick look around the area first, then go to the supermarkets and internet cafes in the nearby urban villages.

As the motorcycle started, amidst the roar of the engine, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

He turned his head, looking through the windscreen of his helmet at the scattered residential buildings not far away.

“What’s wrong?” Sensing Jiang Ji’s alertness, Qin Qingzhuo followed his gaze.

“Someone is secretly filming us.”

Qin Qingzhuo fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “Let’s forget about it for now and go find Jiang Bei.”

Jiang Ji responded with a grunt, withdrawing his gaze and riding his motorcycle out.

Although they said they would search nearby, Qin Qingzhuo had no idea where to start when it came to finding someone.

An eight-year-old girl suddenly disappearing—where could she possibly have gone? Qin Qingzhuo had no experience in such matters.

However, Jiang Ji seemed quite adept at it. He first circled the nearby streets and alleys, then moved on to the nearby urban villages, checking each store and internet cafe.

Throughout the process, he furrowed his brow, scarcely speaking, as if reverting to the demeanor Qin Qingzhuo remembered when they first met—filled with annoyance and hostility, as if saying, “Stay away from me.”

Only when he occasionally spoke to Qin Qingzhuo did his gaze and tone soften slightly, asking if Qin Qingzhuo was tired or if he wanted to be taken back first. But Qin Qingzhuo shook his head each time, saying, “No need.”

During the journey, Jiang Ji received a call from Zhong Yang. Qin Qingzhuo overheard him saying, “Jiang Bei has disappeared again,” and then, “Why don’t you go check those places we went last time?”

Jiang Bei had disappeared before? Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but wonder.

But he didn’t ask anything. Clearly, now wasn’t the right time for questions.

After searching all the stores and internet cafes in the urban villages, Jiang Bei was still nowhere to be found.

As night fell, street lamps lit up one by one along the streets.

For several hours, the two repeated the process of getting off the motorcycle, carefully searching each internet cafe and store, then getting back on the motorcycle to head to the next destination, over and over again.

Each time Qin Qingzhuo got back on the motorcycle behind Jiang Ji, he could feel Jiang Ji’s anxiety intensifying.

At nine in the evening, they walked out of a small internet cafe in an alley. Qin Qingzhuo pulled down his black mask to his chin, standing on the roadside, taking a deep breath. The heavy smoke inside the internet cafe had made it hard for him to breathe.

If it weren’t for following Jiang Ji out this time, he wouldn’t have known there were so many seedy places in Yancheng.

“Are there any other places Jiang Bei might have gone to?” He turned his head to look at Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji furrowed his brow and shook his head. “We’ve searched everywhere.”

“Then let’s call the police,” Qin Qingzhuo suggested.

This time, Jiang Ji didn’t respond, he just let out a sigh.

At this moment, a young man with dyed blond hair walked out of the internet cafe behind them. As he passed by Qin Qingzhuo, he turned his head and looked at him. “Qin Qingzhuo?”

For Qin Qingzhuo, being recognized was nothing unusual, although he wasn’t in the mood for such encounters right now, he still managed to smile slightly at the young man.

However, the young man’s expression seemed unfriendly. After scanning Jiang Ji and Qin Qingzhuo up and down, he said disdainfully, “Homosexuality is motherf*cking disgusting.”

Qin Qingzhuo’s face changed slightly, and before he could react, Jiang Ji had already stepped forward, grabbed the young man’s collar, and forcefully pinned him against the wall.

“What did you say?”

His strength was astonishing, and the man’s back slammed heavily against the wall. Clearly stunned for a moment, he didn’t dare to speak in the face of Jiang Ji’s dark expression.

However, a few seconds later, seeing passersby turning their heads to look in their direction, a somewhat defiant expression appeared on his face. “Is the big star daring to beat people on the street?”

Qin Qingzhuo also noticed the onlookers, and he stepped forward to block Jiang Ji’s view, while at the same time, grabbing Jiang Ji’s wrist.

He could feel Jiang Ji’s arm tensing up, a sign that he was clenching his fists. He had no doubt that Jiang Ji might throw a punch at the man in the next second.

“Jiang Ji,” Qin Qingzhuo called his name softly.

However, Jiang Ji’s tensed arm showed no signs of relaxing. He still had the man pinned against the wall, but he briefly loosened his grip on his collar, opting instead to grab the man’s neck with one hand.

“Apologize to him.” He stared at the blond-haired youth, his voice low and commanding. The young man didn’t speak, still looking at them with disdain.

“Hurry up.” Jiang Ji tightened his fingers, squeezing the man’s neck and pulling him towards himself, slamming him against the wall again. “Or else, see if I dare to hit you.”

There was a dull thud as the back of the man’s head hit the wall. His expression twisted instantly, the disdain disappearing, replaced by a hint of fear in his eyes.

At the same time, Qin Qingzhuo tightened his grip on Jiang Ji’s wrist.

As Jiang Ji tightened his fingers again, the young man blurted out, “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t hear that clearly,” Jiang Ji’s grip didn’t loosen. “Look at him and say it again properly.”

The man looked at Qin Qingzhuo and repeated, “I’m sorry.”

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t say anything, but his fingers slowly moved down Jiang Ji’s arm, enveloping his clenched fist.

After staring at the man for a few more seconds, Jiang Ji slowly released his grip. “Get lost.”