Chapter 6
Chapter 6
After that, I didn’t see Li Xinghe for several days.
According to Li Xinglan, his paintings had already been snapped up at generous prices by several local galleries. He was now in the process of setting up his own personal gallery, and most of the time, he simply ate and slept at the construction site.
Who would’ve thought? The younger brother was actually pretty ambitious.
By contrast, I spent most of my time at Qin’s Biotech just coasting along. Every now and then I’d go sing at a lounge bar or record a song, but that was all just for fun. I hadn’t put much real effort into any of it.
Compared to him, it was honestly embarrassing.
Since I was bored anyway, that night I accepted an invitation from a few shameless friends in the scene and went to Shenxiao, the biggest lounge bar in town, for a get-together. Those little internet celebrities from back then were all doing pretty well now. Each of them had their own music studio, and even the least successful among them had signed with a proper company.
Maybe because it had been so long since we’d seen each other, they insisted on making me sing a song.
I politely declined and sat in the booth, quietly sipping a mojito.
Just as the buzz of alcohol was starting to settle in, the door ahead moved slightly, and a tall figure walked in. He wore a beige knit sweater with matching trousers, making him look like a soft, glowing presence.
The little internet celebrities beside me immediately squealed under their breath. “Wow, he’s handsome!”
“He’s exactly my type!”
Seeing them getting all worked up, I immediately reached out to stop them.
“Wait. I know him.”
The two of them exchanged quick glances. “Is he someone Qin Meng-jie likes? Then we won’t steal him from you.”
With that, they awkwardly sat back down.
I looked toward the front from a distance and saw him sitting in a dim corner, head lowered as he scrolled on his phone. I had no idea who he was waiting for.
So I went up to the stage, picked up a guitar, tuned it briefly, then cleared my throat. “This next song, I’d like to dedicate to the gentleman in booth B12.”
Before he could react, amid the cheers and catcalls around me, a clear voice suddenly rang out, low and husky, yet carrying a touch of everyday warmth.
“I like the mist on your car window,
As if your love is breathing,
I like your smiling eyes,
Even the sunset looks like a kiss…”
Below the stage, the little internet celebrities were clutching their faces and screaming.
But his expression was hidden in the dim light, flickering in and out of view, near and far, bright and dark, impossible to make out.
“If only you could know right now,
These are my heartfelt words:
I like you-”
Maybe because that blatant confession pushed the song straight into its climax, the entire atmosphere of Shenxiao was quickly brought to a boil by that old Cantonese love song.
My shameless friends clapped until their palms were red. At last, through the crowd, I caught sight of that face flushed with color in the shadows, just like the lyrics said:
“Those eyes are enchanting, your laughter even more so,
I wish I could gently touch your lovely face again, hold your hand and whisper dreams,
Just like yesterday, when you and I-”
When the song ended, the lingering notes were still hanging in the air.
A few of my good buddies took turns cheering, shouting for an encore. “Only Qin Meng-jie could sing with such a carefree attitude and still make it sound so heartfelt!”
I set the guitar back down and had just stepped off the stage when some clueless guy came over to offer me a cigarette.
I ignored him outright.
Looking ahead again, I saw the lights flickering bright and dark. In the shifting glow and shadow, Li Xinghe was still standing there, like a beam of moonlight falling on a white magnolia.
“Why haven’t you quit?”
“…I quit long ago.”
He smiled faintly, but his eyes seemed to pierce straight through my skin and into my heart.
I felt awkward, like I’d been caught doing something bad. “A woman who smokes is either too beautiful or too worldly… I don’t have that kind of confidence.”
“Beautiful… worldly…”
He seemed amused, even rolling the words around on his tongue. “Then which one does jiejie think she is?”
“What do you think?”
Li Xinghe didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out with a slightly cool hand and pulled me away.
The roar of teasing behind us was left behind without hesitation.
Even though the sky outside Shenxiao wasn’t much better and one of the streetlights overhead was broken, I had to admit that standing beneath that dim light, I felt clearer than I ever had before.
“Qin Meng, are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Heh.”
In the hazy night, with the warm breeze brushing past us, Li Xinghe let out a soft scoff and took out a cigarette, only holding it between his fingers without lighting it.
“Is it because my brother rejected you that you decided to settle for me instead?”
“…”
Standing under the broken streetlight, neither of us spoke for a long while.
After a long silence, my voice turned cold. “If I say no, will you believe me?”
As expected.
His reply was a dismissive laugh.
Heh. I had a temper too, you know.
“If that’s the case, then there’s no need to force it. Just pretend you got to hear a song for free and forget about it when you go back.” I spread my hands. “For the trouble I caused you, all I can say is sorry.”
“Is that so?”
In front of me, a pair of pitch-black eyes studied me from beneath thick lashes.
“Then after this, you won’t pester my brother anymore?”
Pester?
Nice choice of word.
I was completely out of temper by then. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave the Li Family tomorrow.”
Maybe my straightforward attitude surprised him, because Li Xinghe didn’t say anything else. I turned to leave, but then I suddenly remembered the scene from my dream, and my heart gave a hard squeeze.
“There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“Can you not drive so fast?”
“…That’s got nothing to do with you, does it, jiejie?”
“Promise me you won’t go over 80 for the next month.”
“Why should I…”
“If you don’t agree, I’ll go pester your brother.”
“…”