A few days later, Zhong Qi met Yu Chaole near the studio they had agreed upon. Zhong Qi rode his bike with a guitar strapped to his back and arrived at the designated building after fifteen minutes.

Yu Chaole was waiting at the entrance, also carrying a guitar on his back. He waved and greeted Zhong Qi excitedly. “Brother Qi! Long time no see.” They exchanged fist bumps, and Yu Chaole said, “My brother will be here soon; he’ll take us up.”

“The studio is upstairs?”

“Yes, it’s said to belong to a big shot who bought an old dance practice room and turned it into his own music studio. Many people come here to play. My brother knows him and can get us in.”

“Isn’t a studio meant for work?”

“Hey, just go up and see,” Yu Chaole said. “By the way, my brother said there’s a band rehearsing today, so maybe we’ll get to see them.”

Ten minutes later, Yu Chaole’s cousin arrived, and he took both of them in the elevator. The studio was on the seventh floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows. It offered a clear view of a vast space inside, adorned with walls full of guitars, ukuleles, and even mandolins. Posters of Queen and Linkin Park covered the walls, and the center mirror featured a poster of New Pants. Drums of all sizes, keyboards, electric pianos, wires meandering on the floor, tables, chairs, sofas, and stools were placed casually, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Yu Chaole’s brother took out the keys, unlocked the door, turned on the lights, and said, “I’ve been using this place to teach students recently. If you want to come and play, just let me know.”

With that, he turned and opened a door leading inside.

Yu Chaole told Zhong Qi, “That’s their actual studio for professional work. It’s used for recording songs, and there’s a large recording studio inside. This one here is for casual playing.'”

Sitting on a chair, Zhong Qi opened his guitar case, looked around at the instruments, and asked, “Are you planning to sell the many instruments here?”

“Yeah, my brother is holding classes here, and we help him sell some stuff.”

“It’s a really nice place,” Zhong Qi observed. If he could practice the guitar here occasionally, it would be much more enjoyable than practicing at home.

“Right? As long as my brother isn’t teaching, we can come here and play and even practice the drums; it’s so cool.”

Zhong Qi took out his guitar and placed it in front of him, casually strumming a few notes.

Yu Chaole also took out his guitar and sat facing Zhong Qi. “Brother Qi, can you teach me the seventh chord in the 12 keys? I always mess up the major and minor chords.”

Zhong Qi sat and began playing, teaching him in the process. The two of them discussed and played the guitar for a while when suddenly the studio door was pushed open, and several people walked in.

Yu Chaole quickly gestured to Zhong Qi. “Look, the band rehearsing today has arrived.”

Zhong Qi turned around and saw that most of the people who came looked like college students, and the young men were all dressed handsomely. The only young lady, however, seemed a bit younger but wore a mature black trench coat, and a long skirt draped to her ankles. Her petite face was adorned with exquisite makeup, making her look very beautiful.

Zhong Qi felt the girl looked familiar and, on closer inspection, realized she was Wang Heju, his senior from the second year.

Wang Heju also recognized him at once, displaying a moment of surprise on her face, followed by undisguised delight.

“Younger brother, what are you doing here?” Wang Heju happily skipped over and reached out, patting Zhong Qi’s shoulder. “Are you here to learn?”

She didn’t even glance at Yu Chaole next to him.

Yu Chaole seemed caught off guard by this sudden event, staring blankly at both of them.

“I came here to play with a classmate,” Zhong Qi replied politely.

“I knew it; you play the guitar so well that you don’t need to learn anymore” she said with a smile.

Her bandmates reminded her, “Heju, let’s get in for rehearsal.”

Wang Heju said, “Got it,” then to Zhong Qi, “I’m the lead singer in this band now. If you come here to play, we can meet often.”

“I probably won’t come often.”

Wang Heju smiled. “Okay. I’ll come find you after the rehearsal, don’t leave early.”

She then turned around happily and went into the recording studio.

Zhong Qi didn’t think much of it and continued playing the guitar, while Yu Chaole had a face showing he just discovered a massive piece of gossip. “Brother Qi, is she your senior?”

“Yes, from second year.”

“Does she… does she like you? She’s so enthusiastic towards you.”

“She confessed to me.”

Yu Chaole was almost left jaw-dropped. “No way! She’s so beautiful! And she’s in a band… Brother Qi, you’re amazing! So, did you agree?”

“No.”

“You didn’t agree to be with someone like her?!”

Zhong Qi was being bothered and asked, “Are you playing or not?”

“I’ll play, play, play… Oh, it’s no wonder, Brother Qi, after entering high school, you didn’t contact us. I see, you were busy having romantic encounters everywhere. The girls who had a crush on you in the class back then must have been disappointed and wanted to see you.”

Yu Chaole was broad-minded and didn’t dwell too long on gossip. With his lower skill level, he was keen on asking for help from Zhong Qi, who had better skills. Zhong Qi casually flipped through the music notes on the stand and continued to demonstrate major and minor chords for him.

By the time Yu Chaole became a bit more familiar with chords, Zhong Qi was left sitting alone nearby, practicing the guitar. It was warm inside, and Zhong Qi had removed his thick jacket, wearing only a dark crew-neck sweater, loosely hanging over his pants, and sporting a somewhat flashy pair of red high-top sneakers. His fingers plucking the guitar strings were long and powerful. When he lowered his head, the curve of his nose was as straight as a peak, accentuating the distinct lines of his face.

“That sounds really nice.”

As his hand stopped strumming the strings, Zhong Qi raised his head to see that Wang Heju was once again standing behind him, hands behind her back, gazing at him with a charming smile.

Zhong Qi knew this day wasn’t quite over yet. He simply set down his hand, leaning back against the chair. “Senior Sister, is there something you need?”

“Nothing, I just enjoy listening to you play the guitar, so I came over.”

“Thank you.”

“I particularly loved the ‘Night of Confession’ you played at the Freshman Welcome Party. It was amazing. You know, since that day, I’ve had that song on my phone and listen to it every day.” Wang Heju danced her way to Zhong Qi, slightly leaning over. “How about playing it again for Senior Sister to hear?”

Meanwhile, Yu Chaole was holding his guitar, unable to speak, feeling like he might be glowing with heat.

Zhong Qi sat on the chair, his arm resting on the guitar, locking eyes with the beautiful and bold girl in front of him.

After a moment, he suddenly smiled.

“Senior Sister, I usually don’t play the guitar for others,” Zhong Qi’s lips curved, devoid of much emotion in his eyes, his voice calm and slightly cold, “except for my girlfriend.”

 

…

 

Near the riverbank, there was a garden close to the neighborhood. The garden had a few simple children’s play facilities, but they were quite old, with peeling paint and lacking in vibrancy. There weren’t many kids who came to play.

Sometimes, Lin Shiyu took Lin Wanyue out to play in this simple little amusement park, mainly because Lin Wanyue liked it. Every time they passed by this garden, she would run to the slide and slide up and down repeatedly or ask Lin Shiyu to push her on the swing.

Today, the siblings had come to this crude little amusement park again. Early in the morning, Lin Wanyue had insisted that Lin Shiyu take her out to play, so he had to wake up with a messy nest of hair and cater to the little princess. The sunlight was just right; the places it touched weren’t too cold. Lin Wanyue was excitedly climbing the slide, while Lin Shiyu sat on the swing, yawning and holding a strawberry milk that he had bought for Lin Wanyue.

The cold wind lifted the short hair on Lin Shiyu’s forehead, causing him to sniffle as he sat lazily on the swing, wrapped in a large white cotton jacket, his chin resting beneath his sweater, looking like a lazy cat.

Lin Wanyue slid down the slide and ran over to him, grabbing the swing’s chains and swaying them.

“Don’t bother me,” Lin Shiyu said. “Go play on the slide.”

Even with his words, Lin Wanyue wanted to play with him and began pushing the swing for her brother. Lin Shiyu had no choice but to sit and let her push him.

His sister was having fun on her own, laughing happily. However, Lin Shiyu was feeling drowsy from the swaying. In one careless moment, as Lin Wanyue played too exuberantly, she gave her brother an unexpectedly strong push, and Lin Shiyu, caught off guard, fell forward and landed on the ground.

The strawberry milk in his hand splashed all over him.

Lin Shiyu: “…”

Lin Wanyue ran over and crouched down beside her brother, finding his comical state of sitting on the ground very amusing, and began laughing childishly.

Lin Shiyu looked at his sister laughing beside him, then lowered his head to look at the white cotton jacket that was stained with milk.

He took a deep breath and exhaled.

He was accustomed to it. Moreover, facing Lin Wanyue’s innocent chubby face, Lin Shiyu couldn’t get angry. He could only resign himself to getting up from the ground and brushing off the dust.

 

….

 

“Zhong Qi, are you leaving?”

Zhong Qi packed up his guitar bag, slung it over his back, and said to Yu Chaole, “I’m heading back. You can leave with your brother later.”

Yu Chaole could only nod, carefully eyeing Wang Heju beside him, still hesitant to speak.

“Oh, you’re leaving already?” Wang Heju asked. “Just wait a bit longer. After my rehearsal, Senior Sister will treat you to dinner.”

Zhong Qi walked out with his guitar. “No need.”

“You’re so indifferent, Little Brother.” Wang Heju walked briskly beside Zhong Qi as they left. She said those words but seemed not to care about Zhong Qi’s indifference at all. Instead, the more Zhong Qi ignored her, the more interested she seemed in him.

Outside the door, Wang Heju stopped Zhong Qi. “Or maybe you don’t like someone being proactive like me? Don’t be so rigid.”

Zhong Qi paused, about to say something, then suddenly glanced out the window.

From the height of the seventh floor, looking down on the bustling street below, there was a small garden in the center. In the center of the garden was a dried-up fountain, with scattered children’s play equipment around it.

In the bright sunlight and good visibility, Zhong Qi could see a familiar figure near the swing, accompanied by a little one, squatting and facing each other in an unknown activity.

Zhong Qi, observing Lin Shiyu’s back from afar, wrapped in a white cotton jacket and looked like a bundled-up package on the ground.

Could it be that they’re playing in the sandbox? This whimsical thought crossed Zhong Qi’s mind, making him chuckle.

“Little Brother.” The girl’s voice brought him back to reality. Zhong Qi turned his gaze to the fair and delicate face in front of him.

Wang Heju stood in front of Zhong Qi, graceful and confident, a small lift of her chin indicating a proud curve. “What kind of girls do you like? Tell me.”

“For me…” Zhong Qi looked at Wang Heju. His eyes were dark and calm, carrying an imperceptible charm in his gaze, creating a distance that made it hard to decipher his emotions.

“I like beautiful ones.” Wang Heju heard Zhong Qi say this to her. “Exceptionally beautiful.”

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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