{"id":2436,"date":"2020-11-21T09:10:26","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T08:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2022-07-09T11:52:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-09T09:52:37","slug":"spare-tire-is-gone-chapter-23-three-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/2020\/11\/21\/spare-tire-is-gone-chapter-23-three-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Spare Tire is Gone – Chapter 23 – Three More! (R)"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Qi Cong\u2019s voice was low and rusty, but not hoarse, it was a very gentle and provocative voice. Yet, his tone was habitually so flat and very serious that few people would notice it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Still, when he lowered his voice and sang softly, the rustling sensation was immediately magnified multiple times, ferociously stimulating the eardrum.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The low and ambiguous voice, like the gentle floating sea breeze at night, spread throughout the arena, through the sound equipment, and each sentence was touching people’s eardrums.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Everyone was stunned, and then they looked back or tilted their heads sideways, looking at the person standing in the center of the stage.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong was standing on the stage in the most ordinary white T-shirt and black pants. His hair is still long because he was too busy to cut it. Most of the stage lights were turned off, and only a white dome light fell on him, making him appear thin and aloof.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

His posture was relaxed, without the usual stiffness of a newcomer, his gaze resting on a distant point. When singing, his eyes seemed to change with the emotion of the song.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He was like a seasoned singer.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Xiao Han and others who were offstage looked at Qi Cong with their mouths slightly open.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After being stunned for a moment, Shen Jia\u2019s nervousness quickly dissipated, as he looked at Qi Cong excitedly, then turned and ran towards the stage.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Zhao Zhenxun also looked surprised.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This voice was\u2026 so special.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The song continued.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong chose a love song with a high national rating and not many high notes, a soothing rhythm, and was not too demanding on the vocals, but it still tested the singer’s emotional control ability.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Songs like these can be dry and tasteless if you’re not careful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong didn\u2019t do that, instead his sandy and sultry voice, coupled with the lyrics of the song, was almost like a dancer who found the most suitable dance shoes, any jump would have an attractive arc.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The summer\u2019s hot wind seems to have become tender and sentimental with his singing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

At the end of the song, Qi Cong put down the microphone.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shen Jia immediately blew a screaming whistle, then applauded hard, and urged Xiao Han and others around him to applaud quickly. He roared excitedly, “It sounded good! It was\u00a0 super beautiful! Brother Cong is the best!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Xiao Han and the others regained their senses and were busy applauding hard. Many staff members couldn\u2019t help raising their hands when they saw the situation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The applause slowly connected the dots for Qi Cong.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It seems\u2026 he wasn\u2019t bad at singing?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong smiled, raised the microphone again and thanked everyone, then turned and walked to Zhao Zhenxun to wait for the verdict.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Zhao Zhenxun looked at Qi Cong for a while and then shook his head. “You are not suitable to be an idol.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong\u2019s clenched hand slowly relaxed. Shen Jia, who had just run onto the stage, staggered with surprise. The person in charge standing next to Zhao Zhenxun looked at him in surprise. “Old Zhao, you are playing–“<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Zhao Zhenxun finished his sentence, “You’re suitable to be a singer.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong looked up at Zhao Zhenxun.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The person in charge was no longer surprised when he heard that, but looked Qi Cong up and down and nodded in agreement. “Yes, this child\u2019s temperament is too quiet and heavy. Idols should have this ‘I’m the most handsome, I’m the most beautiful, I’m the most passionate, I’m the most positive, I’m the most worthy of your love\u2019 energy. He has none of that. Gee, it won\u2019t be easy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shen Jia leaned over to Qi Cong and asked nervously, “Well, then what should we do? Can that…uh, strength be cultivated?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Zhao Zhenxun didn’t say anything, it was the person in charge who took over by saying, “This is something in people’s bones, you can\u2019t cultivate it. If you ask me, this child might as well become an actor.\u00a0 Actors need this quiet and calm energy. With his appearance and temperament, he is suitable to rely on his own strength to make a living, and a place that is too busy is not suitable for him. “<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“I’ll think about it.” Zhao Zhenxun said. When he saw that Qi Cong was still looking at him, his expression became a bit gentler and in a rare moment for him, he reassured, “Don’t worry, there’s a way out for you.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Shen Jia’s performance in the evening was very successful. After the show was over, everyone drove to the hotel booked in advance, intending to catch the plane tomorrow morning to Yaocheng, their next workplace, after a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After returning to his room, Qi Cong first tidied up his luggage and then took a bath. After taking a bath, he habitually took out his mobile phone and checked WeChat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun still didn’t reply to his message.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s been a whole day since last night.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He hesitated for a moment, but still didn’t send any more messages. He put down his mobile phone and went to his suitcase and took out his laptop from it. Then he sat down on the small table by the window.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Cold Wind Like a Knife asked him to publish three chapters before signing a contract. He wrote one chapter yesterday and still needed two more.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The document opened and thin white fingers were placed on the keyboard, pausing for a moment to dance from slow to fast.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

The incessant ringing of the cell phone woke up Qi Cong, who had fallen asleep on the table. He frowned and sat up , instinctively touching the computer touchpad first.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The screen lit up to reveal the document zoomed to full screen. On the document, the mouse cursor blinked regularly at the bottom of the document, the last automatic save time of the document showed 11:02 in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong looked at the time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It was 11:10. He has only slept for less than eight minutes. He picked up his cell phone and saw that it was a call from an unknown number, and the hidden anticipation in his heart slowly disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It wasn\u2019t Gu Xun.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He rubbed his face and connected the call.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“Hello, who is this?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“You want to sign the contract?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A familiar female voice that you won’t forget if you’ve heard it once, came out of the handset, making Qi Cong immediately frown.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It was Wu Heng\u2019s girlfriend, Lin Xiaozhi.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lin Xiaozhi’s words were like a machine gun. \u201cI heard from Wu Heng\u2019s editor that Jiangwang.com\u2019s editorial department received your contract application. Cold Wind Like a Knife wants to sign you in person, ha! You said you didn’t want to leech off Wu Heng\u2019s popularity! You want to write \u201dChivalrous Bones\u201d? Do you really want to kill Wu Heng? Do you know how many termination and compensation calls he\u2019s received from yesterday to today and how much pressure he is under?! How could you be so lucky? Gu Xun helped you, Leng Feng signed you, and then there is Hui Nantian, and all those people praising you for your outline! Murmuring Water can\u2019t you\u2026 just leave Wu Heng alone? You leave him alone.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong squeezed the phone and turned on the voice changer that came with the phone before putting it back to his ear and asking, “Finished? I’ll hang up then, please don’t call again.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“Is your heart made of stone?!” Lin Xiaozhi broke down, her voice sharp and piercing. “You can’t write \u201dChivalrous Bones\u201d, you can\u2019t write like Wu Heng–\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“If you call me again, I will immediately contact a lawyer and sue Wu Heng for plagiarism.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lin Xiaozhi\u2019s voice suddenly fell silent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“I know that Wu Heng’s plagiarism isn\u2019t easy to prosecute, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to win a lawsuit. I just need to keep the lawsuit going and drag Wu Heng out of all his business related to \u201cChivalrous Bones\u201d so that he can’t go on wasting his life on the things that he greedily stole.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lin Xiaozhi’s breathing became heavier, and she was clearly panicking, but she still pretended to be calm. \u201cThen you will also be dragged into this. You won’t do that, you can’t win a lawsuit .”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“I will.” Qi Cong’s tone was cold and merciless. “If you continue to pester me, then even if suing Wu Heng will make me lose everything, I will sue. You are right. My life is really good. You can come and try it with me. “<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Beep.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lin Xiaozhi hung up the call.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong put down his cell phone and pulled Lin Xiaozhi’s number into the blacklist. Then, he leaned back into his chair and looked up at the ceiling of the hotel room without moving for a while.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It was time to get a new number.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Suddenly his phone rang again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong raised his hand to cover his eyes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The ringing stopped, and then rang again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong finally moved, sat up straight and picked up the phone vigorously.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun\u2019s name flashed on the screen.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong was stunned, and his frozen expression quickly melted away as he put the phone to his ear. It took him two seconds to realize that the phone hadn\u2019t been answered. He hurriedly took the phone down and answered it, then put the phone back to his ear and unconsciously held his breath.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“It took you so long to answer, did I disturb your sleep?” Gu Xun’s voice came over, low, warm, a little apologetic. \u201cWhat can I do? You will leave Nancheng tomorrow. I just landed in Nancheng half an hour ago. If I don\u2019t disturb you, I may not see you before you leave Nancheng.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong realized something and opened his eyes slightly. “You, you can’t be…”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“Were you really woken up by me since your voice is so hoarse?” Gu Xun’s voice continued to lower. More softly he said, “I’m sorry. Can I just see you for five minutes? If you can\u2026 will you open the door for me?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong suddenly looked sideways at the door of the hotel room and without answering, he got up and took two steps to the door and pulled it open.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The corridor behind the door was empty, only the corridor lights were cold and bright.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The bulging breath in Qi Cong\u2019s chest suddenly dissipated.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“I brought you a little present.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One hand suddenly reached out from the right with a small bag, and a figure followed that turned out to be tall and leggy, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted. Though he was only wearing a simple black t-shirt and black pants and a cap on his head that covered his eyebrows, he was still very good looking.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It was Gu Xun.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong looked at Gu Xun\u2019s smiling and gentle eyes and only after two seconds he returned to his senses. He first looked at both sides of the corridor and then stepped aside to ask, “How did you find me? Do you have a job in Nancheng?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun put down the bag in his hand, glanced over Qi Cong\u2019s arms, legs and collarbone, which were exposed thanks to his loose pajamas, and raised his hand. Pressing the lower half of his face, he followed Qi Cong’s gesture to enter the house and said, “The next stop for the promotion of “Heaven Asks,” is here, scheduled for tomorrow. I finished my work in Shencheng and flew in a day early. “<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong didn’t notice Gu Xun’s line of sight. When he came in, he just closed the door and turned to look at Gu Xun, who had already walked to the bedside of the room. He suddenly felt that the hotel room was a little small.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or maybe it was because Gu Xun was too tall.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“The quilt is still neat, you didn\u2019t sleep?\u201d Gu Xun suddenly turned around.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong hurriedly moved his eyes away from Gu Xun’s legs and fixed them on Gu Xun’s face. He nodded and shook his head. “I\u2019m ready to go to bed.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun gave an “um”, sat down on the bed, patted and bounced on it, then commented, “Not bad, quite soft.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In such an atmosphere, the environment, and the irreconcilable relationship between the two, Qi Cong didn\u2019t know how to respond to Gu Xun\u2019s words. He went to the TV cabinet opposite the bed, picked up a bottle of water from it, leaned on the TV cabinet, and handed the water to Gu Xun. Trying to change the subject, he asked, \u201cDid you come alone? Where is your assistant? “<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun took the water, bowed his head and twisted the cap off, saying: “The first sentence you say when I enter your room is to ask for my assistant…”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“What?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun looked up and smiled at Qi Cong. \u201cHe went to book a room for me, right here in this hotel.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong nodded to show that he understood and looked down at the pattern of the carpet under his feet, instinctively avoiding the confrontation with Gu Xun.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The silence spread.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

“I saw your WeChat.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong looked up at Gu Xun and tried to calm his tone as much as possible as he asked, “So what\u00a0 kind of thanks do you want?\u00a0 Have you thought of it? This thank you gift will be to thank you for helping me out on the live broadcast yesterday.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gu Xun leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked up slightly at Qi Cong from below. He answered, “I haven’t replied to your messages because I was thinking of this and that. When I finally figured it out, I discovered something else.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The distance from the bed to the TV cabinet was not wide. Qi Cong leaned against the TV cabinet. Gu Xun sat at the end of the bed and leaned over. The straight-line distance between the two people was almost 20 cm away.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Qi Cong even felt that Gu Xun’s breath was sprayed on his chest and abdomen when he spoke.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He straightened up a little and asked, “What have you discovered?”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cI discovered\u2026.\u201d Gu Xun suddenly reached out and grasped the crown pendant hanging from Qi Cong\u2019s neck. His eyes narrowed slightly, with a little dangerous emotion inside, but the corners of his mouth were raised shallowly. Making a kind expression, and with his tone still gentle, his slender fingers rubbed the little crown, which seemed casual, but in fact he tried to crush it. In a soft, low voice, “I found that someone has put this on you.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Edited by: Antiope1<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Support translation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"This<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Qi Cong\u2019s voice was low and rusty, but not hoarse, it was a very gentle and provocative voice. Yet, his tone was habitually so flat and very serious that few people would notice it. Still, when he lowered his voice and sang softly, the rustling sensation was immediately magnified multiple times, ferociously stimulating the eardrum. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spare-tire-is-gone","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/4.jpg?fit=190%2C266&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4763,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions\/4763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}