Zhao Qian was caught off guard when she heard a male voice. Her first reaction was to pull the phone away from her ear to see if she had dialed the wrong number, but it was indeed a call to Ah Nan.

She put the phone back to her ear: "Um, hello, may I ask if this is Xu Zhinan's phone?"

"Mm."

Zhao Qian: "..."

What was wrong with this person?

Was he a conversation killer??

"Is she next to you right now?" she asked again.

Beside her, Jiang Yue heard this and looked over, mouthing: "What's wrong?"

Lin Qingye had a small bar table in his bedroom. He sat on a high stool, looking at Xu Zhinan who was sleeping soundly on the bed, not planning to wake her.

"She's already asleep."

Zhao Qian: "!!!"

A breath caught in her throat, and she almost fainted on the spot.

Lin Qingye's voice was indifferent, as if rather impatient: "Is there anything else?"

"May I ask who you are?" Zhao Qian asked.

There was only a night light in the bedroom, and the light was very dim, cutting his sharply defined face into unclear light and shadow. Lin Qingye bent his finger and tapped the ashtray beside him, saying in a faint voice: "Her brother. Ah Nan isn't coming back to the dorm today."

He hung up the phone.

Jiang Yue: "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine."

Zhao Qian shook her head. Hearing the male voice on the phone call her "Ah Nan" finally put her at ease, but...

"Does Ah Nan have a brother?"

"I don't know. I don't think I've ever heard her mention it. What's wrong, did her brother answer the phone?"

"Yeah, he said she isn't coming back to the dorm tonight."

There were no classes tomorrow, and Xu Zhinan's family lived in Yan City, so it was very normal for her not to stay in the dorm.

Jiang Yue frowned: "She didn't run into any trouble, did she? Are you sure that was her brother?"

"Probably not. When I messaged her earlier, she said something had come up. Her brother also knows her nickname is Ah Nan, and—" Zhao Qian paused, "his voice sounds a bit familiar. Maybe I've met him before, I just can't recall it no matter how hard I think right now."

Hearing this, Jiang Yue also felt relieved: "Maybe you saw him when he helped her move her luggage to school at the start of freshman year. Didn't Ah Nan's dad pass away? You have a really good memory, to even remember a voice for so long."

Zhao Qian stopped overthinking it and said with a smile: "Not at all. Ah Nan's brother's voice is super nice, it's a real treat for voice-cons!"

She tutted twice: "It's so unfair. Ah Nan's mom is so lucky to have such a good-looking daughter and son."

Jiang Yue: "How do you know her brother is good-looking too?"

Zhao Qian slapped the table: "He must be handsome! That's the voice of a handsome guy, okay!"

After he hung up, several of Xu Zhinan's previous unread messages also popped up. They were from Zhao Qian, asking when she would be back at the dorm.

Lin Qingye glanced at them, turned off the phone screen and placed it facedown on the table, then got into bed.

That night, Xu Zhinan had a nightmare.

She dreamt of a fiery scene with billowing smoke. The flames lit up her pupils, and in her ears was the crackling sound of wood burning and breaking.

At the end of the flames was a tall figure, his throat soaked with thick smoke, hoarsely calling, "Ah Nan".

She woke up with a start, her leg kicking out as she broke free from the dream.

Lin Qingye was woken by her movement. His hand wrapped around her waist, and he asked drowsily, "Having a nightmare?"

Because of the nightmare, her chest was heaving and her dark lashes trembled. She took a moment to recover before answering, "Mm."

"What did you dream about?"

"My dad," Xu Zhinan said softly.

Lin Qingye brought his arm around, wrapping it over her chest and pressing down, feeling the frequency of her heartbeat. "It's beating so fast."

"..."

Xu Zhinan lowered her gaze to his hand and froze.

He was leaning against her back and chuckled lightly. "Why is it beating even faster now?"

"..."

Xu Zhinan was completely awake now. She pulled his hand away and quickly sat up. Looking around the room, she recognized it as Lin Qingye's bedroom.

Last night...

After her shower, she had originally wanted to rest for a bit, but it seemed she had fallen asleep.

Lin Qingye knew what she was thinking and lifted his chin. "Your phone is over there."

She got out of bed to get it, checking for unread messages and calls.

Lin Qingye also got out of bed, casually grabbing a T-shirt and putting it on. "Your friend called you yesterday. I answered it and told her you weren't going back to the dorm."

Xu Zhinan also saw Zhao Qian in the call history. She paused. "What else did you say?"

Lin Qingye intentionally teased her, his tone casual and improper. "That you were sleeping in my bed."

Xu Zhinan knew he had no interest in saying something like that to a stranger, but with a guilty conscience, she was still startled. After a moment, she pursed her lips. "You're lying again."

"Can't let you call me Brother Qingye for nothing. I told her I was your brother." After admiring her blushing face enough, Lin Qingye finally told her the truth unhurriedly.

Today was Thursday. Originally, there was only one class, but the teacher had to reschedule, so there were no classes for the entire day.

Xu Zhinan didn't have a change of clothes. Yesterday, she had worn a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt.

Lin Qingye took a white T-shirt out of his closet and tossed it to her. It was a basic, unisex style with a small logo on the chest, just a bit too long for her.

"Wear mine," he said.

She had sweated yesterday and really didn't want to wear her old clothes. She took the shirt and was about to change, but Lin Qingye was standing right there with no intention of looking away.

Xu Zhinan tightened her fingers on the shirt. "Where should I change?"

Lin Qingye let out a soft, amused laugh, then stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door for her.

She quickly put on Lin Qingye's shirt.

Tucking the hem into her skirt, it didn't look too ill-fitting.

Walking out of the bedroom, she found Lin Qingye had just hung up the phone. He waved his phone and said, "I passed the exam."

"Modern History? Did the results come out so quickly?"

"They released my grade first, otherwise I couldn't graduate with this batch." He raised an eyebrow and tutted. "My advisor called and told me to prepare a performance for the graduation ceremony."

Xu Zhinan started laughing. "On the program rundown before, your slot still said 'tentative'."

"You knew?"

"I'm the host."

Saying this, Xu Zhinan felt a bit embarrassed.

Perhaps because Lin Qingye was so brilliant and was always standing on stage, showing off something like this in front of him felt like a trivial skill not worth mentioning.

"One of the hosts," she added.

He didn't seem to notice her complicated thoughts, simply raising his hand to ruffle her hair. "That's amazing."

"So, are you going to the rehearsal?"

The official graduation ceremony party was in two days. The final rehearsal had already ended, but Xu Zhinan, as a host, still had to do a run-through. Lin Qingye's performance had always been skipped.

"No need. The advisor just told me to film a performance video and send it to him." He knitted his brows and commented, "Troublesome."

After all, with Lin Qingye's personality, the advisor was also afraid he might cause trouble at the last minute.

"Where are you going to film it?"

"The bar. Want to come along?" he asked. "There are fewer people in the morning."

Xu Zhinan was not good at refusing him. She nodded and answered, "Okay."

"Ye Bar" was a bar with very stylish decor. Downstairs there was a bar, booths, and a dance floor, while upstairs there were private rooms and a small viewing platform.

The first floor was a gathering place for walk-in customers and students, while the second floor had a minimum spending requirement of three thousand and was mostly for business entertainment or people looking for fun.

Xu Zhinan followed Lin Qingye into the bar's backstage area.

The bar owner, as well as Ji Yan and Shi Si, were all there. Black Locust Band had disbanded, and the owner was settling their final wages, while also trying every way to get them to stay.

The reason the bar's business was so good now was entirely due to Lin Qingye's Black Locust Band. The bar owner did not want to let them go at all.

Hearing the noise at the door, the three of them turned their heads in unison and greeted Lin Qingye. Then they caught sight of Xu Zhinan behind him and were momentarily stunned.

"Let me introduce you." Lin Qingye put his arm around her back and pushed her forward. "Xu Zhinan."

The bar owner was the first to react, joking, "Yo, your girlfriend, huh? A handsome guy and a beautiful girl, you're practically a scenic view just walking over here."

Lin Qingye smiled but didn't say much, introducing him to Xu Zhinan, "This is the owner of this bar."

Xu Zhinan was a bit shy. She smiled faintly and nodded politely. "Hello, boss."

Then she greeted Ji Yan and Shi Si.

Xu Zhinan had met his band members before at the studio, but there had been no formal introductions then. This was the first time.

She didn't know how to let her own friends know about her relationship with Lin Qingye, because even though she had maintained this kind of relationship with him for quite some time, she could still feel that it wasn't normal.

She had never been in a relationship before and didn't know what ordinary couples were like.

But she was still certain they wouldn't be like this.

They had never clearly defined their relationship; it had been led by Lin Qingye all along, turning into what it was now.

But now, Lin Qingye was introducing her to his friends.

Xu Zhinan felt happy.

Shi Si asked, "Captain, why did you come over now?"

Lin Qingye told them about the rehearsal video required by the school, and the bar owner immediately agreed. "Okay, okay, you can film it directly on the stage."

At this time, the bar was playing soft music, and there were a few scattered people around.

The second floor was not open during the day. The viewing platform directly faced the stage, offering an excellent view.

The group went up to the second floor using the side stairs. Lin Qingye gave her his phone, telling her to record in a bit.

And Shi Si finally realized why Xu Zhinan's clothes looked familiar. He nudged Lin Qingye with his elbow, his voice suggestive. "Hey, this shirt is yours, isn't it?"

At his words, Ji Yan also looked over.

Lin Qingye put his arm around her shoulder—it was very thin and slender, and he could feel her sharp shoulder blades even through the shirt. "Yeah, she didn't bring any."

Shi Si tutted. "Captain, your long nights are something else. I can't even be envious."

These guys were used to talking this way and had no intention of deliberately embarrassing Xu Zhinan.

But she had been too well-behaved her whole life. Many boys in high school had liked her, but she didn't dare to date early, focusing instead on her studies. It was only after meeting Lin Qingye that she had suddenly broken many of her own rules.

Hearing Shi Si's words, she lowered her head and unconsciously hunched her shoulders a little.

Lin Qingye noticed, squeezed her shoulder to straighten her back, and chided lightly, "Watch it. Don't talk nonsense."

Shi Si glanced at Xu Zhinan again and said with a smile, "Hey hey, sorry, sorry. Sister-in-law, just pretend I farted, okay?"

Sister-in-law.

Xu Zhinan subconsciously glanced at Lin Qingye. He wore the same expression as before.

"It's okay," she answered obediently.

When they reached the viewing platform, Lin Qingye grabbed a guitar from the back and went downstairs again.

The stage was high. He swung his long leg over and jumped directly onto it.

The bar owner was very thoughtful. The soft background music had already been stopped, and a spotlight shone down, casting a circular pool of light on the stage. Lin Qingye walked into the light with his guitar on his back.

Down below, the scattered customers heard the change and looked toward the stage.

People who knew this bar all knew Lin Qingye's name, and they also knew the news that he would no longer be a resident singer here after participating in a show.

They were all surprised to suddenly see him on stage again, and one after another, they took out their phones to record.

Standing on the second floor, Xu Zhinan also pressed the record button.

He sat on a high stool, balancing the guitar on one leg, and skillfully strummed the strings.

He didn't sing one of his own original songs. The song he chose suited him very well. His voice was low and raspy, with a nasal tone, free and unrestrained, and drenched in male hormones.

"We always perform together with Captain, so I've forgotten the last time I actually watched him sing," Ji Yan said.

Shi Si leaned against the railing. "Heart fluttering?"

"Get lost," Ji Yan cursed with a laugh, raising an eyebrow toward the customers below. "I've developed an immunity after all these years. The ones down there are the ones with fluttering hearts. He's such a heartbreaker, really."

"Wanna bet?" Shi Si slung an arm around her shoulder.

Ji Yan: "What?"

"Among these few girls down there, who do you bet will be the first to go up and intercept our captain in a bit? Today's opportunity is a rare one. He won't be leaving through the backstage after he's done singing, which gives them a perfect chance to hit on him."

"Aren't you mean," Ji Yan scoffed at him, then looked at the girls below again.

After observing for a moment, she pointed a finger—her nails were very pretty, glittering with sequins—and said leisurely, "The one at the bar."

Everyone else was recording, only that girl was listening quietly, her eyes never leaving Lin Qingye.

"That one?" Shi Si was quite surprised.

"Who are you betting on?"

Shi Si pointed to a girl closest to the stage.

Ji Yan let out a derisive "tch." "You're definitely going to lose. Look, the ones holding cameras to record are the fan-girling type. The ones who are truly smitten tend to be the ones whose actions aren't as crazy."

The two of them were standing not far from Xu Zhinan, so their voices reached her ears clearly.

She recorded with Lin Qingye's phone, listening to them laughingly discuss which girl would go hit on him in a bit.

And she was currently wearing Lin Qingye's clothes, which carried his unique, crisp, and pleasant scent, almost soaking through her.

But it seemed she was still so far from Lin Qingye's world.

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