The studio.

The lightbulb hanging overhead emitted a stark white light.

Below, in the brass double-flavored hot pot, tripe and shrimp paste tumbled endlessly in the broth. The aroma of hot pot wafted through the air, steam rising continuously, shrouding the lightbulb.

Several bottles of beer stood around the brass pot. They were ice-cold, and tiny droplets of condensed water trickled down the sides in streams.

Ji Yan had ordered hot pot takeout. Disposable plastic containers were stacked up, filled with various fresh ingredients.

"Come on, a toast." Guan Chi raised his glass. "Let's celebrate our captain's successful variety show debut."

Shi Si laughed and teased, "What kind of old-fashioned toast from the last century is that?"

The four of them raised their glasses and clinked them together. The beer was poured to the brim, spilling out on impact and dripping into the boiling hot pot with a sizzle.

"Captain, our great Miss Ji watched your first episode. I estimate she must have sent at least two hundred bullet comments."

Lin Qingye took a sip of beer and looked up. "What did she send?"

Ji Yan imitated a fan, saying, "Ahhh, Brother is so handsome! Lin Qingye, I love you! Brother, I'm so ready for you! Brother's deep voice is killing me!!"

Unfortunately, she recited it with no emotion, like a real-life Siri.

Ji Yan shrugged. "It was pretty much the same back when we performed together at the bar. I'm tired of hearing all that."

At the mention of their bar performances, everyone still felt a bit melancholic.

Back then, their Black Locust Band was considered top-tier among underground bands. Every time they took the stage, they received all the attention, enjoying the cheers and shouts.

None of them wanted to disband just like that.

But the three of them had a lot of pressure from their families. Although the salary for being a resident band was considerable, the fixed mindset of their elders was that it wasn't a proper profession.

What kind of proper job involved sleeping during the day and being active at night, hanging out in bars every day, drinking, smoking, and listening to that high-decibel noise?

"It's fine, it's fine." Shi Si lightened the mood. "We can still get together in the future anyway. When we have time, we'll just tell the boss, and he'll definitely let us go back to Ye Bar to play a song."

Lin Qingye asked, "What are you doing now?"

"I went back to work at my dad's factory. Once I get familiar with the process, he'll probably be ready to retire," Shi Si said, flicking his cigarette ash.

Lin Qingye then looked at Ji Yan and raised an eyebrow, silently asking the same question again.

Ji Yan said, "I found a job at an art training center. They pay by the hour. I can teach bass and dance, and the salary is pretty good."

Guan Chi laughed. "I really never expected that Ji Yan would end up becoming a teacher."

Ji Yan shot him a glare. "You're about to be a father, and you're still laughing at me."

Lin Qingye smiled, leaning lazily back on the sofa. "It's all good."

He hadn't been to the studio in the past few days. Things were a mess; pillows, blankets, and drumsticks were scattered untidily on the sofa.

Guan Chi was now a married man and a father-to-be. Not long after they started eating, he got up to leave.

His wife's call came right after, asking when he would be back, so no one tried to keep him.

Only the three of them were left, continuing to eat and drink.

Lin Qingye didn't eat much. He was focused on drinking and didn't participate much in the conversation.

He had always been like this, never very enthusiastic about chatting and gossip. Shi Si and Ji Yan were used to it. Later, when they got tipsy, they even started playing finger-guessing games while drinking.

Lin Qingye watched them play. When Shi Si lost, he drank. When Ji Yan lost, he also drank.

Later, when the beer they bought was finished, they started mixing hard liquor with beer.

Shi Si and Ji Yan were just playing around, taking four or five sips to finish one paper cup of alcohol, while Lin Qingye downed his in one go.

When they finished playing and turned to look, Lin Qingye was already drunk.

When he was drunk, there wasn't much of a noticeable difference from his usual self. His expression didn't change, and he was still lazy, but when he looked at people, his eyes held no warmth at all, their depths pitch-black.

Seeing his state, Shi Si and Ji Yan stopped playing.

"Captain, are you going back home to sleep tonight or staying here?" Ji Yan asked.

"Here." His train of thought was still clear when answering questions.

"That's good. You can't drive like this anyway." Ji Yan glanced at him and added, "Why don't you go in and sleep first? Shi Si and I will clean up and then leave."

They were already very close, so there was no need for false pleasantries.

Lin Qingye's head was throbbing with pain. He acknowledged her and quickly got up to go into the room.

Shi Si pulled a trash bag from the corner and threw all the bottles and food scraps into it.

The room was filled with the strong smell of hot pot. Ji Yan went to open the window and tilted her head to ask, "Why did the captain drink so much today?"

"I don't know. He seems to be in a bad state." Shi Si frowned. "I think he went home after getting his graduation certificate."

Having known him for so long, they all knew a little about Lin Qingye's family situation.

His relationship with his family was terrible, especially with his mother.

"Who drinks like that? His voice is for singing. Isn't he afraid of ruining it one day?" Ji Yan couldn't help but say.

The two of them quickly cleaned up the living room.

Shi Si held two full bags of trash. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute." Ji Yan picked up Lin Qingye's phone, which he had left on the sofa, and pointed to the bedroom with her index finger. "I'll go check on him."

The light in the bedroom was off. Lin Qingye was lying on the bed, his arm draped over his forehead.

Ji Yan wasn't sure if he was already asleep. She tiptoed over to put his phone on the bedside table, but she heard him mumble something in a low voice.

Ji Yan paused and bent down. "What?"

Looking closer, she saw that his eyes were closed. She didn't know if the faint sounds just now were him talking in his sleep or if she had imagined it.

"Captain, you drank so much. You should sleep on your side. Otherwise, if you throw up during the night, you might choke," Ji Yan said softly.

Lin Qingye didn't move, still lying in the same position.

It seemed he was talking in his sleep just now.

Just as Ji Yan was about to straighten up, he spoke again in a low voice.

This time, she heard him clearly and froze on the spot.

"—Ah Nan," he said.

Ji Yan stared at him in the dim bedroom. Through the light filtering from the crack in the door, she saw his brows were tightly furrowed and his lips were pressed into a straight line. He looked very uncomfortable.

Ji Yan's heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by a pair of hands, a sour and numb bitterness welling up inside her.

Before, when Xu Zhinan had splashed water on Lin Qingye's face in front of everyone, Ji Yan had seen his reaction and couldn't help but think about it. But in the following days, he seemed normal, so she didn't dwell on it.

Even when she later heard the rumors on the Pingchuan University school forum, she didn't pay them any mind.

After all, Lin Qingye was spontaneous and unrestrained. He did whatever he wanted, unlike them.

Shi Si waited outside for a while. When she didn't come out, he pushed the door open, poked his head in, and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Coming," Ji Yan replied quickly and walked out of the bedroom.

The consequence of drinking too much was waking up thirsty shortly after, his throat burning as if on fire. Lin Qingye's head was splitting. He sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his temples hard.

Then he got up, went to the fridge in the living room, took out a bottle of ice-cold mineral water, and chugged half of it.

Droplets of water spilled out, trickling down his long neck and his Adam's apple, which bobbed as he swallowed.

Lin Qingye returned to the bedroom, grabbed his phone from the bedside table, and saw a message from Shi Si sent over ten minutes ago, saying he had already taken Ji Yan home.

Lin Qingye replied with a "Yeah."

His head was aching too much to sleep. He sat by the bed, casually opened his Moments and scrolled down, and immediately saw a post Xu Zhinan had just made.

A photo of a tattoo.

The surrounding skin was still red. Lin Qingye was familiar with this now; he knew it meant it was freshly tattooed.

He glanced at the time again. One minute ago.

Xu Zhinan's tattoo shop was less than 100 meters away from his studio.

Xu Zhinan was originally worrying about how to find a model for the Tattoo Design Contest when, coincidentally, Xu Zhenfan—the one who had been reduced to a tearful, snotty mess by her tattooing—came looking for her.

Xu Zhinan had just seen a customer out when Xu Zhenfan arrived.

He had come this time because the crane tattoo Xu Zhinan did for him last time had received a lot of compliments from his friends. He came specially to thank her and even brought a basket of waxberries.

He also mentioned that he wanted to book another realism-style tattoo.

"What kind would you like to get?"

"Something a bit romantic to match this crane, like clouds, mist, and a starry sky. I haven't thought about the specifics yet. If you have time, could you help me come up with a design first? How about it?"

This happened to coincide with Xu Zhinan's previous plans.

She took out a sketch from her drawer. There was already a completed drawing inside. The difference was that Xu Zhenfan wanted a starry sky, while Xu Zhinan had drawn a galaxy.

"What do you think of this?"

The drawing was dominated by blue and purple. The scattered stars and the light halos were rendered very realistically, and it also had the misty feeling Xu Zhenfan mentioned.

Xu Zhenfan took one look and slammed his hand on the table. "This is great, sister! Has anyone gotten this tattoo before? I love it, but I don't want to have the same tattoo as someone else."

"Not yet. I just drew it recently." Xu Zhinan leaned a little closer and asked, "Do you think it's okay?"

"Okay? It's more than okay! I'll take this design. How much is the deposit?"

"Wait, please don't rush."

Xu Zhinan smiled and told him about signing up for the contest. "I originally prepared this design for the preliminary round. I'm just not sure if you'd be willing, because the tattooing will have to be done at a specific venue, which is more troublesome. And afterward, photos will be taken and posted online for voting. It's essentially being my model for the competition."

Xu Zhenfan raised an eyebrow. "Is it for that poster I saw here last time?"

She nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Sure! I'm really lucky then, to have caught it just in time!" Xu Zhenfan quickly agreed.

A look of joy appeared on Xu Zhinan's face. "You're willing?"

"Of course." Xu Zhenfan was very affable. "I have to help my little sister Ah Nan. Besides, this isn't really helping; I genuinely like this design."

Xu Zhinan smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Thank you so much. Since it's for the competition, there will be no charge for this tattoo. We can also discuss the modeling fee."

"No, no, no." Xu Zhenfan waved his hand magnanimously. "That won't do. There's no reason for you to be paying out of your own pocket. I don't have a habit of dining and dashing. I still have to pay you."

It was customary not to charge when getting someone to model for a competition; some even paid an additional salary. But seeing Xu Zhenfan's attitude, Xu Zhinan didn't argue with him on this issue, figuring they could discuss it later.