Qiu Xing probably prefers a house with a large yard. It's hard to tell from the outside, but after entering the gate, Xie Yang discovered that the yard was much larger than he thought when he saw it from the outside.

The front yard of the villa looks ordinary, with lawns, stone-paved driveways and paths, flower beds, and small trees, all standard features. On the side of the villa, a wooden corridor brightens the view of the entire yard.

The corridor is about one and a half meters wide, made entirely of wood, with a roof, and is very exquisite. Outside the corridor, a small artificial lake surrounded by rocks spreads outward and extends all the way to the backyard.

Xie Yang stepped onto the path paved with round stone slabs on the lawn, walked around a circular flower bed, went up the short steps to the corridor, and looked towards the lake. Qiu Xing followed beside Jie Yang, secretly observing his expression.

There are handrails on both sides of the corridor. Leaning against the outer railing and looking out, you can just see the water lilies floating on the lake and the koi swimming below.

The rocks beside the artificial lake are paved in an artistic way. In the middle, a platform extending to the center of the lake is paved with stones. It seems that you can sit on it to feed fish and pick lotus.

Xie Yang looked at Qiu Xing and said nothing. He walked along the corridor and the artificial lake all the way to the backyard. He saw that the originally long lake had merged into a beautiful oval on the side of the backyard. In the center, a small fountain was quietly spraying water under the light.

The water of the fountain flows slowly, gently stirring the surface of the water and causing the water lilies below to float back and forth.

Xie Yang walked down the corridor, came to the lakeside and looked at the fountain, then looked at a small white pointed-roof pavilion built next to the artificial lake. He finally spoke, looked at Qiu Xing and asked, "Are the artificial lake and pavilion new?"

"The artificial lake has always existed, it was just renovated, and the pavilion is newly built." Qiu Xing tried his best to hide his nervousness, "Do you like it?"

Xie Yang smiled and nodded: "I like it. Are the fish in the lake shipped from Jinghe Garden?"

"Um."

It was perfect. It tried its best to restore the elements he liked in Jinghe Garden and added some little surprises.

"Thanks."

The tension between Qiu Xing's eyebrows eased a little, and he held Jie Yang's hand: "Let's go inside and take a look?"

Xie Yang nodded.

The two of them went back to the main entrance along the corridor, and this time Qiu Xing took the initiative. He brought Jie Yang in, took out slippers from the shoe cabinet for Jie Yang to change into, and then led Jie Yang inside.

This villa is smaller than the one in Jinghe Garden. There is a porch after entering the door. After walking out of the porch, the living room is on the right, and on the left is a small storage room and the door connecting to the garage. The dining room is directly in front, the kitchen is on the right of the dining room, and the stairs to the second floor are on the left. On the other side of the stairs is a bedroom.

Qiu Xing took Jie Yang upstairs directly.

As you enter the second floor, there is a living room with sofas and a TV. Xie Yang stopped and his eyes fell on several photo frames placed on the TV cabinet.

In the photo frame facing outward, Qiu Xing, who looks like a teenager, is standing at the door of a museum with a smile. He has short hair and wears a youthful white sportswear, exuding an irresistible air of excitement.

It turns out that this is what Qiu Xing was like, without getting sick, losing his father, or having his mother collapse, or being weighed down by the heavy burden of glory.

It looks very beautiful, as if it is glowing.

Xie Yang said, "I like it here." There are traces of Qiu Xing's past here, unlike Jinghe Garden, where no trace of Qiu Xing's past can be found even after searching everywhere.

Qiu Xing felt that Xie Yang's expression at this moment burned directly into his heart. He looked away and said, "As long as you like it... Let's go to the master bedroom?"

Xie Yang nodded.

Qiu Xing took Jie Yang into the master bedroom on the second floor. The master bedroom was rearranged by connecting two rooms. It is very spacious and has a large balcony. The room had everything, the bed was made, the bathroom was fully stocked with toiletries, and the cloakroom was full of clothes...it was as if the two of them had actually lived here all the time.

"Beyond the living room is the study and piano room. Do you want to take a look?"

"You also built a piano room?"

Qiu Xing nodded, and his aura became inexplicably tense again: "Let's go and take a look."

Xie Yang noticed the slight change in Qiu Xing's expression, raised his eyebrows, said nothing, and took the initiative to walk towards the piano room.

Qiu Xing followed Jie Yang one step behind and took a deep breath without leaving a trace.

The piano room was right next to the study. When Jie Yang arrived at the door, he opened it and went in. He looked around inside but didn't find anything special, feeling puzzled.

Since there was nothing special done, why did Qiu Xing make that expression just now?

"I was afraid I'd buy the wrong piano, so I picked the same model as the one you have in Jinghe Garden. Is that okay?"

Xie Yang came back to his senses and replied, "Okay." Then he stepped inside and took a look around, praising each carefully decorated place and expressing his love for it, then turned around and prepared to leave.

Qiu Xing blocked the door and asked, "Can you play a song for me?"

Xie Yang stopped and looked up at Qiu Xing.

Qiu Xing dodged his gaze for a moment, then immediately turned back to meet Jie Yang's gaze, pretending to be calm and composed, and asked again: "Is it okay?"

There is a problem.

"Of course." Xie Yang walked back to the piano, took a quick look at it, didn't find anything special, sat down, and looked sideways at Qiu Xing, "What do you want to listen to?"

""Miracle"."

Xie Yang smiled: "You like this song so much?"

Qiu Xing walked to the piano and said frankly: "Of course I like the song you wrote for me."

"I'll write it for you later." Xie Yang reached out and touched the piano cover.

Qiu Xing unconsciously tensed his body.

As soon as the piano cover was opened a crack, a faint floral scent wafted out. Xie Yang paused, glanced at Qiu Xing, and directly opened the entire piano cover.

Large clusters of pale purple and pink roses were placed where the piano keys should have been. In the middle of the flowers, a dark blue velvet box lay quietly.

Xie Yang's hand that was about to lift the piano cover paused.

A hand suddenly reached out in front of his eyes, took the box away right under Jie Yang's nose, opened it, and two elegantly designed diamond rings were revealed.

Xie Yang slowly withdrew his hand and tilted his head to look at Qiu Xing.

Qiu Xing's expression was tense. This time he did not avoid Jie Yang's gaze. Instead, he took a step forward towards Jie Yang's gaze, stopped beside Jie Yang, and knelt down on one knee.

Xie Yang couldn't help but tighten his hands on his legs.

After living for two lifetimes, he thought he could handle all situations without losing his composure, but now, he felt like his brain was blank and he didn't know how to react.

Such a timid mouse actually did such a "earth-shattering" thing, it's really...

"Jie Yang."

He looked straight at Qiu Xing.

"Jie Yang... Yang Yang, I didn't want to be so hasty, but because of yesterday..." Qiu Xing paused, held the ring in front of Jie Yang, and said seriously and solemnly, but a little clumsily, "I will try my best to be with you for the rest of my life. Thank you, I... I want to be with you forever, okay?"

What a crappy confession.

Xie Yang smiled, exhaled lightly, turned sideways to face Qiu Xing, reached out and picked up the two rings in the ring box, compared the sizes, took out the silver-bottomed black diamond ring first, bent down, grabbed Qiu Xing's hand, and put it directly on him. Then he stuffed the remaining ring with a black background and a white diamond into Qiu Xing's hand and extended his own hand.

Qiu Xing stared at the ring on his finger stupidly without moving.

"I'll give you three seconds. If you don't wear it, I'll regret it. One, two..."

Qiu Xing quickly came to his senses, grabbed Jie Yang's finger and put the ring on it. His hand was shaking and it was a little crooked in the middle. In a hurry, he finally put the ring on Jie Yang before Jie Yang counted to "three".

The fair skin and the black-based white diamond ring give off a sense of luxury and abstinence.

Qiu Xing couldn't help but curl his lips.

Xie Yang also smiled, linked his fingers with Qiu Xing's, hooked Qiu Xing's chin, and leaned forward to approach Qiu Xing.

…

"Want to try it on the floor?"

Qiu Xing was ready to make a move, but forced himself to endure it: "No, you need to rest well, and there is nothing here--"

Xie Yang didn't care about that. He took off Qiu Xing's tie and raised his eyebrows: "It's more comfortable to go topless. I'll be happy if I do that. Don't you want to make me happy?"

Qiu Xing suddenly tightened his hands around Jie Yang's waist.

"Then take off the ring I put on you - well."

…

On the first weekend after moving into their new home, Xie Yang and Qiu Xing went to the nursing home to visit Qiu's mother. On the way there, Qiu Xing kept holding Jie Yang's hand, touching the finger where Jie Yang wore the ring, with a smile on his face.

This was something he had been doing frequently these days, and Xie Yang was used to it. He let Qiu Xing play with his fingers, holding the phone in one hand, and chatting with Qin Cheng about work using WeChat voice.

"It's already been agreed. The album will be released online on August 1st. The pre-promotion will be Weibo promotion, opening screens on a few music player apps, a large homepage with a preview of the title song, and album posters on various platforms. Is that okay?"

"Can."

"Also, it's almost your first anniversary since your debut, so I'm going to hold a small fan meeting for you, which will also be a good opportunity to promote your new song."

"Just make your own arrangements."

Afterwards, Qin Cheng mentioned a few jobs such as magazine shoots and music festival activities, and Jie Yang picked a few to accept.

"By the way, Crazy Musician is planning to participate in a variety show to promote the movie before it's over. Since Mu Zhouyi is not here and the artist who replaced him can't spare the time, they want to ask you to help out. The name of the charity variety show is All Walks of Life. The guests participating in the variety show will be arranged to experience other professions. The ratings and discussion are good, so I suggest you participate."

"All walks of life"? In the original book, the "Crazy Musician" crew did not seem to have participated in such a variety show.

Xie Yang thought for two seconds and asked, "Is the variety show recorded in City B?"

"right."

"Then answer it."

Before hanging up the phone, Qin Cheng mentioned that he had already found several regular variety shows and reality shows for Jie Yang, and said that he would organize the program information and send it to Jie Yang later. Jie Yang responded and then hung up the call.

"You don't have to limit your work to City B for me."

Xie Yang looked at Qiu Xing: "If you didn't say this with such a happy expression, I might really believe it."

Qiu Xing quickly suppressed his smile and rubbed Jie Yang's hand where the ring was.

…

Xie Yang's good mood disappeared when he arrived at the sanatorium and saw his mother Qiu. At this time, almost half a year had passed since the Chinese New Year. The doctor had predicted that Qiu's mother could last another half a year, but even with more careful care, she was still on the verge of death.

He has been filming outside recently and seldom has time to visit his mother Qiu. When he saw her this time, he felt that his mother Qiu looked much more haggard, her eyes had become cloudy and dim, and even though she was conscious, she still looked lifeless.

She was leaning on the sofa in the small living room flipping through a photo album. When she saw the two of them come in, she smiled and greeted them, "Come on, come and sit down. Ah Xing, how was your treatment this month?"

Qiu Xing walked over to sit next to Qiu's mother, held her hand, and replied: "Kirkman said that the treatment effect is better than expected. Ideally, surgery can be performed after two courses of treatment."

Qiu's mother nodded and held Qiu Xing's hand tightly: "Very good, very good, if you treat it well, it will definitely get better. Yangyang, come here."

Xie Yang walked to the other side of Qiu's mother and sat down, holding the hand that Qiu's mother extended to her.

"Thank you for your help. Can you help me keep Ah Xing company, please?"

It was like he was saying his last words.

Xie Yang looked at Qiu Xing, who had his eyes downcast and no expression on his face, and tightly held Qiu's mother's hand. He then sent a portion of the energy he had accumulated for Qiu Xing's next treatment into Qiu's mother's body, and replied with a smile, "Okay, Uncle...Mom, I will stay with him well, don't worry."

Qiu Xing and Qiu's mother looked at Jie Yang together.

Xie Yang asked, "What's wrong?"

Qiu's mother came back to her senses first and said with a smile: "It's nothing, you are just being good. You... um? The ring? You guys..."

Qiu's mother looked at Qiu Xing.

There was finally some expression on Qiu Xing's face. He looked away embarrassedly, coughed softly, stood up and said, "You guys chat first, I'll go get you some water." Then he hid away.

Mother Qiu was very disgusted: "You are useless."

The two of them stayed with Qiu's mother in the sanatorium for two days. During that time, Jie Yang sent the supernatural powers in the core into Qiu's mother's body in batches, trying to make Qiu's mother feel more comfortable during her last period of time.

On Sunday night, the two returned home. After getting in the car, Qiu Xing suddenly said, "There are only two months left."

Xie Yang held Qiu Xing's hand on his knee and said, "Come and see mom more often in the future. I'll accompany you."

Qiu Xing held Jie Yang's hand, turned his head to look out the car window, his face hidden in the night, and his expression could not be seen clearly.

…

At the end of July, Xie Yang’s Weibo released the first wave of new album previews. On the poster with a strong collision of light, Xie Yang was standing in the center, with half of his body in the light and half in the dark.

In the light, Xie Yang closed his eyes and smiled, his skin was fair and smooth, his hair was carefully combed, and he was dressed luxuriously. He stood on the grand stage, his arm raised holding the bow, as if he was playing a violin. In the darkness, Xie Yang opened his eyes and looked directly at the camera. His complexion was dark, his lips were dry, his hair was cut messily and short, and he was wearing a worn work suit. He stood in the devastated city center, his hand on his shoulder as if he was holding a piano, but what he was actually holding was a long, sharpened iron blade. His exposed wrist muscles were tense, and he was ready to attack at any time.

Above the poster, the big words "Second Life" are printed in a staggered manner, blending the light of two worlds into one.

Xie Yang's Weibo homepage seemed to freeze for a few seconds before it was overwhelmed by the sudden outburst of excitement from his fans, with the number of comments exceeding a thousand in a blink of an eye.

"The response is good." Qin Cheng put down his phone, glanced at Jie Yang's fingers, and asked, "Are you really going to wear this to record the show?"

Xie Yang looked at the ring on his hand: "Can't I wear it?"

Yes, but if someone who doesn't usually like to wear a ring suddenly wears one when going abroad, this abnormality will definitely be noticed by the microscopic audience, who will then dig deeper and create a topic of discussion.

"Wear it." Qin Cheng has let it go. "The new album is about to be released. You need popularity. Any element that can create a topic is a gift from God."

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the program recording site.

The program was recorded directly outdoors. A lot of well-informed fans had gathered around the scene. They were surrounded by isolation tape, forming a circle around the recording site. When Xie Yang got off the car, the crab fans gathered outside the fence screamed excitedly.

Xie Yang smiled and waved over there. Just as he was about to step towards the center of the fence to meet up with the program crew, his ears suddenly caught a strange sound. He frowned, grabbed Qin Cheng who was walking beside him, and took a big step out together.

Bang, gurgle.

A water bottle filled with unknown liquid flew over the heads of the crowd and hit the place where Jie Yang had just stood. The bottle cap was smashed open, and the liquid inside splashed all over the ground and slowly rolled away.

The fans and staff around were stunned, then the fans screamed and started to make a commotion, and the staff rushed forward to surround Jie Yang. Wu Shui, who got off the car a step later because he was helping Jie Yang get something, immediately looked in the direction where the water bottle was thrown, and then took a step to chase after it.