Life
Zhao Qinfeng was exhausted from the journey and fell asleep soon after. Lin Ting didn't move again, but stayed close to Zhao Qinfeng's body, listening to his long, even breaths.
He felt an immense peace. The night was still, the world was empty, and only the person in front of him was real, and they possessed each other.
The next morning, Lin Ting woke up groggily, feeling a splitting headache.
Zhao Qinfeng, whose forehead was pressed against his, thought he probably had a slight fever. So he went out and rummaged through the first-aid kit at home, finding a mercury thermometer that hadn't been used in a long time.
He wiped the thermometer with alcohol, then returned to the room and reached into the collar of Lin Ting's pajamas, placing the thermometer under his armpit.
Lin Ting was jolted by the cold and instinctively tried to roll over and curl up, but Zhao Qinfeng pressed down on her shoulder.
“You might have a slight fever, let’s take your temperature first,” Zhao Qinfeng said.
Lin Ting slowly opened her eyes, "Okay..."
He noticed his voice was a little hoarse, so he cleared his throat forcefully.
Zhao Qinfeng reached out and opened a five-minute countdown timer on his phone, then placed it on the pillow. "I'm going to cook some porridge. I'll be right back. Be a good girl and don't move around."
Lin Ting watched him leave the room, then turned to look at the countdown on Zhao Qinfeng's phone.
The thermometer under her armpit was tinged with body heat and gradually became less icy. Lin Ting thought for a moment and realized that she must have caught a cold on the sofa last night.
Knowing his own body condition, he figured that if he took some fever-reducing medicine and then slept under the covers, his fever should go down.
The sound of water rinsing rice drifted from the kitchen, a soft, gurgling sound. Lin Ting felt a little tired and closed her eyes for a moment.
Physical discomfort can stretch a person's perception of the passage of time. Lin Ting opened and closed her eyes and saw that Zhao Qinfeng had already returned.
The countdown ended just then, and the system's built-in alarm rang. Zhao Qinfeng reached out to turn off the alarm and said to Lin Ting, "I just rinsed the rice with cold water, so my hands are a bit cold. Can you get the thermometer for me? I'll take your temperature."
Lin Ting reached out and took out a thermometer, handing it to Zhao Qinfeng. He touched Zhao Qinfeng's hand, and it was indeed very cold.
Zhao Qinfeng rotated the thermometer to find a convenient angle to observe the reading, and then read the value against the light.
"It's a low-grade fever, why don't you sleep a little longer..."
Lin Ting sat up and leaned against the headboard. "I think I've got some inspiration. I'm not going to rest now."
Zhao Qinfeng was stunned. "Are you sure it's okay? Work isn't urgent. I estimate my staff will send you the demo this afternoon."
Lin Ting shook her head. "A low-grade fever won't affect my work. I'm worried that if I rest now, I'll lose my inspiration."
Zhao Qinfeng confirmed repeatedly that Lin Ting was indeed conscious and not so weak that he would collapse from exhaustion if he moved a finger.
Lin Ting took the coat Zhao Qinfeng handed him and tried to hold it in his own hands, but he couldn't pull it away.
Zhao Qinfeng insisted on helping him put on his coat, which left Lin Ting somewhat helpless. However, putting on a coat wasn't a complicated action, so Lin Ting let Zhao Qinfeng do it.
"The porridge will be ready in an hour, so I won't call you. It wouldn't be good if I disturbed you. Remember to come out and eat when it's almost time." Zhao Qinfeng held Lin Ting's hand as they stood at the door of the guest room. Zhao Qinfeng even slipped a few pieces of bread into Lin Ting's coat pocket.
Lin Ting had mixed feelings. "I'm not going on a long trip. I'm just staying in the guest room listening to demos and writing lyrics. And you said a few days ago that you would keep an eye on me while I write lyrics. Didn't I promise you? You can be there or call me or something. It won't interrupt my train of thought. You don't need to be so careful."
Zhao Qinfeng followed Lin Ting into the guest room. He watched as Lin Ting turned on his computer, uploaded the demo, and played it on a loop.
Zhao Qinfeng held his breath, silently staring at the screen. Watching Lin Ting write lyrics was a novel experience for him. Before, Zhao Qinfeng had only ever watched Lin Ting edit videos or write scripts for videos; he had never seen Lin Ting create lyrics so closely.
Once Lin Ting entered the state, she could hardly feel any physical discomfort. Her perception of her own body became blurred, as if her mind was no longer relying on sensory organs to obtain information from the outside world, but was directly immersed in the melody.
Words leap from his pen, creatively arranged and combined to become lines of poetry that accompany music.
Zhao Qinfeng sat motionless beside Lin Ting, his chair slightly back than Lin Ting's, so Lin Ting couldn't see him, while he observed Lin Ting's actions from the side and behind.
Lin Ting wrote furiously on the notebook with a pen.
Lin Ting put down his pen and dragged the play bar to listen to the recording repeatedly.
Lin Ting tilted her head and scratched her hair.
...
An hour later, Lin Ting stretched and turned to look at Zhao Qinfeng.
He noticed that Zhao Qinfeng had his hands on his lap, sitting very upright, with his gaze fixed on him.
"Aren't you bored just sitting here and staring at me?" Lin Ting asked.
Zhao Qinfeng blinked and said, "It's not boring."
Lin Ting tidied up the things on the table, put the computer into sleep mode temporarily, and walked out of the guest room with Zhao Qinfeng.
After drinking the porridge, Zhao Qinfeng took out some fever-reducing medicine for Lin Ting.
Lin Ting felt sleepy after taking the medicine, so she went back to bed.
Zhao Qinfeng tucked him in, leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly, then turned off the room light, left the room and closed the door.
Zhao Qinfeng thought to himself: Lin Ting is sick but still works hard to create, while I am so lazy and keep putting off creating other tracks for the album. It is really wrong of me!
This inspired him to work hard and create.
When Lin Ting woke up, it was already lunchtime. He touched his forehead and felt that it was no longer hot. He then took the thermometer from the bedside table and checked his temperature, finally concluding that his fever had subsided.
He opened the door and smelled the aroma of food. Zhao Qinfeng poked his head out from the kitchen. "The rice is ready, the dishes will be ready in a little while. There's fruit on the table, you can eat some first."
Lin Ting responded and slowly walked to the kitchen, watching Zhao Qinfeng stir-fry the dishes, while something was steaming in another pot next to him.
Zhao Qinfeng asked, "Has the fever subsided?"
Lin Ting nodded, "It's already gone. It should just be a minor illness, no need to worry."
Zhao Qinfeng said, "That's good. But eat something light today. I have to go out to work again tomorrow, so please take care of yourself at home."
Lin Ting nodded, "Actually, I know what I'm doing. Don't worry, after all, I lived alone peacefully for a long time before I met you."
Zhao Qinfeng continued working, then turned to look at him. "No matter what, being sick is still uncomfortable. Although I can't share your burden, it's still necessary to show concern. I'm always working outside, and I actually feel a little guilty about it."
Lin Ting didn't expect that Zhao Qinfeng's fever would lead to the issue of him not being home often. "It's the nature of your work, so it's understandable. Besides, you're still in your development phase, and you have the energy and ability to keep up in all aspects, so you have to travel more."
Zhao Qinfeng asked, "Why do I feel like you've become a fan of my career? Okay, then you should urge me on more."
Lin Ting smiled and said, "Okay."
After dinner, the two prepared to go about their own business. Lin Ting, carrying his laptop, seemed unsure where to go in the house. Zhao Qinfeng, who was entering the music room, turned back, took Lin Ting's hand, and led him into the music room.
"I'm only home for so short a time, let's try to spend as much time together as possible," Zhao Qinfeng said, his voice pleading as he looked at Lin Ting expectantly.
Under such pressure, Lin Ting immediately agreed. So Lin Ting nestled on the small sofa in the music room, while Zhao Qinfeng sat at the piano, creating a harmonious scene.
Lin Ting wrote a draft for a while, then started searching online for various interviews with Zhao Qinfeng about his previous albums.
Throughout his career, Zhao Qinfeng has released an album roughly every two to three years. His first album was somewhat rough around the edges and sounds rather immature now. Neither his singing nor the melodies he wrote himself are nearly as mature as his current works.
Even so, he already possessed a unique brilliance that made him captivated by Lin Ting's fleeting glance years ago.
Some of the arrangers and lyricists he collaborated with at the time have left the industry, while those who remain have made a name for themselves and frequently appear in music charts.
Lin Ting searched extensively online and found an interview Zhao Qinfeng gave shortly after the album's release.
That interview wasn't about the album; it was related to an event at the time, but two of the questions mentioned the album.
Lin Ting glanced at Zhao Qinfeng, who was focused on his work and seemed unaware that he was slacking off in the corner.
Lin Ting took out his wired headphones from his pocket and plugged them into the headphone jack on the side of his laptop. He started watching the interview.
The image quality is blurry and has a somewhat dated feel. In this interview, Zhao Qinfeng's hairstyle is quite different from now, and his face looks much younger than it does now. He exudes the air of a naive young man and is even a bit reserved.
The reporter asked, "I heard that you recently released your first album as a singer. Can you talk about what this album is about?"
Zhao Qinfeng replied, "For a period of time, I felt completely unable to see my future, so I wanted to record some things I saw in the past and present to remind myself to calm down, deal with the things in front of me seriously, and not be overly anxious."
The reporter said, "It seems that this album has a lot of life experience to it. Now that the album has been fully released, do you feel that your previous troubles have been resolved or answered?"
Zhao Qinfeng replied, "I wouldn't say it's a solution or an answer, but creation is indeed a very good way to express myself. I sincerely thank every friend who is willing to spend their precious time listening to my songs, because through music, we have completed a brief conversation, which is a very precious experience for me."
The album issue was quickly resolved, but Lin Ting didn't immediately close the video. He recalled the time, temporarily exited full screen, and found the time the interview took place in the video description.
Lin Ting realized that the interview should have taken place before that music festival.
Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice that Zhao Qinfeng had already stood beside him.
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