I want to see him again.
Inside the taxi, Jiang Songhe sat in the passenger seat, looking at the back seats through the rearview mirror.
Jiang Songyun pulled his baseball cap down low, wrapped himself up in his jacket, leaned his head against the car window, and silently looked out the window through the gaps in the brim and collar.
The two passengers had barely spoken since getting into the car. The driver seemed unaccustomed to the tense atmosphere. He glanced at the seat next to him out of the corner of his eye, vaguely sensing that the other person was also looking at him, so he turned his head and met two cold, piercing gazes.
“…Want some music, sir?” The driver chuckled awkwardly and reached for the screen in front of the car.
Jiang Songhe didn't say whether he wanted it or not, but turned his gaze back to the road through the front window and sighed.
Without much filtering, the driver used his left hand to swipe to the first album on the touchscreen, clicked play, and turned up the volume.
"Too bad luck" is the song that Jiang Songyun used during his audition as a backup dancer.
The driver tapped his fingers to the beat as he turned the steering wheel, his chin tapping lightly to the rhythm. His attention was probably completely absorbed by the road conditions and the music, and he didn't hear the strained "uh" coming from the passenger seat.
As the climax approached, the driver began to hum along with great enthusiasm, taking a deep breath between breaths to gather his strength, just as he was about to passionately unleash his vocals—
Turn it off.
The driver slammed on the brakes, turning his still-nodding head to look directly at the passenger: "Did you say something, sir?"
He frowned and sighed again.
At this moment, the young ninja in the back row spoke up: "I said, turn it off!"
-
Half an hour ago, Kang Song-yoon met her idol Janus in a medical room on the upper floors of TANG that looked like it had been bombed by pink cannonballs.
“Janus, I can sing every one of your songs! I…I came here to audition for Star Show…but…”
He was proud, and he knew what he was about to say was despicable, but with his idol so close, it was hard for him not to be tempted to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Like a balloon that had been blown up and then deflated, he hesitated, wanting to speak but unable to: "I'm really good! You! Can you?! Can you help me…"
"Why are you drinking?" his brother interrupted with a sullen face.
Before entering the practice room, he took the opportunity of sending his brother away to once again take the initiative to try to make some new friends.
He approached another contestant who was also preparing to sing and dance, praising him as a good opponent. The other contestant sized him up for a moment, then kindly offered him an unopened, chilled drink. He thought to himself, "Making friends is so easy, and this drink is so delicious."
So the person who offered him the drink was actually alcohol?! The alcohol that got him eliminated!!
But he didn't want to say "why," because saying it would prove that he was incredibly naive, that his brother's constant tethering to him was justified, and that he was still far from becoming an independent and mature man.
So he stubbornly retorted, "In Manr, sixteen is the age of adulthood, so I can drink whenever I want."
"Ha! An adult? You're great!" His brother ruthlessly pried his hand off from his idol's. "First, you learn to drink. What do you want to learn next, hmm? Smoking? Smoking..."
“Hey, good heavens~” Janus interrupted the extremely heavy word, shrugged and spread his hands, half-jokingly said, “Your brother only drank a little toffee, you didn’t even smell it, maybe he drank it by accident, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it, right?”
"I'm disciplining my brother, and outsiders shouldn't interfere," his brother asserted, drawing a clear line.
Janus's smile froze on his face, and he didn't say another word.
"You! How could you do this?!" Jiang Songyun couldn't understand why his brother would be so hostile towards such a perfect person. Janus was just trying to defend himself. Judging from their situation, they should still owe him for his help.
"If you don't want this, come back with me! I'll take you back to China tomorrow!" His brother grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "When we get back, I'll ask Mom and Dad what you really want from me."
"Mom and Dad?" he resisted, "How dare you mention Mom and Dad to me?!"
His brother froze, his face contorted in pain, and asked, "What did you say?"
"You guys are so noisy!" Tang Lan clapped her hands. "Wasin? Come in!"
At that moment, the door to the infirmary opened, and a burly, menacing-looking man stepped into the room, standing with his feet shoulder-width apart. He raised his muscular arm and pointed clearly, saying, "Please leave."
Jiang Songyun pulled his arm off the examination bed, not giving Jiang Songhe a glance. He hesitated for a moment when passing Janus, but dared not look at him again. In the end, he quickened his pace and fled the place.
-
After getting off at the Guiman Hotel, Jiang Songhe followed Jiang Songyun back to their floor without saying a word. Just as the two of them peeked out from around the corner of the corridor, a loud bang was heard.
"Surprise!!!" A figure, looking like a monkey, unwrapped ribbons from head to toe, transforming into a large Y, and stood posing at the door of the two-person room.
As the person approached, he waved his arms wide, slapped his ankles, assumed a horse stance, and held up two fingers: "Congratulations to our Songyun! Ah~~ Hey! You've made it through the preliminary rounds~ ...
As Jiang Songyun approached, he raised a hand to shield his forehead, looking down and trembling as if he couldn't bear to look directly at her: "This is... that rising star! Ugh! So dazzling... so blinding!"
"Crazy." Jiang Songyun didn't give him a kind look and swiped his card to enter the room.
"..." Ni Haolang flipped his hand up instead of his eyelids. Seeing that the rising star ignored him and slammed the door, he straightened up, scratched the base of his neck, and stopped Jiang Songhe, who was also going back to her room, and asked, "What's wrong with our brother? He passed the audition, why isn't he happy?"
"Hmph." Jiang Songhe glanced at him sideways and disappeared through the door.
Ni Haolang stared at the two doors, scratching his red hair, wondering to himself, "Who am I? Where am I? Am I doing something wrong?"
A moment later, the door to Jiang Songhe's room opened a crack, and a hoarse voice drifted out from afar: "Clean up the doorway before you come in, don't cause trouble for the cleaning staff."
“It’s still there, it’s still there. I picked up this little tuft of hair, and hey! It’s all clean now~~” Ni Haolang stretched out his back leg, bent down and hooked his hand, picked up the empty ribbon tube, and darted into Jiang Songhe’s house with a rainbow-colored flattery.
...
"What?! We're eliminated?!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"
"I even asked my judge friend to take care of my brother!!!"
...
-
Tang Lan prescribed a week's supply of sleeping pills for Jonathan, but Jonathan didn't take them; he needed to remember what he dreamed about.
It's a dilemma: taking the medication ensures a dreamless night, but not taking it leads to sleepless nights.
He locked the doors and windows, sat on the edge of the bed, and muttered to himself while holding the ring that had been threaded into his necklace.
"Is it because he also likes to say 'tsk'? But his voice doesn't quite match; his is lower and hoarser. Is the voice in my memory still real? He also has a younger brother. Is it a coincidence? No, Man'er is too far from Jingting... Seventeen years! What should I do? After I fell into the water while sleepwalking last time, I can hardly remember anything related to that person..."
Unable to find a solution, Jonathan lay down on the bed, the ring tapping against his chest a few times with the movement before settling into the crook of his neck.
Thump, thump, thump.
The moonlight is too bright, and my heartbeat is too loud.
"No, I want to see him again."
Jonah suddenly sat up in bed, took out his phone from under his pillow, and dialed a number.
It felt like an eternity before the call connected, and a sexy, husky voice came through the receiver, seemingly arguing with someone.
"...So what? So you're questioning me because of him now?" The husky-voiced man seemed to finally notice the call had been answered, his temper subsiding slightly, but he still sounded annoyed. "Khawnjimn's speaking, who's that?"
“It’s me, Janus,” Jonathan replied, without being polite inquiring about the timing.
"Oh, it's you. What's up?" The husky voice composed itself.
Jonathan cut to the chase: "Excuse me, but I wanted to ask you if any contestant fainted during the preliminary rounds this afternoon."
"Hiss—" The smoky voice let out a long sigh, then asked with a half-smile, "What? Are you also one of those persuaders sent by that guy surnamed Jiang?"
Just then, another voice in the background of the call asked in a low voice, "Huh? Is there someone else outside with my brother?"
Jonathan remained noncommittal: "I'd like to ask you about the situation first."
"Oh~yeah~I remember it very well~~~" Her husky voice took a turn, the volume drowning out the faint sound of someone covering their mouth, "You're asking about that annoying brat, right? I thought he seemed like he had potential and was planning to let him pass, but who knew he was either too cowardly or too arrogant? He actually went on stage drunk. As punishment for disrespecting the competition, his registration information has been thrown in the trash."
Another person: "Waaah..."
Ignoring the noise, Jonathan continued, "If a musician as picky as you has considered letting him through, then he must have the potential to make it to the finals. To be honest, Fan and I were watching the audition live this afternoon, and this kid is a promising newcomer we're betting on. If you also think he's got the potential, why not give him a chance?"
"Is that so? Then..." The husky voice drifted away from the microphone, "...what would I gain from doing 'you guys' this favor?"
Another person: "Kun%Ji'en%^&You motherfucker&*￥ah￥%You're a dog￥%..."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with the scene, but couldn't quite place it.
“How about we collaborate sometime?” Jonathan said.
"Deal."
The husky-voiced man hung up the phone even more decisively than he had agreed, giving Jonathan the illusion that he hadn't changed his mind because he was actually looking forward to cooperation.
What can be done?
Anyway, the goal has been achieved.
He then sent Tang Fan a message—
"Fan, I have a good suggestion for a vacation."
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