Chapter 27 Senior Fiery Snow, your new tattoo looks great. ...
Did I accidentally like or accidentally follow?
Jiang Tinghan quickly eliminated the first option; it wasn't the first time someone had liked a post, so it wasn't very threatening.
But attention will inevitably cause a huge uproar.
Jiang Tinghan decided to cook a dish for Quan Zhilong, and asked in a slightly different tone, "Senior, what is your alternate account?"
Kwon Ji-yong smiled and said, "Do you want the gold miniature or the silver miniature?"
The so-called "golden account" is the well-known "peaceminusone" account, while the "silver account" is a more private account—newly registered in front of Jiang Tinghan.
Kwon Ji-yong wasn't embarrassed at all, and explained frankly, "I don't need any alternate accounts. I usually use my real name when I go online."
The alternate account is currently set to the username entered by Kwon Ji-yong plus a string of randomly generated numbers from Instagram, namely "J.yong18624".
The profile picture is a landscape photo that Kwon Ji-yong recently took. It was taken at night while waiting at a traffic light. The neon lights are blurred, and the snow falling from the sky turns into small, shimmering dots. It looks like a painting where light and snowflakes intertwine, as if ripples are created when pebbles are thrown into a lake.
Jiang Tinghan instinctively felt that this was taken on the way to the venue the day before yesterday. He thought to himself, "J.yong, jiyong, this is too real!"
However, this person's @peaceminusone was the only account they followed on their main account. Although it was a private account, the posts and the number of followers were still visible to the fans. Therefore, Jiang Tinghan still chose this brand-new account that had been created for less than a minute.
"I've followed you."
Kwon Ji-yong felt immediately pleased as he watched his newly registered alternate account's follower count go from zero to one. He clicked on it and saw that the girl's alternate account was named "Listen to the River."
Listening, River, and Jiang Tinghan's naming skills are equally impressive.
The tracking number also became one.
Listen to the River follows quite a few accounts, including the official account of SW, his own main account, and a series of obscure accounts. It's easy to guess that these are likely the alternate accounts of other contestants on the show.
Kwon Ji-yong only watched the first one she followed. It contained a lot of complaints and criticisms of the production team, but also a small amount of schedule sharing. I don't know which contestant was so resentful.
The good news is that Jiang Tinghan's second follower was xxxibgdrgn, and the third was Shining world-Coldy. It's quite pleasing to the eye to see the two names next to each other in the following list.
Jiang Tinghan's alternate account has very few posts. Scrolling down from the top, the messages are "Extremely tired," "So tired," and "Tired." One of the few photos is of the river at night, along with a crescent moon rising and hiding behind dark clouds, captioned: "Seoul at 4 AM."
The time was in August, before SW premiered.
This is a girl who is often tired and intermittently artistic.
Kwon Ji-yong continued scrolling forward and was somewhat surprised to find that she had been using this account for quite a while, having started using it last year.
He recalled that Coldy's fans had discovered that her fluent Korean was due to a year of study in South Korea, which must have been when she registered her account.
They always have time differences; even registering an account is a year apart.
The phone suddenly buzzed, and Kwon Ji-yong answered it. The person on the other end was the delivery driver.
"Hello, your ingredients have arrived. I'm at the entrance of the residential area now."
Kwon Ji-yong: "?"
He didn't order anything.
Quan Zhilong, suddenly struck by inspiration, looked at Jiang Tinghan.
Jiang Tinghan's eyes narrowed slightly as he mouthed, "Senior, could you please help me carry this?"
Kwon Ji-yong looked somewhat helpless: "Okay, please leave it at the security office for now."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Tinghan's curious voice drifted over: "Senior, I heard that the services in upscale residential areas are very attentive, right? There are also private butlers available on call? Can the security guards also help bring things up?"
She was curious from the moment she stepped into the house, as it was practically a private art museum. Although it was a high-rise apartment, it had three floors and an indoor elevator.
Kwon Ji-yong quite liked watching her look around and be interested in everything, and explained, "This neighborhood isn't that high-end. I... bought it around 2011? I think it was only about 900 million."
He casually grabbed a hat and put it on his head: "So I'll just have to go down and walk there myself."
He seemed a bit annoyed by the trouble, with the corners of his mouth downturned, but when he turned his back to the door, the corners of his mouth turned up in a wide smile, clearly lost in thought.
This scene is somewhat like a newlywed wife asking her husband to go grocery shopping.
Jiang Tinghan watched Kwon Ji-yong's retreating figure and murmured, "Over nine hundred million?"
Is it appropriate to use the word "才" for approximately five million RMB?
When she has enough money to buy a house worth ten million in the future, she will also show off in front of Kwon Ji-yong that the house is only "a mere 1.8 billion".
Kwon Ji-yong came up carrying big bags and small packages. It felt like he hadn't done the task of carrying groceries for many years. Even when he went home, his parents would feel sorry for him and would have already prepared the meal, so he only needed to sit and wait to eat.
The security guard was new, but he recognized Kwon Ji-yong. He was extremely surprised when he saw Kwon Ji-yong carrying two large bags of ingredients, looking as if to say, "So GD can cook for himself."
Seeing this, Kwon Ji-yong couldn't help but quicken his pace and hurried home.
When Kwon Ji-yong came back from going downstairs in the winter, he was covered in cold air. The chill in his body was dispelled by the warmth of the heater. He put the ingredients on the kitchen counter, turned his back, leaned his back against the cabinet to show off, and couldn't help but mutter, "You actually used it after I told you to."
Jiang Tinghan's eyebrows curved slightly as he pulled out a spare rib and chopped it with a clean, sharp cleaver. The sound was dull, and a cold glint seemed to flash on the blade.
"So, you don't keep your word, senior?"
Kwon Ji-yong's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
He belatedly realized, "Oh, is Tinghan going to cook lunch here?"
Jiang Tinghan didn't speak, but his face clearly said, "Are you an idiot?"
Kwon Ji-yong scratched his cheek awkwardly. Although he was a complete novice in the kitchen, he was quick to take on the task and offered, "Then I'll wash the vegetables?"
Three minutes later, he was kicked out of the kitchen by Jiang Tinghan.
This person's vegetable-washing skills are a bit better than the young lady's. At least he wouldn't throw away so many edible parts like he doesn't eat meat paste. But he's just too careful. What Jiang Tinghan can finish in a minute, he's expected to do slowly for five or even ten minutes. She's afraid he'll cut his own finger.
I helped, but not much, just a small favor.
With his sweetheart in the kitchen, Kwon Ji-yong certainly didn't want to stay obediently outside, so he leaned against the glass door of the kitchen, looking like a sinister giant octopus.
Even though it's all blurry and I can't see anything, I'll still keep secretly spying—
Next time, we must replace this frosted glass door with a completely transparent one.
Jiang Tinghan knocked on the glass door twice as a reminder, then quickly opened it. He was so fast that Kwon Ji-yong couldn't react in time and almost fell over, but luckily he took a step forward to steady himself.
If he were Kwon Ji-yong in his twenties, he would pretend to be weak and fall into Jiang Tinghan's arms, just like in an idol drama. However, he is now a mature thirties Kwon Ji-yong and would not do such a thing.
pity.
"Senior, I suddenly forgot you don't have any seasonings here."
"Could you please help me solve this problem?" Jiang Tinghan would smile even when he was being mischievous.
Kwon Ji-yong immediately looked worried. It was too much of a hassle to have to make two trips for something that could be done in one trip.
He went out today with his hair neatly combed, but with a droopy face and a sour expression, he looked like a golden retriever that had been shortchanged on dog food today.
Jiang Tinghan stopped thinking immediately, maintaining his respect for this senior.
She raised her hands, clasped them together in front of her chest, and swung them back and forth twice. Her tone was hesitant, but she tried to remain indifferent: "Tch, tch, bow."
However, the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her discomfort with this subtle display of weakness.
Kwon Ji-yong's lips almost curled into a smile, but he pretended to be calm just like Jiang Tinghan: "It'll be faster if I just go to the nearby supermarket. Send me what seasonings you need on your phone, and I'll be back soon."
Jiang Tinghan: "Oh."
His one-word response revealed his restraint.
Why is she trying to appease this senior who is so much more mature than her?
With an "Oh," Kwon Ji-yong put on his coat and went downstairs again. It started snowing not long after he left the neighborhood, but luckily he had a hat to protect him.
A few hardships are nothing; they can't stop Kwon Ji-yong's burning desire to go to the supermarket and buy, buy, buy.
After preparing the dishes efficiently, Jiang Tinghan began to space out, or more accurately, to gather inspiration.
A gust of cold wind blew in through the kitchen window, carrying a few snowflakes that landed on Jiang Tinghan's hand and melted.
The slight chill brought her back to her senses. Looking out the window at the white expanse, she saw it was snowing.
She touched the back of her hand and suddenly remembered that when Kwon Ji-yong raised his phone, she saw a new tattoo on the back of his left hand, the design of which seemed to be a black star.
That's so strange. How could someone with such good taste get a tattoo in such an out-of-place location?
Jiang Tinghan's curiosity was piqued, but he forcibly suppressed it.
"I'm back." Kwon Ji-yong's voice was slightly excited, but he quickly calmed down and took off his hat. "It's snowing outside. I don't know what's wrong with Seoul lately, it's been snowing every day."
He walked into the kitchen and shivered from the completely different temperature compared to the living room. Then he looked at Jiang Tinghan's white arms, which were exposed by his sleeves being rolled up, and asked with concern, "It's so cold in here, why didn't you close the window or come into the living room to wait?"
Jiang Tinghan's fingers twitched slightly, then stiffened a bit before smoothly pulling out his phone to check the time: "Not long, just over ten minutes."
Kwon Ji-yong reached out and gently touched Jiang Tinghan's arm with the back of his hand, as if he were touching some precious treasure. Their skin touched for a moment before separating, but the icy coldness was already there.
He withdrew his hand and chuckled softly, "I don't want people to say I'm abusive. Your hand is colder than mine after I went for a walk."
Kwon Ji-yong walked to the window in a few steps, closed it, and then opened the kitchen door, letting the warm air in: "You're already so tired, you should treat yourself better sometimes. I often wonder if you have some kind of sensory disorder; can't you feel any physical discomfort?"
Jiang Tinghan seemed to wake from a dream, feeling that the skin that had just been touched was a little hot. She quickly rubbed it with her fingertips, and felt a damp, needle-like chill through her fingertips, which felt like they had been soaked in ice water. Only then did she slowly realize that it was indeed a bit chilly.
"Thank you for your concern, senior. Please wait outside for a while."
"No," Kwon Ji-yong stood there motionless, "in case you get splashed with oil without saying a word, I'll just stand here and watch you."
Looking at it with your eyes is a very ambiguous and somewhat awkward action.
He was watching when Jiang Tinghan turned on the stove and poured water, he was watching when it was simmering, and he was watching when it was being stir-fried and taken out of the pot.
Most of the time he is very quiet, exuding a gentle and refined aura. Today, with the off-white sweater he is wearing, this gentle and refined aura is even stronger, making people wonder whether it is the loud and boisterous one or the calm and composed one.
Perhaps it is all him, a complex, elusive, and magnificent entity that one could not fully comprehend even after decades of living with him.
Occasionally, Kwon Ji-yong would ask why this was added or why this step was necessary.
Jiang Tinghan replied in a low voice, "That will make it crisper."
"Reduce the meaty smell."
Is this level of spiciness okay?
Kwon Ji-yong smiled and suddenly became lively: "I can put in as much chili as you want, I want it super spicy."
Jiang Tinghan generously placed a few pills in his hand: "We all need to take good care of our voices, senior."
Kwon Ji-yong: "Alright then."
"Then why are you asking me if it's formalism?"
Jiang Tinghan: "It's to find out what the seniors like."
Kwon Ji-yong took a bottle of carrot juice out of a plastic bag: "I eat everything, but I prefer seafood, especially fish."
He unscrewed the lid and handed it to Jiang Tinghan: "Want some?"
"What a coincidence!" Jiang Tinghan's tone became slightly excited, then suddenly turned serious: "I don't eat carrots, and I don't really like fish either."
Such different tastes!
Kwon Ji-yong still smiled and asked, "Have you never eaten carrots before?"
Jiang Tinghan: "I tried it when I was a child, and I thought it tasted terrible, so I spat it out."
Kwon Ji-yong: "Should we try it again? The experience when I was a child might be different from the experience now."
Jiang Tinghan looked at Quan Zhilong with the same encouraging gaze one would give a child, and silently shivered. The carrot juice was as thick as a witch's potion made from mashed oranges, emitting a rather ominous smell to her.
She took the carrot juice and boldly and decisively took a sip, mentally preparing herself, but when her taste buds actually registered it, she realized that it was just an ordinary, sweet taste.
If there's anything special about it, it might be the slight herbal scent, but she doesn't dislike it.
Kwon Ji-yong looked at her expression and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Is it alright?"
"People are always used to doing things according to their own mindset. In fact, betraying your former self occasionally can be a good experience." He reached out, imagining patting the other person's head like a senior or older brother would, but then realized that their relationship wasn't close enough to do such an intimate gesture. He only raised his hand a few centimeters before lowering it again, but his voice remained rhythmic and philosophical.
Jiang Tinghan took another sip of carrot juice and commented, "Hmm, not bad."
"Does your senior have any foods they dislike?"
Kwon Ji-yong wasn't wary of her: "Fruit, I don't really like fruit."
Jiang Tinghan opened the pot lid, and a sweet aroma filled the kitchen: "Then you are really lucky, senior. I just made snow pear and white fungus soup."
"Now that I've taken this step, shouldn't you give it a try, senior?"
Kwon Ji-yong smiled, a helpless yet slightly indulgent smile curving his lips: "Okay, I will definitely drink it all."
More and more heat flowed in, and the kitchen gradually warmed up, from warm to scorching hot.
Before the meal, Kwon Ji-yong snapped several photos of the exquisite dishes on the table.
The camera even pointed at Jiang Tinghan at one point, and she quickly grabbed a napkin from the table to cover her face.
Kwon Ji-yong, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, turned the screen around, pretending to take a picture of her with the rear camera, but actually using the front camera to take a picture of himself, perfectly capturing his wicked and malicious expression.
A senior colleague who really enjoys being quirky and joking.
Jiang Tinghan couldn't imagine what a lively character he must have been when he was young: "..."
She poured several bowls of pear soup for Kwon Ji-yong and thoughtfully reminded him, "Senior, drinking more is good for your throat. You smoke so much, you should moisturize your throat even more."
Kwon Ji-yong had tried all sorts of Korean fruit soups, and could only say he didn't like them, not that he hated them. Jiang Tinghan's bowls of pear soup had the same effect on him as a kitten's gentle scratch.
However, since the other party wanted to see it, he obediently pretended to resist, frowning as if he had made up his mind before finishing the pear soup.
Kwon Ji-yong lifted his eyelids to take a look, and sure enough, the other party looked satisfied.
Actually, making her happy isn't that difficult.
Now that we've had our fill of food and drink, we can finally get to today's main topic.
Kwon Ji-yong's new song is called "7 Hours". It's not a simple demo, but a track that he has already recorded and finished the post-production mixing, ready to be released at any time. When he gets going, his work efficiency is astonishing.
[A foggy morning in Paris, yet my phone's answering machine is unusually clear.]
Your goodnight, my sunrise, I endured and waited, but—(a sigh)
The red hue on the horizon is less bright than an exclamation mark; it almost stings my eyes.
For some reason, the hot coffee I just ordered has lost its warmth, and my heart has forgotten how to beat.
The clouds outside the airplane window were like white cotton, and the people at Incheon Airport were like a faded tide. Devil sentenced me back to the lonely hell.
【7 hours, I'm always 7 hours behind】
【7 hours, we're forever saying goodbye】
【7 hours, I'm always 7 hours too late】
You turned and left, and I just arrived.
[Unknowing that love will forever remain in winter]
Seven hours, this winter is so cold, you kept my spring on the other side.
Neither of us did anything wrong, but we still drifted apart.
Choosing between tomorrow and the future, I never expected that farewell would be the first thing to come.
Before parting arrives, please allow me to stand here, remembering you from 7 hours ago.
Jiang Tinghan paused for a moment after listening. Was this a song about heartbreak?
The lyrics of this song don't contain any intense criticism, only a touch of sadness, and a deep sense of reluctance at the end. The accompaniment is only piano and guitar, and it has a very classic Long-style love song melody. It sounds simple but is actually not simple at all. It can often touch people's hearts after just one listen.
But like "If You", it has a strong aftertaste. After listening to it, the melody keeps swirling in your mind, making your heart feel heavier and heavier, more and more depressed. It's the kind of song that gets more and more bittersweet the more you listen to it.
Kwon Ji-yong's voice is now more magnetic than before. After years of experience, he has found a wonderful balance between a clear, sweet voice and a husky, deep voice. His voice is full of stories, as if he is breaking down the lyrics word by word and pouring them into your ears.
Just looking at the lyrics, there's a subtle poetic quality to them, like making a movie out of the lyrics.
But aren't the references to "Paris" and "Incheon Airport" a bit too obvious?!
The most terrifying part is the intro with its various classic GD vocal clips and the classic Dragon-style spoken word, "Was it all just my delusion? Or was I just a temporary melody?"
Jiang Tinghan seemed to faintly hear the phrase "My Coldy." The word "Coldy" was hidden beneath the solid enunciation of "Melody," and it was not very clear, as if it were her hallucination.
If this might be because she's too easily frightened, then the sentence "7 hours, this winter is so cold, you kept my spring on the other side" cleverly uses "cold" and "you" to hide the word "Coldy".
It's said that GD never hides his relationships, but this isn't just that he doesn't hide them; he's practically revealed it himself, making his intentions crystal clear.
Jiang Tinghan's stiff fingers twitched, and he felt that even though the heating was on, his body became even stiffer.
Is this... a song that Kwon Ji-yong wrote for her?
7 hours, 7 hours... Could this be the time difference between Seoul and Paris?
She suddenly felt at a loss, thinking that the song Kwon Ji-yong said he had written was a masterpiece he had honed over the past few years of silence. She never expected it to be a song he wrote after being hurt by her text message that drew a line between them.
Kwon Ji-yong was waiting for Jiang Tinghan's comments, but he never expected that the first thing he would hear was a tentative, cautious, and somewhat surprised and bewildered "Mianye..."
The second time Jiang Tinghan made the gesture of putting his hands together, it was noticeably smoother and more natural: "I think I was too rash that day, and I directly broke through this barrier. I should have waited for you to confess your feelings before seriously rejecting you."
Kwon Ji-yong's heart only fluttered for a second before he died again.
"Sigh! Miss Coldy, where did your emotional intelligence go? Even if you want to refuse, please keep it to yourself and don't say it out loud, okay?"
"How many more times do you want to break the heart of a 34-year-old man? Be careful, or I might write another song tonight."
"I hope you understand what I mean, senior." Jiang Tinghan quickly changed the subject. "This song is very nice. It would be even better if you could remove my name from it."
"Perfunctory," Kwon Ji-yong accused, resting his chin on his elbow with a nonchalant air. "You could tell?"
"I can't remove it. Without Coldy, I don't want to make this song."
This man is using a double entendre again. Just like the lyrics "my sunrise" can mean both "time" and "importance," he wouldn't want to finish "7 Hours" without Coldy or without the name Coldy.
This plate of dumplings was made for this dish of vinegar.
Jiang Tinghan's gaze was somewhat unfocused when he suddenly noticed that the room lights were quite bright and the keyboard was clearly black and white.
She clenched her fist, her fingertips pressed against her palm, wondering when her fingers would warm up.
"Would you like to hear about the process of making this song?" Kwon Ji-yong immediately threw out a very tempting bait.
Jiang Tinghan quickly averted his gaze, his tone immediately becoming firm: "Senior, I want to hear!"
Kwon Ji-yong: "...Ha."
He let out a chuckle that escaped his throat, sounding like a feather tickling a vulnerable spot on his heart.
It's unclear whether they were teasing Jiang Tinghan for being so easy to manipulate, or annoyed that after all that talk, they hadn't mentioned anything like, "Songwriting tutorial class starting, wanna learn?" to excite Jiang Tinghan even more.
Kwon Ji-yong suspected that in Jiang Tinghan's eyes, he was like a golden, humanoid pen that could automatically write songs.
The masterclass once again greatly benefited Jiang Tinghan. She declined Quan Zhilong's request to take her back to her dormitory, so Quan Zhilong only took her downstairs. Going any further would risk being seen by security guards.
The two of them took the opportunity to throw away the kitchen waste. Jiang Tinghan seemed to remember something and said, "Senior, there are still some ingredients left unused and in the refrigerator. Please remember to take care of them."
Kwon Ji-yong: "Okay, I'll take it back to the apartment where I usually live now."
"Bon Voyage."
Jiang Tinghan nodded: "Yes."
As Jiang Tinghan took that step to leave, he looked up at the clear sky and suddenly said, "Senior, it seems the snow has stopped."
Kwon Ji-yong turned his head and looked at her profile, which was as white as snow and dazzling. Her eyes were as bright and clear as the sky. His heart seemed to skip a beat.
He said, "The snow seems to have stopped a little too quickly."
When she's a little older, he'll be able to take her home naturally.
Jiang Tinghan's eyelashes trembled slightly. She pulled down the brim of her baseball cap, trapping all the hot air she exhaled inside the mask, making her feel slightly dizzy.
Her tone became urgent: "Then I have to hurry back, lest it snow again and I don't have an umbrella."
Kwon Ji-yong glanced at Jiang Tinghan's loosely zipped-up shoulder bag and caught a glimpse of the corner of a folding umbrella.
Did you understand the unspoken meaning behind his words?
Kwon Ji-yong didn't continue joking, but just slightly curved the corners of his mouth: "Okay, bye-bye, send me a message when you get back to the dorm, otherwise I'll worry."
"Hmm." Jiang Tinghan took a few quick steps forward.
A slightly cold voice drifted from ahead and reached Kwon Ji-yong's ears.
"Senior, your new tattoo... looks pretty good."
In such cold weather, even the slight chill was accentuated by the intense heat.
Kwon Ji-yong couldn't help but touch the star tattoo on the back of his hand, his eyes immediately narrowing into a pair of smiling eyes, looking even a little sweet.
Did you see it before?
She is neither a heartless Guanyin nor a Buddha without desires; I suppose there will come a day when she will be completely moved.
Back in the dormitory, Jiang Tinghan took off her coat and immediately pounced on the soft bed, burying her head deep in the comforting blankets.
Three seconds later, her expression had regained its composure, though two blushes still lingered on her cheeks.
She climbed out of bed, pulled out the notebook that had been used many times, and wrote down all her songwriting inspirations for the day.
She can't say "use," and now she also has mild PTSD related to the word "use."
The pen tip glides across the paper, making a soft scratching sound.
It snowed lightly, we ate warm food, discussed music... and more...
I heard a really nice song.
Putuo Qian came closer, not looking at what she had written, but asking curiously, "You went to see your teacher again? What did you learn this time?"
Jiang Tinghan stretched and said, "I've learned a lot, it can't all be summed up in one sentence."
Putuo Qian: "Oh?"
She had only stretched halfway when Anri Tsukichi rushed in, phone in hand, and abruptly stopped in front of Jiang Tinghan.
"Little Han-chan! Something terrible has happened!"
"Someone reported you online that you used unfair competition to squeeze out his scholarship spot!"
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Author's Note: There's no internet where I am now, so I have to use my phone's hotspot to power my computer for typing every day. It's tough.
The November issue cover, hehe! No wonder I've been feeling down lately, turns out I haven't been spending enough money on Long! Here we go again! I checked and plane tickets to Seoul are only around 1000 yen. I haven't applied for a visa yet, hopefully the price won't go up too much [pity].
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