Chapter 28. At this moment, she felt he was only a distant memory...
Two days later, after Shen Zhoudu's wounds on his hands and face had mostly healed, Xia Chan took him to see A Jiang.
Before opening for the new day, Xia Chan walked into the bar and greeted A Jiang from afar. After chatting for a few minutes, Xia Chan got straight to the point and asked, "I heard you're hiring singers here?"
"Hmm." Ah Jiang poured her a glass of fruit wine and took a sip himself. "What, do you have someone in mind?"
"Let me introduce you to a handsome guy, do you want him?"
"How handsome?" Ah Jiang smoothed his pineapple-shaped haircut. "Will he block my luck with finding a girlfriend?"
Xia Chan choked for a moment but couldn't help laughing. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers to let Chen Zhoudu, who was waiting outside the door, come in.
Ajiang paused for a moment upon seeing the sunken boat crossing.
The next second, he pretended to faint and pressed his philtrum, "It's over... I've been hit with a Peach Blossom Slash!"
Xia Chan laughed even harder in an instant. Chen Zhoudu looked at Xia Chan in confusion, not understanding what she meant. Xia Chan just raised an eyebrow at him mysteriously.
Singer applicants always have to sing first. Ah Jiang turned on the sound system and left the entire stage to him, letting him sing however he wanted.
Chen Zhoudu then took the guitar that Huang Mao had previously failed to sell onto the stage. When he tried to pluck the strings to test the sound, the harsh hissing sound of the strings made A Jiang unconsciously frown.
Xia Chan's gaze fell thoughtfully on the guitar in his hand.
He immediately began strumming the chords. The sound of the somewhat rusty guitar was amplified by the speakers, making the discordant rustling sounds in the melody even more noticeable. Yet, he seemed not to hear it, closing his eyes slightly and softly singing into the microphone.
"Mesmerized by your eyes"
The Milky Way has traces
Passing through the cracks of time
It remains true
My Trajectory
Let me tell you a dream
Let me tell you a dream
..."
His clean, deep voice could be heard through the microphone, reaching every corner of the bar like a chant, ethereal and clear.
Ajiang paused for a moment, then relaxed his brow and stood up straight, staring intently at the boy on the stage.
The bar only shone a light blue overhead light on him, which cast a faint, cool silver glow on his white hoodie and light blue jeans, giving them a clean and cold feel, much like winter.
Xia Chan stared at him intently, and gradually the smile on her lips vanished, as if everything around her had turned black.
He sang quietly in the distant light, ethereal and unreal. Tiny dust particles swirled above his head like snowflakes, but when they landed on her, they formed a raging storm.
For some reason, at this moment, she felt that he was very distant.
-
Chenzhoudu was naturally hired.
After agreeing on the salary and part-time hours, Shen Zhoudu and Xia Chan said goodbye to A Jiang.
It was evening when she stepped outside. The twilight was illuminating the snow-capped mountains in the distance. A light snow had fallen the night before, and the air in the county town was crisp and refreshing. Xia Chan felt inexplicably relaxed as she walked on the snow.
"Are you happy now?" She glanced to the side.
Shen Zhoudu silently followed her, carrying his guitar, a slight smile playing on his lips, but he remained silent.
Xia Chan still harbored some resentment towards his "coercion" that day, and seeing his smile only fueled her anger. She scoffed, "Let me tell you, from now on, if you're going to do part-time work, you'll have to come by yourself. Anyway, Qingshui is a forty-minute drive from Qixian, so you can come however you want! Neither Huang Mao nor I will give you a ride. After your performance ends at 11 or 12 at night, there are no more buses. You can go back however you want, and if you can't get back, just borrow a bowl and beg on the street. Nobody will care!"
His smile deepened, but he remained silent, simply tilting his head and looking down at her with a smile.
Xia Chan glanced at him and saw him laugh even harder, which made her even more furious. She kicked him and said, "You still have the nerve to laugh!"
He didn't even try to dodge; the kick was quite powerful, leaving a muddy footprint on his pants.
Xia Chan was taken aback by his appearance, and after a moment she frowned and scolded him somewhat awkwardly, "Dodge! Is your leg broken?"
He then obediently said "Oh," and silently took another step closer to her, like a dull, clueless goose.
Xia Chan paused for a moment, almost laughing in exasperation. She was about to scold him again, but instead burst out laughing first.
Seeing this, Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but smile even more.
“Chenzhoudu, I realize I really underestimated you!” Xia Chan crossed her arms and glanced at him with a half-smile. “No wonder Lao Liu said you’re not as well-behaved as you seem on the surface… I used to think you were just an honest little lamb, maybe a little rebellious, but it turns out you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing! You’re so persistent… you won’t give up until you get what you want!”
Instead, he smiled more comfortably and calmly, gazing at her quietly, and said, "Mm."
"You still say 'hmm'?"
“Xia Chan, this is who I am.” Jing Tou met her gaze directly, Chen Zhoudu’s expression and tone were resolute, and he said in a low voice, “If I’ve made up my mind about something, I will never change it.”
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From that day on, Chenzhoudu would regularly go to Ajiang's bar to sing every Wednesday to Sunday evening.
He, Xia Chan, and A Jiang have all reached an agreement that he will only work as a singer for this summer vacation, and will naturally resign and return to school when the new semester starts.
They didn't tell their grandmother about it. Every night when Huang Mao and Xia Chan accompanied Chen Zhou to Qi County, they would just say that they were going out to relax after studying for so long.
Grandma knew that the high school seniors were studying hard, so she let them be, only reminding them to be careful and keep warm.
On their first night singing at Ajiang's bar, Huangmao even invited Siyi, Panghu, and Lala to come and support them. The six of them gathered at a large table, and when Ajiang brought over free fruit wine, they couldn't help but joke, "Wow, you guys are going to eat me out of house and home."
"Hey! Brother Jiang!" Lala laughed cheerfully, "Let me tell you, now that Chen Zhoudu is managing your bar, you should be thrilled! I guarantee you'll double your earnings! What are these fruit wines and drinks on our table compared to that? He'll make ten times that amount for you! He's our school heartthrob, and also 'Du's' cash cow! Others would kill for him!"
The group of people at the table started joking around with Chen Zhoudu, who just smiled and waved his hand politely.
Ah Jiang, ever the quick-witted one, picked up three toothpicks and bowed three times to the sunken boat. When the others asked him what he was doing, he simply said he wanted the money tree to bless him. This made everyone at the table burst into laughter.
Around 7:30 p.m., people gradually started arriving at the bar, and the lights inside dimmed slightly as soothing music was played, creating a soft atmosphere.
Once the bar was nearly full, Ajiang warmed up the atmosphere for Chen Zhoudu by playing music at a low pitch and walking onto the stage to address the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen! Today, we have a new singer at Ajiang Bar, a super handsome guy! Would you like to meet him? Would you like to welcome him? Let's give a warm round of applause to our new singer—Zhoudu!"
A burst of applause, some curious and some symbolic, immediately erupted from the audience, with the loudest applause coming from Xia Chansi's table.
The moment the sunken boat emerged from the water, the previously lukewarm applause in the bar instantly turned into cheers, even punctuated by a few surprised whistles—
Shen Zhoudu wore only a plain white shirt and jeans, and was clean from head to toe. But the simplest and cleanest outfit was the most handsome look of the young man. He quietly walked onto the stage, picked up his guitar, and sat in the light, and seemed to be shining with pure light.
Xia Chan stared intently at him on stage, a smile unconsciously curving her lips. His gaze swept around the bar before finally settling on something else, where he smiled again and said into the microphone, "Thank you for the encounter. I'd like to dedicate a song called 'Encounter' to everyone."
He immediately plucked the strings, and the low, quiet chords began to play. His singing voice, accompanied by the gentle chords, was also low, clean, and resonant, echoing in every corner around him.
The patrons who were chatting in the bar unconsciously lowered their voices and looked up, and some even took out their phones to secretly take pictures.
Xia Chan silently watched as her fingertips pressed against the chest of her hoodie, unaware that she was hiding something small beneath it.
Siyi and the others around me were already discussing it.
"Brother Zhoudu sings so well... It sounds even better through the microphone."
"Indeed. I've been watching The Voice of China these past few days... and I feel like some of the people who got through sang just so-so, not even as well as Chen Zhoudu. Chen Zhoudu should have participated in The Voice of China."
"Let me tell you, you're all just biased!" The blond guy still seemed a little unconvinced. "If you cover my face and I go up there and sing a song, you'll all think it sounds amazing! It's just that we're too close, and you're unwilling to admit it..."
"You're kidding me! Your voice sounds like Tengger flapping his wings!"
"..."
After Chenzhoudu finished singing a song, another round of applause rang out from the audience.
Shen Zhoudu put away his guitar, bowed, and came down to their table, only to be surrounded by two girls.
Those two girls were the ones who had been secretly taking pictures of him from below the stage earlier; their eyes were sparkling, so they must have wanted his contact information.
Chen Zhoudu paused for a moment, then looked up at Xia Chan.
Xia Chan was also looking in his direction. When their eyes met, she paused for a moment, then pretended to look away as if nothing had happened.
Chen Zhoudu smiled subtly, said something to them, and then pointed towards Xia Chan.
Although she was silently sipping her fruit wine as if listening to Lala and the others talking, she glanced at the other side of the road and saw the two girls look in her direction and then discreetly walk away.
He then strode straight to their table, sat down, casually picked up a drink, took a sip, and asked, "How is it?"
"Wow—!" Lala, Siyi, Panghu, and the others burst into cheers, showing their strong emotions.
"The superstar is back!"
"The big singer's singing is getting better and better!"
"Big star, give me your autograph!"
The sunken boat couldn't help but laugh.
Xia Chan wanted to say something, but after moving her lips, she hesitated and stopped.
Chen Zhoudu noticed her hesitation and looked at her with a questioning gaze. She stared at him and then at the cup in his hand with a strange expression.
Shen Zhoudu looked at the wine glass in her hand again and realized that it was the one she had drunk from. Her fingers tightened: "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" Xia Chan picked up a new glass, clinked it against his, and raised it with a smile. "Anyway, if there's an infectious disease, it won't be me who suffers."
He smiled, lightly holding the wine glass in his fingers, but then took a sip. Xia Chan glanced at him and couldn't help but purse her lips slightly.
That night, Chenzhoudu sang five songs. Since it was his first day on the job, Ajiang didn't let him go back too late. He let them go back just after 11 o'clock.
On the way back, Huang Mao drove the electric convertible he usually used to haul timber, while Lala, Siyi, Pang Hu, and the others sat in the back, singing loudly.
The wind was biting cold in the deep winter night, but the group of people were laughing and joking happily.
Xia Chan and Shen Zhoudu also huddled in the back, wrapped tightly in their down jackets, sitting side by side with their knees bent. Xia Chan had been pondering a question the whole time, and after a long pause, she finally asked:
"What did you say to them back then?"
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The author writes: "Enchanted by your eyes, the Milky Way has a trace..."—The lyrics in this article are from "Mercury," sung by Guo Ding, released in 2016.
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Thank you, fairy "55931805", for the landmine! [Sprinkling flowers]
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