Chapter 57. She suddenly kissed his lips. ...
With a click, the electronic lock on the apartment door was opened from the outside, and Shen Zhoudu entered first, smiling and reaching out to Xia Chan.
"Come."
Xia Chan stepped into the room hesitantly and immediately looked around the room.
She had just said she wanted to go somewhere where there was no one, so Chenzhoudu silently led her here.
It wasn't until the car entered the underground parking garage that she realized it was an upscale residential area, and that this house must be his home.
Chen Zhoudu fetched slippers for her in the entryway and helped her change. Seeing her still looking around in a daze, he couldn't help but apologize, "I'm sorry, you said you wanted to go somewhere where there was no one... This was the first place that came to my mind."
He smiled slightly, "Don't worry, no one will bother you here. You can do whatever you want."
Xia Chan's eyes were still red, and she silently agreed without saying a word.
Chen Zhoudu told her to go to the kitchen to get her some water, and Xia Chan then briefly looked around the room.
This is a very spacious single-level apartment, which I estimate to be about 120 or 130 square meters at a glance.
The decor is minimalist, but it's exceptionally well-organized and clean.
The entire room is decorated in a natural wood tone with ordinary white walls, accented only with sheer curtains and greenery in a few places, adding a touch of life.
Outside the large French windows, one can see the bustling traffic of Shanghai's overpasses. As evening falls, the sun hangs in the sky like a salted egg yolk.
Xia Chan casually observed everything inch by inch with her gaze, and at one moment, she suddenly saw something.
He paused for a moment.
Her back stiffened slightly, and she unconsciously walked up to it, only to see a blue guitar tightly sealed in a glass case in the corner of the living room.
It resembles a displayed work of art.
Years have passed, and the guitar remains in pristine condition.
The blue paint still resembles a calm ocean, and every string still shimmers with a light like rippling waves.
A card was attached to the string, the image on it already somewhat faded.
But the distant lone boat and the cicada still reflect each other clearly, as if they are silently whispering something to her through time and glass.
Xia Chan paused slightly, staring at them blankly for a while. After a moment, her fingertips unconsciously rose as if she wanted to touch them.
But it stopped slowly just before it touched the glass cover.
Does it look familiar?
Suddenly, another face appeared on the gleaming glass dome. Shen Zhoudu appeared behind her with a handsome face and a faint smile on his lips.
Meeting her momentary surprised look, he smiled even more and handed her a glass of lemonade and a hot towel.
Xia Chan took the towel in a daze, sipped some water, and gently patted her cheeks with the towel. She lowered her eyes and said softly, "I don't remember."
"Oh?" He smiled leisurely and said, "Then let me tell you about it."
He chuckled, "This... was a gift from a very important friend of mine. She... had promised to go to university with me, but she stood me up and even deleted me from her contacts. But then, a few months later..."
"Okay, okay..." Xia Chan was about to give up and quickly stopped him. She pursed her lips and hesitated for a long time before saying awkwardly, "I thought you would have thrown it away a long time ago."
"How could that be?" Chen Zhoudu smiled, his gaze also falling on the guitar and card. He seemed to be caught up in some kind of emotion for no reason, and asked in a low voice, "But... why did you give me this in the first place?"
He looked at her leisurely again, "How much did you spend on this guitar back then? You were clearly going to break up with me... but you gave me this a few months later, why is that?"
Xia Chan kept her eyes lowered, avoiding his gaze and refusing to speak. Finally, after he pressed her for a long time, she said indifferently, "Maybe... it's to avoid trouble by spending money."
The sunken boat crossing the river did not understand, and he raised an eyebrow.
She met his gaze coolly, "I'm afraid you'll turn your love into hatred, curse me, and hurl insults at me, so I might as well spend some money to give you a gift and buy you some comfort."
Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but laugh, and gently, tentatively, took her hand again, "Want to look around?"
The layout of this house in Chenzhoudu is indeed good. It is well-ventilated from north to south, with three bedrooms and two living rooms. Each room is clean and tidy, and the renovation focuses on soundproofing.
One of the three bedrooms was specially converted into a music room, which is filled with all kinds of musical instruments and mixing consoles.
There were countless sheet music and draft papers on the table, as well as his albums.
Xia Chan's gaze swept over the albums one by one, finally settling on the album "Crossing Summer" in a silent, gazing position.
Chen Zhoudu, watching him from behind, chuckled and casually picked up a card. "Which one have you heard before?"
Xia Chan snapped out of her daze and glanced at him with an ambiguous expression. "If I said... I've hardly ever heard of them."
Chen Zhoudu touched his nose. "Looks like I'm still not popular enough. The song hasn't reached Manager Xia's ears yet. I need to keep trying and make sure Manager Xia hears my voice soon."
Xia Chan remained silent for a moment but did not reply to him, and turned her attention to something else.
A piano was placed in the west corner of the room, with a specially made acrylic storage box on top of it.
Inside, neatly arranged, were countless small wooden blocks and carved wooden sculptures.
Xia Chan was not surprised when she saw the small wooden carvings. "You actually... learned to do this on your own later?"
"Hmm." As if asking for a reward, Chen Zhoudu opened the box and poured out all sorts of wood carvings to show her. "My handiwork is really good now. Even Huang Mao can't compare to me."
He sculpts all sorts of things: puppies, kittens, rabbits...
But the most numerous were cicadas;
All kinds of cicadas;
Some of the cicadas were intact, while others were in terrible condition.
Some crawl on the leaves, some spread their wings...
She could almost see his journey from unfamiliarity to proficiency through those cicadas; it was a process that took days and nights, not just a single day, to achieve mastery.
Her fingertips involuntarily pressed against a bulge beneath her shirt, and she asked with a slightly hesitant tone, "Don't you find it boring?"
That day, he gave her that exquisite little wooden cicada. Xia Chan thought he had ordered it or found it somewhere. He claimed that he made it himself, and she was too lazy to worry about whether it was real or fake, so she didn't ask any more questions.
Unexpectedly...
"Besides, is it worth it just because of a casual remark? Learning and doing all this must take quite a bit of effort..."
She had long forgotten the promise he had made to her. A person says far too many things in their life, and she couldn't possibly take every single one of them seriously; that would only make her disappointed in the world.
"It's alright. I used to love music, but after my hobby became my profession, there were moments of boredom and tedium. Sculpture, on the other hand, became an outlet for my emotions."
He just smiled, and as he spoke, he picked up a carving knife and began carving a half-finished piece. "Moreover, I may not be able to keep my word, but at least I should try my best to go in this direction, otherwise I will feel guilty and regretful."
As he spoke, he looked up and met her eyes, blinking and smiling slightly. He seemed to be talking about wood carving, yet he didn't seem to be talking about wood carving. Xia Chan stared at him blankly, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Soon, the wooden carving had taken on the shape of a cicada. He held the little cicada out in his palm and showed it to her like a treasure, saying, "Look."
Xia Chan stared at the cicada, held it between her fingers, and couldn't help but laugh, but her other hand was still stubbornly covering the one under her clothes.
She had worn that wooden cicada pendant, which looked like a fly, for so long that it had almost become a habit, while the new one had been sealed in a drawer and never seen the light of day again.
After going around in circles... she realized that she still seemed to like the one she had always loved the way she had initially.
Even if it's not exquisite, even if it's worthless.
Her gaze fell again on the piano under the acrylic box. "I remember you said you could play the piano."
"Yeah, I'd almost completely given up on it, but becoming a musician forced me to pick it up again." As he spoke, he opened the piano lid and ran his fingertips across the keys, releasing a melodious chorus of do-re-mi-fa. He sat down at the piano, already poised to strike a pose. "What would you like to hear?"
"casual."
She watched from the side, letting him play freely. After thinking for a moment, Shen Zhoudu smiled and began to play the piano.
A familiar melody immediately flowed from his long, slender, fair fingertips, and he hummed along softly.
"The cicadas' chirping harmonizes with the strings"
Turning back to that summer
Recalling memories
But it was hard to find a way to sleep through the night.
You in my memory
In the blink of an eye, it's all gone.
Remember your eyes
Like the light and shadow of midsummer
Starlight has nowhere to hide the secret in my heart.
Like cicada chirping
The distance that chases me with nowhere to escape
There are countless answers
But there was no reply.
The mountain breeze stirs up that lingering feeling in my heart.
Fiery
But the summer that couldn't be survived
..."
Xia Chan listened intently, her eyes gradually reddening again. She abruptly turned her eyes away and blinked to hide it.
Shen Zhoudu keenly sensed this, his fingertips gradually slowed, the music stopped, and he softly called her name: "Xia Chan".
"Hmm?" Xia Chan paused for a moment, then looked at him with red eyes, pretending nothing was wrong.
He gazed silently into her red eyes, then smiled and said, "My room is highly soundproofed."
She was puzzled.
Instead, his lips curved into a more mysterious smile, and suddenly he cupped his fingers around his lips, looked up, and called out, "Xia Chan—"
Startled, Xia Chan's heart skipped a beat. Forgetting her crying, she covered her ears, took a step back, and glared at him.
Seeing her like this only made him laugh more, and his gaze fell calmly on her face as he said, "You can do whatever you want."
At that moment, she finally understood what he meant. Her still-reddened eyes trembled slightly, and she pursed her lips, suddenly mimicking him by making a bracket shape around her lips with her hand, tilting her head back and shouting with all her might, "Sinking Boat Crossing—"
Chen Zhoudu laughed and shouted back, "I'm here—"
Xia Chan: "You're sick—!"
He chuckled, "Lovesickness—"
"Neuropathy--"
"I do—"
"The sunken boat crosses the river—"
"Eh—"
She suddenly looked at him and said quickly and softly, "I like you."
Chen Zhoudu was stunned, staring at her in astonishment for a moment as if he hadn't recovered.
Her eyes grew increasingly red as she gazed at him with a deep and complex expression.
It was like an echo of the answer she had belatedly given him, years in the making.
The next second he suddenly stood up and pinned her against the foam wall! The room was equipped with soft foam walls on all sides for soundproofing.
Xia Chan's back suddenly pressed against a piece of soft leather, as if sinking into a cloud.
He suddenly lowered his lips, the corner of his lips almost touching hers, but stopped abruptly at that close distance.
His breath suddenly became very close to hers, and his eyes met hers almost touching.
They were so close they could clearly hear each other's heartbeats.
Then, with a gentle, tender touch, he lifted his fingertips and ran them over the swollen finger marks on her cheek, trembling slightly.
Xia Chan stared intently into his starry eyes, then suddenly stepped forward, hooked her arm around his neck, and kissed his lips.
Shen Zhoudu's breathing suddenly became heavy, and the next second he suddenly took the initiative, pressing one hand against the back of her neck and leaning down for a deep kiss without regard for anything else.
Her lips were slightly cool and had a fragrance like that of floral lipstick.
Her lips suddenly pressed against his, trembling slightly like petals blown by the wind.
His tongue pried open her teeth, and his lips lingered as he gently sucked.
Like gathering little by little, like conquering inch by inch, their heartbeats and pulses seemed to be connected at this moment, and the temperature around them seemed to be rising invisibly.
After a moment, he paused slightly, and both of them were breathing erratically, their foreheads touching as they breathed softly.
Xia Chan's lips were pale as she stared at his chest, which was rising and falling with each breath. She said in a very low, hoarse voice, "Actually, you already knew... didn't you?"
"What?" Chen Zhoudu was dizzy and his voice was hoarse.
“Xie Jun…” Xia Chan slowly looked up at him, “Xie Mei.”
His gaze flickered slightly, and his fingertips gently stroked her cheek with tenderness as he said, "I have guesses, but I'm never sure..."
"It was only confirmed today."
His fingertips brushed against her like a gentle breeze, seemingly melting her. She had the illusion that she too was about to melt into his gaze, a bitter smile playing on her lips. "Isn't it melodramatic... and ridiculous?"
She said, "I never expected this to happen...it really is..."
Chen Zhoudu sighed softly, "I just feel...very sad."
"Sad?" she asked, looking at him.
"Mmm." He met her gaze and smiled gently, his fingertips lightly tucking her temples. Suddenly, without a word, he pulled her into his arms and patted her shoulder gently as if to coax her.
"You must have recognized her a long time ago, but you didn't tell any of us. How could you not feel anything when the most important person in your life appears in front of you, even if you say you don't care anymore?"
"But you've been facing this sadness all by yourself, silently fighting against it. So... I'm very sad."
Xia Chan felt as if a sea of acid was churning inside her chest, burning her heart so intensely that it felt like it was melting and boiling. Unable to hold back any longer, she buried her head in his shoulder and tears streamed down her face. Her fingertips gripped his clothes tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably.
His heart ached, so he gently patted her, as if to coax her.
After a moment, when she finally seemed to calm down and raised her head, he lowered his eyes slightly and gently kissed away her tears.
Her tears were salty, and her eyelashes trembled slightly the moment his lips touched hers, like trembling butterfly wings.
After a moment, he straightened up and smiled at her as if savoring the moment. Through her teary eyes, she looked at him, his emotions now calmed, and whispered, "Really, is it okay to do anything?"
She took the initiative to gently kiss the side of his neck, "Really... is the soundproofing this good?"
Chen Zhoudu's neck stiffened slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he finally understood what she meant, "You..."
She had once again enveloped his neck in a kiss, her breath mingling with his on his chin and Adam's apple...
His fingertips were also silently unbuttoning his shirt.
Chen Zhoudu, his breathing erratic, instinctively grabbed her hand and pressed it against the wall, his voice already extremely hoarse, "Are you sure?"
She simply sealed his silence with another kiss, wrapped her arms around his neck, and breathed into his lungs, drawing oxygen from him. Then their pulses and heartbeats intertwined, reaching right to their very souls.
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