Chapter 7
When faced with Shen Yan's words "the span is huge" which were expressed out of pure curiosity, a cunning light flashed in Lin Qi's eyes.
Instead of explaining, she took a step forward and turned this observation into an interesting challenge.
"Well," she said with a smile, a hint of obvious mischief in her tone, "then let's compare. Who has the widest range of recording styles, yours or my reading styles?"
Hearing this challenge with a smile, Chen Yan was slightly startled at first, and then the appreciation and smile in his eyes became stronger than before.
He liked this kind of cleverness that made light of heavy things, which could easily turn a seemingly dull conversation into one full of lively tension.
He looked at her, and the corners of his lips curved up, a rare occurrence. There was also an obvious smile in his voice: "Really?"
He paused, then said slowly, half-seriously, "Then I guess I'm likely to lose."
This was a subtle compliment with his distinct personal style. He didn't praise her directly, but in a way that seemed to acknowledge his defeat, he placed the crown of victory on her head in advance.
"Alright," he put away his smile and gestured towards the cashier nearby, "First, settle your spoils. Then, we'll reveal the answer."
After paying the bill, they walked side by side on the sidewalk, carrying the brown paper bags containing the books.
The autumn sun filtered through the gaps in the plane trees along the road, casting dappled spots of light. Walking with him was comfortable; his pace would unconsciously match hers, maintaining a just-right distance between them, neither distant nor overly intimate.
"Let me guess." Lin Qi spoke, breaking the comfortable silence.
Chen Yan turned his head and listened attentively, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
"I'm guessing," Lin Qi said with a confident tone, "that you like both rock music and classical music, which are two genres that are very different from each other."
She paused, turned her head to look at him, and continued, "If I had to choose another one, it would be soothing Cantonese music."
When she finished the last word, Chen Yan didn't immediately answer "yes" or "no". He was silent for two seconds, as if he was digesting her precise "profile", and then he uttered a syllable with a hint of amusement from his throat.
"oh?"
He looked at her with obvious admiration in his eyes, and seemed more interested in her guesswork. "These three styles span a wide range. Tell me the basis for your judgment."
Lin Qi smiled, and that smile looked particularly bright in the sunlight.
"My basis is my illogical sixth sense and intuition," she said, with a hint of "irrational" in her tone. "You know that, don't you?"
Hearing this answer, Chen Yan looked at her quietly for two seconds, as if judging the truth in her words.
Then he smiled lightly.
It was not a big laugh, just a very subtle arc at the corner of the lips, almost melted by the sun, but the smile in the eyes was very real and warm.
"My illogical sixth sense..." He repeated in a low voice, as if savoring the words, his tone filled with a hint of helplessness and obvious indulgence, "...more powerful than any logic."
He turned back and continued looking at the road ahead, but did not interrupt the topic.
"You guessed about 80 percent right." He calmly announced the answer, without leaving her in suspense or asking how she guessed it. To him, the result itself was more interesting than the process.
He paused, glancing sideways at her, a hint of suspense in his voice.
"The remaining 20 percent," he said, "I'll show you when we get to the record store."
"Okay." Lin Qi's smile curved even further at his words. She seemed quite satisfied with her guess and couldn't help but start explaining her "lack of logic."
"First of all, classical music is definitely the best," she said, like a student solving a problem, "because it suits your temperament very well: calm and restrained."
"Secondly, I guess rock music exists because," she lowered her voice a little, a hint of mystery, "I feel like every quiet person actually has a subtle, uneasy urge deep down inside them."
After she finished speaking, she added playfully, "As for whether it's right or not, you'll find out later."
Her analysis, delivered with a smile, made him unconsciously slow down his pace, and finally stop.
He turned and, standing on the noisy sidewalk, looked at her intently. In that moment, the pedestrians and traffic around him seemed to blur into the background. His eyes held surprise, scrutiny, and a hint of helplessness, a feeling of being seen through so clearly that he himself hadn't even noticed.
He didn't comment on whether what she said was right or not, because it didn't matter anymore.
After a few seconds, he spoke, his voice lower and closer than before.
"You are much more perceptive," he said, "than I thought."
After saying this, he seemed to feel that the eye contact just now was a bit too direct and revealing, so he turned his gaze to the street corner in front of him and returned to his usual calmness.
"It's just ahead." He pointed to a second-floor store with a vinyl record sign hanging on it not far away.
"Let's go," he started walking again, with a hint of panic in his voice that he himself didn't even notice.
"The answers are all in there."
Lin Qi's heartbeat had been a bit off-beat by his intense scrutiny. Seeing him withdraw his gaze, she breathed a sigh of relief and followed him without a sound.
Some things don't need to be said out loud. Some feelings have already taken root quietly in the tacit gaze.
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