Chapter 8
The door of the record store was a heavy wooden door. Chen Yan walked in front and naturally reached out to push it open. He held the door for Lin Qi and motioned her to go in first.
A unique and quiet smell mixed with old record paper and vinyl hits you in the face.
The shop was serene, a world away from the bustling streets outside. An unidentified jazz track played in the background, languid and soothing. Rows of floor-to-ceiling record racks stood neatly, like a vast, silent library, housing countless materialized, fluid moments.
Chen Yan entered the store first, but did not go to a certain area immediately. Instead, he stopped near the entrance to give Lin Qi some time to adapt to the environment.
"I come here occasionally," he said softly, his voice particularly clear in the quiet shop. "The boss doesn't like to talk much, but he has a wide variety of goods."
He pointed at the record racks, and the emotion in his eyes changed from a hint of panic after being seen through just now to calmness and a subtle expectation.
"Just take a look," he said. "Or you could start by verifying your first guess—that the classical section is over there."
He handed the initiative of this "treasure hunt game" back to her.
Lin Qi smiled knowingly and walked in the direction he pointed without any hesitation. With a serious and curious look, he began to look for traces that might belong to Chen Yan on the rows of classical record covers.
Chen Yan followed her, keeping a distance of one person between them, and also walked towards the classical area.
He didn't say anything, just looked at her profile as she browsed through the record covers. She was so focused that the sunlight filtering through the window cast a light golden halo on the ends of her soft hair.
The soothing music in the store and your focused expression create a picture that makes him feel very peaceful.
Lin Qi stopped in front of a row of Bach's works. She picked up a Mozart record, looked at it, then put it down again, seemingly at a loss as to where to start.
At this moment, Chen Yan leaned over from her side and accurately pulled out one of the records from the row of records.
This is a very simple cover, with only a black and white photo of a cellist playing, full of quiet power.
He handed the record to Lin Qi, his fingertips almost touching her hand.
"Bach, 'Suites for Unaccompanied Cello'." He said softly, as if introducing an old friend he had known for many years.
He did not say "You guessed it right" directly, but used a more private and frank way to show her a small piece of his own unknown spiritual world.
"If it's late at night or when I'm on a business trip and need to be alone for a long time," he said slowly, looking at the record cover, "I'll listen to this."
This is much deeper than a simple "yes". It is not only his musical taste, but also his lifestyle and the way he deals with loneliness.
Lin Qi took the record, and the unique, warm texture of the vinyl cover came through her fingertips. She looked down at the cover, and then said in a very light tone, but with a hint of surprise:
"Yeah, I like him too, especially his Prelude in C Major. It makes people feel warm when they listen to it."
Lin Qi's answer made Chen Yan's hand holding the record pause in the air for half a second.
He raised his eyes and looked at her with genuine, undisguised surprise in his eyes. This surprise quickly turned into a deeper, brighter smile. This smile was clearer and warmer than the one he had shown at the bookstore entrance.
"I didn't expect you to like Bach," he said sincerely.
He originally thought that this was just a one-sided sharing from him, a confirmation of her "guess." He never imagined that she not only knew, but also, like him, had her own private harbor in this vast world of music.
He looked down at the record in his hand and thought about the song she mentioned.
In an instant, the two seemingly independent souls found the most precise point of resonance in the name Bach.
"This one of mine," he said in a light but certain tone, as if making a subtle summary, "is the study late at night with the door closed."
He paused, then looked up at her, the light in his eyes incredibly gentle.
"Your song," he said, "is the first ray of light that shines in when you open the window in the morning."
After saying that, he did something that surprised Lin Qi.
He gently picked up the top copy of "Flowers for Algernon" from her arms, placed the Bach record firmly in the middle, and then put the book back.
This action was so natural that it seemed as if it had been practiced countless times.
"This one's for you."
He looked her in the eyes and added very frankly.
"It's... a welcome gift for my new friend."
Lin Qi was stunned at first, and then a very bright smile without any politeness bloomed on her face.
"Okay," she said, "I'll be polite then."
She calmly accepted his sudden gift, which was full of profound meaning.
This frankness instantly relaxed the slight tension in Chen Yan's heart that might have caused him to fear her rejection. He nodded, as if he had finally accomplished something very important.
"Yeah." He responded.
He did not dwell on this topic any further, but naturally turned his attention to another area of the record store. The style there was completely different from the classical area, and most of the covers were colorful and bold in design.
He raised his chin towards that side, and his tone returned to its previous calmness with a hint of playfulness.
"Well," he said, "now it's time to go and see what you called that 'longing for restlessness' deep within me."
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