Chapter 51 Old Love Letters: Roses Bloom in the Barren Land
Chen Jingchi's motorcycle was parked downstairs. Zhou Yu seemed a little absent-minded. After straddling the motorcycle, she didn't move for a long time. She heard his helpless voice: "It's one thing before, but even now that we're together, you still don't want to hug me?"
The two times she had ridden in his car before, Zhou Yu had kept a respectful distance, not daring to touch him at all. Hearing his words, she suddenly wanted to know what he was thinking at the time, and she laughed behind his back.
She reached out and hugged his waist, pressing herself very close to him. She tilted her head back to reach his shoulder, reminding him, "Boyfriend, hold on tight."
The motorcycle was moving very fast after it started, and Zhou Yu was pulled by inertia, so she had to hold him even tighter.
The thin fabric of late summer couldn't stop the transfer of body heat, and Chen Jingchi could clearly feel her round, soft body pressed against his back. As the car's speed changed, the pressure varied, making him restless.
She usually dresses modestly, using only black, white, and gray, even simpler than men. Her figure is not particularly noticeable under slightly oversized clothes, but she is surprisingly stunning.
He thought to himself that he still hadn't hugged her enough.
Chen Jingchi drove her to her apartment building, parked the car, and the two found a relatively private restaurant nearby for dinner.
"How is your relationship with your roommate?" he asked casually.
Zhou Yu replied, "Very good."
Her gaze fell on the middle finger of his right hand; he always wore the ring, even during class. Perhaps because he had less work recently and hadn't appeared in public much, surprisingly few people were discussing it.
Unlike her, whose necklace pendant could be hidden inside her collar, the ring on his hand was very conspicuous, clearly used to assert his dominance.
He nodded casually: "You don't seem to make many friends."
He used the word "also" in his statement.
Zhou Yu lowered his head and said, "Some people are not worth befriending."
Chen Jingchi deeply understood this statement, and he asked, "Do you want to know why Tidal Echo disbanded?"
Zhou Yu looked at him, thought for a moment, and decided to tell the truth: "Xu Yue told me about it."
Unexpectedly, he raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with jealousy: "He tells you everything, though."
"No, just that one time." Zhou Yu suppressed a laugh. "After that, I always saw him with you."
Looking back now, his strange expression at the time, insisting on asking her if they were familiar, was clearly due to jealousy. However, Zhou Yu didn't dare to draw any conclusions at that time.
Seeing her like this, Chen Jingchi curled his lips: "Are you happy to see me jealous?"
"No," Zhou Yu denied without much conviction, "It's just that it doesn't seem like you at all."
"What would make me look like?" he asked.
Zhou Yu couldn't quite describe what Chen Jingchi was like in her heart. She had seen him when he was at his lowest point, covered in mud, and she had also seen him when he was dazzling, proud, and unrestrained. Now, she was facing him, whose gaze was fixed only on her.
It's the most private side that no one has ever seen.
She didn't answer for a long time, but Chen Jingchi understood what she was thinking. "Do you think it's hard for someone like me to fall in love with someone else?"
Zhou opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The words he spoke made her feel a sense of crisis, as if she were being spied on.
She could only shake her head.
"Zhou Yu, why do you like me?" he asked in turn.
It wasn't because he confessed his love in front of thousands of people, nor was it because his pursuit methods were clever. Zhou Yu knew this very well, but she didn't dare tell him a single word.
She could only say the simplest, most thoughtless things, which were also the easiest to please him.
"I don't know either." She lowered her gaze. "I can't give a reason."
“I’m the same as you,” Chen Jingchi said. “I already liked it by the time I realized it.”
Zhou Yu watched him fall silent, lost in thought.
There are clearly reasons why I like it.
*
Around 6 p.m. after the meal, Chen Jingchi received a call from Du Heng, who said he was on his way to pick him up.
Zhou asked, "Do you have a job?"
"Recording," Chen Jingchi said. "With me?"
He only has one song to record recently, with lyrics written by Zhou Yu last month, called "Out of Control".
She originally named the song "Silent" in the document, but after Chen Jingchi read the lyrics, he felt that the title was too bland and could not fully reflect the atmosphere of the song, so he asked for her permission to change it to the current title.
It's said to be more suitable for the arrangement.
At that time, Zhou Yu had not yet heard the arrangement, so he did not insist on his own opinion and listened to his changes.
It wasn't until she arrived at the company's recording studio and the recording engineer played the accompaniment that she understood why Chen Jingchi insisted on changing the song title.
This is a slow-tempo R&B arrangement. To match the lyrics and melody, the drum beats and bass are perfectly placed, leaving room for endless imagination. It's as if you're in a quiet night, a humid and sultry rainy day, with raindrops gently tapping on the windowpane, the room getting warmer, and the spring sunshine everywhere.
After listening, Zhou Yu felt a bit conflicted. She guessed that Chen Jingchi and the composer had misunderstood the original meaning of the lyrics.
Her lyrics were inspired by Qixi Festival. Chen Jingchi's music was perfect for some ambiguous imagery. She thought of his reassuring embrace and his passionate kiss, and used obscure lyrics to express her feelings when she saw him that night.
Perhaps the lyrics were written with such intense emotion that the arrangement leans the song's tone even further towards a deeper emotional experience, leaving the listener with much to ponder. Zhou Yu was hearing this style of song for the first time and was very curious about how Chen Jingchi would sing it.
She sat with the monitoring teacher when Du Heng walked in with a lunchbox and asked, "You don't mind, do you? I'll eat quickly, I'm starving."
"You eat," the teacher said, "just don't smack your lips."
Through the glass, Zhou Yu saw Chen Jingchi standing in the recording studio. He had taken off his hat. He hadn't cut his hair before so it could grow out properly for styling, and his hairstyle was a bit messy, but he didn't care and reached out to put on his headphones.
"Sing it once first and let me hear how it sounds," the teacher said. "The lyrics of this song are so atmospheric, it's a bit difficult to sing."
Chen Jingchi sang the song in his own way first. Zhou Yu could hear that he deliberately lowered his vocal position and used more chest voice, making it sound deeper and more resonant.
But the teacher wasn't satisfied: "You lacked emotion; you sang 'breathing' as 'panting'."
Du Heng was amused and laughed so hard he almost spat out his food.
"Oh dear, how can you do this? Don't laugh in front of him, it's so discouraging." The teacher shooed Du Heng out, then looked at Zhou Yu next to him and said, "Isn't your girlfriend here? Sing while looking at her, make it sound like you're whispering sweet nothings to her."
Chen Jingchi met her gaze and nodded: "I'll try again."
This time it was much better than the first time. He added some breathy vocals, with a delicate breath enveloping his voice, and he softened several transitions, making the whole song sound more tender and poignant.
"It was alright this time, but the chorus was a bit too relaxed, lacking that emotional feeling." The teacher gave him a scenario: "Imagine you and your girlfriend have just finished kissing and are about to take it to the next level, when suddenly the power goes out in the room. You're both naked, and you're embracing each other, exchanging body heat. Can you feel that atmosphere?"
"Teacher, stop talking." Chen Jingchi's voice was tinged with amusement. "Let her go out for a bit."
Zhou Yu was still silently reciting her teacher's lewd words in her mind. A few words made her vividly imagine the scene, and she was afraid that he would say something inappropriate for children. Chen Jingchi's words were like a timely help. She blushed and quickly came out of the listening room.
Du Heng had just finished his work lunch and was about to go in when he bumped into her. He thought it was too hot inside and asked, "Is it because there are too many people and the air conditioning isn't working properly?"
Zhou Yu's eyes darted around: "It seems so."
Only after Du Heng entered the monitoring room and listened to the teacher's instructions to Chen Jingchi did he belatedly realize what Zhou Yu's reaction meant.
She smiled and reminded him, "Can you say something that young girls can understand?"
The teacher told him to be quiet: "You're getting into the mood, don't interrupt."
Two hours later, Chen Jingchi finished recording the song, and the teacher called Zhou Yu in and played the complete version for them.
"It has to be you," Du Heng teased. "The way a seasoned lover trains you is truly different. It makes me feel all hot and bothered."
The teacher was an old acquaintance of his, and he laughed, "Having dated a few makes you an expert? You still can't compare to me."
Chen Jingchi's powerful voice, rich details, and smooth transitions between strong and weak vocals amplified the ambiguous and intimate atmosphere of the song to the extreme. Not to mention Du Heng, even Zhou Yu felt a tingling sensation running through his skin and his scalp tingling after listening to it.
The recording was over, and that concluded today's work. Du Heng told the driver to take Chen Jingchi home. Once in the car, it was just the two of them in the back. Zhou Yu was still immersed in the erotic fantasies that the song had evoked in her. Chen Jingchi gently pinched the soft flesh of her earlobe, whispering seductively, "Come back with me?"
Zhou Yu glanced at the driver in front of him, but didn't dare to say anything. He then leaned down and silently kissed the corner of her lips.
She couldn't see him because of the seat, but she was still embarrassed and turned her head to hide. Unexpectedly, he was so close that their lips touched face to face, making it look like she had taken the initiative to kiss him.
Chen Jingchi's laughter was soft, but it traveled through his eardrums to his heart. Zhou Yu dared not make any more moves and raised her hand to cover the lower half of his face.
He didn't flinch, but reached out and grabbed her wrist, kissing each of her five fingers one by one, on her fingertips, knuckles, and palm.
Zhou Yu increasingly felt that he might have been corrupted by the teacher who was monitoring him, and he really wanted to know how the teacher had taught him the song "Out of Control" line by line.
She curled her fingers, but he opened them again, his fingers squeezing between hers and interlocking with hers.
Zhou Yu leaned against him, and when she heard him ask again, she wanted him to stop talking, so she nodded haphazardly.
Upon arriving at the apartment building, he still held her hand, leading her into the elevator, opening the door, and returning home.
He pushed her behind the door, and Chen Jingchi's hand pressed down on the back of her head forcefully. The smart home system automatically turned on the living room lights, which Zhou Yugang found too bright and was forced to turn off. The words she hadn't said were swallowed by him.
During the kiss, as if a conditioned reflex was triggered, her mind began to play the sound of Chen Jingchi singing "Out of Control" that she had heard in the monitoring room.
The night was silent.
tacit understanding
Body surface temperature rises and touch sensation is lost
Stalemate and stalemate
"Easily trapped"
He placed his arm around her waist and pressed her forcefully into his embrace, so that there was no gap between them.
Catching his breath, Zhou Yu asked with unfocused eyes, "Is this how your teacher taught you?"
Her clothes were lifted up, and she trembled slightly from the heat of his palm. Chen Jingchi kissed her neck and laughed, "There's more to come."
Zhou Yu felt that if things continued like this, she would definitely develop a strange prejudice against this teacher.
"How did you write the lyrics?" Chen Jingchi asked, nibbling at her earlobe. "Were you thinking of me?"
He gave her time to answer, but Zhou Yu wasted it, only to be met with even more intense kisses in return. Her consciousness gradually blurred, she only knew to respond to his tongue, and the arm behind her waist used its strength to lift her into the air.
Zhou Yu's gasp was drowned out. She hugged him tightly in fear, and nervously opened her eyes as they moved. The next second, he placed her on the bed, and a burning kiss followed, leaving her no time to think about anything else.
Only one wall lamp was on in the bedroom, casting a soft light. As Zhou Yu was being kissed until she was losing consciousness, she heard him whisper in her ear, his voice low and husky: "Can I use my hand?"
Zhou Yu's face flushed red, and after several seconds she asked, "Which hand?"
Chen Jingchi didn't answer; Zhou Yu came up with the answer himself: two.
Disturbed thoughts
Deliberate or unintentional
White walls with interplay of light and shadow
Steam filled the glass windows
"Outlining a chaotic heart palpitation"
She insisted that Chen Jingchi turn off the last light, not daring to look at him, and let him hold her hand.
She loved listening to his voice and was captivated by his loss of control because of her.
The feeling he experienced while riding her on his motorcycle in the afternoon was now being touched by Chen Jingchi himself. It was as soft and supple as he had imagined, with an excellent feel.
"falling as if weightless"
Fleeting traces
One wave after another
The aftermath is starting again.
asphyxia
respite
calm"
He was so strong that even though she had pulled back a lot of force, Chen Jingchi saw the finger marks he left behind afterward and asked her if it hurt.
Zhou Yu's face was still flushed, and she didn't let him look at her for another second. She pulled down her clothes and said it didn't hurt, but he kept coming up to ask, until she complained that he was annoying.
"If it were comfortable, you wouldn't have asked, would you?" Her shy, furrowed brows only made his heart flutter even more.
Chen Jingchi smiled and wiped her hands clean, then picked her up and said, "Go wash your hands."
There were no of her clothes in the apartment; she was still wearing his shirt. This time, Zhou Yu had learned her lesson and wouldn't provoke him no matter how much he hugged her, not wanting to experience the soreness in her wrists and the burning sensation in her palms again.
They slept in each other's arms for the first time.
Roses bloom in the barren land
Fallen petals were crushed to pieces.
The room was filled with fragrance.
-----------------------
Author's Note: There will be tens of thousands more sweet words to come! [kissing emoji]
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