Chapter 52 Chapter 52
The car window slowly rolled up, shutting out the last glimmer of light from the street corner. Silence reigned inside the car. Lia gently closed the door, but before she settled down, a question rang out from the driver's seat. "Did you have fun?" The tone was neutral.
It sounded like they were discussing the weather. Lia was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at the person who was speaking. He was leaning lazily against the back of his chair, his hat brim drooping, his profile hidden in the intersection of the dim light and the night, making it impossible to discern his expression.
His fingertips tapped lightly on the steering wheel, once, twice. It was his habit at the console. "...Yeah." Not knowing what else to say, she replied dryly. "Friend?"
Lia pursed her lips and nodded slightly. "Yeah." The corners of his mouth curved slightly, but the smile was very faint. "Very thoughtful." Lia tilted her head and glanced at him. But he stopped talking.
He just stared silently ahead, his hat pulled low, his lips tightly pursed. The atmosphere was like thin ice, ready to shatter at the slightest touch. She looked away, trying to find a topic to ease the awkwardness. "Being... busy lately, huh?"
After racking her brain, she managed to come up with a meaningless question. "Yeah, busier than being an actor." "Hair..." she trailed off, quickly changing the subject. "The color is beautiful."
The light blond hair not hidden by the hat peeked out, glistening slightly in the dim light. "Just dyed it. I have a music video shoot the day after tomorrow." He spoke calmly, continuing the question-and-answer process. Silence fell again in the car.
Just when she thought this awkward situation would continue, a slight "woosh" sound suddenly came from the back seat. Lia was startled and turned around almost subconsciously. "...What's that sound?"
There was a black pet carrier in the back seat, the door half-closed. A furry thing inside stirred, as if waking from sleep. The next second, a small, wrinkled head poked out from the towel wrapped around it.
It was a puppy. A small Shar-Pei, its eyes still closed, its body gray-brown and wrinkled like a freshly steamed bun. It lay limply on the mat, its nose moving wetly and letting out a soft breathing sound. Lia's eyes widened.
"...dog?" "...Yeah." Kwon Ji-yong responded awkwardly, "Kento's family just gave birth to a few dogs. I went to take a look, and he forced the babies on me." He looked very reluctant.
She suddenly remembered that he had mentioned this at the party. She hadn't expected him to have a puppy so soon. Lia was a little excited. She turned and leaned towards the back seat, pushed open the pet carrier door, and carefully lifted the puppy out.
The little thing was soft, warm, and smelled of milk. It was still trembling slightly, curled up motionless in her palm, its nose wrinkled and twitching slightly from time to time. She couldn't help but let out a soft "ah."
—Cute! So! Adorable! She screamed inwardly and subconsciously rubbed her face against the dog's ears. They were so soft, like a ball of breathing pudding. "So ugly..." Quan Zhilong glanced sideways and said with disdain.
Lia glared at him and quickly covered the puppy's ears. "Don't listen to it, don't listen to it, it's a bad review." The puppy whimpered softly, as if in protest. "Oppa, are you going to keep it?" She hugged the dog and looked up at him expectantly.
"Hmm..." He nodded reluctantly, "Let's keep it for now. If we're too busy, we can ask our parents for help." A smile appeared in her eyes: "What's the name of our puppy?"
"Ours?" He immediately grasped the point and asked slowly. Lia blushed. "That's not what I meant..." Quan Zhilong chuckled, and his mood seemed to improve.
"It doesn't have a name yet, you come up with one." She looked down at the puppy curled up in her arms and thought for a moment: "Then let's call it... Jiahu?" "Jiahu?" He raised his eyebrows.
"It looks like a tiger, little tiger." She explained seriously, pointing to the patterns on its body with her hand, "And it's a family treasure, so let's call it Jiahu." "Okay, then let's call it Jiahu." He agreed readily.
She lowered her head and carefully stroked Jiahu's back. The puppy sniffed slightly, as if adjusting to the new smell. "Can I come visit him more often in the future?" "Then this will be his birthday present this year," he said. "What birthday present?"
"Visit rights." He nodded his chin at the puppy. "Jiahu's." Lia couldn't help laughing. "Okay, I will fully exercise my visitation rights."
The atmosphere noticeably relaxed, as if the air was gently stirred, dispelling the chill. She placed the tiger back into the pet carrier in the back seat, carefully fastening the buckle and making sure it was secure before withdrawing her hand.
Quan Zhilong took out a black velvet bag from the drawer of the center console and handed it to her. "This... is for you." Lia was stunned for a moment and reached out to take it.
The bag wasn't large, but it felt heavy. She gently pulled the drawstring, revealing a silver bracelet. It wasn't the usual shiny silver, but rather a slightly dull, oxidized material. The links were thick and the lines clean.
Her fingertips gently stroked the chain links. A line of Gothic "Chrome Hearts" was hidden behind the clasp, with a delicate cross pattern and ".925" silver label.
On the front of the silver bar, only two letters were engraved: "LK." - Lia Kim. Her fingertips paused and she looked up at him.
He looked out the window awkwardly, trying to speak casually, "When I went to Japan, I asked Verbal to help me contact Chrome Hearts... and had them make it."
"You can find someone to make this?" Lia was a little surprised. "Ordinary people can't do that," he shrugged, his tone flat. "Verbal is familiar with them. I just wanted to try making something myself, so he helped me get in touch."
As he spoke, he raised his left hand and pointed to a silver ring on his ring finger. The ring and bracelet were from the same series.
The position and proportions of the silver ingots were almost identical, and a closer look revealed they were also hand-forged, except the letters engraved on them had changed to "JY." "This is a proper birthday present," he smiled softly, "Happy birthday, Lia."
She looked at the bracelet, and her palm suddenly felt hot. "Thank you." She said softly, but without hesitation, "I like it very much." "Do you want to wear it?" he asked. Lia was startled.
As if taking her acquiescence, he reached out and took the bracelet from her palm, looking at her quietly. She held out her hand blankly, as if bewitched. He carefully put it on her, and a few strands of her light golden hair fell.
The light was dim, and he lowered his head slightly, his face almost touching her wrist. His knuckles were long, and his fingers slid across the edge of her wrist with a movement so light that it felt almost weightless. "Click"—the silver buckle closed.
He didn't let go immediately, but lowered his eyes and watched for a moment more. A car passed by, its headlights sweeping across his profile, outlining his brow bone and casting deep shadows under his eyelashes. His expression remained flat, yet it was unusually quiet.
Thump—thump— Lia remained motionless, her heartbeat pounding against her chest, as if threatening to break through the silence of the car. He finally raised his head. "Is it appropriate?" His voice was low, as if he was suppressing some emotion.
She nodded, her throat dry: "...It fits." The corners of his mouth finally curled up slightly. "That's good." He let go of her hand and leaned back in his chair. "Don't take it off," he said.
By the time she got home, it was completely dark. Lia quietly opened the door and, under the dim light of the street lamp outside, changed her shoes and put them in the shoe cabinet. She didn't turn on the lights. After turning on the air conditioner, she walked straight to the living room carpet and sat down.
The room was quiet, so quiet that she could only hear the occasional click from the air conditioner vent. She looked down at the silver chain on her wrist, which cast a soft glow in the dim light. The links felt slightly warm where they touched her skin, as if they were still warm.
She raised her hand and examined it for a long moment. The silver ingot wasn't large, its edges showing signs of polishing and the inscriptions deeply engraved. It had a touch of his usual aesthetic—boldness and uniqueness. She couldn't help but recall the look on his face as he bent down to help her buckle the necklace.
Lia let out a soft breath, lowered her hands, and leaned back against the wall. Her eyes fell on the small gray box beside her. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and picked it up.
The box was small and simply packaged. The lid was wrapped with a gray and white string tied in a small bow in the center. She untied the string and gently lifted the lid. ——Inside was a Fuji Natura
The Classica is a film camera made only in Japan in the 2000s. It features a slim, silver-gray metal casing and has "Fujinon Lens 28mm F2.8" printed above the lens.
It lay there silently, like an old object polished by time, quietly leading people to imagine those undeveloped images about it. There was no note or explanation in the box.
She picked up the camera and flipped it over in her palm for a moment. The dial clicked softly, the shutter still in place. "Click—" She raised her hand and snapped the shutter out the window.
Outside the window, she saw the city in its slumber, its lights scattered and the buildings blurred. She didn't focus, unsure if she could capture anything. She gently returned the camera to its case.
Then he stood up, walked to the desk, opened the drawer, put the small box into the deepest compartment, and slowly closed it. "Click." Locked.
She sat back in her chair, resting her forehead on the table, looking at the mottled shadows cast by the light from the window, letting her thoughts slowly sink in. The night was quiet.
The wind blew outside the window, carrying the warmth of the late summer night, brushing across her face and gently passing over a corner of the half-closed curtain.
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