Li Yan was startled by Xu Zhinan’s sudden movement and looked up: “Master, where are you going?”

“Something urgent came up. Please help close the shop later.” Xu Zhinan hastily swept her things into her bag and rushed toward the door.

“Oh, alright.” Li Yan nodded in confusion as Xu Zhinan had already pushed the door open and disappeared.

A customer who had visited several times before and was somewhat familiar with the tattoo shop owner’s temperament commented teasingly, seeing her like this for the first time: “What’s going on? Is your boss in love? She’s in such a hurry.”

Li Yan replied seriously: “She can’t be in love.”

“Why?” the customer asked in surprise. “I would have thought someone like your master could change boyfriends weekly.”

“Only if she wanted to. If she wanted, I guess she could change them daily. But I’ve been her apprentice for over a year, and I’ve never seen her show the slightest interest in any man.” Li Yan clicked his tongue a few times, shaking his head. “It’s difficult. Her heart just doesn’t stir.”

Xu Zhinan ran back to her apartment complex, panting heavily.

That heart, which Li Yan had claimed never stirred, was now beating unusually vigorously.

Her rented apartment wasn’t on a high floor—just the fifth floor—but in this old complex, the elevator moved slowly up and down, and at this moment, it was stuck at the top floor.

Xu Zhinan couldn’t wait. She pushed open the stairwell door and ran up.

As the stairwell door opened, Xu Zhinan ran out, having climbed five flights of stairs. Her chest heaved violently.

The apartment complex was old, with dark green doors. In front of her door was a red mat with “Wele” written on it, and the corridor lights weren’t very bright.

He was standing lazily by the door, originally looking down with a somewhat lonely expression, only raising his head when he heard the sound.

Xu Zhinan stood in place, too exhausted to move her legs, her throat dry and unable to make a sound.

She had run too quickly and urgently.

Lin Qingye just looked at her, then after a while, smiled: “Did you run back?”

“…”

She scratched her hair, finally catching her breath, made an “Mm” sound, and slowed her pace as she walked to his side.

She unlocked the door and entered.

Xu Zhinan took down the key ring hanging on a nail on the entryway wall, removed one key, and handed it to Lin Qingye. She pressed her lips together and said: “This is the house key.”

He took it: “You’re giving it to me just like that?”

“Mm.”

“Ah Nan.” He ruffled her hair. “You should be more cautious.”

Xu Zhinan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, then she looked up directly into his eyes and said softly, “Do I need to be cautious around you?”

She could feel that Lin Qingye was different in some ways, like last night and this morning.

He was being a bit too proper with her.

The Lin Qingye from before wasn’t a proper person. He was too casual, doing whatever he wanted, not really considering others, and sometimes even giving people a sense of pressure.

But now he showed none of that.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; he had learned to restrain himself.

Xu Zhinan couldn’t quite understand what he was thinking, yet she couldn’t bring herself to ask such questions.

Lin Qingye was caught off guard by her clear, penetrating gaze. He had always been defenseless against those eyes of hers. His temple throbbed, and tiny electric currents spread up his spine.

Lin Qingye was the first to look away from their mutual gaze, turning to enter the room.

Xu Zhinan quietly let out a breath behind him.

She felt a bit frustrated and conflicted. Walking with her head down, she hadn’t gone far when her head bumped into a chest. She didn’t know when he had turned around.

Xu Zhinan made an “ouch” sound, covering her forehead as she looked up again.

“Did that hurt?”

“No.”

Lin Qingye still rubbed her forehead: “I have something for you.”

“What?”

He lifted the bag in his hand—a phone.

Xu Zhinan only now noticed what he was carrying: “Why did you buy this?”

He spoke casually: “Saw it and bought it. Yesterday I noticed your phone was running out of storage.”

“Oh, that’s because I store a lot of tattoo photos and videos on my phone. When I bought it, I thought 64GB would be plenty, but it filled up faster than expected. I’ve already deleted many apps I don’t use.”

Xu Zhinan didn’t explicitly state her reason for not changing phones, and Lin Qingye didn’t probe further.

“Give me your phone.”

She took it out of her bag and handed it to Lin Qingye.

The screen lit up.

A photo of Lin Qingye appeared—one taken by fans at a previous music festival. He had blue hair then, wearing a white shirt and black pants, holding a microphone stand.

The background of the photo was filled with waving light sticks.

Lin Qingye’s eyelid twitched, his gaze lingering for a few extra seconds.

Then he helped her remove the SIM card and transfer the data to the new phone.

After finishing with Xu Zhinan’s phone, he began setting up his own. Xu Zhinan sat across from him, carefully asking: “How much does this phone cost now?”

“Don’t know. My father’s driver went into the store to buy it for me.”

Although this model had been out for some time, it would still cost five or six thousand yuan.

Two phones would cost over ten thousand—not a small amount.

Lin Qingye would need to prepare many things later, with significant initial investment. Another ten thousand yuan gone, and he might not want to ask his father for money. Xu Zhinan frowned, calculating the small savings she had accumulated over the years.

But different industries were like mountains apart. She didn’t know exactly how much money Lin Qingye would need later, or if her savings would be enough to support him for a while.

Lin Qingye noticed her expression and, connecting it with her earlier question, immediately understood what the young woman was thinking.

Watching the data transfer progress bar extending, he deliberately teased her: “Making albums and buying equipment is quite expensive. I might have to sell my apartment.”

Xu Zhinan immediately said: “Oh, that’s fine. You can just live here with me.”

She paused, realizing that her small rental apartment was vastly different from Lin Qingye’s, hardly comparable, and added, “Or I could check with a real estate agent tomorrow to see if there are better apartments available.”

Lin Qingye pressed his lips together, holding back a smile: “No need for that. This place is close to your shop, which is convenient. It’s good.”

Xu Zhinan seemed afraid he would be troubled: “If you’re selling your apartment, do you want me to keep an eye on it? If someone wants to come see it, I could take them there.”

Lin Qingye casually made something up: “No need. I’ll find someone else to handle it. You’re busy with work too.”

The progress bar has finally completed. He put the phone away and smiled at her: “It’s enough that you’re letting me stay.”

After taking a shower, Xu Zhinan came out to find Lin Qingye standing by the bed on the phone.

Having just finished the call, he turned to look at her and said: “You go to sleep first. I have something urgent.”

Xu Zhinan was startled: “Are you going out?”

“No, I just need to write a song.”

“I’ll keep you company.”

He smiled: “You weren’t this clingy before.”

“I’m not… It’s just that I can’t sleep now.”

Lin Qingye quickly walked to her and ruffled her hair: “Be clingy. It’s good for a young girl to be a bit clingy.”

They returned to the living room. He took paper and pen, sat directly on the white fluffy carpet beneath the coffee table, his back against the sofa.

Xu Zhinan sat on the sofa. She had showered and changed into her nightgown, tucking her legs in, arms around them, like a small mushroom rooted on the sofa.

The night was quiet, the room peaceful.

Xu Zhinan’s company was also quiet. She sat behind and to the side of him, not speaking.

Most songs are written lyrics first, then melody. After thoroughly studying the lyrics, one can start finding chords.

But Lin Qingye had great inspiration that night. Another skill the two and a half years had given him was peace of mind. With his heart settled, his body relaxed, and melodies didn’t have to be thought out one by one. Once he came up with the first line, he could hum out an entire section directly.

He was fully immersed and didn’t speak to Xu Zhinan. When he finished everything and looked back, she had already fallen asleep.

Hugging her legs, chin resting on her knees, fast asleep.

Blue hair covering her face, looking very obedient.

Lin Qingye looked at her for a long time, gradually becoming lost in thought, then, feeling somewhat restless, went out to smoke.

After finishing a cigarette and returning, he folded the paper that had been written on until it was almost in tatters, tucked it into his pants pocket, gently picked up Xu Zhinan, and returned to the bedroom.

Xu Zhinan didn’t remember when she had fallen asleep yesterday. When she woke up, she found herself in bed. Opening her eyes wider, she saw Lin Qingye through the open bathroom door—he was already up.

She reached out to touch her side of the bedding. It was still warm.

It seemed he had slept after all yesterday.

Xu Zhinan looked at the time—five minutes to seven in the morning. She got up and walked into the bathroom, rubbing her eyes, still a bit drowsy: “Why are you up so early?”

“I have something to do later. You can sleep a bit longer.”

“I’m up now.” Xu Zhinan also squeezed into the small bathroom, put toothpaste on her brush, and started brushing her teeth. “What time did you go to sleep yesterday?”

“One in the morning.”

“That’s only a few hours. Is that enough sleep?”

“It’s about enough. Special times call for economizing time.” Lin Qingye smoothed her messy bed hair. “I need to get our Ah Nan to a better life soon.”

Xu Zhinan, mouth full of toothpaste foam, looked at him and blinked.

Lin Qingye put his arm around her waist and placed a kiss on her forehead: “I’m going.”

With that, he left. The door outside opened and closed, and the house fell silent again.

Xu Zhinan stood in place for a long time before slowly raising her hand to touch her forehead, softly laughing.

Shen Linlin had also learned of Lin Qingye’s release from prison through Wang Qi. In the “I Come for Music” competition, she had placed second, but she felt no jealousy toward Lin Qingye, only an appreciation for his talent.

When he was imprisoned, she had sighed with regret and even shed tears several times.

So after hearing the news, she actively called Lin Qingye to request a song. This was the second song she had requested from him.

Early in the morning, the doorbell of Shen Linlin’s villa rang.

She threw a shawl over her dress and shuffled in slippers to open the door.

Seeing the changed Lin Qingye, she was equally startled, then felt a pang of sympathy. She was a few years older than him and felt sorry seeing his talent.

“Come in quickly.” Shen Linlin hurried to say. She poured him a glass of water. “Why did you come so early? Have you already written it?”

Lin Qingye chuckled: “Didn’t you say the sooner the better? I happened to have inspiration last night.”

With songwriting, if inspiration strikes, the process can be very quick.

“Where are the lyrics and the music? Let me see quickly.” Shen Linlin couldn’t wait.

Lin Qingye pulled out a paper from his pocket—a tattered A4 sheet, folded twice, already wrinkled, with black pen marks scribbled and smudged in several places, looking like a mess.

Shen Linlin looked at the paper, then at Lin Qingye, making sure he hadn’t taken out the wrong thing.

She stepped back, pointing at the paper with delicate fingers, her expression disgusted: “Keep that dirty thing away from me!”

After saying this, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Before, Lin Qingye had been extremely arrogant. To be honest, it was hard to say whether he was impolite or worldly yet unworldly. He would address her, a senior in the industry, by her full name.

Shen Linlin truly appreciated his talent, but sometimes she felt this person was too damn annoying.

Like now.

Her heart was full of wanting to help him, to give him a hand, but this guy dared to bring such a shabby piece of trash to fob her off.

Yet somehow, she found it fitting. A person like Lin Qingye should be a bit cocky, a bit of a jerk. That tragic storyline of being broken by life and hardship didn’t suit him.

Lin Qingye directly handed the paper to her: “See if you’re satisfied.”

Only then did Shen Linlin realize this was a proper music sheet.

The lyrics were on the back, the notes on the front, just with too many marks of revision, looking like some graffiti drawing.

Her expression gradually became serious. She hummed according to the sheet—a very beautiful, intricate, and gentle tune that flowed naturally from beginning to end.

“You wrote this in one night?”

“Mm.”

Shen Linlin looked at him and said: “Don’t you think I’m being too selfless helping you now? You’re going to be competing with me for a living in the future.”

Lin Qingye raised an eyebrow.

Shen Linlin hummed through it again, combining the lyrics, and gave him an assessment: “You seem to have become gentler.”

He curled his lips, neither confirming nor denying.

“But it also seems like you haven’t changed. Those two and a half years weren’t easy.” Shen Linlin patted his shoulder. “I’m quite relieved to see you’re still the same as before.”

“How was I before?”

Shen Linlin recalled: “Reckless, arrogant about your talent, flamboyant.”

“Those don’t sound like good words.”

“You’re not completely the same now.” Shen Linlin smiled and said, “This is what we call solitary courage.”

The future is unwritten, and we are all dark horses.

His sharp edges may have been smoothed, but limitless brilliance now bursts forth from a deeper layer. What does it matter if he’s on his own? What does it matter if his courage is solitary?

Lin Qingye chuckled and finally thanked her.

Over the next few days, Lin Qingye moved his luggage to Xu Zhinan’s rental apartment. He was still very busy, often working even after Xu Zhinan had fallen asleep.

On the weekend, Xu Zhinan went home for a visit.

Knowing Lin Qingye was busy, she didn’t mention it to him and went home alone. Xu’s mother didn’t know about Lin Qingye’s early release, and Xu Zhinan hadn’t told her yet, not knowing how to tell her that they were now living together.

As soon as she arrived home, her mother had already prepared a table full of dishes.

“You look a bit plumper than a few weeks ago?” Xu’s mother observed.

Xu Zhinan touched her face: “Have I gained weight?”

Her mother smiled: “It’s good to have some more flesh. You were too thin before. I think you were just the right weight when you were in college.”

Xu Zhinan weighed herself and indeed had gained two pounds.

Her weight gain and loss always showed first in her face. When Lin Qingye had just gone to prison, she had lost a lot of weight, her face becoming almost unrecognizably thin.

“The way you are now, you could gain another ten pounds with no problem,” her mother said. “Go wash your hands, and let’s eat.”

Xu Zhinan responded and went to wash her hands.

Just as she sat down, Zhao Qian suddenly bombarded her with a bunch of messages.

[Qianqian: What the hell is going on????]

[Qianqian: Shen Linlin suddenly released a new song this morning, and both the lyrics and music credits are attributed to Lin Qingye???]

[Qianqian: This is a new song! Why would it be Lin Qingye!?]

[Qianqian: Is it possible he’s back??]

[Qianqian: Weibo has exploded. Lin Qingye is truly Lin Qingye—just his name is enough to hit number one on trending.]

Xu Zhinan clicked on the link.

Number one trending topic: Lin Qingye’s comeback.