After the meal, emerging from the private restaurant, the group decided to continue their gathering, clamoring to go to a bar.

Xu You didn’t have anything urgent. Old classmates reunited, the atmosphere was wonderful, everyone was excited—she didn’t want to spoil the mood.

The private rooms were on the second floor and up. Everyone said they wanted something livelier, so they simply sat down in a corner of the main hall.

Song Yifan had drunk a few cups. Seeing the resident singer on stage finish performing and leave as customers went up to sing, he couldn’t restrain himself and stood on stage without any fear of embarrassment.

He was especially cocky, turning to grab a server and asking, “Hey, can you request songs here?”

“Damn, your broken gong voice torturing us is bad enough—why are you embarrassing yourself in front of the whole bar?” Li Jieyi laughed.

Fu Xueli couldn’t stand watching that drunk person and shouted, “Song Yifan, get down here now!”

No matter who called him, it was useless. Song Yifan grabbed the standing microphone, closed his eyes, and just started singing “Love Like the Tide.”

His singing voice rang out, circulating around—Song Yifan’s duck-like voice.

“Hahahaha what the hell is he singing—”

Li Xiaoqiang and the others sat in a circle, jeering mercilessly, each one wanting to rush up and cover his mouth.

Xu You smiled as she watched them make a scene. Xie Ci sat beside her, watching her smile, and smiled too.

The song that was pure torture for the group finally ended. Song Yifan returned, looking completely satisfied.

Li Xiaoqiang threw peanuts at him. “Embarrassing!”

Song Yifan didn’t care at all.

Xu Xiaocheng clicked his tongue. “With your level, you’re simply lowering our standards.”

Song Yifan retorted, “You say that like your singing is so good. How much better are you than me?”

“Yes, yes, yes, I’m not as good as you. The problem is I don’t go up there and make a fool of myself!” Xu Xiaocheng said with a grin, pointing at Xie Ci. “Back in the day, our love song prince, Xie Ci who sang in every bar in Linshi—even he hasn’t budged, sitting here properly. Can’t you learn from him?”

Li Xiaoqiang nodded. “Exactly! Brother Ci hasn’t even opened his mouth to sing yet, so what are you singing for?”

“So what if Ci sings well? He’s not going up to sing anyway.” Song Yifan crossed his legs cockily. “Only I have this kind of general’s demeanor. Plus after all these years, who knows if Ci is still the prince or not?”

Everyone knew Xie Ci rarely sang in public. The close friends had nothing bad to say, throwing peanuts at Song Yifan even more enthusiastically.

“Stupid idiot, everyone’s looking at us. You’ve lost all our face.”

Xu You picked up a piece of fruit and fed it into her mouth, the corners of her lips smiling. She suddenly remembered singing children’s songs at KTV before and being mocked by Xie Ci.

She bent at the waist and suddenly turned her head to look at Xie Ci, asking, “Do you really sing well?”

Xie Ci froze.

“He does.” Fu Xueli answered for Xie Ci. “Honestly, back then none of us sang better than Xie Ci.”

But Xie Ci wouldn’t always sing—he found it boring. When going out to have fun, he’d play cards, drink, and smoke, basically too lazy to use his voice.

A few times when Fu Xueli wanted to hear him, Xie Ci directly refused.

Xu You nodded and made a sound of acknowledgment, not continuing to ask further.

After a while.

Xie Ci, who’d been sitting beside her in silence the whole time, suddenly coughed. He touched his nose. “Do you want to hear it?”

The words were directed at Xu You.

Xu You sat there, slightly dazed, and said, “Sure.”

“Sure what?” Li Xiaoqiang pinched a peanut.

Fu Xueli was surprised. “Are you really going to show your skills today, Xie Ci?”

Xie Ci lazily leaned against the sofa back, his gaze sweeping over them in a circle before finally settling steadily on Xu You beside him.

“Yeah.”

Xie Ci didn’t go request accompaniment music. Instead, he got up from his seat and casually grabbed a guitar sitting in the corner.

The people below started jeering, screaming and cheering, everyone’s eyes following him.

People at other tables also looked over curiously.

Xu Xiaocheng lit a cigarette and said with a smile, “Tsk tsk, Xie Ci gets flirty when he drinks too much.”

Xu You listened, her eyes watching him on the small round stage.

Perhaps because it was hot, Xie Ci had rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing a section of forearm.

He sat on the chair, one leg bent, holding the guitar horizontally across his lap, casually strumming twice to test the sound.

This posture looked professional at a glance.

Quiet for two seconds. Xie Ci pulled up a slight smile, his eyes looking in this direction, leaning close to the microphone to sing the first line.

“—My soul tells me, it was born to love you.”

“My soul tells me, it was born to love you.”

“Perhaps no one else is like you, yet I never know contentment.”

“…….”

His low, light voice, mixed with dry hoarseness, was like a glass of intoxicating anise liquor. Under the hazy, dreamlike dim lighting, Xie Ci wore a white fine linen shirt, his gesture of playing guitar extremely attractive.

He was actually handsome—his facial contours were restrained, one foot placed on the chair. Sometimes he was a bit bad. His affectionate appearance was rarely seen. Now holding the guitar and singing, humming the tune in his throat, there was some casual wildness.

The bar fell silent for three seconds.

Silence, after a long silence, someone finally couldn’t hold back and let out a shriek. Then the entire bar erupted. Quite a few men and women were cheering, setting off a small-scale climax.

Even the circle of people who’d come together watched Xie Ci in shock.

Li Xiaoqiang stammered, “Brother Ci, he sings this well? I’ve never heard this song before. Don’t tell me he wrote it himself?”

“My soul tells me, it was born to love you?”

Fu Xueli smiled lightly. “Even adapting Koiwai’s lyrics—Xie Ci is something else.”

Except for Song Yifan and the few others who were very calm, having been shocked before. Xu Xiaocheng shook the liquor in his glass, shaking his head in admiration.

“Ci is still amazing. After all these years, his handsomeness hasn’t diminished at all.”

Xie Ci lowered his eyes. Light and shadow played across his face, casting shadows beside his refined, straight nose. A pair of slender, well-defined hands, as if born with talent—light and heavy, fast and slow—the guitar strings produced vibrating echoes.

“It’s just thinking of you that I may have no talent for.”

“I can escape the lonely, empty nights, but not the deserted streets.”

Xu You sat in the noisy booth, watching Xie Ci, spacing out for a moment.

When she suddenly came back to herself, she realized she’d been making eye contact with him for quite a while. Xie Ci played and smiled, his lips close to the microphone with slight electric current sounds. His voice, slightly sensual and undulating, straight across the large group of people, he looked directly this way, impossible to ignore. Xu You took a sip of the juice she held, and in the darkness, unconsciously lowered her head and coughed a few times, actually not daring to meet his eyes again.

She felt her heartbeat accelerating, beat by beat, about to break through her chest.

Until the song finished, Xie Ci came down from the stage. He casually grabbed a bottle of cold beer and poured it down his throat.

Sitting in his seat, someone joked, “Brother Ci, 500 yuan for the whole night—are you available?”

“Scram.”

Xie Ci tossed aside the beer bottle and sat down on the sofa beside Xu You.

After a while, several people were amazed by Xie Ci’s performance just now and came over in twos and threes asking for his contact information. Xie Ci directly refused them all.

Everyone was adults. Those few beauties didn’t continue pestering, smiled, and left.

He sat lazily in his seat, pressing against Xu You’s leg. Strange crowds continuously passed by around them. In the narrow seat, though the two didn’t speak, the parts of their bodies touching each other were like fine, burning electric currents.

Xu You felt uncomfortable and wanted to shift her body. She moved slightly, and he immediately pressed closer.

“Xie Ci, stop squeezing me.” Knowing he was doing it on purpose, Xu You pushed his shoulder. She breathed lightly, curling up her legs.

Xie Ci explained, “The space is small.”

He’d now liberated his nature, exposing himself all at once. Although he’d matured, his personality was identical to before.

“There’s space over there.” She pointed it out to him.

Xie Ci smiled, but instead asked, “Did I sing well?”

Xu You heard but didn’t want him to get too proud. So she nodded and said insincerely, “It was okay.”

“Just okay?” Xie Ci didn’t believe it. “Can you speak from your conscience?”

Xu You smiled, enjoying the rare relaxed time between them, continuing to eat fruit. “Don’t be so narcissistic.”

“I’m narcissistic?” Xie Ci asked back, picking up his phone, swiping open the lock screen, his finger randomly tapping the screen a few times.

Not knowing what he was fiddling with.

After a while.

“Listen.” He turned on the speaker and held it to Xu You’s ear.

She froze, hearing a stretch of noisy singing coming through the microphone. The sound quality wasn’t very good, like it had been randomly recorded in a public place.

“….A vine before the gate, tender shoots emerging anew…..”

This voice…

This children’s song…

How…

The more she listened, the more familiar it seemed.

After listening to a few lines, Xu You suddenly realized…

This seemed to be her own singing!!

She whipped her head around.

Xie Ci laughed aloud. “How about it? Don’t I sing better than you?”

Xu You’s face burned bright red, shocked and humiliated. She turned around trying to snatch his phone, gritting her teeth as she muttered, “Xie Ci, how can you be so perverted, secretly recording someone singing? Delete it now!”

He’d actually kept it for so long—it was truly unbelievable.

Xie Ci raised his hand high, eyebrows raised. “No way, I still want to keep it to listen to.”

“What’s good about listening to this?”

Both embarrassed and angry, Xu You tried again to grab his phone. Not knowing what she was thinking, her brain heated up. She pressed her knee directly onto his leg, stretching her arm long to reach the phone.

Xie Ci’s teasing movements paused. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist, afraid she’d fall.

His arm circled around her waist. Their movements were too intimate. This openness drew shouts and calls from those around them.

Song Yifan had created a temporary WeChat group and pulled everyone in to grab red envelopes. He looked up and saw this scene, sighing. “You two are publicly displaying affection.”

Hearing this, the others also looked over one after another.

Xu You took advantage of Xie Ci’s daze to snatch the phone.

Her face was practically steaming. She went to sit properly on the side, hands trembling as she went to delete the audio.

Xie Ci watched her movements, unhurried, saying leisurely, “Go ahead and delete it. I still have more—plenty of backups at home.”

“…” Xu You gripped the phone tightly, biting her lower lip, and exited the recording app.

The desktop background jumped out prominently.

Her movements paused.

In the photo was a gentle, bright summer afternoon. A female student in blue and white school uniform was napping at her desk. Just a back view, her head slightly tilted, revealing closed black eyelashes, a small nose tip. Textbooks and stationery were scattered messily beside her, with a light blue large water cup standing upright. Golden sunlight from the side window illuminated her soft, fine hair, hanging softly on her shoulder.

This girl…

Xu You didn’t know what she felt in her heart—sour and swollen. She withdrew her gaze from the phone and let it fall elsewhere.

The phone screen was suddenly pressed dark.

On the side, Xie Ci said nothing, ruffled his own hair, and leaned forward to take the phone back from her hand.

“When did you secretly photograph me?” she asked.

“Can’t remember.”

“Besides this one… are there others?”

Xie Ci was very honest and answered, “Yes.”

Xu You’s heart pounded rapidly.

Leaving the bar was already close to dawn. A few men stood outside breathing fresh air and smoking for a while, discussing how to get back.

Everyone had driven, but for safety’s sake, they still decided to take taxis separately.

Fu Xueli and Xu You stood to one side. She took a phone call and hung up after saying just a few words.

Xu You asked with a smile, “Do you want to stay at my place tonight? My roommate isn’t coming back today.”

Fu Xueli patted her head. “Xu Xingchun flew to Shencheng. He just booked a hotel.”

“Ah…” Xu You expressed understanding, then sighed a couple times. “Your relationship is really good.”

Fu Xueli smiled. “How are things with you and Xie Ci?”

Xu You thought seriously for a moment, then the corners of her mouth pressed into a smile. She smiled lightly. “Pretty good.”

“He just drank some more alcohol.” Fu Xueli said.

“Mm.”

“Do you have anything tomorrow?”

Xu You said, “I have to go somewhere for an interview in the afternoon.”

Fu Xueli smiled. “When you’re free, give me a call. I’m planning to stay here and play for a few days.”

“Okay.”

Finally everyone else left one after another. Xie Ci insisted on driving his car back. No one could dissuade him.

Li Xiaoqiang suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, Xu You, don’t you live close to Xie Ci?”

So Xu You was responsible for driving Xie Ci home.

She planned to park the car at his apartment complex entrance, then walk back herself—it wasn’t far anyway.

But on the road, Xie Ci started making a fuss. “No way, drive the car to your complex. I’ll walk back.”

Xu You ignored him, gripping the steering wheel, glancing at the rearview mirror—someone behind wanted to pass.

“Can you even walk back in your condition?”

He didn’t respond, not knowing if he’d heard or not.

Xie Ci’s head tilted back, leaning on the soft leather seat. His features appeared even more three-dimensional in the half-light, half-dark, his eyelids lazily half-lowered.

The car window rolled down halfway. The slightly warm summer night breeze poured in.

Xu You reached out and turned on the radio—noisy midnight news.

After listening for a while.

She asked, “Is your work not busy now?”

Xie Ci turned his head to look at her. “Not busy. I’m the boss—very idle.”

“Your… repairing cars, is your hand okay?” Her voice was a bit hesitant.

Xie Ci smiled. “No problem. Are you worried about me?”

Xu You softly hummed in acknowledgment.

“…..”

Quiet for a moment, Xie Ci thought he’d heard wrong. He sat up straight, asking again in disbelief, “You’re worried about me?”

Xu You didn’t speak.

Light and shadow outside the car rapidly swept past, floating on her face. The wind made slight friction sounds with the ground. Both simultaneously fell into silence.

Xie Ci didn’t continue pressing, still thinking about what she’d just said, absent-mindedly.

Xu You drove carefully and suddenly asked, “Xie Ci, what do you like about me?”

Seeing his silence, Xu You added, “I can’t figure it out myself—why did you like me back then, and even secretly photograph me?”

Xie Ci pretended not to hear, forcibly changing the subject. “Xu You, don’t ask me this kind of embarrassing question. My head hurts.”

She couldn’t help but glance at him through the rearview mirror. Xie Ci was smiling, his eyes slightly curved.

In less than a moment, his smile suddenly faded. Then he talked to himself.

“Why would I like you? You’re not even that great.”

Xie Ci remembered the first time he saw Xu You. She’d been holding a pile of books, standing beside him, her whole body radiating a quiet, undisturbed air.

The sunlight that day was too bright, hurting his eyes.

“You weren’t good to me either. You never liked paying attention to me.”

“Why would I like you?”

Xu You quietly, slowly drove the car, letting him talk to himself.

“Actually there’s one more thing.”

Xie Ci turned his head to watch the coming and going traffic, spacing out for a while. “You’re pretty good. All the things you gave me, I came to like them later.”

The first time, she’d brought Want Want milk from home to school, and he’d forcibly stolen it after coming back from PE class.

The second time, he secretly followed her home after school. She saw he was pitiful and shared a qingtuan with him.

The third time, he accompanied her home, to a random noodle shop on the old town’s small street.

The fourth time, he kept watch downstairs at her building on New Year’s Eve. She fed him dumplings.

……

Xu You was in a daze.

So many years had passed between them. She’d also thought for a long time about what she’d liked about him.

Couldn’t figure it out, to the point that after so long, she kept thinking about it, kept being unable to forget.

After crossing the overpass, the car entered the city center. Some shops along the road had closed their doors.

“I want to buy a pack of cigarettes.” Xie Ci’s hand pressed against his head, his voice very light.

Xu You said, “Smoke less.”

“Xu You.” He called her name.

Passing through an intersection, the car slowly decelerated. Xu You responded with a sound.

“Xu You, I miss you.”

“Mm.”

“Do you miss me?”

“No.”

“But I really miss you.”

“You just said that.”

Xie Ci laughed deeply, eyes slightly narrowed, thin lips curving upward. Though Xu You was driving, she still listened to Xie Ci’s words and stopped at her own apartment complex entrance.

To avoid him throwing a drunken tantrum later, insisting on sending her back, which would be even more troublesome.

“Go back and sleep early. Come to my place tomorrow after you’ve sobered up to get the car.” Xu You turned off the engine and pulled out the keys. As she spoke, she prepared to move and unbuckle her seatbelt.

Just as she touched it, Xie Ci pressed down on the back of her hand. He quickly unbuckled his own seatbelt but wouldn’t let her unbuckle hers.

“…..”

Xu You looked at him, quietly saying nothing.

“Guess what I’m about to do?”

“Don’t know.”

Then Xie Ci tilted his head.

“Always letting you see my cute side doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”

“Where’s the cute—mmph.”

Before Xu You finished speaking, he propped one hand on the seat beside her ear and kissed her without explanation.

Her breathing was sealed off. Her head unconsciously tilted back a bit, but Xie Ci pressed even closer.

He pinched her face with one hand, warm lips stuck together.

But after just a deep kiss of over ten seconds, he released her. Xie Ci pulled back a little but couldn’t bear to move away, using his nose tip to nuzzle her cheek, then couldn’t help gently biting with his teeth.

“Don’t think too well of me.”

He had a bad temper—possessive, selfish, willful, liked being jealous. But he tried his best to hold back.

Afraid of scaring her, yet unable to suppress the restless impatience in his heart.

But occasionally there were times he couldn’t control it.

Pushing away the person on her.

The orange-yellow light in the car scattered down.

Xu You gasped a few breaths, unable to suppress her blushing and racing heart. She covered her chest, sitting in her seat, her face gradually turning red.

“Xu You.” Xie Ci coughed once. “I need to tell you something.”

“…..”

“I might have forgotten to bring my keys.”