"When a woman has slept with a man, and that man stands beside her again, her expression is completely different. It's incredibly obvious. Even an idiot could tell."
Whether the alcohol had taken effect that quickly or Zhen Dongjun simply had a lot he wanted to get off his chest, he suddenly opened the floodgates, despite having barely said much during their previous meetings.
"Actually, I treated her pretty well. Although I didn't love her, I didn't really do anything to let her down, either."
"Men don't care that much about being cheated on. The key is how they get cheated on." Zhen Dongjun glanced at Bai Youlou. "Being with some worthless little thug like that is worse than being with you."
Bai Youlou raised his glass. "You flatter me, brother."
But he didn't interrupt, because Zhen Dongjun, who had just downed another mouthful of alcohol, had a whole pile of things he wanted to say.
"I had a lot of complaints about Dong Lu. For example, she didn't like exercise. Forget outdoor exercise—even the best kind of indoor exercise between a married couple, she didn't like. I did my duty, but little by little, I really lost interest in her."
"When I pursued her, she was still a young girl. Later, she even lost that little bit of girlish beauty. In front of me, she became a very dull married woman."
The mineral water bottle was empty.
Bai Youlou poured half of his "white tea" into Zhen Dongjun's bottle, making it full again.
Then he asked casually, "Why did you pursue her back then? I heard it was quite passionate—you chased her for several years and even confessed your love at an awards ceremony."
Zhen Dongjun's face was bright red. Whether from the memories or the alcohol, no one could say. He closed his eyes. "Because she was passionate. She didn't hold anything back."
After the misunderstanding had been cleared up, this drunken confession seemed to have finally come to an end once both bottles were empty.
Zhen Dongjun seemed like a loser who, after being cheated on, was doing everything he could to express that he "didn't care." Between the lines, it was all "I don't love her," and therefore it didn't matter.
Long Ziqiang felt somewhat emotional. Men...
He couldn't help asking, "Then why did you stop loving her later?"
The question seemed pointless, because Zhen Dongjun had practically already given the "reason."
But the reasons people said out loud were all meant to convince themselves.
There was no answer. Zhen Dongjun seemed to have fallen asleep.
But he seemed to have already answered the real question earlier, too.
"Because she was passionate. She didn't hold anything back." Bai Youlou repeated it for him.
Long Ziqiang was left speechless.
Unfortunately, there was no alcohol left.
"How interesting! She was both his unrequited love and the cinnabar mole in his heart."
"Brother Lou, he's drunk here. What should we do? Should we notify the production team?"
"No need. I really liked his performance. I'll practice the song for the next recording. It's not like I listened to his story for nothing. This mess can at least have a proper ending: one song for each spouse."
Long Ziqiang was somewhat surprised. The song for the next recording? Hadn't he practiced it before? What was it called again? "The You of the Past."
The piano prepared in the practice room wasn't particularly high-end, but Bai Youlou didn't mind. His fingertips lightly touched the keys.
Melancholy, gentle notes flowed out~
"I dreamed of a dream in my sleep that I could never wake from
A red imprisoned within a red thread
All that remains of the stimulation is an exhausted ache
No longer moved at all
When I held you from behind
The face I expected to see was hers
It's truly laughable; I don't quite understand
Yet I longed for you to understand"
"."
The singing had clearly begun, yet the practice room seemed to have fallen into an eerie silence.
Yes, silence.
Apart from the piano melody and Bai Youlou's voice, it was as though all things had fallen quiet.
The drunken muttering from Zhen Dongjun and Long Ziqiang's little movements as he had waited cheerfully for the song both vanished.
Looking at Zhen Dongjun, who seemed to still be asleep, and smelling the alcohol in the air, Long Ziqiang felt that everything at that moment carried an extraordinary sense of story.
It was just a pity. Why was he the only listener at a time like this?
He felt that even if Bai Youlou sang the song again onstage during the recording, even if the accompaniment wasn't as simple as it was now, it would probably be difficult to recreate the feeling he had at this moment.
But perhaps that was simply how songs worked. They always needed additional emotions to strengthen the experience.
Human beings probably weren't that passionate most of the time. It was just that songs magnified their emotions.
"What you can't have will always stir unrest
Those who are favored have nothing to fear
The red of roses, fragile dreams
Held in your hands, yet slipping through your fingers
Falling empty once again~"
The song came to an end.
Tap.
Long Ziqiang opened the window and lit a cigarette.
"A Qiang~"
"Oh, my eyes got sand in them."
"You should say they got smoked by the cigarette. Where did Zhen Dongjun go?"
"Huh?"
Long Ziqiang turned around and saw that Zhen Dongjun, who had been "sleeping" there moments ago, had actually disappeared.
He vigorously rubbed his bald head, wondering if he was hallucinating.
"Wasn't he drunk?" The moment he asked the question, Long Ziqiang suddenly realized. "He wasn't drunk?!"
"I told you I really liked his performance." Bai Youlou spread his hands.
"Then were the things he said just meant to fool us?"
"They were sincere, but this guy has too many thoughts running through his head. He's really no fun."
The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Serves him right!"
--
Clean up the trash and get ready to leave.
Everyone knew that eating hotpot at home was the cheapest option, but many people still preferred going to a hotpot restaurant.
The main reason was that they didn't want to clean up.
Anyone who had cleaned up after hotpot knew how filthy the soup base could get.
The more satisfying it was to eat, the more troublesome it was to clean up afterward.
Fortunately, Bai Youlou had found a reason not to clean up.
"Teacher Bai!"
When a young woman with slightly reddened eyes suddenly appeared in front of you late at night, there was no need to say much. Just gently hug her.
The reason Bai Youlou didn't do that was mainly because of the smell on him.
Hotpot, smoke, alcohol. Mixed together, those odors were enough to dilute most of the passion.
He knew even with his butt that this girl had definitely been an "onlooker" to what happened in the practice room.
He glanced at the camera that was still running and grew curious. Would the production team dare to release that footage?
They probably didn't dare.
He just didn't know how they would edit it.
The person standing in front of him was naturally Bai Youlou's only connection at Zhe Lan TV.
Host Xiao Liu.
Her appearing here tonight was actually quite normal, because she had work to do for the practice-room recordings.
For example, she had to promptly pick up the conversation while the mentors were teaching the students.
She had come over to Bai Youlou's side earlier, but seeing the two of them eating hotpot, she couldn't exactly sit down and join them.
In the end, she ran over to the director's group and kept watching the "live broadcast" from there.
By then, almost everyone from the director's group had left, but she still hadn't gone.
"Why the tears?"
"Teacher Bai, I don't know either."
"Why haven't you gone home yet?"
Host Xiao Liu shook her head. She didn't answer the question anymore, merely staring straight at Bai Youlou.
Her eyes seemed like a flame rising in the night.
What hotpot smell? What smoke and alcohol?
None of it mattered so much at this moment.
Her charm was perfectly timed, though it couldn't exactly be called love.
Bai Youlou openly admitted that lust had gotten the better of him. Tonight, this outsider seemed destined to strike the bell of a local temple.
Long Ziqiang stared dumbfoundedly as Bai Youlou put his arm around the girl and walked away without looking back.
Then he looked at the mess inside the practice room and suddenly understood.
Damn it, he was probably going to have to clean it up alone.
Before you continue