He did it on purpose.
On the way down the mountain, the car rounded a bend.
He looked into the distance, thought for a while, and suddenly spoke to Lin Wanzhou in the passenger seat.
"By the way, what did you write on your blessing plaque?"
"Wha... What?" Lin Wanzhou blinked hard, her eyes instantly misting over with embarrassment, "Just... hoping for my new song to be a big hit, and maybe even outdo Pei Muchan in sales."
Xu Qingyan: "....Do you have a deep conflict with her?"
"Not really, I've just gotten used to seeing her as my rival." Lin Wanzhou wiped her eyes; his sudden question almost made her heart leap out of her chest.
"I see."
"Yep."
The headlights illuminated the distant road, casting a conical beam of light.
She rolled down the car window, and the night breeze from outside rushed in, scattering the heat gathering on her face. The end-of-summer night was quiet, the lights in the suburbs dimming.
She could feel her breaths getting heavier, the silence in the car making her hearing extremely sensitive, like she was on a small boat sailing through the night fog, tossed about by the waves.
"By the way, has Jiang Yunyao contacted you?" Lin Wanzhou suddenly changed the subject.
"No, with the number of topics about me right now, who'd dare to contact me?" Xu Qingyan supported himself on the car window, his driving speed leisurely due to the nighttime.
"During that love variety show, I said a lot of controversial things, and I don't know how much the director chose to leave in. And now, my exposure has increased at least a dozen times over what it was before."
"I've been on the trending searches a dozen times, the people cursing me could line up all the way from Qinghe to Xinghai."
"Why did you say so many controversial things?" Lin Wanzhou didn't understand, "If you're on a love variety show, wouldn't being cautious with your words bring you more popularity?"
"Well... the confidentiality contract's not up yet, but you can probably guess."
"For money?"
"I didn't say anything. Anyway, having popularity is quite troublesome," said Xu Qingyan, "I ran into some trouble back then; luckily, I went on the love variety show."
"It's all my fault, I should have contacted you sooner at that time," she said with her head down.
With a single sentence from Xu Qingyan, Lin Wanzhou's desire to pour her heart out was again stifled, and she once more sulked alone. Those days had been too hard to endure, trapped between practice rooms and the stage.
Pressure, performance, grades, her mother's rage, fear, and despair cycled endlessly. It was like an incredibly long winter where she just silently endured.
Even after her mother had passed away, she was still numb. Her inner world was hollow and dark, with only fragments of memories, always accompanying her.
She wanted to adjust herself just to be a normal person, to go out and see him.
It was like those many years ago on a weekend afternoon, squatting in front of a street stall, carefully selecting hairpins. All so that she could impress someone for a second or two while passing by their desk during evening self-study.
The reason for liking him, probably, was that his life wasn't as smooth as she had imagined, yet he had always managed to excel in living.
It's like trusting someone, not seeing them for years, and they uphold your trust. Starting as an armored foot soldier, not becoming the red-robed Great General, but dragging an injured comrade to survive the battlefield.
He was that kind of person, thriving in good times and having strategies for the bad. Absolutely serious, absolutely persistent, indomitably tough, invincible, and capable of doing anything.
The car rolled past a crossroad, heading straight toward the city center.
"But now I'm out of money and deeply in debt," Lin Wanzhou said softly, "I can't help you with anything now; instead, I need your help."
"You'll rise again; don't worry too much," Xu Qingyan replied casually, "It won't take long. If this song doesn't explode, we'll just add another."
If someone else had spoken these words, Lin Wanzhou would have taken it as mere consolation. But coming from him, they seemed to carry more weight, a hint of credibility.
Because she believed in this person, even with an uncertain future, there was a sense of solidity.
...
Hum!
Xinghai Overpass, Pei Muchan drove aimlessly forward.
The car was filled with gas, and when under pressure, she liked to drive without a destination in mind. She'd worry about the return journey later, suspecting she might run out of fuel before deciding to continue.
Unconsciously leaving the overpass behind and heading toward the mountain road, the roadside lights were dim.
The car window was half open, the speed was not too fast. Cold wind poured in, whistling past her ears. There were not too few vehicles on both sides of the road; she stayed away from secluded areas.
Without a destination, she took turn after turn, and suddenly the view in front of her opened up.
The vast night sky revealed itself without warning, and with a screech, she hit the brakes. She stared at the open space ahead for a long time, only then realizing she had reached the mountaintop endpoint, with no road ahead.