Chapter 75

Ji Wei remembered now. His idol had asked him if he liked cats, and he had said yes. But that didn’t mean he liked cat-ear pajamas…

“Did I misunderstand something?” A trace of confusion appeared on the man’s handsome face.

Lu Shenxing rarely showed such an expression.

Afraid of upsetting him, Ji Wei took a deep breath and stammered, “No, I… quite like them.”

“Then put them on,” the man said, looking at Ji Wei in a gentle tone.

Ji Wei let out an “ah,” clutching the pajamas tighter. He was so shocked he couldn’t speak. His idol actually wanted him to wear these clothes…

He felt like he had dug a pit for himself. He should have just said he didn’t like them.

But gazing into the man’s dark eyes, Ji Wei couldn’t bring himself to say no. He told himself that after he came out, he could quickly get into bed and pull up the covers. That should be fine… right?

Ji Wei took the clothes into the bathroom. He spent half as long as usual showering. When the steam in the bathroom was thick enough to condense into hot air, he finally turned off the shower and changed into the cat-ear pajamas.

The size was perfect.

He towel-dried his wet hair, then used a hairdryer to blow it dry. Once he was sure he was ready for bed, he pushed open the bathroom door. To get to the bed, he had to pass the sofa.

At that moment, Lu Shenxing was sitting on the sofa watching a movie, looking languid. He had unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled them up loosely to his forearms, holding a glass of milk in his right hand.

Seeing the man engrossed in the movie, Ji Wei controlled his breathing and walked forward softly. Under the cover of the movie’s dialogue, his footsteps were almost inaudible.

Good, he won’t notice.

Just as Ji Wei, who was about to pass the sofa, felt his heart relax, and was preparing to take three steps as two to get to the bed, the man suddenly called out to him, asking leisurely, “Want to watch together?”

Ji Wei’s rational mind told him no, but as if possessed, he said, “Okay.”

By the time he realized it, he was already sitting next to Lu Shenxing. Wearing the cat-ear pajamas, he felt exceptionally self-conscious, so nervous he didn’t dare move, trying his best to minimize his presence and focus on the movie.

Apart from Lu Shenxing’s films, he rarely watched movies. A romance film was playing on the television.

During World War II, a young girl in a small French border town falls in love with an American officer. A pure piano score ran through the entire film, ethereal and transparent, as if foreshadowing the lovers’ impending separation.

In the movie, the girl wore a wreath made of Carolina jasmine, her long brown hair loosely tied up, as she saw the officer off.

The young man, wearing pajamas, watched the movie intently, curled up into a small ball.

His ears were also red, made more obvious by his fair skin. He couldn’t hide them no matter how hard he tried. A poke would surely make him lower his head in shyness.

The pale pink cat-ear hood hung behind his neck, rising and falling with his breath, looking just like real kitten ears—fluffy and very touchable.

The man suddenly said, “So cute.”

The movie?

Ji Wei nodded in response. “It is pretty cute.”

His voice trembled slightly.

The movie continued. The officer and the girl kissed on the grass. Thinking about Lu Shenxing sitting next to him, Ji Wei couldn’t help but feel even more nervous. Why couldn’t he fast-forward?

When the most intense part came, Ji Wei finally couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and explained guiltily, “I’m too sleepy. I’m going to bed first.”

He had just stood up when his wrist was yanked hard. He almost fell onto the sofa, but it wasn’t much better than that. He was half-leaning against the edge of the sofa as the man pressed down, trapping him in his arms.

There was no escape.

Ji Wei thought Lu Shenxing was going to kiss him, but the man lifted the cat-ear hood hanging on his shoulders and placed it on his head.

Feeling his hair suddenly enveloped by a layer of soft, warm fabric, Ji Wei’s face was now burning hot, as if it would start steaming any second.

The man looked at him intently, his gaze seemingly carrying warmth, moving from the pointed cat ears on his head to his forehead covered by a few strands of black hair, then to his straight nose, and finally to his soft lips…

The intense feeling of being scrutinized made Ji Wei lower his head in embarrassment, his eyelashes trembling. “Don’t look.”

The next moment, the man narrowed his eyes, lifted his chin, and kissed his lips.

He indeed wasn’t looking anymore.

Instead, he was kissing him earnestly, kissing and caressing him at the same time. He didn’t even miss the fluffy cat ears on his head. The places he touched were left with a burning sensation, making him tremble uncontrollably. That sensation gradually grew hotter and hotter.

He closed his eyes in shyness. Being treated like this was really too embarrassing. He would never say he liked cat-ear pajamas again.

***

When Ji Wei woke up the next day, his hands felt a little sore, and the brand-new pajamas were wrinkled. His face flushed, and he rushed into the bathroom to take a shower before changing out of the pajamas.

When he walked out of the room, the ends of his hair were still a little damp.

His phone vibrated.

The Forbidden City app sent today’s mission.

[Daily Mission] Reach 45 million viewers in the live stream. Mission completion reward: five gacha machines.

While Ji Wei was still wondering what a gacha machine was, the bullet comments had already started to get excited.

[Gacha machines? The money-making stuff is here!]

[As a person with bad luck, I know this well. Gacha is thrilling for a moment, but keep pulling, and it’s always thrilling!]

[Morning, Weiwei!]

Ji Wei clicked on the item description on the main interface to understand what it was. Customers could spend money to draw prizes from the gacha machine.

The prizes were all items from the little shop, some with high prices, some with low, and they could be exchanged with the cards they drew.

It was essentially a semi-automatic lottery box.

Ji Wei clicked into the live stream again. Since the stream had just started, there were only twenty-three million viewers. The peak number of viewers last time was forty million.

Ji Wei felt that this mission would not be particularly easy to complete.

However, the focus of today’s work was the hot pot business in the backyard.

Ji Wei carried the suitcase full of hot pot base out. Xiao Chi and Zhao Yue were already placing products on the shelves.

Lu Shenxing sat on a chair at the counter, pricing the wine Anna had sent over. After labeling them, he placed them on the shelf behind him.

Ji Wei passed by the counter and quickly said, “Good morning.”

Just then, Ma Laoyezi walked out of the kitchen with bread and handed a piece to Ji Wei. “Today’s tasks are quite heavy, so breakfast is simple.”

“Thank you.” Ji Wei took the soft, toasted bread and took a bite. “Delicious.”

Ma Laoyezi smiled, then noticed the faint dark circles under Ji Wei’s eyes and asked with concern, “Did you not sleep well last night? You look much paler.”

Ji Wei thought of last night and couldn’t help but cough. Just as he was trying to come up with an explanation, Lu Shenxing lowered his eyes and said, “My fault.”

The bullet comments exploded.

[Did Film Emperor Lu just say what I think he said?!]

[Holy crap, fanfic writers, get to work! This is all material!]

[?? Why don’t I understand what you guys are talking about at all? Is this world too complicated? Or am I too pure?]

[It’s because Film Emperor Lu is a beast!]

Hearing Lu Shenxing’s words, Ji Wei was scared to death. His mind raced, and he quickly tried to smooth things over. “I have trouble sleeping in new beds. I had asked him to bring me some melatonin, but he forgot, so I didn’t sleep very well yesterday.”

Ma Laoyezi sighed. “You should have asked me. I always carry melatonin when I travel.”

Seeing that he had managed to smooth it over, Ji Wei breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Lu Shenxing, who still had that same indifferent expression.

Ji Wei: …

He decided to put the hot pot base in the kitchen first. This time, everyone except Ning Qing had brought hot pot base, but they were all store-bought packages.

After handing out the bread, Ma Laoyezi walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see that the hot pot base Ji Wei brought had no packaging. “Did you make this yourself?”

“An uncle at home made it,” Ji Wei added. “He’s a very good cook.”

[Homemade hot pot base! I want to eat it… ]

[The packaging looks pretty plain.]

[Never mind the taste, this kind of homemade stuff is definitely healthier than store-bought, right? But the hot pot bases from a few big brands are all pretty good. The malatang shops here buy them by the bucket!]

Ji Wei and Ma Laoyezi were in charge of cutting vegetables. Halfway through, they realized they didn’t have enough plates. Xiao Chi went out and bought a hundred more. They were so busy all morning they didn’t have a moment’s rest.

At nine o’clock, the Forbidden City Little Shop opened!

Ma Laoyezi was in charge of the kitchen, Ji Wei took down the orders, Lu Shenxing handled the payments at the counter, and Zhao Yue and Xiao Chi were responsible for selling miscellaneous goods and maintaining order.

As for Ning Qing, after Zhao Yue found out how famous he was, he didn’t dare ask him to do anything. This was a national treasure-level musician. If he injured his hands, Zhao Yue felt he would be flamed so hard he’d have to quit the industry.

Thus, Ning Qing was the only one in the shop without an assigned task. He wandered around curiously for a bit, and seeing that everyone else was busy, he probably felt a little lonely and went to his room to get a zither.

The moment he brought out the zither, the bullet comments exploded.

[It really is Teacher Ning Qing! I saw the leak yesterday and thought it was fake. What kind of godly lineup is this?! I’m dead!]

[Teacher Ning Qing is so amazing! He’s incredible at both orchestral and traditional music. Can you believe he can make a pipa sound like a guitar?]

[Did anyone notice that zither? It’s the Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant! A thousand-year-old Tang Dynasty zither! There are only four in the whole world!]

[Holy crap, he can just casually bring out an antique-level zither like that. What kind of prominent family is Teacher Ning from?!]

He sat in the rest area and began to play. This Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant was a Fuxi-style Guqin, with a paulownia wood top and fir wood base. The sound was warm, powerful, relaxed, and clear.

Compared to other instruments, the guqin’s sound was not loud, but its tone was clear and cold, as if one were in the presence of flowing water and clear springs. It had an indescribable ancient charm, and passersby who heard the music would curiously come in to have a look.

[Teacher Ning Qing plays so well. Even I, who don’t like the guqin, am mesmerized. But can you even play an antique-level instrument like this?]

[Of course you can. A guqin needs to be played to maintain its vitality. The vibrations from the music can slowly loosen the body of the zither and release the stress within.]

[Thanks for the info. But if it were me, with such an expensive zither, I wouldn’t dare to play it even if it were handed to me!]

[Hahahahahahaha, so true!]

Lily was a reporter for CNN. She hadn’t been back to her small town of St. Lawrence in many years. This time, her friend had told her that a Chinese grocery store had opened in town, selling amazing items, which was why she had come back to see if she could find a story.

She walked to the shop’s entrance.

—The Forbidden City’s Little Shop.

It seemed to be the name of a palace in China. To her surprise, it was just past nine, and the shop was already crowded with people. It seemed quite popular. She heard the sound of a zither from the crowd and walked over.

A refined middle-aged man was playing the zither.

Although she couldn’t distinguish the facial differences among Chinese people, she felt this person looked familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before. She used an image search on her search engine, and a Wikipedia article popped up.

—Composer and musician Ning Qing.

She finally remembered. He was the winner of last year’s Oscar for Best Original Score, an artist who was very successful in both the artistic and commercial fields.

She had her interview for the week.

She raised her camera, changed angles, and took several pictures of Ning Qing. When the piece ended, she immediately squeezed to the front of the crowd, saying “excuse me” several times to the people around her.

“Hello, I’m Lily, a reporter from CNN. May I interview you?” Lily asked nervously. “It will only take a moment.”

“Ten minutes, then,” Ning Qing said, glancing at the clock.

“Thank you so much,” Lily said joyfully.

[Hahahahahaha, I’m actually watching someone conduct an interview on my computer.]

[Teacher Ning Qing has so much clout. I feel like this female reporter definitely recognizes him!]

[Of course. The movie he scored last year got four Oscar nominations. That’s more famous than winning some big award!]

[After all, purely artistic things are still niche.]

Ten minutes was not long, but it wasn’t short either, enough to put together a short article. Through the interview, Lily learned that he had come to St. Lawrence to record a variety show and had come to the shop as a composer.

At the end of the interview, Lily couldn’t help but ask, “So have you composed a piece for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop?”

“I just finished it,” Ning Qing nodded.

[??? How did I not know? Wasn’t he just playing the zither? Where did he find the time to compose?]

[It was that piece. No wonder I’d never heard it before. It turns out it’s a new piece by Teacher Ning, and it’s quite difficult!]

[Awesome! I just thought it sounded good!]

“Would I have the honor of hearing it?” Lily asked shyly.

“I still need an erhu. I’ll go get it,” Ning Qing agreed.

But the bullet comments were all confused.

[I know Teacher Ning is amazing, but no matter how amazing he is, he can’t play the erhu and the zither at the same time, right?]

[It seems like no one among the guests knows how to play the erhu.]

[Hey, have you guys noticed the number of viewers in the live stream has broken thirty million? It seems everyone wants to see the four-hundred-million-yuan Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant.]

Ning Qing’s guqin skills were extremely high. Since no one was eating hot pot in the morning, Ji Wei just sat quietly and listened. It was a very beautiful piece. As he watched, he thought about the musical score.

After he had memorized the entire piece, he saw Ning Qing take out an erhu, and his face was also full of confusion.

Suddenly, Ning Qing walked up to him and asked, “Could you please help me?”

Why is he using honorifics… he must have misspoken.

Ji Wei quickly nodded. “Teacher Ning, please feel free to ask.”

[Two people using honorifics with each other, is that a thing?]

[Teacher Ning grew up abroad and his Chinese isn’t very good. Let’s not make fun of him!]

[Hahahahahahaha, I suddenly find him so cute!]

“Accompaniment,” Ning Qing said, pointing to the guqin. “The score is the piece I just played. If you don’t remember it, I can play it again. But I’ve seen your live stream of you playing the zither, so I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“I’m the junior. There’s no need to use honorifics,” Ji Wei said, waving his hand.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll just say ‘you’ from now on,” Ning Qing said with a slight nod.

Ji Wei: …

He walked to the Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant and sat down. He took a deep breath, ready to play, but then pulled his hand back. He couldn’t help but ask Ning Qing, who was beside him, “Teacher Ning, what if I break it?”

He couldn’t afford to pay back four hundred million.

[Hahahahahaha, that’s me!]

[Film Emperor Lu should be able to afford it, right?]

[That’s hard to say. He only has his salary from acting, right? He doesn’t even have endorsement fees. But I heard his family background is quite deep.]

“Relax,” Ning Qing’s tone was very casual. It was the Lu family’s zither; it wouldn’t matter even if Ji Wei smashed it.

Ji Wei didn’t know what Ning Qing was thinking and thought he was just encouraging him. After two long minutes of mental preparation, he finally dared to place his hands on the zither.

With a light press and pluck, the sound quality of the fifth and sixth strings seemed average, lacking the deep, rich resonance of Ning Qing’s playing.

[This… is quite a bit off.]

[The Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant is not easy to play. Many famous artists’ playing sounds average on it, no different from a regular medium-quality zither.]

[It’s a famous zither, after all.]

This was the first time Ji Wei had encountered such a situation. All eyes were on him, and Lu Shenxing was also looking at him. But his heart unexpectedly calmed down.

A person adapts to the zither, not the other way around.

He gradually became familiar with the zither, and the sound became warm and deep, not thin and weak like at the beginning. Although it still couldn’t compare to Ning Qing’s playing, the bullet comments were still very surprised.

[I’m shocked. Not many people can play the Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant, right? Although this one is the easiest to play.]

[Just being able to play it is amazing!]

[And Weiwei is an art student, not a music student. His playing technique is different from most people’s. I wonder where he learned it?]

[Holy crap, the number of viewers in the live stream is almost thirty-five million. The gacha machine today might actually be possible. Doesn’t anyone sleep?]

Ji Wei stopped his trial playing and gave Ning Qing a look.

Ning Qing began to play.

The erhu played the main melody. The tune was slow and melodious at the beginning, with a hint of sorrow. Then, the speed of the bowing suddenly increased, so fast that you could almost see afterimages, as if moving from a chaotic era to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, with an extremely magnificent momentum.

[Oh my god, what kind of god is this?!]

[Wuwuwuwuwu, frantically cheering for Teacher Ning!]

[I’m watching and promoting it on Weibo at the same time. I won’t allow anyone to have not seen The Forbidden City’s Little Shop’s live stream!]

Ji Wei’s zither playing was not as brilliant as Ning Qing’s, but gradually, people noticed that he had completely replicated Ning Qing’s previous guqin score.

Both the pitch and the rhythm were perfectly matched. As a result, his duet with Ning Qing had no awkwardness, and the harmony was so perfect it didn’t seem like their first time playing together. The ups and downs of the erhu’s tone did not overshadow the warm and ethereal sound of the zither.

[Wait? I’ve discovered a blind spot. Ji Wei has only heard Teacher Ning play twice, right? He didn’t even look at the score, and he can play a duet? What kind of memory is that?!]

[His pitch is also amazing. I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but his drawing is also very accurate!]

[Today is another day of praising Cub Wei. How is he so talented?!]

[Just came over from Weibo! Both the big and small one are gods. What’s the name of this piece? I want to know!]

Xiao Chi, wearing the shop’s uniform, stood beside Ji Wei, also mesmerized. He didn’t even hear a customer walk through the crowd to pick up their order until the piece ended and the customer said angrily, “If you don’t say something, I’m just going to cancel.”

Only then did he snap back to reality. “I’m sorry, what did you need to pick up? I’ll go get it for you.”

Because the shop’s space was limited, it was impossible to display all the products. Large purchases required going to the storage room to get the goods. He glanced helplessly at Zhao Yue, who was taking pictures of Ji Wei with his phone.

This task was originally supposed to be shared between him and Zhao Yue, but Zhao Yue had pushed it all onto him.

Senior Zhao…

He really didn’t know what to do with him.

The customer felt neglected and was somewhat annoyed. “You didn’t even hear what I said. I don’t think there’s any need for me to buy anything anymore.”

It was the first time Xiao Chi had encountered such a situation on the show. He was a bit stunned. Besides apologizing, he didn’t know what else to do.

Just then, Ji Wei put the zither away, returned it to Ning Qing, and walked over. After a moment of recollection, he said, “This customer should be asking for eighty-three sets of Forbidden City washi tape, thirty-five Cold Magpie Diagram notebooks, ten Forbidden City panoramic jigsaw puzzles…”

Xiao Chi suppressed his shock and asked the customer, “That should be correct, right?”

The customer also nodded in disbelief. Because of his surprise, his tone unknowingly became much kinder. “Please get them for me.”

This was a big sale. Xiao Chi immediately agreed and turned to walk to the storage room.

The bullet comments were shocked.

[Wasn’t Ji Wei playing the zither?! How did he remember all that?!]

[My god, when he was playing the Nine Heavens Ringing Pendant, I didn’t feel anything special, but seeing this gave me goosebumps!]

[+1, he’s blowing my mind every episode.]

Lily couldn’t help but mutter, “Can a person really be that incredible?”

She was really glad she came today. If only she could invite them for an interview.

Because of her excitement, the adjective that slipped out was not “common,” but “normal,” which, besides its meaning of “ordinary,” more accurately refers to being “standard” or “typical.”

She was standing at the very front of the crowd. Although her voice was soft, Ji Wei still heard it.

His body trembled slightly, and he unconsciously clenched his hands.

After the crowd slowly dispersed, he walked up to Lu Shenxing, took off his earpiece, opened and closed his mouth a few times, and finally asked in an extremely quiet voice, “Am I… not normal?”

He had always felt that he was different from others.

And others thought so too.

Even if he carefully tried to blend into this world, it seemed he was still not normal.

Hearing his words, the man looked up, his clear dark eyes losing their casualness and focusing intently on him. “You’re not abnormal.”

It was a simple sentence, but it inexplicably put him at ease.

The man then continued, “It’s a gift from God to you. A one-of-a-kind gift.”

No one had ever said that to him before.

Ji Wei’s eyes started to well up. He lowered his head. “But not everyone has it.”

—So he was still not normal.

Unexpectedly, the man said softly, “I have one too.”

“What is it?” Ji Wei asked subconsciously.

Lu Shenxing looked at the young man, his thoughts returning to three years ago.

At that time, he had cut off ties with his family because of his acting career. Neither he nor Lu Ji was willing to back down. He couldn’t get any roles, had worked as a teacher, and even delivered takeout. Ying Guanxiao described him back then as cold and stubborn.

He felt that description was wrong.

Back then, he lived like a taut string, stretched to its limit.

That string finally snapped.

—It was during the filming of Wind of Qin.

He was hit by a steel bar on the set, breaking his back. He could only lie in a hospital bed. The only fortunate thing was that the director, out of guilt, covered all his medical expenses. Otherwise, all the money he and Ying Guanxiao had combined wouldn’t have been enough for the hospital stay.

A month had passed, and he still hadn’t been discharged.

Afraid? How could he not be afraid? He was afraid he would never be able to stand up again, afraid he would have to lie in a hospital bed for the rest of his life. But most of all, he was afraid he would never be able to act again.

He just stayed in that small hospital bed.

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

…

His only companion was the open window opposite him. There was nothing outside, just bare tree trunks and a ground covered in ginkgo leaves that had drifted from who knows where. There was no sign of life.

Until one day, a young man appeared.

The young man wore a blue and white striped hospital gown and held a drawing board, sitting among the ginkgo leaves, painting.

The sunlight poured wantonly onto the young man’s beautiful face. Even though he didn’t smile much, as if he were in another world, he was still bright and dazzling.

In the silent hospital room, he heard his own heartbeat.

The young man came to paint every day. He couldn’t help but write a love letter.

He never sent it, afraid of holding the other person back.

He thought that if he could recover, he would walk up to the young man and hand it to him personally. But by the time he slowly recovered, the young man no longer appeared.

That was his first love letter, and also his last.

The man pulled himself out of his memories, his eyes half-closed as he answered, “Meeting you.”

—It was God’s gift to him.