(Twelfth)

  When they went out, the sky had already cleared up. The sunlight at 4:30 in the afternoon was again generously sprinkled on the streets and on both of them. Summer rain is like that, its appearance looks weak, but it likes this kind of sudden rain, coming fiercely and going suddenly, because it feels that no matter what, it can't do it itself, so it envies and admires people who have such a personality, for example, Liu Qing. For example... She stole a glance at the person walking beside her, humming a song as he walked, not even walking properly, jumping over things as he encountered them, of course, she knew that he had deliberately changed into a blue shirt, and it seemed that he had several blue T-shirts too. She secretly felt that he was most suited to wearing blue clothes, with the blue clothes on, he looked like the sun in the blue sky.

  Just as she was thinking about him, he suddenly lowered his head to meet her gaze. She was startled and turned away with a red face, looking like she had done something wrong. He chuckled and said: "Am I not handsome? No need to pay, just look freely."

  She's so funny and annoying. Turned her head and didn't look at him again. Didn't take the ferry, he said it was because of the rain and the delay in changing clothes wasn't enough time, so they took a taxi instead. She asked in confusion: "Isn't the concert supposed to start at 7?" He explained: "The Beijing band I told you about last week is going to perform with our band today, so we agreed to arrive early and rehearse beforehand."

  She let out a sound and asked anxiously, "Is it too late now?" He looked at her and suddenly said, "Wei Ru Xue knows you care about me." She was even more anxious: "I'm talking seriously to you." He said, "I am being serious." His tone was really serious and his face was very solemn. She didn't know what to say, so she just reached out to hail a taxi.

  As she entered the hall, Ai Qing and a man were sitting in the front row of the hall, chatting quietly. Above them was the stage where several people with long hair and strange clothes were tuning their instruments. They looked like they might be a rock band, so Ye Cang Ran's normal attire seemed even more ordinary by comparison. A pale, thin girl on stage with long silver hair saw Ye Cang Ran and smiled, waving at him. He also seemed excited, calling out loudly: "Xiao Tang, you're here too!" Xiao Tang didn't seem to notice the woman beside him, only walking over to Ye Cang Ran and giving him a warm hug. They exchanged greetings like old friends. Xiao Tang's accent was typical of Beijing TV dramas. He didn't introduce her to Ye Cang Ran, so she just stood there without approaching them.

  Ai Qing smiled as if it was expected when she saw them coming in together. She took the opportunity to talk to Ye Xuanran and Xiao Tang, saying a sentence: "Liu Qing will be here soon." She thought Ai Qing was a person who didn't like to waste words, so she didn't introduce her to the man beside him. Fortunately, she didn't have to force herself to greet him. However, maybe when Ai Qing is with Liu Qing, he'll talk more. Thinking of Liu Qing made her remember what she said about him having a wife, and her already lukewarm attitude towards him became even colder.

  Xiao Tang returned to the stage, and Ye Canran turned around to chat with Ai Qing for a few words, nothing more than tonight's performance. She sat down at another table on the side, and a waiter brought over a glass of white water, asking her in a soft voice if she wanted anything. She said "wait a bit" and thanked him.

  Seeing Ye Canran and Ai Qing sitting together, she couldn't help but compare these two men in her heart. If Ye Canran was the sun, then Ai Qing was the coldest midnight of winter. Even on this sweltering summer day, standing next to him made her feel a chill slowly creeping over her.

  She had always been afraid of the cold. When she was young, her family didn't have heating, and the moment she got into bed on winter nights was the most terrifying for her. The icy quilt seemed like it would never warm up, and just as she started to get comfortable and fall asleep, her mother would call her to get up and go to school.

  When she came to, Ye Fan was sitting across from her with a mischievous grin on his face, staring at her. "What are you looking at?" he asked. She didn't respond and instead said, "Are you thinking about me? Are you wondering what kind of relationship I have with Xiao Tang?" She turned her head to the side and let out a snort, showing her disdain for him. He continued to stare into her eyes and said, "Anyway, tomorrow is Sunday, so you have to wait for me to finish my performance today. We're going back together, you can't leave first." She intentionally said, "I'll leave whenever I want." He pretended to choke her neck, but before he could do anything, someone behind them called out, "Xiao Ye! Xiao Ye!" He jumped up and ran off, not forgetting to remind her, "Vicky, wait for me no matter what." Only when she nodded did he run onto the stage.

  She saw him so serious for the first time, tuning and studying lyrics with other band members, as if he had become another person. Although she didn't want to admit it, the man in front of her seemed more charming than usual.

  The performance was a huge success, the atmosphere in the concert hall was electric. Ye Xianran and Xiao Tang were the lead vocalists, many of the songs she had never heard before, but when they sang "Thinking of You in the Rain" together, she knew it, not only did she know it, but also loved his voice, which was very similar to Jacky Cheung's. Xiao Tang's vocal range was also beautiful, closing her eyes, it felt like listening to the original singer.

  But she didn't know why, seeing them so deeply in love and coordinating with each other made her feel a little uncomfortable and sour. When she got up to wash her hands in the bathroom, she laughed at herself for really treating herself as his girlfriend.

  Liu Qing pushed the door open and came in, took a close look at her face and said: "You're so beautiful today." She splashed water on Liu Qing with her hand and said: "All you know is to make fun of me." Liu Qing looked like he was in a good mood and dodged while saying: "Really, really, you look like a blooming flower, like a woman in love." She scolded: "What woman? Where's the romance? It's not even a thing."

  Liu Qing said, "Nothing? You and Xiao Ye." She hastily said, "No, no, nothing at all." Liu Qing whispered with a mysterious tone, "Haha, I've seen everything." She felt uneasy and asked, "What did you see?" Liu Qing shook her head, "You two aren't really...Xiao Ye is quite popular among girls. You're so innocent, can you handle him?" She didn't know what Liu Qing saw, but hearing her describe Xiao Ye like that made her heart inexplicably sink.

  "There's really nothing between us, he's just my landlord." She said calmly and seriously. Liu Qing sighed: "You're so adorable, earlier when you saw Xiao Ye on stage, you were completely filled with feelings, huh? Just like looking at a boyfriend in love."

  She reached out and gently pinched Liu Qing's arm: "Don't talk nonsense." In her heart, she was asking herself: Really? Is there really a feeling?

  Two people walked back and forth, Liu Qing said that her travel agency would be ready to open in two weeks, and she invited them to come celebrate together. She said it was a must. As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance of the hall, where Xiao Tang's loud singing could be heard coming from inside. A person was leaning against the wall smoking, the cigarette butt flickering in the darkness. As they approached, it turned out to be Ye Can Ran, who didn't move when he saw them come over, but instead said to Liu Qing: "Liu Qing, I need to have a word with Ru Shuang."

  Liu Qing turned his head and made a ghostly face, leaving her behind in a very unkind manner. She also wanted to follow him, but he suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled her into his own embrace, where it was warm and hot. The smell of smoke drilled into her nostrils, and she seemed to be struck by lightning, unable to move or hear any sound. A little worried that the cigarette in his hand would burn her skirt, she had no choice but to let him hold her like this. He buried his nose in her hair and sniffed out the faint scent of apples, her shampoo was apple-scented, he had seen that green bottle, probably the only non-blue thing among her belongings.

  He said in a low, hoarse voice: "I'm afraid you'll leave early." She finally spoke up and quietly heard herself say: "No, I promised to wait for you until the end." She was surprised that she would say such a thing. At this time, applause and cheers erupted in the hall, as if they had woken up from a dream. He let go of his hand and turned around to enter. She stood at the door for a few more minutes, with a strange mixture of sweet happiness and danger swirling in her chest.