It fell from his fingertips

By the time we returned from the studio to the main gate of Qinyuan Garden, it was already getting dark.

The cicadas' chirping had subsided considerably, and the wind, having cooled down from the daytime heat, felt quite comfortable against the skin.

Grandpa Lu, leaning on his cane, saw them to the door. He glanced at the sky, then turned to Zhou Jinbai: "It's getting dark. It's not safe for the young lady to go home alone. Jinbai, could you give her a ride home?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Luoqing quickly waved her hand to refuse: "No need, no need, sir, I can take a taxi myself, don't trouble your brother."

Before she could finish speaking, she stole a glance at Zhou Jinbai's profile, her heart pounding. This older brother was already so cold and unapproachable, how could she possibly trouble him to come all the way to see her off?

"There are few cars outside at this time, so it's hard to hail one."

Lu Yu chimed in from the side, chuckling as he nudged Tang Luoqing's arm: "Besides, Jin Bai happens to live in the city center, so it's on the way."

Zhou Jinbai stood to the side the whole time, his fingertips resting on his car keys. Hearing the old man's words, he raised his eyes and glanced indifferently at the portfolio that Tang Luoqing was clutching tightly in her arms. His voice was indifferent: "I was just going to the company to pick up a document. It's on my way."

Having said all that, it would be pretentious for Tang Luoqing to refuse any further. She could only purse her lips and give Zhou Jinbai a slight bow: "Then I'll have to trouble you, elder brother."

The man didn't say much, pressed the car lock, and the headlights of the black sedan flashed twice.

He walked around to the driver's seat, paused as he passed the passenger side, reached out and opened the door, said nothing, and simply stepped aside.

Tang Luoqing was slightly taken aback, then quickly sat down with her sketchbook in her arms.

On the way back, the carriage was quiet. Tang Luoqing sat stiffly, her eyes fixed on the rapidly receding shadows of the trees outside the window. The sketchbook in her arms was a little inconvenient, so she changed her posture.

"Put it in the back seat."

Zhou Jinbai's voice rang out, his deep tone particularly clear in the quiet carriage.

"Ah... okay."

Tang Luoqing quickly turned around and carefully placed the sketchbook on the back seat.

After she sat back down and fastened her seatbelt, she realized that the car had slowed down at some point, and then accelerated again once she was settled.

The evening rush hour had just passed, and the roads weren't too congested. As the car crossed a bridge, the sunset in the west was in full bloom, and the orange-red light shone through the car window, falling on Zhou Jinbai's profile and casting a small shadow on his high nose.

The man's jawline was taut, and his hands gripping the steering wheel were exceptionally handsome, with distinct knuckles, prominent wrist bones, and sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing pale skin.

Tang Luoqing glanced at it casually, and then became lost in thought.

She found it hard to reconcile the cold, business-like man in front of her with the aloof painter holding a paintbrush and painting with paint.

I was so engrossed in watching that I stopped the car at a red light.

Zhou Jinbai turned his head and happened to meet Tang Luoqing's gaze, which she hadn't had time to look away from.

Tang Luoqing's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly turned her face away and looked out the window, her ears turning bright red instantly.

Just as I was awkwardly wondering what to say, a neatly folded wet wipe was handed to me.

"tip of the nose."

The man's voice was flat and emotionless: "It's covered in pencil dust."

Tang Luoqing raised her hand and touched the tip of her nose, and saw that her fingers were indeed a little gray.

Her face burned even hotter. She quickly took the tissue, whispered a thank you, and carefully wiped her face clean with her head down.

The green light came on, and the car started moving again.

After a moment of silence, the man in the driver's seat spoke first: "Ask whatever you want."

Tang Luoqing: "..."

How did you know what she wanted to ask?

However, Tang Luoqing was indeed very curious.

After a long silence, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, Tang Luoqing tentatively asked, "Big brother, did you... study painting before?"

"Um."

Zhou Jinbai responded softly, "I studied it for a few years."

"That……"

Tang Luoqing regretted asking the question as soon as it left her mouth, feeling it was too abrupt. But the words were already on her lips, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue, "Why did you stop drawing later?"

After asking the question, Tang Luoqing held her breath, afraid of upsetting Zhou Jinbai.

After all, this is their private matter, and it would be extremely impolite to ask about it so rashly.

Seeing that Zhou Jinbai remained silent, Tang Luoqing quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Zhou Jinbai's fingers, which were gripping the steering wheel, paused slightly. After a long silence, he finally spoke softly, "There's nothing I shouldn't ask. Something happened at home, and we need someone to take over."

His tone was very flat, so flat that you couldn't tell what emotion he was talking about; it was as if he were talking about someone else's business.

Tang Luoqing's heart stirred upon hearing this.

She vaguely remembered the turmoil that had befallen the Zhou family a few years ago: the old man was seriously ill, there was internal strife in the company, and Zhou's father was unable to manage such a large enterprise. It was Zhou Jinbai, who was not yet twenty years old at the time, who single-handedly shouldered the burden.

She used to dismiss it as just a business rumor, but now, looking at Zhou Jinbai's calm profile, she suddenly had a strange feeling.

Just how many secrets is this person hiding?

Even though she looks as cold as ice, she will quietly slow down the car, hand you tissues, and won't get angry at your questions.

Soon, the car arrived at the entrance of Yujingwan residential area. Tang Luoqing grabbed her bag in advance, ready to thank the driver and get out of the car.

However, the car was parked a few steps closer than where she usually parked when taking a taxi, just avoiding the puddle of water that had accumulated in front of the door after the rain.

"Thank you for bringing me back, brother."

Tang Luoqing unbuckled her seatbelt, turned to Zhou Jinbai and smiled, revealing two shallow dimples: "Then I'll go up first, take care on the road, brother."

Zhou Jinbai hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on her face, and added, "Don't forget your sketchbook."

"Oh, right."

Tang Luoqing awkwardly turned around to get her sketchbook from the back seat, grabbed her things, got out of the car, stood by the roadside, and waved to the people in the car.

Zhou Jinbai nodded slightly, started the car, and drove away.

A faint scent of the girl lingered in the carriage, like peach-flavored gummy candy.

He remained silent for a few seconds, then instead of heading to the company, he turned the steering wheel and the car disappeared into the night.

·

When Tang Luoqing got home, she first put away her sketchbook, then turned around and poured a full bowl of cat food for Naitang. Watching the kitten eat with its head down, she then took a change of clothes to take a bath.

After taking a shower, Tang Luoqing cooked herself some frozen dumplings. After eating and washing up, she sat on the sofa with a milk candy in her arms and took out her phone to make a video call to Zhou Yanchen.

Unfortunately, the other party did not answer.

Out of curiosity, Tang Luoqing dialed again, but the other party still didn't answer.

She stared at her phone screen, a vague unease creeping into her heart. She couldn't help but wonder if Zhou Yanchen had gone to a bar again, or somewhere else entirely.

Tang Luoqing put down her phone in frustration, went to her study, and looked at some sketches she had made at Qinyuan Garden that day. Her frustration gradually dissipated.

Just as I was about to pick up a pen to draw something, my phone rang with a WeChat notification. It was a video call from Zhou Yanchen.

Tang Luoqing answered the call, and the other person's face came into view.

"Baby, I'm sorry, I was taking a shower and missed your video call."

In the picture, Zhou Yanchen does indeed look like he has just finished taking a shower, and he is drying his hair with a towel, with water droplets dripping down his hair.

Tang Luoqing's previous annoyance was completely swept away.

At the same time, she immediately perked up and shared her experiences of the day with Zhou Yanchen.

From the moment she entered Qinyuan Garden, to being praised by Grandpa Lu for the painting's spirit, and finally to her elder brother driving her back.

When she mentioned that "her older brother used to study painting," Tang Luoqing's tone carried a hint of melancholy that she herself did not realize.

Zhou Yanchen thought for a moment before speaking: "I think I heard this when I was a child. My older brother used to be very good at painting and won many awards, some of which were international awards. But then he suddenly stopped painting, and the family never mentioned it. I was young at the time and didn't ask much. Oh, right..."

Zhou Yanchen paused slightly, then casually added, "Su Leqi asked me to drink again today, and I refused directly. Baby, wasn't I a good girl?"

Tang Luoqing was quite surprised to hear this, but felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

This shows that Zhou Yanchen really is keeping his promise to paint the picture he gave him.

The two chatted for a bit more about everyday things before Zhou Yanchen said he had some work to do and hung up.

After hanging up the phone, Tang Luoqing leaned back in her chair, scooped up the milk candy that had jumped up, and held it in her arms. Recalling everything that had happened today and Zhou Yanchen's words just now, she couldn't help but think that what her older brother had given up was not just a hobby, but a path that he had won many awards on and should have continued down.

That's not just ordinary letting go; it's cutting off the part of yourself that you love most.

Tang Luoqing hugged Naitang and shrank back into the sofa, gazing at the night outside the window, and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Naitang, it must have been very hard for Big Brother back then."

On the other side, Zhou Yanchen hung up the video call, casually tossed his phone onto the bedside table, then took off his loose bathrobe, changed into a neat black work uniform, zipped it halfway up to reveal his sharp neck, grabbed his car keys and helmet from the entryway cabinet, leaned against the door and dialed Su Leqi's number, his tone as casual and arrogant as ever: "See you at the top of the mountain in half an hour."

Half an hour later, the roar of engines filled the mountain road late at night, and several motorcycles sped through the bends like the wind, their tires screeching across the ground.

After crossing the finish line at the top of the mountain, someone honked the horn and wailed. Several cars stopped one after another at the viewing platform, and a group of men and women got out of the cars, full of wind and joy.

Someone shouted at the top of their lungs towards the myriad lights of homes below the mountain, their laughter carried far away by the wind.

Zhou Yanchen took off his helmet and threw it on the roof of the car. His black hair was a little messy from the wind, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He looked up and shouted at the mountain wind. Most of the frustration from rushing to complete the project over the past few days dissipated, and his eyes were full of arrogance and dashing spirit.

Su Leqi smoothed her wind-blown hair, walked over, and lightly nudged his elbow with her arm. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "Aren't you afraid your girlfriend will find out and you'll have to fly back in the middle of the night to appease her?"

Zhou Yanchen twitched the corner of his mouth, took the ice-cold beer his friend handed him, his fingertips tapping the cold can, and said casually, "As long as I can appease her, isn't that enough?"

"Let's make this clear first, you're not allowed to cause me any more trouble on Weibo."

"I really don't know what you like about her."

Su Leqi chuckled and looked at Zhou Yanchen's profile. Although she was smiling, there was an indescribable sense of melancholy in her tone.

Zhou Yanchen's gaze fell on the distant night, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "You'll know when you have someone you like."

A mountain breeze swept over, carrying a chill, and ruffled the hem of their clothes.

Su Leqi stared intently at Zhou Yanchen's profile, twitched the corner of her mouth, and ultimately said nothing.

My friends behind me shouted for another round, and the engine roared up again, piercing the silence of the mountaintop.