RSDH CH32

After getting into the car, Duan Xingye didn’t immediately catch up on sleep, instead gazing out at the pale winter streetscape through the window.

Having just twirled a lock of hair around his finger a couple of times, he noticed the ring on his ring finger.

Duan Xingye stared at it, pressing his thumb against the band to spin it around.

Saying he missed me, really means he wants to do it.

Although Cheng Duzhou hadn’t done anything last night, that was because Duan Xingye had called him out to his face for lacking boundaries, bruised his ego, making him too embarrassed to continue. To salvage his dignity afterward, he had actually resorted to using the agreement’s clauses to argue back.

Blocking him wasn’t because Cheng Duzhou had violated the contract, nor was it because Cheng Duzhou had eaten a leopard’s gall and dared hang up on him; it was because…

Duan Xingye’s fingers, pinching the platinum band, paused. Tilting his head, he resumed twirling his hair.

No particular reason. He was just annoyed looking at him.

But reviewing his own actions rigorously, Duan Xingye admitted there were issues on his end too.

Assuming a hung-up call meant Cheng Duzhou was mocking his presumptuousness, and blocking him without a word of explanation, had been overly sensitive.

It was just a simple “I miss you.” Cheng Duzhou hadn’t even done anything, yet he had rushed to draw a line, clearly showing he couldn’t play along.

Not being able to play along meant he cared.

Letting Cheng Duzhou see that he cared about something like this? Don’t be ridiculous.

Duan Xingye let out a soft sneer.

Cheng Duzhou didn’t even rank on his list of priorities. Once the divorce papers were filed, they’d never cross paths again.

Anyway, the time they had left together was only two months. What could possibly change in two months?

Having thought it through, Duan Xingye finally felt at ease. He let out an elegant yawn, tucked his hands into his pockets, and leaned against the car door, preparing for a good sleep.

The moment his head hit the window glass.

…Too hard.

Duan Xingye opened his eyes, grabbed a throw pillow, stuffed it against the window pane, and rested his head on it.

A moment later.

…Too bumpy.

…If only that human cushion, Cheng Duzhou, were by his side.

…

Duan Xingye frowned slightly.

He had only slept leaning against Cheng Duzhou twice during last week’s round trip to Xi Village; it shouldn’t have become a habit.

He halted his train of thought, refusing to let his mind wander further.

Before Singer-Songwriter 101 began recording, a block of time was set aside for the mentors to rehearse next week’s solo stages.

To help the mentors focus, only the stage spotlights were on in the studio, leaving the audience seating in pitch darkness.

Tao Ziyi had just finished rehearsing his track and stepped off the stage.

With few people around, applause rang out sparsely. Seeming quite satisfied with his performance, Tao Ziyi smiled and nodded at them.

Duan Xingye was up next, reaching behind his waist to attach his microphone pack.

The director walked over, looking troubled: “Teacher Duan, I need to brief you on a situation. We just received an email reply—the copyright for the song Dawn is no longer held by the record company. If you want to perform it publicly, we have to negotiate with Old Master Zheng. This is an oversight in our process, and we are terribly sorry for the trouble it’s caused you. We are already recontacting the relevant people, and the moment we hear back, we’ll notify you immediately. However, just to be safe, would you consider changing the song today? Just in case negotiations fall through and delay your rehearsal time.”

Standing nearby, Tao Ziyi happened to overhear and let out a covert, gloating smile.

He had predicted long ago that Duan Xingye’s song would definitely need swapping, and having to sync up with a new track afterward would probably make time incredibly tight.

—”No need.”

Duan Xingye spoke calmly. Hearing this, Tao Ziyi froze for a second.

Looking entirely unconcerned, Duan Xingye put in his in-ear monitors and said, “I’ll wait for your news.”

Tao Ziyi was astonished. Knowing there was zero chance of striking a deal with Old Master Zheng, he couldn’t believe Duan Xingye wasn’t even considering the possibility of failure.

Was he overly confident, believing he could perfectly execute a last-minute song change? Or did he simply not take the solo stage seriously, planning to just sing whatever?

Even the director felt it was risky, urging: “Whether Old Master Zheng will agree is still an unknown. It’s better to have a backup plan. Let’s rehearse with a different song today just in case…”

“Just do your part on your end,” Duan Xingye interrupted, taking the microphone handed to him by Xiao Dai. “Don’t worry about me. I can take the stage without any rehearsal.”

The director: “…”

He had long heard Duan Xingye had a strong personality; seeing it today proved the rumors true.

Although Duan Xingye’s attitude was arrogant, as a guest, not only had he refrained from chewing them out for the crew’s negligence, but he was also willing to shoulder the consequences himself. From that perspective, Duan Xingye was a cooperative partner who saved them hassle and offered peace of mind.

Rubbing his nose, the director walked away.

Standing by with his arms crossed, Tao Ziyi found it amusing.

Turns out Duan Xingye was merely acting unbothered out of blind arrogance.

Duan Xingye prepared to take the stage.

Smiling brightly, Tao Ziyi said, “Junior Brother, good luck~”

Walking past, Duan Xingye shot him a glance.

That kind of look, making it glaringly obvious he didn’t even register him as a blip on his radar, was just as infuriating as ever.

The final touches on Duan Xingye’s rearranged track were still pending, so the rehearsal used the original sheet music. He was mainly here today to test the venue’s acoustics and familiarize himself with stage blocking.

In the darkness, Tao Ziyi took a seat in the front row, watching the stage leisurely. He wanted to see just what kind of transcendent level Duan Xingye could deliver with such immense confidence.

With everyone having so little prep time, they were only competing on basic execution. At most, Duan Xingye had a slightly stronger upper register—what was there to be so smug about?

The stage spotlight dimmed, framing Duan Xingye in his starting position. As the music played, he stood with his eyes closed, holding the mic in one hand, his body swaying gently to the rhythm.

Below the stage, crew members moving equipment couldn’t help but stop to watch.

Under the lights, a soft halo enveloped Duan Xingye’s snow-white face, breathtakingly beautiful. His posture was relaxed yet elegant, making one instinctively want to unwind with him and feel the groove of the music.

Sitting beside Tao Ziyi, Jin Zimi whispered: “First time watching Teacher Duan live, it’s so textured.”

She had heard Duan Xingye’s songs before, but those were through the internet or television, which couldn’t rule out the aid of pitch correction. She had been curious about Duan Xingye’s true vocal level; hearing someone live was the true test of a singer’s chops, and it felt vastly different.

Smiling falsely, Tao Ziyi remarked with a teasing tone: “He definitely has a huge advantage in aura and appearance. But when it comes to live vocal performance, honestly, everyone’s about the same…”

Before he could finish, the band’s arrangement swept into the verse. Duan Xingye lifted his microphone: “A beam of light in my eyes, descends into the darkness, illusory as a dream—”

His crystal-clear voice, like a quiet river right before dawn, flowed out with extraordinary stability, washing over the darkness of the studio.

Jin Zimi’s expression lit up instantly, raising her hands to clap; joining her were the surrounding crew members.

Some singers possessed a captivating charm the moment they opened their mouths, making the audience desperate to offer feedback.

If not for the fear of breaking Duan Xingye’s immersion, Jin Zimi would have cheered out loud.

So it wasn’t just Duan Xingye’s aura and appearance that had texture; his voice had even more texture. Even if one closed their eyes, it wouldn’t stop them from falling in love with that incredible voice! A true master! His live vocals without any backing tracks were rock solid—simply too powerful!

The corner of Tao Ziyi’s mouth twitched. He hadn’t received this kind of reception during his rehearsal earlier.

…

The three-plus-minute performance ended. Duan Xingye hadn’t made a single pitch error the entire time, synergizing perfectly with the band members.

Enthusiastic applause erupted all around, and Jin Zimi let out a refreshing “Wooo~,” clearly having thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Sitting in the dark, Tao Ziyi felt sour. Having not seen Duan Xingye perform live in a long time, he realized he had underestimated him too much.

Even the standard Duan Xingye displayed in this mere rehearsal was on par with the official stage Tao Ziyi had envisioned for himself.

However, on second thought, Tao Ziyi reasoned that Duan Xingye’s phenomenal performance was partly because Dawn perfectly suited his vocal timbre and range. A different song might not yield the same result.

Tao Ziyi breathed a sigh of relief, smirking triumphantly.

Since no one could secure the copyright from Old Master Zheng, it didn’t matter how well Duan Xingye sang now; ultimately, he wouldn’t be able to perform this song on stage anyway.

…

As Duan Xingye walked toward the backstage dressing room, Xiao Dai excitedly handed him a bottle of water.

After the New Year, Duan Xingye had thrown himself entirely into prepping his new album and rarely took on performances. For the one or two gigs he did take, the live equipment couldn’t hold a candle to the premium setup at the Singer-Songwriter studio, practically burying his Teacher Duan’s talent.

Hearing Teacher Duan’s vocals again today, he was thrilled, eagerly anticipating the day of the mentors’ solo stage; Teacher Duan would absolutely blow the roof off the place.

However, Xiao Dai was also worried, asking: “Teacher Duan, if we can’t secure the copyright for Dawn, wouldn’t the arrangement you’ve been working on for it be completely wasted?”

“How could we not secure it?” Sitting on the sofa, Duan Xingye tilted his chin toward the AC control panel on the wall, looking entirely relaxed. “Grandpa Zheng is very easy to talk to.”

Xiao Dai “oh-oh”ed in realization. Since Teacher Duan wasn’t worried, he let it go and went to turn up the AC.

Having warmed up from singing, Duan Xingye took off his coat.

While drinking water, he received a WeChat message from Kan Dashan.

Grandpa: [Xingxing, your new variety show premieres today. I’ll record the broadcast when the time comes. Good luck! [Rose]]

Wiping a drop of water from his lip, Duan Xingye had long given up on convincing his grandpa he didn’t need to record physical discs. Taking the opportunity, however, he remembered something.

Seen: [How has Grandpa Zheng been lately?]

Grandpa: [Old Zheng is living the retired life, completely carefree.]

Seen: [Do you two still keep in touch?]

Grandpa: [I don’t care to contact him, though he’s always trying to come down to Yu City to visit me. I’m busy, don’t want to see him.]

“…”

Seen: [You could retire too, go out for walks with your friends more often.]

Grandpa: [Xingxing thinks Grandpa is getting old. [Wilted Flower]]

Seen: [No. Just asking the young lad to find some time to go out with friends outside of work.]

Grandpa: [[Rose]] Grandpa: [Why bring up your Grandpa Zheng all of a sudden? Need him for something?]

Duan Xingye thought about it; it was the production crew’s business, and not a big deal anyway.

Seen: [Just crossed my mind, so I asked.]

Exiting the chat with his grandpa, Duan Xingye noticed a message Cheng Duzhou had sent a short while ago.

Cheng Duzhou: [I’m heading out to Sister Jiang’s place now.]

Duan Xingye knew Cheng Duzhou was reporting his itinerary.

Staring at his phone in thought, his lively dark eyes darted slightly as he typed.

Seen: [Send me your location pin.]

Having just gotten in the car, Cheng Duzhou saw the message and fell silent.

In the past, whenever he reported his schedule, Duan Xingye never said much; now he was suddenly asking for a location pin, seemingly beginning to distrust him.

Combined with the unprecedented video call last night, thinking back on it now, it might have been a spot check.

Cheng Duzhou wasn’t afraid of being checked, but Duan Xingye’s suspicious attitude left him somewhat bewildered as to what exactly he had done wrong.

Was it because of that junior labelmate’s sudden visit last time? Did he think he’d get tangled up in scandals on set?

Cheng Duzhou then thought of his precarious marriage with only two months left. Before he could even draw closer to Duan Xingye, he was already being treated as an unfaithful suspect. A dense, prickling sourness spread through his chest.

Cheng Duzhou sent his location over.

No reply came from Duan Xingye’s end.

He locked his phone.

Brother Duo was driving him today. From the moment Cheng Duzhou got in, he noticed his Best Actor seemed down in the dumps, looking nothing like someone heading to a friend’s gathering.

Glancing through the rearview mirror, Brother Duo saw Cheng Duzhou with downcast eyes. A man who was usually cold and fierce now looked like a stray dog caught in the rain by the roadside.

Brother Duo even wondered if he was sick.

“You alright?” he asked.

Cheng Duzhou gave a faint hum, indicating it was nothing.

Seeing he didn’t look fine at all, Brother Duo ventured a bold guess: “Had a fight with Teacher Duan?”

Cheng Duzhou stayed quiet for a long while before saying, “It seems I’ve misunderstood a great many things.”

Misunderstood Duan Xingye’s feelings toward him.

And misunderstood the nature of this marriage.

He had thought there was no expiration date between them—that as long as nothing went wrong, it could carry on forever.

Only today did he learn that from the very day they registered their marriage, Duan Xingye had already planned the day he would leave.

Brother Duo let out a dismissive scoff: “I thought it was something serious. If there’s a misunderstanding, just explain it clearly. What do you think you have a mouth for?”

Pondering it over, Cheng Duzhou felt he really should explain things to Duan Xingye.

He wasn’t messing around with anyone while filming away from home.

Cheng Duzhou pulled out his phone and sent a message.

Cheng Duzhou: [What’s wrong?]

Why ask for his location all of a sudden?

The next second, Duan Xingye replied.

Seen: [Oh, nothing.] Seen: [Just checking to see where my heart ended up.]

“…………”

Cheng Duzhou blinked, completely freezing in place.

On the other end, Duan Xingye casually tossed his phone onto the sofa, tilted his head back, gulped down some water, and let out a smirk of sheer satisfaction.

Now the round from last night was finally over.

Next time Cheng Duzhou sent him vague, suggestive messages, flirting back to end it was the way to go; there was no need to blush and heart-pound like someone actually dating, nor to jump up in panicked defense.

He wasn’t some innocent rookie, and Cheng Duzhou had tried his moves on the wrong target.

Right at that moment.

His phone buzzed.

Duan Xingye flipped it over, casting a casual glance to check.

Cheng Duzhou: [I miss you too.]

“…………”

Staring at the phone, a flush of crimson spread across Duan Xingye’s snow-white face at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Looking up and catching sight of Duan Xingye, Xiao Dai jumped in fright, hastily returning to the AC panel to drop the temperature another two degrees.

The AC here was truly powerful; that was a close call, his Teacher Duan was practically cooked alive from the heat.

With a slam!, Duan Xingye set down his water bottle, grabbed his phone, his face twisted in inner turmoil. He typed, deleted, and re-typed for ages, yet stubbornly failed to send a single word.

He looked at Cheng Duzhou’s reply again.

Just four simple words. No flashy gimmicks, yet even if fake, it felt overwhelmingly sincere, striking straight to the heart in an instant.

Duan Xingye leaned his head back against the sofa, stomping his feet in sheer frustration because he didn’t know how to reply for a counter-kill.

He had been careless. Cheesy pick-up lines were useless; expressing intent directly clearly worked much better.

Cheng Duzhou’s tier was simply too high!

…

Looking at his phone, Cheng Duzhou bit his lower lip, holding back a smile.

Given his relationship with Duan Xingye, a cheesy pick-up line wasn’t enough to make him read too much into it.

Duan Xingye probably realized his actions last night were a bit hurtful, so he sent this kind of message to cheer him up.

Duan Xingye was exactly that kind of person—his words stabbed like knives, but his heart was actually very soft.

Cheng Duzhou suddenly felt that everything wasn’t as pessimistic as he had imagined.

Although Duan Xingye knew the marriage term was two years, he probably hadn’t paid attention to the exact end date; otherwise, he wouldn’t have dragged him onto a romance variety show so close to their divorce.

Pursing his lips, Cheng Duzhou decided to treat Duan Xingye even better in the future—so well that Duan Xingye would forget this marriage ever had an expiration date.

Though driving, Brother Duo could sense the commotion in the back seat.

He cast a distracted glance into the rearview mirror.

That single glance gave him a fright.

Cheng Duzhou was looking down at his phone, the corners of his mouth stretched practically to his ears, grinning as happily as humanly possible, his face completely flushed.

…A moment ago he looked like it was the end of the world, and now it looked like the whole world was blooming with flowers. No need to guess, he was definitely coaxed back to life by a couple of words from Teacher Duan.

Brother Duo took another look at Cheng Duzhou, his expression complicated and utterly speechless.

Look at that hopelessly cheap smile on your face.

With skills this pathetic, how did you ever manage to pursue Teacher Duan?

__

Author’s Note:

[How high is President Cheng’s tier?]

Teacher Duan: Five stories high. Brother Duo: Absolute scrap metal tier. President Cheng: I have a tier?

Sending a location pin to see where one’s heart landed is a cheesy internet pick-up line.