Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Qu Yixian felt a little uneasy.

Fu Xun’s words gave her a surreal sense of distance, as if from another life.

That period could basically be counted as the most brilliant time of the first half of her life.

She had a good voice, the eagerness and ambition of a newborn tiger, unafraid of losing. At first, she only served drinks at music bars in Nanjiang. Later, because the pay for resident singing was higher and the working hours shorter, she switched to being a bar resident singer.

Qu Yixian was good-looking and sang well, quickly becoming a hit in the bar scene. Wherever she performed, the place was packed every night.

But people, when constantly praised, were hard not to get carried away.

Qu Yixian felt she had earned enough money. No matter how her old employer pleaded, she still patted her butt and left.

Later came Xi’an.

Before leaving, she never worried she wouldn’t survive in Xi’an. She planned carefully, first finding a bar suited to her. With daily-paid wages, she booked a cheap guesthouse, solving her basic needs.

As for Fu Xun…

She had no memory of him.

Memory failed.

Qu Yixian could only grit her teeth and refuse to admit it: “Don’t try to guilt-trip me, I won’t pay any compensation for emotional damages.”

Fu Xun chuckled: “Xi’an, resident singer. Think about it—have you ever mentioned these to anyone else?”

He asked this a month ago, when Yuan Ye mentioned the annual meeting and invited Fu Xun to attend at the end of the year. It happened to be the fourth anniversary of the rescue team, a lively celebration.

He casually asked about the format of previous annual meetings.

Yuan Ye answered: “I play the drums every year. Last year I played ‘Counterattack’, this year I’ll play ‘Counterattack’ again—after all, I only learned this one song.”

Fu Xun wanted to find out about Qu Yixian, but didn’t want to ask directly, so he hinted at Yuan Ye: “What about the others?”

“Team Peng!” Yuan Ye suddenly laughed: “Isn’t Team Peng married? His father-in-law is in the waist drum team, so he bought him a waist drum. Every morning he practices in the community square. Last year he went on stage to perform, and the usually mighty team leaders of our fleet all laughed till they fell.”

“And the choir—basically anyone with a talent had a performance. So Xun, you’ll see for yourself, our annual meeting has definitely moved beyond crude entertainment. The level… I guarantee, it’s like a primary school talent show!”

Yuan Ye had no tact, not just one or two days. Fu Xun didn’t hear what he wanted to hear, so he asked directly: “What about Qu Yixian?”

“Qu Yixian?” Yuan Ye, unsure what he was thinking, laughed so hard he was out of breath: “Last year everyone pushed her to sing a song, she said no. Then we asked for a dance, since she’s the only female in our team, people were looking forward to it. But Qu Yixian resisted, asking if we wanted to see the broadcast exercise. If she went up and did a few moves, it would satisfy everyone’s dying wish…”

“Later, they pressured Team Peng, saying we don’t require pop songs—just a children’s song would do. Still, she refused, insisting she was naturally afraid of microphones, tone-deaf.”

Qu Yixian’s expression changed slightly, but she said nothing.

She rarely mentioned the past, whether glorious or disappointing, as if the first half of her life was already closed. She didn’t care and didn’t want to recall it.

She stayed here, found Jiang Yuan, and did what she wanted.

Pure and simple.

She thought: Fu Xun is already so rich, mentioning this surely isn’t to ask her for her bar money. What’s there to be uneasy about?

Anyway, she wasn’t the one being refused.

Thinking this, Qu Yixian felt justified again: “It’s all past events. Why make such a sour face? You’re not nostalgic for your youth, right? If you want something, just say it.”

For most women, a man recalling the past affectionately might not impress much, but she felt it like protection money.

After a brief pause, Fu Xun touched his brows, shook his head helplessly: “Don’t want to know the reason? Don’t want to know who I am?”

“Of course I want to know,” Qu Yixian admitted bluntly, “but you also have to be willing to tell me.”

Saying this, she got fired up and started digging into old accounts: “Think about it. When have you ever spoken to me nicely and clearly? Always testing me or making a deal. See how we ended up?”

Fu Xun: “…End up how?”

Qu Yixian answered: “Never see each other again, old age apart.”

Fu Xun couldn’t help raising an eyebrow, as if reflecting, and explained: “I’m not very experienced.”

Qu Yixian let out an “ah,” not understanding.

“I don’t have experience interacting with girls.” Fu Xun finally stepped back, leaning against the TV cabinet, looking her in the eye. “Since you have an opinion, I’ll adjust.”

Qu Yixian: “……” Wait, when did they even start talking about this?

“In Xi’an, you don’t remember, it was normal.” Fu Xun rolled up his sleeves, unscrewed the bottle of water on the table, and handed it to her. “I sat in the corner, at the single table against the door.”

He wanted to say: I offered you drinks because I liked the way you sang.

Like a mountain spirit straying into the mortal world, untouched by worldly affairs, unaware of her own beauty.

But this line was too forward, not suitable to say now. Besides, after so many years, she was no longer the bar singer, and he was no longer the devoted audience braving the weather every night.

Some words, left unsaid then, would be inappropriate if spoken now.

Hearing this, Qu Yixian finally recalled fragmented memories.

She remembered that after singing three songs every night, she habitually drank water to moisten her throat. At that moment, the bartender would bring a glass of wine and quietly say: “The customer in the corner wants to buy you a drink.”

She would look toward that corner along the bartender’s gaze. But the corner was dark, like a space completely excluded from everything. She could only nod politely to the imagined customer and ask the bartender to return the drink.

She didn’t know it was Fu Xun, and if she had known, she still wouldn’t have chosen that option.

Given a persistent and patient stranger, she would still have refused without exception.

“No secret motives.” He lowered his eyes, nudging Diao Chan with his toe as it circled his feet. “It’s rare to have a calm moment to speak your mind. I thought of it, so I said it.”

He stood, took his coat from the hanger, and prepared to leave. “Tonight we’ll switch rooms. There might be some situations tonight; you’ll handle them better than I would.”

The words were half-hidden, sounding a little intimidating.

Qu Yixian instinctively scanned the room, asking, “Is there a problem with this room?”

Fu Xun, unsure why she jumped to “problem with the room,” thought for a moment and said, “I guess Jiang Yun will come knock on my door tonight, to thank me for speaking up for her.”

Qu Yixian: “……”

She was silent for several seconds, then asked, “What does she want?” Such a clumsy way of seduction—once would be enough. How could she repeat it over and over without getting tired?

Fu Xun didn’t answer. He walked to the door, glanced at Diao Chan following him, and said to Qu Yixian: “Diao Chan’s in your care.”

Qu Yixian instantly exploded: “You’re not taking it with you?”

She looked down, meeting eyes with the ferret. She swore!

She really saw in its eyes the same unwillingness as her own!

Fu Xun said matter-of-factly: “How could it stay with me in a four-person room?”

What!

Why can’t it stay? It’s precious!

Pfft!

No…

Why should she agree to switch rooms with Fu Xun?

Did she even agree?

No!

Yet Fu Xun didn’t give her a chance to speak, closed the door behind him, and left.

Qu Yixian stood by the wall, watching the small creature at the door… and her heart softened.

Fu Xun had obviously explained it to Diao Chan. The little snowball lingered at the door for a moment, then quickly accepted that tonight it would share a room with Qu Yixian.

It climbed the bed using the sheets hanging from the side, and in two or three hops was up, spreading into a soft, liquid-like heap.

Qu Yixian couldn’t stay standing: “You sleep on the bed, where do I sleep?”

Diao Chan lifted its head, seemingly confirming if she was talking to it. A few seconds later, it rolled onto its back, legs in the air, rolled to the center of the bed, and flopped into another soft heap.

…Is this an intimidation tactic?

If this had happened before Diao Chan hid the change, Qu Yixian might have just grabbed its tail and tossed the little beast under the bed.

But now it was different.

Qu Yixian knew this wasn’t an ordinary ferret. It wasn’t just greedy; it held grudges.

No grabbing, no pulling, no hitting—basically, hands off. Otherwise next time, it wouldn’t just be the change. With its sly temperament, no matter how pampered, it would sneak around like a giant white mouse, who knows what it might do to shock her worldview next.

So, after thinking it over, the only currency left was chicken breast…

Qu Yixian cleared her throat, saw it glance sideways at her, beckoned with her finger, and negotiated: “Want some chicken breast?”

The ferret actually understood.

It rolled over, stepped along the blanket to the bed’s edge, sniffed Qu Yixian, then with an expression of great betrayal, opened its mouth and made a clucking threatening sound.

She stepped back, deciding to ask Fu Xun later whether a bite required a rabies shot or tetanus…

“I don’t have any right now,” Qu Yixian said. “Chicken breast has to be fresh to taste good, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow night. If you like it, I’ll cut a pound for you—it’ll fill you up.”

Diao Chan looked at her twice, “cluck cluck” twice.

Its voice was soft and gentle, almost like coaxing.

Seeing it move over to the inner side of the bed near the pillow, she knew it had agreed. She exhaled, half-relieved, half-cursing under her breath.

She had really reached the point where she had to reason with a ferret just to get a bed…

The world has truly gone downhill!

——

Qu Yixian, worried about Fu Xun saying Jiang Yun might knock at midnight, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

She glanced at Diao Chan beside her, snoring away, and felt she had learned something new…

A few minutes later.

She turned on a bedside lamp, propped a pillow behind her head, and sent a WeChat to Yuan Ye: “Sleeping?”

Yuan Ye replied instantly: “No!”

“I was just waiting for you to text me!”

Qu Yixian was puzzled: “You need something?”

“No!” Yuan Ye said. “I’m worried you’re thin-skinned and might block me later.”

It seemed to be about Fu Xun swapping rooms with her.

She deliberately didn’t reply, letting him hang.

Yuan Ye couldn’t last even a minute and fired off a string of messages: “I really can’t believe the simplicity between you and Xun Ge anymore. Do you know what he told me? He said that in the four-person room, besides you, it’s all guys. How could you sleep in a place like that! So he swapped rooms with you!”

“Qu Ya! I’m still growing, why doesn’t Xun Ge show any concern for me!”

Qu Yixian smirked inwardly: “He really said that?”

“There’s also a leader from our Xinghui in the same room. If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring him over tomorrow to confront you in person!”

Qu Yixian’s fingers paused over her phone screen, pondering how to reply, when another WeChat popped up: “Let’s get serious!”

“The items Xiang Xiaolong had appraised at several pawnshops last time, I heard were already sold a month or two ago.”