LRAPTC Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Rainy Day (Two)

It rained for several days in a row. One day, the rain came without warning, almost instantly, while Shen Jue and Ji Yuanan were strolling on the seaside overpass. He was later pulled away by Ji Yuanan to take shelter from the rain.

The rain came quickly and went quickly. Before long, it gradually stopped, and a rainbow appeared in the gray-blue sky, looking from afar like a small bridge erected on the sea.

Shen Jue leaned on the railing, his eyes fixed on it. It was the first time he had ever seen a rainbow in person. In the past, rainbows only appeared in photos shared by others or in children’s picture books he read as a child. Before this, he never thought he could calmly wait for the rain to stop and unexpectedly encounter such a special post-rain celebration.

The colors of the rainbow were indeed dreamy, leading Shen Jue to decide to temporarily forgive this sudden heavy rain.

Whether it was the unexpected good luck brought by the rainbow that day or not, Shen Jue spent the most peaceful rainy days of his life in the days that followed. When the last rain ended, he saw Ji Yuanan’s friend Song Jing again.

“You should have met at the wedding last time,” Ji Yuanan said.

Shen Jue recalled, and a face actually appeared in his mind, along with their brief conversation that day.

The rain had stopped for a while, and the road surface slowly became dry. The car couldn’t enter the narrow path, so Shen Jue had to follow Ji Yuanan out of the car, turn into a secluded alley, and stop in front of a bar.

Shen Jue looked up at the familiar store name, and his right eyelid twitched lightly.

Ji Yuanan didn’t notice Shen Jue’s momentary daze and simply turned his head to say, “Let’s just go in.” With that, he took Shen Jue’s hand and pushed open the door. Inside, a band was playing an old love song, and the lingering female voice came from all directions. Ji Yuanan led Shen Jue step by step into the depths of the room. Various colored lights flickered, and Shen Jue felt like he was being led by Ji Yuanan into a huge ballroom.

The bar owner, Song Jing, was standing at the bar mixing drinks. Seeing the two of them approaching, he nodded to Ji Yuanan first, and then took the initiative to greet Shen Jue, “Long time no see, do you still remember me?”

Shen Jue thought for a moment and said, “Your new hairstyle… suits you very well.”

Hearing this, Song Jing laughed, “You’re the first person to say that. The other day, Ji Yuanan said my hairstyle looked like it was accidentally gnawed by a dog.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely tell your aunt so she won’t practice on your hair anymore,” Ji Yuanan said.

Song Jing thanked his friend without emotion. “You guys came at the right time, I just made a special drink.” He pointed to the goblet on the table, “But I don’t know what to call it yet.”

He looked up and continued, “If the name is adopted, I can buy him this drink for free.”

Ji Yuanan stared at it for a while and suggested, “I think it might be more effective if you put up a name-seeking notice at the door.”

The three of them looked at the drink again, which had a dreamy gradient color under the ambiguous lighting. It seemed impossible to think of an appropriate name for a while. In the end, Song Jing adopted Ji Yuanan’s suggestion and wrote the requirements on a small blackboard with white chalk, preparing to place it at the entrance of the store.

Song Jing took the blackboard out, Ji Yuanan handed the wine list to Shen Jue, and said, “You can take a look first and see if there’s anything you want to drink.”

Shen Jue took it and pretended to look at it seriously. Considering his alcohol tolerance, he finally chose a drink with a lower alcohol content.

Song Jing turned his attention to Ji Yuanan, who pondered slightly and said, “I’ll have the usual.”

They sat down in Ji Yuanan’s previous spot again, with Ji Yuanan still sitting on the right. This time, it was no longer the distant distance from before. Shen Jue noticed that there was a message board hanging on the wall behind Ji Yuanan, covered with colorful sticky notes. The closest pink sticky note read: I met a highlighted handsome guy in this store today, he seems to be the bartender, do any sisters know him?

Below, in a different handwriting, was the reply: This sister, you probably met the owner.

The next one said: Be happy every day. And drew a small smiley face behind it.

“This is yours.”

“Thank you.” Shen Jue turned his head, Song Jing looked at him with a smile, “No need to be so polite, rounding up, we’re friends now.”

Ji Yuanan, who was beside him, picked up the wine in front of him and took a sip. The band over there finished a song and went into a short intermission. Song Jing ran to the lead singer’s side, said a few words, and the lead singer consciously gave up his position.

Song Jing sat on the high stool, hugged the guitar he had just borrowed, and sang a song. It was a familiar and simple love song, and the surrounding people were attracted and slowly began to hum along. Some even took out their phones to record, and Shen Jue put down his glass and watched from afar.

The atmosphere was completely mobilized, and in the end, even Shen Jue was touched and immersed in it. After a song, Song Jing waited for everyone to gradually quiet down, and then said with a smile, “Today, I have two good friends here, so I want to dedicate this song to them.”

The two friends in Song Jing’s mouth were obviously Shen Jue and Ji Yuanan. At this moment, Shen Jue had to admit that Song Jing was indeed very serious and dedicated to his friends.

Shen Jue suddenly had a feeling that everyone who didn’t know the truth had been successfully deceived by his and Ji Yuanan’s clumsy acting, kept in the dark, with only the parties involved knowing the truth. At this moment, a trace of apology suddenly arose in his heart, as he had ultimately let down the good intentions of others in vain.

Song Jing had just left the high stool when he was surrounded by several customers. Shen Jue looked at Song Jing surrounded by the crowd and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t know how to treat Song Jing’s kindness for the time being, because he didn’t want to pretend to be moved against his will anymore.

So Shen Jue took a sip of his wine, his gaze fixed on the ring, his expression unreadable.

Ji Yuanan left for a while, leaving Shen Jue alone. Song Jing finally broke away from the crowd and came back to find them, only to find that the seat to Shen Jue’s right was empty, with only an empty glass on the table. Song Jing walked towards Shen Jue and asked, “Where’s Ji Yuanan?” He hesitated for a moment, uncertain, “He wouldn’t… be so moved that he secretly ran off to wipe away tears, would he?”

Ji Yuanan didn’t secretly wipe away tears. Shen Jue replied, “He went to the bathroom.”

Hearing this, Song Jing sat in the empty seat. He stared at the ring on Shen Jue’s hand for a while, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and said mysteriously, “Since it’s just the two of us now, then I’ll secretly tell you a secret about Ji Yuanan.”

When Ji Yuanan came out, he saw this scene: Shen Jue and Song Jing, who was sitting in his original seat, were very close, Song Jing’s mouth was opening and closing, and the two didn’t know what they were talking about. The next second, Song Jing, facing Ji Yuanan, noticed him first, and smiled at him, Ji Yuanan read a hint of malice in his eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Ji Yuanan opened his mouth, silently asking Song Jing.

Song Jing ignored Ji Yuanan’s question, withdrew his gaze, and stopped looking at him, soon chatting with Shen Jue again. A few seconds later, Song Jing received a message from Ji Yuanan:

[How long are you going to chat for? Can you not get so close? Smiling face.JPG]

Song Jing glanced at the phone screen with the corner of his eye and curled his lips. He looked up and found that Ji Yuanan was showing him a rather oppressive smile from not too far away, as if threatening him, so Song Jing returned a smile as well.

“Is something wrong?” Shen Jue saw Song Jing suddenly stop and asked caringly.

Song Jing, bearing Ji Yuanan’s gaze, turned his head back, retreated a little, and said lightly, “It’s okay. I just saw an old friend and said hello, that’s all.”

Before going back, Ji Yuanan had already sorted out his emotions. He walked to the side of the two and asked with great interest, “What were you guys talking about?”

Song Jing smiled and, propping his chin, said jokingly, “Guess.”

“We were talking about your past,” Shen Jue answered for Song Jing.

“We were talking about your embarrassing childhood stories,” Song Jing added.

Ji Yuanan didn’t believe their duet, and simply said to Shen Jue, “Are you ready to go back?”

“So early? You haven’t stayed long, aren’t you going to stay and play a little longer?” Song Jing was a little surprised, and made a token effort to persuade him to stay, but had no intention of getting up to give up his seat.

Because of the blackboard displayed by Song Jing, a large number of people poured into the bar. Shen Jue and Ji Yuanan walked towards the door, encountering two or three customers who came for the special drink. The band began to sing again, and the lively tune quickly spread to every corner of the room, captured by Shen Jue a second before leaving.

Outside the door, they had to go down a long slope. Ji Yuanan had finished a full glass of high-proof alcohol, but his mind was still fairly clear. He and Shen Jue strolled leisurely, passing trees adorned with colorful lights, the layers of intertwined lights changing to different colors as time passed.

Shen Jue’s heart was still filled with the secret he had unintentionally learned from Song Jing, and he unconsciously slowed down his pace, gradually falling behind Ji Yuanan.

Ji Yuanan took a few steps and realized it, stopping in place. He turned around and looked helplessly at Shen Jue, who was getting closer and closer to him without realizing it. He sighed, called out to Shen Jue, and asked, “What were you thinking about just now?”

[Author’s note]

There should be another update before next Wednesday, I will post it when I finish writing.