Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Twenty-Six: Even More Arched! Perfect

Seeing Qin Xueyao’s nearly flawless figure, Chen Jing felt a sudden urge to bleed from the nose.

“A-Jing, turn around quickly,” Qin Xueyao said, one hand covering her chest and the other pressed beneath the towel, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Huh? Oh! Oh, right!” Chen Jing hurriedly turned around. Then he lifted a hand and touched his nose. Thankfully, there was no nosebleed.

Seeing that Chen Jing had turned his back on her, Qin Xueyao quietly breathed a sigh of relief. But then she realized that having him turn around did not solve the problem. She had not brought any clothes in with her. She could not very well dash out like this to fetch them. The towel wrapped around her was already failing to cover her front; if she stepped outside like this, would her back not be completely exposed?

With no other choice, Qin Xueyao shyly spoke again. “A-Jing, could you help me bring in the clothes hanging on the wardrobe? I can’t go out looking like this.”

“Huh? Oh, oh, sure.” Chen Jing’s face had grown warm as well, his thoughts wandering uncontrollably. No wonder he could not stay calm; this scene was simply too easy to let one’s imagination run wild.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Jing steadied his excitement and looked up. Hanging on the wardrobe in front of him were a few articles of clothing. He stepped forward, intending to fetch them.

But when he came closer and focused his eyes, his already settling heartbeat quickened again. Hanging in front of the clothes were a small pair of purple lace panties and a rather alluring matching bra. Judging by the shape, he probably would not be able to hold them in one hand.

That fullness must be at least a 36D. Tsk, tsk, Sister Xueyao really did have a devilish figure.

With all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, Chen Jing kept a straight face and said solemnly, “Sister Xueyao, should I just pass them to you like this?”

“Wait!” Qin Xueyao quickly came over and closed the bathroom door, leaving only a crack wide enough for one hand.

“Okay, come over.”

“All right, then I’m coming.” Chen Jing turned with the clothes in hand, walked to the bathroom door, and passed them through the crack.

In truth, both Qin Xueyao and Chen Jing were so tense that their minds had gone a little blank. Qin Xueyao could simply have told Chen Jing to go outside first, then strolled out herself to change in peace. There was no need to make such a fuss, or to have him bring the clothes over.

Qin Xueyao had truly been too embarrassed to think of it, but as for Chen Jing, whether he had thought of it himself was another matter.

“Sister Xueyao, here you go.”

Qin Xueyao took the clothes Chen Jing handed in. When she saw that her matching lace underwear set was lying right on top, she grew so shy that she wished she could find a crack in the floor and slip into it.

After handing the clothes to Qin Xueyao, Chen Jing realized there was nothing else for him to do. With an awkward smile, he said, “Er... Sister Xueyao, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out first. This is the women’s bathhouse, after all. I shouldn’t stay too long.”

“Mm, go on.” Qin Xueyao’s voice was barely audible.

Chen Jing did not linger. He turned and left at once.

After sneaking out of the women’s bathhouse, Chen Jing looked around guiltily. Only after confirming that no one had noticed him did he finally relax. Then, still somewhat unsatisfied, he sighed, “Magnificent!” After that, humming a little tune, he went into the men’s bathhouse to wash up.

Inside the women’s bathhouse, Qin Xueyao dressed herself and then poked her head out carefully from the bathroom. Her pretty face was still bright red. She glanced around and, seeing no sign of Chen Jing, patted her chest and let out a breath.

Then something occurred to her. Covering her face with both hands, she muttered shyly to herself, “You’re doomed, Qin Xueyao. What is A-Jing going to think of this?”

Ever since she had once mistakenly thought Chen Jing was gay, Qin Xueyao had stopped pursuing him. She could not accept the idea that her other half might be gay. For quite some time afterward, she had treated Chen Jing like a close male friend. It was not until she confided this matter to Lin Zitan in private that she realized she had been mistaken all along. Chen Jing was not gay at all; he was a true man, completely and utterly straight.

Once she knew that, Qin Xueyao’s fighting spirit rekindled. She had planned to resume her pursuit of Chen Jing. But during the following period, Chen Jing was either abroad competing or out filming music videos, leaving her no chance to run into him at the company. Who would have thought that the one time she finally met him, something like this would happen?

“This must be fate, hehe,” Qin Xueyao said to herself, feeling a little secretly pleased. Then she looked at her full-length reflection in the mirror, supporting her heavy breasts with both hands, and said proudly, “With this figure, I should be quite pleasing to the eye, right? Nice and perky! Hehe.”

After Chen Jing finished bathing, he returned to the office and continued writing. He did not know how long he had been at it before the sound of the door opening startled him into realizing that a long time had probably passed.

“Ah! A-Jing, you’re here!” Lin Zitan opened the office door and jumped in surprise when she saw Chen Jing. “I thought you’d already gone to find Sister Ruohan.”

Chen Jing set down the work in his hands and flexed his slightly sore wrist. “What time is it now?”

“It’s already past three.”

“Has it gotten that late? I thought it was only a little after two.” Chen Jing stood and stretched. Smiling at Lin Zitan, he said, “Then I’ll go take a look at Sister Ruohan’s album first. Zitan, help me tidy up the things on the desk. Thanks for your trouble.”

“Go on, go on!”

By the time Chen Jing reached the recording studio, Ling Ruohan and her team were already gathered at the studio entrance, discussing something. There, too, was someone he had not expected to see.

“A-Jing! You’re here!” Ling Ruohan spotted Chen Jing from afar and waved to him with delight.

“Sister Ruohan.” Chen Jing smiled and greeted her, then looked at the girl beside her. “Hello, Gu Tao. Long time no see.”

Indeed, the girl standing next to Ling Ruohan was Gu Tao, who had participated in the Voice of China with Chen Jing.

When Gu Tao saw Chen Jing greeting her, she blushed and lowered her head, answering softly, “Hello, Chen Jing.”

Chen Jing smiled. “You’ve signed with our company too?”

“Mm.” Gu Tao beamed with pride. “Hehe, I was the one who asked the company to sign Gu Tao. At first, the people there were dragging their feet and refusing, saying that if they were going to sign anyone, they should sign the top four from the Voice of China. Those people only know how to stare at meaningless rankings. What a waste of their talent-scout title. What’s the use of rankings? Anyone with half an eye could tell that among the Voice of China contestants, apart from you, A-Jing, Little Tao is the strongest. Seeing them delay and refuse to make up their minds, I simply told Sister Li to sign Little Tao.”

Hearing this, Chen Jing nodded in agreement. He had originally wanted to have Lin Xi sign Gu Tao, but Lin Xi had already signed Li Qingwei first. Together with Chen Jing, that meant two artists from the Voice of China had already been signed, so it was not convenient to sign Gu Tao as well. In the end, they had to leave it to the company’s staff to handle it, and unexpectedly, it had been Ling Ruohan who signed Gu Tao.

Artists and managers in the company were divided into various small factions, and after negotiating with the company, some artists could even establish their own studios. So once they discovered promising talent, they could use the company’s quota to sign them. The catch was that after signing newcomers this way, the company only took responsibility for their basic resources; all other resources had to be handled by the studio or manager that signed them. That was why only studios and managers with enough strength could sign more newcomers.

In truth, it was no wonder the company’s talent scouts had hesitated. For a singer to become famous, talent alone was not enough; there also had to be sufficient resources. Packaging, good songs, promotion, distribution, publicity—all of these were crucial for a new singer. So aside from first-tier stars like Ling Ruohan, the others truly did not have that many resources to spare for rookies. They barely had enough for themselves; why would they give any to others?

But for a singer of Ling Ruohan’s level, she naturally did not lack such things. More importantly, she still had Chen Jing as her most solid backing.

Speaking of resources, Ling Ruohan smiled and asked Chen Jing, “Hehe, A-Jing, the title song for Little Tao’s first album will be in your hands, okay?”

Chen Jing did not mind at all. “Sure. I happen to have a few songs that I think suit Gu Tao very well. I’ll bring them to her tomorrow.” He had plenty of songs, and there really were several that suited Gu Tao.

Hearing that Chen Jing had agreed to write songs for her, Gu Tao was thrilled and immediately thanked him. “Thank you, Chen Jing.” She knew very well how hard it was to get one of Chen Jing’s songs now, let alone several that he thought suited her.

“No need to be so formal, Little Tao. And from now on, you should call him A-Jing too. Chen Jing likes pretty girls calling him A-Jing the most,” Ling Ruohan teased.

Chen Jing ignored Ling Ruohan’s joke. He waved to Gu Tao, signaling that she did not need to be so reserved, then asked Ling Ruohan, “Sister Ruohan, how’s the album coming along?”

“Ah, speaking of that, you came at just the right time. I was looking for you too.” Ling Ruohan said helplessly, “I’ve just recorded up to the title songs, and there’s one section that feels wrong no matter how I sing it. Come listen?”

Chen Jing asked curiously, “The title songs? Is it The Maiden’s Prayer or Later?”

That was right. Ling Ruohan’s upcoming album would have two title songs: a Cantonese song called The Maiden’s Prayer and a Mandarin song called Later. This was naturally Chen Jing’s suggestion. Although no one had ever tried an album with two title tracks before, Chen Jing believed it could work, because he believed in those two songs. They were both timeless classics from his previous life, and he intended to use them to raise Ling Ruohan’s fame to a new level.

In tribute: The Maiden’s Prayer by Miriam Yeung, Later by Rene Liu.