Zhou Ran picked up the ukulele leaning against the wall and held it in his arms. The thing was so small that as he held it, his palm almost covered the ukulele's sound box, which looked a bit incongruous.
Xia Mian changed her position to lie on her side, resting her head on her arm while watching Zhou Ran.
He strummed the strings, and a crisp sound echoed throughout the small two-story building.
"What do you want to hear?" Zhou Ran asked.
Xia Mian thought about it seriously: "Hundred Birds..."
"Stop right there," Zhou Ran interrupted what Xia Mian was about to say, "Is your brain really not fried?"
Xia Mian was already used to his sharp tongue, and she wasn't annoyed. After all, she was sleeping in someone else's bed on their territory and waiting to watch their performance; she knew how to be sensible.
"I'll listen to anything," Xia Mian replied obediently.
Zhou Ran pondered for a moment: "Alright."
His fingertips swept across the strings a few times, and then he began to pluck them slowly.
The melody was slow and melodious. Xia Mian found it somewhat familiar, but she couldn't recall what song it was for a moment.
She couldn't say she was completely ignorant about music, but when it came to pitch, she really couldn't find it accurately. The only song she might not sing off-key was "Happy Birthday."
But she had never sung it except for her mother's birthday. It just so happened that Yu Weiran's birthday was timed perfectly, so she only got to sing it once every four years; she wasn't even sure if she was off-key or not.
Zhou Ran lowered his head slightly to look at the strings and began to sing along softly:
「 The dark sky hangs low
Bright stars follow along
Bugs fly, bugs fly
Who are you missing?
The stars in the sky shed tears
The roses on the ground wither
Cold wind blows, cold wind blows
As long as I have you with me 」
Zhou Ran's voice was a bit low, and he sang slowly, his vocal timbre sounding quite gentle.
Xia Mian listened to him sing and finally remembered what song it was.
He kept his head half-lowered, still playing the melody after finishing the song. He hunched his back slightly, his whole body relaxing.
Xia Mian watched him, her gaze shifting from his nasal bridge to his lips. The fingers tucked under her head moved consciously, tracing him bit by bit.
I have to say, Zhou Ran's appearance could no longer be described as just handsome.
But she was at a loss for words; she really couldn't describe this kind of good looks.
After Zhou Ran finished playing the piece, Xia Mian finally spoke up: "You're singing a nursery rhyme for me."
Zhou Ran loosened the strings and touched his fingertips.
"Don't you have to sing nursery rhymes to coax a child to sleep?" Zhou Ran asked in return.
"I'm not a child anymore," Xia Mian raised the butterfly on her arm to show Zhou Ran, "I'm a big sister in the underworld now."
Zhou Ran chuckled and glanced at Xia Mian's tattoo.
"Fine, the rash is gone, and the scab has fallen off too."
Xia Mian asked him: "Do you often sing this to Tao'er and Shui Cao?"
Zhou Ran looked at her, his eyes carrying a hint of a smile.
"Children as old as them don't need to be coaxed to sleep anymore; only you do."
Xia Mian puffed out her cheeks but didn't refute him.
Seeing that Zhou Ran was about to put the ukulele away, she sat up: "Can you teach me? I want to learn too."
Zhou Ran's hands holding the ukulele paused, and he turned to look at her: "Who are you going to coax to sleep?"
"Coaxing myself."
Xia Mian took the ukulele and held it in her arms, imitating Zhou Ran's posture: "Is this right?"
Zhou Ran lifted Xia Mian's arm to adjust her posture: "Like this."
Xia Mian relaxed her hand and let him adjust it, pinching her index finger and thumb together to sweep across the strings with her fingernails.
"Like this?" Xia Mian asked, "Which string do I pluck?"
"Do you know how to read music?" Zhou Ran asked.
Xia Mian answered bluntly: "No."
Zhou Ran looked up at her: "What about numbered musical notation? The 123456 kind."
Xia Mian pursed her lips and answered earnestly and sincerely.
"I can count do-re-mi one by one on my fingers."
Zhou Ran looked at her, not knowing whether to laugh or not.
"Then wouldn't it be faster to just count sheep to coax yourself to sleep?"
She didn't know how to read music but still wanted to learn. Zhou Ran didn't want to dampen her sudden enthusiasm for learning, so he could only take her fingers and teach her to memorize the strings one by one.
The really silly kind, at that.
Zhou Ran said: "Pluck this one first, then this one. Just remember the order. There are only four strings; it's much more convenient than counting on your fingers."
"Then how do I press the strings above?" Xia Mian looked at the head of the instrument.
Zhou Ran reached out his hand: "I'll press them for you."
After he said this, Xia Mian looked up at him and stopped talking.
The two of them stared at each other foolishly for a while.
Zhou Ran asked her: "What's wrong?"
Xia Mian asked: "Then wouldn't it be more convenient for me to just come find you to play when I can't sleep?"
Zhou Ran was stunned and suddenly burst into laughter.
He turned his head away, wanting to suppress the laughter, but felt a bit speechless.
He didn't know if it was because he had gotten familiar with Xia Mian, but his train of thought had actually gradually caught up with hers. She said silly things so naturally that he didn't feel like there was anything wrong with it at all.
"Press them yourself," Zhou Ran said with a smile, letting go.
Xia Mian said "Oh" and lowered her head, earnestly pressing the strings.
Zhou Ran watched her fingers move slowly across the strings. Sunlight shone through her shoulders, and her snow-white fingertips were almost transparent. Following her movements, Zhou Ran could even see the blue veins on her hands.
It was his first time seeing someone so white they seemed to glow.
Zhou Ran watched intently, his mind involuntarily recalling Zhuang Zhong's words from that day.
So white and thin, just pull her over and knead her a bit.
Zhou Ran's breath hitched for a moment.
Perhaps he was oxygen-deprived from the sun, but his brain short-circuited and he actually reached out and touched her.
His palm rested on the back of Xia Mian's hand, and as his fingertips brushed past, he could feel the texture of her veins.
Xia Mian was startled, but she didn't think anything was wrong, assuming he was helping her adjust her posture.
"Is it wrong?" Xia Mian asked.
Zhou Ran snapped back to reality. Just as he was about to pull his hand back, he thought for a moment and then pinched her finger and placed it on the next string.
"Here," Zhou Ran said, pulling his hand back calmly.
He turned his head away and let out a breath. The sensation in his hand had already dissipated; he was dazed, having felt nothing at all from that touch.
He curled his hand and rubbed it, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Xia Mian looked up at Zhou Ran.
"Which string was it? I forgot again."
The two were huddled together, and Xia Mian's nose tip brushed right against Zhou Ran's ear. Those fine, stiff hairs grazed her nose tip, making it itch.
Zhou Ran's spine stiffened abruptly.
He tensed his body, forcing himself not to lose his composure, and put on an indifferent look.
"Zhou Ran?" Xia Mian called out again.
"Yeah," Zhou Ran turned back.
The moment Xia Mian saw Zhou Ran's face, the words on the tip of her tongue were suddenly swallowed back.
"Zhou Ran."
He was just calming his state of mind, and hearing Xia Mian call him over and over, he didn't know why, but he felt a bit guilty.
It was as if... he was afraid his little actions would be exposed.
"Are you calling for my soul?" Zhou Ran said, sounding a bit unnatural.
Xia Mian swallowed and asked hesitantly: "Do you think I'm stupid?"
Zhou Ran was stunned, not having reacted to why Xia Mian would suddenly say that.
"No, why?"
Xia Mian's gaze swept across Zhou Ran's face.
"Your face..." Xia Mian paused, "Is it red because I made you angry?"
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