Jiang Tian · Chat

[Teasing Backstage] Before the final note of the last song had even fully faded, Jiang Tian had already unplugged his guitar cable. Without even taking off his fingerless gloves, he strode off the stage. Cheng Yanqiu, the drummer, had just set down his sticks. Looking up, he only saw the hem of Jiang Tian's leather jacket disappear behind the side-stage curtain. He chuckled softly: "...What's the rush?" Ming Zhu, the bassist, leaped off his stool, eyes sparkling: "Come on, let's follow him and see!" Xiao Yubai, the keyboardist, slowly closed the keyboard lid. He didn't speak, but he stood up too. The fluorescent lights in the backstage corridor were a bit dim. As Jiang Tian rounded the corner, his footsteps suddenly slowed down. Not because he was tired. It was because he smelled—no, he didn't smell it, he saw it. At the end of the corridor, you were leaning against the dressing room doorframe, holding a bottle of water and a folded towel, looking down at your phone. He walked over without making a sound, pulled you straight into his arms, and rested his chin on your shoulder. His leather jacket still held the warmth of the stage, radiating steam that carried the scent of red cedarwood, wrapping around your neck until it felt warm and damp. "...You came," he said, his voice muffled in the crook of your shoulder, sounding like he could finally breathe after holding his breath through the entire show. You patted the back of his head: "You sang really well." He didn't move, nuzzling against you twice more before releasing you slightly. He took the water, took a sip, looked down at you, and his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something. "Ooh—" Ming Zhu's voice exploded from the far end of the corridor, dragging out a long tail note. His voice arrived long before he did. Jiang Tian's face instantly went cold, but the hand holding your waist didn't pull back. Ming Zhu jogged over, followed closely by a leisurely Cheng Yanqiu and an expressionless Xiao Yubai. Ming Zhu's eyes bounced back and forth between you and Jiang Tian, his smile stretching from ear to ear: "I was wondering why Brother Jiang went so wild during that final solo! Turns out he was just in a hurry to come down and cling to you?" Jiang Tian shot him a look and uttered a single word: "Scram." Ming Zhu wasn't scared at all. He leaned in close to you, intentionally dropping his voice while making sure everyone could hear: "Sister-in-law, you have no idea! When he was singing 'Incineration', his eyes were glued to you the whole time! He didn't even catch the drum cue from the drummer, almost messed up completely." "I missed it because the drum rhythm was off," Jiang Tian corrected coldly. Cheng Yanqiu leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, adding unhurriedly: "He didn't mess up the beat. You were just distracted looking at them." The tips of Jiang Tian's ears started turning red. Ming Zhu burst out laughing, turning back to drag Xiao Yubai in: "Baibai, say something! You saw it too, right?" Xiao Yubai, standing at the back, was looking down at his phone. Hearing his name, he raised his head, shifting his gaze from the phone screen to Jiang Tian's face, pausing for two seconds. "Yeah," he said. "Stared for four whole songs." "Four songs!" Ming Zhu exaggeratedly clutched his heart. "Sister-in-law, did you hear that? Four songs! There are four of us on stage, and he only looked at you!" Jiang Tian squeezed the water bottle in his hand until it crinkled loudly: "Xiao Yubai, if you have so much to say, why don't you go write a song?" Xiao Yubai put his phone back in his pocket and delivered the final blow expressionlessly: "Already did. It's called 'The Statue of the Waiting Husband.' Ming Zhu named it." Ming Zhu collapsed to the ground laughing on the spot. Cheng Yanqiu's lips curved up too. Taking advantage of the chaos, he gave you a wink, pointed at Jiang Tian's reddened ear tips, and silently mouthed two words: *Red.* You held back a laugh and looked up at Jiang Tian. He was turning his head away, his throat bobbing up and down. The collar of his leather jacket covered half his jawline, but it couldn't hide his bright red ears. His arm around your waist tightened slightly, his thumb rubbing against your side with moderate pressure—a silent accusation of *"Why aren't you sticking up for me?"* You had to clear your throat to rescue him: "Alright, he really did sing well today, and you guys played great too." Ming Zhu got up off the floor, wiping away tears of laughter, nodding solemnly: "Of course! But don't worry, sister-in-law, next time we'll definitely cover for him and double the number of times he looks at you—double it to eight songs!" "...Are you guys really that free today?" Jiang Tian finally turned back, sweeping his cold gaze around, his pheromones dropping half a notch in pressure. "Have you packed up the sheet music in the rehearsal room? Are the instruments loaded? Is backstage cleaned up?" Cheng Yanqiu raised both hands in surrender, turning to walk back with a lazy tone: "Let's go, let's go. The couple wants some intimacy; it's not right for us to stand here as third wheels." Ming Zhu shouted as he backed away: "Sister-in-law, come next week too! If you don't come, he'll snap his strings during the solo!" Xiao Yubai had already walked five paces out. Without turning back, his quiet voice was just loud enough for everyone to hear: "He did snap them. The show last week when you weren't there, he snapped three." Jiang Tian: "............" The corridor finally quieted down. You looked down and giggled, your shoulders shaking. Jiang Tian turned your face toward him, his thumb wiping away the tear at the corner of your eye from laughing. His voice was low and raspy, carrying a hint of embarrassment turned to annoyance, along with an indescribable grievance: "Is it funny?" You shook your head, though you were still smiling. He pursed his lips, finally burying his face back into the crook of your neck, his voice so muffled it was almost hard to hear: "...Come earlier next time." He paused for a moment, then added in an even softer voice: "Don't talk to them."