First, then, love.

The next day, the weekend, in the evening.

Shu Yao had just finished practicing the piano at home when He Zheng walked in from outside, holding his car keys in his right hand.

"Change your clothes and go out," he said succinctly.

"Where to?" Shu Yao put down her cello.

"I'll take you to meet a few people."

In the old town of Jiangcheng, there is a popular local mutton hot pot restaurant. The private rooms are on the second floor, steaming hot and bustling with people.

He Zheng pushed open the door and led Shu Yao inside. Seven or eight burly men with buzz cuts sat around the round table. Some were wearing police uniforms, and some were in civilian clothes. They were all broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, exuding a vigorous masculine aura.

Upon seeing He Zheng enter, the group of men all stood up, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they were in a formation.

"Old He!"

"Squad leader!"

Their gazes all fell on Shu Yao, who was standing next to He Zheng.

"Hello, sister-in-law!" Seven or eight voices shouted at the same time, making the ceiling of the private room vibrate.

Shu Yao was startled by this scene and instinctively shrank behind He Zheng.

He Zheng put his right arm around her waist and led her to sit down in the main seat.

"What are you yelling about? Don't scare people." He snapped coldly, but none of the people present were afraid of him; they all grinned and laughed.

"Sister-in-law, we've finally seen a living person! Old He, that grandson, kept it a secret for too long, he didn't even tell us old brothers about his wedding!" A man with a scar on the corner of his left eye raised his wine glass and shouted in a loud voice.

"That's because you were notified that you missed the closed training!" He Zheng kicked the chair next to him. "Big Bear, stop trying to get me drunk, I can't drink today."

"He can't drink, sister-in-law, we'll toast you!"

Shu Yao picked up the plum juice in front of her and clinked glasses with them.

These people are not colleagues of the city's special police team.

"They were my classmates from four years at military academy, and a few of them are comrades who served together on the border," He Zheng explained in a low voice as he sat down next to her. "A few of them happen to be in Jiangcheng on a business trip today, so we got together for a meal."

Shu Yao understood; he was trying to pull her into his circle, into his war-torn past.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was lively. After a few drinks, the men started to go on and on about He Zheng's dark past.

"Sister-in-law, don't let Lao He's presentable appearance fool you. Back in military school, this kid ground his teeth and snored in his sleep, and he insisted on sleeping with a 30-pound sandbag like his baby. Anyone who touched it would get angry!"

Big Bear slapped the table, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face.

"Exactly! And that time in music appreciation class, the instructor asked him to sing a song, and after hesitating for a long time, he sang 'Green Flowers in the Army,' but he was so off-key that he scared the military dogs in the next class who were on a training exercise so much that they peed their pants!" Another dark-skinned, thin man chimed in.

He Zheng's face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth: "Rat, if you say another word, I'll throw you in the pot and boil you."

Shu Yao laughed so hard she almost fell over, tears welling up in her eyes.

She turned to look at He Zheng's dark face, and the feeling of being an outsider completely vanished.

Seeing her laughing so hard, the anger in He Zheng's eyes instantly vanished.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of blanched mutton from the boiling copper pot, dipped it in the sauce, and fed it directly into her mouth.

"Eat your meat and ignore their nonsense."

After finishing their mutton hotpot, the group was still reluctant to leave.

"Let's go sing karaoke! We have to make Lao He bleed today!" Da Xiong put his arm around He Zheng's shoulder and made a loud suggestion.

The group marched in a grand procession toward a nearby karaoke bar.

The private room was large, with flashing neon lights, and the table was covered with beer and fruit platters.

These grown men grabbed the microphone and howled like banshees, singing "Borrowing Five Hundred Years from Heaven" with such fervor and power that it was deafening.

Shu Yao sat in the corner of the sofa, holding a glass of warm water, watching them fool around with a smile.

He Zheng sat down next to her, peeled an orange, and put it in her hand.

"It's too noisy, do you want to go home?" he asked loudly, leaning close to her ear.

Shu Yao shook her head, and just as she was about to speak, Da Xiong staggered over with another microphone in his hand.

"Sister-in-law! Don't just sit there! Play a song! Give us brothers a good ear-washing!" He shoved the microphone into Shu Yao's hands.

The wailing and howling in the private room stopped instantly, and everyone turned around, applauding and cheering enthusiastically.

"Sister-in-law, have one!"

Shu Yao held the microphone, showing no stage fright.

She is the principal cellist of the city symphony orchestra; the stage is her home ground.

I stood up, walked to the song selection counter, and selected an old song.

The lights in the private room dimmed, leaving only a spotlight shining on her.

She was wearing a simple black silk shirt today, with her long hair casually draped over her shoulders.

The intro begins, carrying a touch of languid jazz style.

She raised the microphone.

"Only after the flowering season can the branches be laden with fruit..."

The moment he opened his mouth, the entire private room fell into a deathly silence.

Shu Yao's voice has an innate coolness and languor. Her pitch is perfect, her breath is steady, and every transition is handled with sophistication. It's not like she's singing in a karaoke bar; it's more like she's giving a solo concert in a grand theater.

The group of rough men were completely dumbfounded. They even forgot to drink from the bottles they were holding in mid-air, and Big Bear stared blankly with his mouth agape.

He Zheng sat deep in the sofa, his deep black eyes fixed on the woman standing in the spotlight under the dim light. His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and the emotions in his eyes were so intense that they seemed about to overflow.

When the song ended, thunderous applause and cheers erupted in the private room, almost lifting the roof off.

"Holy crap! My sister-in-law's skill level is so high, she could debut right here!"

"Awesome! Lao He, your life has been worthwhile!"

Shu Yao smiled, put down the microphone, and walked back to sit down next to He Zheng.

"How was it?" She turned her head and looked at him with a hint of pride.

He Zheng looked at her, his eyes burning: "It's beautiful. Sing it to me alone when we get home."

His voice was completely hoarse.

At this point, Da Xiong objected: "Sister-in-law has finished singing! It's Lao He's turn! Lao He! Stop pretending to be dead! You can't escape today!" A group of people immediately turned their attention to He Zheng, jeering and shoving another microphone into his right hand.

"My hand is broken, I can't sing." He Zheng refused with a cold face.

"Singing with your mouth, not your hands! Don't talk nonsense! Hurry up!" Big Bear didn't buy his act at all and just randomly picked a song for him on the song selection table.

The intro begins with an old rock song with a touch of Northwest China's wind and sand.

He Zheng leaned back on the sofa with the microphone in his hand, without standing up.

He glanced at the lyrics on the screen, frowned slightly, then turned his head and fixed his gaze on Shu Yao's face.

He raised the microphone to his lips, and his rough, deep voice instantly filled the entire private room through the speakers.

The tune was perfect, not off-key as Da Xiong had said. On the contrary, the natural depth and vicissitude in his voice gave this old song a powerful, masculine energy that resonated deeply.

He sang casually, his dark eyes reflecting the dazzling neon lights, but his gaze never left Shu Yao for a second, as if he were giving a performance that belonged only to the two of them.

Shu Yao sat beside him, listening to his deep, husky singing voice and looking into his focused, burning eyes. Her heart pounded wildly, as if struck by something.

The whistles and shouts of his brothers around him seemed to fade away at that moment, and the whole world was left with only his hoarse singing voice.

As the song ended, He Zheng put down the microphone, ignoring the wailing and howling from inside the private room, and leaned close to her ear.

"Did you hear me?"

The sound was scalding hot, pounding into her ear canal.