Chapter 111. Only Tuberose

Zhuang Yongyuan closed his eyes, counted to ten in his mind, and opened them. The scene before him was still a vast expanse of white. For a moment, he felt as if he were drowning in the light that filled the room.

He had just put his hands in his pockets when the door to the interrogation room opened.

A uniformed policeman came in, reeking of cigarettes. He glared at Zhuang Yongyuan unkindly, pulled out a chair behind his desk, and sat down, ordering, "Take out what's in your pocket."

Zhuang Yongyuan took out the toffee and showed it to the police in his palm: "Candy, can I eat it?"

The policeman shook his head and turned on the video recorder.

Zhuang Yongyuan covered his stomach, looking very uncomfortable, and begged, "Let me eat, I'm really hungry."

The police officer looked up at Zhuang Yongyuan, then walked over to him and carefully examined the candy. It was in perfect packaging, a familiar brand he'd bought during Chinese New Year shopping. He tore open the wrapper, revealing the brown candy, which had melted slightly, emitting a faint sweet aroma.

The policeman sighed and put the candy back into Zhuang Yongyuan's hand: "Eat it." Then he sent a message to his colleague on duty, asking her to order some porridge and bring it in later.

After sitting down again, the police officer said to Zhuang Yongyuan, "Hello, Zhuang Yongyuan. I'm Officer Liu. Don't be nervous. Cooperate with us to sort this out. If the drug test is fine, you can leave."

Zhuang Yongyuan lowered his head and said nothing. Officer Liu tapped the table with his knuckles. "Raise your head and look at the video camera."

Zhuang Yongyuan sniffed and slowly raised his head. He took a deep breath, but tears kept flowing. Officer Liu could see through the camera that his nose and eyes were red.

"Control your emotions, we..."

Officer Liu's words were interrupted by Zhuang Yongyuan's sobs. Initially, his sobs were suppressed, only a few whimpers escaping his throat. Then, his voice grew uncontrollable. He covered his face with his uninjured hand, sobbing until his shoulders shook, and his anguished cries echoed throughout the interrogation room.

Zhuang Yongyuan explained incoherently: "I'm sorry, let me cry for a while. I haven't cried for a long time. I'm sorry, no one can see here..." His salty tears flowed into his mouth and blended with the sweetness of toffee.

Officer Liu hugged his arms and observed Zhuang Yongyuan for a while. He found that his crying was getting more and more intense and there was no sign of it stopping in the short term. He turned off the video recorder helplessly, walked out and lit another cigarette.

Ah Dian opened the car window wide, yawned, and said, "Why hasn't Zhuang Yongyuan come out yet?"

Xie Kang pulled out his phone to check the time for the umpteenth time in the car. After Zhuang Yongyuan was bandaged in the emergency room, Xie Kang drove the three of them to the police station to cooperate with the investigation, then sat in the car and waited for them to come out.

Logically speaking, two or three hours should be enough for sampling, testing and questioning, but as daybreak approached, Adian and Zhongyou came out one after another, but Zhuang Yongyuan was still in the interrogation room.

Zhong You felt bad for Xie Kang after he stayed up late and kept busy all day, so he said, "Why don't you go back and rest first, and we can take a taxi back to the hotel later."

Xie Kang rubbed his solar plexus to refresh himself: "It's okay. It's National Day holiday anyway, so I don't have to go to work tomorrow."

Seeing Xie Kang's worried expression, Ah Dian comforted him, "Don't worry too much. Perhaps because Yongyuan is the band leader, the police have more questions. When we were taking our statements, the police were very friendly and didn't give us any trouble."

Xie Kang forced a smile: "That would be best."

Even with his smile, the worry on his face only grew. Ah Dian nudged him and said, "We're free anyway, let's chat."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"How did you and Zhuang Yongyuan meet? How did you end up forming a band together? You both wouldn't tell me when I asked you before."

Xie Kang stroked his chin as he recalled the past and said, "Are you really that curious?"

He looked at Ah Dian suspiciously: "You must think that I can't get along with someone like Zhuang Yongyuan, so you keep asking."

"You think too much." Adian quickly denied.

"You just wonder why Zhuang Yongyuan would fall for someone as boring as me."

"How can you be boring? You had more fun than me during your college years."

Hearing this, Zhongyou couldn't help but interrupt: "Really? You loved playing in college?"

Even when Zhongyou found out Xie Kang was Zhuang Yongyuan's ex-boyfriend, she wasn't as shocked. Xie Kang looked at himself in the rearview mirror, looking rather bored, and shrugged helplessly.

His hands unconsciously rubbed the steering wheel as he said, "Actually, Zhuang Yongyuan was quite different when he was in high school. I met Zhuang Yongyuan during the summer vacation of my freshman year. He taught me to play guitar."

After that night, Xie Kang made it a habit to intentionally walk past Kaiping Street on his way home from school. Every time he passed by, he'd see the boys on the second floor of the barber shop practicing piano, every day.

When summer began, Xie Kang had forgotten his boredom in the spring, and now he had something to look forward to every day.

One day in early June, Xie Kang's mother, Yang Ruihui, tapped Xie Kang's bowl with her chopsticks during dinner and said, "This summer vacation will be just like the winter vacation. I'll go to Mr. Lu for extra physics lessons."

Xie Kang swallowed the food in his mouth with great effort and asked, "When is the class?"

"Monday and Wednesday nights. I've already made an appointment with Ms. Lu. She's very short on spots, so the sooner you book, the better. I think we should change the math teacher. The previous one was too young and inexperienced."

Xie Kang nodded. He had long been accustomed to Yang Ruihui arranging his vacations since he was a child. Xie Kang had taken classes with almost every tutor in Pingnan with a good reputation and experience. He didn't know how Yang Ruihui had so many channels to snag the limited number of tutoring spots with renowned teachers.

He took a sip of soup and used his chopsticks to stir the rice in the bowl, which was covered with vegetable leaves, chopped fish and brown sauce.

Grandpa Xie Kang immediately noticed his abnormality and asked him, "What's wrong? Can't you eat anymore?"

Xie Kang pursed his lips, lowered his head, and asked Yang Ruihui hesitantly, "Can I learn guitar this summer vacation?"

Yang Ruihui frowned reflexively and asked Xie Kang, "Why learn guitar?"

Xie Kang scratched his face: "I just want to learn."

"You don't have the musical talent. Didn't I tell you that when you were in kindergarten, I sent you to piano lessons. After a few lessons, the piano teacher told me that you had no talent for it. You could learn it for fun, but forget about pursuing a professional career."

Xie Kang's father, Xie Tao, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: "I think it's okay to not pursue a professional career and just play the piano in your spare time to relax."

Yang Ruihui stood up, turned around and went to the kitchen to serve Xie Tao some food. When she came back, she put down the bowl and looked at Xie Kang and said, "Do you think you have time to relax?"

"I..." Xie Kang blinked hard and said nervously, "It won't affect my studies."

Yang Ruihui's face was still tense, and she ignored Xie Kang. The family buried their heads in their meal. After a while, Xie Tao and Yang Ruihui started talking about relatives again, and Xie Kang couldn't find a chance to interrupt. It was not until Xie Tao finished his meal and leaned back in his chair, taking out a toothpick to pick his teeth, that Yang Ruihui brought up the matter again.

"How about this, I'll see how you do on your final exam. If you're better than on your midterm, I'll promise you guitar lessons."

Xie Kang raised his head, unable to conceal his excitement: "Really?"

Xie Tao reached out and ruffled his hair: "When did Mom and Dad ever lie to you?"

Echo Music Shop is also located on Kaiping Street, three doors down from the Zhenbao Barber Shop, sandwiched between a tea shop and a Taiwanese-owned shoe store. It is a narrow shop without even a proper sign. There is only a wooden sign hanging on the frosted glass door with the words "Echo Music Shop" handwritten on it, and a little gray rabbit painted in the corner.

It was here that Xie Kang saw the boy playing the piano walk in several times, but each time he only saw his back and never saw his face.

Xie Kang saw the blurry figure inside the glass door. Carrying a heavy schoolbag, he pushed the glass door open a little and squeezed in.

The air conditioning in the music store was turned up very high. As soon as Xie Kang entered, he saw the person sitting on the sofa and his hands pressing on the guitar strings. His fingers were very long and thin. In the afternoon sun, the joints and veins on his hands were very obvious.

He spoke: "Who are you looking for?"

He had a bright voice, and whatever song he sang sounded a bit uninhibited. Several times, Xie Kang listened to the original version on his MP3 player at home, and found it quite different from what he had heard on the streets of Kaiping.

Xie Kang looked at his face and realized he was looking at him with a curious expression. He was exactly as he had imagined, with dark hair and eyes, but he looked a little unhappy.

"Xie Kang?" He actually called out Xie Kang's name first, with a surprised tone.

Xie Kang asked in surprise: "How do you know who I am?"

"I'm from No. 1 Middle School, too. I've seen you there." He put down his guitar, sat up straight, and said, "My name is Zhuang Yongyuan, and I'm from Class 1."

Xie Kang sniffed: "Zhuang Yongyuan? Why haven't I seen you at school?"

Zhuang Yongyuan seemed to think for a moment before saying, "I'm not as famous as you."

Xie Kang laughed and said, "So I'm famous?"

Zhuang Yongyuan blinked, his voice much lower than his singing: "Are you here...?"

"I want to learn guitar. Are you also learning here?"

Zhuang Yongyuan said "Oh," stood up, and went up the iron spiral staircase next to the sofa. Soon after, a series of footsteps sounded, and Zhuang Yongyuan hurried down the stairs, followed by a young woman with dyed blond hair and suspender shorts.

"Hello, my name is Xu Zhen, and I own this music store." She smiled at Xie Kang, pointed at the sofa, and motioned for him to sit down. She then took a bottle of iced Coke from the refrigerator and tossed it to him, saying, "Xiao Zhuang said you wanted to learn guitar?"

Xie Kang nodded hurriedly and sat down next to Zhuang Yongyuan. The sofa was a double seat and not very spacious. Xie Kang sat down, and he was very close to Zhuang Yongyuan. Xie Kang saw from the corner of his eye that Zhuang Yongyuan was completely tense.

Xu Zhen turned on the speakers, and an unknown English song blared from the piano store. She sat down in the armchair across from Xie Kang, straightening her back and looking a little nervous. "What do you want to learn?"

She pointed at the wall behind Xie Kang, motioning him to look back. On the wall were award certificates of all sizes, both in Chinese and English. In the middle was a graduation certificate framed in a solid wood. Xie Kang didn't recognize the words on it, but at first glance it looked impressive.

"I studied piano, but I can play many instruments and can teach them all."

"Learn guitar." Xie Kang looked at the proud Xu Zhen in the graduation photo and blurted out, "You studied abroad, why did you come back?"

"My family is worried about me being out there alone," Xu Zhen said softly. She looked at her graduation photo and asked, "When are you free to attend classes?"

Before Xie Kang left, he carefully studied the summer vacation schedule that Yang Ruihui had made for her. The schedule was very specific, with a separate schedule for each day of the 62-day summer vacation.

He said: "Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m."

Xu Zhen took a notebook from the table and flipped through it, frowning and saying, "Is this all you have free time?"

Xie Kang nodded.

"But I have piano students on Mondays and Fridays." Xu Zhen rubbed her chin, thinking hard. She looked at Xie Kang, then at Zhuang Yongyuan. Not wanting to miss out on this rare opportunity, an idea struck her.

"Well, Xie, if you don't mind, how about letting Xiaozhuang teach you? I can give you a lower tuition."

Before Xie Kang could speak, Zhuang Yongyuan stammered, "Ah? I, I'm going to teach him? Are you kidding?"

Xu Zhen nodded: "Yeah, what do you think? This way you can earn some pocket money."

Zhuang Yongyuan lowered his head and stammered, "I don't know."

Xu Zhen didn't ask any further questions and continued to talk to Xie Kang, "Although Xiaozhuang is the same age as you, he has been learning guitar with me since junior high school. To be honest..." Xu Zhen glanced at Zhuang Yongyuan, "He really plays guitar better than me."

When Zhuang Yongyuan heard Xu Zhen praising him, he curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, but when he met Xie Kang's gaze as he looked at him, he quickly lowered his head.

Xie Kang looked at the beautiful curves of Zhuang Yongyuan's calves sticking out from his shorts and said, "Sure."

Zhuang Yongyuan said: "I don't know if I can teach others."

Xu Zhen encouraged him: "Try it first, just like I taught you."

Zhuang Yongyuan cleared his throat and after a long pause raised his head and said solemnly to Xie Kang, "Then let's give it a try?"

Xie Kang grinned at him: "Okay, Teacher Zhuang."

Zhuang Yongyuan asked worriedly, "Do you have time to practice? Learning guitar isn't just about taking lessons; you have to spend time practicing on your own."

"I'll try to find time," Xie Kang thought to himself. Even if Yang Ruihui's schedule was packed, he could always squeeze in some time if he tried. He could finish his homework faster, take a taxi to cram school, and avoid waiting for the bus. There wasn't anything he wanted to do but couldn't.

He then asked Zhuang Yongyuan, "By the way, why did you say I'm famous?"

"Because of good grades?"

"Just because of this?"

"That's about right." Zhuang Yongyuan said.

Xie Kang didn't let him go: "How did you know me?"

"You..." Zhuang Yongyuan looked at Xie Kang, seeming to want to say something but hesitant.

"Maybe it was a flag-raising speech." He said vaguely.

Xie Kang raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any further questions. He pointed at the guitar on the shelf and asked Zhuang Yongyuan with a smile, "Then, Mr. Zhuang, can you show me a few songs?"

"What do you want to listen to?" Zhuang Yongyuan walked over and got the guitar.

Xie Kang blurted out: "Just play the songs you usually practice."

He felt a little regretful after saying this. He didn't want Zhuang Yongyuan to know that he often listened to him playing the piano and singing downstairs. Fortunately, Zhuang Yongyuan didn't seem to notice. He moved the capo and started playing the piano directly.

The music store was bathed in the afternoon sunlight, but with air conditioning, it was not hot but comfortable. Zhuang Yongyuan's eyes, hair, and eyebrows sparkled in the sunlight, and the guitar, piano, music stand, speakers, and water cups all sparkled.

Zhuang Yongyuan sings: "I chase forward, and somehow I fly."