Chapter 6 6. The Empty House and the Lost Heart

There weren't many cars on the way back, and in less than half an hour, they arrived at the place Xie Kang wanted to take them to eat. It was in the new district on the other side of the bridge, a new-style food stall serving crayfish, grilled fish, barbecue, and other Pingnan specialties.

As Xie Kang was looking in the rearview mirror and pulling over to the side of the road, he heard Zhuang Yongyuan mutter, "Wasn't this a battery factory before? Now it's been turned into a restaurant?"

Xie Kang said: "The new campus of No. 1 Middle School has been built here, and many residential areas have been built nearby."

Zhuang Yongyuan didn't say anything else. Xie Kang took the lead and led them into the store, choosing a four-person seat by the window.

This restaurant uses a self-service QR code ordering system. Ah Dian, who found everything new, ordered a ton of food. After placing his order, he suddenly shouted, "What is this big intestine cake? Why did you order two?"

"I ordered it." said Zhuang Yongyuan.

"I ordered one too, but I didn't pay attention. I'll tell the waiter later and ask them to refund one." Xie Kang said, his heart beating heavily a few times, but there was nothing unusual in Zhuang Yongyuan's expression.

Ah Dian looked at the pictures on the menu and wondered, "It's so black, how can it be delicious?"

Large intestine cake is a local snack in Pingnan. It is made of sliced ​​large intestine and rice cake soaked in a shiny black sticky broth. At first glance, it does not look very attractive.

"Maybe I'm used to it." Xie Kang smiled, "Zhuang Yongyuan and I used to eat there together after evening self-study classes."

"It's not delicious, but I just want to get a cheap meal." Zhuang Yongyuan played with his fingers boredly and moved aside to make room for the waiter who was serving drinks and appetizers.

There were three dozen cold beers on the table. Xie Kang asked in surprise, "You ordered so much, can you finish it?"

Adian picked up a piece of pickled guava with a toothpick and said while chewing, "I didn't order it."

Zhuang Yongyuan reached out, took the bottle opener from Xie Kang, and said, "I ordered it."

As he spoke, he swiftly opened a bottle of wine. Dense foam overflowed from the bottle mouth. He tilted his head, licked it off with his tongue, and wiped the foam off his hands with a tissue. Then he grasped the neck of the bottle, tilted his head back to drink, his Adam's apple moving up and down, and drank half a bottle of wine in one gulp.

In Xie Kang's impression, Zhuang Yongyuan's alcohol tolerance was not very good. He would blush and speak unclearly after drinking a little. He also didn't like to drink because he thought it was bitter. His taste was like a child's. He only liked to drink Coke. He didn't expect that he had changed so much in recent years.

Xie Kang stared at Zhuang Yongyuan unconsciously until Zhuang Yongyuan put down the bottle and looked at him. Then Xie Kang was startled and turned to look out the window.

Zhuang Yongyuan didn't say anything and opened another bottle of wine. Xie Kang couldn't help but watch him open the bottle cap. Zhuang Yongyuan had beautiful hands, long fingers, perfectly sized joints, and a few blue veins faintly visible under his slightly pale skin.

When Xie Kang saw Zhuang Yongyuan for the first time, he first noticed his hands and thought that his hands pressing on the guitar strings were particularly beautiful. Then he realized that this person was even more handsome.

The restaurant was crowded, and the food was slow to arrive. The four of them spent half a day enjoying their appetizers before the waiter finally arrived and brought a dish of crayfish. Ah Dian put on gloves to peel the shrimp and looked up at Xie Kang with interest. Xie Kang tapped the table and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"See if you can still peel shrimp for Zhuang Yongyuan."

Xie Kang's face flushed. When they were in college, they would go out for supper together after rehearsal and often ordered crayfish.

At the time, Xie Kang wouldn't let Zhuang Yongyuan peel shrimp himself. One time, Zhuang Yongyuan pricked his finger on a shrimp shell. Without proper care, the wound became infected the next day, causing a large swelling. Terrified, Zhuang Yongyuan kept asking Xie Kang if he'd have to have his leg amputated. What would happen if he couldn't play the piano anymore? Xie Kang quickly took him to the hospital, and after a week of applying anti-inflammatory medication, he finally recovered. Xie Kang later insisted on peeling shrimp for him, even crabs. A Dian, watching this, asked with a sour smile, "A drummer's hands aren't hands anymore." Xie Kang's ears burned, and whenever they went out to eat, he'd be the one peeling shrimp and crabs for the band.

Thinking of this, Xie Kang wanted to open a bottle of wine and drink until he was dizzy, so he wouldn't have to dwell on the past, which he couldn't go back to. Unfortunately, he was driving today and couldn't drink.

"You look very cheerful today." Adian looked at Xie Kang's face and suddenly said.

Xie Kang touched his face uncomfortably and felt a little aftereffect of his smile.

"Are there that many?"

Adian showed Xie Kang his phone, which contained a post from a Douban group titled "Does anyone know what's going on with Lily Xin, my former teammate, at the Pingnan Music Festival today?"

Attached to the main post are a few photos of Xie Kang at a performance. Xie Kang was holding a guitar, and his brows were slightly furrowed because he was singing seriously, but there was a smile on his face. The light on the open-air stage was good in the afternoon, and even Xie Kang's not-so-obvious dimples were clearly visible in the photos.

When Xie Kang gave an open class a while ago, the head of the mathematics group suggested that he smile more to make the classroom atmosphere more relaxed and that young people should not have a stern face all the time.

Xie Kang took it to heart and tried to force a smile in class later, but even he felt stiff. When he looked in the mirror, he felt that he might as well not smile.

Unfortunately, he still looked visibly out of place when standing on Lily Heart's stage. Everyone else had fancy looks, but he was the only one who looked like a Uniqlo model.

Xie Kang sent himself the link to the post before returning the phone to Adian, putting on gloves and starting to peel crayfish.

He put the peeled shrimps on an empty plate, and soon the plate was filled with shrimp meat. Adian ate half of it without hesitation. Zhuang Yongyuan continued to drink and did not touch the shrimps peeled by Xie Kang.

Xie Kang decided to go all out and peel all the crayfish. His hands were busy but his mouth was idle, so he asked, "How long have you been staying in Pingnan?"

"I'm working on a new song and have a flight for tomorrow night." Adian sighed.

"Are you going to release a second album?" Xie Kang asked.

"Well, strike while the iron is hot. By the way, Zhuang Yongyuan, have you told Xie Kang?"

"What?" Xie Kang asked curiously.

Zhuang Yongyuan swirled the beer in his bottle, his face flushed and hesitant. He sat up straight and finally spoke, "We're planning to include the adapted version of 'What Kind of Person' in our new album, and we'd like to discuss the copyright fees with you."

"No wonder you arranged this song." Xie Kang suddenly realized something and said to Zhuang Yongyuan, who was staring at him intently, "No copyright fees required. This song is yours."

Zhuang Yongyuan was not happy to hear this. He frowned and said, "I'm serious. As for today's performance fee, if you're not satisfied with the price, you can negotiate. We'll handle this business impartially."

"I'm not kidding." Xie Kang put down his chopsticks. "Do you need to sign any documents? I'll cooperate."

"What do you mean?" Zhuang Yongyuan said in a low voice.

Xie Kang was puzzled: "I didn't mean anything. This is just something I owe Lily."

"Do you think I'm incapable of paying you? Do you think Lily Heart is still the same as before and needs to rely on you for support?"

Zhuang Yongyuan's tone was very aggressive, and he and Xie Kang seemed to be about to quarrel. Seeing this, Ah Dian quickly spoke up for Xie Kang: "Xie Kang is not that kind of person."

Zhuang Yongyuan threw his chopsticks on the table and sneered. His phone rang again, but Zhuang Yongyuan ignored it.

Xie Kang was familiar with Zhuang Yongyuan's temper. He was just like that. When he got angry, he would lose his temper immediately. But he never held a grudge. Once he was done with his anger, the matter was over. Xie Kang used to coax him, but now he was silent, just keeping his head down.

Xie Kang didn't know if he was qualified to coax Zhuang Yongyuan now. Zhuang Yongyuan was a popular musician in the independent music circle. This late-night snack shop had just played the songs he wrote, and even Xie Kang's students had fans of him.

Xie Kang himself is just a short-sighted, profit-seeking former teammate and an insignificant ex-boyfriend. Apart from that, he has no other identity in front of Zhuang Yongyuan.

Neither of them spoke, and the dinner table fell into an eerie silence until Zhuang Yongyuan stood up and walked out of the store without even taking his cell phone.

Several people watched Zhuang Yongyuan disappear behind the store door. Xie Kang smiled awkwardly, pushed the newly served plate of barbecue toward Ah Dian, and said, "Eat it! This is also a Pingnan specialty, honey barbecue..."

As Xie Kang spoke, he also picked up a skewer of roasted pork belly, which tasted like chewing wax.

His head was buzzing and he couldn't hear clearly what Adian was saying to him. He nervously picked up the cup of lemon tea in front of him and put it down again.

"This area has just been developed. Zhuang Yongyuan doesn't know the way and he didn't bring his phone. I'm going out to look for him, or he might get lost after drinking too much."

After Xie Kang said this, without waiting for Adian to answer, he walked out directly like Zhuang Yongyuan.

He walked around the late-night snack shop but didn't see Zhuang Yongyuan. The new business district wasn't attracting many investors, and only a few restaurants were still lit. Standing on the roadside after dark, the desolate feeling of the suburbs was palpable.

Unable to use his cell phone to find people, Xie Kang could only walk clumsily along the road towards the old town.

He didn't hold out much hope, but as he walked, he actually saw a man standing under a street light smoking in front of a convenience store a hundred meters away.

The street lights were bright, and Xie Kang knew at a glance that it was Zhuang Yongyuan, standing there alone, making people want to hug him.

But after finding Zhuang Yongyuan, Xie Kang became timid. When he was hesitating whether to go up and talk to him, Zhuang Yongyuan suddenly looked up and looked in Xie Kang's direction from a distance.

Xie Kang shuddered, took a few deep breaths, walked to Zhuang Yongyuan, and fanned away the smoke in front of him with his hand.

"Smoke less," said Xie Kang.

Zhuang Yongyuan narrowed his eyes, glanced at Xie Kang frivolously, and exhaled a puff of smoke at him.

"Why did you follow me here? Do you regret it? Or do you want money?"

"I'm afraid you'll get lost."

Zhuang Yongyuan laughed, but it wasn't a sneer. He shook off his cigarette ash beside the trash can, looked at the dilapidated buildings in the distance waiting to be demolished, and said, "Even if I forget, you won't forget this place."

"What do you mean?" Xie Kang realized after he finished speaking. This was the old factory building of a battery factory. Zhuang Yongyuan's parents originally worked there, but they quit their jobs after Zhuang Yongyuan was born and went into business. Zhuang Yongyuan had mentioned to him in high school that he had lived here with his grandmother as a child.

Xie Kang moved closer to Zhuang Yongyuan. This was the first time they had the chance to talk to each other alone since they met again.

Xie Kang said, "I'm sorry."

"Didn't you say sorry this afternoon?" Zhuang Yongyuan curled his lips and said, "You said something unpleasant before, but I've forgotten it."

Xie Kang explained seriously: "But you are still angry."

Zhuang Yongyuan shook off the ash from his cigarette and said, "Even if I'm angry, what does it have to do with you? Aren't you too narcissistic?"

Before Xie Kang could say anything, he launched into another barrage of words, "Are you overthinking it just because I invited you to perform with me today? There's no need. I'm just trying to create a buzz. Didn't you say that just focusing on production is pointless and that you need to understand how to promote and package it?"

"This is an employment relationship, you understand? The price is negotiable."

"Or do you think that because we were together before, everything I say and do to you is because I can't forget you?" Zhuang Yongyuan raised his cigarette in the air, the flame of the cigarette butt flickering as he waved his hand. "Then please think clearly, what happened in the past is in the past. How I feel now, whether I'm in a good mood or not, has nothing to do with you. Just try to please your students, your parents, and your boss. We've been separated for many years. Can you please stop acting like there's still something between us?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Someone like you might be a little special in Pingnan, but there are so many people out there who are prettier and more talented than you. What makes you think I can't forget you?"

Xie Kang lowered his head. Zhuang Yongyuan threw his cigarette butt to the ground and stomped it out. He said irritably, "I didn't want to say it so directly. It was you who kept pestering me and forcing me to say it."

The slightly bitter scent of Zhuang Yongyuan's body drifted over, overpowering the smell of tobacco. The streetlights surrounding them flickered. Xie Kang cleared his throat and said, "You didn't ask me if I would come to the show. Did you recognize me on stage?"

"You..." Xie Kang's words completely caught Zhuang Yongyuan off guard, and a look of surprise crossed his face. Just then, the roar of a motorcycle engine approached from afar. A motorcycle, its modified headlights dazzling, was approaching them. It then stopped in front of them.