Chapter 2 2. Dead Baby
Although autumn had already arrived according to the solar terms, Pingnan was still very hot. Xie Kang looked up at Zhuang Yongyuan on the stage from below, a few beads of sweat running down his cheeks.
Zhuang Yongyuan was wearing sunglasses and didn't know what he was looking at. He stood there in a daze for a long time, said a few words to the staff, and then plucked the strings and began the performance.
Lily Heart's opening song is a restless, fast-paced electronic dance music with a retro style, which instantly drags everyone in the audience from this beach in broad daylight in the 21st century back to the discotheque of the 1990s.
Xie Kang was surrounded by screams and cheers. The people around him raised their arms and jumped non-stop. Xie Kang had to hold on to the iron horse in front of him to keep his balance.
The songs after the dance music are sometimes dark and religious, and sometimes lyrical. Although the styles are mixed, they are clearly recognizable. To put it simply, they are different from other bands and you can tell they are produced by Lily Heart at the first listen.
All the songs are beautifully arranged, heavily laden with effects and synthesizers, a dazzling display of Zhuang Yongyuan's skill. But his virtuosity is truly impeccable, with no flaws to be found.
The song was excellent, but Xie Kang couldn't concentrate. His complete attention was focused on Zhuang Yongyuan. Zhuang Yongyuan, clutching his guitar, sometimes jumped up and down, sometimes swayed his head, his rosy red hair swaying with the rhythm. Standing in the blazing, intense sunlight, his every move easily stirred the emotions of the thousands in the audience. Confident and composed, he looked like a natural frontman, and many people came just for him.
Amidst the screams, Xie Kang for no apparent reason thought back to his old rental apartment in Shanghai, where he and Zhuang Yongyuan ate dinner with the table lamp on. The cold chicken noodles they'd brought back were as sticky and mushy as the spring weather. The lights were dim, and Zhuang Yongyuan craned his head to watch the old TV the landlord had left behind. It was raining outside.
"I bought an electronic keyboard, and some of the sound effects in it are quite interesting." Zhuang Yongyuan suddenly said.
Xie Kang had a headache and tapped Zhuang Yongyuan's bowl with his chopsticks: "How much of this stuff have you bought? The house is almost full."
"Try it. Did you know that a band made their first album using this keyboard?"
"I have no idea."
Zhuang Yongyuan put down his water cup and said, "Are you unhappy?"
"I don't."
Zhuang Yongyuan was silent for a while, and the sound of rain outside became louder.
"Actually, I'm almost done writing a song," he said. "I'm really working on it. Who knows, maybe one day we'll be as popular as that band."
Xie Kang didn't look at him, but was also watching TV. He said, "Well, hurry up and write. Oh, I'm going home next week for something."
Time passed quickly. When Zhuang Yongyuan stopped performing and started the first and only interaction of the day, there were only five minutes left until the end time on the performance schedule.
Zhuang Yongyuan stepped in front of the microphone, took off his sunglasses, and exchanged some standard pleasantries. As he spoke, he gradually tilted his head toward where Xie Kang was standing.
At first, Xie Kang thought it was an illusion. With so many people in the audience, how could Zhuang Yongyuan possibly notice him? But the tilt of Zhuang Yongyuan's head became increasingly noticeable, and Xie Kang's heart skipped a beat. He quickly lowered his hat and turned to leave.
The people in the front row were standing very close together, and Xie Kang couldn't squeeze out for a while. When he was trying hard to open a gap between two people, he suddenly heard Zhuang Yongyuan's voice coming from the speakers behind him.
"Actually, many people don't know that Lily Heart is a band that was founded a long time ago. How long ago was it? I founded this band with my classmates when I was in high school."
Zhuang Yongyuan emphasized the word "classmate".
Xie Kang froze in place, then turned around with difficulty and faced the stage again.
"The earliest Lily Heart was quite different from what it is now. Back then, there were only two of us, and we only knew how to play guitar. However, Lily Heart's first song was written when we were in high school. For some reason, it has never been released to the public."
There were screams from the audience. Lily was usually quiet during performances, and her occasional interactions were mostly greetings and thanks. Zhuang Yongyuan himself spoke even less; this was the first time he had spoken so much on stage.
Moreover, Zhuang Yongyuan has always been very secretive about the formation of Lily Heart. Every time he was asked about it in an interview, he would change the subject or just give a dry laugh and get by with it.
"But what a coincidence today, the person who wrote Lily Heart's first song is also here today," Zhuang Yongyuan continued.
Without the sunglasses blocking his view, his eyes were fixed on Xie Kang, and the camera also turned to Xie Kang's side.
Xie Kang shook his head at him, but Zhuang Yongyuan ignored him and gave a teasing smile. He took the microphone from the stand, walked straight to the edge of the stage, and said to the audience, "This year is the tenth anniversary of Lily Heart. I'm planning to invite my old teammates to come up and perform Lily Heart's first song with me. Is that okay with you all?"
Cheers and screams came from the audience, but Xie Kang could not hear anything. Amid the sharp tinnitus, he saw Zhuang Yongyuan standing with his back to the sunlight, bending down and handing him the microphone.
Should I accept it? Xie Kang asked himself, vaguely thinking that no one could help him make this choice.
A few drops of sweat flowed into Xie Kang's eyes, and the stinging sensation made him sober up a little.
Zhuang Yongyuan didn't give him any room to refuse, and his outstretched hand remained motionless in mid-air.
Xie Kang's vision was blurred, a halo surrounded the sun, and everything in front of him was trembling in the heat wave.
Zhuang Yongyuan blinked at him. His eyes shone brightly, perhaps even brighter than the sun. Xie Kang suddenly saw the black microphone in front of him clearly.
Volunteers came over and moved the iron fence between Xie Kang and the stage, and brought in a few boxes to use as footstools.
Xie Kang stepped forward, reached out, and took the microphone from Zhuang Yongyuan. It felt heavy, the handle slightly damp. The stage wasn't high, and with Zhuang Yongyuan holding him up, Xie Kang easily climbed onto it.
The staff then brought up an acoustic guitar and placed it next to Xie Kang. Xie Kang looked from the guitar to the other people on stage. This segment was clearly Zhuang Yongyuan's impromptu idea, and the other members of Lily Heart looked puzzled.
Xie Kang looked down at the audience again. It was a sea of people, endless as far as the eye could see. Back in college, Xie Kang and Zhuang Yongyuan had performed at a Livehouse, and as usual, the third row wouldn't even be full.
The largest venue Xie Kang had ever performed in before was only a university cultural evening, and that was many years ago.
He stood on the stage, as if it was his first time there, his mind blank, at a loss. But Zhuang Yongyuan was still standing in the same spot as before, and Xie Kang felt that the stage was like a home he hadn't returned to in a long time.
Xie Kang strapped the guitar to his back and, with familiarity, felt the incisions on the back of the neck, from Z to X. The guitar was old, but well-maintained, and the finish was as shiny as new.
As he stroked the familiar incision, it was like he had just finished building a circuit, and all of a sudden, he was connected and standing firm. He put his guitar on his back, gripped the microphone tightly, and said his first words: "Hello everyone, I'm... I'm Xie Kang, a former member of Lily Heart."
Xie Kang turned around, looked at Zhuang Yongyuan beside him, and swallowed his words: "Let's just sing."
Zhuang Yongyuan moved the microphone stand in front of Xie Kang, placed the microphone on it, and handed him a black pick. Xie Kang nodded, played a few notes to find the tune, and said, "The next song is called 'What Kind of Person'."
After six years, he came back again, and the feeling of holding the guitar was still the same as before.
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