Chapter 27 27. I thought that writing a good song would make me walk with my head held high
Xie Kang glanced at the New Year's Eve party performance registration form handed over by the squad leader and asked, "Wow, you formed a band?"
The monitor nodded sheepishly. Xie Kang smiled and said, "Zhuang Yong...has Teacher Zhuang agreed to be your instructor?"
"No, he told us to study hard." The monitor said helplessly.
"Is that so?" Xie Kang stared at the words "Ten Thousand Typhoons" on the form and said, "Then you'll still perform Lily Heart's songs?"
"We all like Lily Heart!"
Xie Kang nodded. Seeing that Xie Kang didn't say anything else, the squad leader turned around and took two steps when Xie Kang called him again.
Xie Kang usually had no expression on his face, and this was the first time the squad leader saw him looking hesitant.
He said, "How about I be your instructor?"
"Ah, Teacher Xie, do you know Lily Heart's song?"
"Guiding you is barely enough."
Xie Kang looked a little frustrated. The monitor nodded, said "Thank you, teacher," and walked away, looking less excited. Xie Kang sighed and put on his headphones to listen to "Ten Thousand Typhoons."
Zhuang Yongyuan had written many drafts before, and Xie Kang had listened to them one by one. The first few times he listened to this song, he could tell that it was Zhuang Yongyuan who picked it out from the drafts and rewrote it, and he still remembered some of the motives.
At first, he just wanted to break down the arrangement, but as he listened, his mind wandered. He couldn't help but think about the six years between him and Zhuang Yongyuan, and what he felt like as he sat at his computer, sorting through his discarded manuscripts. Was there anyone there with him? Hadn't he hated those discarded manuscripts? Why was he willing to use them later?
After finishing his last class in the afternoon, Xie Kang couldn't wait to pack up and leave. Others in the office looked at him curiously and asked, "Teacher Xie, why are you leaving so early today?"
"Nowadays, we advocate WLB and work-life balance. I think it makes a lot of sense." As he said this, he hurried to the underground garage, drove out the car, parked it on the side of the road at the door, squeezed into the car of the parents who came to pick up their students, opened the window and looked outside. As soon as he saw Zhuang Yongyuan, he called out his name loudly.
Zhuang Yongyuan was originally looking down at his phone when he heard someone calling him. He was startled. Seeing it was Xie Kang, he patted his chest to calm down. He leaned against the car door, looked down at Xie Kang, and asked him, "What's going on, Mr. Xie?"
Xie Kang unlocked the car door, pointed to the passenger seat and said, "I'll take you home."
Zhuang Yongyuan didn't hesitate. He opened the car door and sat in the back seat, saying, "Why don't you sign up as a Didi driver?"
"Okay, but you can contact me directly to avoid the platform middleman making a profit."
As he spoke, he showed his WeChat friend code, handed it to Zhuang Yongyuan, and said, "Add WeChat, and let me know when you want to book a ride."
Zhuang Yongyuan looked at him, and he looked back without any fear. Zhuang Yongyuan laughed out loud, scanned his friend code, and muttered to himself, "Should I mark you as Master Xie or Teacher Xie?"
Xie Kang clicked on his profile picture. At first glance, Zhuang Yongyuan's profile was black, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was his profile. The light shining on his face was thin, and most of his facial features were hidden in the darkness.
"Don't look at it. My circle of friends is visible for three days." Zhuang Yongyuan patted Xie Kang's shoulder from behind. At this time, the song in the car was playing "Thousands of Typhoons". Without the prelude, Zhuang Yongyuan's voice sounded in the car.
When Zhuang Yongyuan heard this, he snatched Xie Kang's phone and changed the song.
Xie Kang's phone dinged, and several messages popped up. Xie Kang hadn't set the messages to be invisible. Someone with the note "Third Uncle" sent him a picture and a text introduction: "This girl works at the Water Group, she's a year older than you, and her father is an emergency responder..."
The rest of the text was no longer visible. Zhuang Yongyuan handed the phone back to Xie Kang. Xie Kang read the message and said, "You send me messages every now and then. I've told you so many times, but it's no use."
"It's quite good, a good match."
Xie Kang looked back at him, pushed up his glasses and said, "I've kissed a celebrity, so I can't date an ordinary person."
"So snobby." Zhuang Yongyuan pulled out his cigarette case. A few middle school students rode by the window. He hesitated, put the cigarette back in his pocket, and said, "Even Lily Heart has quit. I'll be out of fashion soon."
"Won't you be able to continue performing once your fracture heals?"
"Who told you that? We're on an indefinite hiatus."
Xie Kang immediately sat up straight and asked him, "Why are you taking a break? Didn't the marijuana issue get cleared up?"
"Just drive your car! You're the teacher who's blocking the road at the school gate during the evening rush hour. How can you be so arrogant?"
Xie Kang obeyed, drove the car on the road and asked Zhuang Yongyuan where he was going.
"Of course we're going to have dinner. You have no common sense at all," said Zhuang Yongyuan.
"A good Thai restaurant recently opened in Xinding City."
Zhuang Yongyuan said firmly, "Let's go to Du Jiahao's store."
"Okay." Xie Kang turned around at the intersection. Zhuang Yongyuan lit a cigarette and started smoking. He soon opened a new pack. He left the window open to smoke, and soon he was sneezing repeatedly.
Xie Kang held the steering wheel with one hand while he took off his jacket with the other and handed it to Zhuang Yongyuan. Zhuang Yongyuan looked at him incredulously and said, "Don't call me a country bumpkin. What era is it that still does this kind of thing?"
The brown coat lay awkwardly between the two of them all the way. Zhuang Yongyuan didn't want it, and Xie Kang didn't want to wear it either. After getting off the car, the two of them sneezed together at the hotel entrance.
The front desk attendant was the same one Zhuang Yongyuan had given his WeChat ID to last time. He greeted Zhuang Yongyuan with a smile. Xie Kang noticed and deliberately walked close to Zhuang Yongyuan. Zhuang Yongyuan immediately noticed and said, "Aren't you afraid of being seen by your students?"
"You leave your WeChat ID everywhere, aren't you afraid someone will post it online?"
"People in this line of work are laughed at for being chaste, right?" Zhuang Yongyuan said nonchalantly, taking out his mobile phone to scan the code to place an order. He looked embarrassed as he ordered. He had eaten three times in a row and had no appetite for anything.
Xie Kang said, "Let's go find another one if that doesn't work. Du Jiahao's restaurant is doing really well. Even if the two of us dine and eat our way through the restaurant and end up in the hospital, we still can't bankrupt him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuang Yongyuan immediately ordered all the signature dishes. Xie Kang subtracted two dishes before he could press the order button, but the table was still full after the dishes were served.
Most of the dishes were served, but Xie Kang and Zhuang Yongyuan didn't eat much, though more than a dozen bottles of beer were empty. Xie Kang couldn't bear to watch, so he took a few bites of the lighter lemon wedge in front of him. The smell of the salt and pepper of the fried eel fry made him feel sick.
He didn't plan to hire a designated driver tonight, so he didn't drink. He took a few sips of iced lemon juice to calm his nerves. He said, "Why don't you start a business running errands and ordering food for people at half the price? If too many people come to eat there, Du Jiahao will go bankrupt quickly, and you can also make some pocket money."
"You are quite good at budgeting now. Will you become like this if you stay in Pingnan for a long time?" Zhuang Yongyuan said.
"When you're not in Pingnan, aren't you still like your former neighbor, getting drunk every night?"
Zhuang Yongyuan frowned and said, "It's different. I'm not drunk."
Xie Kang laughed and asked him, "How long do you plan to stay in Pingnan?"
Zhuang Yongyuan didn't answer, so Xie Kang pressed on, "Is it really an indefinite hiatus?"
"I'm not in a hurry, and neither are the other people in our group. Why are you in a hurry?"
"Did something happen to you?"
Zhuang Yongyuan slammed the beer bottle in his hand down, spilling the beer and foam all over his hand. With a look of disgust on his face, he asked Xie Kang, "What on earth does the matter between Baihexin and me have to do with you?"
"I just wanted to help you."
Xie Kang's phone rang again. He saw it was his father calling and hesitated whether to answer it. Zhuang Yongyuan said, "Answer it, why not?"
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