Chapter 5 5. Once in front of my eyes
Xie Kang didn't go home, but took a nap in the car. He didn't really fall asleep, but just closed his eyes and had many dreamlike dreams. In his dreams, he was standing on the stage, not the podium.
By the time Xie Kang regained consciousness, it was already evening. He opened the car window, and the hot, sea-smelling air immediately washed over his face. It was nearly dark, and a half-moon of yellow sun lingered on the distant ocean, radiating a dazzling golden glow. Music drifted faintly over from the stage.
Xie Kang pulled out his phone and turned it on. As expected, a flood of messages flooded in. He glanced briefly. Some were from family members, asking when he'd be home. Others were from work, asking for students to complete their safety check-in tasks and asking what homework Teacher Xie had for the evening.
Xie Kang didn't reply to any of the messages. He turned off his phone and threw it on the seat in the back row.
After throwing away his phone, he found his own escape funny. It was obvious that what was in his phone was his real life. The performance, guitar and Zhuang Yongyuan just now were just a brilliant and short dream. How come he couldn't tell the difference after performing for a while?
Xie Kang wanted to smoke for the first time in a long time. It was so desolate and out in the wilderness that it would be hard to find a small shop. He should go back. Just as he started the car, the message alert on his phone rang again.
It was Adian, asking Xie Kang to send her his location. Xie Kang asked her what she was doing, and Adian replied with a voice message, questioning Xie Kang: "An old friend is here, shouldn't you treat him to a meal?"
Xie Kang smiled and obediently sent the location.
Not long after, Adian appeared outside the car window, sat sideways on Xie Kang's hood, and patted his front windshield.
Xie Kang got out of the car: "Isn't it hot sitting there..."
Midway through his conversation, Xie Kang suddenly noticed Zhuang Yongyuan there, leaning against the back door with his arms folded, staring blankly at the golden sea in the distance. He had changed out of his performance clothes and was now wearing a simple striped short-sleeved shirt and jeans. His hair, nearly shoulder-length, was a bit messy from the wind, and through it one could vaguely see his earrings and eyebrow studs, gleaming in the sunset.
Xie Kang opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Zhuang Yongyuan, however, acted as if he didn't notice him at all. He took out his cell phone from his pocket and kept looking at it.
Adian came over and said, "When I was in college, I asked you to take me back to Pingnan to play every day, but every year you two made excuses. You can't avoid it this time, right?" She patted Xie Kang's shoulder and looked at him meaningfully.
Zhuang Yongyuan finally spoke: "What's so fun about a small place like Pingnan?"
Ah Dian flicked on his lighter, lit a cigarette, and exhaled smoke while shaking his head. He said, "Come on, Teacher Xie, take me to eat some Pingnan specialties."
"Where are the other members of the band?" Xie Kang asked.
"We had a Lily Heart 1.0 party today, so we sent them off to escort the musical instruments back to the hotel."
Zhuang Yongyuan suddenly pointed at Ah Dian's cigarette box and said, "Light one for me too."
"Aren't you trying to quit smoking? You've already smoked half a pack today and you're still smoking?" Adian said.
"It's not my first time quitting anyway." Zhuang Yongyuan scratched his head irritably and said to Adian, "It's all your fault for insisting on taking on this music festival. I get annoyed every time I come to this lousy place."
Ah Dian curled his lips and whispered, "Who wants to answer it?"
She received a glare from Zhuang Yongyuan, but she still handed him the cigarette case and lighter. Zhuang Yongyuan pulled out a cigarette, biting the popping bead between his lips. He pressed the lighter with his left hand, shielding the flame with his right. He lit it, took a deep puff, and pinched the cigarette holder between his thumb and index finger, puffing rapidly. Xie Kang saw his chest sag and swell beneath his shirt, his breath exhaling minty, milky white smoke. The orange-red, flickering flame was clearly visible in the completely dark sky.
It was obviously very noisy on the stage, but when Xie Kang saw Zhuang Yongyuan's lips curled up while smoking, he felt for a moment that the world was very quiet.
He held out his hand to Zhuang Yongyuan: "Give me one."
Zhuang Yongyuan's eyelashes flickered as he threw the cigarette case and lighter to Xie Kang, who was standing beside him. Xie Kang quickly bent down to catch it with both hands, nearly dropping the cigarette case.
Xie Kang lit a cigarette and asked, "How did that happen just now?"
"We had some problems with Yan Tong before." A Dian patted Xie Kang's shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous, it's not because of you."
Ah Dian was still sitting on the hood, his legs swinging. He looked at Xie Kang, who was smoking, then turned to look at Zhuang Yongyuan, who was leaning against the car door, and said, "It seems like we were in college."
"Zhuang Yongyuan never smoked with us before." Xie Kang said with a smile. He looked up at the sky. The weather was good. This was in the suburbs, so the stars and the moon were very bright.
"There were a few times when we performed too late and couldn't go back to the dorm because of the curfew, so we would squat at the back door of the Livehouse with our guitars and smoke."
Xie Kang didn't notice that the cigarette ash had fallen onto his clothes. As he dusted it off, he said, "Because I couldn't bear to spend money on a hotel room, I ended up going out for a late-night snack after smoking and ended up spending even more money."
"That's also Zhuang Yongyuan's fault for being such a big eater!" Ah Dian nudged Zhuang Yongyuan with his elbow. "I think you learned to smoke during our New Year's Eve performance during our sophomore year, right?"
"That compilation performance?" Xie Kang stroked his chin, reminiscing for a moment. "We made over a thousand, and then Zhuang Yongyuan got drunk backstage, fell in love with someone's effects pedal, and spent all the money we made."
"More than that, didn't you also make up a few hundred?"
"Really? I don't remember."
"You're so heartless! That was the first time we performed one of our own songs, the one you wrote, 'What Kind of Person'. You haven't forgotten it, have you?" Ah Dian stretched lazily. "I didn't expect to perform this song with you today."
Zhuang Yongyuan stamped out his cigarette and impatiently interrupted Xie Kang and Adian, "Are you old enough to start writing your memoirs? You're bringing up all sorts of trivial things."
Ah Dian made a gun gesture with his hand, closed his right eye, and aimed at Zhuang Yongyuan's head. "It's so rare for us to get together, what else can we talk about if not these things?"
"It's so boring, I'm leaving now."
Seeing Zhuang Yongyuan about to leave, Xie Kang quickly tried to smooth things over: "You must be hungry. I'll take you guys out for dinner. There's a new place nearby that serves good late-night snacks."
"Can we go eat together?" Ah Dian jumped down and nudged Zhuang Yongyuan with her elbow. Zhuang Yongyuan glared at her, "I don't care. Stop bothering me."
"Then get in the car." Xie Kang smiled awkwardly and opened the door for them. Zhuang Yongyuan was standing right next to him, so when he opened the door, Xie Kang and Zhuang Yongyuan were very close. A tuft of Zhuang Yongyuan's bright red hair was blown up by the fan, almost touching Xie Kang's face.
Xie Kang caught a glimpse of a label stuck on Zhuang Yongyuan's arm, raised his hand to tear it off for Zhuang Yongyuan, folded it in half and put it in his pocket. When he was thinking of finding a trash can to throw it away, he noticed that Zhuang Yongyuan's hand was frozen in mid-air, and his fingers were about to touch his rolled-up collar.
Noticing Xie Kang's gaze, Zhuang Yongyuan immediately withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted.
Xie Kang was holding the label paper in his hand when he realized that he was so nervous that he held his breath.
The muscle memory was still there, but he and Zhuang Yongyuan were no longer in a relationship where they could tidy up each other's appearance.
Xie Kang coughed a few times, opened the door, and let Zhuang Yongyuan in. Zhuang Yongyuan didn't seem uncomfortable at all, leaning back in his chair and putting on his headphones. Although Xie Kang wanted to ask something else, he didn't know how to start.
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