Our tomorrow
On a Friday evening at the "Neon" bar, the warm yellow light leaked out from the fully rolled-up shutters, mingling with the subtle clatter of guitars tuning, filling the dark alleys of the old city. Li Huaizhou stood by the side, clutching a black microphone, his fingertips grazing the polished mesh. Hearing Ji Jiancheng misplay a chord and hastily reset it, Chen Qitang paused with his drumstick, tapping it softly against the rim.
"Stop shaking," Chen Qitang glanced at him, drumsticks beating out a steady rhythm in his palm, "There are many regular customers, why are you panicking?" Li Huaizhou didn't respond, his eyes drifting towards the door - when Ji Jiancheng mentioned tonight's performance in the classroom, he had thought of Xie Mo for some reason, but didn't dare to ask "Do you want to come?" Now he felt empty in his heart, as if something was missing.
Ji Jiancheng finally tuned up the guitar, slung over his shoulder, his school uniform jacket draped over the back of a chair, revealing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the band's name. "It's time to start!" he shouted to the audience. "Today we're singing 'Our Tomorrow,' so if you've heard it, follow along!" Sporadic boos erupted from the audience. The bartender stood in a corner, arms folded. Li Huaizhou took a deep breath and walked to the center of the stage. The spotlight fell on him, making him feel a bit hot and dry.
He closed his eyes as the prelude played softly. The guitar melody was like the evening breeze by the river, and the drum beats were extremely steady. When he opened his mouth, his voice was lower than usual, with a youthful tone mixed with the hum of the microphone: "A person walks to the end, accidentally returns to the starting point, a new world, a new world, I only discovered at this moment..." When he sang the chorus, his eyes subconsciously swept to the back of the crowd - the corner that was previously tightly blocked now had a small gap, and Xie Mo was standing there.
Xie Mo leaned against the glass door, clutching an unopened bottle of mineral water. His white school uniform stood out against the warm yellow light, like a piece of snow falling on dark velvet. He didn't make any noise, didn't raise his hand, just stood there quietly, his eyes fixed on the center of the stage. He didn't have any emotion, but he was watching intently, as if he was solving a complex geometry problem.
Li Huaizhou's heartbeat suddenly stopped, and his hand holding the microphone shook slightly, almost singing the wrong words. He quickly retracted his gaze and stared at the light and shadow on the stage floor, but his ears were sharp - he could hear someone knocking over a bottle next to Xie Mo. With the "clang", Xie Mo must have taken a half step to the side. The gaze that fell on him paused briefly, then returned steadily.
"There was once a legend that dreams of time travel backwards, because a dream told me..." His voice trembled as he sang this line. What came to mind was not the lyrics, but the time of tutoring: Xie Mo sitting across from him, fingertips tapping on the draft paper, "The auxiliary line is drawn wrong," his tone flat but clear; Xie Mo pushed the lollipop to the corner of the table, and when his fingertips touched his pen, he immediately withdrew it; when Xie Mo said, "I will only tutor you every week," his eyes did not evade, but there was no extra emotion, as if he was stating a mathematical theorem.
These images lingered in his throat, even the hum of the microphone's electricity grew warm. As the song ended, he looked back again—Xie Mo was still standing there, his mineral water bottle slightly deformed from being gripped. The corner of his mouth curved up imperceptibly, as fast as ripples on the water in the wind, and before Li Huaizhou could see clearly, it disappeared.
Applause surged from the audience. Ji Jiancheng rushed over and patted him on the shoulder: "Great, Brother Zhou! The chorus is very stable. Brother Wen said he would increase the performance fee next time!" Shen Qitang also came over, with drumsticks at his waist: "I saw your eyes staring at you just now. Who did you see?" Li Huaizhou didn't respond, and his eyes drifted to the door again - Xie Mo didn't leave, but he didn't come closer either, like a stake nailed to the spot.
"I'm going out to get some fresh air."
He said this and without waiting for Ji Jiancheng to ask any more questions, he walked towards the door holding the microphone. When he reached the door, he casually put the microphone on the chair. The sweat from his palms rubbed against the mesh, leaving a small wet mark.
Leaving the bar, the evening breeze, wrapped in the damp air from the river, blew away the heat from the stage. Xie Mo heard footsteps and turned his head. His gaze fell on him, neither bright nor dim, just like when he looked up at him during tutoring. "You sang well." His tone was flat, not a compliment. "Why are you here?" Li Huaizhou stood in front of him. Xie Mo was much taller than him and could see the strands of hair on his forehead swaying in the wind, but he didn't dare look him in the eye. "Didn't you say you had something to do this weekend?"
"Ji Jiancheng mentioned it in the classroom yesterday," Xie Mo answered directly. He turned the mineral water bottle in his hand half a circle, and his fingertips touched the bottle label. "I haven't heard you sing yet. Am I bothering you?" He didn't say "I wanted to come here specially" or "How long have you been waiting?" It was as if he was just passing by and stopped for a while.
"No need to bother you." Li Huaizhou quickly replied, but then realized his tone was too hasty. He cleared his throat and raised his chin towards the river. "Do you want to... go for a walk over there? It's close." He regretted it right after asking - what if Xie Mo said "no", how embarrassing would that be? Xie Mo nodded and took the lead to walk towards the river. The two walked side by side on the cobblestone road, not saying a word. There was only the sound of footsteps and the noise of the bar in the distance, slowly broken by the evening breeze. When they reached the guardrail by the river, Xie Mo stopped first, put one hand on the guardrail, and looked at the ripples on the river surface. He did not look back and did not speak.
Li Huaizhou fished out his cigarette case and took out a cigarette when his fingertips paused—the smell of cigarettes from his last tutoring class. Xie Mo said nothing, but silently moved his chair two centimeters to the side. He held the cigarette in his hand, hesitated for two seconds, then stuffed it back into the case and put it back in his pocket. His fingers gripped the edge of the case, causing his knuckles to tighten.
"I saw you just now." It was Li Huaizhou who spoke first. He stared at Xie Mo's hand on the guardrail. The hand was thinner than his, and the nails were neatly trimmed, but he didn't dare move it up. "You were at the back, wearing a school uniform... conspicuous."
"It's not crowded back there. You paused for a moment when you sang the part about a legend." Xie Mo's gaze remained fixed on the river. "That was intentional." Li Huaizhou said stubbornly, but his ears felt a little hot. "Do you understand the stage effect?" After saying that, he felt that what he said was childish and quickly changed the subject. "How did you get here? Which car did you drive?"
"It's the bus, two stops." Xie Mo finally turned his head and looked at his face. There was no emotion, but he felt uneasy. "You said you smoked, but you didn't." It was not a question, but a statement.
"The wind was strong and I choked." Li Huaizhou made up an excuse and gripped the cigarette box in his pocket even tighter. "Why don't you drink your bottle of water?"
Xie Mo unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip, and slowly, his Adam's apple moved, and screwed the cap back on. "Next week's make-up class is still in an empty classroom." He took out a folder from his pocket and handed it over. "Today's afternoon's questions..."
Li Huaizhou took the folder, and when his fingertips touched his, they felt as cool as a pen fresh from the refrigerator. They both paused. Xie Mo immediately withdrew his hand and placed it back on the guardrail, his hand straight. "Thanks." He hugged the folder in his arms, not daring to open it, afraid of seeing the familiar red pen markings inside. Thinking back to the jealous temper he had a few days ago, his throat tightened. "Last time... I shouldn't have lost my temper with you."
Xie Mo didn't turn around, just murmured, "Hmm," softly, like the wind through leaves. "Got it." Li Huaizhou breathed a sigh of relief—at least the awkwardness wasn't over. "From now on..." Li Huaizhou paused, tightening his grip on the folder. "You don't have to tutor only me. You can also tutor others when they ask you." Even though he said this, he felt a little uneasy, afraid that Xie Mo would actually agree.
"No," Xie Mo refused flatly, and finally moved his gaze away from the river and fell on his face. "I just want to tell you." His tone was flat, but with a hint of unquestionable seriousness. Li Huaizhou's heartbeat was disordered again. He quickly turned his head away and stared at the lights across the river. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up a little, but he quickly suppressed it and pretended to cough: "Whatever you want."
Xie Mo didn't say anything else, and the two of them fell into silence again, but they didn't feel awkward. The river breeze blew over, carrying moisture, blowing the hem of Li Huaizhou's T-shirt and ruffling Xie Mo's hair. A slow song melody came from the bar in the distance, entwined with the aftertaste of "Our Tomorrow", warm and cozy.
"By the way." Xie Mo suddenly spoke, took out a lollipop from his pocket, still the pear and milk flavor, and handed it to him. The packaging was still new, "Do you want to eat it?"
Li Huaizhou took the candy and rubbed the wrapper with his fingertips, which was a bit rough. He stuffed it into his school uniform pocket, next to the cigarette box. The cold eraser and the warm cigarette box rubbed against each other, causing a slight itch through the fabric. "I know." He answered awkwardly, but did not say "no."
Ji Jiancheng's voice came from the distance: "Huaizhou! We're done packing, let's go!" Li Huaizhou responded, turned to Xie Mo and said: "I'm going back, you... do you want me to take you to the bus stop?"
"No need." Xie Mo shook his head and took a half step back, "You go back."
Li Huaizhou nodded, but didn't move immediately. He stared at him for two seconds before turning around and walking towards the bar. After walking a few steps, he couldn't help but look back - Xie Mo was still standing by the guardrail, not waving or moving, just looking in his direction. The white school uniform was like an unlit but bright lamp in the night. He turned his head quickly, his steps quickening. The lollipop in his pocket was against his palm, warm and a little hot. Li Huaizhou felt the wind blowing in his ears, and suddenly realized that it seemed like... autumn had arrived.
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