Chapter 10: His Music
Someone came looking for Luo Jiayan, their conversation quite familiar. Xi Leng had no intention of inquiring about the identity of Luo Jiayan’s other new friend and discreetly excused himself, returning to the second floor.
The bar’s swaying lights were dim and indistinct. Young men and women held glasses, their heads bobbing, bodies intertwined, immersed in the psychedelic music and laughter.
Xi Leng was like an inconspicuous gray shadow, moving among them.
At eight o’clock, a circle of lights illuminated the round stage. The bar’s resident singer walked up, holding an electric guitar, the trailing wires like fuses, igniting the crowd below. With his every step, laughter, cheers, and applause intertwined, rising and falling, creating a lively atmosphere.
Xi Leng leaned against the wall, an outsider to this bustling world.
The resident singer greeted everyone, adjusted the microphone, and began to sing.
The first song was a tender English R&B ballad, accompanied by the gentle, warm yellow lights, the singer’s face soft, the atmosphere intimate and romantic.
After escaping from that home, Xi Leng was still plagued by nightmares, unable to sleep peacefully at night. At the peak of his suffering, he had to seek help from a psychiatrist, spending several thousand yuan of his savings.
He took one psychological test after another, was prescribed piles of medication, but unfortunately, it only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. The doctor also advised him to use art to vent his pent-up emotions and to listen to soothing music, especially music, which could help alleviate his tinnitus and auditory hallucinations.
However, scientific music therapy had no effect on him whatsoever.
His haggard face was hidden behind his messy, long black hair, his eyes staring blankly at the hallucinated patterns on the ground, an indescribable weight pressing down on his thin shoulders.
He said: “The more I listen to that music, the more I feel like my illness is terminal, incurable.”
As a result, the professional doctor was also helpless, only able to sigh, increase the dosage, and sigh again.
The melodious guitar performance ended. In the brief silence, Xi Leng pulled himself out of his memories and saw another person walk onto the stage, someone he seemed to have seen at the booth earlier, one of Luo Jiayan’s friends. He leaned down and whispered to the resident singer, probably requesting a song.
After their discussion, the following accompaniment changed drastically from the previous soothing melody. Laser lights were turned on, blue, red, purple, the dreamlike lights interweaving chaotically, creating a bizarre and illusory feeling.
The quiet resident singer suddenly jumped up, raising his arms during the rousing intro, stirring up the crowd’s emotions. The cheers surged like waves, each one higher than the last. At this moment, the resident singer bent down, his body swaying to the beat, his fingers nimbly strumming the strings.
The electric guitar’s rhythm was intense. With the singer’s movements, it sent bursts of electric currents, penetrating the eardrums of the listeners, instantly spreading throughout their bodies.
「Fear is formless, you give it a name」
The first line of lyrics powerfully broke into the melody. At that moment, Xi Leng had a strange hallucination, as if the notes were shattered, disassembled, and then reassembled with a strong personal style.
Xi Leng froze, as if a live wire was wrapped around him, tingling, straightening his body, lifting his chin slightly, causing him to look intently at the person playing passionately.
Although art had commonalities, Xi Leng, focused on the world of painting, had little interest in music. The more he listened to those beautiful melodies, those tales of love, the more intensely he felt his chronic illness, the emptiness of his soul, his alienation from this world.
Having been Min Zhi’s fake fan for so many years, he had never even heard his music.
「The world is your projection, all things are you」
The resident singer closed his eyes, immersed in the song, singing softly.
Xi Leng couldn’t help but take a few steps forward, trying to discern the lyrics from the strong drumbeat.
The rock music had a strong rhythm, the lyrics broken into short phrases, with frequent pauses, heavy pronunciation, powerful and direct.
「Confusion, fragility, pain, this is how you write life」
「Bound hand and foot, self-imprisoned」
「Daylight fades, flames burn the heart」
「Endless night」
「Fear is formless, you give it a name」
「The world is your projection, all things are you」
The cheers and shouts of the audience seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier. Xi Leng was in an isolated vacuum, feeling as if the whole world consisted only of himself and the stage in his sight. His eyes were fixed, the melody of the music echoing in his ears, the lyrics striking his soul.
“Ah Zhao! Good thing you didn’t leave…”
Xi Leng snapped out of his daze, looking at Luo Jiayan, who had jogged over.
“What song is this?”
Luo Jiayan’s eyes were filled with excitement and admiration: “This is Min-shen’s song! His self-written and composed masterpiece—’Fear’!”
Then he pouted, not quite satisfied with the resident singer’s performance: “I really like this song, but the cover is nowhere near as good as the original.”
Xi Leng was still in a daze.
His idol’s music was being played passionately, yet Luo Jiayan was only looking at Xi Leng anxiously, handing him a paper plate: “I know you don’t want to be with them, so I specially brought you a piece of cake.”
Xi Leng looked at the sweet and fragrant cream cake in his hand, but his eyes weren’t focused on it, his mind still wandering with the music, lifted by the high notes, then dropped by the low notes.
“Han You and the others promised me, they said they would apologize to you, I really didn’t expect him to still be like that…” Luo Jiayan muttered, his head lowered. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Ah Zhao, whether you’re angry with me or scold me, it’s all my fault. I won’t hang out with them anymore, okay?”
His posture was humble, almost pleading, but Xi Leng didn’t hear a word, because the singer on stage had switched to another song, a different rock melody, but with a very similar style.
And equally straightforward, bold, unrestrained, and free-spirited lyrics.
Outside the large floor-to-ceiling windows, thunder rumbled again, silver lightning flashing across the sky like a dragon.
“Ah—Han You! Are you fucking crazy!!?”
Inside the bar, suddenly illuminated by lightning, the noise came from the direction of their booth.
“Right! The painting you gave me.” Luo Jiayan was a bit worried, holding the gift Qiao Yusen gave him, which he hadn’t had time to open yet, so he stuffed it into his pocket and said to Xi Leng, “Ah Zhao, I’ll go take a look, I’m afraid they’ll ruin the painting you gave me—remember to eat your cake!”
Qiao Yusen, still not idle after delivering the gift, wandered around the third floor with Min Zhi, ignoring the expensive private room they had booked, and came back down.
He hadn’t known before that Min Zhi loved watching drama so much.
He was happy to oblige, watching with great interest.
Min Zhi’s brows were furrowed. After watching for a while, he instructed Qiao Yusen: “That idiot’s been provoked, he won’t let Xi Leng go easily, you go deal with it later.”
“I just saw Xi Leng, he hasn’t left yet.” Qiao Yusen said unhurriedly. “Hm? Why did they start playing your song?”
Min Zhi’s expression changed instantly, his lips pressed into a thin line.
The singing echoed in every corner of the bar.
Accompanied by the singing, Luo Jiayan returned. He saw Han You throwing a drunken tantrum, sweeping the bottles and glasses off the table, making a mess, the people around the table jumping up, screaming and scolding, no trace of the birthday party’s joy remaining.
Han You, drunk and unsteady on his feet, staggered around when the painting Xi Leng gave him in the corner caught his eye. He seemed to have found a target, raising a bottle and smashing it towards the painting!
The surrounding people scattered, only the motionless painting suffering the consequences. Amber liquor splashed onto the transparent protective film, droplets converging into streams, trickling down.
He finished venting his anger, but his brows furrowed even tighter. Although splashed with alcohol, the painting was unaffected, the liquid sliding down the plastic film, the artwork beneath still intact and clear, its vibrant colors unchanged.
With a wave of his hand, Han You swept the painting to the floor, among the scattered glass shards and trash. Still not satisfied, he raised his foot, preparing to stomp on it.
Luo Jiayan arrived just in time, blocking the innocent painting, shouting: “Stop! Han You! What are you doing?”
He then immediately bent down to pick up the painting Xi Leng gave him, glass shards grazing his fingers, leaving a bright red mark.
The slight sting made him pause. He suddenly recalled, hadn’t Xi Leng also injured his hand at the archery range last time? He had clearly sensed something was wrong, but he believed Xi Leng’s words that he was “fine,” not taking it seriously, and soon forgetting all about it.
Picking up shards with bare hands was dangerous. Han You, completely drunk, still remembered to stop Luo Jiayan: “Isn’t it just a worthless painting? It’s just a copy, if you want, I can get you the original!”
He then reached out to grab Luo Jiayan’s arm.
“You don’t know anything.” Luo Jiayan pushed his hand away, glaring back. He wasn’t drunk, but his eyes were also slightly red. “Don’t touch me!”
Han You grabbed his wrist without a word.
Luo Jiayan raised his arm.
Slap!
Instantly, the entire room fell silent, even the waiters who came to clean up the mess didn’t dare to move forward.
His head buzzing, Han You was stunned, touching his cheek in disbelief, a bright red handprint clearly visible.
“Hahaha, look, I didn’t expect Little Jiayan to have such a temper. That was amazing!”
Qiao Yusen laughed heartily, but when he turned around, his childhood friend was gone.
“Ha… what the hell?”
He came to watch the drama, but ended up becoming the clown himself.
The audience below was enthusiastic, the resident singer accepting the encore, performing “Fear” for the second time.
Min Zhi’s brows furrowed even deeper. He went to the stage alone, but his status made it inconvenient to go directly on stage, so he could only look for the bar manager to request a song change, or to cut off the power, or turn off the sound system…
Thunder rumbled outside, the rain pattering down.
The air conditioning in the bar was strong, gradually adding a humid stickiness to the rainy night, combined with the lingering singing, making it hard to breathe.
The excited audience surrounded the stage, preventing Min Zhi from even reaching the sound system. He happened to run into a young couple and quickly turned his face away, afraid of being recognized and causing trouble.
As he turned, he froze.
There was a long corridor, with a glass door at the end leading to the outdoor terrace.
The music was blasting on this side, while wind and rain raged on the other, naturally no one would go there.
So, he noticed the tall, isolated figure at a glance.
Inexplicably, he turned his steps.
The surrounding crowd thinned, the singing still lingering.
Just as the person was about to push the door open and leave, an inexplicable anxiety washed over Min Zhi, his steps moving faster than his thoughts, quickly catching up.
Xi Leng was very perceptive and noticed the footsteps behind him even in the noisy bar. He paused, his hand on the door, and turned around.
Outside the clear glass door, thunder and lightning raged.
A flash of silver lightning split the dark sky, their gazes colliding directly, a mix of surprise and astonishment.
