Chapter 05

Chapter 05

This was Xu Lian’s first time attending a concert. The atmosphere was a lot warmer than she imagined it would be. The melodies she had forgotten had resurfaced from the depths of her memories and became alive again. The audience’s shouts shook her eardrums, like waves swaying against the music. She thought she had finally understood what Zhang GuoEr had said.

Wei YiChen was excited the entire time. He was an avid fan of PUMPKIN; PUMPKIN’s music had practically colored his entire youth.

Xu Lian looked at Wei YiChen singing and shouting next to her. He was no different from the thousands of others around her, but perhaps someday he would get the chance to be the one who stood up on stage and sing instead.

After more than two hours, the concert finally concluded. Both the people on and off the stage were exhausted. Wei YiChen was still on high emotions, so Xu Lian insisted on being the driver this time.

On the way back, Wei YiChen talking Xu Lian’s ear off. He also took out his phone to play the videos he recorded during the concert. Xu Lian was concentrating on driving so she didn’t pay any attention to him and his ramblings but nevertheless, Wei YiChen was enjoying himself as he recounted the past few hours.

PUMPKIN continued to be a hot topic in Weibo. Wei YiChen was slumped against the passenger seat as he browsed through Weibo when he exclaimed: “Ah? The concert just finished and they already announced the official movie. I’ll have to go contribute to its box office.” When he finished his monologue, he glanced at Xu Lian from the corner of his eyes and asked, “Do you know a Feng Jing?”

Xu Lian: “Know. Movie star, very handsome.”

“Why are you bragging about other men?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I just decided that I won’t support his next movie at the box office.”

Xu Lian: “…”

Your support is too cheap.

Wei YiChen played around on his phone for a while before finally putting it down and looking at the streets outside his window: “Are you driving straight home?”

“Yes.”

“…” Wei YiChen licked his lips and leaned over towards Xu Lian, deliberately lowering his voice and saying, “Let’s go eat a big meal.”

“It’s too late to eat.”

“Then…let’s do something else?”

Wei YiChen’s voice was quite sexy. When he deliberately tries to show his sexiness, most women might not even be able to stay standing. After he said these words, the atmosphere in the car changed immediately. Xu Lian braked sharply and turned to look at him. She found that Wei YiChen was looking at her with burning expectation.

Xu Lian: “Get out.”

Wei YiChen: “…”

Xu Lian had driven the car back to her neighborhood and got out to give the driver’s seat back to Wei YiChen. Before she left, she knocked on his window and bent over to look at him: “Do you want me to call a driver? I’ve seen people drunk, but I’ve never seen someone drunk from a concert. Drive carefully.”

“……”

Wei YiChen chuckled, fastened his seatbelt, then drove away.

When he arrived home, it was almost eleven o’ clock. He thought his family had already gone to bed, but when he stepped into the house the lights in the living room turned on, and he was caught by his father.

Wei ZhenTing was wearing his pajamas as he looked towards the clock on the wall. He then turned towards Wei YiChen and accused: “You ran again…” Before he even finished, he turned and was shocked by the makeup on Wei YiChen’s face: “What kind of clothes are you wearing? How scandalous!”

Wei YiChen remained unconcerned at his shocked response. He even smiled at his father as he replied: “Does it look good? I did it myself. I went to a concert, so of course I had to dress up.”

He didn’t mention what concert he had attended, buy Wei ZhenTing knew anyway. Wei ZhenTing’s anger spiked, and he said: “How many times have I told you not to go to those rock and roll places! Why don’t you listen?”

“What shocking thing happened? Why are you shouting so loudly?” Mother Wei came down the stairs and was surprised when she saw her son’s outfit, “Son, your clothes…”

Wei YiChen walked towards her with a smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Mom, don’t I look good?” After hugging his mother he went upstairs, straight into his room.

“You come back here! You’re really getting worse and worse!” Wei ZhenTing roared as he stood in the living room. But Wei YiChen had turned a deaf ear towards his father and went to his room without pausing.

Closing the door, his face was filled with laughter. Downstairs, he could faintly hear Wei ZhenTing cursing. Wei YiChen went to his record player and put a PUMPKIN record on, turning the volume at it’s highest setting.

Lively guitar riffs blasted out, accompanied by energetic drums and fierce bass sounds, instantly filling the room. Wei YiChen raised his hands, pressing the strings with one hand and plucking on the others. Accompanying the loud music, he played the air guitar with the rhythm.

His tempo was accurate, and every note correct. Coupled with the music playing, one could imagine that he was the one making the sounds out of thin air.

After a passionate prelude, he sang along with Ray on the record.

“You ask me about my future dreams.

But that door’s taboo

There are some things I dare not touch

Like those bitter green plums

One bite causing a frown…”

This was PUMPKIN’s famous song ‘Green Plum’, which was the opening song of tonight’s concert. As soon as the prelude was started, it set all the audience members into a frenzy, as it evoked so many memories.

When they first sang the song most of the band members were only nineteen, as green as the plum they were singing about. Wei YiChen once watched in an interview they did during that time. The host asked Ray what he wanted the song to express. Ray answered: “Green plums are sour but delicious, similar to how we are right now. We’re full of frustrations, but we’re also filled with beautiful love. The pursuit of our dreams is the same.”

“What’s this madness now?” Although the Wei villa had good sound insulation, they didn’t account for Wei YiChen’s music. Wei ZhenTing stormed upstairs, his eyebrows furrowed as he kicked at Wei YiChen’s door: “I see your brain’s really sick! Do you know what time it is?”

Mother Wei quickly followed him up and tried to persuade him: “Don’t be angry, if you get angry you’ll end up in the hospital and if you end up in the hospital, I won’t visit you.”

Wei ZhenTing: “…”

You’re just making me madder, okay?

“When the green plums turn red

the bitterness and sweetness blend at the tip of the tongue

And then, I’ll be able to reach out to meet the rainbow in the sky.”

Wei YiChen was immersed in his own music. His blood boiled right until the song finished, and then he fell onto his big bed, his chest heaving.

On the wall opposite his bed was a guitar, hanging on the wall. A broken guitar.

A full decade had passed ever since that fateful year, but he still remembers every single detail.

That year, his father broke the first guitar he had ever owned. That year, his dream was set aside. That year, PUMPKIN officially announced their dissolution, bidding farewell to the music scene…

Fortunately, their music stayed.

Wei YiChen bought another guitar soon after his father broke his first. When his father had broken his third guitar, he had learned a new skill – playing the air guitar.

From then on, his father couldn’t break his guitar anymore.

Wei ZhenTing was still kicking at his door outside. Wei YiChen got up and turned off the music. He ignored the sounds outside his room and took a towel, heading towards his bathroom to take a shower.

The abrupt end of the music allowed Wei ZhenTing to take back his leg that had risen to deliver another kick. He tidied his clothes and said to Mother Wei: “Please call a doctor for your son tomorrow, someone needs to take a good look at his brain!”

Mother Wei: “…”

Ever since Wei YiChen fell in love with rock, the father-son pair hadn’t stopped fighting. Mother Wei had tried to meditate in the middle of them, but the two men were as fierce as each other. Neither of them could bear to give in first.

“Sigh.” Mother Wei shook her head and followed Wei ZhenTing back into their room.

Tonight may be a sleepless night for many PUMPKIN fans, but for Xiang ChangKong, tonight wasn’t any different from any other night. Considering that he had to go to work early the next day, he even went to bed half an hour earlier than usual.

The morning shift started at 6:00 a.m. so Xiang ChangKong got up at 4:30 and went into the kitchen to stir-fry some vegetables and cook a pot of lean porridge. He had breakfast first, then left a note for his mother on the table before leaving for work.

Although morning orders weren’t usually as numerous as the lunch and dinner rush, there were still a few early rising customers. Getting the food, Xiang ChangKong rode his battery-powered scooter to a neighborhood near Starlight Park.

Because the neighborhood didn’t allow scooters in, Xiang ChangKong parked near the entrance and headed towards the security booth to ask the guard to let him in.

At precisely seven o’ clock, the security guard opened the window of his booth. He looked a little impatient as he asked: “Takeaway this early in the morning?”

“Yeah.” Xiang ChangKong didn’t say anything else.

The guard glanced at his scooter and told him: “Take your scooter to the side over there, don’t block the way.”

Xiang ChangKong’s scooter was parked on a space that couldn’t block any car or person, but he went over and moved it anyway. He knew that the security guard was deliberately trying to find a fault in him.

When he first came to this neighborhood to deliver food, he met the same security guard. Because he didn’t know exactly where the customer was, he asked for directions. Instead of telling him immediately, the security guard asked him if he had any cigarettes.

It wasn’t really a big deal, but Xiang ChangKong didn’t smoke, so he naturally wouldn’t have any cigarettes on him. But the security guard thought he was being stingy, so he gave Xiang ChangKong directions to the wrong building.

There were 16 buildings in this neighborhood, making it a relatively large estate. After walking for a while, Xiang ChangKong realized that the directions given to him were wrong. He eventually found the right building himself.

Now he long remembers the location of all 16 buildings. And of course, this security guard remembers him well.

As he passed building 12, he saw someone in grey sportswear coming out. There was a white towel around her neck, and the ponytail behind her was swinging side to side as she trotted out.

It was Xu Lian.

Xiang ChangKong didn’t expect to see Xu Lian here and was stunned still for a moment. He had sent many meals to Xu Lian, but they were all delivered to her store. Unexpectedly, she lived in this neighborhood.

This Xu Lian who had come out for a morning run wasn’t quite the same as the Xu Lian he saw at her store. Maybe it was because she wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her temperament was a lot softer, and not as dazzling as it usually was in the afternoons. Xiang ChangKong didn’t stare for too long as he quickly turned his gaze away and walked past her, his face becoming expressionless.

It wasn’t until Xu Lian had run to the opposite direction that the hand holding the takeaway bag relaxed.

He knew that his interest in Xu Lian had exceeded the amount of attention he should have towards customers, but that was it. Because he was also clear about the fact that he was nothing more than a delivery boy.