Discussing business was just a pretext. Between them was Lai Hui, one an ex-boyfriend, the other a lover. This peculiar relationship, coupled with past grievances, made them silently compare their endurance, neither willing to show the first sign of being overwhelmed by desire. This had nothing to do with love; it was about male pride. Men are such strange creatures, hiding the beast within with fine clothes and noble demeanor.
Later in the night, a few of MOIO’s subordinates began to coax Xie Jia Yi into singing for entertainment. He waved them off, but then Zhou Yuqian’s men joined in, choosing a popular, easy-to-sing song from the playlist and thrusting a wireless microphone into his hand. One could ignore their own colleagues’ requests, but not those from a partner company. Fortunately, Xie Jia Yi had sung in his dorm room during his school days, so singing a song was not beyond him.
However, when the song’s name appeared on the big screen and the familiar tune began, Xie Jia Yi froze. It was a melancholic love song he knew well, one he could sing without looking at the lyrics. He brought the microphone to his lips, and the lyrics rolled out naturally from his throat:
“Missing you, day by day, my loneliness remains unchanged…”
The low male voice, like an autumn leaf gently falling from a branch, carried a cool breeze, brushing past, laden with deep affection and struggle, weighing heavily on the heart. It then became a sharp axe, slicing through the flow of time, falling back to years ago –
The end of high school, the boys in his class gathered in a shabby karaoke hall to celebrate the end of their college entrance exams. No luxurious private rooms, no expensive wines, no pretty girls, just a bunch of broke students, holding 750ml bottles of Tsingtao beer, clinking bottles with great gusto. With a bit of drunkenness, he sang:
“The autumn wind, blowing one gust after another, reminds me of this time last year…”
Last autumn, his Lai Hui, under the moonlight on the playground, told him:
“I like you, I like Xie Jia Yi!”
When the song ended, he turned around, but behind him were only his classmates, high on the moment. He suddenly lost interest, picked up his coat from the chair, and silently walked towards the door, unnoticed by anyone. The wind on the street carried the coolness of the deep night, and the dim streetlights stretched his shadow long. On the sidewalk, he staggered to a small shop, picked up the receiver on the counter, and capriciously dialed Lai Fei’s number in the early hours. “I miss you!” he whispered. “I really want to hug you!” “But I’m drunk, if I can still make it to your doorstep, if I can get to your place, Lai Fei, I will definitely hug you enough!” After saying this, he hung up the phone, paid the shopkeeper with a dollar, and then sat on the steps beside the shop, too drunk to walk further. “My dear, I really want to see you again, what are you thinking in your heart…” The wind grew more urgent, and he gazed at the full moon for a long time until his neck ached before shifting his gaze forward. In his blurred vision, Lai Fei, wearing a white T-shirt, stood before him with a smile. “Lai Fei, how did you get here?” He stood up, walked down the steps, and put his hand on her shoulder; she was real, standing right in front of him. “I’m here for you to hug!” she said with a laugh. “If you can’t make it to my home, I’ll come to find you! If you forget the way to my house, I’ll come to pick you up!” She extended her arms towards him. “Jia Yi, hug me!” “The one who loves you the most is me, how could you bear to let me be sad, at the moment I need you the most…” The moon moved overhead, casting a gentle light, and on the quiet street of the small city, the leaves rustled in the wind. He hugged her tightly, with all the passion of his life. “How did you find me?” he whispered in her ear. “Our city is so small, no matter where you are, I can find you!” “The one who loves you the most is me, how could you bear to let me be sad, after I’ve given so much to you, yet you’ve never been moved!” Lai Fei, we shouldn’t have moved to a big city, right? Otherwise, how could you not find me? The crowd was ‘drunk’ in the song, but only Zhou Yuqian quietly listened to that sorrow, as if it was a roar from the depths of the heart, and he alone saw the faint mist of tears in Xie Jia Yi’s eyes… The music’s final notes faded, and thunderous applause filled the room. Xie Jia Yi responded to everyone’s praise with a smile, as if he had never sung that song, as if there had never been any sadness in this room. The noise picked up again, with the coquettish voices of hostesses, the teasing laughter of men, and the clinking of glasses. Xie Jia Yi quietly left the room, unnoticed by the crowd’s desolation. On the quiet balcony, leaning against the railing, the sea breeze blew from behind, the blue light of his phone screen displaying a number he had never dialed but knew by heart. His thumb lingered over the dial button for a long time without pressing it because of Zhou Yuqian in the room; he could never dial that number as freely as he had four years ago… His heart was in a tug-of-war; one side told him it was just a greeting as an old classmate; the other denied it, it was just a song, just a remembrance of past sorrows, unrelated to love, he wasn’t thinking of her, no! As his mind wrestled with these thoughts, the phone vibrated, “XIAO YU CALLING” covering the number he was about to dial, and he answered. “Jia Yi, where are you?” “‘Imperial’ Club!” He rarely lied to others, except to Lai Fei. “Club? Did you call for a hostess?” “Yes, but I didn’t touch her!” “Jia Yi, I want to see you!” He was silent for a moment. “I’m drunk!” “Oh! I see.” The call was cut off with disappointment on the other end, and the undialed number reappeared on the screen. He stared at it for a long time, until his eyes blurred, then moved his thumb to the “C” key, pressing it ten times… In fact, there was another key on the phone that could clear all the numbers with one press. That key was the reject call button. He might not have thought of it, or perhaps because each number he pressed gave him one more second to consider whether he should listen to her voice. The screen’s backlight went out, and the flame of desire extinguished with it. The phone, like a burnt piece of charcoal, lay in his hand, devoid of warmth. He straightened up and put the phone back into his coat pocket. This was a big city; Lai Fei couldn’t find him! Returning to the opulent room, everyone had had their fill of fun and were leaving with hostesses. Xie Jia Yi and Zhou Yuqian said goodbye in the parking lot, neither taking “souvenirs”, their drivers already holding open the car doors. After a courteous handshake, they each got into their own cars. As soon as Xie Jia Yi got into the car, his phone vibrated again, it was still Xiao Yu calling. “Jia Yi, are you still at ‘Imperial’?” “At the parking lot, about to leave!” he said tiredly. “I’m at the entrance of ‘Imperial’!” Xie Jia Yi was shocked. “What?” “I’m at the ‘Imperial’ entrance, Jia Yi, I want to see you!” Before Xie Jia Yi could respond, she continued, “I’m standing under the advertisement board by the roadside!” Xie Jia Yi turned his head, looking through the gray car window; under the blue-lit advertisement board, Xiao Yu was looking around, her long, black hair flowing to her chest, hiding the phone by her ear. “Stop the car!” he shouted to the driver. As soon as the car stopped, he rushed out, heedless of the passersby, and pulled Xiao Yu into his arms. That urgency was like retrieving a long-lost treasure, like a bird returning to its nest after flapping its wings, like a lonely streetlight finally finding its keeper… or like, the dust had settled.
Chapter 11
