TSIBAMS Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Starry, starry night,

paint your palette blue and gray,

look out on a summer’s day,

with eyes that know the darkness in my soul.

……

On the small stage of 1984, Bai Shu gently sang “Vincent” while holding his guitar. His voice was gentle yet powerful. The originally folk-style music was sung by him with a hint of ambiguity, making many girls below the stage blush and their hearts beat faster.

“Why bother hiring a band, just let Bai Shu be the resident singer,” Qi Guang joked with Brother Xu while leaning against the bar.

“It’s just the open mic night, let them have their fun,” Brother Xu also leaned against the bar, looking at Bai Shu who was singing passionately under the spotlight, feeling somewhat proud himself, “Normally, we should still leave some room for the professional bands.”

“His tone is really good, gentle but not seductive, why didn’t he go study vocal music or something?” Qi Guang asked.

“He doesn’t want to go to college,” Brother Xu said.

“Is it… did he not do well on the exams?” Qi Guang was a little surprised, “Or is it not enough money?”

Brother Xu’s face darkened slightly, “Neither, he didn’t even take the exam.”

“This…” Qi Guang didn’t know how to respond.

“This kid, he looks gentle and considerate, but he has his own persistence in his bones, very stubborn, he doesn’t listen to advice,” Brother Xu said, sighing.

“Yeah, I can see that, Brother Bai is actually a very opinionated person,” Qi Guang nodded.

“Don’t you learn from him,” Brother Xu glared at him, “I told you, get your ass to college, don’t even think about staying here with me!”

“Got it!” Qi Guang laughed.

After Bai Shu finished a song, the customers in the bar were all moved by the atmosphere. Some asked him to sing another one, while others were eager to try themselves. However, with Bai Shu’s brilliant performance before them, not many dared to go up. Most people were clamoring for Bai Shu to sing another one. He smiled, unable to resist, and had no choice but to oblige.

He gently strummed the strings and slowly began to sing—

Waiting for you / Waiting for you to slowly come closer to me /

Accompany me through the long night to the end / Don’t leave me alone waiting /

Waiting for you / Waiting for you to silently gaze at me /

Tell me your future belongs to me / I want nothing but you /

You know this life / I am only persistent for you /

No matter what others think / How they look / What they say /

You know this life / I am only waiting for you /

My love for you is so deep / My affection is so strong / My love is so much /

……

If he sang the previous song in a folk style, then this one, originally in a jazz style, was interpreted by him as so ambiguous that even the lights became soft.

Everyone stopped talking, and there were no cheers or jeers, just quiet listening.

Bai Shu’s mouth gently opened and closed, looking very languid, but his eyes remained fixed in the direction of the bar.

“Brother Xu,” Qi Guang inexplicably felt the atmosphere had become strange, “Bai Shu is looking at you?”

Brother Xu did not speak, Qi Guang glanced at him, he was just swiping his phone randomly.

Didn’t understand.

Qi Guang went into the bar to get two bottles of beer. He usually didn’t bother the bartenders to make him cocktails in their busy time, so he directly took beer when he was thirsty. Occasionally, when he had free time, he would mix Fanta with beer for a sweet taste.

When he handed the beer to Brother Xu, Brother Xu was still holding his phone in a daze, not swiping randomly anymore, but not reaching out to take it either.

Something was very wrong.

And Bai Shu was still singing in that direction, occasionally some people noticed his gaze and followed suit.

Qi Guang shook the opened beer bottle in front of Brother Xu, “Brother Xu, Bai Shu he…”

This time he finally moved, as if suddenly coming out of his own world. He took the beer, interrupting Qi Guang, “We are really not.”

“Huh?” Qi Guang was dumbfounded.

Brother Xu didn’t dare to look up, just glanced at him, “Can’t you be more straightforward? Have you been wanting to ask? You’ve hesitated several times!”

“Ask what?” Qi Guang asked.

“Forget it, I’ll just say it directly, you really don’t know that Bai Shu is gay?” Brother Xu took a sip of beer.

Qi Guang’s eyes widened, the amount of information in this sentence was too much for him to fully absorb at once.

Then Bai Shu cooks for Brother Xu, comes and goes in his house freely…

In the background, Bai Shu’s voice sounded almost affectionate.

“Damn, you guys are together?”

Brother Xu almost spat out the beer he hadn’t swallowed yet, “Bullshit!!”

“I really don’t know.” Qi Guang stared blankly at him.

“People at your school know, he came out in high school,” Brother Xu put the beer bottle on the bar and pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth.

Qi Guang was still incredulous, thought for a while, and said, “When he was in high school, I wasn’t at this school yet.”

“Okay, he doesn’t mind other people knowing, the people who know him here all know.”

“Then you?”

“We are absolutely innocent!” Brother Xu raised both hands to show his innocence.

Bai Shu was singing the last line, but Brother Xu didn’t dare to look up from beginning to end, and walked towards the restroom with unease.

The last note of the guitar faded, and applause and shouts of urging him to sing another song burst out from the audience. Bai Shu refused with a smile and walked off the stage. Qi Guang clearly saw that his smile was somewhat lost.

Bai Shu walked straight to the door, wrapped his clothes tightly, and pushed open the door and walked out.

“Where are you going?” Zhou Tian put down the microphone and was about to follow Ye Xing out.

“Drank too much water, going to pee!” Ye Xing turned his head, looking at him with a “what do you want” expression.

“Oops!” Zhou Tian retreated a few steps back, “I thought you were going to get some drinks! Afraid you couldn’t carry it.”

Ye Xing closed the door, turned around, and walked towards the KTV exit.

Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This damn gathering, it’s like visiting a brothel, nothing but girls everywhere.

He even felt a little dazed that Zhou Tian was among them, calling them sisters.

He sat on the sofa, surrounded by female classmates, and they kept rolling dice and drinking without stopping. Zhou Tian, the karaoke king, held the microphone and wouldn’t let go.

After drinking who knows how many cups, Ye Xing suddenly realized that he might be the one who was being prostituted.

He just wanted to breathe some fresh air to keep himself alive.

In a few steps, he came downstairs and found that it was already dark, but he still saw Bai Shu squatting by the roadside in the wind at a glance. Honestly speaking, he was not familiar with Bai Shu, but Bai Shu was wearing the white hoodie that he had seen at the school gate a couple of days ago. Maybe because the gossip Zhou Tian told him was too deeply rooted, this white hoodie had gained a name in Ye Xing’s heart.

The street was not dry, and a light rain like mist filled the air. Ye Xing stopped and leaned against the door to enjoy the breeze.

At this moment, Bai Shu suddenly stood up and walked towards the door of 1984.

The doors of 1984 and the KTV downstairs were next to each other. Just as Ye Xing was hesitating whether to say hello or just pretend he didn’t know him, Bai Shu stopped and said to him, “Playing upstairs again?”

“Ah?” Ye Xing was a little startled by this greeting that felt like between old friends, “Yeah!”

“Qi Guang is at the bar today,” Bai Shu reminded him.

That’s like hitting the wrong nail on the head!

It seems that Chen Town is too small. It feels like everyone knows Qi Guang, and everyone has to bring up Qi Guang in front of him.

He didn’t want to engage in this topic.

“You’re down here today…” What terrible lines, Ye Xing quickly changed his words, “Oh no, I mean, you’re not in the KTV today.”

Bai Shu smiled, “It’s busier downstairs today, and there are more staff upstairs, so 1984 is not hiring service staff right now.”

Ye Xing was not good at small talk, especially with people he wasn’t familiar with. He tried to recall how people in TV dramas chatted, and replied, “Yeah, it just opened, take it slow.”

“Well, it’s all Brother Xu’s shop, it’s like a family workshop,” Bai Shu said.

Ye Xing frowned.

Wait, is that how “family workshop” is used?

“That said, being able to run a family workshop so well, in this place, it’s only you guys,” Official Ye Xing was chatting online.

Bai Shu lowered his head.

Yes, without Brother Xu, who had connections in both the legal and illegal worlds, it wouldn’t be easy to open entertainment venues here safely.

Then he still smiled and said, “Haha, don’t, there’s no ‘you guys’, only Brother Xu, I’m just an employee.”

At this moment, Ye Xing’s phone suddenly rang. Without looking, he knew that it was Zhou Tian sending a message to urge him. He said goodbye to Bai Shu, “My friend is asking about me, I’ll go up first.”

On the stage of 1984, someone was singing right now, and it was lively inside. Bai Shu glanced at it, and seemed to have no desire to go in. He followed Ye Xing up the stairs, “Let’s go together, I’ll go up and take a look.”

The KTV was no less lively than downstairs. The staff were pushing carts of drinks and fruits back and forth, and they all stopped to greet Bai Shu as they passed.

“Which room are you in?” Bai Shu asked Ye Xing, “I’ll have the waiter send a fruit platter over.”

Is he this polite?

Again, taking advantage of being Qi Guang’s classmate??

Ye Xing waved his hand, “No need…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ye Xing suddenly lost his footing, and before he could react, he was lifted up.

“Damn it!”

There were obviously more than three people. Ye Xing struggled, but his hands and feet were bound, and he had no room to resist. The next second, he was thrown into the room next door.

“What are you doing?!” Bai Shu rushed over, but the door immediately closed.

Vaguely, he saw a familiar figure inside.

The one with a gold chain, sitting like a boss in the middle of a group of people, was Li Zhendong.

Brother Xu and he have always been minding their own business, what is he doing here?

A thug-like person blocked the door, “Mr. Bai, please stay put.”

“Do you know whose place this is?” Bai Shu glared at him.

“We are giving Brother Xu face, please don’t bother us dealing with our private affairs,” said the thug, and then turned around and closed the door.

Bai Shu angrily kicked the door, then took out his phone and called Qi Guang, “Hello!”

“What’s up, Brother Bai?” Qi Guang was still in 1984, his voice a bit noisy.

“Your classmate is in a bit of trouble, come to room 507,” Bai Shu retreated to the other side of the hallway, covering the phone receiver, trying to maximize the sound capture by the phone.

Qi Guang frowned, glanced at Brother Xu, who was next to him, “Classmate?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on either,” Bai Shu said.

“Okay, wait for me,” Qi Guang hung up the phone and quickly rushed out of the bar.

Although he didn’t know how Bai Shu knew his classmate, nor did he know which classmate he was referring to, whatever made Bai Shu unable to handle it shouldn’t be a small matter.