TSIBAMS Chapter 82

On the train back, both were too tired to pay attention to each other, sleeping like logs in their seats. If Qi Guang hadn’t set an alarm, the gentle voice of the station announcer would probably have failed to drag them out of their dreams.

“Why don’t you change your ticket with the staff, don’t get off,” Ye Xing said, rubbing his eyes.

Although he also wanted to spend more time with Qi Guang, the journey had already been tiring enough, and Qi Guang seemed a bit unwell after last night’s events. Ye Xing really couldn’t bear to keep dragging him along.

“Stop talking nonsense.” Qi Guang grabbed both bags with one hand and pulled him towards the exit with the other.

“Hey, don’t pull me!” The train aisle was cluttered with luggage of various shapes, and Ye Xing was forced to hop along behind him, “I’m serious, change your ticket and sleep some more! You barely slept last night, and…”

Qi Guang stopped and glared back at him.

Ye Xing had been thinking of having a last tender moment in the taxi, but as soon as his butt touched the back seat, sleepiness pounced on him like a trapped beast. It wasn’t until the car stopped at the entrance of the art studio that he regretted it.

“Don’t get out, it’s hot outside,” Ye Xing said.

“Okay, you go on up,” Qi Guang said.

Ye Xing’s hand was on the door handle, but he was reluctant to open the door, looking at the exhausted face, he just wanted to rub it and kiss it enough.

“That…” He glanced at the driver, then turned back, his gaze shifting down, “Are you still feeling unwell?”

“Ye Xing,” Qi Guang took a deep breath, “get lost!”

By the time they returned to Chen Town, Qi Guang was much more awake. The sky was getting dark, the streetlights were dim, and the hawking sounds of street vendors were endless.

After sending a message to Ye Xing, he looked back at the large characters “Chen Town Bus Station,” circled around, and came back.

A neat row of tricycles lined the street, and he jumped onto the first one. He hesitated between going home or to 1984 and chose the latter.

Looking at the patches of ruins and wasteland they passed, he suddenly felt a wave of emotion descending.

That familiar, empty feeling was back.

The feeling he had no time to experience while with Ye Xing was taking advantage of the void at that moment. The evening breeze felt warm on his skin, yet it made him shiver.

It’s only been half a year!

He’d made it through much longer alone before!

As he tried to build himself up mentally, Ye Xing’s phone call came in, and he took a breath of relief and pressed the answer button, “Hello.”

“I’m out of class, going for dinner now,” Ye Xing said, “Have you eaten yet? Are you going home or somewhere else?”

“I’m going to 1984, I’ll order takeout there,” Qi Guang said.

“I thought you were going home to rest?” Ye Xing yawned, “A workaholic, my boyfriend!”

Qi Guang smiled, “Yeah.”

He didn’t care about being a workaholic, he just especially didn’t want to be alone at this moment, especially at home.

“I miss you especially today,” Ye Xing said, lowering his voice.

“Stop flirting,” Qi Guang said, “You miss me especially today? Did you forget who took you to the art studio this morning, Ye Xing?”

“I’m really not deliberately flirting,” Ye Xing said, “I could smell your scent all afternoon in the studio, that unique scent of yours, something like lemon mint toothpaste, faint, you’d have to smell closely to detect it… ah, I can’t explain it.”

“A dog’s nose, huh?” Qi Guang said.

“I really thought someone had the same scent as you at first, and I was so annoyed,” Ye Xing swallowed, “But guess what? I went to wash my hands and looked in the mirror, and realized I was wearing your clothes today.”

“Dumbass,” Qi Guang laughed and scolded, “I gave them to you after your shower last night. I didn’t remind you because I didn’t think you wouldn’t change them today.”

“But I really like this shirt, you remember? The first time I went to your house, after you took on three guys, that’s the shirt you gave me to change into,” Ye Xing said, looking down at the words ARE YOU STRESSED on his chest, and touched it.

So corny.

Before reaching 1984, he could see the doors were closed from a distance. Qi Guang frowned. The doors should have been open by this time, and it should be bustling with activity.

Since it opened, Xu Ge had never closed the doors, even during the difficult times when there were hardly any customers.

Something must have happened.

And it couldn’t be something small; otherwise, if either Xu Ge or Bai Shu were free, they could have kept an eye on the shop.

He found Xu Ge’s number and called, and it was quickly answered. His hand tightened around the phone, “Hello.”

“Qi Guang!” It was Bai Shu’s voice on the other end of the line.

Qi Guang was stunned and immediately asked, “Where’s Xu Ge? Why is the bar closed?”

“You’re back? That’s great, great…” Bai Shu’s usual slow, measured tone was gone, and he sounded anxious and incoherent. “We’re at Liao Le…”

Qi Guang didn’t let him finish and patted the tricycle driver’s shoulder, “Driver! To Liao Le!”

“What Liao Le?” The driver didn’t seem to have heard of the name and looked puzzled.

“On the riverside bar street, go in that direction!” Qi Guang said.

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so sooner!” The driver turned back, “But I’m telling you, if you want to go to a bar, you should go to 1984, it’s lively! When I pick up people, they almost always ask to go there! Unlike those bars on bar street, which are all a mess and not suitable for students like you. But students should still go to bars less. You’re a student, right?”

He turned to look at Qi Guang as he said that.

“Yeah,” Qi Guang replied, not in the mood to pay him any mind, and gripped his phone as he continued to ask Bai Shu, “What happened?”

“Do you remember the girl who used to sing jazz at our place?” Bai Shu said.

He did remember; he remembered there was such a person, but he didn’t remember her name.

“Wasn’t she poached by Liao Le?” Qi Guang asked.

“She was poached, yes. Today, she suddenly called Xu Ge for help. The situation was urgent, and Xu Ge rushed over to Liao Le without a second thought,” Bai Shu said, lowering his voice.

“Help? That…” Qi Guang paused, spent two seconds trying unsuccessfully to recall the name, and then continued, “What happened to the jazz girl? What’s the situation now? Where’s Xu Ge?”

“When we arrived, Li Zhendong and Chen Hui were also there. They only let Xu Ge in, stopping me. And Xu Ge is so scatterbrained, he got out of the car and didn’t take his phone…” Bai Shu said, his voice starting to sound tearful. “Qi Guang! Please come quick!”

With Qi Guang urging him all the way, the tricycle driver went all out and drove the tricycle like an airplane, finally reaching their destination before his vest was soaked in sweat.

Qi Guang felt a bit sorry and doubled the fare when transferring the money.

As the tricycle driver was calling out to him, thinking he’d made a mistake with the payment, Qi Guang was already running off.

Bai Shu wasn’t very tall, but he wasn’t in the crowd at the bar entrance. He was standing by the river, leaning against the railing, and could be seen immediately.

“The bar’s still open, why don’t you go in?” Qi Guang said, panting and bent over slightly.

Bai Shu didn’t look at him, moved further away, “Li Zhendong told the staff to stop me. You should stay away from me, or they’ll think we’re together…”

“Okay,” Qi Guang looked back, “I’ll go in now.”

“Keep your phone handy and call me if anything happens!” Bai Shu said.

The bar entrance was crowded with men and women chatting with drinks in their hands. Looking closer, he could see some people in uniforms occasionally looking up.

Qi Guang walked inside without looking around.

At first, he was quite low-key and didn’t dare to be too conspicuous, but after wandering around a few times, he even checked the most secret corner he had been to with Ye Xing, but still couldn’t see Xu Ge.

Not only Xu Ge, but he didn’t see Li Zhendong or Chen Hui either.

However, he spotted a familiar figure on a high stool at the bar counter.

Long hair cascaded down her back, a floral short-sleeved shirt loosely tucked into her super short shorts, her long, white legs gently tapping on the ground. Just her back view could probably kill any straight man within a five-meter radius.

Unfortunately, the beach flip-flops on her feet betrayed the fact that she had no intention of maintaining her image.

Qi Guang approached, and just as he was about to say hello, he heard her chatting with the bartender, “Isn’t there a jazz performance today? Why hasn’t it started yet at this hour?”

“You came for that?” the bartender asked.

“Yeah!”

“Don’t wait for her, the lead singer had something come up today. There will be another band filling in, you can check them out.”

“What kind of urgent matter is it? Why didn’t they announce it earlier, making me come here for nothing!”

“This…” the bartender looked embarrassed, “It was indeed something urgent, sorry about that.”

At that moment, a customer came to order beer. The bartender turned to get a large beer glass, turned the beer tap, and golden, cold beer flowed out.

“Sis?” Qi Guang sat on the high stool next to her, “What a coincidence.”

Shuai Xiaoyun glanced at him, didn’t look surprised at all, and mouthed four words silently, “Stay away from me.”

Then she moved further away, putting some distance between them.

Such a familiar scene.

Qi Guang pulled out his phone and typed a message to her.

-What are you doing here?

Shuai Xiaoyun glanced at him.

-Aren’t you here too?

-Where’s Xu Ge?

-I just got here, I’m getting cozy with the bartender.

At this time, the bartender inside the counter handed over a drink, “This is on me, a Bailey’s that I specially mixed for you.”

Shuai Xiaoyun took it, “Thank you.”

“Try it, girls usually like this flavor, sweet,” the bartender said, moving closer, “But you’re sweeter than this drink.”

Tsk, Qi Guang shrank his neck, goosebumps all over.

Although he didn’t show it, he kept a close eye on the distance between them. If the bartender dared to move any closer, this top student would give him a lesson personally before sending him to the hospital.

“Where’s your boss? Aren’t you afraid he’ll see you and dock your pay?” Shuai Xiaoyun said, pretending to be casual.

“No, he rarely comes here,” the bartender said, “Usually his cousin comes to keep an eye on things.”

“Cousin?”

“Yes, Dong Ge,” the bartender lowered his voice, looking around, “You know Li Zhendong, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Where is he? I haven’t seen him!”

“He’s inside,” he pointed to the room behind the stage, “He’s dealing with something today, he won’t be out for a while.”

“Oh…” Shuai Xiaoyun responded, looked down, and twirled the glass in her hand, quickly glancing at Qi Guang.

At this time, a server brought the drinks menu over, and the bartender became busy again. Shuai Xiaoyun took the opportunity to send a message to Qi Guang.

-Don’t cause trouble.

-Whether I cause trouble or not depends on whether they cause trouble.

-Lose and end up in the hospital, win and end up in jail, you choose?

Qi Guang looked up and saw that Shuai Xiaoyun was glaring at him.

He smiled, made a reassuring gesture, and got up to leave.