Chapter 158: Guitar for Guitar

On our way, we broke through the cage of night and the constraints of the city, speeding down a road of freedom…

The wind roared in my ears, but behind me, I felt the warmth from Mi Cai, a warmth that nearly melted me. I couldn’t remember when I last felt this melting sensation, except on that night when Jian Wei gave herself to me…

As we approached the music shop, I had an illusion, as if this journey had carried me through the desolation and prosperity of life, and even if I aged right here, there would be no regrets!

The engine noise gradually stopped. I took off my helmet and turned off the motorcycle, then immediately turned to look at Mi Cai. Like me, she had already taken off her helmet. Her face was slightly flushed, possibly from being enclosed in the helmet, and her hair was somewhat messy, but this made her even more beautiful, a beauty of natural disarray!

I smiled at her and said, “Well, was it exciting enough?”

“Very exciting, full of surprises!”

After Mi Cai finished speaking, she blew warm air into her hands. She should have added another sentence, “It’s also freezing!” but she deliberately avoided mentioning it, perhaps not wanting to ruin the pleasure after such unrestrained indulgence.

“Let’s go into the shop quickly; it’ll be warmer inside!”

Mi Cai nodded and walked with me towards the opened shop.

The owner of this music shop was an acquaintance of Luoben and Xiao Wu. Although we only heard them calling him “A Ji,” nobody knew his real name, but this wasn’t important. Most musicians were like this; their nicknames or pet names often became their main titles.

I pushed open the glass door and walked into the shop. A Ji greeted me with a smile: “Zhaoyang, long time no see!” Then he looked surprised at Mi Cai behind me and asked, “Who is this young lady?”

I complained, “This girl is just a troublemaker; she’s the one who wants to buy a guitar!”

Mi Cai’s attention was completely on the various guitars, and she didn’t mind me calling her a “troublemaker.” Instead, A Ji smiled and said, “You don’t need to explain. I understand. If such a beautiful girl asked me for something, I would even bring down the moon from the sky for her!”

I smiled and walked to Mi Cai’s side to look at the guitars with her. She seemed to have no difficulty choosing; her gaze quickly settled on an acoustic guitar and she said to me, “Zhaoyang, I want this one!”

I examined it briefly. The guitar was a Taylor brand, with costly East Indian rosewood back and sides, and ebony fingerboard and bridge. Although it wasn’t priced, I estimated that this guitar was worth no less than 20,000 RMB.

A Ji came to Mi Cai’s side and smiled, “You have great taste. This guitar was brought here by a friend from the United States. There’s only one like it in all the music shops in Suzhou.”

After A Ji said that, I had a better idea of its value and said to Mi Cai, “The craftsmanship of this guitar is a bit heavy, not very suitable for a girl to use. Why don’t you look at some others?”

“I like this one. You don’t want to give it to me, do you?”

I felt wronged in my heart. I wanted to give it to her, but I also needed the capital for it. Even with the red envelopes she had given me, plus those from Jian Wei and Yan Yan, I didn’t have 15,000 RMB, which was nowhere near enough to buy this guitar.

Mi Cai still looked at me with an indifferent expression, but I could always sense a bit of subtle disappointment.

Finally, I gritted my teeth and said, “Okay, if you like it, I’ll buy it for you!”

Mi Cai’s expression softened a bit. I took the guitar down and handed it to her, saying, “Try the sound of the guitar first.” Then I turned to A Ji and said, “Do you have a restroom? Take me there; I really need to go!”

“Just go by the roadside!”

“Come with me, come with me…” I said, not caring whether A Ji actually needed to go or not, and hugged him as we walked outside.

…

On the quiet roadside, while I was urinating, I asked A Ji, “What’s the price of this guitar?”

A Ji, being a straightforward person, didn’t say anything like “you’re a friend, I’ll give you a discount,” but directly gave a number, “26,000 RMB!”

Instantly, I was no longer in the mood to urinate. I stopped and said, “Damn, is it made of gold?”

A Ji smiled and said, “Zhaoyang, you know the business well. Don’t you have any idea about the price of this guitar yourself?”

I didn’t respond, only feeling somewhat embarrassed.

A Ji still had a smile on his face and continued, “Xiao Wu called me and said clearly that you’re not short on money! He said you wouldn’t even mention discounts. I didn’t believe it at first, but when I saw you brought such a beautiful girl here, I believed it right away… If you didn’t have some money, you wouldn’t deserve this girl.” He thought for a moment and added, “Even with money, you’re not quite worthy of her.”

I immediately felt a bit annoyed. I directly pulled out the belt I had already undone and made a move as if to hit him with it, which scared him into instinctively dodging, his braid of more than ten years swinging behind his head. He hurriedly said, “Zhaoyang, let’s talk nicely, no hitting, no hitting… We’re civilized people!”

“Just you, going out like that and ruining the cityscape, yet still talking to me about being civilized? You’ve kept that bird-like braid like a woman!”

A Ji was frightened by my sudden change of attitude and remained silent for a while before saying, “No wonder you and Luoben get along so well you could wear the same pants. Both of you have such annoying tempers, it’s really scary!”

I then put the belt back on. Actually, I was half joking and half serious just now. But what he said—that I wasn’t quite worthy of Mi Cai even with money—really did make me feel annoyed. But I understood more deeply that it wasn’t that I was too ordinary, but rather that she was too extraordinary to seem real!

A Ji then said to me, “Zhaoyang, if you’re really short on money, I actually have a suggestion…”

“Go ahead.”

“You know, I really like your guitar. How about you trade it for mine? I don’t mind taking a loss…” A Ji finished with an expression of expectation on his face.

Actually, when Jian Wei had this guitar custom-made for me, it only cost 20,000 RMB. If I traded it for this Taylor, he would indeed be taking a loss of several thousand RMB. However, to a music lover, a guitar that one truly likes cannot be measured by a few thousand RMB, and it was precisely for this reason that A Ji proposed this condition.

But I hesitated. Not only had this guitar accompanied me over the years, but it was also a memento and a commemoration of the past. Was I really going to end it like this?

Taking a deep breath, I smiled to myself and silently said: Why should I carve those wounds into a guitar forever tormenting myself? Finally, I said to A Ji, “Alright then, let’s trade… I don’t want to take advantage of you; I’ll even give you an extra 6,000 RMB!”

A Ji said with great delight, “It’s fine to trade, forget about the 6,000 RMB! I really like the craftsmanship of your guitar, it’s so artistic!”

I didn’t speak, just pulled out some money from my pocket, counted out 6,000 RMB, and stuffed it into A Ji’s hand, then signaled him not to speak and just accept it happily.

A Ji refused.

I forcibly shoved it into his hand again and said, “Let’s keep things separate; this is how it should be… ” After a while, I added, “This guitar finding its way to you is also a good destination!”

A Ji finally didn’t refuse anymore. He put the money into his pocket and then said to me, “A gentleman shouldn’t take away what others like, but I just can’t help loving it. Don’t worry, I will definitely treasure this guitar well!”

I forced a smile and said, “It’s not like you’re taking away what I really like! This guitar might just not be meant for me!”

…

Back in the shop, Mi Cai was still plucking the guitar, clearly loving it. I asked her, “Are you sure you want to buy this guitar?”

“Yep, it feels very comfortable to use, and the sound quality is great!”

I said to A Ji, “Help us pack it up.”

Mi Cai handed the guitar to A Ji, who quickly packed it into a box and then handed the box to me.

I smiled and handed the guitar back to Mi Cai, saying, “From now on, this guitar belongs to you!”

“Thank you, Zhaoyang!”

I patted her shoulder to indicate she needn’t be too polite, then said goodbye to A Ji and prepared to leave.

Mi Cai suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “Zhaoyang, did you pay for the guitar?”

A Ji patted his bulging pocket and said, “He just paid!”

“Oh.” Mi Cai responded, not noticing that the bulging pocket actually contained only 6,000 RMB. A Ji’s gesture was also because he had received my instructions. Before entering the shop, I had instructed him not to tell Mi Cai that I had exchanged one guitar for another.

Moreover, Mi Cai might not be fully aware of the guitar’s true value, so this matter was easily covered up.

…

It was already very, very late at night. I said to Mi Cai, “It’s already very late; I’ll take you back to your place directly. Your car in the bar parking lot should be fine.”

Mi Cai shook her head and said, “I want to go to the bar.”

I asked in confusion, “What for at the bar? It’s already closed!”

“I really want to experience the feeling of the fifth season by playing this guitar in the bar!”

I looked at Mi Cai. The expectation on her face was genuine, more like a child who had just received a beloved toy and couldn’t wait to show it off.

I thought about it. Since tomorrow was the weekend anyway, I once again chose to indulge her, saying, “Alright, but we can only play for a while. It’s not good for a woman to stay up so late!”

“Okay… By the way, is your guitar also at the bar?”

I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“I want you to sing with me. Let’s play the guitar and sing together! Can we?”

This was the first time Mi Cai gave me the opportunity to sing with her, but the audience would only be ourselves, so it felt more like a farewell consolation…

Perhaps ending the guitar that had brought me so much joy and heart-wrenching pain in this way was also a good conclusion!