After receiving my instructions, Xiao Wu immediately turned around and walked backstage with the guitar in an extremely awkward posture. However, my anxiety didn’t decrease at all because I wasn’t sure whether Mi Cai and Jian Wei had noticed those two silver strings.
I pretended to be calm as I returned to Jian Wei’s side. She looked even calmer than me, gently tapping her slender, pale fingers on the table, while her attention remained on the script. She didn’t seem to have any intention of talking to me again.
After a while, I finally asked her, “How is your script coming along?”
Jian Wei smiled and said, “Almost done. When is the event going to start?”
Her smile finally eased my nerves a bit, and I smiled back, saying, “It will start promptly at seven o’clock.”
Jian Wei glanced at the time and said, “There are still twenty minutes. I’ll go over the script one more time. You go ahead and take care of your own business.”
I nodded and left. Then I went to check on Mi Cai. My previously calmed emotions began to stir up again. Still, I maintained a calm appearance and asked, “How are you doing with those two songs?”
“There’s no problem now.”
Seeing her usual composed expression, I felt relieved again. I smiled and said, “Good, good…”
“Why did you say ‘good’ twice? Are you afraid I might mess up?”
I was truly grateful that Mi Cai had given me such a perfect excuse to hide my nervousness. I nodded quickly and said, “Yes, that’s exactly it. I’m worried you might mess up, after all, you’ve never performed these two songs before.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t mess up.”
After saying this, Mi Cai gave me a slight smile. Her smile eased my anxiety a bit more, and I felt certain that the guitar incident had been resolved safely and without further issue.
…
Time quickly passed seven o’clock in the evening. Outside the bar, the sound of firecrackers had already begun to crackle densely. The New Year was just a few hours away.
The event officially began. The waiters prepared food and drinks for the customers, and Jian Wei stood on the small stage, hosting this small-scale evening event. After delivering New Year greetings on behalf of the bar, she moved into the formal part of the program.
The first to perform was Mi Cai, singing the song “Vernal Equinox.” Her performance lived up to expectations and quickly brought the first climax of the evening. Many customers joined in singing along with her. The fact that many people in the audience knew the song proved that the bar’s clientele had a strong artistic inclination. This made me even more convinced that this bar would become a place of spiritual refuge for a part of the city’s population.
After Mi Cai’s performance, many customers asked to take photos with her. In fact, Mi Cai’s multiple performances at the bar had already earned her a small group of loyal fans. She seemed to be in a good mood and didn’t refuse their requests, even joining them for a few drinks.
Jian Wei also did an excellent job as the host. In the middle of the event, she encouraged customers with talents to perform, keeping the atmosphere lively and active. Because of this, I even briefly thought she was in a good mood, until after the event ended at nine o’clock, did I realize I was wrong!
…
It was now half past nine in the evening. Customers in the bar were still drinking, chatting, and singing with high spirits. I had come outside the bar to see Jian Wei off.
Breathing in the fresh air outdoors, I lit a cigarette and said to Jian Wei, “Tonight, I have to thank you. You really helped me a lot with the event tonight!”
“Is that so?” Jian Wei frowned.
Her frown made me think I was hallucinating, after all, she had barely stopped smiling the entire time before leaving the bar. So I didn’t pay much attention and reminded her again, “Drive slowly on your way back. There are still several hours before midnight. You’ll definitely make it to Shanghai.”
Suddenly, Jian Wei’s eyes glistened with tears, and she looked at me with her lips tightly pressed together.
At this moment, I finally became certain that her earlier frown was not my imagination. I asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
After a long silence, Jian Wei finally asked me, “Zhaoyang, regarding that guitar, don’t you have something to say to me?”
My heart immediately tightened. I exhaled a heavy puff of smoke before asking, “Did you see everything?”
Jian Wei’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she gave a sarcastic smile and said, “Every detail of that guitar case is deeply etched in my mind. Did you think that just because you covered up those two silver strings, I wouldn’t recognize it?”
“But you…?”
“But why did I pretend to be fine, right?”
My heart felt heavy, but I still nodded. I really wanted to know what force had enabled her to act so composedly.
“I didn’t want my emotions to ruin your event, but now that the event is over, you have to explain to me. You previously told me that the guitar had been taken away by CC, so why did it end up in that drummer’s hands?”
I stubbed out the cigarette in my hand and lit another one. After a long while, I said in a low voice, “I sold it to him.”
The tears that had been welling up in Jian Wei’s eyes streamed down her pale cheeks. With a pained voice, she asked, “Why did you sell the guitar? And by what right?”
“I didn’t want to keep this guitar that represented the past anymore. Is that okay?”
Jian Wei nodded. “Yes, you’re right. We shouldn’t keep anything that represents the past!”
I took another deep puff of my cigarette, my heart so heavy that I didn’t know how to respond to Jian Wei.
Suddenly, Jian Wei put down her handbag, sat on the ground, and took off her red leather boots…
I looked at her in shock, not knowing what she was about to do.
At this moment, she also took off her socks, and I saw the colorful gold ankle chain around her ankle. Memories surged as I recalled that this ankle chain was something I had bought for her years ago with the money I earned singing at the bar.
Jian Wei unfastened the ankle chain, stood up, barefoot on the frozen ground, and handed it to me with a cold voice, saying, “I’m returning this ankle chain you gave me… Please return the guitar to me as well.”
“Can’t you at least put your shoes on first? You’ll definitely catch a chill like this!”
Jian Wei completely ignored my concern. Her eyes still brimming with tears, her voice was firm, “Take this ankle chain from my hand.”
Her bare feet, extremely cold, had already started to spasm, and she staggered and fell into my arms. At this moment, without thinking, I picked up her shoes and socks from the ground, lifted her in my arms, and walked toward her car.
Just as I was about to open the car door, I saw Mi Cai standing behind us in the car’s rearview mirror.
Without thinking, I opened the car door and gently placed Jian Wei inside, and then said to her, “I admit I was wrong about the guitar. If I really didn’t want to keep it, I should have returned it to you instead of selling it… Don’t worry, I will get the guitar back and return it to you.”
“Okay, I’m waiting for you to return the guitar to me.” After saying this, she placed the ankle chain in my hand, pushed me away, closed the car door, and without even putting her shoes and socks on, she drove off, leaving a gust of wind behind me as she completely disappeared from my sight.
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