Chapter 32 Part 1

For a moment, Lu Yan didn't know how to face this and subconsciously took two steps back, retreating to the wide-open iron door of the Air-Raid Shelter. The mottled, rusty iron sheet was scorching hot under the blazing sun. As his back pressed against it through a thin layer of cloth, the excessive heat seeped through the fabric bit by bit.

And yet, he felt his fingertips turn cold.

All the warmth in his body vanished in an instant.

From his current position, shifting a few centimeters to his left would put him by the arched entrance of the Air-Raid Shelter, perfectly out of Big Cannon's line of sight.

Leaning against the old iron door, he could still clearly hear the conversation coming from inside the Air-Raid Shelter.

It was Li Zhen's distressed and broken voice: "Who the hell is your big brother?!"

Big Cannon said: "My big brother is the former guitarist of the Black Heart Band."

The others looked at each other in confusion. Due to regional differences and the high frequency of bands forming and disbanding over the years, no one really knew what this "Black Heart" that had suddenly popped up was.

But this group of people gathered in the Air-Raid Shelter had, after all, come to Xiajing City from all over and were experienced.

Someone among them whispered, "Hey, I think I have an impression, from Jizhou. I heard someone mention it before."

Big Cannon's tone lifted, and he raised his head again, saying, "He's the best guitarist in the world, the beacon of my life! My idol! My eternal rival! I practiced guitar relentlessly just so I could defeat him one day. We promised to have a competition!"

"..."

What kind of plot was this?

Li Zhen asked again, "Then what's your big brother's name?"

Big Cannon was silent for a moment. "I don't know."

"..."

Big Cannon: "Everyone called him Old Qi."

"..."

When they were young, people in bands all had a few stage names that were utterly embarrassing.

Aside from the well-known name "Old Qi," Big Cannon knew very little personal information about the long-haired big brother in a white shirt with a guitar on his back. Four years had passed, and the things and contact information he had saved before were lost during a move.

The age difference between them was exactly three years. The year he took his high school entrance exam was the year his big brother took his college entrance exam.

To this day, Big Cannon could still clearly remember the young man, carrying his guitar before his college entrance exam, walking through the bar and saying to him, "I'm going to Xiajing City. If we ever meet again—"

The young man paused there, then looked back at him. "I'll have a match with you."

...

"Brother! We have quite a few people with 'Qi' here. Let me introduce you, this is our band's keyboardist, Xiao Qi," one band began to think outside the box, resorting to any means to snatch him up. "I can change my name too, anything with 'Qi' works. It seems you're fated to be with our band, come join us."

"Name, photo, contact information... you have nothing, what the hell are you looking for! Stop looking, come to our Spades Band."

The Spades Band was determined to get this guitarist with a resounding stage name.

Not to be outdone, Li Zhen shouted, "Come join us!"

Spades: "Don't you join in on the fun. By the way, your lead singer isn't here today? I was worried that if that dog from your group came, our band might not be able to out-snatch him."

The captain of Spades Band recalled the fear of being poached by Lu Yan and sighed again, "So scummy, really."

Li Zhen also wanted to ask why Lu Yan hadn't arrived yet.

He had been determined to get this guitarist, and the main reason he had been so sure of success was that he had contacted Lu Yan the moment he got the news today. When it came to recruiting people, no one could beat his lead singer.

But where was Lu Yan!

Lu Yan stopped listening after hearing "Old Qi."

He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, lowered his head to pull one out with his lips, lit it, and took a few drags. The smoke shot down his throat.

—Old Qi.

Lu Yan looked up again.

He put the lighter back in his pocket and walked forward along the road in front of him.

The year he joined Black Heart was the seventh year he had been playing the guitar.

At that time, the Black Heart Band had already been established for two years. According to the band's roster, he was ranked seventh when he joined. Counting all the past members who had already quit, he was the seventh person to join the band.

The name "Old Qi" was catchy, and over time it became synonymous with him.

Lu Yan rarely thought about these things.

He kept telling himself, it's in the past, it's all in the past, just keep moving forward.

Move forward.

Move forward without looking back.

Big Cannon's cry of "Old Qi" today pulled him out of his illusion.

A conversation from many years ago surfaced in his mind, with the chaotic sound of the bar's speakers in the background.

"You're here for an audition?"

"Yeah."

"What do you play?"

"Guitar."

Lu Yan heard his own voice from back then pause, then add, "Guitarist."

Then the scene changed. He was in a KTV room, surrounded by shattered glass bottles, a pair of sinister eyes staring at him up close.

The man's voice was just like his eyes. He squatted nearby, his shoe having just crushed broken glass. "Aren't you so tough? I'll cripple one of your hands, let's see how you act so high and mighty in the future."

...

Lu Yan's mind was in a jumble as he walked for about ten minutes before receiving a call from Li Zhen.

Lu Yan slowed his pace. "Hello?"

Li Zhen: "Where are you!"

Lu Yan: "On the way."

Li Zhen sighed regretfully, "The guy's already gone, and you're still on your way. Is our band going to make it or not? Are we really going to miss out on this blondie?"

Lu Yan casually let out an "ah" in agreement.

In front of him was an endless stream of cars and people. A car stopped in front of him, and the driver leaned out to ask, "Where you heading, young man?"

Lu Yan had one hand in his jacket pocket. He ignored the driver and continued walking along the road.

Li Zhen went on for a while longer, the conversation revolving around the "big brother" the blondie had mentioned.

"Who do you think that big brother he's looking for is, to be that awesome? His guitar playing is that divine?" Li Zhen expressed his inability to imagine it. "Blondie's skill level is already considered unbeatable around here, right? To be even better than him, what would that be like? Hey, do you think there's anyone like that in our Xiajing City..."

Before answering the call, Lu Yan thought he could still shoot the breeze with Li Zhen for a while, but he found that the more Li Zhen talked, the more that inexplicable irritation grew. He interrupted, "Zhen-zi, let's stop for now, I've got something to do here."

Li Zhen: "Don't tell me you're still going to that wedding emcee audition—"

Lu Yan took a deep breath and said, "No, it's something else."

Where to go?

Which way to walk?

Lu Yan himself didn't know.

When he received Xiao Heng's call, he was sitting on some steps, smoking. After walking aimlessly for half a day and stopping, he found his surroundings to be excessively unfamiliar. An ancient bridge connected clusters of old-fashioned buildings.

An old man with a carrying pole over his shoulder was crossing the bridge.

After sitting down, Lu Yan finally began to ponder a question: where the hell is this?

His phone kept vibrating.

The caller ID showed: [Xiao Heng].

Lu Yan, with a cigarette between his lips, glanced at it before answering.