Chapter 40

The next evening, after the band finished rehearsal, Zhong Yang and Peng Keshi left the bar, and Jiang Ji also came downstairs.

The first-floor bar hadn’t started its business for the day yet. The duty manager was gathering the staff for a meeting, but Jiang Ji bypassed them and walked to the entrance of the bar.

He stood there for a moment, feeling the breeze clear his muddled mind a bit. Then, he took out his phone, leaned against the door with his back, and looked down at the screen displaying a text message.

The message had been received during the afternoon rehearsal. When he first saw the string of numbers on it, he even thought he was dreaming, and it was a rather absurd dream at that.

Qin Qingzhuo had transferred a sum of money to him that could be considered a huge amount, enough to clear his debts and still have plenty left over.

Didn’t he tell him last night that he was a bad person who had done countless evil deeds? Jiang Ji stared at the text message, wondering if Qin Qingzhuo wasn’t afraid that he would take the money and run after his debts were paid off?

Jiang Ji turned off the phone screen, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and put it in his mouth. As he slid open the lighter’s lid, his hand hesitated when the flame approached the cigarette.

He didn’t remember when the thought of quitting smoking had started to emerge. It seemed there was no clear intention, nor a specific moment. But every time he lit the lighter, he would remember Qin Qingzhuo standing face to face with him at the bar entrance, furrowing his brow and saying, “Jiang Ji, stop smoking.”

After that, he had reduced the frequency of smoking. But in the days since Jiang Keyuan’s death, the frequency had increased again.

He flicked open the lighter’s lid, extinguishing the faint blue flame, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and put it back into the pack.

He didn’t want the substantial sum of money Qin Qingzhuo had sent him. If possible, he wanted to send it back as it was, without touching it.

But he didn’t know Qin Qingzhuo’s bank account number. Even if he were to ask Qin Qingzhuo, given his temperament, he probably wouldn’t tell him.

Well, he could ask Chen Jia when they recorded the next match. Since the program team paid Qin Qingzhuo, they must have his payment method. Qin Qingzhuo had also obtained his bank account number this way, right?

He couldn’t understand it. How could there be someone like Qin Qingzhuo? And how could someone like him encounter someone like himself?

Was he like this with everyone? This thought crossed Jiang Ji’s mind again.

A black sedan turned into the corner of Honglu Slope Strret. Even from afar, Jiang Ji recognized it as Qin Qingzhuo’s Maybach.

When he returned from the graveyard and rehearsed with the band the next day, Zhong Yang had mentioned Qin Qingzhuo’s car several times, talking about how beautiful and expensive it was. How much was it again? Four or five million, or five or six million?

He couldn’t remember, or maybe he hadn’t listened at the time. He just found it incredibly annoying, telling Zhong Yang to shut up and focus on rehearsal, not nonsense.

He had no interest in cars, or more accurately, he had no interest in money. To him, money was just a bunch of numbers for addition and subtraction, gradually accumulating to a certain number, then returning to zero for Uncle Sui, and then starting over again. An endless cycle, nothing more.

His material desires were extremely low. He had never thought of buying anything for himself with money, not even a guitar – the one he had now was fine, as long as it didn’t break, he could use it forever.

The car approached closer and closer, and Jiang Ji guessed that Qin Qingzhuo was coming to find him for something, perhaps to discuss the money?

The car stopped at the entrance of the Honglu Bar, and Qin Qingzhuo didn’t get out. Instead, he rolled down the passenger side window and looked at Jiang Ji, “Jiang Ji, can you drive?”

Jiang Ji nodded, “Hmm.”

“Then get in,” Qin Qingzhuo beckoned to him, “Do me a favor, take me somewhere.”

Jiang Ji saw Qin Qingzhuo’s driver sitting in the driver’s seat, but he didn’t say anything, just asked, “Is it far?”

“Not too far,” Qin Qingzhuo thought for a moment, “If you drive fast, it’ll be about an hour and a half round trip.”

It shouldn’t delay his work for the night. Jiang Ji straightened up and stepped down the steps, walking towards the driver’s seat. The driver got out of the car to make room for him.

Jiang Ji got into the car, fastened his seatbelt, and glanced at the layout of the dashboard. Back when he worked as a hotel attendant, he often parked cars for guests, so driving wasn’t unfamiliar to him. “Where to?”

“Just drive,” Qin Qingzhuo said, “I’ll guide you.”

Jiang Ji stopped speaking and started the car, pressing on the accelerator and driving out of Honglu Slope.

As the car entered the main road, it encountered a red light not long after. Jiang Ji stopped the car, watching the countdown on the traffic light. He thought that if Qin Qingzhuo wanted to talk about the money, this would be a good opportunity.

But as the numbers decreased second by second, Qin Qingzhuo showed no intention of speaking. He just sat in the passenger seat, staring ahead, lost in thought.

So Jiang Ji took the initiative to speak, “About that money…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Qingzhuo interrupted him, “Jiang Ji, focus on driving.”

It was that commanding tone again, not allowing any room for argument.

Forget it, Jiang Ji thought, I’ll just ask Chen Jia directly for the bank account number to transfer it back.

The rest of the journey was silent, with neither Jiang Ji nor Qin Qingzhuo speaking.

Music played from the car stereo, one song after another – pop, rock, blues, jazz, classical, country, reggae, heavy metal. Jiang Ji liked the songs in Qin Qingzhuo’s playlist.

Then, the playlist played songs by Asperatus, “Train Station” and “Daytime Roar.” Jiang Ji subconsciously tightened his grip on the steering wheel and glanced at the screen on the dashboard.

After this song finished, a thought lingered in his mind – Qin Qingzhuo had Asperatus’s songs in his playlist, did he also have songs from other bands from the show? But Jiang Ji hadn’t heard any, or perhaps the playlist hadn’t reached them.

The car drove to a remote area with few vehicles. Qin Qingzhuo opened the sunroof, and the wind whistled in. The sound of the wind filled Jiang Ji’s ears, occasionally mixed with the faint sound of the car stereo when the speed slowed down.

The place Qin Qingzhuo was heading to was very remote. After driving for dozens of kilometers, the twilight in the suburbs gradually closed in, and the night fell like a boundless net, silently enveloping everything.

A magical scene formed in their sight – the layered clouds in the sky were dyed with fiery colors by the setting sun, while the city under the clouds had already entered the night. There seemed to be a clear boundary between the sky and the earth, separated by a straight line, mysterious and vast.

Jiang Ji drove, looking at the distant scenery. He had never known that Yancheng had such beautiful places.

Since coming to Yancheng, his life could only be described as “exhausting.” His impression of Yancheng was only crowded streets, seemingly endless traffic on the roads, and the red men and green women who came to the bar every night to get drunk. He had never thought that Yancheng could also be a tear-stained sunset, vast distances, and wide roads with no sound.

“Is it beautiful?” Qin Qingzhuo had been silent the whole way, and only now did he speak up.

“Alright.”

“Then drive slower,” Qin Qingzhuo said, “and enjoy the breeze.”

However, Jiang Ji did not slow down the car. After a moment of silence, he said, “I still need to go back to work.”

His words were straightforward yet ambiguous. Qin Qingzhuo should understand his meaning – he was working to earn money and did not intend to use Qin Qingzhuo’s money to pay back Uncle Sui’s debt.

Sure enough, the next moment, Qin Qingzhuo laughed, “Jiang Ji, you’re really stubborn. You’re probably the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.”

Then, he sounded a bit embarrassed, “You’re in a hurry to go back to work, but what if I’ve already arranged for your leave? Even if you rush back now, you won’t be able to work tonight.”

Jiang Ji drove without saying a word, but the pressure on the accelerator eased, and the speed of the car decreased.

He glanced at Qin Qingzhuo and asked, “You’ve already arranged for my leave?”

Qin Qingzhuo nodded, “Yeah.” His tone slightly lifted, hinting at a hint of cunning, as if saying, “Let’s see what you’ll do now.”

Jiang Ji was speechless. Qin Qingzhuo said he was the most stubborn person he had ever met, but wasn’t Qin Qingzhuo even more stubborn? Whenever they disagreed, it seemed like Qin Qingzhuo always made decisions without any discussion.

“Can we slow down now?” Qin Qingzhuo smiled and looked into the distance. “You’re lucky to see such a beautiful sight the first time you come here.”

Jiang Ji slowed down a bit more, the sound of the wind softened, and Qin Qingzhuo’s voice became clearer.

Lucky… was he really lucky? If someone else said that, he would think it was sarcasm.

“Do you often come here?”

“When I’m feeling down, I’ll drive along this road for a breath of fresh air. The twilight here is beautiful and fleeting. The night falls more suddenly than elsewhere, reminding me of the saying ‘Life between heaven and earth, like a white horse passing through a gap, suddenly disappearing.’ Pain doesn’t seem so long, so my mood improves a bit.” Qin Qingzhuo turned to look at him. “What about you? Do you feel a bit better now?”

“Maybe,” Jiang Ji said. It was hard to say whether he felt better, but he did feel a bit more relieved.

After a moment, he asked again, “Did you specifically arrange for my leave to bring me here for some relaxation?”

“It’s for relaxation, but not just to bring you here. There’s another important place to go,” Qin Qingzhuo pointed in the distance. “See that? We’re almost there.”

Jiang Ji followed Qin Qingzhuo’s direction and saw the bustling crowd and fluttering flags. At the same time, the distant music was carried by the wind, intermittently drifting into his ears.

“A music festival?” Jiang Ji was somewhat surprised. “Whose?”

“It’s a music festival. Many bands are here. You’ll see when we get there.”

As they approached the music festival venue, the music grew louder. Although they couldn’t see the scene inside the venue yet, just by listening to the music, they could feel the atmosphere boiling in the crowd.

Jiang Ji wasn’t particularly interested in the music festival. Singing every night at the bar, he was accustomed to the sight of intoxicated men and women. The excitement and fervor of the crowd had nothing to do with him. If he had the choice, he preferred being alone. Putting on his headphones, he could isolate all the sounds, allowing himself to drift away, thinking about nothing.

Parking spaces were scarce everywhere, and there were no vacant spots in sight. Jiang Ji slowed down to find a place to park. His tone showed little interest as he asked, “Why did you think of bringing me to a music festival?”

“Lighten up, little friend,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “Staying in one place all the time isn’t conducive to changing your mood.”

Jiang Ji didn’t say anything. He found a parking spot and parked the car.

Qin Qingzhuo reached into the back seat and took out two baseball caps, putting one on himself and the other on Jiang Ji’s head. He opened the car door, saying, “Let’s go, see if there’s a band you like.”

Jiang Ji got out of the car and followed Qin Qingzhuo.

Today, Qin Qingzhuo wore a loose burgundy jacket outside his black T-shirt, looking more casual than usual during program recordings.

Jiang Ji wasn’t sure if this music festival would cheer him up, but Qin Qingzhuo seemed quite enthusiastic. If it could bring a little happiness to him, it would be good. Jiang Ji followed behind Qin Qingzhuo, observing his figure.

“You’re walking so slowly,” Qin Qingzhuo turned around and waved at him. “Hurry up, we’re already late.”