Shi Ye felt quite strange.

Although he wasn’t a very easygoing person, he was still very approachable to his fans.

Moreover, at this moment, he was wearing a very standard and gentle smile. But why was it that this person in front of him… just refused to look up at him?

A hardcore fan? Seems fake.

Xie Hong saw the way Sheng Xia was playing with his fingers, looking down… and felt a headache coming on. She could only laugh and say, “So… Sheng Xia, do I really need to introduce you to Shi Ye? Oh my goodness, can you at least raise your head and look at him!”

The last sentence was said in a slightly lowered voice, and after saying it, Xie Hong lightly tapped Sheng Xia’s hand.

Sheng Xia still seemed very absent-minded, making it reluctant for him to lift his head. He turned his face slightly to the side, only showing half of his face to others, and responded in a small voice, “Hmm.”

Xie Hong was almost driven crazy by his hesitant demeanor, muttering to him softly, “Did you lose your voice?!”

As they were speaking, several members of the Dirty Praying Mantis band came over with glasses of alcohol. Shi Ye, seeing them approach, put his mask back on.

After the lead singer Gao Yuan came over, he began praising Shi Ye while bowing to him and offering a toast, “The last time I saw you was at the music festival in Qinghai, but we didn’t get a chance to talk… It’s truly an honor for us to have you play the guitar for us this time…”

Shi Ye and the group exchanged a few words in a perfunctory manner, declined the toast, and kept saying he wouldn’t drink.

Xie Hong laughed awkwardly, trying to smooth things over, “He’s here just to have fun, it’s not part of his schedule or performance. Let’s just consider it as him saving the day for us. He’s not drinking because his throat isn’t in good condition.”

Later, after exchanging a few more pleasantries, Gao Yuan returned with his guitar and mentioned that their guitarist, who was currently in the hospital, heard about Shi Ye saving the day and insisted that Shi Ye sign his guitar.

Sheng Xia stood in the shadows, watching as Shi Ye took the pen handed over by Gao Yuan and earnestly signed his name on the guitar.

While Shi Ye was signing, Xie Hong leaned close to Sheng Xia, glaring at him with annoyance, and whispered, “What’s wrong with you, kid? You’ve liked him for so many years! How come you can’t even call out to him when you see him?”

Sheng Xia, still in a daze, couldn’t find a response even when asked, so he just lowered his head to look at his own toes.

He knew that his foster sister was quite well-connected in the industry, but he never expected Xie Hong to actually know Shi Ye.

“Alright, alright, listen to me,” Xie Hong, feeling helpless, began to explain, “This trip of his is private. Originally, it was just for vacation, but I asked him to help out and that’s why he’s here. He rushed over as soon as he got off the plane, and now he doesn’t even have a place to stay… Does your guesthouse have any rooms left? Take him to your place to stay, I’ll transfer the money to you tomorrow. Let’s book a week for now…”

Sheng Xia was instantly petrified. Have… have him stay at the guesthouse?

Well… it’s not impossible…

But then he remembered something quite pessimistic. Earlier today, he saw the Auntie cleaning the rooms and complaining about how tired she was lately. Because it was the peak of summer vacation, it was a busy tourism season, and the guesthouse was practically full every day…

That would be troublesome.

Seeing Sheng Xia’s uncertain expression, Xie Hong cautiously asked, “Is your guesthouse fully booked? My goodness, business must be booming lately?!”

Sheng Xia came back to his senses, “It’s not full, there are still rooms available.”

These words blurted out from Sheng Xia subconsciously. As he said it, he was already calculating… if there were no vacant rooms, should he let Shi Ye stay in his own room or in the small attic…

He had two rooms, one bedroom, and another small attic on the rooftop, which used to be where Zhao Wu stored miscellaneous items. Later, Sheng Xia talked to Zhao Wu about it and moved all his miscellaneous items, such as musical instruments, scores, books, comics, CDs, and other sundry items, into that old attic. He basically spent all his free time there.

Because sometimes he would lose track of time while playing in the room, Zhao Wu eventually put a bed there for him.

Sheng Xia didn’t know whether he wanted Shi Ye to stay in a vacant room or in his own room.

He was feeling a dizzying sensation, as if he had just won a grand prize, feeling that everything was surreal.

“Alright, then you take him over to stay, and I’ll transfer the money to you tomorrow…” Xie Hong continued to explain, “I’ll ask him tomorrow how he plans to arrange things, maybe arrange a tour for him…”

“Arrange a tour?”

Sheng Xia was startled by this voice and instinctively took a step back, then cautiously turned his face to the side.

Shi Ye had already picked up his belongings and said, “No need to arrange a tour for me, I’ll just go wherever I feel like. Don’t worry about me.”

Xie Hong rolled her eyes, “Alright, alright, I’m just being nosy. You can go sightseeing on your own, but be prepared to be ripped off by tourist traps.”

As they continued to talk, Sheng Xia interjected, “Hong jie, I’ve actually been quite free recently.”

Although Xie Hong understood what he was trying to say, she still teased him intentionally, “You’re free?”

Sheng Xia felt as if Shi Ye was looking at him.

“It’s just…” Sheng Xia paused for a moment, “I’m on vacation and quite free, and also I’m a local, so…”

Xie Hong chuckled, “Oh right, I almost forgot about you! Shi Ye, just follow my little brother here. He’ll be your free tour guide. It’s much more comfortable than joining a tour group. Let him take you around to eat and drink… Oh Sheng Xia, after this, Sister will give you a big red envelope. You take good care of this gentleman…”

Shi Ye seemed a bit impatient and interrupted Xie Hong’s chatter, “Alright, I’m a bit tired and want to rest. Have you arranged my accommodation yet? If not, I’ll do it myself.”

“Alright, it’s settled then. You’ll go with Sheng Xia and stay at his family’s guesthouse,” said Xie Hong with a smile. “Off you go, and let’s have a meal together tomorrow.”

Xie Hong escorted the two of them to the door, bid them farewell, and then went back inside without saying much more to Shi Ye, seemingly confident about leaving him and Sheng Xia together.

Sheng Xia felt like he was walking out of the livehouse with two left feet. He was so nervous that he hadn’t dared to look at Shi Ye properly during the entire time.

How close were they now? Probably not even a meter, but it felt fake.

Before, it seemed like there were light-years between them.

Before, he could only see him through a screen and hear him through headphones.

Every time Shi Ye turned around, Sheng Xia seemed lost in his thoughts, staring blankly at the guitar on his back.

He couldn’t resist asking, “Which way are we going?”

“Oh… um, this way, this way,” Sheng Xia remembered he was supposed to lead the way and started walking ahead with Shi Ye.

After a couple of steps, he began to feel uncomfortable again and, after hesitating, quietly circled around Shi Ye’s right side and ended up on his left.

Shi Ye didn’t understand why the kid was circling around while walking. “What’s wrong with the right side?”

Sheng Xia choked. He couldn’t say it was because he had an ugly pimple on his left cheek and didn’t want Shi Ye to see it.

“I’m just not used to walking on the right side,” he made up an excuse, then quickly shifted his gaze to Shi Ye’s luggage. “Um…, is your guitar heavy? Should I help you carry it? Or maybe I can take that…”

Shi Ye shook his head and interrupted him, “No need, I can handle it, and I don’t like others touching my guitar.”

Sheng Xia didn’t dare to insist, so he nodded, “Okay.”

The ancient city was bustling at night, with no decrease in the flow of people. Sheng Xia was squeezed closer and closer to Shi Ye, feeling increasingly nervous as their proximity increased. He felt weak all over and out of control.

Shi Ye also noticed that something was off with him but didn’t mention it.

His first impression of Sheng Xia was that he was a handsome young man. Every time he saw him, he felt something different.

In the afternoon, he looked like a high school student sneaking a smoke, very green. When he was on stage singing, he seemed to have more presence, cold and aloof.

Now, walking next to him felt like a different person. He looked unnatural and nervous, as if he was on edge.

Shi Ye couldn’t understand it at all. Had he scared him somehow?

It didn’t make sense to him, so he tried to speak to him in the gentlest tone he could muster, “Your name is Sheng Xia, right? The Sheng Xia from ‘midsummer’? It’s quite unique.”

That should be friendly enough.

When Sheng Xia heard his name called by Shi Ye, he was initially excited but then choked up. He tried to reply, but forgot to breathe and started coughing violently…

Shi Ye watched him cough for a while, genuinely puzzled this time.

After finally catching his breath, Sheng Xia said softly, “My name isn’t anything special, it’s just… I was born in the summer.”

Shi Ye nodded thoughtfully and said, “Your name is Sheng Xia, but you look like winter.”

Sheng Xia was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Shi Ye glanced at him.

In that brief moment of eye contact, he saw Sheng Xia’s eyes clearly avoiding his, and he shifted slightly to the side.

Furrowing his brows, Shi Ye lowered his head slightly and asked, “Do you find me scary? Why can’t you look at me?”

“No,” Sheng Xia immediately denied, starting to babble, “I just… feel a bit uncomfortable. And also… there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re wearing a mask anyway, even if you look scary, I can’t see it.”

After hearing this, Shi Ye found his excuse amusing. “Alright, you have a cold. But let me ask you, if you’re a fan of mine, have you heard my songs, liked them, and then met me with this reaction? Doesn’t seem like it, right?”

Sheng Xia was completely stunned, unable to say a word as he stared at Shi Ye’s handsome features.

He had never imagined meeting Shi Ye like this. It was too sudden and unexpected. It was really awful. The first time they met, his idol caught him smoking, and the second time, his idol saw him playing guitar and singing… Heaven, he really played the guitar terribly! What’s even worse was that he had developed a darn pimple at this crucial moment…

If one day you meet your idol, whom you’ve liked for many years, and that person is now standing right in front of you, so close that you can see the bloodshot eyes and a small scar on their forehead, close enough to feel their breath, smell their scent… close enough to even touch.

What would you say to them?

Would you say that you’ve liked them for many years, that you sing every one of their songs, buy every album, listen to them repeatedly, copy the lyrics multiple times… that it’s because of them that you started to enjoy singing, love music, and find the world interesting and colorful?

Sheng Xia, after the initial excitement and joy upon seeing the seemingly real yet surreal face, began to feel his own insignificance and… the deep gap between himself and the person in front of him.

He avoided eye contact, trying to calm down and said in a casual tone, “I’m just… feeling a bit… warm.”

“Warm? Weren’t you just having a cold?” Shi Ye chuckled again, amused by Sheng Xia’s confused words, thinking that the kid was a bit silly and entertaining, “Is it because your name is Sheng Xia, so you often feel warm?”

Sheng Xia wasn’t warm before, but now that Shi Ye mentioned it, he actually felt warm.

He lowered his head and didn’t dare to continue the conversation, pointing to the wooden gate ahead and saying, “Teacher Shi Ye, we’re here.”

Following him inside, Shi Ye looked around the very clean and tidy guesthouse, surprised to find out that the name of this guesthouse was actually Sheng Xia.

“Why do you call me Teacher Shi Ye?”

Sheng Xia led Shi Ye towards the attic, saying, “Well… I can’t just call you by your name directly…”

Actually, Shi Ye was used to being called ‘teacher’ outside, but he found it amusing to tease Sheng Xia for some reason, so he smiled and said, “I haven’t taught you anything, why are you calling me ‘teacher’? Anyway, I’m much older than you, you can call me ‘ge’ if you want, or ‘uncle’.”

Sheng Xia thought to himself that you actually are my teacher… you enlightened me about rock music.

“It’s better to call you ‘teacher’,” Sheng Xia took out a flashlight from his bag to light up the dim staircase, “Teacher Shi Ye, be careful not to hit your head… watch out above.”

Sheng Xia nervously led Shi Ye to his small attic.

Before going upstairs, he told Shi Ye that he would go to the front desk to get the key, and at the front desk, he casually asked if there were any vacant rooms left. As he expected, there weren’t any.

But he didn’t want Shi Ye to stay somewhere else…

His feelings about his idol about to stay in his room were too complicated to express. On one hand, he was excited, but on the other hand, he was worried… Would it be too messy? Would it be too small? Should he change the bedsheets? Was there anything messy in the room? Could he pass off the piano as a decoration? And the books and records as decorations too?

It all seemed a bit fishy…

Should he just say that this is his spare room and nobody usually stays here? But that wouldn’t be convincing either…

After pondering for a long time, the final result was that he regretted telling such a lie…

With a heavy heart,he led Shi Ye to the third floor and stopped in front of a small wooden door.

There was a wind chime hanging in front of the door, with a small sachet tied underneath, embroidered with the character ‘Xia’ by Zhao Wu.

Because of his height, Shi Ye had to slightly lower his head to enter the door. When Sheng Xia led him in and turned on the lights, he looked at the so-called guesthouse in front of him and fell into deep confusion…

It was… too much like a guesthouse.

In this guesthouse room, there was actually a piano, an electronic keyboard… scattered accordion, a wooden guitar, a saxophone, and various other miscellaneous instruments…

By the window, there was a wide wooden workbench, probably used as a desk. It was piled with notebooks, comic books, and so on… The strangest thing was that there was even a half-finished game of chess???

Well, these weren’t really the point. The point was the posters on the wall.

The wall was neatly plastered with posters of the Aviator band from their debut to the present…

Of course, it wasn’t just the Aviator. Apart from them, there were also The Beatles, Guns N’ Roses, and even The Velvet Underground… quite a few, and quite diverse, but they were all centered around the Aviator.

Shi Ye looked at his face in the poster and fell into deep confusion.

Turning his head, he saw Sheng Xia staring at the posters on the wall, looking confused…

Sheng Xia had completely forgotten about the posters on the wall before going upstairs… He was too excited and nervous to remember any of it…

All he could think of now was: It’s over, it’s all over.

Shi Ye put down the guitar on his back and leaned it against the piano, smiling meaningfully.

“Your room,” Shi Ye looked at the flushed Sheng Xia, “is quite interesting.”