Shi Ye had been suffering from insomnia for a year now.

It wasn’t so severe at first, just trouble falling asleep, but then he started experiencing auditory hallucinations and ringing in his ears. Before going to bed, he always felt a tightness in his chest, his heartbeat pounding loudly, mixing with the cacophony in his head, turning the quiet, dark night into a noisy live concert.

He went to see several doctors without telling anyone, and took a bunch of medications, but his condition didn’t improve much. Like a domino effect, that year, both his physical health and work started to decline. First, he was diagnosed with vocal cord problems and couldn’t continue the tour for the second half of the year. During that time, his physical and mental condition were very poor, the band faced dissolution several times, and later the company made the decision to add a new lead singer…

Life was a mess, nothing made Shi Ye happy.

On the day the promotion for the second half of the tour began, Shi Ye had a big argument with Shen Zui in the rehearsal room, almost coming to blows. After leaving the company, he took a taxi straight to the airport, bought a ticket to Guizhou on the way, and impulsively embarked on this trip to Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

He didn’t bring anything, even his change of clothes was bought in Guiyang, the most valuable thing he had with him was the custom-made guitar.

Actually, he didn’t know why he took the guitar with him, but by the time he realized it, he was already on the ground.

He had a quite comfortable time during this little half-month trip, at least there weren’t so many miscellaneous things waiting for him to make decisions, nor did he have to care about public opinion and judgment.

He hadn’t taken a vacation in a long time and was really tired.

His sleep during the trip was also not good, always lying in bed until three or four in the morning before falling asleep. Before coming to Dali, he had been mountain climbing in Shangri-La. When Xie Hong called him, he had already been awake for a whole day.

But surprisingly, Shi Ye slept very well on the first night he stayed at the inn called “Sheng Xia”, almost falling asleep as soon as he lay down on the pillow.

Perhaps because he was truly exhausted.

But he woke up early, at seven o’clock. When he opened his eyes, he had a moment of daze, because the warm morning light was streaming in through the windows on both sides of the attic, shining on the musical instruments in the room and the green plants under the windows. Just as he had imagined, the room had excellent lighting.

Wooden floor, wooden door, dusty skylight, morning light, piano, green plants… Shi Ye, who had just woken up, was very pleased with the room in front of him.

Perhaps because the scene in front of him was so warm and comforting, he felt very relaxed for no reason, feeling drowsy and unwilling to get up, so he actually fell back asleep for a nap.

This nap lasted for several hours.

This led to Sheng Xia, who had bought breakfast early and didn’t know what to do. Seven o’clock, there was no movement from the attic.

Eight o’clock, still nothing. Nine o’clock, still nothing. Ten o’clock, still nothing… Eleven o’clock… Twelve o’clock… Still no movement…

At half past twelve, Shi Ye finally woke up. When he came downstairs after washing up, he saw Sheng Xia sitting on a small stool at the stairs, wearing headphones and listening to music, his eyes squinting, looking like he was about to fall asleep. Even when he walked downstairs, Sheng Xia still didn’t react at all.

Seeing Sheng Xia like this, Shi Ye felt a little amused, so he couldn’t help but lean over and gently flick his ear.

Sheng Xia’s reaction was also quite strange. Normally, when someone touches you unexpectedly, you would reflexively react, but Sheng Xia paused for a moment before slowly opening his eyes, raising his head, squinting slightly, and looking at Shi Ye standing there in the light.

After seeing Shi Ye, Sheng Xia reacted for a moment, then stood up awkwardly and said, “Ah… Teacher Shi Ye, you’re awake.”

His tone was still leisurely.

“Awake,” Shi Ye nodded slightly and frowned, pointing to Sheng Xia’s left cheek, “What happened to your face?”

Sheng Xia raised his hand to touch the bandage on his face, smiling somewhat forcedly, “I… scratched myself yesterday, so I put on this bandage.”

This was not a lie. He really was scratched. Yesterday, while taking a shower, he was feeling uneasy and excited, and all that excitement ended up directed at that annoying pimple. Unable to resist, he scratched it a few times, causing it to bleed a lot.

Sheng Xia was the kind of person whose wounds kept bleeding. After scratching it, it took a long time for the bleeding to stop. Helplessly, he put on a bandage.

Shi Ye didn’t ask further, “I’m a bit hungry, can you recommend a restaurant for me? I’ll go eat something.”

“I’ll go with you, I haven’t eaten either,” Sheng Xia smiled, “What would you like to eat, Teacher Shi Ye?”

“You haven’t eaten either?” Shi Ye was a bit surprised, it was past lunchtime.

Sheng Xia straightforwardly shook his head, “No, I thought you would be eating, so it wouldn’t be good for you to eat alone. I’ll wait for you to eat together these days, Teacher Shi Ye.”

A bit strange.

It had been a long time since anyone had said they would wait for him to eat together.

Shi Ye thought to himself, quite enthusiastic. But it would be better if this enthusiasm didn’t have any ulterior motives.

Watching Sheng Xia untangle the headphone wires, Shi Ye felt that this kid seemed a bit more normal today than yesterday, not as strange as yesterday, hopefully it would continue.

Sheng Xia finally took Shi Ye to a very inconspicuous small restaurant to eat Bai cuisine. When ordering, Shi Ye said, “You’re a local, you order.” Sheng Xia pushed the menu back and said, “You decide what you want to eat, then order.” The waitress saw them pushing the menu back and forth and chuckled, “Can’t decide? How about I bring you the signature dishes?”

Shi Ye and Sheng Xia both agreed.

Just as a food cart passed by outside shouting about snacks, Sheng Xia said something and hurriedly went out. When he came back, he was holding something in his hand, like food, and handed it over as soon as he sat down, “Teacher Shi Ye, try this, it’s a rose milk fan. Many girls in our class used to like this. Even visitors from other places would buy it…”

Shi Ye looked at the small white thing in his hand, rolled up and emitting a strange smell, raised his eyebrows, “Girls in your class liked it? So you bought it for me?”

Sheng Xia’s hand trembled a bit under Shi Ye’s gaze, feeling like even the hand holding the milk fan was shaking.

“No, what I mean is that this is a specialty, both locals and outsiders like it…” Thankfully, Shi Ye just teased him a bit and didn’t press further. Seeing his guilty expression, he found it amusing and accepted it, taking a few bites.

Sweet and greasy, it tasted somewhat like cheese, with rose sauce in the middle.

Shi Ye found it unpalatable, but seeing Sheng Xia looking at him expectantly, he could only swallow it all down reluctantly and said, “It’s okay.”

Sheng Xia seemed relieved, “As long as you like it.”

“We often come to eat at this restaurant. The best dish they make is the fish and some seasonal mushrooms…” Sheng Xia said halfway through and accidentally used a local dialect, then quickly repeated it in Mandarin, “I mean some mushrooms, like Jiànshǒu qīng, this restaurant makes them very delicious.”

Shi Ye looked at the pot of fish in front of him, took a bite and didn’t eat any more. Instead, he turned to look at Sheng Xia with some amusement, “The way you locals talk is quite interesting, it’s like singing.”

He didn’t eat the fish, it tasted bad.

“Ah…” Sheng Xia paused, feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason, “My Mandarin is not good, and I have a bit of an accent.”

“I’ve been to Chengdu for a performance before, but I didn’t stay for long. This is actually my first time coming to this area in the southwest.” Shi Ye turned to eat the plate of mushrooms, feeling that they tasted good, “It feels strange in Dali, everyone speaks lazily and slowly. The wind blows slowly, the sun shines slowly, people speak slowly, and walk slowly… It feels quite different from the north.”

At that time, Shi Ye didn’t understand. In fact, his impression of “slow” in Dali was wrong. The “slow” he felt was just Sheng Xia himself. But why did his impression of Dali still remain “slow”?

Later, Shi Ye understood that he felt Dali was “slow” because all his memories of this city were related to Sheng Xia.

Sheng Xia thought for a moment before replying, “I haven’t been to the north, so I can’t compare, but I always feel that it must be very cold and windy there.”

Shi Ye nodded, “Indeed, it’s very cold, and if the wind blows… I also feel that the wind in Dali is strong.”

“The wind in Xiaguan is strong.” Sheng Xia smiled, “There’s a saying, ‘wind in Xiaguan, flowers in Shangguan, snow on Cangshan, moon over Erhai’, so Xiaguan is also called Wind City.”

“Dali, Xiaguan…” Shi Ye was a bit puzzled, “Is Xiaguan a district or a county in Dali? Or is Xiaguan another name for Dali? Is the ancient city here also Xiaguan?”

“We generally call the urban area Xiaguan, and we directly call the ancient city Dali. Because Shangguan is a town,” Sheng Xia gestured with his chopsticks, “The ancient city is now within Xiaguan, but in order to differentiate, we usually just say Dali.”

“It’s quite complicated.” Shi Ye didn’t ask further, finishing his rice, “Finished. Let’s talk about the plan. Little tour guide, what are you taking me to see today?”

Sheng Xia glanced at Shi Ye, then picked up the bag beside him, first taking out a pair of glasses to put on, then taking out a notebook. He opened it and began speaking with a very serious tone, “I did some research last night. Mainly, do you want to see scenery or eat? If you want to visit scenic spots, we’ll probably need to hire a car, first go to Shuanglang, then take the cable car up Cangshan Mountain, and then go to Xiaoputuo. If you want to eat, we’ll probably head into the urban area. As for the route…”

Shi Ye watched as Sheng Xia’s mouth opened and closed in front of him.

It was indeed a very attractive face, with well-defined features, fair and clear, even with an unattractive bandage, it still looked good. When speaking, he focused earnestly on the notebook in his hand.

Wearing glasses made him look even more refined. Through the lenses, one could see his eyes and long eyelashes.

Shi Ye realized he had been staring at the person for too long, so he averted his gaze and looked at the handwriting in Sheng Xia’s notebook. The writing was a bit messy, indicating it was meant for him to see.

“I’m not particularly interested in tourist spots or scenery; I’d rather experience authenticity. Not the typical ancient city or historical sites, nor natural landscapes. I want you to show me the Dali in the locals’ hearts. Take me to places you like, places you think represent Dali.”

Sheng Xia thought to himself that Shi Ye was indeed different. Probably from the city, worldly-wise, with different thoughts from others.

He closed the notebook carefully and said, “But from my perspective, looking at Dali… it might be a bit narrow-minded. I feel that the good places mostly relate to one’s own experiences, which might be boring… Shall we go climb a mountain and see some water instead? It’s better than…”

“Just take me to places you often go.” Shi Ye interrupted Sheng Xia and made a decision directly. “I don’t like climbing mountains and seeing water. I just want something simple.”

After eating, Shi Ye put on a hat and mask, telling Sheng Xia he wanted to get a haircut.

Sheng Xia agreed and took Shi Ye to a barbershop.

Walking beside Shi Ye, Sheng Xia still felt very unnatural. He was trying hard to treat Shi Ye like an ordinary person, but he always felt like he was being seen through, which made him feel unfamiliar and somewhat frustrated, mixed with a hint of reluctance.

It was because of the gap. Differences in age, experience, the stark contrast in their personalities, and even their identities.

As two males, Sheng Xia instinctively felt complex emotions towards Shi Ye. This was also the first time he had so many indescribable feelings towards the same gender, towards the rock musician he liked.

In the past, when contact was impossible, he could easily persuade himself that the person was a star in the sky, meant to be admired from afar.

Now that the star had come to his side, he began to feel annoyed. Why was he so ordinary?

If he could…

Be a dazzling star like Shi Ye?

Then he might be much more composed. At least, he would have the courage to talk to Shi Ye about his favorite music, about the scores he had written before. He could express his appreciation without any reservations and let Shi Ye see his own shining aspects.

But none of this was possible. He was just a high school graduate, underage, with no achievements, no one knew him, eccentric in personality, had nothing, and couldn’t even speak properly.

Sheng Xia felt disheartened.

He felt that, with Shi Ye’s arrival, he had become greedy.