“—Sheng Xia!”

Startled by being called, Sheng Xia’s pen, which had been resting on the paper, deviated from its original trajectory, leaving a long stroke on the blank page.

Sheng Xia looked at the unfinished drawing in front of him, sighed, and leaned downstairs, asking, “Hong jie, what’s wrong? Isn’t everything ready?”

Xie Hong, wearing a flamboyant floral dress, was surveying the stage in front of her without turning to look at Sheng Xia. She pointed her cigarette towards the not-so-large stage in front of her and said, “I want you to see how the setup is… I feel like it’s too simple.”

Sheng Xia peered down and replied leisurely, “Hong jie, I think it’s fine. Simple is good enough. Don’t worry.”

“The lead singer of Dirty Praying Mantis seems a bit…,” Xie Hong paused, “After attending a few music festivals, he seems to have become a bit aloof. I have to be on guard against him nitpicking.”

The cashier, a local Bai ethnic minority, was snacking and watching a drama. She raised her head at the mention and chimed in, “Boss, there isn’t a decent livehouse in the ancient city. If they’re not satisfied, just tell them to walk out the door, turn right, and go to the bar over there. They’ll come back crying, hugging your thigh for sure.”

Li Rong, who was working in the bar, passed by Xie Hong with two boxes of beer and shouted upstairs, “Xiao Sheng Xia, come help with unloading!”

Sheng Xia agreed and tidied up his notebook and pen, put on his headphones and adjusted the volume before heading downstairs.

Xie Hong frowned, “I said not to let Sheng Xia do heavy lifting. If his mother finds out, she’ll blame me…”

Li Rong, sweating profusely from moving things, rolled his eyes at the remark, “Xie Hong, this kid is at his peak strength. It’s not like he can’t handle it!”

Xie Hong picked up a nearby rag and swiped at Li Rong, “Can you even compare yourself to him? You’re just a brute. Can you play the piano? If you were half as handsome as Sheng Xia, I wouldn’t let you do heavy lifting, and you’d be on stage tonight.”

Li Rong dodged a couple of times, grinning, “No need for that, Xie Hong. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s performance.” With that, he took a sip of water and went outside to continue moving beer.

As Sheng Xia went downstairs, he passed by Xie Hong and headed outside. Xie Hong called his name from behind, but he didn’t react. She could only watch as the boy followed Li Rong obediently, starting to help move the beer into the bar.

She sighed, “This kid, I’m really afraid he’ll be bullied when he goes out in the future. So naive and innocent.”

The cashier, Wang Jie, chuckled, “I don’t think you need to worry about Sheng Xia. He seems content and happy in his own world.”

“That’s true. The attitude of living contentedly is so evident in you locals,” Xie Hong shrugged, and casually picked up the air conditioner remote to lower the temperature, “Wang Jie, do you locals not like riding bicycles? Sheng Xia refused to go cycling around Erhai Lake with me.”

“Except for you outsiders, who has the time to cycle around Erhai Lake?” Wang Jie chuckled.

“Don’t say I’m an outsider in front of me, making it seem like you Dalians are so exclusive…” Xie Hong glanced at her, “I really like Dali. Haven’t you seen what my WeChat name is? ‘Feng Hua Xue Yue Yi Dian Hong’. I’m planning to retire here in the future.”

Wang Jie kept agreeing, and seeing Xie Hong in a good mood, she followed up, “Xie Hong, I’ve always been curious. You said you’ve been to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Nanjing, why did you decide to come to Dali? What’s the reason?”

She had only been at this livehouse named ‘Maze’ for a little over a month, and she knew that Xie Hong, who came from the big city, was quite a remarkable person. She had a wide network, plenty of money, and had connections with many bands and independent musicians, but Xie Hong never mentioned anything about her past, so Wang Jie was always curious about how such a decisive and single-minded woman settled in Dali.

Xie Hong initially opened a bar in the ancient city, running it without much excitement for a year, making some money, and then she redecorated and bought equipment, unexpectedly creating a decent livehouse. At first, only local bands and some small bands from the surrounding areas came to perform. Xie Hong worked tirelessly on promotion for over half a year, and the livehouse gradually gained some popularity in the local scene. This time, she invited the recently popular folk band Dirty Praying Mantis to do a special performance.

“No reason,” Xie Hong smiled, “It’s not that complicated to like something.”

Wang Jie nodded, then curiously asked, “Hey, Xie Hong, after Dirty Praying Mantis comes, what other arrangements do we have? I see tickets selling so well, maybe a year from now we could even get Aviator to come.”

“Dream on!” Xie Hong spat, “If it were two years ago when Aviator were just starting out, I could still manage to get them, but now it’s impossible. Just look at how popular Shi Ye is.”

“They’re popular, but it’s not like their peak anymore. After all, Shi Ye and the Boss’s situation is unstable now. Who knows, one day they might actually come,” Wang Jie sighed, “But it’s a shame about Aviator. I really dislike their new lead singer, and Shen Zui has really gone downhill! He’s always going crazy on Weibo, saying crazier things than Shi Ye, acting like he’s a star.”

“But Shen Zui looks decent,” Xie Hong paused and winked at Wang Jie, “Xiao Wang Jie, would you believe me if I told you I know Shi Ye? He even owed me money before.”

Wang Jie chuckled and immediately shook her head, “I don’t believe you.”

“Forget it if you don’t believe me,” Xie Hong played with her nails, “I still don’t care for him now. Hiring a singer who’s off-key, it’s suicide… it’s a pity for the band.”

“It’s a real pity,” Wang Jie scrolled through Weibo, “But no matter what, even a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Look, their tour for the second half of the year, the promotion for it… ‘Aviator’ Galaxy Stroll Tour,’ just hearing the name is amazing. I’m definitely grabbing tickets for the Kunming show, just because of Shi Ye.”

As they spoke, Sheng Xia happened to pass by carrying crates of Snow Beer.

“Their new lead singer Shen Zui is going on his first official tour, so they definitely have to make it look grand,” Xie Hong continued nagging at Wang Jie, “Anyway, I feel like Aviator are on the decline. Shi Ye’s voice is shot, and they’ve found a useless Shen Zui to be the lead singer. I think Aviator are really done this time…”

When Sheng Xia heard that name, his footsteps suddenly stopped. After thinking for a couple of seconds, he turned around slowly.

“Hong Jie.”

Sheng Xia’s voice from behind startled Xie Hong, and she turned around to pat her chest, “Geez, you scared me… What’s up?”

“My headphones ran out of battery,” Sheng Xia approached Xie Hong a bit, making it easier for her to help, “can you grab a spare for me?”

Xie Hong took off Sheng Xia’s valuable headphones and helped him put them away, lecturing as usual, “You listen too loud, that’s why your headphones and ears are ruined.”

Sheng Xia didn’t respond to that comment, but instead slowly said, “Hong Jie, Shi Ye Teacher isn’t finished. Even if he can’t sing, he can still play the guitar.”

Xie Hong burst into laughter after hearing that, “My God! Are you selectively listening to me? As soon as you hear Shi Ye’s name, you snap out of it. I told you not to move heavy things, and you couldn’t hear me? “

Sheng Xia’s face remained expressionless, “No, really, my headphones ran out of battery.” After saying that, he lowered his head and didn’t say anything else, carrying the beer crates to the back.

Watching Sheng Xia’s slender figure, Wang Jie thought for a moment and said to Xie Hong, “I just remembered something… Xie Hong, the night before last, when you weren’t in the shop, there was a couple fighting outside… I could tell by their accent that they were from Sichuan, here for a visit. They were arguing right at the entrance, almost coming to blows, and everyone around was watching. Later, the guy left first, and the girl squatted at our door crying… Sheng Xia was watching the shop with me that night, sitting at the entrance listening to music. He saw the girl crying there, went over and said a few words to her, then brought her into the shop and poured her some hot water. He went to the front and set up the equipment for her to sing ‘Tiger Escape’…”

Wang Jie chattered excitedly for a while, then dug out the small video she recorded that night to show Xie Hong, “A bunch of people were filming him singing outside. I even thought about going to collect ticket money at the door…”

“He probably didn’t think much at the time, just felt that the other person was in a bad mood, so he sang a song for them,” Xie Hong didn’t look surprised at all, nor did she blame Sheng Xia for using the shop’s guitar and equipment, “But ‘Tiger Escape’… I guess that girl might have felt even sadder after listening.”

“You guessed wrong, Xie Hong! After listening, that girl left without saying a word. I was wondering what happened, and she didn’t even thank our Sheng Xia? Just left like that? But not long after, that girl came back with a bunch of baby’s breath flowers, put them at the door of our shop, and then blushed and left,” Wang Jie pointed to the baby’s breath flowers next to them and smiled, “I thought, who has the time to buy flowers, but it turns out it was all thanks to my little brother Sheng Xia.” With that, she flicked her cigarette, “You know what, although Sheng Xia is a bit simple, he’s quite attractive to girls. Every time before a performance, I let him sing a few songs to warm up the crowd, and after he comes down from the stage, a bunch of girls ask him for his WeChat.”

“When he goes to college in the future, he won’t have as much time to warm up the crowd for you.”

“Then it’s up to his mom to let him go to college outside…”

Just as Xie Hong finished speaking, there was a horn outside the shop. Xie Hong smiled and shouted to Li Rong and Sheng Xia, who were sorting things in the back, “The handsome guys are here! Guests are here, help Dirty Praying Mantis move their stuff!”

When Xie Hong excitedly welcomed tonight’s main guests, she hadn’t had her smile on for a few minutes when Dirty Praying Mantis’s lead singer Gao Yuan informed her of some very unfortunate news.

“This situation is really sudden, mainly because Ah Kuan’s illness came on suddenly too,” Gao Yuan apologized, “Yesterday, when we were in the city, everything was fine…”

Xie Hong listened to the whole story, neither flustered nor blaming anyone, and even joked when Gao Yuan kept apologizing, “Is your guitarist incompatible with Dali or something? Just one day here and he gets acute appendicitis.”

Gao Yuan looked apologetic, “There’s nothing we can do now… the show is tomorrow night, and it’s hard to find a replacement guitarist at the last minute. Xie Hong, what do you think we should do…”

Xie Hong had been scrolling through her phone the whole time, not even looking at Gao Yuan. When she finished her cigarette, she frowned and said, “Send me the score and everything for the songs you’re playing tomorrow night, and I’ll find a replacement for you.”

Gao Yuan hesitated, “Xie Hong, with such short notice, even if you find someone really skilled… Besides, our performance, after all, involves ticket sales. If it fails, it’ll be hard for our band to explain.”

The bassist beside him chimed in, “The timing is too tight. This is our first time appearing in Dali, and the performance’s effect is crucial for the band. We can’t tarnish our reputation.”

Xie Hong still appeared calm and composed, “It’s okay, I’ll handle this.” She quickly bowed her head and started tapping on her phone, already making a call as she spoke.

Before leaving to make the call, she dropped one last sentence, “I’ve been in this business for so many years, and I’ve never let any of my tours go wrong. Trust me, I’ll find someone for you. Even if it’s just for an hour, they’ll make sure the performance goes smoothly. You guys rest up and wait.”

With that, she left to make the call.

As she stepped into the scorching sun outside, a deep voice came through the earpiece of her phone.

“Xie Hong?”

She first glanced down at her floral skirt, then looked up at the bustling streets of the ancient city in front of her.

“In Yunnan, aren’t you? I saw from Niu Xiaojun’s Moments that you’re traveling around Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, right?” Xie Hong’s voice smiled, “Do you want to consider coming to Dali to visit your Xie Hong?”

She turned around and saw Sheng Xia sitting by the door, leaning against the antique wooden door, wearing another pair of black headphones, watching a few children blowing bubbles nearby.

The fat orange cat of the shop was sleeping at Sheng Xia’s feet.

In the slightly drowsy afternoon sunlight of the ancient city, both the person and the cat looked somewhat lazy.

After noticing Xie Hong’s gaze, Sheng Xia looked back at her and gestured to his headphones, indicating that he was listening to music and probably couldn’t hear her speaking.

Xie Hong nodded at him and then said into the phone, “Alright Shi Ye, you have to help me this time.” After that, she walked over to Sheng Xia and rubbed the young man’s soft black hair while still speaking on the phone.

“Yes, I have a performance here, and the guitarist has acute appendicitis and can’t go on stage.”

“This is our first official… Yes, changing the timing would be inappropriate.”

“Just treat it like before, come over and help out… just treat it as a little tour.”

Sheng Xia couldn’t hear what Xie Hong was saying, and he was accustomed to Xie Hong rubbing his head, so he didn’t move, closing his eyes and dozing off.

At this moment, he couldn’t hear the popular folk songs being played loudly from the drum store across the street, the hawkers shouting to sell plum juice, or the noisy tourists.

He usually listened to music at a high volume, so at this moment, he could only hear one person’s voice. This voice had accompanied him for many years and had become a part of his life.

The person singing in his ears was the former lead guitarist and current guitarist of the Aviator band – Shi Ye.

He was singing—

“You hesitate, you’re fickle

Maybe the way you’re going is burying your freedom

Honey, you don’t need to be like this

I’ll take you away

Take you to see the summer light

Bring along the wine you love

And a gun that shoots through fear

Even if the world is dangerous

Even if you’re in the dark

Open your eyes and look at me

The world will be happy and bright

…”

After finishing the call, Xie Hong put away her phone.

When she looked down again at the young man sitting by the door, she realized that Sheng Xia had fallen asleep while listening to music.