Chapter 7: Playing Hard to Get

Late at night, all was quiet.

After peaking between nine and ten, the number of customers in the tavern gradually began to dwindle.

The resident singer, Guo Hai, glanced at the time and stood up to bid Pei Youwei farewell, ready to head home. But just as he was about to leave, Pei Youwei called out to stop him.

“Guo Hai, wait a moment.”

Guo Hai stopped, puzzled. “Something else?”

Pei Youwei smiled. “This is Xu Ye, a summer hire who just started working here. He says he can sing too—could you play guitar accompaniment for him?”

Guo Hai looked displeased. “You want me to play for him?”

The artistic pride of a young musician was clearly acting up.

Hearing the irritation in his tone, Xu Ye smiled and stepped forward. “Brother Guo, then could I borrow your guitar instead?”

Guo Hai gave Xu Ye a once-over and asked disdainfully, “You can play?”

“I’ve learned a bit.”

Although skeptical, Guo Hai couldn’t outright refuse—Pei Youwei was the Madam of the tavern, after all. Refusing to lend the guitar would seem petty.

Reluctantly, Guo Hai handed the guitar to Xu Ye.

Xu Ye took it and slung it over his shoulder with practiced ease. He strummed a few strings, checking the tuning. Satisfied, he headed to the seat where Guo Hai had just been sitting.

Pei Youwei walked to the other side of the counter, resting her chin on one hand, watching Xu Ye with a faint smile.

Zhang Xiaonuan and Zhou Ying also looked at him with curiosity.

The fact that Xu Ye had taken a summer job implied that his family wasn’t well-off. He probably hadn’t taken any music lessons as a child, and high school wouldn’t have left much time to learn guitar either.

They were both wondering now—had Xu Ye been bluffing all along?

Xu Ye sat down, but didn’t start playing right away.

He was thinking about which song to sing and play.

Most of the songs in his mind were from after 2015. He pondered what would be appropriate for his current self to perform in this time.

After a moment—

Xu Ye said, “Madam, I’ll just sing something random then.”

Pei Youwei gave a lazy nod. “Anything’s fine.”

Xu Ye exhaled softly, then began tapping the body of the guitar with the heel of his palm and fingertips, occasionally brushing the strings.

The prelude took shape quickly.

Guo Hai’s eyes slowly widened, staring at Xu Ye in disbelief.

Xu Ye leaned in toward the microphone and began to sing a song he hadn’t sung in a long, long time—An He Bridge.

“Let me see you once more
From south to north
Like eyes veiled beneath the Fifth Ring Road
Please tell me again
About that day
…”

Xu Ye’s singing voice was nothing like his speaking voice—when he sang, his tone carried a deep magnetism, filled with a maturity that didn’t match his age.

He had only sung a few lines when a gleam of surprise flickered through Pei Youwei’s peach blossom eyes.

She hadn’t expected Xu Ye to actually know how to sing and play guitar.

But more importantly…

How did he know this song?

Wasn’t someone his age, a high schooler, supposed to be into artists like Xu Song, Wang Sulong, and Xu Liang?

The few customers still lingering in the tavern were also drawn in by his voice. The entire place fell silent—apart from Xu Ye’s singing, not a sound could be heard. A soft melancholy began to spread through the Music Tavern.

“I know

this world

holds too many regrets each day

so hello

goodbye

…”

Xu Ye sang the last line with quiet emotion, then strummed the final chords before lifting his gaze to the crowd.

When he realized everyone in the tavern was staring at him, Xu Ye suddenly felt a little awkward. “W–Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Xu Ye, your singing was amazing!” Zhang Xiaonuan couldn’t help but praise him.

Xu Ye let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Ah, I was just singing casually.”

“Don’t be so modest.”

Pei Youwei laughed. “You’ve got our Xiaonuan all fluttery.”

Zhang Xiaonuan’s cheeks flushed red. “Madam!”

“See? She’s blushing.”

Xu Ye didn’t respond to that. He handed the guitar back to Guo Hai with a casual “thanks,” but Guo Hai walked off, clearly unhappy.

Guo Hai understood all too well—after Xu Ye sang that song, his own importance at the tavern had plummeted.

To him, Xu Ye’s presence was a serious threat.

Seeing this, Xu Ye asked with concern, “Madam, what about Brother Guo?”

Pei Youwei knew what Xu Ye was getting at. She shook her head and said, “Don’t worry about him. Just like you, he’s my employee.”

With that, Pei Youwei told Xu Ye to take out his phone.

“Do you have WeChat?”

“I do.”

Xu Ye wasn’t used to using QQ, so the first thing he did after getting his phone was install WeChat.

“Let’s add each other. I’ll send you a red envelope later.”

“Huh?”

“I promised to give you a hundred. I’m not going to go back on my word.”

Xu Ye quickly said, “I was just joking around.”

But Pei Youwei replied, “I’m someone who keeps her word. Stop wasting time—bring up your QR code, I’ll scan it.”

…

11:10 p.m.

Xu Ye had just finished his first day at his summer job.

Nightlife in a small city wasn’t exactly exciting. By this hour, most people were already asleep.

But at this very moment—

Gu Mengyao was still tossing and turning in bed.

She clutched her phone tightly, waiting—just waiting for Xu Ye to message her. But since yesterday, their chat history remained frozen at the conversation from the night before last.

Why?

Why!

What on earth was he doing?

Was he really never going to contact her again?

Gu Mengyao couldn’t take it anymore. She picked up her phone and took the initiative to send Xu Ye a message.

Rose Girl: “Are you going to the class reunion tomorrow night?”

Twenty minutes later—

After taking a shower, Xu Ye replied: “We’ll see tomorrow.”

Gu Mengyao quickly followed up: “Are you free tomorrow afternoon? Want to go shopping?”

Xu Ye: “No.”

Still just those cold, indifferent two words.
Gu Mengyao felt inexplicably wronged, the sting welling up inside her—she even felt like crying.

Seeing that Gu Mengyao hadn’t replied, Xu Ye figured she was probably sulking on the other end. She had always been like this back in university—if he so much as said a few words to another girl, she could scold him for half a day. But her? She spent time with all those senior and junior guys all the time, and if he so much as pointed it out, she’d accuse him of being narrow-minded.

The reason Xu Ye hadn’t rushed to delete her was because he wanted her to taste this feeling herself.

Feeling aggrieved, Gu Mengyao naturally needed someone to confide in. Before long, she sent a message to her best friend, Liu Qian.

Rose Girl: “Are you asleep?”

Sickly Lolita: “Nope, I’m binging a drama.”

Rose Girl: “Xu Ye’s changed. The way he treats me now is completely different from before.”

Sickly Lolita: “You reached out to him first?”

Rose Girl: “Mm.”

Sickly Lolita: “How could you not hold back even this much?”

Rose Girl: “I just asked if he was going to the class reunion tomorrow.”

Sickly Lolita: “I think he’s playing hard to get.”

Sickly Lolita: “Wanna try provoking him a little?”

Rose Girl: “How?”

Sickly Lolita: “Didn’t you say Duan Qingjun has a crush on you too? Go to the class reunion with him tomorrow—Xu Ye will definitely get jealous if he sees that.”

Rose Girl: “That’s true.”

The two of them chatted back and forth, planning out the details for tomorrow.

Meanwhile—

Xu Ye was already fast asleep.