Chapter 161: Songs Engraved on the Tape

(1)

Stepping under the flickering neon lights, An Jing quietly waved goodbye to her best friends, then turned and hurried out of the garage.

“Zhou Chao, you’re not heading back?”

Fang Qiang picked up the toothbrush and cup from the table, squatting at the doorway to fill them with tap water.

“I’m going to practice a little longer.”

“Suit yourself. I’ve had enough of that song for one afternoon.”

“Didn’t you fight over singing it at first?”

“Come on, after singing it so many times, there’s no feeling left!”

Fang Qiang lowered his head, scrubbing his teeth with a ‘tu lu tu lu’ sound.

On the black-and-white TV, the Evening Gala 315 was playing, the sound carrying some static but still clear enough.

“Toshiba Flat Color TV keeps showing vertical lines, yet the manufacturer refuses to repair them. Replacement costs as much as buying a new TV, and the warranty period is short. Suspected shoddy goods. We must reiterate: foreign products entering our domestic market must uphold their original quality standards. Our people aren’t suckers…”

The sounds of Zhou Chao’s piano mixed with the news anchor’s voice, a little noisy, a little chaotic, but full of the warmth of everyday life.

“Zhou Chao, you might as well stay over tonight!”

“Sure!”

“Haha, I’ll treat you to a midnight snack!”

“I’ll treat you, you’re always broke.”

“I’ve worked part-time for a while, I have some money. At least more than your pocket money. Don’t you have a lot of places to spend now that you’re dating?”

“No worries. Usually, it’s the women who spend on me.”

“I’m used to it, but I still have to say—damn it, you’re such a scumbag!”

“Who says I’m not?”

Zhou Chao grinned, not denying a thing.

***

(2)

March 16th, 2010. Tuesday.

The sun was setting later each day.

When school let out, the sun still hung high in the sky, showing no sign of setting soon.

In front of the garage, the shadow of an old countryside motorcycle stretched a little longer.

A sparrow perched on the seat, about to preen its feathers, but was startled by a loud shout around the corner and fluttered away.

“Hey—!! Ah Qiang! Zhou Chao!”

“What’s with the shouting? Disturbing the peace.”

Zhou Chao stood at the garage door, gulping down cola.

Seeing An Jing run over, he tossed her an ice-cold Fanta.

“Did you deliver her home?”

“Yeah, I saw Xiao Ying home, then rushed right over!”

“Wang Wang went to Zhu Ying’s house again today?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re really getting along.”

Zhou Chao clicked his tongue.

“A bit surprising.”

“It’s a good thing.”

“Hey, what if Wang Wang steals your girlfriend?”

“Oh please, how could that even happen?”

“Heh, the world’s a strange place!”

Fang Qiang rolled his eyes.

“Don’t listen to Zhou Chao’s nonsense. The fact they get along means Wang Wang’s made peace with herself, and Zhu Ying is a good girl who doesn’t care about the past. Treasure her.”

“I know, stop the lecture. Let’s get started!”

“Let’s do this!”

Zhou Chao sat on a bench made from stacked books, just like yesterday.

“Today’s song is ‘Sweet’!”

“Eh, shouldn’t it be ‘An Jing’?”

“Come on, you’re giving your girlfriend a breakup song?”

“It’s just that the song title is my name, so I wanted to sneak it in…”

“Let me filter it out for you, don’t mess around.”

“Aww… what a pity.”

“You’ll thank me later, trust me. Stop stalling, let’s begin.”

“Wait, let me listen once…”

“What’s there to listen to? Once I start playing, you’ll know. The first line goes—I gently take a taste…”

“Oh, oh!!”

Jay Chou’s songs were already famous all over the country at this point.

Even those who weren’t his fans would recognize his tunes.

For one thing, people listened casually, for another, too many stores played them on the street, especially the main tracks from his albums—they were impossible to forget.

***

(3)

March 17th, 2010. Wednesday.

At the school gate, Zhou Chao and Fang Qiang were discussing whether to buy some old-fashioned glass bottle soda from the vendors when An Jing sprinted out of school, with no Zhu Ying behind her.

“You’re not keeping her company today?”

“She told me to go ahead!”

“She’s not mad, is she?”

“Doesn’t look like it?”

Fang Qiang rested his palm on An Jing’s shoulder and said earnestly, “On this point, I think you should listen to Zhou Chao. He’s much more experienced.”

“Yeah, lots of times, when girls say no, they mean yes. You have to listen in reverse. Besides, you haven’t kept her company after school for three days—be careful she gets upset.”

“That’s not true, I’ve always been with her at school…”

“After school is different. That’s your own time, she’ll definitely want to spend it with you, just the two of you.”

“Hey, Zhou Chao, aren’t you the same? Where’s your girlfriend?”

“She lives a bit far, so it’s normal I don’t go.”

“Uh… so I should go back?”

“If you go now, she’ll know it was our idea. That’ll be worse.”

“Huh?”

“Forget it! If she’d start a fight over something this small, then she’s not worth it—isn’t that right?”

“Even if Zhou Chao makes sense, I still think you should test her mood and check.”

An Jing messed up her hair.

“Then… what should I do?”

“Just chill, go straight home, pretend you didn’t notice. Sometimes, if you don’t notice something, it doesn’t become real. If you notice it, then it really is real.”

“Damn, I should take notes of Master’s words.”

Sun Wei clicked his tongue—he had to head home now. His mom had been watching him lately, and if he got back late, there’d be hell to pay.

“Master? More like scumbag…”

Fang Qiang, the old friend, didn’t hold back.

“Haha… How’s being emotionally intelligent the same as being a scumbag, right, A’Wei?”

“That’s right, Ah Qiang, you’re just jealous.”

“Jealous of what!”

“Don’t waste time, hurry, we’ve got to practice two songs today!”

“‘Rice Field’ and ‘Simple Love’. Don’t worry, these two are easy, and they don’t have to be perfect.”

“Hmm?”

“Imperfection is more endearing.”

“That’s your excuse for being a scumbag?”

Fang Qiang glanced at him sideways.

“Haha, you brat, enough fooling around. Let’s go!”

“I’ll go this way, bye!”

Sun Wei waved vigorously at the three.

“Ah, I really wish I could mess around with you guys, but I gotta head back.”

“Go on, then!”

***

(4)

March 18th, 2010. Thursday.

A light drizzle fell from the sky, soaking everything in the city in boundless dampness.

The motorcycle parked under the eaves still got sprinkled with some shimmering raindrops by the wind.

A sparrow with wet feathers carefully preened itself, undisturbed even as An Jing hurried past under her umbrella.

—Maybe the blue raincoat gave it some sense of safety.

“You’re a bit late today!”

Zhou Chao was playing a tune with a strong 80s or 90s vibe.

Seeing An Jing hurry into the garage, he smiled and stopped.

“Whew, I treated Xiao Ying, Xiao Ru, and Zhang Qiqi to ice cream today. Damn, my pocket money is almost gone.”

“Haha, even Zhang Qiqi joined the fun?”

“The moment I said ‘ice cream’, she showed up! And today she’s going to play at Xiao Ying’s house too. Damn… my wallet…”

An Jing patted her damp face, trying to perk herself up.

“Alright, let’s practice the last four Japanese songs today, then record them all at once tomorrow!”

“OK, let’s get to work!”

“You guys go ahead.”

Fang Qiang hoisted an old, yellowed rice cooker onto the table that held the TV. “I’ll make you dinner.”

“Cooking for real?”

“Yep.”

“It’s the first time I’ve actually seen Ah Qiang cook.”

Zhou Chao nodded with a grin.

“Alright, we’re definitely eating here tonight.”

“Zhou Chao, you haven’t been home these days, right…”

“Haha, I went home for a bit yesterday, at least!”

So, inside the garage was the sound of the electronic keyboard and An Jing’s focused singing, and outside, Fang Qiang was making a rhythmic clatter as he stir-fried on the little gas stove…

***

(5)

March 19th, 2010. Friday.

“I turned down Xiao Ying’s invitation today, quick, while we’re out of school early, let’s—”

“Shh—”

Fang Qiang, squatting by the door smoking, made a hush gesture and pointed with his cigarette at Zhou Chao, who was on the phone by the low wall.

“Zhou Chao’s on the phone with his girlfriend, let’s wait a bit.”

“Oh…”

An Jing clutched her chest, steadying her breath.

“His girlfriend finally called today, huh?”

“She called yesterday too. School’s out early today, probably asking him out.”

“Uh oh…”

“Looks like Zhou Chao’s going to turn her down.”

“Ah… I feel a bit guilty.”

“No, you don’t need to.”

Fang Qiang had the air of someone who’d been there.

“You’re rescuing a lost lamb.”

An Jing drooped her eyes, unable to reply for a long while.

Zhou Chao held the BlackBerry, a faint smile on his lips as he gently kicked a stone at his feet.

“Really, yeah, I only love you. I swear to the heavens, I’m just recording songs with my buddies—you know how important this is for them. I promise I’ll spend the whole weekend with you, alright?

“Haha… of course, from morning to night. At night? At night… How about we go to the seaside this time? I’ll take you on my motorcycle.”

“Mm, mm, Xia Xia, you really are the most understanding girl I’ve ever met. Love you. I swear to the heavens, if I ever stop loving you, may I be struck by lightning.”

“Haha… Really, see how sincere I am?”

“You can’t see it? No problem. Tomorrow, I’ll let you see for yourself, look as closely as you want, alright?”

“You want to eat something I made myself? Haha, sure.”

“Surprised I can cook?”

“Alright~ alright~ tomorrow you’ll eat it, I’ll make sure you’re stuffed. Love you, love you forever, muah—?”

“Haha, Xia Xia, you’re so cute. Then, see you tomorrow. Okay, okay, you hang up first. Mm, mm, okay.”

Zhou Chao hung up, and the smile on his face disappeared with the breeze.

But when he looked at An Jing and Fang Qiang, he put on another smile—this time, it looked much more genuine: “Alright, I’m done, let’s get to work!”

“Damn, you don’t even blush when you lie!”

An Jing couldn’t help but shout.

“Master is master, I just can’t compare…”

Fang Qiang sighed.

“If you want to learn, I’ll teach you next time. Alright, let’s get started!”

“Let’s begin, let’s begin!”