Thirty

  In the concert hall, he didn't see Ai Qing or Liu Qing. The venue wasn't as crowded as before and seemed a bit deserted. He also didn't know why, but probably because he was busy with travel agency matters, he arrived late and had her sit down without doing much preparation work before going on stage to perform.

  Every song he sang today was very warm and it's clear that he had specially selected them. His voice is really good to listen to, and for some reason, it reminds her of the Greek myth about the Sirens who lure sailors with their enchanting voices, causing them to lose their souls, and he is like a male Siren, while she is willing to be the sailor under his spell, even if it means crashing into the rocks and losing herself.

  When he sang, he stared at her with his eyes wide open and focused. She didn't avoid him either. As another song came to an end, he took the microphone and spoke: "Today is my girlfriend's birthday, I want to sing a happy birthday song for her and end today's concert early, hoping everyone will support and understand."

  She was completely stunned, wondering how he knew. The audience below, mostly sympathetic to Xiaoye, naturally followed suit and jeered. Someone shouted: "Go back early, every moment is worth a thousand dollars." She was so embarrassed that she wished she could bury her head under the table, fortunately, he didn't mention her name.

  He waved his hand to signal everyone to quiet down, gazing at her with deep affection as he began to sing "Happy Birthday" in a clear voice. The familiar tune, which had become ordinary due to its frequent use, took on a different kind of moving quality under his rendition.

  She was blushing as he pulled her out of the temple with big strides. He took her to a street in the night market to eat, knowing which family's liangpi sauce was the most authentic and which family's braised dishes were the most fragrant. He said that in the past, most of his money had been spent on food.

  After eating, she sat by the river and blew wind. She asked him why he hadn't thought of finding a job after graduation. He patiently explained: "Liu Qing knew Ai Qing in her sophomore year. Don't look at Ai Qing's quiet appearance, but at that time, she was really pursuing Liu Qing crazily, driving to wait for her at the school gate every day and sending flowers and gifts. Wherever Liu Qing went, she followed with a car. It was quite sensational in our grade at that time. At first, Liu Qing didn't respond, but later suddenly took a liking to them until now, I don't know why."

  She listened and listened, then couldn't help but ask: "Weren't you talking about yourself? Why did you bring up Liu Qing again?"

  He patted her head like a patient father and said, "Don't worry, I'll get there soon."

  "I studied economics and management just like Liu Qing, but I didn't like it. I liked music and singing. After graduating with difficulty, I didn't want to find a job that matched my major. About two years ago, Liu Qing called me one day and asked if I wanted to go to Ai Qing's bar to sing songs, and I agreed. Since then, I've been singing at night and sleeping during the day, and with the income, I don't want to look for other jobs."

  He suddenly asked her, "Do you know Ai Qing's real name?" She said she didn't know. He mentioned a name and she was startled. Sometimes in the newspaper, she would see this name. For an instant, she somewhat understood why Liu Qing followed him without any fame or prestige.

  "In Wucheng, I still have a relative, which is my grandmother. My grandfather used to work in a construction company and was a small leader. When he passed away, he left behind one set of houses each in Jiangbei and Jiangnan. We always lived in the house in Jiangbei. The location of the house in Jiangnan was later bought by real estate developers who built commercial housing. After it was completed, they compensated us with a new set of houses based on the area, which is the house we live in now."

  She suddenly understood why the house and everything in it looked new.

  "Do you know like frost?" he asked her as she looked at him.

  "My grandmother said that the house in Jiangnan is for me to get married and have a new home in the future." As soon as she heard this, her face turned red and she turned her head away. He moved over her face and said: "Really, really, but because there was no prospect yet, I rented it out first to earn some money for getting married. The result was that it had a bad influence and it took a long time to rent out. So my grandmother changed her mind and said forget about renting it."

  "What happened next?" she asked curiously.

  "It wasn't long after I moved in that you showed up out of the blue, right?" He smiled. She furrowed her brow and thought to herself that it was probably because Liu Qing had previously gotten the rental information from his grandmother, but then they didn't end up renting it. After she got the address, she hadn't even called ahead before recklessly showing up, only to be met by him...

  She told him what was on her mind, saying: "If I had called you first, you would have definitely told me that the house is not for rent, and then you wouldn't have seen me and I wouldn't have met you." He thought to himself and felt that she made sense, as if there was something destined in the fate that she would appear before him again. So he smiled slyly and said: "That's not necessarily true, maybe when I hear your sweet voice, I'll invite you over to meet up."

  "She snorted: 'Ah, this is why you're willing to go the extra mile, aren't afraid of hardship, and moved from Jiangbei to Jiangnan just so you can conveniently date girls by yourself. Otherwise, how would Little Tang know this address?'"

  She was right about him. He smiled wryly, thinking that it's not true that girls become stupid when they're in love. Apparently, it's not always the case. "I've never had a girl stay overnight before."

  "That's what I said, you didn't let her stay overnight but still went on a date with her." She wouldn't give in.

  He quickly hugged her and kissed her to end this troublesome topic.