The bar music suddenly boomed, resonating loudly in the ears, conveniently drowning out the waiter’s greeting.

Li Jinyu hadn’t heard it, still crouched on the ground playing with the dog while carrying his large guitar on his back. The next moment, another person swayed in through the door with two very visible scars on his face, making his handsome features appear somewhat ferocious. He seemed to be with Li Jinyu. The two exchanged some words, and as they chatted, this person occasionally kicked the yellow dog on the ground, calling it a stray.

The little yellow dog immediately showed an expression of disgust and cautiously shrank into Li Jinyu’s arms.

Ye Meng, however, suddenly froze. How could he be here?

As the waiter reached out to call again, Ye Meng hastily interrupted: “Where’s the bathroom? I’d like to use the restroom first.”

“Go straight to the end, there are signs,” the waiter pointed to the passage beside the dance floor. “What about Brother Yu?”

“I’ll find him myself later.” Ye Meng dropped the words and hurriedly left.

Click.

Ye Meng, suppressing her heartbeat, casually closed the bathroom door. The booming music was shut outside, leaving only the rhythmic drumbeats lingering in her ears. It was much quieter, even her breathing became clearer. She remained calm for a while before taking out her phone to call Method Yan.

Method Yan had just woken up, unable to distinguish morning from evening, her voice was hazy and sticky, with a hint of impatient morning temper: “Miss, what’s the matter now?”

“What is Cheng Kairan doing now?”

Upon hearing this name, Method Yan’s brain instantly jolted awake. If her foot hadn’t been in a steel plate, she would have almost jumped out of bed. “Did you run into him?”

Ye Meng made an affirmative sound. “He’s with Li Jinyu.”

“How would Li Jinyu hang out with him? Kaikai isn’t just an ordinary hooligan now,” Method Yan said. “He’s made a name for himself now, managing the old town district. It’s hard to explain exactly what happened over the phone, but the relationship is very complicated. But you know, after I got married, my husband wouldn’t let me associate with them. Now when we meet, it’s just a nodding acquaintance.”

Initially, the three of them had a good relationship. Cheng Kairan was three years younger than Ye Meng and was Method Yan’s little brother back then.

Ning Sui County wasn’t large, with an ancient canal running northwest. The west city was the new district, with towering buildings and widened roads. The north city was the old district, with water gateways and gray-white low buildings. Ye Meng was most familiar with this area before—a street lined with internet cafes, game halls, KTVs, and hotels. During the first three years of high school, she spent all her weekends there, playing games surfing the internet, or squatting at the bridge with Method Yan, watching people fight with their flip-flops flying.

At that time, Cheng Kairan was just a small-time troublemaker who would slap people’s heads with slippers. Who would have thought he’d come to this today? Ye Meng didn’t expect it, so when Method Yan dropped out of school to work in Shenzhen, Ye Meng was determined to study hard because with no one to protect her, studying well was her only option.

But Cheng Kairan continued to be wild, fighting, causing trouble, chasing girls, and stealing other people’s girlfriends. Ye Meng was innocently implicated several times because of this. At that time, during her senior year, a group of town hooligans came to the school looking for her, causing her elderly grandmother to be called to school every day to receive lectures from teachers. Ye Meng then cut ties with him, no longer willing to associate with him. Even if she encountered him being beaten on the street, even if he begged her for help, she pretended not to see anything. At that time, she was wholeheartedly focused on getting into college. She no longer wanted to live that carefree, unrestrained life. Who knew that Cheng Kairan was beaten half to death at that time, and it was said his face was disfigured?

“Meng Meng,” Method Yan was quite serious, “leave there now, and don’t let him see you at all costs.”

Ye Meng’s heart immediately chilled: “The scars on his face are from that time?”

“Yes, he used to be a good-looking kid, now with several scars. Listen to me, go back first, don’t let him see you. He knows you’re back from Beijing and has been asking around about you these past few days.”

“Why doesn’t he just come to my house and confront me?” Ye Meng asked.

Method Yan sighed: “Years ago, he kept an eye on your old ancestral house in Nantang Temple every day. Later, your grandmother reported him to the police, and he finally stopped. He’s not just an ordinary hooligan now; he knows the rules of the streets. No matter how much he hates you, he won’t trouble your family. But he’s already made it clear that you must pay the price for this. He’s obsessive, and it’s partly my fault. If I had known about this when I came back, I would have resolved the issue between you two, and it wouldn’t have been so troublesome. Who knew that after years of being looked down upon in town, he’d finally make something of himself, and his character would become increasingly extreme? Listen to me, avoid him for now. When I get out of the hospital, I’ll help you settle this. Otherwise, with his current temperament, he truly won’t let you off easily.”

Ye Meng was now caught between a rock and a hard place. Return to Beijing? She was unwilling to follow Gou Kai around like a dog anymore. Stay in town? Cheng Kairan would probably ruin her. Fortunately, heaven opened its eyes—the women’s restroom was separated from the bar’s parking lot by just a river. She saw Cheng Kairan walking briskly toward a black Mercedes. Only after Cheng Kairan’s car had driven out of the parking lot did Ye Meng leave the restroom.

Outside, the music had changed to a ballad, flowing quietly through the hall.

The bar had suddenly filled with people; it seemed two bands had arrived and were sitting on the sofas drinking and chatting.

The hall lights were particularly bright, with white spotlights shining from all corners. In the center of the dance floor were four long sofas, all packed with people—young musicians with diverse styles, some standing, some sitting, both men and women, with various hairstyles: mohawks, red, yellow, green, blue, white hair, dressed to catch attention. Only Li Jinyu, dressed cleanly in all black, was hidden in the crowd. If one didn’t pay attention to his appearance and demeanor, he would be the most easily overlooked person.

He was no different from the others, with his large black guitar case placed beside his feet. He was even lazier, leaning back on the sofa with his legs sprawled open, every inch of his body’s lines just right, without any excessive stickiness. And with this sitting posture, some men’s positions would arch into some unattractive curves, but he didn’t have that. Even because of his intolerant demeanor, Ye Meng didn’t dare to focus on that area.

He had changed into a black shirt at some point, probably a 99-yuan free shipping item from Taobao, but somehow it looked quite quality on him. The sleeves were casually rolled up to his forearms, and from a distance, she could only see his earrings faintly glinting in the light. A clean, sinewy arm was draped over the back of the sofa as he talked to someone while carelessly spinning his phone around and around. He didn’t look like a singer but rather like a rich young master wandering through flowers without a leaf sticking to him.

Ye Meng stared for a while and decided to take a sip of her Long Island Iced Tea and then pay the bill and leave. Unexpectedly, just as she bit the straw, a male waiter enthusiastically came over and asked her: “Miss, would you like to request a song? Is there a band you like tonight?”

“What band?” Ye Meng asked indistinctly, with alcohol in her mouth.

“She’s Brother Yu’s fan, came to find Brother Yu,” the waiter who had taken her order earlier very kindly explained for her, and then very considerately shouted to the man sitting in the crowd who wasn’t a young master but looked like one: “Brother Yu! Your fan.”

This shout directly attracted the attention of all the musical talents on the sofa!

Ye Meng felt that the expression on her face could completely replace the colorful light balls above the dance floor and start working.

Li Jinyu, as if interrupted, turned his head to look at her. “Don’t know her, wrong person.”

Ye Meng wanted to say, forget it.

But the people on the sofa, triggered by something, became extremely excited when they heard it was Li Jinyu’s fan. “Come on, Jinyu, go over and buy the little sister a drink.”

Little sister?

Ye Meng was very displeased and walked over in three quick steps, stretching her face, and said to Li Jinyu: “Come out for a minute, little brother.”

Ye Meng found it amazing how, no matter what messy crowd Li Jinyu was thrown into, he was always the cleanest and freshest-looking one, standing out like a crane among chickens. Even if he didn’t speak, as long as he smiled, you couldn’t ignore him.

His eyes were like clean black glass beads, clear and bright. Just looking at them cleanly, his brow bone and the corners of his eyes revealed a hint of weariness. He leaned there, too lazy to move, very displeased: “Who are you calling little brother?”

“Fine, Li Jinyu, come out with me for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

Just then, Li Jinyu’s phone rang. It was Jiang Luzhi.

The two stood at the entrance of the bar, with a crowd of people behind them, craning their necks and whispering.

“What’s going on? Is she a fan?”

“Seems like she’s forcing Jinyu to break up.”

“…What!! Brother Yu is cheating?!”

None of them had expected this.

Of course, Ye Meng had never expected that she would witness the entire breakup process between Li Jinyu and Jiang Luzhi. Although Method Yan had said Li Jinyu had already become an ex-boyfriend, it seemed that Li Jinyu had unilaterally announced this to the old lady. From Jiang Luzhi’s tone, it seemed she was only contacting Li Jinyu for the first time today.

However, before taking the call, Li Jinyu shamelessly asked Ye Meng: “Want to hear how I broke up with my girlfriend?”

Ye Meng immediately said: “No need, I came to…”

Li Jinyu didn’t care whether she needed it or not. With one hand indifferently in his pocket, he answered and immediately put it on speaker, not even looking at her, coldly saying to the person on the other end: “What’s up?”

A familiar female voice came from the other end, and Ye Meng found it quite ironic. She hadn’t expected fate to be so interesting.

Jiang Luzhi seemed to be in a hurry when making this call. “I just saw your WeChat. I’m sorry, Jinyu, I got back together with my ex-boyfriend.”

Li Jinyu responded indifferently: “Congratulations.”

Jiang Luzhi said: “I’ll explain the details when I come back, but I really can’t let him go. I’ve already registered the marriage with him. I’ve wronged you in our relationship, and I’ll personally apologize to Grandmother when I come back.”

Li Jinyu: “Okay, anything else?”

The “okay” sounded strangely obedient.

“No, I’m sorry I didn’t inform you immediately these past few days. It’s been chaotic,” Jiang Luzhi sounded extremely apologetic.

After the call ended, Li Jinyu locked his phone, gave Ye Meng a cold glance, and said: “Satisfied now? Stop bothering me.” Then he walked inside.

“Wait,” Ye Meng had just called out when dazzling headlights suddenly flashed past. She narrowed her eyes and saw a Mercedes slowly driving in on the small road outside the bar. She didn’t pay much attention at first, since there were too many Mercedes in town. But instinctively, she glanced at the license plate, and if she remembered correctly, it should be Cheng Kairan’s car.

Ye Meng no longer cared about apologizing and ran back to the bathroom without another word.

But unfortunately, as soon as Cheng Kairan got out of the car, he strode towards the bathroom. He had seen Ye Meng.

The mountain wind howled around the bar, cold air rushed in through the windows, making the partition doors buzz, and Ye Meng, with sweat seeping down her back, pressed against the door panel, not daring to breathe, afraid that Cheng Kairan would smell her and rush in.

The waiter was desperately negotiating with Cheng Kairan: “Not appropriate, not appropriate, this is the ladies’ room, really not appropriate.”

Cheng Kairan was now like a pressure cooker about to explode: “I just want to take a look, just to see if it’s my friend!”

Ye Meng knew well the consequences of being caught by Cheng Kairan tonight. With Method Yan not around, Cheng Kairan would surely kill her. Her heart was racing so fast, and her ears were buzzing so loudly that she could barely hear what the people outside were saying.

“I just want to take one fucking look! If it’s not who I’m looking for, I’ll leave immediately!”

Cheng Kairan’s voice had reached the peak of impatience. Ye Meng felt as if thousands of flaming arrows were shooting at her!

Ye Meng felt her entire body’s pulse tensing as if about to explode. She steeled herself, thinking maybe she should go out and talk to him.

Tap tap.

Someone lightly knocked on the window.

In the dim night, Ye Meng saw the shadow of a slender hand, its index finger slightly beckoning to her.

She slowly walked over and pushed the window open.

Li Jinyu was leaning lazily against the wall by the window with a composed expression. “Can you swim?” He pointed down at the dirty little river below, which was covered with plastic bags and some unknown rotting materials.

Ye Meng: “Why don’t you show me how it’s done?”

Li Jinyu: “Very well, consider me meddlesome.”

Ye Meng: “Do you have any other ideas?”

Li Jinyu leaned against the wall, pulling out a pair of black gloves from somewhere, and began to put them on leisurely: “Yes, call me ‘big brother’ and let me hear it. Because I hate when people call me ‘little brother’ in front of my friends.”