Vol 1 Chapter 5.1 (1/2)

1. w.a.n.g Zheng’s Lover

A teenage girl’s heart is like a flower, it will flourish for the person they like and also wither for the person they like.

Some people’s flouris.h.i.+ng and withering are like a red rose under the sunlight, no matter whether it’s opening or closing, it’s all done spectacularly, becoming a legend in the memories of other people.

Some people’s flouris.h.i.+ng and withering are like a wild lily in a mountain valley, No matter if it’s opening or closing, it is silent, becoming a secret buried in time.

I was too concentrated on my own things so only a long time after the speech compet.i.tion finished did I learn that w.a.n.g Zheng didn’t go to technical school.

In that era, in our city, no matter how bad your grades were, you still went to technical school because technical school was jointly run with several large scale state owned enterprises (nowadays it’s called monopolized industries). After graduating from technical school, you go straight into various large state owned enterprises depending on which specialized field you’re in. You’ll definitely have a secure job with a good income and just as good benefits.

So parents with lower expectation’s didn’t worry if their children’s grades were bad because even if their grades were bad, they would still have a secure job as a way out. However, w.a.n.g Zheng has a strong personality, in spite of his parents’ cries and threats, he still wouldn’t go to technical school. At that type, this type of action was completely a kind of suicide.

w.a.n.g Zheng took his drum set and came to ‘Across the Water’, he also found a few friends who were going the path as him, formed a band and started to perform live.

At the time, most of the dance halls in our city played tapes as accompaniment and there pretty much weren’t any halls that used live bands as accompaniment like Brother Li did. Plus, w.a.n.g Zheng was truly handsome and once the lights were on him, he started playing the drums with no restraint like there wasn’t anyone else present making all the girls who watched him become delirious.

Brother Li found a few pretty girls who dressed up like the female leads of Chuing Yao’s television series to sing on stage. Quickly, ‘Across the Water’ became extremely popular in our city. No matter if it was male or female, they all stove to be the first to go to ‘Across the Water.’

However, there’s also no need to think of the dance hall as being too complicated, society’s morals in that era were much better than it is now. Dance halls were only a place to listen to songs and dance. One of my cla.s.smate’s parents went to dance there regularly and they also brought my cla.s.smate and her sister along to play there in the weekends, the grades of both siblings were very good.

But it can’t be said that the dance hall didn’t have any random things, there were p.o.r.nography among the young people but those were definitely hidden under the table.

Because w.a.n.g Zheng performed at the dance hall, Xiao Fel also started going regularly.

The girls dressed and acted completely different to a student at school. Even when saying a simple sentence to a guy, they would say it sweetly and tactfully.

w.a.n.g Zheng became more and more cold towards Xiao Fei to the extent that he really hated Xiao Fei following him to the dance hall. Xiao Fei became confused and her confidence broke down bit by bit. She no longer stopped other people calling her ‘Fei Er’ and subconsciously started dressing like Chen Fei Er from ‘The Flowering Season Of Age Sixteen’, as if she would only be able to surpa.s.s everyone else if she dressed like a celebrity.

I didn’t know about any of these. I was busy striving to succeed in the speech compet.i.tion and busy chasing the shadow in my heart. It was until Xiao Bo told me, “Qi Qi, last night Ge Xiao Fei was drunk and fought with other people. For your sake, Brother Li didn’t say anything but it’s best if you go persuade her not to go to ‘Across the Water’ anymore. She’s too young and she doesn’t have parental supervision so she’s not suited to go to dance halls.

That night, I also went to ‘Across the Water’. Although the school strictly forbade middle school students to enter dance halls, but it was very clear that there were quite a lot of middle school students coming in and out. There were a number of people who I recognized, Li Shen from our cla.s.s, the flower of Cla.s.s (8), all were beautiful teenage girls. The younger girls would have lots of guys chasing them. Not everyone were as pure hearted and desire free like Guan He, between dull textbooks and interesting guys, most of the pretty girls would choose the latter.

On the stage, a girl with long hair, wearing a white silk dress, was singing ‘The Moon Represents My Heart’. Pairs of guys and girls were lighting dancing along on the dance floor. The lighting was soft and picturesque like starlight, s.h.i.+ning on them as they danced.

Candlelight shone from every small table beside the dance floor, it really seemed like you were across the water and no longer in the human world.

It was the first time I entered the dance hall and I didn’t know where to put my feet and legs but I didn’t display this ignorance, instead I walked composedly from table to table, carefully looking for Xiao Fei. Only when I looked clearly did I realize that this wasn’t the ‘Across the Water’ from the ‘Book of Songs’, the twinkling lights weren’t romantic but full of l.u.s.t.

I looked around but couldn’t find Xiao Fei. Just as I was walking past a room, I saw a glimpse on a girl with two small ponytails. The guys around her were pouring her drinks. She had her head lowered and her shoulders were trembling as if she was crying.

I immediately rushed in but a hand suddenly reached out from nowhere and grabbed hold of my wrist. The other hand pressed down on my shoulder and forced me to retreat. After I retreated, the girl on the sofa raised her head. She was around twenty or so and she was giggling, her whole body lightly shaking with laughter and the guy who was playing with her was Little Six.

I nearly just caused trouble.

The person who held my wrist and forced me out of the room was Zhang Jun and standing beside him was his kindergarten teacher girlfriend.

Although he saved me, I didn’t feel grateful and instead, glared at him and threw off his hand.

Zhang Jun coldly asked, “What do you want to do?”

I asked, “Where’s Ge Xiao Fei?”

Zhang Jun said, “Not here.”

However, his girlfriend said, “Ge Xiao Fei? Is it that person who thinks of herself as Chen Fei Er?

I glared at her. She laughed and pointed towards another room, “Over there.”

I qickly ran over and saw Xiao Fei and a group of guys and girls squeezed together. When I say ‘squeezed’, I truly wasn’t exaggerating. The sofa originally could only fit seven or eight people but was currently holding more than ten. The guys and girls were all you hold me and I cuddle you. There were people drinking alcohol and people smoking. Under the dim lighting, the girls who wore makeup all pretty much looked exactly the same.

I didn’t dare believe the scene I saw in front of me and my heart hurt to the utmost. I squeezed over to pull Xiao Fei. I don’t know whether Xiao Fei was drunk or had eaten something she shouldn’t have, she was laughing dazedly. I pulled her but she unhappily pulled away my hand.

The people around her all laughed. Many of them were impatiently and shouted straight out, “Get lost!” “Don’t seek to be beaten!” I didn’t say anything. I pulled Xiao Fei up with force and the guy next to her got angry. He stood up and wanted to hit me but behind me, Zhang Jun said, “Let her go.”

That guy sat back down again. I half carried and half dragged Xiao Fei out. She was in my arms yelling unwillingly, shocking the people who watched. Luckily the manager had seen me before or else the people watching might have clashed with me. The manager helped pull Xiao Fei to the side. Xiao Fei lay on the sofa laughing foolishly.

I looked at her but I didn’t know what to do. How did she change to this? This kind of hairstyle was truly like Chen Fei Er’s but where was Chen Fei Er’s pure and clean temperament? Where was Chen Fei Er’s positive att.i.tude during awkward situations?

I asked the manager, “Is she only drunk or……”

The manager carefully inspected her then told me, “She’s only drunk, she didn’t eat anything bad.”

I was slightly more at ease, “Where’s w.a.n.g Zheng?”

The manager looked at his watch then said, “It’s not yet time for him to come on stage but it’s soon.”

“Does w.a.n.g Zheng have a girlfriend?”

“The female guests who come here all like w.a.n.g Zheng.”

The manager’s answer was very clever. However, I didn’t decide to give her the opportunity to s.h.i.+rk responsibility. I pointed at Xiao Fei and asked, “How does he treat this girl? Has he bullied her before?”

The manager hesitated, I continued, “If Xiao Bo was standing here asking you, would you also be so hesitant?”

She immediately said, “Average, but he’s also a bit impatient with her and treats her worse than anyone else.”

I was playing with a candle from the table and the wax dripped onto my hand but I didn’t wipe it off, instead, I tilted the candle and concentrated on watching it drip into my palm.

The manager sat down by my side and overcautiously said, “w.a.n.g Zheng isn’t a bad person, there are lots of people who like him but he has never used these girls’ feelings to take advantage of them. I think……I think that it’s for her good that he’s treating her badly. I heard the band talk privately, w.a.n.g Zheng is currently saving up money. He wants to go to Guang Zhou in the future. There are lots of people there who also like music and there will be companies looking for him to record.”

I was stunned and dazedly watched the candle wax drip into my palm. The manager quietly said, “I’m going back to work. w.a.n.g Zheng will come on stage after another few minutes, do you want to drink anything?”

“No.”

A girl with two braids was currently on stage singing, ‘Don’t Pick Roadside Wildflowers’, she had a lively stage atmosphere, attracting the people below the stage to laugh along with her.

After she finished singing, the atmosphere in the dance hall calmed down. The older people started to leave one afther the other. More and more young people came on the dance floor.

As I was suspiciously watching the young people gather on the dance floor, suddenly, the sound of a guitar started, and with the drumming, the rock and roll started. The entire dance floor changed from tepid middle aged people to roused youths.

The guys and girls on the dance floor were all very excited. They waved their fists while loudly singing with the bad as if they were venting out everything they’ve been suppressing up to now.

A handsome guy wearing tight black leather pants and a white s.h.i.+rt was currently concentrating all his attention on playing the drums. His eyes were downcast and he had an unconcerned expression. He didn’t look once at the crowd and was only immersed in his own world. His long hair moved with his strong body movements and paired with the calmness on his face, it created a contrasting charm. So a.s.sertive, distinct, hot, yet so indifferent to other people, no wonder the girls all went crazy for him.

In a second, I seemed to understand w.a.n.g Zheng from the music, apart from caring about himself, nothing else exists. No wonder Xiao Fei likes him, how similar he was to her!He acted as if there was no one else and only lived for himself, so although Xiao Fei cared about him, he only cared about his music.

I turned around only to find Xiao Fei no longer on the sofa. I hurriedly squeezed into the dance floor to look for her. Looking at w.a.n.g Zheng, I felt worried, just how much did Xiao Fei like him?

After their song ended, the music on stage changed to ‘Nothing to My Name’.

“I once endlessly asked, when will you come with me, but you always laughed at me for having nothing to my name.”

The crowd became more frenzied, the boys and girls around me all started to shout. It was the first time the me who had never come in contact with rock and roll before understood it’s charm.

I had difficult weaving through the crowd searching for Xiao Fei. When I finally saw her, she was staggering along, trying to climb up the stage as if wanting to grab w.a.n.g Zheng. The guy who had her in his arms appeared and went to hug her. Xiao Fei wanted to push him away and pushed for a few times before finally succeeding. Just as she was about to leave, she was pulled into the guy’s arms again. Xiao Fei turned around and gave him a slap in the face and without restraint, he also gave her a slap back.

Everyone was still reveling in the deafening sounds of the music, and no one saw the chaos happening in the corner of the dance floor. Although w.a.n.g Zheng saw the scene beneath his foot, he was unconcerned and continued drumming indifferently.

I finally squeezed to the front of the stage. That person still wanted to hug Xiao Fei. This time before Xiao Fei moved, I slapped his face. He was dazed for a bit then let out his fury, wanting to hit me. I picked up a steel pipe lamp and considered if I should swing it on his head. He saw that I had something in my hand and stopped. His brothers gathered around and smirked at me.

Because it was at a corner of the dance floor, it was very close to the tables. There were still unfinished alcohol and drinks on the table. In that instant, I had a really evil thought. If I spilled the drinks on their bodies then pulled out the electric wire from the steel pipe lamp and threw it on them, I don’t know what would happen, if it was as the books said, that liquid which were not pure can conduct electricity.

However, Zhang Jun and Xiao Bo didn’t give me this opportunity to verify my thoughts. The two of them blocked my front and back. Xiao Bo’s face was livid. He grabbed the lamp from my hands and pulled me away. The person beside him pulled Xiao Fei along.

Brother Li was in his office waiting for us. When he saw me, he smiled, “Female bandi, how did you plan on tackling a few guys alone?”

I didn’t say anything. He stared at me then looked at Xiao Fei who was now sober, “For w.a.n.g Zheng again! So f.u.c.king annoying! Call w.a.n.g Zheng over!”

w.a.n.g Zheng entered and saw the room full of people but he had no reaction and wore a very calm expression.

Brother Li said, “This girl is our little sister’s friend. Today because of you, our little sister nearly clashed with Little Six’s people. Speaking clearly with her here today, I no longer want to see her in the dance hall in the future.”

I wanted to prevent it but I thought better of it. Although Brother Li’s method was cruel, it was swift and resolute.

Xiao Fei saw w.a.n.g Zheng and immediately smoothed her hair and wiped her tears, she looked both anxious and joyful.

w.a.n.g Zheng sat in front of her, stared into her eyes and said very clearly, “I know you like me but I don’t like you. I didn’t say it out in the past because I thought you were small and I saw you as a little sister so I hoped you would understand yourself. But now you’re making such a ruckus I can’t work at ease which makes me extremely despise you. Can you disappear from my sight and let me work at ease?” After he finished, he looked over to Brother Li, “Is this okay?”

Brother Li nodded, w.a.n.g Zheng turned and left.