The demolition company that had been causing quite the Megatron-like ruckus was finally sent away by the others by the time Lu Yan arrived back with the motorbike. He got off the vehicle and returned the keys to Wei-ge, telling him, “Here, Wei-ge. Have your son back.”
Wei-ge took the keys and went to his beloved motorbike, walking around it and carefully scrutinized everything, from the handle to even the back tires.
“How was it?” Lu Yan asked as he twisting his wrists. “Have you collected all of Aunt Zhang’s medical fees?”
After Wei-ge had confirmed that there weren’t any issues with his motorbike, he tied his keys back on the side of his waist and chuckled. “Revindicated two thousand and five. When your Wei-ge strikes, is there still anyone who would dare to leave their debts unpaid?”
“Dope1 ah,” Lu Yan praised.
[1]: Original: “牛逼啊。”, I felt like ‘dope’ is the most suitable for the original text. 牛逼啊 basically means cool or awesome, which is quite difficult to interpret in English.
Wei-ge check the time. “Then I’ll be off to work now,” He said. “Will you be performing tonight? If you aren’t, then how about we brothers have a drink tonight? It’s been a while since we last drank together.”
Aside from the few irregular part-time jobs that he had during the daytime, for the most part, Lu Yan works his shifts in the night, usually going to the bar once the sky has darkened.
Lu Yan replied, “Maybe some other day. I still have to run the stage tonight.”
He had made it a part of his routine to go to the bar at least two hours earlier to prepare in advance, and once his shift time was up, he would begin packing up everything immediately as well.
After he put on his pants – a pair of low-waist cowboy jeans with a loosely fastened metal belt haphazardly looped around his waist – he continued to rummage through his closet for something to wear on his upper half. It suddenly occurred to him that a lot of accidents and mishaps have happened just in this day alone, and as a result, he was unable to finish a lot of the important things that he had on hand.
Lu Yan shoved a vest that he found back into the closet, and soon, he began to scroll through his chat records, looking for a contact named ‘Sun Qian’ and then pressed call. After two rings, the call successfully connected.
As soon as he answered, the thunderous, ear-shattering disco music could be heard in the background. Because of how loud the music’s volume was, a few noises were even clearly heard through the phone: “Co…co…com…community let’s rock2! Purchase a wristwatch, purchase a wristwatch! This old man is over here partying3! It’s no good if you don’t rock it up!”
[2]: original: 射射射社会摇. Try my best to translate from original text meaning, 射 has the similar Pinyin as 社 but different meaning. The author is trying to depict blur staggering noises transmitting through the phone caused by the blaster.
[3]: Original: 趴体, I took this from the original novel, 趴体 means ‘sprawling on the body’ which doesn’t make any sense. But however 趴体 has similar pronunciation in Pinyin as the English phrase party, so I am guessing the author is trying to interpret ‘partying’ in a Chinese accent-like tone.
“….”
Lu Yan distanced the phone from himself a bit: “Qian-ge.”
Then, a man’s voice suddenly came through from the other end of the phone, speaking in a much louder volume compared to the disco music being blasted, exclaiming in a tone full of anger: “Wait a minute! I’m a bit busy here!” The voice paused for a moment.
“F*ck, you still dare to smoke weed in Laozi’s shop… Police, throw this person out! Throw him out further away, throw him eight f*cking streets away from our pub… Lu Yan, what business do you have here?”
Lu Yan glanced at the calendar and saw that it was May 1st today. Before he could cut to the chase, he decided to beat around the bush a little more, saying, “Qian-ge, wishing you a happy Labor’s Day this May 1st.”
At that moment, Sun Qian was standing outside by the pub’s entrance. He was extremely annoyed, having just gotten rid of the moron who had been hiding in his pub’s bathroom to smoke weed.
“Bullsh*t.” Sun Qian replied, not in the mood to tolerate any of Lu Yan’s jokes. “Lu Yan, if you have something to say, then just spit it out!”
Then, Lu Yan asked, “So, like… say, if I permed my hair, will I get reimbursed?”
“What…?”
Sun Qian established his bar near the business district of Xiacheng. Although he had enough management experience, the policies in these modern times were becoming stricter and stricter, and it wasn’t easy to even open a bar at all, what with all the demands it needed to attend to. If a bunch of young people sneaking out at night and deciding to gather in his bar to smoke weed, then he can’t wash himself clean even if he jumped into a river. If you’re careless, then you must receive a yellow card4.
[4]: Penalty cards are designated equipment for referees in football matches. Basically, a warning or a penalty.
He had a lot of affairs that he was busy trying to take care of, so for a moment, he couldn’t remember what this “permed my hair” incident was.
Until Lu Yan reminded him: “It’s that childish hairstyle with the flashy colors and all. The one that looks like a ball of flames from afar, then a cleaning mop from a close distance. I advise you to have a more humane conscience on our behalf.”
Lu Yan and his recruited band, these four youths have performed in his bar for nearly four years.
Last week, it had been him who suggested that the young man should switch to this more unique hairdo.
But….
“Qian-ge?” Sun Qian was contemplating on it for a moment until a bartender exited out of the bar. Because of this intrusion, he once again forgot what he was about to say.
Sun Qian felt an approaching headache and waved his hand at the bartender, signing to him to sit still. “How is that hairdo ‘childish’?! If you can describe it in a single word, it would be ‘handsome’! In two, it would be ‘marvelously handsome’! Back when I played for a band around your age, these kinds of stuff were a hit! You new generation people just don’t know what aesthetics to appreciate… Anyway, didn’t you guys cancel your performance for tonight?
“Canceled?”
“That’s right. Just a few moments ago, Da Ming and Xunzi called me and told me that they weren’t coming… I thought you guys had discussed about it and came to this decision, so just to be sure, I also asked them if you knew about this cancellation. Though they hesitated to answer for a long time, they said that you already knew.”
Sun Qian continued to explain, but he was met with silence from the other party.
He wanted to ask more about the situation, but he only managed to finish half of his sentence before sighing: “You guys…”
By the time the call ended, Lu Yan didn’t even understand what else Sun Qian was talking about, and he also didn’t remember what he told him in reply.
His brain short-circuited for a while.
His phone buzzed twice, and it displayed two messages that had the same words written on them.
One from Huang Xu, the other from Jiang Yaoming:
[Ge, we’re both planning to quit.]
Li Zhen, another person who had just learned about the news: [???]
F*ck, what the hell is happening! Why are those two spouting nonsense!
Is it April Fools today?
But today is obviously Labor’s Day!
Are you f*cking for real?!
Lu Yan looked at his phone screen and shut his eyes. After opening them again, he sent out a reply: [Stop messing around. It’s real.]
He further added two more messages:
[Call them both up and tell them to explain what’s going on, face to face.]
[Same old place.]
After Lu Yan sent those messages out, he no longer waited for Li Zhen’s response, and he set his phone aside.
His gaze landed on the mottled wall he was standing against. On it, there was a poster – or, well, it was supposed to serve as a poster, but really, it was just a photo that he took and printed out.
The scene in the poster showed the bar with neon lights illuminating the place from above. One could see the four people who stood on the narrow stage, the lights falling down on them and giving them a faint glow.
The crowd waving their hands beneath the stage.
In this dimly lit picture, the crowd couldn’t be seen, and one could only imagine their own version of what those cheers might have sounded like.
Hung in front of the stage was a banner.
Identical to a flag, on it was written these four English letters: Vent.
On the bottom of the poster, these words were written:
Band members: Lead Vocalist, Lu Yan; Drummer, Li Zhen; Guitarist, Huang Xu; Bassist, Jiang Yaoming.
The ‘same old place’ that Lu Yan mentioned earlier was a compartment in this stall located along the way to the bar.
It was their usual hang-out place where they would often spend time in after their performances to drink and converse, discuss the recent news around them, and spew out their gaudy trash talks.
When Huang Xu and Jiang Yaoming arrived at their meeting place, the skewers that they ordered had already been grilled for a while. Li Zhen alone had downed two glasses of liquor, hugging the bottle and shamelessly venting out his muddled emotions: “You could’ve done this earlier or even later, but why did you have to tell us this just before our performance was about to begin… If you have any problems, can’t we just discuss it properly together? Ah? Isn’t this what we brothers have always done?”
Lu Yan, who was sitting next to him, shook off the ashes from the butt of his cigarette and remained silent.
“Lu-ge, Li-ge.” Huang Xu wasn’t too tall in terms of height, and he was rather thin. He called out to them hesitantly, and then awkwardly added, “Lu-ge, your permed hairstyle is rather… haughty.”
Jiang Yaoming stood behind him and nodded in agreement: “It really makes you look aloof. I’ve been staring at it from a distance.”
The four people sat at the table. The atmosphere surrounding them was tense, and everyone was quiet.
Even then, they still knew each other and have worked with each other for four years. Lu Yan soon broke the silence, and asked, “What’s the matter? Let’s talk.”
Both Huang Xu and Jiang Yaoming lowered their heads. No one spoke. However, after a while, Huang Xu finally began to explain: “My mother had fallen ill…”
These two were deeply similar to each other. At the mere age of sixteen, they carried their instruments behind their backs and wandered around everyone. Their families strongly opposed their decisions; nobody understood what being in a band meant, nobody understood what ‘Long Live Rock and Roll’5 meant.”
[5]: represents the famous line in his song " My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) ": "Rock'n' roll can never die".
But, while life teaches you to be courageous and determined, it also continuously teaches you to just give up.
How many years has it been since this band was formed?
And how long more will it still hold out?
In the past, he was so full of passion – practicing and rehearsing, day to night. Yet now, as he lay on his bed, his eyes wide open and unable to fall asleep, a thought began to grow, and he didn’t know when it started, or for how long it’s been there.
All he knows is that it’s telling him: Just forget about it.
Disbandments weren’t a rare occurrence.
In fact, it’s common. It happens way too often.
In all these years he’s been in the underground music community, numerous bands have come and go. Appearing, recruiting; leaving, disbanding.
One’s ideals and imaginations can grow to that of such an immense size, but reality is, and will always be, limited. When you’re young and inexperienced, you can still chase after these ideals freely and fully – what was there to be afraid of, after all? And yet, once those years have passed, you will come to a realization that you can never reach those ideals. There will always be an invisible thread binding your body back to reality, and with one forceful tug, you’ll have no choice but to turn around and come crashing back.
Lu Yan didn’t know how many cigarettes he had smoked. “...If it’s for the sake of auntie, then it’s fine if it means she’ll be well. Have you made your decision yet?”
Huang Xu abruptly lifted his head in surprise, and soon couldn’t hold it in anymore, letting his tears roll down his cheeks, choking out, “Lu-ge…”
Lu Yan had no idea how to handle this kind of emotional outburst, so he stood up and went to get some liquor from the refrigerator. “Speak properly. Don’t sob in front of Laozi.”
Li Zhen put down the bottle that he was hugging earlier and spoke up: “What’s the use in wailing like this? Outsiders might misunderstand and think that we’re shooting a tragic drama at eight o’clock in the evening.”
This farewell dinner went on until ten o’clock.
The barbeque stall’s business was booming at this time in the night. Some children who were in a gathering together chased each other inside their booth. In truth, Xiacheng District was regarded as the most underdeveloped area in this city. The only advantage that it had over the other areas was that one could clearly watch the starry sky at night.
After the meal, Lu Yan didn’t take the public bus to head back, but instead, he walked down the streets. Having drunk a lot of liquor, he soon felt nauseous halfway through his walk, so he bent down and vomited on the side of the street.
Maybe he had drunk a little too much, because when he looked at his reflection on the street lamp, he almost had a vision, clearly recalling his first meeting with Huang Xu and Jiang Yaoming four years ago.
In all honesty, those two’s performances didn’t really stand out too much. In fact, the reason why he and Li Zhen met those two was because they failed their auditions for the other bands they signed up for. However, despite that, they were filled with energy, their young blood still gushing about in their veins. When it came to music, their eyes had a sparkling shine in them.
After that brief memory, it was immediately followed by another scene, one that took place earlier in the barbeque stall. Huang Xu’s gaze was devoid of any of that energy he used to have, and he spoke gloomily: “The return trip train ticket has already been bought. It’ll arrive within these three days. My mother’s health has stabilized for now. My family had also found a job for me in the city, it’s an auto-repairing job… This was the course I took back in vocational school, though I wasn’t able to finish my study. The salary is also pretty stable.”
Lu Yan propped himself up with the handles near the roadside. The street in front of him almost felt like an illusion. The strong, blurry contrast between the light and the darkness almost felt unreal.
He wasted another hour walking around before he could return to the district. In that short period of time, he reminisced, and remembered a lot of things.
Four years ago, during the summer, their band had just been formed. If you had mentioned who they were to anyone, nobody would be able to answer. They were a no-name band, they were so few yet they couldn’t even work well together, and if one were to describe this kind of work relationship that they had with each other through a sentence, it would have to be: Get out of the way, this is Laozi’s stage!
From 2015 to 2019, they practiced in an abandoned underground tunnel just beyond the outskirts of the city, persistently rehearsing and rehearsing, not even pausing to see if it was daytime or nighttime already. Like this, they recklessly created their little musical commotions, in the confines of this secret, dark, and cramped tunnel.
Lu Yan reached the Seventh District’s entrance gateway, and among the dilapidated buildings near it, one could see that the lights on Unit 3, Room 6, were on.
He went upstairs and entered through the door.
Once Lu Yan stood in the shower, he finally sobered up, and immediately felt like he had been pulled back to reality as the ice-cold water poured down on his head. After showering, the brush-up hairstyle that he had on his head drooped down in defeat, dripping wet with water.
This stupid, flashy hairstyle that he even permed his hair for wasn’t even of use in the end, as their performance had been canceled. He didn’t know what he felt in his heart right now.
Perhaps it was regret.
He should’ve known earlier on to waste his efforts on something else.
Lu Yan had no plans of drying his hair after showering. Instead, he propped his hand against the rim of the tub, grasping a trimmer in the other as he measured his hair and determined where it was best to begin cutting.
His hair had been dyed halfway from the bottom, the reddish-violet gradient color blending with his originally dark hair color. However, the dye wasn’t applied very carefully, and it resulted in some unevenly colored strands appearing in his hair.
Shredded strands of hair stuck on his face, and he splashed water to rinse it off, before opening his eyes to glance at the mirror.
After trimming his hair short, only the end tips of his hair were left with the color of the dye, which could be easily left unnoticed. Lu Yan, who hadn’t trimmed his hair short for over a couple of years, touched his nape that was now being exposed to the air, and he felt very unused to it.
Translator: Piggybank
Editor(s): Rum, Muku
Proofreader: Rae