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{ Shut Out }

[That kid who plays the bass is definitely going to become famous.]

Zhou Huai later suspected that this message was pure poison. Less than three seconds after receiving it, the livehouse1 suddenly plunged into darkness, and the performance halted abruptly. The excitement and revelry that was on high just now were instantly sucked into a black hole. Absolute silence fell all over, and everyone's emotions were stuck in a vacuum.

"Shit? The power is out?"

This sentence broke the shell of the encompassing silence, and noisy discussions surged out.

It isn't the power that's out, it is the future of this new band on stage that is cut-off, Zhou Huai thought.

"My wristband's light is off, so is my vote invalid? Will it be restored after the power comes back?"

"What if it doesn't get restored? The audience have only three votes, and I still want to vote for my favorite band!"

"If it doesn't get restored, then I won't revote. It's just their bad luck."

In a live performance, atmosphere is everything. Once the spark is extinguished and the emotions are left hanging on, even Daluo Shenxian2 can't save it.

What's more, all the votes that determine success or failure will now be reset to zero.

It's really bad luck.

The closed livehouse has now become a stuffy and dark black box, with criticisms piling up like feet stepping on each other, making people more and more agitated.

As per the message, "the kid who plays the bass" was still standing on the stage. Compared with his other two bandmates, he looked as calm as an outsider, with one hand holding the guitar neck and the other hand casually resting on the microphone, his fingers even tapping the beat lightly.

Flashlights flashed from the side of the stage, most likely the staff checking the issue of power-cut. The faint, narrow beams of light wavered here and there, illuminating the musicians. Their faces couldn't be illuminated clearly, but the vague outline of a figure was striking enough.

It is hard not to become famous with such good talent and conditions, just like how Qin Yiyu3 was back then.

Unfortunately, they got unlucky and were thwarted by an unexpected event, which was beyond their control. If they can't pass the auditions, this band is doomed to fail.

Suddenly, the hand on the microphone raised slightly, and the fingers moved towards the bustling crowd below the stage, like a wave, or rather like some ambiguous gesture.

And the target he was aiming at... seemed to be right next to Zhou Huai.

Just now, when he was listening to his live performance, a thought had flashed through his mind – this guy is taciturn, but his hands, just like his eyes, seem to be able to speak.

This made Zhou Huai recall the scene when he first met this person five days ago.

That day he had gone to the post office to pick up a mail and had received a phone call on the way, so he drove back to his tattoo shop while joking around.

"He did not come to collect debts, but he still came to find you all the way to your doorstep..."

When he was almost at his destination, he stopped the car at the entrance of the alley, opened the envelope and took a look at it. His heart sank, and without saying a word, he stuffed it back and hid the envelope in the center console drawer.

In order to avoid being discovered, his tone became much more exaggerated than usual: "It seems you have encountered a stalker, ah!"

As he got off the car, a sweet fragrance hit his nose.

"Wow, this roasted sweet potato smells so good."

He quickly changed the subject and said sarcastically, "Could it be some love-struck kid? What time is it, and he's still thinking about these things."

The person on the other end of the phone cursed, and Zhou Huai couldn't stop laughing. When he looked up, he saw a small stall. When he looked closely at the stall owner, he couldn't help but pause.

"Fuck."

"Are handsome guys also setting up stalls these days?"

An old man with unsteady legs was also walking towards the stall. Zhou Huai made way for him and waited behind him, looking at the handsome guy in front of him.

This guy was unusually quiet, and didn't say a word when a customer came over.

He was dressed in all black, with a dark grey baseball cap pulled low, easily hiding half his face. It was clearly just an old biker's style jacket, but on him it stood out, making him look like a model, with a sleek, slim waist and long legs.

His hair was quite long too.

Looking down, Zhou Huai saw the small bun on the back of his head and the silver earrings on his right ear. The late summer sun made them sparkle.

As he stared intently, he suddenly realized that the old man had not spoken at all. He opened his mouth but only keep gesturing with his hands, looking a little distressed.

The handsome guy with the cold face in front of him stared at him for a while, then took his hand out of his pocket and started gesturing in sign language in a skilled manner.

"Fuck?"

The person on the other end of the phone hasn't hung up yet, and his voice was lazy.

[What? Roasted sweet potatoes grew long legs and ran off with the handsome guy?]

"Good heavens," Zhou Huai sighed directly after learning that the other party couldn't hear, "He's a deaf-mute handsome guy, what a pity."

The old man ahead in the line paid and left. Zhou Huai stretched out his hand, pointed at the oven, gestured a 1 with his hand, then paused, again gestured to wait, and asked the person on the other end of the phone.

"Hey Qin Yiyu, do you want one?"

What he didn't notice was that the handsome guy in front of him suddenly raised his head.

"Don't be greedy later."

Zhou Huai curved his lips and was about to gesture with the number 1 again when a burly guy came running over from a distance and thanked the handsome guy repeatedly.

"Thank you, ah, young lad. It's a relief for you to help me look after the stall. This alley has been so crowded with tourists lately that we have to queue up to use the restroom."

The "deaf-mute" handsome guy whispered, "You're welcome."

Fuck.

He can talk? ?

And his voice is even better!

"The stall owner is back." He threw this sentence and turned to leave. "Go buy it from him."

…

He has never been so embarrassed in his whole life.

While he was still in a daze, Qin Yiyu's tone suddenly became serious and a little annoyed in the headset.

[That fatty is here to cause trouble again. Don't come back to the shop yet.]

[Leave me a bite of the roasted sweet potato.]

As soon as the phone hung up, Qin Yiyu rubbed his temples, grinned broadly, leaned on the counter and waved to the local bully, "Good morning, ah."

"Are you here to root for us again, ah? Huaizi4 isn't here right now, how about you come back another day?"

"Come again, my ass!" The fatty pulled his collar and cursed his ancestors for sometime. In the end, it was still the matter of same old three things – if the tattoo is blotched, he will have to pay compensation, and it will never end if the matter is not resolved!

How many times this month has this happened?

This shabby shop had no business to begin with, and now it seems that the even profits are not even enough to cover the extortion.

Qin Yiyu grinned: "What's wrong with the tattoo? Can I take a look?"

"Here it is, take a look for yourself!"

He really took off his clothes, ah.

Qin Yiyu's eyes seemed to hurt, so he simply squinted them.

"How should I put it..."

Qin Yiyu leaned against the counter and said with a smile: "Well, a painting on paper can't be exactly the same as on a lump of pork. This is already almost the same. Please be reasonable, okay."

The fatty immediately cursed: "Are you fucking sick?"

Unexpectedly, Qin Yiyu immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "That's right, you understand me so well! You can even see that, you're truly my close friend!"

He took the fatty's hand and shook it vigorously.

The fatty was so angry that he threw his hand away, picked up the ink bottle beside the counter and rushed straight towards Qin Yiyu's head, "I am your fucking uncle!"

What a shitty temper.

He was too lazy to dodge, and didn't even lift his eyelids. He was ready to fall to the ground and pretend to be dead after the first blow.

People who know how to fight know better than anyone where to hit someone without killing them.

But the glass bottle did not hit him as expected.

Could it be that because of the hangover, even my sense of pain is affected?

"Who the hell are you, huh—"

Hmm?

Qin Yiyu raised his eyelids and saw that fatty's hand was suspended in mid-air, firmly grasped by a pale and bony hand.

Fatty had barely opened his mouth, when he was suddenly pushed backwards. He staggered while taking a few steps back and immediately fell backwards like a collapsing wall. Before he could steady himself, a kick came flying at him.

"Fuck!"

At first glance, the kick didn't seem to be very powerful, but fatty fell to the ground, his back when hit made a bang sound, and the meat on his face wrinkled into a grimace.

His stomach ached and his head was buzzing. Before he could get up, the other person took a few steps forward, bent down, grabbed his collar, and dragged him out of the shop with one hand.

It looked easier than dragging a dog.

Qin Yiyu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

This was so neat, just like the perverted killer in a movie.

If he hadn't recognized who it was at first sight, he would have been shocked.

Fatty slumped to the ground, his eyes full of stars, his neck was clamped so tight that it became red. After a few seconds, he came back to his senses. And as soon as he did, he started cursing, "Who the fuck you think you are! Fuck you——"

Before he could finish his swearing, fatty immediately became intimidated when he saw the other party raise his foot again. He instinctively raised his hand to block it and finally stopped yelling.

The kick didn't land and fell back to the ground.

The local bully, who failed in extortion, stood up slowly with the help of the door frame, glanced back, and wanted to curse at Qin Yiyu over the face of this tough ruthless guy. After all, he was smiling and waving at him in a mean way.

But the next second, the person in front of him tilted his head, blocking his view.

He was very close, and for the first time he looked up and stared directly at the man.

Under the brim of the cap, there were silver round beads pierced on his left brow bone, one above and one below, shining with a sharp metallic luster.

Fatty shuddered at the sight of these eyes.

They were a pair of light brown, long and narrow eyes with a hint of gray in the center of the irises, very much like the eyes of some wild animal.

"I come here every day." His face was expressionless and his voice was very soft. "See you tomorrow?"

Regardless of the context, it sounded like an almost gentle invitation.

Zhou Huai arrived at this time huffing and panting just in time to catch sight of fatty limping out of the alley. He kept looking back as he walked, while trembling all over, and didn't even bother to give him a glance.

At first, he found it strange, but when he entered the shop, he saw something even more stranger.

"Eh? Aren't you the handsome deaf-mute guy who was helping sell roasted sweet potatoes just now?"

Qin Yiyu was giving him a thumbs-up, but when he heard this, he laughed and said: "After all this time, it was you. No wait, why is it always you?"

"Eh?" Zhou Huai sensed something was amiss when he heard this. "Do you two... know each other?"

"The one I told you about, who came directly to my house to poach me."

The person in question was standing at the door. Qin Yiyu looked at him with a smile on his face, "Nan Yi5, right?"

This name is really easy to remember.

Zhou Huai's eyes widened when he heard this, and he mouthed "that lovestruck fool?" to him.

"Fuck your ass." Qin Yiyu picked up a tissue box at hand and threw it at him.

Nan Yi turned a deaf ear to their conversation and continued to reply to his previous words in a calm tone, as if it was someone else, who had a fight just now.

"I came to see you and helped along the way."

Qin Yiyu didn't want to be so touched as to sacrifice himself just because of his one brave act.

He stretched himself and said, "Thank you for coming to my aid when you saw injustice, but I can't do what you want. I made that very clear last time."

Talking about the last time, he still felt a headache.

It seems like he hasn't encountered such a difficult person in a long time.

Every time he appears, it’s completely unexpected, and last week it gave him quite a scare.

He was still half asleep that day when he forced himself to open the door. And he saw this person standing at his door wearing all black and a cap just like today.

The corridor was pitch black, so he couldn't see his features clearly. Only the bottle of wine in his hand let in a little light.

Qin Yiyu's first reaction was: "Are you here to collect a debt?"

"No." The other person threw the bottle back to its original place – the garbage bin outside the door, and patted off his hands.

Qin Yiyu breathed a sigh of relief while stroking his chest.

"Then what's with that expression? It's pretty scary."

Although he couldn’t see the upper half of his face clearly, he was impressed by Nan Yi's answer.

"Its innate."

He didn't look at Qin Yiyu directly, but stared at the tattoo on his Adam's apple. Then his gaze moved down and fixed on the tattoo on his wrist. Then he abruptly introduced himself: "My name is Nan Yi."

That day, Qin Yiyu was in a semi-conscious state. Nan Yi stood in front of him and talked like a robot, but he didn't hear much and only remembered his name.

And his request to form a band with him.

Form a band?

This is worse than debt collection.

Qin Yiyu laughed as if he had just heard a joke. "I feel sick when I hear the word 'band'. Stop it, or I'll vomit on your shoes."

He dig three feet under the ground to find him in this place and drag him out – utter madness.

Of course, Qin Yiyu had many fanatical fans a few years ago.

There were those who staked out his residential parking lot in the dead of night, banged on his hotel room door, and even took off their clothes backstage and pounced on him — the list will go on mentioning the most outrageous behaviour one can imagine. After he was kicked out of the band, numerous labels and producers desperately tried to sign him, using threats and inducements, leaving him with nowhere to hide. Furthermore, there were also psychopaths who, driven by rumors, had turned against him and stalked him, throwing CDs of his former band in his face.

That was also the first time he realized that if one is strong enough, they could even smash a CD and make him bleed.

At that time, he touched the blood on his forehead and couldn't help but sigh: "Fuck, its quality is really good."

It was fine until he didn't mention the word 'band', but as soon as he did, all the bad memories started to flood his mind under the influence of alcohol.

So much time has passed, but he remains like a half-dead soul stuck at the process of drinking mengpo soup on the Naihe Bridge6. He wants to forget all the bad things, so he wants to drink as much soup as there is. He ends up drinking too much and choking himself to death.

In fact, Qin Yiyu almost vomited.

While thinking of band, he should have thought of the buzzing of electric guitars, but instead, his mind was filled with the buzzing sound of ambulance sirens.

So he simply said, "Don't come to my house to persuade me, or else I'll call the police."

Oddly enough, based on his prediction, he thought the other party would pester him for a few days. So every time he opened the door, he was fully prepared mentally, but the guy never came again.

A few days passed, and Qin Yiyu thought he had really accepted the fact.

Who would have thought that he would find Zhou Huai directly?

How did he find him? Qin Yiyu was genuinely curious. This guy should just become a spy, why would he start a band?

"Could you please come and watch us..."

Before he could even utter the word "rehearse", Qin Yiyu interrupted him rudely, "No."

"Why?"

“Asking why for everything makes life so tiring.”

Qin Yiyu didn't even raise his eyelids. "If you came here just for this matter, I can only tell you that no matter how many times you come, I only have one answer: no."

The two faced each other in silence.

As a friend of many years, Zhou Huai understands Qin Yiyu. After going through so much, he is no longer the same person he used to be.

He might be able to muddle through other things, but it's impossible for him to go back and form a band in this lifetime.

The heat had not yet dissipated. The hot wind of late summer blew in a leaf, which swirled in and landed at Nan Yi's feet.

He glanced down, "What about something else?"

"Something else? You are indeed demanding, ah."

Qin Yiyu still kept that nonchalant smile on his face while habitually speaking nonsense: "You're not going to let me tattoo you, are you? Did you see that guy just now? My loyal customer, don't come later and pull off that stunt like him. That would be so disheartening."

Zhou Huai couldn't stand people criticizing his work, so he immediately became unhappy, "Hey, kid..."

"That tattoo wasn't done by you." Nan Yi, however, interrupted, his tone firm.

Qin Yiyu frowned: "How do you know?"

Your drawings are uglier than those of a kindergarten kid, how can you draw a tattoo?

Nan Yi didn't answer his question. He turned his head and glanced at the rows of earrings hanging on the wall.

"Please help me pierce my ears."

Qin Yiyu never expected it to be such a simple request.

"Okay, just pay the money. Do you want to get it right now?"

"No."

"When then?"

“Soon.”

Nan Yi spoke, turning to leave.

What kind of riddle is he playing at?

"Hey, don't come here again. I won't be here again."

But Nan Yi still said nothing, and didn't even turn his head back.

Qin Yiyu stared at his back for a long time. It was just that at some point he suddenly found him somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't recall where.

He even had a strange thought: he wanted to take off the person's cap and take a good, close look at what he looks like.

This is to better avoid him in the future.

Qin Yiyu tried to give himself a reasonable excuse for this mindless curiosity.

Of course, he didn't have time to do so, since Nan Yi had already left in a clean and tidy manner.

After this incident, the shop was in a mess and Zhou Huai sighed.

"Are you a jinx or what. You've only been here a few days guarding my shop, but you've attracted a bunch of monsters and demons... Hey, weren't you teaching little kids nursery rhymes before, hurry up and go away. My small temple can't support a giant buddha like you."

"It's music theory class, idiot." Qin Yiyu put away the ink bottle, "Didn't I tell you that the school owner went back to his hometown a few days ago and didn't schedule my class. He will be back the day after tomorrow."

"Okay."

For no apparent reason, Zhou Huai suddenly thought of the mail he received today and stammered, "Those..., have those debt collectors contacted you in the past few days?"

"No, I just moved a few days ago, so they haven't found my place yet." Qin Yiyu replied casually, thinking about the person who left just now.

This guy might not become a spy, but if he works in a debt collection company, he will definitely become the debt collection champion.

"Oh." Zhou Huai stiffened his neck and swallowed the words back.

Qin Yiyu noticed that something was wrong with him: "What's wrong?"

Zhou Huai didn't look at him. "Nothing, just asking casually."

He bent down to sweep the broken glass, but unexpectedly, he found a black card wallet in the corner. He opened it, took a look, and threw it directly into Qin Yiyu's arms.

"Why is this handsome guy so careless?"

Qin Yiyu caught it casually.

The card holder looked a bit old, black, with two letters NY embroidered in white on the lower right corner.

It's a custom-made one, probably a gift from some young girl.

He unzipped it and saw several bank cards inside, as well as a folded admission ticket for the English placement test. The candidate column had Nan Yi's name written on it, as well as the university he attended – the university Qin Yiyu was most familiar with.

The exam was scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Zhou Huai folded his hands on the top of the broom handle and smiled: "Oh, what a coincidence, you are his alumnus."

Too lazy to pay attention, Qin Yiyu stuffed his admission ticket back, zipped up his bag, threw his card holder on the counter, and went back to the recliner to continue taking a nap.

"It looks pretty important. Maybe he'll come back to get it later."

Qin Yiyu half closed his eyes and thought to himself, who knows.

He also said he comes here every day and said see you tomorrow.

But I also told him not to come here, and that guy seems to be very trustworthy.

Qin Yiyu squeezed his left hand habitually, turned over, and was too lazy to think about this anymore.

After arriving at the university and parking his bike, Nan Yi took out his ID card and campus card from his pocket, intending to put them in the compartment of his schoolbag first. When he turned around, he ran into Chi Zhiyang – his newly dyed white hair was really eye-catching.

Chi Zhiyang was sitting by the flower bed, as if he had been waiting for a long time. As soon as his eyes met, he jumped up and trotted over, his hair waving and the braid at the back swinging back and forth like a tail.

He knew Nan Yi was going to look for Qin Yiyu, so he skipped class and rushed over. After all, time was running out and the situation was almost urgent.

Seeing that Nan Yi didn't say anything, he hurriedly asked, "Did you succeed? What did he say? Does he still remember you?"

Faced with three questions at once, Nan Yi didn't know which one to answer first, but he felt that they were all similar.

"Nope."

It didn't work out, he didn't say anything.

And why would he remember him?

He never intended Qin Yiyu to remember him.

Before he could feel depressed, Chi Zhiyang saw him stuffing his ID card into his schoolbag and frowned: "Hey, where is your card holder?" He obviously always carries it with him.

Nan Yi put on his bag and said calmly, "I lost it."

"Lost it?" That was made by his grandma herself!

As a childhood friend, he was even more anxious than Nan Yi and asked hurriedly, "What should we do? Do you remember where you lost it? Can we still find it?"

"Um." Nan Yi's tone is always calm.

"It will be delivered."