The band is called Birdman, and it should not be the bar’s resident band. An He had never seen this band before when he came to Boiling Point.
But judging from Lin Ruoxue's reaction, this was not her first time watching Birdman's performance.
The band sang two songs without stopping. The lead singer had a great voice, and when he roared out the high notes, it made people feel that the area around them suddenly became empty, as if they were standing in a deserted city.
An He liked this feeling.
However, after singing the two songs, An He didn't know what the lead singer looked like, nor did he know what the guitar, bass and keyboard next to him looked like. All his attention was on the drummer.
The girl with long black hair kept staring at the drums. The other members of the band were having fun watching the screaming crowd in the audience, but she never raised her eyelids.
The drumstick was like a part of her body. It looked smooth and beautiful whether it was passing through the air or landing on the drum. Coupled with her aura of being indifferent to others and not being affected by fame or disgrace, An He's eyes never left the drum set for several songs.
An He had seen female drummers before, but this was the first time he had seen one play the drums so coolly that made people want to breathe and heartbeat to follow the rhythm.
The band basically kept silent and didn't pause. They sang several songs in one go. An He didn't even hear a word of the lyrics. When he saw the bar staff start to move things off the stage, he came to his senses, took his coat and put it on, then hugged Lin Ruoxue and whispered in her ear, "What's the drummer's name?"
“Let me ask for you?” Lin Ruoxue took a sip of wine, looked at him and smiled, “Are you interested?”
"I don't know yet. I'll ask myself." An He stood up and walked towards the back door of the bar. He saw the band members going that way.
"Anzi hasn't taken the initiative to attack a girl in a long time..." Song Zhibin shouted with a smile from behind.
Is that so? An He smiled and didn't look back.
When I squeezed through the excited crowd and reached the back door, the band members had disappeared, and there was only a couple kissing passionately against the wall by the back door.
Maybe because people kept passing by, the guy whose passionate kiss was interrupted looked at An He with some frustration.
"Go on." An He nodded at him, pushed open the heavy back door and chased out.
As soon as he went out, he was hit by the north wind in the middle of the night. Angel pulled his coat.
There weren't many people outside the door. Past a few people who came out to get some fresh air, I saw someone standing on the side of the road with a guitar on his back. He must be a member of a band.
After taking two steps towards that side, he saw a man with long black hair standing next to a motorcycle and preparing to get on the back seat.
The street lights were much brighter than the lights in the bar. An He stared at Hei Changzhi's face, but unfortunately he was still wearing a mask. Apart from seeing Hei Changzhi's eyes more clearly and estimating that he was about the same height as himself, he didn't gain anything else.
When he was thinking about how to go up and ask for a name and phone number, a person rushed past him from behind.
An He was stunned when he saw the person clearly. The big bunch of roses in the person's hand was very eye-catching.
But this posture scared An He, and the band members were probably also scared. They all looked at this guy, and after a long time someone asked, "What are you doing?"
"I come here every day and bring flowers every day, just hoping to run into you again." The man looked very excited and moved closer to the black man.
The man with long black hair couldn't tell his expression. He took a step back. Someone quickly reached out and held the man's shoulder: "Stand there and talk."
"We are so destined to be together. I waited for you on Singles' Day!" The man waved the flowers in his hand and two roses fell out. "I like you very much! I hope you can accept the flowers!"
Several people in the band laughed, and there was something meaningful in their smiles. An He couldn't tell why they laughed like that. He just saw that the man with long black hair didn't react at all, and his eyes were so cold, as if the person in front of him was a piece of air.
After two minutes of silence, An He felt so cold that he wanted to turn around and go back to the bar. He finally moved, got on the motorcycle, turned around, and stretched out his hand to the man, probably ready to take his flowers.
When the guy saw it, he started to tremble as if he was on drugs. He held the flowers in both hands and handed them over. An He felt that he would kneel down in a second.
When the long black straight hand touched the flower, the guy said excitedly: "If you are willing to accept my flower, then be my girlfriend!"
The hand of the man with long black hair that was about to take the flower stopped in the air. Two people in the band couldn't help laughing and turned their faces away, unable to stop.
The guy was a little confused by the laughter, but he kept repeating "Be my girlfriend". An He was anxious for him when he heard it. Is this guy an idiot
The man with long black hair said nothing. He used one finger to push aside the bouquet of flowers that was blocking the guy's face. After he raised his face, he raised his middle finger towards him, and a black ring on his hand was shining.
Before the guy could react, the motorcycle roared, rushed out, and disappeared at the intersection a few seconds later.
An He returned to the bar and the performance was still going on. Someone was playing guitar and singing on the stage. An He didn't feel anything. Compared with Birdman's performance, it was about the same level as the New Year's Eve party at school.
"Did you find the answer?" Song Zhibin asked when he saw him and handed him a glass of wine.
"No." An He took the wine glass and took a sip, thinking of the cold look and the raised middle finger just now. If the guy hadn't presented the flowers first, who knows what the outcome would have been.
"Is there any number you can't get?" Liu Jiang kept laughing, "This girl is pretty awesome."
"Hey Anzi," Song Zhibin lit a cigarette and passed it to An He, "Did you see what she looks like? She's wearing a mask. If I really ask for her phone number, what if she gets scared when we meet the next day? What kind of beauty would cover her face?"
"Personality," Lin Ruoxue pointed at a few people, "you vulgar people won't understand."
"Look," Liu Jiang was immediately happy, and threw an almond at An He, "An Zi, see? Give this girl to the beautiful lady Lin."
An He smiled and turned to look at Lin Ruoxue. Lin Ruoxue waved her hand: "No, I hate people who are taller than me."
"It's quite high." An He said.
In fact, An He was not very interested in a girl of this height wearing flat boots. Besides, her long straight black hair was all black, so he couldn't see her figure clearly.
The reason why I wanted to chase him out and ask for his phone number was simply because of that indescribable aura.
After having enough fun in the bar, An He took a taxi home. It was almost three o'clock when he got home. He was very sleepy. He washed up quickly, went back to the bedroom, stripped himself and got into bed.
The air conditioner in the bedroom was not turned off when he went out, so the room was very warm. He fell asleep within two minutes of lying down.
The next day I slept until the afternoon when I was woken up by the ringing of my cell phone.
An He picked up Lin Ruoxue's call and answered "Hello" in a daze.
"Let me ask you a question." Lin Ruoxue said without even saying hello.
"Ask." An He turned over and lay on the pillow.
"After a nap, are you still interested in that girl?"
An He opened his eyes, still a little dazed, but his brain was able to work. Last night in the dim and interlaced lights, it was as if there was only one person in the world, and the figure who was concentrating on playing the drums passed before his eyes.
"Are you okay? A little bit. What's wrong?"
"Really don't need me to ask for you?" Lin Ruoxue thought for a moment, and her tone became very sincere, "An Zi, you have no problem with women, you... don't you try?"
"If a man and a woman stand in front of me at the same time, I will definitely choose the man," An He sighed softly, lifted the quilt and sat up, "You know that."
Lin Ruoxue didn't say anything.
"I'll handle it myself, don't worry about it." An He stood up and drew open the curtains. He knew what Lin Ruoxue wanted to say. She had not contacted her family since she came out. Behind her hot temper and smile was a depressed mood that had not changed in many years.
An He did not go out for two days over the weekend and even ordered takeout for meals.
He originally wanted to go home and visit his mother, but when he called her, he heard her cigarette in her mouth and the rustling sound of mahjong being rubbed beside him, and he immediately gave up the idea.
"You should smoke less." An He sighed.
"You didn't go out to play today?" Mom didn't respond, but just clacked the cards. "If you don't go out, come over and help me turn my luck. I've lost a lot these past two days."
"No time," An He frowned, "I have an open class next week and need to prepare."
"Then I'll hang up. You played the wrong card again." My mother said and hung up the phone.
An He threw his cell phone on the sofa, turned on his computer and started watching movies. In addition to pornographic movies, his computer also had many other movies.
When he doesn't go out, he usually stays in his room watching movies. When he gets tired of watching movies, he listens to music and goes to sleep.
The movies were all horror films, or gloomy and depressing dark ones. An He would feel depressed every time after watching them, but he would continue watching them next time. When there was really nothing to watch, he would take out the ten banned films that he had saved and watch them in turn.
However, this state of sinking to the bottom will disappear when the alarm clock wakes you up on Monday morning.
He had four classes on Monday morning, which was a full schedule. There was also a flag-raising ceremony and a morning assembly in the morning. By the afternoon, he had finished all the busy classes and had returned to his normal rhythm. He had become the Teacher An who always had a smile on his face and seemed to be able to handle everything with ease.
During the last class in the afternoon, Zhang Lin’s father arrived at the school.
This was the first time An He met Zhang Lin’s father, a middle-aged man with an impatient look on his face.
"Teacher An, you don't need to tell me what Zhang Lin did," he sat opposite An He, looking very angry, "I know what kind of thing I raised, I was just too busy on a business trip recently, otherwise I would have dealt with him a long time ago!"
"Zhang Lin has a good personality," An He smiled and spoke slowly, "He is loyal, enthusiastic, and popular."
Zhang Lin's father was obviously stunned for a moment, as if he didn't hear what he said clearly.
After seeing Zhang Lin's father, An He decided not to tell him about Zhang Lin's skipping classes for the time being.
"It's common for boys of this age to care about face, be disobedient and a little impetuous, but if you can have a good chat and communicate patiently, they will still listen." An He looked at him and emphasized the second half of the sentence. This kind of parents are not uncommon. It's not that they don't care about their children, but they are completely on different channels with their children.
"It is more effective to affirm his strengths than to focus on his faults." An He didn't know how much Zhang Lin's father could understand, but he still spoke patiently.
After chatting for half an hour, An He was speechless. Zhang Lin's father still looked at him in confusion. An He was helpless and could only summarize: "Brother Zhang, Zhang Lin has many problems, but they are not serious. Parents should communicate with him more."
Zhang Lin's father nodded, but it was unclear whether he understood or not.
After he walked out of the office, An He leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply, poured himself a cup of hot water, and began to organize the courseware for the open class on Wednesday in his notebook.
Before they had finished their work for a few minutes, the monitor of their class rushed into the office. The little girl blushed and said, "Boss An, go check it out! Zhang Lin's father came to our class and said he wanted to kill Zhang Lin!"
"Hey!" An He couldn't help but shout, jumped up and ran to the classroom.
As soon as I got to the first floor, I heard the noise from the second floor. The roar of Zhang Lin's father and the persuasive voice of the teacher who was teaching in the class next door mixed together, and I couldn't hear what they were shouting.
An He ran up to the second floor. The front and back doors of their class were closed. Zhang Lin's father was kicking the door, and the students in his class were pushing the door from inside. The two female teachers from the next class were frowning outside, and the door couldn't be opened. The students from the other three classes on the second floor all crowded into the corridor to watch the fun.
"You didn't feel satisfied when I beat you yesterday, did you?" Zhang Lin's father yelled, "Why are you hiding? You're embarrassing me!"
An He was a little angry. He rushed over, grabbed his arm and pulled it back hard, throwing him from the door to the corridor railing.
"What are you doing!" Zhang Lin's father yelled at An He.
"What are you doing?" An He suppressed his anger, "After all this fuss, what I just said to you was all in vain?"
"I don't understand those profound things! I just know that this kid won't behave unless he is beaten! No one can stop me!"
"There are blood marks all over his back, how do you want to beat him?" A girl in the classroom shouted in a shrill voice.
"I'm beating my son, what does it have to do with you little brats!" Zhang Lin's father said as he was about to kick the door again.
An He pushed him on the chest, frowned, and lowered his voice: "How dare you touch my students?"
"I can beat my son whenever I want!"
"Okay," An He nodded and knocked on the classroom door. "Open the door."
The student who was holding the door from inside hesitated for a few seconds and opened it, but there was still a crowd of people blocking the entrance.
"You try to hit me." An He looked at Zhang Lin's father and pushed up his sleeves, revealing a long scar on his left arm.
Zhang Lin's father glared at him: "Threatening me?"
"You were causing trouble at school, and I didn't call the police because I was giving you face." An He replied calmly.
"Making trouble? I'm educating my son! Teachers are so great, they can threaten parents! They won't let parents manage their children!"
"Then you hit me." An He stepped aside.
Zhang Lin's father was stunned. Seeing that he had no intention of entering the classroom, the two female teachers took the opportunity to come up and persuade and pull him away.
Zhang Lin's father went downstairs cursing and was invited to the office by the director of political education. An He waved at the students blocking the door and said, "Alright, go back to your seats. Are you still excited?"
"Mr. An, you are so handsome." A student said.
"Thank you," An He stood at the door of the classroom and saw Zhang Lin sitting in his seat with his head down, "Zhang Lin, come out."
Zhang Lin followed An He downstairs dejectedly. An He did not return to the office, but took Zhang Lin to sit on the stands beside the playground.
"Thank you," Zhang Lin said, "Will Zhou Paopi cause you any trouble?"
Zhou Paopi was the director of political education, and all the students went weak in the knees when they saw him.
"I don't know," An He lit a cigarette and held it between his lips, "how to thank me."
Zhang Lin was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Go ahead."
"It's too late for the midterm exam," An He looked at him, "take the final exam. It doesn't have to be long. You just need to rank in the top fifteen in the class. If you do that, I'll beat your dad back if he touches you again. If you can't do it, just pretend I never said anything, and don't mention whether you thank me or not again."
Zhang Lin didn't say anything, and An He didn't say anything either. He finished his cigarette in silence, stood up, turned around and left.
"Okay." Zhang Lin said behind him.
"Then I'll wait."
An He's car had just arrived at the gate of the community. When he was swiping his card with a fly swatter, his cell phone rang. He put on his headphones and answered the call.
The call was from Director Zhou. He didn't say anything extra. He just talked about what happened in the afternoon. "Xiao An, you were too impulsive today. I always thought you were a very calm person. How come you handled this matter so inappropriately today?"
"I know," An He found a parking space and parked the car, pinching his brows, "I will pay attention next time. I will go to Zhang Lin's house for a home visit in the next two days."
"Well, I won't say much. You need to communicate well with Zhang Lin's father, and be careful about how you speak to the students' parents."
"OK."
After An He hung up the phone, he did not get out of the car. He rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and leaned back in the seat.
He was a little impulsive today, but it was not just that he talked so much to Zhang Lin's father and then turned around and went to the classroom to beat someone up.
Zhang Lin's father's attitude towards Zhang Lin made him feel pulled back into memories for a moment, those feelings that he himself was clearly not aware of but were always with him.
Simply and roughly beating and scolding, or completely ignoring them, facing parents is like facing a wall that will never get the response you expect.
He was indeed somewhat out of control.
"Hey--" An He put out the cigarette, jumped out of the car, stood in the cold wind for a while to stop himself from thinking about it, and decided to go for the home visit tomorrow.
After Singles' Day, An He never went out at night again. After winter came, he became a little lazy, as if he was going to hibernate. He just wanted to curl up on the sofa every day.
Sometimes he would feel lonely at night. An He couldn't tell whether the loneliness was physical or psychological, but his solution was always the same: watch a movie, manually take care of himself, and then go to bed.
Liu Jiang had been keen on hooking up for a while, and had introduced to An He this simple, convenient, and mutually beneficial method, but An He had never tried it. He felt that he probably had a limit in this regard.
Mainly, I feel bored.
Lin Ruoxue also feels lonely, but her way of fighting loneliness is different from An He's. She chooses to call these friends out for a party.
"Let's get together on Christmas Eve and sing a song." Lin Ruoxue called An He.
"Ye Ge?" An He confirmed again. Ye Ge must be gay. He rarely goes to their parties.
"Ye Ge, I've told them all, no objection, it's still ten o'clock."
"OK."
This time An He was not late. He didn't want to drink those three glasses of wine, so he arrived at Ye Ge's door a few minutes before ten o'clock.
There are usually a lot of people at Yege, and today, on Christmas Eve, there are even more people. There are many people standing outside the door waiting for their friends, and they will salute everyone who shows up.
However, when everyone at the door looked at him without turning away, An He was still stunned.
Just when he was about to look down to see if he had been in too much of a hurry to go out and had unbuttoned his trousers, he heard the roar of a motorcycle engine behind him and immediately realized that these people were looking at what was behind him.
He turned around and paused as he was about to take a step toward the stairs.
Behind him was a golden Bombardier that had just stopped and was still running.
It was the first time he saw this kind of three-wheeled motorcycle on the street, which he thought was only suitable for showing off.
When the people in the car got out, the leather pants and long boots wrapped around their legs made An He look up quickly. Sure enough, he saw long black hair that looked familiar.
Today, she didn't wear a mask and her whole face was exposed.