Watching Jiang Ji getting on a motorcycle and driving Qin Qingzhuo across the intersection not far away, Jiang Bei, who was standing at the foot of the wall, bent down, picked up a thin branch from the ground, and reached out to poke the hunched back in front of him.
The man turned around and looked at her. She said nothing, her big eyes glowing faintly in the dim alley as she looked him up and down.
Jiang Bei had looked enough, the branch in her hand formed a shadow, and she raised her foot and walked towards the bar.
The man followed, his voice sounding a little hoarse: "Can I... can I go with you to see where you live?"
Jiang Bei didn't look back, but quickened his pace.
The man still followed her: "Have you eaten?"
Jiang Bei stopped walking, turned sideways and looked at him again: "No."
The man's tone was somewhat flattering: "Shall I take you to eat something?"
Jiang Bei raised his chin and looked towards the street: "The barbecue across the street?"
Section 28
The man nodded and said twice in a row: "Okay, okay."
Jiang Bei turned around, twirling a branch with one hand like an acrobat, and with the other hand in his pocket, he walked towards the street with ease.
The cobblestone road was a bit bumpy, so Jiang Ji slowed down the car.
"It's not far ahead," Qin Qingzhuo said from behind him, "Jiang Ji, park the car here and let's walk over."
Jiang Ji braked the car, supported himself with one leg on the ground, and waited for Qin Qingzhuo to get out of the back seat. He then stepped out of the car and took off his helmet.
By the time he locked the motorcycle against the wall, Qin Qingzhuo had already walked forward for a distance with the guitar in his hand. Jiang Ji quickened his pace to catch up with him and took the guitar from him.
Qin Qingzhuo led him into a courtyard, crossed the yard, and went straight to the main house.
Pushing open the door, a man in a light grey linen shirt was sitting on a wooden chair, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and humming a song. The furnishings in the room were antique, but the music playing on the speakers was completely incompatible rock music - Nirvana's "Lake of Fire", a song that Jiang Ji quite liked.
Seeing Qin Qingzhuo push the door open, the man turned off the stereo, stood up and walked towards Qin Qingzhuo: "Come here, Qingzhuo."
"You still have such good taste in antiques and rock music," Qin Qingzhuo smiled and shook hands with him, "Uncle Qiao, this is Jiang Ji whom I mentioned to you before."
After he finished speaking, he gestured to Jiang Ji to say hello, "Jiang Ji, this is Qiao Bo. He likes to collect all kinds of guitars. There is no guitar maker in the world that he doesn't know. If the problem is not serious, he can fix it for you himself."
Jiang Ji did not embarrass Qin Qingzhuo this time and called him "Uncle Qiao".
Qin Qingzhuo took the guitar from Jiang Ji: "Uncle Qiao, take a look at this guitar."
Qiao Bo looked at the guitar and said, "Oh, are you using the guitar to fight with others?"
"It was just a little accident." Qin Qingzhuo explained for Jiang Ji.
Job took a pair of glasses from the table and put them on. He was well maintained and had few wrinkles on his face, so it was difficult to tell his real age at first glance.
He sat on the sofa and pointed to the opposite side: "Sit down, I just took a look, the injuries outside are not serious, young man, play a line for me to hear."
Jiang Ji sat down, holding the guitar, gently plucked the strings with his fingers, and played the first sentence of "Lake of Fire".