Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

“True, if this rumor is real, then he’s acting quite out of character… though I feel like he’s never really been ‘normal’ anyway,” Ruan Xinyu said halfway through, suddenly falling into thought. “Hey, I noticed something. Brother, you’ve been speaking up for Tao Zhi this whole time.”

“Have I?” Ruan Lingfeng asked back.

“You have,” Ruan Xinyu said. “You used to complain to me about him, saying he had a terrible personality and whatnot.”

He had thought that at the beginning, but his impression had long since been updated. Moreover, this person was no longer just a simple “impression” in his heart. If someone were to ask him now what kind of person he thought Tao Zhi was…

He realized he could no longer use accurate or objective language to describe his views on Tao Zhi. If he had to say it, he simply felt that Tao Zhi was good.

Ruan Lingfeng said, “It was a misunderstanding back then. Actually, he’s very good.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“It’s nothing…” Ruan Lingfeng thought back to the “powder keg” Tao Zhi who had irritated him so much at first. Now, those same behaviors seemed cute in hindsight. But he didn’t intend to recount the details to his sister; explaining would be exhausting and meaningless, and he and Tao Zhi were no longer in each other’s lives. So he only said, “It’s just, you know, he has a bad temper, so my first impression was a bit poor. After getting to know him, I found he’s… quite decent.”

“I see,” Ruan Xinyu said, unsatisfied. she began to act spoiled. “Brother, tell me more about Tao Zhi.”

Ruan Lingfeng lowered his head, appearing focused on the meat on the grill. But if one looked closely, they would notice he seemed somewhat dazed.

However, Ruan Lingfeng soon spoke: “What is there to say?”

There was nothing to say. To Ruan Xinyu, this sounded like Ruan Lingfeng was unwilling to gossip about a business partner. He had always been like this; even though his work was closely tied to the entertainment industry, he rarely spoke to friends or family about these celebrities. When explosive news broke, he usually just listened quietly or followed along with a few words. It was hard to tell if he truly lacked interest in gossip or if he simply had high professional ethics.

The few bad things he had said about Tao Zhi before had already been an exception.

Ruan Xinyu pouted. “Fine, I knew you wouldn’t say much. I get more info from the fan forums than I do from you.”

“I don’t know any more than you do,” Ruan Lingfeng said.

For example, the rumors on Douban were leaked in private groups. If Ruan Xinyu hadn’t mentioned it, Ruan Lingfeng would never have known that Tao Zhi had played the drums like a madman for several days.

Actually, there were things he wanted to know. He wanted to know if Tao Zhi was sleeping well. His stomach wasn’t great to begin with—was he eating properly? Was there anyone who could pull him back and make him live a stable life?

But these things had nothing to do with him now. And since he was the culprit behind Tao Zhi’s unhappiness, worrying about these things would make him like a crocodile shedding fake tears.

Besides, it was only natural for an Alpha to be in low spirits after being rejected by the Omega he “liked.” After a while… after a while, he would be fine.

He didn’t expect that the phrase “Tell me more about Tao Zhi” would be asked by Ruan Lingfeng himself to someone else a month later.

Not long after returning to Yuncheng, Ruan Lingfeng joined a new project his company was launching. Originally, their company acted as a “Party B,” providing stage planning services for various artists. Now, the boss wanted to expand the business map. They had secured several sponsorships and reached a deep cooperation with a video platform, intending to produce a music competition show centered around bands. Ruan Lingfeng naturally became the Director of the Stage Planning Department for this project.

However, his department didn’t handle artist coordination. Therefore, it wasn’t until the registration and auditions were over that Ruan Lingfeng learned that Fever, Tao Zhi’s former band, had also joined the show.

Previously, when the director’s team asked for internal band recommendations, Ruan Lingfeng had considered recommending Fever, but he remembered Tao Zhi seemed to have a deep grudge against them, so he dropped it. In the past, he wouldn’t have considered such personal things; if a musician had the raw talent and deserved to be heard, Ruan Lingfeng would recommend them without hesitation.

In reality, having been out of contact with Tao Zhi for so long, he didn’t need to care about Tao Zhi’s feelings. Tao Zhi wouldn’t even know who recommended them.

But Ruan Lingfeng always thought of Tao Zhi. Even if Tao Zhi never knew, he didn’t want to do one more thing that would make him sad.

It was a bit of self-consolation, but after much deliberation, he had left Fever off his recommendation list.

He didn’t know if someone else had recommended them, or if the director’s team found this small band in some obscure corner, or if they had simply signed up themselves.

There were still many days before filming officially began, but before then, the bands were called to Yuncheng for meetings and rehearsals.

On Fever’s first day, after the necessary agendas were over, the lead singer, Lin Yiming, proactively approached Ruan Lingfeng and invited him to dinner.

The two were old acquaintances. Back when Ruan Lingfeng was asked for his WeChat, Lin Yiming had chatted with him a bit about live performances. At the time, Lin Yiming had asked, “I saw you looking pensive in the audience; why weren’t you jumping around?” Ruan Lingfeng replied that his job was stage planning and that their songs gave him a lot of inspiration. When he heard their music, he couldn’t help but think about what it would look like with a new form of presentation.

They chatted more during that period. The small band had never tried sophisticated stage effects and was very interested in what Ruan Lingfeng had to say. Coincidentally, Ruan Lingfeng wasn’t as busy back then as he was now. He had an idea, so he put together a planning draft, secured some sponsorship, and designed a stage for Fever.

The response to that stage within the industry was decent, but because they were so niche, few people outside the circle knew about it.

When they arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant, Ruan Lingfeng thought the whole band would be there. He didn’t expect only Lin Yiming to show up.

Lin Yiming was an Alpha, but not very aggressive. He had eyes that seemed to be constantly smiling. While waiting for the food, he spoke with a casual air: “Long time no see~ The other lazy bums said they were exhausted after today’s schedule and didn’t want to come out.”

“I see. That’s fine. We’ll have plenty of chances to meet later anyway.”

“But that wasn’t the main reason,” Lin Yiming added. “They thought I was trying to hit on you and didn’t want to be third wheels.”

This made Ruan Lingfeng feel a bit awkward. Just as he was wondering how to respond, Lin Yiming explained: “But I don’t mean it that way. When I added your WeChat a long time ago, it was indeed for that purpose; I thought you were beautiful at first sight. But then you said you were a stage director and wanted to help us. We also had great discussions about music. I don’t sleep with people I can actually discuss music with—it feels like you have a clean soul, and it’s better if you aren’t defiled by me.”

The bluntness was enough to leave one speechless.

“I didn’t say these things before because I was afraid of scaring you off. I was so interested in what could be presented on a small stage back then; I thought I definitely couldn’t let you know I was a vulgar person with vulgar goals.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

“I really don’t like that kind of thing. If I had known you thought that back then, I might not have associated with you,” Ruan Lingfeng actually wanted to say it was quite disgusting, but considering they had some history, there was no need to state his true feelings. “Then why are you saying it now? Aren’t you afraid I’ll give you a hard time later?”

Lin Yiming gave an answer Ruan Lingfeng never could have predicted: “I feel like you and Tao Zhi have something going on, so I wanted to disgust both of you.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…?” He knew Lin Yiming and Tao Zhi had a conflict, but he didn’t expect Lin Yiming to say this. Hearing these words, Ruan Lingfeng felt a protective instinct and a flash of displeasure.

But subconsciously, he wanted to know more about Tao Zhi. Even if it was coming from a bitter Lin Yiming, he wanted to know.

So he stayed patient and didn’t say anything rude.

“I really didn’t expect it. I thought if I asked you out for dinner, you wouldn’t be able to come. That brat should be very protective of his food, right? Why would he let you meet me outside of work?”

Lin Yiming seemed genuinely puzzled. Ruan Lingfeng said helplessly, “You’ve misunderstood. He and I have no relationship.”

“Impossible.” Lin Yiming clearly didn’t believe it.

Ruan Lingfeng asked, “Then why do you think I have something with him…?”

Lin Yiming got angry just mentioning it, but he spoke like he was spilling beans, hiding nothing: “He’s sick in the head. We haven’t spoken in years, then suddenly the other day he sends me a message calling me an idiot and wishing me an STD. I was fucking baffled. He’s living his life as a top star; why come back and insult the lead singer of a tiny, obscure band? He hadn’t contacted me in so long, I thought he’d finally found his conscience and remembered my good side. Instead, it was a barrage of insults. Madman. I cursed him back, but he ignored me. It was like punching a pile of cotton.”

“Huh? Didn’t you guys break up? You still have each other as friends?” The amount of information was a lot to take in. “But what does his insulting you have to do with me…”

“Yeah, I didn’t get it at first either,” Lin Yiming said, suddenly looking smug. “But I’m smart. One day I realized he had liked your post on Moments. I thought, the world is small, you guys actually know each other. Then I saw him confess to you at his concert…”

“That wasn’t a confession…”

“That was a confession! Don’t interrupt me.” Lin Yiming continued, “Suddenly, it all connected. It must be because he found out you and I had a thing…”

“Wait, we never had ‘a thing’?”

“We had a thing called ‘collaborating on a stage’ once.”

“Based on how well he knows me, he definitely thinks anyone I ask for WeChat is someone I’ve flirted with. He probably thinks we even had some illicit affair, and it made him half-dead with rage, so he came to insult me.” Lin Yiming looked at Ruan Lingfeng for confirmation. “That’s how it is, right?”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…Do you remember exactly when he insulted you?”

Lin Yiming mentioned a date and added, “Fuck, a day of humiliation.”

In terms of timing, it matched. Ruan Lingfeng thought. He remembered back then he was helping Tao Zhi with the concert plan. Because he thought the musical style was a good fit, he suggested having Fever as guests, and Tao Zhi had flown into a massive rage.

At the time, he thought it was just because of the bad breakup with the old band.

So that was the reason.

He had thought that as time passed and the pheromone influence weakened, his illusions about Tao Zhi would fade. But he had to admit, he couldn’t stop thinking about that Alpha who was many years younger than him. To the point where hearing Lin Yiming say that, his heart felt a subconscious spark of joy: He started caring about me that early.

But soon, that tiny spark vanished. After all, that was so long ago. Moreover, that kind of “caring” probably wasn’t true care… They hadn’t been in touch for a long time now. Ruan Lingfeng occasionally followed Tao Zhi’s news through public channels. Tao Zhi seemed normal; he wasn’t doing things like playing the drums out of spite anymore, nor did he show any signs of distress.

That’s how it was supposed to be.

“I can’t let him insult me for nothing,” Lin Yiming said. “Sorry about this, but when you sat down just now, I took a random photo of you and sent it to Tao Zhi. I told him I was having a private dinner with you. I’m settling all the old and new grudges together; I’m going to annoy him to death today.”

Ruan Lingfeng said softly, “…I told you, you misunderstood.”

Lin Yiming wasn’t listening at all. He continued, “If he were in Yuncheng and saw this photo, he’d be here to fight me in less than fifteen minutes.”

“He won’t,” Ruan Lingfeng said.

Under normal circumstances, Ruan Lingfeng should have been angry. He knew independent musicians—especially rockers—tended to be eccentric, but this Lin Yiming had just babbled a bunch of nonsense and taken a photo without his consent, forcing a new connection with a Tao Zhi who had long since cut contact… It was truly annoying.

But… what if Tao Zhi actually came?