Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Lin Yiming had said that today was primarily to disgust the two of them, though whether that was his true motive remained unclear. Regardless, since they were at a restaurant, eating was the top priority. After a while, the dishes were all served. He ordered a bottle of liquor and, without much restraint, began pouring drinks while picking up his chopsticks.

Ruan Lingfeng could hold his liquor. He didn’t refuse and followed along with a few sips.

As one quarter-hour passed after another, and glass after glass was drained, Tao Zhi never appeared. Instead, Lin Yiming became slightly tipsy. He muttered, “That Tao Zhi, why isn’t he coming? Damn it… I just wanted to see him. It’s been so long, and he still won’t show.”

The initial tension in Ruan Lingfeng had faded, and he pushed back the tiny, secret spark of expectation that had risen in his heart. What if he did come? Actually, he hoped Tao Zhi wouldn’t. If he showed up, Ruan Lingfeng wouldn’t know how to face him.

Lin Yiming added, “That kid has been that stubborn since the old days.”

Listening to Lin Yiming speak, Ruan Lingfeng got the feeling that there wasn’t actually any deep-seated hatred between them. Seeing that the other man was intoxicated… Ruan Lingfeng wondered if he was a bit tipsy himself. Logically, he shouldn’t be, but he felt a sudden impulse. He wanted to hear more about Tao Zhi from the mouth of the man sitting in front of him.

So he said, “Tell me… tell me more about Tao Zhi.”

Fortunately, Lin Yiming was truly drunk. He couldn’t detect the emotions hidden beneath Ruan Lingfeng’s words and assumed it was simple curiosity. He snorted and said, “His stories… I couldn’t finish them in three days and nights. Where should I start?”

Anything was fine, really. Ruan Lingfeng wanted to hear everything. But fearing that such a broad request would leave Lin Yiming at a loss, Ruan Lingfeng asked, “In the beginning, how did Tao Zhi end up joining your band?”

Lin Yiming squinted his eyes, seemingly lost in memory. “It was hilarious.”

“Our band already had a drummer; we weren’t short-handed,” Lin Yiming said. “One time, after a performance, this brat somehow snuck backstage to find us. He pointed at our drummer and said, ‘This drummer is too mediocre.'”

“I was furious. It’s one thing to offer a critique, but you can’t be that rude and insult someone to their face. Besides, I didn’t think our drummer was mediocre at the time. I said, ‘If you’re so good, you do it.'”

“He just said, ‘Fine.’ While the stage equipment hadn’t been packed up yet, he went to the console, played a program track, grabbed the drumsticks, and started playing. I thought, Let’s see what this brat is so cocky about. But when I heard him, he was indeed very good. The rhythm and beats were solid, and most importantly, his emotion was overflowing… How old was he then? Just starting high school? Or hadn’t even started yet? I forget, but he looked quite young. I had no idea where that power and charisma came from.”

“The audience had mostly scattered because the show was over, but his playing pulled them all back.

“He finished, came down drenched in sweat, and I said, ‘Fine, I yield. You’re qualified to criticize us.’ Then the kid said our original drummer was too weak and that he was a better fit for the band. He forced his contact info on me and—goddamn it—he threatened me, saying it would be our band’s loss if we didn’t recruit him, and told me to think it over carefully.”

“I thought about it for a long time. Eventually, I told the original drummer, ‘Brother, I’m sorry, I wish you the best in your future,’ and then I let Tao Zhi in.”

As Ruan Lingfeng listened, a small smile appeared on his face without him realizing it. He could vaguely imagine what Tao Zhi looked like back then. “That certainly sounds like something he would do.”

Lin Yiming had opened the floodgates and continued: “He was really good. I asked him how long he’d practiced and how he got that way. He said whenever he was unhappy, he’d play the drums. If he was unhappy every day, he’d play every day. After a long time, he got good. But you can’t take that entirely at face value—he has natural talent. Guitar, bass, keyboards, he can do it all. It seems he knows other instruments too, and he’s a great singer. At the time, I was terrified he’d tell me one day that my singing was too mediocre and say he wanted to be the lead singer.”

Ruan Lingfeng murmured, “Playing drums whenever he’s unhappy…”

“Yeah, because compared to other instruments, it’s better for releasing emotions,” Lin Yiming said. “I even asked him, ‘You’re so young, why are you so unhappy?’ He told me it was none of my damn business.”

“But later we found out why. He had a hard life. His younger father committed suicide, and his other father ran off with a mistress, leaving him alone at home. Aside from giving him money, the man completely ignored him. He didn’t like going to school either—he claimed everyone there was an idiot—but I suspect he just didn’t have any friends. Anyway, he spent all day and night with us rehearsing… But even though he skipped school, he’d often bring books to the rehearsal space to study on his own. He wasn’t some ignorant fool acting out; he knew exactly what he needed.”

“He was stubborn as a mule, but that brat treated us like family. He dumped a lot of money into our money-losing band for rehearsals and self-funded tours. If he saw one of us had a headache or fever, he wouldn’t say anything, but he’d quietly go out and buy medicine…” A trace of nostalgia appeared in Lin Yiming’s eyes. “We weren’t bad to him either; we all treated him like a younger brother. When he got into fights at school and needed a parent to handle it, his father wouldn’t show up, so I’d go to his school pretending to be his older brother and sarcastically mock his idiot homeroom teacher and the grade dean. And then he got expelled, hahahahaha.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…So it was because of you.”

Lin Yiming looked rather proud. “I told him not to take that crap. People in school really are idiots. He needed to find a place where he could shine. Anyone trying to limit him was just burying his talent.”

“It sounds like… you had a good relationship,” Ruan Lingfeng asked cautiously. “Then why did you later…”

Sure enough, the light in Lin Yiming’s eyes dimmed slightly. “You want to ask why we fell out?”

“Mhm.”

“It’s not like it’s a secret. We backstabbed him,” Lin Yiming took another sip of liquor. “Back then, he said he wanted us to get onto bigger stages, wanted our songs to be heard by more people, and wanted us to be loved by more. Sigh. He wouldn’t say it, but he really enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded… not because he was vain, but because he was so starved for love. If people liked him, even if it was just fans liking his music, he would be so happy. Even though he has a foul temper, when we went on tours that nobody attended, as long as they weren’t the kind of ‘groupies’ just looking to sleep with someone, he would treat them as warmly as possible and chat with them about songs and music.”

“Ah, that seems right.” Ruan Lingfeng thought of the time Tao Zhi took him for a late-night snack. A few fans had shown up; he thought Tao Zhi would be impatient, but Tao Zhi sang for them and encouraged them to keep their own band going.

Lin Yiming continued with the reason for their falling out: “To be honest, who doesn’t want a bigger stage? Who doesn’t want to be recognized? We brothers talked it over. First, we felt that if we went mainstream, we’d inevitably sacrifice our original character to cater to the market. By then, even if the songs were popular, it wouldn’t feel like our songs were popular—it would be the ‘popular genre’ that was popular. In other words, anyone singing those songs would be a hit. Furthermore, in the market back then, even mainstream bands were barely surviving. We didn’t think we’d be the lucky ones.”

“But we fully hoped Xiao Tao would pursue the bigger stage. He has great conditions in every aspect; he could become the darling of the market just by being himself, without needing to pander. As a drummer… you know, the lead singer usually draws the most attention from the average person. But even as a drummer, he was so dazzling. To be honest, without him, even fewer people would have listened to our music. Not to mention if he were packaged and stood right at the front—with all the lights on him, no one could look away. Bringing us along would only hold him back. We’d just be dead weight.”

“That shouldn’t have led to a falling out, though. Didn’t you explain the reasons to him properly?” Ruan Lingfeng asked.

“We did! But goddamn it, didn’t I say he’s stubborn as hell?” Lin Yiming said. “That dead kid insisted that all of us had to debut together. No matter what we said, he wouldn’t listen. Eventually, I got fed up. I thought, since you won’t listen to reason, I have to be cruel. So I cursed at him. I said, ‘We don’t want to be like you, forgetting our original intentions just to be famous and lick the boots of the mainstream. And to debut, we’d have to do this full-time. If we flop, our previous jobs are gone, and we have no way back. We’re not like you, a rich kid with endless money who has a family to fall back on no matter what. Stop with the sentimental “all for one” routine; who are you trying to impress?’ I said something like that. He was absolutely livid and got into a fight with me.”

“I knew perfectly well he didn’t mean it like that. I also knew his ‘home’ couldn’t even be called a home. But I deliberately chose to strike where it hurt most—saying he had a family to fall back on.”

As he spoke, Lin Yiming brushed back his bangs, pointing to a small scar on his temple for Ruan Lingfeng to see. “That brat hit me with a glass milk bottle he had on hand. He was so fucking ruthless… After that, we lost contact. We continued working our jobs and playing shows for no one in our spare time. He debuted after a while. Everyone went their own way, and it was for the best.”

Ruan Lingfeng had speculated about the reason they fell out, thinking it was some irreconcilable deep grudge. He hadn’t expected this. He didn’t know how to comment for a moment, so he listened to Lin Yiming’s own lament: “Actually, I regretted it later. Sometimes I wonder—was what we thought was ‘good for him’ really what he wanted? Were we just moving ourselves with our own sacrifice? Don’t be fooled by his act; he values loyalty very deeply. I know some of our commercial gig opportunities now are secretly pushed by him. Sigh. I really let him down. I’ve thought about apologizing, but now that he’s famous, saying these things feels like my motives aren’t pure… Honestly, I didn’t… really want to disgust you tonight. I just wanted to see him.”

Lin Yiming was talking about his own band, but Ruan Lingfeng felt he could relate deeply… yet, it wasn’t quite the same. Ruan Lingfeng shook his head.

Lin Yiming added, “When I drink too much, I talk too much… Since he’s not coming tonight, if you see him when you go back, don’t tell him any of this. I still have some pride left.”

“I won’t be seeing him,” Ruan Lingfeng lowered his eyes. “You’ve really misunderstood. He and I only had a one-time professional collaboration.”

That night, Tao Zhi never made the sudden appearance Lin Yiming had predicted. Instead, Lin Yiming chatted about many other things—the rules of the new variety show, how the market trends had suddenly shifted these past few years, and how a bunch of people were suddenly following niche music, whether they actually liked it or not. Regardless, independent musicians being able to put food on the table was a good thing.

They didn’t wait for Tao Zhi, but since Lin Yiming had posted that photo, Ruan Lingfeng couldn’t stop imagining how Tao Zhi would react. Does he still care? Or, as Ruan Lingfeng suspected, has the “heat of the moment” passed, and he would feel nothing seeing it, or perhaps just think Lin Yiming was annoying?

However, all speculations came to a halt the next day when Ruan Lingfeng saw a new Hot Search.

The Hot Search was a screenshot of a WeChat Moments post from the Omega daughter of a real estate tycoon. Someone had submitted it to a marketing account on Weibo. The post contained several photos of her with Tao Zhi. In the photos, the two of them were leaning in for a selfie. Tao Zhi was cooperating with a cute pose, holding both hands above his head like little tree branches or rabbit ears, a smile playing on his lips.

The caption read: Had dinner today with the Gege from the Tao family. I’d heard of him before—he’s a singer. I heard he has a very unruly personality, but I didn’t expect Tao-gege to be so gentlemanly and nice in person [covering mouth laugh]~ Also, we’ve both studied piano since we were kids, so we have so much in common. We chatted a ton, so happy, so happy cute cute