On the way home, Mi Cai sat behind me with the newly bought guitar on her back. I was speeding at a fast pace, but the guitar seemed to increase the wind resistance. Mi Cai held me tighter, and once again, I experienced the feeling of being melted. Yet, I was afraid of indulging in it, so I drove the motorcycle even faster. Although we still had to pass five blocks, time was ultimately shortened.

Back at the bar, the neon sign of the “Fifth Season” was still flickering, but the door was tightly locked, making the night so peaceful. I liked this tranquility and the haziness of the neon lights, which made my desire to sing even stronger. Perhaps I really should thank Mi Cai for this decision, because the night, besides being for sleep, can also be for indulgence…

I took out the key and opened the door of the bar, then pushed the motorcycle inside. At the same time, Mi Cai turned on the lights of the bar. The “Fifth Season” was showing its charm in the light, pleasing us, as if turning us into the most dazzling jewels of the night.

Mi Cai asked me, “Zhao Yang, do you think it’s better to have all the lights on, or to keep it a bit hazy?”

“A bit hazy is better, as long as I can see your face clearly!”

“But then you can’t see the beauty of the ‘Fifth Season’!”

I smiled and said, “The ‘Fifth Season’ has long been imprinted in my heart. As long as I have an outline, all the seasons are in my mind.”

“Oh, then let’s keep it a bit hazy!” Mi Cai agreed, and turned off the main lights, leaving only a few stage lights for effect. Indeed, all I could see clearly was her face.

We each held a guitar, sitting in the center of the small stage. I couldn’t think of a song to sing for a moment, so I lit a cigarette for myself. But the smoke, mixed with the flickering light, made the world I was in even more hazy, so hazy that it felt unreal, as if it was a dream!

In my trance, Mi Cai had already started playing her guitar. The familiar melody of “Love’s Proverb” rang out again.

I stared at Mi Cai beside me, as if I had already seen the outcome. This song was like a tear bomb to her. Even if someone else sang it, she would cry, let alone herself.

But once again, I misjudged this woman. She didn’t cry, she was even calm, but full of deep affection.

After the chorus, she smiled and said to me, “Zhao Yang, sing with me, okay?”

“Oh… okay!”

I was startled, quickly strummed the guitar strings, and finally caught up with her rhythm, singing along with her, “I gave you my heart, leaving the sorrow to myself. I gave you my youth, leaving the years to myself…”

Because Mi Cai was calm, I was also calm. We sang the song in calmness, and the smoke I exhaled gradually dispersed. Everything in front of me became three-dimensional, but I still felt it was unreal.

Finally, I said to Mi Cai beside me, “I always feel like this is just a dream of mine!”

“Why do you say that?”

“Maybe it’s because the night is too dark, and… you didn’t cry while singing that song just now! I even suspect it’s a dream!”

Mi Cai smiled and said to me, “Then let me hit you and see.”

I quickly leaned back and said, “Don’t hit me, I don’t want to wake up, this is a beautiful dream!”

Mi Cai put down her guitar, wrapped her arms around her knees, and gently tapped the ground with her toes. After a long time, she still smiled and said, “Do you know? Every time I sing this song by myself, I feel that my father must be watching me from his world… So, I will sing it quietly for him, because he is a person who likes quietness! He also doesn’t like me crying!”

Her narrative made me feel sad. Every time she talked about her father, she was like a gentle, obedient little girl.

I didn’t want the atmosphere to be too heavy, so I laughed and said, “Then how do you know that when others sing, your father won’t be watching?”

Mi Cai glanced at me and said, “There are so many people singing this song in the KTV every day, can he watch them all? He’s so busy!”

“Good point.”

Mi Cai nodded and continued, “Hmm… and people like you, even if you sing this song, would he want to watch?”

“I think I sing pretty well!”

“It’s not about whether you sing well or not, it’s because he hated people like you the most in his life…”

I laughed and spoke for Mi Cai, “He hated loafers like me the most, right?”

Mi Cai looked at me, neither affirming nor denying, and after a long time, she asked, “But you will change, right?”

“What do you want me to change into?”

“Be a warm man!”

This sentence gave me a strange feeling in my heart. After a long time, it seemed to generate a kind of power, and I said to her, “Then you hold me now… see if it’s warm enough!”

Mi Cai looked at me with complicated eyes. We had hugged before, but it was always me who took the initiative to hug her, and I had never asked her to hug me. But now, this reason seemed so justified that I wasn’t afraid at all.

So I tempted her again, “This is not throwing myself into your arms, it’s just to see if I meet the standard of warmth you mentioned. It’s very pure, okay?”

Mi Cai thought for a while, and finally said to me, “Then open your arms.”

I quickly opened my arms, but at the moment of fully opening them, my face turned red and my heart beat faster, because she was going to be in my arms soon…

Mi Cai closed her eyes and gently leaned on my shoulder, but her hands kept a distance from me. This didn’t look like a hug at all, it was more like she was listening to my heartbeat.

I plucked up the courage and mumbled, “Your hands… you should also hug me.”

Mi Cai didn’t respond to me, but said, “Zhao Yang, your heart is beating so fast!””Cough, cough…” I used a cough to mask my panic, but it couldn’t hide my racing heartbeat, which only made me more flustered. I muttered to myself: What’s wrong with me? Even when I’ve crawled into a stranger’s bed, I’ve never felt this discomposed…

In my panic, I finally found a somewhat acceptable excuse, saying, “My heart is beating fast to be more active. Only when it’s active can it reach the temperature you mentioned!”

I anxiously awaited Mi Cai’s response. She simply hummed in acknowledgment, her arms finally wrapping around me. In the quiet of the night, we embraced once again.

My heart was beating so fast it was suffocating. I wanted to feel Mi Cai’s heartbeat, but I felt it was inappropriate. After all, when it comes to sensing heartbeats, men and women are unequal. For instance, if Mi Cai touched my chest, it would be considered sensing, but if I touched hers, it would be seen as lewd… Unless one day we become a couple, or even husband and wife, this inequality can’t be eliminated!

But I really wanted to know her heartbeat… If her heartbeat didn’t change, I would be very disappointed!

So, I lowered my expectations and decided to look at her face. But under the dim light, her face was resting against my chest, obscured by shadows, I couldn’t even make out her complexion!

Sigh! Perhaps we are destined to be unequal… I suppose by now, my heartbeat has revealed my feelings for her. But what about her? At least on the surface, she seems as calm as an unopened lily!