Upon receiving my instructions, Little Wu immediately turned around and awkwardly carried the guitar towards the backstage. However, my unease didn’t lessen at all, as I was unsure whether Mi Cai and Jian Wei had seen the two silver lines.

I returned to Jian Wei’s side, feigning calmness. She seemed even more composed than I was, her slender and fair fingers lightly tapping on the table, her attention focused on the script, showing no intention of speaking to me further.

After a while, I finally asked her, “How’s the script coming along?”

Jian Wei smiled and replied, “Almost done. When does the event start?”

Her smile finally allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. I also smiled and replied, “It starts promptly at 7.”

Jian Wei glanced at the time and said, “There’s still 20 minutes left. I’ll go over the script again. You go do your thing.”

I nodded and left, then went over to Mi Cai. The calmness I had just regained was once again replaced by unease. Still, I asked her in a seemingly calm manner, “How are the preparations for your two songs?”

“No problems.”

Seeing her usual indifferent demeanor, I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, “That’s good, that’s good…”

“Why did you say ‘that’s good’ twice? Are you afraid I’ll mess up the performance?”

I was truly grateful to Mi Cai for giving me such a good excuse to cover up my panic. I quickly nodded and said, “Yes, I’m afraid you’ll mess up, especially since you’ve never performed these two songs before.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t mess up.”

After Mi Cai finished speaking, she gave me a slight smile. This smile made me feel even more at ease, and I was sure that the guitar issue had been resolved without any real danger.

……

Time quickly reached 7 in the evening. Firecrackers were already sounding outside the bar, and the new year was just a few hours away.

The event officially began. The waitstaff prepared food and drinks for the customers, and Jian Wei stood on the small stage, hosting the small evening party. As usual, she represented the bar in delivering New Year’s wishes to the customers, then moved on to the main part of the event.

The first to perform was Mi Cai, singing the song “Spring Equinox”. Her performance lived up to expectations and quickly brought the first round of applause. Many customers joined in singing along, and the fact that many people in the audience knew this song proved that the customers here had a strong artistic inclination. This made me believe even more that this bar would become a place where some people in this city could find solace.

After Mi Cai’s performance, many customers asked to take pictures with her. In fact, Mi Cai’s multiple performances in the bar had already cultivated a small group of loyal fans. Mi Cai seemed to be in a good mood and did not refuse these requests for photos, even joining them for a few drinks.

Jian Wei also did an excellent job as the host, encouraging talented customers to perform during the event. The atmosphere was always lively under her guidance, which made me think she was in a good mood, until the event ended at 9 o’clock, and I realized I was wrong!

……

It was now 9:30 in the evening. The customers in the bar were still enthusiastically drinking, chatting, and singing. I went outside to see Jian Wei off.

Breathing in the fresh outdoor air, I lit a cigarette and said to Jian Wei, “This time, you must let me say thank you. You really helped a lot with tonight’s event!”

“Really?” Jian Wei frowned.

Her frown made me think I was hallucinating, as her smile had hardly left her face since we left the bar. So I didn’t pay much attention and reminded her, “Drive slowly on the road. There are still several hours until midnight, you’ll definitely make it to Shanghai.”

Suddenly, Jian Wei’s eyes shimmered with tears, and she bit her lip, looking at me.

At this moment, I finally confirmed that her frown was not a hallucination. I immediately asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

After a long silence, Jian Wei finally asked me, “Zhao Yang, about that guitar, aren’t you going to tell me something?”

My heart tightened instantly, and I exhaled a heavy puff of smoke before asking, “You saw it?”

Jian Wei, with tears in her eyes but a sarcastic smile on her face, said, “Every detail of that guitar case is deeply etched in my mind. Did you think that by covering up those two silver lines, I wouldn’t recognize it?”

“But you?…”

“But why did I act as if nothing happened, right?”

I felt choked up but still nodded. I really wanted to know what force was supporting her to act as if nothing had happened.

“I didn’t want to ruin your event because of my emotions. But now that the event is over, you owe me an explanation. You said the guitar was taken by CC, so why did it appear in the hands of that drummer?”

I put out the cigarette in my hand, lit another one, and after a long time, I said in a low voice, “I sold the guitar to him.”

The tears that had been swirling in Jian Wei’s eyes suddenly fell down her fair cheeks. She choked back a sob and asked, “Why did you sell that guitar, and what gave you the right to sell it?”

“Can I not keep this guitar that represents the past?”

Jian Wei nodded, “Yes, you’re right. We shouldn’t keep things that represent the past!”

I took another deep puff of my cigarette, feeling so suffocated that I didn’t know how to respond to Jian Wei’s words.

Suddenly, Jian Wei put down her handbag, sat on the ground, and took off her red knee-high boots…

I watched her in shock, not knowing what she was going to do.At this moment, she took off her socks again, and I saw the gold anklet on her ankle. Memories surged up instantly because I bought this anklet for her years ago with the money I earned from singing at the bar.

Jian Wei unfastened the anklet, then stood up, barefoot on the freezing ground, and handed the anklet to me with a cold voice, “I’m returning this anklet you gave me… and please return my guitar.”

“Can you put on your shoes first? You’ll definitely catch a cold like this!”

Jian Wei completely ignored my concern. Tears were still in her eyes, but her voice was full of determination, “Take this anklet from my hand.”

Her bare feet, exposed to the extreme cold, began to cramp, and she fell onto me, unable to stand. Without a second thought, I picked up her shoes and socks from the ground, held her in my arms, and walked towards her car.

As I was about to open the car door, I saw Mi Cai standing behind me in the rearview mirror of the car.

Without thinking, I opened the car door and carried Jian Wei into the car. Then I said to her, “I admit I was wrong about the guitar. If you really don’t want to keep it, I should have returned it to you, not sold it… Don’t worry, I will get the guitar back and return it to you.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you to return my guitar.” After saying that, she stuffed the anklet into my hand, pushed me away, closed the car door, and started the car without even putting on her shoes and socks. Then she drove past me, leaving a trail of air, and completely disappeared from my sight.