I locked eyes with Jian Wei for a while before asking her, “Aren’t you spending New Year’s Eve with your family tonight?”

Jian Wei smiled and replied, “I can go back before midnight… Happy New Year, Zhao Yang!”

I returned her smile, “Happy New Year… Thank you for coming to help today, go find a place to rest for a bit.”

Jian Wei nodded, then found a seat nearby and sat down. Mi Cai took a seat near her, and after a nod of acknowledgment, they didn’t engage in further conversation.

Around six o’clock, some customers started to arrive at the bar. Under the staff’s arrangement, they began to make dumplings and tangyuan in the activity area. The couplets just posted and the lanterns lit up instantly brought a festive atmosphere to the scene.

I approached Jian Wei, handed her the event script, and asked, “Could you be the host for a while?”

Jian Wei picked up the script, glanced at it, and nodded, “No problem.”

“Thank you for your help.”

Jian Wei put down the script, her tone slightly annoyed, “Zhao Yang, can you stop treating me like an outsider? Always thanking me, always saying it’s a bother. I also hope to have an unforgettable New Year’s Eve tonight, so I’m a participant who came with hope.”

I gave Jian Wei an apologetic smile and said, “You’re right, I was being narrow-minded. Let’s hope we all have an unforgettable New Year’s Eve tonight.”

Only then did Jian Wei nod, pick up the script again, and start reading. She then began to write down the lines she would need to use when hosting.

I then went over to Mi Cai. She wasn’t idle either, she was memorizing the guitar scores for the songs “Spring Equinox” and “Start of Autumn”.

“Zhao Yang, why hasn’t the drummer of the band arrived yet? These two songs are so niche, if he hasn’t heard them before, it’ll be hard for him to keep up.”

I snorted with laughter, “The so-called niche is just for people like you. For us who play music, who doesn’t know these two songs!”

Mi Cai was a bit embarrassed by my words, and after a while, she said, “You guys are all weirdos, always listening to obscure songs!”

“Yeah, how else would we show our individuality if we didn’t listen to obscure songs?”

“Does individuality need to be deliberately shown?” Mi Cai asked, puzzled.

“Of course, do you think everyone is born with individuality like you!… Our individuality is mostly faked, which is what people usually call ‘pretentiousness’.”

“What does ‘pretentiousness’ mean?”

“It’s the ability to show off. For example, A Ji, the owner of that piano shop, why do you think he keeps his hair long like an old lady?… It’s all for show. But honestly, his pretentiousness isn’t that high!”

Mi Cai nodded and said, “I see, so among your friends who play music together, who’s the most pretentious?”

“Robben… When it comes to pretentiousness, he’s unbeatable!”

Mi Cai asked with interest, “Why him?”

“Let me tell you two stories about him. Have you noticed what kind of cigarettes he usually smokes?”

Mi Cai shook her head.

“Red Plum, which costs 3 yuan a pack. That’s absolute pretentiousness. Last time he took out his Red Plum for a rag picker to smoke, the guy wasn’t willing to, and directly took out a 10 yuan pack of Bai Sha and gave him one. In the end, he even said: ‘Young man, how did you become so poor? I’ve been picking rags for years, and I’ve never seen a young man smoke this kind of cigarette!’”

Mi Cai chuckled.

I continued, “Also, his dad always thought he had a proper job in Suzhou. Every time his dad came to visit him in Suzhou, this idiot would get up early, dress in a suit and tie, carry a briefcase, and squeeze onto the bus with the other office workers… His pretentiousness is so high it’s blinding! He even shows off to his own dad!”

This time, Mi Cai couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Haha… Dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, thinking of his appearance, it’s really funny!”

Mi Cai’s laughter drew Jian Wei’s attention, but she quickly looked away.

After chatting with Mi Cai for a bit more, I checked my watch. It was almost half past six, and according to the previous arrangement, the event was about to start.

I shouted to Little Wu, “Little Wu… Why hasn’t A Ji arrived yet? Hurry up and call him.”

Little Wu replied anxiously, “I just called, no one answered…”

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry yet, maybe there’s a bit of traffic. I’ll call again.”

I nodded. At this moment, Jian Wei, who was not far away, waved at me, signaling me to come over.

I went over to Jian Wei again, sat down across from her, and asked, “What’s up? Is there a problem with the script?”

“There’s no problem with the script.” She handed me the script and said, “I wrote some lines on the script, take a look and see if they’re okay. If there’s anything wrong, give me some suggestions.”

I took the script from Jian Wei and started reading. During this, Jian Wei asked me curiously, “What were you guys chatting about just now?”

“Just some random stuff.”

“It wasn’t random, was it? To make her laugh like that, it must have been quite a topic.”

I subconsciously looked over at Mi Cai. Thinking about it, during our time together, the number of times she had laughed out loud could be counted on one hand.

I smiled and then repeated the conversation I had with Mi Cai to Jian Wei. Jian Wei just smiled faintly and said, “Your group of friends, including you, are all a bit introverted!”

“Introverted it is then…”Just as my words fell, A Ji suddenly appeared in the bar, then walked up to Little Wu and complained, “Your grandson has really screwed me over, insisting on using my guitar. I had to turn back halfway to get it, and on the way, my car got scratched by a truck, leaving a big dent!”

“Didn’t you have full coverage insurance on your car? The insurance company will compensate for the damage, what are you worried about?”

“It’s bad luck to have this happen on New Year’s Eve!”

“Stop being superstitious, just bring me the guitar so I can enjoy it!”

A Ji muttered something else before finally taking the guitar case off his back and handing it to Little Wu.

Suddenly, the two striking silver lines on the back of the guitar case came into my view, and almost at the same time, Jian Wei and Mi Cai’s gazes also turned to the guitar case.

A chill suddenly rose within me. The guitar that A Ji brought was the one Jian Wei had given me, because the two silver lines on the guitar case were unique.

I quickly left my seat and went over to A Ji and Little Wu. At this moment, I could only hope that Mi Cai and Jian Wei hadn’t seen the two silver lines on the back of the guitar case. After all, I had only caught a glimpse of it in passing, and at this moment, the back of the guitar case was facing Little Wu’s body, conveniently blocking the two silver lines.

I lowered my voice and said to A Ji, “You grandson, always causing trouble for me. Why did you bring this guitar?”

A Ji looked around and suddenly noticed Mi Cai sitting not far away. He also realized that he shouldn’t have brought this guitar and whispered to me, “This is Little Wu’s fault. He insisted on using this guitar.”

Little Wu looked at me and A Ji, somewhat confused.

I hurriedly said, “Little Wu, take this guitar to the backstage immediately. Don’t use it. This is the guitar my ex-girlfriend gave me. You know that!”

Little Wu glanced at Jian Wei, then finally understood and said, “Damn… How could I forget about this!”

“Stop talking, hold the guitar in this position, don’t let them see the silver lines on the back, and hurry to the backstage!”