This was the only eatery on Phoenix Street, called "Forward Noodle House." It had previously belonged to the state-run "Jianguo Hotel" of A City. In the eighties, private restaurants were rare on the streets, and people seldom "dined out." Although Liang He was only treating Qiu Yun to a bowl of noodles, it was still quite a novel experience for the time. In the six months since Qiu Yun had arrived here, she hadn't eaten out once.
The shop's furnishings were unremarkable, and there were few customers. Liang He and Qiu Yun sat down at a large circular wooden table. Liang He ordered a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce, and Qiu Yun followed suit. Before long, the owner brought out two generous portions. Qiu Yun noted that the owner was incredibly honest with his portions; the bowl was truly massive—one of these could easily equal three bowls in 2018, yet the price was only a thirtieth. The shifting of the eras was truly unpredictable.
The two of them lowered their heads to eat, falling into a temporary silence. Halfway through, Liang He looked up. "Do you want something to drink?"
"?" Qiu Yun didn't understand. "Like what?"
Liang He glanced toward the checkout counter. "Want a Coke?"
"No, thank you." Qiu Yun shook her head.
"They have something new, a yellow one. Jianlibao?"
"Jianlibao?" Qiu Yun had heard the name. It was supposedly a domestic beverage that had once been a sensation across the country, but it had vanished by the time she was growing up.
"Want to try it?"
Curiosity piqued her interest, but Qiu Yun shook her head again.
Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Liang He asked once more, "Give it a taste?"
"No need. It's too cold out."
Liang He didn't push further. He asked, "Do you have any other relatives in A City?"
"That..." Qiu Yun faltered. Here it was again. Was Liang He being a bit too concerned about her today? How was she supposed to know if she had relatives? Her intuition told her there were none, but she didn't dare speak with certainty. She put on a pitiable expression and lowered her head, giving an ambiguous answer. "Sigh..."
"What about your mother? Are you still in touch? Is she coming back for the New Year?"
Heaven only knew.
Qiu Yun continued to shake her head and sigh. "Sigh..."
Seeing her like this, Liang He could only purse his lips and say, "Eat up quickly, or the noodles will get soggy."
"Oh. I can't really finish it." Qiu Yun slowly set down her chopsticks.
Liang He frowned. After a long pause, he said, "...At least finish the toppings."
Qiu Yun glanced up at him, then lowered her head to finish the meat and vegetables. She looked at him again. "I really can't eat any more."
"...Fine then." Seeing her looking preoccupied, Liang He stopped forcing the issue. However, his eyes were full of regret over the waste. He couldn't help but remark, "Times are better now, but in the past, we wouldn't have dreamed of leaving leftovers..."
"Pfft." Qiu Yun started laughing before he could finish.
"What are you laughing at?" Liang He asked, his sentence cut short.
"Nothing, nothing." Qiu Yun pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. In the late eighties, restaurants didn't provide free napkins; people were accustomed to carrying their own handkerchiefs. Qiu Yun had found it very strange when she first arrived, but she eventually followed the trend.
Liang He didn't ask again, but he knew what she was laughing at. A faint, indifferent smile touched the corners of his mouth as he stood up to pay the bill at the front desk.
The two of them stepped out of the noodle house. It was 6:28 PM, and the sky was completely dark. The streetlights standing in the darkness cast a dim, eerie glow. A few shops along the street were still open, and the faint sounds of bargaining could be heard.
Qiu Yun remembered that Liang He had errands to run, yet he had been with her since the afternoon without doing anything. They walked aimlessly for a few paces. She kept waiting for him to say goodbye, but after another ten meters, the man beside her remained silent. Feeling strange and a bit awkward, Qiu Yun slowed her pace. "Teacher Liang."
"Hmm?"
"Don't you have things to do later?"
"Yes... why?"
"Nothing," Qiu Yun turned to smile at him. "Thank you for the meal today. I should head back now."
Liang He spoke slowly. "Back where?"
"To school."
"You're not staying at home?" The house was right there, only fifty meters away.
"No," Qiu Yun shook her head. "The house is cold and empty, and I haven't cleaned it. I'll head back to school for today."
"Alright." Liang He also slowed down. He felt that this farewell was a bit too abrupt, yet he didn't know how to extend the conversation. After a few steps, he could only say dryly, "Stay safe."
Qiu Yun bid him farewell and walked toward the bus stop. Liang He watched her figure recede step by step. With the New Year approaching, there weren't many people on the street. The residential buildings on both sides emitted a warm yellow light, making her silhouette seem all the more lonely and desolate. Her shadow stretched longer and longer. When the tip of the shadow's hair touched Liang He's leather shoes, he spoke again. "Do you have anything else to do tonight?"
***
Outside, it still looked like a mundane, peaceful neighborhood, but once they stepped into the courtyard, a faint, restless vibration could be heard. Following Liang He down a flight of cramped, narrow stairs, they were hit by the sudden blast of heavy percussion and electric guitars—it was actually an underground rock bar.
Qiu Yun turned to Liang He, her eyes full of questions.
Liang He familiarly found a place to sit. "Remember what I told you the other day?"
Qiu Yun was completely baffled. "?"
"The New Year's Gala."
Qiu Yun was impatient. "Please, we said so much that day. Who could remember?"
"I said there was a good place on Phoenix Street." Liang He wasn't in a hurry.
Qiu Yun thought about it and vaguely recalled. That night, Liang He had gone on stage to sing. Afterward, he had chatted with her about music. Qiu Yun had rattled off a list of rock bands, and then Liang He had seemingly mentioned in passing, "There's a good place on Phoenix Street."
So Liang He really thought she liked rock music and had brought her to this "good place"?
Qiu Yun looked around. Neon lights flashed overhead. On stage, a group of young people were playing intense heavy metal music. She hadn't heard these specific songs, but the atmosphere of the rock scene was more passionate than anything she had heard in the 21st century. The audience was equally enthusiastic. Despite it being the dead of winter, no one seemed to fear the cold; they had shed their coats and jackets, singing and dancing to their hearts' content, punctuated by occasional whistles and cheers.
Finding a rock bar beneath an ordinary courtyard was surprising enough, but what surprised Qiu Yun even more was that Liang He was the one who had brought her here. This didn't fit his style at all—shouldn't his style be that of a refined, scholarly, and dogmatic teacher who would morally condemn her for wasting food and say things like, "You've caught a lucky era; if this were during the famine years..."?
Just then, a young man walked over and greeted Liang He loudly. "Brother Liang!"
Liang He waved at him. "Li Tao."
"Long time no see." The young man named Li Tao was wearing the quintessential fashion of the eighties—bell-bottom jeans. What surprised Qiu Yun was that the knees of the jeans actually had holes in them, though she couldn't tell if they were worn out or intentional.
Li Tao patted Liang He on the shoulder. "What have you been busy with lately?"
Liang He smiled and said refinedly, "It's the end of the semester. There's a lot to do at school."
Normally, there would be nothing strange about that sentence, and Liang He was telling the truth, but in this setting, Qiu Yun felt an indescribable sense of dissonance.
"Are you on break yet?"
"Almost."
After a few pleasantries, Li Tao noticed Qiu Yun beside Liang He. His eyes lingered on her for a full ten seconds before he gave Liang He a meaningful smile. "Where did this little sister come from?"
"What 'little sister'? She's also a student at the Academy of Fine Arts. She lives on Phoenix Street and likes rock music too."
"Oh, welcome, welcome." Li Tao's eyes fell on Qiu Yun again, his expression practically screaming "I get it, I get it." He then asked Liang He, "Want to do a song later?"
"No. We'll just sit for a while."
"Sure thing," Li Tao gave Qiu Yun a roguish grin. "Want a drink?"
"No need," Liang He declined on her behalf.
"A Coke then?" Li Tao was very attentive.
"No."
"Something to eat?"
Liang He was getting a bit impatient and wanted to send Li Tao away quickly. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he suddenly changed his mind. "Do you have Jianlibao?"
"Yeah."
"Two bottles."
"You got it." Having received his order, Li Tao left cheerfully.
Turning back, Liang He found Qiu Yun stifling a laugh in the darkness.
Of course Qiu Yun found it funny. If the preceding conversation hadn't taken place in the eighties, she would have truly thought she was at a rural social club. In a setting like this, with roaring music and a restless crowd, two young men weren't ordering vodka, XO, or even cocktails. Instead, it was:
"Want a Coke?"
"No."
"..."
"Do you have Jianlibao?"
"Yes."
"Two bottles."
Liang He thought Qiu Yun was laughing at Li Tao and explained, "He's a student at B University, a senior. He's very straightforward, so don't mind him."
Qiu Yun's smile flickered in the dim light. She asked, "Do you come here often?"
Liang He nodded, feeling a bit puzzled himself. "You didn't know about this place? Utopia—a gathering spot for music lovers. It's quite close to your house."
"I didn't know," Qiu Yun said. "Do you like rock?"
"It's alright. It's not all rock here." Liang He glanced around casually. "It's split into odd and even days. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays are for rock. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are for folk. It's mostly university students. There are bands and independent musicians."
"This arrangement is like license plate traffic restrictions," Qiu Yun remarked.
"What?"
"I said it's quite organized." Qiu Yun pointed to the people on stage. "Do you know them all?"
Liang He watched for a moment and shook his head. "They look unfamiliar. I came here more often when I was an undergrad. Once I started grad school, the coursework got heavy, and I had to keep an eye on you all, so I haven't had much time. People are always coming and going here; there are many new faces."
Qiu Yun looked at him with an expression that said, *I couldn't tell you were this kind of person.*
Liang He smiled dismissively and leaned back, his arms draped over the back of the chair. He looked very relaxed and casual.
"Why do you like rock?" he asked again.
"Me? ...I actually don't like rock."
"When I asked you the other day, you said..."
"I was just talking casually." Qiu Yun stuck out her tongue. "Rock is too noisy. My heart can't take it for long."
Liang He was stunned. Seeing Qiu Yun's expression, he gave a helpless laugh.
"Then what do you like?" Liang He asked.
"Folk and pop are both fine. Classic old songs are good too."
"For example?"
Qiu Yun thought seriously for a moment, searching for a classic song that she remembered as being very old. "Qi Qin's 'About in Winter'."
Liang He burst out laughing. "That song just came out last year. To you, it's already a 'classic old song'?"
Qiu Yun was speechless. It just came out? She really wasn't suited for topics related to the era. She quickly changed the subject. "Do you hear a lot of new songs here? Like that 'Midnight Serenade' you sang last time?"
"Yes. See those tables in the back? That's a flea market. Old and new cassette tapes are traded there. I bought that tape right here."
Qiu Yun looked back. Indeed, quite a few people had gathered there, their silhouettes shifting—both men and women.
"Is the errand you mentioned today just coming here to see this tonight?" Qiu Yun asked again.
"In a way." Liang He seemed somewhat preoccupied.
Just then, Li Tao arrived with two bottles of Jianlibao.
Liang He popped the tab of one with a *pssh* and handed it to Qiu Yun. "Try it?"
Qiu Yun didn't refuse this time. She took it, turned the bottle in her hand, tilted her head back, and took a sip. It was sweet. It wasn't chilled, but in winter, drinks were naturally cool. It tasted a bit like Mirinda, but it stimulated the taste buds more sharply.
She made a small sound of surprise and pulled her neck back slightly.
Seeing this, both Liang He and Li Tao laughed.
"It's alright," Qiu Yun evaluated.
Li Tao said, "It seems this little sister has seen the world. Let me introduce myself: Li Tao, Chemistry Department at B University."
"Hello. I'm Qiu Xiaoyun, Oil Painting Department at the Academy of Fine Arts." Qiu Yun introduced herself graciously.
"A pleasure, a pleasure," Li Tao said, then asked Liang He, "Xiaolan didn't come today? Did you go to her department's gala the other day? I got caught up and couldn't make it. I haven't seen her in a long time."
"Didn't go. She's not here," Liang He said simply, brushing it off.
Qiu Yun was slightly surprised. She turned to look at Liang He's profile; under the flashing lights and noisy music, he seemed somewhat surreal.
"True, she prefers folk," Li Tao said. "By the way, that guitar you mentioned last time—Old Liu finished it."
"Really?" Liang He's eyes lit up. He turned to Qiu Yun. "Wait for me a moment." With that, he walked toward a door in the back.
It was intermission now. No one was singing on stage, but people were preparing instruments by the side, and the sounds of tuning drifted over intermittently.
Qiu Yun asked Li Tao, "Does Lu Xialan come here often too?"
"You know Lu Xialan?" Li Tao raised an eyebrow.
"I do. We've even had a meal together." Qiu Yun wasn't lying.
"She often comes with Liang He. But mostly during the folk sessions. Liang He was the one who discovered this place originally, and then he gradually brought several friends. Students from the Academy and B University are regulars here."
"Oh." Qiu Yun took a sip of the Jianlibao. It was very sweet—sweet enough to make her gums tingle.
"Does Teacher Liang like the guitar very much?" Before long, Qiu Yun saw Liang He walking toward them from a distance, holding a new guitar.
"You didn't know?" Li Tao's eyes widened. Even in the dim light, the shock in his eyes was clear. "He's a legend at your school, the founder of the Guitar Club. You didn't know?"
"I'm just a freshman this year. He graduated by the time I started." Qiu Yun thought back to Liang He at the New Year's Gala—calm, composed, and unruffled. So that was why.
"Wait..." Li Tao's eyes grew even wider. "What did you call him? Teacher Liang? —How old are you this year?"
"Eighteen."
As soon as she spoke, Liang He pulled out his chair and sat down.
Li Tao swallowed hard, and the look he gave Liang He became even more profound.
***
